Summa This, Summa That
This past Friday, I recommended Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom as the latest offering in my weekly “Streaming Video Suggestion” series. And within days, the InterWebs were positively ALIVE! with all manner of quirkily-hipsterish Moonrise Kingdom-themed pieces and paraphernalia.
Truly, I do not know my own power.
OK, fine. The fun flurry of MK material was mostly(entirely) the result of the Criterion Collection’s much-anticipated DVD release on Tuesday. But a guy can dream, right?
Interestingly enough, my favorite bit of bonus Kingdom-Com(m)entary isn’t a new one. But the fact that it’s top-o’-mind at the moment will surely come as no surprise to anyone who has spent more than a little time exploring Anderson and his works. So here is last year’s wonderful video essay from Matt Zoller Seitz, Editor-in-Chief at RogerEbert.com and author of one of my favorite Christmas present ever: “The Wes Anderson Collection.” (Please tell me I’m not the only person who enjoys the subtle-but-perfect appearance of Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman’s “Gassenhauer nach Hans Neusiedler,” a musical reference to another film that MZS notes as a strong influence on Anderson’s Moonrise: Terrence Malick’s Badlands.)
…movies that are often conscious — or even self-conscious — about their status as stories.
Attribution(s): Artwork and stills are the property of Matt Zoller Seitz and all respective creators and/or distributors.
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