#guys and dolls today (brando day)

[tilbageidanmark]

🍿 The 954 Movies I saw in 2022 🍿

This is the second year since I started writing short reviews of the many films that I watch every day. A year ago I summarized my experience of seeing 885 movies in 2021. And here's the encore for 2022. (All links at the bottom of this post).

Watching nearly 3 movies a day for 2 years is not exactly 'normal', and neither am I. However, I'm a life-long cinephile who finally have the chance to do whatever the heck I want, and that's what I decided to do. I love discovering new works of art, as well as re-living forgotten memories of the past. It also got me back into the habit of writing every day, even if it's only short observations that go into my proverbial drawer.

Most important is the joy that the process gives me, so unless my circumstances change, I plan on continuing with this “Project” for the foreseeable third year.

Below are some statistics and a few of my best finds of 2022:

Of the 954 films that I saw, 121 (12%) were films I had seen before (often repeatably), and 833 were 'New to me.' 74 of them (8%) were documentaries, 74 were short films, 7 were stand-ups and 9 were 'so bad that I couldn't finish them'.

This year I wanted to explore even more of “World” Cinema, so I saw a total of 460 “Foreign” films. They were broken into: French (76), British (71), Japanese (47), Korean (23), Swedish (22), Danish and Italian (21 each), Canadian (15), German (13), from Hong Kong (11), Russian (10), from Finland and Argentina (9 each), Iranian (8), Turkish and Czechoslovakian (7 each), Australian, Indian, Irish and Norwegian (6 each), from Iceland, Israel, Mexico (5 each), Austrian, Belgian, Spanish and Kiwi (4 each). Also multiple films from Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Indonesia, Lebanon, Macedonia, Nigeria, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine and Wales. Many of the movies I enjoyed the most came from these countries.

As far as their age, there were only 32 silent films (before 1930), Only 77 'talkies' from 1930-1960, and 572 newer ones, from 2000 to today.

Of the individual directors, here are the ones I saw the most films of:

Hitchcock (12), Sang-soo Hong (8), Mike Leigh and Truffaut (7 each), Jodorowsky (6), 5 each from Antonioni, Steven Soderbergh, Wong Kar-wai, Rohmer, Aki Kaurismäki, Godard, Roy Andersson, Milos Forman and Bruce Beresford. And 4 each from Nuri Bilge Ceylan (!), Orson Welles, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Abbas Kiarostami, Billy Wilder, Bong Joon-ho, Michael Haneke, J C Chandor (!), Michel Gondry, Denis Villeneuve, Werner Herzog and Spielberg. (There are just too many good directors, and even more so 'bad ones'.)

In principle, I prefer films with strong emotional resonance, quiet films about real people in real “life situations”. I have no problem with 'slow cinema'. I also adore films that are very cinematic and well made, that are unique and original. I feed on art and culture, but not necessarily on 'artsy' films. On the other hand, there are many types of films that I usually avoid; horror, superheroes, blockbusters, supernatural, sci-fi, franchise, fantasy, most 'action', only some 'genre'. So my list is bent with that in mind.

Without further ado, here are a few of the new-to-me, less-obvious gems that I discovered this year. Known “classics” from the usual “Best Of Lists” are not included. This personal collection is picked at random, as there were around 60 films this year that I rated 10/10.

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Guys and Dolls (1955), the surprising musical by A Joseph L. Mankiewicz, based on the stories by Damon Runyon, reminded me of a pastel-colored Jacques Demy bonbon.

From its opening titles, to the sexy Miss Adelaide And Her Alley Kittens number, and to Brando himself singing and dancing, it kept me enchanted for 2.5 hours straight. Brando establishes many of Vito Corleone’s mannerisms in super-cool gambler Sky Masterson personality.

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2 women, waiting for the bus, recognize each other. One of them apologizes to the other for something she did years ago, when they were in school. The other one says that she forgives her, and then leaves on foot.  

This is one of 56 short, unrelated vignettes, all told quietly as a series of static shots, in Icelandic Rúnar Rúnarsson‘s meditative Echo (2019). Snippets of stories, with no thematic connections between them, except that they all happen in Iceland during Christmas. Clearly influenced by Roy Andersson, (especially his ‘Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence‘) and just as moving.

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Iceland has only 370,000 people, and they make about 10 films per year. But their cinema is terrific, including films by Baltasar Kormáku. His Virgin Mountain (2015) is a delicate and realistic story about Fúsi, a middle-age man, fat, bald, shy and lonely who’s still a virgin living with his mom. When he receives a birthday gift of line-dancing lessons he meets another lonely soul, a blond who suffers from depression and they starts a fraught relationship. Kormáku's series ‘Trapped’ is also recommended.

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One of the most unusual films I’ve never heard of, Lost in London, an audacious directorial debut. A Woody Harrelson production, written by him, directed by him, headlined by him and recreating “the worst night of his life from 2002”. Also, it was shot in a single take with one camera, and was live-broadcasted to over 550 theaters at the same time as it was shot, on January 19, 2017. On top of all that, it was an heartfelt roller-coaster with a great confessional story, and was so funny that at 2AM my 92-year old mom woke up next door and burst into my bedroom, when - forgetting where I am - I loudly screamed (at the shocking vomit scene at the club toilet...). A technical marvel! (Also, I didn’t know that he was a serious Chess player).

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I was delighted to discover a few excellent Lebanese films. Director Ziad Doueiri's West Beirut was his extremely well-made 1998 debut film. It starts on April 13, 1975 when a busload of 31 Muslims were massacred by masked terrorists, right in front of the protagonist’s school. This real event sparked the civil war that divided Beirut into Christian East Beirut and Muslim West Beirut. Surprisingly warm and authentic story about two high-school friends who wake up one day to find themselves in a war zone.

Shout-out also to his later film 'The Insult', George Peter Barbari's brilliant debut 'Death of a Virgin and the Sin of Not Living', and 'Heaven without people' by Lucien Bourjeily.

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How is it possible that you could recognize a piece by Ennio Morricone by hearing the first note, asks Hans Zimmer in Ennio: The Maestro from Giuseppe Tornatore. Morricone, the most popular and prolific film composer of the 20th century, was so much more than a film composer. This documentary makes a strong assertion that he was actually one of the greatest film-makers that ever lived.

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One of the many films with a score by Morricone that I saw for the first time was Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 The battle for Algiers. Classic anti-colonialist, a powerful neorealist piece about the Algerian revolution and the guerrilla war for independence from the cruel occupying French regime.

