Moments of Distinction

The great "swimming pool" sequence from Cat People

"Tears in the Rain"

The Soundtrack

I've gotten the urge to hear David Raskins' gorgeous theme from Laura...So here it is.

"Throw more brandy!!!"

Film-doms' most famous pie-fight - The Great Race (1965)

The Soundtrack

Glen Hansard - Say It To Me Now (Once Movie) from Liam Cooke on Vimeo.

The opening credits of Once.

Moments of Distinction

The Film – Short Cuts, dir. Robert Altman

The Set-Up – As Ralph (Mathew Modine) and Marion (Julianne Moore) get ready for company to arrive, long-simmering resentments finally erupt to the surface.

Altman was always a master of setting up a scene that tells a huge story in only a few minutes, and this is a class “A” example. Earlier in the film we’ve gotten hints about Ralph’s opinion of the “lousy” artist that he suspects Marion cheating with, and here he finally forces it out into the open. What’s striking here is the level of cruelty that these two inflict on each other. Watch Modine’s little smirk when Marion spills the drink on herself – he ENJOYS seeing her distressed. But then, she turns the tables on him – Does she ever. Having Moore perform this scene nude from the waist down might seem gratuitous and unnecessary at first glance, but consider the dynamic at work here. Ralph is already uncomfortable with his wifes’ nudity, and when she stands in front of him and finally relates the details of her infidelity, she’s really rubbing his nose in it. She knows how uncomfortable he is at that moment. Ralph’s repeating of the line “Have a go at it?” is marvelous. He chooses to see the other man as an insignificant poseur, and his repeating of the man’s crude come-on is really his way of saying, “You cheated with a loser!” Then, there’s the wry little ending to the scene – With all the bile now out in the open, they turn their attention back to getting ready for their guests.

Moments of Distinction

The Film – I Am Cuba – dir. Mikhail Kalatozov

The Set-Up – The funeral procession of murdered student martyr Enrique.

I have written about I Am Cuba before, and I mentioned this sequence back then. In many ways, IAC is a comically naïve film, but its technical artistry is unquestioned. This portion of the film stands out over all others for me, because the filmmakers achieved a shot that should be impossible. Watch the clip, and think of the person who is holding the camera.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYFXv6bDIY8

On This Date

Great Horny Toads!!! Remembering the great Mel Blanc, who died twenty years ago today.

The Soundtrack

Two clips featuring the music of Booker T and the MGs: The final drag race from American Graffiti featuring "Green Onions", and the trailer for Barfly, featuring "Hip-Hug Her".

The Soundtrack

The film is Pete Kelly's Blues, and the performer is the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald.

Trouble

From Harold & Maude. Enjoy.

Maurice Jarre 1924-2009

Moments of Distinction

The Film – Big Night, dir. Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci

The Set-Up – Well, there is no set-up. This is the final scene of this marvelous little gem of a film. If you’ve seen the movie, you would know it simply as The Omelet Scene. If you haven’t seen it, no amount of explaining could do it justice. It's a beautiful coda to the story of the relationship between two very different individuals – the brothers Primo (Tony Shalhoub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci). So, if you know Big Night, enjoy. If you don’t, try to see it soon, OK?

The Elwy Yost Interviews (Part 2)

The Elwy Yost Interviews

For years, TVO’s Saturday Night at the Movies has been an oasis for film lovers in the province of Ontario. Host Elwy Yost would present two films, linked either by personnel (like, say, The Wild Bunch and Major Dundee) or theme (like The Grapes of Wrath and Bound for Glory). The films were enough on their own, but the cherry on top was Yost’s effusive interviews in the intermission between films. Here’s the first part of a discussion on the Auteur theory with some Hollywood notables.

The Soundtrack

The Yardbirds' cameo from Antonioni's Blow-Up. Enjoy.

Bernard Herrmann, part 2

As long as we're listening to great Herrmann scores, here's the best of them all - The great, soaring theme for North By Northwest. Enjoy.

Remembering Bernard Herrmann

One thing missing from my commentary on The Ghost & Mrs. Muir was a mention of Herrmann's gorgeous score. By way of rectifying that, here's the opening credits.

Ran and the Filmmusic Blog-a-Thon

This gorgeous sequence from Akira Kurosawa's 1985 masterpiece (scored by Toru Takemitsu) is another reminder to check out the Filmmusic blog-a-thon hoted by Damian at Windmills of my Mind. http://damianarlyn.blogspot.com/2007/01/filmmusic-blog-thon.html

Léolo and the Filmmusic Blog-a-thon

A wee plug for the Filmmusic Blog-a-thon being hosted by Damian at Windmills of my Mind on June 21-25. http://damianarlyn.blogspot.com/2007/01/filmmusic-blog-thon.html I'll use any damn excuse to hear Tom Waits.