Category Archives: Film Jukebox

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Dan Sartain’s Film Jukebox

Dan Sartain

Raising hell with his visceral rock’n’roll, Alabama-born Dan Sartain brings his Southern rockabilly-mariachi-blues to rapturous audiences around the world via his thrilling live shows and records, including the fantastic Join Dan Sartain. He loves films nearly as much as he loves music and has chosen 10 movies that appeal to both his ‘artsy’ side and his ‘common idiot’ side. His new record Legacy of Hospitality, a collection of alternate versions, outtakes and unheard tracks, is out on April 25 on One Little Indian. On the same date, he will also release a DVD, Dan Sartain Lives: The Motion Picture. See him on tour in the UK in April (25: London Buffalo Bar, 26: Bristol Thekla, 27: Cork Crane Lane Theatre, 28: Belfast McHughs, 29: Dublin Button Factory, 30: Manchester: Deaf Institute) and May (01: Glasgow Captains Rest, 02: Newcastle The Cluny, 04: Leeds Brudenell Club). For more details visit Dan Sartain’s website. LUCY HURST

1. Evil Dead II (1987)
This is a damn near-perfect film in my opinion. Evil Dead II is perhaps the only sequel that truly is better than the original in every way. Bruce Campbell is my fave-o-rite actor of all time, and this is the best performance of his career. Ash is the greatest horror villain to ever bless the medium of film. To quote David Cross, there seems to be a fog of ‘anti-intellectual pride’ sweeping the world at the moment. Those who like ‘popcorn movies’ tend to argue that they don’t want their entertainment to be challenging in any way and can simply enjoy a dumb movie for being a dumb movie. I don’t agree, I think that’s dumb. Evil Dead II bridges the gap. This movie can quench the thirst of the intellectually void as well the ‘artsy-fartsy’ crowd with one swoop of a motherfucking chainsaw hand!!

2. Rocky (1976)
I know the mention of Stallone puts a bad taste in some people’s mouths and I understand why. Judge Dredd (1995) and Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) are unforgivable, but don’t forget Stallone was in Lords of Flatbush (1974) and Deathrace 2000 (1975), which were killer movies. They don’t excuse some of the bad stuff but don’t count the guy out altogether. Rocky is great. If you have never seen Rocky, you should.

3. Re-Animator (1985)
This film has every right to be number 1 on the list, and if it were another day it probably would be. All the nice stuff I had to say about Evil Dead II applies to this film as well. Jeffrey Combs is a talented actor and Barbara Crampton in her role as Megan Halsey is probably the best ‘scream queen’ performance I can think of. Just like Evil Dead II, this film pleases my ‘artsy’ side as well as my ‘common idiot’ side. I might also add that the film From Beyond (1986), which consists largely of the same cast as Re-animator, is also great. It has the same director, and is also based on an H.P. Lovecraft story.

4. Christine (1983)
This film seems to grip people who feel emotional attachments to inanimate objects. It also is a favourite among particular motor-heads I know. Christine is a classic ‘boy loves car, car kills people’ story. When I first found love for this movie I was roughly the same age as the main character(s) and also had an affection for things from the 1950s (objects, not ideals). The main character (Arnie) nurses a sick antique car (a 1958 Plymouth sport Fury) back to health with love. I found out the hard way that it takes more than love to bring a dead car back to life. I thought I could bring back my 1962 AMC Rambler Classic with a little TLC. It gave me a cracked block in return. The movie is still great though (even if it did mislead my idealistic teenage mind). The scene where Buddy and his goons destroy a fully restored ’58 Plymouth is gut-wrenching no matter how many times I see it. It’s almost as fucked up as when they hack a monkey’s face off and dismember a huge turtle in Cannibal Holocaust. I say almost ‘cus monkeys and turtles feel pain.

5. East of Eden (1955)
This is my fave-o-rite James Dean film, and I like all of James Dean’s films.

6. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
I don’t really like cowboy movies, but there is NO BETTER shoot ’em up than Fistful of Dollars. The music, the acting, the cinematography are all great. It’s another one of those ‘half meat-head/half artsy-fartsy’ films I like. I don’t really like guns (or people who carry them), but in the realm of fantasy they get a big OK in my book. In all fairness I can’t call this movie a ‘stoner movie’, but it is flat out the best movie to watch stoned. Oddly enough, when I watch a ‘stoner’ movie I want to kill people, but when I watch an action movie I want to be stoned. Ass-backward, ain’t it?

7. Do the Right Thing (1989)
This movie holds up where a lot of films from this time don’t. Boyz n the Hood doesn’t seem as edgy as it did way back, but Do the Right Thing has never lost its impact. An awesome soundtrack provided by an in-their-prime Public Enemy never hurt anything either.

8. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Why do people prefer The Wrath of Khan (1982) to this? Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a technological psychedelic masterpiece. Nemoy and Shatner are both in great form, and the whole V’Ger thing makes for great storytelling like only Star Trek can provide. I find Star Wars to be quite shallow entertainment, but Star Trek, on the other hand, is something I can get into. The Motion Picture is the best film of the Star Trek series hands down. It’s also another great non-stoner/stoner film (like Fistful of Dollars).

9. The Elephant Man (1980)
I like a great deal of David Lynch’s work, but sometimes the guy is too fucking abstract for his or the audience’s good (see Inland Empire). Such is not the case with The Elephant Man. The message of the film is simple, and beautiful. This movie should be required viewing at grade schools. Even though the movie is factually wrong in many instances, there is still much value to be gained from it. The Elephant Man is Lynch’s best.

10. A Nightmare on Elm Street II: Freddy’s Revenge (1986)
This film is so fucking underrated it’s ridiculous. Freddy’s Revenge is hated among most fans of the Nightmare on Elm St series. However, in actuality (my opinion has officially become fact) it’s the only one out of the series that is actually worth a shit. The main character, Jessie, is an ‘in-the-closet’ homosexual boy. Freddy is supposed to represent the boy’s ‘inner struggle’ with his own sexuality. The fact that all of this is implied rather than addressed outright makes this film all the more genius. With the kind of audience that the Elm St films draw, and the year being 1986, this kind of subject matter under normal circumstances wouldn’t be discussed in a movie like this.

