laffite
-
Posts
18,566 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
4
Posts posted by laffite
-
-
What's New, Pussycat?
Lion in Winter or The Young Lions
-
Impromptu
stultifying
-
The Dancer Upstairs
?which was quite appalling really since he was not aware such goings took place at Roger?s and made a note to complain about this at the earliest convenience, paying for it, that is. At least it didn?t ruin the reunion since no one remembered anything anyway. Meantime Chauncy?s was doing well and they congratulated themselves accordingly although...
-
The Andrew Sisters
Little Women or Orphans of the Storm
-
Random Harvest
poo poo
-
Hi Chris
Bruckner has never a done a thing for me. Unbelievably tedious. And yet so highly respected in many circles. He is still often played. But I can't get anywhere with it.
Nice thread, Chris. I'll keep it mind.
laffite
-
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
frequently
-
Call of the Wild (1993) Boy Meets Dog
next: Merlin
-
I think once Evans begin to realize what was happening, that he was being framed, he became shell-shocked in a sense, and in his simplicity of mind began to unwittingly take all the blame himself. So he confessed. There was always an element of confusion and sort of mental paralysis on his part. Later, after the trial, he was able to tell the medical examiners that ?Christie did it? but there was a sort ot tentativeness about it, almost as an after thought. His simplicity kept him from protesting in a real way, lacking the passion and outrage that a real innocent person might display. Evans was not quite all there and it?s a credit to the brilliant performance of John Hurt that he was able to convey this in such a subtle way. Even when confronted with the noose, Evans seems distracted and confused, as if things were just moving to fast for him and confusing him.
-
Mr and Mrs Smith
siesta
-
Jackie, you are great at a propos photos. I confess I am not familiar with either Kay English nor Dorothy Sebastian (sorry to say, heh heh) but I am, uh, most impressed. I wonder if they are looking for a position aboard ship...I just happen to have some openings. That Dorothy looks rather formidable, not only in the obvious ways, but also with that firearm and that severe Colette glare. It is said that Colette never got caught smiling for a photo, I hope the same can't be said for Dorothy. Miss English is quite fetching. Thank you so much for posting these. Swashbuclettes are a joy to behold
.Laffite
-
>Monsieur Pirate! Howdy do. Good to see you back!
Merci bien mon amie for your welcome back. You wrote this on the 10 Rillington Thread but I'm answering you here because I loved your stuff on Westward the Women. It's been a long time since I've seen this but I have vivid memories on how much I liked it, though the details be hazy. So different, so un-Hollywood (not meant disparagingly). I remember a brief tableau---I think it was after a main event of the film, perhaps the birth (or death) of someone---the camera pulls back and we see the wagon train continue on in the distance with the bones of cattle carcasses in the foreground, a rather arty turn, I thought. Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember that there was a dearth of music throughout, a classy thing that shows a willingness to present the action without a great deal of manipulation. Instead what we get is long periods of just sound effects and dialogue with the overall effect of genuine reality (a sort of semi-documentary effect?) to the action. But perhaps I'm wrong about the music, though. In the Quibble Department, I remember chiding the movie for having the women do so well in fashioning such attractive clothing from what little they had to work with prior to their grand entrance in the finale. But who can underestimate you women! You gals can do anything
. If I get to this movie again I'll remember this thread and hopefully revive it with remarks a bit more substantive that these. laffite -
Not my cup of tea, really?.ordinarily I would have left this one alone but I was intrigued by the cast. And though bleak, it was nevertheless a pretty good film. John Hurt gives Evans a vacancy and simplicity and we have no trouble seeing how is no match for Attenborough's Christie.
Dance with a Stranger, an excellent movie, is completely different. Ruth Ellis may have had her problems but she is no Christie. Another fine cast in that one too, a very young Rupert Everett, the always reliable (and frequently outstanding) Ian Holm, and, of course, Miranda.
-
She reminds a little of Polly Walker, especially around the eyes.
-
Grandfather (?)
