Re: This Woman's Work

[chrisw@wwa.com (Chris Williams)]

>It's called "lack of funding", also the clown that directed them (I forget
>his name at the moment) wasn't the most cinematically minded person. I
>think it's just a greater tribute to Kate's poise. How many interviews of
>her have you seen where she's put through all kinds of inanities? Has she
>ever once said "stop this you bloody cretins!" ? No, and that's one of the
>many many reasons that I admire her.

   HeIsJohn took me to task for qualifying my praise. But rationally one
*can* make a better video with unlimited money and time. Given the very
limited quantities of both, they are some of the better videos of the
time. Of course they don't stand up to comparison to the Godley and Creme
videos for The Police of several years later...but it's unfair to expect
them to.

>I would personally have put a foot up the aft-quarters of  the director in
>question  for Army Dreamers, but just the fact that it's a representation
>of Kate makes it so that I can't help but like it.

   Uhhh....

   At the time she made it, "Army Dreamers" was the first video that she
liked. Kate had storyboarded the whole thing...she showed the storyboard
on a kid's show. 

   So, she's the one you'd have to "put in the boot" to.

>There's an odd feeling I've gotten whenever I've seen most of Kate's videos
>or live performances before HOL, it's something of an initial embarrassment
>for her. Then I remember, oh, this is Kate, she's probably having fun.
>
>One things for other American fans like myself to remember is that she's
>got an English sensibility of performance (one that she's done wonders to
>transcend). The difference between English and American performance
>sensibilities is the difference between the stage and the movie screen.  In
>many ways, her early videos are really quite progressive for England at the
>time. When she got directorial control, though, (escpecially Cloudbusting
>and This Woman's Work), there is definitely a more cinematic sensibility.

   She did, but a large portion of the credit for "Cloudbusting" *has* to
got to Julian Doyle, the director. He edited "Brazil"...the best example
available of how much editing determines the shape of the film. I think
"Cloudbusting" was his first directorial effort.


Chris Williams of
   Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
      chrisw@wwa.com
"How perfectly goddamn delightful it all is, to be sure" - C. Crumb