Lataa Ohjelma (MP3)

Eeppisen mittaisessa juhlajaksossamme esitellään uusi tunnari, palkitaan kommentoijia ja ennen kaikkea käydään läpi panelistien Top 10 suosikkielokuvat kautta aikojen. Mittaa jaksolle tosiaan venähti melkein kolme ja puoli tuntia, mutta älkää säikähtäkö. Annamme tämän kuunteluun kuuntelijoille muutaman viikon kuunteluaikaa ennen uusia jaksoja ja podcastia voi kuunnella vapaavalintaisissa osioissa.

Juhan Top 10 elokuvat:
- Modern Times
- Amélie
- Seven
- Pulp Fiction
- Á Bout de Souffle
- Apocalypse Now
- Dr. Strangelove
- Mies Vailla Menneisyyttä
- Annie Hall
- Requiem for a Dream

Henrikin Top 10 elokuvat:
- WALL-E
- The Great Dictator
- Metropolis
- The Incredibles
- Galaxy Quest
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- Manhattan Murder Mystery
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture
- Finding Nemo

Gracias Dios mio por darme esta vida tan hermosa que tengo. Gracias por la maravilla de familia que tengo. Gracias por toda la gente tan hermosa que he conocido, y gracias por todas las bendiciones!

Today has been wonderful, there was plenty of food and it was all delicious and we enjoyed one of the funniest movies ever… The Party with Peter Sellers.

Enjoy the trailer!

Lo que no es inusual es que siendo el que soy, no acabara dedicandole un articulo a ese gran icono de la musica sordida que es Tom Jones, que tantos momentos de sumo placer y diversión me ha dado en mis noches de pedo historico, a la par que grandes ataques de vergüenza ajena a los sosos que me miraban.

Pero todo es una cuestión de valores, yo personalmente prefiero bailar en mitad de la plaza Moyua con tanga de leopardo cualquier canción del tigre de Gales (con mayuscula, es una nación, que lo sepais) antes que ser sorprendido tarareando alguna de OT.

Claro que tambien entiendo que soy sordido y no todo el mundo esta preparado para eso.

Pero centremonos en el personaje:

Sir Thomas Jones Woodward (si, es Sir desde el 2006) nacio en Cardiff, capital de la nación galesa (si algo aprendí en el Reino Unido es como se lleva el nacionalismo bien entendido y sin complejos) en el verano de 1940, en plena batalla de Inglaterra y supongo que el pasar por un chetto con tantas bombas cayendo debio marcarle bastante, y no me mireis así, es una explicación tan buena como cualquier otra.

¿Que era hijo de mineros?

Tambien lo era Zoolander.

Así, nuestro pequeño amigo que ya hizo la comunión con pelo en el pecho (los hay que nacen con bigote ya), descubrió muy pronto su vocación por la marcha , tanto musical como de otros tipos y era muy solicitado en el coro local así como en comuniones y bodas donde amenizaba a los invitados con con su metro treinta de estatura, su clara voz angelical de Constantino Romero y su tendencia a ventilarse el Whisky y ostiar a los que llevaban las arras.

El chiquitín ya apuntaba maneras, maneras a las que estaban llamados otros grandes como George Best, pero eso es otra historia.

Su carrera musical propiamente dicha comenzó alla por el año 1963, cuando la mayoria de nosotros no eramos mas que unos espermatozoides felices que saltaban de un huevo a otro, como vocalista de  ”Tommy Scott & the senators”, un grupo que alcanzó gran popularidad en su barrio y tres estancos a la redonda, hoy dia se habria hecho cantante de Death metal.  Tras la disolución del grupo y varios meses intentando convencer discograficas y haciando bolos en clubes sin mucho exito, el productor Gordon Mills le vio su potencial y se lo llevo a Londres.

Estaba naciendo el tigre de Gales.

Despues de lanzar un primer disco (Chills and fever) que no tuvo mucho exito, el gran Tom publicó en 1965, el que seria verdaderamente su album de presentación al mundo y que contenia el single que le haria famoso forever and ever: It´s not unusual.

Y no me puedo resisitir a ponerlo:

Tambien aqui: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOArsNMVqGg

¿Que me decis de las pintas? Parece un cruce entre el capitan Kirk y Curro Jimenez, algo así solo podia ocurrir en los 60.

Ya en este single se podia apreciar en toda magnitud las caracteristicas que lo hacian unico: Su tremendo chorro de voz, su tecnica para dominarlo y sobre todo ese aire de chulazo macarrón que volveria locas a las feminas del Reino unido y dependencias de ultramar.

Sin lugar a dudas fué uno de los notables de los 60, llegando a ponerle banda sonora a las peliculas del momento como “Operación Trueno” (y no estoy seguro de que el titulo de la peli no fuera por el) y la que no se puede sino calificar como la peli de la decada: “What´s new, pussicat”.

Tambien aqui: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdSqk78nHw&feature=related

Pelicula que recomiendo encarecidamente, es el espiritu de toda una decada y una revolución, amén de muy divertida. Por otro lado si os fijais bien en el personaje de Peter Sellers quiza podais encontrar en quien se basó Mike Myers para crear cierto agente secreto:

Tambien aqui:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmsi-QnDesw

El personaje de Austin Powers es un cruce entre James Bond y el psiquiatra de “What´s new pussycat”.

¿ Y cual es el punto de conexión entre estos dos?

Tom Jones.

Hablando de su estilo musical he oido de todo, desde cantante melodico, pop, e incluso rock, no creo que se le pueda encasillar en ningún genero determinado, demasiado cañero para ser melodico, demasiado canalla para ser pop, demasiado pastelón para ser rock, demasiado blanco para ser negro, quiza su genero musical sea precisamente “demasiado”.

