This week, I had the privilege to view three great, classic movies, two in HD. The display for this event was the new Mitsubishi HC6800 3LCD 1080p projector. The movies were all  exceptional; first up, Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan in “The Professionals”.

I started here, because of an article on Lee Marvin in Cinema Retro www.cinemaretro.com A wonderful magazine, both in print and online. I had it recorded on my Dish Network DVR  from HDNet Movies. The movie, about a group of mercenaries hired by a wealthy cattle baron (Ralph Bellamy) to rescue his wife (Claudia Cardinale) from Mexican revolutionaries, is just plain fun. From 1966, it holds up very well, mostly to the strong cast.

Next up, and another Robert Ryan, Burt Lancaster starrer, Micheal Winner’s “Lawman”. With a little more age on both these characters (released in ‘71), I found it to be a more somber, and quite possibly a better movie. Now this is the first movie to show off too much of the Mitsubishi’s s crystal clear HD performance. Every time Lee J. Cobb’s character was on the screen, I couldn’t get past his very hairy ears!

Finally, from Comcast and Turner Classic Movies (TCM) Beau Bridges in “The Landlord”. I loved this movie. Released in 1970 and directed by Hal Ashby, “The Landlord” captures the ugly side of bigotry while showing there is hope if we can get past our differences. This was the non-HD offering (SD) and it truly demonstrated the Silicone Optics HQV video processor’s strength in the HC6800. Beautifully up-scaling the SD picture, it certainly wasn’t HD, but it was a noticeable improvement.

Now along with these great movies, I watched football, TV (the X-Files, Millennium and La Femme Nikita on DVD) and live broadcast, both from Comcast and Dish Network. For just south of $2500.00, the Mitsubishi HC6800 is a very good value. But it’s strength lies in watching video (non-film) and sports; film was, well, not very film like. After properly calibrated, it was still  bright and very sharp, but lacked the color purity I strive for. If you are a hardcore movie buff like myself, I strongly recommend spending an extra $500.00 for the Sony VPL-HW15. Maybe it’s from owning studios, but Sony gets film reproduction in all their displays; in spades. But, for the money I still can recommend the HC6800.  And I wholeheartedly recommend all three movies.

MITOS ESTÃO EM FALTA NO MERCADO. COISAS DE ANTIGAMENTE. QUANDO MUITO, RESTAM-NOS ALGUNS ÍCONES COMO A MADONNA, E AS GERAÇÕES SEGUINTES NEM ISSO CONHECERÃO.

MARYLIN MONROE, RITA HAYWORTH OU GRETA GARBO NÃO ERAM APENAS GRANDES ATRIZES, ERAM MITOS. ASSIM COMO TAMBÉM FORAM MITOS CLARK GABLE, BURT LANCASTER E HUMPHREY BOGART. ESSA TURMA NUNCA TEVE CORRESPONDÊNCIA IMEDIATA COM A REALIDADE, ERAM QUASE ABSTRAÇÕES. BASTAVA QUE MANTIVESSEM UM TOCO DE CIGARRO ACESO NO CANTO DA BOCA OU QUE AJEITASSEM O DECOTE COM UMA CERTA MALÍCIA PARA INCENDIAR O IMAGINÁRIO COLETIVO.

OS NOVOS ÍDOLOS JÁ VÊM COM RAIO X, SUAS VIDAS SÃO UM ININTERRUPTO MAKING OFF, QUE ACABA SENDO MAIS DIVERTIDO QUE O ESPETÁCULO PROPRIAMENTE DITO.

O QUE DIZER DE VÁRIOS ÍDOLOS PRÉ-FABRICADOS QUE NADA ACRESCENTAM ARTISTICAMENTE, QUE NÃO EMOCIONAM NEM INSTIGAM, APENAS VENDEM SANDALINHAS?

* texto tirado de duas crônicas da Martha Medeiros

* imagens reprodução/just jared

Just finished The Devil’s Tickets by Gary M. Pomerant (which isn’t about Elmer Gantry or Sinclair Lewis - but rather about The Roaring Twenties and bridge and the murder of Jack Bennett by his wife Myrtle).

However, after finishing the book, I kept thinking of Sinclair Lewis and his novel Elmer Gantry (both of which  Pomerant mentions in his novel).  This led to remembering the movie Elmer Gantry and the great performances by Shirley Jones and Burt Lancaster (think Jones won an academy award for her performance in that movie).

One thought leads to another . . .

Famous Americans dropped in [Kansas City, Missouri] during the twenties, announcing themselves in curious ways.  The novelist Sinclair Lewis, a disturber of the peace, spent six weeks in Kansas City in spring 1926 holed up downtown in an Ambassador Hotel suite, researching a “preacher novel” that became Elmer Gantry.  During his visit, Lewis stood at the lectern of one local church and challenged God to strike him dead in fifteen minutes.  He took off his watch and waited; he survived.  In his hotel suite each Wednesday, Lewis held “Sunday school classes” over lunch for eighteen local clergy.  They liked Lewis, and admired his zeal for his subject.  The perpetual skeptic, he prodded them and probed deeply into theological issues, once asking, “What the hell right has the church to exist anyway?”  At another turn, Lewis pointed a finger at a minister and challenged his belief in God; a Catholic priest calmed the novelist, saying, “Sit down, my son, and don’t blaspheme.”  Lewis paused, and replied, “Will you have a drink, Father?”  The priest said, “I will.”  The local clergy should have known what was coming.  The fictional Elmer Gantry proved a scoundrel and hypocrite with a lust for power.  He drank alcohol to excess, engaged in sex with church secretaries and congregants, and trampled choir girls in escaping a burning tabernacle.  As Gantry hit the bestseller lists, a few Kansas City ministers shouted betray, though others rushed to Lewis’s defense.

DOLWORTH: Nada menos que cien mil dólares por una esposa. Debe de ser toda una mujer.

FARDAN: Será una mujer de esas que convierten a algunos niños en hombres y a algunos hombres en niños.

DOLWORTH: Si es así vale lo que piden.

——————–

EHRENGARD: ¿Y qué hacían unos norteamericanos en una revolución mexicana?

DOLWORTH: Tal vez sólo haya una revolución. Desde siempre. La de los buenos contra los malos. La pregunta es: ¿quiénes son los buenos?

——————–

DOLWORTH: Nada es para siempre, excepto la muerte (…).

JESÚS RAZA: Todos ellos murieron por un ideal.

DOLWORTH: ¿La revolución? Cuando el tiroteo termina los muertos se entierran y los políticos entran en acción. El resultado es siempre igual. Una causa perdida.

JESÚS RAZA: (…) La revolución es como la más bella historia de amor. Al principio, ella es una diosa, una causa pura, pero todos los amores tienen un terrible enemigo.

DOLWORTH: El tiempo.

JESÚS RAZA: Tú la ves tal como es. La revolución no es una diosa sino una mujerzuela; nunca ha sido pura ni virtuosa ni perfecta. Así que huimos y encontramos otro amor, otra causa, pero sólo son asuntos mezquinos. Lujuria pero no amor, pasión pero sin compasión. Y sin un amor, sin una causa, no somos nada. Nos quedamos porque tenemos fe. Nos marchamos porque nos desengañamos. Volvemos porque nos sentimos perdidos. Morimos porque es inevitable.

The professionals. Richard Brooks (1966).

Burt Lancaster och Claudia Cardinale i “Il Gattopardo” av Luchino Visconti (1963).

Enligt The Cut kommer Dolce och Gabbanas nya vårkampanj för 2010 att porträtteras av ingen mindre än Madonna. I fredags fotograferades kampanjen av Steven Meisel i New York. Madonna träffade Stefano och Dominico Gabbana under nittiotalet, och duon designade även popstjärnans kläder till “The Girlie Show” turnén 1993. Vårens kollektion för 2010 är bland annat inspirerad av filmatiseringen av  Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusas bok “Il Gattopardo” (1958) och innehåller spetsar, crochetstickat och nät, och är en hyllning till designernas sicilienska arv, skrädderi och sensualism. Och vem passar att visualisera denna beskrivning bättre än Madonna Ciccone?

Om valet av kampanjansiktet säger Domenico Dolce och Stefano Gabbana på deras nättidning Swide Magazine:
“Att ha Madonna i vår kampanj är en dröm som går i uppfyllelse“.

