- Screen capture from Clint Eastwood’s ‘Hereafter’ playing wide
by Sam Juliano
The World Series match-up has been decided, and the Yankees and Phils are inexplicably MIA. The last thing any baseball fan expected (aside from those living in the Bay City and Arlington) was a Texas Rangers-San Francisco Giants final. Yet, with two Cinderella teams locking horns, it’s sure to be a Fall Classic for the ages. As a die-hard lifelong Yankee fan I almost always root for the AL respresentative, but I’m not so sure this time around who I’ll be rooting for. Seems like the Giants know how to win one-run games, and that’s a major factor. Meanwhile Big Apple football fans are having a grand old time with the area football teams playing to top capacity, though the Jets had lady luck on their side at the end of their narrow victory.
Marilyn Ferdinand has completed her outstanding coverage of the Chicago International Film Festival, a project that has brought out a plethora of praise from all quarters, as well as exciting many awaiting theatrical release dates. Her final round-up has resulted in one of the most spectacular threads ever at Ferdy-on-Films. Jason Marshall continues his amazing project at Movies Over Matter the whole scope of cinematic achievement from the 30’s forward, while two gifted writers, Jake Cole and Adam Zanzie have penned extraordinary reviews of Empire of the Sun and To Kill A Mockingbird at their respective homes. (linked below) Brest wishes always to our dear friends Dee Dee and Longman Oz, who are temporaily tending to other matters of importance. Their sites will return for sure.
The Wonders in the Dark horror countdown has reached the final stretch run with the monumental one-month project scheduled to end (appropriately) enough on Halloween – Sunday the 31st. Jamie Uhler, Kevin and Troy Olson and Robert Taylor have given the site their blood, sweat and tears, and have collaborated to attract distinguished visitors and the usual site loyalists, all of whom have penned impressive responses day after day.
This week, I wasn’t as busy on the movie front as usual, as off-Broadway plays and a concert (with a film screening included) dominated the completed itinerary. I did see Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter and this week’s Ozu gem, and it was a special thrill to participate in a “sing-a-long” of the musical landmark West Side Story as part of the Leonard Bernstein tribute concert at Symphony Space on the upper West Side. I did watch the three-hour This is England ’86 on Region 2 DVD, and I must say it took the story and characters of the original theatrical film much further.
I saw these films in a theatre:
Hereafter ** (Sunday evening) Edgewater Multiplex
Late Autumn **** 1/2 (Sunday morning) IFC Film Center
Wednesday evening’s off-Broadway show Kimberly Akimbo, which was staged at the Spoon Theatre on West 38th Street, was a well-intentioned work that is billed as “a hilarious and heartrending play about a teenager with a rare condition causing her body to age faster than it should. When she and her family flee Secaucus under dubious circumstances, Kimberly is forced to reevaluate her life while contending with a hypochondriac mother, a rarely sober father, a scam artist aunt, her own mortality and, most terrifying of all, the possibility of first love.” Sadly, the work’s threadbare minimalism, staged in a tiny (and seedy) theatre with scarcely 24 seats was dramatically unconvincing due to pedestrian staging and tedious narrative progression, accentuated by mediocre performances. The play failed to engage from the opening minutes, yet one could easily surmise the material has promise in more capable hands.
On Friday night, Melanie and Broadway Bob accompanied me to Symphony Space on Broadway and 95th Street to take in a unique tribute to a great American composer titled Leonard Bernstein: A Celebration, which featured a choir and musicians performing “A Simple Song” from his 1971 Mass, his beloved “Chichester Psalms” (1965), a piano rendition of West Side Story’s “Somewhere” and “Make Our Garden Grow” from Candide. An eleven-year old singer, Richard Pittsinger was marvelous in his solo segment, and the appearance on stage of 80 year-old soprano Marni Nixon (who provided the dubbed voice for Natalie Wood in West Side Story) brought thunderous applause from the packed audience in the packed auditorium as she ascended the steps to the stage. Nixon engaged in some nostalgic anecdotes with other celebrities and tribute coordinators, before yielding to a mega-screen presentation of the complete West Side Story which including English subtitles for the song segments. Although I have never been ashamed to sing these operatic treasures in my own home, I was reluctant to do so in public. I must say though it was quite a treat to hear Broadway Bob singing “I Feel Pretty” in particular! Melanie had a great time too!
And then there was Play Dead, an interactive off-Broadway staging at the Player’s Theatre on MacDougal Street, (experienced on Saturday night)which featured Todd Robbins as a macabre illusionist who pulled crusty naked women out of coffin replicas, poured “hydrochloric acid” over living specimens (turning them into skeletons) and helped to orchestrate a completely darkened theatre with some jolting noises and a some imaginitive stage props (including white blankets). Lucille, Bob and I sat in the front row and were splashed with water (filling in for visual stage blood in a scene where the multi-talented Robbins feigned eating the head of a live rat) and were part of a pre-play questionnaire by an usher who asked us to identify someone we know that recently died. It was the one aspect of the production I disliked intensely. All in all a respectable Halloween show, though at times the extended “darkness” grew rather tedious.
Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter was ponderous, ludicrous and poorly paced. With the exception of a stunning tidal wave sequence that appeared at the beginning, the film was a torture to sit through. Damon was wasted.
Ozu’s Late Autumn, a near-masterpiece, will be discussed in my November mega-post on Ozu. It was great seeing the film on Sunday morning with my friend Tony Lucibello, who had not yet seen it.
The blogosphere is on fire these days:
The ever-prolific and diverse John Greco continues to demonstrate why Twenty-Four Frames is a delight for cineastes. His latest essay considers Henry Levin’s 1946 Night Editor: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/night-editor-1946-henry-levin/
Jake Cole, writer extraordinaire (boy has he got a great career ahead of him!) has penned a definitive essay on Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece Empire of the Sun, with amazing capacity to vividly describe many of the film’s most vital sequences. It’s over at “Not Just Movies”: http://armchairc.blogspot.com/2010/10/steven-spielberg-empire-of-sun.html
Satyamshot regular GF has penned a wonderful review of the Hindi gem Udaan at Kaleem Hasan’s always enlightening abode: http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2010/10/23/a-few-frames-from-udaan/
Qalandar explains (in a beautiful and sensory passage) why NYC does sleep in undetected moments at his distinguished blogsite: http://qalandari.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-york-with-fall-approaching.html
At Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies Kevin J. Olson, plays catch up with some capsule reviews on new releases with a superb treatment of The Killer Inside Me: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/catching-up-with-2010-capsule-review_21.html
Adam Zanzie, warming up for his upcoming Spielberg blogothon, has penned a review for the ages on Robert Mulligan’s classic To Kill A Mockingbird, based on the Pultizer-prize winning novel by Harper Lee: http://iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2010/10/to-kill-mockingbird-1962-praise-and.html
In her sensory post “Mayne Island Tree Spirits” the inspiring “Creativepotager” Terrill Welch speaks of the magical tree spirits lurking in the fog at her havenly hamlet: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/mayne-island-tree-spirits/
In her closing post on the Chicago International Film Festival, Marilyn Ferdinand weighs the many questions she is left with after some remarkable coverage and attendance. A stunning comment thread follows: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=6777
Troy Olson’s work for the horror countdown has been by unanimous concensus quite extraordinary, and his reviews are appearing at his site Elusive as Robert Denby: The Life and Times of Troy: http://troyolson.blogspot.com/2010/10/picnic-at-hanging-rock.html
Jaime Grijalba’s tireless work on his Halloween countdown continues with some exceptionally-penned reviews on a wide-assortment of horror-themed entries from many time periods. His onsideration of Critters for one, at “Exodus 8:2” is a must-read: http://exodus8-2.blogspot.com/2010/10/21-critters-1986.html
At FilmsNoir.net Tony d’Ambra continus to examine his particular expertise with all kinds of angles, including essays, poetry, and art. His latest post displays a celebrated “cover” fom the novel Tucker’s People, upon which Abraham Polonsky’s 1948 noir masterpiece Force of Evil was based: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/the-noir-city-underworld.html
If there are still any out there who haven’t yet been checking out Judy Geater’s remarkable work with William Wellman at Movie Classics, now’s as good a time as any, with her consideration of the Warner Archives DVD release of Central Airport with Richard Barthelmess: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2010/10/11/central-airport-1933/
Our friend in Tokyo, “Murderous Ink” has another invaluable presentation at his place containing photos from unforgettable settings on display in Ozu’s masterwork This is a Father: http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2010/10/then-and-now-again.html
In a rather spectacular post at “The Schleicher Spin” David Schleicher laments the delayed release of Malick’s Tress of Life, but salivates over the prospects for December 2011, while discussing the probably nominees for Best Picture from AMPAS. It’s quite a feature: http://theschleicherspin.com/2010/10/19/wait-until-next-year/
Jaime Grijalba of Santiago, a life force of energy and enthusiasm, contnues his diverse and engaging Halloween countdown with a wonderful treatment of Monster in the Closet at “Exodus 8:2”: http://exodus8-2.blogspot.com/2010/10/22-monster-in-closet-1986.html
Filmmmaker Jeffrey Goodman has launched a fascinating discussion on “the riches of post-punk” at his always engaging The Last Lullaby blogsite: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/2010/10/riches-of-post-punk.html
Shubhajit at Cinemascope is featuring the new Humphrey Bogart box set, released by Warners, which all things considered is a collector’s dream: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.com/2010/10/humphrey-bogart-essential-collection.html
The ever-creative and observant Laurie Buchanan has spured the imagination again with her latest post, a report on a house’s windows, obscurred by ivy. There’s another engaging thread too at Speaking from the Heart: http://holessence.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/a-view-with-a-room/
Craig Kennedy has authored a fantastic review of the 330 minute Carlos at “Living in Cinema”: http://livingincinema.com/2010/10/22/review-carlos-2010/
Roderick Heath continues to compose exceptional reviews on a number of films that may have fallen off the radar and his latest on a celebrated television horror film – Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark – leads the way at “This Island Rod”: http://thisislandrod.blogspot.com/2010/10/dont-be-afraid-of-dark-1973.html
Hammer horror fans will delight in a comprehesive treatment of a rarely-considered Peter Cushing film, entitled Captain Clegg, by the ever-fecund and authoritative Samuel Wilson at “Mondo 70”: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2010/10/captain-clegg-1962.html
