BUREAU of ARTS and CULTURE MAGAZINE: LOS ANGELES: BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE CLASSIC FILMS: TWELVE MUST SEE FILMS and WHY

BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE CLASSIC FILMS: TWELVE MUST SEE FILMS and WHY

BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE CLASSIC FILMS

TWELVE MUST SEE FILMS and WHY

AMERICAN GRAFFITI BIG WEDNESDAY BREAKING AWAY CROOKLYN

LA BAMBA THE OUTSIDERS QUADROPHENIA REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE

REPO MAN SWING KIDS THE GRADUATE WEST SIDE STORY

These 12 Classic Youth Films Express a certain Social Angst that is

still very much relevant for the Youth of Today's Current Society.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI
One of the most important films reflecting on American Pop Culture ever. Produced by Francis Ford Coppola. Directed by George Lucas. Starring a cast

of new stars that have all gone on to have stellar careers in the film industry: actors, directors, producers. Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, Cindy Williams, Suzanne Somers, Kathleen Quinlan, Candy Clark, Charles Martin Smith, Mackenzie Phillips, Bo Hopkins. A Film that holds up every time it is viewed. A nostalgic look at a time and a place in America just before we were hit with the death of the Kennedy's & other social leaders, Vietnam and a complicated world which forever changed our lives in America. This film went onto inspire the Television Show : HAPPY DAYS. As well as many teen/music films such as DAZED & CONFUSED by Independent Film Maker Richard LINKLATER. One can also see that this film production opened the door for Alan ARKUSH's Classic Musical Teen Film:

ROCK & ROLL HIGH SCHOOL.

BIG WEDNESDAY
The most authentic fictional SURF FILM ever created. Directed & co - written

by John Milius, who would go on to put a surf scene in just about every film he would ever participate in, famously: the surf scene in APOCALYPSE NOW.

This film seems to capture West Coast Surf culture with the perfect blend of the nostalgic aspects of the early days on into the more cynical ones. Friendships, initiations, love, war and growing up with the waves. Another perfect ensemble cast, an original musical score and a voice over narration that perfectly tells the story like a good book. For a full Review Scroll down.

BREAKING AWAY
Growing up poor or middle class in an area where others are more privileged

is one of the themes running through this hilarious and charming film about

Biking, Friendship, Playing by the Rules and yes, ' Breaking Away ' from the

pack, traditions and false ideals. A story about finding & respecting yourself

in a world that refuses to do so. Dennis Quaid in an early and heartfelt performance. Directed by Peter Yates with a screenplay by Steve Tesich.

A great use of Classical Music throughout the entire production. Other cast members include: The incredible Paul Dooley as the dad, Barbara Berrie as

the Mom and Dennis Christopher, Daniel Stern and Jackie Earle Haley as

' The Cutters ' [ for cutting school ]. A fabulous uplifting production.

CROOKLYN
Spike Lee dishes up this family film which is loosely based on scenarios

created by his brother and sister and thier early childhood in Brooklyn.

A hilarious film that personifies the 1970's with all the pitch perfect hooks

and props, music and experiences that define the period. A heartbreaking

and yet wonderfully funny film that nails exactly what many of us went

through during our childhood experiences in America at that particular

time and place. Outstanding performances by the entire cast. As usual

Spike Lee's casting choices from Del Roy Lindo as the dad, Alfre Woodard

as the mom and a whole crop of new actors as well as Isaiah Washington,

RuPaul, Vondie Curtis-Hall and of course Zelda Harris as the young girl

who plays our lead character. With a great soundtrack, richly produced

and as usual great direction.

LA BAMBA
A musical bio that lovingly tells the story of singer Ritchie Valens, though

at the same time, tells a basic family dynamic of growing up, falling in love,

being accepted or not and dealing with life's opportunities under pressure.

A fabulous soundtrack that helped to put the band Los Lobos on the map.

This was a follow up to the success of Luis Valdez's play & film ZOOT SUIT.

With themes that describe the latino experience, musical prodigies, inter

racial love and crossing over into the mainstream American music charts.

This film, along with the Buddy Holly Story, Great Balls of Fire and the

many films on Elvis Presley,opened the door for the entire genre of music biographies that have lead up to: RAY, Walk the Line, Sid and Nancy.

