Comments on: Steven Soderbergh’s Spalding Gray Documentary Is A Possible Criterion Release http://criterioncast.com/2010/03/16/steven-soderberghs-spalding-gray-documentary-is-a-possible-criterion-release/ Dedicated To Important Classic And Contemporary Films Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:55:00 -0800 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: uberVU - social comments http://criterioncast.com/2010/03/16/steven-soderberghs-spalding-gray-documentary-is-a-possible-criterion-release/comment-page-1/#comment-370 uberVU - social comments Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:14:16 +0000 http://criterioncast.com/?p=2257#comment-370 <strong>Social comments and analytics for this post...</strong> This post was mentioned on Twitter by CriterionCast: [Blog Post] Steven Soderbergh's Spalding Gray Documentary Is A Possible Criterion Release http://bit.ly/aoNAaG... Social comments and analytics for this post…

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]]> By: WestAnthony http://criterioncast.com/2010/03/16/steven-soderberghs-spalding-gray-documentary-is-a-possible-criterion-release/comment-page-1/#comment-1058 WestAnthony Thu, 18 Mar 2010 09:45:31 +0000 http://criterioncast.com/?p=2257#comment-1058 Spalding Gray was a massive talent. His death still saddens me. A collection of his three filmed monologues -- with Soderbergh's documentary -- would be quite the feather in Criterion's cap... especially since those films had three different distributors. Obtaining the rights to all of them may prove to be a Herculean feat; it might be easier for Criterion to just go with Soderbergh's doc and "Gray's Anatomy". To watch all three films in sequential order is to see an amazing evolution of the melding of Gray's work with cinematic technique. "Swimming To Cambodia" was directed by Jonathan Demme in a style very much like that of the Talking Heads concert film "Stop Making Sense" -- a spare, unobtrusive record of a stage performance, Demme making no effort to call attention to himself. Gray's second film, "Monster In A Box", had more camera movement and more varied lighting, but at its core it was still just a guy behind a desk telling a story (about trying to write his first novel; incidentally, if you have a chance to read that novel, "Impossible Vacation", don't. The thing was wretchedly self-indulgent, and I say this as a fan). Steven Soderbergh's direction of "Gray's Anatomy" was really a quantum leap in terms of Gray's screen presentation: in addition to camera movement and lighting, there were colored backgrounds, props and sets flying in and out of frame -- even Gray's beloved desk occasionally took a powder. As if that weren't enough, Soderbergh contextualizes Gray's monologue (about a problem with his peepers) by including the testimony of several documentary subjects (photographed in black and white) who tell harrowing tales of the heinous shit that happened to their eyes; I'm not normally squeamish, but being ludicrously nearsighted all my life, I've always been sensitive about my eyes, and this stuff completely squeamed me. Of those three films (I don't count "Terrors Of Pleasure" because it was made for public TV... but it would be cool to get that into a Gray collection too), my favorite as a monologue is still "Monster In A Box", but my favorite as a film is "Gray's Anatomy". I certainly hope Criterion can get their mitts on all of them; I'll refrain from watching them anytime soon just in case. And whilst we're on the subject of Soderbergh and Gray, how's about those Criterion dudes get the rights to "King Of The Hill" -- that picture is brilliant, and it's not even available on DVD! Spalding Gray was a massive talent. His death still saddens me. A collection of his three filmed monologues — with Soderbergh's documentary — would be quite the feather in Criterion's cap… especially since those films had three different distributors. Obtaining the rights to all of them may prove to be a Herculean feat; it might be easier for Criterion to just go with Soderbergh's doc and “Gray's Anatomy”. To watch all three films in sequential order is to see an amazing evolution of the melding of Gray's work with cinematic technique. “Swimming To Cambodia” was directed by Jonathan Demme in a style very much like that of the Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense” — a spare, unobtrusive record of a stage performance, Demme making no effort to call attention to himself. Gray's second film, “Monster In A Box”, had more camera movement and more varied lighting, but at its core it was still just a guy behind a desk telling a story (about trying to write his first novel; incidentally, if you have a chance to read that novel, “Impossible Vacation”, don't. The thing was wretchedly self-indulgent, and I say this as a fan). Steven Soderbergh's direction of “Gray's Anatomy” was really a quantum leap in terms of Gray's screen presentation: in addition to camera movement and lighting, there were colored backgrounds, props and sets flying in and out of frame — even Gray's beloved desk occasionally took a powder. As if that weren't enough, Soderbergh contextualizes Gray's monologue (about a problem with his peepers) by including the testimony of several documentary subjects (photographed in black and white) who tell harrowing tales of the heinous shit that happened to their eyes; I'm not normally squeamish, but being ludicrously nearsighted all my life, I've always been sensitive about my eyes, and this stuff completely squeamed me. Of those three films (I don't count “Terrors Of Pleasure” because it was made for public TV… but it would be cool to get that into a Gray collection too), my favorite as a monologue is still “Monster In A Box”, but my favorite as a film is “Gray's Anatomy”. I certainly hope Criterion can get their mitts on all of them; I'll refrain from watching them anytime soon just in case. And whilst we're on the subject of Soderbergh and Gray, how's about those Criterion dudes get the rights to “King Of The Hill” — that picture is brilliant, and it's not even available on DVD!

