misswonderly3

Nice song, db, but I had to laugh at how obvious it was that those chicks weren't playing their instruments. Couldn't they have tried to fake it a little harder? (I know, I know, it totally doesn't matter.)

It's "poe-faced", and it's not actually derived from anything to do with the poe-et. However, if it inspired you to start a thread about that gentleman, that's nice that you want to usher in a conversation about him. Actually, "poe-eyed" is good. Sounds like something relating to "pie-eyed", and we all know what that means.

Wait a minute. Does "as the synopsis states" mean you haven't actually seen the film?

I never put anyone on "ignore". As for your family history, all the more reason to have a sense of humour about it.

No need to thank me (for what?) but I know you're just being polite and non-combative, for which I thank you. I must admit, I did not watch Death in Venice yesterday, so my memory of it is not fresh. However, from the two times I have seen the film, my impression was that von Aschenbach did not "lust" after Tadzio. His feeling for him was inspired by admiration, in an aesthetic way, for the purity of the boy's beauty. I concede, reading that sentence over, it does sound like bulls!te. But still, that was how I interpreted it then, and it's still my opinion. I do not believe that the man had any intention or even desire to have any physical contact with Tadzio. He was moved by the youth's beauty, and that's all.There is absolutely nothing to indicate he planned to or wanted to initiate a sexual relationship with Tadzio.

Oh, honestly, I hardly think the lady was being insensitive to "the deadliness and tragedy of dementia". You know, some people even make jokes about cancer....and some of them are actually funny. She just meant she did not find Glenn Ford attractive. Mrs. Sepiatone, that is. It doesn't mean she was making fun of Rita Hayworth, post-Alzheimer's disease. Don't be so poe-faced.

Yes ! Hibi, I like Dirk Bogarde and think he is a seriously under-recognized actor. "Under-recognized" seems a better term than "under-rated",because to be "under-rated' an actor has to be known, even if it's in a negative way. I think a lot of North Americans, even old movie fans, don't even know exactly who Dirk Bogarde is. He definitely has more than enough movies to be Star of the Month. There's one in particular I'm thinking of, I know TCM has aired it at least once or twice: So Long at the Fair. Bonus: Jean Simmons co-stars.

Full disclosure: I actually turned yellow and refused to kiss the Blarney Stone. It was because you had to lie on your back, and the idea made me feel kind of vulnerable, even though there's someone there at all times who holds onto you to prevent falling into that scary-looking gap; there's only two thin metal bars between you and eternity. (Which I imagine is where your friend's necklace went...) Obviously this never happens - falling through the gap under the Blarney Stone - or they wouldn't have it as this big tourist attraction. But even though I told myself this, I was still too timid go through with it. (I did visit the Poison Garden afterwards, though - shirley that counts for something?) My personal experience with the Guinness beer thing in Ireland (and all beer there,for that matter) was that it was served cold, not warm. I think the warm beer approach is more popular in some parts of England (?) and Germany(?) I actually got to like Guinness beer, perhaps out of necessity, since it was celebrated and integrated into the food almost everywhere we went in Ireland, both the Republic and Ulster.

I have a neo-noir title that sums up the purpose of threads like this: Point Blank.

CheriByGrace, I suggest you read this post which I have quoted here. I think rayban expresses the underlying theme of Death in Venice quite well, and much more succinctly than I probably would have. Nobody, and certainly not the people at Turner Classic Movies, endorses or encourages pedophilia of any kind. I understand your repugnance for any film that would in any way, even "artistically", support such activity. I'm pretty sure almost all movie fans feel that way too. But I do think the views in your post here about Death in Venice are somewhat unfounded.

Rififi is actually airing this very Wednesday, at 3:45 in the morning. So in fact, very early in the morning of Thursday April 1st, I suppose. Which makes it all an April Fool for us, since it is not on the Canadian schedule.

I'm pretty sure that half the fun for you in creating new threads is thinking up what you're going to title them. Sometimes a little esoteric, but never boring.

When it comes to the spelling of anything - including the "ubiquitous U" Dargo is always on about - it's a total free-for-all. Canadians swing every which way when it comes to spelling. (By the way, I used to think that Tori Spelling was a Conservative Party guidebook to writing style.) Do you know anything about this "Mahler / Mann" connection? Just friends, I assume?

