An History of Ancient Egypt
A Teaching Company Production
Eight DVD set
48 lectures, 30 minutes each
This is an excellent introduction to the early history of Egypt. It begins about 700,000 years ago with the discovery of a hand axe and ends with the death of Cleopatra, the last independent ruler of Egypt, on August 12, 30 BC.
Along the way we see the development of the pyramids and temples, how they developed from relatively simply structures to the magnificent structures that are slowly crumbling over the centuries. The first graves were pits in the ground and covered with rocks to protect the bodies from predators, mainly jackals. The next step was the placing of a large rectangular, flat-roofed structure, a mastaba, with rooms and a burial chamber. Eventually one king had several of these mastabas of deceasing size placed over his burial chamber. Eventually these developed into the familiar pyramid shapes.
The lecturer varies at times from a strict chronological historical presentation by introducing related topics. Some of these are
--some information about Egyptologists and their methods, including an extensive discussion of the effect that Napoleon's invasion of Egypt had on the science of Egyptology: according to the lecturer, Napoleon brought, along with his army, hundreds of scientists, historians, artists, and anybody else who might be helpful in the study of ancient Egypt. In effect, Napoleon created the scientific study of ancient Egypt.
--mummies, three lectures on mummies (the lecturer's specialty), including one on his attempt to create a mummy using what he could learn about the Egyptian method.
--one lecture each on the Biblical stories of
Joseph in Egypt and the Exodus which included a discussion of the so-far existing evidence, both external archeological findings and internal evidence within the Biblical accounts, and a guess as to when they might have
taken place.
The last lecture included a brief overview of the course and then he discussed the effects of Egyptian history and culture on
contemporary films and books. He, of course, mentioned the various mummy films and the Elizabeth Taylor film of Cleopatra. In addition, he mentioned the mystery series written by Elizabeth Peters (who is a specialist on ancient Egypt) and that the hero, Amelia Peabody, is really a caricature of Sir Flinders Petrie, a highly respected Egyptologist.
Overall, I would say that the lectures provide an excellent introduction to the early history of Egypt. He also includes a bibliography for those wishing to go further in the study of Egypt or on some .specific topics that the viewers may wish to follow up on.
Showing posts with label films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label films. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 31, 2017
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Three Films
KWAIDAN:
Kwaidan is a Japanese film with subtitles directed by Masaki Kobayashi. The title comes from a collection of short Japanese tales translated by Lafcadio Hearn . The film includes four stories from the book. The photography is beautiful and the colors vibrant, and it is hard to believe the film came out in 1965. It must have been reworked to bring back the original colors.
The four tales include the following:
A woodcutter's life is spared by the Snow Woman who killed his comrade on condition that he never speak of what happened to anyone at any time. However, humans being human . . .
Hoichi is a young, blind Buddhist monk who is also talented musician and singer. One night a man comes to guiide him to the court of a noble who wishes him to sing about the last great battle his clan lost to the Genji. Since he is blind, he doesn't know who comprises his audience. His attempt at freedom, aided by his fellow monks, costs him dearly.
A samurai leaves his wife to marry a rich woman in order to escape their poverty and his insignificance. Over the years, he learns that this was a bad decision. Finally he leaves his rich wife and his comfortable position with her father and returns to his former wife. Unfortunately he learns that not only one can't go back, but that it is far better that one never even tries.
A samurai upon pouring himself a bowl of tea discovers a strange face inside the bowl staring out at him. Each time he empties the bowl without drinking it, the face becomes clearer and more ominous. Finally he drinks the tea in spite of the face--a very poor decision. Unfortunately, the reader never finds out what eventually happens to the samurai because every time a writer attempts to finish the story, he or she disappears, leaving it unfinished. What would happen if someone tried to adapt this tale for film?
If there's a moral to the stories, it is that it doesn't pay to get involved with spirits and demons.
POLAR EXPLORATIONS
The film is a collaboration, a fruitful one, between the Teaching Company and the National Geographic Society was first shown in 2015. The lecturers are obviously knowledgeable, which is what I would expect of a Teaching Company production, and the photography is stunning, again something I would expect from National Geographic.
It is a boxed set, which I got from the local library, consisting of 4 DVDs, each DVD with six 30 minute lectures. The first set of lectures focuses on the various expeditions to the North and South Poles, the men who went on them and the many who did not return. Subsequent lectures then centured on the geology, the geography, the climate, and the inhabitants of both regions, along with commentary on the present situation at the Poles, which has been declared off-limits to resource development and territorial claims by countries.
The last set detailed the changes now taking place at the Poles. In 2014, aerial photography disclosed a large crack in the Larson C ice shelf. The lecturer discussed the possibility that the shelf might actually break from from the continent. Several weeks after I viewed the DVDs, I read that the Larson C ice shelf had broken away from Antarctica.
A WALK IN THE WOODS:
A Walk in the Woods is based on the book by Bill Bryson about his walk with a friend along the Appalachian Trail, a marked trail that stretches through the Appalachian Mountains some 2200 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.
It is really a buddy film as Bryson is joined by Stepen Katz, a longtime friend he hasn't seen or talked to in many years. The film is not a travelogue, and those viewing it for the scenery will be disappointed. While there are some shots of scenery, the real focus is on the reconnecting between the two friends, Bil Bryson played by Robert Redford and Nick Nolte as Stephen Katz. Actually that was my reason for watching the film; I wanted to see Redford and Nolte for I just couldn't picture them together in a film. It turned out to be a great pairing.
Kwaidan is a Japanese film with subtitles directed by Masaki Kobayashi. The title comes from a collection of short Japanese tales translated by Lafcadio Hearn . The film includes four stories from the book. The photography is beautiful and the colors vibrant, and it is hard to believe the film came out in 1965. It must have been reworked to bring back the original colors.
The four tales include the following:
A woodcutter's life is spared by the Snow Woman who killed his comrade on condition that he never speak of what happened to anyone at any time. However, humans being human . . .
Hoichi is a young, blind Buddhist monk who is also talented musician and singer. One night a man comes to guiide him to the court of a noble who wishes him to sing about the last great battle his clan lost to the Genji. Since he is blind, he doesn't know who comprises his audience. His attempt at freedom, aided by his fellow monks, costs him dearly.
A samurai leaves his wife to marry a rich woman in order to escape their poverty and his insignificance. Over the years, he learns that this was a bad decision. Finally he leaves his rich wife and his comfortable position with her father and returns to his former wife. Unfortunately he learns that not only one can't go back, but that it is far better that one never even tries.
A samurai upon pouring himself a bowl of tea discovers a strange face inside the bowl staring out at him. Each time he empties the bowl without drinking it, the face becomes clearer and more ominous. Finally he drinks the tea in spite of the face--a very poor decision. Unfortunately, the reader never finds out what eventually happens to the samurai because every time a writer attempts to finish the story, he or she disappears, leaving it unfinished. What would happen if someone tried to adapt this tale for film?
If there's a moral to the stories, it is that it doesn't pay to get involved with spirits and demons.
POLAR EXPLORATIONS
The film is a collaboration, a fruitful one, between the Teaching Company and the National Geographic Society was first shown in 2015. The lecturers are obviously knowledgeable, which is what I would expect of a Teaching Company production, and the photography is stunning, again something I would expect from National Geographic.
It is a boxed set, which I got from the local library, consisting of 4 DVDs, each DVD with six 30 minute lectures. The first set of lectures focuses on the various expeditions to the North and South Poles, the men who went on them and the many who did not return. Subsequent lectures then centured on the geology, the geography, the climate, and the inhabitants of both regions, along with commentary on the present situation at the Poles, which has been declared off-limits to resource development and territorial claims by countries.
The last set detailed the changes now taking place at the Poles. In 2014, aerial photography disclosed a large crack in the Larson C ice shelf. The lecturer discussed the possibility that the shelf might actually break from from the continent. Several weeks after I viewed the DVDs, I read that the Larson C ice shelf had broken away from Antarctica.
A WALK IN THE WOODS:
A Walk in the Woods is based on the book by Bill Bryson about his walk with a friend along the Appalachian Trail, a marked trail that stretches through the Appalachian Mountains some 2200 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.
It is really a buddy film as Bryson is joined by Stepen Katz, a longtime friend he hasn't seen or talked to in many years. The film is not a travelogue, and those viewing it for the scenery will be disappointed. While there are some shots of scenery, the real focus is on the reconnecting between the two friends, Bil Bryson played by Robert Redford and Nick Nolte as Stephen Katz. Actually that was my reason for watching the film; I wanted to see Redford and Nolte for I just couldn't picture them together in a film. It turned out to be a great pairing.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Christie's novel--The Murder on the Orient Express--and the BBC Version with David Suchet
Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express, the novel
Murder on the Orient Express, a BBC dramatization with David Suchet
Murder on the Orient Express (1974), see earlier post
A short time ago I watched the BBC dramatization with David Suchet, after having seen the 1974 film. I don't remember reading the novel, and perhaps that's what I should do next.
The two do differ in certain respects. One difference between the two film versions is that Suchet's Poirot suffers through much more of a moral/ethical/professional struggle at the end than does Finney in the 1974 version, or so it struck me.