]]> By: WestAnthony http://criterioncast.com/2010/03/16/steven-soderberghs-spalding-gray-documentary-is-a-possible-criterion-release/comment-page-1/#comment-342 WestAnthony Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:45:31 +0000 http://criterioncast.com/?p=2257#comment-342 Spalding Gray was a massive talent. His death still saddens me. A collection of his three filmed monologues -- with Soderbergh's documentary -- would be quite the feather in Criterion's cap... especially since those films had three different distributors. Obtaining the rights to all of them may prove to be a Herculean feat; it might be easier for Criterion to just go with Soderbergh's doc and "Gray's Anatomy". To watch all three films in sequential order is to see an amazing evolution of the melding of Gray's work with cinematic technique. "Swimming To Cambodia" was directed by Jonathan Demme in a style very much like that of the Talking Heads concert film "Stop Making Sense" -- a spare, unobtrusive record of a stage performance, Demme making no effort to call attention to himself. Gray's second film, "Monster In A Box", had more camera movement and more varied lighting, but at its core it was still just a guy behind a desk telling a story (about trying to write his first novel; incidentally, if you have a chance to read that novel, "Impossible Vacation", don't. The thing was wretchedly self-indulgent, and I say this as a fan). Steven Soderbergh's direction of "Gray's Anatomy" was really a quantum leap in terms of Gray's screen presentation: in addition to camera movement and lighting, there were colored backgrounds, props and sets flying in and out of frame -- even Gray's beloved desk occasionally took a powder. As if that weren't enough, Soderbergh contextualizes Gray's monologue (about a problem with his peepers) by including the testimony of several documentary subjects (photographed in black and white) who tell harrowing tales of the heinous shit that happened to their eyes; I'm not normally squeamish, but being ludicrously nearsighted all my life, I've always been sensitive about my eyes, and this stuff completely squeamed me. Of those three films (I don't count "Terrors Of Pleasure" because it was made for public TV... but it would be cool to get that into a Gray collection too), my favorite as a monologue is still "Monster In A Box", but my favorite as a film is "Gray's Anatomy". I certainly hope Criterion can get their mitts on all of them; I'll refrain from watching them anytime soon just in case. And whilst we're on the subject of Soderbergh and Gray, how's about those Criterion dudes get the rights to "King Of The Hill" -- that picture is brilliant, and it's not even available on DVD! Spalding Gray was a massive talent. His death still saddens me. A collection of his three filmed monologues — with Soderbergh's documentary — would be quite the feather in Criterion's cap… especially since those films had three different distributors. Obtaining the rights to all of them may prove to be a Herculean feat; it might be easier for Criterion to just go with Soderbergh's doc and “Gray's Anatomy”. To watch all three films in sequential order is to see an amazing evolution of the melding of Gray's work with cinematic technique. “Swimming To Cambodia” was directed by Jonathan Demme in a style very much like that of the Talking Heads concert film “Stop Making Sense” — a spare, unobtrusive record of a stage performance, Demme making no effort to call attention to himself. Gray's second film, “Monster In A Box”, had more camera movement and more varied lighting, but at its core it was still just a guy behind a desk telling a story (about trying to write his first novel; incidentally, if you have a chance to read that novel, “Impossible Vacation”, don't. The thing was wretchedly self-indulgent, and I say this as a fan). Steven Soderbergh's direction of “Gray's Anatomy” was really a quantum leap in terms of Gray's screen presentation: in addition to camera movement and lighting, there were colored backgrounds, props and sets flying in and out of frame — even Gray's beloved desk occasionally took a powder. As if that weren't enough, Soderbergh contextualizes Gray's monologue (about a problem with his peepers) by including the testimony of several documentary subjects (photographed in black and white) who tell harrowing tales of the heinous shit that happened to their eyes; I'm not normally squeamish, but being ludicrously nearsighted all my life, I've always been sensitive about my eyes, and this stuff completely squeamed me. Of those three films (I don't count “Terrors Of Pleasure” because it was made for public TV… but it would be cool to get that into a Gray collection too), my favorite as a monologue is still “Monster In A Box”, but my favorite as a film is “Gray's Anatomy”. I certainly hope Criterion can get their mitts on all of them; I'll refrain from watching them anytime soon just in case. And whilst we're on the subject of Soderbergh and Gray, how's about those Criterion dudes get the rights to “King Of The Hill” — that picture is brilliant, and it's not even available on DVD!

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