“Sure you can, old sport,” Gatsby said. Boy, was he wrong.  I remember when professor Wadlington talked to us about this Gatsby, and how he’d been so misguided. He’d invested everything into going back in time to get something that was impossible. Poor Gatsby. It was always too late.

I’m only looking forward. Back there is nothing. Absolutely nothing.  Everything is ahead.

Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds comes out on dvd in December. To celebrate, here’s my unabrigded interview with the director earlier this fall. Two 20 minute sesssions, along with two different Swedish journalists. This is session one. Read the original story here and my interview with Col. Landa actor Christoph Waltz here (both in Norwegian).

How long have you wanted to do scene from a French Café?

QT: That’s a good question. The thing is, it’s only natural when we do a World War II movie, especially taking place in Nazi-occupied France, to do a scene in a French café, because I have a tendency to have scenes take place in restaurants all the time. The first scene for the first movie I ever wrote from beginning to end was Reservoir Dogs, and that took place in a restaurant. I’m a big fan of writing scenes that takes place in restaurants, so a French café is absolutely natural for me in the context of the story.

You have put a lot of attention to languages in the movie, which is not alway the case in WWII movies, where the Germans speak English with a German accent.

QT: The languages was definitely always in the script, it was always my intention. Some people are speculating, will that limit the movie’s potential, because of all the different languages? I think it’s the exact opposite. The stuff where the Germans speak like The Royal Shakespearan Company out of The Old Vic, I think that’s what makes those movies old-fashioned. That was like your father’s WWII movies. It was a contrivance you accepted then, but I don’t think people accept that anymore. Literally, that was makes them seem old-fashioned.

That’s one way of looking at it, just from an aesthetic way, but the other way is actually practical as far as the movie is concerned. Your ability with languages, either to understand them or to speak them, was the difference between life and death. Language itself is one of the most important aspects of this movie, as well it would be, in Europe. It wouldn’t even be the same thing if you were trying to deal with WWII as far as Asia was concerned. The movie could take place in China, and you wouldn’t have to speak anything other than Mandarin.

In the case of Europe, all the time you see movies like Where Eagles Dare. In it, Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are supposed to be able to speak German so magnificently well that they could put on officer uniforms and walk into a tavern and just kick it in German, and they just know two-three-four ways about it. No worries whatsoever! For the contrivance of the movie, you more or less buy it.

But if Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood were speaking German, that would be a senseful element that would be brought into the movie. And because there would be German speakers out there, it would either be completely phony or it would be exciting. But then again, at the same time, it’s like the way a second generation person speaks German, that they learned in either Canada or they learned in America, is not necessarily the way a person who lives in Frankfurt is going to speak it. That’s just a whole aspect of excitement and suspense that I tried to take full advantage of, because it really hadn’t been explored to the depth that I was exploring it before.

Also, you have all these wonderful German actors, and what often happens in international productions. You’ll have American and British actors, speaking in their own language, maybe feign a Spanish accent, but maybe not. Jeremy Irons doesn’t do that, but then Antonio Banderas walks in, and he truly has a Spanish accent, but where the fuck does he come from? So he actually throws the film off by being authentic. With all these wonderful German actors in there, they all had to be speaking the right thing. That was also the reason that I didn’t cast Dutch or Swedish actors as, I wanted them to be German.

How will the movie be dubbed in Europe?

QT: I actually worked on the dubbing myself, especially when it comes to France, Italy and German. I ended up with a story that couldn’t be dubbed, because it wouldn’t make sense if everybody in the movie spoke the same language. What happened, in the case of Italy and France. German is German, but English will be dubbed. In the case of Germany, French becomes French.

There have been made a lot of WWII movies from historical sources. Was it important for you to make up your own story? To keep distance to History?

QT: You described it pretty well, that’s pretty much the same. I did a tremendous amount of research when I started to write the story a long time ago. I found that I was held back by the research, I got enamored with it. Six months doing research, and spent six months of trying to fit the research into my story. I wanted to show off all this knowledge that I gained, I wanted to give a history lesson.

But I had to get over that. When it comes to stuff like German cinema under The Third Reich, I already had a lot of information on that, so I didn’t need to do a lot of research as far as that was concerned. When I picked up the pen to start writing the story again, I already had done research about the occupation in France, so I had a lot of stuff back here.

I just wrote my story, I didn’t look up anything, and anything that I came to that I didn’t know exactly the historical right and wrongs of it, we’re talking about things like when was curfew during the occupation, I just made it up. I made it up so I wouldn’t have to go backwards. So I could just keep telling my story, I got the freedom to tell my the sory the way I would normally tell them. When I got to the end of it, I looked up the facts. And sometime I liked my way better.

This is the way I normally write, by not trying to make it any different. In a script you have tunnels that your characters can get into, and screenwriters put roadblocks in front of some tunnels, because they can’t afford to have their characters go that road if they want to sell it as a movie. I never had these roadblocks, but this time history itself was a roadblock. I was more or less prepared to respect these roadblocks, but when I got to them, I realised “fuck it”: My characters are gonna do what my characters are gonna do.

My characters don’t know that this is history, my characters don’t know that they can’t go down this road. History hasn’t happened yet, they can do it. If one wants to look at my story as a fairytale, then you’re more than welcome to look at it that way. I don’t look at it like that way. I look at like: My characters changed the outcome of the war. Now that didn’t happen, because my characters didn’t exist. But if they had existed, all that happened in this movie is very plausible.

It seems that Inglourious Basterds treats History like a Western movie treats the history of the American West. It’s more like World War II told as a western, populated with characters and myths.

QT: You guys are really good, I would agree with that. I did actually approach this movie as a way that you would approach a western. In westerns, there is reality and myth, and what survives is what survives.

How did you get to work with Brad Pitt?

QT: We always wanted to work together, but we’ve waited for the right character. While I wrote Aldo, it all came together. One of the things that make Brad so iconic for the role is… Brad’s in a great place as far his career and his superstar persona is concerned. He’s been around for a while, done a lot of movies and worked with some of the most talented directors. He knows what he’s doing, and he’s not a boy anymore. He’s grown out of his boyish good looks, and now they’ve become handsome manly good looks.

There is this special thing about working with Brad at this time, at this time in his career, this is one of the most exciting times to work with him. Both as part of his popularity is concerned, and as far his iconic stature and persona is concerned. He gets thrilling when you set up a shot and look through the viewfinder at him. I can imagine this is the same kinda thrill that Sydney Pollack felt when he was shooting Jeremiah Johnson with Robert Redford. He looked through the viewfinder, and thought he was at the movie theatre.

Cinema plays a big part in this movie, but do you think you could ever make a movie from a time where there was no movies?

QT: You mean before the 20th century? Yeah, I could do that. If I did a swashbuckler it wouldn’t be about the love of cinema, or maybe it would? A western maybe, how would that end up working out? I did not think that years ago, when I came up with the idea of Inglourious Basterds, that at the end of the day that the movie would end being this wild love letter to cinema.

I never thought of that when I came up with the idea of doing a WWII movie. But at some point, when I was writing the first scene between Shoshanna and Fredrick Zoller, it ended up as a conversation about Max Linder. Man, I’ll  do a WWII movie and it becomes a movie about cinema. I guess that’s who I am.

You must have enjoyed shooting the movie at the legendary Studio Babelsberg?

QT: That was so exciting! I’m a lot like Archie Hickox in the movie, and I have a fetishist love of German cinema of the 1920’s and those directors. Actually we were not only shooting in the studio, but at the same sound stages where Josef von Sternberg shot Der Blaue Engel. The place where we built the theatre, that was the stage Marlene Dietrich sang “Falling in Love Again”. And to actually walk the streets where G.W. Pabst walked, our productions offices were on Papst Strasse.

To make the movies where Papst made his movies, the fact that the studio logo was the False Mariah from Metropolis. It was more exciting than working at 2oth Century Fox. The history was lovely there, it goes all the way, our production manager’s office was actually Joseph Goebbel’s old office.

You picked your German actors from the very best of the crop?

QT: I was thinking about the international audience, and I didn’t want a famous person playing Hitler. If it’s Alec Guiness or Anthony Hopkins as Hitler you think “oh that’s Anthony Hopkins doing Hitler”. But if I watch a minor WWII movie and Hitler shows up, looking more or less like Hitler, I’ll go “okay, that’s Hitler”. I don’t really question it.

Martin Wuttke, who plays Hitler is very well known in Germany, where he had done one of the best Hitler performances ever, in a Brecht play where Hitler turns into a dog. He actually said no several times, so we had to talk him into it. In the case of Sylvester Groth, who played Goebbels, he played him before in Mein Führer, which was a black comedy. He’s an amazing actor, just look at the way he brings comedy into his Goebbels portrayal, especially at the scene that takes place at their little Hollywood luncheon. That’s the sequence that’s closest to Ernest Lubisch’s To Be or not To Be. I love the idea of dealing with Goebbels, not as this architect of evil, but as his job as a studio head. Dealing with him in this practical job, that he considered his number one job, and was the production of all these movies. He’s not like Louis DeMille, he’s not a businessman, he’s an artist at heart, much closer to David Zelnick.

And doing a WWII movie got you an opportunity to portray nazis, which you can say are very stylish villains, fashionwise.

