Besides, as a McCain/Palin White House looks less and less plausible, are we really going to have a need for wire hangers?

I present to you the Sexiest Sixties XI - women who are old enough to be my mother!

11 Barbara Streisand

Age: 66

From: Brooklyn, NY

Known for: Singing, acting and that nose.

Most awesome thing: Being a woman in love.

The Lowdown: I know a lot of people might prefer to poke themselves in the eye with a stiletto than get down to it with Barbara but that position needs serious review.  Streisand is one of the most celebrated singers of our time and her list of classic performances such as "A Woman in Love", "The Way We Were" and "Guilty" will see her ranked as one of the greats of all time.

But of course this blog is about how sexy she is and I think she comes off pretty well for a woman of her vintage.  The nose is character building and she rebounded wonderfully from that awful early-80s perm that made her look like a bustier Kevin Keegan.  She carries herself as a lady of class but of course the paps will always catch these ageing, made-up stars at their worst.  But I'd still re-enact some of those hot scenes from "The Prince of Tides" with her.

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10 Karen Black

Age: 69

From: Park Ridge, IL

Known for: Getting an Oscar nomination in the 70s before retiring to "straight-to-video" fare for 30 years.

Most awesome thing: The Rollerblade Seven.

The Lowdown: Karen must have known the gig was up when she agreed to star in David G Jackson's cult movie "The Rollerblade Seven", a film that kick-started the obscure cult "Zen" film making style in 1991.  From Wikipedia: "This film follows a non-linear storyline and is riddled with strange and unexpected edits and dialogue. Several scenes, for example, are repeated over ten times in a row, seemingly without rhyme or reason."  It is quite mental.  I watched it (mainly on fast forward). It also stars JOE Estevez and FRANK Stallone if that's any indication as to its level.

Anyway Black picked up an Oscar nomination in 1970 for "Five Easy Pieces" and has other top credits to her name such as "Easy Rider", "The Great Gatsby" and "Airport 1975" - but she became more associated with b-movie horrors like "Children of the Corn IV", "Mirror Mirror", "House of 1000 Corpses", "Evil Spirits", "It's Alive III" - you can see where this is going.  She most recently received an award for her performance in the critically-acclaimed movie "Firecracker" which critic Roger Ebert hailed as one of the best of 2005.

She is brilliant though - voluptuous, oozing sexuality and a fine actress to boot. Her career was summed up by her appearance as a character in "Family Guy" which was followed by newscaster Tom Tucker saying "Karen Black, what an obscure reference".

She has written and performed her own music and has also turned to play-writing now.

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9 Tina Turner

Age: 68

From: Nutbush, TN

Known for: Leaving her violent husband and re-inventing herself.

Most awesome thing: We Don't Need Another Hero from Mad Max III.

The Lowdown: The first thing any artist should plan is to write a hit single that will allow them to retire on the royalties.  Robbie Williams did it with "Millennium", Queen with "We Are the Champions" and Tina Turner with "The Best".

TIna was a looker in the sixties and seventies but was left black-and-blue by her violent husband Ike, with whom she had a successful musical career.  It looked like her solo career would never take off, her two late seventies albums "Rough" and "Love Explosion" both flops.  But she went on to become the most successful solo female artist of all time, all the time managing to maintain incredible legs even as she inches towards 70.  Wonderful talent, wonderful figure, wonderful wigs...

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8 Carly Simon

Age: 63

From: The Bronx, NY

Known for: Very sexy lips.

Most awesome thing: The song about me.

The Lowdown: It's been an up-and-down career for the pop-rocker who arguably peaked with 1972's "You're So Vain" and rebounded occasionally with the likes of "Nobody Does It Better", 1987's "Coming Around Again" and 2005 surprise hit album "Moonlight Serenade".

Carly has come across as sexy, cute and bohemian over the years.  Her current look is very sexy, reminiscent of a female Steven Tyler (prominent mouth included).  And if you needed some evidence...

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7 Anne Archer

Age: 61

From: Los Angeles, CA

Known for: Being a bit under-appreciated.

Most awesome thing: Being naked in London's West End.

The Lowdown: Her breakthrough role was as Michael Douglas' wife in "Fatal Attraction" for which she was Oscar nominated.  But since then her success has been limited on the big screen, her most high-profile being the unexciting role as Harrison Ford's wife in the dull political thrillers "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger".  Unfortunately I was unable to catch her performance in the London's West End stage production of "The Graduate".  And, yes, she got her kit off.

From her glamorous fur coat look of the late 80s to her graceful, understated look of today, Archer is one cool chick - with the exception of her affiliation with Scientology.  I guess I could just fake interest.

Ageing: MMMM

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6 Helen Mirren

Age: 63

From: London, UK

Known for: Winning awards all the time.

Most awesome thing: Could be this?

The Lowdown: Where does one start when it comes to Helen Mirren?  "Cal", "Excalibur", "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover", "The Long Good Friday", "Caligula", "The Madness of King George", "Gosford Park", "The Queen" and "Prime Suspect".

So her talent is not in dispute.  But how did Helen Mirren become a sex symbol in her fifties?  Her nineties role as Detective Jane Tennison in "Prime Suspect" brought her to mainstream television and she followed this with Academy Award nominations for "The Madness of King George", "Gosford Park" and - eventually - an Oscar for "The Queen".

Described as the thinking man's sex symbol, Mirren dresses well, speaks well, looks great, probably smells great and hasn't spoilt herself with plastic surgery.  But she'd probably look even better if she did.