I've only watched a few of the Suchet versions, and it struck me that this was the darkest interpretation of Poirot that I had seen in the past, and it actually begins at the beginning. The two incidents prior to boarding the train certainly affects him very strongly and probably plays a significant role in his decision at the end.
Unlike the 1974 version, the music and soundtrack are very traditional, the music suggesting the turning of the wheels and danger ahead. Another difference is the length of the films. The 1974 version was 127 minutes long while the BBC version with David Suchet is only 89 minutes in length. What was lost in those 40 minutes? Several of the interviews never happened as Poirot supposedly relies on his memory of the kidnapping of Daisy Armstrong.
Several Weeks Later
I just finished reading the novel, probably for the first time as all of my memories of it come from the two films. I could find little difference between the novel and the 1974 version of it, aside, of course, for the tone of the film. The BBC version, of course, dropped some of the interviews, probably because of the length of the work.
Aside from the difference in tone and the coverage of the novel, one other difference between the two films is Poirot's reaction at the end when he deceives the police as to his solution of the crime. After having read the novel, I must conclude that the 1974 version is actually closer to the novel than is the BBC version, in which Poirot clearly is upset at his choice. In the novel, he merely says which version he will give to the police and lets it go at that. Perhaps other readers can find evidence that suggests he is very upset over his decision, and if so, I would appreciate being shown this in the novel.
This seldom happens, but I prefer the earlier 1974 version to the BBC adaptation.
Murder on the Orient Express, a BBC dramatization with David Suchet
Murder on the Orient Express (1974), see earlier post
A short time ago I watched the BBC dramatization with David Suchet, after having seen the 1974 film. I don't remember reading the novel, and perhaps that's what I should do next.
The two do differ in certain respects. One difference between the two film versions is that Suchet's Poirot suffers through much more of a moral/ethical/professional struggle at the end than does Finney in the 1974 version, or so it struck me.
I've only watched a few of the Suchet versions, and it struck me that this was the darkest interpretation of Poirot that I had seen in the past, and it actually begins at the beginning. The two incidents prior to boarding the train certainly affects him very strongly and probably plays a significant role in his decision at the end.
Unlike the 1974 version, the music and soundtrack are very traditional, the music suggesting the turning of the wheels and danger ahead. Another difference is the length of the films. The 1974 version was 127 minutes long while the BBC version with David Suchet is only 89 minutes in length. What was lost in those 40 minutes? Several of the interviews never happened as Poirot supposedly relies on his memory of the kidnapping of Daisy Armstrong.
Several Weeks Later
I just finished reading the novel, probably for the first time as all of my memories of it come from the two films. I could find little difference between the novel and the 1974 version of it, aside, of course, for the tone of the film. The BBC version, of course, dropped some of the interviews, probably because of the length of the work.
Aside from the difference in tone and the coverage of the novel, one other difference between the two films is Poirot's reaction at the end when he deceives the police as to his solution of the crime. After having read the novel, I must conclude that the 1974 version is actually closer to the novel than is the BBC version, in which Poirot clearly is upset at his choice. In the novel, he merely says which version he will give to the police and lets it go at that. Perhaps other readers can find evidence that suggests he is very upset over his decision, and if so, I would appreciate being shown this in the novel.
This seldom happens, but I prefer the earlier 1974 version to the BBC adaptation.
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Murder on the Orient Express--Hollywood at what it does best
I just finished a film version of Agatha Cristie's Murder on the Orient Express--the 1974 version. I'm not going to do a summary or analysis of the plot or even a comparison of the film to the book. Others have done that, numerous times, so I'm just going to do a very short commentary here on some trifles.
What I enjoyed most about the film was the cast--the cast--the cast. In an interview, somebody--the producer? the director?--said that they weren't going to do a tight little black-and-white British mystery. They were going to do a real glamour job on it--an Hollywood big picture, expensive, marvelous costumes and sets, star-studded cast, and all the trimmings. They did it and then some.
The film score is excellent and provides an excellent example of what they tried to do and succeeded in doing. In an early scene, we see the train pulling out of the station at night. The steam from the engine provides a foggy atmosphere. And the music and sound effects? It isn't the expected sound of the driving wheels, and the music doesn't provide that sense of imminent danger ahead--something bad is going to happen. NO! What we get is a waltz! The train pulls out of the station and chugs through the countryside to a Viennese Waltz, perhaps even a variation on a Strauss waltz. The feeling is that of a vacation, a fairyland trip, almost a musical.
Well, that's all I'm going to say about the film itself--now here's a list of the cast.
Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot
Lauren Bacall
Martin Balsam
Ingrid Bergman
Jacqueline Bisset
Sean Connery
Sir John Gielgud
Wendy Hiller
Anthony Perkins
Vanessa Redgrave
Richard Widmark
Michael York
I couldn't recognize Albert Finney because of his makeup. And Ingrid Bergman? One of the actors in an interview talked about sitting in the makeup room next to Ingrid Bergman who was being "deglamorized." --his term and very appropriate.
Sir John Gielgud--the consummate professional--does more with a look and syllable than most with a long monologue. At one point, Gielgud, who plays a butler in the film, has just been questioned by Poirot, and as he leaves, one of the others present says very seriously, "The butler did it." Gielgud, as he leaves the room, turns his head and with a sneer utters one syllable of a contemptuous sound. Gielgud's butler is superior to everyone there, and he lets everyone know it.
Great film--lots of fun--go see it, perhaps with a glass of champagne. That's what I'm going to do the next time I watch it.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
My Dinner With Andre, a film
My Dinner with Andre
Last year I watched a remarkable film, The Man from Earth, an SF film without BEMs, spaceships, ray guns, space battles, etc. The film consisted solely of a man who had just told a group of his friends that he was something like 12,000 years old and their reaction to this announcement. There were three possibilities: he has lost his mind, he was lying, he was telling the truth. The conversation that followed centered on the first two possibilities for they immediately ruled out the third. The fascination of the film, for me anyway, depended on the skill of the actors and the dialogue, something which I seldom see nowadays in which films are mostly dependent upon special effects and rapid action so that one doesn't realize how weak the story really is.
I mentioned this film to some friends and relatives, and one of them suggested that I watch My Dinner With Andre, for it was similar in one respect. The film depicted two friend who hadn't seen each other in several years and their conversation over dinner. Again, this film depended upon the skill of the actors and the dialogue.
Wally is the POV character (he's played by Wallace Shawn), and he reluctantly agrees to meet Andre (he's played by Andre Gregory) for dinner, after having lost touch with each other for a number of years. He had heard some strange stories about Andre. The characters in the film have the same names as the actors who play them, which leads me to wonder if there is some truth to the film. According to the notes, they are real life friends and wrote the dialogue and were "More or less playing themselves. . ."
The conversation ranges from the New York theater to strange and bizarre trips to India, the Sahara, and Poland that Andre made. However, there is a theme running through this, which might be best exemplified by the concept of mindfulness. I first encountered this in some contemporary Buddhist writings, which focuses on being aware and awake to one's present. According to this concept, too many people are trapped either by the past or by the future and therefore go through life without being aware of the present, which is the only reality we can know.. They are either overcome by grief or anger or remorse over past events or spend their time planning for and worrying about the future. In both situations people are like robots, preprogrammed by the past or the future and not awake to the present and therefore oblivious to reality: it is though they are in a trance.
Andre's experiences all seem to be directed towards getting him and the other participants to focus on themselves as individuals, to break free of their programming in some way. Most of the events in the workshops or on his trips appear to be unplanned or unscripted and depend on the spontaneity of those taking part. However, we are never shown these events, for we learn about them solely through Andre's description of them. We can experience Andre's past only through his conversation.
Wally, however, is resistant to Andre's theme and sees no reason to change, for he's happy the way he is. In fact, the thought of just "being" and not doing anything frightens him. For if he is doing nothing, then he must be aware of himself and this he says he cannot do.
SPOILER:
Wally is however, is not completely immune to Andre's message. The film opens and closes on Wally. In the beginning we see Wally running errands and mentally complaining about his bills and lack of income and inability to get his plays produced or even not being able to get any jobs as an actor. He is almost run down as he crosses the street. He clearly is not paying attention to his surroundings but is concerned with the errands he must run and his financial status.
There is a subtle difference though at the ending of the film. We again follow Wally as he leaves the restaurant and this time he decides to take a taxi. While in the taxi he looks out the window and realizes that many of the buildings that he goes by have some meaning for him, a longtime New York resident. He now is far more aware of his present surroundings than he was prior to his dinner with Andre.
This film is on my short list of films I will see again.
Last year I watched a remarkable film, The Man from Earth, an SF film without BEMs, spaceships, ray guns, space battles, etc. The film consisted solely of a man who had just told a group of his friends that he was something like 12,000 years old and their reaction to this announcement. There were three possibilities: he has lost his mind, he was lying, he was telling the truth. The conversation that followed centered on the first two possibilities for they immediately ruled out the third. The fascination of the film, for me anyway, depended on the skill of the actors and the dialogue, something which I seldom see nowadays in which films are mostly dependent upon special effects and rapid action so that one doesn't realize how weak the story really is.
