Through Dark Glasses, Darkly
So, via Facebook, David Hudson and Girish Shambu, I learn that Ingmar Bergman’s copious VHS collection contained a recording of THE BLUES BROTHERS.
Of course, I can top that — I’ve been through Lindsay Anderson’s tape collection, which contained several episodes of Spencer: For Hire.
But to return to the case of Bergman — cinephiles have long been aware of the powerful influence exerted on the Swedish master by the works of John Landis. Would HOUR OF THE WOLF even be conceivable without the example of AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON? KARIN’S FACE is little more than a heartfelt homage to SUSAN’S PLAN. And in revisiting his characters from SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE years later in FROM THE LIFE OF THE MARIONETTES, Bergman betrayed the clear influence of the master’s BLUES BROTHERS 2000.
shadowplay 
April 7, 2012 at 12:20 pm
Years ago our video recorder’s fast forward button stopped working. Whenever we wanted to watch Caddyshack we had to watch all of The Seventh Seal first. A healthy arrangement that makes me regret the move to DVD.
April 7, 2012 at 12:22 pm
This is your missus speaking through your WordPress account – Oi! You leave John Landis alone you big bully! Fiona.
April 7, 2012 at 12:24 pm
Confusingly, this is David, doing Fiona’s voice: I like John Landis fine, especially American Werewolf.
I have never seen Caddyshack, funnily enough. Maybe I need a situation where I need to watch it before I get to see The Seventh Seal. (Btw, The Seventh Seal’s humorous side is underrated.)
April 7, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Here’s a taste for ya!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4xuZMpmXtc&feature=related
April 7, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Well, I like Bill Murray… I like puppets… I’m dubious about Harold Ramis as a filmmaker, but I do share the general admiration for Groundhog Day.
April 7, 2012 at 5:11 pm
April 7, 2012 at 5:39 pm
Saw GROUNDHOG DAY for the first time only recently, I think it represents Murray’s transition from the more typical SNL/National Lampoon comic sensibility toward something more unique and idiosyncratic, a la Wes and Sofia. I was also struck at how the film even got made, as it must’ve seemed damn weird on paper.
April 7, 2012 at 6:13 pm
The Seventh Seal is probably one of Bergman’s most purely entertaining films. In retrospect, I wish I had put a copy of Meatballs on the end of Cries and Whispers.
Caddyshack seemed to be one of the first films available to rent on video, and I saw it many, many times when I was growing up. I have no healthy perspective on it! Ramis might not be on Bergman’s level, but he does have an extraordinarily sleazy Kenny Loggins soundtrack and a dancing gopher.
April 7, 2012 at 6:41 pm
I have been clearing out our box room this afternoon, and look what I found!
April 7, 2012 at 7:07 pm
“Cries and Whispers and Meatballs” does have a nice sound to it.
Has anyone seen the Bill Murray film of The Razor’s Edge? Always been curious about that one.
April 7, 2012 at 7:22 pm
I remember liking Landis’ INTO THE NIGHT …
April 7, 2012 at 7:58 pm
Into the Night has a lot of charm (with a couple of strangely out-of-place nasty moments). I enjoyed Animal House and The Blues Brothers. I think he tends to decorate his films with cameos and stuff when he’s unable to fix the scripts, and he’s been doing that for twenty years now…
April 7, 2012 at 8:27 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X2QmLWWxq4
April 7, 2012 at 8:30 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4BCMJiQ8gU
April 8, 2012 at 2:43 am
I saw Bill Murray’s “Razor’s Edge” when it came out in what, 1984 or so? It wasn’t half bad and was actually fairly true to the Maugham novel. I read somewhere that Murray used “Ghostbusters” as leverage to get the funding for “Razor’s Edge”, but it did poorly at the box office so it was difficult for him to get any more serious projects for a long while after. Saw him recently in “Get Low”, and it really showcased what an understated actor he’s become. Hope he does more like it.
April 8, 2012 at 10:13 am
He’s grown into that face nicely as well. I remember Ghostbusters being the first time I’d seen him on the big screen, and he was kind of ghastly to behold, especially surrounded by Michael Chapman’s glossy cinematography. Now he’s adorably rumpled.
April 8, 2012 at 10:56 am
Chevy Chase once told him in the heat of an argument that his (Murray’s) face looked “like something Neil Armstrong landed a vehicle on”. I believe this statement was made shortly prior to having his own face pushed forcefully to the back of his skull by Mr. Murray.
April 8, 2012 at 11:03 am
And now where’s Chevy Chase? His decline as a star is fully understandable given the movies he made, but seems a waste of an affable screen persona. How far away is his Tarantino-style rediscovery?
April 8, 2012 at 11:50 am
I think it’s already happening. Mainly through tv.
April 8, 2012 at 1:20 pm
Oh yeah, Community. I don’t keep up with these developments. Probably do him more good than Hot Tub Time Machine (a “Sun-Play for the Ages”).
April 8, 2012 at 7:55 pm
There’s NOTHING “affable” about Chevvy Chase. Ask Jonathan Rosenbaum — he was a college classmate. Blythe Danner was in the same class and she was (needless to say) teriffic.
The greatest reaction to Chase was William Goldman who when called on the carpet by Chase for his scrpitfor Memoirs of An Invisible Man, listened to Chase’s diatribe and replied “I’m too old and too rich to have to put up with this shit.”
He then got up and walked out.
April 9, 2012 at 12:06 am
Oh, I can imagine Chase being a piece of work. He keeps it off the screen, though.
The eventual script on Carpenter’s Invisible Man sure wasn’t too hot. It’s hard to imagine we live in a crazy world where Chase could overrule Goldman on script matters…