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“Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man”…

I finally got to watch all 9 films of the riveting British The Up series, “one of the most important documentaries ever” This once-every-seven-years project, which followed the lives of a random group, 10 boys and 4 girls, from 7 to 63, was captivating from the very beginning, and I binged it in 2-3 days. What started as a one-off sociological study of the British class system, turned into a philosophical process of observing change in real time. It got me to think: If somebody summarized my life in a similar fashion, I would appear to distant viewers as a complete and unpredictable freak.

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Yasujirō Ozu's Equinox Flower and Floating weeds. Roger Ebert wrote about Floating weeds: “Sooner or later, everyone who loves movies comes to Ozu. He is the quietest and gentlest of directors, the most humanistic, the most serene.” My promise to myself for 2023: Go over his entire canon.

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A new discovery for me was the works of “Kogonada”, who was inspired to chose his pseudonym from a screenwriter who frequently had worked with Ozu. His dreamy debut feature, Columbus (2017) was an intimate, modern Ozu-adjacent tale about spaces, deep and quiet and emotionally fraught. Strangely, I looked for it on movie-lists for architecture nerds, and didn’t find it on any. Pure & unforgettable. He wrote it and edited it himself, beautifully.

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When I studied film at the University of Copenhagen in the late 70′s, I picked Michael Cacoyannis’ classic masterpiece Iphigenia (1977) as the topic of my final paper. Iphigenia is one of the original Greek tragedies by Euripides, and the film is still as magnificent as it was 45 years ago. With unforgettable score by Mikis Theodorakis. 10/10.

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François Truffaut magical L'Argent de poche (Small Change) has not only always been my all-time favorite movie about children, and my favorite Truffaut movie (Even more than his ‘400 blows’ and ‘The last Metro’) - it’s probably one of my top 50 films of all time. With another 2-second Truffaut cameo at the beginning. “Grégory il a fait boum!”…

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Because I don’t watch nearly any SciFi movies, I can’t tell how innovative the 2018 Swedish Aniara high-concept adaptation is, but for me it was amazing: Philosophical, poetic and unusual, it reminded me of Ingmar Bergman existentialist dramas - in space. A luxurious spaceship carrying settlers to Mars is knocked off course, and is destined to fly indefinitely toward interstellar space. Based on a 1956 book-length epic science fiction poem written by Swedish Nobel laureate Harry Martinson.

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But my favorite science fiction film of all times is World of tomorrow, Don Hertzfeldt’s Oscar nominated mind-bending, surreal masterpiece.

American Icon and genius animator Don Hertzfeldt had uploaded to YouTube this “One of the greatest short films in the history of movies”.  It is about an innocent 4 year old girl who meets an absurd grown-up third-generation clone of herself contacting her from 227 years in the future. A lighthearted philosophical joke with deep, melancholic emotions.

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Everybody builds their own hierarchy of favorites. YMMV.

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My 2021 summery with 885 movies - Here.

A simple Google spreadsheet with the raw data for both years.

(A copy of the same post to r/movies...)

All the reviews HERE.

Mercy Bow Koo.

[britneyshakespeare]

marlon brando was so goddamn hot

[fixxofvixx]

Hope you’re doing well! Happy Holidays!

All things considered I am doing alright. I'm ready for 2020 to be over and looking forward to a new year. It's gotta get better, right? I like to think so. I always keep in the back of my mind that it could get worse. I like to find something good in every day. For example, today, I enjoyed an old Frank Sinatra movie that I hadn't seen in ages. (I looooooove old movies) If you haven't seen Guys and Dolls, I highly recommend it. Marlon Brando is also quite the treasure in it! I hope you are well and I hope you have a good holiday as well!💖💖💖💖💖💖

[tabloidtoc]

National Examiner, April 27

Cover: The Waltons -- shocking secrets they hid from the world 

Page 2: Secrets of Guys and Dolls -- Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando’s feud plus other drama behind the musical about gamblers 

Page 4: Today ladies tell all -- Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager, Dylan Dreyer 

Page 5: Sheinelle Jones, Savannah Guthrie 

Page 6: Cybill Shepherd sensational at 70 

Page 7: How to take a really great nap 

Page 8: Beat quarantine boredom by helping others 

Page 9: New federal aid package puts cash in your pocket 

Page 10: Eight-year-old Cooper Townsend is using his free time to create 186 cards to give to folks who can’t have visitors 

Page 11: Your Health -- easy and natural remedies to make that headache go away 

Page 12: Here’s to Hollywood’s long-lasting marriages -- Meryl Streep and Don Gummer -- 41 years, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson -- 32 years, Phoebe Cates and Kevin Kline -- 31 years, Regis and Joy Philbin -- 50 years 

Page 13: David McCallum and Katherine Carpenter -- 52 years, Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan -- 31 years, Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas -- 40 years, Denzel and Pauletta Washington -- 36 years, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman -- 38 years 

Page 14: Dear Tony -- Past life problems can and should be left behind, Tony predicts Jessica Simpson’s memoir becoming a big seller and turned into a major movie plus this summer will be really hot 

Page 15: Sex kitten Mamie Van Doren still purring at 89

Page 16: More long-lasting marriages -- Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick -- 31 years, Chevy Chase and Jayni Luke -- 37 years, Christopher and Georgianne Walken -- 51 years, Bob and Ginny Newhart -- 57 years, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen -- 24 years, John Travolta and Kelly Preston -- 28 years, Mark Harmon and Pam Dawber -- 33 years 

Page 17: Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall -- 32 years, Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest -- 35 years, Ron and Cheryl Howard -- 44 years, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne -- 37 years, Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw -- 28 years, Jeff Bridges and Susan Geston -- 42 years 

Page 18: When Minnesota state trooper Brian Schwartz pulled over Dr. Sarosh Ashraf Janjua for speeding he noticed two used N95 masks that he assumed she was reusing -- so instead of a ticket he gave her 5 fresh N95 masks 

Page 19: Cats are actually bonded just as strongly as dogs to their owners and babies to their parents 

Page 20: Cover Story -- secret shame of the Waltons -- family show’s stars hid drinking, abuse and money woes 

Page 22: Plucky four-year-old Vadie Sides is safe at home after going missing with her dog in the Alabama woods for two days and she’s happy to tell you all about it 

