laffite

Jackie, thank you for the Joan the blonde photo. The picture with all the ladies with the lei(s) has wonderful color (Technicolor?)

>This is the perfect thread for that kind of discussion. If you haven't looked you might enjoy reading through the early pages of this thread. We almost did nothing but talk music...Lots of regulars took part. So true, that was before youtube postings. I love youtube (who doesn't?) but it discourages conversation. There was something nice in being forced to talk about music, a thing that is often difficult to put into words in the first place. I may know classical and some opera but I am clueless on what others know so well, Pop, Rock, etc., and I, for one, would appreciate knowing what pleases one about a youtube link that is posted here. I would probably be more receptive to these unfamiliar links if I knew what excited you about them. (Just a thought.) But the links are there and I can see for myself if I make the effort to learn something new. Youtube is great.

>Actually, seeing the scene again something comes at me from left field. There is a shot of the sister and the father listening in the next room, both looking rather strained. Maybe the meaning isn't lost on them...Wasn't the singing beautiful, by the way. Papin was wonderful, to me. I just watched the whole sequence. I don't remember the movie well enough and therefore don't want to contradict you...but I wonder if they were reacting to the singing itself and the fact that it had to do with romantic love in general, something that is at least suspect given their strict religious beliefs...and having not so much to do with the actual situation in the opera? (i.e., the duplicity) Of course they may have had their suspicions of M Papin himself. I'm surprised that he would kiss her like that at the conclusion of the aria, and that she didn't flinch, given her upbringing (Is that why, in part at least, she wanted to quit the lessons?). Yes, the music is beautiful and the entire music sequence was just great. I like the way he left the piano and they continued a capella (with Papin filling in some of the orchestral parts himself.) They actually sang a good portion of the duet, practically all. And I agree, M. Papin was totally winning. Here is the duet in concert but in costume. Thomas Allen and Lucia Popp. There is about a minute of recitivo and we can easily see how he is hitting on her. She is attracted but not sure at first. When she finally sings "andiam" with him, she is lost. //

>Amazing Lafitte to read this, for I know the story plot, and it is so lyrical, so poetic, and so redemptive, this aria now seems wrong...but it is still one of the most beautiful pieces of music in film. I haven't seen Babette's Feast in years and don't remember much...but I'm guessing that the meaning of the aria is of less importance than the sheer beauty of it. That duet is very well known and one of the most beloved in all of opera and probably very oft used in music lessons as well, so I'm guessing that the appropriateness in the sense you speak of may not be significant. When one suddenly hears this music the first thing to mind is not how wicked the Don is but how beautiful the music is. Regardless of motive, the sheer sweetness of these two singing together is what captivates. That's opera, the music is the thing. That's what M. Papin is conveying. When he chose this music, it was because it was famous and beautiful, the meaning of it totally secondary. So please don't let the meaning ruin anything for you. This music is totally appropriate with this movie. In opera, c'est la musique...la musique, c'est tout. That's what M. Papin would say.

The Wages of Fear simpering

The music from Babette's Feast is a duet from Don Giovanni "La Ci Darem La Mano" (Give me your hand), very sweet and innocuous sounding but actually the Don is being duplicitous as he prepares to seduce sweet Zerlina, another conquest. They are singing in French though it is normally performed in the original Italian. Earlier as the M. Papin approaches the hut, he sings something under his breath, also from Don Govanni, an aria that the Don sings whereby he revels in and tells us all just what a scoundrel he is. In the actual opera it does not sound so soft, rather it is sung with a fury equal to the extent of his wickedness.

Love this one. Gee, she seems to be pretty high off the ground there. I wonder is she needs some assistance getting down. Laffite at your service, my dear! (She is so cute). Did anyone like her in Little Women ? I know, I know, she was a blonde in that one. But she was adorable. Okay, you can slap my hands now (but not too hard), no more blondes on the brunette thread. == This one looks a little like that famous Cross.

The Oscar Wilde or A Star is Born

fantastic voyage ?which was a weird dish but it came with lemon leaf sauce so he ordered it. He was soon joined by a young couple who were rather weird as well and he thought to engage them in some pleasant dinner conversation but it was the young couple who spoke first, in unison, bringing up the subject of?

BANANAS ?in her mouth which made him sick because he hated bananas but was relieved when she started the stewed tomatoes, which was more to his liking. She was spouting the usual nonsense so Jimmy decided to shut her up but then realized he didn?t have to because?

Day for Night The Long Night or The Big Sleep

2001, A Space Odyssey tweezers

THE SPIRAL ROAD ...of loss and disillusionment, vowing never to eat another apple and besides it was all his sister's fault, she stole the apples from Mrs Grundy's tree. Life was nothing but false hope and lingering disappointment, so why bother? He put off considering this weighty matter by attending a matinee at the Bijou that...

*Chris*, wonderful selection. The orchestral introduction is so enchanting I didn't want the piano to come in I just wanted the orchestra to continue... Another really good intro to a slow movement is the *Violin Concerto*. An oboe plays a simple but beautiful melody with a soft orchestral accompaniment. A famous violinist---I forget who now---confessed that he once found the intro so arresting that he actually missed his entrance.

THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW ?who was not Mrs Grundy this time, but his own mother who was looking out at him through a nostalgic mist that gripped mind and body in a sort of paralysis of wondrous amazement. With a cautious joy he reached out to her and she approached him as if in a dream and?

