SPEAKING OF MOVIES NOBODY WILL SEE - Has anyone seen this new movie 'Russian Ark', which is shot in one long, unbroken take? Here's the NY Times' blurb about it:

Russian Ark" is a magnificent conjuring act, an eerie historical mirage evoked in a single sweeping wave of the hand by Alexander Sokurov. The 96-minute film, shot in high-definition video in the Hermitage at St. Petersburg, consists of one continuous, uninterrupted take. Thanks to recent technological innovation, it is the longest unbroken shot in the history of film. As the Steadicam operated by Tilman Büttner (the German cinematographer of "Run Lola Run") floats through the museum's galleries, a cast of 2,000 actors and extras act out random, whimsical moments of Russian imperial history that dissolve into one other like chapters of a dream.

And here I thought Welles' long take at the beginning of 'Touch of Evil' -- and Altman's spoof at the beginning of 'The Player', and Scorsese's tracking shot into the Copacabana in 'GoodFellas' -- were the most amazing uses of the long take in cinema. Sadly, like 'Adaptation', it's not playing in Chicago. How did the Windy City suddenly become Star City, Arkansas? And if you can name what movie is set in Star City, Arkansas, you get...well, I'm not sure what you'll get other than my respect and admiration.


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