Page 24: A Wisconsin community came together for some fun while staying six feet apart to stage a hilarious dinosaur parade 

Page 25: Judging by the photos Ruff Ruff the stuffed dog had quite a time at a Virginia hotel while he was separated for a day from the toddler who mistakenly left him behind 

Page 26: The Good Doctor -- Let grief run its course

Page 28: Arnold Schwarzenegger’s uplifting message for America 

Page 30: Shape up your spring garden 

Page 38: 15 things you never knew about the Bible 

Page 44: Reese Witherspoon on a bike ride, Suzanne Somers wants Annie Leibovitz to shoot her nude for Playboy for her 75th birthday, Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo are parents to two daughters but Adam says if he asked his wife for another baby she’d punch him in the face but Behati says she does want a big family because she’s an only child, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom are having a baby girl, Zac Efron endured weeks of training to get a killer bod for Baywatch but he admits it’s likely a one-time deal, Channing Tatum and Jessie J have split again, Millie Bobby Brown says she honed her American accent by watching Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana to which Miley replied she was surprised Millie doesn’t have a country accent 

Page 45: Pierce Brosnan on the beach in Hawaii, Simon Cowell rides bikes in masks with Lauren Silverman and kids Eric and Adam, Benji Madden and Cameron Diaz stock up on groceries, tragedy has struck the Kennedy family again as Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her eight-year-old son Gideon went missing in Chesapeake Bay and she is survived by husband David and kids Gabriella and Toby, the Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson is writing a children’s book inspired by her oldest daughter Princess Beatrice and tentatively titled Trixie-Belle after the young royal’s nickname, Formula 1 mogul Bernie Ecclestone is going to be a father again at age 89 with his 44-year-old wife Fabiana Flosi 

Page 46: Handbags carry clues to your personality 

Page 46: Stars’ Best Friends -- Glenn Close and her dog Pip, Simon Cowell walking two of his four dogs -- Diddly and Squiddly, Jeff Goldblum and dog Woody, Amanda Seyfried and rescue dog Finn, Isabella Rossellini and her rescue pup Peter Pan, Dennis Quaid and dog Peaches, Ellen Pompeo and her dog Tino -- please adopt, don’t shop!

[themusicaluniverse-blog]

Guys and Dolls

Guess what I did last week ? I went to see a musical !! Best day of the month so far !! 

It was at théâtre Marigny close from the Champs Elysees (not Broadway but not that bad). I love to see musical live, each time it s an amazing experience to be able to see them perfoming and sweating for at least two hours !!

So this time the name of the musical is “Guys and Dolls”. Never heard of it before (I confess its my mom that bought me the tickets). To not be a complete idiot there, I checked on the internet and discover it was one of the most famous broadway musical playing since the fifties and even adapted on screen with John Sinatra and the most classy man that earth as ever seen Marlon Brando. Now let’s take a look about the story.

It takes place in New-York during the 1920′s. On Broadway a lot of gamblers are looking for a discreet place to play craps. Nathan Detroit (a fat guy wearing a tuxedo) is the boss of them but he is broke. To win a lot of money quickly he needs to bet on something he is sure he will never lost. What a happy guy when he discovers that Sky Masterson, the richest criminal on the East Coast, able to bet on everything is in town. In a couple of minutes Nathan Detroit finds a bet Sky can’t refuse and will never win : fly to Cuba with the most beautifull “Doll”. The only problem is that she is part of a Christian Group : Save a Soul. How a sinner is going to seduce a girl so profundly opposed to him ? Sky immediatly accepts when he see the girl and finally manages to make her fall in love with him. But what a surprise when they get back from Cuba and he discovers that him to is in love !!

What a great story right ? Broadway, the 1920′s, mobs and pretty innocent girls ! How could it be bad ? I really liked it ! The songs were great and it was a great way to discover a bit more about U.S.A. at that period. During that puritan time even drinking alcohol and playing random games was prohibited. Today when we look at the issues of the plot, it seems so childish : they are considered as bad guys because they drink !!! Anyway what i really liked in these show was how much they found a way to suggest the Mahantann and Broadway’s atmosphere with such a small amount of decorations.

I can only recommend you to run and go see it !!!

[starship21zedna9]

Why did they replace ‘I’ve Never Been in Love Before’ (a very pretty love song) with the awful ‘A Woman in Love’ in the Guys and Dolls movie???  

Is it because Marlon Brando couldn’t possibly sing ‘I’ve Never Been In Love Before?’  Then why is he in it???  The man couldn’t sing?  Why didn’t they dub him?  They dubbed everybody in those days!!!

That’s always held the movie back.  That and cutting ‘Marry the Man Today.’

Also, why is Adelaide the best character in all of musical theater?

[the-record-columns]

Aug. 28, 2019: Columns

I’ve seen ‘nun’ other like it...

                                                  The nun doll

By KEN WELBORN

Record Publisher

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the Friends of the Wilkes County Library Antiques Roadshow which was held in the Friends of the Library Meeting Room.  

This has been an annual event for several years and is always interesting to attend as an exhibitor or just to look at the cool stuff.  With rare exception, the things brought by are worth spending time looking at and learning about, both of which are good.

When I have something to be looked over, my major interest is to get to tell the story to the folks attending the Roadshow of how I got the piece, or its history, what makes it special, or all the above.  To quote my buddy Sonny Church, "...Kenny is always looking for a fresh set of ears."

In this case today, I suppose a fresh set of eyes.

As often noted here, most of my "finds" actually find me these days. The stuff out front of The Record attracts visitors and folks with things to sell alike, and one day a guy walked in with a Davy Crockett lunch box.  

I had bought a couple of things from him before, notable a nearly perfect "Flipper" lunch box, but the Davy Crockett box was in rough shape. We talked a bit and I told him I wouldn't be interested and, as he left, I walked out with him.  I felt a bit guilty not buying the thing and walked all the way to his car with him and he opened the trunk.

There, on her back in a box of miscellaneous things was Mary—the doll in the picture on this page.  I don't collect dolls, too many, too easy to get a piece of junk, too expensive—you name it. However, I knew if I could stand it Mary was coming in with me.  I had never seen a Catholic nun doll before that day, and haven't seen one since.

I have showed this doll to anybody that has visited for the past five months and no one else has seen one either.  The box of items with the doll each had a handwritten note with it as though whoever packed it up didn't expect to be around to tell about the items on their own.  This note, which I have, says "Edward named this doll his "Holy Mary Doll” - He had a little Catholic friend, Timmy Higgins, who used to tell him about the nuns, etc."

