HAANSTRA. Bert 1952 Dijkbourw( Dike Builders)(+ sc, ed) 1954 Ont staan en vergaan (The Changing Earth)(+ sc); De Nationality: Dutch. Born: Holten, Holland, 31 May 1916. Educa- opsporing van aardolie (The Search for Oil)(+ sc); De tion: Academy of Arts, Amsterdam. Career: Painter and press erkenningsboring(The Wildcat)(+ sc) Het olieveld (The Oilfield)(+ sc) photographer, from late 1930s; joined Royal Dutch Shell Film Unit, 1955 The Rival World(Strijd zonder einde)(+ed, sc); God Shiva 1952: producer and manager, Shell Film Unit, Venezuela, 1956; founded production company, Bert Haanstra Filmproductie, 1960 ( SC, pr, ed): En de zee was niet meer(And There Was No Awards: Grand Prix(documentary ) Cannes Festival, for Mirror of More Sea)(+ pr, sc, ed) Holland. 1951. Died: 23 October 1997. in Hilversum. Netherlands. 1957 Rembrandt, schilder van de mens (Rembrandt, Painter of Man)(+ pr, sc, ed 1958 Over glas gesproken(Speaking of Glass)+ pr, sc, ed): Glas Films as director ( Glass)+co-ed, pr, sc): Fanfare(+ co-sC, co-ed) 1960 De zaak M.P. (The M P Case)(+ co-SC, cO-ed, pr) 1948 De Muiderkring herleeft(The Muryder Circle Lives Again) 1962 Zoo(+ pr, sc, ed); Delta Phase 1(+ pr, sc,ed) ( sc, ph, ed) 1963 Alleman (The Human Dutch)(+ co-sc, narration for English 1950 Spiegel van Holland (Mirror of Holland)(+ Sc, ph, ed) and German versions) 951 Nederlandse beeldhotwkunst tijdens de late Middeleeuwen 1966 De stem van het water(The Voice of the Water)(+co-sc, pr, ed (Dutch Sculpture)(+ co-ed) Panta Rhei(All Things Flow) 1967 Retour Madrid (Return Ticket to Madrid)(+ c0-pr, co-ph) 1972 Bij de beesten af(Ape and Super Ape)(+ pr, sc, ed -commentary, co-add'I ph, narration) 1975 Dokter Pulder zaait papavers(Dr. Pulder Sows Poppies, When the Poppies Bloom Again)(+ pr 1978 Nationale Parken. noodzaak(National Parks.. a Neces- siry, National Parks in the Netherlands)(+ pr, sc, ed 1979 Een pak slaag(Mr. Slotter's Jubilee)(+ pr) 1983 Vroeger kon je lachen(One Could Laugh in Former Days) 1988 Kinderen van ghana Other films 1949 Myrte en de demonen(Myrte and the Demons)(Schreiber) (ph); Boer Pietersen schiet in de roos(Bull's Eye for Farmer Pietersen)(Brusse)(ph) 1955 Belgian Grand Prix(Hughes)(co-ph 1957 De gouden lsy (The Golden llsy)(van der Linden)(ph); Olie op reis(Pattern of Supply)(Pendry)(pr) 1959 Paleontologie(Schakel met het verleden; Story in the Rocks) an Gelder)(pr, tech advisor) 1960 Lage landen(Hold Back the Sea)( sluizer)(tech advisor) 1962 De overal (The Silent Raid)(Rotha)(co-sc, uncredited) 1968 Pas assez(Not Enough; Niet genoeg)(van der Velde)(ed) 1970 Trafic(Tati)(collaborator): Summer in the Fields(van der 1972 Grierson(Blais)(role as interviewee) 1979 Juliana in zeventig bewogen jaren(uliana in Seventy Turb Bert haanstra lent Years)(Kohlhaas)(advisor) 415
415 HAANSTRA, Bert H Nationality: Dutch. Born: Holten, Holland, 31 May 1916. Education: Academy of Arts, Amsterdam. Career: Painter and press photographer, from late 1930s; joined Royal Dutch Shell Film Unit, 1952; producer and manager, Shell Film Unit, Venezuela, 1956; founded production company, Bert Haanstra Filmproductie, 1960. Awards: Grand Prix (documentary), Cannes Festival, for Mirror of Holland, 1951. Died: 23 October 1997, in Hilversum, Netherlands. Films as Director: 1948 De Muiderkring herleeft (The Muyder Circle Lives Again) (+ sc, ph, ed) 1950 Spiegel van Holland (Mirror of Holland) (+ sc, ph, ed) 1951 Nederlandse beeldhouwkunst tijdens de late Middeleeuwen (Dutch Sculpture) (+ co-ed); Panta Rhei (All Things Flow) (+ sc, ph, ed) Bert Haanstra 1952 Dijkbouw (Dike Builders) (+ sc, ed) 1954 Ont staan en vergaan (The Changing Earth) (+ sc); De opsporing van aardolie (The Search for Oil) (+ sc); De verkenningsboring (The Wildcat) (+ sc); Het olieveld (The Oilfield) (+ sc) 1955 The Rival World (Strijd zonder einde) (+ ed, sc); God Shiva (+ sc, pr, ed); En de zee was niet meer (And There Was No More Sea) (+ pr, sc, ed) 1957 Rembrandt, schilder van de mens (Rembrandt, Painter of Man) (+ pr, sc, ed) 1958 Over glas gesproken (Speaking of Glass) (+ pr, sc, ed); Glas (Glass) (+ co-ed, pr, sc); Fanfare (+ co-sc, co-ed) 1960 De zaak M.P. (The M.P. Case) (+ co-sc, co-ed, pr) 1962 Zoo (+ pr, sc, ed); Delta Phase I (+ pr, sc, ed) 1963 Alleman (The Human Dutch) (+ co-sc, narration for English and German versions) 1966 De stem van het water (The Voice of the Water) (+ co-sc, pr, ed) 1967 Retour Madrid (Return Ticket to Madrid) (+ co-pr, co-ph) 1972 Bij de beesten af (Ape and Super Ape) (+ pr, sc, ed, co-commentary, co-add’l ph, narration) 1975 Dokter Pulder zaait papavers (Dr. Pulder Sows Poppies, When the Poppies Bloom Again) (+ pr) 1978 Nationale Parken . . . noodzaak (National Parks . . . a Necessity, National Parks in the Netherlands) (+ pr, sc, ed) 1979 Een pak slaag (Mr. Slotter’s Jubilee) (+ pr) 1983 Vroeger kon je lachen (One Could Laugh in Former Days) (+ pr, sc); Nederland (The Netherlands) (+ pr, sc, ed) 1988 Kinderen van Ghana Other Films: 1949 Myrte en de demonen (Myrte and the Demons) (Schreiber) (ph); Boer Pietersen schiet in de roos (Bull’s Eye for Farmer Pietersen) (Brusse) (ph) 1955 Belgian Grand Prix (Hughes) (co-ph) 1957 De gouden Ilsy (The Golden Ilsy) (van der Linden) (ph); Olie op reis (Pattern of Supply) (Pendry) (pr) 1959 Paleontologie (Schakel met het verleden; Story in the Rocks) (van Gelder) (pr, tech advisor) 1960 Lage landen (Hold Back the Sea) (Sluizer) (tech advisor) 1962 De overval (The Silent Raid) (Rotha) (co-sc, uncredited) 1968 Pas assez (Not Enough; Niet genoeg) (van der Velde) (ed) 1970 Trafic (Tati) (collaborator); Summer in the Fields (van der Linden) (ed) 1972 Grierson (Blais) (role as interviewee) 1979 Juliana in zeventig bewogen jaren (Juliana in Seventy Turbulent Years) (Kohlhaas) (advisor)
HALLSTROM DIRECTORS, 4 EDItION Publications elsewhere. Alleman and Bi de beesten af were nominated for Acad emy Awards. Although the number of movie-goers in Holland ha By HAANSTRA: article sharply decreased, Haanstra's public has remained large and loyal In 1975 Haanstra made his first novel-based film Dokter pulder Gresprek met Bert Haanstra en prof dr G P. Behrends, withR du zaait papavers gives a subtle and detailed analysis of a number of Mee and others, in Skoop(Amsterdam), vol8, no 6, 1972. fundamental human problems: loss of love, social failure, aging, and Geen klachten over hoeveelheid aandacht voor Nederlandse film addiction to drugs and liquor. The film is psychologically convincing in Skoop(Amsterdam), February 1976 and full of tension. Een pak slaag, again based on a novel by Anton Interview with Freddy Sartor, in Film en Televisie+ Video(Brussels), Koolhaas, failed to interest the public. In 1983 Haanstra brought out November 1996 another feature film with Simon Carmiggelt as the main character On HAANSTRA: book Carmiggelt's ability to render this type of monologue had won a wide audience for his daily columns, which have appeared since 1945 in Verdaasdonk, Dorothee, editor, Bert Haanstra, Amsterdam, 1983. a dutch a Dutch newspaper. The film, Vroeger kon je lachen, was well received On HAANSTRa: articles- By virture of Haanstra's diversity of films and of his great reputation with critics and the public, Haanstra made an invaluable Director of the Year. in International Film Guide. London, 1966. contribution to the establishment of a dutch film tradition .He Cowie, Peter, ""Bert Haanstra, "in Focus on Film (London ), remains a very important representative of the Dutch documentary Spring 1972 school, which grew to fame in the 1960s and won countless awards at Bert Haanstra, in Film Dope (London), March 1981 international film festivals. Haanstra's own films have won over 70 Bertina, BJ,"Haanstra en het onverzorgde corpus van Dorothee prizes; he received an Academy Award for Glas, a short documentary Verdaasdonk, in Skoop(Amsterdam), December 1983/Janu 1984. film. As a director of feature films he convinced a large audience that "Niet van deze wereld, in Skoop, December-January 1987-1988. Dutch films can (and should) be judged according to the same Daems, Jo, ""Het beste van Bert Haanstra. Lang verborgen schat standards as important foreign films her)ontdekt, in Film en Televisie Video(Brussels), May His films, and also his cooperation with Simon Carmiggelt and Anton Koolhaas, show that Haanstra's work is firmly rooted in Dutch Hommel, Michel, and Hauffmann, F, "Hulot in de menigte. Twee culture, which, however, he transcended by taking it as an example of apiteins op een schip, in Skrien(Amsterdam), June-July 1991 more general aspects of human behavior. This is beautifully exempli Monster, Ruud, and others. 'Ecce homo. Hommage Bert Haanstra, fied in Bij de beesten af. Although his films do not contain explicit in Skrien(Amsterdam), August-September 1996 political statements, Haanstra was anything but a "neutral observer. Obituary, in Skrien(Amsterdam), December-January 1997-1998 By the art of montage he gave his films a deeper meaning which not infrequently embodied a critical view of human society and poignar Bert haanstra is one of holland s most renowned filmmakers. The twenty-eight films he made between 1948 and 1988 belong to various genres. His first films were documentaries. Typical of these, and hallmark of Haanstra's personal style, is the frequent use of rhyming images "and of images blending into each other. Critics HALLSTROM. Lasse sponded warmly to the lyrical and pictorial qualities of Haanstra's early work. In his films about oil drilling, commissioned by Shell Haanstra showed that instructional films can be of artistic as we Nationality: Swedish. Born: Stockholm, Sweden, 1946. Family Married actress Lena Olin; one daughter, Tora, 1995. Career: Made Haanstra's first feature film, Fanfare, was a comedy and a big hit 16mm film as a teenager that was eventually screened on Swedish at the box office. The film, however, was also praised for its artistic TV filmed and edited inserts for Swedish TV; directed program importance and considered by many as a turning point in Dutch film Shall We Dancefor Danish TV; director and producer of TV This film should set the tone for the future production of Dutch programs and feature films. Awards: Academy Award nominations, feature-films, wrote a critic. His second feature film, De zaak M. P, director and screenplay, for My Life as a Dog. Agent: International was very coolly received, however, and Haanstra turned again to Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, Califor- making documentaries nia, 90211. U.S.A Discussions in the 1960s about the establishment of a tradition of influenced by the views on film expressed by the French nouvelle vague cineastes. Haanstra's long documentaries, Alleman, De stem Films as director an het water, and Bij de beesten af, show him perfectly able to catch the peculiarities of human behavior, especially those of the Dutch. 1975 A Lover and His Lass These three films still enjoy a firm reputation in Holland and 1977 ABBA-The Movie 416