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5 Cher

Age: 62

From: El Centro, CA

Known for: Outrageous dominatrix-style wear of the 80s.

Most awesome thing: The Groundhog Day song.

The Lowdown: Even as a pubescent teen in the mid 80s I thought the near-naked Cher (left) was about as sexy as this.  Whether it was she, or her agent, someone got a clue.  Her future videos were way classier and the music was just as good ("Heart of Stone", "Just Like Jesse James", "Love and Understanding"). But she found renown as an actress too, her turns in "Mask", "Moonstruck", "The Witches of Eastwick" and "Suspect" well regarded.

Her face and body may be mainly cosmetically created but that's neither here nor there.  She has a killer body, a pretty face, a great voice, charisma and a steely determination.  Frankly, she's hot as hell.

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4 Raquel Welch

Age: 68

From: Chicago, IL

Known for: It should be for her brilliant "Seinfeld" appearance in "The Summer of George": ("If you bring it up again I will feed your genitals to a wolf").

Most awesome thing: Are you kidding me?

The Lowdown: If Welch retired in 1966 she would be forever remembered for much-talked about roles in "One Million Years BC" and "Fantastic Voyage".  As it was her movie career became a footnote as numerous seventies outings bombed.  She gave up trying to break the box office and ended up in TV movies like "Torch Song" and "Right to Die".

She kept the coffers filled up by suing MGM for $15m after she was fired suddenly on the set of "Cannery Row" in 1982 but found her niche by promoting beauty products and fitness videos.

But, more relevantly, she is absolutely stunning even in her late 60s.

Ageing: MMMMM

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3 Goldie Hawn

Age: 62

From: Washington DC

Known for: Living with Kurt Russell for 25 years and not getting married - good for them!

Most awesome thing: It might have been a flop - and it might be a body double but "Criss Cross" gave us this.

The Lowdown: Goldie was never a consistent box-office performer.  Her first Academy recognition was in 1970 for "Cactus Flower" and she received a further nomination nine years later for "Private Benjamin".  But around those two landmark moments were panned movies like "Lovers and Liars", "Wildcats", "The Out-Of-Towners" and "Housesitter".  She found huge success in commercial hits like "Overboard", "Bird on a Wire", "The First Wives Club" and "The Banger Sister".

All the while Goldie was adored in the media; sweet, approachable and charming.  She jogs with Russell and keeps herself in great shape as you can see above.  My childhood crush remains intact 25 years on.

Ageing: MMMMM

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2 Suzanne Somers

Age: 61

From: San Bruno, CA

Known for: Looking like this at 61.  Phew.

Most awesome thing: Her underwear?  Maybe?

The Lowdown: I know it probably looks like I'm all about the ditzy blonde - and maybe I am.  But look at Suzanne Somers ... yowza!

She made me feel all funny when playing Chrissy Snow in flare-heavy seventies sitcom "Three's Company" (I was REALLY bummed when they replaced her with Cindy and then Terri).  And then she disappeared.

If you looked carefully you could find her advertising the thighmaster for a while in the eighties, doing some nude shots for "Playboy" and starring in early-nineties TV movie "Keeping Secrets" where she, rather easily, played herself.  Her TV comeback was in the sitcom "Step By Step" with Patrick Duffy (interestingly Duffy's former "Dallas" co-star Ken Kercheval had starred in "Keeping Secrets" with Somers).

Anyway, I'm rambling.  Somers has made her millions peddling fashion, diet, beauty and exercise products on the Home Shopping Network and has also beaten breast cancer, choosing to be treated with mistletoe injections rather than chemotherapy.

While she has a very healthy lifestyle, she has the money to keep herself looking great.  I tell you, it's money well spent.

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1 Faye Dunaway

Age: 67

From: Bascom, FL

Known for: The female half of "Bonnie and Clyde"

Most awesome thing: An Oscar for this performance.

The Lowdown: Dunaway has suffered in Hollywood recently like many of her age (see Karen Black, above).  But the celebrated actress has made her mark with a Best Actress "gong" (??) for "Network" and nominations for "Bonnie and Clyde" and "Chinatown" (all three movies have average ratings on IMDB in excess of 8.00.

Talented and beautiful, Faye has maintained a dignified presence over all the years she has been in the public eye.  Today she comes across as bright and classy, with a confident and smouldering sexuality as you can see in this interview with Jonathan Ross.

How much do I love her?  Well I bought the film "Drunks" because she was in it.  That's the ultimate sacrifice.

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Those who are just too old...

And the ones that will be in my list in ten years time...

Phwoar, eh lads??

Bonnie and Clyde is available at Amazon for $10.99. To Order click here
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Other Products of Interest

• The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration Giftset (The Godfather / The Godfather Part II / The Godfather Part III) [Blu-ray]
• The Wild Bunch - The Original Director's Cut
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
• A Passage To India (2-Disc Collector's Edition)
• L.A. Confidential

I have seen a lot of bad movies, in my day.  But just recently I have come across what easily has to be the worst movie ever made.  A movie so bad that you want to watch it again and again and again.

