movieman1957

I am not completely in disagreement with you on "North By Northwest." There are a few things that stretch credibility. I have always had a hard time buying the whole getting Grant drunk scene and then no one being able to verify anything about it the next day. The U.N. stabbing. Yep, the first thing anyone is going to do is pull the knife out of the guy's back. And a little later the plot seems a bit convoluted for me. (Of course it could just be me.) Th climax builds well but I just have some trouble getting there. There are good scenes and Mason makes a good bad guy. I don't even have a problem with Grant. Shoot, no one made a gray suit look so good. it is a stylish work and I like the way it looks but there is something.....

Fritz Feld Edited by: movieman1957 on May 14, 2010 11:21 PM (It showed up in the preview but not when it posted.)

"Gee, your hair smells terrific." (I can't imagine anyone saying that to Mr. Scott.)

Said with a bit of a brogue I hope. (Are we showing our age here?)

"A little dab 'ill do ya."

Maybe one from David Gates: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buBAr7UCUCk

>Gorecki - 3rd Symphony. His beautiful and heartbreaking ?Symphony Of Sad Songs?. A memorial to those who perished in the holocaust of WWII. - You will not be forgotten.. After you posted this I got a copy of the full symphony. I've never heard any of Gorecki's work before this and it is a moving and unusual piece. The first movement runs almost 27 minutes. There is not a lot of movement but the theme builds and has enough variation to keep it all interesting. It is nearly seventeen minutes in before the vocal comes. There is a tension and a controlled anger to it. The second movement, the link provided, is a beautiful mournful melody. The vocal line is more varied than the strings but they work together to build a beautiful sadness. The third movement is the least satisfying for me. At this point the music line, to me, becomes too repetitive and has too little movement. A nice lyrical vocal line but there is a long time before the orchestra moves to another pattern. The recording is from David Zinman (who conducted my hometown Baltimore Symphony) conducting the London Sinfonietta with Dawn Upshaw as vocalist.

I wonder how long it took him to do his hair.

Ok. That is a little spooky for me. Hopefully, that is the most unusual thing to happen during the contest.

*_REMINDER_* Just a reminder that there is a limited time you will be able to make changes to your posts. So take some time before you put them up to make sure everything fits and that the primary things of your schedule are right. I wouldn't worry about spelling so much as making sure you don't schedule a two hour movie in a 90 minute time slot. Type it in a word document and paste it. At least this way you can save it if corrections require a reposting. Also note that some word documents that have bold or underlined material may not always transfer so double check them before you hit the magic button. Thank you. Carry on.

Congratulations on putting up a schedule for all to enjoy.It's late and I'll look it over in more detail but I am glad you got it done before you left. I hope people will chime in on your schedule. I hope your trip goes well. See you when you get back.

A couple of suggestions to pass on. *"State of Play."* An engrossing and deeply involved miniseries concerning the murder of an employee/mistress to a Member of Parliament. A newspaper is in a race with the police to uncover a terribly complicated case. More backstabbing and underhandedness going on here than about anything I have come across. Clocking in at six hours this thing is something you really have to pay attention to. There are things that you think will go somewhere and take you in a different direction. Written by Paul Abbott ("Cracker") and starring a list of familiar faces this is one worth investing some time in. *"Wire In The Blood."* This is kind of a "Cracker" meets "Prime Suspect." Dr. Anthony Hall is a psychiatrist who specializes in helping the police as a profiler for serial killers. Another very smart show with outstanding performances. Done over several seasons I am only into the second one. Psychologically deep and well written characters make this one an interesting one to see. Our friend "patful" is apparently a fan. I'd never heard of this one and my bride just pulled it out of the air one night when looking for something to watch. A great find.

Wonderful!

I'm with you. Most films can be told in two hours or less. I am surprised how many new films, just from reading about them, run over two hours. It seems like they think because they shot all this film that they have to include it. (I know it's digital but...) For a long time I figured Woody Allen had it right in that nearly all of his early comedies came in at about 90 minutes. Occasionally he strayed but often that was the length and that seemed fine. Movies are sometimes like sermons - "The mind cannot absorb more than the butt can endure." Two hours is a good length.

