Man attends his own funeral! That’s the dream.

Speaking of the end of the world, could see Dick Cheney running for President in 2012?

The fuckers want to do a new TV version of fucking Charlie’s Fucking Angels.

“Is it any wonder I can’t sleep?”

Top 10 snipers in history.

Sean Connery was having sex with women at a very young age.

Missing girl recites fantasy novel but cannot remember own name.

Fuck off, Beard Rock.

William Goldman and Harold Pinter.

Woman wants webcam to replace her lost eye, see above.

Accidental dong.

An interview with Costa-Gavras.

Greyhound now offering direct service from Kansas to L.A. porn director’s driveway.

Why do some people see ghosts and others don’t?

David Brooks calls Sarah Palin a joke, and here’s the punchline: He’s right.

Gay sex scenes censored in From Here To Eternity.

Physicists: It’s what we don’t know that scares us.

Forever haunted by man’s suicide.

“Enforcement Routine.”

A few links before the weekend:

• The Wall Street Journal interviews Cormac McCarthy about film adaptations of McCarthy’s books, the end of the world, and various other things you’d expect McCarthy to talk about.
• The Daily Beast interviews Matthew Weiner about the end of Mad Men’s third season and where the show goes from here.
• Oxford University has digitized a collection of Siegfried Sassoon’s papers compiled from various archives.  Fittingly, the material went live on Armistice Day.  (For anyone interested in Sassoon and the war poets, it is worth checking out the other collections in Oxford’s First World War Poetry Digital Archive.)
• In a not too surprising revelation, the daughter of author James Jones writes that Scribner’s requested Jones to edit From Here to Eternity for both profanity and depictions of gay sex among soldiers at Pearl Harbor.
• Christopher Borelli lists “10 underrated depictions of the apocalypse,” if that’s your thing.
• And, because I can’t let this Spanish Civil War stuff drop, Michael Portillo’s recent article on why Spain should not exhume bodies from its civil war is thoughtful and well-reasoned, although I disagree with a lot of what he says.

According to whoever edited the Electro House entry on Wikipedia, ‘this style is said to have originated in 2005′. There is also a nice little citation needed reminder right next to it. It’s been there for a while.

Now I am really concerned that little kids are going to go researching Electro House for school, find this entry on Wikipedia, and forever believe that ‘the most obvious precursor to the modern electro house scene is the electroclash movement of the early 2000s.’

We must protect our children from spurious dance music categorizations.

Our Wiki friend above probably thinks that a dance genre is created the day Ultra Records releases a ‘David Waxman Presents Deadmeat Presents Ultra Electro Maximum House’ CD.

Not exactly.

Let Uncle Brown take you back, way back, to the heady late 70s. That, children, is when the true seeds of Electro were scattered. That’s where we’re going to start!

And now, presenting ‘Great Moments in Electro’:

Giorgio Moroder: From Here to Eternity

Legend has it that Moroder’s mustache actually released several underground records of its own during the 80s. These are said to be extremely hard to find and worth millions of Lira. The style is apparently called ‘Hairy House’ or ‘Hirsute House’. Whichever you prefer.

“Italian-born producer Giorgio Moroder built Musicland Studio in Munich in 1969 and, with partner Pete Bellotte, proceeded to invent electronic dance music. Not only did he revolutionize the budding disco movement with his digitally powered “four-on-the-floor” bass drum pulse, but also more than any other 70s artist, he was responsible for contributing to the birth of house and techno. His productions for Donna Summer are perhaps his greatest achievements in the decade, but the apex of his solo work is 1977’s From Here to Eternity . This brilliant record glides by with the ebb and flow of a modern DJ mix, sparkling with audiophile-precise sound and arguably the finest vocoder vocals in history. The entire first side of the original LP contains five songs morphed together into one mega-mixed suite of hedonistic minimalism; when he croons, “Baby gives sweet loving, leaves me meaning nothing,” he intones the gospel for disco nymphs and club culture forever more. –Dominique Leone-Pitchfork’s Top 100 Albums of the 70s”

Couldn’t have said better meself, Dominique. You have superb taste in music.

Let’s see here:
Funky Vocoders: Check
Kicking drum machine groove: Check
Percolating synth arpeggio: Check
Swirling bassline: Er, check.

Sounds like Electro House to me…
And, that bassline is clearly the inspiration for the legendary Donna Summer sex piece I Feel Love. Which makes Eternity the father of Love. Ah, how deep…

I gotta hand it to my good friends at Trackitdown.net! They stuck with just ‘Electro’ pure and simple from 2006-2008, but then had no choice but to cave in to the genrification (ooh madam, I think I just invented a word) fad and add the House.

Dorwałam kolekcję “The Best Of Filmy Wojenne” i nadrabiam swoje zaległości w tym zakresie. Przy okazji odbyłam z bratem interesującą dyskusję na temat klasyfikacji gatunkowej filmów – ja obstawiałam za tym, że filmy obozowe i ogólnie o cywilach nie zaliczają się do kina wojennego. Brat był innego zdania i ja też w pewnej chwili zwątpiłam, ale przecież nie przyznam mu już racji.

Nieważne – obejrzałam “Stąd do wieczności” i nawet był niezły, chociaż na finałową rozpierduchę trzeba czekać ponad półtorej godziny (ale warto – jak na tamte czasy robi wrażenie). Jak w każdym starym filmie amerykańskim (ten jest z 1953 roku) aktorzy grają przez większość czasu jak drewno, patetyczna muzyka wybucha w najmniej spodziewanych momentach, a pocałunki polegają na wciśnięciu twarzy w twarz partnerki. Ale przy zaakceptowaniu specyfiki Hollywoodu tamtych lat da się obejrzeć bez bólu, a nawet z zainteresowaniem.

Nie czytałam książki, na podstawie której zapisano scenariusz i, biorąc pod uwagę jej objętość, raczej nie przeczytam. Zmiany są w każdym razie spore i wypaczające sens powieści, ale inaczej się nie dało i trudno – należy docenić, że i tak obraz amerykańskiej armii jest dość krytyczny.

Parę słów o obsadzie: za mało Mickey’a Shaughnessy! Jest na ekranie ledwie kilka minut, ale jego cwaniaczkowata postać jest odegrana genialnie. Następnie Frank Sinatra, zwłaszcza w scenie, kiedy mówi Prewittowi, żeby był cicho, jak będą go bić. Deborah Kerr w roli puszczalskiej szmaty też niezła i w mokrych włosach prezentowała się rzeczywiście seksownie. Burt Lancaster dawał radę. Monty Clift bez rewelacji.

Ale wszystko to blednie przy moim odkryciu i nowej miłości – a imię jej Donna Reed:

Śliczna, bardzo naturalna i ogólnie cu-do-wna. Na zdjęciach tak tego nie widać, dlatego warto obejrzeć “Stąd do wieczności” właśnie dla niej. Ostatni raz byłam pod takim wrażeniem oglądając Avę Gardner w “Nocy Iguany”.
Tak prezentowała się w filmie jako panienka do towarzystwa:

Chcę ją na swojej ścianie!

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.

It has been said that “a teacher that ceases to learn ceases to teach” or “teachers are life long learners.”  You can also tell a lot about a person or at lest their current state by observing what they are reading or in other words, “their teachers.”