Just Another Film Buff has turned his attention to the critically-praised documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop at “The Seventh Art” where he makes some typically brilliant observations: http://theseventhart.info/2010/10/17/ellipsis-14/
At the home of the inspiring Coffee Messiah, Michael Harford’s latest post suggests staying the course with feelings of affection. A lovely Thoreau quote sets the mood: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/2010/10/you-know-who-you-are.html
J.D. has penned a definitive review on the mainstream horror film Candyman at “Radiator Heaven”: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2010/10/candyman.html
Hokahey has some pointed issues with Clint Eastwood’s new film Hereafter at his “Little Worlds” blogsite. It’s a terrific essay: http://hokahey-littleworlds.blogspot.com/2010/10/go-ahead-communicate-with-my-dead.html
At Only the Cinema Ed Howard has authored a superlative review of Olivier Assayas’ Late August, Early September: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2010/10/late-august-early-september.html
Jason Bellamy, writer par excellence, has penned a superb review on the the documentary Tim Richmond: To the Limit at “The Cooler” (which has fueled a terrific comment sction as well): http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2010/10/days-of-thunder-tim-richmond-to-limit.html
Dan Getahun at Getafilm has posted a new entry in his long-running “300 Word” series on the Ginsberg “biopic” Howl. He’s less than enthused, but his argument is well-presented and persuasive: http://getafilm.blogspot.com/2010/10/300-words-about-howl.html
Dave Van Poppel considers Kelly Reichart’s Meek’s Cutoff as his latest stellar review of ‘realist cinema’ at Visions of Non-Fiction: http://visionsofnonfiction.blogspot.com/2010/09/meeks-cutoff.html
R.D. Finch has authored another one of his typically brilliant essays on classic cinema with his essay on Orson Welles’s Mr. Arkadin at “The Movie Projector”: http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2010/10/mr-arkadin-1955-2006-complete-version.html
Our Canadian friend Jeopardy Girl gets a pianful lesson in “buying” as conveyed in “That’s What Happens” at her candidly engaging “The Continuing Adventures of Jeopardy Girl” blogsite: http://jeopardygirl.wordpress.com/2010/10/18/thats-what-happens/
At Doodad Kind of Town, our good friend Pat takes a close look at two films that star ‘Jennifers’ – Lopez and Anniston. It’s a creative piece that examines common ground in both: http://doodadkindoftown.wordpress.com/2010/10/02/whos-your-daddy-a-tale-of-two-jennifers/
Jason Marshall’s coverage of 1936 at “Movies Over Matter” has been a revelation, and his latest post considers the year’s best actresses: http://moviesovermatter.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/best-actress-of-1936-jean-arthur-mr-deeds-goes-to-town/
At The Shock of Glimpsing Peter Lenihan continues to display iconic screen caps, the latest being some atmosperic beauties from a film “he loves”: The Long Riders: http://theshockofglimpsing.blogspot.com/
Drew McIntosh has a dazzling screen cap display at “The Blue Vial” on Jonathan Demme’s seminal concert film Stop Making Sense with the Talking Heads: http://thebluevial.blogspot.com/2010/10/five-from-favorite-stop-making-sense.html
R.D. Finch has penned his usual exceptional essay on Orson Welles’s Mr. Arkadin (1955) at “The Movie Projector”: http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2010/10/mr-arkadin-1955-2006-complete-version.html
A wildly enthusiastic Tony Dayoub talks about Carlos, the film he proclaims as the best of this years New York Film Festival: http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2010/10/carlos-2010-nyff10s-masterpiece.html
You want to read a spectacular review on the Italian film I Am Love? Well, head over as soon as possible to the Film Doctor’s place, where the resilient scholar and university professor has examined the essence of why this film has gone further than most to achieve consumate artistry. His third point on “artistic forms” is fascinating: http://filmdr.blogspot.com/2010/10/obsessive-love-and-arts-revolt-9-notes.html
Andrew Wyatt admits he’s “late to the game” with his stellar review of Splice, but it’s still an essential read. It can be seen headlining at the back-in-business Gateway Cinephiles: http://gatewaycinephiles.com/2010/10/15/late-to-the-game-splice/
Our friend Anu is still highlighting a very fine review of Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie at The Confidential Report: http://theconfidentialreport.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/dennis-hoppers-the-last-movie/
And Dee Dee has some links at her site worth investigating!:
http://lalumiereetlobscurite.blogspot.com/2010/10/editors-note-i-plan-to-give-away-two.html
I must say that I sorely miss my good friend Longman Oz. His kind is all too rare these days in every sense. How all is well buddy!
Publicity poster for 'Play Dead'
Melanie Jane and Sam at 'Leonard Bernstein: A Celebration' at Symphony Space
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Writers/Founders
Wonders in the Dark 
Thanks very much for the plug, Sam. Sounds as if you yet again had an interesting week – even if one or two of the performances you saw didn’t live up to your hopes. The Bernstein tribute sounds excellent, anyway, and it must have been great to hear Marni Nixon’s stories.
I saw a concert this week too, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra performing a programme of orchestral favourites in Ipswich – this was a thrill for my teenage son, Max, who is studying music for A-level. ‘Danse Macabre’ was his favourite out of the selections chosen.
At the cinema I saw Stephen Frears’ comedy ‘Tamara Drewe’ for the second time, as my husband hadn’t seen it with me before – he found it just as funny as I did. At home I saw Wellman’s ‘The Call of the Wild’ (1935), starring Clark Gable and Loretta Young, which is my latest review on my blog – and, still with the 1930s, I had a treat when I suddenly noticed that TCM was about to show ‘Frisco Kid’ (1935), which was the only remaining James Cagney film I hadn’t seen (well, apart from three TV productions which I have still to track down!) I really enjoyed both of these films. I also saw ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’, which I liked although I found it a bit slow at times – I especially enjoyed the opening part with Brad Pitt as the teenager who looks like an old man.
Ah yes, Judy, Marni Nixon was quite the animated presence at that concert and she often had the audiences in stitches! My daughter Melanie was incredulous when I told her that this was the woman who sang for Maria and for Audrey Hepburn in MY FAIR LADY and for Deborah Kerr in THE KING AND I, not to mention the singing voice of Peggy Wood in THE SOUND OF MUSIC (“Climb Every Mountain”) Hearing her tame discussion makes one wonder how this woman could have sung the way she did, but that’s true of all singers. Her presence, the beautiful presentation of The Chicester Pslams by a glorious choir, and the WEST SIDE STORY singalong really made this a night to remember.
PLAY DEAD was enjoyable enough; only that Wednesday night show was unsuccessful.
DANCE MACABRE? I am hardly surprised that your son loved this one! It’s a concert favorite and one of the most celebrated of all musical compositions. I can even count how many times it’s been used in plays and films, though I’ll never forget it was featured in a vital scene in Renoir’s LE REGLE DU JEU, and most recently as an audiobook underpinning for Neil Gaiman’s Caldecott Medal winning THE GRAVEYARD BOOK. Your son is geting a glorious education from you Judy. The Royal Philharmonic is pure bliss too of course!
Ah, your new review must have come in shortly after the older one was re-posted. So in all fairness, here is the new Wellman review of THE CALL OF THE WILD at MOVIE CLASSICS:
http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2010/10/24/the-call-of-the-wild-1935/
I skimmed through it, but will be giving my attention later today. Sorry to hear this version is missing significant footage. I saw this years ago, but was never motivated to use it in school in any way, though the London book is a bonafide American adventure classic, that has never surrendered the stage. It’s great that the Wellman beat goes on!
I really want to see that Frears film, and have read a few reviews of it recently. I have always been a Frears fan, and absolutely love MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS, especially the rendition of “All the Things You Are.”
For the most part I love BENJAMIN BUTTON. I look forward to your report on THE FRISCO KID!
As always you are a trouper here Judy, and am blessed with your frienship!
Wow, thanks for the double plug, Sam – very kind. I always find it amazing that Nixon sounds so different when singing for Wood, Hepburn and Kerr – though I grew up with Julie Andrews singing in ‘My Fair Lady’, as my mother had an LP of the Broadway soundtrack which a friend had smuggled out of the US for her!
Thanks for mentioning which plays and films have used the Saint-Saens ‘Danse Macabre’ – it always reminds me of the British TV series ‘Jonathan Creek’, too, which used it as the theme tune. I also loved Frears’ ‘Mrs Henderson Presents’ – and have always liked his work in general, though I wasn’t so keen on ‘Cheri’. Thanks for all you do, Sam.
Thanks very much for the Danse Macabre link, Joel – Max and I have just had a great time watching these clips! Amazing stuff.
You’re welcome – glad you enjoyed them (not that I had anything to do with creating them of course, but it was fun rounding them up!).
My favourite was this 1922 silent version which you linked to, featuring a Russian ballet dancer and set to an orchestral version recorded in 1925 – the moment when Death starts playing the violin is spellbinding:
Judy, what a TREMENDOUS addition to this thread! Thanks so much for adding it here!
MovieMan,
“Judy and Sam, like Pavlov’s dog, I must provide a link”
Actually, Pavlov’s dog didn’t provide links, he just learnt food was on its way by the ringing of a bell.
Sam,
Again Sam I thank you for the shout out. The Bernstein tribute sounds interesting, glad you enjoyed it. As for myself it was a slow week film wise (only four, ha!). Been involved in a lot of volunteer work this week for the cat adoption/rescue group I work with. Saturday we had a large “yard sale” associated with a local business that donated the land for us to use. Was up at 3AM and did not finish until 7PM, a long day to say the least. Earlier in the week there was a lot of prep work to be done. Anyway I did get to see “Waiting for Superman” ( ****) which opened here this past week. A fascinating documentary on the decline of America’s school system. There seems to be plenty of blame to be spread around, politics, money, non-involved parents, and unions. In the end it is the kids and the country that will suffer. I did manage to finish reading a decent biography on Robert DeNiro by John Parker.
Early in the week at home I watch the following…
When Your Strange **** Absorbing documentary on one of the seminal bands of the late 1960’s and early 70’s The Doors, focusing not surprisingly on lead singer Jim Morrison. Director Tom DiCillo gained access to much archival footage including clips of Morrison’s own films. A must see for Doors fans.
Angel Face (Otto Preminger) **** One of Otto’s master noirs with Robert Mitchum and a sly performance from the lovely Jean Simmons. I like this film more every time I watch it and will be writing a full review on this that should be up later this week.
Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis) ****1/2 A masterpiece of low budget filmmaking. Joseph H. Lewis’ use of the camera makes this a cinematic delight utilizing the limits of his minuscule budget to the hilt. The first bank robbery scene done in one uncut long take is a thing of the visual beauty. Will be writing about this one too.
The Bernstein celebration was indeed your kind of thing John, and if you were up here I’d have made plans with you!
