A few weeks ago, RvR writer Lester Square gave a rundown of his favourite guilty pleasure movies. Now he reveals the movies he’s been told to love but just can’t help hating. Not sure he feels too guilty, mind…

By Lester Square

I blame Australia.

For years a friend told me I had to visit - it was the best country in the world, he said. So I did, had a nice few weeks, came home. End of. Except it wasn’t. On returning to Lester Square Towers, I found I was continually questioned if I thought Australia was indeed the best place I had visited. ‘Isn’t it great?’, I was asked. Such lovely people, beaches, surfs, big rocks etc. All true, but one thing nagged and nagged - it wasn’t my favourite place and everybody asking me was expecting me to say it was.

So, bravely, I did the only thing I could.

I lied. Then I lied again. Then lied some more. Yes, it was the best place I’d ever seen as a tourist. I said it so often I started believing it. But it kinda got me thinking *looks out of window in a Carrie Bradshaw-type fashion*… What happens when you don’t agree with the people, when you guiltily dislike what they love? And not just Australia, but movies?

Who is wrong, them or you? It is them.

5. Life is Beautiful (1997)

Some things are not funny. The latest series of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Little Britain, the Holocaust. Not to get all moral on your ass but pretending it was a little game, whatever the intentions, was tactless, strange, bonkers. And no-a disguising it in-a accents makes it good. It won two Oscars. The main character’s surname is Orefice.

4. Apocalypse Now (1979)

Yes, it had some great music, a couple of good lines, and they had a hell of a time making it. But it is tedious. And hackneyed. Find Kurtz? I’d rather wait for Godot. And he wasn’t much fun either.

3. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Reservoir Dogs was magnificent. This was sixth-form nonsense in comparison. Contrived to the point of desperation – the Gimp, the wincing dialogue between two men off to kill someone, the kooky French character – it is the kind of film only a student could love.

2. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)

Not being the Grinch here: it is a good movie, but Capra and Stewart made a better film together than this, Mr Smith Goes To Washington. And it is less sentimental. Funny in retrospect that the Big Bad Guy is a banker. But just, just, a little too white picket fency.

1. Star Wars (1977)

A fairytale in space - no more, no less. Watched it, shrugged my shoulders, never remotely cared what happened to Luke, Darth or the big ape. Or Chewbacca. The effects are good but if I want my film viewing to be judged by that, I would have gone into IT. Am I alone, does nobody else think this? If I am, I promise to sit down and watch all prequels and sequels in one go (and still think it ordinary).

WHAT DO YOU THINK? WHAT ARE YOUR GUILTY DISLIKE MOVIES?

TOP FIVES ARCHIVE

Voto: 7 (su 10)

“La mia luce è la verità”. Lo dice Tetro, impersonato da Vincent Gallo, il protagonista del nuovo film di Francis Ford Coppola, Segreti di famiglia (Tetro in originale), mentre sta curando le luci di uno spettacolo teatrale. Ma potrebbero essere le parole di Coppola stesso. Tetro ama giocare con la luce, perché così crea un mondo, perché la cosa gli dà potere. Tutto questo è in fondo il desiderio di ogni regista. In particolare del nuovo Francis Ford Coppola, che da Un’altra giovinezza in poi ha imboccato la via di un cinema indipendente e personale. Che ha a che fare, eccome, con la luce: con un gioco di parole, Tetro potrebbe diventare “retro”, nel senso che è girato in un bianco e nero scintillante e ricco di contrasti che si rifà a film d’altri tempi come Fronte del porto di Elia Kazan, e anche al suo Rusty il selvaggio, l’unico altro film che Coppola girò in bianco e nero. E di cui Segreti di famiglia potrebbe essere il figlio: anche questa è una storia di fratelli. Bennie, 17 anni, arriva a Buenos Aires alla ricerca del fratello maggiore Tetro, che non vede da dieci anni. Tetro è scontroso, ha lasciato di New York per fuggire da un padre autoritario. Ed è di questo che parla il romanzo che ha scritto, in codice, che l’ha portato quasi alla pazzia e che custodisce gelosamente. Bennie prova a leggerlo, e a farne un’opera teatrale.

“Quello che si dice non è importante: il linguaggio è morto”. Sono più importanti le immagini o le parole? Se lo chiedono spesso i personaggi del film di Coppola. Che sembra propendere nettamente per le immagini, sin dagli affascinanti titoli di testa. Ma più che l’immagine in sé, Coppola sembra volere difendere un modo di fare cinema libero, in cui l’immagine abbia la precedenza, e il racconto non debba per forza essere quello lineare e più scontato del cinema mainstream. Il romanzo di Tetro è scritto al contrario e in codice. Toccherà a Bennie decifrarlo. E attraverso le sue parole proverà a decifrare l’anima del fratello. Così è il nuovo cinema di Coppola, più criptico e meno immediato di quello di un tempo. Anche l’opera di Coppola in un certo senso va decriptata, decifrata, decodificata. C’è, nella storia, la sua anima: non si tratta di un’opera autobiografica, ma di un film che porta in sé tanti temi della sua vita. E c’è nella forma visiva, fatta quasi sempre di inquadrature fisse (magistrale quella in cui Tetro/Vincent Gallo è fuori campo e la sua voce “parla” attraverso la sua ombra riflessa sul muro) o in cui la macchina da presa si muove pochissimo, l’amore per il cinema di maestri come Antonioni, Kurosawa e Kazan.

È meno potente, il Coppola di oggi, rispetto a opere come Il padrino e Apocalypse Now. E forse le sue opere necessiterebbero di una maggior coesione. Ma il suo cinema sembra quello di un giovane. Segreti di famiglia mescola dramma, farsa, romanzo di formazione e anche un tocco di noir, con scene lineari e pulite e altre movimentate e teatrali che potrebbero essere uscite dal primo Almodovar come da La dolce vita di Fellini. Quella di Coppola è davvero, per citare il titolo del film che ha segnato il suo ritorno, Un’altra giovinezza: Coppola ha la voglia di sperimentare e la passionalità di un autore ventenne. Youth Without Youth, recitava il titolo originale di quel film: è proprio giovane senza esserlo Coppola, perché la sua vitalità prescinde dall’età anagrafica. “Brama di vagare”, si chiama l’opera di Tetro che viene messa in scena. Anche queste parole sono un altro segnale del senso del cinema di questo autore: Coppola e il suo cinema bramano di vagare tra le loro storie, tra i generi cinematografici, tra i paesi del mondo cinematograficamente più giovani per trovare linfa vitale. Dopo la Romania di Un’altra giovinezza, ora c’è l’Argentina di Segreti di famiglia. In ogni caso siamo lontani, lontanissimi, da Hollywood.  

Da vedere perchè: Coppola e il suo cinema bramano di vagare tra le loro storie, tra i generi e tra i paesi del mondo. Lontano da Hollywood.

(Pubblicato su Movie Sushi)

During the winter quarter of my last year at UCSB, I took an English course through my LCI specialization entitled “Narratives of War.”  The course studied 20th-century war literature from a contemporary perspective and explored questions related to smart war and the advancement of drones and other military technology, total war, just war, trauma and healing, models and perceptions of the enemy and the “other,” and how human rights are re-negotiated in the war on terror.  We studied novels, fictionalized memoirs, graphic novels, poetry, essays, films and documentaries, video games and media projects, and various online resources related to current conflicts.  Some of my favorite works from the course were Pat Barker’s Regeneration and Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, Etel Adnan’s Sitt Marie-Rose, Susan Sontag’s Regarding the Pain of Others, and Apocalypse Now, Jarhead, and Waltz With Bashir.

As part of the honors section of the course with the professor, we created a blog to contribute additional materials and met weekly to talk about them.  While this course was gruesome and disconcerting more often than not, its relevance to the world today was fascinating.  I learned so much and, more importantly, how much I don’t know.  We covered topics that resonated with me deeply for various reasons, and encouraged me to research and think more critically about how conflicts, wars, and violence around the globe are affecting people and societies in ways that are less than intuitive.  This was the course that covered what should be in the news, but isn’t, and what people should be educating themselves about, but aren’t.  For that reason I’m grateful to have been made aware of some small fraction of the larger problem.

