Unsung Films

By: Deny Staggs
Assistant Professor – Theatre/Video
Missouri Western State University

When I was asked by The Regular Joe to come up with a few unsung films to talk about in their inaugural issue I wanted to be sure I was not going to be “that guy” who suggested a “great” movie only to make you scratch your head and wonder, “How the Hell does he know what I like?” I am sure you have all had a friend or relative give a boisterous and rave review of a movie you must see, only to be extremely undreamed.

Film viewing is a very personal experience. I have heard it described as the closest thing to dreaming. The non-linear narrative has the ability to take each of us outside of ourselves and transport us into a place that, well, we could only experience in a dream or movie. It is an extremely powerful medium. This has been proven throughout history. So in order to be successful in recommending films, I started to think about St. Jo, its character and what makes this town so unique.

Beyond the Pony Express and Jessie James, St. Jo contains a diverse mixture of culture that is very, very unique. I describe it as a town where, “the east meets the west and the north gives way to the south.” I guess it is in the Midwest, but it doesn’t feel mid-western, like a town in Iowa or Ohio does. But what St Jo does have is character…lots of it. 

One characteristic that stands out to me is the musicality in this area. While I know that live music venues do not thrive as they did a decade ago, St. Jo always seems to have a diverse array of music festivals throughout the year and each weekend a good amount of live local music. Reflecting on this, my first “must see” film is The Last Waltz. Filmed in 1976, by the then relatively unknown director Martin Scorsese, this documentary captured the farewell concert of The Band. This legendary country-soul-R&B group brought together a star-studded line-up that now days would be must see-MTV-commercialized-to-the-hilt crap. However, in this film, Scorsese captures not only a historic music event, that included performances by Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Emmylou Harris, Pinetop Perkins, Van Morrison and Neil Young, but also presents an understated, personal look into the back story of the members in the group, the music and world of music just prior to the Disco explosion. Little did we know the music industry would never be the same.

I think you’ll like this movie because it feels like it could have been filmed in a venue right here in St. Jo. It feels like you are listening to friends jam. It feels intimate and unpretentious, which is what makes this film a must see and a refreshing change to the over stylized, over produced music and film production that is so prevalent today.

Having looked first at what seems familiar with The Last Waltz, I also wanted to embrace the adventurous nature of St. Jo. The St. Jo where bucket trucks, pencils, note pads, automotive hydraulics and many other one time futuristic ideas were created. That characteristic together with the explosion of video games, large format high definition televisions and surround sound systems makes this a prime time to revisit, or maybe even discover the 1968 masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Stanley Kubrick was an amazing filmmaker. 2001, based on Aurhur C. Clark’s short story, The Sentinel, probes the mysteries of space and human destiny in such a detailed way you would think it was made today using digital trickery. Not so, still this film is so visually stunning it is meditative. However, if you are looking for a fast moving “Halo 3” or an ass-kicking, hot chick flick like “Resident Evil” this won’t be your flavor. On the contrary, this film is for the viewer who has the patience to allow the journey to sink in and then be transported elsewhere. Mixed with an amazing classical score, that crescendos with Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zrathustra, an entire hour goes by before the plot even begins to play out. But do not let that deter you from this film. It is deliberately filmed at a slow pace to emulate space travel and all scenes in the film have either dialogue or music or silence, but never two together. Kubrick created this in order to allow for the viewer to reach his or her own subconscious connection to the film.
     
If you have not had the pleasure of viewing these two films or have not visited them for some time, they each warrant your time. After all they have been prescribed especially for “The Regular Joe.”