QT: Well, whatever you want to say about the Nazis, you really can’t complain about their fashion sense, ha ha. They definitely had a very striking look, even their architecture was something to behold. It was a lot of fun, going through the uniforms and learning about them. Even the two guards outside Hitler’s opera box, those were special uniforms done for Hitler’s guard, and they have never actually been captured on film before. That was eye-opening and interesting.

What do you think of Stockholm? (obligatory question from Swedish journalist)

QT: This is my seventh visit to Stockholm, and it’s a very nice town, with a couple of bars I like. Also, you have one of the most amazing records stores in the world, Pet Sounds. Whenever you bring the name up to a vinyl collector, you think of the highest quality when you hear the name.

Part two of this interview will be published tomorrow.

CLICK FOR TRAILER

What?

Computer expert Martin Bishop (Redford) heads a team of renegade hackers, including a former CIA employee (Sidney Poitier), a gadgets wizard (Dan Aykroyd), a young genius (River Phoenix) and a blind soundman (David Strathairn) who are routinely hired to test security systems. But Bishop’s past comes back to haunt him when government agents blackmail the “sneakers” into carrying out a covert operation: tracking down an elusive black box. Along with his former girlfriend (Mary McDonnell), Bishop’s team retrieves the box and makes a stunning discovery, the device can break into any computer system into the world.

With factions from all sides willing to kill for the powerful box, Bishop and his team embark on their most dangerous assignment ever into his exhilarating high-tech caper from Phil Alden Robinson.

Where?

About 8,000 feet up (lower due to high winds)

With?

Same bunch of now-tanned/burnt people. Plus more than one crying baby.

Why?

Again, it was one of those movies I missed first time around and dismissed due to not really understanding what was meant to be going on from the trailer. At this point I was about 10 so can be forgiven my idiocy. Several years later, a guy I once worked with used to rave about it and nagged me to watch it, but again, I never got around to it.

Then I found it for £3.99, saw the FULL cast and had to have it. What a cast! Hopefully the film can live up to it and it won’t be like Burn Hollywood, Burn.

Worth It?

I enjoyed this a ton, every one of those top name actors delivers in the only way they know how. Redford oozes cool, Poitier is sensible with a mean streak, Phoenix is kooky, Aykroyd is mental, Kinglsey is over the top!

The whole movie just delivers on all of its promise. Granted, the “twist” could be guessed from a mile off, but it didn’t matter as I was so wrapped up in what was going to happen and how the team could figure it out. They’re like a group of real world James Bonds minus the schmaltz and cockiness, and they plan it to the wire, and these plans get tense as the film moves along.

I don’t want to say too much as I want everyone to check this movie out in the same way I did, a complete blank slate and no preconceptions.

All I will say, is watch.this.movie. You won’t regret it!

8/10

Not “a” childhood favorite, but “the” childhood favorite: The Sting. Taught me everything I needed to know about the blurry area between “right” and “wrong.” Is it really unethical to steal from someone who steals for a living? Is it immoral to lie to a guy who had your best friend killed? Yeah, they’re all perpetuating criminal activity in a world overrun with it, but it’s every man for himself when the cops are as dirty as the big-con bosses. This is the type of film that appeals to the crook in all of us – not unlike the previous Newman-Redford film from George Roy Hill, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. They are designed to elicit enormous pleasure from their audience, and they deliver. As good as the poker scenes are in the recent Casino Royale, they have none of the charm of Paul Newman or the joy of seeing Robert Shaw’s face when someone cheats him better than he cheats. With a face and an accent and a posture like Shaw’s who needs the villain’s eye to weep blood? This is one of those films that doesn’t encourage its viewers to think as much as to feel. On the other hand, something is being said about class. Luther’s retirement offers him the occasion to push Hooker toward the big con, insisting that he has what it takes – including the skin tone – to succeed at a higher level. Henry Gondorf is reduced to operating a merry-go-round, lying low until an opportunity like this arises to hit one of the big guys where it hurts. The film is shot completely from the shabby point of view of the lower class. Attention is even given to the little guys who want in on the big heist. The film revels in leveling class structures by transgressing hypocritical moral boundaries. Characters do what they do because they have to and because society doesn’t really expect them to do differently. These are not the Ocean’s Eleven guys, pretty boys who wear Versace, frost their hair, wax their chests, and blow their dough on attempts to climb the capitalist ladder. They’re beautiful enough that they’re content to couple with sub-par dames and wear suspenders over their wife-beaters.

Zarte 13 bis 14 Jahre jung und schon auf der großen Leinwand zu sehen. Und dass nicht etwa in einem schnöden Teeniefilm, sondern in einem waschechtem Drama/Liebesfilm. Nun, Scarlett Johansson hatte vor über 10 Jahren mit der Romanze wenig zu tun, tragisch ging es ihrer Rolle schon eher an den Kragen.

Grace (Scarlett Johansson) liebt ihr Pferd Pilgrim über alles. Um mit ihrer besten Freundin auszureiten, schleicht sie sich aus dem Haus und läuft zum Stall. Bester Laune beginnt der Reitausflug und endet schließlich in einem folgeschweren Unglück. Graces Freundin und ihr Pferd werden von einem tonnenschweren Truck erwischt, überleben diesen Unfall nicht, während Grace selbst schwer verletzt und traumatisiert am Leben bleibt. Nachdem ihr das rechte Bein amputiert werden musste, ist das bloß eine äußere Änderung in ihrem Leben. Denn so schnell und einfach schafft sie es verständlicherweise nicht wieder in den Alltag hineinzufinden. Deshalb beschließt sie, ihr Pferd wiedersehen zu wollen. Doch sie muss feststellen, dass auch Pilgrim schwerste Wunden davongetragen hat und ebenfalls traumatisiert sein Dasein fristet. Ihre Mutter Annie MacLean (Kristin Scott Thomas) beschließt, Hilfe für Pilgrim zu suchen, weil sie dessen Heilung als einzi9g verbliebenes Heilmittel für ihre Tochter sieht. Dabei stößt sie auf den Pferdeflüsterer Tom Booker (Robert Redford), der sie vorerst abwimmelt.  Entgegen aller Einwände ihres Mannes Robert (Sam Neill) und Grace fährt sie mit Pilgrim und ihrer Tochter über tausend Meilen weit von New York ins beschauliche Montana. Tom nimmt sich letztlich doch ihres Pferdes an, unter der Voraussetzung, dass Grace ihm mit Pilgrim hilft. Schon nach kurzer Zeit kümmert sich Tom nicht nur noch um das Pferd, sondern auch um Grace und ihre Mutter, deren Beziehung zueinander zerrüttet ist wie nie zuvor. Annie verliebt sich dabei in Tom und sieht sich bald einem nicht entfliehbarem Konflikt gegenüber.

[Upon having her leg amputated]
Grace: Who’s going to want me now?
———————-
Tom Booker: There was a boy from the Blackfeet reservation, he used to do some work around here for a while. Sixteen, strong kid, good kid. He and I were really, really good friends. One day he went swimming and dove headfirst into the lake… and right into a rock. And it snapped his neck, paralyzed him. And after the accident I’d look in on him from time to time. But he wasn’t there. It was like his mind, his spirit, whatever you want to call it, just disappeared. The only thing left was just anger. Just sort of as if the… the boy I once knew just went somewhere else.
Grace: I know where he goes.
Tom Booker: I know you do. Don’t you disappear.

Quelle: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119314/quotes

“Der Pferdeflüsterer” legt sich nicht auf Genregrenzen fest. Mal stehen Pilgrim und Grace im Vordergrund, doch phasenweise drängt sich die Liebesgeschichte um Tom und Annie vor. Im Herzen scheint der Film sich aber eher ein Drama zu sein, in dem sich eine Liebesgeschichte entwickelt. Denn den Rahmen bildet ganz klar die Verfassung der jungen Grace. Zuerst durchaus glücklich, bis sie sich nachvollziehbar zu einem scheuen und zurückgezogenem Mädchen entwickelt. Gerade aufgrund dieser schwierigen Entwicklung muss man Scarlett Johanssons Leistung hoch einschätzen. Denn Grace wird tatsächlich zu einer Identifikationsfigur und ihr charakteristischer Wandel wirkt durchaus glaubhaft.

Wie es im Filmgeschäft aber oft vorkommt, geraten die eigentlichen Hauptfiguren ein wenig in den Hintergrund, wenn die übrigen Rollen von Stars besetzt werden. Der Film trägt ja schon den Titel “Der Pferdeflüsterer”. Doch die Geschichte konzentriert sich zu sehr auf Tom Booker alias Robert Redford, welcher auch gleich noch in die Rollen des Regisseurs und Produzenten schlüpfte. Auch Kristin Scott Thomas rückt sehr in den Vordergrund, wodurch der Film sich phasenweise wirklich zu einem Liebesfilm entwickeln kann, wobei der Fokus doch eher auf Grace liegen sollte.