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Pete and the Pirates’ Film Jukebox

Pete and the Pirates

Pete And The Pirates bestowed upon us their long-awaited comeback single ‘Come To The Bar’ on March 14 via Stolen Records. Having toured the world, played various prestigious showcases and festivals and conquered the continent, they’re now back in the UK and ready to embark on the next stage of their world-domination plan. They’ve been recording a new album with Brendan Lynch with their usual sharp lyrical ear, double-barrelled guitar folk/punk/lilt attack but with added motorik rhythms and sleek synths. Look out for their new album ‘One Thousand Pictures’, released on May 23, and their headline gig at Heaven on May 26. For more information, visit their website. Tickets to the Heaven gig are available from CrowdSurge. Below, they tell us about their favourite films. DELIA SPARRER

David

1. Paris, Texas (1984)
A beautiful, slow and quiet film. Harry Dean Stanton is amazing. Both simple and very complex simultaneously, very beautiful and sad, and probably nearly perfect.

2. Love and Death (1975)
I watched this Woody Allen film for the first time a few days after I first saw Andrei Rublev, I think I could probably list them both here as two of my favourites, but Love and Death wins. Woody and Diane Keaton are great, and it is just so full of great lines. My favourite Woody Allen film.

Pete H.

3. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Like Luke, this film has a cutting sort of wit which it hides behind a brave nonchalant exterior. It is a film that gets drunk and cuts the heads of parking meters. Paul Newman’s performance is perfect in this film, using the excellent script to show the depth of a man who struggles to find his place within society and to understand his relationship with God, family and authority. This film sort of doesn’t belong. It refuses to be knocked down; it refuses to stay down. We, the audience, become George Segal’s character Dragline. We love this film, would do anything to protect it and those of us who’ve seen it still tell stories about it to this day.

4. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
An Italian film about a Jewish Italian, Guido Orifece, in the years before World War II. Roberto Benigni directs the film and plays the central character. Like Benigni himself, Guido is a charismatic, funny and hopelessly romantic hero. He throws himself completely into everything he does with charm and skill. The film uses slapstick humour coupled with brilliant and clever dialogue to tell a really beautiful story. I think the reason I love this film so much is because it completely swept me off my feet. Don’t read the blurb on the back and don’t read any reviews. Just put it on.

Pete C.

5. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
At this time in his life German filmmaker/auteur Werner Herzog was ambitious enough, and crazy enough, to actually pull a massive boat over a massive hill in Peru, using only rudimentary pulleys and a big tribe of indigenous folk. It was one of the most difficult shoots ever undertaken. Not only that, but after 40% of the filming was completed, one of the actors became so ill that they had to recast and start the movie again from scratch! Klaus Kinski’s manic antics and obscene outbursts eventually led to death threats from the tribe they were filming with. The end result is a feat to behold. For more Herzog/Kinski madness, see Nosferatu the Vampyre, Cobra Verde, Aguirre, Wrath of God, and Woyzeck. There is also a nice documentary Herzog made after Kinski’s death called My Best Fiend.

6. Clockwise (1986)
A very funny and silly comedy that follows the misfortunes of a school headmaster played by John Cleese. It’s no Life of Brian, but it is really funny, and I do prefer it to the better-known A Fish Called Wanda. I really feel the headmaster’s pain! It’s a simple film with simple values but it has a really nice flow to it, and is quite touching in places.

Jonny

7. Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
Magical, creepy and like some semi-nightmarish folk tale. I can’t say I fully understood all that was going on. The story follows Valerie as she encounters scary vampires and church people. Somewhere between a nightmare and a happy dream all at once. This film has a beautiful soundtrack by Lubos Fiser, which I listen to frequently. Gentle folky flute songs with dark theatrical twists.

8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Probably the film I have watched most times. I, like many other people, kind of fell in love with it. Maybe it was because I broke up with a girlfriend at the time. It captures those lovely feelings you get at the beginning of a relationship but also the horrible feelings when things go bad. The whole thing is wrapped up in a clever twist of a plot about erasing memory. Jim Carrey is great in it too… oh and I really fancied Kirsten Dunst at the time and she jumps on a bed in her underwear in this film. It has a great soundtrack by Jon Brion. The theme from the film is so beautiful yet melancholic.

Tommy

9. L’Eclisse (The Eclipse, 1962)
This film is a complete overdose of beauty. The principal actress is Monica Vitti, who I was briefly and retrospectively in love with (she’s now 80) and she’s an important part of why I love this film. The film deals with things I relate to easily: the demise of crap, materialistic relationships and emotional absence. But the beauty lies in the stunning cinematography, the quietness of the film, the lovely pace of the editing, and Monica Vitti’s face and voice. It’s the kind of film I’d feel so proud of making if I was a filmmaker. It really lets you interpret it yourself, doesn’t spell anything out to you, is completely un-formulaic, and is full of little bits of detail and symbolism that you’ll probably miss the first time you watch it.

10. The Jerk (1979)
It’s a shit film but for some reason I keep watching it. I think it’s because I love one-liners and I love Steve Martin. It’s basically about a white guy (Steve Martin) who thinks he’s black, has a dog called Shithead who hates him, and who accidentally makes a fortune then loses it. When he leaves his foster family to explore the world, it’s his inconceivable naivety that is so compelling, as we see him find his first job, lose his virginity and generally be sociopathic. Behind the cheap gags and slapstick, there are some really tender moments, especially the ukulele duet.

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Sic Alps’ Film Jukebox

Sic Alps

Purveyors of lo-fi psych Sic Alps have just released their third album, ‘Napa Asylum’, on Drag City. With themes that range from reincarnation to magic and schizophrenia, the trio’s new offering is a collection of lyrical and bittersweet tunes with addictive killer hooks. For more information and to download the album, visit the Drag City website. Below, Noel, Mike and Matt tell us about their favourite films.