So I just wanted to let you peer into my life and mind a little by sharing what I’m reading at the moment.  I frustrate my wife in how I read.  One, I read slowly or at least much slower than her.  Two, I always have 4 - 6 books on the hook and 3 – 4 waiting in the wings.  Here’s what I’m chewing on:

ON THE HOOK

The Normal Christian Life – Watchman Nee

The Watchers – Mark Andrew Olsen

Finding Organic Church – Frank Viola

The Rabbit and The Elephant – Tony & Felicity Dale, George Barna

Organic Leadership – Neil Cole

 IN THE WINGS

So Beautiful - Leonard Sweet

From Eternity to Here - Frank Viola

Organic Community - Joseph R. Myers

Atlantis- David Gibbins

What are you reading?

Jakoś tak się dziwnie złożyło, że wszystkie filmy, które ostatnio widziałam, traktują o miłości. Fakt, że mam do romansideł wszelkiej maści słabość, ale naprawdę nie dobierałam mojej listy odtwarzania pod kątem atrakcyjności wątku miłosnego.Takie historie chyba same mnie znajdują Tak czy inaczej, zapraszam na mały przegląd.

27 sukienek (27 dresses)

Jako że film zapowiadał się na sztampową komedię romantyczną, ani by mi do głowy przyszło wydać na niego jakiekolwiek pieniądze, pewnie nawet nie chciałoby mi się go ściągnąć na dysk. Szczęśliwie jakiś dobry człowiek umieścił całość na tvfilmy.pl (istnienie tej strony jest jaskrawym triumfem piractwa, tak swoją drogą), więc nie mając lepszego pomysłu na samotny wieczór, włączyłam “27 sukienek”.

Nie pomyliłam się – to rzeczywiście jest wybitnie sztampowa komedia romatyczna. Atrakcyjny pan (James Marsden, nawet niezłe ciasteczko, choć raczej wieczny chłopiec niż silny prawdziwy mężczyzna) spotyka atrakcyjną panią, która to dwudziesty siódmy raz jest druhną na weselu. On natomiast żyje z opisywania wesel, ale tak naprawdę nimi pogardza. Oczywiście z początku się nie lubią, a ona kocha się w kimś innym, ale i tak nikt nie ma wątpliwości jak się całość zakończy. Happy end nie jest więc żadnym zaskoczeniem, podobnie jak droga do niego – chociaż całość ogląda się bardzo, bardzo przyjemnie. Taki film – lekarstwo na smuteczki, pms-a czy  cokolwiek psującego humor. Jest ładnie, kolorowo, w tle przygrywa przyjemna muzyczna, Katherine Heigl nosi urocze tytułowe sukienki, a Marsden błyszczy uśmiechem. Oczywiście scenarzyści starają się przemycić kilka mądrości życiowych, żeby widz miał wrażenie, że wychodzi z kina lepszy, ale nie spodziewajmy się cudu – choć myśl, że najpiękniejsza na ślubach jest mina pana młodego, gdy widzi wybrankę idącą do ołtarza jest na tyle interesująca, że muszę ją kiedyś zweryfikować Bardzo porządny i reprezentatywny przedstawiciel gatunku lekkich komedyjek romantycznych. Dla miłośniczek gatunku jak znalazł, dla facetów – jak przypuszczam – koszmar.

Kiedy Harry poznał Sally (When Harry met Sally)

Skoro już o komediach romantycznych mowa, stwierdziłam że nadeszła pora na zapoznanie się z jednym z największych (zapewne po “Pretty Woman”) klasyków gatunku. Tyle się mówi o słynnej scenie w kawiarni, najbardziej znanym udawanym orgazmie w historii kina i tak dalej, że jako sympatyczka historii o miłości nie chciałam dłużej pozostawać w niewiedzy.

Z początku oglądało się ciężko – film jest moim równolatkiem, co widać po sposobie prowadzenia akcji, montażu, ubiorach bohaterów. Tak się jakoś składa, że o ile najlepiej ogląda mi się filmy nowe, a do tych najstarszych podchodzę z dużą wyrozumiałością, to te z etapu przejściowego – a z lat 80. szczególnie – podchodzą mi średnio. Było tym bardziej trudno, że do tego filmu zasiadłam tuż po obejrzeniu “27 sukienek”, tak współczesnych jak to możliwe, więc przeskok był spory.

“Kiedy Harry poznał Sally” opowiada historię bardzo prostą i nie obfitującą w spektakularne wydarzenia – oglądamy dwanaście lat z życia dwojga przyjaciół, ich związki, wzloty i upadki, a przede wszystkim zacieśnianie się więzi między Harrym i Sally. W jakimś momencie przyjaciele się zapominają i lądują razem w łóżku, co utrudnia i tak nie do końca oczywiste relacje między nimi – i to chyba najbardziej spektakularne wydarzenie filmu. Tu się głównie spaceruje po Nowym Jorku i rozmawia, nierzadko na poważne tematy. Wszystko w ciepłej, pełnej czułości atmosferze.

Nie wiem na czym to polega, że po obejrzeniu pewnych filmów szybko o nich zapominają, a inne – choć z początku nie wywierają kolosalnego wrażenia – powoli w nas “rosną” i pozostaję na długo. “Kiedy Harry…” zdecydowanie należy do tej drugiej kategorii. Im dłużej o tym myślę, tym bardziej doceniam jego dyskretny urok i mądrość. Poza tym Billy Crystal – do którego określenie “przystojny” nie bardzo pasuje, a “macho” w ogóle – może służyć za przykład wszystkim hollywoodzkim aspirantom na księcia z bajki. Czego nie dała mu natura, zagrał spojrzeniem, mową ciała. A Meg Ryan – mimo, że nie pałam do niej większą sympatią – nie była ani trochę irytująca

Szczerze polecam. Tylko nie oczekujcie szalonych pościgów samochodowych albo pękania ze śmiechu.

Stąd do wieczności (From here to eternity)

To, że ten film znalazł się w moim wpisie o historiach miłosnych, jest dla mnie samej sporym zaskoczeniem. 55-letni obraz jest bowiem adaptacją książki Jamesa Jonesa o tym samym tytule, w której owszem, pojawia się wątek miłosny, i to niejeden, ale nie nazwałabym go głównym. Tym czasem oglądając ekranizację miałam chwilami wrażenie, że romans Karen i Wardena, jakkolwiek interesujący, pojawia się za często.

W ogóle jeśli chodzi o “Stąd do wieczności”, to byłam ciekawa jak w dwie godziny upchnięto świetne, ale opasłe tomiszcze, pełne pobocznych wątków i przede wszystkim szokujących (jak na tamte czasy) scen. Otóż mówiąc brzydko – historię wykastrowano. U Jamesa co chwilę ktoś “miał trypra”, Klub “Congress” był ekskluzywnym burdelem, a Honolulu roiło się od “pedryli” będących ostatnią deską ratunku dla tych żołnierzy, którzy nie mieli pieniędzy na heteroseksualną dziwkę. Historia Karen też była, nie powiem, dość pikantna. Tym czasem w filmie paskudnie wszystko złagodzono albo przemilczano; rozumiem, w latach 50. pewnych spraw w kinie po prostu nie było – ale to właśnie te zakazane tematy Jones opisał najlepiej. Bez nich historia wiele traci.

Poza tym wiele wątków wycięto – w tym niesamowicie ważny pobyt Prewitta w obozie karnym, niektóre postaci wycięto, dwie połączono w jedną, i tak dalej. Na moje nieszczęście jestem zwolenniczką wiernych ekranizacji – oczywiście na tyle, na ile to możliwe; nie oczekuję niewolniczej wierności oryginałowi literackiemu. Dlatego “Stąd do wieczności” pozostawiało wiele do życzenia.