De acterende familie Estévez bestaat uit vader Ramón en kinderen Carlos, Emilio, Ramón en Renée. Ramón is de zoon van een Ierse moeder en een Spaanse vader, beiden Amerikaanse immigranten. De acterende Ramón besloot zijn familienaam achter zich te laten en een artiestennaam te zoeken. Hij was erg gelovig en vond de naam bij Fulton J. Sheen, een katholieke bisschop en theoloog. Het werd uiteindelijk Martin Sheen. Klinkt niet slecht. Maar klinkt het zo veel beter dan Ramón Estévez? Dat heeft ook wel iets. Iets exotisch. Sheen bouwde een stevige carrière uit met als hoogtepunt de rol van Captain Willard in de oorlogsfilm Apocalypse Now van Francis Ford Coppola. Geniale film, geniaal geacteerd. Hij bleek ook naast zijn filmcarrière erg productief en kreeg vier kinderen: Carlos, Emilio, Renée en Ramón. Estévez dus, niet Sheen. De vier kinderen stapten zoals dat hoort in de voetsporen van hun vader en gingen acteren. Emilio, Renée en Ramón behielden hun vaders geboortenaam, Carlos nam de artiestennaam van zijn vader over. Emilio Estévez heeft als ‘grootste’ acteerprestatie de rol van Gordon Bombay in The Mighty Ducks neergezet. Renée en Ramón moesten het met heel wat mindere B-films doen. Het grootste succes in de familie was uiteindelijk weggelegd voor zoon Carlos, die zichzelf omdoopte tot Charlie Sheen. Iedereen kent zijn naam, zijn gezicht, maar eigenlijk heeft hij een belabberde filmografie. Of vindt u Major League, Scary Movie 3 & 4, Hot Shots en de tv-serie Two and a Half Men om mee uit
te pakken ?

TÍTULO ORIGINAL Apocalypse Now (Apocalypse Now Redux)

AÑO 1979

DURACIÓN 153 min.

DIRECTOR Francis Ford Coppola GUIÓN John Milius & Francis Ford Coppola (Novela: Joseph Conrad) MÚSICA Carmine Coppola FOTOGRAFÍA Vittorio Storaro

REPARTO Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford

PRODUCTORA United Artists (Omni Zoetrope Production)

1979: 2 Oscar: mejor fotografía, mejor sonido. 1979: Cannes: Palma de Oro (ex aequo con “El tambor de Hojalata”) / Bélico (Guerra de Vietnam). Drama / SINOPSIS: El Capitán Willard es un oficial de los servicios de inteligencia del ejército estadounidense al que se le ha encargado, en Camboya, la peligrosa misión de avanzar río arriba para eliminar a Kurtz, un coronel estadounidense renegado que se ha vuelto loco. En la profundidad de la selva, en un campamento sembrado de cabezas cortadas y cadáveres putrefactos, la enorme y enigmática figura de Kurtz manda como un buda despótico sobre los miembros de la tribu Montagnard, que le adoran como a un dios. (FILMAFFINITY)
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Al capitán Willard (un hombre con sus propios problemas) le encargan un peligroso viaje río arriba hacia el interior de la selva camboyana. Su misión: matar a Kurtz, un enigmático coronel estadounidense instalado en aquella zona remota y que, aparentemente, ha perdido el juicio. Durante el trayecto, Willard comienza a sentirse fascinado por el currículum de Kurtz, al tiempo que empieza a conocer aspectos de la guerra que le harán comprender mejor las razones de ese hombre al que tiene que asesinar. Magistral disección de los horrores y sinsentidos de la guerra, en “Apocalypse Now” Coppola exprimió todo su dinero, ambición y talento -que no era poco- para rodar una fascinante bajada a los infiernos del conflicto de Vietnam. Por lo demás, Marlon Brando epata con un escalofriante personaje que consagra esta búsqueda de un coronel demenciado por los espantos de la más cruel creación del hombre. Una obra colosal, tan impresionante como inigualable. (Pablo Kurt: FILMAFFINITY)
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“Adaptación libre de la novela de Conrad que Coppola convierte en alegato antibelicista y cuyo metafórico viaje está jalonado por etapas que siempre parecerán ser definitivas. Inolvidable resulta la desaforada secuencia donde las palas de los helicópteros giran al compás de la música de Wagner en una danza macabra. El coronel Kurtz-Brando, cual semidiós, nos espera al final del viaje en su postrero reino de las sombras” (Rufo Pajares: FILMAFFINITY)
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“La versión definitiva de Apocalypse Now enriquece y lleva a los límites de lo insuperable a una de las obras medulares del cine moderno” (Ángel Fdez. Santos: Diario El País)
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“Un espectáculo grandioso, desbordante y destructivo que muestra el horro de la epopeya bélica. (…) Puntuación: ***** (sobre 5).” (Francisco Marinero: Diario El Mundo)
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En el año 2002 se estrenó comercialmente, bajo el título “Apocalypse Now Redux”, una versión “director’s cut”, con 49 minutos más de duración, que contenía escenas no incluidas en el montaje inicial. (FILMAFFINITY)

Reanimated Convict Becomes Heir To Untold Technology Riches

If you’ve ever been up really, really late at night maybe you’ve seen Jeff Paul’s informercial “Shortcuts to Internet Millions”.  You’ll know it right away due to the fact that you really don’t see all that much of Jeff himself, just the usual people playing golf, eating expensive food, lounging by swimming pools…all the hallmarks of a life of luxury.  Oh, yes, and his two perky, buxom female interviewers (Carmen Paulmbo, Stacey Hayes) who interrogate the suddenly well-to-do.  Surprisingly, they don’t seem to mind the questioning all that much. 

Poor Marcus Wright, though, will never have a chance to utilize Jeff’s scheme, no matter how well it works.  Marcus was a convict in Terminator: Salvation who donated his body to science (err, well, I guess he donated it to science fiction, like the comedian Steven Wright–no relation–said).  He wakes up with no memory and a shiny metal endoskeleton.  Skynet likes him at first–it thinks it’s his mommy–and wants to make him heir to the robot empire, but Marcus will have none of it.  All the Kristiana Lokken T-X models had already left, you see.  Anyway, after a long, drawn-out movie with a heck of a lot of yelling in it (which resembles Apocalypse Now quite a bit), the whole thing is set up for a few dozen sequels.  Marcus gets damaged, though; he might need to get some prosthetic covering from one of them there newfangled “V” type aliens.  One face-ripper to another, he could say: hey, bro, slap me some skin.

In preparation for — nay, in honor of — the upcoming premier of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call in New Orleans, directed by Werner Herzog and starring the great performer Nicolas Cage, the Acme Video blog will be running a series of (at least) daily pieces on the entire Cage Oeuvre, with its startling highs and mystifying lows. It is one man’s tale… a chronicle of madness and obsession.

DAY 3: PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED

The film that ended the professional relationship of Francis Ford Coppola and Nicolas Cage. Cage, who is nephew to Coppola and had worked with him previously on Rumble Fish and The Cotton Club (we’ll be getting to those films later), plays Kathleen Turner’s main squeeze in this nostalgic, time-traveling, graceless attempt at 50’s-era high school romp. They call these films, “Dramedies,” I think — shorthand for a film that’s too lazy to be funny and too stupid to be dramatic. Maybe this was the beginning of the end for Coppola. Bear in mind, we’re not talking about the director of Apocalypse Now, here; we’re talking about the director of Jack.

That said, the film ended up being a solid box-office success for Coppola, his first since Apocalypse Now. In fact, a lot of people seem to like this movie (rated 88% “Fresh” (?!) on Rotten Tomatoes). Maybe it’s an age thing… But as someone who hadn’t bothered to ever watch this flick until just a few days ago, I can honestly say that this is one of the stupidest, clumsiest, most trite films I’ve ever seen (again, Jack comes to mind). The plot is so cumbersome and poorly constructed you can actually hear it creaking as it stumbles forward.

That is, unless Nic Cage is on the screen. Cast in the kind of role and in the kind of movie that normally would have called for a cocky, masculine performance, Cage instead distills his character into a supremely dopey Ken-doll with a pinched, hyper-nasal speaking voice. Cage has since admitted that he based the voice on that of Pokey from the Gumby Show; numerous accounts from the production claim that Coppola was extremely unhappy with the voice and wanted Cage out of the film completely. Somehow, Cage was able to convince him that the voice would work and he should be allowed to stay on. And apart from bringing a much-needed dose of sarcasm to a film that gags on its own earnestness, there’s a zany energy to Cage’s performance that does far greater justice to the spirit of youth than any of the other campy, ebullient turns by the film’s obviously over-age cast. He’s the only one who lets the audience in on the fun; the only one who seems to understand that if you really want to act like teenager, you have to act like a teenager.

This clip is kind of long; skip to 2:50 if you want to go straight to Cage.

