#not me skipping through like 42 episodes to compile this

[blueberry-beanie]

Claus von Wagner & Brillen - eine unvollständige Sammlung

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[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

Shadowhunters 3x12, Original Sin -- Review

Welcome to another Shadowhunters review. 3x12 Original Sin, left me with the overall feeling of , "what was the point?"

I would like to preface this review with saying that I am NOT a huge supporter of this show. I do enjoy certain elements of it but I'm not what would be classified as a devoted fan. For me, Shadowhunters is not a good show and I do get very critical of the show in my reviews. Honestly, for me, I watch the show because 1) I'm too curious not to and 2) I find that this show can be so bad its funny and that's how I reap enjoyment out of it. I am not at all invested in this show or its characters anymore. I'm just watching to see what happens. If you're a die hard fan and you lash out at everyone who has a different opinion than you, you might want to skip these...I'm just saying. My reviews may not be for you. If you do decide to be a total troll, well then pay attention to the below disclaimer.

This is going to be an honest review of my thoughts and feelings regarding this episode. If you're the kind of Shadowhunters fan where you only want to hear positive things about the show, this is not the place for you. If you decide to stick around and get offended by what is said, then that's on you. I warned you. Just know that if you send me any rude comments or messages, I will 100% ignore you. I find that's the best way to deal with bullies. I work 14 hour days. Do you really think I want to waste my incredibly valuable free time dealing with derogatory comments? Hell no. This review will consist of my honest opinions. Opinions are never right or wrong. I'm not telling YOU how to think and feel. I'm telling you what I, quirky and socially awkward me, think and feel. So please, lets discuss with dignity and respect. If I'm critical about this show, it's only because I want it to get better. There is, in fact, a difference between hating a show and being critical of it. I do not hate Shadowhunters, I am being critical and analyzing the flaws as I would with any other show. There are positives but there are also negatives. It's great if you want to promote positivity with this show (and I encourage you to do so) but that doesn't mean I'm not going to point out the things that are legitimately wrong with it. Also, keep in mind that despite the fact that I do like the books, me being critical of this show has nothing to do with my fondness for the books. I don't really care if the show deviates from the source material as long as the changes are good, it makes sense, and it doesn't create plot holes within the confines of the world the show has created. My problems with this show are problems I would have with any show or book for that matter. I think it's perfectly reasonable to take issue with a show that has plot holes, shoddy world building, and inconsistent characters. There will be spoilers for the books and movie.

So yeah, I was not a big fan of this episode. Basically, this episode is just a bunch of plots mashed together that played out in a timespan of 42 minutes and the writers called it an episode. It has no structure, no flow, it's just a compilation of moments, no connecting themes are ever really introduced and oh my god, the acting in this episode was atrocious. It's like everyone forgot how to emote and was just collecting a paycheck, they were only there because they were being paid to be there. The acting in this episode is what's known as "phoning it in". There was no spark to the acting, no charm. At least, for me. Others may have thought the acting was great and they're allowed to think that. I’m just of the opinion the acting wasn't that great and I'm allowed to think that, as well. I shudder to say it but the acting featured in early Season 1 is Emmy worthy compared to what we got in this episode. 

And the A-Plot is Back to Being Dull

You know what really would've been an interesting character arc? Jonathon being a dark mirror for Clary and Clary having to really evaluate herself and acknowledge the dark parts in her and realize she has both of her parents in her. What did you say, Freeform? Character development is for amateur writers? Your main character, the character that's supposed to carry the story should remain a cardboard cutout with no complexity? Okay, then. Cool. My mistake. I suppose it was asking a little too much for you to do character development on this show. It's nice to know that this entire plot with Jonathon featured in the previous episode and this episode was completely meaningless, a waste of time the show doesn't have, and was probably only here to showcase Jonathon's incestuous feelings towards Clary...because he's evil so of course he's in love with his sister. Now, I am in no way saying I like the whole Clace incest vibe from the books. I found it creepy and I generally didn't like it but later on in the series, I was more okay with it because of Jonathon and his feelings being a dark mirror for Clace, there was a story-telling purpose for it so I can't really fault the books for that. But the show doesn't have that. They didn't really go for the Clace incest so all we're going to get is an evil dude in love with his sister, it's basically going to mean little to the overarching themes of the story. It's more like, "Does this really need to be here? Does this really need to be explored?"