Möglicherweise sollte einer jungen Darstellerin auch nicht zu viel zugemutet werden, Scarlett Johansson lässt jedoch einiges an Talent aufblitzen und wird vom restlichen Ensemble willig in seine Reihen aufgenommen und auch nicht von Oscargewinner Robert Redford gnadenlos in den Schatten gestellt. Tatsächlich ist das Casting sehr gelungen, da alle Schauspieler gut miteinander harmonieren und die verschiedenen Rollen und gegenseitige Beziehungen authentisch auf die Leinwand übertragen können. Mit Chris Cooper (“American Beauty”) und Dianne Wiest (“Edward mit den Scherenhänden”) hat Redford gleich noch zwei weitere oscarprämierte Schauspieler ins Team locken können – bei so viel schauspielerischem Können kann ja nicht viel schiefgehen.

Tatsächlich ist eben der größte Haken an der Geschichte, dass Redford nie ganz genau weiß, in welche Richtung er den Film letztlich lenken will und wo der Fokus liegen soll. In Gedanken bleibt dieser zwar doch auf Graces Schicksal. Auf auf der Leinwand wandert er jedoch zu häufig hin und her. Neben der tollen Schauspielerriege bieten die wunderschönen Naturaufnahmen noch einiges an Schauwerten und schlagen das Publikum in ihren Bann. Für Pferdefans führt hingegen kein Weg an diesem Film vorbei.

Sou um grande fã de westerns. Principalmente deste retro dos anos 70, realizado por Sydney Pollack. Tem tudo, as espingardas, as setas, os índios, música country, montanhas, cavalos, cabanas de madeira,etc. O tema deste filme é o conflito com os nativos americanos. Trata-se de homem, Jeremiah Jonhson interpretado por Robert Redford, que decide viver na solidão na montanha. Ao longo do filme está sempre presente a paz e beleza das montanhas, rios, árvores e toda a beleza selvagem da América do Norte, contrastando com a brutalidade que a sobrevivência exige. A fotografia é excelente e a interpretação do Robert Redford é à boa maneira dos filmes de cowboys. Um homem duro, com um sentido rectilíneo de moral, luta para sobreviver, procura a serenidade, mas acaba sempre por de de caras com a crueza da natureza dos homens.

Um filme com semelhanças ao “Danças com Lobos”, outro magistral obra da sétima arte, o herói também se casa com uma índia, e mantém uma relação muito próxima com esse povo, no entanto, neste filme essa relação é mais conflituosa.

Abençoado canal Hollywood, filmes dia e noite, sem publicidade, apenas com intervalos para falar sobre actores e outros filmes!

“Infatuation is when you think he’s as sexy as Robert Redford, as smart as Henry Kissinger, as noble as Ralph Nader, as funny as Woody Allen, and as athletic as Jimmy Conners. Love is when you realize that he’s as sexy as Woody Allen, as smart as Jimmy Connors, as funny as Ralph Nader, as athletic as Henry Kissinger and nothing like Robert Redford – but you’ll take him anyway.“
~ Judith Viorst

Coaching thought: Choose who you love and choose them well. Let them be who they are and love them for it.

Life & Business Coach Katie Mattson • Momentum • Energize Your Moment

En 1980, Robert Redford era ya una estrella consagrada. Descalzos por el parque, Dos hombres y un destino, El golpe, El gran Gatsby y Todos los hombres del presidente habían forjado una sólida carrera que le había convertido en uno de los intérpretes más deseados, tanto por productores/directores como por las masas, ascendido a los altares de galanes como Brando y Newman. A Redford, sin embargo, le faltaba algo: ponerse detrás de las cámaras. La excusa la encontró en una novela de Judith Guest que le recordó, por cómo se describían los problemas en el hogar, a su propia familia.

Los problemas que cuenta Ordinary people no son precisamente banales. La familia (papá, mamá y Conrad, hijo adolescente) vive marcada por una tragedia. Un hecho fatal (que no desvelaremos) en el que se vio involucrado Conrad; su sentimiento de culpa es tan abrumador que intentó suicidarse. Que no lo consiguiera no significa que ese sentimiento haya desaparecido: es un chico atormentado, angustiado, en perpetuo estado de furia y desasosiego. Vuelve al instituto, al equipo de natación, pero el peso de la culpa es casi insoportable. Conrad tiene el apoyo de papá, un hombre básicamente bueno y preocupado, y el del doctor Berger, pero no el de mamá, una harpía en toda regla que no le perdona lo ocurrido y parece incapaz de apreciar hasta qué punto sufre el chico. Mientras Conrad lucha por recuperar su vida, la familia camina hacia la desintegración.

Eligiendo un drama intenso y complejo, Redford demostró que cambiar el rol de actor por el de director no obedecía, precisamente, al capricho de una estrella aburrida. La densa novel de Guest obligó a un tratamiento de dos años y medio hasta convertirse en un guión pulido, obra y gracia del solvente Alvin Sargent. Sargent, que había ganado el Oscar por el libreto de Julia, repitió estatuilla con Ordinary people, merecida recompensa a tan ardua labor. No acabó aquí el reconocimiento de la Academia: generosa, bendijo a Redford, un novato, reconociéndole como mejor realizador, y consideró que su cinta había sido la mejor del año. Un botín que se completó con otro Oscar no menos merecido: el de mejor actor secundario, aunque su rol fuera principal, para Timothy Hutton.

La carrera de Hutton ha oscilado desde entonces entre lo frustrante y lo anodino pero, como le ocurrió a Redford, lo bordó con su primera película (contaba sólo con papeles en televisión). Tenía 20 años pero resultaba perfecto como adolescente, e impregnó a su interpretación de tal grado de veracidad (ha asegurado que no se sirvió de la muerte de su propio padre, ocurrida meses antes, pero quién sabe) que, si la película funciona, es en gran medida porque supo zambullirse con éxito en el complejo papel de un crío depresivo aplastado por la culpa. Después, lo dicho: sin noticias de Hutton, reciclado en actor insustancial.

El reparto, sólido, lo completan Donald Sutherland, impecable como el padre, y Mary Tyler Moore como la madre, en un tour de force, como les gusta a los ”entendidos”, que la obligó a dejar sus habituales papeles amables para reciclarse en una cabrona bastante desalmada. Nominación para ella, así como para Judd Hirsch, el médico.

Redford, sin haberse prodigado mucho (otras 6 cintas más en casi 30 años), no lo ha hecho mal cuando ha dirigido, aunque ha tendido a caer en lo ñoño (El río de la vida, El hombre que susurraba a los caballos); su gran excepción: Quiz Show, nominada a mejor película y mejor director, una delicia. Pero fue, quién lo iba a decir, en su estreno al otro lado de la cámara cuando ofreció mejores prestaciones. Demostró buen gusto al elegir el material, supo rodearse de buenos profesionales y sirvió una película de obligada visión; sin pirotecnias ni grandes alardes, pero con los pulmones suficientes para bucear en las honduras de los conflictos humanos.

(Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) 

Videoteca do Beto #17

Dirigido por George Roy Hill.

Elenco: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin, Henry Jones, Jeff Corey, George Furth, Cloris Leachman, Ted Cassidy, Kenneth Mars e Donelly Rhodes.

Roteiro: William Goldman.

Produção: John Foreman.

[Antes de qualquer coisa, gostaria de pedir que só leia esta crítica se já tiver assistido o filme. Para fazer uma análise mais detalhada é necessário citar cenas importantes da trama].

Extremamente alegre e divertido, a história da simpática e entrosada dupla de famosos bandidos do velho oeste norte-americano conquista pela leveza e inteligência que é contada. Recheada de diálogos deliciosos e cenas memoráveis, conta também com uma atuação marcante da dupla principal, além das belíssimas imagens captadas com competência pela câmera de George Roy Hill.

Butch Cassidy (Paul Newman) e Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) são dois amigos inseparáveis que lideram o Bando do Buraco na Parede e vivem de assaltar trens e bancos. Após escapar da perseguição implacável de um grupo formado pelo dono de uma poderosa companhia de trens, decidem mudar-se para a Bolívia, acompanhados de Etta (Katharine Ross), a namorada de Sundance. Quando chegam ao país sul-americano, descobrem que a vida não será tão fácil como imaginavam.

Logo na introdução dos personagens, durante um jogo de cartas no bar, percebemos o quanto a dupla de ladrões é respeitada no velho oeste, quando somente ao ouvir o nome de um deles, o adversário, durão até então, muda completamente de idéia e permite que a dupla leve o dinheiro. Esta cena, aliás, conclui a bela seqüência inicial do filme, feita com imagens antigas, em tom sépia, ocupando somente a metade esquerda da tela, enquanto os créditos são apresentados no lado direito. As imagens velhas e o som ao fundo dão à sensação de estar vendo um arquivo, como se fosse um jornal relatando os roubos de trem da gangue do buraco na parede. Em seguida, a fotografia (Direção de Conrad L. Hall) muda sutilmente para imagens coloridas, explorando ao máximo as lindas paisagens da região. Não são poucas as cenas em que salta aos olhos a beleza natural do local, como nas cachoeiras ou na fuga a cavalo da dupla. Mas não são apenas as paisagens que mostram a qualidade da boa direção de George Roy Hill. Observe como ele também faz interessantes movimentos de câmera, como no travelling que vai desde o Xerife (Jeff Corey) discursando para as pessoas sobre os assaltos do grupo até chegar ao ponto de vista de Butch e Sundance numa sacada, bem próxima dali. Posteriormente, vamos descobrir que o xerife e a dupla tem uma relação mais próxima do que imaginamos. Quando a dupla está de partida para a Bolívia, Hill cria um plano em close da bicicleta abandonada, simbolizando o fim da alegria na vida deles. Aquela bicicleta marcou um momento extremamente alegre do trio e agora é o gancho para uma mudança radical, demonstrada através de outro vídeo em tom sépia, desta vez com fotografias que aparentam antigas, embaladas por outra música ao fundo, mostrando o que aconteceu no período da viagem.