As pessoas dizem que não dá pra viver na edição por muito tempo, que é estressante, que você não é valorizado, vai morar 1h30 do trabalho, ter gastrite, pressão alta, tendinite, problemas para dormir tudo antes dos 35 anos e pagar aos trancos e barrancos um carro 1.0. Só que eu ainda tenho esperanças de ser algo mais que um apertador de botão. Sério. Boba eu né?

Nessa época em que editores (apenas editores, criadores da montagem) são uma espécie em extinção e a demanda por outros softwares como After Effects, Motion Graphics até mesmo Mocha pelo mercado audiovisual de pós-produção algumas pessoas ainda persistem e vivem (de grandes projetos) de montagem e de cinema tanto no cenário internacional quanto nacional. Aqui mesmo na produtora eu tive um exemplo quando a Idê Lacreta veio finalizar o filme da Suzana Amaral, ou a Cristina Amaral, editora do Falsa Loura.

São mulheres, o que nesse setor do audiovisual são minoria, maiores de 30 anos e que são requisitadas para grandes projetos e esse é o tema do post: quando eu crescer, quero ser igual a elas! Sim, uma versão 2.0 dos profissionais que começaram lá nos anos 70 a fazer cinema, editar, mas também gerir projetos artísticos da pós que envolvem outros programas afinal progredir, evoluir, reinveintar e estudar são coisas que não pretendo nunca deixar de fazer.

Um exemplo, nesse caso masculino, lá da gringa é o editor Walter Murch, editor do célebre Apocalypse Now na ativa até hoje. Ok, ok, não é qualquer um que tem contatos ou potencial para fazer o que ele fez, mas eu adoraria pelo menos arriscar.

Prestem atenção na ambiência criada, o timming de montagem e com certeza deliciem – se ao som de The Doors.

What do you often hear when you think of an adapted movie?  The book was better.  Oh yes, and the book is almost always better.  Why this is, is nothing the film can stop.  The stories in novels are generally written that way because the author felt they could be told that way the best.  The same goes for graphic novels, musicals, plays and the like.  Each author felt that the medium they chose was the best for their work.  Changing mediums is always risky.

This article is not about me bitching that adaptations don’t do it right.  I know why film adaptations will always be different or, in the college student’s trump card-like excuse, I took a film and literature class.  These are the inexcusable changes to endings where it was actually detrimental to the film as a whole, at least in my opinion.  Get your geek goggles on, cuz it’s time for a list of five movies (in no particular order) that jacked it up.

Warning: CONTAINS SPOILERS

I Am Legend

The Book:

The story of I Am Legend is the story of scientist Robert Neville as he fights against zombie/vampires that are turned by a disease.  Heralded as a unique take on both fandom’s mythos and a dark look at humanity itself, the book is an excellent and quick read.  It has been adapted into three feature films, the most recent of which shares the same name.

The movie:

As far as movie adaptations goes, it’s pretty good for while, we slowly see a build up, development and plot threads laid throughout (a basic component of writing) leading up to the big reveal at the end.  At first, the monsters are viewed simply as that: terrifying monster that will murder and kill anything in their way.  As time goes by, we see they are actually clever creatures, capable of building traps, holding meetings and communicating.  They also seem to have a form of government with a clearly defined “leader”.  There’s also symbolism involving a butterfly laced throughout, linking Neville, his family and the vampires to each other.  Then the ending comes and…

Robert Neville blows everything up.

Why it was a stupid change:

Apparently, the studio didn’t like the original’s tone?  Test audience didn’t like it?  I’m not sure, but the reason it sucks is because it removes the entire point of the original story.  The point was that the vampires come and try to rescue a girl that Neville has taken and is experimenting on.  The big reveal here is that these are rational creatures on a rescue mission and that he is the monster from their legends.  A real “Oh Shit” moment to be sure.

We are supposed to sypathize with the creature

Instead, Neville tosses a grenade and dies as a martyr, essentially trashing every plot thread throughout the movie up to that point.  Hooray Hollywood.

Did they fix it?:  The original ending is on the DVD release.  Watch is as God intended.

Rambo

If you are a man you will read this book.

The Book:

The book Rambo is based off of, is called First Blood hence the subtitle of the original film.  In it, the character of Rambo is hitchhiking through a lonely Kentucky town, still wearing his Vietnam gear.  He is picked up and treated poorly by the sheriffs, shaved beaten and witness to abuse of others who are jailed there.  He escapes and hides in the mountains, killing anyone who comes after him in a manhunt, essentially reverting back into his soldier mode as he is pushed to the edge.  The book is powerful in its commentary on both the way soldiers returning from the war were treated and how the law often abuses its power, only because it presides over criminals.  John Rambo also dies.

This shouldn’t discourage you from reading the book.  Rambo is the shit.

The movie:

How could you abuse a face like that?

The movie sticks to its guns throughout just about everything, from conveying a strong sympathetic view of Rambo and a negative view of the sheriff’s department, right up to the climactic battles in the trees.  The only problem?  Rambo blows everything up at the end.

Why it was a stupid change:

Not so much a stupid change, I suppose, as it was a sleazy change.  After all, if Rambo dies, how would they make cash cow sequels?  I am of the opinion that if something is meant to be told in one go, then it should be.  It if is meant to have sequels then so be it.  I just hated seeing Rambo raped by Hollywood and Stallone for so long.

Though I woulnd't mind owning this figure

Did they fix it?:  As far as I understand, the uncut ending is on the DVD.

Blade Runner

The Book:

Blade Runner is based off of Phillip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Being a big fan of the man’s work, you know I am a sucker for good sci-fi and this book has it.  It’s all about an android bounty hunter named Rick Deckard (damn that is a cool name) who is charged with the task of “retiring” or shutting down six escaped Nexus-6 androids that are capable of showing human emotions.  As he tracks them down, Rick asks himself what qualifies being a human and if having emotions gives the androids the right to seek a quality of life.

The movie:

The movie originally kept the book’s ending, because Ridley Scott is awesome, where the android that Rick is illegally harboring, and falling in love with, will be put into the “sheepless sleep of death”.  Basically, it’s something of a bittersweet conclusion, like a lot of science fiction (think District 9).  The studio, deciding this was too bleak, changed the ending where it is revealed that she doesn’t have the program to self-terminate and they live happily ever after, thus crushing the entire reason anyone should read or watch the god damned thing.

Did they fix it?:  They released the original uncut ending, along with several other cuts of it on a super sexy box set, all for the low, low price of $78.99.

…Just read the damn book.

Smooth talk

I spy, with my little eye, a serial rapist

The book short story:

Smooth Talk is based off of the short story Where are you going, where have you been? by Joyce Carol Oats.  In it, a young girl named Connie is obsessed with acting like an adult and hanging out with the older kids and is subsequently stalked, raped and then killed.

The movie:

The same thing happens, with some embellishments and development to spread the story over two hours.  Then we get to the ending and Connie is just raped.  I know that sounds terrible, but the original impact of the story is that Connie is dead.  It makes the rereading chilling.  The first time you read it you don’t even notice the first line which states “Her name was Connie…”  By removing her death, the movie has something of a sweet conclusion where, in typical teen movie fashion, Connie is more grown up and accepting of her parents and sister.  Way to sugar coat rape, there, guys.

Rape is a great way to help young girls grow into womanhood and understand parental motivations.

Did they fix it?:  Nope.  The short story isn’t long.  Go read it.

Apocalypse Now

The book:

Apocalypse Now is based off of the incredibly famous Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness, where a man named Marlow is sent up the Congo River to retrieve a rogue named Kurtz who has, essentially, stopped doing his job for an ivory transport company.  During his journey, Marlow encounters brutal slavery, cannibalism and the death of comrades.  Upon reaching Kurtz’s camp, Marlow realizes that the man has become a god of the people there, despite being close to death and gives Marlow the opportunity to take up the mantle.

The movie:

Instead of the Congo, the movie takes place in Vietnam as Willard is charged with the task of finding Kurtz and killing him.  During his journey upriver he comes across soldiers who have lost their minds and are shooting at nothing, innocent civilians gunned down during mass confusion, and a crazed leader who orders soldiers to surf in the middle of a battle.

You crazy man, you crazy!

This all leads to Willard finally finding Kurtz and getting the exact same offer.  In the original ending of the film, Willard agrees to it and takes up the mantle as king.

Did they fix it?:  Actually yes.  They scrapped the ending and instead have Willard killing Kurtz, Kurtz whispers the iconic line “the horror, the horror” and Willard leaves as The End by The Doors plays over the credits.  So I guess this is more of a movie that almost jacked up the last few minutes.

