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Peter Falk, Rest in Peace: Tsetse flies scene from "The In-Laws"

There have been many pictures of Peter Falk as the grandfather in The Princess Bride floating around online the last few days.  However, as much as I love The Princess Bride and Columbo, my favorite Peter Falk role is in the 1979 movie, The In-Laws, with Alan Arkin.  Nobody else delivers a line quite the same way as Peter Falk did:

He also did figure drawings, which you can see at PeterFalk.com, and which include some of himself playing Columbo.

Various thoughts on "The King's Speech" and Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, Second Movement

There are so many reviews of The King's Speech out there that I don't need to write one. However, we loved the movie, which we finally saw today, and we talked about it all evening after getting home from the matinee.

Some random thoughts:

• The movie is rated R for language - pretty much one word in repetition.  It fits in with the plot and isn't the slightest bit gratuitious.  I think Rent used the same word about that many times as a part of normal speech

Back in January, when we first decided to see it, we were trying to find someone for younger son to stay with.  I got sick, then younger son, and older son got sick... then younger son got sick again...then dear husband and I both got sick... then (for the last 2 weeks) dear husband had the not-covered-by-the-flu-shot flu.  This weekend was cold and rainy, we were all finally well, and older son didn't have a heavy college workload for the weekend.  We were going to make sure to see it! 

When it first came out, daughter saw it with friends.  She said that the plot wasn't the slightest bit R-rated and that the rating was pretty much due to that one word.  It's taken me about a month to get used to the idea of taking a 12 yo to a movie rated R, and, given the difficult time I had typing the first part of this sentence, I'm still not used to it.

I wasn't sure what younger son thought of the movie while we were watching, except that he thought the parts with the language were hilarious.  It had long, slow, quiet parts.  Was he finding it boring?  After the credits finished (we always watch the credits), he turned to me with a smile and said that he loved it.  It's one of his favorite movies! 

• The worst part, actually, in terms of ratings, was before the movie.  The numerous previews were almost all horror or violence, and almost none of them looked interesting.*  At the end of the previews, the lady in front of us said, "Well, there were seven duds!"  I almost decided to go out in the hall with younger son, who didn't want to watch the previews and had his hands over his eyes and ears, when they finally had a preview for Hop.  That made only six duds as far as we were concerned.  I don't know who chose those previews to go before a thoughtful, historical movie, but nobody in the audience seemed to enjoy them.

• I hated history when I was in school because it seemed to involve memorizing a lot of disconnected facts and dates (although I loved reading historical novels, and even read historical non-fiction for fun).  I didn't realize that I loved history as a subject until I had a wonderful professor in college.  He was one of those oft-criticized professors that taught from yellowed notes.  What matters is what is in those yellowed notes, which, for him, contained theories about history.  There were theories?  You could actually think about history?!  It was more than memorization!!!

I was determined that my kids wouldn't have that experience.  Daughter loves history and has a mind like a steel trap for it.  Older son enjoys it, although he doesn't have his sister's recall.  What's surprised me is that younger son, who is fascinated by engineering and technology, also loves history... well, except that history is a series of whys and causation, which is right up his alley.  I'm happy that they all enjoy it!

• We spent an hour before dinner looking up the history behind the movie and the characters and then discussed it all through dinner.  Some tidbits:

• Albert was born on the same date that his great-grandfather died.  In order to make this less sad for his great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, he was named after her late husband.
• We wondered what happened to Lionel Logue's sons during the war.  I didn't find that out, but they did all survive.
• The Wikipedia quotes George V, Albert's father, as saying this about his older sons:  "I pray God that my eldest son will never marry and that nothing will come between Bertie and Lilibet (Elizabeth II) and the throne."
• Edward was respected for his role in the military during WWI.  However, during WWII, as the Wikipedia reports, during his 1937 visit to Germany, he appeared to support Fascism, and Hitler and Speer both thought that Anglo-German relations would have been much closer had he not abdicated.
• The Wikipedia was very useful: George V was first cousin to both Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.
• The article on the queen consort (more recenly known as the Queen Mum) was one of my favorites.  Some quotes:
  • "Unexpectedly, Elizabeth laid her bouquet at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior on her way into the Abbey; a gesture which every royal bride since has copied, though subsequent brides have chosen to do this on the way back from the altar rather than to it."
  • "She charmed the public in Fiji when shaking hands with a long line of official guests, as a stray dog walked in on the ceremony and she shook its paw as well."
  • "During the war, her seemingly indomitable spirit provided moral support to the British public. In recognition of her role as a propaganda tool, Adolf Hitler described her as 'the most dangerous woman in Europe'."
  • "When Buckingham Palace itself took several hits during the height of the bombing, Elizabeth was able to say, 'I'm glad we've been bombed. It makes me feel I can look the East End in the face.'"
  • "Sir Hugh Casson said she was like 'a wave breaking on a rock, because although she is sweet and pretty and charming, she also has a basic streak of toughness and tenacity. ... when a wave breaks on a rock, it showers and sparkles with a brilliant play of foam and droplets in the sun, yet beneath is really hard, tough rock, fused, in her case, from strong principles, physical courage and a sense of duty.'"