Um, I don't know how to say this, but I also have a copy of The Magic Mountain, which has, equally neglected, languished for years beside its sister, Death in Venice. Guess one day I'll have to Mann up and read both of them. ( I hope Dargo reads this.) I only spelt it "GrAy Gardens" because I knew it was an American film about an American place, and that's how Americans usually spell it - - with an "a". Normally I spell the word that means somewhere between black and white in hue as "grEy". I should have stuck to my Canadian roots. (How come it's spelt the Canadian/British way? Maybe back in the early 1900s or whenever the place was built, there were remnants of British spelling in American society, and the wealthy man who had it built named it with an "e". But, why "grey",anyway, however you choose to spell it? Were they being perverse? Was it an expression of existentialist angst? Gardens are normally filled with colour. Maybe it refers to the hue of the owner's face when he got the bill for its construction.) So, since you've read the book, please tell me, if you can, if it refers at any time, even if it's obliquely, to Gustav Mahler. Or to symphonic music. I've never understood the Dirk / Mahler thing in the film.

Oh yes, limey my friend, I know this only too well. And in fact, the independent movie theatre in my town is the only chance I ever have to see a lot of non-mainstream movies.

I am sorry to say that, although I bought Death in Venice many years ago, and it has graced my bookshelf ever since, I have never read it. I have intended to read it many times, but there always seemed to be some other book that usurped its place in my book reading queue. This is one of those times when I can say I haven't read the book, but I have seen the movie. And I can say three things about that: 1) I agree, it's a good film, and a wonderful performance by the (here in North America, anyway) under-recognized Dirk Bogarde. The other two points are about music. 2) I figure you know that for some reason, Visconti associates Bogarde's character with the late 19th century composer Gustav Mahler. A lot of Mahler's lush, beautiful, emotional symphonic music is played in the film's soundtrack. Whether Thomas Mann makes this connection in his novel, I don't know. 3) trivia: the almost-as-lush-and-emotional-as -Mahler singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright has a song,"Gray Gardens", which makes interesting allusions not only to the movie by that name, but also to Death in Venice. In the chorus, he keeps singing "Tadzio, oh Tadzio..."

Bugs Bunny in drag and Yosemite Sam.

spence, I visited Ireland a few months ago, and I can tell you, it's not prohibitively expensive. At least, it doesn't have to be. Depends how you do it. There are lots of "package deals", including air fare, car rental, and bed and breakfast accommodation. I absolutely loved every moment I was there, best trip of my life. Planning to go again soon; there's just too much fascinating, historic, fun, and beautiful stuff to see and do to pack it all into one 2-week trip. I am unencumbered by an excess of monetary substance (in fact, my former screen slogan was Fred C.Dobbs' "I need dough, and plenty of it." ) So if I could figure out a way to afford such a trip, I figure almost anyone can. By the way, I'm embarrassed to say I did the predictable touristy thing and went to Blarney Castle and stood in line with all the other predictable tourists for the Blarney Stone. And I can tell you, I do not know what colour it originally was, but it is now a nondescript brownish grey, like most stones. Didn't see any shade of green in it. If you ever go there - I mean, if you ever get to Ireland and do the predictable touristy thing and visit Blarney Castle, the best thing about this extremely touristy Irish place is not Blarney Castle and its Stone, it's the grounds surrounding the castle. Expansive and beautiful, it's a lovely place to take a walk and delight in the Irish landscape. Plus, adjacent to the Castle is the Poison Garden. This was the most fun part of the visit.

You select movies for a group to watch? That's interesting...is it a volunteer thing, or something to do with your job? I hope you don't mind my asking, just curious.

But how would they know whether the person was barren or not, since presumably the"barren" individual would not yet have had a shot at conception? (I dunno, I kind of liked the sound of that phrase...) The only thing the authorities could go by was age; I suppose they could object to a woman who was clearly past her child-bearing years (but even then, it varies from woman to woman) getting married, but other than that, especially back then, they had no way to tell. ....did they??

Apologies to anyone who's already mentioned this one- I haven't seen it posted here yet, but I could have missed it: The Robert Siodmak 1946 noir, The Dark Mirror. It stars Olivia de Haviland (twice). But the mirror is more a figurative than a literal presence. Still, this movie is pretty darn good - I wish TCM would/could air it.

Hey, who says married people can't have recreational sex too? That way, the Church would be doubly pleased: married couples could be both recreational and procreational.

Aargh, laddie, you do us proud with yer admiration. We're all shakin' all over. Sink me, where's me parrot ?

Well, it's not jazz, but a while back, MultiEye posted some rockabilly from Sun Records. I have the Sun Records 50th anniversary collection, and I love it. Here's a taste: Ya gotta get up and move to Flying Saucers Rock n Roll with Billy Riley: and here be Tommy Blake with "Shake Around".

Speaking of fantasy films, there's the first Harry Potter movie. ("Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone") There's the very moving scene where Harry can't stop staring into the Mirror of Erised, because he sees his parents in it, and feels loved.