A citada cena da bicicleta nos apresenta também a linda canção “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head”, tão leve e deliciosa quanto o filme. Este momento em particular mostra como o cinema pode alcançar momentos únicos, com a mistura de imagens e som criando cenas de uma beleza magnífica na tela. Vemos os raios do sol passando entre o vão da madeira e a dupla Butch e Etta andando de bicicleta, num momento de extrema felicidade, que é praticamente palpável ao espectador. A trilha sonora, aliás, é um ponto de destaque no longa, pontuando momentos da narrativa. Além da bela canção, observe como no vídeo montado com fotos durante a viagem para a Bolívia a trilha inicia alegre e depois altera para um tom melancólico, indicando que o trio jamais voltaria a ser feliz como antes. Em outro momento, durante um assalto de Etta e Kid a um banco boliviano, a trilha acompanha exatamente o ritmo da cena, tornando-a ainda mais bem humorada. O filme, aliás, tem um humor refinado e bastante agradável, que casou muito bem com a simpática dupla de ladrões, facilitando a empatia com o público. Como exemplo de cenas divertidas, podemos citar aquela em que Woodcock (George Furth) não quer abrir o trem, o “tenso” primeiro encontro entre Kid e Etta, a hilária chegada à Bolívia e os problemas que Butch e Sundance enfrentam com o idioma espanhol.

É claro que para que tudo isto tivesse sucesso, seria necessária uma dupla de atores de talento. E felizmente este é o caso. Paul Newman está muito bem como o extremamente simpático Butch e Robert Redford é o parceiro perfeito, como o cínico Sundance. O entrosamento dos dois é essencial para o sucesso do longa. Juntos, formaram uma dupla graciosa e cativante. São muitas as cenas memoráveis, como o rosto de raiva de Redford antes de pular no rio, mostrando que ele, mesmo contrariado, seguia as idéias do amigo ou o engraçado momento em que demonstra com clareza sua surpresa e revolta ao descobrir que Butch não sabe falar espanhol tão bem quanto dizia. Finalmente, Katharine Ross interpreta com muito charme a apaixonada Etta, que larga sua profissão e sua vida pra trás para seguir os passos de Sundance, com a condição de não testemunhar a morte do amado. Quando decide voltar para os Estados Unidos, é por perceber que, por não conseguir largar aquela vida, a dupla está próxima de seu fim. As boas atuações do elenco deram ainda mais vida ao bom roteiro de William Goldman, repleto de diálogos maravilhosos e divertidos. Observe a franca conversa entre Butch e Woodcock, no segundo roubo de trem da Union Pacific. Os dois sabem que cada um está defendendo o seu lado e tratam a questão da forma mais direta possível, numa situação inusitada em se tratando de um assalto. Quando tentam escapar do grupo que os persegue implacavelmente, fugindo em um único cavalo e enviando o outro para despistá-los, Butch pergunta: “E se eles não seguirem o cavalo?”, e Kid responde: “Você é o cérebro Butch, vai pensar em algo”, demonstrando que Kid era habilidoso com a arma na mão, mas pouco se importava em utilizar o cérebro, deixando tudo com Cassidy. Outros trechos interessantes e divertidos que podemos citar são: “Se Hermann me pagasse o que ele gasta para me fazer parar de roubar, eu parava de roubar!”, “Quem sou eu, Smith ou Jones?”, dita na porta de um banco boliviano e a pergunta do general do exército boliviano indignado: “Dois homens??”, claramente espantado, já que o efetivo que trouxe era suficiente para uma guerra.

A discussão da dupla encurralada, cheia de brincadeiras irônicas, que acontece após o sensacional tiroteio contra os bolivianos, nos leva ao triste e coerente final. Os românticos e divertidos bandidos falam até com certa inocência de ir para a Austrália depois que saírem dali, mas no fundo já sabiam que aquele era o último momento deles. O elegante plano final nos poupa de ver o que o som nos indica e a cativante dupla de bandidos chega ao fim. Recheado de bom humor e com muito da áurea leve de sua época, “Butch Cassidy” é um western diferente, divertido e bastante agradável de assistir. Suas belas imagens, o delicioso roteiro e a talentosa dupla formada por Paul Newman e Robert Redford fazem deste filme uma maravilhosa experiência, conseguindo tornar graciosa a vida de dois bandidos e mostrando que o velho oeste tem mesmo um charme indiscutível na tela do cinema.

Texto publicado em 19 de Novembro de 2009 por Roberto Siqueira

Mr. Miller,

Good news! We’ve officially wrapped shooting for our cinema masterpiece,  trucKING Royalty! Earlier today, we completed the heart-warming ending when the audience thinks that I get shot in the heart by the crazy bad guy (played by Seth Green). Just after Eddie kills Seth, he runs over to me and cries out, “Curse you, bad guy, and curse this wild and reckless trucking lifestyle! Trucking killed my Danny… MY FRIEND!” It’s extremely touching and probably Oscar worthy. Then, as Eddie begins to pick me up to take me into the truck, I START COUGHING AND COMING BACK TO LIFE!

Eddie looks at me with astonishment – he saw me get shot in the chest! How could I have possibly survived that? Well, it turns out the bullet hit THE KEYS TO THE TRUCK IN MY FRONT SHIRT POCKET! How is that for a creative and totally-never-used-before plot twist? Trucking didn’t kill his Danny, trucking saved his Danny! I tell Eddie, “Come on, let’s go get some bacon and Natty Ice… on me,” which is a pun because earlier in the movie Eddie punches me and pours beer all over me (a moment of amazing improvisation by Eddie). We then hop into Barbara (obviously played by another truck with way more flame decals) and drive off into the sun set.

I’m pretty positive that we’re guaranteed AT LEAST Best Film if Mr. Scorsese holds his end of the bargain and adds more explosions and gun fights.

Tomorrow’s wrap party should be pretty exciting. I know Eddie is worried that we’ll be black-listed from Hollywood once we reveal our true identities, but I couldn’t imagine anyone being mad. If anything, they would probably appreciate the amount of moxie and acting expertise needed to pretend to be a talented actor for the entire length of a shoot (it worked for the entirety of Ben Affleck’s career – HO! ZING!).

We’ll let you know how the party works out. Tell Dad that Mr. Redford said that his role is “the most challenging yet ultimately most satisfying role he’s ever had the pleasure of portraying.”

-Danny

"When it's cooking it's cooking......they have the nuclear suit case bomb..."

When the President of the United States is caught with his pants down and charged with sexual misconduct, it’s up to his spin doctors to change public perception. Sound familiar? “Wag the Dog,” loosely structured from Larry Beinhart’s novel “American Hero,” is a darkly comic film that had the good fortune of being released when real life events in the Oval Office seemed to mirror events on the screen.

When “Wag The Dog” came out America was in the grip of the President Clinton Impeachment. Do you all remember it? What you may not remember is that why America was glued to C-SPAN, what was really going on was NAFTA.

The North American Free Trade Agreement. Ross Perot was the champion who shouted from every hill in America via Television….not to sign it. It lead to NAFTA and now you have the Security and Prosperity Partnership Of North America. Basically merging Canada, America and Mexico.

So what better way to keep the American people pre-occupied was simple. What was it? Keep real footage of the over 1 Million plus Iraq’s who were murdered for no reason because there were no weapons of mass destruction.

"Please support me by going to the mall shopping!"

Not only did Americans not see what was really happening in the middle east on television the way Americans did in the vietnam war, 2003 was the same year that the banker’s sub prime lending scam started allowing any American with a home to get a refinance and to be able to pull thousand of dollars of equity out. Of our all of these loans had a variable interest rate. So yeah, your payment might start out at like 1,250.00 dollars a month but within three years you would be paying something like 3,700 dollars. I was one of the unlucky ones who took out one of these loans. There is only one thing that saved our family. What was it? We sold our home in April of 2006. In fact, it was the last home to sell in our neighborhood. Thank God for intuition.

The truth of war 2009, wake up!!

On January 20, a changing of the guard occurred in the United States White House with two-term president George W. Bush being replaced by former freshman senator Barack Obama.

Bush had continued the policies of his predecessor Bill Clinton in relation to the Balkans, Iraq and Latin America – with troops and a massive military base in Kosovo, regular bombings of Iraq and a monumental expansion of military aid to Colombia – and in addition launched two wars of his own, those against Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq two years later.

Reports from the first twelve days of November indicate the global scope of the first attempt in history by one nation to achieve uncontested worldwide military power.

A survey of that period will trace recent trends across the globe with the alphabet as a compass.

Afghanistan

Any day now Washington may announce plans to add 40,000 or more troops to the 68,000 already there. [2] Plans are underway to accommodate that influx.