According to The Cut, Madonna is the new campaign face for Dolce & Gabbana spring and summer collection for 2010. The campaign was shot by Steven Meisel in New York last Friday. The designers met Madonna in the early nineties, and also designed her collection during “The Girlie Show” tour in 1993. The S/S collection for 2010 will convey the image of the Sicilian iconic woman, and is inspired by their Sicilian heritage, Sartorial tailoring and sensualism. One of the inspirations behind the collection is also the novel “Il Gattopardo” by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (1958), and the clothes are in materials like crochet, lace and net.

On Madonna appearing in their forthcoming campaign, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana said,
“To have Madonna in our campaign is a dream come true”.

Viernes/ “El nadador” dirigida por Frank Perry

“Basada en una novela de John Cheever, conocido como el Chejov de los suburbios, “The Swimmer” explora la temática de un autor preocupado por sacar a flote la infelicidad y el declive moral de la clase media norteamericana. Dirigida por Frank Perry y con guión de su mujer Eleanor, el propio Cheever participó asesorando a la pareja. Cuento simbólico que tardó varios años en ver la luz, hasta que Sam Spiegel la produjo para la Columbia, a cambio de la cesión del control definitivo y montaje por parte del director, lo que sirvió a la postre como excusa para el despido de Perry y la finalización del filme en manos del amigo de Lancaster, Sidney Pollack (especialmente notamos su pulso narrativo en aquellas oníricas escenas que emergen desenfocadas, reflejando la distorsionada realidad que vive el personaje, durante el paseo de Ned Merill (Burt Lancaster) y la joven Julie Ann Hooper (Janet Landgard)).“

Extraído de Score Magacine.

Ver además:

http://www.alohacriticon.com/elcriticon/article925.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Swimmer_(film)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063663/

Los títulos seleccionados  son una muestra de los materiales actualmente en préstamo de los fondos de la Biblioteca del Instituto Internacional.

Si te interesa ver o leer ésta recomendación puedes consultar su disponibilidad en el catálogo la biblioteca del IIE.

El nadador = The swimmer. [DVD] / directed by Frank Perry. — Madrid : Columbia Tristart Home Entertainment, 2003. — 1 DVD (91 min.) : son., col.

Idiomas: español, inglés, alemán e italiano ; Subtit.: español, inglés, alemán, francés…etc.

Basada en la novela de John Cheever.

Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Kim Hunter.

No recomendada para menores de 13 años.

ZW .P472 S85 1968

No es tan primaria como la mayoría, que advertimos día a día en desastre de la oposición al gobierno de España. Pero incluso desde Estados Unidos, la tía Clota también percibe que el PP es un circo.

-Pero no es porque le crezcan los enanos, como dicen casi todos los cronistas-precisa- Sino porque  aspira constantemente al ¡más difícil todavía! ¡Anda que armar la que arman por disputarse el presidente de un banco después de haberse comido el marrón del Gürtel ese!…

Y evoca Trapecio, una película de circo, un producto típico made in Hollywood que impactó mucho en su juventud. En la escena cumbre, un hercúleo Burt Lancaster en su apogeo de icono viril, recibe a una espléndida Gina Lollobrígida que vuela a sus manos tras el triple salto mortal. Bocabajo y todo, y desafiando a la ley de la gravedad, el héroe trapecista sube a pulso a la heroína y la besa en los labios.

-¿Sobrino, no te imaginas el número?…-le cuenta a Homper entre risas- En un trampolín, Rajoy y Gallardón, los dos con taparrabos de lamé. En el opuesto, en plan Pinito del Oro, Esperanza luciendo tipo con su malla tan sexy rebosante de lentejuelas. Primero salta Rajoy al trapecio, y se cuelga bocabajo. Luego salta Gallardón y se prende de él. Y finalmente, Espe. Todos los del PP llenan el circo haciendo el oficio de niños….¡Que se besen, que se besen!…Y entonces Gallardón y la Espe repiten el numerito de Burt Lancasyter y la Lollo, suena el cha-ta-tachán  y los niños estallan en aplausos…

Tía y sobrino  se ven riendo a través de la cámara de su ordenador.

-Lo del PP, tía, es un numerito que traspasa el Atlántico- subraya Homper.

Y piensa que la imagen que describe su tía podría ser un sueño pintoresco si no estuviera tan cerca de la realidad.

Sin embargo los sueños se nutren de materiales imprevisibles que se mezclan a lo loco. Lo decía Freud: pueden aparecer en un sueño una vieja amistad, un antiguo amor, un escenario de cuento, una noticia de ayer, una frustración permamente, el deseo de ligar con la pastelera, un famoso como Cayetano Ordóñez, el practicante con el que te cruzaste en la escalera antes de entrar en casa y hasta el estímulo físico que te produce.una sábana de seda. Los sueños son una ensaladilla rusa, o un castillo de fuegos artificiales que el pirotécnico no ha sabido ordenar.

-Por cierto, tía-comenta Homper cambiando el registro a serio-¿Sabes qué soñé esta noche?…Veía una masa informe, un montón de materia viva, horrorosa, que se agitaba nerviosa…Y en éstas que de esa masa gelatinosa asoma una pata de batracio, y luego una cabeza de reptil con ojos saltones…Y me doy cuenta de que es un montón de sapos copulando…

-¡Qué perversión, sobrino!….

-Que no, tía, que Morfeo es un guasón y un caprichoso…Fíjate que anoche vi una película de Nicole Kidman, que me encanta…Y podría haber soñado con ella…Pero también ayer supe que muchos sapos de la Comunidad de Madrid mueren atropellados porque el bordillo de un carril-bici les impide juntarse con sus hembras para copular…¡Los pobres sapos muriendo por amor!…

Otro cuento, otro sueño. Homper espera que el de esta noche sea más agradable. Ya venden en la pastelería buñuelos de santo, que, en su versión clásica, rellenos de crema pastelera, le trastornan. Y, sin dejar de desear mejor suerte al circo del PP y a los mártires batracios, aspira a una bacanal con la pastelera, tan seductora. Ella y él solos, a media luz los dos, música de Astor Piazzola al fondo y  tan sólo separados por una tentadora bandeja de buñuelos de santo que media entre sus labios…

A les últimes classes els he posat, als alumnes, alguns exemples dels diversos tipus de narradors i punts de vista que trobem al cinema, i els recursos que empren els directors.

Moltes pel·lícules ens ho posen fàcil. Des dels personatges que esdevenen narradors i la seua veu

Burt Lancaster

introdueix un llarg flashback, com ocorre a The killers, 1946,  la pel·lícula de Robert Siodmark basada en un relat de Heminway, a l’ús

de la càmera subjectiva, com tenim a Dark passage, 1947, on no veiem la cara de Humphrey Bogart fins que no li fan la cirurgia estètica.

A aqueixos exemples, ben clàssics, n’afegesc molts altres, entre els quals cal destacar alguns fragments de pel·lícules de Woody Allen. De Bananas, amb el locutor televisiu que converteix, a l’escena final, la nit de noces en un combat de boxa; d’Annie Hall, amb un McLuhan que fa cua al cine; o d’Un final made in Hollywood, amb el director de cinema cec; de La rosa porpra del Caire, amb el genial joc entre “actors” i “espectadors”…

De totes aquestes pel·lícules, i d’alguna més, deia, posava exemples a classe quan, en una de les escasses eixides al cine d’adults (que, afortunadament, cada vegada esdevenen més freqüents) em trobe a Si la cosa funciona ( Whatever works), un personatge (Larry David), que es dirigeix als espectadors mentre els altres personatges li pregunten a qui parla.

Potser la pregunta no és aqueixa només. No podem deixar de preguntar-nos, també, qui ens parla.  Al cap i a la fi,  aquesta és una nova pel·lícula del genial director sobre ell mateix, del qual el protagonista, com en altres,  no és més que un alter ego.

Inspirado por el deseo del rey Alfonso XIII de construir un hotel de lujo que estuviera a la altura del Ritz de París, el Hotel Ritz de Madrid, inaugurado en 1910, comparte con sus homónimos de París y Londres la reputación de ser uno de los hoteles más majestuosos de Europa. El hotel se diseñó y construyó bajo la supervisión personal del legendario hotelero Cesar Ritz, de quien adoptó el nombre.El Ritz ha desempeñado un papel esencial en la vida de Madrid durante el último siglo. Aún hoy, el hotel persiste como un punto de atracción clave para muchos visitantes de esta capital europea.