HALLSTROM DIRECTORS, 4th EDITION 416 Publications By HAANSTRA: articles— ‘‘Gresprek met Bert Haanstra en prof. dr. G.P. Behrends,’’ with R. du Mèe and others, in Skoop (Amsterdam), vol.8, no.6, 1972. ‘‘Geen klachten over hoeveelheid aandacht voor Nederlandse film,’’ in Skoop (Amsterdam), February 1976. Interview with Freddy Sartor, in Film en Televisie + Video (Brussels), November 1996. On HAANSTRA: book— Verdaasdonk, Dorothee, editor, Bert Haanstra, Amsterdam, 1983. On HAANSTRA: articles— ‘‘Director of the Year,’’ in International Film Guide, London, 1966. Cowie, Peter, ‘‘Bert Haanstra,’’ in Focus on Film (London), Spring 1972. ‘‘Bert Haanstra,’’ in Film Dope (London), March 1981. Bertina, B.J., ‘‘Haanstra en het onverzorgde corpus van Dorothee Verdaasdonk,’’ in Skoop (Amsterdam), December 1983/January 1984. ‘‘Niet van deze wereld,’’ in Skoop, December-January 1987–1988. Daems, Jo, ‘‘Het beste van Bert Haanstra. Lang verborgen schat (her)ontdekt,’’ in Film en Televisie + Video (Brussels), MayJune 1990. Hommel, Michel, and Hauffmann, F., ‘‘Hulot in de menigte. Twee kapiteins op een schip,’’ in Skrien (Amsterdam), June-July 1991. Monster, Ruud, and others,’’Ecce homo. Hommage Bert Haanstra,’’ in Skrien (Amsterdam), August-September 1996. Obituary, in Skrien (Amsterdam), December-January 1997–1998. *** Bert Haanstra is one of Holland’s most renowned filmmakers. The twenty-eight films he made between 1948 and 1988 belong to various genres. His first films were documentaries. Typical of these, and a hallmark of Haanstra’s personal style, is the frequent use of ‘‘rhyming images’’ and of images blending into each other. Critics responded warmly to the lyrical and pictorial qualities of Haanstra’s early work. In his films about oil drilling, commissioned by Shell, Haanstra showed that instructional films can be of artistic as well as informative value. Haanstra’s first feature film, Fanfare, was a comedy and a big hit at the box office. The film, however, was also praised for its artistic importance and considered by many as a turning point in Dutch film: ‘‘This film should set the tone for the future production of Dutch feature-films,’’ wrote a critic. His second feature film, De zaak M. P., was very coolly received, however, and Haanstra turned again to making documentaries. Discussions in the 1960s about the establishment of a tradition of Dutch feature films—a tradition lacking at that time—were heavily influenced by the views on film expressed by the French nouvelle vague cineastes. Haanstra’s long documentaries, Alleman, De stem van het water, and Bij de beesten af, show him perfectly able to catch the peculiarities of human behavior, especially those of the Dutch. These three films still enjoy a firm reputation in Holland and elsewhere. Alleman and Bij de beesten af were nominated for Academy Awards. Although the number of movie-goers in Holland has sharply decreased, Haanstra’s public has remained large and loyal. In 1975 Haanstra made his first novel-based film. Dokter Pulder zaait papavers gives a subtle and detailed analysis of a number of fundamental human problems: loss of love, social failure, aging, and addiction to drugs and liquor. The film is psychologically convincing and full of tension. Een pak slaag, again based on a novel by Anton Koolhaas, failed to interest the public. In 1983 Haanstra brought out another feature film with Simon Carmiggelt as the main character listening to the tragicomic monologues of various ordinary people. Carmiggelt’s ability to render this type of monologue had won a wide audience for his daily columns, which have appeared since 1945 in a Dutch newspaper. The film, Vroeger kon je lachen, was well received. By virture of Haanstra’s diversity of films and of his great reputation with critics and the public, Haanstra made an invaluable contribution to the establishment of a Dutch film tradition. He remains a very important representative of the Dutch documentary school, which grew to fame in the 1960s and won countless awards at international film festivals. Haanstra’s own films have won over 70 prizes; he received an Academy Award for Glas, a short documentary film. As a director of feature films he convinced a large audience that Dutch films can (and should) be judged according to the same standards as important foreign films. His films, and also his cooperation with Simon Carmiggelt and Anton Koolhaas, show that Haanstra’s work is firmly rooted in Dutch culture, which, however, he transcended by taking it as an example of more general aspects of human behavior. This is beautifully exempli- fied in Bij de beesten af. Although his films do not contain explicit political statements, Haanstra was anything but a ‘‘neutral observer.’’ By the art of montage he gave his films a deeper meaning which not infrequently embodied a critical view of human society and poignant tragicomic scenes. —Dorothee Verdaasdonk HALLSTROM, Lasse Nationality: Swedish. Born: Stockholm, Sweden, 1946. Family: Married actress Lena Olin; one daughter, Tora, 1995. Career: Made 16mm film as a teenager that was eventually screened on Swedish TV; filmed and edited inserts for Swedish TV; directed program ‘‘Shall We Dance’’ for Danish TV; director and producer of TV programs and feature films. Awards: Academy Award nominations, director and screenplay, for My Life as a Dog. Agent: International Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, California, 90211, U.S.A. Films as Director: 1975 A Lover and His Lass 1977 ABBA—The Movie
DIRECTORS, 4 EDITION HALLSTROM On HALLstRom: articles- Powers, John, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, in New York, 17 anuary 1994 Alleva, Richard, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, in Commonweal, 22 April 1994 Schickel, Richard, " Something to Talk About, in Time, 14 Travers, Peter, Something to Talk About, in Rolling Stone, 24 August 1995. Blocker, Jane, Woman-House: Architecture, Gender, and Hybridity What's Eating Gilbert Grape?, ""in Camera Obscura(Bloom ington), September 1996. Rooney, David, The Cider House Rules, in Variety(New York 13 September 1999 Lasse Hallstroms career has been built upon the substantial foundation of a single film, My Life as a Dog, the film that brought him immediate intermational recognition and achieved (for a film in a foreign language)an appreciable popular success outside Sweden, and on the strength of which he was invited to Hollywood. The lure of Hollywood is obviously very potent-especially ou are a youn filmmaker on the threshold of your career. Whether it was wise of Hallstrom to accept the invitation remains, at this point, after three Hollywood movies of varying distinction, open to discussion. Lasse hallstrom Hallstroms is the kind of gentle, somewhat diffident talent that can easily get submerged or misused in the Hollywood machinery, its 79 Father to be businessmen's eyes on box office receipts as production costs(and stars'salaries) soar into the stratosphere 1981 The rooster 983 Happy We My Life as a Dog is a minor masterpiece, and one of the finest 1985 My Life as a Dog(+ co-sc) films about childhood ever made, sensitive without sentimentality 1986 The Children of Bullerby Village generous but clear-sighted, disturbing in its full awareness of what 987 More about the Children of Bullerby Village w.B. Yeats called"the ignominy of boyhood, in turns painful 1991 Once Around (+ sc) poignant, and hilarious. Essentially, it is a film about survival, 1993 What's Eating Gilbert Grape(+co-exec pr) celebrating the resilience of its young hero Ingemar while unflinch 1995 Something to Talk abou ingly depicting experiences that must leave lifetime scars. 1996 The Golden hotr One can imagine such a film being made within the Hollywood context only in a much softened, sentimentalized, and bowdlerized 1999 The Cider House rules 2000 Chocolat form. The early sequences depict Ingemar's experiences in a family from which the father is completely absent(according to Ingemar, loading bananas somewhere abroad, a task for which the boy tries to convince himself that his father is indispensable-though this may be Other films either pure fantasy or a lie he has been told by adults who lie to him as matter of course), and otherwise consisting of a mother who is dying 1993 World of Film(television special)(role) of(presumably ) consumption and an elder brother who has inoculated himself with insensitivity and an assumption of superiority-afam- ily,in which his only comfort is a dog on which he showers his Publications otherwise unwanted attentions, and which is casually(while Ingemar is away)"put to sleep"as a mere inconvenience. A running theme is By HALLSTROM: articles- Ingemar's exposure to adult sexuality in its multitudinous variety Especially problematic in Hollywood would be his relationship with a young girl who wants to be perceived as a boy in order to continue Interview with W. Schneider in Video, June 1988 playing on the boys football team, and who becomes Ingemar's Interview with Anneli Jordahl and H. Lagher, in Chaplin(Stock- sparring partner/opponent in the boxing ring--her ambivalence to her holm), vol. 33, no. 2, 1991 sexuality expressed in her attempts to conceal her developing breasts 417
DIRECTORS, 4th EDITION HALLSTROM 417 Lasse Hallstrom 1979 Father to Be 1981 The Rooster 1983 Happy We 1985 My Life as a Dog (+ co-sc) 1986 The Children of Bullerby Village 1987 More about the Children of Bullerby Village 1991 Once Around (+ sc) 1993 What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (+ co-exec pr) 1995 Something to Talk About 1996 The Golden Hour 1999 The Cider House Rules 2000 Chocolat Other Films: 1993 World of Film (television special) (role) Publications By HALLSTROM: articles— Interview with W. Schneider, in Video, June 1988. Interview with Anneli Jordahl and H. Lagher, in Chaplin (Stockholm), vol. 33, no. 2, 1991. On HALLSTROM: articles— Powers, John, ‘‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,’’ in New York, 17 January 1994. Alleva, Richard, ‘‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,’’ in Commonweal, 22 April 1994. Schickel, Richard, ‘‘Something to Talk About,’’ in Time, 14 August 1995. Travers, Peter, ‘‘Something to Talk About,’’ in Rolling Stone, 24 August 1995. Blocker, Jane, ‘‘Woman-House: Architecture, Gender, and Hybridity in ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?,’’’ in Camera Obscura (Bloomington), September 1996. Rooney, David, ‘‘The Cider House Rules,’’ in Variety (New York), 13 September 1999. *** Lasse Hallstrom’s career has been built upon the substantial foundation of a single film, My Life as a Dog, the film that brought him immediate international recognition and achieved (for a film in a foreign language) an appreciable popular success outside Sweden, and on the strength of which he was invited to Hollywood. The lure of Hollywood is obviously very potent—especially if you are a young filmmaker on the threshold of your career. Whether it was wise of Hallstrom to accept the invitation remains, at this point, after three Hollywood movies of varying distinction, open to discussion. Hallstrom’s is the kind of gentle, somewhat diffident talent that can easily get submerged or misused in the Hollywood machinery, its businessmen’s eyes on box office receipts as production costs (and stars’ salaries) soar into the stratosphere. My Life as a Dog is a minor masterpiece, and one of the finest films about childhood ever made, sensitive without sentimentality, generous but clear-sighted, disturbing in its full awareness of what W. B. Yeats called ‘‘the ignominy of boyhood,’’ in turns painful, poignant, and hilarious. Essentially, it is a film about survival, celebrating the resilience of its young hero Ingemar while unflinchingly depicting experiences that must leave lifetime scars. One can imagine such a film being made within the Hollywood context only in a much softened, sentimentalized, and bowdlerized form. The early sequences depict Ingemar’s experiences in a family from which the father is completely absent (according to Ingemar, loading bananas somewhere abroad, a task for which the boy tries to convince himself that his father is indispensable—though this may be either pure fantasy or a lie he has been told by adults who lie to him as matter of course), and otherwise consisting of a mother who is dying of (presumably) consumption and an elder brother who has inoculated himself with insensitivity and an assumption of superiority—a ‘‘family’’ in which his only comfort is a dog on which he showers his otherwise unwanted attentions, and which is casually (while Ingemar is away) ‘‘put to sleep’’ as a mere inconvenience. A running theme is Ingemar’s exposure to adult sexuality in its multitudinous variety. Especially problematic in Hollywood would be his relationship with a young girl who wants to be perceived as a boy in order to continue playing on the boys’ football team, and who becomes Ingemar’s sparring partner/opponent in the boxing ring—her ambivalence to her sexuality expressed in her attempts to conceal her developing breasts
