I'm a wreck; more medical tests on the way! However, i did take the time to do a few things in the last week or so, and saw a number of films.

The first press screening for the New York Film Festival happened on Friday, and turned out to be three films from the Nikkatsu Centennial sidebar. Having seen "The Woman With Red Hair" (one of the many "pink" films from Nikkatsu, and a rather notorious one), i decided to catch "Mud and Soldiers" from 1939, a rarity. And it turned out to be quite something: ferociously action-packed, with a grunt's eye view of combat that proved visceral. There were a few moments of propaganda, which made the film not the most comfortable experience, but the combat sequences were amazing and relentless. The director was Tomotaka Tasaka, and he certainly showed a flair for gritty action footage.

There are other things to talk about, such as the Heinz Emigholz films i saw (part of a series that the Goethe Institute and Anthology Film Archives will be holding), and the various movies i've watched on TV (i finally saw "127 Hours" when it showed on HBO; an impressive movie, but i don't know if i could have watched it in a theater, some of it is so anxiety-provoking). But (as the saying goes) more later.