A principios del siglo pasado, el rey Alfonso XIII volvía de sus viajes por Europa con el recuerdo de los palacios que había visitado impreso en la memoria. Madrid era una ciudad de intensa vitalidad, con edificios soberbios y hermosos jardines. Sin embargo, de un modo u otro le faltaba algo. El Rey fue el primero en ser consciente de cuánto ganaría la ciudad si contara con un gran hotel de lujo de la misma categoría del Ritz de París o Londres.

Se puso manos a la obra y no perdió tiempo en poner estas ideas en práctica. Madrid debía ofrecer a sus visitantes algo realmente extraordinario: un hotel que pudiera satisfacer el gusto más refinado de un nuevo tipo de viajero, que sólo por aquel entonces empezaba a conocerse como “turista”.

El sueño del monarca comenzó a hacerse realidad. La edificación del Ritz -grandioso, luminoso y confortable- había comenzado con el respaldo de la Compañía de Desarrollo Ritz. Charles Mewes, de París, y Luis de Landecho, de Madrid, fueron los arquitectos responsables. En poco tiempo, las paredes del futuro hotel sobrepasaban ya las magnolias, los cedros y las acacias del Prado.

Lo último en comodidad y lujo en aquella época era contar con cuatro o cinco cuartos de baño en cada planta del hotel. Con instalaciones como éstas, el Ritz se convirtió de inmediato en uno de los hoteles más lujosos del mundo. Había un teléfono por piso junto al ascensor, el cual también estaba considerado como un ejemplo sublime del lujo moderno.

Actualmente, el Hotel Ritz mantiene estas tradiciones, aunque los baños y teléfonos son estándar en todas las habitaciones, las cuales cuentan además con conexiones Wireless de alta velocidad a Internet.

A su vez el  Restaurante Goya es cita obligada para los paladares más exigentes, el té de media tarde en el Lobby Bar, un almuerzo o cena en La Terraza disfrutando de los increíbles jardines unido a un discreto pero atento servicio, hacen de los Restaurantes y Bar del Ritz los lugares más exclusivos de Madrid. 

Para terminar, destacar la fabulosa ubicación del Hotel,  un auténtico lujo por si misma. El Hotel Ritz está situado entre el Parque del Retiro, el Teatro de la Zarzuela y los tres museos más importantes de Madrid: el Prado, el Thyssen Bornemisza y el Centro de Arte Moderno Reina Sofía.

El hotel se encuentra situado en pleno centro financiero de la capital, a escasos metros de la Bolsa de Madrid, y a 5 minutos a pie del casco histórico.

Sin lugar a duda, el deseo del rey Alfonso XIII de crear un hotel majestuoso se vió cumplido.

Durante casi cien años, el Hotel Ritz Madrid ha dado la bienvenida a las personalidades más representativas de todos los ámbitos: cultura, arte, política, ciencia, moda… El Libro de Oro del Hotel se ha convertido en testigo y testimonio importante de ello.

Esta es una pequeña muestra de algunos de los clientes ilustres del pasado y del presente que han firmado en nuestro Libro de Oro: Rey Alfonso XIII y la Reina Victoria Eugenia ,El Emperador Haile Selassie de Etiopía ,El Rey Jaled de Arabia Saudí , La Reina Sonia de Noruega , El Príncipe de Gales y la Princesa Diana , El Príncipe Raniero y la Princesa Gracia de Mónaco , El Príncipe Naruhito de Japón , El Rey Mohammed VI , El Maharaja de Kapurthala , El Príncipe Ernst August de Hannover , Margaret Thatcher , Fidel Castro , Mijail Gorbachov , Eva Peron , President Jaques Chirac , Kofi Annan , Vladimir Putin , Matta Hari , Romano Prodi , Yaser Arafat , Helmut Kohl , Tony Blair , President Bill Clinton , Nelson Mandela, Herbert von Karajan, Sir George Solti , Cher, Placido Domingo, Marc Anthony , Ana Belen , Madonna , Julio Iglesias , Frank Sinatra, Sting , Arthur Rubinstein , Jennifer Lopez , Elton John , Tina Turner , Brian Ferry , Lorin Maazel , Paul McCartney, Salvador Dali , Alberto Maravia , Fernando Botero, Catherine Deneuve , Sofia Loren , Michael Caine , Pierce Brosnan , Mel Gibson , George Clooney , Milos Forman , Salma Hayek , Nicole Kidman , Ridley Scott , Brad Pitt , Jerry Lewis , Tom Cruise , Monica Bellucci , Dennis Quaid , Sylvester Stallone , Jeremy Irons , Penelope Cruz , Morgan Freeman , Will Smith , Emma Thompson , Harrison Ford , Mel Brooks, Laurence Olivier ,Lesley Howard , Richard Burton , Ava Gardner , Woody Allen , Richard Gere , Roger Moore , Melanie Griffith , Zsa Zsa Gabor ,  Antonio Banderas , Julia Roberts , Henry Fonda , Ben Stiller , Jennifer Connelly , James Stewart , Holly Hunter , Dustin Hoffman , Michelle Pfeiffer , Jodie Foster , Burt Lancaster ,Anthony Hopkins , Marcello Mastroianni , Orson Welles, Alexander Fleming , Christina Onassis , Ivan Trump, David Delfin , Dolce & Gabana , Salvatore Ferraga , Manolo Blanhik , John Galiano.

Más información: http://www.ritz.es/web/orit_es/hotel_ritz_madrid.jsp

LOS CAMINOS DEL HOMBRE DE AZOGUE

CAPÍTULO III: MI NOMBRE ES JARDÍN

Aquella mañana de octubre, tras el sueño, el hombre de azogue caminaba con cierto desasosiego. Sentía que algo extraño estaba ocurriéndole.

Cada paso que daba era como si alguien diese otro paralelo a su lado. A cada parada que hacía le parecía que alguien se detenía junto a él.

Se sentía acompañado. Esta sensación le daba seguridad, tranquilidad por un lado, pero le estremecía por otro. Porque no sabía quien estaba con él, por qué razón estaba con él, desde cuando estaba con él, hasta cuando estaría con él.

Aunque no recordaba bien el sueño, estaba seguro de que a este hombre que le acompañaba lo había visto en el sueño. O tal no lo había visto pero estaba allí. Ahora le tenía junto a él, pero no estaba seguro de estar viéndolo.

Se detuvo para beber agua de un pozo.  El hombre que le acompañaba iba tarareando una canción que recordaba haber oído cantar a Jorge Negrete en una película:

“Aquellos tiempos que mi amor fue para ti

aquellos besos que no fueron para mí,

en su mentir yo me creí

y a tus encantos me rendí.

De haber sabido que al fin te iba yo a perder,

te hubiera dado yo a beber…

Agua del pozo de la Virgen mexicana,

pa que aprendieras a querer.” (*)

Jorge Negrete

Cuando era joven alguien le había dicho que se parecía a Jorge Negrete. Pero ahora no estaba seguro ni de sus facciones.

Jack Lemmon

En otra ocasión una amiga le había dicho que en realidad a quien se parecía era a Jack Lemmon. Pero ahora no estaba seguro ni de sus facciones.

Burt Lancaster

Puestos a escoger, tal vez a él le hubiera gustado más parecerse a Burt Lancaster, Pero ahora no estaba seguro ni de sus facciones. Y en realidad tampoco recordaba nítidamente las facciones de Lancaster. Vagamente le imaginaba volando en lo alto de la carpa de un circo, al compás del Danubio Azul de Strauss.

Tiró el cubo al fondo del pozo y empezó a izarlo lleno de agua. Pero alguien estaba ayudándole, la cuerda subía sin ningún esfuerzo, había un hombre junto a él que estaba compartiendo su sed, su canción, sus películas. Soltó definitivamente la cuerda y el cubo terminó por subir hasta el brocal.

“Bebe tú primero”- No sabía si había llegado a pronunciar las palabras.

“Gracias”- Y el hombre dejó de cantar, inclinó el cubo y bebió derramando parte del agua sobre su pechera.

“¿Quién eres?”- No estaba seguro de querer inquirir más sobre él.

“Mi nombre es Jardín, bebe, está fresca”.