HANI DIRECTORS, 4 EDItION whilst repeatedly attracting Ingemar's attention to them. The film HANI Susumu sexual/gender problems apparently resolved. C Of Hallstrom's three Hollywood films the second, What's Eating Nationality: Japanese. Born: Tokyo, 19 October 1926. Education: bert Grape?, is clearly the most successful; it is also, not coinc Graduated from Jiyu Gakuen, Tokyo. Family: Married actress Sachik dentally, the closest to My Life as a Dog, the characters so memorabl Hidari, 1960. Career: Began working for Kyoto News Agency, incarnated by Johnny Depp and leonardo di caprio both relating in 1945: joined Iwanami Eiga production company, initially as still somewhat difterent ways to Ingemar, with Juliette Lewis replacing photographer, 1950; directed first film, 1952: producer, writer and his idiosyncratic and rebellious girlfriend. Far less audacious than the director for TV. from 1959; formed Hani productions, mid-1960s Swedish film, it is nevertheless a very offbeat project for Hollywood, Awards: First Prize (educational short), Venice Festival, and First conceived perhaps as much for its variously eccentric stars as for its atypical director. It allows Hallstrom license to develop his favorite Prize(short film), Cannes Festival, for Children Who Draw,1955 themes-the dysfunctional family, survival within conditions so Special Jury Prize for Best Direction, Moscow festival, for Children unpromising as to appear to predetermine defeat-and his finest Hand in Hand, 1965 qualities of generosity and emotional delicacy. One might single out (because on paper they would appear particularly hazardous) Depp scenes with Mary Steenburgen, the lonely and desperate older woman who uses him as a sexual outlet. hazardous because such a situation Films as director: has traditionally(and not only in Hollywood films) been taken as a pretext for the most vindictive and gloating cruelties at the womans expense. Here, Hallstrom achieves the perfect balance between 1952 Seikatsu to mizu(Water in Our Life)(co-d, co-sc)Yuki inflicting needs, each treated with equal sympathy: Steenburgen's matsuri(Snow Festival)(+ sc) sense of deprivation, Depp's need to extricate himself from a situation 1953 Machi to gesi (The Town and Its Drains)(+ sc) he has entered into because he is used to being used (everyone in the film has claims on him) and now feels to be false. The least successful 954 Anata no biru(Your Beer)(+ sc); Kyoshitsu no kodomotachi Children in the Classroom)(+ sc) seems to me Hallstroms Hollywood debut, Once Around, although it 1955 Eo kaku kodomotachi(Children Who Draw)(+ sc) contains some wonderful scenes and fine performances: its central premise, that a wealthy and aggressive American businessman, with 1956 Group no shido(Group Instruction)(+ sc); Soseiji gakkyu the kind of energy that goes into the multiplication of dollars, might (Twin Sisters)(+ sc); Dobutsuen nikki(Zoo Story)(feature) legitimately incarnate the"life force, rejuvenating(with occasional setbacks)all the other characters, is quite simply inadmissible, at least 1958 Shiga Naoya(+ sc); Horyu -ji(Horyu Temple)(+ sc): Umi wa as presented here, without apparent irony ikiteirt(The Living Sea)(feature)(+ sc): Nihon no buyo Hallstroms film Something to Talk About got a generally bad Dances in Japan)(+ sc): Tokyo 1958(co-d, co-sc, co-ed) press(a side-effect, perhaps, of backlash against Julia Roberts, as 1960 Furyo shonen(Bad Boys) mindless as the previous adulation): it seems to me a more interesting, 1962 Mitasareta seikatsu(A Full Life)(+co-sc): Te o tsunagu kora intelligent, and coherent film than it has been given credit for. It does, Children Hand in Hand however, raise a question: a new departure for Hallstrom(one would 1963 Kanojo to kare(She and He)(+ co-sc) ever,I think, guess it was his film), or evidence of his final 1965 Bwana Toshi no uta(The Song of Bwana Toshi)(+ co-sc) absorption into"Hollywood"and all that word has come to convey? 1966 Andesu no hanayome(Bride of the Andes)(+sc My present inclination is to defend it, as I think it has been misrepre- 1968 Hatsuoki jig ok uhen(Inferno of First Love; Nanami: Inferno sented. It has been perceived, generally, as a somewhat banal account of how Dennis Quaid, the unfaithful husband, gets his comeuppance rst Love)(+ co-sc) 969 Aido(Aido, Slave of Love critically than the other characters. The real subject of the film(and 1970 Mio(+ sc, Co-ed) he real meaning of its title) is that sexual and gender tensions and 972 Gozenchu no jikamwari (Timetable; Morning Schedule)(+co-sc problems in marriage should be""something to talk about, "not push 1981 Afurika monogatari(A Tale of Africa)(co-d) under the carpet. The films critique of marital infidelity(in the older, s well as the younger, generation) rests essentially on the old but still operative‘ double standard”: husbands do it., wives don't. Roberts’s of its ubiquity, although greeted on all sides with horror. Publications becomes an act of liberation, potentially for everyone, male and male. It is only superficially that the film can be read along conventional lines("Husbands should be punished for infidelity"); it By HAN: books- is open to a different reading, that our attitudes toward marriage fidelity, etc, all need to be rethought and, above all, opened discussion. It seems to be an open question as to where Hallstrom will Engishinai shuryakutachi [The Leading Players Who Do Not Act, The or indeed can, go from here Non-professional Actor 1958. Camera to maiku no roni [Aesthetics of Camera and Micro- -Robin Wood phonel., 1960 418
HANI DIRECTORS, 4th EDITION 418 whilst repeatedly attracting Ingemar’s attention to them. The film ends with them huddled up together on a sofa, their complicated sexual/gender problems apparently resolved. Of Hallstrom’s three Hollywood films the second, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, is clearly the most successful; it is also, not coincidentally, the closest to My Life as a Dog, the characters so memorably incarnated by Johnny Depp and Leonardo di Caprio both relating in somewhat different ways to Ingemar, with Juliette Lewis replacing his idiosyncratic and rebellious girlfriend. Far less audacious than the Swedish film, it is nevertheless a very offbeat project for Hollywood, conceived perhaps as much for its variously eccentric stars as for its atypical director. It allows Hallstrom license to develop his favorite themes—the dysfunctional family, survival within conditions so unpromising as to appear to predetermine defeat—and his finest qualities of generosity and emotional delicacy. One might single out (because on paper they would appear particularly hazardous) Depp’s scenes with Mary Steenburgen, the lonely and desperate older woman who uses him as a sexual outlet. Hazardous because such a situation has traditionally (and not only in Hollywood films) been taken as a pretext for the most vindictive and gloating cruelties at the woman’s expense. Here, Hallstrom achieves the perfect balance between conflicting needs, each treated with equal sympathy: Steenburgen’s sense of deprivation, Depp’s need to extricate himself from a situation he has entered into because he is used to being used (everyone in the film has claims on him) and now feels to be false. The least successful seems to me Hallstrom’s Hollywood debut, Once Around, although it contains some wonderful scenes and fine performances: its central premise, that a wealthy and aggressive American businessman, with the kind of energy that goes into the multiplication of dollars, might legitimately incarnate the ‘‘life force,’’ rejuvenating (with occasional setbacks) all the other characters, is quite simply inadmissible, at least as presented here, without apparent irony. Hallstrom’s film Something to Talk About got a generally bad press (a side-effect, perhaps, of backlash against Julia Roberts, as mindless as the previous adulation); it seems to me a more interesting, intelligent, and coherent film than it has been given credit for. It does, however, raise a question: a new departure for Hallstrom (one would never, I think, guess it was his film), or evidence of his final absorption into ‘‘Hollywood’’ and all that word has come to convey? My present inclination is to defend it, as I think it has been misrepresented. It has been perceived, generally, as a somewhat banal account of how Dennis Quaid, the unfaithful husband, gets his comeuppance and learns to behave ‘‘correctly.’’ In fact, Quaid is presented no more critically than the other characters. The real subject of the film (and the real meaning of its title) is that sexual and gender tensions and problems in marriage should be ‘‘something to talk about,’’ not push under the carpet. The film’s critique of marital infidelity (in the older, as well as the younger, generation) rests essentially on the old but still operative ‘‘double standard’’: husbands do it, wives don’t. Roberts’s exposure of its ubiquity, although greeted on all sides with horror, becomes an act of liberation, potentially for everyone, male and female. It is only superficially that the film can be read along conventional lines (‘‘Husbands should be punished for infidelity’’); it is open to a different reading, that our attitudes toward marriage, sex, fidelity, etc., all need to be rethought and, above all, opened to discussion. It seems to be an open question as to where Hallstrom will, or indeed can, go from here. —Robin Wood HANI, Susumu Nationality: Japanese. Born: Tokyo, 19 October 1926. Education: Graduated from Jiyu Gakuen, Tokyo. Family: Married actress Sachiko Hidari, 1960. Career: Began working for Kyoto News Agency, 1945; joined Iwanami Eiga production company, initially as still photographer, 1950; directed first film, 1952; producer, writer and director for TV, from 1959; formed Hani productions, mid-1960s. Awards: First Prize (educational short), Venice Festival, and First Prize (short film), Cannes Festival, for Children Who Draw, 1955; Special Jury Prize for Best Direction, Moscow festival, for Children Hand in Hand, 1965. Films as Director: 1952 Seikatsu to mizu (Water in Our Life) (co-d, co-sc) Yuki matsuri (Snow Festival) (+ sc) 1953 Machi to gesui (The Town and Its Drains) (+ sc) 1954 Anata no biru (Your Beer) (+ sc); Kyoshitsu no kodomotachi (Children in the Classroom) (+ sc) 1955 Eo kaku kodomotachi (Children Who Draw) (+ sc) 1956 Group no shido (Group Instruction) (+ sc); Soseiji gakkyu (Twin Sisters) (+ sc); Dobutsuen nikki (Zoo Story) (feature) (+ sc) 1958 Shiga Naoya (+ sc); Horyu-ji (Horyu Temple) (+ sc); Umi wa ikiteiru (The Living Sea) (feature) (+ sc); Nihon no buyo (Dances in Japan) (+ sc): Tokyo 1958 (co-d, co-sc, co-ed) 1960 Furyo shonen (Bad Boys) 1962 Mitasareta seikatsu (A Full Life) (+ co-sc): Te o tsunagu kora (Children Hand in Hand) 1963 Kanojo to kare (She and He) (+ co-sc) 1965 Bwana Toshi no uta (The Song of Bwana Toshi) (+ co-sc) 1966 Andesu no hanayome (Bride of the Andes) (+ sc) 1968 Hatsuoki jig ok uhen (Inferno of First Love; Nanami: Inferno of First Love) (+ co-sc) 1969 Aido (Aido, Slave of Love) 1970 Mio (+ sc, co-ed) 1972 Gozenchu no jikanwari (Timetable; Morning Schedule) (+ co-sc) 1981 Afurika monogatari (A Tale of Africa) (co-d) Publications By HANI: books— Engishinai shuyakutachi [The Leading Players Who Do Not Act, The Non-professional Actor], 1958. Camera to maiku no ronri [Aesthetics of Camera and Microphone], 1960
