Holiday Flick: Smoke (1995)

The story shared by Auggie (Harvey Keitel) to Paul (William Hurt).
As often happens, I have fallen behind--about two-years behind--in posting my Twelve Days of Holiday Movies. Here I sit a week away from Christmas Eve thinking about a movie I first blogged about in 2011. Though as much a "Christmas movie" as the original Die Hard (1988), in my mind it still counts. While the original Mighty Joe Young (1949), and King Kong  (1933) will always be Thanksgiving movies for me, and The Greatest Story Ever Told  (1965) is must-see viewing for Easter season, Smoke, and in particular the closing credits, is must-see Christmas viewing.

Wayne Wang and Paul Auster's Smoke (1995) is one film I make a point to watch during the Christmas season every year since I first saw it. Though not a family film (it's Rated R for language), Smoke is an ensemble piece starring Harvey Keitel, William Hurt, Harold Perrineau, Stockard Channing, and Forrest Whitaker, among others. Featuring multiple converging storylines, it speaks to such relevant holiday themes such as the many faces of redemption, the necessity of finding family and the power of compassion.

Back-in-the-day, Smoke, and it's follow-up Blue In the Face (1995), were frequently advertised as slapsticky, New Yawk comedies (such as on the most common, and goofy, DVD packaging seen here). Promoted with (then) celebrity cigar smokers and an with emphasis on the more humorous moments, this movie, however, has much more going on below the surface. The slipcase designed for release in Asian markets (pictured to the upper left) offers a more evocative (not to mention holiday themed) image.

I can't recall exactly how I first got turned on to this movie, almost twenty-five years ago now, but I do remember buying a VHS copy of it in a supermarket one day on my way to work. At one magic point in our culture, rare and unusual movies could be had on VHS for two bucks as the marketplace was transitioning to DVD. Up until our VHS player went the way of the dodo ten years ago,  I would watch Smoke each year at just around this time. Taken as a whole, Smoke is not easily pigeon-holed as a “holiday film” (which is a good thing), though the values it eschews do seem especially relevant at this time of year.

The final five minutes are most overtly holiday-themed which contributes to its easy selection as a  holiday film, much more so than the aforementioned Die Hard. Originally published as "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story" by writer (and the co-director and screenplay writer for Smoke) Paul Auster (a version of which is available here), the final moments of the film show what is told earlier in the movie. The set-up is this: two of the primary characters, Auggie and Paul, are having lunch. Paul is a columnist who needs to submit an essay to the New York Times for its holiday edition. Auggie (the cigar store owner whose own story is intertwined with those of the other characters) has a story he'll share for lunch. The emotional impact of Auggie’s story is further punctuated by the Tom Wait’s song, "You Dream," which accompanies it.

The story acted out and set to "Innocent When You Dream" by Tom Waits.

Unfortunately, hard copies of Smoke in DVD/Blu-ray are difficult to come by. Nor is it available on Netflix or Amazon Prime for direct streaming. Thanks to the magic your local public library (in my hometown of Rochester, New York, there are two copies for borrowing), Smoke is worth seeking out.

Great stuff, and just one of many evocative scenes from an excellent film.

Run Reader: Gamera #1-4

From Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe issue #1 (1995) by Mozart Couto and Mike Sellers. 

Now that the American mainstream's momentary case of kaiju-fever has been stilled, thanks to Gareth Edwards' Godzilla's quick exit from the top of the movie charts over a month ago, giant monster movie fans have probably overdosed on the re-releases of the Big G's more recent film offerings. I know I have. It is worth remembering, however, that while certainly the most prominent giant monster star, there are others worth following in both film and comic books form.

Cover to issue 2 by artist Yuji Kaida, who
 supplied beautiful covers for issues 2-4.

Which makes this the perfect time to revisit one of Godzilla's Japanese studio competitors, Gamera. While Godzilla (and Toho) have had a fairly extensive comic book history in the U.S. ranging from Marvel Comics classic late -70's run by Doug Moench and Herbe Trimpe to the current IDW series, Gamera's exposure has been limited to a single 4-issue miniseries published by Dark Horse in 1995.

Hot on the heels of the Japanese reboot by Daiei Studios of the original Gamera kaiju series of films in 1995, Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe, written by Dave Chipps with art by Mozart Couto and Mike Sellers, was published as a direct continuation of the movie of the same name. Because there were eventually sequels to the original (which in the end comprised a trilogy of excellent films, the second of which is reviewed here by moi), in terms of continuity, it acts as sort of an alternate take on the trilogy using the film as the starting point.

Page one of the Gamera
beginner's guide from issue 1.

For any who had not previously seen the movie, the comic book contains a two page synopsis introducing both the main characters and summation-of the relevent plot points of the movie. The comic book picks up one year following the events of the movie, though it can be read as a stand alone mini-series, the understanding of the relationship between the Gyaos (the primary "villain" in both the movie and first 2 issues of the comic book) and Gamera, as well as Asagi's connection to Gamera.

A quick search revealed that Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe writer Dave Chipps carved out a small niche in Japanese manga translations, such as Oh! My Goddesses and Gunsmith Cats, for a period of time in the 1990s. Chipps does a nice job in this series alternating between the human and monster stories, while developing the Gamera amulet mythology (it's how Asagi communicates with him). In the interest of aiding any readers new to the character, there is quote a bit of exposition provided during character interactions, but in each case it proves necessary to insure understanding of what is happening.

Gamera versus Zigra from issue #3 (1996)
by Mozart Couto and Mike Sellers.

The artwork by Mozart Couto and Mike Sellers is unremarkable but effective especially given how terribly wrong it could have gone given the era from which it comes. The colors are vibrant (Gamera never looked so green), and the panels are well composed. Whether an effort to communicate the bombastic nature of giant monster fights or not, there is a healthy use of sound words in panes depicting kaiju battles. See the panels to the left and below for examples.

I quite enjoyed the Gamera miniseries, despite (at the time) not having much backstory on the character. The consistency of the creative team and solid story-line made for a nice quick run read, and brought me back to rewatch the most recent Gamera trilogy. While not available in trade paperback, individual issues can be found at most local comic shops with a solid back issue stock or online for half-off the original cover price of $2.95. With Godzilla's recent Hollywood reboot in the books and a new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the horizon, one can only hope that Gamera is not too far behind--as noted on the cover to issue #2, he was the "Original Mutant turtle!"

Gamera versus Viras from issue #4 (1996)
by Mozart Couto and Mike Sellers.