I showed the doll to my Rotarian friend Rob Hicks who was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school for 12 years.  Rob says the outfit is period for the 40’s era, but he had never seen a doll like this one either.

On it goes.

I know there are more of those dolls out there, but it is fun to have something that at least appears to be very rare—and to get to show it off to such a wide variety of visitors--makes the doll like the MasterCard advertising says: "Priceless."

One final note.  

The guy with "Mary" and the Davy Crockett lunch box knew he had me, and he made me buy them both.

And, it was well worth it.

“It’s called ACTING, try it!”

By HEATHER DEAN

Record Reporter

If you are of a certain age, you had the opportunity to take Drama Classes at Wilkes Community College, where you could even receive an Associate in Fine Arts Degree.

Alas, the classes are no more, and two generations are growing up without the pleasure of filling their semesters learning the craft and magic of the stage: set and light design; carpentry; costuming; stage make-up (a necessity for both men and women actors) and most importantly the history of the theatre, and how to become someone else completely, regardless of your comfort level in someone else’s skin.

I knew I wanted to be involved in this magic as a wee child, from very first introduction to the world of singing and dancing your way out of the direst of circumstances- the Wizard of Oz. I was going to “Theatre or Bust” including once when I packed my bags and was off to join the circus and become a trapeze artist, at the ripe old age of 9.

I loved Broadway musicals, the costumes, and I was fascinated by the silent films. I was amazed as a teenager when my paternal grandmother pulled out a picture of her as a teenager, and told me she had a job at a theatre as the “cigarette girl���- and met big stars like Lash LaRue at the premiers. (Alfred "Lash" LaRue was a popular western motion picture star of the 1940s and 1950s. He had exceptional skill with the bullwhip and taught Harrison Ford how to use it for the Indiana Jones movies.) I loved going to the John A. Walker Center and seeing classics like Fiddler on the Roof, The King and I, The Sound of Music come to life in our little town, and I wanted to be a part of it.

I got my chance in 1993, when I had my first restaurant job at the age of 19, and Wes Martin was the bartender. He was taking said above classes to become a theatre teacher, and I was always agog when he spoke about production life. He invited me to see an adaptation of the Brothers Grimm tale of Beauty and the Lonely Beast. I was hooked, and the rest as they say is history- He’s the Wilkes County High School Theatre instructor, and I am in my 26th year of being involved in local and professional theatre.

Back to the beginning… If you are of a certain age, you most likely had Dave Reynolds as your theatre instructor. If you signed up for theatre as an elective and thought it would be an easy “A” you were mistaken. Reynolds made everyone work for it, including reading up on, and writing a term paper on what was going on in NYC on the Broadway stage; Saturday sweat sessions building/painting/lighting a set; the importance of finding the “perfect” prop; how to use modern clothing to look like period costumes, going out of town to see how other theatres interpreted shows through lights and sounds and acting…the list goes on.

I say all this to say, if you had Dave as an instructor, no one was immune from being told “What are we doing here? It’s called ACTING, try it!” when we were not living up to the characters potential.   The truth of the modern theatre is that it has gone a full 180 degrees. In Shakespeare’s time, men played the women roles too as it was considered unlucky for a woman to be on stage.

Juliet? A man.  Bianca and Katherina?  Men.  Cordelia? A man.

Beatrice? A man.  Lady Macbeth? Yup….you guessed it. Which is why one of the funniest lines in Midsummer Nights Dream is when the bellows mender is told to play a girl, and he says “But..I have a beard coming in” then goes on to perform in a wig and dress, with a beard.  

 These days we are lucky to find enough males to fill male character roles. I cannot tell you how many countless times I have played a male character, whether it was the lead role, a lover, a tyrant, a father. It’s nothing to wince over, it’s called acting. And when acting, our only concern is to bring the audience into the story, into the moment, into the lights and glitter and stage magic, and make them forget that they know us in our real day to day lives.

Stella Adler, a theatre teacher herself told her students “The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation. The theatre is a spiritual and social X-ray of its time. The theatre was created to tell people the truth about life and the social situation.” Her students included Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, and Harvey Keitel, some of the most famous for acting across the spectrum.

Truly, what are we on stage for if not to make everyone realize that we have space for all, and to portray every dimension of life’s diverseness? Theatre is where we go to see the truth of our world reflected through another’s eyes.  “No theater could sanely flourish until there was an umbilical connection between what was happening on the stage and what was happening in the world,” said Kenneth Tynan.

So, if you have ever been upset with what a stage theatre presents, or come out of a production feeling uncomfortable, GOOD. That means we have lived up to our potential and done our job as actors.

That does not mean we are “reprobates, perverts and going to hell,” that means we have done our duty to represent every aspect of life and those who live it. Having found something offensive does not warrant a boycott of your local community theatre, threats across social media, and intimidating handwritten notes left on individual’s personal property. If you don’t approve, don’t go. “It’s called ACTING!”

No one ever said theatre was where we go to hide from current events, hot button topics or celebrating diversity in our community, but it has been said: “The theatre is traditionally where people go to hear the truth.” -David Mamet

By right and by fight, the land belongs to Israel

By Ambassador EARL COX and KATHLEEN COX

How can anyone think otherwise except they believe the fake news? Gone are the days of investigative journalists digging for facts and sharing them without interjecting their personal philosophies or political beliefs.  A half-truth is a lie, and a lie told frequently eventually becomes the truth. 

I have witnessed how the media can change history. Decades ago, an underwater archeologist who is my friend, discovered the remains of a now-famous Civil War submarine, but he never received recognition.  He followed protocol and filed the necessary documents with federal, state and local governments however, he never contacted the media.  Years later a well-known author and deep-sea diver used my friend’s research and coordinates on file with the government, and went about the business of “discovering” (RE-discovering), this same sunken sub.  Upon reaching the site, the media were immediately contacted and thereby received all the glory and fame. Although my friend presented solid evidence as being the rightful founder, he could not afford the cost of a legal battle to set the record straight.  Except for a few who remember and a government file full of documents, the truth has been buried and forgotten.

This is the same tactic the Palestinians are using in rewriting Israel’s historic connection to the land.  Our job, as Christians and as people who value truth, is to learn to separate fact from fiction.  