Recordando canciones miticas de este genio me viene a la mente una de las mas polemicas hoy dia, Delilah:

Tambien aqui: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sI5LWwC-cE8

Hay quien dice que es una oda a los malos tratos, yo no la veo por ninguna parte, pero bueno, suele decirlo el mismo tipo de vengadores del pasado que dice que Ghandi era un machista que pegaba a su mujer (y no es coña, hasta se sacó un libro sobre el tema).

En este blog hay un apartado para ellos, se llama el rincón del gilipollas.

En el apartado personal, pese a haberse casado bastante joven, el amigo Tom, quiza para no defraudar su fama, fue todo un pichabrava, contando con alguna que otra Miss Universo en su haber (aunque el autentico experto de la epoca en eso era George Best).

Los años 70 y 80 no le fueron tan bien a Tom, su rollo no estaba tan de moda y vivió esas dos decadas saltando entre shows en Las Vegas y platós de variedades (aunque tuvo su propio programa, “This is Tom Jones” y sacó varios discos), el ultimo mazazo se lo llevó en 1986 con la muerte de su productor y amigo Gordon Mills, pero lejos de amilanarse (era demasiado machote para ello) y con ayuda de su hijo Mark , que se convirtió en su nuevo productor, se decidió a relanzarse al estrellato en 1987 con canciones como “A boy from Nowhere” y sobre todo con una gloriosa versión, junto con Art of noise, de la canción de Prince “Kiss”:

Tambien aqui:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw3so6ClU9I&feature=related

Vuelve el chulazo.

Estos dos singles, con la actualización de su rollito que suponian, fueron su puerta grande de entrada a los 90, decada que llenaria de su epica sordidez tras firmar con Interscope Records, con los que hara grandes hitos como sus albumes “The lead a how to swing it” o “Reload”, siendo la estrella de la BSO de “Full Monty” o haciendo grandes videos con The Cardigans:

También aqui: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEhm3LZkS3k&feature=related

La cancion es Burning down the house y es una versión de Talking Heads.

Pero sin lugar a dudas su canción de los 90 es Sex Bomb:

Tambien aqui: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KUJE2xs-RE

Durante la misma decada tambien se prodiga por la pantalla con apariciones estelares en “El principe de Bel Air” donde es el Obi Wan de Carlton (ahí le conocí yo) y salvando al mundo de la invasión marciana en “Mars Attacks”, no colocaré estos videos por ser demasiado conocidos.

Y ahí  sigue, dando candela a su peculiar estilo, demostrando que la edad no pasa para los machotes.

Ya se que me dejo en el tintero varios albumes y grandes canciones como “She´s a lady”, pero para eso teneis you tube y su pagina oficial: http://www.tomjones.com/

Lo que no me explico es como siendo una de las referencias de las que mas orgulloso se siente Tim Burton (“se me ocurrio meter a Tom Jones en Mars Attacks, porque de haber una persona idonea para salvar el mundo, ese seria el”), no se ha convertido automaticamente en un idolo gotico y no la pavisosa de Cristhina Ricci.

Y mira que para esta gente lo que diga Tim Burton va a misa.

Debe ser que no es lo bastante androgino.

¿Verdad que no?

Ci sono ladri e ladri e refurtiva e refurtiva!
Noi rubiamo locandine, altri rubano diamanti, e poi c’è chi li deve arrestare.

Ma quale locandina ruberemo oggi? Ma della Pantera Rosa! Il primo film del 1963, interpretato dal grande Peter Sellers, diede vita a una vera a propria serie. Sellers vestì ben sei volte i panni dell’ispettore Jacques Clouseau. Come non ricordare poi la bellissima colonna sonora composta da Henry Mancini e il cartone animato con protagonista la celebre pantera?

With all the coverage of the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, I tried to think of a way to commemorate this historic, history-changing event that happened 20 years ago. A generation ago. Anyone 30 years old and younger probably has no emotional link with images of a bunch of young people dancing while they tore down a far away wall covered in graffiti.

Continue reading my blog post Celebrate the fall of the wall

Ed and Frankie welcome actress Gail Gerber (The Loved One, Village of the Giants) and film historian Tom Lisanti, co-authors of Trippin’ with Terry Southern: What I Think I Remember, a poignant look at the life and career of iconic novelist and screenwriter Terry Southern

http://media.podcastingmanager.com/9/3/5/3/3/142636-133539/Media/110209tvc33_1.mp3

For my star study discourse, I’m going to use British humorist Peter Sellers, arguably one of, if not, the greatest comedic stage actors of all-time.  Peter Sellers was famous for his ability play multiple roles in a film, as well as his vocal versatility, especially in the fake accent department.   Peter was a genius at comedic improvisation.  His skills were so polished in fact, he was one of  only two actors that Stanley Kubirck, a notorious perfectionist, allowed to go off script. Although Peter’s body of work spanned over a quarter-century, for the sake of this paper, I’m going to focus primarily on the years, or in this case decade, when Peter was the most prolific – the sixties.  As of right now, I plan on taking a look at several of his movies during this period.  Some of these films include: The Millionairess (Asquith, 1960), Lolita (Kubrick, 1962), The Pink Panther (Edwards, 1963), and Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Kubrick, 1964), and Casino Royale (Niven, 1967).  One source I plan on consulting is the Ed Sikov biography, Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers.  For a ‘causal’ source, I plan on consulting Roger Lewis’ book, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.   Peter once quipped, “To see me as a person on screen would be one of the dullest experiences you could ever wish to experience.”  To me, this quote is misleading; simply put, Sellers had an extremely difficult personal life.  The juxtaposition of his on-screen persona, an immensely talented comedian  stage actor – a “mad genius” if you will, to his rocky personal life, one which was sadly filled with substance abuse, four wives, three Hollywood divorces & thirteen heart attacks.  (“That’d make it a baker’s dozen, Bob”)  As far as the research goes, I’m quite interested in learning how Mr. Sellers approached a film – what he expected from himself, his fellow actors, & director while on the set, while also reading articles and reviews printed during the sixties.  Reading these articles and reviews will allow me to more clearly understand what the audiences “expected” from him when they viewed a Peter Sellers film.  In my opinion, I believe Peter Sellers will be an ideal actor to research for this star study discourse.

