Category Archives: Video

Saturday Matinee: The Parallax View

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“The Parallax View” (1974) is a conspiracy thriller directed by Alan Pakula and written by Lorenzo Semple Jr. (Three Days of the Condor). The plot centers on reporter Joe Frady (Warren Beatty) who, while investigating claims from an ex-girlfriend who witnessed a political assassination, uncovers a plot involving the mysterious Parallax Corporation run by a network of shadowy power elites. One of a number of films of the era (including Executive Action and Winter Kills) which conveyed political assassination theories through a fictional narrative.

Watch the full film here.

Saturday Matinee: Nothing

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“Nothing” (2003) is an existential comedy and third feature film from director Vincenzo Natali (Cube). The plot follows two friends and roommates: Andrew, an antisocial travel agent who works from home, and Dave, a prototypical office drone. After experiencing the worst day of their lives, they somehow will the world outside of their house out of existence. While this creates a temporary respite it also leads to new problems mainly in the form of boredom and cabin fever.  Will the two protagonists manage to keep their sanity and find their way out of nothingness?

Watch the full film here.

Saturday Matinee: Cube

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“Cube” (1997) is an existential Canadian sci-fi feature film debut from director and co-writer Vincenzo Natali. The minimalist plot focuses on a group of strangers forced to navigate and survive a series of cube-shaped rooms which are more often than not rigged with deadly surprises. Besides the variety of bizarre and unexpected traps, the film’s main source of tension lies in the question of whether the group’s diversity of backgrounds and personalities will lead to their salvation or mutual extinction.

Watch the full film here.

Saturday Matinee: Tokyo Blood

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“Tokyo Blood” (1993) is an anthology film consisting of four experimental shorts directed by Gakuryû Ishii (formerly known as Sogo Ishii) thematically connected by the theme of entrapment in Tokyo’s urban landscape and desire to escape. The opening film, “Street Noise” is an impressionistic audio/visual collage depicting an anonymous salaryman’s state of mind as he breaks down from sensory overload. The second vignette, “Bicycle” follows the journey of two young strangers bonded by alienation who aimlessly explore the city by bike after a chance encounter. The third chapter begins as a parody of structuralist film theory (not unlike early works by Peter Greenaway) but soon descends into the hyper-kinetic chaos reminiscent of films by fellow Japanese avant-garde director Shinya Tsukamoto (The Tetsuo Trilogy). The concluding film, “Heart of Stone” is seemingly a transmission from a post-human feature combining the styles of Chris Marker’s essay films and Craig Baldwin’s found-footage narratives.