PONTICELLI (NAPOLI) - Come la "lanterna magica" e i carrozzoni che portavano in giro i vecchi filmati. La settima arte, le immagini in movimento, soprattutto quelle di ieri, saranno portagoniste del nuovo corso del Cineforum targato Arcimovie. Da Antonioni, a Bergman, passando per Dino Risi,   Pollack  e le facce da schiaffi di Nicholson e Robert Redford. (all'interno il programma di ottobre).

a cura di Roberta Migliaccio

L’associazione culturale Arci Movie, impegnata da vent’anni sul territorio della periferia est con un’attività stabile, continuativa, coerente e dichiaratamente distante dall’impronta occasionale degli eventi e dei festival straordinari che abbondano in città, è lieta di presentare, anche quest’anno, una stagione ricca di appuntamenti ed eventi speciali: cineforum, arene, rassegne, laboratori, incontri con personaggi del mondo del cinema e della cultura. Tutte queste attività non sono altro che singoli tasselli del progetto globale dell’Arci Movie, che vede, ogni anno, oltre 50.000 persone partecipare alle diverse iniziative. Tra le attività più importanti c’è sicuramente il Cineforum, la rassegna di cinema invernale giunta ormai alla sua XIX edizione che prevede, ogni giovedì, la visione di un successo della stagione in corso, al costo ridotto anche per il 2009 di 25 euro per 25 film. Il Cineforum rappresenta, per tutto il pubblico della zona orientale di Napoli e dell’area vesuviana, un’ occasione per vedere ed apprezzare film di successo e di qualità, sposando la “causa” dell’Arci Movie e facendo del Cinema Pierrot un centro di aggregazione e un luogo aperto alla cultura. In attesa che prenda il via dunque la consueta programmazione a novembre del cineforum annuale, l’Arci Movie organizza, a partire dal 2 ottobre e proseguendo tutti i giovedì del mese, la rassegna Omaggi al grande cinema, che propone un simbolico percorso per ricordare grandi registi scomparsi di recente. Da Altman ad Antonioni, da Bergman a Pollack e Risi potremo riassaporare o scoprire il gusto di veri e propri capolavori della cultura cinematografica di tutti i tempi, omaggiando, come da sempre nello stile Arci Movie, i grandi maestri che hanno segnato la nostra storia culturale.

Il costo del biglietto è di 1 euro.

Il cineforum ritorna. L’Arci Movie riprenderà il suo prezioso lavoro la prima settimana di novembre: “per la serata inaugurale abbiamo intenzione di invitare Giuliano Montaldo di ‘I demoni di San Pietroburgo’ ”, ha dichiarato il presidente dell’associazione Enzo Mauriello. A inizio settembre è terminata l’iniziativa 2008 “Cinema intorno al Vesuvio” e prima di riprendere i ritmi invernali, ne è stata indetta una nuova per tutto il mese di ottobre al cinema Pierrot di Ponticelli: al prezzo di un solo euro, si potrà assistere tutti i giovedì alle 18.00 o alle 21.00 alla visione di film cult del cinema italiano. “M.A.S.H.” (1970) di Altman: durante la guerra di Corea, in un ospedale da campo, tre ufficiali chirurghi ne combinano di tutti i colori infischiandosene delle regole. Oscar per la sceneggiatura di Ring Lardner Jr., Palma d’Oro al Festival di Cannes. “Professione: reporter” (1975) di Antonioni: David Locke, giornalista anglo-americano, viene invito in Africa settentrionale per un servizio sulla guerriglia. Approdato lì, assume l’identità di David Robertson, morto d’infarto in un hotel nel deserto. Nastri d’Argento ad Antonioni per il miglior film e a Tovoli per la sceneggiatura. “Il posto delle fragole” (1958) di Bergman: un vecchio medico, in compagnia della nuora, si dirige con la sua auto all’università di Lund dove si festeggerà il 50° anniversario della sua attività. Sulla strada caricherà due autostoppisti, andrà a trovare la madre…Orso d'oro al Festival di Berlino 1958. “I tre giorni del Condor” (1975) di Pollack: Un ricercatore della CIA è l'unico superstite di una sezione di New York dell'organizzazione, sterminata da un gruppo di sicari. Con l'aiuto di Kathie sfugge agli assassini che lo braccano e scopre che dietro al complotto si nasconde la CIA stessa. “Il sorpasso” (1962) di Risi: un giorno di ferragosto due occasionali “amici”, uno studente universitario e un quarantenne immaturo, trascorrono la giornata in auto. Inatteso e tragico sarà l’epilogo. “Abbiamo voluto rendere omaggio a grandi registi scomparsi recentemente – ha dichiarato Enzo Mauriello – e quella di ottobre sarà senza dubbio un’occasione per rivedere cult del cinema di tutti i tempi. Per quanto riguarda l’associazione invece è un pretesto per riprendere il rapporto con i nostri soci prima dell’inizio del cineforum vero e proprio”.

a cura di Roberta Migliaccio

Di seguito il programma:

Giovedì 2

M.A.S.H.,

Usa 1970, 116 min. con Donald Sutherland e Elliot Gould

Giovedì 9

Professione: reporter

 Italia 1974, 125 min. con Jack Nicholson e Maria Schneider

Giovedì 16

Il posto delle fragole

Svezia 1958, 91 min. con Bibi Andersson e Lena Bergman

Giovedì 23

I tre giorni del Condor

Usa 1975, 117 min. con Robert Redford e Faye Dunaway

Giovedì 30

Il sorpasso

Italia 1962, 106 min. con Vittorio Gassman e Jean-Louis Trintignant

Per contatti:

Arci Movie www.arcimovie.it       

tel/fax  081. 5967493

l'Ora vesuviana on-line

redazione@edizionidelvesuvio.com

1.  The world would be a better place if we all told one person per week that they look like a movie star*. Even if it's a stretch, and the only thing the person has in common with said movie star is possession of two eyeballs and a mouth. A friend told me I reminded her of Faye Dunaway, circa Bonnie & Clyde.

She was being far too nice. But damn, that was cool. And I was just a little nicer to everyone I saw that morning.

