The Marquee

My 2006 commentary on Accatone can be read here.

The Marquee (Bard Division)

The Movies of my Life

The phrase “The Voodoo of Location” is attributed to Werner Herzog, and it illustrates the German director’s belief that being right there - on site - will infuse a film with a certain magical authenticity that can’t be captured in any other way. Here’s exhibit A - Herzog’s 1972 masterpiece Aguirre: The Wrath of God.

Here, Herzog took his production into the jungles of Peru to tell the story of the doomed expedition of Gonzalo Pizarro. The films opening scene perfectly illustrates Herzog’s voodoo. In it we see a thin line of men making their way along a narrow mountain path to the ethereal, otherworldly music of Popul Vuh . The camera pulls back and we see the magnitude of the undertaking – The line turns out to contain hundreds of men, snaking along the side of the mountain. Could this have been filmed in the Rockies or the Alps, closer to shelter and amenities? Absolutely, but somehow it wouldn’t have been the same.

Have a look at this snippet. This is the expedition’s first foray unto the Amazon on their crude rafts, and it’s a great illustration of the hardships that this shoot encompassed. With the raging, dirty water, and the flecks of moisture on the camera lens, it looks forbidding. The crews are supposed to be a little uneasy here, and they look it.

I can’t go very far into a discussion of this film without mentioning the scenery-chewer extraordinaire, Klaus Kinski. Kinski plays the title role, and his Aguirre never looks like anything short of a lunatic. Watch Kinski muttering ominously in the background as one of his superiors lays out the plan for the expedition. Aguirre is very plainly mad, but he is also a compelling leader, which is how he manages to get so many of the men to join in his mutiny.

Also figuring prominently in things is the elegant Inez, played by Helena Rojo. She is the wife of Ursua, the leader of the expedition, and the man who Aguirre rises up against. From the start she looks out of place with her gowns, and her carriage that has to be carried through the mud, and she is the film’s truly tragic figure. Her husband is her insulation against Aguirre and his madness, and as it becomes plain that Ursua won’t survive, we fear for her as well. One of the most memorable images in the film is of the morning when Aguirre’s men take Ursua away to execute him. The execution is cut with a silent long shot of Inez, sitting with her back to the camera, softly wiping away a tear. It’s a beautiful, sad sequence, and no one who sees this film ever forgets it.

The most memorable image in Aguirre, however is easy to pinpoint. It’s the remarkable closing scene, with Aguirre still planing his empire on a raft filled with dead and dying men - and scores of monkeys. It’s the perfect operatic finale for this film, as Aguirre, now fully insane and crushed by his lofty goals, turns and asks “Who is with me?”

When I started to become, to quote my blogs tagline, an “insufferable film snob” this was my favorite movie. I have many different favorite movies now, depending on my mood, but this one is still number one with me.

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Cool

Delon. Melville.

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Cover Art

Ebony - November 1973

Why these?

Why in all conscience should these be the ones to suffer? Children, old people, a young girl at the height of her loveliness. Why these? Are these our soldiers? Are these our fighters? Why should they be sacrificed? I shall tell you why. Because this is not only a war of soldiers in uniform. It is a war of the people, of all the people, and it must be fought not only on the battlefield, but in the cities and in the villages, in the factories and on the farms, in the home, and in the heart of every man, woman, and child who loves freedom! Well, we have buried our dead, but we shall not forget them. Instead they will inspire us with an unbreakable determination to free ourselves and those who come after us from the tyranny and terror that threaten to strike us down. This is the people's war! It is our war! We are the fighters! Fight it then! Fight it with all that is in us, and may God defend the right!

Mrs. Miniver - screenplay by Arthur Wimperis, George Froeshel, James Hilton, and Claudine West

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Groucho

Friends, I'm going to to tell you of the great mysterious wonderful continent known as Africa. Africa, God's country. And he can have it...Well, sir, we left New York drunk and early on the morning of February second. After fifteen days on the water and six on the boat we finally arrived on the shores of Africa.We at once proceded 300 miles into the heart of the jungle where I shot a polar bear. This bear was 6 foot 7 in his stocking feet and had shoes on. This bear was anemic and couldn't stand the cold climate. He was a rich bear and could afford to go away in the winter. From the day of our arrival we led an active life. The first morning saw us up at six, breakfasted, then back in bed at seven. This was our routine for the first three months. We finally got so we were back in bed at six-thirty.One morning I was sitting in front of the cabin smoking some meat There wasn't a cigar store in the neighborhood. As I say, I was sitting in front of the cabin when I bagged six tigers. I bagged them, I bagged them to go away, but they hung around all afternoon. They were the most persistent tigers I've ever seen. The principal animals inhabiting the African jungle are moose, elk and Knights of Pythias.Of course you all know what a moose is, that's big game. The first day I shot two bucks that was the biggest game we had. As I say you all know what a moose is? A moose runs around on the floor, and eats cheese and is chased by the cats. The elks on the other hand live up in the hills, and in the spring they come down for their annual convention. It is very interesting to watch them come down to the water-hole; and you should see them run when they find it is only water-hole. What they're looking for is a elk-a-hole. One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know. But that is entirely irrelevent to what I was talking about. We took some pictures of the native girls, but they weren't developed. But we're going back again in a couple of weeks...