Noel

1. Blind Beast (1969)
This Japanese film by Yasuzo Masumura must be one of my favourite films of all time. Why this is so is a mystery to me as I really don’t relate to the subject material at all. A blind sculptor goes to check out a nude life-size sculpture of a woman that he becomes obsessed with. She’s a struggling model and he convinces her to come back to his ‘studio’ to work on a piece. She is kidnapped and held captive in this bizarre warehouse (with no light) where the artist’s mother has been forced to take care of him. Each of the walls is covered in oversized body parts, one with ears, one with noses, one with arms, one with legs, etc. (I suppose there are more than four walls in the montage). In the middle of the room is a giant 50-yard-long sculpture of a female body that eventually becomes the terrain for a gradual descent into sado-masochistic sensory deprivation which escalates to result in mutilation and eventually a double suicide. I really have little interest in these sorts of themes but the film’s heavy tones and campy way just work. I’m glad that my nightmares are much tamer than this.

Read our reviews of Blind Beast, Red Angel, Irezumi, Manji and Kisses by Yasuzo Masumura.

2. Stripes (1981)
This is one of the few VHS tapes that my folks purchased and had around the house while I was a kid. I was way too young to understand a lot of this kind of comedy at the time (‘Oh, I’m sorry, it must be all that cough syrup I had for breakfast…’) but I caught onto it in a strange way. It made me realise that Bill Murray is one of the most hilarious comedy actors of my time and helped me to develop a very skewed and irreverent view of the military at a very young age. I think I’ve seen this film 1,000 times.

3. Zachariah (1970)
Remember when you saw a young Don Johnson in A Boy and His Dog and kinda freaked out? Rewind five years and you’ve got DJ co-starring in this bizarre and wonderfully flawed psych-out Western, directed by George Englund. You’ve got cameos from the likes of the James Gang, Country Joe & the Fish, Doug Kershaw, and… wait for it… ELVIN JONES! EJ’s bit is brief and he plays the owner (and ‘man in black’) of an isolated mountain top saloon (the outside walls of the building are covered in skulls). Inside, the James Gang is playing but Elvin gets an itch and wrestles the drummer from his stool to take over and take a dominating drum solo for what seems like a solid, sweaty and monumentally cinematic five minutes! Just afterwards, there is a pretty important gunfight with the aforementioned DJ… no spoilers here. I’m serious, this film exists.

Mike

4. Mean Girls (2004)
Classic early Lindsay Lohan jam. Perfect for a rainy day.

5. Broadway by Light (1958)
Photographic short film of the lights of Times Square from the American photographer/satirist William Klein.

6. Eat the Document (1966)
By D.A. Pennebaker. I love to edit film and sing Bob Dylan songs.

Matt

7. The Hours and Times (1992)
Beatles fact or fiction? A short (60-minute) film that ponders the rumour that a 1963 pre-Beatlemania vacation to Barcelona by John Lennon and Brian Epstein may have involved a little more than just a little rest and relaxation. That the two went on holiday is fact. What happened in those four days is where this film takes some interesting liberties. Acted with nuance, its strengths lie in three-dimensional characterisations and solid dialogue. Ian Hart would play John Lennon again in Backbeat, but his handling of the role here is far superior.

8. Out of the Blue (1980)
Dennis Hopper’s third feature as director (in fact ‘hijacked’ from original producer Raymond Burr, and filmed during an admittedly low point in his personal and professional life), this is an unflinching study of the failures of the 60s generation and the irreparable ill-effects they have on the youth of the late 70s. It’s a sure bet that Linda Manz’s performance here is the reason why she was picked to play an unhinged mom in Harmony Korine’s Gummo (yes, consider this a double recommendation). Tough, dark, visceral.

9. Safe Men (1998)
One of the biggest sleepers of all time. My introduction to Sam Rockwell, Paul Giamatti, Steve Zahn, and Mark Ruffalo. A hilarious case of mistaken identity set in the Jewish-mafia-ridden town of Providence, R.I. Wait, that doesn’t make any sense, you say? This one is off the charts on its own logic, but by no means is it insufferably ‘weird’. On the contrary, the themes are quite ordinary, but the dialogue is hilarious and the premise is just enough off-kilter to allow for characters like Giamatti’s ‘Pork Chop a.k.a. Sasha’.

10. Withnail and I (1986)
This is a Mike and Matt favourite for what should be obvious reasons.

Film Jukebox

The Loves’ Film Jukebox


The Loves

The Loves are unashamed fans of 60s pop and rock, who throw in their unique, fuzzy, low-fi, comedic touches into the mix. The band, who formed in Cardiff in 2000, have decided to call it a day with the release of their fourth album, …Love You, released on Fortuna POP! in January, and will be breaking hearts with their last show on Valentine’s Day 2011. Their new single, ‘December Boy’, is out on December 6 on 7” and download. For more information go to the Fortuna POP! website. Frontman Simon Love tells Electric Sheep about some of his favourite films. SARAH CRONIN

1. A Hard Day’s Night (1964)
Or What I Thought Being in a Band Would Be Like. Liars. One day I’ll make the indie A Hard Day’s Night and it’ll involve: not getting soundchecks, being bumped down the bill because another band brought the drums, not getting paid, sleeping on floors, late night toilet stops at service stations, playing to three people in Stoke and the never-ending challenge of getting your mix CD played next.

2. Head (1968)
The Monkees attempt to get rid of their teenybopper image but just end up getting rid of their teenybopper fans. I saw this for the first time late one Friday night, coming through the static on S4C, on a portable black and white TV. They’ve never looked cooler than they do when they’re all in white performing ‘Circle Sky’. Except for Davy. He never looked cool. Bless him.

3. Harold and Maude (1971)
Everyone I’ve shown this film to has at first balked at the premise (19-year-old Bud Cort falls in love with 79-year-old Ruth Gordon), but by the end they are either in tears or singing, ‘If you want to sing out, sing out and if you want to be free, be free’. Everyone though still curls their toes when it shows them in bed together. For more examples of Bud Cort’s ossum-ness see Brewster McCloud or choice number eight in my list.

4. The Wicker Man (1973)
The film I’ve seen the most times in a cinema, and I still get freaked out by the Hand of Glory every time. I love this film because there’s no happy ending, no police helicopters come over the cliff to save Sergeant Howie, he dies. Sorry for spoiling it if you’ve not seen it before. Other spoilers: he’s two people, he might be a robot, he was a patient at the mental asylum all along, but Ben Kingsley thought it’d be good for him to pretend to be a policeman and all M. Night Shyamalan films are shit.