Nie chcę, żeby mnie źle zrozumiano – to dobry film. Zrealizowany z rozmachem, z wyśmienitą obsadą. Niewątpliwie wiele scen było w nim godnych zapamiętania. Jak to zauważył jakiś recenzent – “Stąd do wieczności” okrutnie się postarzało, ale obejrzeć warto – żeby przekonać się, co znaczy porządna filmowa robota.

Wojna domowa (Easy virtue)

Wszyscy kochamy wierne tłumaczenia tytułów… ech, nieważne.

Na ten film się wybierałam do kina bez końca, ale nie wpadłszy na pomysł, kto byłby skłonny mi towarzyszyć, obejrzałam w domowym zaciszu dzięki ulubionemu tvfilmy.pl . Może to i dobrze, bo teraz tym bardziej nie wiem, z kim mogłabym go oglądać.

Mój problem polega na tym, że nie do końca umiem powiedzieć o czym “Wojna domowa” właściwie opowiada. To znaczy – streszczenie fabuły nie jest problemem: wystrzałowa Amerykanka wychodzi za młodziutkiego Anglika i walczy ze strrrraszliwą teściową, a wszystko to w uroczym klimacie lat dwudziestych (uwielbiam). Z początku śmiesznie i pogodnie, wraz z rozwojem akcji wychodzą na jaw coraz to nowe, mroczne, smutne i trudne sekrety każdego z bohaterów. Pod koniec naprawdę trudno się uśmiechać, bo wydaje się, że nic się dobrze nie skończy… ale serwuje się nam może nie cukierkowe, ale jednak nazbyt szczęśliwe zakończenie. Wszystko to bardzo mylące, choć – przyznaję – przez to całkiem ciekawe.

Sporo było dobrych pomysłów w tym filmie, jednak mam wrażenie, że żadnego nie zrealizowano porządnie do końca. Choćby przeszłość bohatera granego przez Colina Firtha – coś tam muśnięto, coś zapachniało dramatem, ale niejasno i nie do końca. Jessica Biel – piękna kobieta – konsekwentnie była fatalnie charakteryzowana (albo to tylko moje wrażenie, że ten kanarkowy blond na włosach dodawał jej sto lat), natomiast Ben Barnes – dla którego tak naprawdę ten film oglądałam – był tak rażąco bezbarwny i aseksualny, że z miejsca straciłam zainteresowanie tym aktorem. Może w “Dorianie Grayu” się odkuje. Na plus muszę jednak wymienić Krisa Marshalla jako zgryźliwego kamerdynera – mało widać tego aktora, a szkoda, bo moim zdaniem ma wielki talent komediowy. No i przede wszystkim warto było sięgnąć po film, żeby zobaczyć potrójne uderzenie: Colin Firth-frak-tango.

Ach.

Z mieszanymi uczuciami, ale jednak polecam “Wojnę domową” – bo jest nieoczywista. Ale trzeba mieć choć trochę słabości do filmów kostiumowych żeby się naprawdę spodobała

Casablanca

No i wreszcie – wisienka na czubku tortu. Nie wiem jak ja się uchowałam nie obejrzawszy dotąd tego dzieła – bo mało jest rzeczy równie kultowych. Znałam anegdoty z planu, znałam cytaty, a historii dotąd nie znałam.

Podczas seansu czułam się dziwnie – bo właściwie każda scena, którą widziałam była cytowana i parafrazowana tyle razy, że trudno było zapomnieć, że mam do czynienia z legendą. Z tym że to nie jest legenda w rodzaju zakurzonego eksponatu muzealnego, który zwiedzają wycieczki zblazowanych gimnazjalistów. Tę historię się przeżywa, nadal wywołuje emocje. Co znaczące – dylemat Ilsy jest nadal aktualny, oglądające film kobiety do dziś zastanawiają się, czy wybrałyby Ricka czy Laszlo. Zastanawiam się ile filmów za sześćdziesiąt z okładem lat będzie miało nadal siłę wzruszania i przyciągania kolejnych widzów.

Jasne, można się śmiać z dekoracji, nie trawić nieco teatralnej miejscami gry aktorskiej. Tylko są chwile, kiedy bycie widzącym wszystkie błędy tetrykiem odziera kino z magii. A ‘Casablanca’ niewątpliwie była robiona przez filmowych magików.

Vikar checks in for the Roosevelt hotel and asks for room 928, where Montgomery Clift lived after making A Place in the Sun, during the filming of From Here to Eternity.

The hotel clerk asks Vikar if he’s seen Easy Rider. A Place in the Sun is referenced again in this conversation.

Someone To Drive You Home cover, Rough Trade 2006/2007; image courtesy of pitchfork.com

Two areas I don’t recall covering in the blog so far are 1) bands whose songs focus on cinephilia and 2) female musicians who use their visual arts training in the service of their bands. Today, we can focus on both by considering The Long Blondes’ debut full-length Someone To Drive You Home and lead singer Kate Jackson’s artwork for said album.

So I’m new to this band, who I guess are no longer a band. That’s a bummer, but at least I’ve had fun pumping this album at full volume in my car this past week as the skies became increasingly overcast. And singing at full volume. As my friend Brea mentioned in her entry about records that made her a feminist, it’s important for women and girls to find singers whose vocal ranges match their own. It’s really true. Perhaps we could think of it as double-identification — being able to relate to a female singer’s persona as conveyed through her lyrics, performance style, fashion sense or whatever on one level and being able to replicate, mirror, or blend her tone, pitch, and timbre with your own. However we want to theorize it, I’m glad that my notes can work with Jackson’s strong, supple alto. 

Matching a singer’s range also makes shouting easier. I love Animal Collective, but screaming along to Avey Tare doesn’t make any sense for me. We can try and make it queer or whatever, but it really just feels silly and strained to my throat and ears. Screaming “Edie Sedgwick! Anna Karina! Arlene Dahl!” along with Jackson, on the other hand, makes perfect sense. 

Edie Sedgwick; image courtesy of fashionista.com

The opening track, appropriately titled “Lust In the Movies,” is a good transition into the defunct band’s cinephilic leanings. Indeed, the movies are everywhere. Specifically movies from the post-war era, a considerable amount of them of the film noir tradition or have some kind of sinister edge, while others are campy b-movies that have since cashed in on retro chic. 

Imagined film snob boys corrupt willing schoolgirls with Russ Meyer films in “Fulwood Babylon.” Girls want to be cool enough for the movies that play in film snob boys’ heads in “Lust in the Movies.” A boy and a girl compare themselves to C.C. Baxter, The Apartment’s love-lorn protagonist in “You Could Have Both.” Obscure references to British celebrities of the 1940s and 1950s like Hattie Jacques and Peter Rogers thread through break-up narratives like “Five Ways to End It.” Greta Garbo is looked upon with envy (and irony?) as the woman who snagged all the handsome men in “Never to Be Repeated.” “Only Lovers Left Alive” is inspired by Fred Zinnemann’s From Here to Eternity, a romantic sentiment perhaps echoed in Jackson’s sleeve art, which references Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern’s frenzied lovers in David Lynch’s Wild at Heart.

As many of these movies are classic Hollywood, iconographic art house, and/or have the Criterion stamp of approval, we might call them films instead of movies, if the writer of this blog held fast to making such a distinction.

