June 30 - Víctor Erice

Happy 80th Birthday, Víctor Erice! Born today in 1940 as Víctor Erice Aras, this Spanish writer and film director is best known for his two feature fiction films, which many regard as one of the greatest Spanish films ever made. 

 

These include the 1973 Spanish drama/fantasy film 'El espíritu de la colmena' ('The Spirit of the Beehive) and the 1983 Spanish/French drama/romance film 'El Sur' ('The South'). 

Of these, Erice is best known for co-creating the story, co-writing and directing the former feature. Today, the film id Erice's debut and is considered a masterpiece of Spanish cinema. 

 

In an allegory of life after Gen. Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War, life in a remote village in the 1940s is calm and uneventful.  

 

Two little girls, Ana (Ana Torrent) and her older sister Isabel (Isabel Tellería) sees James Whale's 1931 American pre-Code black and white science-fiction horror film "Frankenstein" at a mobile cinema. Afterwards, Ana starts wandering the countryside in search of this kind creature. 

 

The Spirit of the Beehive' also explores Ana's family life and schooling. The film has been called a "bewitching portrait of a child’s haunted inner life". 

 

Many have noted the symbolism present throughout the film, as an artistic choice, and a way Erice avoided the censors.  

 

Despite censors in Spain, which was under the Franco regime at the time of its making and release, the film still manages to symbolically portray Spanish life under Gen. Franco’s rule. 

 

And while censors were alarmed by some of the film’s suggestive content about the fascist regime, they allowed it to be released in Spain, based on its success abroad, and the assumption that most of the public would have no real interest in seeing “a slow-paced, thinly-plotted and ‘arty’ picture. 

 

Erice’s work on 'The Spirit of the Beehive' would eventually influence the work of Mexican filmmaker, author, actor, and former special effects makeup artist Guillermo del Toro on his own films.  

 

Most notably, these included his 2001 Mexican/Spanish gothic horror/drama film 'El espinazo del diablo' ('The Devil's Backbone') and the 2006 Mexican/Spanish/French/American fantasy/war film 'El laberinto del fauno' ('Pan's Labyrinth').  

 

Both of these films particularly feature the recurring idea of children believing in and acting on beliefs about imaginary worlds around this period of Spain’s history. 

 

In 2017, American executive editor of newyorker.com Jessica Winter in the 2006 biographical film criticism book The Rough Guide to Film wrote of Erice.  

 

She said, "The sole complaint one can make against Víctor Erice is actually a high compliment: the man simply doesn't work often enough.  

 

From his epochal start more than thirty years ago, Erice has made a grand total of three features, each a pensive, richly suggestive masterpiece."  

 

Erice had been active from 1969–2012. 

 

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June 30 - Anthony Mann

      

Happy Birthday, Anthony Mann! Born today in 1906 as Emil Anton Bundsmann, this American stage actor and "A-" film director is remembered for his work in the film noir and classic Westerns genres.  

 
His action/suspense films continually returned to the theme of "intelligent, thoughtful men driven to violence."  

 
As a director, he often collaborated with the Hungarian-born American cinematographer John Alton. Mann directed films for a variety of production companies, from RKO to MGM, and worked with many major stars of the era. 

 
Mann directed several Westerns with Jimmy Stewart. The first feature of which Mann is best known for directing is the 1950 American black and white Western/drama film 'Winchester '73'. 

This was the first Western film collaboration between Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart. Upon release, it was a huge success. 

 
Three years later, Mann directed the second film of which he is best known. This was the 1953 American Technicolor Western/thriller film 'The Naked Spur'. 

This was the third Western film collaboration between Mann and James Stewart. It also starred Janet Leigh. 

 
Two years later, Mann directed the third film of which he is best known. This was the 1955 American Technicolor Western/drama film 'The Man from Laramie'. 

This was one of the first Western to be filmed in CinemaScope to capture the vastness of the scenery. This was also the first and final Western collaboration between Mann and Stewart. 

 
The feature had been adapted from a serial of the same title by American writer of pulp fiction in multiple genres Thomas T. Flynn, first published in The Saturday Evening Post in 1954, and thereafter as a novel in 1954, and thereafter as a novel in 1955. 

 
Three years later, Mann directed the fourth and final film of which he is best known, This was the 1958 American Deluxe Color Western/drama film 'Man of the West'. 

The feature is based off of American writer Will C. Brown's 1955 Western fiction novel The Border-Jumpers. 

 
At the time of the film's release, it was largely panned by American critics. 

However, it was praised by French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic Jean-Luv Godard who, before he became a director, was a film critic for the French film magazine Cahiers du Cinema. 

 
Godard claimed that 'Man of the West' was the best film of the year. Decades after the film's release, it has gained a cult following and greater acclaim.

This was with English film critic and radio producer Philip French. He claimed the film to be Mann's masterpiece, containing Gary Cooper's finest performance. 

 
Two years later, Mann went to MGM to direct the big-budget1960 American Metrocolor Western/drama film 'Cimaroon'. 

It starred Canadian-American actor Glenn Ford and Austrian-Swiss actress Maria Schell. Upon release, the film failed to recoup its cost at the box office. 

 
Later that same year, Mann was supposed to be the original director of the 1960 American epic historical war/drama film 'Spatacus'. 

However, he was fired early in production by producer-star Kirk Douglas. Mann was then replaced with Stanley Kubrick. Despite this, Mann had shot a handful of scenes. 

 
The following year, Mann directed the 1961 American epic historical war/drama film 'El Cid', working with Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren. 

 
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Mann has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6229 Hollywood Boulevard. 

 
In 2015, the United States Library of Congress selected 'Winchester '73' for preservation in the National Film Registry, finding it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". 

 
According to Mann's trademarks, the heroes in his films relentlessly pursued justice; breaking the law along the way if need be.  

 
Arguably the premiere American film noir director, with its shadows and darkness, Mann also virtually invented 'western noir', where sprawling, bright landscapes contrasted with the dark, personal struggles.  

 
His 1950s westerns nearly single-handedly rescued the western genre from jokey oblivion. 

Despite all this, and the immediate familiarity of many of his films, Mann is relatively unknown today. 

 
More than twenty Mann features rate three stars or better, including a handful of the best films of his generation 

 
Mann had been active from 1925–1967. 

 
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