The Palestinians claim ownership of the land they currently occupy, in addition to the land of Israel, based on a mythical connection they claim dates back 5000 years.  This is false. So, who are the Palestinians? The truth is, there are no Palestinians.  They are all Arabs.  

The term “Palestine” was first used by the Roman Emperor Hadrian during his reign of the region.  Hadrian hated Jews.  He massacred many living in Judea and sent the rest into exile. He then began to erase any Jewish connection to the land despite archeological anchors.  Hadrian renamed the area Syria-Palaestina to humiliate the Jews. The term “Palaestina” comes from Israel’s most ancient enemies, the Philistines.  

Over the centuries the area of Judea and Samaria was ruled by many foreign powers ending with the Ottoman Empire at the conclusion of WWI.  During Ottoman rule, the term “Palestine” was used to describe a general geographic area south of Syria between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River - not a specific place or people. 

Following WWI, the Ottomans relinquished control of the region to the Allied Forces which decided to divide the area into countries.  During this time, British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour recognized the historical connection of the Jewish people to their homeland and earmarked an area of land for the Jewish people equal to about a half of one percent of the entire Middle East and it included Judea and Samaria.  

The League of Nations, predecessor to the United Nations, granted powers to the victors of WWI to control the Middle East mandating them to prepare the local people to live and govern themselves independently.  These areas came under the British Mandate of Palestine.  Jews and Arabs were under British Administration, “until such time as they are able to stand alone.”

How did Israel come to possess the area known today as the West Bank and why do so many call it “occupied” territory?

On the day Israel became a nation in 1948 she was attacked by her Arab neighbors. Jordan took advantage of the turmoil and moved in claiming the West Bank without any legal justification. In doing so, the area known as Judea and Samaria became known as the West Bank (the land on the “west bank” of the Jordan River).  In 1967, Israel was again attacked by her Arab neighbors in what became known as the Six Day War. Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt.  For Israel, this was a war of self-defense. Those who attacked Israel did so with the intention of destroying the newborn nation and, according to international law, destroying countries is illegal.  Miraculously, those who attacked Israel found themselves on the losing side, so they ran for help to the United Nations. The U.N. refused to label Israel as the aggressor however they did call for a negotiated solution – one that would leave Israel with defensible borders.

So, are Israel’s West Bank settlements illegal?  If you believe the “fake news” narrative of today, then you believe that “Israel attacked her Arab neighbors, captured the West Bank, threw out the Palestinians and began building illegal settlements.”  It’s worth repeating - never was there an Arab nation or state named Palestine therefore there are no “Palestinian” people.  They are Arabs, plain and simple.  They speak Arabic. Their culture is Arabic. Their history is Arabic. They are descendants of Arabs.  There is nothing that uniquely distinguishes them from the greater Arab world.  By right and by fight, Israel owns the West Bank yet the media and others continually refer to the area as “occupied territory.”  At best, the land should be referred to as “disputed” territory.  In the 20th century, Israel’s claim to the land was recognized by the leaders of the International Court of Justice.  Therefore, Israel’s settlements in the West Bank are not illegal. 

While there is no easy solution, any peace deal must be based on legal and historical facts.  Truth, based on facts, must prevail.

Ducks, Home Remedies and Powerful Music

By CARL WHITE

Life in the Carolinas  

August is an interesting month.

The weather in the south is warming to get us ready for summer. Sweet magnolias perfume the morning air and stimulate thoughts of days gone by when visits on the front porch and lingering conversations were how folks spent their causal time.

I chuckle just a bit as I recall a few of the more colorful conversations I have engaged in this August.

One conversation with barber Gary was most interesting. He was recalling a story about ducks and their ability to sleep with one eye open. He asks if I knew whether or not that was true. No, I said, I have never heard that. When I left I could not stop thinking about those poor ducks who were not able to get a good night’s rest.

I find that research has at least a 50/50 chance of bringing peace to an unknown situation. So I set out to discover the truth about duck sleep.

I give thanks to Indiana State University for a study that was done in 1999 and published in “Nature.” The study suggests that some ducks do indeed protect each other when sleeping. As it turns out aquatic birds normally sleep together in a row and the ducks on the end of the row will keep the eye open which is facing away from the group. The study also showed that the ducks that were in the middle of the row tended to sleep with both eyes closed. The ducks on the end were engaging in what scientist call single-hemisphere sleep. The eye controlled by the sleeping side of the brain is closed, while the active side of the brain keeps its eye open and on guard. The good news being, that even while on guard, ducks can get some much needed sleep.

An interesting pollen induced August conversation that I had with a friend was about the making of a passed down recipe from generation to generation for a homemade cough remedy.  It consisted of a good amount of white liquor, honey and horehound candy.  As the story goes, after days of dealing with a nasty lingering cough that refused to leave, his wife asks him to make some of the special family medicine.

He did so, and when it was ready, he told her it was to be taken a tablespoon at a time. She said okay, and he went out to do some yard work. When he came back inside he noticed that the glass was empty and he ask if she had poured out the rest of it. She said, no, I did what you said, I sipped it all, a tablespoon at a time.

He said in about 20 minutes the phone rang and she jumped up to answer with a spirited “Howdy Do.” I was told that this was not her normal way of answering the phone, and the word soon spread, and over the next few hours family members called just to hear her highly energetic, all be it temporary zeal for life. The good news is, she didn’t cough any more that night, and she slept well.

There are several music festivals in the Carolinas in August, so it’s a good time to think about Music. I was setting at my desk one day and I heard producer Jared exclaim, the right music makes all the difference. He was searching for the perfect music for a scene he was working on. This is a never ending task in telling stories on the screen.

I had been listing to some work by composer and Steinway Master, Chad Lawson.  His music is among a selection I listen to when I am writing. It seems to stimulate creative thoughts. I’m not sure if the music brings creativity or it relaxes me so that creativity can show up. In either case, music is involved. Sometimes it’s a recording and sometimes it’s the sounds of nature.

I called Chad, to get his thoughts on the matter, and he said; “It’s somewhat mystifying to me as a composer, I learned to not rush it and let it take root. Don’t over analyze it…accept it for what it is.”

I love talking with Chad about music, he always makes it sound so amazing.

The eighth month is a good time to reflect on the mysteries of nature, family cures and the power of a musical encounter.