Now, we could get into a discussion of what this means in terms of prefence and why more clearly feminist classics don’t get shout-outs like, say, Douglas Sirk’s All That Heaven Allows, Agnès Varda’s Cléo de 5 à 7, or Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Maybe they haven’t seen these movies. Maybe they thought the last movie I mentioned was boring (with a 200-minute running time, that has kept me from seeing it, though it is in my Netflix queue). However, I’d hazard to guess that the Russ Meyer reference in “Fulwood Babylon” might be done with a bit of feminist cheek, and while I have trouble reading the nuances of intentional camp in Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, I’m sure my friend Curran would smile and nod in recognition of the reference.

And yet. I find how film references are used in these songs to be particularly interesting. For one, I think especially in “Lust in the Movies” and “Fulwood Babylon,” a critique is being made by Kate (and her chorus of singing fans) against the sorts of boys who live in movies (perhaps including Dorian Cox, a former Long Blonde who co-wrote the majority of the album with Jackson). These boys are too busy looking for Edie Sedgwick, Anna Karina, and Arlene Dahl to notice the real woman in front of them. Fools. 

For another, I find the blurring between fantasy and reality, the projected and the lived, the fantastical and the mundane heartening and relateable. Many of these songs are not actually about being in the movies, but wishing you could be or pretending you are to get over a failed relationship, get through your boring day job, get ready for a night out, get in the car to leave town, or simply get through your 20s.

There’s a lot of humanity in these songs, particularly between women and girls. Two lonely girls flee their humdrum lives together in “Separated By Motorways.” A spurned lover empathizes hopes her ex’s new love fares better than she did after the break-up in “Heaven Help the New Girl.” A twentysomething tells a 19-year-old girl that she’s going to get through that stupid, cursed age in “Once and Never Again,” a solidarity anthem so catchy and sweet that I just requested it be added to the Karaoke Underground song list. Won’t that one feel great singing with a gaggle of drunk girls? I think so. 

And while the movies being referenced aren’t explicitly feminist (or argued and/or championed as such by theoretically florid film scholars), I’d argue that there’s much going on with the female movie icons that Jackson’s and her songs’ protagonists (which may be iterations of herself) identify. Having brought up Sedgwick, Karina, Dahl, Garbo, this is where I’ll fold in Jackson’s spare, mysterious cover. The woman in the cover is recognizable to many as Bonnie Parker, as played by Faye Dunaway in Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde, a divisive and galvanizing picture that marked a sea change in American cinema, upped the ante for screen violence, reflected the shift in generational values, presupposed the turbulent year that would be 1968, and made thousands of women cut and straighten their hair into sleek bobs by Dunaway’s influence. It might have made them want to tote guns, fire bullets, and rob banks too. In short, this was seen as a dangerous film that still holds some cache as a countercultural, generational text that appeals to men and women.

Some of those women may still be shuffling through their 20s, figuring it out. They might not be compelled to rob a bank, but they might be tempted to quit their job, or at least bitch about work at the local bar. And there’s something nice about being reassured that someone, whether a movie character or a friend, will be there to drive you home. Even if your car is riddled with bullet holes.

Shall I get condoms?

Silence.

It’s like having band-aids in the house, I said. Good to have around. Just in case.

I turned to my son, saw the grin, and made one of those critical parental decisions. The kind you feel in your gut.

I’m long past being embarrassed when I purchase anything. Well, almost. It was a Kroger day… groceries, then pharmaceuticals.

I went for Trojans. Can’t help but picture a huge horse, Brad Pitt, those pecs. I’m only human. Shit. Were there more choices than there used to be?

I grabbed two boxes, one blue and the other purple. Why not? A girl can dream.

Greasy burgers

I’m short, he said.

Money. Again.

How much? Where are you going?

Seven, he replied. Burgers.

Conversation is monosyllabic these days. I’ve learned to expect it, and not take it personally. I also know that seven means ten, then the quick walk to the local burger place to buy greasy little minis. He and his friend will stuff themselves over video games.

I dug through my pockets, and handed him two fives.

Evening edits

The swarm of adolescent boys was larger and noisier than usual. The nightly visits are on the upswing again, with imminent college departures. I need to block their sound to keep editing. TV. It always works.

The night before it was From Here to Eternity, and I couldn’t help but wait for the famous scene… Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster stretched out on the beach, their bodies pressed together, waves crashing against them. She was gorgeous, and he was hot. He moved like a powerful animal ready to pounce on his prey. Ripped and dangerous. 

White Palace, no cougars

White Palace was on cable, uncut. Susan Sarandon and James Spader, late 80s, predictable plot of unsuitable older woman and troubled younger man. But chemistry, characters, and strong performances. Just what the doctor ordered.

20 years ago no one used the term “cougar.” No doubt the age difference in the script (17 years) would be just as hard to swallow today as it was then. Unless you’re talking celebrities. Ironically, Sarandon herself ended up with a much younger man – Tim Robbins – and they’ve built a life together.

No one’s calling her a cougar. I can’t help but fume over the sexist and ageist attitude towards women pairing up with younger men. Still.

Twisted Pleasure

He was standing over me, holding something. I looked up.

What does this mean?

A four-word sentence. It must be important.

Excuse me? I said.

He hesitated. What does it mean, Twisted Pleasure? And all these other names? What difference… exactly… does all this make?

Shit. I’d put fancy condoms in their bathroom, and the regular ones were tossed on my dresser with the Excedrin, Neosporin, and cotton balls. And I didn’t have an answer. I remembered something called a French Tickler, from a lifetime ago. But I had no recent experience relative to “non-standard” products of this nature.

I took the box and turned it over. Great! There were illustrations.

Look on the back, I said. As for how well these work…

He flushed redder, and interrupted me.

Never mind, he said.

I pointed. There’s another box, on my dresser.  He took them and exited fast, shaking his head. Muttering.

“Waste, did you say?”

There’s a great scene in From Here to Eternity – one I paid attention to, the night before. It’s 1941, an Army base, just before Pearl Harbor. Kerr plays an unhappily married officer’s wife, who enters into a steamy, adulterous affair with Lancaster’s character, Sergeant Warden.

His take on her, initially? Just another score. A bored,  one-dimensional tramp. She sets him straight, in this scene:

Lancaster: I just hate to see a beautiful woman going all to waste.

Kerr: Waste, did you say? There’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?... My husband’s off somewhere, and it’s raining outside, and we’re both drinking now. You’ve probably only got one thing wrong. The lady herself. The lady’s not what she seems…

I thought about those words. About waste and a woman’s so-called prime. A long, quiet marriage. Appearances.

I thought about men. Younger men. Twisted pleasure.

Apparently, around here, it’s the next generation taking up the torch, or considering it. Safely at least.

Empties

The next morning, out in the kitchen, there were some kind of little wrappers strewn across the table. Someone was asleep on the couch; his (or her) back to me. I imagine there was another one in the storage-closet-turned-guestroom.

I put my glasses on. Just packages from the burgers.