2.  The awesomeness of your neighbors should be factored into the value of your home. My neighbors regularly invite my children over to play, make me lattes on Sunday mornings, hand out full sized chocolate bars at Halloween, and tactfully ignore the mess in my backyard. I figure that should be worth at least fifty grand on top of the price of my house.

3.  Farting SHOULD be criminal. This guy in West Virginia farted on a cop. Totally on purpose. And they charged him with battery. I was elated. The other people who get mail here (i.e. the husband and kids – yes, even the 2 year old girl) celebrate farts proudly and publicly, without even a modicum of shame. Finally, I could threaten them with criminal charges. Alas, the charges were dropped. But I think some important precedent has been set. And when the world is done throwing up from the financial tailspin it's in, I want resources devoted to this problem, people.

4.  One 52 cent stamp attached to one card that was sent for NO REASON is worth a million damn dollars. Mail that's not a bill? From a friend who's stuck by you for twenty-one years? Pretty much priceless.

5.  There is no dining experience that cannot be enhanced by either bacon or butter. Or some mystical combination of the two.

Go ahead. Try to come up with something. Whatever it is, I will gladly slather it in bacon &/or butter. And I'll tell you, honestly, whether it rocked. Because I know it will.

* Please note that Jabba the Hutt, does not count. While it could be true, it's just mean.

(Images from here and here.)

Both Network and Sunset Boulevard are savage satires on two viscious industries - network news and Hollywood.  Both feature as their central characters professionals who had once thrived in their respective industries but were now chewed up and spat out by the industries they loved, at the end of their careers and rueing their demise.  Both equally feature in perhaps innapropriate and certainly unsustainable May-to-December relationships between those washed up characters and young aspiring types as central plots and funnily enough both feature William Holden at either end of his career.

Network is mainly enjoyable for the fabulous scene with the anchor-man-turned-crazed-prophet, Howard Beale, losing his sanity on live TV and encouraging his audience to all stick their heads out of the window and shout "I'm as mad as hell and I'm just not gonna take it anymore."  The undercurrent themes in Network are amazingly relevant 32 years later.  Ford, Vietnam, Watergate, the oil crisis - a similar crisis that the US faces today.  The "wake up and smell the coffee" soliloquoy by Ned Beatty playing the media tycoon is as brutally true today as it probably was then.

Sunset Boulevard is the archetypal Hollywood yarn.  Gloria Swanson essentially plays herself in her own, well, Swansong as a washed up, forgotten Silent-era movie Queen mourning her demise and trying to re-live the good-old days.  Must have been very painful to play such an auto-biographical role.  Holden plays a failed writer desperate for a break and they fall into each other's failure, comforting each other which what they don't have - his youth and her success.  Perhaps the Silent era seemed as golden and mythical in 1950 as 1950's Hollywood seems to us now.  The scene that sees Swanson trying to get back into Hollywood to see Cecil B. DeMille at the famous Paramount Gate made that gate the beat-all icon of Hollywood (reprised in reverse in the crazy end of Blazing Saddles).

Ultimately both the Faye Dunaway and William Holden characters pimp their souls for an unrewarding success.  I wonder if Holden was aware how thick the irony was he ended up on the wrong side of the same relationship a generation later?

One of the treats the movie industry does is deliver a delightful surprise to brighten up a rainy day. One rainy afternoon I threw on the TV in time to catch a movie I had not even heard of before let alone formed any kind of pre-conception about. HollywoodLand was one of those films. It is set in 1950s Hollywood (obviously) starring Adrien Brody, Diane Lane and Ben Affleck and is a terrific detective thriller fully laced with tangible mood all the way through. Mood of the era and of the place.

But what Hollywoodland did most of all was put in the mood for Chinatown, another LA period movie - this time the 1930s - with a compelling detective story that each time you watch it, you wish you'd never seen before so you can enjoy the surprise once again.

So when Chinatown aired shortly afterwards I was especially well prepared for it. Its a marvelous production from the rich and menacing anthology of Roman Polanski. It was many years after his wife was butchered by the Manson family and I am guessing around the same time he was indicted for raping a minor. The movie stars Jack Nicholson - whose house this alleged crime took place in - and you have to wonder if this project is where the two became dangerously linked.

Polanski actually stars in the film himself, as the nasty thug who slices Nicholson's nose with a knife as a warning. Its great when director's star in their own films of course - Alfred Hitchcock and Oliver Stone Spring to mind. Another acting Director stars in Chinatown also - John Huston plays the dark and devious father of Faye Dunaway's character - brilliantly unapologetic and mean.

The movie begins with a seamingly meaningless scene where Nicholson reveals to Birt Young - who plays Rocky's Brother-in-Law in the films of that name - that his wife has been having an affir. The tidyness of the film is completed when the build towards final climax begins when Nicholson arrives at Young's house to call in a favour, let into the house by Young's wife - now sporting a healthy shiner in recompense for the adultery Nicholson unearthed. The film then moves to Chinatown for the grusesome ending.

Its an explosive ending to a dynamite movie that so evokes the mood of 1930s Los Angeles that when the movie ends its hard to resume your everyday, modern existence. You know when a movie has taken you away when you can't get back again.