I'm here. I check this often to see if anyone has posted anything and I get email notices. I love Brahms. I'm not always a fan of vocal music but am looking for new things to enjoy. You post anytime you want.

Don't abandon it so soon. Leave it for a few days as something may come for that or a better idea all around may show up. Plenty of time. Kingrat: You are so right about the frustration level but when people come in and encourage those playing and then ultimately get a vote it somehow is easier in retrospect. Everyone keep those updates coming.

Pardon The Interruption.... Miss CM: I tired to reply to you but it said your mailbox was full. Now back to our regularly scheduled chat.

You shame deHavilland and Fontaine for refusing the requests and then accuse someone who took the time to answer your question as defending TCM. Sheesh, indeed.

Well, that is somewhat understandable. Cagney has a young pretty wife who isn't exactly over the moon for him. This is very much like Borgnine's situation. The wives each seek out love with a younger man. That is about where that part ends and each film has a different outcome for the spouses. The rest of each movie though really aren't alike.

In the meantime - "Jubal" is a sort of four sided lust affair full of jealousies and back stabbing and one man trying to stay true to a friend. Starring Glenn Ford as "Jubal, Ernest Borgnine as "Shep," Rod Steiger as "Pinky" and Valerie French as "Mae" the lust and loneliness drive a wedge into the group. Slovenly, good hearted Shep has married Mae and taken her to his ranch. She is very unhappy and feels the need to try and seduce the men that come along. She draws a bead on Jubal early on much to the agitation of Pinky, who has had an affair with her. Shep found Jubal along the road and brought him home to nurse him. Jubal is grateful and is not doing anything to endanger that feeling. He is also well put off that Mae would do this. Pinky becomes very jealous of Jubal when Mae's attention goes to him and he is made foreman of the ranch. Out of this arrangement comes a lie that will cost some lives. Pinky drives the story by using innuendo and Shep's jealousy in the hopes he can destroy everyone and have Mae to himself. Along the way some Mormons stop on the land which gives Jubal a chance to help the group and finally fall in love with one of the girls there. The group plays an important part in the climax in their attempt to repay Jubal's kindness to them. I read somewhere that this is based on Shakespeare but am unsure which play. A fine supporting cast includes Charles Bronson in a pleasant role where he befriends Jubal and Noah Beery, Jr. and Felicia Farr. Grand locations, good performances and some action to boot make this one, I think, worth a look. I understand it played at the TCM Festival and wondered what any of the festival attendees thought, if they had a chance to see it.

MissG: "Arianne" was hardly a hit. It was buried in an album from about 1972. I never saw it again until Columbia put out the four disc box set. I would have been more surprised if you had heard it. I am very glad you enjoyed it.

Great Fogelberg tunes. Lyrics mean something for me and he could write with the best of them. "Wysteria" "Believe In Me" "Lonely In Love" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SuLLkveHoc Most of my favorites of his tend to be the melancholy sort.

"Arianne" may be, lyrically, one of the most evocative songs I have ever heard. I have never heard another recording of it, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiOEOETObTs Fogelberg's "Beggar's Game." Can't find a decent recording of it. Again I love the lyrics. My favorite from Cross (no video) is "It's You That Really Matters." I also like "Alibi." I saw him in concert in Annapolis a couple of years ago. Wonderful performer. Met him afterwards. He signed my ticket, I got silly and told him I admired his music because he used such interesting chord progressions. We talked about music for a few minutes, Enjoyed it a great deal, Edited by: movieman1957 on May 9, 2010 12:47 AM

It can depend on the recordings. There is one recording of a song that is great but others aren't near as good but strictly from a song, let's see..... Arianne - (Johnny Mathis.) Beggar's Game - Dan Fogelberg Softly, As I Leave You. (Andy Williams.) Strawberry Fields Forever. John Lennon. Favorite composers include - Justin Hayward, Jimmy Webb. Christopher Cross and Alan Parsons among some others in the more modern era. Lots of standards that I don't always know the author.

>I can tell you my top three songs of all time, but it gets harder, ironically, for me to say my favorites for each decade. So, let's go with those. BTW, I missed your posting milestone. Way to go!