happy zmedsday!! (lxi)

happy tunesday! ("as lovers do" by brinsley schwarz)

"We're just falling out of love as lovers do"

Not the most profound line, but for some reason I really like it.

I'm not sure why I'm posting this song this week, except that it's been running through my head...

My first encounter with it was when I got the Dave Edmunds single, "Crawling from the Wreckage." This was the B side. And that meant that the two titles, concatinated, almost formed a sentence: "Crawling from the wreckage as lovers do."

Dave's version is better than this one, so I should probably go with that, but I'm not. Live with it.

cinema history class: death rides a horse

Session: Bring Your Own Spaghetti Western, Week 3
Movie: Death Rides a Horse (1967)
Directed by Giulio Petroni

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
As a young boy, Bill saw his family murdered. Now an adult, he seeks revenge. Hilarity ensues.

Administrative Notes:
It has become a class tradition to do a month of Spaghetti Westerns (or Spaghetti Western-related films) every January. It's a change of pace -- a palate-cleanser, as Keith puts it. This year, because several of us have suggested specific SpagWests, Keith decided to let us each pick one for this month's session. This week was Dave's pick.

Reaction:

Having scene DRaH a few times before, I went in having decided what I thought about the film, and planning to give it an 8. My thoughts at that point were that it's a very good SpagWest, but not one of the absolute top tier. The top tier consists of maybe The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966), Django (1966), The Mercenary (1968) and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968).

But watching it again, I realize that it's a better film than I remembered. There were a lot of plot elements that I had forgotten about, including the all-important twist ending. WHat also helped is that all the times I'd seen it in the past, the print was flawed, so the colors were muddy and the sound a bit muffled. This time we were watching on the new DVD release that's all cleaned up. I can't overstate how much of a difference that made in terms of enjoyment and appreciation of the film. I hadn't remembered how great the soundtrack is, or how well the movies was made.

Joe (who hadn't seen this film before) gave an uncharacteristically succint review: He said (and, though I am using quotation marks, it's possible that I am not getting the words 100% correct), "This is the movie that last week's movie [Hate is My God, which I wrote about here] was supposed to be. 10."

I see where he's coming from -- there were definite plot similarities, which I noted in my writeup of Hate. But Hate was much more ambitious and darker in its approach. I'd still love to see that the way it was intended. How would I rate it? I can only wonder. At any rate, DRaH definitely went up a notch in my estimation. Is it in the top tier? Not quite. But it's close.

Ratings:

Me: 9
Dave: 10
Joe: 10
Keith: 9
Sean: 3 out of 4

cinema history class: hate is my god

Session: Bring Your Own Spaghetti Western, Week 2
Movie: Hate is My God (1969)
Directed by Claudio Gora

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
Young Vincent sees his brother hanged. Years later he seeks revenge. Hilarity ensues.

Administrative Notes:
It has become a class tradition to do a month of Spaghetti Westerns (or Spaghetti Western-related films) every January. It's a change of pace -- a palate-cleanser, as Keith puts it. This year, because several of us have suggested specific SpagWests, Keith decided to let us each pick one for this month's session. This week was Ethan's pick.

Reaction:

It was extremely difficult to rate this movie (and Joe even decided not to) because we were clearly not seeing the movie the way it was meant to be seen. It was never dubbed into English and it was never properly cleaned up for release. There were different versions out there, each missing different pieces -- and some pieces are still missing. As a result, the disc we watched was patched together from a variety of prints, of varying quality. One part even had some TV station watermark on it. There were English subtitles (though parts were not subtitled) and the soundtrack contained at least three languages.

I had read a plot synopsis beforehand, and therefore understood most of what was going on, but even so there were plot points that I didn't follow. Had I not read the synopsis beforehand I would have been completely lost. The transitions were very abrupt, which was disconcerting. Hell, the movie opens in what seems like the middle of a scene. I can't beleieve that was really the way it was supposed to start. The whole thing semmed like a series of disconnected sequence, any one of which was understandable, but which didn't seem to fit together in any coherent way. Did the missing pieces contain helpful exposition? Probably. That, and consistent quality would have made the whole thing better.

The bottom line on all that is that if, after watching the movie, six guys (two of whom actually read a plot synopsis) can't seem to figure out major plot points -- "Was that the brother being tortured or the guardian angel?" "Wait -- there were three brothers?" "Just two. But who was Jeff?"" "No -- why'd he shoot that other guy?" -- there's something wrong.

