Donato Totaro | Concordia University (Canada) (original) (raw)

Papers by Donato Totaro

Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Mar 1, 2001

© 200O Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-... more © 200O Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper © Designed by CH Westmoreland Typeset in Melior with DIN Neuzeit Grotesk Bold Condensed display by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Library of Congress ...

Canadian Journal of Film Studies, 1992

as not. the athletic and artistic alibi would merge, as with the otullipresent reproductions of c... more as not. the athletic and artistic alibi would merge, as with the otullipresent reproductions of classical statuary, discus-throwers and the liJ:;e. tbat would remain a key term of tile gayimagiuary tOr generations. Similarly, it was no accident that, as early as the 1880s, the classical statue ora maratllOner in Berlin's Tiergarten became the focus of an important gay cruising area (Andreas Stemweile>t, "Kunst wui schwiiler Alltag", in Micl::me1 BoU~,ed., EI4of"{ulo; Homosexuelle Frauen und Manner in Berlin /{J50•1950. GeschieJue, Alltag wuf Kullur (Berlin: FrOHch & Kaufnmnn, 1984), p. 76). Of course, the artistic alibi had remarkable staying: power despite its sub.mersionby the athletic alibi, supported its own crypto-gay publishing mini-industry in the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to have a clear judicial and cultural Weight, as evidenced by the recent Mapplethorpe trial in Cincinnati.

Séquences: La revue de cinéma, 1995

... Article. Peter Jackson et la comédie-gore. Donato Totaro. Traduit de l'anglais par. Mart... more ... Article. Peter Jackson et la comédie-gore. Donato Totaro. Traduit de l'anglais par. Martin Girard. Auteur : Donato Totaro. Titre : Peter Jackson et la comédie-gore. Revue : Séquences : La revue de cinéma, Numéro 176, janvier-février 1995, p. 22-37. ...

A thesis by Donato Totaro [M.F.A., 1990] on the affinities between the philosophical conjectures ... more A thesis by Donato Totaro [M.F.A., 1990] on the affinities between the philosophical conjectures of Henri Bergson and the movies and remarks on filmmaking of Andrei Tarkovsky

Film-Philosophy, 2000

... To further this point he notes Russian writer Dimitri Merezhkovsky's critique of the len... more ... To further this point he notes Russian writer Dimitri Merezhkovsky's critique of the lengthy passages in Tolstoy's _War and Peace_ where characters engage in philosophy. ThoughTarkovsky notes that Merezhkovsky's criticism is based on sound reasoning, he admits that these ...

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE Dans ses films, Nagisa Oshima a l'habitude de remettre en cause la ... more MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE Dans ses films, Nagisa Oshima a l'habitude de remettre en cause la plupart des valeurs traditionnelles de la tradition japonaise. Son esprit iconoclaste, son souci constant de traduire les désillusions de la jeunesse, son goût pour la violence et le sexe font scandale. La Cérémonie (1971), puis L'Empire des sens (1976) et L'Empire de la passion (qui font la conquête du public occidental), sont des oeuvres farouches qui débouchent sur la folie et la mort Situé dans le prolongement de toute son oeuvre, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence est une réflexion sur les deux cultures, occidentale et japonaise, à travers l'affrontement de prisonniers britanniques et de leurs geôliers japonais. Oshima a choisi pour interprètes deux stars du rock, l'Anglais David Bowie et Iff Japonais Ryuishi Sakamoto (également, compositeur de la musique lancinante du film). Il est évident que pour l'auteur, la culture japonaise, à la fois ouverte au monde et crispée dans son affirmation de soi, est la plus fragile dans cette confrontation. Témoin la scène inoubliable et d'une sauvage violence où l'Anglais, que le Japonais croit enfin avoir brisé en l'obligeant à assister à l'exécution de son ami, embrasse son bourreau sur la bouche devant tous les officiers rassemblés. Les vibrants Écrits (1956-1978) d'Oshima ont été traduits en français en 1980.

As part of Black History month, on February 22, 2004 the Montreal based “Film Society” is present... more As part of Black History month, on February 22, 2004 the Montreal based “Film Society” is presenting a special double-bill screening of D.W. Griffith‟s Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. The Film Society is clearly going out of its way to present Birth of a Nation and Intolerance in the way they were meant to be seen: on a big screen, with live piano and with the spirit of the big theatre „palace‟ experience. I thought it would be fitting to give some necessary context that is missing from the event‟s promotional material which can be accessed at the dedicated website (www.cinemuet.com). To begin, Thomas Dixon‟s novel The Clansman (1905), which was used by Griffith as the main source for the film (along with a play based on the same novel), deals only with the Reconstruction period, not, as the website claims, “before, during, and after the Civil War.”[1] In fact, most of the first part of Birth of a Nation was written exclusively by D.W. Griffith.