I decided to take a break from the sequel theme and focus on another “type” of sequel: the Director’s Cut.  It’s not uncommon for a landmark film to be re-released in a “better” version that meets the director’s vision.  Often these new cuts feature unseen footage and clearer, crisper sound and picture quality.  Sometimes the director’s cut is better than the original, sometimes it’s worse and sometimes it doesn’t make a difference at all.

I decided to watch a few director’s cuts and their original versions and review them in shorter, mini-reviews.

Apocalypse Now (1979) / Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)

Original: 153 min. / Cut: 202 min.

The original version of “Apocalypse Now” is perhaps one of the greatest masterpieces of the psychological impacts and horrors of war.  Director Francis Ford Coppola (director of “The Godfather” films) took major risks and endured more than most filmmakers would during the production.  He faced everything from budget problems, a civil war in the filming country, his main star having a heart attack and his other main star being disruptive and uncooperative.  The film was the biggest challenge of Coppola’s career but in the end, it paid off.

“Apocalypse Now” is based on Joseph Conrad’s novel “Heart of Darkness” and takes place during the Vietnam War.  The movie stars Martin Sheen as Captain Benjamin Willard who is sent on a mission deep into the jungles of Cambodia in search of a Colonel who went rogue in a remote village.  Willard’s mission:  to “terminate” the Colonel…“terminate with extreme prejudice.”  The movie is a journey into the deep depths of the chaos of war and slowly the Captain and his crew reach the remote village, but the losses along the way are extreme.

The movie is entertaining as a war film but it takes a deeper, more symbolic stance on war.  Willard not only travels into the depths of the jungle but he also has a personal journey into the depths of the darkness of his heart.  It is a masterpiece with many memorable sequences, including one where an airborne infantry attacks a Viet Cong settlement to the tune of Richard Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.” The cinematography is eerily realistic and impacting.  The editing, sound, costumes are all believable.  The acting is flawless.

The original was released in 1979 and received two Academy Awards for cinematography and for sound.  It also received a total of eight nominations, including Best Picture.  “Apocalypse” is, in my view, one of the great filmmaking achievements of all time.  It never misses a beat and that’s why when director Francis Ford Coppola released a new cut of the film in 2001, entitled “Apocalypse Now Redux,” I was adamant about watching it.

The updated version features over 45 minutes of additional scenes that were left out of the original.  A few of these scenes do add to the film but the majority of the scenes, including a 20 minute sequence with a French plantation, are not necessary and do not add to the greatness of the film.  However, the newly cleaned up footage even more stunning than before.  “Redux” is by no means a bad movie, in fact it’s just as mesmerizing as the original, but some of the new footage may feel a bit drawn out and when you’re dealing with a three and a half hour movie, longer isn’t always better.

THE GRADES:

Apocalypse Now: A+

Apocalypse Now Redux: A-

Das Boot (1982) / Das Boot: The Director’s Cut (1997)

Original: 149 min. / Cut: 209 min.

In 1982, director Wolfgang Peterson released a motion picture that revolutionized the way war films are made.  His stunning and claustrophobic film “Das Boot” is a brilliant war film that focuses on the mission of a German U-boat crew during World War II.  Almost the entire duration of the movie is filmed in a tiny, closed off submarine, giving the viewer a real sense of closed-in paranoia that the crews of these ships felt.  Also, the fact that it’s filmed entirely in German with English subtitles makes it so authentic that I often forgot I was watching a movie…it’s that good.  The original 1981 film received six Academy Award nominations and rave reviews from the critics.

The film opens as a crew of German sailors prepares to depart on a dangerous voyage in the Atlantic Ocean between England and the mainland of Europe.  Many sequences of the film are completely silent as the crew nervously sits in deafening silence in order to avoid being heard on the sonar of the Allied ships.  The footage of battle sequences is intensely powerful and makes the heart race.  The acting is extremely convincing and with a shocking ending that the audience didn’t see coming, “Das Boot” is a great filmmaking achievement.

The original version of the film was two hours and 30 minutes long, but in 1997, Peterson released a three and a half hour version of the film that included more than an hour of unseen footage.  This is one of the rare instances where the Director’s Cut is actually better than the original.  The 1981 version is great (and extremely rare to find without being accompanied with the 1997 version in a two-disk DVD set) but it lacks much of the drawn out suspenseful sequences that the 1997 version has.  The new version  used the footage that benefited the storyline and left out even more footage that Peterson saw as detrimental to the final version of the film.  I suggest the newly restored 1997 version of the film over the 1981 version but either way, I don’t think anyone will be disappointed.  The ONLY challenge: reading subtitles for over three hours.  However, it sounds harder than it is.  The German language really creates a genuine atmosphere and the film benefits from it.

THE GRADES:

1981 Version: A

1997 Version: A+

Dances with Wolves (1990) / The Director’s Cut (2004)

Original: 181 min. / Cut: 236 min.

One of my earliest memories of films was going to see “Dances with Wolves” with my parents and sister in our living room.  The film had been out on “VHS” for many years but my parents thought I was old enough to handle the mature themes and that I would enjoy it.  They were right.  After I saw Kevin Costner’s film (of which he starred, directed and produced), I wanted to be a renegade Union soldier traveling through the Great Plains.  Needless to say, this “dream” did not come true, but the movie had a lasting impact on me.  I may have seen “Dances with Wolves” over ten times in the course of my life.

“Dances” is the story of a Union soldier during the Civil War, named John Dunbar, who abandons his post and travels westward in search of something else.  Along the way, he meets up with a Native American tribe and slowly becomes a welcomed member of that tribe.  He falls in love with a white woman who was found by the Sioux tribe.  The movie deals eloquently with the conflict between white settlers and Native American tribes and the consequences that came from those events.  It is also a personal story of one man’s self-discovery.  Costner’s film features a memorable and stunningly powerful buffalo hunt sequence that cannot be missed.  The 1990 version went on to win seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Director for Costner.  It was a landmark motion picture in modern epic filmmaking.

Then, in 2004, Costner decided to release a definitive and complete version of the film with over an hour of added footage.  The original movie was about three hours long, which means that the new version was about…four hours long.  Epic films are notorious for being long and often drawn out, but this is not always a bad thing. However, I’ve always felt the original “Dances” was complete and long enough.  The added material is good but not great.  It sometimes feels drawn out and makes it seem like there’s a forced effort to make the picture longer.  It’s not a terrible Director’s Cut but the original is significantly better.

THE GRADES:

1990 Version: A

2004 Version: B+

FOR MORE INFORMATION, click on the links below:

Apocalypse Now

Das Boot

Dances with Wolves

Maybe its my peaceful nature or my dislike for emotional manipulation, but for some reason, I’m not a big fan of war movies and never really have been. Nevertheless, in recognition of Veteran’s Day, here is a list of five great war movies.

5. Saving Private Ryan – Utilizing the vision of one of Hollywood’s most beloved directors (Spielberg) and starring 1990’s everyman Tom Hanks, this look at WWII is probably the quintessential war film of the past 20 years.

4. Full Metal Jacket – The Vietnam War has long proven itself ripe for film, but there are few who do it as well as director Stanley Kubrick.

3. Apocalypse Now – A seriously twisted look at Vietnam with some of the most iconic scenes ever captured on film.

2. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb – Stanley Kubrick proves that even when this was released in 1964, the Cold War was meant for satire.

1. All Quiet on the Western Front – This story of the horrors of war, of disillusionment and loss of youth, is still as (and maybe more) poignant today, almost 80 years after its release.

What would you put on the list?

from July1, 2006

The French sequence doesn’t fit for many reasons. Here, they get explicit (no longer subtle) about the Vietnamese conflict, unlike the rest of the film. Here, they are trying to make a comment about that particular war, and have moved away from the themes of the rest of the film. It is a sequence that only relates to itself. {Cinematically, Capt. Willard spent almost the whole sequence sitiing directly in front of the open window with his hand over his eyes, “blinded by the light.” Of truth? He was unable to respond to the Frenchman. He had no words. Maybe in the light of the the Frenchman’s truth, he was unable to respond. He had no answers. Again, a great scene, but a commentary on Vietnam that was out of place in this film.}

Secondly, it doesn’t fit on the river. They have been slowly descending into madness. Every stop has been less ciivilized than the first, leading into the ultimate surrender of humanity, Brando’s native idyll, where the men are half clothed, corpses hang everywhere, idols are worshipped, and animals sacrificed. Just watch Lance, who has slowly been abandoning his civilized ways and becomes one of Brando’s minions, without ever meeting him. It was “the horror,” or the nature of war that brought him there. The drugs helped, but it’s implicit that it was the war that brought him to the drugs. However, the French plantation was the height of civilization, plopped into the river at a point where they are nearing the apex of “uncivilization.” They have left the american army behind, and, are next attacked with “primitive” weapons (spears and arrows) by “primitive” people. I don’t see this as an intentional juxtapostion because it doesn’t seem to make any points in that regard, “primitive” versus “civilization.”

