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James Dalrymple

@jamesewand.bsky.social

1.6K followers 990 following 12K posts

Teaching/lecturing in France. Occasional academic. Cinema, books, music, vintage television, podcasts (usually while cooking for the family), teaching, life in France etc. Film reviews at: letterboxd.com/jamesewand/

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JacquiWine @jacquiwine.bsky.social · 3h

13 years ago, this review by @maxcairnduff.bsky.social prompted me to read Krasznahorkai’s SATANTANGO (tr. George Szirtes). An extraordinary novel that seems to capture a community balanced on a knife edge between hope/salvation & despair/damnation. 💙📚

pechorinsjournal.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/s...

a better, fairer future

Satantango, by László Krasznahorkai and translated by George Szirtes Normally I hate writing reviews weeks after finishing a book. It tends to make the task much harder, as details start to blur an…

pechorinsjournal.wordpress.com

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 4h

Nice!

James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 6h

Wow, I'm in!

James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 8h

Intriguing!

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 8h

Well you gave the game away there!

James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 8h

Ha! Yes, i was saying here the other day that Woman in the Window should have ended with a time loop conceit

James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 8h

Yes, the Russians were great at that kind of poster design

James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 9h

It's taken years off you! 😃

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 9h

I watched it recently and enjoyed it. I don't remember Garfield spoiling it. I liked the way the film chucks you in the deep end of the numbers racket and expects you to swim

Reposted by James Dalrymple

Andrew Male @andrewmale.bsky.social · 13h

“An endless cycle of nonsensical conversation between characters who seemed trapped in their own madness.”

Nailed it.

Lux Alptraum @luxalptraum.com · 18h

TFW you paid $1400 to see Beckett’s most famous work without knowing anything about it

One Star Review of Waiting for Godot on Broadway
I recently attended Waiting for Godot on Broadway and spent over $1,400 for two Row C seats (103 and 104). I'm a longtime admirer of Broadway productions and even hold a season pass for Shea's Performing Arts Theatre, so I came in with genuine enthusiasm and high expectations. Unfortunately, this show was unlike anything ! have ever experienced —and not in a good way.
What I encountered was not the artistry, music, or emotional storytelling I usually associate with Broadway, but instead what felt like an endless cycle of nonsensical conversation between characters who seemed trapped in their own madness. I tried-truly tried-to find meaning, symbolism, or even a thread of emotional resonance. I stayed through the first half hoping the second would offer clarity. But by intermission, it was clear: this was a waste of both time and money.
Keanu Reeves is an actor I respect greatly, but I cannot fathom why he would agree to participate in such a disjointed, inaccessible production. His talent was lost in a performance that defied reason rather than provoked insight.
To anyone considering attending: unless you are drawn to highly abstract, nearly incomprehensible theater, I strongly caution you against this show. For the average, educated, thoughtful theatergoer, it is far more frustrating than fulfilling. In my opinion, this was the single most disappointing Broadway experience I've ever had - an unfortunate waste of money and, more importantly, of time.

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 11h

Great thread. I agree the Lynch comparisons are overdone (as they often are). I saw this as a prototype for a kind of schlocky neo-noir horror like Angel Heart and Shutter Island, in which the detective has lost his identity, or - with the PTSD time-loop theme - Jacob's Ladder

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Rob T @thexclaim6.bsky.social · 17h

Just finished The Chase (1946), a remarkable film noir. It’s actually got a similar feeling to Out of the Past from a year later.

The essence of noir in its romantic fatalism - the doomed patsy and dame to match. I can’t believe I’d never seen it before…

A few thoughts 🧵 #filmsky

Screenshot from The Chase, as the patsy enters the house of the gangsters - a stucco art deco pad with classical sculptures and palms - right at the start of the film, just to return a wallet (the ultimate innocent gesture), sealing his fate

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 11h

Oh Bicycle Thieves makes me cry like a baby !

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Rob T @thexclaim6.bsky.social · 2d

My top 6 horrors that you might not have seen for Halloween:

Variola Vera (82): Yugoslav pandemic nightmare
The Ear (69): Czech paranoia banger
Blood & Roses (60): Riff on Carmilla
Sauna (08): Finnish medievalism
Dark Waters (93): Italy, Lovecraftian nuns
Sole Survivor (83): Proto Final Destination

LesSmarberry @lessmarberry.bsky.social · 2d

My top 6 (shut up, it's my list) horrors that you might not have seen for Halloween:

Eye Of The Devil (1966)
I Saw The TV Glow (2024)
House of Mortal Sin (1976)
All You Need Is Death (2023)
The Dunwich Horror (1970)
Taste Of Fear (1961)

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 19h

I don't have any strong views about his work but I suspect it's not for me. I'm always happy to change my mind, though

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 19h

Good to hear. As the French say, "courage"!

James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 19h

Really sorry to read this but glad you are getting support

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Jon Dear @accordingtojond.bsky.social · 19h

Martian and Quatermass (Andre Morell). Quatermass and the Pit (BBC, Rudolph Cartier, 1958-59)

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 19h

I love The Chase. Wildly imaginative B movie

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Rob T @thexclaim6.bsky.social · 19h

Was reminded of this 📚 today - a collection of short noir films reviews by Barry Gifford, writer of Wild at Heart and Lost Highway…

It’s a lot of fun, all the more for how subjective his takes are. But I was surprised to see The Chase (1946) isn’t included, which I’m just about to watch…

#filmsky

paperback cover for Out of the Past: Adventures in Film Noir by Barry Gifford, showing a screenshot from the film (you guessed it) Out of the Past

Some film titles included in the book, photo of contents page - sections D to K, everything from The Getaway to Kansas City Confidential and beyond…

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 19h

I try not to dump on stuff I don't like here but I've only tried one of his films and I couldn't finish it

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Wilson @wilsonjettone.bsky.social · 20h

I've never seen an actor cucked harder than Paul Cavanagh in this. Joan Crawford is not looking at her husband like this:

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James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 19h

Spirit of the Beehive and Cria Cuervos (with the same child actress and similar themes) are both great examples of this

James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 19h

LOVE that film, although he's quite a big boy. Childlike in many other ways though

James Dalrymple @jamesewand.bsky.social · 19h

not seen Playground but I'm a big fan of Where is the Friend’s House?