... Article. Guy Maddin ou le (post)modernisme archaïque. Donato Totaro. Auteur : Donato Totaro. ... more ... Article. Guy Maddin ou le (post)modernisme archaïque. Donato Totaro. Auteur : Donato Totaro. Titre : Guy Maddin ou le (post)modernisme archaïque. Revue : 24 images, Numéro 118, septembre 2004, p. 5-7. URI : http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/7791ac. ...

My thesis is an examination of the formal and textual aspects of the long take, principally as us... more My thesis is an examination of the formal and textual aspects of the long take, principally as used in The Magnificent Ambersons (1942, Orson Welles), Ugetsil (1954, Kenji Mizoguchi), and Stalker (1979, Andrei Tarkovsky). The thesis begins by defining the long take as a shot of 25 seconds or longer that usually contains one of the following qualities: a sense of completeness or wholeness, 'durational complexity, ' and a 'soft' formal/thematic determinism. This working definition is used as part of a 'philosophical' formal-textual methodological approach to the long take informed by a 'common sense' philosophical understanding of time. An important element of this formal-textual methodology is 'contextual statistical analysis' (CSA) and close, accurate shot description. This 'common sense' philosophical understanding sees time as being expressible by properties that are both outside the self (external time) and by properties that are wi...

... Article. Subconscious CrueltyHorreur à l'ombre du Mont-Royal. Donato Totaro. Traduct... more ... Article. Subconscious CrueltyHorreur à l'ombre du Mont-Royal. Donato Totaro. Traduction de. Martin Girard. Auteur : Donato Totaro. Titre : Subconscious Cruelty : horreur à l'ombre du Mont-Royal. Revue : Séquences : La revue ...

ReFocus: The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky

This chapter concentrates on Tarkovsky’s 1979 film Stalker and in particular how his expression o... more This chapter concentrates on Tarkovsky’s 1979 film Stalker and in particular how his expression of temporality through his long take aesthetic impacts on narrative meaning. In his close reading, Totaro breaks down the film into three sections that comprise the narrative and character journey – pre-zone reality, the fantastical zone, and the post-zone reality – and examines how time is represented in the long take across these sections. As Stalker’s narrative progresses, the author argues, time in the long take becomes an expression of creation and invention, moving from the so called “drab-time” of the initial pre-zone city scenes, to a “creation-time” in the middle zone section, to a more ambiguous expression of time in the post-zone city scenes.

Canadian Journal of Film Studies, Mar 1, 2001

© 200O Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-... more © 200O Duke University Press All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper © Designed by CH Westmoreland Typeset in Melior with DIN Neuzeit Grotesk Bold Condensed display by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Library of Congress ...

Canadian Journal of Film Studies, 1992

as not. the athletic and artistic alibi would merge, as with the otullipresent reproductions of c... more as not. the athletic and artistic alibi would merge, as with the otullipresent reproductions of classical statuary, discus-throwers and the liJ:;e. tbat would remain a key term of tile gayimagiuary tOr generations. Similarly, it was no accident that, as early as the 1880s, the classical statue ora maratllOner in Berlin's Tiergarten became the focus of an important gay cruising area (Andreas Stemweile>t, "Kunst wui schwiiler Alltag", in Micl::me1 BoU~,ed., EI4of"{ulo; Homosexuelle Frauen und Manner in Berlin /{J50•1950. GeschieJue, Alltag wuf Kullur (Berlin: FrOHch & Kaufnmnn, 1984), p. 76). Of course, the artistic alibi had remarkable staying: power despite its sub.mersionby the athletic alibi, supported its own crypto-gay publishing mini-industry in the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to have a clear judicial and cultural Weight, as evidenced by the recent Mapplethorpe trial in Cincinnati.

Séquences: La revue de cinéma, 1995

... Article. Peter Jackson et la comédie-gore. Donato Totaro. Traduit de l'anglais par. Mart... more ... Article. Peter Jackson et la comédie-gore. Donato Totaro. Traduit de l'anglais par. Martin Girard. Auteur : Donato Totaro. Titre : Peter Jackson et la comédie-gore. Revue : Séquences : La revue de cinéma, Numéro 176, janvier-février 1995, p. 22-37. ...

A thesis by Donato Totaro [M.F.A., 1990] on the affinities between the philosophical conjectures ... more A thesis by Donato Totaro [M.F.A., 1990] on the affinities between the philosophical conjectures of Henri Bergson and the movies and remarks on filmmaking of Andrei Tarkovsky

Film-Philosophy, 2000

... To further this point he notes Russian writer Dimitri Merezhkovsky's critique of the len... more ... To further this point he notes Russian writer Dimitri Merezhkovsky's critique of the lengthy passages in Tolstoy's _War and Peace_ where characters engage in philosophy. ThoughTarkovsky notes that Merezhkovsky's criticism is based on sound reasoning, he admits that these ...