It would be more palatable if it took place earlier on the river, but since the rest of the river was under American Army control, it couldn’t exist there. Plus, we hadn’t seen the horrors of war yet, so it would not have as much impact.

Thirdly, at a more basic level, I find it hard to believe that that band of hardy Frenchmen could keep the farm running, even just in a small way for pride’s sake. They were so divided in opinion (and anger) that some of them MUST have wanted to return to France. Why would the men who left the table early stay? What could the quality of life be there? In that country at that time, where were they getting food, clothes, music, anything that they were accustomed too? Who were the men with guns? Some of them were clearly Vietnamese. They are loyal only to the farm, not their country?

Still considering the Dennis Hopper “character” (Isn’t he just playing himself?) He was not in his right mind, and totally loyal to Brando. Is this an example of the blind love Brando engendered in his people? His madness was supposed to be the opposite of Brando’s quiet sanity. As you said, here we have to doubt everything we’ve been told about Brando. However, the things Hopper tells us make us feel more and more that Brando is insane. When we finally see Brando, though, he doesn’t seem insane, but he does seem to have an extreme god-complex, one that was never hinted at in the course of the movie.

Bottom line, Hopper was loud and distracting, very annoying. In a place of insanity, he was the only one who seemed truley insane. Maybe because he was a random element, a civilian who wasn’t a part of Brando’s army. Strangely, he was also the only one who saw Brando clearly, making him the only sane man there at the same time. (Hmm. Now that I write this, there seems to be more to Hopper’s character than meets the eye. Maybe more on him later.)

“Charlie don’t surf!”

Right after I left my wife and was going through my divorce, I had to go and get an apartment.  I bought a new TV, but had no cable.  I only owned three movies, and this was one of them.  Kind of poetic that this was the film I watched repetitively during my divorce.

Tomo el testigo que ofrecen Mister Crowley, Redrum, Homo Insanus y Mister Lombreeze ya que han abierto un meme bastante curioso, porque tras hacerlo uno se da cuenta que ha visto muchos finales de esos que te dejan el corazón en un puño, gloriosos, divertidos, apocalípticos y escalofriantes.  Pero también se deprime un poco porque uno se hace consciente de que ya no se hacen películas como las de antes, que vemos una enorme cantidad de basura, y que para ver algo con dos gramos de buen hacer y de buena planificación es harto difícil. Ni que decir tiene que si no has visto alguna de estas secuencias, te abstengas de darle al play, muchas son grandes e inmensos spoilers, así que en tu mano queda darle al play, yo en tu caso me iría a la mula y me la descargaba ya para verla entera. Ha llegado el momento, allá va mi top ten…

En el puesto número diez tenemos ….el final del film de Blake Edwards ”EL GUATEQUE”, está en esta lista por una sencilla razón: es muy costumbrista. Estos norteamericanos son todos muy serios y formales, pero cuando hacen fiesta es por todo lo alto y se desmadran un montón. Tan real como la vida misma.

En el puesto número nueve tenemos… el final de “EL PLANETA DE LOS SIMIOS”. Cómo recuerdo de pequeño ese final. Me puso los pelos de punta y creo que me hice fan del género en aquel momento. Además con esta elección quiero englobar a toda la trilogía de películas fatalistas que hizo Heston en su momento, como “Cuando el destino nos alcance” más conocida como “Soylent Green” o “El último hombre”, basada en el relato de Richard Matheson, y que la podéis encontrar como “The omega man”.

En el puesto número ocho tenemos… el final de “PSICOSIS”. Lo escojo por un par de motivos, el primero porque me han pillado ya “Los pájaros”, y creo que en este final mi tocayo planifica muy bien el plano utilizando la subliminalidad como recurso narrativo, eso es una plusvalía siempre. En segundo lugar, la inquietante actuación de Anthony Perkins, esas miradas a veces perididas y otras mirando fijamente a la cámara, consigue traspasar la pantalla y hacerte creer que va a por ti.

En el puesto número siete tenemos… el final de “APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX”. Esta elección es en representación del cine realizado por Francis Ford Coppola y por ser del género bélico. En este caso es magistral tanto la planificación, simbología de los elementos encuadrados, la musica escuhada me refiero al tema de The Doors “The end”, así como la soberbia actuación de Marlon Brandon y Martin Sheen. Era imprescindible que apareciera en esta lista.

En el puesto número seis tenemos… el final de “LA INVASIÓN DE LOS ULTRACUERPOS”. Mi elección es un tanto retorcida en este caso, porque trato de ilustrar que se puede hacer un remake y superar con creces al original, llegado ha realizar una obra maestra del género.  Así pues no me considero un purista, y no alabo el original por el mero hecho de serlo. En este caso Kauffman le dio una vuelta de tuerca a la trama, la actualizó, le impuso una patina sociológica que carecía la versión de los 50’s y encima nos ofreció un emblemático final que uno recordará de por vida. Todo, obviamente, gracias a la inmensa labor de Donald Sutherland y Veronica Cartwright.

En el puesto número cinco tenemos… el final de “EL IMPERIO CONTRAATACA”. Es hermoso, es grande, dice tanto que por ese motivo merece estar en esta lista. Todos los personajes ante el universo. Simplemente precioso. Creo que es el mejor final de toda la franquicia creada por George Lucas, y en él se nota la mano de su gran guionista Lawrance Kasdam.

En el puesto número cuatro tenemos… el final de “CRUISHING”. Mi elección obedece a que este actor, al igual que Charlton Heston, hizo un ramillete de películas en las que sus finales eran más que antológicos, no debéis perdeos “Justicia para todos”, “Tarde de perros” o ”Serpico”, son imprescindibles. Todas geniales y esta en concreto me encanta la actuación de Pacino que lo dice todo sin abrir la boca, además en un momento muy masculino, afeitándose. ¡Esa mirada! Es potente la escena, y Pacino consigue taladrar la pantalla al igual que Perkins, pero por otros motivos obviamente. 

En el puesto número tres tenemos… el final de “VIDEODROME”. En este caso obedece a varias razones, una es la niña de mis ojos y por eso le hice un monográfico. Dos, es uno de los finales más inquietantes creados por Cronenberg, pero no quiero olvidarme de “Scarnners” o “Vinieron de dentro de…” todos ellos memorables y que merecerían estar en este top ten. Y para finalizar, James Woods da un toque de verosimilitud con su actuación, está inmenso diciendo esa lapidaria frase: “Viva la nueva carne” 

En el puesto número dos tenemos… el final de “PRIMER”. Me encanta la simplicidad y sencillez con la que deshace toda la madeja. Eso por no hablar de la música y la tremenda voz de Shane Carrough que te va embaucando y te lleva en vilo hasta donde él quiere. Maravilloso. Este largometraje es el mejor dentro del género de viajes en el tiempo. Esta es una de las pocas películas que puedo decir que salí de verla y sentí una necesidad de volver a entrar a verla.  Y vaya que si lo hice, testigos tengo: el señor Sancho y Monsieur Copépodo.

En el puesto número uno tenemos… el final de “EL RESPLANDOR”. Me hubiera valido cualquiera del mítico Stanley Kubrick. Desde “Atraco perfecto” con esos billetes volando a ese feto mirando la tierra en “2001, una odisea en el espacio” o el caso que nos ocupa donde con la ayuda de Diane Johnson reinterpretaron el final de la novela de King y lo llevaron a su terreno. Magistral trabajo de adaptación.

Ahora os cedo el testigo, me gustaría saber cuáles son vuestros cinco finales favoritos: Miss Darko, Eulez, Marchelo, 39 escalones, Ángel, Chacal,  Ramón, Victor Guybrush, Empantallado, Gine, Álvaro, Ricardo, Mapoto, Fantomas, Dick, Miss Watflech, Varelax, Luis Cifer, Mister Frost, Alberto y todo el que quiera sumarse.

