two thoughts about a wonderful life

Ethan and I just watched It's a Wonderful Life. Long story.

Ethan had never seen it, and I have never liked it. But I have two thoughts about the movie that had never occurred to me before. Both of these concern events that occur during the time, near the end, when George is experiencing the world as it would be if he had never been born.

• Ernie, the taxi driver, takes George to the house that he knows as his home, but of course it's abandoned. He approaches the house and, dazed and confused, tries to make sense of its dilapidated state. Ernie shines a floodlight on him. He appears to shield his eyes in a way that reminds me of The Family in The Omega Man. Of course, it helps that I just watched that movie last night so it's still on my mind.
• The cop is named Bert. The cabbie is named Ernie. And as a hysterical George leaves the run-down house, he exclaims "Bert, Ernie, what's the matter with you two guys?" I saw that and couldn;t help but wonder if the Sesame Street characters were named Bert and Ernie as an homage to this movie.

I liked the alternate ending better...

cinema history class: the phantom of the opera

Session: Music, Madmen and Monsters, Week 1
Movie: Phantom of the Opera (1962)
Directed by Terence Fisher

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

Plot:
An opera seems to be cursed by setback after setback. Meanwhile, the music publisher behind the opera is using his influence in Harvey Weinsteinian ways. Hilarity ensues.

Reaction:

I had relatively low expectations going in. Some of the other guys in the class (including my son) love Hammer Films, and this kind of film is definitely in Joe's wheelhouse. But I'm not as into them as they are. There are a lot of these gothic-feeling brightly-colored movies from the late '50s to early '60s that, for me, blend into each other.* Fortunately, this one didn't take place in a castle, so there was hope. But this definitely beat my expectations.

Herbert Lom is a sympathetic phantom, whose misery stems from the artistic theft comitted by Lord Ambrose, portrayed as a prissy Michael McKean by Michael Gough. Gough steals the show, which is a big part of the movie's success. 

I was particularly interested in the flashback scene in which we witness the Phantom's injury. As a result of earlier exposition, we already know what happens, and yet the scene managed to maintain its suspense. And, while we're on the topic of suspense, I loved the way the movie, in its final scene, teases us with the possibility of seeing the Phantom's face. He removes the mask, showing it to Ambrose -- the man who wronged him years ago -- but still keeps it hidden from the movie's audience. But in the end, our curiosity is satisfied in a theatrically-perfect reveal.

As a bonus, this version of Phantom, features what could be cinema's best ever sewer fight scene. In the age of Covid-19**, I wonder if they washed their hands first.

Ratings:

Me: 9
Dave: 10
Ethan: 9

*Sssshhhhh! Don't tell Keith or Joe!
**As an aside, you can sing "Covid-19" to the tune of "Come On Eileen"

happy zmedsday!! (lxiv)

happy tunesday! ("yahoo eeee" by wazmo)

I used to have this 12" single but I don't remember exactly how I got it. I think it was sent to me because I was doing an article for Pulse! Magazine about cowpunk. Maybe not. It's not really a cowpunk song. More a country-synth song.

And I love it.

I do remember opening the box that it came in, and seeing the name "Wazmo." I was really into the Stiff Records label, and they had had a recording artist named "Wazmo Nariz." Could this be the same guy? I wondered. I played it, but couldn't really tell if it was the same voice.

Then I saw, in small print near one edge of the cover, "Ol' Two Ties is back." One of Nariz' gimmicks was to wear two neckties at the same time, so I realized that this was the same guy.

the wages of a mild winter?

"March," they say, "comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." Except when it doesn't.

And this year it didn't. Or, at least February wasn't all that lionesque. Or something. I'm not sure where I'm going with this metaphor, but bear with me.

Seriously, though, normally on March 1 I'd be looking for the weather to be getting better as spring approaches. And hoping that, as the snow cover melts and the weather tames up, my flowers come up too. But this has been such an odd winter that I'm worried about how the flowers will do.

One of the things I've learned in my time with LIDS is that perennials (or at least the perennials that bloom up around here) need a period of extreme cold in order to prepare themselves for the spring. And a good stretch of snow cover helps as well (I assume the water that results from the melt is an important element. But we've had a moderate winter with relatively little frigid weather and almost no snow.

Who knows -- it's only March 1, so we may get that late cold snap. But in the meantime, we have lots of flowers -- crocuses, daylilies, daffodils and others coming up. And I fear that this year we'll have a crappy garden.

But at least we have hellibores...