Inmitten des Zweiten Weltkriegs und Ende der 30er Jahre erlebte das Hollywood´sche Kino, so konventionell und massentauglich es ist, seine Blütezeit. Mit der Schwarzen Serie, dem Film noir, bricht anno 1941 mit John Hustons The Maltese Falcon eine neue, eine etwas “andere” Ära an, die dank ihres unverwechselbaren und einzigartigen Stils noch heutige Filmproduktionen prägt und filmhistorisch nicht wegzudenken ist. Ob Stilrichtung oder Genre, der Film noir ist einem historischen Kontext zuzuordnen, ausgehend vom Zweiten Weltkrieg und inspiriert vom deutschen Expressionismus ebenso wie von den US-amerikanischen Kriminalautoren Dashiell Hammet (Der Malteser Falke) und Raymond Chandler (Lebwohl, mein Liebling), die sozusagen den Grundstock für den Film noir bilden. Die klassische Ära der “Schwarzen Serie” endet mit Orson Welles Touch of Evil, lebt aber im Neo-Noir - eine ausgehende Stilrichtung, die fundamentale Traditionen und Elemente seines Vorbilds aufgreift und/oder reproduziert - weiter. Dabei ist nicht zu vergessen, dass “Neo-Noir” ein weit reichender und dehnbarer Begriff ist, der oft zu schnell in den Mund gelegt wird und gelegt wurde. Roman Polanskis (The Ninth Gate) Kriminalthriller Chinatown dagegen, der 1974 die Kinoleinwände zierte und somit dem Zeitgeist des Neo-Noir entsprechen sollte, zeichnet sich dank seiner elementaren Thematik, der pessimistischen und zwielichtigen Gesellschaftssicht und der stilbildenden Charakterzeichnung als waschechter Film noir-Klassiker in moderner Form aus. Ein formvollendetes Meisterwerk, das den Traditionen des Film noir treu ergeben ist.

Los Angeles, Ende der 30er Jahre. Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) verdient sein Geld als Privatdetektiv - die Geschäfte laufen gut, das behauptet er zumindest, dieser selbstbewusste und vor Mut strotzende Jake, der nicht nur aufgrund seiner geheimnisvollen Vergangenheit als Polizist etwas von seinem Handwerk versteht, sondern auch sonst einen ausgeprägten Scharfsinn besitzt. Nachdem Jake erfolgreich einen Fall beendet, stattet ihm Mrs. Mulwray, Frau des Stadt bekannten und unbeliebten, da subtilen Ingenieur der Wasserwerke Hollis Mulwray, einen Besuch ab. Sie beauftragt ihn, ihrem Mann Hollis eine Affäre nachzusagen. Jake macht sich umgehend an die Arbeit. Als er Hollis Mulwray beschattet, fällt ihm auf, dass mit diesem etwas nicht stimmt, lungert der verantwortliche Ingenieur inmitten der Nacht bei den Kanälen des Wasserwerks herum. Als Jake ihn Tage später mit einer blonden Fremden erwischt, zückt dieser seine Photokamera, um seine Beweise festzuhalten. Jake ist vertraulich, so wie es die Konventionen seines Berufes vorgeben, und gibt die Fotos seiner Auftrag- geberin in die Hand. Kurze Zeit später erscheint ein Zeitungsartikel, die die Affäre zwischen Mulwray und der blonden Fremden entlarvt. Doch Jake hat damit nichts am Hut. Das ist der aufgebrachten Frau, die ihm alsbald einen Besuch abstattet, ziemlich gleichgültig. Es handelt sich bei der grazilen Dame um die “echte” Mrs. Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), die gegen Jake Gittes Anzeige erstatten will, schließlich hat sie Gittes nie beauftragt, ihrem Mann “nachzuschnüffeln”. Ohne großes Rätselraten stellt Gittes unerschrocken fest, das mehr als eine “kleine” Verwechslung an der Sache dran ist. Was den harten Ex-Cop erwarten wird: Korruption, Intrige, Eifersucht.

Bei sage und schreibe elf Oscarnominierungen konnte Chinatown bei den Academy Awards 1975 gerade einmal einen der begehrten “Goldjungen” einheimsen. Und der ging nicht an Roman Polanski (The Pianist), der inszenatorisch und handwerklich eine Meisterleistung offenbart, nein, sondern an Robert Townes (The Firm), der der Filmgemeinschaft ein geniales, unglaublich vielschichtiges Originaldrehbuch präsentiert. Eine der wenigen nachvollziehbaren Entschei- dungen, die die Academy je getroffen hat.

Chinatown beinhaltet alle fundamentalen Merkmale eines Film noir: den hardboiled detective, Jake Gittes, der nach außen den harten, unerschrockenen Ermittler spielt, innerlich jedoch mit seiner geheimnisvollen, für ihn schmerzhaften Vergangenheit kämpft - ein Antiheld, wie er im Buche steht -  und die femme fatale, Mrs. Mulwray, deren wahres Gesicht sich erst nach und nach entblößt und die für den wendungsreichen und somit spannungsvollen Handlungsverlauf unentbehrlich ist. Doch auch die archetypischen Charaktere finden ihren Platz. So stehen Jake Gittes korrumpierte Staatsmänner und zwielichtige Figuren im Wege, die den Kontrast zwischen “gut” und “böse” und das pessimistische, misstrauenslose Gesellschaftsbild erst deutlich machen.

Dank der präzisen, Film noir-typischen und herausragenden Charakter- zeichnung, der authentischen Kostüme und urbanen Schauplätze (hier: Los Angeles - auf Grund seiner unüberschaubaren Größe steht L.A. als Symbol für allgemeine Desorientierung ein) kann sich die dichte Atmosphäre vollends entfalten und zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch den Film, ebenso wie der oft genannte Begriff “Chinatown”, der zum einen als Synonym für Jakes schmerzvolle Vergangenheit einsteht, zum anderen für die bedrohliche Zukunft des private eyes. Der mit Twists und Turns angereicherte Plot verspricht nicht nur überraschende Wendungen, sondern wartet ebenso mit einer glaubwürdigen Story-Entwicklung auf, die der schon angespannten Atmosphäre endgültig ihren unverkennbaren Stempel auf- drückt.