It is early 1969. The colorful word counter-culture had begun to creep into your consciousness. Your name is Dennis Hopper. You are 33 years old and have a growing acting career. But you haven’t gotten ‘there‘ yet. Stardom is still around a few more corners. Somehow you, fellow actor Peter Fonda, along with writer Terry Southern write a screenplay for a movie about hippies, bikers, pot, and the freedom of the open road. You’ve hounded enough suits or backers to raise about $400,000. A paltry sum by Hollywood standards even then, in 1969, but enough to enable the production to begin with you as the film’s director. The movie is entitled Easy Rider; and becomes a runaway success, both artistically as well as at the box office. It would become the definitive counter-culture road movie.

Get your motor runnin’
Head out on the highway
Lookin’ for adventure
And whatever comes our way

40 years later, Steppenwolf’s classic Born to Be Wild, still comes to mind as the anthem of Easy Rider. Powerful music and a powerful film, thank you Mr. Hopper. So Dennis Hopper went from being a rather unconventional actor to being a sought-after, fair-haired, wunderkind. Ka-ching! But success is quite hard to sustain, and Hopper went from being an A-List actor/director to someone whose work and personal life headed downhill. He became someone who might be found at a rehab center during the aftermath following Easy Rider’s release and rise.

Fast forward to 1979 and Hopper resurrects himself and his career. He takes a role of a pot-smoking photo-journalist in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. Was he acting or was he just living his dream? After this, Hopper also directed Out of the Blue which garnered critical acclaim.

As Hopper’s reclamation of both his personal life and his career gathered speed, we too can again fast forward – this time to 1988, when Hopper was given the directorial reins for a controversial film about a pair of cops, one an experienced veteran, and the other, his rookie partner. They patrol the streets of East L.A. Their job – to attempt to keep gang violence under control.

This film was called Colors - the gangs were the Bloods and the Crips, and the colors were red and blue. Robert Duvall played the aging cop,  and the mercurial Sean Penn played the gung-ho rookie. You may recall this memorable story told by Duvall as Hodges to the restless for action Penn, as McGavin:

Bob Hodges: [to his new partner] There’s two bulls standing on top of a mountain. The younger one says to the older one: “Hey pop, let’s say we run down there and fuck one of them cows”. The older one says: “No son. Lets walk down and fuck ‘em all”.

Colorful words, indeed and significant to the story as we later found out. Speaking of colors, and of another well known actor, who worked for many years as an A-Lister without his career reaching the pinnacle of an Oscar winning performance; let’s now look at Paul Newman in The Color of Money.

Yes, we are back to colors again. Newman worked with Tom Cruise in this 1986 Martin Scorcese film about a pool hustler and his protege. Newman’s Fast Eddie Felson had last been seen on screen in the 1961 classic movie, The Hustler.

If you want to use the term sequel, you wouldn’t be all wrong. But 25 years did pass before any one could buy a ticket for this so-called sequel. Newman had been nominated for an Oscar in 1962 for his role in The Hustler, but he didn’t win that year. Nor did he win for any of his other noteworthy screen roles. But he did win for The Color of Money.

So we have a few common threads here. Movies, about color(s), with the word Color(s) in the title, and with longtime film actors getting some substantial attention for their work many years into their careers. If not quite the stuff that makes for miracles, then at least we can say that they were heading in the right direction.

Shifting gears but not really changing direction, let’s now look at a pair of artists. These two artists, Jeff Ham (above) and John Nieto (below), are known for the distinctive use of bold colors. But that’s kind of a very mild understatement as you can see by examining their artwork.

Ham has stated that he loves to paint animals, people, and landscapes. He’s not concerned about backgrounds or settings, and his chief goal is to impact the viewer by making everything he paints into an iconic image by his use of raw, bright, and explosive colors. We will start out with a look at some his dynamic animal portraits.

Coyote (l) and Laughing Coyote (r) by Jeff Ham

Bob Dylan (l) and John Lennon (r) by Jeff Ham

Willie Nelson (l) and The Stones (r) by Jeff Ham

Note how Ham uses his striking colors in gradients or as abstractions which propel the model or subjects to the fore. Also note how the raw reds impact you.

Blue Wolf (l) and Powerful Medicine (r) by John Nieto

Nieto’s work is similar in his subjects and his use of striking colors. But Nieto’s works are far more linear Rather than merge or grade his colors, he prefers the clear division which creates a different style but with no less of an impact. But he has not completely gone away from gradients and/or the slow merging of his colors. Its just not his first choice.

Jerry Garcia (l) and Albert Einstein (r) by John Nieto

His works have been called dramatic compositions, which through the use of broad strokes and brilliant colors with a halo of a contrasting color surrounding his subjects – have made for unmistakeably modern images.

Nieto has said, “…if I am painting a person,  I am painting much more than that. My art is the result of an emotional involvement with my subject matter rather than a cerebral one. I’m in a trance when I paint. It’s like being a drummer — you don’t look at the drums, you just know intuitively where they are.”

His works are truly great, but to get a true measure of the man, I must relate one more thing about Nieto which will tie together this article. In 2002, John Nieto suffered a massive stroke. He was nearly comatose for two and half years. In July of 2005, he was admitted to a Dallas, Texas hospital for congestive heart failure.

Navajo (l) and Prayer for the Return of Buffalo (r) by John Nieto

The treatment of his heart failure also helped to bring about a miraculous recovery which also cured all of his stroke symptoms. Literally, within days, John Nieto was painting again. Some of the works on this page are from after his recovery. His journey from death’s doorway to his current place in the world of Art is indeed a miracle, or at least is a legend for the ages, as is his art.

So Newman, who passed away last fall,  and Hopper, who is still with us, as are Ham and Nieto – all have color in their stories. We don’t really need to differentiate between the past and the present, do we? Since none of us live in a world restricted to simple blacks and whites, I am more than happy to share these marvelous stories and remarkably colorful images with you.

Paris is back on the map! En effet, depuis quelques temps, on a affaire à une invasion de groupes originaires de l’Ile de France dans le paysage du hardcore européen. Kickback, durant une décennie, a mené la barque du hardcore de la capitale, mais étant sans nouvelle d’eux depuis les “150 Passions meurtrières” sorti en 2000, la scène a péréclité pour finalement presque disparaître…. Mais depuis environ quatre ans, Paris s’est réveillé, et nous a craché au visage plusieurs groupes que je qualifierai d’excellents, que ce soit Count to React (maintenant devenu Out For The Count), Providence, Onesta, Danforth, Down By Prejudice ou Apocalypse Now… c’est probablement sous cette impulsion que Kickback remet le couvert en se produisant au FWH Fest ce mois d’août 2008 en Allemagne ! Donc le disc qui nous occupe là en l’occurrence, c’est “Empires Fall” d’Apocalypse Now. L’aventure commence pour ces cinq parisiens en 2006, lorsqu’ils sortent leur premier effort “Confrontation with God” sur GSR, mélangeant allégrement trash-métal et New York Hardcore. Après de multiples concerts et une bonne réputation dans la scène métal/hardcore underground française, le quintet se met à bosser sur un nouveau disc, plus orienté hardcore et nous livre en 2008 “Empires Fall”. Je croyais d’abord avoir entre les mains le produit d’un gros groupe américain, tant la pochette est classe et super travaillée, le booklet très complet, et le son excellent. C’est que bien après que j’ai capté qu’ils étaient parisiens… à priori, j’ai retrouvé pas mal d’influences dans leur musique, forme de métalcore des années 90 mélangés avec des éléments métal (rappelant parfois The Haunted) et des sonorités plus typique du début du métalcore (dans le style All Out War) avec sur le dessus, un saupoudrage persistant de NY hardcore !