5. Star Wars (1977-1983)
Before triple-chinned, badger-haired, one-idea-for–40-years-not-counting-Howard-the-Duck director George Lucas raped my childhood with episodes one to three of the ‘saga’, the three original films brought nothing but pleasant memories to me. Like the time my father got me out of school early to go and see Return of the Jedi, telling my teacher that I had a dentist appointment just so we wouldn’t have to queue, and the time we ‘rented’ The Empire Strikes Back from his friend who had it ‘on pirate’ in a double bill with ET. In the playground I was Han Solo and Gavin Naish was Luke because he had blond hair. Glory days.

6. Back to the Future (1985-1990)
As well as wanting to be Han Solo, I also wanted to be Marty McFly when I was a youngling. I had a sleeveless body-warmer like him (but mine was maroon and white, not orange) and I begged my parents for a skateboard for Christmas in 1985. Instead I got a hi-fi. When I did finally get a skateboard it was wonky. If you leaned left you went right and vice versa, and somehow I managed to rip the nail off my little finger while sat on the board going downhill at high speed. Like all right-thinking people my favourite film is Part II, and come 2015 I will wear my clothes inside out.

7. Clerks (1994)
The filmic equivalent of a garage band – all heart and very little style. I saw Mallrats first and then spent a small fortune (for me) on getting this on video. I’m glad I did. Why is Jeff Anderson not a massive star now? This clip is a million times funnier than anything Adam Sandler’s ever done. But then again, an orphan being injected with cat AIDS and then being set on fire is a million times funnier than anything Adam Sandler’s ever done. The man’s a dick. Anyway, I love all of Kevin Smith’s films. Even Jersey Girl. Seek out his ‘Smodcast’ podcasts on iTunes. Or better yet, seek out the ‘Tell ‘m Steve-Dave’ podcasts.

8. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
This pick could be any of Wes Anderson’s films, but I chose The Life Aquatic because it was the first of his I saw in the cinema. All of his work has the things I look for in films : 1) symmetry in the shots; 2) captions or titles in the film (always in Futura in Wes’s case); and 3) brilliant soundtracks (his soundtracks piss on the ones put together by Justin Quarantino). Also The Life Aquatic stars Owen Wilson, who I am gay for. See this for further proof of Wes Anderson’s aceness.

9. The Sasquatch Gang (2006)
I’d read about this film a while ago because it was made by the producer of Napoleon Dynamite, but then heard nothing of it for a few years until I found it in CEX for £1.50. It’s the same story told from four different perspectives, and the timelines are all chopped up so everything only makes sense at the end of the film. The Loves watched it once when we had a night off from our gruelling tour schedule in Leeds and for the rest of the weekend we were shouting ‘Crap off!’ and ‘This bark smells’ to the bemusement of everyone who wasn’t us. It stars Justin Long (another person I am gay for) and has a cameo by the most excellent Stephen Tobolowlosky.

10. Superbad (2007)
I bought this because I had £15 burning a hole in my pocket, needed something to watch and loved Michael Cera in Arrested Development. I think it’s the film I’ve watched the most over the last five years, although I’m not allowed to watch it in company as I either laugh too hard or speak along with the characters, which annoys people. The comparisons of this and American Pie are ridiculous. You believe Cera, Jonah Hill & Christopher Mintz-Plasse would do the things they do for sex. The cast of American Pie looked like they came from an advert for Calvin Klein. Except for the pie fucker.

Honourable mentions go to Hudson Hawk, Chinatown, Hot Rod, Napoleon Dynamite, Starship Troopers, True Romance, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Double D POV.

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Piney Gir


Piney Gir

Piney Gir was born in a Thunderstorm in the middle of May in Kansas City, Kansas. It was tornado season, the sky was green and angry; in a bath of blood out she popped.

Piney grew up in isolation in the American Midwest; this isolation was reinforced by her strict religious upbringing. She went to a special Christian school (no Darwin, no sex education) and attended church four times a week; no sinful TV, no secular music… This left a lot to young Piney’s imagination, which flourished to fill in all the gaps.

Piney always used to say, ‘You can take the girl out of Kansas, but you can’t take the Kansas out of the girl… because country music is just in you when you come from the American Midwest. It’s not ‘cool’ to like country, teenagers wouldn’t be caught dead listening to it, but it’s everywhere in every gas station and grocery store. When I left Kansas I realised I missed the country twang. It reminds me of home and when I feel homesick I write a country song.’

Piney’s brand new Country Roadshow album ‘Jesus Wept’ is out on Damaged Goods on October 18. She will appear at the 100 Club on October 16 for a special one-off performance as part of The Actionettes Present A Decade O’Go-Go. For more information go to Piney’s website or the Damaged Goods website.

10 fave films & why,.. by Piney Gir

I must sound like the twee-est person in the world but I genuinely love uplifting films that are colourful and hopeful. I guess that’s why a lot of my picks are cartoons and musicals. I could probably make a list of 10 Disney films and be done with it, but I’m going to give it a little more thought… I hope you like my choices!

1. Funny Face (1957)
This film is brilliant on so many levels, first of all the clothes are amazing… it makes a girl wonder why they don’t make clothes that look like this anymore, so elegant yet playful, fashion was fun. It’s a musical (I love musicals)! Audrey Hepburn is a beatnik in it (I love beatniks)! And it’s romantic, set in Paris. I watch this film again and again.

2. The Little Mermaid (1989)
I am a big fan of this film, I love the fact that half the film is set underwater and the fish are colourful and the sea witch really is frightening. I love to sing and find the fact the whole film is about Ariel’s voice really poignant personally. Imagine, having to trade your voice for the boy you love, what a conundrum!

3. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
I must have seen this film 30 times; it’s a Tim Burton film and has his whimsical sense of humour with that dark twisted edge to it. I think this film has greatly influenced me as a person. I can’t help but wonder if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I think good.

4. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
OK, I have a lot in common with Dorothy (namely a matching pair of shoes) but also the fact we’re from Kansas, we have both had little black dogs and wear a lot of gingham. This film is also really frightening with the flying monkeys and trees that throw things, but what really strikes a chord with me is her sense of self. She discovers she has everything she needs within her. That’s a good message. I watch this when I’m feeling a little homesick.