• The performances were all fantastic, and I enjoyed seeing Helena Bonham Carter in a non-psychotic (non Bellatrix-or-Sweeny-Todd) role. 

• I loved watching the teacher-student interaction between Lionel and the king.  Since I've had voice therapy, though mine was for having weak vocal folds which is miles away from stuttering, parts of it felt familiar.  Thinking about it further, I really enjoy this sort of interaction - one to one tutor-type interaction.  It's the way music lessons usually are so I've had this both with flute and voice.  It involves challenge, encouragement, and exhortation - and it's all directed at what you're doing right now so you can focus and improve.  After a lesson or a voice therapy session, I end up feeling like I've learned and grown so much - in a way that isn't even in the same ballpark as a regular classroom situation.  Classrooms seem so impersonal in comparison.

• I don't have the same gift for teaching that my voice or best flute teachers have, but I just realized that what I described in the last section was kind of how we homeschool.

• About the movie:

• The author, David Seidler suffered from a stammer as a child. Having heard George VI's wartime speech as a child, he (later in his adult life) had written to the Queen Mother asking for permission to use the King's story to create a film. The Queen Mother asked him not to during her lifetime, citing that the memories were too painful. Seidler respected her request. (IMDB)
• Queen Elizabeth II, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms and the daughter of King George VI, who as a small girl is portrayed in the film, was sent two copies of the film before Christmas 2010. The Sun newspaper reported she had watched the film in a private screening at Sandringham House. A "palace source" described her reaction as "touched by a moving portrayal of her father". Seidler called the reports "the highest honour" the film could receive. (Wikipedia)
• Ten Secrets Behind the Making of The King's Speech.

At the climax of the movie, the background music is one of my favorite pieces of Beethovens' - the Second Movement (Allegretto) of the Seventh Symphony.  Here is the New York Philharmonic conducted by Pierre Boulez:

* There was a time travel one that looked interesting, though the preview was still too loud and violent.

The Selfish Giant - Oscar Wilde

The Selfish Giant, by Oscar Wilde, is one of my favorite short stories.  It's a beautiful story, which always makes me teary at the end.  We watched the lovely animated version* this evening (this video is a bit blurrier than the version we have):

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Older son is still singing the songs from it. 

*  The movie was made in 1971, and it was nominated for an Academy Award for an animated short subject. 

"In and Out" - Kevin Kline

Since I'm a Kevin Kline fan, I'm surprised that In and Out has been out since 1997, and I've never seen it before last weekend.  I think that I thought it was a more serious film than it actually is.  I rethought that when we started watching and found out that it was directed by Frank Oz (so it's probably wouldn't be too much of a serious drama). 

For those who haven't seen it, it's a good comedy with a great cast.  Kevin Kline is wonderful, as usual.  The rest of the cast are wonderful too (including Joan Cusak, Debbie Reynolds, Tom Selleck, and Matt Dillon).

The one thing I didn't care for about the film was the negativity in the first half, but that has to happen in order for the second half to mean something.  Still, I found it difficult to watch after a while.

Here's one of my favorite scenes.  If you read even a one sentence synopsis of the plot then this scene won't really give anything away: 

"Dancing at the movies"

This video has been appearing on a number of blogs.  I'm not sure where I saw it first, but I always enjoy it!

 

From the YouTube page, here are the movies that are included:  Dirty Dancing, Flashdance, White Nights, Perfect, Saturday Night Fever, Blue Skies, Pulp Fiction, High Fidelity, Clerks 2, American Pie, Billy Elliot, Footloose, True Lies, Grease, Honey, Phantom of the Opera, Step up, Step up 2, Moonwalker, West Side Story, Moulin Rouge, Mary Poppins, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Strictly Ballroom, Happy Feet, Singing in the Rain, Fame, Fame2009, Save the Last Dance, Mamma Mia, Mask of Zorro, Coyote Ugly, Wild Hogs, Get Smart, Airplane, A Knights Tale, High School Musical, and  Austin Powers.  I've bolded the ones I've seen.