The American military compound at and fanning out from the Bagram Air Field has been expanded from 3,993 to 5,198 acres since 2001 and is in the process of further enlargement. It already hosts some 25,000 U.S. troops and contractors and “a new parking ramp supporting the world’s largest aircraft is to be completed this spring….[I]t is continuing to grow to keep up with the requirements of an escalating war and troop increases.” [3]

Regarding non-military personnel at Bagram and elsewhere in the nation, “Contractors in Afghanistan outnumber U.S. troops there” [4] as they do in Iraq.

The Army Times recently reported on the main purpose of the airbase at Bagram. Last month the number of U.S. and NATO air strikes in Afghanistan was the highest since July of 2008, with 647 bombs dropped in October compared to 752 a year ago July. “The airstrike numbers don’t include strafing runs, attacks by special operations AC-130 gunships, launches of small missiles or helicopter attacks.” [5]

Africa

A U.S. Defense Department news source reported on November 5 that Air Forces Africa commanders visited Mali and Senegal in West Africa. Vice commander Michael Callan “visited Mali’s 33d Parachute Regiment, a unit that carries out operations using tactical vehicles and communication equipment provided by the U.S. Defense and State Departments.” The Malian military is involved in a counterinsurgency war in the nation’s north aided by Washington.

A commander of Mali’s armed forces said, “Ninety-five percent of our soldiers were trained by the U.S, and we’ve engaged with you in exercises like Flintlock, Joint Planning and Assessment Teams and special bilateral training.” [6] Flintlock military exercises have been held in different locations on the African continent for years, this year’s being conducted by the new Africa Command (AFRICOM) for the first time. The U.S. also recently led multinational military exercises in Gabon and Uganda on both ends of the continent. [7]

The USS San Juan, “a fast-attack submarine,” arrived in South Africa on November 4, “setting the stage for a series of first-ever, at-sea engagements with the South African Navy submarine force.” [8]

Armenia

Robert Simmons [9], NATO’s special representative to the South Caucasus and Central Asia – former Senior Adviser to the United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs on NATO – was in this South Caucasus nation earlier this month and announced that he had recruited an initial contingent of Armenian troops for the war in Afghanistan. This marks the first deployment to that nation of soldiers from the Russian-led seven-nation Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a potential counterbalance to NATO in post-Soviet space.

“Simmons expressed NATO’s ‘appreciation to Armenia for its strong contributions’ to alliance missions, which he said began in Kosovo and will now be repeated in Afghanistan.” [10]

In reference to his mission of pulling yet another Russian ally into the U.S.-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization orbit, Simmons said, “We are continuing cooperation with the Armenian Defense Ministry. NATO assists the implementation of reforms and the development of strategically important documents.” [11]

Baltic Sea

After participating in NATO war games off the coast of Scotland, the guided-missile destroyer USS Cole paid visits to the capitals of Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea. “Cole hosted a reception in Helsinki, which was joined by Adm. Mark Fitzgerald, commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe, U.S. Naval Forces Africa and Allied Joint Forces Command Naples.

“Immediately following the departure from Helsinki, Cole arrived in Tallinn, Estonia, a few hours later.” [12]

The beginning of this month the guided-missile frigate USS John L. Hall with sailors of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 48 “completed a theater security cooperation (TSC) port visit to Klaipeda, Lithuania.”

A U.S. Navy official stated: “We are here as part of the United States Navy’s continuing presence in the Baltic Sea….We are also here to work with the Lithuanian Navy, who has been a valuable partner and our visit here is part of the ongoing relationship between our two countries and our two navies.” [13] [14]

On November 3 Estonian Defense Minister Jaak Aaviksoo was at the Pentagon to meet with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Associated Press reported on the occasion that he was “discussing with the United States why NATO needs plans in case his region is attacked.” [15]

Bangladesh

In early November three high-ranking American military officials arrived in the country. The three – U.S. Army Lieutenant General Benjamin R. Mixon, Commanding General of U.S. Army, Pacific, Vice-Admiral John M. Bird, Commander of U.S. Navy 7th Fleet, and U.S. Marine Corps Major General Randolph D. Alles, Director for Strategic Planning and Policy at the U.S. Pacific Command – engaged in discussions focusing “on interoperability, readiness in the region, security-force assistance, and bilateral approaches to maintaining regional stability.” [16]

On November 12 the U.S.-led Tiger Shark military exercises to train Bangladeshi naval commandos ended. A press release on the operation stated: “The training demonstrates the United States government’s commitment to Bangladesh and to regional security by promoting military-to-military relationships throughout Asia and the Pacific.” [17]

Black Sea

The Pentagon’s European Command (EUCOM) reported on November 2 that its Joint Task Force-East had completed an almost three-month series of trainings in Bulgaria and Romania which began on August 7 and included Stryker and Airborne units destined for the war in Afghanistan. [18] “Nearly 600 members of the Romanian Land Forces, 500 Bulgarian Land Forces, and more than 1,500 U.S. service members participated in this year’s combined training.” [19]

After U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden’s visit to the country on October 22, a news source in Romania wrote of Washington’s new interceptor missile plans: “A strong and modern surveillance system located in Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey could monitor three hot areas at once: the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Caspian and relevant zones in the Middle East.” [20]

Colombia

The Obama administration signed a ten-year military treaty with the Alvaro Uribe government on September 30 which “gives American military forces access to seven Colombian army, navy and air force bases, but also to major international civilian airports in the country. In addition, U.S. personnel and defense contractors will enjoy diplomatic immunity under the agreement.” [21]

A copy of the pact surfaced on November 4 and detailed that it “allows Washington access to civilian airports as well as military bases” and as a result “the US will have access to all international airports across the Andean nation including airports in the cities of Barranquilla, San Andres, Cartagena, Bogota, Cali, Medellin and Bucaramanga.” [22]

In the initial phase an estimated 1,400 U.S. personnel will be assigned to the seven bases with the likelihood that the number will be increased as Washington sees fit. [23]

Eva Golinger observed that one of the newly acquired bases, that at Palanquero, was identified by a American Air Force document as providing the Pentagon “an opportunity for conducting full spectrum operations throughout South America….” [24]

Two South American nations bordering or near Colombia, Venezuela and Bolivia, were not slow to respond.

Earlier this month Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez stated in his weekly radio and television address that “We cannot waste one day to fulfill our mission: to prepare for war and help the people to get ready for war,” [25] warning that an armed conflict with the U.S. client regime in Bogota “could extend throughout the whole continent.” [26]

Days earlier two Venezuelan National Guard troops were killed at a checkpoint near Colombia and Caracas deployed 15,000 troops to the border.

In his November 13 address Chavez added. “Don’t make a mistake, Mr. Obama, by ordering an attack against Venezuela by way of Colombia.” [27]

On the same day his Bolivian counterpart, President Evo Morales, warned “I am convinced that where there are military bases, the social peace, the democracy and the development of the nations as well as their integration are not guaranteed. These facilities are an open provocation against the peace.”

Morales also said that he failed to comprehend how the American head of state could have been awarded the Peace Nobel Price “when his country does everything to promote wars and conflicts.

“Obama must justify that award by withdrawing all the troops of his country from around the world….” [28]

Czech Republic

Following up on his visit to Prague in late October, on November 5 U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden hosted Czech President Vaclav Klaus at the White House and “they mostly discussed the U.S. plan for a new missile defence architecture.”

The two “also talked about the situation in Afghanistan and Iran” and “Klaus said the United States knows that it is necessary to continue with the anti-missile project in Europe.” [29]

The next day U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Alexander Vershbow met with Czech defense officials in their nation to discuss new American missile plans for Eastern Europe, ones intended to be “stronger, smarter, and swifter” than the previous Bush administration version and to incorporate all of Europe under a NATO umbrella.

Vershbow characterized the content of the talks as having presented “some concrete ideas to begin that process of developing the Czech role in the new approach” and said that the Czech contribution could include “potential facilities here on the territory of the Czech Republic.” [30]

On November 4 the local press announced that “A few U.S. delegations will visit the Czech Republic in November, following up on the recent visit by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, including an expert military team that arrives in Prague this Friday.”

One of those delegations will include Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs Ellen Tauscher, who “recently said the command for the managing and control of elements of the new version of anti-missile defence could be stationed in the Czech Republic.”

“The USA wants to build the system in cooperation with NATO.” [31]

Georgia

Earlier this week U.S. Marines completed the two-week Immediate Response 2009 military training exercises in the South Caucasus nation of Georgia. The preceding maneuvers of the same name, those of 2008 in which over 1,000 American troops participated, ended one day before Georgia started shelling neighboring South Ossetia and killed several people including a Russian peacekeeper. [32]

Days after that the U.S. client regime launched an all-out invasion of South Ossetia, triggering a five-day war with Russia.

The official purpose of this year’s exercises was to train Georgian troops to serve under NATO command in Afghanistan, but a Russian news source saw matters differently:

“Immediate Response was clearly designed not to fight against the Taliban or al-Qaeda…..Commander of US Army in Europe General Carter Ham visited Georgia to inspect the exercises but no one came from Afghanistan.

