Friday, December 04, 2009

My. Favorite. Director. Of. All. Time.



Tomorrow, December 5th in London, a retrospective of director Sally Potter's work opens and lasts through December 28th.   I saw the sexy, witty, provocative film Orlando, based on the Virginia Woolf novel, at the Angelika Film Center in New York in 1993 and walked out of the theater shaken and shifted forever.  I never grow tired of watching Orlando, it is hands-down my favorite film.  And Potter's other films do not disappoint.  Ever.
Starting with Thriller's reversal of genre convention (in which the heroine lives), through Orlando's magical gender-blending, to Rage, which brings anti-globalization protests and citizen journalism into fashion, Sally Potter's films change the world in style.  
Orlando (1993), the result of seven years' work including daring location recces in Russia and Kazakhstan, helped launch Tilda Swinton's career and won awards internationally for its handsome looks and dazzling, witty play with gender, class and costume drama.   
Here is a new trailer for Orlando for the remastered film premiering at the retrospective:


And oh, how I would love to visit the new Sally Potter archive of production materials.  Yummy!