I mentioned this film to some friends and relatives, and one of them suggested that I watch My Dinner With Andre, for it was similar in one respect. The film depicted two friend who hadn't seen each other in several years and their conversation over dinner. Again, this film depended upon the skill of the actors and the dialogue.
Wally is the POV character (he's played by Wallace Shawn), and he reluctantly agrees to meet Andre (he's played by Andre Gregory) for dinner, after having lost touch with each other for a number of years. He had heard some strange stories about Andre. The characters in the film have the same names as the actors who play them, which leads me to wonder if there is some truth to the film. According to the notes, they are real life friends and wrote the dialogue and were "More or less playing themselves. . ."
The conversation ranges from the New York theater to strange and bizarre trips to India, the Sahara, and Poland that Andre made. However, there is a theme running through this, which might be best exemplified by the concept of mindfulness. I first encountered this in some contemporary Buddhist writings, which focuses on being aware and awake to one's present. According to this concept, too many people are trapped either by the past or by the future and therefore go through life without being aware of the present, which is the only reality we can know.. They are either overcome by grief or anger or remorse over past events or spend their time planning for and worrying about the future. In both situations people are like robots, preprogrammed by the past or the future and not awake to the present and therefore oblivious to reality: it is though they are in a trance.
Andre's experiences all seem to be directed towards getting him and the other participants to focus on themselves as individuals, to break free of their programming in some way. Most of the events in the workshops or on his trips appear to be unplanned or unscripted and depend on the spontaneity of those taking part. However, we are never shown these events, for we learn about them solely through Andre's description of them. We can experience Andre's past only through his conversation.
Wally, however, is resistant to Andre's theme and sees no reason to change, for he's happy the way he is. In fact, the thought of just "being" and not doing anything frightens him. For if he is doing nothing, then he must be aware of himself and this he says he cannot do.
SPOILER:
Wally is however, is not completely immune to Andre's message. The film opens and closes on Wally. In the beginning we see Wally running errands and mentally complaining about his bills and lack of income and inability to get his plays produced or even not being able to get any jobs as an actor. He is almost run down as he crosses the street. He clearly is not paying attention to his surroundings but is concerned with the errands he must run and his financial status.
There is a subtle difference though at the ending of the film. We again follow Wally as he leaves the restaurant and this time he decides to take a taxi. While in the taxi he looks out the window and realizes that many of the buildings that he goes by have some meaning for him, a longtime New York resident. He now is far more aware of his present surroundings than he was prior to his dinner with Andre.
This film is on my short list of films I will see again.
Friday, September 19, 2014
Judex: a film
Judex, a French language film
Black-and-white, English subtitles
Directed by Georges Franju
1963
The public library in Tucson publishes around the first of the month a list of acquisitions made during the previous month. I always check it to see if anything interesting has come in. In this way, I find some intriguing books and films, many of which I had never heard of. This is how I found Judex. Although it came out in 1963, it was in black-and-white. It is also a French language film, with subtitles in English.
The description sounded intriguing. A corrupt banker is kidnapped by a shadowy crime fighter, Judex, played by the American magician, Channing Pollock. The plot gets more complicated as a group of thieves led by the scheming Diana Monti attempts to benefit from the situation by getting their hands on some of the banker's files that have information about rich and powerful people and using the information for blackmail. Diana had worked her way into the household by gaining a position as a maid and then getting the banker, a widower, to fall in love with her.
A short way into the film, I began to think that this film resembles a serial and also a film that might have been produced much earlier, perhaps the 20s or before. It was in black-and-white, and scene-changes were denoted by several seconds of darkness. In addition, text messages providing narrative information were provided during some of the scene changes. Other elements were some vaguely SF or futuristic technology such as a closed circuit TV picture that resembles others I had seen in early serials and rock doors that slide open smoothly accompanied by a distinct hum, obviously the motor. Some drugs with unusual properties were also used by various individuals in the film.
After viewing the film, I read the information booklet that came with it. The film was produced in 1963 and directed by Georges Franju. Franju's Judex, according to the booklet, is his homage to Louis Feuillade, who in 1916 had produced a five-and-a-half-hour, 12 episode serial by the same name. Franju cut a considerable amount of the film that dealt with the backstory explaining Judex's motivation for attacking the banker.
Judex, when he is the crime fighter (he also had a secret identity, naturally), is dressed in black with a hat and cape that reminds me of Zorro (no sword though). He is assisted by four or five men who also dress in black clothing and wear black masks. Diana Monti, who leads the group of three or four thieves, wears a tight, black outfit, reminiscent of numerous catwoman outfits that have appeared over the years, and has a stiletto. strapped to her thigh.
While there really are no cliffhangers, forcing one to wait for the next episode, the influence of the serial format appears clearly as every one of the major characters--the banker, Diana Monti (the chief villainess) , Judex, Jacqueline (the banker's beautiful young daughter), and at least one of the thieves--is captured and either knocked out or drugged into insensibility at least once during the film and then manages to escape. In fact, the banker's daughter spends much of her time unconscious and being carried about by the thieves, who plan to force her to reveal where her father's papers are hidden, or by Judex and his crew when they rescue her.
And, you mustn't miss the battle to the death on the rooftops between the attractive Diana Monti in her tight, black catwoman outfit and Daisy, an attractive circus performer, in her tight. white trapeze outfit.
Lots of fun. I wonder if the original 12 episode serial is available somewhere.
Black-and-white, English subtitles
Directed by Georges Franju
1963
The public library in Tucson publishes around the first of the month a list of acquisitions made during the previous month. I always check it to see if anything interesting has come in. In this way, I find some intriguing books and films, many of which I had never heard of. This is how I found Judex. Although it came out in 1963, it was in black-and-white. It is also a French language film, with subtitles in English.
The description sounded intriguing. A corrupt banker is kidnapped by a shadowy crime fighter, Judex, played by the American magician, Channing Pollock. The plot gets more complicated as a group of thieves led by the scheming Diana Monti attempts to benefit from the situation by getting their hands on some of the banker's files that have information about rich and powerful people and using the information for blackmail. Diana had worked her way into the household by gaining a position as a maid and then getting the banker, a widower, to fall in love with her.
A short way into the film, I began to think that this film resembles a serial and also a film that might have been produced much earlier, perhaps the 20s or before. It was in black-and-white, and scene-changes were denoted by several seconds of darkness. In addition, text messages providing narrative information were provided during some of the scene changes. Other elements were some vaguely SF or futuristic technology such as a closed circuit TV picture that resembles others I had seen in early serials and rock doors that slide open smoothly accompanied by a distinct hum, obviously the motor. Some drugs with unusual properties were also used by various individuals in the film.
After viewing the film, I read the information booklet that came with it. The film was produced in 1963 and directed by Georges Franju. Franju's Judex, according to the booklet, is his homage to Louis Feuillade, who in 1916 had produced a five-and-a-half-hour, 12 episode serial by the same name. Franju cut a considerable amount of the film that dealt with the backstory explaining Judex's motivation for attacking the banker.
Judex, when he is the crime fighter (he also had a secret identity, naturally), is dressed in black with a hat and cape that reminds me of Zorro (no sword though). He is assisted by four or five men who also dress in black clothing and wear black masks. Diana Monti, who leads the group of three or four thieves, wears a tight, black outfit, reminiscent of numerous catwoman outfits that have appeared over the years, and has a stiletto. strapped to her thigh.
While there really are no cliffhangers, forcing one to wait for the next episode, the influence of the serial format appears clearly as every one of the major characters--the banker, Diana Monti (the chief villainess) , Judex, Jacqueline (the banker's beautiful young daughter), and at least one of the thieves--is captured and either knocked out or drugged into insensibility at least once during the film and then manages to escape. In fact, the banker's daughter spends much of her time unconscious and being carried about by the thieves, who plan to force her to reveal where her father's papers are hidden, or by Judex and his crew when they rescue her.
And, you mustn't miss the battle to the death on the rooftops between the attractive Diana Monti in her tight, black catwoman outfit and Daisy, an attractive circus performer, in her tight. white trapeze outfit.
Lots of fun. I wonder if the original 12 episode serial is available somewhere.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Seconds and Faces and Masks
Seconds
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Released in 1966
Cheryl, one of my frequent visitors here, suggested a resemblance between the Japanese film The Face of Another and the US film Seconds, starring Rock Hudson. The Face of Another is the story of a Japanese businessman whose face is horribly scarred in a laboratory accident. He covers his head with bandages, resembling the character in films of H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. He is not adapting well, so his psychiatrist suggests a radical solution. He will make a mask that is so lifelike few will ever realize it is a mask.
In Seconds, the businessman is a successful officer at a bank and seems likely to become bank president in the near future. However, he is suffering from what was called a midlife crisis. His job is boring and the romance has gone from his marriage. His daughter has grown up and is now married and living far away, sending only a few letters and making an occasional phone call. He has come to the point that life means little or nothing to him--just endless tedium.
Then, he is contacted by a friend, a shock, for he thought Sam had died. Sam tells him there is a company that will solve his problems for him, for a fee of course. The solution is plastic surgery. The company will arrange everything: plastic surgery so he won't be recognized and his "death," so he won't be searched for. The company will even provide him with a new life--something like a witness protection program for the bored.