5. Up (2009)
This movie is brilliant and heartbreaking but also a great adventure, following this fellow on a quest to South America with a misfit boy scout and talking dog. I loved it. See it. You will cry though.

6. Amelie (2001)
I love this playful film and the sense of colour and texture in the way it looks. Amelie seems like someone I’d hang out with if I lived in Paris and I love the way she helps people, her practical jokes and the elaborate scavenger hunt she stages. Jean-Pierre Jeunet highlights the beauty in mundane things, which I try to remember to do every day.

7. Fantastic Mister Fox (2009)
I adore every Wes Anderson film I’ve ever seen, but this one is my favourite. The animation is incredible, but also I can relate to Mr Fox’s conundrum, it’s as if he doesn’t really want to grow up and if he just does ‘one more raid’ he can capture the thrill of adventure again, instead of having to relinquish his sense of fun to feel like a responsible adult. I’m always seizing the moment even when maybe I shouldn’t, it’s as if this film was made for me.

8. O Brother Where Art Thou (2000)
The Coen Brothers make films I love, and this reworking of Homer’s Odyssey is fantastic. The acting is brilliant but also the soundtrack changed the way that people thought of bluegrass and country music. I actually think this film is responsible for opening people’s mind to that new folk kind of sound.

9. Scott Pilgrim vs The World (2010)
This film is dazzling, for a start it doesn’t look like any other film I’ve seen, it treads the line between what you see and what you imagine when you read the comic books (yes, I’m one of those rare girls who read comics). The whole concept of battling the exes is not just tongue-in-cheek but metaphorically true. See it (but I’d say read it first!)

10. Pecker (1998)
I love John Waters’s oddball humour and I like how this story is set in Baltimore of all places. I want to be in Pecker’s family, it’s such a cast of eccentrics from Mee Maw who talks to the Virgin Mary to his dad who despises the town strippers. I find this a really cute, feel-good kind of film. Christina Ricci is adorable in it too.

* Can 9-5 get honourable mention? I am such a huge fan of Dolly Parton and I have my own day job conundrums (sadly being a Piney doesn’t pay all the bills). This film lives out all kinds of boss-killing fantasies and is a hopeful film for anyone trapped in a job they don’t want to be doing.

** OH and Party Girl, starring Parker Posey as a wild librarian? I loved that film; it inspired me to wear orange platform sneakers.

Film Jukebox

Cours Lapin

Cours Lapin

Cours Lapin are four film composers from Denmark, and their new, self-titled album is an evocative homage to cinema, lovingly performed in the French ‘chanson’ tradition. Louise Alenius provides the breathless, child-like vocals for the eleven theatrical, atmospheric songs performed by Peder Thomas Pedersen, Asgar Baden and Jonas Struck. The result is the perfect soundtrack to an imaginary film full of mystery, adventure and longing. The album is out on September 13 on Fake Diamonds Records, but in the meantime you can listen to their free track ‘Cache Cache’. Catch them live in London on July 7 at Death Disco, Notting Hill Arts Club and July 8 at Rough Trade East. For more information, go to their MySpace page. Below, they tell us about their favourite films. SARAH CRONIN

Peder Thomas Pedersen:

1. King of Comedy (1982)
De Niro is heartbreaking and sad, I’ve never seen him in a role like this.

2. Mulholland Drive (2001)
When I stepped out of the movie theatre I had a headache and no idea what just happened. But I loved it.

Louise Alenius:

3. Life of Brian (1979)
It is the best laugh ever – and it works for me every time. I’m not into comedies at all, they rarely make me laugh, but Life of Brian is just so extremely funny that I laugh just by thinking of it.

4. Goodfellas (1990)
Because I loooove men with attitude saying cool things. If I were a man I would definitely be a gangster.

5. Blue Velvet (1986)
I’m fascinated by the characters, especially this sad, sad singer and her fucked up relationship with the freak. I must admit that I find it really interesting to watch extremely cruel people abusing some weak person without any ‘scruples’. It’s a theme I often work with in my own music and lyrics, and many of the lyrics on the Cours Lapin album are also about the relationship between a person doing something really bad, and the victim… In Blue Velvet we also meet this prototype young and sweet girl. She is all good but also really boring, and she almost makes me forget that it’s actually a good thing to be honest and helpful. I just find the dark side of people more interesting. The music is also amazing.

Jonas Struck:

6. Naked Lunch (1991)
I like the way Howard Shore’s score understates the mystery and darkness in this fantastic movie. The mix of the symphonic score with free-jazz virtuoso Ornette Coleman on top is absolutely stunning. The movie is very abstract and Peter Weller’s performance as drug addict William Lee taking bug powder is really far out.

7. South Park (1997)
The title theme was composed and performed by Primus. This crazy ragtime tells us what to expect from the episodes – and it’s really a funny signature that sums up the madness of Kartman, Kenny and the rest of the kids.

8. No Country for Old Men (2007)
I love most of the Coen Brothers movies but this one is really something special. It’s very exciting, violent and super-tense, and funny in a darkly comic manner. It’s very meditative with almost no music at all – and it works without music. I don’t miss a single note and it makes it even scarier with just silence. Javier Bardem as psycho Anton is scary but also very funny.

9. City of God (2002)
This is one of my all-time favourite films. It’s about gang wars, drug dealers and young people growing up in the slums of Rio de Janeiro. It’s very shocking but there’s also a lot of humour in it – a kind of Brazilian Tarantino vibe. The songs selected and the 70s score by Antonio Pinto and Ed Cortes really set the right mood. The characters are absolutely fascinating and very endearing, and they are convincingly played by young, unknown actors. The story is well told, and is alternately funny and brutally shocking. The style of the film includes Tarantino-style time-jumping, freeze-framing and titles to indicate the different chapters of the film. It is a sort of Brazillian Pulp Fiction or Goodfellas, but with its own unique flavour.

Peder Thomas Pedersen + Louise Alenius:

10. In the Mood for Love (2000)
Peder: Extremely beautiful cinematography by Christopher Doyle… It’s like you’re standing next to the movie and watching it in extreme saturation. Maggie Cheung isn’t exactly bad-looking in all those colourful dresses, and the score is happening too. Louise: 100% because of its music. After I saw this film I began to write music for classical instruments, and that’s what I’ve been doing since.