Chinatown avanciert dank seiner perfekten Kinematographie vom sehenswerten Genrefilm zum zeitlosen Klassiker. So überzeugen Regisseur Roman Polanski, Kameramann John A. Alonzo (Scarface) und Cutter Sam O´Steene mit einer unglaublichen Photographie, einem beeindruckenden Kamerahandwerk und einem grandiosen, gut getimeten Schnitt. Jerry Goldsmith´ (Papillon) stimmungsvoller Musikscore formvollendet dieses Meisterwerk der ´70er Jahre ebenso wie die grandiosen Schauspieler Jack Nicholson als hardboiled detective Jake Gittes, der Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca) in nichts nachsteht und einmal mehr seine Vielseitigkeit und Szenenpräsenz unter Beweis stellt, Faye Dunaway als femme fatale Mrs. Mulwray und John Huston als skrupelloser Geschäftsmann Noah Cross.

Fazit: Roman Polanskis Chinatown ist ein Meilenstein der Filmhistorie, der in keiner gut sortierten DVD-Sammlung fehlen darf. Wieso? Siehe oben.

Anthony Capristo

zuerst erschienen bei: Intermoviession

La carrera criminal de Clyde Barrow y Bonnie Parker, dos nombres en esa larga lista de «enemigos públicos» de los años treinta que el cine se encargó de popularizar --Dillinger, Legs Diamond, Baby Face Nelson o Ma Barker--, constituye el material de partida de este guión, escrito en 1965 por dos jóvenes promesas del cine USA, Robert Benton y David Newman, un trabajo que sus autores ofrecieron en primer lugar a los europeos François Truffaut y Jean Luc Godard pues lo habían concebido como una síntesis de Tirez sur le pianiste y Pierrot le fou, aunque finalmente fue Warren Beatty quien lo compró y lo produjo para la Warner, imponiendo como director al admirable Arthur Penn, reservándose obviamente el papel protagonista y eligiendo como oponente a una joven desconocida que hasta entonces sólo había intervenido en papeles secundarios, Faye Dunaway, actriz de fascinante físico que, boina ladeada y metralleta incluida, se convertiría en uno de los iconos, culturales y sexuales, más reconocibles de los años setenta.

Una condición de cult movie, premiada con dos Oscars, la película prácticamente «establece» --vista casi cuatro décadas después de su estreno-- la estética y los objetos que definen esa época violenta de la historia norteamericana, que justifica por sí sola la inclusión de este título en nuestra videoteca particular, pero también un excelente film que, partiendo de los modelos de las serie B de gangsters de la época, un cine depojado de la complejidad que dispuso durante los años cuarenta con la serie negra, logra elevar el listón de estas modestas producciones hasta cotas de realismo e intención realmente encomiables, proponiéndonos un riguroso retrato de la moral y las condiciones de vida de la América profunda durante los años de la Gran Depresión, una sociedad a merced de bandidos de guante blanco, los bancos y un sistema económico en crisis, --¿les suena de algo?-- que trataba de exorcizar sus demonios en la figura de unos pistoleros que vivían y morían deprisa.

Una mirada realista y compleja sobre un momento histórico, pero también relato teñido de un violento romanticismo que logra mantener el equilibrio entre la leyenda y la desmitificación, dos conceptos que pueden parecer antagónicos pero que en la película conviven en rara armonía logrando un film que participa de ese mismo aliento mítico que pretende otorgar a la trágica trayectoria de su pareja protagonista.

Mr. Arriflex

A los que os pasáis por “Tierra”, y tenéis la deferencia de leer algunos de mis post, os sonará esta frase: “No es lo que me cuentan, si no como me lo cuentan”. Siempre que la menciono va relacionada con el cine o con la literatura, porque por sencilla que sea una historia, sin ser esta un dechado de originalidad, e incluso cayendo en tópicos, depende de cómo me lo estén contando, puedo estar viendo una buena película, o leyendo una buena novela.

Y ese fue el balance final que pude hacer anoche después de ver “El primer pecado mortal”: Vi una buena película.

Si os paráis a leer la ficha, el argumento os sonará a algo utilizado muchas veces. Policía a punto de jubilarse, caso en el que se empecina en trabajar, superior que le pone trabas… Manido, ¿verdad? Bien. Manido ahora, en 2008. Esta película es de 1980 y estaba bastante menos visto.

Está basada en la novela “The First Deadly Sin”, de Lawrence Sanders, que participó en el guión del film. A Sanders puede que se le conozca más, actualmente, por su novela “El octavo mandamiento”.

La dirigió Brian G. Hutton. 

Frank sinatra, da vida al sargento detective de la policía, Delanay, que está a unas semanas de jubilarse. Es un hombre que ama su profesión, y a su mujer, Bárbara (Faye Dunaway), a la que al principio de la película, extirpan de urgencia un riñón. Delanay en ese momento, se encuentra en el escenario de un crimen, en donde la víctima ha sido agredida por alguien que ha utilizado un arma blanca de pequeño tamaño y punta redondeada, según le informa el médico forense del departamento.

La experiencia que le han dado los años en el cuerpo de policía, le hacen relacionar el asesinato con otros sin resolver, ocurridos anteriormente en otros puntos de la ciudad.