DIRECTORS, 4 EDITION HANI 峡辅街 Susumu hani Afurika konnan ryoko [My Travels in Africa, Report about Film On HAN: article- Making in Africa, 1965 Andes ryoko [Travels in the Andes, Report About Film Making in the Susumu Hani, "in Film Dope(London), September 1981 Andes], 1966 By HANI: articles- Susumu Hani was born in Tokyo in 1928, the son of a famous Interview with James Blue, in Film Comment(New York), Spring 1969 En preparant Mio. in Ecran(Paris), July/August 1972 yoto Press and entered filmmaking as a documentarist in 1950 when Susumu Hani a decouvrir avec bwana toshi. interview with A. he joined Iwanami Productions. Most of his later dramatic features Tournes, in Jeune Cinema( Paris), April/May 1979. reflect his early documentary training, relying on authentic locations amateur actors hand-held camera On HANi: books- contemporary social issues. His film career comprises three areas: documentary narra- tives relating to social problems, especially among the young; and Mellen, Joan, Voices from the Japanese Cinema, New York, 1975 dramas focusing on the emerging woman Of the 18 documentaries made between 1952 and 1960. the best known are Children in the Richie, Donald, Japanese Cinema: An Introduction, New York, 1990 Classroom and Children Who Draw Pictures. The latter won the 1957 Davis, Darrell William, Picturing Japaneseness: Monumental Style, Robert Flaherty Award National Identity, Japanese Film (Film and Culture), New his previous concerns. The film, a loose series of situations about Hani's first dramatic feature, Bad Boys, further develops many of 419
DIRECTORS, 4 HANI th EDITION 419 Susumu Hani Afurika konnan ryoko [My Travels in Africa, Report about Film Making in Africa], 1965. Andes ryoko [Travels in the Andes, Report About Film Making in the Andes], 1966. By HANI: articles— Interview with James Blue, in Film Comment (New York), Spring 1969. ‘‘En préparant Mio,’’ in Ecran (Paris), July/August 1972. ‘‘Susumu Hani: a decouvrir avec Bwana Toshi,’’ interview with A. Tournès, in Jeune Cinéma (Paris), April/May 1979. On HANI: books— Mellen, Joan, Voices from the Japanese Cinema, New York, 1975. Sato, Tadao, Currents in Japanese Cinema, Tokyo, 1982. Richie, Donald, Japanese Cinema: An Introduction, New York, 1990. Davis, Darrell William, Picturing Japaneseness: Monumental Style, National Identity, Japanese Film (Film and Culture), New York, 1995. On HANI: article— ‘‘Susumu Hani,’’ in Film Dope (London), September 1981. *** Susumu Hani was born in Tokyo in 1928, the son of a famous liberal family. After schooling, he worked for a while as a journalist at Kyoto Press and entered filmmaking as a documentarist in 1950 when he joined Iwanami Productions. Most of his later dramatic features reflect his early documentary training, relying on authentic locations, amateur actors, hand-held camera techniques, and an emphasis upon contemporary social issues. His film career comprises three areas: documentary films; narratives relating to social problems, especially among the young; and dramas focusing on the emerging woman. Of the 18 documentaries made between 1952 and 1960, the best known are Children in the Classroom and Children Who Draw Pictures. The latter won the 1957 Robert Flaherty Award. Hani’s first dramatic feature, Bad Boys, further develops many of his previous concerns. The film, a loose series of situations about
HARTLEY DIRECTORS, 4 EDItION reform school, was enacted by former inmates who improvised HARTLEY. Hal dialogue. For Hani, truth emerges from the juxtaposition of fiction and fact. He also believes that all people have an innate capacity for acting. Subsequent films, which deal with the effect of post-war urban Nationality: American Born: Lindenhurst, New York, 3 November realities on the lives of the young, include Children Hand in Hand and 69. Education: Attended Massachusetts College of Ar, late 1970s ferno of First Love. The former depicts young children in a pro State University of New York at Purchase Film School, graduated cial town and especially one backward child who becomes the butt with honors, 1984. Family: Married to actress Miho Nikaido ca- the other childrens malicious teasing and pranks; the latter is a story reer: Freelance production assistant, mid-1980s; worked for Action of two adolescents in modern Tokyo, each of whom has been (public ser exploited, who find with each other a short-lived refuge sored Hartleys first feature, The Unbelievable Truth, 1989; this Like his earlier documentaries, these films explore themes relatin film's success at the toronto film Festival led to its commercial to broken homes, the alienation of modern society, the traumatic release by Miramax, 1990. Awards: Deauville and Sao Palo Interna effects of childhood, the oppressiveness of a feudal value system, and tional Film Festivals, Audience Awards, for Trust, 1990: Tokyo the difficulty of escaping, eve en in an alternative social structure. To International Film Festival. Silver Award for Amateur. 1994: Cannes all these films Hani brings a deep psychological understanding of the Film Festival, Best Screenplay, for Henry Fool,1998.Address: c/o orkings of the human psyche. Finally, each of these films focuses on True Fiction Pictures, 12 w. 27th St, New York, NY 10001, U.S.A. individual growth and self-awakening, although Hani is clear indicate that the problems cannot be solved on a personal level. Both topics-growing self-awareness and a critique of the existing social Films as Director order-connect these works with Hani's second major theme, the emergence of women. nis first film on this subject was A Full Life, which deals with 1987 The Cartographer's Girlfriend(short)(+ed, pr) the efforts of a young wife, married to a self-involved older man, to 1988 Dogs(short)(+pr, co-sc forge a life of her own in the competitive world of modern Tokyo. 1990 The Unbelievable Truth(+sc, ed, pr) After demeaning work and involvement in the student demonstrations 1991 Trust(+ sc); Theory of Achievement(short, for TV)(+sc of the early 1960s, the wife returns home, a changed woman. mus); Surviving Desire(for TV)(+ SC, ed); Ambition(short, Hanis other films on this topic are She and He, the depiction of for TV)(+ sc) a middle-class marriage in which the wife gains independence by her kindness to a local ragpicker, and Bride of the Andes, the story of 1992 Simple Men(+ Sc, co-pr, mus) a mail-order Japanese bride in Peru who finds personal growth through her relationship with South American Indians. As in A Full Life, none of these women are able to make a full break with their usbands. However, through personal growth(usually affected by contact with a group or person marginal to society), they are able to challenge the patriarchal values of Japanese society as represented by their husbands and to return to the relationship with new understand ing and dignity. Both films starred Sachiko Hidari, who was then his wife Contact with a non-Japanese society and challenging Japanese kenophobia also occur in The Song of Bwana Toshi, which was filmed Kenya and deals with Toshi, an ordinary Japanese man living in Central Africa. Here he cooperates with natives and rises above his isolation to establish brotherhood with foreigners Hanis subsequent work, Timetable, combines his interest in contemporary youth with his continued interest in modern women. The story deals with two high school girls who decide to take a trip ogether. The fiction feature, which is narrated, was filmed in 8mm and each of the major actors was allowed to shoot part of the film Further, the audience is informed of who is shooting, thereby ac knowledging the filmmaker within the context of the work The use of 8mm is not new for hani. more than half of his fourth film originally shot in &mm. Likewise, the use of a narrator dates back to A Full Life. Throughout his career, Hani has concerned himself with people who have difficulty in communicating with one another. His documentaries, narratives on social problems, and dramas on emerg ing women have established his reputation as one of the foremost psychologists of the Japanese cinema. Patricia erens Hal Hartley
HARTLEY DIRECTORS, 4th EDITION 420 reform school, was enacted by former inmates who improvised dialogue. For Hani, truth emerges from the juxtaposition of fiction and fact. He also believes that all people have an innate capacity for acting. Subsequent films, which deal with the effect of post-war urban realities on the lives of the young, include Children Hand in Hand and Inferno of First Love. The former depicts young children in a provincial town and especially one backward child who becomes the butt of the other children’s malicious teasing and pranks; the latter is a story of two adolescents in modern Tokyo, each of whom has been exploited, who find with each other a short-lived refuge. Like his earlier documentaries, these films explore themes relating to broken homes, the alienation of modern society, the traumatic effects of childhood, the oppressiveness of a feudal value system, and the difficulty of escaping, even in an alternative social structure. To all these films Hani brings a deep psychological understanding of the workings of the human psyche. Finally, each of these films focuses on individual growth and self-awakening, although Hani is clear to indicate that the problems cannot be solved on a personal level. Both topics—growing self-awareness and a critique of the existing social order—connect these works with Hani’s second major theme, the emergence of women. Hani’s first film on this subject was A Full Life, which deals with the efforts of a young wife, married to a self-involved older man, to forge a life of her own in the competitive world of modern Tokyo. After demeaning work and involvement in the student demonstrations of the early 1960s, the wife returns home, a changed woman. Hani’s other films on this topic are She and He, the depiction of a middle-class marriage in which the wife gains independence by her kindness to a local ragpicker, and Bride of the Andes, the story of a mail-order Japanese bride in Peru who finds personal growth through her relationship with South American Indians. As in A Full Life, none of these women are able to make a full break with their husbands. However, through personal growth (usually affected by contact with a group or person marginal to society), they are able to challenge the patriarchal values of Japanese society as represented by their husbands and to return to the relationship with new understanding and dignity. Both films starred Sachiko Hidari, who was then his wife. Contact with a non-Japanese society and challenging Japanese xenophobia also occur in The Song of Bwana Toshi, which was filmed in Kenya and deals with Toshi, an ordinary Japanese man living in Central Africa. Here he cooperates with natives and rises above his isolation to establish brotherhood with foreigners. Hani’s subsequent work, Timetable, combines his interest in contemporary youth with his continued interest in modern women. The story deals with two high school girls who decide to take a trip together. The fiction feature, which is narrated, was filmed in 8mm and each of the major actors was allowed to shoot part of the film. Further, the