Film Jukebox

Allo Darlin’

Allo Darlin'

With a sunny pop loveliness, Allo Darlin’s songs just jump out at you in the way that the very best tunes do. Watch Elizabeth play the ukulele and with a wiggle of your hips and a tapping of your toes you are transported to a livelier world with intelligent, funny lyrics and songs about Polaroids and Woody Allen. They also pepper some of their tunes with snippets of well-known songs, like ‘You’re the One That I Want’ from Grease… Their film choices are interesting too, with an emphasis on childhood favourites. Elizabeth Morris (singer, ukulele player), Paul Rains (guitar), Bill Botting (bass) and Michael Collins (drums) tell us what cinematic works inspire them. Allo Darlin’s debut album is out on Fortuna Pop! now. For more information, go to the Allo Darlin’ page on the Fortuna Pop! webiste or their MySpace. LUCY HURST

Elizabeth:

1. Muriel’s Wedding (1994)
It’s slightly weird that my two favourite films both have soundtracks that feature Abba quite heavily but maybe it makes perfect sense. I can see similarities between the two of them. Muriel’s Wedding is an Australian classic and is pretty depressing but also defiant and joyous and funny. I relate to it because I come from a pretty small town in the Australia countryside like Porpoise Spit in the film. All the characters that must seem pretty kitsch to anyone else actually seem real to me – people have overblown personalities in small towns. I can relate to the freedom of moving to the big city – Sydney in Muriel’s case, London in mine. The friendship between the two girls is so genuine it reduces me to tears every time, especially when they sing the Abba songs. It’s absolutely amazing.

2. Together (2000)
Together, by Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodyson, is set in a commune in Stockholm in the 1970s. Like Muriel’s Wedding, Together is essentially about friendship. It sounds so stupid when I write it here but the thing I love most about this film is the importance of sticking together – of being together. It captures something I can’t quite put into words but I love the characters so much and it is both very funny and really sad at the same time. It’s perfect and I would watch it every day if I could.

Paul:

3. The Muppet Movie (1979) / The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
I really can’t decide between these two as one of my favourite films, they’re both part of the trilogy of 80s Muppet films. Both were a massive part of my childhood, so early on that I can’t remember which I saw first. I think The Great Muppet Caper is actually the better film. It’s a heist movie where Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear play a pair of reporters struggling to keep their jobs, so they follow a suspected jewellery thief from New York to London to get a big scoop. The opening sequence has old-school full credits with a tracking shot of Muppets in a descending hot air balloon with accompanying commentary. As with the TV show, both dive in and out of the fictional world and self-knowingly play with their fabrication. The film provides comedy opportunities galore, including a great scene with John Cleese in The Great Muppet Caper. I think The Muppet Movie has better songs. There’s also a fantastic super-villain who owns a restaurant chain called French Fried Frogs Legs. There is a superbly executed cycling Kermit, so it’s hard to choose between them. Jim Henson was a puppet genius, so no CGI needed here.

4. The Big Lebowski (1998)
This isn’t considered the best Coen Brothers film but it’s my favourite. With a fabulous cast – Steve Buscemi in particular – and a fantastic soundtrack, it is THE film to drink White Russians to. The film introduced me to one of my favourite Bob Dylan songs, ‘The Man in Me’, as featured in the fabulous dream sequence with The Dude flying through the air. It’s incredibly funny, the bowling scenes especially, and I really love how the whole thing is essentially about nothing. Great.

Mike:

5. Watership Down (1978)
I first saw this film at Christmas at my Nana and Papa’s house in Norwich. I don’t think I could describe it as a positive experience but I wanted to include something that had really affected my life. I was six at the time and didn’t see the film to its conclusion, I couldn’t get past Big Wig sacrificing himself in the warren, it terrified me. For nearly eight years I had nightmares about that scene. At the time I had no idea who Art Garfunkel was but ‘Bright Eyes’ is a melody that is permanently etched in my memory.

6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
I wanted to include light alongside the heaviness of my first choice. My friend Thom once classed this type of film as a ‘pudding film’ and I can’t think of a better way to describe it. It’s something that you know you don’t need, or maybe even want, but something that you crave from time to time and can watch over and over again. I put it on when I want to be transported somewhere beyond reality. It’s ridiculous and I love it for that reason. At the same time, he is a super-hero you can believe in and, like me, is terrified of snakes! I want to be as cool and caring as Indiana.

Bill:

7. The Blues Brothers (1980)
I have seen this film hundreds of times. I love it. First of all, it’s fucking funny. Proper 70s Saturday Night Live funny, with an awesome cast and amazing dialogue. There is one of the greatest car chase scenes ever – in the mall and then from the Palace Hotel Ballroom to the tax office in Chicago. They trashed so many cars. It’s beautiful, nobody does that anymore, do they? Most of all there’s the music; Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, James Brown, John Lee Hooker, Booker T and The MG’s and then of course Jake and Elwood. It’s fun. It’s soooo much fun. John Candy is great as the affable cop, Carrie Fisher is a gorgeous and hilarious jilted bride, Frank Oz also delivers one of the greatest lines ever – ‘One unused prophylactic…. one soiled’.

8. The Three Amigos (2003)
Every Easter, my family would go on holiday to Bribie Island in Queensland, Australia. The best thing about Easter for me (and this includes all the chocolate) was renting The Three Amigos from Video 2000, the local rental place. I can sing The Three Amigos song in full – including the really long note. I can also do the Amigo salute! There are so many great gags too, like the singing bush and the invisible horseman. Also, I think that Martin Short is like the Barry Manilow of comedy – he’s not all great but he’s done some great stuff.

Allo Darlin’:

9. Ghostbusters (1984))
We could have picked any of the great Bill Murray movies, Lost In Translation, Broken Flowers, The Life Aquatic, Rushmore, etc. In Ghostbusters, he is the icing on the cake in a film that we all grew up with as children of the 80s, being scared of the library scene and not much else. At that age, it looked liked the coolest thing you could possibly do with your life if you were brave enough to become a real Ghostbuster. The effects still stand up too, in a Ghostbustery kind of way. Again it’s one of those kids’ films that it’s possible to enjoy as an adult beyond it being pure nostalgia. Incidentally, we just hunted down and ate Twinkies in New York and they were fucking disgusting.

