More Movie Talk. Last Night I watched two terrific movies.→[More:]

First Ring Of Fire. No not the Johnny cash biopic, but the astounding story of welterweight champion Emile Griffith. So many issues of violence, sexuality, money, and history are bound up in this film that it's tough to process. Plus it's exquisitely executed, with well done unobtrusive interviews and remarkable use of archival footage.

Also, Style Wars, the documentary of the nascent hip-hop/graffitti scene in early 80's New York. Along with perfectly capturing the flavor of a vanished era* it also shows you something about young people and subcultures and how like punk rock and other art of that era, what can be made from society's detritus. It also includes bonus interviews with many of the artists today which are revealing. I was also struck by the surprising parallels between tagging and blogging culture.**

* the NYC-in-decline era of the late 70's and 80's was strange. The same circumstances that drove kids to do this stuff also drove many to veiw them as a sign of civilization in decline if that makes any sense.

**I have a few friends who were tangentially involved with this scene as kids, and when I was younger myself, I knew a few people who were into it, but lacking artistic talent I never was that involved, same thing that kept me from being a full-on participant in punk rock. My talents lay elsewhere. For people who's skill is verbal, the 'Web/blog world is extremely similar in many ways, but it wasn't around then. c'est la vie.