As for what we saw, Hate is a pretty standard revenge story. Conceptually, it's very similar to Death Rides a Horse (which we're seeing next) and a variety of others. It does stand apart in that the sadistic imagery is more extreme -- the torture with fire (was that Jeff or the brother" was unusual. And the denouement when the banker gives a whole new meaning to getting spiked was actually very satisfying.

The soundtrack was bizzare. The theme music that was often used for transitioning between scenes had this sitcom feel -- like bumper music from The Brady Bunch or Gilligan's Island. Though some of the music was good SpagWest guitar-based music, the bumper stuff just made everything seem weird. Or should I say weirder. 

Ratings:

Me: 5.5
Dave: 8.5
Ethan: 7
Joe: No Rating
Keith: 7
Sean: 3 out of 4

happy zmedsday!! (lx)

happy tunesday! "like rasputin" by amy rigby

Today's Tunesday is in honor of Keith Crocker, who is working on the screenplay for what I hope will be his fourth feature film, Rasputin on Campus. To date, he has made two features -- The Bloody Ape and Blitzkrieg: Escape from Stalag 69. And he's hoping to begin work this year on his third feature, Three Slices of Delirium.

cinema history class: django the bastard

Session: Bring Your Own Spaghetti Western, Week 1
Movie: Django the Bastard (1969)
Directed by Sergio Garrone

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
A veteran seeks vengeance against the officers who sold out his unit during the Civil War. Hilarity ensues.

Administrative Notes:
It has become a class tradition to do a month of Spaghetti Westerns (or Spaghetti Western-related films) every January. It's a change of pace -- a palate-cleanser, as Keith puts it. This year, because several of us have suggested specific SpagWests, Keith decided to let us each pick one for this month's session. This week was Joe's pick.

Reaction:

Before I start, I should note that this movie was also shown under the title The Stranger's Gundown, and that's the name slapped on the trailer above.

One of the most interesting aspects of this movie is the way Django is portrayed as almost a specter. He manages to sneak in and out of view, often showing up in crowds -- keeping himself right under the noses of his adversaries, and yet remaining unnoticed. It seems as if he's a ghost -- a fact that Dave pointed out*. This conceit would later be explored by Clint Eastwood in two of his American Westerns -- High Plains Drifter and Pale Rider.

Anthony Steffen, as Django, is clearly trying to channel Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name. He manages to keep his conversations economical, but, well, he's no Eastwood. That said, the plot is interesting, and didn't lag much. His signature move, presenting wooden crosses with the names of his intended targets and the day he will kill them, is a clever touch, and made for a great visual at the end.  

Actually, the liveliest part of our post-screening conversation concerned an insignificant detail of the movie. In the original Django starring Franco Nero, Django was a former Union soldier. In this, he was a former Confederate. There are a few reasons I say that this was insignificant. Foremost, it had absolutely no bearing on the plot. This movie, having been made in Italy in the 1960s, it's extremely unlikely that anyone involved gave any thought to what side of the war Django was on.

But one in the class found it hard to view Django as a hero -- his visceral reaction to Django as a (presumably unrepentant) Confederate soldier. But, given the context of when it was made, I think it's a mistake to judge the movie as bad on the basis of that one insignificant detail. 

Ratings:

Me: 7.5
Dave: 9.95
Ethan: 6
Joe: 10
Sean: 2 out of 4

*I would have, but since he got to share his comments before me, he beat me to the punch. The fiend!

for elvis' 85th

In honor of Elvis Presley's birthday (and it's a quinquennial, doncha know!), I figured I'd note a few Elvis covers. Because Elvis was a performer and not a songwriter, some of these songs were originally performed by other people, but they are all associated with Elvis.

Baby Let's Play House
Rachel Sweet

Suspicious Minds
Fine Young Cannibals

Blue Suede Shoes

Toy Dolls

Hound Dog
Eilert Pilarm

In the Ghetto

Sammy Davis, Jr.

My Way
Sid Vicious

Always on My Mind
Pet Shop Boys

Viva Las Vegas

ZZ Top

Little Sister

Rockpile with Robert Plant

Jailhouse Rock

Twisted Sister

Return to Sender

Dave Edmunds

Kissin' Cousins

The Saints

it's zmedsday!! (lix)

it's tunesday! ("loud music in cars" by billy bremner)

This week it's "Loud Music in Cars" by Billy Bremner -- in honor of my car, which is in the shop due to a problem that first manifested itself as a problem with the sound system. Initially, I thought there was simply some kind of short in the sound system.