Ayudado en su investigación por el médico forense, el director del museo de armas y armaduras, al que ha recurrido para pedir asesoría sobre armas antiguas, y la esposa de la última víctima, aún en contra de las órdenes recibidas de su nuevo superior en la comisaría, conseguirá llegar hasta el asesino en serie, cuyo rostro ya se nos ha dado a conocer al espectador desde los primeros minutos del film.

El que esta película se siga con interés de principio a fin, radica en que, a pesar de su sencillo y muy visto argumento, cuenta con ingredientes que la convierten en diferente y atractiva. Se asienta en un sólido guión, en el que protagonistas y secundarios, comparten peso en la trama, al establecerse entre ellos la corriente intimista de unos diálogos llenos de naturalidad, que te llevan de inmediato integrarte en la historia.

Sinatra, con un magistral comedimiento, encarna, no al rudo policía desencantado y amargado que se salta todas las normas y se enfrenta a sus jefes porque es así de chulo, si no, al hombre corriente que le gusta hacer bien su trabajo, y tiene que enfrentarse al mismo tiempo a su situación personal. Una situación personal en la que cualquiera de nosotros, en cualquier momento, podemos vernos inmersos, y que tendremos que compartir dolorosamente con nuestra vida laboral sin que interfiera en ella. Y ese es otro punto positivo en la película. Nunca da la sensación de que la grave enfermedad de su mujer esté alterando su forma de actuar.

Lo cotidiano, y una investigación concienzuda y sin estridencias son los atractivos añadidos. No veremos al policía en la típica persecución interminable para capturar al asesino, ni tampoco se establecerá entre ellos otro interminable duelo verbal al final de la película. Simplemente el psicópata (Daniel Blank, un joven empresario de éxito, con buenos ingresos, con influencias, y que vive en un lujoso apartamento y posee un caro coche deportivo -¿os suena?, pues… la novela “American Psycho” se escribió en 1991), expone las razones que le han llevado a cometer los crímenes, y da pié al policía a tomar una decisión.

No hay más. Una película sencilla, sin pretensiones, pero con una calidad que te mantiene atento a lo que sucede durante todo su metraje.

Muy recomendable para los amantes del cine en general.

Como curiosidad: Es la primera película en la que aparece Bruce Willis, todavía lejos de ser el protagonista de la famosa serie ochentera “Luz de luna”, y más lejos todavía de “La jungla de cristal”. Su nombre no aparece en los títulos de crédito, y hay que estar bastante ojo avizor para descubrirlo entre los extras que participan en el film.

Para ver la ficha de la película, pincha aquí

Swanson 

--This here’s Miss Bonnie Parker. I’m Clyde Barrow. We rob banks.

Bonnie and Clyde is a landmark film. With it, director Arthur Penn opened the door to the new filmmakers of the 1970s. Controversial gangster films were nothing new to Hollywood. The wave of gangster films in the early 30s inspired such an outcry that the studios were forced to introduce and enforce a new production code. Bonnie and Clyde has much faster editing and much more intense violence. Pauline Kael commented that the movie, “puts the sting back into death.”

The first time I watched the film I was struck by how young its leads were. I grew up watching Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as much older actors, and it was refreshing to see them in their golden youth. I recently watched the film on HD-DVD and was struck again with how beautiful they both were together. The high definition experience made me see with new eyes – it felt like watching a new film.

I think Bonnie and Clyde, Chinatown and Network may be Faye Dunaway’s finest performances. I’m not much of a fan of her later work, with the exception of Don Juan Demarco. Here, she is breathtaking from the first moment we see Bonnie, half naked in her window, catching Clyde trying to steal her mother’s car. She nails a classic archetype: frustrated, romantic young woman dying to escape from her mundane surroundings. Clyde, aside from being quite good looking, is full of energy and the desire to act. Neither is sure what they are getting into, but their restless nature propels them forward into what, for them, is an adventure of a lifetime.

In finding Clyde Barrow, Bonnie’s Romantic longing is both fulfilled and frustrated. Despite her initial elation, she is disappointed to find out that Clyde’s man of action role doesn’t translate to the bedroom. She initially shrugs off his quiet explanation of, “I’m not much of a lover boy.” Later, though, her blood lust running high at the end of a caper, she is impatient and demanding. When her efforts come to nothing, her temper snaps and she tells him, “Your advertising’s just dandy. Folks would never guess you don’t have a thing to sell.” It was a gamble to take a young leading man like Beatty and give him a sexual dysfunction, but it lies at the heart of the movie and the couple’s relationship.

The movie’s supporting cast is an embarrassment of riches. We have a young Gene Wilder playing half of a couple who are kidnapped by the Barrow gang. There’s Denver Pyle playing a bitter, vindictive Texas Ranger who ultimately gets his revenge for the way Bonnie and Clyde embarrass him. Dub Taylor is memorable as a wily father who can talk out of both sides of his mouth, but whose primary motivation is to get his son away from the influence of such dangerous outlaws. Gene Hackman is charismatic and funny as Clyde’s brother, Buck, and Estelle Parsons is exceptional as his wife, Blanche. She is by turns irritating, moving, and pathetic. Then, of course, there is C. W. Moss as played by Michael Pollard. Pollard is a revelation, and we grow very fond of his C. W.