Lou Diamond Phillips in his first starring role, Esai Morales in a pinnacle

supporting role as Ritchie's brother, Rosanna DeSoto as the mom and

Joe Pantoliano, Elizabeth Pena, Brian Seltzer and Tony Genaro supporting.

The OUTSIDERS
An outstanding adaption of an S. E. Hinton novel by Francis Ford Coppola.

The perfect film that reflects life on the, ' other side of the tracks '. Another

film that has a cast of new stars that will all go onto great careers in film:

C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Emelio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Patrick Swayze,

Tom Cruise, and Coppola regulars: Tom Waits, Diane Lane & Glen Withrow.

Heroic & authentic, sympathetic & rough, innocent & tough, all without

any slips in performance, style or structure, a really great film about family, friends, tribes and looking back one more time, before moving forward again. What's it like to be an American in middle America ? This is what it's like.

QUADROPHENIA
The first of several great films created by The Classic Rock & Roll Band:

The WHO. A semi autobiographical tale of Mods and Rockers in and around

the London music scene just prior to the creation of bands like the WHO.

The clash between the Mods & the rockers, not unlike the same clash we

see within the other films listed in this review: The Outsiders, Breaking

Away, Rebel without a Cause, Big Wednseday. The Who will go onto create,

The Kids are Allright & the Classic Rock opera TOMMY. Being authentic,

demanding respect from authority, rebelling against previous values and

searching for acceptance, but ultimately tossing it all away for self respect

are just a few of the themes in this great fictional film. Once again, many

of the cast members will become regulars and have entire careers and comebacks time & time again. Most notably: Ray Winstone in Sexy Beast, Timothy Spell in the films by the great Mike Leigh, Sting and of course a very young Phil Daniels, Leslie Ash, Mark Wingett, Phil Davis. Directed by Franc Roddam. With music by The WHO and the use of period music specifically Booker T and the MG's classic 'Green Onions', which is also used in American Graffiti and The Flamingo Kid [ another great film ].

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE
The benchmark of all great films about growing up. There had many teen

films before, but none could ever touch it after. The fact that it was

filmed

in technicolor put it a cut above the juvenile delinquent genre that had been mostly filmed in low budget black & white. Of course, the pinnacle performance

by James Dean in a role that absolutely never goes out of style. Each generation rediscovers this film and immediately relates. His sensitivity, his search for truth, his sympathy towards Sal Mineo and his love for Natalie Wood as well as the need to be accepted and respected all ring true to the kids of today's society.

The other films in this article could never have existed without the creation

and popularity of Rebel without a Cause. This is the quintessential teen film.

Although, it also speaks to the ever changing evolution from one generation

to another. A great original soundtrack, rich technicolor with realistic and dramatic performances. Supporting roles by Jim Backus [ the Voice of Mr Magoo ] and Dennis Hopper. Directed by Nicholas Ray and written by Stewart Stern based

on a story by Irving Schulman.

REPO MAN
Another small but interesting film about life in Los Angeles by director Alex

COX, who would later direct the classic Sid and Nancy biop on Sid Vicious of

the Sex Pistols Punk rock band that helped to start an entire revolution in

rock and roll music that still exists. Repo Man weaves between the new

music of the time and the different types of folks who inhabit Los Angeles.

The film is a satire on all types of people, much like the music of that time,

bands like Black Flag, The Circle Jerks, Iggy Pop, Suicidal Tendencies, The

Plugz and FEAR all made fun of society, so too does this film. With Emelio

Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton battling it out with for and among space

aliens, low riders, musicians and of course stealing back automobiles. Car

chases through the L.A. River, Low budget special effects and performances

by many real musicians such as band members of The Untouchables and

Circle Jerks make this a sort of time capsule of a time and a place. At the

time, this film was considered a cynical look at society, looking back at it

today, its almost innocent.