Here’s a video of him showcasing his skill with accents…

Galindo: Fernando Galindo… un admirador, un amigo, un esclavo, ¡un siervo!

(El rijoso cajero de un banco rinde tributo a la inalcanzable voluptuosidad de una cliente en Atraco a las 3. José Luis López Vázquez, tragicómico por carácter y por registro, versión española casi exacta de un imposible híbrido entre Jack Lemmon y Peter Sellers, tímido genio de procaz gestualidad, de hondura insospechada. Actor monumental).

Lyda here.

I am surrounded by cuteness.

A month or two ago, we adopted two kittens from one of my coworkers (they were free – she had even taken them for their shots). They are adorable and playful and energetic, and they make us laugh. We both need to laugh more. And they cuddle with me at night and that helps me sleep. I hesitated a lot before taking on the additional responsibility, but I think it was the right decision. I am battling the Dread Demon Depression (now as always) and it was horribly bad after Tommy’s death and I wasn’t sleeping at all. The kittens help.

Of course I still miss Tommy, and Jason too. How strange it would be not to miss them. I lived with them for so long, fourteen or fifteen years. Much longer than my marriage.

Which I don’t miss at all.

But I digress…

And the kittens are company for me when I’m alone, and that is more frequent now, what with the Resident Sith Master being an adult now and attending college and all. This fall he’s a full time student at the community college near our place – have I mentioned that? He’s taking Economics and Political Science and a history class that is called “Current Issues” and… another class I can never remember. Have I mentioned that I seem to be losing my memory?

Have I mentioned that I digress a lot?

So, we now have two short-haired gray tiger striped demons kittens. The slightly larger, slightly grayer cat we named Cato* because he attacks everything all the time and without warning.

Cato in an uncharacteristically mellow mood

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We named the slightly smaller, sweet-faced cat with darker stripes Mace Window*, because he likes to hang out on the window sills between the glass and the blinds. Although RSM was saying the other day that his name should be Juggernaut.

Mace pretending he is not evil

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They certainly create chaos, but it is mostly really funny. Every few hours Mace discovers his tail and does Olympic-level gymnastic flips chasing it. Every few hours. If I had a video camera, we would absolutely win on America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Mace is crazy. Not just chase-your-tail-for-hours crazy, but OCD-evil crazy. Mace will not be turned. Once he gets an idea in his tiny kitty brain, he will continue to try it out. Like attacking the blinds. He pulled one set of blinds down off the window finally.

Mace climbs the screens without mercy, and has taught his brother to try too – definitely not funny as the window screens are old and poorly fitted (so we could lose kittens to the Evil Outdoors) and the screen doors are brand new – so we need to keep them nice for the landlady – and… poorly fitted.

Have I mentioned that my apartment is full of poorly fitting items? It seems to be the major leitmotif. But I digress.

Mace actually found himself outside on one Monday, when my bedroom screen fell out and so did he. At the time, I didn’t even know they could reach my bedroom’s high windowsill. Luckily I hadn’t left for work yet – another 5 minutes and that darn cat would have been outside until RSM woke up and noticed he was gone.

He learned nothing from this experience.

Needless to say, we keep all the windows closed now.

Their favorite place to hang out

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Like Marge, Cato keeps himself in a state of cat-like readiness – the first week or so he twitched almost all the time. He is mellowing a bit now.

But it is a certainty to him that his brother must die. He continues to attack without mercy.

Lucky for all concerned, kittens are easily distracted.

You might even say, they digress.

* I linked to the relevant movies, and here is more info. Cato is the namesake of the character played by Burt Kwouk in the Pink Panther movies (in this clip, Cato is hiding in the freezer). Mace is named after this Jedi character from Star Wars.

Yet I am trusting that most of y’all will understand both references without the links. Only one person at work got it – she’s the only one who has seen both sets of movies, and we even discussed the color of Samuel L. Jackson’s light saber. Oh yes we did.

One other person at work got the Peter Sellers reference (but not the Star Wars one). The rest of them were clueless.

I weep for the lack of culture in my work place.

But I digress again.

ஒரிஜினல் லிஸ்ட் இங்கே. பாஸ்டன் பாலாவுக்கு நன்றி!

சைரனோ டி பெர்கராக், Cyrano de Bergerac – எட்மண்ட் ரோஸ்டாண்ட் எழுதிய புத்தகம். வெகு நாட்களுக்கு முன் படித்த நாடகம், கதை மட்டுமே மங்கலாக நினைவிருக்கிறது. ஹோசே ஃபெர்ரர் நடித்து ஒரு முறை, ஜெரார்ட் டிபார்டியூ நடித்து ஒரு முறை வந்திருக்கிறது. இரண்டையும் கமல் குறிப்பிடுகிறார், இரண்டையும் நான் பார்த்ததில்லை.

ஸ்பார்டகஸ், Spartacus – ஹோவர்ட் ஃபாஸ்ட் எழுதிய நாவல். ஸ்டான்லி குப்ரிக் இயக்கி கிர்க் டக்ளஸ் நடித்த புகழ் பெற்ற படம். என் கண்ணில் சுமாரான படம்தான். நாவல் படித்ததில்லை.