[pigeonpocket5-blog]

Damon Runyon, the Wright brothers, Eddie Rickenbacker, illegal flying, and “Silver bells”

[This is mostly an encore post, written two years ago, marking an anniversary for December 18]

Spent a day with my aging father-in-law last week. Conversation is difficult, but memories always flow. We watched the movie version of “Guys and Dolls,” with Sinatra and Brando, and Stubby Kaye’s get-up-and-sing version of “Sit Down! You’re Rockin’ the Boat.”

He was happy to see the thing again, though in the first few minutes he said he didn’t think he’d ever seen the film. My fondness for the piece, and for Damon Runyon’s stories, goes back (too many) decades to a production of the play by the Utah Valley Opera Society. They hired our high school drama director, David Larson, to direct. On a lark I auditioned, telling them I couldn’t really sing or dance, and ended up with a lot of lines in a couple of supporting roles, and singing and dancing both in the chorus.

When my father-in-law joined in the movie chorus of “Fugue for Tinhorns,” I knew we had a good couple of hours. We laughed, watched, reminisced, and sang along.

Damon Runyon could tell stories, true stories about real people. Sometimes the names were changed to protect the innocent, or the guilty; sometimes the real names were more entertaining than the fictional names Runyon invented.

Some time ago I stumbled across the story of Runyon’s son, Damon Runyon, Jr., using an early airplane to spread the playwright’s ashes. It’s a story Runyon would have appreciated. It’s appropriate for the day after the anniversary of the Wrights’ first flight; December 18 is the anniversary of the event.

On December 17, Orville and Wilbur Wright got their heavier-than-air flying contraption to actually fly with motor driving it along.

First flight of the Wright Flyer I, December 17, 1903, Orville piloting, Wilbur running at wingtip. Photo from Wikipedia

On December 18, Damon Runyon, Jr., got Eddie Rickenbacker to fly over Broadway to scatter the ashes of his father, Damon Runyon.

First Lieutenant E. V. [Eddie] Rickenbacker, 94th Aero Squadron, American ace, standing up in his Spad plane. Near Rembercourt, France. Photo from Wikipedia. This photo dates near World War I; Rickenbacker remained a hero for a couple of decades. In 1946, he flew a DC-3 over New York City, and illegally scattered the ashes of raconteur Damon Runyon over his beloved Broadwary.

Not exactly the next day. 43 years and one day apart.  The Wrights first flew in 1903; Runyon died in 1946.

Today in Literature, for December 18:

On this day in 1946 Damon Runyon’s ashes were scattered over Broadway by his son, in a plane flown by Eddie Rickenbacker. Runyon was born in Manhattan, Kansas; he arrived at the bigger apple at the age of thirty, to be a sportswriter and to try out at Mindy’s and the Stork Club and any betting window available his crap-shoot worldview: “All of life is six to five against.” Broadway became his special beat, and in story collections like Guys and Dolls he developed the colorful characters — Harry the Horse, the Lemon Drop Kid, Last Card Louie — and the gangster patois that would swept America throughout the thirties and forties.

A lot of history packed in there.  Runyon’s early reportorial career included a lot of that history — he wrote the lead story for United Press on the inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt, for one example.  Runyon found a uniquely American vein of literary ore on Broadway in New York City, and in the ne’er-do-wells, swells, tarts and reformers who flocked to the City that Never Sleeps to seek fame, or fortune, or swindle that fortune from someone else.

As a reporter and essayist, he smoked a lot.  Throat cancer robbed him, first of his voice, then his life at 56.

Runyon’s ashes were spread illegally over Broadway, from a DC-3 piloted by Rickenbacker. Runyon would have liked that.

You couldn’t make this stuff up.

Factoids of history:

Twenty movies got crafted from Runyon stories, including “The Lemon Drop Kid” — in two versions, 1934 and 1951. Appropriate to the Christmas season, the 1951 version introduced the song, “Silver Bells” composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. (Great explanation of the movie, and song, here.)

Runyon got fame first as a sports writer.  He was inducted into the writer’s wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967.

According to Wikipedia, Jerry Lewis and others owe a great debt to Damon Runyon:  “The first ever telethon was hosted by Milton Berle in 1949 to raise funds for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.”

One might salivate over the varied fare offered in the theaters of Broadway in 1946, Runyon’s final year, “Annie, Get Your Gun” through Shakespeare, and everything in between and on either side

Runyon and H. L. Mencken both covered the trial of Bruno Hauptmann, the accused (then convicted) kidnapper of Charles Lindbergh’s baby son

Yes, of course, “Guys and Dolls.” Frank Loesser created it, but not of whole cloth, but from the stories of Damon Runyon; it is a masterpiece, perhaps in several realms.  In homage to Runyon, Adam Gopnik wrote:

Just as Chandler fans must be grateful for Bogart, Runyon fans have to be perpetually happy that the pure idea of Runyon, almost independent of his actual writings, produced the best of all New York musicals: Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls,” which made its début in 1950 and is just now reopening on Broadway in a lavish and energetic new production. But then “Guys and Dolls” is so good that it can triumph over amateur players and high-school longueurs and could probably be a hit put on by a company of trained dolphins in checked suits with a chorus of girl penguins.

Your author here, Dear Reader, was once one of those trained dolphins. It was magnificent.

“Silver Bells,” from “The Lemon Drop Kid,” with William Frawley, Virginia Maxwell and Bob Hope (1951 version):

More:

Gregg Allman, the National Sing ‘Silver Bells’ With Stephen Colbert (freshwaddabrooks.com)

My Favourite Christmas Story: Richard Smyth on Damon Runyon’s “Dancing Dan’s Christmas” (liarsleague.com)

Roger Angell Heads to Cooperstown (newyorker.com)

Hope For Christmas (theinnerwildkat.wordpress.com)

Actor/writer Danny Strong To Pen Guys And Dolls Remake (contactmusic.com)

A view of New York City in 1946:

Thomas Hart Benton (1889–1975) “The Artist’s Show, Washington Square,” painted in 1946

Times Square, showing part of Broadway, in November 1946, from the magnificent archives of Life Magazine:

Brownout Time Square.November 1946.© Time Inc.Herbert Gehr – See more at: http://kcmeesha.com/2011/11/29/old-photos-times-square-through-the-years/#sthash.ru9W0F9h.dpuf

Yes, this is an encore post. Defeating ignorance takes patience and perseverance.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2018 at 5:31 pm and is filed under Airplanes, Aviation, History, Literature, Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: https://timpanogos.wordpress.com/2018/12/18/damon-runyon-the-wright-brothers-eddie-rickenbacker-illegal-flying-and-silver-bells/

[ecotone99]

[HR] The Girl That Never Blinks

Just as she opened the door to leave, she realized that she had almost left home without her sunglasses. Walking back to her bedroom to fetch them, she took one last look at the weather outside. Stormy grey clouds hungrily swallowed every piece of blue in the sky. It's not an ideal day for her to go out, but she has been starving ever since her last meal two nights ago. With her Ray-Bans on, red rain coat, and black rain boots, she made her way out. Who her next meal is did not matter to her; she just needed to feed, and she needed it soon.