Warren Beatty had already been in a couple of big pictures: Splendor in the Grass and The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone. In Bonnie and Clyde, though, we see him come of age as an actor. Clyde allows him to stretch and find depths that the other roles had not provided. His performance as Clyde is so good natured and charismatic that the violence the character is capable of comes as a shock, and yet it never comes across as sadistic or malevolent, merely desperate. Clyde is the true restless soul; Bonnie merely had a naïve young woman’s itch for something new. This is eloquently expressed when they are finally able to consummate their love. They are both dreamy and happy, but about different things. All of Bonnie’s desires have now been fulfilled – her blood lust completely sated – and she is ready for a more settled life. Clyde, on the other hand, is inspired to think of new schemes or how he could have improved on past endeavors.

The ending remains shocking. Arthur Penn thought that not showing violence in a realistic fashion was hypocritical. Living in a turbulent age filled with Vietnam and political assassinations, he empathized with outsiders and their struggles with authority. In Bonnie and Clyde, he shows us the ultimate romantic view of such outsiders and how, ultimately, they cannot survive confrontation with the system.

Aconteceu na última quinta (11), em Londres, o único show da turnê "Sticky & Sweet", de Madonna, na capital inglesa, cidade que ela escolheu para chamar de sua desde 2000.

O show começa bem, animado e dançante, mas, lá pelas tantas, dá uma descambada e nunca mais se recupera.

Madonna continua sendo a matriz de todo pop, mas são visíveis os sinais de cansaço, principalmente nos momentos do show que desandam para uma estética "musical da RAI", ou naqueles em que ela está a cara da Faye Dunaway no filme "Mamãezinha Querida".

No palco ela desfila todas as últimas tendências da moda: super-herói, nerd (foto) e muito gótico (muito gótico)... Leia a resenha de UOL Música e saiba como foi o show.

[dailymotion id=k7BfptIEmmMbye7Owe]

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Into The Great Wide Open

The most exciting event of the day was a trip to Starbucks. Good times, right? That's actually a pretty sad opening statement. Anyway, I'd found a few extra singles in my wallet - who says stripping doesn't pay? - so a trip to Starbucks on Fairfax and Santa Monica Boulevard was in order. Not because I was so exhausted and needed a caffeine pick-me-up or anything... if you've been reading, you know I'm a decaf kinda guy, but I do enjoy the taste of coffee... so long as it is seriously jacked up with cream and sweetener. "Would you like some coffee with your diabetic coma, sir?" Clearly, I also enjoy ellipses ... ... ... black... ... ... like my men.

Hmm. I have no idea why I ended that last paragraph in a completely random way. Airplane, anyone?

In my coffee these days I usually use agave nectar for sweetener and soy creamer for... hell if I know. To lighten it? Dilute it a bit? Eh. It's not something I believe merits a dissertation beyond this sentence. I'm just a creature of habit, I guess. Still, I'm loving non-dairy creamer as my digestive system becomes more and more delicate. I love and can still tolerate dairy, but its evils are well-documented. My own proof was how great I felt and the good health I enjoyed after eliminating all dairy while eating a raw, vegan food plan a few years ago. This was followed by illness and a general feeling of 'ick' once it was reintroduced into my eating habits. Believe me, after one cooked meal, it's a slippery slope back to pasta, cheese and pork steaks. Some of my family members have become lactose intolerant in recent years, so if this is a genetic thing, maybe it's good for me to wean myself off of the junk sooner rather than later. Let's face it, lactose intolerance just ain't sexy, especially when it produces toxic fumes that can strip paint off a navy aircraft carrier in the north Atlantic.

I also discovered agave nectar during my 14-month raw food experiment. Agave nectar is unrefined, raw, has a lower glycemic index than sugar and is super sweet - apparently 1.25 times sweeter than sugar. Aaah, yes. 1.25 times sweeter. That's what I thought, although my personal taste analysis is that it is closer to 1.84 times sweeter, but no one asked me. Seriously, who measures this sweetness factor crap and how do I get a job there? If they have a decent dental plan, sign me up.

I passed Faye Dunaway's abode on the way home. She only lives two blocks from Gary, and Gary LOVES Hollywood history, so he pointed out her home when I visited LA last April. I'm not seeking her out. She just happens to live right there on the street I need to walk down. I JUST missed her this morning when I sashayed on by because I noticed the plants and flowers around her home had just been watered. Well... maybe I just missed her gardener. I couldn't help but imagine all the drunk WeHo queens who've memorized every campy line from Mommie Dearest who walk by there at 2:30am screaming things like "Why can't you give me the RESPECT that I am ENTITLED TO??!!?!??!" or "DON'T FUCK WITH ME FELLAS!!! This ain't my first time at the rodeo" (my personal favorite) or any of the other 500 quotable lines from that movie, including the one about the wire hanger restriction... maybe you've heard it... 20 million times or so. Can you imagine how many times Ms. Dunaway has had to endure repeat performances all these years? Yikes. Seriously, though, if you haven't seen the movie in a while... get thee to Netflix.

Otherwise, it was another uneventful Saturday spent behind my computer. The job search is a bit overwhelming. People keep sending me great ideas to consider, and so the list gets longer and longer. Casting such a wide net almost seems more daunting than having a narrow focus, but that's what it needs to be at the moment - getting a base of cash inflow will free up a lot of the mental energy I'm expending, and THEN I can narrow my focus more effectively. Maybe I'm overthinking it, which wouldn't be the first time. With regard to the job hunt, I spent a lot of time today rethinking/planning on what else I can explore, what more I can do, how I can build on what I've started, or even completely change certain things that clearly aren't working. The move to Gary's upended things a bit (in a good way), but it's time for some more vigorous shaking. I have a gut feeling something's gonna give on Monday or Tuesday in one way or another. You'll be the first to know.