எ க்ளாக்வொர்க் ஆரஞ்ச், A Clockwork Orange – அந்தோனி பர்ஜஸ் எழுதிய நாவல். படித்ததில்லை. ஸ்டான்லி குப்ரிக் இயக்கி மால்கம் மக்டொவல் நடித்தது. பிரமாதமான படம். குப்ரிக் கலக்கிவிட்டார்.

லாஸ்ட் டெம்ப்டேஷன் ஆஃப் க்ரைஸ்ட், Last Temptation of Christ – நிகோலாய் கசான்ட்சாகிஸ் எழுதிய நாவல். மார்டின் ஸ்கொர்ஸஸி இயக்கி இருக்கிறார். பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை.

பீயிங் தேர், Being There – ஜெர்சி கொசின்ஸ்கி எழுதிய நாவல். ஹால் ஆஷ்பி இயக்கி பீட்டர் செல்லர்ஸ் நடித்தது. படித்ததில்லை, ஆனால் படம் பார்த்திருக்கிறேன். சுமாரான படம்.

ட்ரெய்ன்ஸ்பாட்டிங், Trainspotting – இர்வின் வெல்ஷ் எழுதிய நாவல். ஸ்லம்டாக் மில்லியனர் புகழ் டான்னி பாயில் இயக்கியது. பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை, கேள்விப்பட்டதும் இல்லை.

பர்ஃப்யூம், Perfume – யாரோ பாட்ரிக் சுஸ்கிண்ட் எழுதியதாம். டாம் டைக்வர் இயக்கியதாம். பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை, கேள்விப்பட்டதும் இல்லை.

சிட்டி சிட்டி பாங் பாங், Chitti Chitti Bang Bang – ஜேம்ஸ் பாண்ட் புகழ் இயன் ஃப்ளெமிங் எழுதிய சிறுவர்களுக்கான புத்தகம். டிக் வான் டைக் நடித்தது. படம் சிறுவர் சிறுமிகளுக்கு பிடிக்கும். நாவல் படித்ததில்லை.

க்யூரியஸ் கேஸ் ஆஃப் பெஞ்சமின் பட்டன், Curious Case of Benjamin Button – ஸ்காட் ஃபிட்ஸ்ஜெரால்ட் எழுதிய சிறுகதை. ப்ராட் பிட் நடித்து டேவிட் ஃபிஞ்சர் இயக்கியது. இந்த வருஷ ஆஸ்கார் போட்டியில் ஸ்லம்டாக் மில்லியனருக்கு பெரும் போட்டியாக இருந்தது. படித்ததில்லை, இன்னும் பார்க்கவும் இல்லை.

ஃபாரஸ்ட் கம்ப், Forrest Gump – வின்ஸ்டன் க்ரூம் எழுதியது. டாம் ஹாங்க்ஸ் நடித்து ராபர்ட் ஜெமகிஸ் இயக்கியது. சராசரிக்கு மேலான படம். பல ஆஸ்கார் விருதுகளை வென்றது. ஆனால் அந்த சமயத்தில் வந்த பல்ப் ஃபிக்ஷன், ஷாஷான்க் ரிடம்ப்ஷன் ஆகியவை இதை விட சிறந்த படங்கள். புத்தகம் படித்ததில்லை.

மாரத்தான் மான், Marathon Man- வில்லியம் கோல்ட்மான் எழுதிய நாவல். டஸ்டின் ஹாஃப்மன், லாரன்ஸ் ஒலிவியர் நடித்து ஜான் ஷ்லேசிங்கர் இயக்கியது. பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை.

மாஜிக், Magic – இதுவும் வில்லியம் கோல்ட்மான் எழுதிய நாவல். அந்தோனி ஹாப்கின்ஸ் நடித்து ரிச்சர்ட் அட்டன்பரோ இயக்கியது. பார்த்ததுமில்லை, படித்ததுமில்லை, கேள்விப்பட்டதும் இல்லை.

டிராகுலா, Dracula – ப்ராம் ஸ்டோகர் எழுதிய நாவல். கமல் ஃப்ரான்சிஸ் ஃபோர்ட் கொப்போலா இயக்கிய படத்தை சொல்கிறார். நான் பார்த்திருப்பது பழைய பேலா லுகோசி நடித்த படம்தான். லுகொசி ஒரு eerie உணர்வை நன்றாக கொண்டு வருவார். நாவல் சுமார்தான், ஆனால் ஒரு genre-இன் பிரதிநிதி.

காட்ஃபாதர், Godfather – மரியோ பூசோ எழுதியது. அல் பசினோ, மார்லன் பிராண்டோ நடித்து ஃப்ரான்சிஸ் ஃபோர்ட் கொப்போலா இயக்கிய மிக அருமையான படம். நல்ல நாவலும் கூட.

கமல் கொஞ்சம் esoteric படங்களை விரும்புவார் போல தெரிகிறது. எனக்கு மிகவும் பிடித்த, மிக அற்புதமான நாவலும், அருமையான படமும் ஆன To Kill a Mockingbird-ஐ விட்டுவிட்டாரே!

கமலின் லிஸ்டில் காட்ஃபாதர் மட்டுமே நல்ல புத்தகம், மற்றும் நல்ல படம் – என்னைப் பொறுத்த வரையில். நான் படித்திருக்கும் புத்தகமும் அது ஒன்றுதான். கமல் சொல்லி இருக்கும் படங்களில் நான் பாதிக்கு மேல் பார்த்ததில்லை. பார்த்த வரையில் காட்ஃபாதர் மற்றும் எ க்ளாக்வொர்க் ஆரஞ்ச் மட்டுமே பார்க்க வேண்டிய படம். ஆனால் அவர் சொல்லி இருக்கும் படங்களில் பல பிரபலமான படங்கள் – ஸ்பார்டகஸ், ஃபாரஸ்ட் கம்ப், பெஞ்சமின் பட்டன், சிட்டி சிட்டி பாங் பாங் – இருக்கின்றன. பார்த்திருப்பீர்கள். படித்திருப்பீர்கள். நீங்கள் கமலின் தேர்வுகளைப் பற்றி என்ன நினைக்கிறீர்கள்?