El hombre de azogue se extrañó de que su acompañante no le preguntase por su identidad. Tal vez no pensaba compartir mucho tiempo el camino con él. Podría ser que solo fueran a coincidir durante unos metros, tal vez kilómetros, tal vez días. Y después se separarían tomando rumbos divergentes. No estaba seguro de querer inquirir más sobre él. Le gustaba sentirse acompañado.

“¿No tienes frío?”- El hombre de azogue siempre caminaba desnudo, como dormía, y esta mañana la temperatura no era muy propicia.

“Sí, tengo frío”- Pero él no daba importancia al calor, al abrigo. Si todas las criaturas de la Tierra podían sobrevivir en la intemperie sin vestimenta, gracias al calor de su sangre, de su piel, de su pelo; ¿porqué los humanos no iban a poder? Su pecho se había curtido con el viento y con los rayos de sol. Sus piernas y sus pulmones se habían fortalecido con las largas caminatas que emprendía a diario, desde hacía años. Desde que era joven. Desde que estaba solo. Desde que era de azogue.

No podía distinguir si el hombre que le acompañaba estaba vestido o desnudo. Y no se atrevió a preguntarle, por pudor, por respeto, por falta de confianza. O tal vez por desinterés. No estaba seguro de querer inquirir más sobre él.

Recordó que en el sueño caminaba de espaldas. Y que a lo lejos un buzo de adentraba en el mar, caminando también de espaldas. El hombre que se llamaba Jardín siguió tarareando:

“…con el amor no hay que jugar.

De un hombre macho que te entregue sus quereres,

jamás te vuelvas a burlar” (*)

Caminaron todo el día juntos, casi sin hablarse, casi sin comer, casi sin orinar, casi sin mirarse, casi sin verse. Y, como cada día, empezaba a atardecer.

“¿Vas a volver a dormir?”- El hombre que se llamaba Jardín parecía cansado.

“Me da igual, podemos dormir aquí mismo”- Pensó que el hombre que se llamaba Jardín no estaría acostumbrado a dormir a la intemperie.

“Hay pequeñas oseras deshabitadas entre estas rocas”.

(*) “Agua del Pozo” de Chucho Palacios, interpretada por Jorge Negrete en la película “Jalisco canta en Sevilla”, dirigida por Fernando de Fuentes, 1948.

Un gigantesco affresco, che copre quasi 50 anni della storia italiana, dal 1900 alla fine della seconda guerra mondiale, con la liberazione dal fascismo.

Questo è Novecento, uno dei capolavori assoluti della storia del cinema italiano, uno dei primi cinque, senza dubbio.Un’opera corale, che racconta attraverso le vite di Alfredo Berlinghieri, figlio di Giovanni e nipote di Alfredo, grande proprietario terriero dell’Emilia e Olmo Dalcò, figlio di Rosina e di nessun padre, o di cento, racconta dicevo le loro vite ma sopratutto racconta la miseria e le difficoltà di vita dei contadini agli inizi del secolo, le sperequazioni, le prime lotte operaie e le prime rivendicazioni sindacali, insomma tutto il contesto storico politico dell’Italia pre fascista.

Burt Lancasterè il  Nonno Alfredo Berlinghieri, il proprietario terriero

Una storia che inizia appunto con l’amicizia impossibile tra il ricco Alfredo e il contadino Olmo, i loro sogni e le loro vite parallele ma inevitabilmente e indissolubilmente legate , i loro amori, le loro delusioni.

In mezzo, tante vite parallele e contingenti: quella di Alfredo Berlinghieri , l’uomo che da il via alla saga, duro ma giusto, ricco ma rispettoso dei sacrifici dei suoi contadini. Quella di Giovanni, figlio minore di Alfredo , bramoso di ricchezza, assolutamente contrario a qualsiasi concessione ai contadini di una parvenza di dignità, quella di Attila Melanchini, il fattore crudele, bieco, come l’ideologia che finirà per rappresentare.

Romolo Valli: Giovanni, figlio minore di Alfredo

Roberto Maccari è Olmo da ragazzo

Sono solo alcuni dei personaggi che si muovono nel film, i più rappresentativi, ma che si collegano ad altri ugualmente importanti in una storia che li coinvolge tutti, comparse o protagonisti di primo piano di una tragedia, che allo stesso tempo è semplicemente la semplice vita di gente che si è trovata a vivere un’epoca di grandi cambiamenti storico politici.

Così prendono vita personaggi sullo sfondo di uno scenario grandioso, come Ada Fiastri Paulhan, moglie di Alfredo, giovane idealista innamorata del marito, che però lascerà incolpandolo di essere indifferente di fronte alla brutalità del fascismo, o come quello di Anita Furlan, moglie di Olmo donna istruita, una rarità per la civiltà contadina dell’epoca, che dedica il suo tempo all’istruzione dei piccoli, ma anche dei grandi, che cerca di spiegare ai contadini, che accettare supinamente il volere dei padroni significa consegnarsi allo sfruttamento e all’ignoranza.

Stefania Sandrelli è Anita, Gerard Depardieu è Olmo

Al centro, Robert De Niro è Alfedo

Ci sono poi i personaggi negativi, cattivi in assoluto, incapaci del minimo senso di umanità, vere e proprie Erinni, come Regina, figlia di Amelia , sorella di Eleonora moglie di Giovanni, il padre di Alfredo e quindi sua cugina, vittima ma anche complice dello spietato e abietto Attila, del quale diverrà complice nei più odiosi delitti.

Tanti personaggi, legati l’un l’altro da vincoli di parentela, di amicizia , di semplice conoscenza, che si muovono in quel mondo rurale primitivo, che vive a contatto della natura, che segue l’evolversi delle stagioni, retto da un’ordine quasi feudale, con il ricco destinato ad una vita facile e il povero costretto secolarmente a vivere solo di quel poco che la terra da lui lavorata produce.

Stefania Casini è Neve, la lavandaia

Bertolucci intreccia tutte queste vite, creando, attraverso 320 minuti di gran cinema, una storia potente come poche, magnificamente illustrata da una fotografia che sembra seguire l’alternanza delle stagioni; ma l’indubbio talento, il saper dirigere con mano svelta, l’aiuto di una sceneggiatura di prim’ordine, a cui collaborarono lo stesso Bernardo, suo fratello Giuseppe e Franco Arcalli, da soli non sarebbero bastati se lo stesso regista non avesse scelto un cast assolutamente straordinario per mettere in scena una rappresentazione credibile.

Dominique Sanda è Ada Fiastri Paulhan, moglie di Alfredo

Così sceglie con acume e affida il compito più difficile, quello di interpretare Alfredo e Olmo, a un giovane Robert De Niro e a Gerard Depardieu. I due lavorano talmente bene che ben presto i personaggi che interpretano divenatno, per lo spettatore, quasi dei volti amici. Si parteggia per loro e si arriva ad odiare i perfidi Attila e Regina, due splendidi attori come Donald Sutherland e Laura Betti.

Laura Betti è Regina, figlia di Amelia

Donald Sutherland èAttila Melanchini, il fattore

Accanto a loro Burt Lancaster e Sterlin Hayden, credibilissimo nel ruolo del contadino dei Berlinghieri, Leo Dalcò, il bravissimo Romolo Valli nel ruolo di Giovanni e Alida Valli Stefania Sandrelli, la maestrina che sposerà Olmo e la bellissima, seducente Dominique Sanda, Ada, la moglie di Alfredo. Un cast strepitoso,; così come di grandissimo livello è la fotografia di Storaro.

!!!

Alla fine, dopo oltre 5 ore di film, si resta con il rimpianto che tutto sia finito con quella scena finale dei due amici che, ormai anziani, continuano a litigare come quando erano bambini.

Novecento, un film di Bernardo Bertolucci. Con Gérard Depardieu, Robert De Niro, Burt Lancaster, Sterling Hayden, José Quaglio, Stefania Sandrelli, Dominique Sanda, Donald Sutherland, Romolo Valli, Alida Valli, Stefania Casini, Francesca Bertini, Paul Branco, Anna Maria Gherardi, Paolo Pavesi, Tiziana Senatore, Liu Biosizio, Roberto Maccanti, Allen Midgette, Laura Betti, Ellen Schwiers, Maria Monti, Antonio Piovanelli, Anna Henkel, Werner Bruhns, Giacomo Rizzo  Drammatico, durata 315 min. – Italia 1976.