Bref AN nous livre un gros mélange de tout ça et nous recrache un album qui plaira autant aux fans de hardcore qu’aux fans de métal! La pochette, comme je l’ai dit avant est super belle, et est réalisée par une boîte qui s’appelle ZombieCorp (www.zombiecorp.net) mais je dois dire qu’elle me rappelle un peu trop le travail d’Obey, célèbre street-artist qui a connu récemment un succès mondial avec ses créations, et qui a d’ailleurs réalisé la pochette de “The Greater of Two Evils” de Anthrax, que je trouve déjà très ressemblante dans le style à celle d’Apocalypse Now (si vous voulez vous faire une idée du travail de Obey, consulté son site www.obeygiant.com). Mise à part ces ressemblances, le booklet est vraiment bien fourni, très bien réalisé, avec toutes les lyrics, bref de l’excellent boulot. Il n’y a qu’un aspect qui me laisse un peu sceptique, c’est les lyrics, que je trouve un peu trop naïves (ceci peut être dû au fait que les gars ne soient pas anglophones) et qui, de plus, comporte pas mal de fautes d’orthographes. Cependant, on ne peut que saluer le fait que le groupe parle dans ses textes de politique et de l’état du monde actuel et dénonce la mainmise des médias dans notre société… Pour résumer, je vous conseille vivement cet album pour toutes les qualités que j’ai pu souligné tout au long de ma kronik. Le hardcore devenant de plus en plus générique et les plus jeunes acteurs de cette scène étant souvent là en qualité de suiveurs et de gros consommateurs de casquette New Era plus qu’en qualité d’élément perturbateur de notre démocratie (raison pour laquelle le hardcore a été créé à la base, comme résistance au régime de Reagan dans les années 80), je concluerai avec la phrase contenue dans le booklet tirée d’un speech de Martin L. King : “See for yourself, Listen for yourself, Think for yourself”

Pour écouter Apocalypse Now : http://www.myspace.com/apocalypsenow666

Making of. Il documentario in presa diretta sulla lavorazione del capolavoro della rinascita di Hollywood. Una lezione pura di cinema e follia.

«Questo non è proprio un film, non parla del Vietnam, è il Vietnam. È ciò che fu, era follia. Il modo in cui lo abbiamo girato è come gli americani sono stati in Vietnam, Eravamo nella jungla, eravamo troppi, e con troppi soldi a disposizione, troppa attrezzatura e a poco a poco siamo diventati matti». È un Francis Ford Coppola serio, concentrato, quello della conferenza di Cannes del 1979. Al Festival vincerà con Apocalypse Now. Le riprese erano iniziare tre anni prima nelle Filippine. Delle peripezie dell’ estenuante set si può leggere già nel Diario dall’Apocalisse della moglie Eleanor, ripubblicato da Minimum fax. Ma insieme alle annotazioni private, Eleanor fece anche delle riprese dettagliate, incaricata dal marito «forse per tenermi impegnata, forse per timore di una troupe in aggiunta che gli creasse problemi». È il materiale che sta alla base di Hearts of Darkness, il potente documentario realizzato nel 1991 da Fax Bahr e George Hickenlooper, edito da Feltrinelli Real Cinema.

Chi non conosce Apocalypse now? Ha tutte le caratteristiche del capolavoro: apripista del filone di guerra in Vietnam, popolare fino agli Oscar, cult da oltre trent’anni. Cosa potrebbe aggiungere allora questo making of alla leggenda di un film che si conosce a memoria? Dall’infarto di Martin Sheen, al tifone che spazzò via il set, come pure dei capricci di Marlon Brando, pagati un milione di dollari a settimana, e tutte le fisiologiche difficoltà di una produzione mastodontica ma indipendente dentro la jungla asiatica: tutto si sapeva. Ma Hearts of darkness non è nato come una cinefila operazione di marketing filtrata dallo sguardo dell’ufficio stampa.

È invece il resoconto trasparente di un viaggio nel viaggio, tra la vita e la morte, che rivela persino le paure di una moglie di vedere il proprio compagno perdere la testa e non i soldi, che Coppola ha faticosamente trovato, dopo il ritiro della Warner «perché girare in Vietnam con la guerra è rischioso». 13 milioni di dollari di cui due personalmente versati attingendo alle casse fortunate del Padrino. Le ambizioni di Coppola sono alte (riprende un progetto incompiuto di Welles), ogni giorno vede il suo film «farsi sempre più grosso», mischiando azione, filosofia e allegorie. Non è più solo una sceneggiatura che vaga per Hollywood e un budget alto di stima. La scommessa personale deve tramutarsi in «un film che dia una scossa ogni 5 minuti», ma Coppola – completamente assorbito dal set, animalesco, a suo agio nell’ansia del caos come Werner Herzog – sa che lo spettacolo passerà attraverso un dizionario che annovera parole come fallimento, morte, pazzia. Sia per la storia di Conrad, sia per una realizzazione che sembra ribellarsi al copione, a cominciare dalla presenza distratta di Brando, che si presenta ingrassato e senza aver letto Cuore di Tenebra.

Se il cinema è la somma dei compromessi che si è riusciti ad evitare (Polanski), il documentario mette insieme tutte le difficoltà che Coppola è riuscito ad accumulare e a macinare, perché sotto l’enorme pressione della produzione del film il regista americano tira fuori gli artigli: «Per la stampa sono matto e finanziariamente irresponsabile…non è previsto di non finire il film…come faccio a smettere da me stesso?». Hearts of darkness è la fabbrica di un grande film, che sa di volerlo essere e ne cerca il modo, ma non sa se lo diventerà. Ed è anche l’apice della rinascita di Hollywood, capitanata dal «sultano di San Francisco», punto di riferimento anche per Spielberg e Lucas. È a loro che Welles pensa quando dice «forse Roma sta bruciando ma l’orchestra di Nerone sta suonando da Dio».

Hearts of Darkness racconta un passaggio fondamentale del cinema e l’approdo a una sintesi matura. Now, in attesa dell’apocalisse futura: «La mia grande speranza è che improvvisamente un giorno una bambina grassa dell’Ohio sarà la nuova Mozart. E farà un bellissimo film con la telecamera del padre. E così la professionalità del cinema sarà distrutta per sempre, e diventerà una forma d’arte».

]]> http://stradeperdute.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/eleanor-coppola-appunti-dietro-la-cinepresa-di-apolypse-now/ Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:20:31 +0000 alessandro dionisi http://stradeperdute.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/eleanor-coppola-appunti-dietro-la-cinepresa-di-apolypse-now/

Baler, 13 maggio

Il sabato porto i bambini sul set. Roman curiosa nel reparto trucco dice che oramai sa dipingere una ferita da pallottola bene come l’aiuto truccatore. Oggi la compagnia gira in zona della giungla vicino alla città. A pranzo abbiamo mangiato nel cortile della scuola. C’erano talmente tante mosche  che con la mano sinistra le scacciavo e con la destra continuavo a mangiare. I filippini sembravano non farci caso. Una donna stava mangiando alla tavola vicina due piatti di riso e le mosche sopra di lei sembravano dei grappoli viventi. Mi sono accorta che il lungo e rustico tavolo su cui stavamo mangiando era di mogano massiccio.

Manila, 16 maggio

Ieri era l’ultimo giorno a Baler. La compagnia stava lavorando vicino al fiume con tutti gli attori dentro la PBR e per noi non c’era davvero un posto decente per girare. Doug è salito sulla torre, dove c’era la seconda cinepresa, e ha ripreso una panoramica. Poi abbiamo deciso di andare al villaggio dei pescatori. Ne avevo sentito parlare in giro e l’avevo visto dall’elicottero. Credevo fosse piuttosto lontano, invece ci sono voluti appena 5 minuti dall’ufficio di produzione. Ci siamo andati con un gippone giallo tutto dipinto: sul cofano aveva tre cavalli d’argento. Lungo la strada abbiamo fatto un paio di riprese delle bancarelle nelle viuzze e della gente alle finestre. Quando abbiamo raggiunto la spiaggia mi sono ritrovata nel più bel posto che abbia visto a Baler. Un villaggio di capanne di bambù e di foglie circondava la foce di un fiume, dove si confonde con il mare. Sulla spiaggia c’erano file di persone che tiravano lunghe funi che si allungavano fino alle reti da pesca nell’acqua. La gente era scura di pelle e sorridente, si muoveva quasi a passo di danza, al ritmo della tradizione delle reti. Sempre sulla spiaggia, ma più indietro, c’erano delle bonca dipinte a colori vivaci, blu, arancione, verde e rosso. Probabilmente la gente vendeva il pesce in cambio di riso.