தொடர்புடைய பதிவுகள்
கமல் சிபாரிசுகள் – சிறந்த திரைக்கதைகள் உள்ள தமிழ் படங்கள்

Lolita es primero que todo una novela de Vladimir Nabokov, hay dos versiones de la peli pero sólo un guión fue escrito por el mismo Nabokov.

Esta entrada tuvo como intención principal hablar sobre esa Lolita, la de Stanley Kubrick filmada en 1962 y protagonizada por James Mason, Shelley Winters, Sue Lyon y Peter Sellers. Kubrik acostumbró a basar sus pelis en novelas escritas, lo hizo con The Shinning de Stephen King en 1980, lo hizo con A Clockwork Orange de Anthony Burgess en 1971, con 2001: A Space Odissey de Arthur C. Clarke y lo hizo con Lolita. Pero no sólo se basaba en ellas, acostumbraba a escribir los guiones con sus camaradas novelistas y ya sabemos que cuando un director escribe tiene el control completo sobre lo que quiere mostrar.

A medida que pensaba en escribir esta entrada, se me fue ocurriendo que sería divertido hacer un pequeño paralelo con la otra Lolita, la de 1997 dirigida por Adrian Lyne y protagonizada por Jeremy Irons, Melanie Griffith, Dominique Swain y Frank Langella.

La Lolita de 1997 tiene algo positivo y es que no es una copia fiel, es una interpretación y como tal tiene sus puntos positivos y negativos.

En ambas, las actuaciones de Mason y Irons interpretando a Humbert son excelentes. Manejan el mismo dilema y al final se crea la misma reticenci,a del espectador, hacia la perversa dominancia del adulto sobre la adolescente que lo lleva a una psicótica paranoia.

En ambas, las actuaciones de Winters y de Griffith interpretando a Charlotte Haze son espectaculares aunque me inclino más por una menos sobreactuada Griffith; Winters maneja más una argumentación lírica basada en su capacitación teatral en el Actor’s Studio de Nueva York.

Las Lolitas son particularmente sensuales ambas, no se puede distinguir cuál es más perturbadora o cuál desempeñó un mejor papel. Aunque la historia habla y Swain se llevó todas las nominaciones y premios de su obra, no hay que negar que su Lolita es un producto creado a partir de Lyon que tiende a ser mucho más escalofriantemente perversa sin ser tan insinuante.

La gran diferencia al parecer entonces son los Clare Quilty’s de cada una de las obras. Mientras en la Lolita de Kubrick este personaje es un vivaz y polífacético escritor que ha perseguido a Lolita toda su vida, ha tenido un perverso amorío con ella mucho antes de sus dieciseís años y tiene el poder de domarla a su antojo, en la Lolita de Lyne el Quilty es un señor más entrado en años, mucho más calmado sedentario. Mientras el Quilty de Sellers es acompañado por una extraña femina que induce a una perversión más ordinaria donde se implica tríos sexuales con menores, el Quilty de Langella está acompañado de un gato (o gata, magnífico chiste de interpretación), su aspecto es mucho más homosexual y su perversión tiende a ser más pedofílica donde el sexo de sus efebos al final no es un item importante de discusión. El Quilty de Sellers es más divertido, más protagonista, es un elemento importante en la obra, su caracterización devela un desarrollo psicológico del personaje; el Quilty de Langella es un accidente no muy claro para el espectador, por lo que, se podría concluir entonces que con una mejor dirección el papel de Langella hubiera podido ser mejor aprovechado.

Para mi, personalmente, es más perturbadora la peli de Kubrick que en 1962 con el sólo planteamiento del tema estaba siendo bastante agudo en su polémica. Lyne por el contrario en aras de trascender esa polémica le dió más importancia al personaje de Dolores Haze con insinuanciones más provocativas y alusiones mucho más agresivas sexualmente.

Fue muy divertido observarlas pero fue sobretodo muy divertido la grata sorpresa de Sellers que al final fue un consentido de Kubrick en un par de pelis suyas más.

Jag har nu betat av den första Allen-filmen i serien. Efter att tänkt noga om vilken jag skulle se, föll lotten på Woodys första film. Den filmen som han gjorde debut med som manusförfattare: “What’s new Pussycat?” (1965) – titlen kommer förövrigt från Warren Beatty (som sade detta till sin dåvarande flickvän)

Jag kan säga att jag ännu är skeptisk. Visst gillar jag Peter Sellers som har en av huvudrollerna, men i den här filmen blir det bara för mycket. Peter O’Toole gör inte heller saken bättre, trots att han är en bra skådespelare.. Uppenbarligen ska filmen vara en komedi, men jag skrattade fan inte en enda gång. Kanske det blir bättre i nästa film som jag väljer att se, detta är ju trots allt debuten.

Most people who know me know how much I love older British men. I thought I should just start a “list” here and give everyone some pictures… Granted these guys are old, but they’re so talented and *ahem* attractive The order changes each day, so here they are, in no particular order:

Alan Rickman:

Famous to most people as Professor Snape from the Harry Potter films

Loved him so much in “Sense and Sensibility”.

Anthony Hopkins:

He’s a KNIGHT. He’s AWESOME. Need I say more?

John Lennon:

One of my heroes. Kind of a difficult person, but had the right ideas.

(The Beatles:)

Best rock band EVER.