audience is informed of who is shooting, thereby acknowledging the filmmaker within the context of the work. The use of 8mm is not new for Hani. More than half of his fourth film was originally shot in 8mm. Likewise, the use of a narrator dates back to A Full Life. Throughout his career, Hani has concerned himself with people who have difficulty in communicating with one another. His documentaries, narratives on social problems, and dramas on emerging women have established his reputation as one of the foremost psychologists of the Japanese cinema. —Patricia Erens HARTLEY, Hal Nationality: American. Born: Lindenhurst, New York, 3 November 1959. Education: Attended Massachusetts College of Art, late 1970s; State University of New York at Purchase Film School, graduated with honors, 1984. Family: Married to actress Miho Nikaido.Career: Freelance production assistant, mid-1980s; worked for Action Productions (public service announcements), whose president sponsored Hartley’s first feature, The Unbelievable Truth, 1989; this film’s success at the Toronto Film Festival led to its commercial release by Miramax, 1990. Awards: Deauville and Sao Palo International Film Festivals, Audience Awards, for Trust, 1990; Tokyo International Film Festival, Silver Award, for Amateur, 1994; Cannes Film Festival, Best Screenplay, for Henry Fool, 1998. Address: c/o True Fiction Pictures, 12 W. 27th St., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A. Films as Director: 1984 Kid (short, student thesis film) (+ sc, ed, pr) 1987 The Cartographer’s Girlfriend (short) (+ ed, pr) 1988 Dogs (short) (+ pr, co-sc) 1990 The Unbelievable Truth (+ sc, ed, pr) 1991 Trust (+ sc); Theory of Achievement (short, for TV) (+ sc, mus); Surviving Desire (for TV) (+ sc, ed); Ambition (short, for TV) (+ sc) 1992 Simple Men (+ sc, co-pr, mus) Hal Hartley
DIRECTORS, 4 EDITION HARTLEY 1994 Amateur(+ sc, pr, mus): NYC 3/94(short)(+ pr, sc): Opera House of Games as well as certain plays) and Harold Pinter(chiefly No. 1(short)(+ sc, mu) the period of The Homecoming), Hartleys dialogue tends toward the 1995 Flirt(+ sc, mus, role) laconic and the absurd: occasionally downright hilarious and almost 1997 Henry Fool (+ pr, sc, mu) always droll, especially when spoken by mostly humorless charac- 1998 The Book of Life(for TV)(+ sc) ters. Of the actors whom Hartley has used a number of times, Martin 2000 Kimono(+ sc) Donovan is supreme in his deadpan delivery of lines, with exactly the right amount of dry irony, anger, or cluelessness, as the moment calls for-though stage actor Thomas Jay Ryan, making his film debut as Publications Henry Fool, speaks as if born to the Hartley world. cinematic influences, Jean-Luc Godard has constantly been By hartlEy: books- singled out. Occasionally Hartley appears to be doing a conscious homage, as in the sudden burst into dance in Surviving Desire, a nod to Bande a part(Band of Outsiders)but a dance scene in Simpl Simple Men and Trust(screenplays), London and Boston, 1992 Men, similarly unexpected but more elaborately choreographed and Amateur(screenplay), London and Boston, 1994 integrated into the story, seems altogether original. The stylization of Flirt(screenplay ), London and Boston, 1996 violence in Amateur also recalls Godard, though the shoving matches Henry Fool(screenplay), London and Boston, 1998 of most of the earlier films are pure Hartley. Perhaps more subtly Godardian, Weekend vintage, are the vacant landscapes of"Long By harTLEY: articles- Island(actually Texas, for the most part) in Simple Men, where characters more or less stumble through their peculiar lives The Particularity and Peculiarity of Hal Hartley, interview with The Unbelievable Truth displays Hartleys unmistakable style and Justin Wyatt, in Film Quarterly, Fall 1998 tone. With a plot suited for either soap opera or film noir in its HalHartley-nobody'sFool,interviewwithDovKirnits,http://melodramaandromanticentanglements-anex-conreturnstothe filmink-online. com/hbs. cgi/feature=37, May 2000 town where he caused the deaths of two people, and where he is shunned by most but loved by a rebellious young woman-the film is On hartley articles instead a black comedy with a bent toward real romance all centered around the question of trusting people enough to accept their versions Fuller, Graham, Hal Hartleys World of Trouble and Desire, in of"the true story. Hartleys hometown of Lindenhurst, a rather Interview(New York), September 1992 ramshackle-looking small town half metamorphosed into a commuter Hogue, Peter, " "Bands of Outsiders, in Film Comment(New York) suburb, seems the perfect pale backdrop for his oddball characters January-February 1993. Trust superficially resembles The Unbelievable Trth, with Adrienne Sarris, Andrew, Trusting Hal Hartley, in Film Comment(New Shelley again as a rebellious youth, Lindenhurst as locus of American York), January-February 1993 family dysfunction, and some of the same droll comedy. Yet it has Bauer, Douglas, "An Independent Vision, in Atlantic Monthly a considerably darker tone overall, with its brutal parents, severely Boston), April Is asocial hero(Martin Donovan), and unexpected violence-as in the omer. Brooke. "Amateurs Tenebrous Images in American Cinem liquor store clerks attack upon the Shelley character. In its confident tographer(Hollywood), August 1995 handling of mixed moods it foreshadows the emotional complexities of Henry Fool. Simple Men, set on a more rural Long Island after Jones, Kent, "" Hal Hartley: The Book I Read Was in Your Eyes, ' in Film Comment(New York), July-August 1996. a brief stop in Lindenhurst, has a wilder plot than Trust and if anything more outrageous comedy, as two sons-a criminal and a college Gilbey, Ryan, "Pulling the Pin on hal hartley, "in Sight and Sound student--follow clues in search of their long-missing father, a reputed ( London), November 1998 Hernandez, Eugene, " Digital Video: Catch the Wave, in The terrorist bomber. The cynical Bill, who notes that you don't need an Independent, January-February 1999 ideology to knock over a liquor store, has been betrayed in love, and so is determined to seduce women by appearing to be"mysterious, thoughtful, deep, but modest"and then"throw them away. Of course he falls for a woman who claims to find him all of those things (she manages to use all four adjectives in a short conversation Well known in Europe, but more of a cult favorite than a box- although the words seem to apply much more to her. The less- office draw in his native United States, Hal Hartley has been held in experienced Dennis falls for an eccentric Rumanian who turns out to high critical esteem for his quirky feature films and shorts and, be his father's new girlfriend. When he points out that his father is a womanizer-a married man who has also stood her up-she tells locales. Writing his own screenplays, punctuating the dramas with his him he should be more respectful. Including two actors from The own sparse music, and working often with the same actors and Unbelievable Truth who essentially reprise their roles technicians, Hartley is a model of the resolutely independent film mechanic and assistant--and featuring a nun who answers a question artist. His 1997 Henry Fool, given wider distribution and greater about a medallion with, ""It's the Holy Blessed Virgin, you idiot,' media coverage than any of his previous works, is still far from before wrestling the man to the ground-Simple Men often crosses mainstream American fare the border into farce, then withdraws to a dryer detachment. Again Hartleys screenplays are among the most distinctive features of issues of truth and reliability are central, though this film is in addition his cinema. Reminiscent of both David Mamet(perhaps the film more directly concerned with masculine values and behavior than any 421
DIRECTORS, 4 HARTLEY th EDITION 421 1994 Amateur (+ sc, pr, mus); NYC 3/94 (short) (+ pr, sc); Opera No. 1 (short) (+ sc, mu) 1995 Flirt (+ sc, mus, role) 1997 Henry Fool (+ pr, sc, mu) 1998 The Book of Life (for TV) (+ sc) 2000 Kimono (+ sc) Publications By HARTLEY: books— Simple Men and Trust (screenplays), London and Boston, 1992. Amateur (screenplay), London and Boston, 1994. Flirt (screenplay), London and Boston, 1996. Henry Fool (screenplay), London and Boston, 1998. By HARTLEY: articles— ‘‘The Particularity and Peculiarity of Hal Hartley,’’ interview with Justin Wyatt, in Film Quarterly, Fall 1998. ‘‘Hal Hartley—Nobody’s Fool,’’ interview with Dov Kirnits, http:// filmink-online.com/hbs.cgi/feature=37, May 2000. On HARTLEY: articles— Fuller, Graham, ‘‘Hal Hartley’s World of Trouble and Desire,’’ in Interview (New York), September 1992. Hogue, Peter, ‘‘Bands of Outsiders,’’ in Film Comment (New York), January-February 1993. Sarris, Andrew, ‘‘Trusting Hal Hartley,’’ in Film Comment (New York), January-February 1993. Bauer, Douglas, ‘‘An Independent Vision,’’ in Atlantic Monthly (Boston), April 1994. Comer, Brooke, ‘‘Amateur’s Tenebrous Images,’’ in American Cinematographer (Hollywood), August 1995. Jones, Kent, ‘‘Hal Hartley: The Book I Read Was in Your Eyes,’’ in Film Comment (New York), July-August 1996. Gilbey, Ryan, ‘‘Pulling the Pin on Hal Hartley,’’ in Sight and Sound (London), November 1998. Hernandez, Eugene, ‘‘Digital Video: Catch the Wave,’’ in The Independent, January-February 1999. *** Well known in Europe, but more of a cult favorite than a boxoffice draw in his native United States, Hal Hartley has been held in high critical esteem for his quirky feature films and shorts and, incidentally, for putting Long Island on the map of famed cinematic locales. Writing his own screenplays, punctuating the dramas with his own sparse music, and working often with the same actors and technicians, Hartley is a model of the resolutely independent film artist. His 1997 Henry Fool, given wider distribution and greater media coverage than any of his previous works, is still far from mainstream American fare. Hartley’s screenplays are among the most distinctive features of his cinema. Reminiscent of both David Mamet (perhaps the film House of Games as well as certain plays) and Harold Pinter (chiefly the period of The Homecoming), Hartley’s dialogue tends toward the laconic and the absurd: occasionally downright hilarious and almost always droll, especially when spoken by mostly humorless characters. Of the actors whom Hartley has used a number of times, Martin Donovan is supreme in his deadpan delivery of lines, with exactly the right amount of dry irony, anger, or cluelessness, as the moment calls for—though stage actor Thomas Jay Ryan, making his film debut as Henry Fool, speaks as if born to the Hartley world. Of cinematic influences, Jean-Luc Godard has constantly been singled out. Occasionally Hartley appears to be doing a conscious homage, as in the sudden burst into dance in Surviving Desire, a nod to Bande à part (Band of Outsiders)—but a dance scene in Simple Men, similarly unexpected but more elaborately choreographed and integrated into the story, seems altogether original. The stylization of violence in Amateur also recalls Godard, though the shoving matches of most of the earlier films are pure Hartley. Perhaps more subtly Godardian, Weekend vintage, are the vacant landscapes of ‘‘Long Island’’ (actually Texas, for the most part) in Simple Men, where characters more or less stumble through their peculiar lives. The Unbelievable Truth displays Hartley’s unmistakable style and tone. With a plot suited for either soap opera or film noir in its melodrama and romantic entanglements—an ex-con returns to the town where he caused the deaths of two people, and where he is shunned by most but loved by a rebellious young woman—the film is instead a black comedy with a bent toward real romance, all centered around the question of trusting people enough to accept their versions of ‘‘the true story.’’ Hartley’s hometown of Lindenhurst, a rather ramshackle-looking small town half metamorphosed into a commuter suburb, seems the perfect pale backdrop for his oddball characters. Trust superficially resembles The Unbelievable Truth, with Adrienne Shelley again as a rebellious youth, Lindenhurst as locus of American family dysfunction, and some of the same droll comedy. Yet it has a considerably darker tone overall, with its brutal parents, severely asocial hero (Martin Donovan), and unexpected violence—as in the liquor store clerk’s attack upon the Shelley character. In its confident handling of mixed moods it foreshadows the emotional complexities of Henry Fool. Simple Men, set on a more rural Long Island after a brief stop in Lindenhurst, has a wilder plot than Trust and if anything more outrageous comedy, as two sons—a criminal and a college student—follow clues in search of their long-missing father, a reputed terrorist bomber. The cynical Bill, who notes that ‘‘you don’t need an ideology to knock over a liquor store,’’ has been betrayed in love, and so is determined to seduce women by appearing to be ‘‘mysterious, thoughtful, deep, but modest’’ and then ‘‘throw them away.’’ Of course he falls for a woman who claims to find him all of those things (she manages to use all four adjectives in a short conversation), although the words seem to apply much more to her. The lessexperienced Dennis falls for an eccentric Rumanian who turns out to be his father’s new girlfriend. When he points out that his father is a womanizer—a married man who has also stood her up—she tells him he should be more respectful. Including two actors from The Unbelievable Truth who essentially reprise their roles as garage mechanic and assistant—and featuring a nun who answers a question about a medallion with, ‘‘It’s the Holy Blessed Virgin, you idiot,’’ before wrestling the man to the ground—Simple Men often crosses the border into farce, then withdraws to a dryer detachment. Again issues of truth and reliability are central, though this film is in addition more directly concerned with masculine values and behavior than any
HAWKS DIRECTORS, 4 EDItION of the others The brothers and their s is almost always focused upon the two Donovan in the lead role and singer P J. Harvey as Mary Magdalene). des toward their father, or their confusion But whatever directions Hartley pursues, one may expect his work about women: the women are rarely seen apart from men observing still to feature a curious balance of artifice and passion, melodrama them; the talk is very often macho, though at one point the two and cool wit couples and another would-be lover preposterously launch into a discourse about madonna and modern women's*'control over the -Joseph Milicia exploitation f their own bodies. Amateur, more or less commissioned by Isabel Huppert, who stars in it, is yet more melodramatic, featuring an amnesiac(Donovan again), evidently a sadistic criminal in his former life, who HAWKS. Howard befriended by an ex-nun who wants to write pornography-the pair of them having to flee various crazed and criminal types. Here the Nationality: American Born: Howard winchester Hawks in Goshen, themes of trust and the knowability of a mysterious person's past are Indiana, 30 May 1896. Education: Pasadena High School, Califor- developed through the most lurid situations. Flirt is equally about nia, 1908-13: Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire, 1914-16: love and betrayal, but is also an experiment in structure: Hartley arnell University, New York, degree in mechanical engineering fth feature is actually a trilogy of short films, each using some of the 1917. Military Service: Served in U.S. Army Air Corps, 1917-19 ame dialogue and following the same dramatic trajectory, but with Family: Married 1)Athole( Hawks), 1924(divorced 1941); 2)Nancy different settings(New York, Berlin and Tokyo)and gender relations, Raye Gross, 1941(divorced), one daughter; 3)Mary(Dee)Hartford ccording to whether the character accused of flirting-i.e, being (divorced), two sons, two daughters. Career: Worked in property unwilling to commit-is straight or gay, male or female. Some critic dept of Famous Players-Lasky during vacations, Hollywood, 1916-17 found the film boring and pretentious because of its schematic nature designer in airplane factory, 1919-22; worked in independent pro- and extreme self-reflexivity (in the tokyo .o f ground a can of of story dept. at Paramount, 1924-25: signed as director for Fox, ent the director duction as editor, writer, and assistant director, from 1922; in charge himself plays a character named"Hal"who a film called"Flirt). However, those content to enjoy some very 1925-29; directed first feature, Road to Glory, 1926; formed Motion itty variations on the first segment's patterns, and to savor contrasts Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, with Borden of locale-e. g, the Tokyo is unexpectedly in a dance-studio with Chase, 1944. Awards: Quarterly Award, Directors Guild of America, performers in white makeup and gauzy outfits-may find Flirt Red River. 1948/49: Honora delightful( though with the usual disturbing edge of violence), even if filmmaker whose creative efforts hold a distinguished place in world lacking‘ profundity Henry Fool features the Hartley style on what he himself has called a more"epic'scale, beginning with length(it's more than a half hour longer than any of his other features). Once again we have a man with a mysterious criminal past ("An honest man is always in trouble, Simon. Remember that .. I've been bad Repeatedly. But why brag?"), dead-end blue-collar lives, a contrasting pair of pals (like the brothers in Simple Men), sudden violence(more vicious, less stylized than usual), themes of trust and betrayal, and splendidly non- sequitur dialogue from characters who take themselves very ser ously. (Henry looking through Hustler: I refuse to discriminate between modes of knowing. )A parable with an ambiguous mes sage, the film is initially less focused upon Henry than upon Simon Grim, a despairing garbage man whom Henry encourages to write down his thoughts. The poem Simon comes up with has profound but unpredictable effects on everyone who reads it: a mute Asian clerk at World of Donuts begins to sing; his mother commits suicide; many nd it obscene, but Camille Paglia(as herself) loves its"pungent, the authentically trashy voice of American culture; Sweden gives him the Nobel Prize for Literature, while Henrys much talked about" confessions"are rejected as bad by Simon and his publisher. Henry Fool must have more moments than any film in history in which people read intently, their lives changed by words on a page. Hartley could be accused of conde sending to his often pathetic Queens characters, but the film shocking than and certainly as funny as any of his previous work. All of Hartleys films call attention to their own artifice, most typically through their stylized dialogue and distinctive manner of cting. The Book of Life, an hour-long work commissioned by French television for an end-of-the-millennium series, pursues some new Howard Hawks(center), John Wayne, and Joanne Dru on the set of Red score for a Second-Coming tale of Jesus in Manhattan(with Martin River
HAWKS DIRECTORS, 4th EDITION 422 of the others. The story is almost always focused upon the two brothers and their attitudes toward their father, or their confusion about women; the women are rarely seen apart from men observing them; the talk is very often macho, though at one point the two couples and another would-be lover preposterously launch into a discourse about Madonna and modern women’s ‘‘control over the exploitation f their own bodies.’’ Amateur, more or less commissioned by Isabel Huppert, who stars in it, is yet more melodramatic, featuring an amnesiac (Donovan again), evidently a sadistic criminal in his ‘‘former life,’’ who is befriended by an ex-nun who wants to write pornography—the pair of them having to flee various crazed and criminal types. Here the themes of trust and the knowability of a mysterious person’s past are developed through the most lurid situations. Flirt is equally about love and betrayal, but is also an experiment in structure: Hartley’s fifth feature is actually a trilogy of short films, each using some of the same dialogue and following the same dramatic trajectory, but with different settings (New York, Berlin and Tokyo) and gender relations, according to whether the character accused of flirting—i.e., being unwilling to commit—is straight or gay, male or female. Some critics found the film boring and pretentious because of its schematic nature and extreme self-reflexivity (in the Tokyo segment the director himself plays a character named ‘‘Hal’’ who carries around a can of a film called ‘‘Flirt’’). However, those content to enjoy some very witty variations on the first segment’s patterns, and to savor contrasts of locale—e.g., the Tokyo is unexpectedly in a dance-studio with performers in white makeup and gauzy outfits—may find Flirt delightful (though with the usual disturbing edge of violence), even if lacking ‘‘profundity.’’ Henry Fool features the Hartley style on what he himself has called a more ‘‘epic’’ scale, beginning with length (it’s more than a half hour longer than any of his other features). Once again we have a man with a mysterious criminal past (‘‘An honest man is always in trouble, Simon. Remember that. . . . I’ve been bad. Repeatedly. But why brag?’’), dead-end blue-collar lives, a contrasting pair of pals (like the brothers in Simple Men), sudden violence (more vicious, less stylized than usual), themes of trust and betrayal, and splendidly nonsequitur dialogue from characters who take themselves very seriously. (Henry looking through Hustler: ‘‘I refuse to discriminate between modes of knowing.’’) A parable with an ambiguous message, the film is initially less focused upon Henry than upon Simon Grim, a despairing garbage man whom Henry encourages to write down his thoughts. The poem Simon comes up with has profound but unpredictable effects on everyone who reads it: a mute Asian clerk at World of Donuts begins to sing; his mother commits suicide; many find it obscene, but Camille Paglia (as herself) loves its ‘‘pungent, squalid element. . . the authentically trashy voice of American culture’’; Sweden gives him the Nobel Prize for Literature, while Henry’s much talked about ‘‘confessions’’ are rejected as bad writing by Simon and his publisher. Henry Fool must have more moments than any film in history in which people read intently, their lives changed by words on a page. Hartley could be accused of condescending to his often pathetic Queens characters, but the film is more shocking than and certainly as funny as any of his previous work. All of Hartley’s films call attention to their own artifice, most typically through their stylized dialogue and distinctive manner of acting. The Book of Life, an hour-long work commissioned by French television for an end-of-the-millennium series, pursues some new directions, experimenting with digital video and a prominent musical score for a Second-Coming tale of Jesus in Manhattan (with Martin Donovan in the lead role and singer P.J. Harvey as Mary Magdalene). But whatever directions Hartley pursues, one may expect his work still to feature a curious balance of artifice and passion, melodrama and cool wit. —Joseph Milicia HAWKS, Howard Nationality: American. Born: Howard Winchester Hawks in Goshen, Indiana, 30 May 1896. Education: Pasadena High School, California, 1908–13; Phillips Exeter Academy, New Hampshire, 1914–16; Cornell University, New York, degree in mechanical engineering, 1917. Military Service: Served in U.S. Army Air Corps, 1917–19. Family: Married 1) Athole (Hawks), 1924 (divorced 1941); 2) Nancy Raye Gross, 1941 (divorced), one daughter; 3) Mary (Dee) Hartford (divorced), two sons, two daughters. Career: Worked in property dept. of Famous Players-Lasky during vacations, Hollywood, 1916–17; designer in airplane factory, 1919–22; worked in independent production as editor, writer, and assistant director, from 1922; in charge of story dept. at Paramount, 1924–25; signed as director for Fox, 1925–29; directed first feature, Road to Glory, 1926; formed Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, with Borden Chase, 1944. Awards: Quarterly Award, Directors Guild of America, for Red River, 1948/49; Honorary Oscar for ‘‘A master American filmmaker whose creative efforts hold a distinguished place in world Howard Hawks (center), John Wayne, and Joanne Dru on the set of Red River