In this episode we have Jonathon and Clary just chilling in Paris, France. Although it is quite concerning just how few people there actually appear to be in Paris France, the romance capital of the world. But anyway, in preparation for leaving the apartment and experiencing Paris, Jonathon has Clary change clothes before they go out which thank god for that. She has supposedly been wearing that same outfit for days now, she even trekked through the snow in it in her attempted escape wearing that outfit. All I'm saying is those clothes must be soaked in sweat and oil by now. Honestly, I'm surprised Jonathon can be in the same room as her, her BO must be pretty rank by now. But Clary's clothing issue has been solved by Lillith conveniently being the exact same size as Clary. I'm just going to ignore the part where Lillith is technically a demon, human isn't even her true form so I don't know why she has such an extensive wardrobe. Clary and Jonathon hang out in Paris for a little bit, all the while they're trying to get the other to trust them and while they're doing that, Luke and Jace are actively trying to find our Mary Sue. They eventually end up in Siberia where Jace finds a clump of hair so that definitely means that clump of hair is Clary's and in all future scenes I became obsessed with trying to find Clary's bald spot because that clump of hair was huge. Clary notices a shadowhunter and picks his pocket for his stele. Apparently, the shadowhunters take missing steles VERY seriously because the guy reports it and Jace finds out through some sort of criminal report database so they hypothesize Clary is in Paris. I don't know why the shadowhunter would automatically assume a rogue shadowunter stole it. It could just have easily been a pick-pocket or it could've fallen out of his pocket, Paris is a busy place. Jonathon and Clary end up in some sort of store because Jonathon has heard that the shopkeeper might know of the Morganstern sword. And I'm instantly appalled that Clary is supposedly a seasoned, fully-fledged shadowhunter and she doesn't appear to know about the different classes of demons. I guess Clary is all brawn no brain. But the shopkeeper refuses to do business with Jonathon while Clary's there because he can smell the shadowhunter on her. Jonathon lets Clary leave the shop and Clary uses the stele to, I guess try to escape but the shadowhunter she stole it from conveniently finds her, she tells him who she is and I'm even more appalled at just how self-absorbed Clary is in this moment. She undoes her magical wig and just assumes that's enough to prove that she is who she says she is, she just assumes this guy knows what Clary Fairchild looks like. I mean, clearly the entire world should know who she is, she's the Mary Sue main character after all. But Jonathon figures out something is wrong when the shadowhunter twists Clary's arm and Jonathon feels it which is weird on how this whole bond thing works. Because when she passed out in the snow, nothing happened to him. So just like the parabatai bond, I think this is going to be a very selective plot device, it's only going to matter when the narrative needs it to matter. Jonathon kills the shadowhunter and after exclaiming that killing someone for Clary must be what love is, Jace, Alec and Luke show up. Clary tells them not to kill Jonathon as it'll hurt her as well but she does stab herself in the leg and that causes hurt to Jonathon which spurs him to run away. I don't know why a stab in the leg is enough to deter him considering he grew up in a demon realm and no doubt faced much worse torture. But whatever. Clace gets their reunion kiss, and by the way to no one’s surprise hopefully, time away has not built their chemistry in any way so they still feel awkward. And the episode ends with Jonathon back in the episode screaming his frustration. It was an interesting director’s decision to have the scene completely silent in that moment. It might’ve been effective except I think it went 5 seconds too long. They probably could’ve trimmed that down a little and it would’ve felt more organic. But after a while, it was like, “okay, when is this scene going to be over?”