Colin Firth:

The best Mr. Darcy on screen from “Pride and Prejudice” in my opinion.

Hugh Grant:

Very funny guy, especially in movies like Bridget Jones.

Fantastic job in “Sense and Sensibility”!

Ralph Fiennes:

Amazing performances in “The English Patient” and “Schindler’s List”.

Terry Jones:

Famous from Monty Python. Great guy.

Neil Innes:

Musician who worked with the Monty Python guys.

And Now for my “Favorite” guys.

Hugh Laurie:

Famous for his role as Dr. House, I first knew him as “the dad from Stuart Little”. However, I highly recommend the British Comedy series “A Bit of Fry and Laurie” which he made with his comedy partner Stephen Fry. The dudes are HILARIOUS.

Tim Curry:

Yes, he’s the guy from “Rocky Horror Picture Show”. I love that movie! He was also the original King Arthur in the Broadway musical “Monty Python’s Spamalot” and did a fantastic job. Another movie I really enjoyed him in is “Clue” made in 1985. This guy can sing, there is no doubt about that!

Michael Palin:

First became really famous as a member of “Monty Python”. However he has also done a number of movies like “A Fish Called Wanda” (for which he earned a BAFTA) and “The Missionary” which show that he is a versatile actor. He has also done a number of travel shows for the BBC, and is known as an all-around nice guy. My favorite Python, and definitely one of my favorite people EVER.

Peter Sellers:

So I always enjoyed Peter in the Pink Panther films. Other than that, I didn’t know much about him. He was funny and cute in the first Pink Panther, and that’s probably when I got my fangirl crush. But I didn’t think much of him, because I didn’t know much about him. When I first got really into Monty Python I saw some interviews where they all said they were a fan of the Goon Shows on BBC Radio, and heard them mention Peter Sellers.

Then, a friend loaned me a book called “Being There” which I read in one sitting. (Fantastic book.) I liked it so much, I looked up the movie on YouTube. I was floored by Peter’s amazing performance in that film. I really feel he deserved the Academy Award for that movie. After the movie, and seeing how “cute” Peter Sellers was, I looked him up, and looked up the Goon Show. I’m now a hardcore Goons fan, and I’m sure I’ll post a blog about them one of these days.

Peter Sellers was no angel. He was from all accounts a difficult person to work with. However, his enormous talent  helps me to forgive him. He was married 4 times, if that tells you anything about his personality. It has been suggested he may have had Asperger’s Syndrome (a high functioning form of Autism). This could definitely be the case. If it is, it helps to explain a lot of his personality clashes with so many collegues. Sadly, he died 10 years before I was even born. :’( I still miss him.

Yes, I have a thing for British comedians. Is it obvious? I’ll be posting more separate blogs about Peter Sellers, Sense and Sensibility, Being There, and the Goons. I have posted plenty of blogs about Monty Python. Feel free to leave comments!

Ecco, non l’avevamo mai visto: il film scoppiettante e divertente più lento della storia del cinema. The party, 1968, con Peter Sellers.

☺☺☺☺☺

Cosa ci fanno un indiano , un elefante e un cameriere alcolizzato ad un party? Ma ovviamente il party più pazzo della storia di hollywood. Se poi l’indiano è il genio di Peter Sellers allora il divertimento è bello che assicurato. Non facciamoci spaventare dall’anno di uscita del film per comicità e gag comiche è ancora imbattuto ed inarrivabile nessuno può fare di meglio e non vedrete o parteciperete a nulla di simile , scordatevelo.

I film di oggi sul genere devono tutto a quest’ultimo. Menzione speciale per Claudine Longet (Michèle) una bellezza d’altri tempi.

Avvertenze :

Sono passati quarant’anni dall’uscita di questo film ma non sembra passato un giorno, capolavoro comico di Blake Edwards e un gigantopico Peter Sellers. Divertimento, divertimento e divertimento è la parola d’ordine e nient’altro niente pensieri e molta molta schiuma!

Alla prossima pillola.  

I want to start an argument

You’re either in or you’re out.

You either get it, or you don’t.

You can either recite the entire sketch by heart – hell, some entire movies by heart – or you can’t.

And if you’re in those latter camps, you’ll just never understand the clandestine language that Monty Python fans share. It’s like a secret handshake – overhear someone dropping a classic line about silly walks, or dead parrots, or Mary, Queen of Scots, and it’s an open invitation to join the conversation and be accepted all in one fell swoop. Skull and Bones never had anything this insidious, this lethal, this great. The Pythons might not have pioneered sketch comedy in Britain, but for reasons I (and they) can’t understand, they crossed The Big Pond and twisted our minds in a different way than Benny Hill or Peter Cook or even Peter Sellers could. What began as a cult is now an inseparable part of the American comedy fabric.

For the past 24 hours, you couldn’t turn on the TV without seeing some combination of John Cleese and Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle hamming it up with newscasters, talk show hosts and…well, pretty much anyone who would have them. Michael Palin was traveling, but even the late Graham Chapman made an appearance (even though he had ceased to be…)

Why another British Invasion? It’s the fortieth anniversary of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, and the surviving members of the troupe are here in the United States to accept an award and to revel in the six part series Almost The Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut). If you missed that ceremony tonight, click here. The six part documentary starts airing on IFC on October 18th.

Better yet? The series is available on DVD just nine days later(a link to my published review will follow in the coming days). This project is not yet another collection of broadcast clips, but a combination of recent interviews and archival footage that follows the troupe from inception to legend, featuring input from several of today’s leading comedic lights. I’s truly special.

So buckle up. And always look on the bright side of life.

Here’s a link to a poor soul who had his mind twisted. As for me…well, I’m a lumberjack and I’m O.K.