© D A Wolf

Big Little Wolf’s Daily Plate of Crazy

I was aware, like most of the free world, that the season debut of Mad Men aired last night on AMC. The adventures of Don Draper in the era of pointy brassierred , hard drinking advertising life have not escaped my attention. Alas, I was otherwise engaged in my weird, non-kinky, Sunday night guilty pleasure. I was watching Ice Road Truckers. Yes, that Ice Road Truckers. The one in which Thom Beers narrates the stories of six truck drivers as they drive north along the ice roads of Alaska. Also the same program in which Thom Beers narrates the stories of said drivers going south along the ice road. Nobody on the program drinks, has an extra-marital affair, a gay lover (that we know of). Nooo, they just drive up and down the same road over and over (yeah, and over). Let me just say that I love this show. For reasons I can not fully explain I really like watching the truckers drive to Prudhoe Bay and back. Over and Over (yeah, and over). The show is Zen-like. It’s like watching a Chia Pet grow, or toast dry. Witness the excitement as driver Alex drinks coffee in Coldfoot! Gasp in horror as trucker Lisa puts on snow chains!You’ll wretch in terror as the ice melts on the road! I think this show is such a rottenly guilty pleasure, because it takes me back to the days of being seven. Sure, I railed on Friday against wanton nostalgia, but this is my one nod to being a little kid. I like machinery.  I should watch the mature show about sexy early sixties life, but somehow I’m glued to trucks driving through snow. I don’t feel guilty very much lately, but here are a few of my other confessed weird life obsessions (i.e., guilty pleasures):

• Wacky Packages. I spent a great deal of time during the late 70’s and early 80’s wallpapering the world with these obscenely dumb stickers. When I see a display in the store for revised versions, I scoop them up. The crude, grade school artwork and smell of gum take me back on the nostalgia trip. Even if I don’t want to make that trip.
• Sketches of Spain.The marriage of Miles Davis and Gil Evans was never more beautiful than on Concierto De Aranjuez.
• From Here To Eternity. Seriously, if you’re going to nostalgia trip and re-make the past, use the good stuff. Stone-faced Burt Lancaster, Over emoting Deborah Carr, doomed-in-every movie Montgomary Clift and, of course, Old Blue Eyes. This was just a knock out movie. TCM ran it last weekend and I ended up watching it end to end for the third or fourth time.
• Bruce Lee. Not only a unique performer that crossed generational lines, but a physical fitness pioneer. If you can find his books or interviews, check ‘em out.

“The music was the engine of the life. If there had been no music, there would have been no immense obituaries and no televised farewells. To be sure, Sinatra was one of those figures whose art is often overshadowed by the life…In the end, only the work matters. Sinatra’s finest work was making music.”

From Pete Hamill’s book, Why Sinatra Matters.

The Chairman of the Board was one of Frank Sinatra’s nicknames, due in part to his vague connections to the mob world, along with his immense celebrity status and business sense.

“Sinatra established the precedent for major artists to take on record companies and manage their own business affairs. He founded his own record company, Reprise Records, in 1961 and demonstrated that artists could take artistic and business control of their own affairs. He contributed to an ethos of independence in celebrity culture and virutally pioneered the tradition of the popular vocalist as auteur.”

From the book Frank Sinatra, by Chris Rojek.

Well into the digital age, it’s interesting to consider what this superstar did in the early 1960s of the United States, when he wasn’t happy with his current industry arrangements – he started his own record label. But note the significant difference when compared to other artists who have started their own record labels: you’ve heard of this one, and it still exists.

Throughout his entertainment career, Sinatra accomplished a couple of things (from Sinatra.com): 11 Grammy Awards, Grammy Hall of Fame Award, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and Legend Award; Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, 1954 (From Here to Eternity); Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Medal of Honor Award, 1983; Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded by President Ronald Reagan, 1985; Congressional Gold Medal, 1997; Inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame, 1980; Lifetime Achievement Award from the NAACP, 1987; 3 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from the Stevens Institute of Technology, 1985; performed on more than 1,800 musical recordings and amassed an annual income estimated at the end of his career in the tens of millions of dollars; this includes income from concerts, recordings, real estate ventures and holdings in several companies, including a missile-parts concern, a private airline, Reprise Records, Artanis Productions and Sinatra Enterprises.

And then there’s the mob.

No assumed indictments here, just some info as best as we have it recorded today. Of course, no one outside the actual mafia circles of communication (including the CIA and FBI) really know what occurred in most of these situations. Either way, there’s plenty of info/evidence to know that Ol’ Blue Eyes was in on some level.

From Anthony Bruno’s article, “Frank Sinatra and the Mob,” from TruTV.com, 

“On February 10, 1961, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover sent a pointed memo to United States Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, regarding singer Frank Sinatra’s extensive connections to organized crime figures…Special agents had been keeping tabs on the singer since 1947 when he took a four-day trip to Havana and painted the town red with a gaggle of powerful Cosa Nostra members who had gathered there for a mob conference. Hoover’s unstated message to the attorney general in that memo was as subtle as a sledgehammer: Look who your brother, the president, has been hanging around with. In fact, Sinatra had been an avid supporter of John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election, and they had become quite close.”

Matt from Matt’s Book Blog recently reviewed From Here to Eternity by James Jones.  Here’s an excerpt:

The episodes in the bars, the stockade, and the attack on Pearl Harbor rock, full of realism. I’m not sure how seriously I would take the melodrama and theme of Authority vs. Resistance if I read it now, but I can understand why the action, drama, brilliant scene-setting with the backdrop of Diamond Head, and excellent characters like Karen Holmes and Maggio made this novel a best-seller in 1951.

Click here to read the entire review.

**Attention participants:  remember to email us a link to your reviews, and we’ll post them here so we can see what everyone is reading!**

The preview of this track dropped the other day, and the audio half of things was promised to drop today, so here you go. The first official leak off of Outasight’s upcoming album, From Here To Eternity produced by 6th Sense.

Download: Brand New Day (Prod. 6th Sense) – Outasight [CDQ]

Full single artwork after the jump…

Outasight – Brand New Day (Produced by 6th Sense)