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE Dans ses films, Nagisa Oshima a l'habitude de remettre en cause la ... more MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE Dans ses films, Nagisa Oshima a l'habitude de remettre en cause la plupart des valeurs traditionnelles de la tradition japonaise. Son esprit iconoclaste, son souci constant de traduire les désillusions de la jeunesse, son goût pour la violence et le sexe font scandale. La Cérémonie (1971), puis L'Empire des sens (1976) et L'Empire de la passion (qui font la conquête du public occidental), sont des oeuvres farouches qui débouchent sur la folie et la mort Situé dans le prolongement de toute son oeuvre, Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence est une réflexion sur les deux cultures, occidentale et japonaise, à travers l'affrontement de prisonniers britanniques et de leurs geôliers japonais. Oshima a choisi pour interprètes deux stars du rock, l'Anglais David Bowie et Iff Japonais Ryuishi Sakamoto (également, compositeur de la musique lancinante du film). Il est évident que pour l'auteur, la culture japonaise, à la fois ouverte au monde et crispée dans son affirmation de soi, est la plus fragile dans cette confrontation. Témoin la scène inoubliable et d'une sauvage violence où l'Anglais, que le Japonais croit enfin avoir brisé en l'obligeant à assister à l'exécution de son ami, embrasse son bourreau sur la bouche devant tous les officiers rassemblés. Les vibrants Écrits (1956-1978) d'Oshima ont été traduits en français en 1980.

As part of Black History month, on February 22, 2004 the Montreal based “Film Society” is present... more As part of Black History month, on February 22, 2004 the Montreal based “Film Society” is presenting a special double-bill screening of D.W. Griffith‟s Birth of a Nation and Intolerance. The Film Society is clearly going out of its way to present Birth of a Nation and Intolerance in the way they were meant to be seen: on a big screen, with live piano and with the spirit of the big theatre „palace‟ experience. I thought it would be fitting to give some necessary context that is missing from the event‟s promotional material which can be accessed at the dedicated website (www.cinemuet.com). To begin, Thomas Dixon‟s novel The Clansman (1905), which was used by Griffith as the main source for the film (along with a play based on the same novel), deals only with the Reconstruction period, not, as the website claims, “before, during, and after the Civil War.”[1] In fact, most of the first part of Birth of a Nation was written exclusively by D.W. Griffith.

... Article. Guy Maddin ou le (post)modernisme archaïque. Donato Totaro. Auteur : Donato Totaro. ... more ... Article. Guy Maddin ou le (post)modernisme archaïque. Donato Totaro. Auteur : Donato Totaro. Titre : Guy Maddin ou le (post)modernisme archaïque. Revue : 24 images, Numéro 118, septembre 2004, p. 5-7. URI : http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/7791ac. ...

My thesis is an examination of the formal and textual aspects of the long take, principally as us... more My thesis is an examination of the formal and textual aspects of the long take, principally as used in The Magnificent Ambersons (1942, Orson Welles), Ugetsil (1954, Kenji Mizoguchi), and Stalker (1979, Andrei Tarkovsky). The thesis begins by defining the long take as a shot of 25 seconds or longer that usually contains one of the following qualities: a sense of completeness or wholeness, 'durational complexity, ' and a 'soft' formal/thematic determinism. This working definition is used as part of a 'philosophical' formal-textual methodological approach to the long take informed by a 'common sense' philosophical understanding of time. An important element of this formal-textual methodology is 'contextual statistical analysis' (CSA) and close, accurate shot description. This 'common sense' philosophical understanding sees time as being expressible by properties that are both outside the self (external time) and by properties that are wi...

... Article. Subconscious CrueltyHorreur à l'ombre du Mont-Royal. Donato Totaro. Traduct... more ... Article. Subconscious CrueltyHorreur à l'ombre du Mont-Royal. Donato Totaro. Traduction de. Martin Girard. Auteur : Donato Totaro. Titre : Subconscious Cruelty : horreur à l'ombre du Mont-Royal. Revue : Séquences : La revue ...

ReFocus: The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky

This chapter concentrates on Tarkovsky’s 1979 film Stalker and in particular how his expression o... more This chapter concentrates on Tarkovsky’s 1979 film Stalker and in particular how his expression of temporality through his long take aesthetic impacts on narrative meaning. In his close reading, Totaro breaks down the film into three sections that comprise the narrative and character journey – pre-zone reality, the fantastical zone, and the post-zone reality – and examines how time is represented in the long take across these sections. As Stalker’s narrative progresses, the author argues, time in the long take becomes an expression of creation and invention, moving from the so called “drab-time” of the initial pre-zone city scenes, to a “creation-time” in the middle zone section, to a more ambiguous expression of time in the post-zone city scenes.