​

"Dude, can you please cover my shift after tomorrow? I have a final exam I gotta study for." asked Greg as he was refilling the coffee machine with milk.

On the wall opposite to the counter was a mounted TV that showed breaking news of a guy who was reported missing two nights ago. I caught a phrase or two from the closed captioning.

"Body has been found floating in the lake... petrified ... skin as pale as milk. Friends claimed that he was on a Tinder date...red haired girl. Investigations are still ongoing as to what ended Jason's life."

I looked back at Greg, and I saw him trying to puppy-eye me into covering his shift.

"Listen, kid. I've worked my ass off this week and I need the weekend off. Sorry, but can't do. Now, I gotta ring up that customer".

I straightened my name tag, which now says "Brando" since the last letter "n" has failed the test of time.

"Bro! It's that blonde chick again! Are you gonna grow a pair and get her number this time?" giggled Greg.

Greg doesn't know what he's talking about. I tossed her bait a few times, but she never showed any interest. Were my pick-up lines too cheesy? Maybe my biceps are not big enough for her. Or is it the fact that I am 35 and look like I'm 25 with a patchy beard growing on? Or ... I think she's just playing hard to get. Although, I don't blame her; she does have a lot going on for her.

Her blond hair drop down like drapes to her shoulders. Her glossy full lips, the color of cherry-blossom leaves, collected by a chiseled jawline. I'd say that her face has it all, but I can never get a glimpse of her eyes. She is always wearing sunglasses. I am not sure what's more weird: wearing shades indoors, or wearing shades on a rainy day. She left the cold sandwich she picked up on the counter as I approached.

"Would you like me to heat up that sandwich?" I asked as I tried to bury any signs of interest under my obligatory smile.

She nodded.

"Not in the talkative mood today." I thought to myself.

I went to toss the ham-n-cheese sandwich into the micro-oven, and set the timer to 60 seconds. 59...58...57...

"Ok, here goes my last attempt." I whispered to myself.

It has been a year since I last dated anyone, and this rainy weather amplifies my loneliness. I grabbed a napkin and wrote my name and number.

"Whoaaaa! I see you making moves buddy!" Greg teased. Trying to keep my features composed, I looked back at him and winked.

3...2..1..Ding! I opened the oven and the scent of melted cheese welcomed itself into my nostrils. I took her sandwich out, wrapped it, and placed it in our 100% recycled "LuLu's Cafe" brown paper bag. Her head was glued to the TV, still showing that news report. I took that opportunity to sneak the napkin in.

"That'll be $8.50."

"Thank you." she said as she shoved 10 bucks on the counter, grabbed the bag, and zoomed straight off. Her voice was wheezing, dampened by a congested throat. It might be just a cold she caught. As she left the cafe, I noticed her hair again. I could have sworn that it was a few inches shorter and a shade or two darker the other day she came in here.

"Shift's over, kiddo. Good luck with that exam."

Greg went back into his puppy form, "Please think about covering me after tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah!" I said as I rolled my eyes, took my apron off, and waved him goodbye.

​

Lightning slithered like snakes in the skies, and the thunder claps shortly followed. It is going to be one wet walk home.

As I slammed the front door of my apartment shut, the echoes dispersed in waves towards the living room.

"What a week." I sighed.

I treated myself to a long, steamy shower, then headed straight to bed.

That night, I had a weird nightmare. It started in an ample room with walls, floors, and ceilings all paper-white. There was a girl standing on one corner of the room with her head facing the wall.

"Hello!" I called. Yet she was as still as a statue, still facing the wall. I cautiously started walking towards her.

"Who are you? Where am I?!" I yelled nervously.

Her head was still fixed towards the wall. I moved my hand closer to her shoulder. Closer, and slowly closer. Just as I was a hair away from touching her, she abruptly turned towards me. The whole room went from sheer white to pitch black. My heart skipped a beat as I was trying to fathom what I was seeing.

Her face was an empty slate. Where one would have lips, a nose, and eyebrows, she had skin and nothing but pale skin. The only feature that was in its place was her eyes. Big black bold eyes staring right into mine. Her gaze magnetized my head and fixed it towards her. She had no mouth, but her ink-black eyes roared all the words. They spoke of agony that slowly drains the soul out of its body. They spoke of anguish that steals one's breath. They spoke of despair that would make one rather choose death over life.

"No! No, no, no!" I screeched.

​

...

​

"NO!" My eyes opened wide as a pool of sweat traced my body on my sheets.

"What a weird nightmare." I thought to myself.

I was face up on my bed, staring at the ceiling trying to make sense of that dream. My phone then pinged and I looked at the text.

"Hey Brando ;)"

Given how she spelled my name, I knew it was the blonde girl from the cafe.

"Hey, good morning. I never got your name."

"Oh. Excuse my manners. It's Karen."

"Beautiful name. Would you like to go grab coffee sometime today? I have the day off."

"I'd love to but I'm feeling under the weather lately. Is it too forward to ask you to come over for a coffee?"

Ah. It's that kind of date, then. Well, it's been weeks since I've gotten any. Wouldn't mind if I did!

"Sure, I'd love to. Drop a pin and I'll be over in a few hours."

I ordered an Uber while I showered, then slipped into jeans and a polo shirt.

As soon as my Uber dropped me off, I got a text from Greg, "Have you thought about covering my shift tomorrow? I seriously need to ace that exam!"

This darn kid. He's breaking my heart.

"Fine! You owe me! Btw, at the blonde chick's place. I'll tell ya all about it next time I see you at work." I replied.

"Whoaaa! Look at you! "

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Alright. 5th floor. Apartment 5C."

I approached the elevator.

​

OUT OF ORDER.

​

Great! Stairs it is. I groped my pockets to make sure that the condoms were in there. As soon as my feet landed on the 5th floor, the door to apartment 5C creaked opened.