John: I once lent my services to a cat rescue group as well, but Lucille was badly scratched, necessitating a brief hospital stay. We still have two cats here, but I’ve scaled back any further service. But we love animals here and I applaud you for your kindness! And yeah, the yard sale would tie you up. With the pace you have been maintaining week in and week out (not to mention your prolific pace at TWENTY FOUR FRAMES, there had to be a brief and slight pull back. Yet you saw WAITING FOR SUPERMAN and beautifully summed up who and what it affects. In fact this is the most unbiased, sensible assessment I’ve yet read on the film!
The Doors film, the Preminger and especially GUN CRAZY are all deserving of the praise you issue here. Lewis’s film is in fact a seminal noir, and The Doors film is essential for fans (and non-fans too!) The Preminger is one that always seems to be undervalued.
Thanks again for the fabulous wrap my very good friend!
Sorry to hear about Lucille’s incident with the cat, some are just very difficult to handle if they have not had human contact early on, or like people sometimes they are just bad. Volunteers here have had their share of scratches and bites of varying degrees. It is good to here you have two of your own.
Thanks for that astute overview John! Lucille claims her parents always had a cat or two in the house, and I owned several as well. Without the human contact, I know many kittens can be wild.
Sam, thanks so much for the wonderful mention.
That Ozu is one I still need to see. It sounds fantastic. And I am sorry to hear that about the new Eastwood. I’m always interested in him and what he’s still able to do year after year.
This week, I took in DARK PASSAGE, MY LIFE AS A DOG, Olivier’s HAMLET, 3 GODFATHERS, and SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON. I was glad to have seen them all, but I would have to say that the Olivier fim affected me most. It was interesting to see just how different this film is from his HENRY V.
Here’s to another awesome week, Sam. Thanks for all that you do.
Yet another diverse mix for you there Jeffrey!
I love MY LIFE AS A DOG, but yes I absolutely agree that the Olivier HAMLET is the gem there. His approach is the polar opposite than the one he emplyed for HENRY V for some obvios reasons. Even with extensive cuts this is a compelling HAMLET with a towering lead performance. The two Fords of course are always mentioned when one considers the icon’s greatest films. DARK PASSAGE isn’t great, but it’s always an engaging watch.
You will love LATE AUTUMN! Of this I am certain. As always your appearance here is a deeply treasured my very good friend!
Hi, Sam – Even when you have a light viewing week, it usually beats mine by a country mile! Like you, Shane and I did other things to give our eyes a break. We went the the University of Chicago’s Humanities Day and Thomas Weisflog perform “a kaleidoscopic presentation of organ masterworks by Sowerby, Vierne, and Widor” in Rockefeller Chapel. We also heard a too-short lecture on India’s film society movement by Rochona Majumdar, an instructor who is writing a book on the history of Indian cinema. And, of course, we watched a movie or two at home: “Kind Hearts and Coronets” and “The Captain’s Paradise” as part of TCM’s Alec Guinness day. I’ll be working on a piece on Paul Wegener’s “The Golem” for FonF and Fandor, a new on-demand movie service. Rod has horror reviews all week for FonF, including today’s entry, Claire Denis’ “Trouble Every Day.”
As for my CIFF wrap-up, it has generated a lengthy tirade by Gabe Klinger, who thinks I called him and every other academic film watcher a snob. I wasn’t thinking of him when I wrote that piece (though I can understand the confusion), but he does rather think he is the last word in taste. Truthfully, he does have great taste, but he doesn’t find time to come to FonF to comment except when I praise his efforts (“Deux Fois” reviews) or “condemn” him. I’ll leave you to decide what that means. I replied to his attack on me, but it looks like he just wanted to get it off his chest, and I don’t expect a reply. This isn’t the first time we’ve been at loggerheads; hopefully, it will be the last.
And to all your readers, Sam is my staunchest supporter and a true gentleman!
Ah, Marilyn, you are coming off the CIFF, where your prolific viewing was incomparable! To have seen that many films in such a short period of time, and then to pen high-quality essays like that? Ha! That accomplishment sits alone.
I was actually thrilled to see the two plays and one concert, as I have been overdosing with the movies as of late.
As far as this multiple venue:
“We went the the University of Chicago’s Humanities Day and Thomas Weisflog perform “a kaleidoscopic presentation of organ masterworks by Sowerby, Vierne, and Widor” in Rockefeller Chapel. We also heard a too-short lecture on India’s film society movement by Rochona Majumdar, an instructor who is writing a book on the history of Indian cinema.”
I wish I were there! That’s an interesting combination with the two French composers and the American, but I see the connection. I’m sure you and Shane were enraptured! You have me looking at bargain CDS on these guys now! Ha! I am beyond rehibiliatation. Like you I consider the humanist S. Ray as one of the greatest of all filmmakers, but with others like Ghitak and Gopalakrishnan as formidable artists I’m sure that “too-brief” discussion was cinematic bliss.
I saw Rod’s opening salvo in the horror series, but as I have not yet seen that particular film, I am weighing how I will respond. But I’m sure he’s happy to be back in action at FoF, and look forward to the rest of the week.
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS is my favorite comedy of all-time. It’s an expert satire, as dark as they come, but what a masterpiece of cinema. Guiness’ multiple roles is truly an acting achievement. I like CAPTAIN’S PARADISE too! And that upcoming review of GOLEM is right in your proverbial wheel house Marilyn! I’ll be paying you a visit!
Yep, Klinger is an odd bird. I expressed my own disappointment at his recent commentaries.
Thanks so much for the glowing words too! You know how much I appreciate that my very good friend!
Weisflog declared Sowerby his favorite composer, and it really came through in his playing. The Sowerby pieces he played were my favorites, too! The film lecture discussed Ray at great length – he was a founder of the first Indian film society, with Rossellini and De Sica major influences (not hard to see). I was really interested to learn that Rossellini’s Mother India was not a complete work but rather a compilation of something akin to “rushes”. I’ve heard what a masterpiece it is, but Majumdar was rather dismissive of it. Perhaps, interestingly, Gabe Klinger arranged a screening of it in Chicago with the only-available print, a very bad one, I’ve heard.
I thank you for your support re: Klinger, but I doubt he’ll ever see it. He chose not to accept that I was in agreement with him on many points. It seems some people just like to argue.
PS – I had another director comment on my site on the same review that Donald Ranvaud, the producer of Hiroshima Mon Amour and Central Station, commented – Asleep in the Sun. I’m in heaven!
“I had another director comment on my site on the same review that Donald Ranvaud, the producer of Hiroshima Mon Amour and Central Station, commented – Asleep in the Sun. I’m in heaven!”
As well you should be Marilyn! You’ve been getting artists and celebrities at FERDY-ON-FILMS all year in fact! I’ll be heading over to that thread momentarily.
Thanks for the further embellishments on Sowerby. I’m not surprised that Weisflog favors him, as it seems some musicians were born to play certain composers, much as Gerald Schwartz has always been smitten with Howard Hanson. I didn’t know anything about that Rossellini/Mother India situation at all; thanks for adding it here! And I did expect that Ray would dominate. He’s the essence of that national cinema.
Klinger is a Klingon.
Couldn’t resist! Ha!
Sorry, I meant Farewell My Concubine, not Hiroshima Mon Amour – duh!
Sam, I think you are right. The Giants always find a way to win. Cliff Lee is no easy nut to crack, but the G men have their own secret weapons. I can’t believe the Phils and Yanks are gone.
I’ve read nothing but bad notices on Eastwood’s movie. Seems he is washed-up.
Carol and I checked out the Clinton Place Halloween display. Better than ever!
Frank, the reviews for HEREAFTER have been split down the middle actually, though the “splatter” grade at the usually-lenient RT site (I know, how low-brow to even mention that place at this site! Ha!) sounds a dire alarm.) I’ll admit it’s supporters have been extravagent in their praise too, so it al comes doen to personal taste and perception. I look forward to your findings.
The Giants vs. the Rangers makes for a near-impossible call. These are both Cinderella teams with the potential to win in a short series. I’ll say it goes 7! Who will win? I’ll pass. Ha!
I hope to get to Clinton Place this week. We even brought Allan Fish there several years ago during his first stateside visit!
Thanks as always for your customary Monday appearance my great friend!
My God? Is this true? Am I dreaming? I’m featured twice in today’s link breakdown spotlight? I am so grateful, this last weeks have been so much better thanks to this community that I’ve found and has -somewhat- accepted me. I feel happy and ready to go on with my blog, better and harder. You Sam has been one of the reasons, so I deeply appreciate the energy you put every week in this posts and the commentaries on my blog,.
Regarding the movies you saw, only two, the Ozu I haven’t seen and ‘Hereafter’ is a movie I wait for, even if the reviews haven’t been that positive, they remind me of what was being said about “Invictus”, which I still liked, but consider to be his weaker effort of the past decade.
Regarding my week, OOF, oh boy. Friday I shot in my house little short scenes for an experimental short which will be posted on youtube in the days that come, since I’d love to hear some reactions, it’s a manifesto that I’m editing right now and will have quite a few references to the movies I love.
Friday evening I travelled south of my city, to Rancagua, on the sixth region, to shoot the documentary I’ve been talking about, I am assistant director and sound guy (it’s a crew of three), we shot many scenes and we’ll go again to shoot in about two weeks, when our character comes back from a trip to Argentina.
When I cam back I was tired as hell, but I still managed to see and review the film as best as I could, resulting in a really short review of a movie I didn’t really care about.
So, movie wise, I saw:
– Brain Damage (1988, Frank Henenlotter) ***1/2 Talked about this in my horror madness, the last one in fact.
– Critters (1986, Stephen Herek) *** Again, this is on my horror madness, you can read about it in the link that features right up here.
– Fright Night (1985, Tom Holland) **** One of the best movies of this month, you can see my reaction at my blog.
– Mystics in Bali (1981, H. Tjut Djalil) *** Weird movie, you can read my view on my blog of horror madness.
– Monster in the Closet (1986, Bob Dahlin) ***1/2 Again, another one from my horror madness, this one is featured in the link roll up here so you don’t have to look for it.
– My Soul to Take (2010, Wes Craven) *** Man, I do love Wes, he’s one of the most sympathetic guys in the whole business, I follow him on twitter and he follows me back, I won a poster for Scre4m signed by him and all, but man was this movie confusing. I didn’t know what I was watching half the time, but my rating is for the effort and trying to expand himself in other territories.
– New York Stories (1989, Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese) *** I continue on my way through Woody’s filmography and here comes along this one. Scorsese’s segment was the most interesting visually, but lacked a good ending. Coppola’s thing was awful. Allen’s piece was the one who saved the cake, even if it wasn’t completely hilarious.
– Transylvania 6-5000 (1985, Rudy de Luca) *** This pretty funnier than I thought horror comedy is featured at my blog. Check it out!