Singing in the Rain is one of my all-time favorite movies.  Of the rest, White Nights is my favorite - I'm a big fan of Gregory Hines, and I enjoy Mikhail Barishnikov too.  Together, they're wonderful.  Dirty Dancing is close too, along with West Side Story,* and Fame.

 

* Younger son and I read an abridged version of Romeo and Juliet recently.  I showed him a few clips from West Side Story and explained that it was the same story in a different setting.  I said that maybe we could watch it in a few years.  He said, sadly, "But, if it's the same story, then some of the gang members will die!" 

Maybe more than just a few years.

What to write?

It's difficult enough posting every day when you're well.  When I'm dragging myself around (fever, sore throat), I can't even think of anything to write.  I read all of Sophie Kinsella's Remember Me? today.  It's a pretty good book - a twenty-something lady has amnesia and forgets the last three years.  She remembers herself as snaggle-toothed, frizzy-haired, and struggling.  She wakes up with perfect hair, perfect teeth, the perfect body, the perfect apartment, the perfect job, and the perfect husband, and finds it's not all it's cracked up to be.

Some people can write wonderful things when they're on cold medicine.  I just get draggy.  The Blogess also has a cold, but she comes up with a post about a photo she took that, if you turn it upside down, looks like it has Edward Cullen in the background.  Then she goes on to mention what would happen if you turned into a ghost at the same time you turned into a vampire and you could haunt yourself.

Why can't I come up with interesting and bizarre ideas like that when I'm sick?!

And she also recently met Neil Gaiman.

 

Friday Fun Song: "Willkommen" (from Cabaret) - Joel Grey and others, plus the Glee version of "Hot Patootie" (and assorted other things)

Here's an example of the sort of train my thoughts run on. 

There's a new character, played by John Stamos, in Glee this season.  My favorite performance on the recent Glee version of Rocky Horror is his performance of Hot Patootie.  I really enjoy the dancing.:

I didn't realize that he has also done a good bit of Broadway, including playing Albert in the recent revival of Bye, Bye, Birdie (his part starts at 0:50). [Bill Irwin plays Mr. McAfee (his part starts at 5:47).]  He also played the emcee in the recent Broadway revival of Cabaret.  This revival portrays the emcee in a very different manner than the original 1970's version.  I don't care for it.

Of course, I had to go looking for the original version with Joel Grey.  He won a Tony for the original Broadway version in 1967 and an Academy Award for the movie version in 1972.*  In one of my favorite songs from Cabaret, Willkommen, he's deliciously creepy in the movie version - and he's the creepiest when he's acting the friendliest.  Unfortunately, the movie version is not embeddable (Click here to see it.  If you haven't seen the movie:  Yes, that's Michael York.).  Here's the stage version, also, excellent, from the Tony Awards (Harold Prince directed the original Broadway version; Bob Fosse directed the movie.  I'm partial to the movie version, of course.):

He also performed this, without strange makeup and behavior, on the Muppet Show in 1976. 

Actually, there's a part 2 to this train of thought, but I'll leave that for another day.

 

• For Rent fans:  Adam Pascal has also played the emcee in Cabaret.
• At a Kennedy Center performance in honor of John Kander and Fred Ebb, the writers of Cabaret (also Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman, and others) Joel Grey and Alan Cumming (who originally performed the role of the emcee in the revival) perform Wilkommen (wonderful Fosse dancing at the end!).  From the Wikipedia:

...Kander's and Ebb's fascination with the collaborative process began with their work on Cabaret, where a long experimental period permitted actors such as Joel Grey to contribute ideas toward the creation of their characters...

• Joel Grey will be in a revival of Anything Goes next year.

 

* One of only eight actors to win both the Tony and the Oscar for the same role.  From TonyAwards.com:

Eight performers have won the Tony and later the Oscar for the same role: José Ferrer in Cyrano de Bergerac (Tony: 1947/Oscar: 1950), Shirley Booth in Come Back, Little Sheba (1950/1953), Yul Brynner in The King and I (1952/1956), Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady (1957/1964), Anne Bancroft in The Miracle Worker (1960/1962), Paul Scofield in A Man for All Seasons (1962/1966), Jack Albertson in The Subject Was Roses (1965/1968) and Joel Grey in Cabaret (1967/1973). Lila Kedrova did it the other way around. She won an Oscar for Zorba the Greek, and 20 years later won a Tony for the same role in Zorba (1964 Oscar/1984 Tony).