“Perhaps, the exercises were aimed at issuing a warning to Russia.” [33]

As the drills were ending Alexander Shliakhturov, chief of Russia’s military intelligence, said “that he did not rule out that Georgia might again use force against breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia.” [34]

A lengthier account of Shliakhturov’s concerns appeared in the Georgian media and included these quotes:

“According to our information, Georgia is still getting military aid from Ukraine, Israel and NATO. NATO countries, especially Eastern European countries, provide Georgia with arms and equipment, Israel provides Georgia with air equipment, the USA trains Georgian troops and Ukraine provides Georgia with heavy equipment, namely, tanks.”

“The Russian Intelligence Service is addressing other dangers too, namely, the efforts being made by the USA and NATO to bring Georgia and Ukraine into the alliance and the new US plan to locate anti-missile systems in Europe.” [35]

Four days later other Russian sources revealed “that the United States plans to supply weapons, including a Patriot-3 air defense system and shoulder-launched Stinger missiles, worth a total of $100 million, to Georgia.” [36]

The next day Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov “recalled the situation in the summer of 2008 when many countries ignored Russian warnings that modern arms in Saakashvili’s hands might prompt this man to unleash military aggression.” [37]

The chief of the Russian General Staff, General Nikolai Makarov, said “Georgia is getting large amounts of weapons supplied from abroad” and “Georgian military potential is currently higher than last August [2008].” [38]

India

Shortly after the Pentagon wrapped up the largest joint U.S.-Indian military exercises ever, Yudh Abhyas [Preparation for War] – which featured the first deployment of new American Stryker armored combat vehicles outside of Iraq and Afghanistan – at the end of October [39], it was announced that “India is negotiating with the United States to acquire state of the art Javelin anti-tank missiles worth several million dollars for large-scale induction.” [40]

Days earlier former president George W. Bush was in India and called on his host nation to join in the war in Afghanistan, urging the U.S. and India to “work together to win the war in Afghanistan.” [41]

Iraq

In early November Arabic language news sources revealed that “The US military has finished erecting an advanced radar system in Iraq to monitor the border with Iran, Syria and Turkey” and that “the radar is a preparatory measure aimed at providing the United States and its allies advanced control capabilities in event of a US military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.” [42]

Korean Peninsula

The South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported on November 1 that “The US and South Korea have completed joint action plans for responding to a regime collapse and other internal emergency situations in North Korea….” [46]

Citing an unidentified South Korean official, the report contains these details:

“South Korea and the US had long worked on Concept Plan 5029, to prepare for a regime collapse and other internal emergencies in North Korea.

“Since its inauguration last year, the [South Korean President] Lee Myung-bak government has pushed to convert the concept plan into an operational plan and it was recently completed.

“If the South Korea-US combined forces intervene in North Korea’s internal instabilities, the South Korean military will assume the leading role in consideration of neighboring countries, while the US military will be responsible for the removal of the North’s nuclear facilities and weapons.” [47]

On the final day of last month Washington expressed its satisfaction at South Korea redeploying troops to Afghanistan shortly after Pentagon chief Robert Gates’ visit to Seoul and the South Korean defense ministry on October 22.

“Washington supports and welcomes South Korea’s plans to deploy troops to Afghanistan…the U.S. Department of State said.” [48]

Kosovo

This month began with former U.S. president Bill Clinton arriving in the capital of Kosovo for the unveiling of a gaudy 11-foot gold-sprayed bronze statue of himself on November 1. [49]

He was being hailed by the breakaway entity’s nominal prime minister, former Kosovo Liberation Army chieftain Hashim Thaci, for his role in launching the 78-day NATO air war against Yugoslavia in March of 1999. That sustained bombing campaign, Operation Allied Force, inaugurated the North Atlantic Treaty Organization as an active war-making machine and issued in the ten-year war cycle that continues to this day with no indication of it ever abating.

A Russian commentary of the following day put the ceremony in perspective:

“Over the course of the 10-week conflict, NATO aircraft flew over 38,000 combat missions; even the German Luftwaffe had its first taste of combat over the skies of Yugoslavia since having its wings clipped in World War II.

“The ensuing 78-day aerial bombardment campaign, which grew continuously more aggressive and reckless, spared little infrastructure: factories, bridges, roads and power stations were all bombed with deadly accuracy. As a result, thousands of innocent civilians suffered great deprivation on both sides of the battle.

“In perhaps the worst public relations disaster for NATO during the conflict, five US ’smart’ bombs severely damaged the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three Chinese journalists. NATO officials, in an effort to cool Chinese outrage, blamed the error on outdated maps. Chinese officials rejected both the apologies and explanations.” [50]

Pakistan

Over the past year the nine-year-long U.S. and NATO war in Afghanistan has been extended into Pakistan, the so-called AfPak theater of operations.

On November 4 the U.S. launched its latest drone missile attack into North Waziristan, killing two Pakistanis.

“According to independent reports, since August 2008 alone, around 70 cross-border predator strikes carried out by American drones have resulted in the death of 687 Pakistani civilians.” [51]

The Nation, a Pakistani daily newspaper, reported on November 12 that the massive increase in NATO convoys crossing the country en route to Afghanistan are overwhelming the country’s highways and that “Pakistani authorities are simply helpless in checking truckloads of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) forces badly damaging the Indus Highway, the repair of which would cost billions of rupees to the national exchequer….NATO trucks and trailers have not been [held accountable] even once for the repair and maintenance work, while cracks are developing on the Indus Highway after every three to four months due to overloading….” [52]

Persian Gulf

A local news sources wrote on November 9 that “The US has deployed a new expeditionary force in the Persian Gulf – the first time a permanent self-sustaining US naval force has been set up in the region.

“The newly established Expeditionary Strike Group (ESG) 5 will serve in the area of responsibility of the US Navy 5th Fleet Combined Task Force (CTF) 51 in Manama, Bahrain,” where the entire U.S. Fifth Fleet is based. [53]

The Philippines

Two American servicemen were killed in a mine attack in Mindanao in late September, the first official deaths in the U.S.-assisted counterinsurgency war against not only the Abu Sayyaf Group but also the Moro National Liberation Front and the New People’s Army.

Filipino senators “called for the abrogation of the [Visiting Forces Agreement], saying the US Seabees killed in the explosion weren’t supposed to be there, as…the presence of the alleged land mine constitutes the area as a war zone.” [54]

Pentagon chief Robert Gates insisted earlier in the month “that some 600 US counter-terrorism troops will remain in the southern Philippines….” [55]

An opponent of the active American military involvement in the country said that “the US military has established its permanent presence in the Philippines through the auspices of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). Many of the US soldiers are currently deployed in Mindanao under the Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines headquartered in Zamboanga City.” [56]

On November 12 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Manila after the Philippine Senate recently passed a nonbinding resolution calling on the government to renegotiate the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, “which enables U.S. forces to train and assist Philippine troops” and “vowed…to continue American military support.” [57]

Poland

Before departing for the Philippines Clinton hosted Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in Washington “to discuss the new anti-missile shield plan.” [58]

On the same day, November 2, U.S. Air Force personnel transferred five C-130 Hercules military cargo planes from the Ramstein Air Base in Germany to the Powidz Air Base in Poland.

A U.S. Air Force website offered these details: “Prepping Polish aircrews and maintainers for the transition to the larger Lockheed-Martin built Hercules has been accomplished with a blend of English language and specialty knowledge training at bases in Texas and Arkansas and through a type of work mentorship exchange between U.S. and Polish air force personnel….”

A Polish air force officer revealed the purpose of the U.S. transfer in stating “The main task for the C-130s is to support our contingency operations in Afghanistan, Chad, Africa and everywhere Polish troops and supplies are needed.” [59]

After NATO defense chiefs, including the U.S.’s Gates, met in Slovakia late last month and U.S. Vice President Biden visited Poland at about the same time, Warsaw announced that it was deploying 600 more troops to Afghanistan, bringing the nation’s total toward the 3,000 mark.

Sweden

Sweden’s Chief of Defense Staff General Sverker Goranson was in Washington, D.C. in early November and was interviewed by Defense News.

His nation, which has for decades presented itself as neutral, has 500 troops serving under NATO command in Afghanistan – Sweden and Finland are in charge of four northern provinces for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force – and five Swedish soldiers were injured in a roadside bomb explosion on November 11, two them seriously.

Goranson’s comments demonstrate how far from anything resembling neutrality Sweden has recently strayed:

“The transformation we are conducting is a huge turnaround, and as I told Adm. [Michael] Mullen [U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman], we know where we are going….The major shift is globalization and the fact that most of the things we are dealing with aren’t necessarily about national boundaries.

“What turned Sweden around is not focusing on national defense, but being a part of this globalized world and solving issues together, because wherever conflicts are, whether in the Balkans or Afghanistan….”

When asked about the potential for a showdown in the Arctic Circle with Russia, he spoke about starting “discussions between the United States, Norway, Denmark and Canada [all NATO members] about what are the borders….As part of the Nordic Battle Group, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark are already sharing the operational picture in the air and on the sea, and that can be extended to the High North.”

Lastly, the Swedish visitor, whose meetings included one with the U.S.’s top military commander, acknowledged: “We had a defense resolution in 1996 that said the Swedish armed forces should be completely NATO-interoperable, which is the standard we have worked to accordingly, to make sure that wherever we go, as we did to Afghanistan.” [60]

Yemen

The government of Yemen is waging military operations against Shiite rebels in the north of the country and neighboring Saudi Arabia started launching air strikes against them earlier this month.

