I've known Jean-Denis Rouette since the summer of 1991. He had been sent my way by mutual Montrealer friends. He's a talented editor, a "working editor", and a collector of physical video media: DVDs and BDs (Blu-ray Discs). I have a few Criterion titles, but my collection would pale.
What makes "JD" so cool to me: he believes that Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957) is not the worst film ever made. That, beyond its own filmic and production shortcomings, it has something vital to say. (I agree, as would "Cult Movies" author Danny Peary.)
Perhaps my favourite story regarding my old friend: Jean-Denis is a big Orson Welles fan. We once got into a discussion about Citizen Kane (1941). Effortlessly we transitioned to The Six Million Dollar Man, a 1970s television series we both watched in our youth: from Welles' greatest picture to ABC's bionic man, specifically the "Bigfoot" episodes. When JD mentioned "Good Bigfoot", and we addressed it with the same reverence as we would Charles Foster Kane, I knew I had met an intelligent lover of the motion picture form.
Postscript: We dined at Peaceful Restaurant last Sunday. It gets a five-star review from me. JD was familiar with the small chain from when he lived in Vancouver. It figures that an out-of-towner introduces me to an establishment that's but a few minutes from where I live.
Peaceful Restaurant
515 Bloor St WToronto
* * *
ISO speed: 1000
F-stop: f/3.3
Exposure time: 1/200
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