SWING KIDS
Music, politics and friendship collide into a whirlwind force among a group

of friends in Germany during the take over of Europe. Inspired loosely on

actual events in the life of people such as Django Reinhardt. Another cast

of important actors including: Christian Bale, Frank Whaley, Robert Sean

Leonard and Barbara Hershey. Loyalty is the running theme in this music

filled portrait which starts out as a story of friendship but swiftly veers into

a political thriller of the historical variety. An outstanding sound track with

great performances by an ensemble cast. The film asks us how far will we

go to be a success in our own time and place ? Loyalty to friends, to our own values, to our life may be more important than acceptance by the group, especially when the group is a destructive, controlling and obvious plague

on a free society such as ours.

THE GRADUATE
A hilarious, sensitive and heartbreaking story of one young man's journey into

self discovery after graduating from college. The film that put Dustin Hoffman

on the map. A soundtrack that launched Simon & Garfunkle into music stardom.

As well as introducing the directing career of, up to that point, comedian Mike Nichols who with Elaine May, had a string of successful comedic albums based

on their night club act. With a screenplay co written by Buck Henry of Saturday Night live fame and career making appearances by Anne Bancroft, Norman Fell, Katherine Ross, William Daniels and Murray Hamilton uttering the now classic, phrase, " I have one word for you … PLASTICS." Which seems to personify the artificial world that Hoffman's character is thrust into. An entirely different kind

of comedy that broke the mold on controversy, humor and the sad realities that would lay ahead for an entire generation in search of truth, love and once again, breaking away from the values of those that have preceded us. A great film with

a surprise ending that still to this day, is embarrassing, exulting & entertaining. Somewhere between the sympathetic soundtrack, the innocent performances

and the heartfelt realities of life, a strange and original cinematic experience emerges. No film has ever matched this blend since. The graduate opened the

door to a slew of new films that became a sort of a new and different genre:

The Heartbreak Kid & Carnal Knowledge among them.

WEST SIDE STORY
The classic updated version of Romeo & Juliet told here in New York City, between two rival gangs of kids from different ethnic backgrounds. This

film still holds up in every way, shape and form. Cinematography, costumes, dialogue, songs and of course the transformative choreography and music.

Leonard Bernstein developed this project for well over a decade and to this

day it is as fresh and relevant as any film about the youth of society today. Romance, violence, loyalty and the difficulty in crossing over from the folks

you were born with into the person you are in love with, are just a few of

the themes touch on here. The song lyrics are so entirely up to date, that it

is downright astounding how fresh and relevant this film is. Marijuana, Cops

and Detectives, Gangs, Social Workers, Fashion and most of all Love. This film becomes more and more impressive as time goes on. West Side Story contains performances by natalie Wood, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, David Winters,

George Chakiris, Tucker Smith and a cast of outstanding actors /dancers and

of course a soundtrack that makes it an utter and complete classic film that

will never go out of style.

[ Tap the titles below to visit links to these great classic youth films ]

AMERICAN GRAFFITI BIG WEDNESDAY BREAKING AWAY CROOKLYN

LA BAMBA THE OUTSIDERS QUADROPHENIA REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE

REPO MAN SWING KIDS THE GRADUATE WEST SIDE STORY

VISIT THE BUREAU MAIN WEBSITE FOR AUDIO & SLIDE PRESENTATIONS

BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE :THE GOLDEN GLOBES PICKS

MARTIN SCORSESE : ONE OF AMERICAS GREATEST

AN APPRECIATION OF HIS FILMS AND LIFES WORK BY JOSHUA A. TRILIEGI

FILM REVIEWS: TRIUMPH OF THE WALL . ON THE ROAD .

LIFE OF PI . SPENCER SUSSER: HESHER . BERT STERN: ORIGINAL MADMAN

FILM PERFORMANCE APPRECIATION: KRISTEN STEWART

ANNIVERSARY: UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING at 25 & BIG WEDNESDAY at 35

FILM AUDIO INTERVIEWS: MICHAEL TORGAN & NEW BEVERLY CINEMA

BERNARD HILLER ACTING COACH TO THE STARS DISCUSSES HIS WORK & NEW BOOK

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WHY JIM HARRISON IS NOT DEAD

Tap Image to Read The Article Honoring The "LEGENDS OF THE FALL" Writer and Poet: Jim Harrison came from a family that adored and revered Literature: "My Family were obsessive readers…" The famous story goes, that, at a dinner table discussion, his family were talking about Norman Mailer's first success on the world stage and his book, entitled, " The Naked and The Dead, " young Jim responded to the conversation with the quick and curious question, "Does it have Illustrations ?" Laughter ensued and the beginning of his particularly curious, yet grounded, stoic, although humorous, celebratory whilst at the same time cautionary literary style is born.