Robert De Niro: Alfredo Berlinghieri, figlio di Giovanni e Eleonora
Gérard Depardieu: Olmo Dalcò, figlio di Rosina
Burt Lancaster: Nonno Alfredo Berlinghieri, il proprietario terriero
Donald Sutherland: Attila Melanchini, il fattore
Dominique Sanda: Ada Fiastri Paulhan, moglie di Alfredo
Alida Valli: Ida Cantarelli Pioppi
Sterling Hayden: Leo Dalcò, contadino dei Berlinghieri
Stefania Sandrelli: Anita Furlan, moglie di Olmo
Werner Bruhns: Ottavio, figlio maggiore di Alfredo
Laura Betti: Regina, figlia di Amelia
Ellen Schwiers: Amelia, sorella di Eleonora
Anna Henkel: Anita, figlia di Olmo
Romolo Valli: Giovanni, figlio minore di Alfredo
Stefania Casini: Neve, la lavandaia
Francesca Bertini: Suor Desolata, sorella di Alfredo
Anna Maria Gherardi: Eleonora, moglie di Giovanni
Paolo Pavesi: Alfredo da ragazzo
Tiziana Senatore: Regina da bambina
Paulo Branco: Orso, figlio maggiore di Leo
Giacomo Rizzo: Rigoletto, il servo gobbo
Antonio Piovanelli: Turo Dalcò
Liù Bosisio: Nella Dalcò
Maria Monti: Rosina Dalcò, nuora di Leo
Roberto Maccari: Olmo da ragazzo
José Quaglio: Aranzini, un proprietario
Pippo Campanini: Don Tarcisio
Patrizia De Clara: Stella
Fabio Garriba: Contadino all’esecuzione di Attila
Sergio Serafini: Un giovane fascista
Carlotta Barilli: Una contadina
Allen Midgette: Vagabondo che scagiona Olmo
Odoardo Dall’Aglio: Oreste Dalcò
Salvatore Mureddu: Capo delle guardie rege
Catherine Kosac: Tondine
Mimmo Poli: Fascista alla riunione in chiesa
Clara Colosimo: La donna che accusa Olmo
Angelo Pellegrino: Il sarto
Pietro Longari Ponzoni: Pioppi

Olmo Dalcò, il figlio di Rosina (Gérard Depardieu)
I fascisti non sono mica come i funghi, che nascono così, in una notte. No. I fascisti sono stati i padroni a seminarli: li hanno voluti, li hanno pagati. E coi fascisti i padroni hanno guadagnato sempre di più, al punto che non sapevano più dove metterli, i soldi. Così hanno inventato la guerra , ci hanno mandato in Africa, in Russia, in Grecia, in Albania, in Spagna…ma chi paga siamo sempre noi.

Alfredo Berlinghieri, il figlio di Giovanni e Eleonora (Robert De Niro)
Dei contadini ce n’è bisogno, se no la terra va in malora. Ma il padrone? A cosa serve il padrone?

Ada Fiastri Paulhan, la moglie di Alfredo (Dominique Sanda) e Alfredo Berlinghieri, il figlio di Giovanni e Eleonora (Robert De Niro)
Mio padre ha disegnato la testa del re sui biglietti da dieci: così abbiamo sempre vissuto tra i soldi senza mai averne. Sono orfana. Tre anni fa i miei ebbero la bella idea di organizzare una spedizione alpinistica per milionari e sono scomparsi in un crepaccio sul Monte Bianco. Morti com’erano vissuti: al di sopra dei loro mezzi

Anita Foschi (Stefania Sandrelli)
Donne, l’avete sentito il padrone? La colpa è dei nostri uomini perché sono andati in guerra a farsi accoppare. La colpa è dei braccianti perché non solo lavorano, ma vogliono anche farsi pagare. La colpa è tutta nostra, che abbiamo fame, e ci viene il gozzo e la pellagra. Ed è ancora colpa nostra se ci muoiono due figli su tre. Al padrone gli va ancora bene se prendiamo un po’ del nostro grano e gli lasciamo il resto, per il momento.

Leo Dalcò, il contadino dei Berlinghieri (Sterling Hayden) e Olmo Dalcò, il figlio di Rosina (Gérard Depardieu)
Dalcò Olmo! Olmo, adesso che sei grande..vieni avanti! Ricordati questo: imparerai a leggere e a scrivere, ma resterai sempre Dalcò Olmo, figlio di paesani, andrai a fare il soldato, girerai il mondo, e dovrai anche imparare ad ubbidire, prenderai moglie, eh? ..E faticherai per tirare su i figli… Ma cosa resterai sempre?
Dalcò Olmo!
Dalcò Olmo, paesano! Avete sentito? Niente preti in questa casa.

Alfredo Berlinghieri, il proprietario terriero (Burt Lancaster)
Quando la festa sta per finire, di’ che sono morto. Digli che sono morto, ma che continuino a ballare.

Leo Dalcò, il contadino dei Berlinghieri (Sterling Hayden) e Alfredo Berlinghieri, il proprietario terriero (Burt Lancaster)
Forse la verità è che quando un uomo non fa niente per tutta la vita, ha troppo tempo per pensare.

“Metafora d’un mezzo secolo, con cui Bertolucci esercita il diritto di trasfigurare in visione l’idea che a torto o a ragione se ne è fatta, non importa molto se ‘Novecento’ è meno fedele alla storia di quanto si potrebbe pretendere da un documentario. Preme invece che abbia una sua tenuta fantastica, una sua magnificenza di romanzo fiume per immagini, una potenza di chiaroscuro che esprime la drammaticità degli eventi, e sia pure melodrammaticità, vista la destinazione popolare dell’opera.” (Giovanni Grazzini – Cinema ‘76).”Gratificato di un budget favoloso (10 miliardi, si dice), questo film-fiume si presenta con l’appariscenza di risultati tecnici proporzionali all’accolta di interpreti e di specialisti dei vari rami: la fotografia, l’interpretazione, l’ambientazione, la musica, e così via, sono perciò di notevole livello. Ciò nonostante, prescindendo dalle carenze tematiche, si ha l’impressione che la colossale impresa ecceda di molte ore le sue possibilità di presa. Infatti, se efficaci risultano alcune pagine di pittura villereccia o di spaccato borghese, la reiterazione delle stessa sa di pleonasmo, di didatticismo ad oltranza, di sproloquio comiziale e persino di furbizia commerciale. Assai più deludente, poi, è l’esame contenutistico dell’opera che, in definitiva, riteniamo mancare a qualsiasi ipotetico obiettivo per totale mancanza di equilibrio. Se vuol essere soltanto la descrizione del mondo contadino della Bassa Emilia, lo coglie nelle deteriori manifestazioni di un folklore rude e sboccato; ma lo trascura nelle ricchezze di genuinità, genorosità, spessore umano e pudore. (Segnalazioni Cinematografiche, vol. 82, 1977)”Un film di rilievo, ma non riuscito. Un film dove ci sono delle pagine molto belle, di un lirismo e di un’umanità singolari ma dove, nel contempo, non si sente l’empito della sinfonia nibelungica, l’assieme armonico di un tessuto narrativo corale, senza sbavature”. (Pierpaolo Albricci)

Santuario delle Grazie di Curtatone

Palazzo Canossa

Cimitero vecchio di Poggio Rusco

Azienda agricola Corte delle Piacentine

Eine texanische Ölfirma plant, an der Küste Nordschottlands einen Raffineriestandort anzulegen. Mitarbeiter “Mac” MacIntyre (Peter Riegert) soll stellvertretend für den Konzern die Einwohner eines kleinen Küstendorfes überreden, ihr Land an die Texaner zu verkaufen. Die sind schon Feuer und Flamme für den versprochenen Reichtum, wollen die Verhandlungen jedoch so lange wie möglich hinauszögern, um möglichst viel aus “dem Amerikaner” herauszuquetschen. So haben dieser und sein britischer Kollege Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster) einige Tage Zeit, um das kleine Örtchen und seine skurrilen Einwohner näher kennen zu lernen …

Kennt ihr sie auch, diese seltene Gattung Film, bei der die Handlung überhaupt keine Rolle spielt? Deren Charme einfach aus der merkwürdigen, skurrilen Stimmung resultiert, in die man beim Anschauen fast zwangsläufig verfällt? Ich meine, ein solcher Film ist sicherlich nicht perfekt. Hätte Sofia Coppola ihren großartigen Streifen “Lost in Translation” ohne ihr oscar-prämiertes Script gedreht, wäre so was wie Cameron Crowes “Elizabethtown” dabei rausgekommen. Zugegeben, der ist aber immer noch toll, auch wenn das Drehbuch absoluter Müll ist. Von der Sorte ist auch “Local Hero”.