All My Sons or The Son
-
Ride the Pink Horse
?a popular locution that meant trying 21?s new controversial entr?e, the problem being that it was from real horsemeat (with that delectable new pink sauce) which had the Peta people waxing indignant but I could hardly be bothered by that since looking over my shoulder I espied none other than Vito who must have tailed me and?
-
Tea with Mussolini
?, which was rather draining, not only because I don?t like tea but because I don?t speak a word of Italian. Not knowing the language was probably a blessing and made Sal Anthony?s that much more fun, especially due to...
-
Hi! Ah, leave it to the Good Cinemaven to offer such a greeting! Thanks! At the moment I am fine and I hope to continue that way (who was it who said that life is too short to be mysterious, hmm). Hope all is well with you too?
I must catch up with some of your more recent musings around here. laffite
-
Hi Chris, how are you! Glad you liked Eroica. And you too, Casablanca.
Here are three versions (on the same youtube clip) of that same sequence from the second movement that so did in that stuffy old Count.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RFG5rGVL1s
laffite
-
>Any other music strike your fancy today?
How about this! My favorite version of this song. Sadly, this one is not available on ITunes...or anywhere for that matter. Unless I'm not looking hard enough.
-
>Can?t Stop the Music in their heads. So all bets and plans were off, they returned home, married twins and lived happily ever after...Meanwhile, back in the big apple, Don and Roger were happily making plans to?
Stand By Me
...which would be quite a feat since I was in Pittsburgh, PA, having left the Big Apple due to wild rumors of a...
-
The Fortune Cookie
doubt
-
>I think you are finding irony that everyone else misses. If the aria is so difficult (it sounds like it is-it's beautiful) then maybe the singer wanted to showcase his talent? Maybe the inside joke is the Italian is like the character in Der Rosenkavalier and is the Italian performing for the Germans...
Hi Casablanca, thanks for responding.
There may be an inside joke there, true?but perhaps not the one you suggest. The Italian General was singing to himself in his room and the German carping came from other rooms. Also, I failed to mention that only a few lines were sung, and in a baritone rather than a tenor voice, making the effort seem much easier than the Pavarotti clip. Nevertheless, the inside joke could be that here we have the Germans making these complaints without realizing that the music is actually coming from one of their own (i.e., Strauss).
-
There is an interesting musical irony in Five Graves to Cairo recently shown on TCM. Fortunio Bonanova plays an Italian General who is fond of singing and who early on sings an Italian aria. When he is asked to stop singing by the powers that be in the story, namely the Germans, he mutters something to the effect that those Germans don?t understand etc., and as I grappled with identifying this familiar tune I realized to my surprise that the aria, though ?Italian,? was actually written by a German, the great Richard Strauss (1864-1949). The irony lies in the fact that it would have seemed a better choice to have the Italian General sing something more quintessentially Italian, like Verdi or Puccini, for instance, to better drive home the Nationalism theme of this war movie. That they chose something by Strauss, a German, and then have the General rail against the Germans for their bad taste is, well, interesting.
So how did it come about that Strauss would compose an Italian aria in the first place? Der Rosenkavalier, like all Strauss? operas is as German as you can get, has a brief scene where a character billed as ?An Italian Tenor,? comes on stage and provides entertainment by singing an Italian aria. Strauss did not choose something from an existing Italian opera, but rather composed the aria himself, in the Italian style. A wonderful pastiche whereby Strauss abandons his German music making and fashions his own Italian idea. After this number, the ?Italian Tenor? leaves the stage and his heard from no more.
The aria ?Di Rigori Armato? is exquisitely beautiful. It is very difficult to sing. It has a tortuously high tessitura that puts demands on the singer because he must sing all those high notes and at the same time in a lyrical style. There is highly regarded performance of Der Rosenkavalier from 1969 in which Luciano Pavarotti is the ?Italian Tenor.? The link below is Luciano singing this beautiful piece, probably a little later. Have a listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEG8gzTsO8U
L.
.
I must catch up with some of your more recent musings around here.
Movies are the answer
in Games and Trivia
Posted
The Set Up
?that he was accustomed to and which, of course, yielded nothing?no, this time it was big money or nothing. He consulted a seasoned pro in the fight game and was given the inside track on a wager that could make him rich. The only problem was?