C’erano piccoli orti pieni di verdure, polli e maiali, attorno alle case e palme da cocco dappertutto: proprio un paradiso terrestre, come si può immaginare che fosse Tahiti duecento anni fa. Non c’erano segni del mondo occidentale: non c’erano fili elettrici, né del telefono, nessun distributore di benzina , né hotel o ristoranti, neppure insegne di Coca Cola. Nessuna prova che esistesse il resto del mondo, salvo qualche pacco di merce in un capanno al lato della strada e qualche tubo di plastica per lo scarico dell’acqua vicino alle case. Non faceva neanche quel caldo soffocante, che trovavi solo a mezzo chilometro nell’interno e dall’oceano soffiava una brezza deliziosa. Una bonca trasportava al di là della foce del fiume fino a una piccola striscia di sabbia con delle capanne, sull’altra sponda. Il prezzo della traversata era di 10 centavos (meno di un penny). Non c’erano nemmeno quei due o tre stranieri girovaghi che ci si aspetta di trovare in un posto simile prima che arrivi l’ondata degli scopritori di luoghi incantevoli per hotel. Abbiamo cercato di girare qualche scena, ma la gente era radunata attorno a noi con tale curiosità che non potevamo stare abbastanza lontano da poter mettere a fuoco la cinepresa. Alcuni s’erano messi in posa con le braccia incrociate e un gran sorriso in faccia, invitandoli a riprenderli. Alla fine abbiamo riposto la cinepresa nel gippone e ci siamo seduti sul cofano. In una piccola baia di fronte a noi c’erano dei bambini sorridenti, con la pelle scura, che giocavano con delle piccole bonca scolpite a mano nel legno. Le palme da cocco formavano archi sopra le capanne di paglia. Sembrava proprio una scena tratta da un film.

Eleanor Coppola: Appunti dietro la cinepresa di Apocalypse Now

Edizioni il formichiere

So our drummer left, we thought Apocalypse  was happening Now

We searched everywhere, from the sticks to Chinatown

In fact we were Raging like a  Bull in the Heat of the Night

felt surreal like Blue Velvet caught ourselves a fright

But we kept on til we found one, then down to business

connected thru our Network now we’re all pistons

we move together like Clockwork, Orange

We move Back to the Future cuz looking back is too boring

We went from Men in Tight spots like Robin Hood

To trying to find our way out of The Wood

We were Hunter’s of Deer  Crouching like Tiger

Keeping our Dragon Hidden til our eyes got wider

Now we Terminator the show

Full Metal Jacket the flow, Tap Spinals

Bring Heat whether on record or Vinyl

We came from an Animal House to become Godfather’s

Worry bout ex band members why bother?

We don’t let it slide, we just know the Dude Abides

This life wasn’t mean to be an Easy Ride

So as we pass the piece, we say, “Peace, until next time”

Me encuentro con este sensacional trabajo de Jordi Colomer en la página de Mónica Pérez de las Heras, que no deja de ser interesante: muestra la evolución de las batallas y conflictos bélicos desde el año mil después de Cristo, in crescendo. La Cabalgata de las Valquirias de Wagner, presentada en aquella mítica escena de Apocalypse Now, como telón de fondo de la historia de la devastación. Un reflexión: a medida que somos más civilizados aumentan las explosiones. Incomprensible pero cierto, así de miserable es la condición humana que se jacta de las conquistas de la técnica para despúes sentenciar su atodestrucción. Este trabajo está archivado para la eternidad en mi página de vídeos.

The Decisions That Changed the Face of Hollywood As We Know It

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The Decisions That Changed the Face of Hollywood As We Know It

‘Twilight’ without Kristen Stewart? No Brangelina without ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’? ‘Friends’ without Jennifer Aniston? ‘Titanic’ without Leonardo DiCaprio? It could have been. With one decision from the casting directors, one suggestion from a co-star or a gut reaction from a director, our favorite movies and TV shows could have wound up completely different. Take a look at some of the decisions that changed the face of Hollywood.

Fate in Hollywood: What Almost Was

Everett Collection / Paramount Vantage

13 photos

Robert Pattinson supposedly attended the ‘Twilight’ casting because he liked Kristen Stewart’s performance in ‘Into the Wild.’ See More Coincidences & Casting Decisions That Changed the Fate of Our Fave Flicks and Shows >>>

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Fate in Hollywood: What Almost Was

Robert Pattinson supposedly attended the ‘Twilight’ casting because he liked Kristen Stewart’s performance in ‘Into the Wild.’ See More Coincidences & Casting Decisions That Changed the Fate of Our Fave Flicks and Shows >>>

Everett Collection / Paramount Vantage

Everett Collection / Paramount Vantage

//

– Bruce Willis was originally cast as Danny Ocean in ‘Ocean’s Eleven.’ Replacement George Clooney celebrated by having a keg of Guinness installed in his dressing room. Jon Favreau, who wrote ‘Swingers,’ turned down the offer to write the screenplay. Owen and Luke Wilson dropped out of playing the brothers Virgil and Tuck to film ‘The Royal Tenenbaums.’ Michael Douglas and Warren Beatty were all considered for the role Terry Benedict which eventually went to Andy Garcia.

– Englishman Hugh Laurie, star of ‘House,’ won the British national title as a member of the junior coxed pair and was a varsity rower at the University of Cambridge before quitting due to mononucleosis. He rebounded by taking up acting and starring alongside love interest Emma Thompson with the Cambridge Footlights. In response to Laurie’s audition for ‘House,’ producer David Shore exclaimed “See, this is what I want; an American guy.” The audition video was shot in a hotel bathroom in Namibia. “It was the only place with enough light,” confessed Laurie.

// — Ewan McGregor turned down the role of Neo in ‘The Matrix’ to work on ‘Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.’ His uncle, Denis Lawson, acted in the original ‘Star Wars’ trilogy and was McGregor’s inspiration to get involved in show business. Will Smith turned down the role of Neo because he “wasn’t smart enough as an actor.” Sean Connery was originally offered the role of Morpheus but refused because he couldn’t understand the script. Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity) didn’t tell anyone she twisted her ankle while filming for fear she would be re-cast.

– Steve McQueen was the first to turn down the role of Captain Willard in ‘Apocalypse Now.’ Jeff Bridges auditioned for the role and Nick Nolte expressed interest but director Francis Ford Coppola instead went with Harvey Keitel. Within two weeks of shooting, he was replaced by Martin Sheen.

– ‘Entourage’ is loosely based on the experiences of executive producer Mark Wahlberg as an up-and-coming Hollywood star. Kevin Connolly, who portrays Eric, had retired from acting but was convinced to act in the show after the creators said his part was written with him in mind.

– Paramount Pictures considered Ernest Borgnine, Orson Welles and George C. Scott for the role of Vito Corleone in ‘The Godfather.’ Director Francis Ford Coppola preferred either Laurence Olivier or Marlon Brando. Olivier was too sick so the role went to Brando. Sylvester Stallone was rejected for a role and shifted to screenwriting, later penning the script for ‘Rocky.’ Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson all turned down offers to play the role of Michael Corleone, a role which turned Al Pacino into a star.

– Patrick Dempsey, aka McDreamy, auditioned for the role of Dr. Chase on ‘House’ before taking the role of Dr. Shepherd on ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’ Rob Lowe passed on the role. Isaiah Washington (Dr. Burke) also auditioned to portray Dr. Shepherd. The show was originally titled ‘Complications.’

– Quentin Tarantino plied Brad Pitt with five bottles of Pink Floyd Rose wine at Brangelina’s Chateau Miraval estate before he accepted a role in ‘Inglourious Basterds.’ Tarantino approached Adam Sandler to star as a Nazi but was rebuffed by his choice to film ‘Funny People.’

– ‘Gossip Girl’ was originally pitched as a feature film starring Lindsay Lohan as Blair Waldorf. After repeated failings, the show’s backers eventually approached Josh Schwartz, producer of ‘The O.C.,” to turn it into a television series. Mischa Barton turned down the role of Georgina Sparks. It was later given to Michelle Trachtenberg. Leighton Meester dyed her blonde hair brunette to audition to play Blair Waldorf.

– Despite rampant speculation to the contrary, Heath Ledger was director Christopher Nolan’s only choice to portray The Joker in ‘The Dark Knight.’ Rachel McAdams, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Emily Blunt were rumored to play Rachel Dawes, a role turned down by incumbent Katie Holmes and eventually portrayed by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Josh Lucas, Mark Ruffalo and Liev Schreiber were considered for the role of Harvey Dent but Aaron Eckhart won out.

– Nicolas Cage was so close to starring in ‘The Wrestler’ that he was seen doing research for the part at a Ring of Honor Wrestling event in New York City. But director Darren Aronofsky decided against the desires of investors that Robinson could only be played by Mickey Rourke.

Sources: IMDB | Research by Dino Sossi and Megan Rumph

Eu só tenho 3 coisas para falar sobre este filme.




1º – Talvez o melhor filme sobre guerra já criado. Lembrando que Apocalipse não é apenas tiros e explosões para todos os lados. O filme mostra o outro lado da guerra, o lado psicológico dos soldados que podem ou não ser levados a extrema loucura.

2º – O brilhantismo do Senhor Francis Ford Coppola.

3º – Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford e Laurence Fishburne. Ou seja, um elenco de causar inveja.






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