After a bit of coaxing, he finally agrees. This part is the one that doesn't work for me--the plastic surgery. He changes from a 50 year old man, of average height, and somewhat overweight to Rock Hudson, who is 6'4" with an athlete's body. A few weeks of workouts in the gym is not going to change his body that much nor can it add maybe a half foot to his height. However, once I got past that, I found it an interesting and absorbing film.
Rock Hudson comes up with one of his finest acting jobs in this film. Regardless of his physical appearance, Hudson really seems to be a 50 year old man, still tired and now lost in his new life. As in Face, events do not go the way all had hoped for.
While Face is concerned with a mask and Seconds employs plastic surgery, the overlying theme in the two films is the same--the change of one's external appearance and the effects of that change. In Face, the mask seems to release the inner monster or at least it allows one to become something other than it was without the mask, while the plastic surgery in Seconds may change one's physical appearance, it does not change the inner person.
In Thomas Mann's short novel (perhaps even a novella) The Transposed Heads, Mann proposes a third answer to the question of the significance of the physical body to the spirit. In the story two vastly different friends, one an intellectual and decidedly not athletic and the other a hardworking farmer commit suicide in order to allow the other to win the heart of the woman they both love. She, on her part, finds it impossible to choose between them. Discovering that they have committed suicide by praying to the goddess Kali to decapitate them, she attempts to save them by putting their heads back with their bodies and praying to Kali to resurrect them. Kali hears her plea and brings them back to life, but unfortunately in her grief and panic the young woman had placed the wrong heads on the bodies.
Over a period of time, the intellectual appearing head with the intellectual mind began to change a bit. The features coarsened somewhat, its interests and thinking processes were not quite as intellectual as before, and the body began to soften and to resemble the body of an intellectual. And, the head of the farmer on the intellectual body began to change in the opposite direction. The head began to resemble that of the intellectual while the body became tougher and stronger. Mann's point, as I see it, is that the spirit and the body are one unit and influence each other. The two friends over time may resemble each other in physique and mind more than they did before they committed suicide.
So, there are three positions here: the spirit controls the body or the outward appearance, the outward appearance greatly influences the spirit, and the spirit and the body mutually influence each other for they are really one.
One side note here--in psychology the term "persona" refers to "the role that a person assumes in order to display his conscious intentions to himself and others." The term "persona" comes from Latin and it means "mask." So, the persona is a mask assumed to display his conscious intentions to himself and others. The relationship to others is very clear, but what does it mean when we assume a mask to display our conscious intentions to ourselves?
I'm not sure what this all means, but the interrelationship among the terms persona, person, and mask is fascinating. And how does Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fit in here, as well as stories about the doppelgangers by Poe, Dostoyevsky, and others?
Directed by John Frankenheimer
Released in 1966
Cheryl, one of my frequent visitors here, suggested a resemblance between the Japanese film The Face of Another and the US film Seconds, starring Rock Hudson. The Face of Another is the story of a Japanese businessman whose face is horribly scarred in a laboratory accident. He covers his head with bandages, resembling the character in films of H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. He is not adapting well, so his psychiatrist suggests a radical solution. He will make a mask that is so lifelike few will ever realize it is a mask.
In Seconds, the businessman is a successful officer at a bank and seems likely to become bank president in the near future. However, he is suffering from what was called a midlife crisis. His job is boring and the romance has gone from his marriage. His daughter has grown up and is now married and living far away, sending only a few letters and making an occasional phone call. He has come to the point that life means little or nothing to him--just endless tedium.
Then, he is contacted by a friend, a shock, for he thought Sam had died. Sam tells him there is a company that will solve his problems for him, for a fee of course. The solution is plastic surgery. The company will arrange everything: plastic surgery so he won't be recognized and his "death," so he won't be searched for. The company will even provide him with a new life--something like a witness protection program for the bored.
After a bit of coaxing, he finally agrees. This part is the one that doesn't work for me--the plastic surgery. He changes from a 50 year old man, of average height, and somewhat overweight to Rock Hudson, who is 6'4" with an athlete's body. A few weeks of workouts in the gym is not going to change his body that much nor can it add maybe a half foot to his height. However, once I got past that, I found it an interesting and absorbing film.
Rock Hudson comes up with one of his finest acting jobs in this film. Regardless of his physical appearance, Hudson really seems to be a 50 year old man, still tired and now lost in his new life. As in Face, events do not go the way all had hoped for.
While Face is concerned with a mask and Seconds employs plastic surgery, the overlying theme in the two films is the same--the change of one's external appearance and the effects of that change. In Face, the mask seems to release the inner monster or at least it allows one to become something other than it was without the mask, while the plastic surgery in Seconds may change one's physical appearance, it does not change the inner person.
In Thomas Mann's short novel (perhaps even a novella) The Transposed Heads, Mann proposes a third answer to the question of the significance of the physical body to the spirit. In the story two vastly different friends, one an intellectual and decidedly not athletic and the other a hardworking farmer commit suicide in order to allow the other to win the heart of the woman they both love. She, on her part, finds it impossible to choose between them. Discovering that they have committed suicide by praying to the goddess Kali to decapitate them, she attempts to save them by putting their heads back with their bodies and praying to Kali to resurrect them. Kali hears her plea and brings them back to life, but unfortunately in her grief and panic the young woman had placed the wrong heads on the bodies.
Over a period of time, the intellectual appearing head with the intellectual mind began to change a bit. The features coarsened somewhat, its interests and thinking processes were not quite as intellectual as before, and the body began to soften and to resemble the body of an intellectual. And, the head of the farmer on the intellectual body began to change in the opposite direction. The head began to resemble that of the intellectual while the body became tougher and stronger. Mann's point, as I see it, is that the spirit and the body are one unit and influence each other. The two friends over time may resemble each other in physique and mind more than they did before they committed suicide.
So, there are three positions here: the spirit controls the body or the outward appearance, the outward appearance greatly influences the spirit, and the spirit and the body mutually influence each other for they are really one.
One side note here--in psychology the term "persona" refers to "the role that a person assumes in order to display his conscious intentions to himself and others." The term "persona" comes from Latin and it means "mask." So, the persona is a mask assumed to display his conscious intentions to himself and others. The relationship to others is very clear, but what does it mean when we assume a mask to display our conscious intentions to ourselves?
I'm not sure what this all means, but the interrelationship among the terms persona, person, and mask is fascinating. And how does Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fit in here, as well as stories about the doppelgangers by Poe, Dostoyevsky, and others?
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Museum Hours: a film
Museum Hours
Written and directed by Jem Cohen
Released in 2013
107 minutes
This is one of those special, quiet films that I thoroughly enjoyed but can't really tell you why. The plot is simple: Anne, a woman from Montreal, goes to Vienna to be with her cousin who is in a coma. Just what happened to her cousin is never really explained, or at least I missed it, if it was. It really isn't the focal point of the film.
While in Vienna, she visits the Art History Museum and meets Johann, a museum guard. They get to talking, and she explains briefly why she is in Vienna. Since she is a stranger and alone in Vienna and he has few friends, he offers to be her guide to Vienna. Much of the film takes place in the Museum or the surround areas since neither has much money. Over the course of the film, they learn about Vienna, the Museum, and each other. Johann, at one point, thinks to himself how lucky he is for having the opportunity to see his city through the eyes of someone new to Vienna.
The main attraction of the film, though, is the combination of their quiet, joyful association and the photography. The photography may have been designed by an artist--striking scenes where the colors suddenly become noticeable--not vivid in a glossy way, but strong, even browns and greys stand out. I know nothing of the technology of film so I can't say how it's done--special filters or screens, perhaps in the film processing.
We are presented with striking juxtapositions between the street scenes and the paintings in the museum. Frequently the street scenes resemble works of art from the museum, or perhaps it's the art works that resemble street scenes. At times I wasn't sure whether I was seeing a painting or a street shot. Some scenes from outside the museum could easily be titled "A Still Life." And, in addition, the treatment of many of the people in the film become portraits as we see them in repose.
The film is available on Netflix and the local public library. I would recommend getting it from the library because it comes with a booklet that's not available from Netflix. I have only 10 DVDs in my personal collection, two of which are gifts. I am seriously considering buying this film.
This film goes on my must see again list.
Written and directed by Jem Cohen
Released in 2013
107 minutes
This is one of those special, quiet films that I thoroughly enjoyed but can't really tell you why. The plot is simple: Anne, a woman from Montreal, goes to Vienna to be with her cousin who is in a coma. Just what happened to her cousin is never really explained, or at least I missed it, if it was. It really isn't the focal point of the film.
While in Vienna, she visits the Art History Museum and meets Johann, a museum guard. They get to talking, and she explains briefly why she is in Vienna. Since she is a stranger and alone in Vienna and he has few friends, he offers to be her guide to Vienna. Much of the film takes place in the Museum or the surround areas since neither has much money. Over the course of the film, they learn about Vienna, the Museum, and each other. Johann, at one point, thinks to himself how lucky he is for having the opportunity to see his city through the eyes of someone new to Vienna.