– Troll (1986, John Carl Buechler) * This was pointless and dumb, check out my short review at my horror madness.
Music wise, Rush is still on my mind, humming their songs and going crazy at random moments.
My reading has been going fast and on that matter I’ll (or someone else) talk about it.
Now if you escuse me I have to pitch a TV series about zombies to my teacher, see you later people! Peace!
Yep, you are there twice this week Jaimie, and I’d venture to pose that you have earned it with your amazingly prolific posting constitution. Thanks so much for that heart-felt appreciation; I assure you that many here are happy you are part of this on-line community.
The Ozu is easier enough to see of course on DVD, while I would think your wait for HEREAFTER won’t be long. I can’t really predict how you’ll respond to it, and the reactions are sharply divided, and the entire premise of the film is hardly everyone’s cup of tea.
That’s really fantastic that you are the assistant director and sound technician on that documentary that is being shot in Rancagua, and I will be all ears when you report it’s completion. Likewise I do hope you get that experimental short on youtube, and we’ll definitely have that posted here at Wonders. You are really tireless.
I guess my own favorite of all the horror films you list here as having been reviewed for your Halloween countdown is FRIGHT NIGHT, a minor classic of its kind. CRITTERS was passable, TROLL (as you note) was awful, and a few others here are cult items. I agree with what you say here about Woody’s sement in NEW YORK STORIES, but I have not seen that particular Wes Craven film.
I’ll definitely check out your view of de Luca’s film at EXODUS 8:2.
I’m sure RUSH will be dominating your musical sensibilities for a time into the future!
Hope to speak to you my very good friend!!!!
Today was hellish and I couldn’t edit the short, the whole editing floor at my university went down and I have to go tomorrow. Grrr.
Jaime: You have been hit with a streak of bad luck as of late. Perhaps things will fall into space tomorrow.
Finished editing today. I’ll just wait for teacher’s beating and then I’ll upload it.
Glad to hear that Jaimie, though not the potential “teacher’s beating!” Ha!
Well as you mentioned Sam (thank you:), I have been tied up with tree spirits in the fog and not much for movie watching this week as I prepare for two days of open Studio in mid-November and get canvas prints, cards and calendars off to local retail store. Busy times for artist types this time of year. Always good to stop in here Monday morning and see what everyone is doing. Best of the week to you Sam!
I definitely envy you Terrill for being involved with the tree spirits and the fog. That’s a rarified experience that often approaches spirituality. That an exciting venture you have ahead there, and I know it will be a smashing success. Your beautiful work is every bit as deserving as any artist out there today. I’ll certainly be looking forward to your blogging report!
It’s always a special treat to have you here Terrill!
Thank you very much for the plug, Sam. As ever, you’re far too kind.
You are most welcome Jake. Your amazing work warrants that and much more.
Sam, you seem to confirm my fears about Hereafter. I worry that after GRAN TORINO Eastwood is working just to keep busy, though the J. Edgar Hoover biopic sounds like a promising subject. Over the weekend I attended to some personally neglected items from the horror canon: CARNIVAL OF SOULS, THE INNOCENTS and MARTIN. I enjoyed all three. Also thinking I should not neglect my commitment to Yoshida, I watched FLAME AND WOMAN. I’m not sure about the meaning of the title (or its accuracy as a translation) but this was a strong, stark portrait of intimate alienation, while perhaps making too much of artificial insemination as a symptom of social decay. On my chronological march, I’d say its the best Yoshida I’ve seen since AKITSU SPRINGS, though by reputation there are still better films to come.
Samuel, as always I urge you to see it at some point and arrive at your own conclusion. I just responded to Adam (below) who generally reached a positive assessment of it. I have personally soured on Eastwood as of late (INVICTUS and GRAN TORINO, even with the latter a guilty pleasure of sorts) and I was looking for a reversal of fortunes, only to get an oddly static and uninvolving film on a subject I am normally drawn to. I absolutely adore CARNIVAL OF SOULS (which I would pose high on my personal horror list) and like Troy and others I see MARTIN in large measure a gripping and metaphorical piece. I’d say it ranks right behind THE NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD in the Romero pantheon. THE INNOCENTS is a masterful film in every sense. Quite a trifeca you hit there this week! Excellent appraisal of that Yoshida there; it’s great that it’s in the AKITSU SPRINGS category!
As always, a vital report on this weekly report my very good friend!
Lets be honest Eastwood has only directed a handful of great movies. Actually I would only rate Unforgiven and Mystic River as definite masterpieces. I can take or leave the rest of his work…..Oh yeah The Innocents is awesome!!!!
I like MYSTIC RIVER a bit less now Maurizio, but it’s still one of his best. I completely agree on UNFORGIVEN and I’ll add my favorite Eastwood, LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA.
Regarding Eastwood, UNFORGIVEN is definitely his masterpiece, but I find MYSTIC RIVER somewhat overrated despite some great performances. Then again, I persist in finding FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS quite underrated, especially comapred to its relatively conventional, crowd-pleasing but still admirable companion piece.
I like Iwo Jima way more than Flag Of Our Fathers. Still when it comes to war films I enjoy clusterfucks like Apocalypse Now or Full Metal Jacket the most. Both Eastwood’s are rather conventional when compared to those masterpieces. Mystic River gets better for me every time I see it. The “this part you do alone”, “I see vampires” and the ambiguous ending all add up to a wonderful movie. The washed out cinematography really worked in that film. It got tired as he applied it to every picture after that though. Gran Torino and Invictus were awful. A movie about the afterlife bores me to tears. If I want to feel better about dying I’ll put on The Fountain……. nothing can top that film in the mortality expiring department.
Aye, Maurizio, nothing holds a candle to THE FOUNTAIN, and I am with you on your estimation of Eastwood here.
I liked Hereafter a lot. It’s definitely slow-paced, but the film’s insights into the afterlife are on the same level as my own (surprising, considering that Peter Morgan is an atheist), and Eastwood as always is a solid craftsman. The film lagged during some of the supporting characters’ scenes–notably the English kid defying his foster parents and Cecile de France’s scenes with her lover–which is why I wish in some ways that Damon had been the whole show. I enjoyed each of his scenes. Still an excellent movie overall.
Adam: It appears that the film has severely divided the critics. I didn’t see the magic myself and am envious of your wonderful experience with the film. I’d much rather have people come here with positive reactions in any case, and I know some distinguished people (in addition to yourself) have sung it’s praises.
As always, your appearance here is deeply appreciated!
Thanks for the shout out, Sam. You are simply unputdownable.
I was at a wedding last week and couldn’t do anything else. Had a blast though. Back to regular drudgery now!
Great to hear you had a blast JAFB! And let’s just say that you richly earned a break from your tireless promotion of underexposed world cinema, brought to the blogosphere with exceeding scholarship.
Welcome back my friend!
Sam – Your description of the interactive off-Broadway play, “Play Dead” gave me the willies.
And now I’m simply going to have to see “Hereafter” directed by Clint Eastwood because of the descriptors you used: “ponderous, ludicrous, and poorly paced.” In other words, I’m just dying to see it (a little Halloween humor there) …
Ha I did get your humor there Laurie! Well, it was painful to post this disdain, but I felt I had to be completely honest. But you may find quite a bit more worth with it.
PLAY DEAD was admittedly a somewhat disturbing experience, and I jumped severla times out of genuine fear. I wonder why I allowed myself to attend this, though it’s season’s greetings, and I’m supposed to join the party!
Thanks as always for your deeply-appreciated participation here my very good friend!
Well, I finally got around to watching a movie this week, as Kevin came over on Saturday and we watched TREASURE OF THE AMAZON, an atrocious mid-80’s cheapie that we had trouble getting through, even with its few unintentionally funny/bad moments.
Meanwhile, TV has provided some better viewing, as my wife and I finished up the seasons of MAD MEN and RUBICON. Interestingly, both went with a non-standard finale, but while we really liked hwo MAD MEN pulled it off, we were incredibly disappointed with RUBICON, so much so that it really soured what had been a fine season up to that point with. Speaking of AMC shows, I’m looking forward to AMC’s next show, THE WALKING DEAD, which is based on a fairly good comic series that I followed for the first 30 issues before not wanting to spend money on comics anymore 🙂 It debuts this weekend.
One other piece of TV watching, which I shortly mentioned in the comments of Kevin’s ALIEN writeup is the BBC4 produced A HISTORY OF HORROR WITH MARK GATTIS. I watched the first two episodes last night, covering the Universal era of horror and then the Hammer era and both were fantastic. Anyone in the UK should check them out (the third and final episode is tonight) while those elsewhere should seek out the show online.
Beyond all of that, I’m just trying to decide what to start watching and writing about after October 31st comes and goes. I have tons of blindspots in my viewing history, so I’m not quite sure where to focus — If anyone has any suggestions, I’d be interested to hear them.
the first two episodes just finished last night, so I await watching the HORROR HISTORY series.
I guess this is the one, right Troy?
http://www.amazon.com/Treasure-Amazon-Stuart-Whitman/dp/B0007NMJCM/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1288149870&sr=1-1
Yeah, I’ll definitely take a pass! I’m not at all surprised that you and Kevin lost interest fast! Ha! But I often hanker to watch something that many have dismissed. Recently I watched THE HYPNOTIC EYE, though I found some merit there, despite the infamous reputation of the film. It has been remastered by Warner Archives, after suffering for years in inadequate prints.
You are not the only one who speaks of MAD MEN on this thread Troy, and it seems that it’s one of the most popular of all shows with the circle of bloggers who often convene at Wonders. Too bad abour RUBICON. I’ve read some appreciative appraisals, but most are along your way of thinking.
I will research THE WALKIND DEAD now!
A HISTORY OF HORROR is indeed something I must check out ASAP! I love the concept and potential, though you have certainly vouched for the latter here!
I look forward to a resumption of business at ELUSIVE AS ROBERT DENBY: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TROY, as I know you and your brother Kevin have given so much of yourselves to Wonders in the Dark for a very long time. We owe you big time, though I never felt for an instance that visiting your enlightening abode was ever any kind of a chore.
Might you do what Kevin did in settling on Ken Russell?
Thanks for this great submission and for all your blood, sweat and tears (and great reviews!) over the past months my very good friend!
Hmm, Kevin had a great idea on a director retrospective. Perhaps I should start a poll on which director to choose…not a bad idea.
Director retrospectives are great, especially if done chronologically. I’d love to read something like that. (Btw, there’s a director’s meme going around – I did an entry in it last Monday, so consider yourself tagged if you want to be).