THE IRVINE WELSH INTERVIEW

Author of TRAIN-SPOTTING on Writing, Politics + More/ Photo Essay By Walter ROTHWELL: "One of the things that happens with success is that you need to balance being a writer with an author. Writers write, while authors promote and talk about their work. So you learn that you have two jobs, which generally compliment each other, but can often get in each others way. This confusion is compounded by me working in film and TV; you need to think differently on screenplay as you are an architect rather than a builder, and once a work goes into production, you (appropriately) fall quite far down the food chain. So I now wear different hats, which I usually like –life gets boring doing the same thing."

The Nathan Walsh Interview

Tap to Read The New York Based BUREAU Guest Artist discussing his work, technique and the future of Realism in ART with Bureau Editor Joshua TRILIEGI: "I started collecting art related books as a student. This has served as daily form a of inspiration and guidance for my own practice. Looking at significant artists and paintings of the past can often be intimidating but can also suggest ways forward. My inspirations are numerous and varied from Piranesi’s engravings to the decorative tiles of William De Morgan. What connects all of these interests is a strong sense of structure and pattern. Most of the artists and designers I admire had or have a rigorous approach to composition and commitment to process perhaps more than outcome. I often think my own work as “sampling” these inspiring figures, whether it be the palette of Bonnard or the dynamism of a Bernice Abbott photograph. " - NATHAN WALSH

THE MUSIC EDITION

Tap To Read and or Download The FREE Music Edition INTERVIEW Painter CHRISTOPHER STOTT . This New Edition Contains The BUREAU MUSIC ICON Essay: HANK WILLIAMS . PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAYS and ARTICLES BY THE INFAMOUS MR. ART SHAY . MATHEW BARNEY at MOCA LA Plus BUREAU PROFILE : ANDREW HOLDER . The BUREAU PHOTOGRAPHIC INTERVIEW with LAURA STEVENS in PARIS . BUREAU FILM : BLUE VELVET at THIRTY . ART of MILES DAVIS "The SHAMAN" . PRINCE TRIBUTE plus MUSIC INTERVIEW with Singer-Songwriter: JOSHUA TATE . SOUND ARTIST : CÉLESTE BOURSIER - MOUGENOT with CHRISTOPH COX . DESIGN : ITS ABOUT WALLPAPER . COMEDY INTERVIEW with Andre HYLAND . John DOE . Aimee MANN . Chris STAPLETON . BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL : KWAME BRATHWAITE'S New HARLEM RENAISSANCE . DANNY LYON at THE WHITNEY MUSEUM + R. CRUMB at SEATTLE MUSEUM . TUPAC + ICE CUBE PHOTOS Mike MILLER . "LEGENDS OF THE FALL," WRITER : JIM HARRISON .

The ALEX HARRIS Interview

Tap To READ Alex HARRIS : "When I had the idea to photograph the landscape of northern New Mexico through the interiors of the cars of people who lived there, I’d been living in northern New Mexico on and off for almost 15 years and working in color there for about five years with a view camera. I saw myself as making the portrait of this region without including any actual people in the pictures. So I photographed extensively inside homes, whose decoration was primarily the domain of women, and the outsides of homes and in the fields, which was primarily the domain of men. In photographing these spaces, in a sense I was portraying the people who had created or shaped those spaces over the years. I wanted to represent the younger generation, and the spaces they controlled and decorated were the interiors of their cars."

Read The LITERARY 2016 Edition

TAP TO READ The John STEINBECK ICON Essay By J.A. TRILIEGI : "Question : What is it, that makes a good writer ? There are over a million answers to that question, simply ask a million writers. Each have their own rules, codes and exercises. John Updike adhered to writing three pages a day, before lunch. Charles Bukowski enjoyed a nice bottle of wine and the peaceful patter of classical music, deep into the night. According to John Steinbeck, in his Nobel Prize winning speech, there are many things a writer cannot think, be or do, to be considered, one of the gang. 1-You may not be Exclusive. 2-You may not be Separate. 3-You may not lack passion..."