Quick sidenote before I move on. In this whole plot to find Clary, why didn't anyone even once try tracking her? I mean, it wouldn't have worked, but still, they don't know that and tracking is their default response to everything...Jace misplaces his hair gel and I’m sure he’s knocking at Magnus’s door to get Alec to help him parabatai-track it down.

The Sizzy Plot (Can we just not, okay?)

So the Sizzy plot is still happening and it still feels very forced. I think the issue that I've really been having with show!Sizzy, much in the same vein as Clizzy as well, we're shown that Simon and Izzy are friends but we don't get any sort of understanding as to why they're friends. The thing that makes me care about any relationship in a story -- whether it be romantic, platonic, whatever -- is the personality of the relationship. I need to be able to distinguish why this relationship exists within the context of the characters and the story. Why do these characters have the relationship they do? Why do they want to be around each other? And there's none of that with Sizzy. Really, there's none of that with any of the relationships on this show but that's beside the point. And yes, I'm even talking about Malec with that statement, their relationship also has no personality. The only relationship on this show that's even close to having a personality is Saia. I've said it before, while I adore Sizzy in the books, I don't want it in the show. The show has stripped away everything that made Sizzy interesting and fun and what Sizzy has left in the show is just really dull and bland and I don't care about it. The show's better off to quit while they're ahead and keep Saia.

But anyway, the Sizzy plot starts with them walking through the sewers of New York in their search for the oldest vampire and one of Izzy's first lines is she knows these sewers through and through as she used to sneak down here to hunt as a child. So we get the scene where Izzy hides behind Simon because she saw a rat and first off, I find this extremely out of character for both book!Izzy and show!Izzy. While it’s believable she may be afraid of rats, I don't think she would cower behind someone. She would probably kill it on instinct. Izzy is not someone who cowers in the wake of her fears, she faces them head on and makes those fears fear her instead. She would take a dagger and just throw it at the rat or use the whip and slice it into little bits and pieces and serve it to her most recent ex for breakfast. Secondly, I'm confused, she says she knows these sewers through and through but rats populating the sewers is not a recent development. If she's this afraid of rats, how on earth has she gotten through these sewers before. Also, is this fear of rats thing kind of like a nod to the books wherein Simon gets turned into a rat? Is this the writers saying they found that plot repulsive and that's why they didn't use it? Just a casual observation there. But anyway, they continue their search and as they get deeper into the sewers, Simon asks if they're going the right way and Izzy responds with she doesn't know because she's never gone this deep...which again, confused. Izzy said she knew these sewers through and through -- clearly, she doesn't and that line was stupid. But anyway, Simon meets this vampire, it turns out to be Cain. The story goes that Adam broke up with Lillith back in the day because he wanted to be with Eve and the whole Cain and Able story happened because Lillith compelled Cain to kill Able. Yeah, just effectively taking away responsibility of one's actions, that's what these writers do best. I bet when they were in school, they used the classic “my dog ate my homework” excuse all the time. Lillith turned Cain into a vampire and daylighter because he drank Able's blood, I guess, which eww, I certainly never heard that part of the story in church. And Cain got the mark from the Seelie Queen so we still don't know anything about the mark, why it was created, how it was created, nothing. But we did get a magical rock that can apparently take away the mark, the rock not being Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson -- although that would certainly be cool and he is very magical to me -- but being The Rock that was used to kill Able by Cain. Simon and Izzy go to the Seelie Realm to get the mark removed and there's one scene I did like where Meliorn asks Izzy if she and Simon are dating and I don't understand what would make him think that but whatever. But that's not the part I liked. When Izzy tells Meliorn no, she and Simon aren't a thing, Meliorn responds with ok cool, in that case we should totally hang out again and you can bring your friend along as well. Now, that would've been an interesting dynamic for this show to get into. A polyamorous situation between Izzy, Simon, and Meliorn. And you know what? When it comes right down to it? I would even be happy if Izzy and Meliorn were endgame as opposed to Sizzy. At least there's been development for these two. The mark gets removed using the rock but it's excruciatingly painful for Simon, more excruciating was watching how this scene was directed. Was Simon floating in the air really necessary with shimmering cgi white lights underneath his skin? I really don't think so. It would've been just fine if he was just on the ground feeling this pain and considering this was effectively getting rid of all of the blood in his system, it might've been cooler to see shimmering blood-red cgi underneath his skin. And as I said, after this process ends and the mark of cain is no more, Simon is dying slowly because he has no blood in his system so Izzy cuts her hand and offers hers but it isn't enough so she has Simon bite her and take however much he needs. Thus, ending her sobriety.  