10. Back to the Future (1985))
Marty McFly has to date his own mum – that’s the kind of wrongness you just don’t get in films anymore. He’s a cool, funny, smart guy who can teach his dad how to deal with bullies, skateboard like a motherfucker and play the guitar just like he’s ringing a bell. Doc Brown is a plutonium-thieving, terrorist-provoking mad scientist with a really, really cool car. Time travel has been covered by so many films but never so beautifully as in this one. And Huey Lewis is in it – and Crispin Glover – and actually Marty’s mum is pretty cute.

Check it out, Film Jukebox

Film Jukebox: Lali Puna

Lali Puna

Lali Puna have been offering an irresistibly lovely, off-kilter take on electronic pop music for well over a decade. Combining glitchy electronica with guitar pop the band create gorgeous pop songs, held together by Valerie Trebeljahr’s airy vocals and The Notwist’s Markus Acher’s rhythmic guitar. Hailing from Weilheim in Germany, the band have been a staple of Berlin’s Morr Music roster, with intelligence and invention being at the forefront of their musical output. Their new album ‘Our Inventions’ is out now. For more information, go to the Lali Puna webiste. Below, they tell us about their favourite films. LUCY HURST

Valerie

1. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)
A girl’s film, I know: love story, Audrey Hepburn, happy ending. I know. But it is my favourite film. It’s heartbreaking when Hepburn sings ‘Moon River’ on the stairs and when it rains in the end. The 60s were such a great decade!

2. Princess Mononoke & Spirited Away (1997 + 2001)
I love Studio Ghibli, it began with a Totoro figure that I bought in a museum without knowing anything about it. When I found out where it came from I tried to get as much information as I could about director Hayao Miyazaki. I can’t decide which is my favourite out of Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. They are both very impressive with gorgeous images and strange stories. They’re best seen in the cinema, I saw Mononoke in a tiny cinema and one part was missing – but even then it was good.

3. Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Sequels and series are usually really bad but Lilo & Stitch: The Movie captured my heart from the beginning. The story sees a little girl adopting a small blue alien monster (Experiment 626) from dog pound. Monster Stitch was programmed to destroy but in Hawaii there’s not much to destroy. I usually hate all the newer Walt Disney films from the start after seeing the posters, but Lilo & Stitch is really different.

4. Full Metal Village (2007)
This documentary examines a small town in northern Germany, Wacken, home of one of the biggest heavy metal festivals – the Wacken Open Air. It is about the locals (a farmer, a young girl, some old women and one former festival organiser) dealing with the festival and its fans. It shows how the locals and the metal fans get along and even harmonise. The film gets a special note because it’s directed by a Korean woman, who has created a sort of Heimatfilm.

5. Fargo (1996)
I don’t just watch romantic and animated films all the time… There is a place for science fiction and heavy dramas too as well as dark comedy such as Fargo. It is great to see Frances McDormand as a pregnant sheriff and William H Macy as a salesman who thinks he’s in control but everything just gets worse and worse and worse. Great dry sense of humour.

Markus:

6. Badlands (1973)
Hypnotic and minimal, Badlands is a very quiet and very violent movie with intense colours, American landscapes and Carl Orff. A nightmare but very beautiful…

7. Stroszek (1977)
Bruno S is a very impressive character. One will never forget him after seeing this movie.

8. The Apartment (1960)
I don’t like romantic comedies at all. Maybe that’s why I like this movie so much.

9. Yi Yi (2000)
Yi Yi tells the story of a family. It’s very long, so at first, it might seem to be very boring, but actually it’s one of the most absorbing and haunting movies I know. I just wish it would be possible to see more films by Edward Yang.

10. Jan Švankmajer – Every movie
Švankmajer is a surrealist animator from Prague. He made all sorts of films, long and short, and in a way these are all parts of one story. Aside from the incredible artistry and fantastic visual experience, they also have great original music.

Check it out, Film Jukebox

Film Jukebox: Dead Meadow

Dead Meadow

Dead Meadow have been thrilling audiences for the past decade with their 70s-inspired hard rock and psychedelic riffs, punk attitude and gorgeous tunes. When they moved from Washington, DC, to LA a few years ago, they embraced the California spirit with gusto and, perhaps in tribute to their new hometown, they have now made a movie. Taking a cue from the idea that the Three Kings were Bedouins and wandering mystics, the film combines old-school concert footage with fantasy vignettes shot in stunning locations, including the sand dunes used in Star Wars and John Lautner’s Elrod House in Palm Springs, where the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever was partly shot. The Three Kings (Double LP+DVD / CD+DVD) – five new songs, live recording and original film – is out on April 4 on Xemu Records. Watch the video for ‘That Old Temple’. Below, founder members Steve Kille (bass) and Jason Simon (guitar, vocals) tell us about their favourite movies of all time. LUCY HURST

Steve Kille

1. Strangers on a Train (1951)
Probably next to Shadow of a Doubt, this is one of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest and most disturbing thrillers. The visuals, including the ‘eyeglass’ shot, are way ahead of their time, and a reminder of why Hitchcock is a true master. I love and have seen almost his whole catalogue, including his lesser-known early UK productions.

2. Double Indemnity (1944)
I love Raymond Chandler, who co-wrote this with Billy Wilder. Even though this was not entirely his baby, his unique way of making film noir helped bring it to life. It is a very powerful film set in 1940’s LA, and being a resident of the city makes it even more alluring to me. Edward G Robinson’s character is amazing, he’s the nosey boss you never want to have.

3. Casino Royale (1967)
There is nothing truly James Bond about this film, but it is a perfect example of the self-indulgent movie-making that was going on in the 60s. You’ve got Woody Allen, Peter Sellers and David Niven together in one movie that spoofs Bond with a fair amount of go-go dancing and mod sets. What else do you need for a rainy day?

4. The Mouse that Roared (1959)
Another great Peter Sellers movie, this time about a little country that made a big bang. Long live the Duchy of Grand Fenwick!