DIRECTORS, 4 EDITION HAWKS cinema, 1974. Died: In Palm Springs, California, 26 Decem- Publications HAWKS: book Films as director: Hawks on Hawks, edited by Joseph McBride, Berkeley, 1982. 1926 The Road to Glory ( story); Fig Leaves(+ story) By HAWKs 1927 The Cradle Snatchers; Paid to Love Fazil 1928 A Girl in Every Port(+ co-sc); The Air Circus (co-d) Interview with Jacques Becker, Jacques Rivette, and Francois Truffaut, 1929 Trent's Last Case n Cahiers du Cinema(Paris), February 1956 930 The Dawn patrol Interview in Movie(London ) 5 November 1962 1931 The Criminal Code Mans Favorite Director. Howard Hawks interview in cinema 1932 The Crowd Roars(+ story): Tiger Shark: Scarface: The ( Beverly Hills), November/December 1963. Shame of a Nation(+ pr, bit role as man on bed) Interview with James R. Silke, Serge Daney, and Jean-Louis Noames 1933 Today We Live, The Prizefighter and the Lady(Everywoman's in Cahiers du Cinema (Paris), November 1964 Man)(Van Dyke; d parts of film, claim disputed) Interview, in Interviews with Film Directors, by Andrew Sarris, New 1934 Viva Villa! Conway: d begun by Hawks); Twentieth Century 1935 Barbary Coast; Ceiling Zero Interview with Jean-Louis Comolli. Jean Narboni. and Bertrand 1936 The Road to Glory: Come and Get It(co-d Tavernier, in Cahiers du Cinema(Paris), July/August 1967 938 Bringing up Bab Gunplay and Horses, 'with David Austen, in Films and Filming London), October 1968 1940 His Girl Friday Do I Get to Play the Drunk This Time, an interview in Sight an 1941 The Outlaw(Hughes: d begun by Hawks); Sergeant York; Ball Sound (London), Spring 1971 Interviews with Naomi wise and Michael Goodwin in Take One (Montreal), November/December 1971 and March 1973 1944 To Have and Have No "Hawks Talks, interview with J. McBride. in Film Comment(New 946 The Big Sleep York), May/June 1974 1947 A Song ls Born(remake of Ball of Fire) " Hawks on Film, Politics, and Childrearing interview with C 1948 Red River (+ pr) Penley and others, in Jump Cut(Berkeley), January/February 1975 949 I Was a Male War Bride(You Can't Sleep Here You're Goddam Right I Remember, interview with K. Murphy 1952 The Big Sky (+ pr): "The Ransom of Red Chief'episode of C and R.T. Jameson, in Movietone News(Seattle), June 1977. Henrys Full House(episode cut from some copies)(+ pr) On hawKs. books- 1953 Gentlemen Prefer blondes Bogdanovich, Peter, The Cinema of howard Hawks, New York, 1962. 1955 Land of the Pharaohs (+ pr) 1959 Rio Bravo(+ pr) Missiaen. Jean-Claude. Howard Hawks. Paris. 1966 Wood, Robin, Howard Hawks, London, 1968, revised 1981 Gili, J -A. Howard Hawks, Paris, 1971 963 Man's Favorite Sport (+ pr) 1965 Red Line 7000(+ story, pr) Willis, D.C., The Films of Howard Hawks, Metuchen, New Jer 1975 1966 El Dorado (+ pr) Murphy, Kathleen A, Howard Hawks: An American Auteur in the 1970 Rio Lobo(+ pr) Hemingway Tradition, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1978 Giannetti, Louis D, Masters of the American Cinema, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1981 Other films Mast, Gerald. Howard Hawks, Storyteller, New York, 1982 Poague. Leland, Howard Hawks, Boston, 1982. 917 A Little Princess(Neilan)(d some scenes, uncredited; prop boy) Belton, John, Cinema Stylists, Metuchen, New Jersey, 1983 1923 Quicksands( Conway)(story, sc, pr) Simsolo. Noel. Howard Hawks. Paris. 1984 924 Tiger Love(Melford)(sc) Branson, Clark, Howard Hawks: A Jungian Study, Los Angeles, 1987 1925 The Dressmaker from Paris(Bern)(co-story, sc) McCarthy, Todd, Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood. New 1926 Honesty-the Best Policy (Bennett and Neill)(story, sc); York. 1997 Underworld(von Sternberg)(co-sc, uncredited) 1932 Red Dust(Fleming)(co-sc, uncredited On HAwKS: articles- 936 Sutter's Gold( Cruze)(co-sc, uncredited) 1937 Captain Courageous(Fleming)(co-sc, uncredited) Rivette, Jacques, and francois Truffaut, Howard Hawks, in FiIn 938 Test Pilot(Fleming)(co-sc, uncredited) in Review(New York ). November 1956 1939 Gone with the Wind(Fleming)(add'l dialogue, uncredited): Perez, Michel, "Howard Hawks et le western, " 'in Presence du Gunga Din(Stevens)(co-Sc, uncredited) Cinema(Paris), July/September 1959 1943 Corvette K-225(The Nelson Touch)(Rosson)(pr) Dyer, John Peter, "Sling the Lamps Low, in Sight and Sound 1951 The Thing(The Thing from Another World)(Nyby)(pr) London), Summer 1962
DIRECTORS, 4 HAWKS th EDITION 423 cinema,’’ 1974. Died: In Palm Springs, California, 26 December 1977. Films as Director: 1926 The Road to Glory (+ story); Fig Leaves (+ story) 1927 The Cradle Snatchers; Paid to Love; Fazil 1928 A Girl in Every Port (+ co-sc); The Air Circus (co-d) 1929 Trent’s Last Case 1930 The Dawn Patrol 1931 The Criminal Code 1932 The Crowd Roars (+ story); Tiger Shark; Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (+ pr, bit role as man on bed) 1933 Today We Live; The Prizefighter and the Lady (Everywoman’s Man) (Van Dyke; d parts of film, claim disputed) 1934 Viva Villa! (Conway; d begun by Hawks); Twentieth Century 1935 Barbary Coast; Ceiling Zero 1936 The Road to Glory; Come and Get It (co-d) 1938 Bringing up Baby 1939 Only Angels Have Wings 1940 His Girl Friday 1941 The Outlaw (Hughes; d begun by Hawks); Sergeant York; Ball of Fire 1943 Air Force 1944 To Have and Have Not 1946 The Big Sleep 1947 A Song Is Born (remake of Ball of Fire) 1948 Red River (+ pr) 1949 I Was a Male War Bride (You Can’t Sleep Here) 1952 The Big Sky (+ pr); ‘‘The Ransom of Red Chief’’ episode of O. Henry’s Full House (episode cut from some copies) (+ pr); Monkey Business 1953 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 1955 Land of the Pharaohs (+ pr) 1959 Rio Bravo (+ pr) 1962 Hatari! (+ pr) 1963 Man’s Favorite Sport (+ pr) 1965 Red Line 7000 (+ story, pr) 1966 El Dorado (+ pr) 1970 Rio Lobo (+ pr) Other Films: 1917 A Little Princess (Neilan) (d some scenes, uncredited; prop boy) 1923 Quicksands (Conway) (story, sc, pr) 1924 Tiger Love (Melford) (sc) 1925 The Dressmaker from Paris (Bern) (co-story, sc) 1926 Honesty—the Best Policy (Bennett and Neill) (story, sc); Underworld (von Sternberg) (co-sc, uncredited) 1932 Red Dust (Fleming) (co-sc, uncredited) 1936 Sutter’s Gold (Cruze) (co-sc, uncredited) 1937 Captain Courageous (Fleming) (co-sc, uncredited) 1938 Test Pilot (Fleming) (co-sc, uncredited) 1939 Gone with the Wind (Fleming) (add’l dialogue, uncredited); Gunga Din (Stevens) (co-sc, uncredited) 1943 Corvette K-225 (The Nelson Touch) (Rosson) (pr) 1951 The Thing (The Thing from Another World) (Nyby) (pr) Publications By HAWKS: book— Hawks on Hawks, edited by Joseph McBride, Berkeley, 1982. By HAWKS: articles— Interview with Jacques Becker, Jacques Rivette, and Francois Truffaut, in Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), February 1956. Interview in Movie (London), 5 November 1962. ‘‘Man’s Favorite Director, Howard Hawks,’’ interview in Cinema (Beverly Hills), November/December 1963. Interview with James R. Silke, Serge Daney, and Jean-Louis Noames, in Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), November 1964. Interview, in Interviews with Film Directors, by Andrew Sarris, New York, 1967. Interview with Jean-Louis Comolli, Jean Narboni, and Bertrand Tavernier, in Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), July/August 1967. ‘‘Gunplay and Horses,’’ with David Austen, in Films and Filming (London), October 1968. ‘‘Do I Get to Play the Drunk This Time,’’ an interview in Sight and Sound (London), Spring 1971. Interviews with Naomi Wise and Michael Goodwin, in Take One (Montreal), November/December 1971 and March 1973. ‘‘Hawks Talks,’’ interview with J. McBride, in Film Comment (New York), May/June 1974. ‘‘Hawks on Film, Politics, and Childrearing,’’ interview with C. Penley and others, in Jump Cut (Berkeley), January/February 1975. ‘‘You’re Goddam Right I Remember,’’ interview with K. Murphy and R.T. Jameson, in Movietone News (Seattle), June 1977. On HAWKS: books— Bogdanovich, Peter, The Cinema of Howard Hawks, New York, 1962. Missiaen, Jean-Claude, Howard Hawks, Paris, 1966. Wood, Robin, Howard Hawks, London, 1968, revised 1981. Gili, J.-A., Howard Hawks, Paris, 1971. Willis, D.C., The Films of Howard Hawks, Metuchen, New Jersey, 1975. Murphy, Kathleen A., Howard Hawks: An American Auteur in the Hemingway Tradition, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1978. Giannetti, Louis D., Masters of the American Cinema, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1981. Mast, Gerald, Howard Hawks, Storyteller, New York, 1982. Poague, Leland, Howard Hawks, Boston, 1982. Belton, John, Cinema Stylists, Metuchen, New Jersey, 1983. Simsolo, Noel, Howard Hawks, Paris, 1984. Branson, Clark, Howard Hawks: A Jungian Study, Los Angeles, 1987. McCarthy, Todd, Howard Hawks: The Grey Fox of Hollywood, New York, 1997. On HAWKS: articles— Rivette, Jacques, and François Truffaut, ‘‘Howard Hawks,’’ in Films in Review (New York), November 1956. Perez, Michel, ‘‘Howard Hawks et le western,’’ in Présence du Cinéma (Paris), July/September 1959. Dyer, John Peter, ‘‘Sling the Lamps Low,’’ in Sight and Sound (London), Summer 1962