Now, I'm less bothered by the whole drug aspect of Sizzy that a lot of people dislike in this episode. I do think this is a real sacrifice Izzy is making to save Simon and it'll be interesting to see 1)if there are any consequences to this and 2) how she faces those consequences. After some amount of time of being sober, she's now got the taste again so we'll see. Is she strong enough to overcome it or is she going to fall apart again? My issue with this mark of Cain plot seemingly being a lead-in into Sizzy is that's it's not based on any sort of character dynamic. Again, it all ties into the personality of a relationship thing I've been talking about. Izzy, at least from the development we've gotten of Sizzy, doesn't really have that strong of ties of Simon. She like him as a person, probably, but if he were to actually die in this moment, she might be sad and there's certainly going to be repercussions with her friendship with Clary but she's been around death her whole life, death is something she more or less accepts. The relationship she has with Simon is really nothing more than a working relationship she has with those nameless shadowhunters in the Institute. I'm sure she likes them well enough, can even hold a conversation with them, but it doesn't really go beyond that. So, what happens in this scene just makes the moment, as well as Sizzy in general, feel just really hollow.

The Malec Plot

See what I mean about this episode just having random stuff happen that doesn't really connect with each other. Well, we're about to get into more of it.

So Malec has a training fight scene, it's alright. It's nothing great nor is it horrible. It's just kind of there. I'm normally a fan of Shadowhunter training fight sequences, they're pretty fun to look at and they deliver nice exposition in a way that isn't boring to listen to. I do wish they would cut out the alternative pop music though, it's very distracting. And I typically like fight scenes being used as a way for characters to flirt with each other but unfortunately, Shadowhunters is not great about that aspect of it. Whenever there's flirting involved in these fight scenes, it just always comes off as super cringey. But my problem in this scene lies more in how unequal the fight is. Magnus is on the offense primarily the entire time and Alec is defensive and just kind of taking it and letting Magnus beat up on him, which by no means is a bad thing, it's just a little unbelievable considering Alec has been trained to be a warrior since a young age so you would think he would have a little more fight to him. I thought it would’ve been cool after Magnus bragged about all this fight training he's had and throwing down Alec, Alec then throws down Magnus and is all, "you have your tricks, I have mine" and the entire fight scene is all about these two trying to prove which fighting style is more effective and then it eventually escalates to the bedroom scene where it's revealed that despite them having different fight styles (which is also sybolism for their very different personalities), that's what makes them a perfect fit for each other. That's how I would've written it but I'm not the writers and that definitely isn't what happened. Magnus beats up on Alec some, Alec gets turned on and they move things to the bedroom. That's basically what happens. We see them again just at the tail end of their sexual escapades, which was cool. And this is something I've been noticing and I can't seem to un-see since 3B began. The chemistry with Magnus and Alec just doesn't feel like chemistry of lovers. I've never felt like they had amazing chemistry before but I always felt it worked, but coming back from this year-long hiatus, the chemistry just isn't there for me. I even looked at previous seasons and I'm seeing a lot of what I saw here that I just never noticed before. Just the rigidness these two people have whenever they're in a scene together just makes me feel really awkward. I think the year hiatus is causing me to look at this show with fresher eyes so that’s why I’m noticing it now. Time sometimes changes your perspectives on things. They had one moment of passion in this episode where I almost believed them and that was the kiss at the end of the fight scene. But in the next scene where they're laying in the bed, I felt nothing and I certainly didn't believe for a second they just had sex. And the immortality talk was alright, I guess but I really just found it more out of place than anything else.