ROBERT FRANK: THE AMERICANS

An APPRECIATION PIECE by Joshua TRILIEGI: "Photographers around the world revere Robert Frank's contributions to the image pool. Museums of the National and International variety create anthologies, catalogues and booklets attempting to put into perspective the precise importance of Mr. Frank's work. Art galleries and private dealers invest tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in reproducing and reselling the Robert Frank catalogue to new collectors at higher and higher prices each year. Robert Frank's photographs have become iconic, the images are American to the core and yet, he was an outsider, a beatnik, an immigrant, a visual poet... " TAP IMAGE TO READ ARTICLE NOW

REDFORD'S QUIZ SHOW at 20

Tap to READ BUREAU FILM : "This is a large film, with a brilliant cast, a flawless tone and leading actors that include John Turturro as the whistle-blowing contestant Herb Stempel and Ralph Fiennes as Charlie Van Doren, a wealthy second generation Columbia University teacher who gets sucked into cheating himself, the public and his families reputation simply by allowing the network's television producers of The Quiz Show entitled, "21" to, "… give him the answers." Which are said to be, "… sealed in a bank vault." Enter investigating lawyer and Harvard graduate at the top of his class, Richard Goodwin, played here brilliantly by Rob Morrow. A former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Frankfurter, who is on the legislative subcommittee for oversight..."

ON THE FILM SET : Raging BULL

Tap To READ J. A. TRILIEGI ON THE SET: A Man in a hooded, leopard skin robe walks down a long hallway while a group of men push aside those standing in his path. We hear a crowd of thousands cheer the man on, "Jake Jake Jake …" they begin to chant. He is wearing boxing gloves, this is a championship fight, the crowd is dressed in their finest, the men are wearing suits and hats, the women are wearing jewelry, the place is filled with cigar and cigarette smoke, sailors, businessmen, middle aged characters scream the man's name over and over, the women smile as he passes by, his trainers walk in front of and behind the man as he walks down the pathway toward the ring, the volume of the crowd amplifies as the man gets closer and closer to the large roped off square canvas at the center of the arena. The man in the leopard skin robe enters through the ropes, a nondescript fellow with a microphone introduces the man in the robe, the crowd goes wild with frenzy, people are shouting, clapping, everyone is yelling something and then, suddenly, a quiet gent behind a camera yells, "cut" and the place goes silent, the action ceases, everyone settles and a pensive discussion between the crew behind the camera ensues.

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: ICON ESSAY

Tap To READ: Bruce Springsteen tells stories. He knits a good yarn. He knows how to handle the crowd. Like most artists, he was a few steps ahead of the audience. Looking back to his debut album, entitled, "Greetings from Asbury Park," it is now clear that, Bruce Springsteen is not just a great singer, performer and musician, Mr. Springsteen is that rare and individual voice, both on the stage and more importantly: on paper. He is a poet. When the world was still reeling from Vietnam, from the end of The Beatles, from the shadow of Richard Nixon and the slow, but steady death of the once powerful 1960s cultural revolution, this artist released an album that was miles and miles, ahead of his audience.

GEORGIA O'KEEFFE ICON

Tap To READ The BUREAU ICON ESSAY: Georgia O'Keeffe, as a person, was precocious, defiant, intelligent, unwavering and spirited. Throughout her education and early years as a painter, she produced an original abstractionist style that had preceded a group of New York painters of the male variety that has, to this day, remained wholly original, breathtakingly expansive and sexually charged in a way that empowers feminine energy and iconography. O'Keeffe rejected analysis of her works from start to finish, from her early years in New York, to her later years in The West, everyone seemed to get it wrong. So then, let us look again at the paintings and life of Ms. Georgia O'Keeffe and see if we can put this incredible body of work into a new and contemporary context with a fresh eye and revisionist look at this phenomenally bold American.

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BUREAU OF ARTS AND CULTURE CLASSIC FILMS: TWELVE MUST SEE FILMS and WHY

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