The Marquee (Hulot Division)

Cool

Steve McQueen

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On this Date / The Soundtrack

Happy 68th to Tina Turner. Here's her kick-ass "The Acid Queen" from Tommy.

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The Call of the Wild, 1935

The Movies of my Life

There’s never really been any completion for Shane in the pantheon of my favorite Westerns. I saw it early in my life, I’ve seen it many times since, and it still resonates for me after all this time.

More so than almost any other cinematic hero that comes to mind, Shane (Alan Ladd) is a mythical being, more myth than man. When he makes his entrance, riding unto the farm of Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) he’s a mystery – We start out knowing nothing about him, and we don’t know much more at the film’s close.

If Shane were just another Western about a group of farmers battling against an evil cattle baron, it would have been forgotten long ago. The thing that elevates this movie into greatness is the way the characters are twisted just a tiny little bit away from stereotypical.

Take for instance the evil rancher Ryker played by Emile Meyer. Ryker is a bad guy - There’s no question about that, but look at what the film does with him. When Ryker comes to see Starrett, it’s not with threats, but with an offer to come work for him. Ryker gets a great speech about how he was one of the first to settle the land, along with “men who are mostly dead now”, and for a few seconds, we can actually sympathize with him. How many other Westerns have bothered to scratch the surface of a bad guy like this?

How about the “relationship” between Shane and Starrett’s wife Marian (Jean Arthur)? The film doesn’t really develop any sexual tension between the two, but it certainly doesn’t ignore it either. It makes a point of showing her reaction to Shane’s initial arrival, and it doesn’t seem to be just a case of her being fearful of the stranger. There’s a scene where the two dance together, and their body language is noticed by Starrett, who basically gives approval to his wife to take up with this new man if anything should happen to him. Watch Shane in another scene where Marian and her son Joey discuss him from the next room, and you see an unmistakable sense of longing and regret wash over him. Shane is allowed to live with this family, and sort of share in their lives, but he will never be able to have the same thing, and he knows it.

Then there’s the films “stock” character – The hired gun Wilson, played by Jack Palance. Wilson is fairly obviously set up for a showdown with Shane, and he plays the baddie card well, cruelly gunning down one farmer in the mud. Even at that, there’s ….something…. about Wilson. Listen to him as Ryker lays out his last resort plan for Starrett. Ryker says “I’ll kill him if I have to.”, to which Wilson replies with more than a hint of derision “You mean I’LL kill him if you have to.” I take from this Wilson’s quiet distain for those who won’t do their own killing. Wilson is a killer, and makes no apology for it. In his own twisted way, he’s a man of morals.

Here’s a final little treat – the climatic gunfight. This sequence is a marvel of slowly uncoiling tension. (Even the dog gets the hell out of the way!) Notice how Shane is now the one prodding things towards their violent conclusion, after turning the other cheek earlier. Although he takes no joy in it, he is now in his natural element. A man has to be what he is.

The Newsstand

The Sunday Times - The recluse issue.

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Purity of Essence

Do you realize that in addition to fluoridating water, why, there are studies underway to fluoridate salt, flour, fruit juices, soup, sugar, milk, ice cream? Ice cream, Mandrake? Children's ice cream!...You know when fluoridation began?...1946. 1946, Mandrake. How does that coincide with your post-war Commie conspiracy, huh? It's incredibly obvious, isn't it? A foreign substance is introduced into our precious bodily fluids without the knowledge of the individual, and certainly without any choice. That's the way your hard-core Commie works. I first became aware of it, Mandrake, during the physical act of love...Yes, a profound sense of fatigue, a feeling of emptiness followed. Luckily I was able to interpret these feelings correctly. Loss of essence. I can assure you it has not recurred, Mandrake. Women...women sense my power, and they seek the life essence. I do not avoid women, Mandrake...but I do deny them my essence.

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