Tag Archives: My Own Private Idaho

The Gus Van Sant Podcast 3: My Own Private Idaho (1991)

October 2, 2024UncategorizedChimes at Midnight, Keanu Reeves, Keith Baxter, My Own Private Idaho, Orson Wells, River Phoenix, The Gus Van Sant Podcast, William RichertNotesonFilm1

We discuss one of the films that very much marked me, the image above was the image on my letterhead in the time we still used snail mail. In the accompanying podcast we discuss the film’s historical significance. Was it a ‘film that (made) history’? We discuss its relationship to ‘New Queer Cinema’. We speculate on whether the film queers Shakespeare and discuss the film in relation to Welles’ Chimes at Midnight. We comment on the significance of the casting, the contributions of River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves, Udo Kier and others and what their contributions to the film might be. We also discuss in detail particular scenes, the one where the magazine covers come to life; the rhyming musical/ hustler interludes, the great campfire scene. …and much more.

The podcast may be listened to here:

The podcast may also be listened to on: Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/2zWZ7Egdy6xPCwHPHlOOaT

and on itunes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/first-impressions-thinking-aloud-about-film/id1548559546

The Criterion blog on Shakespeare in relation to Private Idaho + Jarman’s Tempest etc that Richard mentions in the podcast may be found here:

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8551-my-own-private-idaho-s-outsider-twist-on-shakespeare

More info, clips, examples, a bibliography below:

magazine sequence:

Campfire Sequence:

Time lapse:

Incest and Super8:

Still sex straight and gay:

Funerals and Endings:

I’d never seen Chimes at Midnight until now and found it a film of many pleasures: Gielgud’s speaking of the verse; Welles performance as Falstaff, surprisingly subtle in places; the compositions and look which still feel arresting; the opportunity of seeing Fernando Rey interact with Gielgud, Welles with Margaret Rutherford; and on another note: I hadn’t realised the walls of my birthplace played such a role in this film. The film is also very instructive in that Keith Baxter’s performance as Prince Hal is nowhere as effective as Keanu Reeves’ in MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, no matter how he speaks the language. Cinema is about conveying particular kinds of embodiment and Reeves is so much more effective at conveying a patrician demeanor, a rebellious disposition, the pranking and the power. Baxter, no matter how he says what he says, looks callow and inconsequential.

In Bed in Chimes and Idaho:

Camp in Chimes and Idaho:

Vandals in Chimes and Idaho

Repudiation Scene in Chimes and Idaho:

Aping heterosexuality:

The Brixton Ritzy, October 3, 2024

The Gus Van Sant Podcast 1: Mala Noche (1985)

September 22, 2024UncategorizedDoug Cooeyate, Drugstore Cowboy, Gus Van Sant, Mala Noche, My Own Private Idaho, Ray Monge, Tim Streeter, Walt CurtisNotesonFilm1

A new podcast to accompany a new mini-research project. Richard’s kindly humoured me and consented to help kickstart this podcast, but he’ll only co-host with me for the first three films so I shall be reaching out to some of you to talk to me about the rest – and certainly if you have a particular interest in any of Van Sant’s films and would like to podcast on them with me, do please get in touch. I’m hoping to build a resource here, not only with the podcasts but eventually with clips, images, a bibliography and more. It will be a process.

In this inaugural podcast we talk about Van Sant’s first feature, based on Walt Streeter’s autobiographical novel, self-financed for $20,000 and filmed on 16mm. We discuss what made us uncomfortable on first viewing, in my case when the film first came out: the power differentials between the characters; the racialised dimension to the casting; but we also discuss why it arguably remains a great film – and the troublesome aspects are part of its greatness. We discuss how the film is an announcement of a new voice in American cinema, with roots in a history of queer culture (John Rechy, Genet, Warhol, The Beats). We speculate on the film’s romanticism within a quite fluid representation of sexuality that distinguishes between acts, desire, feelings and identities; queer avant-la-lèttre. We talk about the film’s look, one partly dictated by the film’s budget, few lights available thus the choice of hard one-directional lighting; making for a noir look but with a beat, bohemian sensibility.

MALA NOCHE arrives in the context of new forms of finance, distribution and exhibition permitted by the developing video rental market. One could now produce low-budget films with heretofore challenging subect-matter and/or challenging forms and make money from niche markets. Van Sant appears alongside Jarmusch, Spike Lee and other indie filmmakers in the mid 80s. MALA NOCHE can be thought of as a the first of what may be considered a trilogy (alongside DRUGSTORE COWBOY and MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO), at least thematically: it’s North West setting, the marginal cultures, the bohemian romance of outsiderness, it’s avant-garde components, its daring. An exciting film to re-watch and talk about.

We discuss all of this and more in the podcast, which may be listened to here:

The podcast may also be listened to on: Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/2zWZ7Egdy6xPCwHPHlOOaT

and on itunes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/first-impressions-thinking-aloud-about-film/id1548559546

The clip Richard refers to in the podcast:

Images from the film, including examples of its colours Super8 imagery.

Mala Noche Bibliography (this will be added to in the course of time):

Peter Rainer, ‘Mala Noche’: First Flush of a Love for Film, Dec 1, 1989, pg. F6 ‘Mala_Noche’_First_Flush_of_a

Strat, Mala Noche, Variety, Wednesday March 5, 1986, 322; 6.Film_Reviews_Berlin_Festival_

Lonesome (Craig Boreham, Australia, 2022)

July 22, 2024UncategorizedCraig Boreham, Daniel Gabriel, Dean Francis, Josh Lavery, Lonesome, Midnight Cowboy, My Own Private IdahoNotesonFilm1

More catching up on films bought but unseen, this time Craig Boreham’s LONESOME, featuring some exceptional cinematography by Dean Francis. The story is as old as the hills: a young gay man (Josh Lavery) from the outback is violently forced out of his home by incomprehending parents and ends up in the big city – here Sidney – dealing with his traumas whilst trying to survive in the big city through petty theft and a stumbling into sex work before meeting someone with whom he forms a connection (Daniel Gabriel). There are clear references to MIDNIGHT COWBOY and MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO. But the old story is like the overarching structure for something newer — a snapshot of contemporary queer culture – the sex apps and the different ways young gay men now meet, socialise and have sex – that feels authentic. Full frontal nudity is ever present and casually treated and a whole alphabet of sexual scenarios are depicted without judgment but equally without abdicating the responsibility of representing consequences. If the film feels authentic, it also seems glamourised. Everything and everyone looks beautiful, even in the most alarming situation, like in an old Hollywood movie. It also has a happy ending, which I see some find artificial, but which I loved and find in keeping with the tone and look of the film. LONESOME is a beautiful film. I also think it an important one — in what it says about contemporary queer culture – what’s changed, what hasn’t, and how –but would have to see it again and think about it some more to be sure.