Existiert das Genre “Öko-Komödie”? Ich meine, den Begriff im Zusammenhang mit “Local Hero” mal in einer Fernsehzeitung oder ähnlichem gelesen zu haben. Kurz gesagt, er trifft zu. Der eigentliche Hauptdarsteller in Bill Forsyths Werk ist nämlich die großartige Landschaft – Schottlands Norden in all seiner Pracht, untermalt von der Musik des großartigen und einzigartigen Mark Knopfler. Und wer sich jetzt noch ein klein wenig mit Geschichte und Politik auskennt und von der in den Achtzigern aufkommenden Öko-Bewegung weiß, dem ist natürlich klar, dass am Ende des Filmes keine Ölbohrungen mehr auf der Agenda stehen. Im Grunde ist das aber auch egal, denn so vorhersehbar “Local Hero” ist, so schön ist er auch.

Unsere beiden Hauptdarsteller, so skeptisch sie bei ihrer Ankunft in dem hinterwäldlerischen Kaff auch sein mögen, verlieben sich langsam, aber sicher in das abgelegene Fleckchen Land, in das ihr Auftrag sie geführt hat, und der Zuschauer macht genau diese Entwicklung auch mit – eben das ist die große Stärke des Films. Ein brilliantes Drehbuch hätte aus dieser Perle dann noch ein wahres Meisterwerk gemacht, aber man soll sich ja stets zufrieden geben mit dem, was man hat, und “Local Hero” lässt einen nach knapp zwei Stunden mit einem nachdenklichen Lächeln zurück und dem vagen Gedanken, diese Gegend sollte man sich eines Tages mal in natura anschauen. Auch wenn der Film zum Ende hin noch einmal wunderbar melancholisch gerät – beim ersten Anschauen hatte ich wirklich Tränen in den Augen. Meine Güte, wie viele Jahre ist das schon wieder her?

Wertung: 7 / 10

     The best part of the scene is Burt Lancaster’s comments that begin near the 2 minute mark.

Classic Scenes from Classic Films

If I were asked to pick a perfect movie I’d quickly name From Here to Eternity, starring Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. The 1953 drama was adapted from the best selling novel by James Jones, screenplay by Daniel Taradash, and directed by Fred Zinnemann. I consider this film cinema gold from start to finish, but for the sake of brevity I’ll focus only on the relationship between the Lancaster and Kerr characters. Sergeant Warden and Karen Holmes’ love affair is the spine of the story and is introduced and developed by screenwriter Taradash in two perfect scenes, both of which come in the first twenty minutes of the film. Neither of them involve sand, sea or sex — at least not graphic sex.

Of course, anyone who knows anything about vintage movies is familiar with the erotic scene of Sergeant Warden and Karen kissing on the beach, the one with the wave breaking over their bodies. It’s an iconic film image, and the video is very popular on YouTube, even with people who have never seen the movie. Unlike couples in most movies, this wet duo enmeshed in a torrid embrace did not meet “cute.” You might even say they met “ugly,” or at least not very “pretty.” For me, their first scene together, which comes about ten minutes after the opening credits, is sexier than the beach scene by at least a factor of ten. No blatant fireworks, but there are sparks, a subtle display of sexual tension, mixed with an interesting undercurrent of dislike, even distrust. In that short scene there is strong attraction but also implicit conflict between the characters, and conflict, as we know, is the lifeblood of drama. For me, at least in dramatic terms, conflict is sexy. The smoldering and somewhat sarcastic banter between Karen and Warden in the scene foreshadows adultery to come. Karen, we quickly learn, is married to Warden’s commanding officer.

I’ve transcribed the two scenes by using a combination of Daniel Taradash’s second draft script, which I found on the Internet, and the movie. Both scenes as shot differ somewhat from the script, and I’ll point out how the first one is changed after we read it. In that first scene we discover Sergeant Warden in front of the company supply room talking to Leva, the supply clerk (as played by Mickey Shaughnessy in a great character rendering). They watch as Karen arrives in the area looking for her husband.

LONG SHOT KAREN HOLMES FROM WARDEN AND LEVA’S ANGLE as she walks toward them. She is at a considerable distance. Karen is about thirty. She wears a sweater and skirt. She is aware the men are studying her.

MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT WARDEN AND LEVA watching Karen.

LEVA : Shooish! — her and them sweaters.

LONG SHOT KAREN FROM WARDEN AND LEVA’S POV as she continues toward them. Warden’s and Lava’s voices, loud at first, get softer and softer the nearer Karen gets to camera. At end of the shot, as she is only a few yards away, they are practically whispering.

WARDEN’S VOICE: I’ll bet she’s colder than an iceberg . . .

LEVA’S VOICE: Not her, Top, she knows the score like I been tellin you.

WARDEN’S VOICE: (sarcastic) Is that right?

LEVA’S VOICE: Listen, not around here, but I was back at Fort Bliss with Holmes. I heard plenty about this lady then. Plenty.

WARDEN’S VOICE: You did, huh?

LEVA’S VOICE: Okay, not me — but I know some of them she played ‘round with, so don’t tell me.

WARDEN’S VOICE: I ain’t tellin you. You’re tellin me.

Karen stops a few paces from camera.

KAREN: Good morning, Sergeant.

WARDEN: Morning, ma’am.

MEDIUM SHOT. Lava watches, listens avidly but discreetly in background. During the dialogue, Karen seems irritated by Warden, who looks at her coolly, appraisingly, physically.

KAREN: I’m looking for my husband.

WARDEN: Captain Holmes just went in town, ma’am. On business.

KAREN: Oh. He was to have left some things for me; do you know anything about them?

WARDEN: No I don’t, ma’am. Anything I can do for you?

KAREN: No, thanks.

WARDEN: I’d be glad to help. Ma’am.

She makes a slight move to go, then pauses.

KAREN: My husband’s been telling me a lot about you, Sergeant. He says you’re very efficient.

WARDEN: Yes, ma’am.

KAREN: What is it that makes you so efficient, Sergeant?

WARDEN: I was born smart, ma’am.

Karen laughs suddenly, quietly.

KAREN: I love that. Well goodbye, Sergeant.

Karen turns and walks back toward her car. Warden and Leva watch her. When she is out of earshot Leva speaks.

LEVA: Man, she sure is one, ain’t she?

WARDEN: One what?

LEVA: One woman.

WARDEN: (unconvincingly): I’ve seen better.

As performed, the first scene in the movie between Karen and Warden differs only slightly from the Daniel Taradash second draft script. Most of the tweaks involve a word change here and there, changes that perfectly sharpen and clarify the dialogue between the characters. The first scene is an excellent example of what experts agree are the three things an effective dramatic scene should do: Advance the story, develop (deepen) character, and establish (and/or deepen) conflict. I would add a fourth thing. A good scene should also “entertain.” The entertaining aspect may be the result of the quality of the writing or the performances or, as in this case, a combination of both. In From Here To Eternity I believe we’ve given all four elements in just about every scene throughout the movie — and that, in my opinion, is what makes it a great film.

Scene two between Sergeant Warden and Karen also has several departures from the draft script. These changes are more extensive. In fact, several lines of dialogue are cut from the end of the second draft version. I’ll talk a bit more about that after we’ve read the scene as filmed, which comes at about the twenty minute point in the movie:

EXT. BACK PORCH OF HOLMES’ HOUSE. DAY. MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT WARDEN standing outside in the rain. He wears a GI rain hat and coat. He pauses, then knocks briskly on the door of the screened porch. Karen opens the kitchen door onto the porch. She is in shorts and a blouse.

KAREN: Well, if it isn’t Sergeant Warden. You better step inside or you’ll get wet.

INT. PORCH OFF KITCHEN – DAY MEDIUM SHOT She opens the screen door and he steps onto the porch. He removes his rain hat, shaking off the raindrops.

WARDEN: I am wet.

KAREN: If you’re looking for the captain, he isn’t here.

WARDEN: (taking the long chance) And if I’m not looking for him?

KAREN: (unsmiling) He still isn’t here.

WARDEN: (quickly) Well, I’m looking for him. Do you know where he is?