Suffice to say the car has been without working sound for a while now. That was going to change today, as the shop was going to put in a replacement amplifier. But, well, let's just say that this keeps getting more involved and more expensive. And I can't play loud music in the car.

Well, while we're at it, let me share an anecdote about this song. Thirty years ago I was heading up to Williamstown, Massachusetts, for a trivia contest. I was in the car with a friend from work and my then-girlfriend. To pass the time during the long drive, one of us suggested we play a game with music. I don't remember the details, but it involved us taking turns singing songs about a chosen topic.

Eventually, on the subject of cars, I started warbling "Loud music in cars...loud music in cars...Every day, every place I go..." And the others tried to call bullshit on me. They thought I was making it up. But, damnit, it was a real.

Just like the big McDonalds in my mind, which didn't actually exist. But even that got built...eventually.

cinema history class: dementia (1953)

Session: Horror-Noir—Does It Exist, Week 4
Movie: Dementia (1953)
Directed by John Parker

As always, there may be spoilers here. And the trailer may be NSFW and/or NSFL

Plot:
A woman dreams of violence, sex and chicken wings. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:

Well, that wasn't what I was expecting. Originally an experimental film that was filled out and extended slightly so that it could plausibly have a theatrical release, Dementia was essentially an extended dream sequence. There was no real plot, though the viewer can glean insights from the dream imagery. For example, thinly disguised vignettes show the viewer that the main character (she is never given a name) grew up with an abusive father and an adulterous mother. We see her stumble through scene after scene of unpleasant interactions with a variety of people.

Note that I said "see." There is no dialogue. Not even title cards that other silent films would often use to indicate dialogue. There's dramatic music and the omnipresent voice of Marni Nixon wailing as if she were doing the theme from Star Trek. But other than that, the characters occasionally laugh or grunt. And, for some reason, Shorty Rogers and his band do a musical number.

Visually, this film was very interesting and haunting. Were it in color, I'd be comparing it to an acid trip.And the soundtrack was also done well. But I just couldn't rate this higher because of the lack of a story.

A couple notes about this movie and its history:

• Up above, I indicated that this was a 1953 release, though the trailer and its Wikipedia entry indicate that it's from 1955. According to Wikipedia, it was briefly released in 1953 before being banned by the New York State Film Board for being "inhuman, indecent and the quintessence of gruesomeness." It was rereleased in 1955 with a few edits. I wonder which version it was that Keith showed us?
• It was rereleased in 1957 under the title, Daughter of Horror, with an added narration by Ed McMahon

Ratings:

Me: 4.5
Dave: 9.5
Ethan: 6
Joe: 10
Sean: 2 out of 4

ryan shoulda gone down

Before writing a word of this, I need to note from the outset that I'm not a big football guy I enjoy watching a game, and I understand the basics. But some of the finer points are beyond me.

Having said that, there's something that puzzles me about the ending of yesterday's Patriots/Titans playoff game.

Let's set the stage.

The Patriots were down by one point with fifteen seconds left. They were deep in their own territory. Logan Ryan of the Titans intercepted Tom Brady's pass and returned it for a touchdown, putting the Titans up by seven with nine seconds left. Instead of going for the easy one point, the Titans went for the two-point conversion. I don't know whether it was the better move. It's easy to justify the decision, but it would also be easy to justify playing it safe. At any rate, the Titans missed the conversion, the ensuing kickoff was the last play of the game, and the Titans won by seven.

But here's my question: When Ryan intercepted the pass, should he have gone down, giving the Titans a first down? Then all they'd have to do is take a knee on one play (two if the Patriots still had a timeout) and run out the clock. With the touchdown, the Patriots still had a chance to return a kickoff for a touchdown.

I can only think of two possible responses:

• The risk of losing the ball as you try to take a knee is significant enough that it outweighs the prisk of the Patriots scoring on the kickoff
• In the heat of the moment, Ryan didn't stop to think through all the possibilities.

I'm guessing it's the latter, but I welcome responses from anyone who knows football better than I do.

NOTE: After I wrote this, I went searching for a video to include. In the one I chose (see above), one of the announcers made the same point that I did. Starting at about 35 seconds in, he said that the interception helped the Patriots.

happy zmedsday!! (lviii)