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Thursday, May 26, 2011

SIFF Picks: Day Eight!

Posted by on Thu, May 26, 2011 at 4:44 PM

Shadoe is as Shadoe does.
  • Shadoe is as Shadoe does.
Great day today, guys. Great day.

First of all, there's The Thief of Bagdad: Re-imagined by Shadoe Stevens with the Music of E.L.O., which is crazy and weird and ought not to be missed:

If you know Shadoe Stevens at all, it’s because he’s a schlocky DJ who found minor fame in the ‘90s on a rebooted Hollywood Squares. But for the last decade or so, he’s been hard at work scoring Douglas Fairbanks’ silent 1924 One Thousand and One Nights adaptation, The Thief of Bagdad, to the music of the Electric Light Orchestra. Why? Because shut up, that’s why. SIFF programmers who’ve seen Bagdad are ecstatic about this one, and you should be, too.

We also liked Bicycle, Spoon, Apple:

A charming Spanish politician goes public with his Alzheimer’s diagnosis and starts a foundation to support research for a cure, though he gets increasingly batty as the disease (and the documentary) progresses. It’s a must-see for anyone curious about Alzheimer’s as well as anyone who’s ever wanted to see a research mouse swimming in a vat of water or a sliced-up brain on a tray. CHRISTOPHER FRIZZELLE

And Pinoy Sunday:

This exceedingly good-natured buddy comedy focuses on a pair of Filipino friends working at a closely supervised factory in Taipei. After finding a sweet leather couch left on the curb, the not-entirely-dynamic duo must figure out how to get it back to their barracks before lockdown. Writer/director Wi Ding Ho’s first feature is a real delight, throwing slapstick, unexpected moments of poignancy, and even a WTF musical number into the mix. If you’ve ever helped a friend move into a new place, you’ll dig this. ANDREW WRIGHT

PLUS, Stranger editor emeritus Sean Nelson's directorial debut, Treatment, also screens tonight:

An L.A. filmmaker goes undercover in an in-patient rehab center to gain access to a troubled young Hollywood star in this comedy featuring a trio of talents from the Lynn Shelton universe: Humpday star Joshua Leonard (who stars), Humpday co-producer Steven Schardt (who co-directs), and My Effortless Brilliance star Sean Nelson (who co-directs, co-stars, and wrote the screenplay).

And there's tons more—click HERE for more recommendations and tonight's complete schedule.

 

Comments (7) RSS

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1
Wrong. I know Shadoe Stevens because I grew up watching his commercials for The Federated TV and Appliances in L.A.

I would totally watch this BTW.
Posted by Fred Rated on May 26, 2011 at 4:58 PM
stinkbug 2
No love for An African Election and Viva Riva?
Posted by stinkbug on May 26, 2011 at 6:07 PM
blip 3
It was actually the mid/late 80s re-boot of Hollywood Squares that made him famous, where he was a regular occupant of one of the squares. He was involved with the Whoopi/Valanache 90s version, but only as an announcer. [/Shadoe Stevens pedantry]
Posted by blip on May 26, 2011 at 6:45 PM
Soupytwist 4
@3 - Thank you for taking that Shadoe Stevens pedantry bullet for me.
Posted by Soupytwist http://twitter.com/katherinesmith on May 26, 2011 at 8:50 PM
Fred Casely 5
First of all, there's The Thief of Bagdad: Re-imagined by Shadoe Stevens with the Music of E.L.O., which is crazy and weird and ought not to be missed:


If that's the full title, I'd like to see it on a marquee as a double feature with "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire."

Seriously, though, it sound like it would be great to see back-to-back with the Giorgio Moroder version of "Metropolis."
Posted by Fred Casely on May 26, 2011 at 9:37 PM
6
saw it tonight and loved it. he's been working on this since 1977, and truly, i was amazed/impressed on 2 levels: 1, the movie, which was the most expensive movie of its time, 2.5 million, is beautiful, and tender, and dug fairbanks is a freakin stud at age 44. 2, knowing that he made so many versions with so much different music over 30+ years, as an obsession that few people would ever see, is an intimate look into one man's passion. too bad there were so few people. it was a treat.
Posted by tussinextreme on May 26, 2011 at 11:26 PM
Will in Seattle 7
Glad they're using real theater seats at the Neptune starting today!
Posted by Will in Seattle http://www.facebook.com/WillSeattle on May 27, 2011 at 11:57 AM

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