Hi! Sam Juliano, and Allan Fish…
Sam Juliano said,”The World Series match-up has been decided, and the Yankees and Phils are inexplicably MIA…
I’am so sorry, to read that your N.Y.Yankees is missing in action…when it comes to the World series.
Hmmm…Let me check-out what you, watched at the theater and viewed on-stage too!
The Films:
“Hereafter” only received two ** from you, seems to be the weakest of the two films that you viewed…It seems the film to look forward to viewing is Late Autumn receiving **** from you…Now, let see what plays you checked out on the…stage. The off-Broadway show Kimberly Akimbo, seems like a very interesting stage play.
I also hope that you, Melanie Jane, and Broadway Bob enjoyed the stage play Leonard Bernstein: A Celebration it seems as if you had another interesting week at the theatre.
By the way, Sam Juliano that is a nice photograph of you, and your daughter Melanie Jane, Thanks, for sharing the family photograph and the Publicity poster too!
Sam Juliano, Thanks to you, I watched and plan to watch several films for the first-time and re-visit a film that I have watched before…Stranger On The Third Floor.
Films That I Have Visited For The First-Time…
Betrayed aka “When Stranger Marry” (Watched for the first-time and I plan to re-watch this film again. I really enjoyed watching this film.)
The Prisoner Of Zenda…The 1922 Version For The First-Time…
The Magician…Ditto for “The Magician” too!
Hmmm…I’am still reading the same books…unfortunately, I’am no longer “excited” about Steampunk. That must have been a passing fad?!? 😕
It seems as if Classic Horror now…rules! (As oppose to current horror films…Which I have no problem watching…It’s just that I prefer the Classics. I’am still pondering Allan Fish’s top 100s too!)
Sam Juliano,
Thanks for the mention…as usual!!!!
[Addendum: Omg! When it comes to the stageplay…Publicity!!!! I had to return to reread the other half of your post [and add this addendum] because I was on my lunchbreak.]
DeeDee 😉 🙂
Well Dee Dee, the Yankees did win the World Championship last year, and few teams win back-to-back. Yankee fans shouldn’t expect to win every year. This year I was unable to watch any games, what with all the activity on the cultural front, but I managed a few innings in the playoff series, and some radio coverage as I was travelling back and forth to NYC. Ha!
Yes, the low-point for the week for me was HEREAFTER (as it was for Lucille) but I know the film does have some impassioned fans. At some point down the road I’ll certainly give it another go, though it’s issues appear fatal. It seems that anyone who says that there are only ‘two definites in the world’ (death and taxes) needs to add a third: Anyone who watches an Ozu film is guaranteed a wonderful experience. This past week was no exception!
KIMBERLY AKONO did have a great premise (and I’m sure it worked when it first appeared years ago) but this production lacked focus and cohesion. Too bad. We all did enjoy the Bernstein concert, and the sing-a-long was a hoot! Thanks so much for the compliment on the photo of Melanie and me, which was taken by Bob on his cell phone. And thanks for the compliment on the poster selection too!
I am thrilled that you watched BETRAYED, STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR, THE PRISONER OF ZENDA and THE MAGICIAN Dee Dee, and that you found BETRAYED (WHEN STRANGERS MARRY) as a special treat! It has always been embraced by noir fans, who for years were unable to find a good or even acceptable print of it.
The Steampunk thing does have all the makings of a fad, I quite agree, but you may return to it at some point.
The horror countdown and many other Halloween ventures will always pull us in, so I’m not surprised you are experiencing the excitement! I also think of horror film in September and October of every year. And after attending the William Castle Festival the stage was set for me this year.
Yes that play was quite an experience!! LOL!!!
Again (as always) you have graced this thread with your divine presence, my very dear friend!
Thanks Sam for the mention. Yes, it indeed is a gem of a piece and worth preserving. And yeah, you do seem to have had a reasonably light week in terms of viewing 🙂
Indeed Shubhajit! That’s a great package!
I had a slower than usual week with films, but not overall, as the marathon concert/film showing and the two plays made this a hectic week when everything is added up.
Many thanks as always, and hope things are going well with your studies. (as I’m sure they are!)
Well, my studies are going reasonably well, all things considered. In fact, wanted to let you know, yesterday I secured summer internship at Renault-Nissan in the field of operations management. And following that news, I played table tennis till 3 am in the night 🙂 And right now I’m back in the grind… err class.
Shubhajit:
That is absolutely fantastic news!!! I wish all the luck when you assume that internship. You answered my question here then! Ha!
Thanks for the nod Sam. Not surprised to see the Eastwood was a dud – he’s kind of hit or miss with, to my eyes, way more misses than hits…
Aye Joel, I completely concur. As I said in response to others, I don’t begrudge others feeling the magic, but for me is was turgid and distancing.
Thanks as always my very good friend!
Are you home? I’m trying to reach you..
I am in the computer room. There isn’t a phone down here, and I am working to complete a CD review of a preview copy I graciously received from my Manhattan friend.
When I left your house about forty minutes ago your caller ID read “Scotty’s Taxi” or whatever. I assume that was your dear friend Dennis attempting to get in touch with you to announce to the Wonders crowd that he had the ghost of Leonard Bernstein in his cab gabbing away about the good old days when the two of them were working out the music to Candide together.
That aside I must say that the photo of you and your serenely beautiful daughter were not very flattering. In person, face to face, Melanie is the loveliest earthbound angel I have ever had the divine fortune to gaze upon, and you Sam aren’t too bad either. Melanie’s beauty is equaled only by her unimpeachable maidenly virtue and extreme kindness to geeks like me who attempt to charm her with silly jokes and pitiable compliments. However, I have the honor to be instructing her in guitar playing and it is an absolute joy as she is a natural and makes me look like a genius when I’m just a step up from so so…ce magnifique!
Andrei: This is one of the site’s classics! hahahahaha!
Ah Sam, I can’t say I’m sorry to see the Yankees gone. The only thing that was going to make me happier was to see the Phillies bite the dust. And wouldn’t you know it. The baseball gods are smiling on me for the moment. They wouldn’t let either of my teams in the playoffs, but they also barred two insufferable teams. (I’m sorry, I seem to have an anti-East Coast bias.) I have to pull for SF here since their last shot at the World Series was thwarted by the Angels in 2002. Game 6 in that series still ranks as one of the most exciting games I’ve ever seen. I’m, saying this as an Angels fan; I’m sure SF fans feel differently.
I got out to see CARLOS last Saturday at the Egyptian in Hollywood. I was surprised to see so many people at an 11am screening and was also pleasantly surprised to find Olivier Assayas and Edgar Ramirez there to introduce the movie and conduct a Q&A after the movie. (I really should look at online schedules more closely. Who knows what I miss?)
I also continued my Giallo fest with PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK (I still have no idea what was going on there, but not necessarily in a bad way), AMER (I really had no idea what was going on there, in a bad way), THE BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA and WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? After watching so many of these over the past few weeks I have to admit I’m getting tired of seeing victims (mostly women) scream and cower. Can’t I see one woman punch a fool?
My friend compelled me to go see PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2 with her. She made me see the first one when it came out and I didn’t like it. I liked this one even less. No more needs to be said about it.
I have to say I am jealous of your theater going. I can’t complain too much since we have lots of theater here in Los Angeles I never go to, though it is nowhere near as rich as New York. Maybe once the significant other starts working again we can be more theater adventurous.
in a few of those, the women are indeed empowered… my favorite TORSO features one such strong woman, as do a few others (Death Walks series features a great female perspective).
I am seriously envious that you are getting to see those giallos on a big screen. I’ve never had the opportunity. A giallo series at any revival house would be such a sure fire hit, as they’re wild fun films, and are largely unseen even by serious film fans.
Thanks Jamie, I will take those two you mention into consideration. And it has been fun seeing these in a theater with mostly sold out crowds. The crowd adds an energy we don’t get watching these at home.
Jason: As I stated in other responses, I know both the Yankees and Phils are disliked by many nationwide. Especially the Yanks, whose win-at-all-costs coda has always been seen as the prime reason salaries have gone through the stratosphere. I am a lifelong Yankee fan, so you can never reason with me (and as a result all five of my kids are now Yankee fans as is Lucille who never cared either way) as I will root for them whatever the price. But yeah, there could be no logical reason to like them for all sorts of reasons.
I haven’t even bothered to see PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2, though the first one was passable because of the final 10 minutes or so. But, like that terribly overrated THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, I wouldn’t bother seeing it a second time. Buy hey Jason, you know you must be a gentleman! Ha!
Kevin Olson actually wrote an excellent review for PERFUME OF THE LADY IN BLACK back in mid September, with the film placing at #43 in the horror countdown:
https://wondersinthedark.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/43-the-perfume-of-the-lady-in-black/
But yeah, one can’t overdose on the giallos and then report back with any kind of rationality. Still, at this time of the year, horror reigns supreme, as as our esteemed quartet have illustrated, there are a number of superior entries in this genre. (some of which are celebrated giallos)
Assayas is making his rounds Jason, and yes you could have easily seen him and spoken to him, if your schedule was accomodating. But you guys had the added attraction of Ramirez (who wasn’t in New York at all last weekend!) I know Assayes is great with the Q & A. You are wisely holding back a verdict on the film, which hopefully means I’ll be seeing an experty penned review at MOVIES OVER MATTER!
Thanks so much for this tremendous comment on this thread my very good friend!
Hey Sam. Thanks for the shout-out.
I watched only one movie this week. The Adrian Scott production for RKO, Deadline at Dawn (1946). A great ‘screwball’ noir that is a must-see. A young Susan Hayward is as cute as a button in the lead role. The screenplay by Clifford Odets is based on the Cornell Woolrich novel, and is as dark as any noir and as left as a Hollywood movie could go at the time. At the end, a guy who has murdered a female blackmailer and general no-good dame, as the cops lead him away, complains about having to learn the harp at the age of 50. Think about it. Subversive yes! It is the only feature directed by Broadway director Harold Clurman, who was moon-lighting in Hollywood at the time, after the break-up of the Group Theater in NY. Nick Musuraca lensed. As Trevor Johnston says in his review for the Time out Film Guide, “it’s made with cockeyed artistry from beginning to end, and shouldn’t be missed.”
The series finale of Mad Men was an anti-climax but acid enough. What did impress me was that a pivotal scene was so on the surface that many would have missed its significance. Without risking spoilers, a scene in a diner where a kid knocks over a milk-shake is the key to the resolution. Don Draper discovers that there is another reaction besides anger to this trivial event – a way of living that nurtures not punishes, a life with less anxiety. But Don is still a captive to the anxiety of a false identity.