"Dancing in the Dark: A Cultural History of The Great Depression" - Morris Dickstein/Fred Astair & Cyd Charisse

I just bought Dancing in the Dark the other day.  Although I haven't had a chance to start, it looks very interesting.  From the back cover:

This vibrant portrait of 1930s culture masterfully explores the anxiety and hope, the despair and surprising optimism of distressed Americans during the Great Depression.  Morris Dickstein has brought together a staggering range of material - from epic Dust Bowl migrations to zany screwball comedies, from elegant dance musicals and wildly popular swing bands to streamlined Deco designs.  Exploding the myth that Depression culture was merely escapist, Dickstein concentrates on the dynamic energy of the arts and the resulting lift they gave to the nation's morale.  Dancing in the Dark is a fresh and exhilarating analysis of one of America's most remarkable artistic periods. 

One of my favorite courses in graduate school was a Liberal Studies course about the culture of the 1930's.  It was taught by an English professor so it did focus on literature, but he brought in many examples of the other arts.  He was a very interesting person to talk to (I ended up asking him to be on my final project committee).  He had the class over to his house once, and I was fascinated by his record collection which took up an entire bedroom. 

Of course, every time I look at the title of this book, I get the song in my head.  The song, Dancing in the Dark, was written by Arthur Schwartz and Howard Dietz and first used in the 1931 Broadway review, The Bandwagon.  Artie Shaw's big band turned it into a gold record in 1941.  Of course, my favorite version is from the movie, The Bandwagon.  Here are Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse:

• More on Dancing in the Dark from jazzstandards.com
• Vocal version by Frank Sinatra 
• Muppet version

 

John Hurt: Ollivander and Caligula

Younger son recently read the fourth book of the Harry Potter series so we're watching the first few movies over again from the beginning.  Even though I've seen the first movie a number of times, I still do a double take when I see John Hurt play Mr. Ollivander (right) because his performance as Caligula, in I Claudius, thirty-four years ago, is still very fresh in my mind.  When watching Harry Potter, I have to remind myself that Mr. Ollivander is a friendly character, not the insane, psychopathic emporer he portrays in I Claudius:

MerelyAFan, a YouTube commenter mentions:

What I love about John Hurt's performance is how here Caligula really seems to think he's a rational, intelligent, (god) emperor who really believes he's doing Rome well. Others play him as too overtly crazy and purposefully over the top, but with Hurt you can just see his angry frustration in people not understanding his logical (in fact contradictory) orders or confusion at his "rewarding" campaign against Neptune.

I, Claudius is filled with excellent performances.  Even so, John Hurt's performance, as horrifying as his character is, stands out. 

 

A link post (which includes Liza Minnelli)

I thought I'd get lots of blogging done this weekend.  You see, after all the busy-ness of the last few months (good busy, but some of the busiest I've ever been, just the same), I decided to take this weekend and schedule nothing. 

Nothing at all.

I decided that, besides laundry, dishes, and the every day stuff, I'd just do whatever I felt like.  What a bizarre concept.  I was sure that I'd get lots of blogging done, but I never really felt like blogging.  What did I feel like?

Sleeping.

I'd start reading a book, or downloading photos, and I'd get sleepy and go take another nap.  Along with sleeping well at night, I slept two to three hours during the day.  I haven't even finished any of the books I'm reading (Small Pools, Unseen Academicals, and Tales from Outer Suburbia). 

I almost didn't write this part of the post because it seems so... shameful to get so little done over a whole weekend.  However, catching up with the last two weeks' worth of Glee put me in a good mood this evening so I decided to confess anyway. 

Here are a few interesting things I ran across the last few weeks:

• The Masterworks Broadway blog has a post about the thirty-fifth anniversary of the opening of Chicago.  To go with the post, here's Liza Minnelli singing All That Jazz:

•  Notes of an Anesthesioboist has a beautifully thoughtful, though sad, post, A Spouse's Silent Sorrows:

...So often the beauty of compassion between partners is overlooked or forgotten, but when it exists the connection between the two can be felt by everyone in the room...

• At Wired - Meet the Last Generation of Typewriter Repairmen.

• A country landscape - A photo I'd like to hike in (among many of such) at Appalachian Treks.

• Mermaid at Daily Animation:  Beautiful, though sad.

• I love Wild Beasts and Dangerous Lunatics' review of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, a Michael Caine/Steve Martin comedy which is one of my favorite movies.  However, there are spoilers so don't read if you don't want parts of the story given away.

• Robert Downey Jr.:  Biggest movie star on the planet -- Who'da thunk it? at Flick Filosopher:

If anyone had asked you, a decade ago, to predict who would be the biggest star of 2010, you might have said Jim Carrey. Or Tom Hanks. Or Tom Cruise. They headlined the biggest movies of 2000, after all...