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1890 Monkeyshines 1891 Dickson Greeting 1891 Edison – Newark Athlete, Part I 1893 Men in Blacksmith Shop 1894 Annie Oakley shooting at targets 1894 Edison – Chinese Laundry – November 26, 1894 1894 Edison – Kinetoscope Films from 1894-1896 1895 Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (The Lumière Brothers) 1895 Edison – The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots – August 28, 1895 1895 L’Arroseur arrosé 1895 The Dickson Experimental Sound Film 1896 Bataille de Boules de Neige (Louis Lumière, 1896) 1896 Edison – The Kiss 1896 Fred Ott’s Sneeze 1896 Louis Lumiere – New York,Broadway At Union Square 1896 Rip Van Winkle 1897 Edison – Admiral Cigarette advertisement 1898 Turkish Dance, Ella Lola 1899 Cripple Creek Bar-room Scene (Edison) 1899 Edison – Bicyclist tricks 1900 Edison – Grandma’s Bad Boys 1901 Edison – Boxing Woman 1901 Edison – Circular panorama of electric tower – Pan-American Exposition, 14 August 1901 1901 Edison – The Martyred Presidents 1901 What Happened on Twenty-Third Street, New York City 1902 Le voyage dans la lune 1903 Life of an American Fireman – Edwin S. Porter 1903 Move On 1903 NYC Ghetto Fish Market 1903 The Great Train Robbery Part 1 – Thomas A. Edison 1904 Westinghouse Works Part 1 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire 1909 Princess Nicotine 1910 Jack Johnson -vs- James Jeffries 1914 Cabiria Giovanni Pastrone 1914 Charlie Chaplin – The Kid Auto Race 1914 Der Golem or, The Monster of Fate 1914 Gertie the Dinosaur 1914 The Exploits of Elaine 1915 The Birth of a Nation 1915 The Italian 1916 Intolerance 1917 The Immigrant 1919 Broken Blossoms 1920 The Cabinet of Dr Caligari 1920 The Mark of Zorro 1921 Charlie Chaplin – The Kid 1921 Manhatta 1921 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 1922 Buster Keaton – Cops (1 of 2) 1922 Nanook of the North 1922 Nosferatu 1923 Le retour a la raison – Man Ray 1923 Safety Last! 1923 Salome 1924 Body and Soul 1924 Buster Keaton – Sherlock Jr 1924 Buster Keaton – The Navigator 1924 Peter Pan 1924 The Thief of Bagdad 1925 Battleship Potemkin – Odessa Stairs Massacre – Pram 1925 Battleship Potemkin – Son Shot 1925 Charlie Chaplin – The Gold Rush 1925 The Freshman 1925 The Lost World 1925 The Phantom of the Opera 1925 Theodore Case Sound Test – Gus Visser and his Singing Duck 1926 Flesh and the Devil 1926 Son of the Sheik 1927 Buster Keaton – The General 2 1927 It – Clara Bow 1927 Metropolis – Montage 1927 Oktober – 1 1927 Sunrise 1927 The Jazz Singer 1927 Wings 1928 Charlie Chaplin – The Circus 1928 Steamboat Willie 1928 The Cameraman – Breaking the Bank 1928 The Wedding March 1929 Luis Bunuel – Un chien andalou Part 1 1929 Man with a Movie Camera 1929 St. Louis Blues 1929 The Broadway Melody 1930 All Quiet Along the Western Front – Trailer 1930 Morocco 1931 Charlie Chaplin – City Lights 1931 Dracula 1931 Frankenstein 1931 Fritz Lang’s M, ending, 1st part 1931 Le million 1931 Little Caesar 1931 The Champ 1931 The Public Enemy 1932 Freaks 1932 Grand Hotel 1932 Love Me Tonight 1932 Shanghai Express 1932 The Music Box 1932 Trouble In Paradise 1933 42nd Street 1933 Duck Soup 1933 King Kong – ending 1933 She Done Him Wrong – Mae West 1933 Snow White 1933 The Emperor Jones 1934 It Happened One Night 1934 It’s A Gift 1934 Little Miss Marker 1934 Tarzan and His Mate 1934 The Goddess 1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much 1934 The Thin Man 1935 A Night at the Opera 1935 Bride of Frankenstein 1935 Mutiny On The Bounty 1935 Naughty Marietta 1935 The 39 Steps 1935 Top Hat 1935 Triumph of the Will 1936 Camille 1936 Modern Times 1936 My Man Godfrey 1936 Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor – Part 1 1936 Rose Hobart 1936 Show Boat 1936 Swing Time – Trailer 1936 The Great Ziegfeld 1937 A Star Is Born 1937 Hindenburg disaster 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – hi ho 1937 Stage Door 1937 The Awful Truth 1937 The Life of Emile Zola 1937 Way Out West – ‘Blue Ridge Mountains’ 1938 Bringing Up Baby 1938 Love Finds Andy Hardy – Trailer 1938 Olympia 1938 Porky in Wackyland 1938 You Can’t Take It with You 1939 Destry Rides Again 1939 Gone with the Wind 1 – kiss 1939 Gunga Din 1939 La Règle du jeu 1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 Ninotchka clip 1939 Stagecoach 1939 The Wizard of Oz 1939 Wuthering Heights 1939 Young Mr Lincoln 1940 Charlie Chaplin – The Great Dictator 1940 Fantasia 1940 His Girl Friday 1940 Pinocchio 1940 Rebecca 1940 The Bank Dick 1940 The Grapes Of Wrath 1940 The Philadelphia Story 1940 The Shop Around the Corner 1941 Citizen Kane – Final Words 1941 Meet John Doe 1941 Sullivan’s Travels 1941 The Lady Eve 1941 The Maltese Falcon 1942 Casablanca 1 – play it again 1942 Cat People 1942 Holiday Inn – White Christmas 1942 Jam Session 1942 Random Harvest – She’s Ma Daisy 1942 Road to Morocco 1942 The Battle of Midway 1942 The Magnificent Ambersons 1942 To Be Or Not To Be 1942 Tulips Shall Grow 1942 Woman of the Year 1942 Yankee Doodle Dandy 1943 Meshes of the Afternoon – Part 1 1943 Shadow of a Doubt 1943 Stormy Weather 1943 The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp 1944 Arsenic and Old Lace 1944 Double Indemnity 1944 Going My Way 1944 Henry V – Trailer 1944 Laura – Trailer 1944 The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek 1945 Blithe Spirit 1945 Brief Encounter – end 1945 Detour 1945 Les Enfants du Paradis 1945 Mildred Pierce – Trailer 1945 Roma Citta Libera 1945 Spellbound 1945 The Body Snatcher 1945 The Lost Weekend 1946 It’s A Wonderful Life – ending 1946 La Belle et la bête 1946 My Darling Clementine 1946 Notorious 1946 The Best Years of Our Lives 1946 The Big Sleep 1947 Black Narcissus 1947 Brighton Rock 1947 Crossfire 1947 Miracle on 34th Street 1947 Out of the Past 1948 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948 Bicycle Thieves 1948 Hamlet 1948 Letter From An Unknown Woman 1948 Mr.Blandings Builds His Dream House 1948 Red River 1948 The Red Shoes 1948 The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre 1949 All the King’s Men 1949 Kind Hearts and Coronets 1949 The Heiress 1949 The Third Man – ending 1949 Twelve O’Clock High 1949 White Heat – Top of the World 1950 All About Eve 1950 Gerald McBoing-Boing 1950 Harvey 1950 In A Lonely Place 1950 Rashomon 1950 Sunset Boulevard 1951 A Place in the Sun 1951 A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 An American in Paris 1951 Duck and Cover 1951 Flying Padre – Stanley Kubrick 1951 Strangers on a Train 1951 The African Queen 1951 The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 The Thing from Another World 1952 High Noon 1952 Hurlements en faveur de Sade – Guy Debord 1952 Ikiru 1952 Magical Maestro 1952 Singin’ in the Rain 1952 The Bad and the Beautiful 1952 The Greatest Show on Earth 1952 The Quiet Man 1952 Umberto D 1953 From Here to Eternity 1953 Le Salaire de la peur 1953 Let’s All Go to the Lobby 1953 Mr Hulot’s Holiday 