Anxiety is a neat segue to a novel I started reading this week. Abraham Polonsky’s and Ira Wolfert’s screenplay for the classic noir Force of Evil (1948) was based on Wolfert’s 1943 novel ‘Tucker’s People’ (aka ‘The Underworld’). Wolfert opens the book with the two brothers, Leo and Joe, as adolescents growing up in poverty, coping first with their mother’s death, and not long after, the father’s. Leo and Joe respond differently to their plight and the dynamics of a truncated family life. Wolfert, reflecting a Freudian perspective – novel at the item – explicitly explains the boys’ personalities and their later lives as adults as anxiety responses. This dynamic has deepened my understanding of the movie.
Tony:
You may have watched only the one film, but it’s given you all kinds of ideas for posts! You have offered your readers a compelling lead-in with that great sequence and some clues as to how you will be assessing the film in a promising upcoming review:
http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/hard-boiled-dame-heres-to-nothin.html
Clifford Odets + Cornell Woolrich + Nick Musuraca = cinematic nirvana for noir fans (and any film fans for that matter) You have on many occasions at FILMSNOIR.NET featured passages, literary study and pertinent reviews to qualify the brilliant contributions of these men. I always think of Woolrich’s “Black Alibi” which was the source for the Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur low budget horror film THE LEOPARD MAN. Musuraca is gloriously prolific of course. I never realized this was Clurman’s only film! In any case, Johnson seems to have framed it perfectly there!
What a fecund segue on the character anxiety in MAD MEN to the experience of reading Wolfert’s “Tuckers People,” the source for one of the greatest of noirs, FORCE OF EVIL. The Freudian perspective that has deepened your dynamic would appear to be the most fascinating aspect in a book that probably clicks on all cylinders.
And MAD MEN? Ah, one day.
Thanks so much my very good friend for this brilliantly-written comment!
Sam, thanks for these. Very interesting links all of them.
I was wondering if I could get a few specific on start dates, procedures etc. for the upcoming countdown. There’s no rush. It’s just I’d like to post something on my site with a date and know how to better organise myself. If you want to send me an email it’s the one on my blog profile (minus the “malto:” stuff).
The tension builds for the Horror conclusion. It’s like waiting for a final scare.
Stephen, for what it’s worth, I recommend not just writing but also “posting” (using the schedule function) ahead of time, so that the entries go up automatically. And write all posts beforehand in Word Press (or back them up as you write), although then you may have to do some irritating re-formatting when you cut and paste (which you should do in the html window). I’ve found deletion snafus happen much more often with Word Press than Blogger (which tends to save your work as you go at a better clip than WP). Such peace of mind cannot be bought! Greatly looking forward to the cartoon coundtown (I know it’s animation, but I like alliteration – and that statement itself was just alliterative, so there you go…)
Thanks MovieMan, though I don’t know how to do any of this given I haven’t written ‘directly’ for the site before.
The first two weeks are all written and ready, the rest almost there (so cut and paste is imperative).
Cartoon Countdown sounds better, ’tis true
I’d recommend against “cartoon countdown”, simply because cartoons and animation are technically separate things. You’ve got plenty of cartoons printed in newspapers and magazines, after all.
Bob,
Don’t worry. I wasn’t thinking of using ‘Cartoon Countdown’. It sounds nice, that’s all.
Stephen: You can start anytime from November 1st on. That’s the day after the horror poll concludes. I will help in any and every way.
Thanks Sam.
I think it’s best to leave a rest day in between the conclusion of the Horror and the start of Animation, to let the discussion of the number one flourish as much as anything. The second of November would be great.
Wow, that’s rapid turnover. I hope Doniphon’s getting those Westerns ready, haha…
MovieMan,
So how do I start editing and scheduling the posts on this site?
re the Animation, Western, Sci-Fi, I wonder how many films fit in all these categories?
Thanks for the shoutout Sam. I’m a bit late on posting this, but I was sick yesterday. I will hopefully get more up soon.
Dave, I will be keeping an eye on your place. Thanks as always for stopping by my friend.
It’s a truly amazing phenomenon how so many Yankee fans expect, or rather demand that their team win the World Series every year (vehemently) and see it as only fitting and right since the management spends more money on salaries than any other team. They expect the best team that money can buy to give them the sadistic delight of witnessing the Pin Stripe Juggernaut rolling over the sub-human underlings who would dare challenge their hegemony. As I’ve said before, rooting for a team like the Yankees is like rooting for the Third Reich in World War II because they had the best army.
Hearing some of the more vocal Yankee-ites screaming for the blood of the manager and players who merely got the team into the playoffs is like watching a spoiled little rich brat crying because he only got Halo Reach instead of the latter and Modern Warfare 2.
But you know the old saying, an American maxim: it’s not how you play the game, winning at all costs is all that matters.
Well Andrei, I’ve heard this argument before, and there are many throughout the country who are fervant Yankee haters. You present your case brilliantly here.
Dear SamBone,
The other night I heard you tell Bob “Oh Shit!” that people were going after Obama merely because he is in office (in other words they are silly malcontents). While this may be true in the case of a lot of impatient people who expected and looked forward with great hope to the sweeping changes that the president promised and has not even attempted to make…in my case (and I hope this clears up this silly political shit between us once and for all so we can share and enjoy the finer things in life, i.e. music, art, cinema, literature etc.) it is the fact that as unrealistic as it may seem I still believe in holding politicians to their campaign promises after they are elected to office. Ah heck…here is a transcript of a message I left on the FAIR site this morning (that’s Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting):
I sympathize with all of you who still believe in the Democratic Party as a bastion of hope for the lower middle class and the poor (what’s the difference anymore?) I fear that at best it is a forlorn hope. Why is it that we of the “great unwashed” (Democrats, liberals) are more likely to stay at home on Election Day than our betters who live in much more expensive neighborhoods in much more upscale towns? One thing you can’t say about the Republicans is that they don’t come through for their constituency: they cut taxes for the wealthy, they are trying like crazy to put their official religion back into the public schools so they can censor inconvenient facts, and place the FEAR OF GOD into the peasants at the young impressionable age to further facilitate the Corporation/Government control and regulation of the minds of our children, they are fighting like mad to return abortion to the proverbial “back alley”, and they are proud of all the evil they espouse…Ah…the POWER OF PRIDE. Why are gasoline prices so high? Look it up on some search engine and you’ll discover that the reason is that the price of crude oil is so high…why is that? Supply problems…the three biggest oil companies only made about $157 billion dollars in profits in 2007. “Oh,” one might insist, “that was under the neo cons led by that valiant American George W. Bush (“now where are those weapons of mass destruction? They gotta be somewhere!”) Why is it that the American voters threw out the Republicans in 2008? Was it because they were so happy with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the immunity of the wealthy from paying taxes commensurate with the benefits they derived from the natural and the human resources of the United States and most of the parts of the world that matter to them and all their ilk? In my humble opinion the people wanted change. Most wanted an end to the criminal wars in western Asia, and a brake put on the runaway capitalism that was driving the ship of State over the edge of the flat Earth (in respect to my Born Again friends). What have Obama and the Democratic majorities in both houses of Congress done to alleviate the mortal problems of most of the people in this country and in this world? They have bailed out the banks who sold mortgages they knew would never be paid but who bought insurance against defaulting mortgages, and AIG was declared “too big to fail”. Obama timidly scolded the mindset of the typical corporate banker-criminal-thief-piece of excrement but insisted on no fundamental changes to the current economical regulations which means that he has left the bankers on their honor not to fuck us again. Do you trust the bankers to be good this time? Well God bless you if you do because Jesus said to “Love thy enemies” and make no mistake about it: the corporations and the Democratic and Republican politicians who do their bidding like good little lapdogs are your enemies. They want to take everything you have and let you and your seed die out. Unfortunately the only major difference between Obama and Bush is that Obama can actually speak English and that his complexion is a bit darker. The way I see it the difference between the Dems and the Reps today is like the difference between a kindly slave owner in the Roman Empire who neither beats nor sexually abuses his human property and a cruel slave owner who boils his slave alive for bringing his tea and crumpets a minute or two late. The bottom line is that slavery is slavery.
Only a complete political and social revolution will bring freedom and justice to this benighted land.
Now, my dearest and most valued friend Sam Juliano, you might point out how much more horrible it would be if the Democrats were swept out of office and replaced by, let us say, Tea Party Republicans (believe me I cringe at the thought) but perhaps only the nightmare of such a catastrophe would bring about the revolution I mentioned as the catastrophe of the Great Depression brought about the miracle of the New Deal. I hope not…I hope the few progressive Democrats in the House, especially, can convince the others of the danger, but I fear it is a forlorn hope.
The only way to save the country, is to not allow those Tea Party Republicans in (who under Bush, wanted to use tactile nuclear weapons in the theatre of war for their resources plundering and have revoked the law to allow for political assassinations abroad), but to have a progressive manifesto that’s clean and easy to understand for the fat guy on the couch sipping his beer, watching sports and Fox News. Not too much in the manifesto, just things like the outlawing of all political lobbying, no outsourcing of labour whatsoever (you make it outside of the country, you sell it outside the country, you make it inside, you sell it inside), the abolition of the Federal Reserve (which is a private bank that charges the Government to print money), the cessation of all income tax (which is actually illegal, it was never ratified by the two thirds of the States required, the income tax generated each year just about covers the interest paid to the Federal Reserve – you couldn’t make it up), the mothballing of aid to other countries, and the cessation of the easy looting of the public purse by the military-Industrial -complex and actually holding the corporations account for all violations (especially environmental) with CEO in prison. Nothing too radical, then!
Ahhh Bobby if only humans were not primitive animals that get off on hurting and cheating each other. The only solution is evolution. One day maybe we can progress to a higher moral and intellectual standard. One where we place a premium on science and equality without cowering in fear of some ancient fairy tales to guide our principles. I try hard not to be a misanthrope but watching the political and economic landscape in this country is making it difficult. I hold your belief on pulling funding on military industrial complexes (talk about government welfare) and holding corporations accountable but not in a pigs eye will that ever happen anytime soon.
Alas, I agree…
In fact, I think that the US is actually a fascist state. It’s something that I’ve heard a couple of times and only a week ago again. Fascism is usually linked to racial hatred and the Nazis, but according to Jim Marrs, the man who actually coined the term was Mussolini and he always said that fascism should have been called ‘Corporatism’ and was when a corporations were in charge. Except, in the Germany, Italy and Spain of the war years it was a political party that took over all corporations. In America, the corporations have taken over both the political parties and the state. He summed up quite brilliantly. I’m not an idealist, I see many more terrorist spurious attacks, resource wars and FEMA detention camps for liberals, too. I just hope they serve beer and show movies.