On November 10 Yemen’s official news agency, Saba, announced that the U.S. has signed a military cooperation agreement with the nation.

The news agency also quoted Brigadier General Jeffrey Smith, the commander of the U.S. 5th Signal Command, “as renewing Washington’s support for Yemen’s unity, security and stability.” [61]

One account of the agreement was provided under the headline “Yemen, US sign military deal to fight rebels.” [62]

As the rebels are Shiite Muslims, Washington is exploiting the conflict to recruit Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations against Iran.

Yemen, on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, lies directly across from Djibouti where the Pentagon maintains its only permanent base in Africa, Camp Lemonier, and from Somalia, which U.S. warships periodically shell from the Indian Ocean.

Link: http://bit.ly/war_war_3

i just came across a cookbook that i wrote and illustrated for my grandmother deedles while i was still living in washington, d.c.

deedles' cookbook

i remember working so hard on it (while pretending to be working on important items for the think tank with which i was employed)..luckily i worked in one of those hidden cubicles next to a large window (cleverly overlooking The Mayflower Hotel) that would easily reflect anyone approaching my desk. i remember gathering all of the recipes from friends and favorite cookbooks of mine and spending hours on the illustrations both at work and in my little apartment with the warped parquet floors.  

better than robert redford

i discovered a new blog today. sigh. the pictures below were provided by

theimpossiblecool

JFK Jr.

Redford

C. Eastwood

Devenue

G. Kelly

Directed by Robert Redford starring Bradd Pitt based on the semi-autobiographical novella A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean (1902-1990)

I really like political films, films that highlight a worthy debate or challenge your ideas. But I think there’s two types – political thrillers which often have action scenes and world altering consequences, and political commentaries which are dialogue heavy and only have personal considerations.

‘Lions for Lambs’ is option two.

It’s written very well, brings out a number of issues and considerations and the 3 plot strands are all engaging. But even though one of the strands follows two injured soldiers running out of time behind enemy lines, there doesn’t seem a sense of urgency or suspense. Maybe it’s Robert Redfords directing, the editing or use of music but the three stories (as thought provoking and challenging as they are) seem to just run flat near the end.

Meryl Streep is spot on as an exprienced yet conflicted journalist, Tom Cruise turns his hitman from ‘Collateral’ into a politician and Robert Redford fits well as the college political science proffesor. But none of them really seemed pushed to their limit.

However, this is a film that doesn’t ask for big emotional climaxes, it asks for realastic, in-depth, on screen debates between intelligent characters for 10 minutes at a time. And I guess, although it’s a different ask of an actor, it’s still just as taxing and skillful to deliver.

Overall, the acting is solid and the issues are big, numerous and worthy of being explored. If anything, I think this film tries to introduce people to the complexities of the world we live in and then challenge them to do something about it. I know it worked that way for me.

If you’re in the mood to be open and think about things, this is really good. If you just want to switch off, see things explode and be taken on a ride, this isn’t the film for it. 3/5 stars.

Parental Advisory
Although there is no sex, nudity or gratuitous violence, the rating is deserved because of strong language and graphic injury. Having said that, the swearing isn’t as frequent and perverse as you would normally find in a 15 rating.

Sabe o que artistas como Robert Redfort, Robert Deniro e Bono Vox tem em comum? Eles trabalham com hotelaria! Hein?

É, “trabalham” é um jeito simpático de dizer… eles são donos de hotéis!

Leia a matéria completa aqui e veja outros famosos que são proprietários de hotéis e onde eles ficam!

Uhhh huh…. *toke* *toke*…. twist… twist.. more twists in this flick!  Saw this movie a few years ago and enjoyed it, figured it was worth a second go round.   Shitloads of crazy espionage stuff…  cool dialogue(whatever the hell that means….), and lots of action.  Definitely a good stoner flick!

Two Bong Tokes

Mr. Miller,

I’m writing to you right now from Mr. Harvey Keitel’s luxury hotel suite. More specifically, the hot tub of Mr. Harvey Keitel’s luxury hotel suite, so I apologize for any bubble-bath smudges on this letter. Mr. Keitel was kind enough to invite me and Eddie out for a night on the town to thank us for casting him in trucKING Royalty. Any idea who he’s playing? Go ahead, guess.

Did you guess yourself? GREAT GUESS YOU’RE THE SMARTEST DUDE! You see, I really liked him in Little Nicky (despite it’s status as a non-light-hearted-buddy-flick) and our producer, Mr. Feinberg, said he could “pull some strings” and make it happen. So he pulled said strings and here I am playing Halo 3 with Mark Wahlberg (playing Mr. Feinberg) and Robert Redford (playing my Dad) in hot tub filled with Perrier. Eddie just got his room service consisting of caviar covered bacon and a six-pack of Natty-Light. As you can tell, things are going pretty well.

Mr. Feinberg is apparently such a huge Burt Reynolds fan (he still thinks we’re Burt and Orlando) that he gave us a movie deal despite our script being all of 17 pages long. Apparently that’s about 17 minutes of filming. Eddie seems a bit worried about the length, but I know Mr. Scorsese (he’s directing, by the way) will fill in the rest with lots of dramatic monologues and gun fights. Marty says this will be the Citizen Kane of light-hearted buddy flicks, and I tend to believe him.

The only draw back of pretending to be Orlando Bloom is having to wear this Legolas costume all the time. People keep asking me to show off my archery skills, but I keep telling them I’ve got a wrist injury from punching an Uruk-hai. It’s flawless logic, I’m not worried about getting caught AT ALL.

We’ll send you tickets to the premier, you’re going to LOVE this movie!

-Danny

1. SNOW STORMS IN NOVEMBER inevitably lead to:

a) predictions by newcomers and marketing types for a big winter to come;

b) Coors Light commercials;

c) mud.

2. TRUE OR FALSE:

a) Training really hard for the upcoming ski season has the opposite effect on the weather as washing your car.

b) You don’t need rock skis for the early season because you are such a good skier you won’t hit any.

c) Those skis you really want will still be there at the Ski Swap even though you slept in and won’t get there until after noon.

3. ASPEN’S ELEVEN-MINUTE GONDOLA ride is:

a) the greatest thing since sliced bread;

b) “the Gangola”;

c) a real challenge for the romantically gymnastic.

4. IT WILL ONLY SNOW IN EARNEST when (check one):

—you have to drive to Iowa for Thanksgiving;

—the last leaf has fallen from the Ute Council Tree;

—The Broncos are playing on Monday Night Football;

—The Weather Channel says it won’t.

TEST TIP #1: Wear ski boots around the house while doing the dishes, watching TV, hanging out the laundry, taking this test. Do not wear them to bed, unless you sleep alone.

5. REACT TO THE FOLLOWING statements with either: “Strongly agree,” “Strongly disagree,” or “I can’t allow myself to even begin to think about skiing right now or the rest of my day is toast.”

a) The ski bum in America is dead.

b) The ski bum in that movie Aspen Extreme was really cute, but for reasons of plot arc he had to die.

c) Spider Sabich, the inspiration for Robert Redford’s character in Downhill Racer, was really cute; it’s too bad his girlfriend, Claudine Longet, shot him stepping out of the shower and now he’s dead.

6. SKI BUMMING is:

a) a verb;

b) a noun;

c) something you do when you forgot to close the ski rack on the roof of your car and you only found out just now in the rear-view mirror;

d) dead.

7. A SEASON’S PASS is not more important than:

a) your health;

b) taking the next step on your career path;

c) life itself.

8. ESSAY QUESTION:

Define life itself.

9. IN THIRTY SECONDS, ARRANGE the following word clusters into their natural groupings:

Cat skiing / bar scene / cougars / core shots / “short skis suck” / “Single!” / high-speed quads / screaming quads / face shots / shots of aquavit.

10. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING by filling in the blank. Example: Carving is to skidding as Thanksgiving turkey is to happy-hour buffalo wings.

a) Man-made snow is to powder as Rush Limbaugh is to ———.

b) Thirty Rock is to Jack Benny as cashmere underwear is to ———.

c) Not skiing is to skiing as ——– is to Lindsey Vonn.

TEST TIP #2: Do not, repeat DO NOT cut pictures out of Skiing magazine and hang them in your bathroom. This will only make time pass more slowly.

11. YOU KNOW YOU’RE IN BIG EARLY-SEASON TROUBLE if:

a) the snow on runaway truck ramps looks good to you;

b) you’ve tuned and waxed your skis twice already;

c) you have a daisy chain on your fridge counting down the hours to opening day.

d) you actually considered stopping and hiking back to one of those emergency truck ramps.

12. AVALANCHES ARE NOT A WORRY in the mountains this time of year because:

a) the Colorado Avalanche Information Center is not on line yet for the season;

b) Democrats hold majorities in both houses of Congress;

c) Housing is so expensive in ski country, early-arriving snow crystals have mostly entered into stable, long-term bonding arrangements.

TEST TIP #3: Have a friend or loved one shower you with soap flakes in order to simulate deep powder immersion. In the bath tub is good.