The main attraction of the film, though, is the combination of their quiet, joyful association and the photography. The photography may have been designed by an artist--striking scenes where the colors suddenly become noticeable--not vivid in a glossy way, but strong, even browns and greys stand out. I know nothing of the technology of film so I can't say how it's done--special filters or screens, perhaps in the film processing.
We are presented with striking juxtapositions between the street scenes and the paintings in the museum. Frequently the street scenes resemble works of art from the museum, or perhaps it's the art works that resemble street scenes. At times I wasn't sure whether I was seeing a painting or a street shot. Some scenes from outside the museum could easily be titled "A Still Life." And, in addition, the treatment of many of the people in the film become portraits as we see them in repose.
The film is available on Netflix and the local public library. I would recommend getting it from the library because it comes with a booklet that's not available from Netflix. I have only 10 DVDs in my personal collection, two of which are gifts. I am seriously considering buying this film.
This film goes on my must see again list.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Some great DVDs viewed in 2013
This will be a short list, mostly because I bought a new computer and lost most of my files during the changeover. They are in no particular order, simply because I don't want to expend the effort necessary to rank them, and especially since I know quite well that, on another day, I might rank them differently!
The Man from Earth: I thought enough of this film to buy my own copy. It's the fascinating tale of a man who tells his friends and coworkers that he's thousands of years old and their response to that revelation. It's one of the best SF films I've viewed in many years. For more information, check out the post I did on it last year.
Doktor Fautus: based on the novel by Thomas Mann about a composer who makes a pact with the devil. I haven't read the novel in some time, so I can't comment on the fidelity of the dramatization. I will say though that it was an enjoyable film, even if much of it seemed strange to me, which might be caused by my failing memory, maybe. . .
1984: finally after many years Netflix found a copy to send me. It's the version with John Hurt as Winston Smith and Richard Burton as O'Brien. It was quite good as far as it went, but there was no way that any film could present the image upon which the tyranny of Oceania rested--"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.
12 Angry Men: starring Henry Fonda as Juror 8, the lone man who, at the beginning of the jury's deliberations, insists that they take time to discuss the case inasmuch as a guilty verdict would result in the death penalty. It's an exploration of the effects of prejudice on our perception of others and the judgements that result. What was equally fascinating was the discovery that there were two foreign versions of this film, both very close to the US version. The Russian version's title is 12, and while it follows closely the US version, there are some differences. The Hindi language version is titled Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, and it is very close to the US version. For more information, see the post I made of the three last year.
A Dance to the Music of Time: based on the novels by Anthony Powell. The film is a condensation of Anthony Powell's series of novels published under the same title as the film: A Dance to the Music of Time. The novels are published in four parts: First Movement, Second Movement, Third Movement, and Fourth Movement, and each of the four parts consists of three novels each. A symphony typically has four movements, so that suggests a lengthy and complex treatment of various themes. The film begins with a disparate group of people who meet while they are in school. The narrative follows one man from that point and down the years through the post WWII era. We see how he grows and develops and the way those people he had met during his academic years drop away and then reappear during this period. I found the film absorbing enough to go out and get the books.
Europa Report: an SF adventure/exploration film. It's somewhat reminiscent of 2001 in that the ship is headed towards Jupiter, or to be more precise, Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. It's a skillful blending of NASA film clips and fiction. They have obviously studied NASA technology and methodology to create a very believable film of the way a journey to Europa just might take place. It's one of the better SF films I viewed last year.
Appalachian Journey: One night over a decade ago I was driving home from work and was listening to PBS radio KUAT-FM. It happened to be the broadcast from Lincoln Center, a chamber music event. It featured, among others, Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark O'Connor with special guests James Taylor and Alison Krauss. I was instantly captivated by the liveliness of the music--country, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and barnyard melodies. During an interview, Edgar Meyer stated that the program tonight was duplicated on a CD they had produced: Appalachian Journey. I immediately went out and purchased the CD. I then went out and searched for other CDs featuring Edgar Meyer, and I think I now have at least 5. A short time ago, I discovered that the concert at Lincoln Center had been filmed, so I immediately added it to my queue. Now I can listen to the CD and see them in my memory on stage. If you're not familiar with Edgar Meyer and his unique musical universe, you should check it out.
Steel Helmet: one of the few war pictures that I enjoyed watching. It is very different from the usual patriotic war films that came my way. It tells of Sgt Zack, a loner whose outfit had been wiped out by the North Koreans, and his encounter with several stragglers, a Korean boy, and an American unit searching for a Buddhist temple to be used as a forward observation post. The film came out in 1951, during the Korean War, and those expecting the typical John Wayne patriotic war film must have been shocked by what they saw. One reviewer called it an anti-American and pro-communist propaganda film. By today's standards, it probably isn't that shocking, but back then it had to be disturbing to many.
If I were told that I had to buy at least one war film, this would probably be the one.
THX 1138: This was one of George Lucas' early efforts. It's based on the film he produced and directed during his studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. It's a fascinating picture of a future USA where being unhappy and feeling any emotion but happiness is against the law. It also has one of the riskiest sequences I've ever seen in any film--a long period of time wherein the characters are set against an all-white background, where even the simple furniture is white. The characters' faces and hands provide a startling contrast. Of course, Lucas has to include a car chase scene, something he couldn't do without, even back then when he was producing films that had interesting plots and characters and weren't just excuses for action, action, action.
It is one of the eight DVDs that I have in my personal collection.
Twelve O'clock High: one of the few war pictures I have watched several times, probably mostly due to the fine performance by Gregory Peck, one of my favorite actors. As an HQ staff officer, he finds it necessary to remove a friend from command of a bomber unit based in England during WWII for he feels the commander has gotten too close to his men and can't make the hard decisions necessary. Peck's character then takes command and isolates himself from the unit, thereby triggering resentment from the men who had gotten used to the previous commander's more paternal style.
Zorba the Greek: I had heard much about this film many years ago and eventually watched it. I found the music so infectious that I bought the soundtrack for the film. I also so enjoyed the story that I bought the novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. I was hooked and over the years have purchased as many of his works as possible. I think my collection of his works exceeds ten books. Zorba is a free spirit, and his behavior and attitude might disturb many. The Englishman he mentors is at the exact other end of the spectrum--uptight and constrained--and this provides the conflict in the film. At the end, the Englishman returns to England, but he isn't the same person who came out here.
This is one of the few DVDs that I may add to my collection someday.
The Man from Earth: I thought enough of this film to buy my own copy. It's the fascinating tale of a man who tells his friends and coworkers that he's thousands of years old and their response to that revelation. It's one of the best SF films I've viewed in many years. For more information, check out the post I did on it last year.
Doktor Fautus: based on the novel by Thomas Mann about a composer who makes a pact with the devil. I haven't read the novel in some time, so I can't comment on the fidelity of the dramatization. I will say though that it was an enjoyable film, even if much of it seemed strange to me, which might be caused by my failing memory, maybe. . .
1984: finally after many years Netflix found a copy to send me. It's the version with John Hurt as Winston Smith and Richard Burton as O'Brien. It was quite good as far as it went, but there was no way that any film could present the image upon which the tyranny of Oceania rested--"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face — forever.
12 Angry Men: starring Henry Fonda as Juror 8, the lone man who, at the beginning of the jury's deliberations, insists that they take time to discuss the case inasmuch as a guilty verdict would result in the death penalty. It's an exploration of the effects of prejudice on our perception of others and the judgements that result. What was equally fascinating was the discovery that there were two foreign versions of this film, both very close to the US version. The Russian version's title is 12, and while it follows closely the US version, there are some differences. The Hindi language version is titled Ek Ruka Hua Faisla, and it is very close to the US version. For more information, see the post I made of the three last year.
A Dance to the Music of Time: based on the novels by Anthony Powell. The film is a condensation of Anthony Powell's series of novels published under the same title as the film: A Dance to the Music of Time. The novels are published in four parts: First Movement, Second Movement, Third Movement, and Fourth Movement, and each of the four parts consists of three novels each. A symphony typically has four movements, so that suggests a lengthy and complex treatment of various themes. The film begins with a disparate group of people who meet while they are in school. The narrative follows one man from that point and down the years through the post WWII era. We see how he grows and develops and the way those people he had met during his academic years drop away and then reappear during this period. I found the film absorbing enough to go out and get the books.
Europa Report: an SF adventure/exploration film. It's somewhat reminiscent of 2001 in that the ship is headed towards Jupiter, or to be more precise, Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter. It's a skillful blending of NASA film clips and fiction. They have obviously studied NASA technology and methodology to create a very believable film of the way a journey to Europa just might take place. It's one of the better SF films I viewed last year.
Appalachian Journey: One night over a decade ago I was driving home from work and was listening to PBS radio KUAT-FM. It happened to be the broadcast from Lincoln Center, a chamber music event. It featured, among others, Edgar Meyer, Yo-Yo Ma, Mark O'Connor with special guests James Taylor and Alison Krauss. I was instantly captivated by the liveliness of the music--country, bluegrass, jazz, blues, and barnyard melodies. During an interview, Edgar Meyer stated that the program tonight was duplicated on a CD they had produced: Appalachian Journey. I immediately went out and purchased the CD. I then went out and searched for other CDs featuring Edgar Meyer, and I think I now have at least 5. A short time ago, I discovered that the concert at Lincoln Center had been filmed, so I immediately added it to my queue. Now I can listen to the CD and see them in my memory on stage. If you're not familiar with Edgar Meyer and his unique musical universe, you should check it out.
