50 Essential Iranian Films

Kako (Shapur Gharib, 1971)

Few years back, I asked Houshang Golmakani, the editor-in-chief of the Iranian Film Monthly, to produce a list of his 50 favourite Iranian films to be published on Keyframe. It was published around 2014 but later Keyframe went through some design and organisational changes, and the original posting, as well as some of my other contributions, vanished without any explanation. So I decided to re-post here with some minor alterations and more stills.

As I said, Golmakani edit the Film Monthly, the longest-running film magazine in Iran and one of the first to be established after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Aside from his full-time presence in the office of Film Monthly in downtown Tehran, he has written books on Iranian cinema and directed Stardust Stricken (1996), on Mohsen Makhmalbaf.

This is not a standard listing of Iranian arthouse classics but more of a personal map of Iranian cinema -- both commercial and arthouse -- sketched for those curious people who want to explore beyond what the English film literature on Iranian cinema manages to offer, reminding the reader that Iranian cinema is not limited to names like Kiarostami, Makhmalbaf or Panahi. Aside from the work of great filmmakers with artistic ambitions since 1960s -- often dubbed as Iranian New Wave -- there are certain kinds of commercial films that deserve attention, especially those working within the confines of “national genres". This list is rather good at that. Nearly 5 years have passed since this was first compiled by Golmakani and I'm sure now his take on the subject, especially concerning recent years, would be something very different.

Ehsan Khoshbakht

Fifty films essential to understanding Iranian cinema

By Houshang Golmakani
(Additional notes by Ehsan Khoshbakht)

100 Must-See Films at Il Cinema Ritrovato 2019 - Part II (1-50)

Fellow cinephiles,

This is an illustrated list (mostly with posters, when available) of the 100 films you must watch in Bologna during Il Cinema Ritrovato XXXIII. That is, of course, only if a day had 48 hours and a week, 10 days. Plus, if we were running this show for a full month instead of the usual 8 days. Needless to say, any number of these that you watch, you'll have some essential images to live with for the rest of the year.

Ehsan Khoshbakht

FOR PART ONE, GO HERE

100 Must-See Films at Il Cinema Ritrovato 2019 - Part I (51-100)

Fellow cinephiles,

This is an illustrated list (mostly with posters, when available) of the 100 films you must watch in Bologna during Il Cinema Ritrovato XXXIII. That would be possible, of course, if a day had 48 hours and a week, 10 days. Plus, if we were running this show for a full month instead of the usual 8 days. Needless to say, any number of these seen, you'll have some essential images to live with for the rest of the year.

Ehsan Khoshbakht

Henry King: A Retrospective in Bologna

Henry King, 1930

Il Cinema Ritrovato has a soft spot for those American masters whose careers encompassed all of the major technical developments from the silent era to Cinemascope. Henry King, the subject of this year's retrospective in Bologna, is a prime example. One of Hollywood's most enduring filmmakers, he made 116 films across all genres between 1915 and 1962. King's style was invisible and economical, whether realising a work of Americana, or a lavish historical drama. Nostalgic and religious, his films are blessed with vitality in each and every shot. They feature some of cinema's greatest stars, often in their best performances. And the films in this programme offer the chance to celebrate some of the best cameramen in the history of Hollywood – especially those associated with Fox Studios, where King spent 32 years of his career. This retrospective focuses on King’s sound period, but the programme also includes one classic and one rarity from his silent years. Curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht

Destry Rides Again (George Marshall, 1939)

Destry Rides Again will be screened from a new restoration at Il Cinema Ritrovato 2019. Date to be announced.


Long before the hippy slogan “Make Love, Not War”, this wildly funny western carried a pacifist message as German troops entered Poland. But you don’t need a message to fall for the story of Frenchy, a hardboiled dancehall girl in the funky and gun-crazy town of Bottleneck who falls for mild-mannered deputy sheriff Tom Destry, who never wears a gun.

When a film is so satisfyingly entertaining, one often forgets the artistry with which it was crafted. George Marshall blended what he had learned from directing Laurel & Hardy with his experience of directing Tom Mix – the latter’s first talkie from 1932 being the film upon which Destry was based, even if in the process everything was drastically altered except for the title.

Sepid o Siah

منبع الهام مجلۀ سپید و سیاه یا لااقل منبع الهام (یا تقلید) طرح نشان آن؟

Underline#4: The Abadan Issue (Editorial + Download link)

EDITORIAL


Without the discovery of oil in Masjed Soleyman in 1908, the city of Abadan would not have experienced the tempest of economic and cultural changes that swept through it in just two decades; a transformation unmatched by any other city in Iran.

That which made Abadan thrive, and drew crowds of western engineers, investors and exploiters, was also a source of misery. The history of this picturesque port city is also the history of colonial interests and foreign intervention.

Abadan proudly fought inequality, and the nationalisation of the oil industry in 1951 was its moment of glory. Less than three decades later, an aggressive and massively destructive Iraqi army invasion under Saddam Hussein once again pushed the city to the edge, only for it to see another Phoenix-like resurgence.

Why Abadan? Answering that question means delving deeper into the history of one of the most dynamic urban areas in Iran; one which has produced a significant number of great artists, some of whom are featured in this issue. It also brings us, inevitably, to the painful yet important matter of the presence of the British in the region. Even though our focus is chiefly on art, you will read passages that detail how the British influence contributed to a distinct cultural scene, while also introducing segregation and capitalist exploitation.

