It's a magical world

The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), dir. Nicolas Roeg
When David Bowie died I went to the movies. He stole the entire film with his turn as Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006)--I would have paid so much money to have an entire movie of him as Tesla--and of course I've seen Labyrinth (1986), but I'd never seen this one. What struck me immediately was how similar it was, in terms of effects and directorial philosophy, to The Prisoner. The passage of time has been much kinder to the latter; the film never quite coheres, and it's too long. I was also reminded of Under the Skin; this movie is better. I was very proud of myself for correctly identifying Jim Lovell before the on-screen newscaster introduced him. But as a series of striking sequences, and for Bowie's weird, reserved performance, it's worth seeing at least once.

Purple Rain (1983), dir. Albert Magnoli
When Prince died I wore all purple the next day in mourning for the purple Yoda from Minnesota. The next week I went to see Purple Rain, which is amazing. The story is fine, with perhaps more sexism than I was frankly expecting, but wow, Prince. Prince. Prince. I immediately understood that the people who said on Twitter that Prince in concert was pure sex were right, because the Prince numbers in Purple Rain are also pure sex. Even when people in the theater with me got out real actual lighters and held them up during "Purple Rain" and we all clapped and sang along, I couldn't tear my eyes away from him on that First Avenue stage. (I kept looking for friends of mine among the extras in the concert scenes, but no luck.) People on The Current were saying that the movie will endure for the fashion, and it's true that amazing, but the movie will be immortal because it has Prince in it. Like most of his catalog the soundtrack desperately needs a remaster, but even so, it was one of the more mind-blowing concert experiences I've had, never mind that I wasn't actually at a concert.