Steel Helmet: one of the few war pictures that I enjoyed watching. It is very different from the usual patriotic war films that came my way. It tells of Sgt Zack, a loner whose outfit had been wiped out by the North Koreans, and his encounter with several stragglers, a Korean boy, and an American unit searching for a Buddhist temple to be used as a forward observation post. The film came out in 1951, during the Korean War, and those expecting the typical John Wayne patriotic war film must have been shocked by what they saw. One reviewer called it an anti-American and pro-communist propaganda film. By today's standards, it probably isn't that shocking, but back then it had to be disturbing to many.
If I were told that I had to buy at least one war film, this would probably be the one.
THX 1138: This was one of George Lucas' early efforts. It's based on the film he produced and directed during his studies at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. It's a fascinating picture of a future USA where being unhappy and feeling any emotion but happiness is against the law. It also has one of the riskiest sequences I've ever seen in any film--a long period of time wherein the characters are set against an all-white background, where even the simple furniture is white. The characters' faces and hands provide a startling contrast. Of course, Lucas has to include a car chase scene, something he couldn't do without, even back then when he was producing films that had interesting plots and characters and weren't just excuses for action, action, action.
It is one of the eight DVDs that I have in my personal collection.
Twelve O'clock High: one of the few war pictures I have watched several times, probably mostly due to the fine performance by Gregory Peck, one of my favorite actors. As an HQ staff officer, he finds it necessary to remove a friend from command of a bomber unit based in England during WWII for he feels the commander has gotten too close to his men and can't make the hard decisions necessary. Peck's character then takes command and isolates himself from the unit, thereby triggering resentment from the men who had gotten used to the previous commander's more paternal style.
Zorba the Greek: I had heard much about this film many years ago and eventually watched it. I found the music so infectious that I bought the soundtrack for the film. I also so enjoyed the story that I bought the novel of the same name by Nikos Kazantzakis. I was hooked and over the years have purchased as many of his works as possible. I think my collection of his works exceeds ten books. Zorba is a free spirit, and his behavior and attitude might disturb many. The Englishman he mentors is at the exact other end of the spectrum--uptight and constrained--and this provides the conflict in the film. At the end, the Englishman returns to England, but he isn't the same person who came out here.
This is one of the few DVDs that I may add to my collection someday.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Not the Messiah. (He's a naughty boy)
Not The Messiah is an oratorio based on The Life of Brian, and it celebrates the 40 years of Monty Python. It was a magnificent performance. I enjoyed it so much that I will put it back on my queue for another viewing down the road. I do this very rarely.
The performance took place in the Royal Albert Hall in 2009. The Royal Albert Hall is a marvelous setting for musical works. In addition, the music was provided by the 120+ piece BBC Symphony Orchestra, while the chorus consisted of 140+ voices. In addition, were four opera singers.
This is obviously the setting for an evening of high musical culture--except for one small detail. This is produced by the Monty Python gang. The music was inspired by Handel's Messiah, a glorious work performed at Christmas on every continent and in every locale with a large chorus. However, refusing to being tied down to consistency, other musical flavors are included: pop, Welsh hymns, country and western, doo-wop, hip hop, Broadway, and Greek chorus.
A number of the arias and choral presentations were obviously "influenced" by Handel's own words. The lyrics ranged from the sentimental to the raucous to the maudlin to the just plain silly, and occasionally with a bit of profanity thrown in. This, I think, is what makes it so successful--the context. One expects magnificent lyrics to fit the setting and the music and the musical talent available and one gets nonsense.
Then there were the side bits. For example, we were treated to a Bob Dylan shtick, complete with guitar and harmonica rig, as he mumbled his way through "We are all individuals." Thanks to the powers that be for subtitles. One of Handel's choruses in the Messiah is titled "All we like sheep have gone astray." The Monty Python version is somewhat different--"We love sheep." At the appropriate moment of course in wanders a shepherdess with a flock of sheep (three). Also wandering on stage throughout the evening were bagpipers and a squad of Royal Canadian Mounties. Somehow a group of Mexican trumpeters got into the orchestra, complete with Mariachi outfits. Most of this nonsense was provided by the Monty Python group themselves. On hand were a couple of Terrys, a Brian, a Michael, and a few other noteworthies.
I must confess that I'm not a Monty Python fan. I have seen several of their films and thought them enjoyable, but could never understand the adoration of their fans. However, this is a really great film and one that I will watch again in the future.
Highly Recommended
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Combination Plate 21
Warning: I will discuss significant plot elements and some endings.
Sea Wolves: a WWII film
The Cheap Detective: a parody/satire? of film noir and WWII films, written by Neil Simon
Rope, a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Philip Jose Farmer: To Your Scattered Bodies Go, an SF novel
Willa Cather: The Professor's House
=========================
Sea Wolves, a WWII film, 1980
Being a longtime Gregory Peck fan, and having seen him in several WWII films, I decided to take a look at The Sea Wolves (TSW). It also stars David Niven, and a host of other names. The cast therefore includes Gregory Peck, David Niven, Roger Moore, Trevor Howard, and Patrick Macnee. With a cast like this, how could one go wrong?
Well, it did go wrong. I did watch it, but I was disappointed at the end. Perhaps I had expected that it would be as good as the earlier Guns of Navarone (GoN) which also starred Peck and Niven. However, in TSW, the pairing was Gregory Peck and Roger Moore, and it didn't work for me. Roger Moore apparently thought he was still James Bond and plays his character that way--ironic and detached, as if this was a farce, definitely something not to be taken too seriously. This did not play well against Gregory Peck's solid and earnest depiction of a military officer with a suicide mission.
In addition, I felt the plot was weak. I didn't see the tension in TSW that I felt was so strong in GoN. I think the difference between the two films were two elements in GoN that were absent in TSW. In GoN, they were in enemy occupied territory, and the German army was in pursuit. Therefore, they had to elude the Germans as well as make it to their target. In TSW, they were either at sea or in neutral territory and the risk of encountering the enemy was minimal. The only obstacles they faced for much of the film were the weather and a boat engine that should have been retired long ago. This made for a much lower level of tension in TSW.
The second element present in GoN was the deadline. Peck and the saboteurs had to destroy those guns by a certain time. If not, those guns would decimate a convey that had been sent to rescue a large number of British soldiers. Therefore, the guns not only had to be destroyed, but they must be destroyed before the convoy arrived. This element was not present in TSW. Peck and his men had to destroy the ship which was transmitting vital information to German U-boats, but there was no real deadline, except for the usual one of doing it as soon as possible. The powers-that-be, I suspect, recognized this weakness and worked a deadline into the plot that the viewers would know about but not the characters.
Every night at 10:30 (I think it was then), the German radio operator would transmit information regarding Allied shipping in the area. On the night of the attack by the British irregulars, the operator had precise information regarding an US aircraft carrier. Therefore, while they didn't know this, the British unit had to destroy the radio before 10:30. For some reason, this didn't work for me. I wonder if this had been known by the characters, it would have affected their performances in some way. I have no idea, but the film didn't work for me.
Recommended for those who want to see every film Gregory Peck made.
=========================
The film opens with Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a private detective in San Francisco during WWII. He has just been notified that his partner, Ezra Dezire (played by Sid Caesar), has been killed. His partner's widow, Jezebel Dezire (Ann-Margaret) later calls him and asks if he killed her husband so they could be together. Peckinpaugh asks if the police are listening in, and she says yes, as the scene shifts to show her on the phone with several police officers standing very near listening to their conversation.
Lou decides to go to his favorite hangout--Nic's Bar. While there, an announcement over the radio informs all in Nic's that Paris has fallen to the German army. A group of German officers immediately stand up and begin singing "Deutschland Uber Alles." Another group of patrons then get up and begin singing "The Marseillaise."
The film written by Neil Simon is a parody of two monumental films: The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. The two films are melded together mostly successfully, although at time it seemed as though Lou Peckinpaugh (Sam Spade and Ric in the original films and both played by Bogart) wanders back and forth between two alternate universes.
It has a cast of relatively well-known actors, a followup of director Robert Moore and Neil Simon's earlier comic mystery, Murder by Death. Dom DeLuise plays Pepe Damascus and John Houseman appears as Jasper Blubber. Fernando Lamas shows up in the Paul Heinreid role as Louise Fletcher with the help of careful lighting comes across quite well in the Ingrid Bergman role. Others appearing more or less briefly are Stockard Channing, James Coco, Madeleine Kahn, and Phil Silvers.
Overall Comments: I would classify this as clever rather than uproariously hilarious, or any such superlative suggested by advertisements. However, I did feel the urge to watch the originals again, and I have already watched The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca is next. I am pleased to say that scenes from the The Cheap Detective did not pop up as I was watching The Maltese Falcon and spoil my enjoyment of one of my favorite films.