1 – start 1953 Roman Holiday 1953 Shane 1953 Stalag 17 1953 The Band Wagon – That’s Entertainment 1953 The Hitch-Hiker 1953 The Tell-Tale Heart 1953 The War Of The Worlds 1953 Tokyo Story 1953 Ugetsu 1954 A Star Is Born 1954 Carmen Jones 1954 Creature from the Black Lagoon 1954 Dial M For Murder 1954 House in the Middle Pt 1 1954 La Strada 1954 On The Waterfront 1954 Rear Window 1954 Sabrina 1954 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 1954 Seven Samurai – Akira Kurosawa 1954 The Caine Mutiny 1954 The Dam Busters 1954 White Christmas 1955 Blackboard Jungle 1955 Kiss Me Deadly clip 1955 Les Diaboliques 1955 Marty 1955 One Froggy Evening 1955 Pather Panchali 1955 Rebel Without A Cause – knife 1955 Richard III 1955 Rififi 1955 The Night of the Hunter 1956 Around the World in 80 Days – Trailer 1956 Don’t Knock The Rock – ‘Tutti Frutti’ 1956 Giant 1956 Invasion Of The Body Snatchers 1956 The Court Jester 1956 The Killing 1956 The Searchers – Trailer 1956 The Ten Commandments – Trailer 1957 12 Angry Men 1 1957 Bridge On The River Kwai 1 1957 Jailhouse Rock 1957 Le notti di Cabiria – Fellini 1957 Paths of Glory 1957 Pyaasa 1957 Rock You Sinners – Brighton Rock 1957 Smultronstället 1957 Sweet Smell of Success 1957 The Seventh Seal 1957 What’s Opera, Doc 1957 Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter 1957 Witness for the Prosecution 1958 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof 1958 Mon Oncle 1958 The Defiant Ones – Trailer 1958 The Vikings 1958 Touch of Evil 1958 Vertigo – The Stairs, first time 1959 Anatomy of a Murder – Trailer 1959 Ben Hur – Trailer 1959 Les quatre cents coups 1959 North By Northwest – The Airplane 1959 Shadows 1959 Some Like It Hot 1960 A bout de souffle 1960 House of Usher 1960 La Dolce Vita 1960 Psycho 1960 Saturday Night and Sunday Morning – Trailer 1960 Spartacus 1960 The Alamo 1960 The Apartment 1961 Breakfast at Tiffany’s 1961 Dog Star Man – Prelude 1961 Judgment At Nuremberg 1961 Jules et Jim 1961 West Side Story 1961 Yojimbo 1961The Hustler 1962 Dr No 1962 How the West Was Won 1962 Lawrence of Arabia 1962 Lolita 1962 O Pagador de Promessas 1962 Ride the High Country 1962 The Manchurian Candidate 1962 The Music Man 1962 To Kill a Mockingbird 1963 8 1-2 – dream 1963 Charade 1963 Dog Star Man – Part II 1963 Shock Corridor 1963 The Birds 1963 The Great Escape 1963 The Nutty Professor 1963 The Servant 1964 A Hard Day’s Night 1964 Bande à part 1964 Deus e o diabo na terra do Sol 1964 Dog Star Man – Part III 1964 Dr. Strangelove 1 1964 Empire – Andy Warhol 1964 Goldfinger 1964 Mary Poppins – Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious 1964 My Fair Lady – Wouldn’t It Be Loverly 1964 Zulu 1965 Darling 1965 Dr. Zhivago 1965 For A Few Dollars More 1965 Repulsion – Catherine Deneuve 1965 The Sound of Music 1966 A Man For All Seasons – Trailer 1966 Alfie 1966 Blow-up 1966 Fahrenheit 451 1966 Georgy Girl 1966 La Battaglia di Algeri 1966 Persona 1966 The Endless Summer 1966 The Good The Bad and the Ugly 1966 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf 1967 Belle de Jour – Luis Bunuel 1967 Bonnie and Clyde 1967 Cool Hand Luke – boiled eggs 1967 Far From The Madding Crowd 1967 Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner 1967 In the Heat of the Night – Trailer 1967 Mouchette 1967 Playtime 1967 Stop, Look and Listen 1967 The Graduate 1967 The Jungle Book – I Wanna Be Like You 1968 2001 Space Odyssey 1 – start 1968 Bullitt 1968 Carry on Up the Khyber 1968 If… 1968 Night Of the Living Dead 1968 Oliver! 1968 Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 Planet of the Apes 1968 Rosemary’s Baby 1968 The Producers – Springtime for Hitler 1968 Why Man Creates 1969 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969 Easy Rider – ending 1969 Goodbye, Mr. Chips 1969 Kes – cane 1969 Midnight Cowboy – I’m walking here 1969 The Italian Job – doors 1969 The Sorrow and the Pity – bourgeois 1969 The Wild Bunch 1969 Women in Love 1970 Five Easy Pieces 1970 Love Story 1970 MASH 1970 Multiple Sidosis 1970 Patton 1971 A Clockwork Orange – droog fight 1971 A Touch Of Zen 1971 Fiddler On The Roof – To Life 1971 Get Carter 1971 Harold And Maude 1971 Shaft 1971 Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song 1971 The French Connection 1971 The Hospital 1971 The Last Picture Show 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – Pure Imagination 1972 Aguirre the Wrath of God 1972 Cabaret 1972 Deliverance – ‘Dueling banjos’ 1972 DT 1972 Frenzy 1972 Last Tango in Paris 1 1972 OffOn 1972 Sleuth 1972 Solaris 1972 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 1972 The Godfather – offer 1972 The Poseidon Adventure 1973 American Graffiti 1973 Badlands 1973 Coffy 1973 Don’t Look Now 1973 Enter the Dragon 1973 Frank Film 1973 La Nuit americaine 1973 Mean Streets 1973 Sleeper 1973 The Day of the Jackal 1973 The Exorcist – Pt.1 1973 The Sting 1973 The Wicker Man 1974 A Woman Under the Influence 1974 Blazing Saddles 1974 Chinatown 1974 Foxy Brown 1974 The Conversation 1974 The Godfather, Part II 1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – ending 1974 The Towering Inferno – Trailer 1974 Young Frankenstein – Puttin’ on the Ritz 1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – ending 1975 Barry Lyndon 1975 Dog Day Afternoon 1975 Flåklypa Grand Prix – 1 1975 Jaws 1975 Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Nashville 1975 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975 Picnic At Hanging Rock – Trailer 1975 The Return Of The Pink Panther – Karate Kick 1975 The Rocky Horror Picture Show – Damn it Janet 1976 All the President’s Men – Trailer 1976 Car Wash 1976 Marathon Man 1976 Network 1976 Nuts in May 1976 Rocky – Adrian 1976 Taxi Driver – Talking To Me 1976 The Omen 1976 The Outlaw Josey Wales 1976 The Pink Panther Strikes Again 1977 Abigail’s Party 1977 Annie Hall 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 Eraserhead 1977 Killer of Sheep 1977 Looking for Mr. Goodbar 1977 Powers of Ten 1977 Saturday Night Fever 1977 Soldaat van Oranje 1977 Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope – Deathstar1 1978 Dawn Of The Dead – mall 1978 DDD 1978 Every Which Way But Loose 1978 Grease – Summer Nights 1978 Halloween 1978 Midnight Express 1978 National Lampoon’s Animal House 1978 Pennies From Heaven 1978 Superman The Movie 1978 The Deer Hunter 1978 The Last Waltz – The Weight 1979 Alien 1979 All That Jazz – Bye Bye Life 1979 Apocalypse Now – Napalm in the morning 1979 Mad Max and Feral Boy 1979 Manhattan – start 1979 Monty Python’s Life of Brian 1979 Stalker – Tarkovsky 1979 Star Trek The Motion Picture 1979 The Black Stallion 1979 Woyzeck – Herzog 1980 Airplane! 