KAREN: I haven’t the slightest idea. Perhaps he’s in town on business. That’s the way you put it the other day, isn’t it?

WARDEN: (fishes in his pocket, brings out papers) I got some papers it’s important for him to sign.

KAREN: (turns) I’ll try phoning him at the Club. Maybe he’s there.

WARDEN: Don’t do that. I never like to disturb a man when he’s drinking. I could use a drink my self. Aren’t you going to ask me in?

Karen finally smiles, faintly. She goes into the kitchen, leaving the door open. Warden follows her.

INT. KITCHEN HOLMES HOUSE – DAY MEDIUM SHOT The kitchen is small and undistinguished.

KAREN: (gestures): The liquor’s there, Sergeant — in the cabinet.

Warden takes a whisky bottle from the cabinet and pours a straight, stiff drink, puts the bottle on the table. He puts the papers down and drinks. Karen leans against the sink counter.

KAREN: You’re taking an awful chance, you know. My maid is liable to be home any time.

WARDEN: No she won’t. Thursday’s her day off.

KAREN: You think of everything, don’t you, Sergeant?

WARDEN: I try. In my position you have to.

KAREN: (goes to table and picks up the papers) Are these really important?

WARDEN: Yes. But not important they get signed today. Tomorrow’s okay.

Karen suddenly, deliberately, rips the papers in half, then crumbles and throws them into the wastebasket.

WARDEN: I got copies at the office, so it won’t be much work to fix them up.

Warden’s control has begun to affect Karen’s now. She is losing her poise.

KAREN: That’s what I like about you, Sergeant. You have confidence. It’s also what I dislike about you.

WARDEN: It’s not confidence, ma’am. It’s honesty. I just hate to see a beautiful woman goin all to waste.

He moves close to Karen, is on the verge of embracing her. Greatly tempted but greatly disturbed, she turns away. During her monologue she pours herself a drink. Her tone is no longer brittle. It is bitter.

KAREN: Waste, did you say, Sergeant? Now that’s a subject I might tell you something about. I know several kinds of waste, Sergeant. You’re probably not even remotely aware of some of them. Would you like to hear? For instance — what about the house without a child? There’s one sort for you. Then there’s another. (Karen takes a drink) You’re doing fine, Sergeant. My husband’s off somewhere, it’s raining outside, and we’re both drinking now. But you’ve probably got one thing wrong. The lady herself. The lady’s not what she seems. She’s a washout, if you know what I mean. And I’m sure you know what I mean.

WARDEN: You gonna cry?

KAREN: (turning away): Not if I can help it.

Warden takes a drink and puts the glass down on the table, hard enough for her to hear.

KAREN (turning back to him): What are you doing?

WARDEN I’m leaving. Isn’t that what you want?

KAREN (slowly) I don’t know, Sergeant. I don’t know.

They stare squarely at each other, both puzzled and a little afraid of their emotions. This is something neither had counted on. He goes to her and they kiss. Music up. The camera pulls back and out the window, into the rain.

FADE OUT

Now that’s one sexy scene, the sexiest in the movie, in my opinion. It’s much more erotic than that sea-soaked episode on the beach, the one that everyone remembers. Toggling back and forth between the second draft script and my tape of the movie was a revelation. I came to appreciate even more the writing skills involved, but also the contributions to the project that Kerr and Lancaster make — how subtly the nuance of facial expression, gesture, and body language communicate and reinforce emotions only hinted at on the page.

And remember that section of dialogue I mentioned that was cut from the second scene — removed either by the screenwriter in a later draft, or perhaps by the director as he shot the movie? In the Daniel Taradash second draft there was no kiss. In its place there is the following exchange, which comes after Karen says, “I don’t know, Sergeant. I don’t know.”

WARDEN: I know a beach near Diamond Head. Nobody ever goes there. The cars on the highway pass above and they never know it’s there. You feel like you used to feel when you were a kid, hiding by yourself in a cave, watching the others hunting you.

Karen turns, goes to the sink, puts the whisky bottle back in the cabinet.

KAREN: Maybe . . . why not?

WARDEN: How about Payday?

KAREN: You don’t have to spend money on me, Sergeant.

WARDEN: I just like to have some on me when I take out a woman. Can you get away?

KAREN: Maybe.

Warden grins. He goes to the door to the porch, pauses there.

WARDEN: I’ll be in Kuhio Park. Say, nine o’clock. Payday.

Karen leans back against the sink, watches him go out to the porch. A moment later the sound of the door is heard as he leaves. She turns on the faucet, starts to rinse the glasses they have used. Suddenly she turns the faucet on full force, watches it pound into the sink.

FADE OUT.

What is wrong with this second draft version of the scene? A more apt question is, What’s right with it? Take the blatant symbolism of the faucet water pounding into the sink, that’s downright corny. And the dialogue is too explicit, from Warden’s crude planning of their first “date” and it’s useless (to the audience) details. It’s all pure exposition that lacks even a suggestion of emotional nuance. Nothing is left for us to think about. Worse still, we feel nothing. We have been talked down to, led by the hand (nose) so that every thing is made perfectly (awfully) clear. Basically, we are disrespected and our intelligence is demeaned. We are insulted by being given TOO MUCH DIRECT INFORMATION.

You don’t have to be a professional screenwriter to figure out which of the two versions of that second scene between Karen and Sergeant Warden is best. It’s simple. The cuts and word changes made by the screenwriter and/or the director, enables us to connect to the story in a personal way. The same is true for the complete film. Throughout we are shown, not just told. We are allowed to feel our way into figuring it out for ourselves. The filmmakers permit us to collaborate in the creative process, and that’s what makes these two scenes — and the rest of the movie, all of which is treated with the same artful craft — so powerful. As I say, it’s a perfect film.

Copyright © 2009 Jim Sizemore.

If you have a classic scene from a classic movie that you’d like to share with the world, write it up (500-1,000 words) and send it along to jimscartoons@aol.com. I’d like to consider it for publication on the blog. Failing that, I’d at least like to know what you think of my choice in this case, pro or con.

In the preceding post we have noticed how contemporary Italian literature and cinema seldom offer wide-fresco works – they perceive the single tree more than the entire forest (read a conversation on this topic.)

Someone affirms that the secret of the forest is instead hidden in Palermo. In Palermo? Why are Palermo and Sicily so special?

While we are searching for an answer in some recent Sicilian novels, we can make a guess. Sicily, like a warm-fleshed woman lying languidly on the sea, was disputed by Greeks and Phoenicians, Spartans and Athenians, Romans and Carthaginians, and later Normans Arabs popes and emperors. Such splendid (and tormented) history might have favoured a depth, a wider look in its people and writers that the Italian (or Tuscan) literature has experienced in its best moments.

Rob has said that writers such as Lampedusa and Sciascia would have known why the secret could be hidden in Palermo.

Ψ

So we’ll look for a glimpse of such wider look in a beautiful passage from Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) by the Sicilian writer Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (1896 – 1957).

Tomasi di Lampedusa narrates how, soon after Italy’s unification, the honest Piedmont’s official Chevalley [Piedmont, at that time an advanced region, unified Italy in 1861] was sent to implore the Sicilian Prince of Lampedusa [the author's great-grandfather and protagonist of the novel, ] to represent Sicily in the new Italian Senate, “in order to remedy the state of material poverty, of blind and moral misery in which the Sicilian people find themselves, your own people!”

The Prince, smiling and inviting Chevalley to sit down with him on the couch for a while, answered with the same words he had used with some English who, before Giuseppe Garibaldi conquered Palermo, were asking what all these Northern Italians, these Garibaldini, were doing in the South of Italy.

“They are coming to teach us good manners – said to them the Prince in English – but they won’t succeed, because we are gods.“

Then at the end (with poor Chevalley in total dismay because of the Prince’s denial) the aristocrat adds that in Sicily things have not changed and will never change for that ’sense of superiority that glitters in the eye of every Sicilian, that we ourselves call pride (fierezza,) but which is actually blindness.’

An enlightening, though gloomy, reflection.

Note. This ‘pride which is actually blindness’ can be said of all great civilizations on earth that were. If we are worth for what we were, we are much much worthier for what we are.

Past greatness can be a richness, and a consolation, but it is not enough.