=========================
Rope, a film (1948)
This film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is based on a play by the same name written by Patrick Hamilton. Rope is loosely based on the Leopold-Loeb murder case which took place in Chicago in 1924. Twenty-year-old Nathan Leopold and nineteen-year-old Richard Loeb were the sons of two wealthy and prominent families in Chicago. They were tried and convicted of murdering fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks. Their motives supposedly were to see if they could commit the perfect crime. I've also heard that they killed him just to see what it felt like to kill someone.
In the film, two young men, Brandon and Phillip, kill David, a friend whom they considered inferior, based on their interpretation of a philosophy expressed by Rupert Cadall, a former teacher of theirs, played by Jimmy Stewart. They are so certain of their ability to plan the perfect crime that they kill David shortly before a party was held in their apartment. They hid the body in a large chest which they decided to use as a table to hold the food and drinks for the party. Invited to the party are the David's father and aunt, Rupert, another close friend, and the victim's fiance.
As in a stage play, the film is shot basically in two rooms, with the chest in view most of the time.
The drama involves the differing reactions of the two murderers: one being increasingly convinced that nobody would ever suspect them and one becoming more and more wretched over his part in the murder. A discussion based on Rupert's philosophy that the superior people have the right to eliminate inferior people alerts Rupert that something strange is going on, something that may be related to David's inexplicable absence from the party. When one of the two young men expresses his complete agreement with this theory, Rupert gets upset and says that he would never act upon such a theory. Sensing that something is wrong, Rupert then begins to watch the two carefully, especially their interactions with each other.
I found it intriguing that the blurb mentioned that the two young men had acted upon a "misinterpretation" of Rupert's theory, but frankly, I didn't see that at all. Rupert's only disagreement was that he would never act upon this theory. Secondly, in the film, the theory was based on Nietzsche's superman theory. That may be true, but the language used in the discussion comes much closer to that used by Dostoyevsky in his Crime and Punishment, when Raskolnikov justifies his murder of the old pawnbroker.
My favorite scene in the film takes place shortly before the end. While the people are talking, the maid sees that they have finished eating, so she clears the food off the table. She then returns and removes the table cloth. She returns a third time and brings some books with her that belong in the chest. All this is going on behind the backs of the two murderers who don't see her. I have no idea what the others were talking about as I was fascinated by the maid who was simply going about her duties. Was she really going to open the chest and find the body? But, this is Hitchcock.
One bit of trivia: Patrick Hamilton, who wrote the play the film was based on, also wrote Angel Street, aka Gaslight, which had two film versions. The better known one is the second with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer.
Overall Comments: I found it an interesting film, with Jimmy Stewart playing a different role than I'm used to seeing him in.
=========================
Philip Jose Farmer: To Your Scattered Bodies Go
This is probably Farmer's best known novel and rightfully so, as I believe it's his best novel. It's the first of five novels set in Riverworld, and frankly, the quality of the subsequent novels does not equal that of the first.
The premise of the novel is simple: when people die, they are resurrected on another planet, which they, for obvious reasons, call Riverworld. Riverworld essentially consists of one river that circles the planet. Paralleling the river are two mountain ranges, one on each side, which is impossible to climb. The resurrectees therefore must live along the banks of the river.
The point-of-view character is Richard Francis Burton, the nineteenth century British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist. He is only one of the numerous real people who appear in the book along with various fictional characters. Some of the real characters are Alice Liddell, the model for Lewis Carroll's little girl in Alice in Wonderland. Another is Hermann Goering, a twentieth century German politician, military leader, and a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party. One of the fictional characters is Peter Janius Frigate, who becomes a close friend of Burton on Riverworld. What I find intriguing is that Frigate was born in 1918, the same year that the author was born. Secondly, Frigate describes himself somewhere in the novel as an SF writer. Thirdly, Frigate's initials are PJF, the same as Philip Jose Farmer's--a coincidence, no doubt.
The novel follows the exploits of Burton and his friends as they attempt to explore the length of the River and unravel the mystery behind Riverworld: who created this world, who had gone to the effort of resurrecting all those who had died on Earth, and why?
Readers who expect an idyllic paradise created by humans who have gained a second chance will be mistaken. Humans with a second chance are no better than they were the first time around. One example is Hermann Goering who manages to create a another Third Reich, even if a bit more primitive, with slave camps and a strong military force.
Trivia: the title comes from John Donne's "Holy Sonnet No. 7"
"At the round earths imagin'd corners, blow
Your trumpets, Angells, and arise, arise
From death, you numberless infinities,
Of soules, and to your scattred bodies goe,
All whom the flood did, and the fire shall o'erthrow,
All whom warre, dearth, age , agues, tyrannies,
Despaire, law, chance hath slaine . . ."
I wonder if the sonnet gave Farmer the inspiration for the novel. It certainly is a unique vision of the afterlife. A number of years ago, a friend of mine, who is very interested in various theories of the afterlife, told me about a book that had been written by a person, who claimed to have contact with the dead. According to the book, the locale of the afterlife was identical to the description of Farmer's Riverworld.
Overall Comments: As I mentioned earlier, I think this is Farmer's best novel. However, the questions facing Burton and the other resurrectees are not answered in this novel. Some partial answers are provided, but at a tentative level only.
=========================
Willa Cather: The Professor's House
This is one of Willa Cather's shorter novels, and it has a rather unique structure.
The first part focuses on Professor Godfrey St. Peter and his family, which includes his wife, Lillian, and their two married daughters and their husbands. It also includes Tom Outland, a young student who became a close friend of the Professor St. Peter and almost married Rosamund, one of the professor's daughters.
The St. Peter family has moved into a new house. However, Godfrey can't accept this and returns to the old residence and does his work there in his old study. The readers also learn about Tom Outland, who had invented a gas engine for aircraft and also had attempted to get the federal government interested in protecting cliff dwellings he had discovered out West.
The second part is the story of Tom Outland's discovery of the cliff dwellings on Blue Mesa (Mesa Verde?) and his failed attempt to have it declared a National Monument.
The third part then returns to Professor St. Peter and his growing despondency and depression as he looks back on his life. After the success of his first book, he has done little to justify the esteem he gained from it. He almost dies when the wind blows out the light on his gas lamp, and the room fills with gas. Is it a suicide attempt?
Overall Comments: the novel left me with several questions.
1. Who is the main character? Professor St. Peter or Tom Outland?
2. What is the point of the novel?
3. What is the relationship between Tom Outland's story of the discovery of and subsequent failure to protect the Blue Mesa from exploitation and destruction and the Professor's inability to adjust to the inevitable changes that time brings?
Sea Wolves: a WWII film
The Cheap Detective: a parody/satire? of film noir and WWII films, written by Neil Simon
Rope, a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Philip Jose Farmer: To Your Scattered Bodies Go, an SF novel
Willa Cather: The Professor's House
=========================
Sea Wolves, a WWII film, 1980
Being a longtime Gregory Peck fan, and having seen him in several WWII films, I decided to take a look at The Sea Wolves (TSW). It also stars David Niven, and a host of other names. The cast therefore includes Gregory Peck, David Niven, Roger Moore, Trevor Howard, and Patrick Macnee. With a cast like this, how could one go wrong?
Well, it did go wrong. I did watch it, but I was disappointed at the end. Perhaps I had expected that it would be as good as the earlier Guns of Navarone (GoN) which also starred Peck and Niven. However, in TSW, the pairing was Gregory Peck and Roger Moore, and it didn't work for me. Roger Moore apparently thought he was still James Bond and plays his character that way--ironic and detached, as if this was a farce, definitely something not to be taken too seriously. This did not play well against Gregory Peck's solid and earnest depiction of a military officer with a suicide mission.
In addition, I felt the plot was weak. I didn't see the tension in TSW that I felt was so strong in GoN. I think the difference between the two films were two elements in GoN that were absent in TSW. In GoN, they were in enemy occupied territory, and the German army was in pursuit. Therefore, they had to elude the Germans as well as make it to their target. In TSW, they were either at sea or in neutral territory and the risk of encountering the enemy was minimal. The only obstacles they faced for much of the film were the weather and a boat engine that should have been retired long ago. This made for a much lower level of tension in TSW.
The second element present in GoN was the deadline. Peck and the saboteurs had to destroy those guns by a certain time. If not, those guns would decimate a convey that had been sent to rescue a large number of British soldiers. Therefore, the guns not only had to be destroyed, but they must be destroyed before the convoy arrived. This element was not present in TSW. Peck and his men had to destroy the ship which was transmitting vital information to German U-boats, but there was no real deadline, except for the usual one of doing it as soon as possible. The powers-that-be, I suspect, recognized this weakness and worked a deadline into the plot that the viewers would know about but not the characters.
Every night at 10:30 (I think it was then), the German radio operator would transmit information regarding Allied shipping in the area. On the night of the attack by the British irregulars, the operator had precise information regarding an US aircraft carrier. Therefore, while they didn't know this, the British unit had to destroy the radio before 10:30. For some reason, this didn't work for me. I wonder if this had been known by the characters, it would have affected their performances in some way. I have no idea, but the film didn't work for me.
Recommended for those who want to see every film Gregory Peck made.