HAWKS DIRECTORS, 4 EDItION Sarris, Andrew, " The World of Howard Hawks, 'in Films and each of these films could well serve as one of the very best examples Filming(London), July and August 1962 and artistic embodiments of the type: gangster (Scarface), private eye 'Hawks Issue" of Cahiers du Cinema(Paris), January 1963 (Bringing up Baby), newspaper reporter(His Girl Friday), Pmo, (The Big Sleep), western(Red River, Rio Bravo), screwball come Hawks Issue"of Movie(London), 5 December 1962 Comolli, Jean-Louis, Howard Hawks ou I,ironique, in Cahiers du picture(The Criminal Code), science fiction(The Thing), musical Cinema(Paris), November 1964 (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), race-car drivers(The Crowd Roars, Red Brackett, Leigh, " A Comment on the Hawksian Woman, in Take Line 7000), and air pilots(Only Angels Have wings). But into each One(Montreal), July/August 1971 these narratives of generic expectations Hawks infused his particular Wise, Naomi, "The Hawksian Woman, in Take One(montreal) themes, motifs, and techniques April 1972 Born in the midwest at almost the same time that the movies ' Hawks Issue"of Filmkritik(Munich), May/June 1973. themselves were born in America, Hawks migrated with his family to Wood, Robin, To Have(Written) and Have Not(Directed), in southern California when the movies did; he spent his formative years Film Comment(New York), May/June 1973 working on films, learning to fly, and studying engineering at Cornell Haskell, Molly,""Howard Hawks: Masculine Feminine, in Film University. His initial work in silent films as a writer and producer Comment(New York), March/April 1974 would serve him well in his later years as a director, when he would phen, M,""Hawks in the Thirties, in Take One(Montreal), produce and, if not write, then control the writing of his films as well. Although Hawks work has been consistently dis ly discussed as exemplary Special issue, Wide Angle, vol. 1, no. 2, Summer 1976. of the Hollywood studio style, Hawks himself did not work for Richards, Jeffrey, The Silent Films of Howard Hawks, in Focus on a single studio on a long-term contract. Instead, he was an indepen- Film(London), Summer/Autumn 1976. dent producer who sold his projects to every Hollywood studio. Durgnat, Raymond, ""Hawks Isn't Good Enough, 'in Film Comment Whatever the genre of a Hawks film, it bore traits that made it New York), July/August 1977; see also February and March/ un nmistakably a Hawks film. The narrative was always elegantly and symmetrically structured and patterned. This quality was a sign of Hawks Section"of Positif(Paris), July/August 1977 Hawks' sharp sense of storytelling as well as his sensible efforts Dossier: le cinema de Howard Hawks, in Cinematographe(Paris), work closely with very talented writers: Ben Hecht, William Faulkner March 1978 and Jules Furthman being the most notable among them. Hawks Rohmer, Eric, and others, ""Hommage a Hawks, in Cinema(Paris), films were devoted to characters who were professionals with fervent March 1978 vocational commitments. The men in Hawks'films were good McBride Hawks, in Film Comment(New York), March/ what they did, whether flying the mail, driving race cars, driving cattle, or reporting the news. These vocational commitments were Burdick, D M, ""Danger of Death: The Hawksian Woman as Agent usually fulfilled by the union of two apparently opposite physical of Destruction, 'in Post Script (Jacksonville, Florida), Fall 1981. types who were spiritually one: either the union of the harder, tougher. M c Carthy, T,""Phantom Hawks, in Film Comment(New York) older male and a softer, younger, prettier male (John Wayne and September/October 1982. Montgomery Clift in Red River, Wayne and Ricky Nelson in Rio Lev, P,""Elaborations on a Theme, in Quarterly Review of Film Bravo), or by a sharp, tough male and an equally sharp tough female Studies(New York), Spring 1984 Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday, Bogart and Jewell,RB, " How Howard Hawks Brought Baby Up, in Journal Bacall in To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep, John Barrymore of Popular Film(Washington, D. C ) winter 1984 and Carole Lombard in Twentieth Century). This spiritual alliance of Big Sleep, in Cine physical opposites revealed Hawks unwillingness to accept the Action&excl: (Toronto), no. 13/14, 1988 cultural stereotype that those who are able to accomplish difficult Davis, Teo, interview with Walter Hill, "Hill on Hawks, in Sight tasks are those who appear able to accomplish them and Sound (London), vol 7, no 2, February 1997 This tension between appearance and ability, surface and essence Gross, Larry, "" Hawks and the Angels, in Sight and Sound (Lon in Hawks'films led to several other themes and techniques. Charac- don), vol. 7, no. 2, February 1997 ters talk very tersely in Hawks' films, refusing to put their thoughts Younis, Raymond, Hawks and Ford Resurgent, in Cinema Papers and feelings into explicit speeches which would either sentimentalize or vulgarize those internal abstractions. Instead, Hawks'characters reveal their feelings through their actions, not by what they say On hawKs films- Hawks deflects his portrayal of the inner life from explicit speeches to symbolic physical objects-concrete visual images of things that Bogdanovich, Peter, The Great Professional-Howard Hawks, fc convey the intentions of the person who handles, uses, or controls the television, Great Britain, 1967 piece of physical matter. One of those physical objects-the coin Schickel. Richard. The Men Who Made the Movies. Howard Hawks which George Raft nervously flips in Scarface-has become a mythic for television. United States. 1973 of American culture itself, symbolic in itself of American Blumenberg, Hans, Ein verdammt gutes Leben(A Hell of a Good gangsters and American gangster movies(and used as such in both Singin in the rain and Some Like It Hot). Another of Hawks favorite actions, the lighting of cigarettes, became his subtextual way of showing who cares about whom without recourse to dialogue. Consistent with his narratives, Hawks visual style was one of Howard Hawks was perhaps the greatest director of American dead-pan understatement, never proclaiming its trickiness or bril- genre films. Hawks made films in almost every American genre, and liance but effortlessly communicating the values of the stories and the 424
HAWKS DIRECTORS, 4th EDITION 424 Sarris, Andrew, ‘‘The World of Howard Hawks,’’ in Films and Filming (London), July and August 1962. ‘‘Hawks Issue’’ of Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), January 1963. ‘‘Hawks Issue’’ of Movie (London), 5 December 1962. Comolli, Jean-Louis, ‘‘Howard Hawks ou l’ironique,’’ in Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), November 1964. Brackett, Leigh, ‘‘A Comment on the Hawksian Woman,’’ in Take One (Montreal), July/August 1971. Wise, Naomi, ‘‘The Hawksian Woman,’’ in Take One (Montreal), April 1972. ‘‘Hawks Issue’’ of Filmkritik (Munich), May/June 1973. Wood, Robin, ‘‘To Have (Written) and Have Not (Directed),’’ in Film Comment (New York), May/June 1973. Haskell, Molly, ‘‘Howard Hawks: Masculine Feminine,’’ in Film Comment (New York), March/April 1974. Cohen, M., ‘‘Hawks in the Thirties,’’ in Take One (Montreal), December 1975. Special issue, Wide Angle, vol. 1, no. 2, Summer 1976. Richards, Jeffrey, ‘‘The Silent Films of Howard Hawks,’’ in Focus on Film (London), Summer/Autumn 1976. Durgnat, Raymond, ‘‘Hawks Isn’t Good Enough,’’ in Film Comment (New York), July/August 1977; see also February and March/ April 1978. ‘‘Hawks Section’’ of Positif (Paris), July/August 1977. ‘‘Dossier: le cinéma de Howard Hawks,’’ in Cinématographe (Paris), March 1978. Rohmer, Eric, and others, ‘‘Hommage à Hawks,’’ in Cinéma (Paris), March 1978. McBride, J., ‘‘Hawks,’’ in Film Comment (New York), March/ April 1978. Burdick, D.M., ‘‘Danger of Death: The Hawksian Woman as Agent of Destruction,’’ in Post Script (Jacksonville, Florida), Fall 1981. McCarthy, T., ‘‘Phantom Hawks,’’ in Film Comment (New York), September/October 1982. Lev, P., ‘‘Elaborations on a Theme,’’ in Quarterly Review of Film Studies (New York), Spring 1984. Jewell, R.B., ‘‘How Howard Hawks Brought Baby Up,’’ in Journal of Popular Film (Washington, D.C.), Winter 1984. Walker, Michael, ‘‘Hawks and Film Noir: The Big Sleep,’’ in CineAction! (Toronto), no. 13/14, 1988. Davis, Teo, interview with Walter Hill, ‘‘Hill on Hawks,’’ in Sight and Sound (London), vol. 7, no. 2, February 1997. Gross, Larry, ‘‘Hawks and the Angels,’’ in Sight and Sound (London), vol. 7, no. 2, February 1997. Younis, Raymond, ‘‘Hawks and Ford Resurgent,’’ in Cinema Papers (Australia), no. 120, October 1997. On HAWKS: films— Bogdanovich, Peter, The Great Professional—Howard Hawks, for television, Great Britain, 1967. Schickel, Richard, The Men Who Made the Movies: Howard Hawks, for television, United States, 1973. Blumenberg, Hans, Ein verdammt gutes Leben (A Hell of a Good Life), West Germany, 1978. *** Howard Hawks was perhaps the greatest director of American genre films. Hawks made films in almost every American genre, and each of these films could well serve as one of the very best examples and artistic embodiments of the type: gangster (Scarface), private eye (The Big Sleep), western (Red River, Rio Bravo), screwball comedy (Bringing up Baby), newspaper reporter (His Girl Friday), prison picture (The Criminal Code), science fiction (The Thing), musical (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), race-car drivers (The Crowd Roars, Red Line 7000), and air pilots (Only Angels Have Wings). But into each of these narratives of generic expectations Hawks infused his particular themes, motifs, and techniques. Born in the Midwest at almost the same time that the movies themselves were born in America, Hawks migrated with his family to southern California when the movies did; he spent his formative years working on films, learning to fly, and studying engineering at Cornell University. His initial work in silent films as a writer and producer would serve him well in his later years as a director, when he would produce and, if not write, then control the writing of his films as well. Although Hawks’ work has been consistently discussed as exemplary of the Hollywood studio style, Hawks himself did not work for a single studio on a long-term contract. Instead, he was an independent producer who sold his projects to every Hollywood studio. Whatever the genre of a Hawks film, it bore traits that made it unmistakably a Hawks film. The narrative was always elegantly and symmetrically structured and patterned. This quality was a sign of Hawks’ sharp sense of storytelling as well as his sensible efforts to work closely with very talented writers: Ben Hecht, William Faulkner, and Jules Furthman being the most notable among them. Hawks’ films were devoted to characters who were professionals with fervent vocational commitments. The men in Hawks’ films were good at what they did, whether flying the mail, driving race cars, driving cattle, or reporting the news. These vocational commitments were usually fulfilled by the union of two apparently opposite physical types who were spiritually one: either the union of the harder, tougher, older male and a softer, younger, prettier male (John Wayne and Montgomery Clift in Red River, Wayne and Ricky Nelson in Rio Bravo), or by a sharp, tough male and an equally sharp, tough female (Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday, Bogart and Bacall in To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep, John Barrymore and Carole Lombard in Twentieth Century). This spiritual alliance of physical opposites revealed Hawks’ unwillingness to accept the cultural stereotype that those who are able to accomplish difficult tasks are those who appear able to accomplish them. This tension between appearance and ability, surface and essence in Hawks’ films led to several other themes and techniques. Characters talk very tersely in Hawks’ films, refusing to put their thoughts and feelings into explicit speeches which would either sentimentalize or vulgarize those internal abstractions. Instead, Hawks’ characters reveal their feelings through their actions, not by what they say. Hawks deflects his portrayal of the inner life from explicit speeches to symbolic physical objects—concrete visual images of things that convey the intentions of the person who handles, uses, or controls the piece of physical matter. One of those physical objects—the coin which George Raft nervously flips in Scarface—has become a mythic icon of American culture itself, symbolic in itself of American gangsters and American gangster movies (and used as such in both Singin’ in the Rain and Some Like It Hot). Another of Hawks’ favorite actions, the lighting of cigarettes, became his subtextual way of showing who cares about whom without recourse to dialogue. Consistent with his narratives, Hawks’ visual style was one of dead-pan understatement, never proclaiming its trickiness or brilliance but effortlessly communicating the values of the stories and the
