Movie Night

Last Monday Tony had the cast over to his apartment to watch some movies, to give everyone an idea of some the ideas rolling around in his head before we start rehearsals. We've used this technique before, and it works well. It's an easy way for a director to share his inspirations with a group of people in a direct, visual way. Charlie Scott did this when he directed Medea - we watched Dead Man and Grey Gardens, and little snippets from several other films I can't remember right now. It's also a great excuse to get together and drink in the name of art.

Tony showed three very different films. The first was the Charlie Chaplin classic Modern Times. Modern Times is full of broad physical humor and slapstick comedy, and also showcases Charlie Chaplin's trademark facial expressions.

Then he showed one of my personal favorites, the Peter Lorre classic M, the first serial killer movie. M is a great film in that tension is overwhelmingly present in the film from the very first scene. It's also wonderful in that every single character in the film is fully fleshed out, and interesting to watch - there are no "extras."

Finally, he showed Songs from the Second Floor, a Swedish film which was the winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 2000. Like Killing Game, it is a series of fascinating vignettes. Also like Killing Game, the characters devise certain rituals to try and combat a spreading terror.