5. The Petrified Forest (1936)
I have always been drawn to the stillness and weirdness of the desert. It is hard to explain, unless you have been to a place like Tucson, how oddly refreshing it is. When I finally saw this movie, which launched Humphrey Bogart, I was blown away by how Leslie Howard describes this very feeling, as a wandering European in the hills of sand and cactus. There have been a bunch of remakes of this movie but the original is still the best.

6. Suspiria (1977)
This Dario Argento film combines amazing beauty and pure horror. I think it is the best horror movie ever made. All of the Art Nouveau sets are amazing and suck you into the suspense. The whole look of the film has been a huge influence for our band since day one. The colours affect the spookiness!

Jason Simon

7. Fantastic Planet (1973)
The combination of the art, the story and the music provides an otherworldly experience.

8. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
I watched this movie many times without any sound while working at a restaurant in the Bay Area. One day, I finally watched it with sound. The beautiful soundtrack is by Phillip Glass. Not a typical documentary, nor a typical film in general. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, the images tell the story, there is no dialogue. I loved it. Amazing cinematography with very thought-provoking images.

9. El Topo (1970)
Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s epic tale of spiritual rebirth is the most psychedelic Western ever. What more can you say?

10. Rockers (1978)
This is the coolest movie ever, in my opinion. Nothing beats Burning Spear pulling two spliffs from his sock and singing a cappella on a moonlit beach.

11. Columbo – ‘Any Old Port in a Storm’ (1973)
I am a fan of the entire series but this is my all time favourite. The pairing of Peter Falk’s Detective Colombo against the mild mannered and murderous wine aficionado played by Donald Pleasance is perfect. Who doesn’t love Donald Pleasance?

Film Jukebox

Film Jukebox: Josiah Wolf

Josiah Wolf

Why? are one of the most interesting US bands of recent years, combining pop, folk and hip hop to create lovely lo-fi gems. Now their drummer and multi-instrumentalist Josiah Wolf releases his debut solo album Jetlag (Anticon – 29 March). The album glides through folk, psychedelia and 60s pop, but as it is produced by his younger brother and Why? frontman Yoni, will still sound very familiar to the band’s fans. You can find out more on his MySpace. Wolf takes us through the story of his life through movies and talks of his admiration for Gene Hackman and Bruce Willis. LUCY HURST

1. The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Coen brothers are probably my favourite directors and I would add more of their films to my list if it were longer than 10. The dialogue and the interpretation of these characters come across so naturally that it seems as if this film could have been improvised. I love every character so uniquely that it’s difficult to send props to just one, but if I were given that challenge Walter Sobchak is my man. It’s as if John Goodman were made for this role. He is a fine actor and I’m proud to include him in this list.

2. The Unforgiven (1992)
I’d never really watched a Western until I saw this film. Having watched many since then, I realise this was quite different from the rest. I saw this film in the theatre when I was a kid. There are no real good guys or bad guys in the film, so it raises a lot of interesting questions about karma and the cycle of violence, which Eastwood often addresses in his films. Gene Hackman is one of my favourites in this film as in many others.

3. Superman II (1980)
As a younger child this movie played a large role in my life. For years, my brother and I quoted this movie although it’s hard to say exactly what it was we liked about it as after seeing it recently I realise that it’s not actually very good. At the time, I think it had something to do with the three super-villains and their pseudo-British accents, not to mention I’ve just been a fan of Superman practically since the day I was born. Props to Gene Hackman again, I’ve always loved how his character, Lex Luther, wanted to own Australia and nothing more.

4. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
I’ve always been a fan of Bruce Willis ever since Die Hard. I’m a sucker for movies that deal with the brain-twisting elements of time travel. Props of course to the Back to the Future trilogy, which unfortunately didn’t include Gene Hackman and couldn’t be included on this list. Visually this movie is awesome, and the way the plot unfolds really took me on a rollercoaster ride. It was my first year in college and I was just getting into psychedelics, it was the perfect time to see a movie like this.

5. Pinocchio (1940)
They don’t make ’em like they used to. I read about this film years later and I found out they upped the cells per second for this movie specifically, and you can really tell how beautiful this film is as a result. Every cell is hand-drawn, something you can’t replicate with computer animation. The plot is classic: always tell the truth if you want to be a real man in this world.

6. Mary Poppins (1964)
This may have been the first movie I ever remember seeing. My father loved musicals and we saw many growing up, including my brother’s favourite, The Court Jester, starring Danny Kaye. I have always loved Burt the chimney sweep played by Dick van Dyke (the Gene Hackman of his day). ‘Feed the birds’ is a beautiful and haunting song and someone like Rufus Wainwright should cover it.

7. Little Big Man (1970)
For years, my good friend Matt Meldon recommended this film to me and then I finally saw it. Matt’s taste is very specific in a way that is hard to describe, his other favourites being Dead Man and The Big Lebowski. The deadpan storytelling and Hoffman’s character as a bystander in his own life made me think of Matt the whole time I watched it. All three movies include a ‘wise Indian chief’ who plays a crucial role in guiding the protagonist through his journey; Old Lodge Skins in Little Big Man, Nobody in Dead Man and even the Stranger aka the Old Cowboy in The Big Lebowski. I’ll have to ask Matt about this connection.

8. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
I watched this movie many times without any sound while working at a restaurant in the Bay Area. One day, I finally watched it with sound. The beautiful soundtrack is by Phillip Glass. Not a typical documentary, nor a typical film in general. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, the images tell the story, there is no dialogue. I loved it. Amazing cinematography with very thought-provoking images.

9. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Not the biggest fan of Tarantino since this but Pulp Fiction did it for me. Props of course to Samuel L Jackson and to John Travolta’s comeback. And of course let’s not forget my man Bruce Willis. You’ve all seen it. You know the deal. On tour we stayed at someone’s house, and in the morning they were watching the gimp scene when Bruce Willis is choosing his weapon to save his enemy, Marcellus Wallace, from his ass-raping (the moral peak of the movie), and I will say it was hard to pull ourselves away into the van and onto the next city.

10. Rushmore (1998)
It was not easy to choose this over The Royal Tenenbaums for obvious reasons (Gene Hackman) BUT Bill Murray desperately needed props. This is one of my favourite of his many great roles. Wes Anderson created a great world full of eclectic characters that at times seem so familiar and yet so impossible. The soundtrack is great. The style is great. The ending is great.