William J. Hamblin: Documentarian
Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 7:51 pm
Just as I was considering a re-subscription to Cahiers du Cinema, I found an exciting message in my PM box from one of my favorite anonymous informants. It turns out that Dr. Hamblin, in addition to his talents as a BYU professor of history, is also an amateur filmmaker. One can observe that, in fact, he has more in common with Ken Burns than his hairdo would have initially led one to believe. Further, one can sense a budding rivalry between Bill "Errol Morris" Hamlin and Kerry "Cassavettes" Shirts. They both seem to be making bids for who can be the best practitioner of a genre that might be described as "Mopologetic Kitchen Sink Realism." Or something like that.
In any case, here are the links to two of the films, which were produced and distributed by "Grandpa Productions":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diqEWCgl ... re=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZi1TipZ ... re=channel
The first film is about the "Top Ten Reasons Why BYU is Better than Oxford." The production values leave a lot to be desired, as does Hamblin's regrettably banal narration. Of special note is reason number 8, about science at BYU, and reason number 1. I have to say, I was surprised at Dr. Hamblin's choice. It seems that he thinks that best thing about BYU is "foot baal". Is he referring here to some kind of foot demon, or to some kind of false worship of the foot?
The second film, which lists 20 reasons why Oxford is better than BYU, is considerably better. For one thing, the premise is far more easy to swallow: of course Oxford is better. That's like saying that a film by Steven Spielberg is better than Hamblin's "documentary." Once again, Hamblin's narration is monotonous and yokelish. Frankly, I would rather listen to the sound of eggs being splattered against a brick wall. Dr. H.'s Utah accent sounds the way that I imagine boredom personified would sound.
But, overlooking these clear drawbacks, there is some nice English scenery on display here. A good portion of "pros" in favor of Oxford are eating establishments. At one point, the camera ducks into a pub, where Hamblin appears to be enjoying a platter of authentic fish 'n' chips. But what's that off to the side? Is that a pint of proper English ale? Or is Hamblin all by his lonesome in the pub, working his way through a pint of hearty, peasant orange juice?
Later, Hamblin visits the local bookstore and he expresses amazement at the large number of books for sale (over 100,000!), and he dolefully reports that the shelves amount to 3 miles. All of this seems promising at first, as Hamblin informs us, rather drolly, that there isn't a single "Mormon romance novel." But, this tanks quickly, as it turns out that the whole tour through the bookstore was merely a fun trek on Hamblin's part to see whether or not they had his Temple of Solomon book in stock. (Yes, they do. He gleefully holds it up for the camera to inspect.)
Sadly, much of Hamblin's stabs at humor fall flat. Although Mopologists often boast about their dazzling wit and their penchant for robust and earthy jokes and puns, there is little evidence of that in either of these two cinematic efforts. Much of Hamblin's camerawork is shaky and amateurish, and he relies a bit too heavily on Altman-esque zooms. Still, one can observe a great deal of potential in these two "Grandpa Productions." Certainly, the potential wasn't lost on Hamblin's chief rival:
And this one:
Indeed, Brother Shirts, it was a Morman who rote it, though I don't very much that his finding of the book was any "accident" or "coincidence".
Who knows where Professor Hamblin's foray into the filmic arts will take him? Will his rivalry with Shirts pay off in the form of creative dividends? At the very least, I am sure that we can expect interesting things to come from him in the future.
In any case, here are the links to two of the films, which were produced and distributed by "Grandpa Productions":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diqEWCgl ... re=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZi1TipZ ... re=channel
The first film is about the "Top Ten Reasons Why BYU is Better than Oxford." The production values leave a lot to be desired, as does Hamblin's regrettably banal narration. Of special note is reason number 8, about science at BYU, and reason number 1. I have to say, I was surprised at Dr. Hamblin's choice. It seems that he thinks that best thing about BYU is "foot baal". Is he referring here to some kind of foot demon, or to some kind of false worship of the foot?
The second film, which lists 20 reasons why Oxford is better than BYU, is considerably better. For one thing, the premise is far more easy to swallow: of course Oxford is better. That's like saying that a film by Steven Spielberg is better than Hamblin's "documentary." Once again, Hamblin's narration is monotonous and yokelish. Frankly, I would rather listen to the sound of eggs being splattered against a brick wall. Dr. H.'s Utah accent sounds the way that I imagine boredom personified would sound.
But, overlooking these clear drawbacks, there is some nice English scenery on display here. A good portion of "pros" in favor of Oxford are eating establishments. At one point, the camera ducks into a pub, where Hamblin appears to be enjoying a platter of authentic fish 'n' chips. But what's that off to the side? Is that a pint of proper English ale? Or is Hamblin all by his lonesome in the pub, working his way through a pint of hearty, peasant orange juice?
Later, Hamblin visits the local bookstore and he expresses amazement at the large number of books for sale (over 100,000!), and he dolefully reports that the shelves amount to 3 miles. All of this seems promising at first, as Hamblin informs us, rather drolly, that there isn't a single "Mormon romance novel." But, this tanks quickly, as it turns out that the whole tour through the bookstore was merely a fun trek on Hamblin's part to see whether or not they had his Temple of Solomon book in stock. (Yes, they do. He gleefully holds it up for the camera to inspect.)
Sadly, much of Hamblin's stabs at humor fall flat. Although Mopologists often boast about their dazzling wit and their penchant for robust and earthy jokes and puns, there is little evidence of that in either of these two cinematic efforts. Much of Hamblin's camerawork is shaky and amateurish, and he relies a bit too heavily on Altman-esque zooms. Still, one can observe a great deal of potential in these two "Grandpa Productions." Certainly, the potential wasn't lost on Hamblin's chief rival:
The Backyard Professor wrote:Woo hoo! You crack me up man. That was fun.
And this one:
The Backyard Professor wrote:THREE MILES?!? (salivating)..... well I dunno about that Solomon's Temple book though that you happened to find..... are you *sure* that guy was qualified to write such an one as that is? It's so darn good, that I hope we don't find out it was some Morman who rote it.
Indeed, Brother Shirts, it was a Morman who rote it, though I don't very much that his finding of the book was any "accident" or "coincidence".
Who knows where Professor Hamblin's foray into the filmic arts will take him? Will his rivalry with Shirts pay off in the form of creative dividends? At the very least, I am sure that we can expect interesting things to come from him in the future.