"Come on in! I'll be with you in a sec!" I heard Karen say. Her voice still wheezing.

I looked around her apartment. She has an odd collection of antiques that I can swear date back to 400 years ago. A set of urns on top of her fireplace. Five ragged dolls stacked on a shelf. A collection of wigs displayed on a book shelf: one brunette, one red, and one blond. I helped myself sitting on her antique French couch, a little too stiff for my taste.

She popped out of the kitchen and handed me a cup of coffee. I got to see her eyes for the first time, but the sight of them seemed familiar. I sipped my coffee as I kept admiring her eyes. Protected by long, wavy lashes. The color of a moonless night. I tried to not stare too much, but I was paralyzed. Actually, I was trying to look away now, but I was unable. My whole body has been paralyzed. Her gaze held me there for 3 minutes, and she never blinked. Not even once.

"They say that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. Look at me, let me see your soul. Let me feed on it. Let me drain the life out of you."

My grip on the coffee cup loosened, and it dropped to the ground shattering to pieces. That broke her eye contact and restored my mobility. I need to get out of here! She abruptly grabbed a shard of the cup, and stabbed me in the chest. Laying on the floor, she locked her gaze on me again. My eyes involuntarily gushed with sanguine blood. The air around be became more viscous. It struggled to find its way to my lungs. Gasping, my vision slowly started turning black.

"Now, time to get rid of this body." she said with a wide grin.

submitted by /u/poozyWagon [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/2BbrfDX

[aliensaresupergay]

okok wtf

so i currently like this guy, ive talked abt him. im also Super Hecking Gay for Marlon Brando in guys and dolls (and in general). i also used to really like Spencer Smith Fun fact I was watching g&d the other day when I was like HOLY SHIT MARLON REMINDS ME OF OWEN today I realized HOLY SHIT SPENCER REMINDS ME OF OWEN ....coincidence? Apparently I really like that type of uh? face...? but seriously even my best friend leeann was like HOLY SHIT THEY LOOK SIMILAR

[a-film-a-week-blog]

Week 1

An American in Paris 1951 Directed by Vincente Minnelli Starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron

Phil 

I’ve never seen a Gene Kelly film as an adult. Signing in the Rain countless times. Bandwagon and On the Town too as a kid, but I probably haven’t watched a Gene Kelly film properly in 20-25 years, so through adult eyes I experienced for the first time what millions of cinema goers have been captivated by for over 70 years. No not his innovative choreography that made my face hurt from smiling so much, but actually it was his intensity and charisma that made me realize why he was a cut about the rest. It was like watching a singing and dancing Brando, but this performance was more sophisticated than anything you'd see in Guys and Dolls. One minute your laughing and smiling with him when he's being palling around with his friends or children, then suddenly your watching a scene displaying moodiness and subtle, predatory masculinity that Nina Froch and Leslie Caron, with a bit of persistence and persuasion find irritable. Oscar levant was a revelation too. I kind of wanted the Concerto in F scene to never end and the 'I got Rhythm' number, with the young Parisian kids was probably the most playful and entertaining scene I've seen in a film in a long time. (I can see picture the one kid who cracks up laughing and is visibly shaking with histrics) Contrast that with the highly complex dance sequence at the end that lasts over 17 minutes without any dialogue, and you can see why this film not only charmed me, but completely blew my mind technically too. 

Matt 

No matter how bleak 2016 was, hearing Gene Kelly’s voice as he introduces his character in the opening scene, is like an elixir that makes you feel that everything is going to be okay. An American in Paris is a film about love, loss, obsession, idealisation and escape. 

The plot of bit of a love quadrangle. A young American ex-Navy officer (Gene Kelly) has moved to Paris to become a starving artist. He’s spotted by a rich American Woman (Nina Foch) who quite likes his looks as well as his paintings, and makes it her project to wine and dine him. However, he soon falls in love with a young woman (Leslie Caron), who incidentally is going out with an acquaintance (Georges Guétary) of his best friend (Oscar Levant). But none of them know this. 

The opening five minutes introduce us to Kelly’s character, but also set the tone for the style and choreography, which doesn’t slip for a moment throughout the picture. Not just the choreography of the dance pieces, but of the camerawork, mise en scene and dialogue. Kelly’s character lives in a tiny idyllic studio apartment and we see him effortlessly transform it from bedroom to art studio in seconds in a beautiful moment that encapsulates what I’m talking about. It’s a scene that must have inspired countless Wes Andersons plus a thousand and one smug TV Commercials. 

It’s such a beautiful, charming and joyful film and I can’t understate what a breath of fresh air it was to watch. Perhaps one needs to grow up to truly understand the appeal of a film like this, and to appreciate the simplicity of observing Gene Kelly in his pomp. His dancing along with the choreography are something else and the 17 minute ballet/dream sequence at the end of the film is unlike anything I have ever seen in my life. But it’s not just his dancing, he has so much charisma, his singing voice, his talking voice and his humour are so easy and familiar, like an old uncle who is completely comfortable in his own skin. 

 The technical complexity, ingenuity and grace of the camera movement is almost beyond comprehension in many scenes, especially considering the period in which the film was made. It’s influence on Scorsese punches you in the face. 

Watching it through the cynical filter of present day I was only once taken out of the movie (A moment when Kelly is trying to convince Caron to go on a date with him, which she repeatedly refuses, only to suddenly change her mind and become giddy for him after he tells a terrible joke) and I was a touch dismayed by the ending, after thinking it was going to do something really brave, but nonetheless, it didn’t affect what I took from this masterpiece of cinema. 

Peter 

"...In romantic, or mythic, movie terms, this was the same Paris of love that only eight years before (In Casablanca) Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman had said they would always have; and Gene heloed to save it, and danced for them too! See the all-positive American Aura that America and the world embraced in 1951, and see from what a high we have fallen. But pictures bring back that spirir, which is a big deal, and should be on the big screen, where it's mythic size can properly counteract the pygmy dynamites of today. Failing that, sit close to the largest big-screen TV and enjoy two hours of American happy times, just a breath away from the encroaching darkness of Korea, the sexual revolution, drugs and the victory of TV, at least three earth-shattering assassinations, and Vietnam. In fact, all the most enduring postwar musicals were made in exactly that brief five-year period (1949-54). Happily, all those movies are available today. See America's last innocent moment and cry for joy."