THE WOMAN NEXT DOOR ?was standing there, agape, and said no I don?t know you and Jimmy said, why, Mrs. Grundy, it?s me, Jimmy, don?t you remember the way I used to traipse your flower beds and call you an old goat when you wouldn?t give back the kick ball but the old woman scorned him and said you?re crazy you?ve never lived here...

The Spy who came in from the Cold French landmark

THE GOOD EARTH THE HURRICANE or THE TOWERING INFERNO

Ransom

Cutter's Way posthumous

DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES ?began to occur, yep, Anita began to hit the sauce and began to be a no-show at gigs and Jimmy began to do one-man shows and attained the rep of the enchanted horn soloist all the while trying to get Anita to AA who said no all I want is a few drinks and he said you don?t have a few drinks, you get drunk and she begged him to have a drink with her and...

Hi Chris, I was thinking of you with regard to this movie and yes I think you would enjoy. It's available on Netflix. I hope you can get it.

*Ian Hart as Ludwig Von Beethoven* (minor spoilers) Beethoven Eroica is a BBC TV drama, a biopic of sorts on Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827)---though the biggest star of this piece is not Beethoven, strictly speaking?or any of the actors ?rather it's the music itself. The first performance of this great symphony took place not in a concert hall for the general public, but in what appears to be a large upstairs room on a Royal Estate. A Prince and Princess make this ?sneak preview? possible, and invite a few dignitaries along for the ride. This little movie, only 83 minutes, is daring (leave it to the British to do something like this) in that over half---46 minutes---is devoted the symphony itself, which is played in its entirety. The viewer does not sit idly as if at a concert. Things happen while the music is playing that lends insight to Beethoven?s life, politics, class strictures, as well as something about music itself and what the Eroica (Heroic) Symphony actually means. Beethoven?s first two symphonies were decidedly Classicist in style and bore a marked resemblance to those of Haydn and Mozart. But with the Third---the Eroica---he broke new ground. This may be a poor comparison but think Brando in Streetcar, a new boldness and realism in acting. The Eroica is Classic in style but Romantic in content and not everyone was ready for it. But one lady present at the playing seemed to draw a near erotic pleasure in the listening and later declared that she thought the music was ?French, yes, definitely French?new and bold? with the obvious reference to the French Revolution, which was in its aftermath. Beethoven was not of nobility---though he thinks of himself as noble through his music---and his liberal cast of mind holds Napoleon on a pedestal as perhaps an embodiment of a great hero who will gain great power and use this power to help the poor. Yes, there is relationship between that and the name he gave to the symphony. This movie should not be reproached for the obvious liberties it takes with events. Beethoven has an unlikely conversation with the woman he loves. Josef Haydn himself (1732-1809), the great man, very old now, the ?father of the symphony? and a composer of such lofty status that everything stops in his presence, makes an appearance, not a likelihood at all. A couple of other things happen that should remain unsaid to avoid spoilers. But this thing has been done before, especially with biopics. Cate Blanchett?s Elizabeth crammed events that occurred decades apart into four years to facilitate the drama. Hopefully these stratagems don?t spoil anything, certainly not in Beethoven Eroica, IMO. But if so, you will be appeased by the music---I hope. I have liked classical music all my life and have listened to the Eroica so many times I can run it through my head without missing a beat. I might not therefore be in a position to know how this movie might come across to a non-classical musical listener. If you are the least bit susceptible you might really like this. If you have a marked dislike for this kind of music you might do well to pass. Despite my long familiarity with this piece, I came away from this with renewed enthusiasm, I love this music even more. *Tim Piggot-Smith as Count Dietrichstein* My favorite moment occurs when the Count listens to a particularly beautiful passage and despite his best efforts cannot help but betray how deep the music penetrates his soul. It?s difficult to show in a screencap, he looks up there as if he might be angry or something?but he is practically in tears. He is traditional and thinks Beethoven and his music as coarse. He will admit to ?beautiful passages? approaching even the ?sublime? here and there but it is too long, too loud, and certainly ?not a symphony.? The camera captures Tim Piggot-Smith and stays on him for a long time and he does a splendid job portraying a man grappling with the beauty of the music as it threatens the power of his prejudices. The music wins, at this moment anyway. So what makes the Count cry? I?m fascinated by the idea that the movie maker wanted a scene like this and what parts of the symphony he might have considered using. He chose a passage of surpassing beauty, a portion of the slow movement. The youtube link below (not from the movie, but from a modern performance) is very long but put the cursor about four-fifths the way to start and then find the 21:40 mark and listen for _2 minutes and 10 seconds_ (start at 21:35 for lean in) and see what makes this hard-boiled old Count shed tears listening to music he is determined not to like. And, come on, listen to the whole 2:10, that?s not very long. See what you think of this music. Dare to take the Beethoven Challenge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFltqVS8d9I Start at 21 minutes, 40 seconds Stop at 23 minutes, 50 seconds ..

I tuned in late but got engrossed watching Carroll. Still not quite sure if Eli was right for this. He's a fine actor but he doesn't have the charisma nor the looks to make her eventual attraction to him credible enough to me. Just a thought, he certainly doesn't ruin the picture. Malden was perfection. That round clownish nose fits the role.

Re The Brahms Double Concerto The opening is as poignant and evocative of any music I've ever heard. Melancholy? Wistfulness? An gentle expression of love? Whatever it is, it's beautiful. This is my favorite concerto of all (currently, that is). The balance of the two solo instruments is masterful. Thanks, Chris, gorgeous selection.