13. SEEING TRACKS this early on Red Mountain Pass makes you want to:

a) get out the old Bonnas;

b) go to sleep for another few months;

c) order plane tickets to Cabo.

14. (Extra credit) Describe your last run of last ski season. (Bonus) Count the number of days in the intervening months when you have not entertained a single thought of sliding on snow. Be honest.

NEW YORK – OCTOBER 05: Actor Robert Redford attends the 2009 National Arts Awards at Cipriani 42nd Street on October 5, 2009 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
Content © 2009 Getty Images All rights reserved.

Robert Redford’s all-American blond good looks and subtle, sardonic sense of humor made him one of the most popular leading men of the late 1960s into the 1970s in features like “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”….

Okay, Harrison Ford is 63 and they are still talking about doing another Indiana Jones film. His last film, 2003’s “Hollywood Homicide” was probably the worst film of his career and it has taken him three long years to headline another film.

If you really think about it, it has been six years since Ford has done anything really interesting and that probably was 2000’s “What Lies Beneath” which was quite a good little thriller. And before that was probably 1997’s “Air Force One” which was the last time Ford has done an action film.

The plot for Harrison Ford’s latest film, “Firewall”, loosely revolves around a techno-suave bank robber (Paul Bettany) who breaks into a bank manager’s house and holds his family hostage until the manager digitally removes $100 million dollars from the bank’s richest clients.

Ford plays the manager and Oscar nominee Virginia Madsen plays his wife. Some of the key supporting players include Robert Patrick, Robert Forster and Alan Arkin.

From start to finish this film feels like a lot of other movies. The home invasion tactic, the likeable but evil villain, the stalwart hero, the ultra-slick computer gimmickry are all part of what makes this film another run-of-the-mill modern thriller.

Some of the sequences in this film reminded me of the 2004 Robert Redford film, “The Clearing” especially the conflict between Bettany and Ford.

I liked the performances of Ford and Bettany but really never felt anything for any of the supporting cast. Because this dynamic never flourished it is hard to say if this thriller succeeded in what it was trying to do.

There have been so many ransom films over the years that “Firewall” just falls among them. It isn’t any worse, good as or better than any of those films. It is just one of them and it is good for what it is.

It is a by-the-book thriller but it sure is nice seeing Ford back to his old tricks as the hero and having a couple nice action scenes even if he’s 63.

3.5 out of 5

So Says the Soothsayer.

G DeCandia holds a BFA in Acting from Emerson College. He is the Artistic Director of BCKSEET Productions and also one of its founding members. Currently, DeCandia plays as Prior Walter in BCKSEET’s production of “Angels in America” at Society Hill Playhouse in Philadelphia. For a full list of DeCandia’s directing and acting credits, visit BCKSEET’s homepage.

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Q: When did you first know that you wanted to be an actor and as a result, when and where did you get your first feel for acting? What was you first amateur and/or professional role?

A: My first dive into the craft was on a dare… I proclaimed, while watching TV, that acting was easy and I could do it and a friend said, “I dare you” and the rest as they say is history. I immediately enrolled in a summer acting program at Salem State College and that fall joined an acting class and the Middle School Drama Club.

My first show was called “The Three Sillies” and I played Throcmorton. My first paying gig was as a summer stck actor at Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, NH and my first professional gig was with the First National Touring Company of Rent, understudying the role of Mark and Roger.

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Q: Where did you first get your acting training from? How was that and what did you get out of it the most? Were there any specific teachers or lessons that have affected your acting ability today?

I have had been blessed with many inspirational teachers. My high school

G DeCandia (Prior) ans James Ijames (Belize)photo by Dan Plehal

drama coach actually brought me to all of my college auditions and the director of ““Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes” (Andrew Borthwick-Leslie) was a professor of mine at Emerson, as well.

Q: When you enter an audition, what goes through your mind? Are you usually calm or nervous? Do you know what you’re going to say and do?

G DeCandia (Prior) ans James Ijames (Belize)photo by Dan Plehal

A: Having sat on the other side of the table (meaning casting shows with out casting director for BCKSEET I have come to realize how arbitrary casting is. Little has to do with your personal audition.

A casting director is responsible for the whole picture. You may have nailed the part of the male lead but you are two feet shorter than the female lead. There are just so many factors that need to be considered that I am usually calm. My goal at an audition is to showcase my talent and personality to the best of my ability in a very short amount of time.

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Q: When you look for roles, what types of roles do you go for or is it pretty diverse?

A: I like “meaty” roles, something I can sink my teeth into, that is a challenge. I prefer social provocative work, shows that make people think as well as feel.

.

G DeCandia (Prior) and Kate Brennan (Harper)Photo by Dan Pleha

Q: What has been you most favorite role that you have ever played and why?

A: I was Alan Strang in Equus, which I played in high school. This is the part that made me want to act and was the first step in realizing I needed to be onstage.

I also had a blast playing the series of characters in Eric Bogosian’s “Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll” last season with BCKSEET.

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Q: What has always been your dream role to play and why?

Catherine Palfenier (The Angel) & G DeCandia (Prior)Photo by Dan Plehal

Q:You character in “Angels in America,” Prior was so believable and so heartfelt. What do you usually do to prepare for a role? How do you find a way to be able to emulate your character in such an effortless manner?

A: It is all about breath and listening. In this particularly, we have such a strong ensemble, that simply listening to what they have to say (and how they say it) allows me to fully realize the character. A strong connection to breath enables me to ride the emotion roller coaster that is Prior.

G DeCandia as Prior photo by Dan Plehal

Q: What was your favorite part, as a whole, of being a part of and working/acting in “Angels in America”?

A: It is the quintessential modern American play and we have with a truly gifted cast which makes it an honor to take the stage each night. So, I guess what I’m saying is that saying these words with these people has been a thrill.

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Q: How, when and where did BCKSEET Productions first get started and how did you end up becoming one of the founding members in addition to their artistic director? And as artistic director, what exactly are you in charge of?

(L to R) Brendan Norton (Louis), G DeCandia (Prior), Kate Brennan (Harper), Paul Felder (Joe). Photo by Dan Plehal

A: BCKSEET originated at Emerson College in 2000 out of the frustration of the college not choosing plays that truly inspired creatively and intellectually. We were theatre students by day and theatre artists by night, who were instructed  to focus on training and so we placed the company, like a precious cargo, in the “backseat.” Every hour outside of class was given to BCKSEET and as we graduated classes became the “day job.”

I have been BCKSEET’s only Artistic Director, but I have shared the responsibility with a Co-Artistic Director these last two years, which is currently Kate Brennan. Being a small company my responsibility is to make sure the company works. I, along with the other BCKSEET Company members, decide the programing each season, I obtain the performance rights, create the production budget, and both raise and contribute funds. I oversee casting, marketing, outreach and development as well as perform, direct and design.

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Q: You mentioned earlier that BCKSEET Productions started out in Boston, Massachusetts; went to Portsmouth, New Hampshire; then Brooklyn, New York; then Guatemala and now they’ve been in Philadelphia, PA  for the past five years. How has that been? How are the varying sites and environments been for you and as a result, why have you decided to stay in the Philadelphia area for the time being?

A: Each city has had its positive and negative qualities but the most invaluable

(LtoR) James Iajmes (Belize), Catherine Palfenier (the Angel) & G DeCandia (Prior) Photo by Dan Plehal

lesson learned is that of versatility. The ability to take the resources available and create a theatrical presentation can certainly be a feat. Over the years I have had the privilege to work with artists that have been able to make something out of nothing.

As we have grown, so has our budgets and funding, so it is not as extreme, but we still have a modest means and have been able to offer a strong end product. The main factor of our five years in Philly (the longest stop in our ten year history) has been our residency at the Society Hill Playhouse.

La mia Africa è un film del 1985 diretto da Sydney Pollack, ispirato all’omonimo romanzo autobiografico di Karen Blixen.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Drammatico | Sydney Pollack | Meryl Streep | Robert Redford

Data
Title: The Sting
Year: 1973
Length: 129 minutes
Director: George Roy Hill
Writer: David S. Ward
Starring: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning
Music: Scott Joplin, adapted by Marvin Hamlisch
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material, Best Song Score and/or Adaptation, Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, and Best Editing; currently #98 on IMDb’s Top 250

My reaction
Synopsis: con men vs. the mob
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Great.
Story: Good. Enough twists to keep the movie from being tedious. Although, the whole con-man story type doesn’t really work well when it’s an army of professionals with seemingly unlimited resources against more or less one guy.
Characters: Bad. I don’t feel I know anything about the personalities of either of the leads.
Dialog: Good.
Pacing: Bad. I can’t believe this was only two hours long. It felt more like a mini series than a movie.
Cinematography: Indifferent.
Special effects/design: Indifferent. If this is supposed to be the 1930’s, then why do all of these 1930’s buildings look 50 years old?
Acting: Good. Redford and Newman are both kind of dull, especially Redford, but the supporting cast is nice.
Music: Good. I don’t understand why they used distinctly period music for a film set in a different period, but it sets a tone and it’s good music.
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay). It made me restless, and it’s very flawed, but it’s not a bad movie. It has its moments.
Objective Rating: 6/10 (Okay).