Bobby, it might surprise you but actually almost all of these – even the military stuff – is on the Tea Party agenda. A fair amount of the TP’ers, including some of the candidates are actually full-stop libertarians while the rest are simple usual-suspect conservatives using the movement opportunisitically. And I say this hating the whole thing, their obstructionism, much of their agenda, their pompous and weird populism (government is always the only enemy, even when corporations put us in the mess we’re in), their hypocrisy (the Paulites were criticizing Bush, but so many of these people sat silent when Bush was doing the same things they hate Obama for), and especially their selective rage, I mean this is a movement that got kicked off by a friggin’ financial reporter throwing a hissy fit on the floor of the stock exchange about mortgage-holders being bailed out, and the irony of his location doesn’t seem to have struck him. That said, they do have a lot of overlap with your own agenda here (particularly the Federal Reserve & the income tax – in fact I was kind of surprised to see that latter item on your list, how do you account for gov’t revenue without it?). Of course, big differences too, being that they also don’t want any social safety net and would look the other way with corp. violations (most of them are hostile to campaign finance reforms).
What’s interesting to me is to see how they negotiate the contradictions between straight-up liberterianism, which on the surface is what the Tea Party is (they don’t talk about social or military issues at all), and old-school GOP values if they gain power which unfortunately it looks like they will, some measure of it anyway. It amuses me how the Republicans (and the Democrats do this too, but it’s especially obvious with the Repubs) shift their focus so drastically without batting on eye every decade or so. In the late 90s they were primarily the party of the Religious Right, bemoaning the decline of values and focusing on Clinton’s infidelities. That didn’t really fly with the American public, and then in the 00s they became the party of scare-tactics and I’m-more-patriotic-than-you which worked for a while but is becoming passe (and isn’t it remarkable how EVERYone shifted stance on Afghanistan about a day after the election? for many liberals what had been “the good war” vs. Iraq, a helpful talking point to avoid conservative charges of pacifism, suddenly became a “quagmire” we had to get out of, while for many conservatives the centerpiece of their beloved war on terror was no just another case of “nation-building” we needed to extricate ourselves from, like Kosovo – a lot of them even posit that Iraq was the more “justified” war which boggles my mind). And now with the meltdown they’re the part of small government again which is in direct contradiction to where they stood in the Bush years. What kills me most of all is how so much of the public just accepted this total about-face unblinkingly.
As for Obama, I think he’ll win in 2012. Hopefully the economy has turned a bit of a corner by then (I don’t think we’ll be back to where were in the short term or maybe ever, which may not be a bad thing considering how irresponsibly managed and funded our “prosperity” was), and most of all I just don’t see anyone the GOP can field who could knock him out. Maybe Romney but he’s so phoney, the Mormon thing is a problem for the RR, and from what I’ve heard he’s repositioning himself as a moderate for ’12 which doesn’t at all seem to be the direction the GOP is heading in. Not sure what Obama will do with a ’12 victory but hopefully it’s better than Clinton’s 2nd term. It kind of has to be, at this point the problems we face can’t really be swept under the rug anymore.
Long political digression, and I don’t like discussing politics that much here (though I doubt much of what I’ve said will be controversial) but just thoughts I’m kicking around. As for defense funding, I agree that the Pentagon gets a blank check for everything and there’s probably a huge number of totally unnecessary weapons systems which have more to do with the corporations taking their welfare check than any need of actual national security. At the same time (and not saying you’re saying this) I don’t think the Democrats should return to their old reputation of being hostile to all things military; for one thing, the Republicans with their tea-party binge (which involves indifference to at best and at worst outright hostility to the military), disgraceful neglect towards veterans and active-duty soldiers (the Walter Reade mess, the lack of armor, etc.) have pissed all over the military vote, which they still take for granted. I think there’s a lot of room for the Democrats to move in with the rank-and-file soldiers who have a lot of overlap with their agenda in other ways (among other things, these are basically government employees). Anyway, if anything good comes out of this whole mess, it’s that the Tea Party could long-term make the Republicans even more irrelevant than they seemed in fall 2008 (though they came back from that one alright). Then we just have to deal with the Democrats – insert eye-rolling emoticon.
The real solution is to have independent candidates who stand for values that don’t align with the randomly-chosen lineup of party platforms (I mean seriously, what do the necocons, theocons, and liberterians have in common other than a shared hostility to liberals, all for totally different reasons) – and in the long run, I’d like to support independents who display personal integrity and a logical approach to governance rather than satisfying interest groups or ideological position papers (assuming such a unicorn can be found). But this year I voted straight Dems for national office simply to do my part to keep the Republicans – the party of Never Say You’re Sorry, I mean these people would trash your house and then make you clean it up and scold you while you were doing so – at bay.
/rant
Bobby,
I think the “corporatism” tag had more to do with the style of governance (the distribution and employment of power) than direct connections to corporations. Corporation and corporatism share they same Latin root, but just because corporations have too much sway in our society (and they do) doesn’t mean we are corporatis/fascist in our governance (although other factors might point to that being the case).
“Corporatism also known as corporativism is a system of economic, political, or social organisation that views a community as a body based upon organic social solidarity and functional distinction and roles amongst individuals.[1][2] The term corporatism is based on the Latin word “corpus” meaning “body”.[2] Formal corporatist models are based upon the contract of corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labour, military, patronage, scientific, or religious affiliations, into a collective body” (from Wikipedia)
I point this out not to be anal but just because the whole conversation about what fascism actually is I find fascinating, often frustrating, and important in the sense of defining a term that gets thrown around a lot. Jonah Goldberg’s idiotic book Liberal Fascism could have started an interesting discussion on this, but instead it seems he just wanted to bait liberals (I’ve dealt with the book extensively elsewhere, so I’ll leave it at that for now). The fact is fascism borrows a lot from both left and right, and in some ways (particularly in its Nazi form) may almost be as much an aesthetic movement as a political one – using politics for what are essentially aesthetic ends. I would define it ultimately as a right-one movement, because I think the Right’s prime value is order (the Left’s, I think, is equality where liberty is the prime value of libertarians who are not entirely at home on left or right) and that fascism is at its heart about order. But while I agree that racism and MAYBE militarism are not necessarily givens of the fascist state (though I tend to think the latter value follows fascism, if not being a crucial impetus), I also am not sure adherence to corporations is either. All in all my reading suggests to me that Hitler used the industrialists more than they used him (though they were certainly happy to go along for the ride, and initially thought he’d be their puppet, they ended up being his). Ultimately, corporations are incidental to fascism’s aims which seem to be a universal totalitarian society (albeit usually with nationalist roots) in which every aspect is controlled for the purpose of fostering an ideal, hierarchical, euphorically committed community (as opposed to totalitarian left tendencies which use the same means towards a different end – a worker’s state in which the means of production are controlled by the proletariat). Just my 2 cents…
Andrei,
Have you read Richard Evan’s 3-part Third Reich books? I started the first volume a while back (I’ve got like 20 books I’ve started now lying around, all library books too so they have to go back eventually – pretty bad ADD…), and still plan on reading them all when I get the chance.
Movieman, the interest charged by the private bank – The Federal Reserve, to the US government equals almost exactly the income tax take of it’s citizens.
I think the Fed should be abolished, the income tax used to clear the national debt within the next 10 years and then abolished. Maybe even earlier, imagine all that extra money for the citizens to spend.
There is no real difference between the Roman Empire, the British Empire, Hitler’s plans for the German Empire and the American Empire. All were/are based upon expansion and resource theft. The Brits had the East India Company, the US, The United Fruit Company, Big Oil.
Bobby, you’re kidding, right? What you prescribe is bizarro Tea Party stuff… Btw, the Fed is not a private bank. Govt debt is raised by the Fed etc and the interest is paid to bondholders, mostly the Japanese and Chinese govts. You are confusing govt revenue (taxes) with interest expense on debt used to finance govt. expenditure.
lol….Tony, Tony, Tony!!!
The Federal Reserve is most definitely a PRIVATE BANK. Trust me on this, I’ve done my research, American politics is a fascinating topic.
I would like you to watch this documentary, incredibly prescient….made in 1995, a masterpiece.
The picture is grainy and it done almost like a guerilla film-making. I rank it in the top 25 of all time for me….
If you can watch the first 10 minutes and not be amazed by it revelations, and they continue right through the whole work.
this is from Wekipedia….
Distribution, reception, and longevity
The film was aired in its entirety by PBS affiliate stations in 2002 and 2008.
In a 2004 review, a VUE Weekly editor wrote: “The fruit of Carmack and Still’s labour is The Money Masters, their notoriously lengthy but captivating 1995 documentary about the history of money and the people who have sought to control it over the past 300 years.”
In a 2009 review, Nomi Prins writing in Cineaste magazine described the documentary as : “…[doing] a superb job of revealing the truth behind the Fed and the powerful global financiers whose self-interest has dictated our banking system from the beginning. One gets the feeling that, had there been a larger budget for this film, the rather drab and grainy production values might have been improved. But if you can get past the low-budget style, you’ll find the content extremely compelling.”
As of February, 2010, the film is ranked #15 in the “Top 50 Documentaries” listed at the Movies Found Online web site.
I’d really like your opinion upon it…
whooops, here’s the link:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-515319560256183936#
I will definitely watch the doco. Tks for the links.
Re ownership of the Fed. Are you speaking figuratively? If so, then yes, the Fed is run by Goldman Sachs 😉
But it is a statutory body. Paraphrased from Wikipedia:
“The Federal Reserve is managed by a presidentially appointed Board of Governors (or Federal Reserve Board), the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks. The FOMC sets monetary policy. According to the Board of Governors, the Federal Reserve is independent within government as “its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government.” However, its authority is derived from the U.S. Congress and is subject to congressional oversight. Additionally, the members of the Board of Governors, including its chairman and vice-chairman, are chosen by the President and confirmed by Congress. The government also exercises some control over the Federal Reserve by appointing and setting the salaries of the system’s highest-level employees. Thus the Federal Reserve has both private and public aspects. The U.S. Government receives all of the system’s annual profits, after a statutory dividend of 6% on member banks’ capital investment is paid, and an account surplus is maintained. The Federal Reserve transferred a record amount of $45 billion to the U.S. Treasury in 2009.”
Hey Bobby, re: the Fed I’ll let Tony handle that one as I believe he has a background in banking and knows whereof he speaks. Economics is not my forte.
As for the rest, well yes, major powers past and present do share a number of tendencies, strategies, policies, and ideologies. But why is this “fascism”? There’s already a word for it – imperialism – and I think using the “f” word just confuses matters. Anyway, when people call Nazi Germany fascist they usually are not talking about its approach towards international relations but its policies towards its own citizens and society.