Título original:Being There
“Um jardineiro de inteligência bem limitada, cujo todo conhecimento provém de seu jardim e de programas de televisão, se vê obrigado a sair da casa onde morou toda a vida depois da morte do patrão.”
Enfim, um Kaspar Hauser moderno na pele de nada menos que Peter Sellers…

britt ekland

wrote this out a few days ago during rehearsal

“thinking about Brecht – art being an illustration, a historical record of the drama inherent in the specific socio-economic condition of time and place – and Peter Sellers – what’s the exact quote? that the significance of the drama must somehow find the equivalence of weight in the differing circumstances of today -

the situation of ‘Emma’ – upward social mobility – looking down on those below you rising while yourself trying to rise – the definition of wealth and status changing, with everyone trying to change their situation to match it while accusing any who does the same thing of poor taste (even as taste itself is in flux)

the drama is in the details”

yes, this sort of thing is really what i think about.

i wrote a paper on Peter Sellers’ production of “the marriage of figaro” a few years ago, in which i ended up defending his interpretation of it because it was at least something new. here’s the exact quote of his that i was thinking of:

‘ the act of theatre is this equation: Whatever you do onstage must = the public at the time you stage it. We may be able to re-create half of the equation, the production as it was done in 1790 (although I doubt it), but the other half, the public Mozart did it for, we can never re-create. For me it has to be both’



read in the new york times a few days ago a review of sellers’ current production of ‘othello’ in which they criticized the choices he made – othello is hispanic rather than black, most of the characters are suffering from some degree of ptsd, sex is seen rather than implied – in other words, the play updated. and for the most part the critic hated every single one of these changes.

but every single one of those changes makes the play new, something unexpected, which says something for a play that i studied three times in my academic career, and i think that says something. what, i’m not entirely sure, but something.

anyway that’s all.

Britt Ekland

Sitcom: Roman Polanski is forced to share a cell with Charles Manson. Through turns so horrifying and hilarious it hurts, the bedfellows find they have more in common than their short stature. It’s a strange world after all. That’s what the Disneyland ride says, anyway. The one that opened that same August night back in 1969–the haunted mansion.

It was forty years ago tonight, Charlie Manson taught his band to fight.

Does Roman P regret drugging the girl? Does he regret raping her? Does he regret the shit out of gettin on that plane to his own fucking film festival?!!! Hey Switzerland, that’s not very neutral of you! Go make a fucking cuckoo clock. Because when the clock strikes 13, I want to hear that minah bird telling me the fucking score. Cuckoo Cuckoo!!!

Oh, these acts are so unspeakable I just can’t shut up about them! I guess the reason words like “sssssssodomy” feel so fucking good coming out of my mouth and into your ear is because they remind me of the bible stories of my youth. Sodom, now there’s a city to sit back and grow old in! Sodom, Gomorrah, Oz, Wonderland, …Hollywood.

Fame is the game. The fame of a crime must die before the crime dies. This year the parole board let Manson girl Squeaky Fromme out, while Gerald Ford’s less famous would-be assassin Sara Jane Moore only had to wait one year after the ex-president’s death. However, terminally ill Manson girl Susan Atkins didn’t stand a chance in September. Charlie would have to die before parole politics smiles on any of the “family.” A one-legged, vegetable, born-again Christian version of Atkins was unable to appear before the board. Tell me, tell me, tell me the answer, I may be a killer but I got brain cancer!!! Well, the answer was no, and three weeks later Atkins was dead. She had been the longest-incarcerated female inmate in the California penal system.

Somebody buy me a drink. You see, I believe in justice (gettin justas drunk as I can), and tonight I’m drinking just to catch up with life’s drunken fate. This year also saw girl group producer Phil Spector begin serving his sentence for murdering a B movie star in Corcoran’s special unit. Charlie slipped Phil some fan mail through a gaurd and proposed collaborating on some music. Spector was horrified and was quoted as saying, “I used to pick up the phone and it was John Lennon or Celine Dion or Tina Turner, and now Charles Manson is trying to get a hold of me!’ Spector, who is also quite diminutive, should probably get over himself and get to work with Charlie. But even if they wanted to they couldn’t do much without any instruments. Your freedom of expression is locked up too on the inside. Should Corcoran Correctional allow Charles Manson to have his guitar on the inside? Should Corcoran Correctional allow Phil Spector to wear his wig on the inside? Should the two be allowed to make Phil’s greatest record since “He Hit Me And It Felt Like a Kiss?”  So many questions. Oh poor Charlie. Snubbed by Phil, sitting in his lonely cell.

Until little Roman comes along! Charlie wants to let bygones be bygones and proposes writing a film project together based on his life story but Roman is reluctant. One night in prison, Charlie creepy crawls through the backdoor in Roman’s mind and the director has a bad dream.

In the nightmare Sharon and Susan Atkins are reunited in Heaven where they too now share a cell for all eternity! Sharon remembers sitting in her bra and panties chit-chatting with her exboyfriend sometime between midnight and thirteen o’ clock. Her instinct when the stranger stopped in the hallway and peered blankly into the bedroom, was to simply smile and wave to her. And old Sexy Sadie remembers waving back. After reporting back to Tex Watson, who was busy doing the devil’s business in the living room, Atkins returned to the bedroom with her new orders. When it was all done, she looked at the globe-like belly of the beautiful corpse noosed up to her equally bloodied triple X exboyfriend. Behind the bodies there was a couch with old glory draped over it, creating a scene worthy of a postcard.

 For a moment, Atkins considered taking her knife and removing Sharon’s baby to bring it back to Charlie as a present. But that proved to be too much work even for the devil.

Life is a series of pregnant pauses and miscarried noise.

How old would Sharon’s baby be today? Old enough to legally fuck. And how old is Rosemary’s Baby now? Timeless, goddamn it. You see, I believe the children are our future, and the future is looking hot!

