THE DANMAN CAN

Midnight Special (2016) is a pretty cool little flick, but it felt underdeveloped. It's  Spielberg  without the charm. It's like a pilot episode and series finale for a really promising show without the necessary exposition in the episodes in between. I like films that keep details mysterious but this one took that approach to the nth degree. It also needs to lighten up.

Traumnovelle , a 1969 Austrian/German TV movie is based on the same novella  that Stanley Kubrick 's Eyes Wide Shut   (1999) was based on and the similarities are quite striking. Kubrick definitely realized the story to a degree that this film was unable to, thanks in part to a doubled run-time, but the scenes and plot points are largely the same. Some of the dialogue is even identical. I hope some day this gets a home video release, as I watched a YouTube rip—the only known version I've seen anywhere.

Focus On Film   Episode 40  is up! Download the MP3  HERE In this episode: July 2016  Criterion Collection   Titles Announcement Best & Worst Of The Month  –  ALLEGIANT (2016), CHASING BANKSY (2015), THE AMERICAN FRIEND (1977), BEST IN SHOW (2000) Criterion Most Wanted "Focus On Film Theme"  & commercial music:  Daniel Sardella