Also Bobby, re: the income tax it was my understanding through past conversations that you wanted a strong, activist state (perhaps socialist) – how would this be financed without the revenue from an progressive income tax? (Maybe I misunderstood your position before, sorry if that was the case…)
Btw, I may not be back to discuss today, but I’ll look up the conversation (tomorrow, of course, is certainly a suitable day for political discussions…). I’m going to try to take a break from the site today for off-site reasons…
Tony, the Fed may act like it’s under the control of the Administration, but that’s just phoney posturing. It’s listed in the business pages for a reason. Once you see that doc, I think it’ll be more clear.
Movieman, I’m a firm socialist/liberal in the FDR/JFK mode. The income tax intake is the same as the US pays to service it’s debt the PRIVATE Federal Reserve. Check out that doc and let me know what you think.
Income tax is not legally binding, it was never ratified by the 2/3 of the States. It’s not on the statute books at all and no one will be able to point out the law.
The Tea Party may talk about smaller government but they simply mean to carry on the Republican agenda of shredding even more regulations (such as the EPA), outsourcing any remaining jobs, and there is not a chance of scaling back the military. Since the end of the Cold War, it has risen even more.
you may enjoy this doc, it’s about the income tax in the US, the first half is superbly amusing, the second belongs in another doc.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7521758492370018023#docid=-1656880303867390173
Well, Bobby, you’ve certainly intrigued me with this argument! When I get the chance (God knows when that may be, haha) I will watch that doc which I have emailed to myself (I can’t bookmark right now).
You’ve also given me some interesting homework re: the income tax. I looked into the dispute you highlight and it seems the case is this: all but 6 (of then-48) states eventually ratified the amendment, with the necessary 36 doing so before Secretary Knox declared the amendment in effect, in 1913. The objection is that many states ratified a slightly different text than that passed by the Congress. However, most of these errors were extraordinarily slight (involving capitalization or punctuation) and according to the “enrolled bill rule” which the Supreme Court uses as precedent, the amendment was properly authenticated despite discrepencies between the different versions passed by the legislatures. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_protester_Sixteenth_Amendment_arguments)
I did find another website, for a group that is “Birther” (i.e. asking for Obama’s birth certificate to prove he’s a U.S. citizen) as well as anti-income tax, but we’ll try to take this individual argument on its merits! They claim that legislatures violated their own state laws in voting prematurely on the amendment (many states mandated that the legislature wait until a new session to ratify an amendment request they had received). Apparently, however, these laws were themselves not constitutional, according to the Supreme Court:
“The second contention is that in the Constitutions of several of the 36 states named in the proclamation of the Secretary of State there are provisions which render inoperative the alleged ratifications by their Legislatures. The argument is that by reason of these specific provisions the Legislatures were without power to ratify. But the function of a state Legislature in ratifying a proposed amendment to the federal Constitution, like the function of Congress in proposing the amendment, is a federal function derived from the federal Constitution; and it transcends any limitations sought to be imposed by the people of a state.” (Leser v. Garnett, http://evans-legal.com/dan/tpfaq.html#ratification)
Look, these legalistic arguments are fun but in the end the most important question is my second. How on earth would the U.S. Congress, already deep in deficit spending, maintain a social-welfare state STRONGER than the one we have now, stripped of the revenue provided by a federal income tax (btw, are you against state income taxes too)? Even supply-side economics, which I doubt you subscribe to, would not be able to account for that complete loss of revenue. Where would the money needed by the treasury come from, sales taxes and tariffs? I just don’t see it, but maybe I’m missing something here.
As for the Tea Partiers and what they are, some are, some aren’t. Many are genuinely libertarians though it will be interesting to see how they function now that they have to actually put their ideas into practice (Rand Paul is an example). For these people, the military is just as much something they want to cut as Social Security or Medicare. But a lot are just conservatives riding populist outrage to power – a power which, of course, many never even left. I mean John Boehner, for all his teary speeches about government not listening – this guy has been in government consistently for 20 years. Please!
Maurizio, if I didn’t agree totally with what you say I would think you were a pessimist…Ha!
Bobby J. I have it from some die hard Republican friend that the GOP is only concerned that the Tea Party freaks will take away their lunatic vote (which I assume is very large), thus actually helping the Democrats. The big corporations in Germany were delighted about Hitler’s ascension to power. He was smart enough to know that he needed them and the professional German Army to enslave Europe, and they got along just fine and dandy. Look up Alfried Krupp who joined the SS and was the CEO of the largest armament maker in Nazi Germany…and the I.G. Farben case. In The Rise And Fall Of The Third Reich by William S. Shirer there are some creepy correspondences from companies who had more efficient ways to gas thousands of human beings to death every day, designed nice elevators to transport the corpses to the crematorium and of course to do away with the evidence. I am sure we will not see such horrors in this country, in our lifetimes anyway, but believe me I guarantee there are millions of nasty little low life bastards in this country who would be only too happy to follow in the footsteps of Hitler’s willing executioners.
The undercurrent of fascism in the US is wonderfully evoked in Philip Roth’s novel ‘American Pastoral’. Essential reading!
Man, I love his AMERICAN TRILOGY.
Speaking of Tony– Australian, do you like Richard Neville? I just bought his ‘Amerika Psycho’ used, I like his opinions quite a bit.
Love the guy! An original ’60s stirrer. I even had a run-in with him 🙂
Oops, 2nd part of my comment above (to Andrei) is actually in response to this. Threads can be hard to navigate…
Dear Movieman,
I shall definitely check out the Evans books. Have you seen the Kershaw two volume biography of Hitler? There are so many books on that fiend but I like how the subject is approached in this one. It attempts to illustrate how the German people were sucked into becomming accomplices in the Nazis’ worst crimes so in effect the whole nation felt they had to fight to the death to postpone receiving their just desserts. Also “The Nazi Doctors” by Jay Lifton is a fascinating though grisly exploration of Mengele and those persons whom you would have guessed to have taken the Hippocratic Oath who so casually murdered children.
Andrei My person philosophies are similar to those of The Nihilists in The Big Lebowski…… would that be considered pessimistic?
No Andrei, this is the first major book focused entirely on Hitler/Nazi Germany that I’ve read. I’ll put the Kershaw one on my list, it would probably make an interesting complement to the Evans which so far (and to my understanding throughout) is very much more about the overall impact, consequences, and formation of Nazism rather than a biographical focus on Hitler.
The bit on The Nazi Doctors I think illustrates why this era still horrifies and fascinates us – these people did not come about around or in spite of society, but right through it and so much of what they did was invested with the standards and approaches of Western civilization. It’s terrifying to think of, but you always wonder how your neighbors/friends/even yourself would have acted in such circumstances – these were people seemingly like any other yet they commited some of the greatest evils of all time. The series Heimat, which Allan introduced me to, does a great job hinting at this – the Holocaust and the Nazi crimes are all offscreen, but viewers will of course know all about them so watching these likable, identifiable characters live their normal lives has these disturbing undertinge to it.
The most horrifying part of that series is when the whole family is gathered together (I think it’s Christmas) – we’re never more with them – and then, offhand, the arrogant young SS officer smirks and says something about the Jews going “up the chimney.” One woman, tired after a long day, asks what he was talking about, someone explains and she nods, “ah yes the Jews…” and goes on with whatever she’s doing. It makes your stomach sink.
Hi! Sam Juliano, Allan Fish and WitD readers…
I would like to know if anyone can please tell me how to restore my audio sound in order for me to hear sound from my speaker(s) that is connected to my computer. (There is nothing wrong with my speakers they are brand new and were tested on another computer and the sound came blasting out…)
I was following this person from over there on you-tube name GtavcVidZ instruction, but for some unknown reason I got lost because they seem to have “speed” up at 2:09 or 2:12 the video last until 4:50…I have already emailed the manufacturer of the computer in order for them to assist me with this problem too!
Therefore, I would appreciate any assistance…If that is possible…By the way, the “Volume area” is shaded (gray) and the audio icon is missing in the lower right hand corner.
A Person From Over There On YouTube Name GtavcVidZ Instruction On How To Restore Audio Sound
By the way, I’am experiencing this problem no video device installed…Oh! yes, I have installed a product called RealtekAC97audio too!
Thanks,
DeeDee 😉 🙂
Dee Dee:
When I come back from my weekly trip to the Ozu Festival – I feel well enough now to do this – I will have Lucille (who is the one in this house who understands these things -ha!) try and figure out a solution for you. So stay tuned for a few hours, my very good friend!
I think we have to fight against our nihilist tendencies. As a confirmed slacker and borderline nihilist I see the apparent logic in life as a meaningless vale of tears but I find myself fighting against that tendency every moment. I think all we can do is make the most of what we have…unlike most Yankee fans for instance I truly believe that it is not whether one wins or loses but how one plays the game that counts. A truly sympathetic person who loves humanity because he is a part of it could never be a nihilist. Believe it or not love is real and worth living for.
Hey Paisano,
And don’t forget: Sledge Hammer was a nihilist. He was the one who said: “Guns don’t kill people, bullets do.”
Hi! Sam Juliano, Allan, and Wonders in the Dark readers…
What do you think about Halloween? Do you feel it is plain hogwash or do you think there is some truth about it? Or do you see it as pure fun?
Know the history of Halloween. Know how it all started, how the modern Halloween celebrations came into existence. You will be fascinated, surely. On the big day, impress everybody with your new-found knowledge.
Ha!
Click here to read this page to your friends…(After reading this page to your friends they may not be your friends any longer!)
The History Of Halloween
I think of it only as “pure” fun!
DeeDee 😉 🙂
Dee Dee:
Thanks so much for this fascinating link! I think Halloween has become part of our culture, and it’s a time when the kids take great delight in donning their costumes and in indulging in all the things associated with this ‘fun’ day. We’ll be entertaining trick or treaters all day today in fact, and last night (while I was in bed dealing with the flu) Lucille took everybody up to the Haunted Schoolhouse in town to be frightened while taking the tour throughout the school’s three floors. Yeah, it’s a commercial ‘holiday’ now, what with all the Halloween stores sprouting up in early September of every year, but it’s a time that is as synonymous with autumn as the colorful falling leaves. And in a sense it’s as American as apple pie.
And thanks too Dee Dee for that fantastic glowing Halloween tapestry there! Great stuff!
Hi! Sam Juliano…
Thank-you, for responding to my inquiries and I will truly appreciate any and all assistance with that sound problem.
By the way, I truly do agree with your comment about Halloween 100% too!
Thanks, for sharing!
DeeDee 😉 🙂