Special Subject – Silent Naruse – FLUNKY! WORK HARD (1931), NO BLOOD RELATION (1932), APART FROM YOU (1933), EVERY-NIGHT DREAMS (1933)

There's Sometimes a Buggy

Our special subject this month is The Silent Naruse: four of the five extant silent films of Mikio Naruse, Flunky, Word Hard!, from 1931, No Blood Relation, from 1932, and Apart from You and Every-Night Dreams, from 1933. We discuss these juvenilia as early examples of Naruse's materialist melodrama, and how much "transcendence" that perspective permits. Then, switching moods drastically: two tickets for Barbie! In Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto, we let you know whether or not we regret returning to the AMC Cineplex for the first time in 4 years to see Greta Gerwig's pop juggernaut.

Time Codes:

0h 00m 45s: Very brief introduction to Mikio Naruse

0h 04m 20s: FLUNKY! WORK HARD (1931) [dir Mikio Naruse]

0h 14m 48s: NO BLOOD RELATION (1932) [dir Mikio Naruse]

0h 29m 15s: EVERY-NIGHT DREAMS (1933) [dir Mikio Naruse]

0h 44m 02s: APART FROM YOU (1933) [dir Mikio Naruse]

0h 57m 23s: Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto – Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023)

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* Listen to our guest episode on The Criterion Project – a discussion of Late Spring

* Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s

* Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive)

* Read Elise’s piece on Gangs of New York – “Making America Strange Again”

* Check out Dave’s Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist’s 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project!

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