What the hell are “tidings” anyway?
Here are some festive greetings cards from Shadowplay. Simply print out the images, cut them to size, paste them onto a piece of folded card and do all the wearisome and time-consuming interior layout yourself.
Actual size Scorsese.
I don’t like Mike Leigh’s stuff too much, but you’ve got to admit, he has a festive appearance.
And I applaud the Criterion Collection’s release of the long-unavailable TOPSY TURVY, the only Leigh film I’ve both seen and enjoyed. (There are many Leigh films I’ve seen and not enjoyed. Are there Leigh films I’ve enjoyed and not seen? Yes.)
Orson is how I’d like to imagine Father Christmas.
I wish this were a talking card, Lynch’s nasal twang seems an ideal medium for conveying seasonal cheer.
And nothing says “Yuletide Fun” like this fellow. Have an Irreversible Christmas!
December 22, 2010 at 2:10 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by dcairns, Ally Craig and others. Ally Craig said: Shadowplay Christmas Cards by @dcairns. Orson Welles and his jingly bells, brilliant! — http://tinyurl.com/2w874vj [...]
December 22, 2010 at 3:18 pm
Christmas cracking!
December 22, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Oh, I do agree with you about Mike Leigh. After All Or Nothing, I swore I would never see another. Then I had to watch Happy Go Lucky as part of a course I was doing. It was the usual gallery of grotesques – all grossly over-performed by actors employing the full array of tics and grimaces. Even actors who are normally models of restraint pull out all the stops for old Mike. Why do they do it? Because they get garlanded with awards, I guess. But what’s far worse are the contemptuous, sneering class attitudes on display and I hate the way his films assume that we share them. Like you, I can tolerate Topsy Turvey but only because it’s a Leigh anomaly.
December 22, 2010 at 4:59 pm
Oh my God, this cracked me up. Such a great way to start out the morning. Can we get “Mervyn LeRoy spreads yuletide joy”? I want to print these and mail them out now…
December 22, 2010 at 5:03 pm
“Apichatpong Weerasethakul thinks Xmas is Really Cool”
December 22, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Judy, you’re a brave and resilient woman! I gave up on Mike Leigh all the way back in 1993. NAKED was so ghastly and grimy and depressing that it left me feeling physically unclean.
In the 15 years since I saw it, I haven’t sat through a single one of Leigh’s movies. OK, I may have glimpsed a few seconds on TV…as I scrambled desperately for the remote control. But I normally manage to keep my eyes averted.
Together with Ken Loach and Michael Frozen Bum, Leigh is a symptom of everything that’s currently wrong with British cinema. Given the antics of this Talentless Trio, it’s a wonder we have a film industry at all!
December 22, 2010 at 5:33 pm
I’m working on some more. All requests gratefully received. Just realized I have no idea what Mervyn LeRoy looked like (although I may have his autobio around somewhere). No mental picture of Roy Del Ruth either.
December 22, 2010 at 5:49 pm
On a purely commercial basis, I *suppose* Loach and Leigh have a following which allows their movies to be bankable. Michael Autumnbottom I don’t understand at all.
Still, it’s Christmas, so let’s not dwell on the negative. Topsy Turvy is good fun, and so is 24 Hr Party People.
December 22, 2010 at 6:22 pm
Pedro Costa Wishes You A Merry Little Christmas!
Manoel de Oliveira sends you glad tidings from Portugal as he did to your ancestors before you!
December 22, 2010 at 6:48 pm
Two more: “Satyajit Ray takes a ride on a sleigh” and “Jean Vigo loves mistletoe.” OK, I’m done.
December 22, 2010 at 6:56 pm
Heh!
December 22, 2010 at 6:58 pm
“Frankincense and myrrh from Maurice and Jacques Tourneur.”
December 22, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Double heh! And possibly a yo ho ho.
December 22, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Damn, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a picture of Mervyn LeRoy, but I have seen one of Del Ruth somewhere (and Lloyd Bacon if that matters).
December 23, 2010 at 1:02 am
Roy Del Ruth says “Have a Happy Christmas, forsooth”.
December 23, 2010 at 1:03 am
Joel and Ethan Coen say “After the Brussels Sprouts, we’re goin’.”
December 23, 2010 at 3:06 am
Uwe Boll’s on his Xmas hols.
December 23, 2010 at 1:49 pm
Leo McCarey’s our Christmas tree fairy.
December 23, 2010 at 2:28 pm
That’s SUCH a lovely image, I may have to do something with it.