“My counsel says we were not aware of the extermination of the millions. He would give you the excuse: We were only aware of the extermination of the hundreds.” This quote is one of the most shocking and yet stunningly truthful quotes I have heard in a film. It is one of many shocking and intense words spoken throughout in the movie. Furthermore Judgment at Nuremberg is one of the most absorbing movies on this subject that can be seen. Even though most if not all of it is dialog it is very much a haunting film. This film is loosely based on the trials in Nuremberg in 1948. Right from the start the movie captures your mind and never lets it go.

The acting was collectively amazing. One of the best casts ever assembled which included Spencer Tracy, Montgomery Clift, Judy Garland, Richard Widmark, Burt Lancaster as well as international stars Maximilian Schell and Marlene Dietrich. It is not just the fact that this is a star studded cast that made it so great, it was the way everyone appeared to blend in together. Maximilian Schell gave the performance of his life in this film playing the defense lawyer for Burt Lancaster who give two superb narratives that will certainly stay in your mind forever. Schell’s character use of logic is that of something which will mesmerize use you whether or not you agree or disagree with what he says. Richard Widmark playing the prosecutor gave the type of supporting performance that was necessary for Schell to shine. The way both actors fed off each other was a joy to watch. Then of course the tiny appearances of Garland and Clift were excellent and worth every second they spent on camera. I usually find myself frustrated with cameos and actors receiving recognition for them but this film used cameos to their full potential plus more. Then of course Spencer Tracy and Marlene Dietrich provided such great presence and were perfect for the lead.

The direction of Stanley Kramer was spectacular as the film intensified more and more as it wore on. It was always engrossing and never let up. The writing of Abby Mann was great, filled up with great material and narratives allowing every actor in the cast to give a superb performance. There were many memorable quotes as well. The writing carried the film forward and allowed all the potential and talent to push this film to another level.

Judgement at Nuremberg is not just another movie. It is a very thought provoking movie. More than that though it is haunting. Just thinking about the course of the events being talked about in the movie became subtly haunting in a way I really didn’t expect. What was the most compelling theme of the film though was the way it illustrated how we need to as  society separate what we feel with what has to be truly done, with what is truly right.

Arrr! Damn ye, yellow-bellied sapsuckers, I’m a better man than all of ye milksops put together.

Tyrone Power em O Cisne Negro (The Black Swan, Henry King, 1942)

Burt Lancaster em O Pirata Sangrento (The Crimson Pirate, Robert Siodmak, 1952)

Matthew Modine & Geena Davis em A Ilha da Garganta Cortada (Cutthroat Island, Renny Harlin, 1995)

Sean Flynn em O Filho do Capitão Blood (Il figlio del capitano Blood, Tulio Demicheli, 1962)

Jason Isaacs & Richard Briers em Peter Pan (P.J. Hogan, 2003)

Steve Reeves em O Rei dos Piratas (Morgan il Pirata, André De Toth/Primo Zeglio, 1960)

John Matuszak em Goonies (Richard Donner, 1985)

Errol Flynn & Basil Rathbone em Capitão Blood (Captain Blood, Michael Curtiz, 1935)

Graham Chapman em O Pirata da Barba Amarela (Yellowbeard, Mel Damski, 1983)

Robert Newton em Barba Negra, O Pirata (Blackbeard - The Pirate, Raoul Walsh, 1952)

Lisa Gastoni em Le Avventure di Mary Read (Umberto Lenzi, 1961)

Douglas Fairbanks em O Pirata Negro (The Black Pirate, Albert Parker, 1926)

Johnny Depp em Piratas do Caribe (Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Gore Verbinski, 2003)

Kabir Bedi em Corsário Negro (Il Corsaro Nero, Sergio Sollima, 1976)

Gene Kelly em O Pirata (The Pirate, Vincente Minnelli, 1948)

Rod Taylor em O Pirata Real (Il Dominatore dei Sette Mari, Rudolph Maté/Primo Zeglio, 1962)

Anthony Michael Hall em Piratas da Informática/Piratas do Vale do Silício (Pirates of Silicon Valley, 1999)

Oops! Estilo errado.

Jacqueline Bisset

 

 

 

Jacqueline Bisset (born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She has been nominated for four Golden Globe Awards and an Emmy Award. Her popular films include Bullitt (1968), Airport (1970), The Deep (1977), and Class (1983). In more recent years, she has appeared in several television productions, most notably the FX series Nip/Tuck in 2006.

In 1967, Bisset was cast in the movie Two for the Road with Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney. Next, she participated in the James Bond satire, Casino Royale (1967), as Miss Goodthighs. In 1968, Mia Farrow dropped out of the movie The Detective (1968) opposite Frank Sinatra, and the role went to Bisset. That same year, she was cast in her breakout role as Steve McQueen’s girlfriend in the hit action film Bullitt. She was one of the many stars in the blockbuster disaster film Airport (1970), which co-starred Dean Martin, Burt Lancaster, Jean Seberg, and Helen Hayes among others and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Bisset often appeared with her leading men in more than one film, such as Albert Finney, Paul Newman and Anthony Perkins. She co-starred with Newman and Perkins in The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, with Newman in When Time Ran Out, with Finney in Two for the Road, Under the Volcano and the ensemble mystery Murder on the Orient Express, also starring Perkins and Sean Connery.

She is the main character in Luigi Comencini’s La donna della domenica in 1975. In 1977, Bisset made strides towards becoming a better-known entertainer in America with her movie The Deep, co-starring Robert Shaw and Nick Nolte, where swimming underwater wearing nothing under her T-shirt helped make the film a box office success, leading the producer Peter Guber to say, “That T-shirt made me a rich man,”. At the time, Newsweek declared her “the most beautiful film actress of all time.” About that time, a small film Bisset had made some years earlier was re-released in the United States under the title Secrets. That movie featured the only extensive nude scenes of Bisset’s career and the producers cashed in on her fame.

By 1978, she was a household name. She earned her first Golden Globe nomination for the comedy Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? Soon thereafter, she played in the movies Rich and Famous (1981) with Candice Bergen, Class (1983) with Rob Lowe and Under the Volcano (1984) with Albert Finney, for which she earned her a second Golden Globe nomination. In 1996, she was nominated for a César Award, for her role in La Cérémonie. Bisset has worked with such directors as François Truffaut, John Huston, George Cukor, and Roman Polanski. Several of her movies are French or Italian productions.

Bisset has appeared in made-for-TV movies, especially during the last decade. She received an Emmy Award nomination for the 1999 miniseries Joan of Arc. Other notable projects include the Emmy-nominated epics Jesus (1999) and In the Beginning (2001) with Martin Landau. She has also made guest appearances on Ally McBeal and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. One of her later TV movies, in 2003, was America’s Prince: The John F. Kennedy Jr. Story, in which she portrayed Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. In 2005, she appeared in Domino with Keira Knightly. Bisset’s most recent television work was a recurring role as the mysterious James, during the fourth season of the FX series Nip/Tuck. She starred in the lead role of Boaz Yakin’s Death in Love which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and is about “a Jewish concentration-camp survivor whose willing romance with the camp’s Nazi doctor—a man who tortured her fellow prisoners—destroys the lives of her American husband and their two sons 50 years later”.

 Trivia:

Her first job was a waitress in a Chinese restaurant.

Favorite films: Brief Encounter (1945), Splendor in the Grass (1961).

Favorite actresses: Jeanne Moreau, Jessica Lange

Favorite actors: Marlon Brando, Anthony Hopkins, Montgomery Clift

Her most fulfilling role: “Julie” in François Truffaut’s “Day for Night” (La nuit américaine (1973).

Her favorite scene: fighting with Anthony Quinn in The Greek Tycoon (1978).

Godmother of actress Angelina Jolie.

Measurements: 36C-24-36 1/2 (as starlet 1973), 37C/D-25-36 (filming The Deep (1977) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).

Member of the jury at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2001

No relation to Josie Bissett.

She said her last name is pronounced “Bissit” and rhymes with “Kiss it”.

Had long-term relationships with Michael Sarrazin (1968-1974), Victor Drai (1975-1980), Alexander Godunov (1981-1988), Vincent Perez (1988-1993) and Emin Boztepe (1995-2005).

Reignited her romance with Emin Boztepe [August 27, 2009].

Hollywood gossip has linked her with Frank Sinatra and Ryan O’Neal.

Reportedly had an affair with co-star Steve McQueen while they were filming Bullitt (1968). They remained friends until his death, and Jacqueline narrated a documentary about his life titled “Steve McQueen: the Essence of Cool.”