1980 Atlantic City 1980 Flash Gordon 1980 Gregory’s Girl 1980 Heaven’s Gate 1980 Mon oncle d’Amerique 1980 Raging Bull 1980 Superman II 1980 The Elephant Man 1980 The Empire Strikes Back 1980 The Long Good Friday – ending 1980 The Shining – Here’s Johnny 1981 Chariots of Fire 1981 Das Boot 1981 Gallipoli 1981 Mommie Dearest 1981 Raiders Of The Lost Ark 1981 The Cannonball Run – 1 1981 The Evil Dead 1981 The Postman Always Rings Twice 1982 Blade Runner 1982 Boys from the Blackstuff 1982 Conan The Barbarian 1982 ET 1982 Fast Times At Ridgemont High 1982 First Blood 1982 Fitzcarraldo 1982 Gandhi 1982 Koyaanisqatsi 1982 Made in Britain 1982 Poltergeist 1982 Porky’s 1982 Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman 1982 Sophie’s Choice 1982 Star Trek II – The Wrath of Khan 1982 The Draughtsman’s Contract 1982 The Thing 1982 The Thing 1983 A Christmas Story – Oh, Fuuudge 1983 Return of The Jedi 1983 Scarface 1983 Terms of Endearment 1983 The King of Comedy 1983 Trading Places 1983 WarGames 1984 1984 1984 A Passage To India 1984 Amadeus 1984 Dune 1984 Ghostbusters 1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 1984 Once Upon A Time In America 1984 Paris, Texas 1984 Police Academy 1984 Repo Man 1984 Stop Making Sense 1984 Stranger Than Paradise 1984 Supergirl 1984 The Karate Kid 1984 The Killing Fields 1984 The Never Ending Story – Trailer 1984 The Terminator 1984 This is Spinal Tap 1985 After Hours 1985 Back to the Future 1985 Brazil 1985 Clue 1985 My Beautiful Laundrette 1985 Out of Africa 1985 Ran 1985 Teen Wolf 1985 The Black Cauldron 1985 The Breakfast Club – dancing 1985 The Color Purple 1985 The Goonies 1985 The Official Story 1985 Weird Science 1985 Witness 1985 Young Sherlock Holmes 1986 9 1-2 Weeks 1986 A Better Tomorrow 1986 A Room with a View 1986 Betty Blue 1986 Big Trouble In Little China 1986 Blue Velvet – start 1986 Caravaggio – Derek Jarman 1986 Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 1986 Flight of the Navigator 1986 Hannah and Her Sisters 1986 Hoosiers 1986 Jean de Florette 1986 Labyrinth 1986 Little Shop of Horrors 1986 Manon des Sources 1986 Mona Lisa 1986 Platoon 1986 Rita, Sue and Bob Too – Bananarama 1986 Short Circuit – Trailer 1986 Stand By Me – 1 1986 The Fly 1986 The Money Pit 1986 The Name of The Rose 1986 The Singing Detective 1986 Top Gun 1986 When the Wind Blows 1987 Der Himmel über Berlin Wings of Desire 1987 Dirty Dancing 1987 Fatal Attraction 1987 Full Metal Jacket – drill sergeant 1987 Harry and the Hendersons 1987 Naayagan 1987 Planes, Trains and Automobiles – waking up 1987 Robocop 1987 The Last Emperor 1987 The Princess Bride 1987 The Untouchables 1987 The Witches of Eastwick 1987 Throw Momma from the Train 1987 Withnail and I – Camberwell carrot 1988 A Fish Called Wanda 1988 Akira 1988 Big 1988 Child’s Play 1988 Coming to America – bride 1988 Dangerous Liaisons 1988 Die Hard 1988 Distant Voices, Still Lives – Trailer 1988 Mississippi Burning 1988 Rain Man 1988 The Accused – lawyer 1988 The Last Temptation Of Christ 1988 The Naked Gun 1988 Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1989 Back to the Future II 1989 Batman 1989 Born on the Fourth of July 1989 Cinema Paradiso clip 1989 Dead Poets Society – ending 1989 Do The Right Thing – 1 1989 Glory 1989 Henry V 1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 My Left Foot 1989 Sex, Lies and Videotape 1989 Uncle Buck 1989 Weekend at Bernie’s 1990 Back To The Future III 1990 Dances With Wolves 1990 Edward Scissorhands 1990 Ghost 1990 Goodfellas 1990 Home Alone 1990 Miller’s Crossing 1990 Nuns on the Run 1990 Pretty Woman 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 The Hunt for Red October 1991 Beauty and the Beast 1991 Boyz n the Hood 1991 Cape Fear 1991 Daughters of The Dust 1991 Delicatessen clip 1991 Fried Green Tomatoes 1991 Robin Hood Prince of Thieves 1991 Terminator 2 1991 The Commitments 1991 The Silence of the Lambs – fava beans 1991 Thelma and Louise 1992 A Few Good Men 1992 El Mariachi 1992 Home Alone 2 1992 Howards End 1992 Leolo 1992 Malcolm X 1992 Peter’s Friends – song 1992 Reservoir Dogs 1992 The Bodyguard 1992 The Crying Game 1992 The Last of the Mohicans 1992 The Player – Trailer 1992 Unforgiven 1993 Carlito’s Way 1993 Falling Down 1993 Farewell My Concubinet 1993 Groundhog Day 1993 In the Name of the Father 1993 Jurassic Park 1993 Naked 1993 Philadelphia 1993 Schindler’s List 1993 The Fugitive 1993 The Piano 1993 The Remains of the Day 1993 The Wrong Trousers 1993 Three Colours Blue 1993 What’s Eating Gilbert Grape 1994 Chungking Express 1994 Clerks – corpse 1994 Drunken Master II – Final Fight Scene (Part 1 of 2) 1994 Ed Wood 1994 Forrest Gump 1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994 Il postino 1994 Leon The Professional 1994 Muriel’s Wedding 1994 Pulp Fiction – dancing 1994 The Madness Of King George 1994 The Shawshank Redemption 1995 Braveheart 1995 Heat 1995 La Haine 1995 Nine Months 1995 Richard III 1995 Se7en 1995 Sense and Sensibility 1995 The Usual Suspects 1995 The White Balloon 1995 Toy Story 1995 Twelve Monkeys 1996 Brassed Off 1996 Fargo 1996 Jerry Maguire 1996 Romeo and Juliet 1996 Secrets and Lies 1996 Shine 1996 The English Patient 1996 Trainspotting 1997 As Good as It Gets 1997 Boogie Nights 1997 Good Will Hunting 1997 L.A. Confidential 1997 La Vita è blla 1997 Nil By Mouth 1997 The Full Monty – ending 1997 Titanic 1997 Waiting for Guffman 1998 American History X 1998 Elizabeth 1998 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 1998 Festen 1998 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 Lola Rennt 1998 Rushmore 1998 Saving Private Ryan – D-day Scene (1-4) 1998 Taxi 1998 The Big Lebowski 1998 The Truman Show 1999 American Beauty 1999 Being John Malkovich 1999 Fight Club 1999 Magnolia 1999 Office Space – 1 1999 The Green Mile 1999 The Matrix 1999 The Sixth Sense 2000 Amores Perros 2000 Billy Elliot 2000 Chocolat 2000 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000 Dancer in the Dark 2000 Erin Brockovich 2000 Gladiator 2000 Meet the Parents 2000 Memento 2000 Quills 2001 Amelie 2001 Donnie Darko 2001 Kandahar 2001 Legally Blonde 2001 Lord Of The Rings 2001 No Man’s Land 2001 The Royal Tenenbaums 2001 Wit 2002 Bowling for Columbine 2002 Chicago 2002 City of God 2002 Dirty Pretty Things 2002 Spider-Man 2002 Spirited Away 2002 Talk to Her 2002 The Magdalene Sisters 2002 The Pianist 2003 Finding Nemo 2003 Lost in Translation 2003 Monster 2003 Oldboy 2004 Crash 2004 Der Untergang 2004 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 Fahrenheit 9/11 2004 Gegen die Wand 2004 Hotel Rwanda 2004 Million Dollar Baby 2004 Napoleon Dynamite 2004 Shaun Of The Dead 2004 Sideways – Trailer 2004 Tropical Malady 2005 Brokeback Mountain 2005 Good Night, And Good Luck 2005 March of the Penguinsm – Trailer 2005 The Tulse Luper Suitcases 2005 V for Vendetta 2006 Borat – Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan 2006 Lage Raho Munna Bhai 2006 Little Miss Sunshine 2006 The Lives Of Others

Everegreen , one of the Top classic/Progressive rock bands from Cochin, India is now giving away songs from their debut album ‘ Between & Beyond’ . You can now FREE download, ‘From here to clarity, The calling, and Altar of Dreams from their gimmesound page.