The Devil and Daniel Johnston: trailer and on 4oD

For a long time musician Daniel Johnston's fame was one based on notoriety more than anything else. Whenever his name came up it was almost always in the context of David Bowie and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain being huge fans of his. For me I first encountered him at London's Chisenhale gallery as part of a show by Peter Friedl that dealt with the King Kong theme. Daniel Johnston's soundtrack, recorded at a live performance of his song 'King Kong' and its lyrics, are the things that stays with me. There's an unease that comes with the artistic output of those who suffer obvious issues around their mental health and the audiences they attract. In Johnston's case his depression and schizophrenia aren't the only things: there's his drug abuse and violence to take into account. I've seen him twice now and both were thrilling and painful in equal measure. If anyone sang the Bond theme 'Live and Let Die' on the X Factor as badly as he did at the Royal Festival Hall they'd be booted out the door straight away, but seeing him on stage with his beat up guitar and out of tune voice it's impossible to not stare, marvel and finally revel at what you're seeing and hearing. It's not that he sings so badly it's good at all - it's just that he sings it like nobody except Daniel Johnston.

I'm not sure if I want to go and see him play again as much as I love playing the tapes and CDs - the second time he looked scared and in worse shape than the time before. Like Kurt Cobain I have the Hello How are you? Daniel Johnston t-shirt except that mine is white text out of black. I think of him whenever I wear it. Maybe that's enough.

4oD on The Devil and Daniel Johnston:

Daniel Johnston is an acclaimed singer and artist who suffers from manic depression. Jeff Feuerzeig's Sundance-winning film is a unique portrait of his work.

In the course of a career which stretches back to the 1980s, Daniel Johnston has written well over 100 love songs. What makes them unusual is that they're all about one woman, Laurie, the object of his unrequited affection for over 20 years. Despite the fact that Laurie rejected Daniel and eventually married an undertaker, his ardour has never dulled. Johnston does have other creative muses though, most notably Jesus, Captain America, The Beatles and Casper The Friendly Ghost. The interview subjects, including Johnston's elderly parents and long-suffering manager, are refreshingly honest about life with a manic-depressive. Home movie footage doesn't just serve as a visual backdrop for anecdotes, but shows that despite initial appearances, Johnston is one extremely smart and self-aware cookie.

Read about The Devil and Daniel Johnston on More4 and watch it on 4oD.

She's Elektra...

I once saw Zoë Wanamaker at the Donmar in a production of Elektra. That was the version of the tragic Greek myth as told by Sophocles. John Heilpern, writing in the New York Observer, wrote:

Zoë Wanamaker's Electra is a miraculous achievement – one of the finest performances I've ever seen.

For myself I do remember it as being the most intense experience I've had at the theatre, heightened by the fact that old Donmar theatre was a tiny space where the seating and the stage area (no raised proscenium here) were pretty much the same thing. It was like being in a front room with someone who has suffered a series of unimaginable family tragedies.

This, however isn't Sophocles's version but Rob Bowman's. Actually 'version' is the wrong word, judging by the description (I haven't seen it as yet) 'whole-different-story-but-with-a-similarly-named-character' would be a more accurate description:

Rob Bowman's fantasy thriller stars Jennifer Garner as Elektra, an assassin tutored by the mysterious martial arts master Stick (Terence Stamp). Her latest assignment is to keep Mark Miller (Goran Visnjic) and his daughter Abby (Kirsten Prout) safe from the ninja warriors of the evil Order of the Hand, to whom she once paid allegiance. Now on the side of good, her task is to protect those who can tip the balance between good and evil, but can she overcome her once-fellow assassins?

It's new on 4oD. Check it out.

The Seveth Seal on 4oD

Yes, I have been unremittingly busy and yes, even so that's no excuse not to have posted anything here for months. OK, many months. But business on 4oD carries on as usual with the latest free catch up and new material from the archive being added all the time. For me personally the best moment of recent times is the addition of a whole series of Ingmar Bergman movies to download (sadly not for free) including The Seventh Seal (pictured). This, remember dear reader, is the film that inspired not only Woody Allen (Love and Death) but also the excellent Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey

New films on 4oD

This week's new additions to film on 4oD include (links go to reviews on the C4 Film site or IMDB):
Little Red Flowers
Jesus of Montreal
The Green Ray
Les Nuits de la Pleine Lune
Vie en Revée des Anges
The Aviator's Wife