This is true, Roman only had one suspect for the cops–Papa John Phillips of the Daughtas and the Papas. There’s no honor among pedophiles. Well that’s not true, Woody Allen’s already signed a petition in favor of Roman Polanksi. Say whatever happened to Rosemary’s baby girl? Yeah, I’m talking to you, Soon-Yi. You’re not a little girl anymore. Did you adopt a daughter so Woody has something when he can no longer get a woody for your stagnant ass? Woody Allen–now there’s a pedophile who takes care of you after an inappropriate photo shoot. One of the highest paid child molesters? Not sure. Certainly one of the biggest Jews.

Roman P’s victim, Samantha G, wrote a piece in support of his holocaust movie Oscar nomination in 2003, in which, “honestly, the publicity surrounding (the trial) was so traumatic that what he did to me seemed to pale in comparison.” Will the media camp out on her family’s lawn waiting for some footage of her crying? Will Oprah ask her, “How did the incident affect your relationships as you grew up?” Will we all read between the lines and translate the question as–”So, how many times have you been fucked up the ass since then?”

Yeah, you can’t wait. You’re the same middle aged housewives afflicted with moral elephantitis who refused to accept Fatty Arbuckle’s acquittal in 1921. Just turn off To Catch a Predator, stop shaving your crotch for your barely legal subscribing boyfriends, dry your fucking panties, and try to focus on your own boring lives.

The apocalypse will be televised! And you’d rather sit at home watching it with some popcorn, nodding your head in disbelief, than look out your fucking window, or just look in the mirror and see it all for yourself. Some folks wouldn’t recognize the apocalypse without a little dramatic anchor commentary.

But the critic says that there are no heroes, there are no villains, and even the victims are comic. So I say free Roman! Fuck, free Charlie while you’re at it. But somebody please lock up Oprah.

Suddenly it’s just me and the bartender. The place is pretty big I realize, sitting down with my Corona. It’s completely silent except for the ringing in my ears. The bartender says he cried all day after hearing the news about Michael Jackson and tells me about some internet rumor that the pop star faked his death and is living in some kind of fortress of solitude to wait out the apocalypse of 2012. It’s probably true that if you have trouble surviving a pre-apocalyptic world, you start preparing, and even longing, for a post-apocalyptic world. It’s not much different than the afterlife sold to peasants but I don’t know where anyone got the idea that the apocalypse will be sudden and quick. It could be never ending, and it could have been going on for a long long time now. Some folks wouldn’t know the apocalypse if it fucked them in the ass.

I think about Michael, the child star of the 70’s, the idol to children everywhere in the 80’s, the accused child molester of the 90’s, and the dead man-child of 2009. When he danced the moonwalk it was seen on TV by more people than when a man walked on the moon back in 1969, only weeks before Charlie taught his band to fight. And for a moment, just as many people questioned whether or not what they were seeing was real. He walked backwards but appeared to walk forward. He was black but he appeared to be white. He was a man who appeared to be a woman. He was a real person who appeared to be a television personality. And he was a sinner who appeared to be a saint.
 

Bartender–Shirley Temple, and a half a lude too, in case things get lewd.

In 1968, a year before the moon landing, Stanley Kubrick unveiled his epic space odyssey. Well, 2001 came and went, with no fetus growing in the womb of outer space. But I was at a discotheque and I swear I saw those big blue eyes peering back from inside the mirror ball just before it came crashing to the floor. You see, the children are our future, and the future is looking scolding hot right now.

I think of little Alice Liddell who went chasing rabbits through Lewis Carroll’s looking glass. And I think of Carroll’s rumored pedophilia. “Go ask Alice, I think she’ll know. When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead. Remember what the dormouse said–Feed your head, feed your head…”

Meanwhile… Nazi deputy master Rudolf Hess was on a secret mission that night. The loneliest soul in Spandau was up for harmonic conversion. He hadn’t answered Charlie’s letter. He wasn’t in a writing mood. Shit, he didn’t even leave a note before they put the noose around his neck and made that suicide happen! Well, he’s in Heaven with Roman’s mommy now. And there was a buzzing in the garden, but it wasn’t a bee. You see, the radio had been left on, and the radio was still playing 1943… Letter or not, Charlie got his response, loud and clear– “Abraxus.”

Over and out, Rudy. Okay now, you been in prison longer than anyone else, Charlie, AKA Riff Raxus. But Roman’s got a year on you and he’s been in and out of the prison of his mind all the live long day. That reminds me, I used to have these striped pajamas that I’d wear as a scrawny little child. My father called me “Aushwitz” when he tucked me in. Thanks for the bedtime story, old man. “Like the fairy tales you tell children so they are better equipped to handle their lives as people buried alive,” the director said to me in his thick sultry German voice before he did a line off my deep six. That was the last time I saw him buried alive.

There’s still plenty of fairy tales and bible stories to be made into movies, but they won’t be made by Roman P, they’ll be made by McG, and they’ll be starring you and me. But hey, there’s more than one way to kill a couple hours or three, right? But if it all adds up to a lifetime you’ll have to help me with my arithmetic, people. Like all good truants, I missed 3rd grade math. That’s my childhood.

Reality just ain’t what it used to be. Or as the boogeyman formerly known as Charles Manson said, “A long time ago being crazy meant something. Nowadays everybody’s crazy.” Amen, brother Charlie, Amen… ahem, ahem, hmm, …hmmmmmm.
 
Bartender, make my next one a double.

Well, you’ve all seen The Tenant, let’s torture that little Jew until he does it himself.

Charlie wept… “We’re not in Wonderland anymore, Alice.”

Copyright 2009, Gib Strange, copywrong as well.