The preparation of this issue would not have been possible without the generous support of Iranian historian Abbas Baharloo, himself an Abadani. He provided us with most of the rarely seen photographs published here for the first time and contributed two fine essays. He told me once: “Abadan is my ruined hometown and I still love that ruin.” I have often heard such moving words from Abadani people, expressing a sense of love, attachment, and deep sympathy with the sufferings of a city. Abadan is a magnetic field of nostalgia, devastation, and a very unique kind of beauty.

Print the Legend: Media Manipulation in American Films

The Sound of Fury (French poster)

A revised (i.e. "censored) version of Jonathan Rosenbaum's original draft which, for comparison purposes, can be accessed here. You won't be surprised to see which parts were eliminated. This was for a programme Jonathan and I curated in Ankara, Turkey. -- EK


Print the Legend: Media Manipulation in American Films
Jonathan Rosenbaum & Ehsan Khoshbakht

Living in the age of "post-truth", "fake news" is a term one can hardly avoid. In American films of the 1950s, this meant a way of manipulating the masses by distorting facts, turning social events of grave importance into a sideshow, even mobilising mobs, from whom those manipulating the dominant narrative would benefit. Today, however, somewhat paradoxically, it can also mean something else: a denial of the lies or acts of corruption exposed by trustworthy media sources, evoking the Newspeak described in George Orwell’s dystopic novel Nineteen Eight-Four, with its famous slogans, "War is Peace" and "Ignorance is Strength".

Henry King (1886-1982)

این مدخل برای دانشنامۀ کارگردانان بهزاد رحیمیان در سال 2009 نوشته شده و امروز با بیشتر نکاتی که دربارۀ کینگ نوشته‌ام و استنباط نصفه‌نیمه‌ام از سینمای او موافق نیستم. با این وجود، مقاله اطلاعاتی دربارۀ کینگ دارد که ممکن است هم‌چنان به درد خواننده بخورد. احسان خوش‌بخت

هنری کینگ (متولد: 24 ژانویه 1886، کریستین‌برگ، ویرجینیا؛ درگذشت: 29 ژوئن 1982، تولوسا لِیک، کالیفرنیا)

راهش به سینما در 1912 و به عنوان بازیگر باز شد، تجربه‌ای که پیش‌تر روی صحنۀ تئاتر به دست آورده بود. اولین فیلمش را در 1915 کارگردانی کرد. کمپانی فیلم‌سازی اینسپیریشین را با چارلز دوئل و ریچارد بارتلمس تأسیس کرد. در دوران صامت یکی از مهم‌ترین کارگردانان تاریخ سینمای آمریکا بود. در فیلم‌های صامتش مانند Tol'able David (1921)، خواهر سفیدپوش (1923)، رومولا (1925) و تصاحب باربارا وُرث (1926) تسلطی کامل بر روایت متکی به تصویر و هدایت بازیگران داشت. کمی بعد خودش را به سرعت با سینمای ناطق انطباق داد. او در دهه‌های 1930 تا  1950 یک حرفه‌ای پرکار و معتمد استودیوی فاکس بود و بیشتر فیلم‌هایش را در آن جا ساخت. یکی از بهترین نمونه‌های سینمای او در دهه 1930 نمایشگاه ایالتی (1933) است؛ فیلمی که با ملودرام‌های جان فورد در همان دوره پهلو می‌زند (و البته هر دو کارگردان تا حد زیادی متکی بر ویل راجرز هستند که شاید بزرگ‌ترین بازیگری باشد که سینما به خود دیده) و دوربین سیال، گریز از کات، فضای زنده و واقعی زندگی خانوادگی در روز مملو از سرخوشی و دیدارهای عاشقانه که به پایانی غم‌انگیز و جدایی ختم می‌شود آدم را به یاد ژان رنوار می‌اندازد. اگر هنری کینگ در دهه 1930 سنتزی است از سینمای فورد و رنوار - در آمریکایی‌ترین و خاکی‌ترین شکل شخصیت‌پردازی – هم‌چنان ترجیح می‌دهد در فیلم‌ها و در جهان واقعی  پشت نقاب فیلم ساز پرکار سرگرمی آفرین و بی‌ادعا پنهان بماند. در 1944 آواز برنادت را کارگردانی کرد که تا امروز مشهورترین فیلم ناطق او باقی مانده. رئالیزم کینگ، روایت‌های ساده اما پرجزییاتی که به شکل غیرمنتظره‌ای به کنکاشی در اسطوره‌ها ختم می‌شدند مشخصات بیشتر کارهای او بودند.

Agony & Ecstasy: Visual Arts on Screen

Picasso and H. G. Clouzot in the studio during the production of  Le mystère Picasso

Agonia ed estasi: le arti sullo schermo
Curated by Ehsan Khoshbakht
Cine Lumiere, Cineteca di Bologna, January 2019
A season of films about artists at work and the process of creating art captured by a movie camera. Prelude to Artefiera 2019.

BOOKING
FULL PROGRAMME IN ITALIAN

Leaving the museum, gallery or the stage of performance behind, this selection of films goes a few steps back and captures the joy and angst of the creative process in which artists build, compose, propose or occasionally destroy. These films are both about the places in which art is made and the feelings put into that creation, films filled with visions which, in the words of John Berger, make one gasp – "gasp as one does before a revelation."

The programme is consisted of a prologue, two main parts and an epilogue.