=========================
The film opens with Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a private detective in San Francisco during WWII. He has just been notified that his partner, Ezra Dezire (played by Sid Caesar), has been killed. His partner's widow, Jezebel Dezire (Ann-Margaret) later calls him and asks if he killed her husband so they could be together. Peckinpaugh asks if the police are listening in, and she says yes, as the scene shifts to show her on the phone with several police officers standing very near listening to their conversation.
Lou decides to go to his favorite hangout--Nic's Bar. While there, an announcement over the radio informs all in Nic's that Paris has fallen to the German army. A group of German officers immediately stand up and begin singing "Deutschland Uber Alles." Another group of patrons then get up and begin singing "The Marseillaise."
The film written by Neil Simon is a parody of two monumental films: The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. The two films are melded together mostly successfully, although at time it seemed as though Lou Peckinpaugh (Sam Spade and Ric in the original films and both played by Bogart) wanders back and forth between two alternate universes.
It has a cast of relatively well-known actors, a followup of director Robert Moore and Neil Simon's earlier comic mystery, Murder by Death. Dom DeLuise plays Pepe Damascus and John Houseman appears as Jasper Blubber. Fernando Lamas shows up in the Paul Heinreid role as Louise Fletcher with the help of careful lighting comes across quite well in the Ingrid Bergman role. Others appearing more or less briefly are Stockard Channing, James Coco, Madeleine Kahn, and Phil Silvers.
Overall Comments: I would classify this as clever rather than uproariously hilarious, or any such superlative suggested by advertisements. However, I did feel the urge to watch the originals again, and I have already watched The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca is next. I am pleased to say that scenes from the The Cheap Detective did not pop up as I was watching The Maltese Falcon and spoil my enjoyment of one of my favorite films.
=========================
Rope, a film (1948)
This film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is based on a play by the same name written by Patrick Hamilton. Rope is loosely based on the Leopold-Loeb murder case which took place in Chicago in 1924. Twenty-year-old Nathan Leopold and nineteen-year-old Richard Loeb were the sons of two wealthy and prominent families in Chicago. They were tried and convicted of murdering fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks. Their motives supposedly were to see if they could commit the perfect crime. I've also heard that they killed him just to see what it felt like to kill someone.
In the film, two young men, Brandon and Phillip, kill David, a friend whom they considered inferior, based on their interpretation of a philosophy expressed by Rupert Cadall, a former teacher of theirs, played by Jimmy Stewart. They are so certain of their ability to plan the perfect crime that they kill David shortly before a party was held in their apartment. They hid the body in a large chest which they decided to use as a table to hold the food and drinks for the party. Invited to the party are the David's father and aunt, Rupert, another close friend, and the victim's fiance.
As in a stage play, the film is shot basically in two rooms, with the chest in view most of the time.
The drama involves the differing reactions of the two murderers: one being increasingly convinced that nobody would ever suspect them and one becoming more and more wretched over his part in the murder. A discussion based on Rupert's philosophy that the superior people have the right to eliminate inferior people alerts Rupert that something strange is going on, something that may be related to David's inexplicable absence from the party. When one of the two young men expresses his complete agreement with this theory, Rupert gets upset and says that he would never act upon such a theory. Sensing that something is wrong, Rupert then begins to watch the two carefully, especially their interactions with each other.
I found it intriguing that the blurb mentioned that the two young men had acted upon a "misinterpretation" of Rupert's theory, but frankly, I didn't see that at all. Rupert's only disagreement was that he would never act upon this theory. Secondly, in the film, the theory was based on Nietzsche's superman theory. That may be true, but the language used in the discussion comes much closer to that used by Dostoyevsky in his Crime and Punishment, when Raskolnikov justifies his murder of the old pawnbroker.
My favorite scene in the film takes place shortly before the end. While the people are talking, the maid sees that they have finished eating, so she clears the food off the table. She then returns and removes the table cloth. She returns a third time and brings some books with her that belong in the chest. All this is going on behind the backs of the two murderers who don't see her. I have no idea what the others were talking about as I was fascinated by the maid who was simply going about her duties. Was she really going to open the chest and find the body? But, this is Hitchcock.
One bit of trivia: Patrick Hamilton, who wrote the play the film was based on, also wrote Angel Street, aka Gaslight, which had two film versions. The better known one is the second with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer.
Overall Comments: I found it an interesting film, with Jimmy Stewart playing a different role than I'm used to seeing him in.
=========================
Philip Jose Farmer: To Your Scattered Bodies Go
This is probably Farmer's best known novel and rightfully so, as I believe it's his best novel. It's the first of five novels set in Riverworld, and frankly, the quality of the subsequent novels does not equal that of the first.
The premise of the novel is simple: when people die, they are resurrected on another planet, which they, for obvious reasons, call Riverworld. Riverworld essentially consists of one river that circles the planet. Paralleling the river are two mountain ranges, one on each side, which is impossible to climb. The resurrectees therefore must live along the banks of the river.
The point-of-view character is Richard Francis Burton, the nineteenth century British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist. He is only one of the numerous real people who appear in the book along with various fictional characters. Some of the real characters are Alice Liddell, the model for Lewis Carroll's little girl in Alice in Wonderland. Another is Hermann Goering, a twentieth century German politician, military leader, and a high-ranking member of the Nazi Party. One of the fictional characters is Peter Janius Frigate, who becomes a close friend of Burton on Riverworld. What I find intriguing is that Frigate was born in 1918, the same year that the author was born. Secondly, Frigate describes himself somewhere in the novel as an SF writer. Thirdly, Frigate's initials are PJF, the same as Philip Jose Farmer's--a coincidence, no doubt.
The novel follows the exploits of Burton and his friends as they attempt to explore the length of the River and unravel the mystery behind Riverworld: who created this world, who had gone to the effort of resurrecting all those who had died on Earth, and why?
Readers who expect an idyllic paradise created by humans who have gained a second chance will be mistaken. Humans with a second chance are no better than they were the first time around. One example is Hermann Goering who manages to create a another Third Reich, even if a bit more primitive, with slave camps and a strong military force.
Trivia: the title comes from John Donne's "Holy Sonnet No. 7"
"At the round earths imagin'd corners, blow
Your trumpets, Angells, and arise, arise
From death, you numberless infinities,
Of soules, and to your scattred bodies goe,
All whom the flood did, and the fire shall o'erthrow,
All whom warre, dearth, age , agues, tyrannies,
Despaire, law, chance hath slaine . . ."
I wonder if the sonnet gave Farmer the inspiration for the novel. It certainly is a unique vision of the afterlife. A number of years ago, a friend of mine, who is very interested in various theories of the afterlife, told me about a book that had been written by a person, who claimed to have contact with the dead. According to the book, the locale of the afterlife was identical to the description of Farmer's Riverworld.
Overall Comments: As I mentioned earlier, I think this is Farmer's best novel. However, the questions facing Burton and the other resurrectees are not answered in this novel. Some partial answers are provided, but at a tentative level only.
=========================
Willa Cather: The Professor's House
This is one of Willa Cather's shorter novels, and it has a rather unique structure.
The first part focuses on Professor Godfrey St. Peter and his family, which includes his wife, Lillian, and their two married daughters and their husbands. It also includes Tom Outland, a young student who became a close friend of the Professor St. Peter and almost married Rosamund, one of the professor's daughters.
The St. Peter family has moved into a new house. However, Godfrey can't accept this and returns to the old residence and does his work there in his old study. The readers also learn about Tom Outland, who had invented a gas engine for aircraft and also had attempted to get the federal government interested in protecting cliff dwellings he had discovered out West.
The second part is the story of Tom Outland's discovery of the cliff dwellings on Blue Mesa (Mesa Verde?) and his failed attempt to have it declared a National Monument.
The third part then returns to Professor St. Peter and his growing despondency and depression as he looks back on his life. After the success of his first book, he has done little to justify the esteem he gained from it. He almost dies when the wind blows out the light on his gas lamp, and the room fills with gas. Is it a suicide attempt?
Overall Comments: the novel left me with several questions.
1. Who is the main character? Professor St. Peter or Tom Outland?
2. What is the point of the novel?
3. What is the relationship between Tom Outland's story of the discovery of and subsequent failure to protect the Blue Mesa from exploitation and destruction and the Professor's inability to adjust to the inevitable changes that time brings?
Friday, December 31, 2010
Some great films viewed in 2010
This is not a list of the best films of 2010. In fact, many appeared long ago, and one is even a silent film. This is simply a list of the most enjoyable or interesting or intriguing films that I watched during 2010, some of which I have posted comments about during the year.
They are in alphabetical order. To rank them would be a waste of time as tomorrow my ranking would be different. And, if I made up the list tomorrow, it probably would be different in some respects.
District 9
Natural City
They are in alphabetical order. To rank them would be a waste of time as tomorrow my ranking would be different. And, if I made up the list tomorrow, it probably would be different in some respects.
A Walk in the Sun
Blade Runner: Theatrical CutDistrict 9
Fantasia (Original)
Fata Morgana
Glass: A Portrait of Philip Glass in Twelve Parts
Ken Burns: JazzJesse Stone: No Remorse and Thin Ice
Natural City
The Book of Eli
The Haunting
Youth without Youth
Let me know if you have watched any of these and what you thought of them.
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