Really, this entire Malec plot didn't need to be in this episode. I don't necessarily mind that it was, but there was no purpose to it for the episode's overall plot. Like, the fight scene is fine but I don't really understand why it's there or why Magnus feels like he needed fight training when he clearly knows how to fight. It just makes this sub-plot feel pointless. I would've much preferred Malec playing a bigger role in discovering where Clary was and being more central to that plot.

So there you have it. Overall, I felt like this entire episode was just generally kind of pointless and a mash-up of plots that would’ve been better served in their own episodes where more attention could’ve been given. But as the episode stands now, it really didn’t accomplish a whole lot. And the things it did manage to accomplish, I feel it accomplished in very shaky ways that didn't really develop the characters in any way so again, really, what was even the point? That's what I kept on asking myself the entire episode. And as I said before, the acting was pretty bad. It really gave the impression that the actors didn't care. I don't know if anyone else saw what I did but that's what I saw and the general impression of what I got from this episode. There were so many line deliveries that felt flat, there was no facial expressions and a lot of the episode, it just felt like I was watching people say lines they had memorized. I'd give this episode a C-. It's still fine but it just leaves you feeling hollow. 

[eyeliketwowatch]

The ‘Up’ Series : Seven Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, 28 Up, 35 Up, 42 Up, 49 Up, 56 Up - A Surreal Experience if Binged in One Sitting

First rented one of the videos in this series several years ago from the library, and then, this spring, me and my wife sat down to watch the entire sequence this past winter. I wrote several reviews for Spout at the time, and I'll collect them all here in this posting:

March 10, after watching 49 Up:

Over the past month, my wife and I have been watching this series from the beginning thanks to the box set. Last night we got completely caught up by watching the latest installment, 49 Up. (search my previous blogs for a more comprehensive overview of the previous films, all conveniently located in a single filmblog). Simply put, one of the most moving and fascinating documentaries I have seen in years. While there is a lot of repetition from film to film (unavoidable really, when you have to recapsulate each of the subjects lives from age 7), it is still worthwhile to revisit the old familar clips, which more often than not, either get more meaningful over the years, or more revealing of each of the character's personalities, or make interesting contrasts with the changes that each of them go through. How Neil remarks quite innocently when he is seven and fourteen how he wishes to be a 'coach driver' and travel all over the countryside and tell the people on his bus what sights they are seeing, and to see him as an adult, and in an abstract way, this is precisely what he has become with his political work, and in a way, through this documentary. One of the more interesting segments of this most recent film I thought, was the discussion that Jackie has with the director about how she has been portrayed throughout the series, and the director's expectations of how he thought she would turn out. Also included on the disc is an interesting interview with the director where he discusses the series as a whole, the inevitable topic of death in future installments (either one of the subjects, or even possibly Apted himself), and the different reactions people have to the series, whether they have grown up with it over the years, or have digested the entire series in a short span of time thanks to the dvd collection (a topic I have mulled over quite often while watching it the past month). Next one is due sometime in 2011, looking forward to catching up with my old friends (and odd how you feel that way, even though I've known them now only about a month at the most)

February 24, after watching the collected Seven Up through 42 Up box set:

Picked up a compilation disc of the 'Up Series' (includes through 42 Up) at the library yesterday afternoon. This is a series I'd long wanted to watch in its entirety. I'd seen bits and pieces of some of the later ones before, and it always intrigued me. Yesterday evening and afternoon we watched the first two entries (Seven Up and 7 Plus Seven), and hope to watch the remaining episodes over the next week or so.

Very interesting, especially the contrasts among the different classes and upbringing, the differing attitudes towards wealth and life goals, love, education, hopes and dreams. Some of the kids you will take a liking too (I'm already quite fond of Tony the boy who wants to be a jockey), and some you will take a dislike to, others you will be puzzled by, and some you will worry about where they are headed in life.

Fascinating idea of checking in on the same kids every seven years, I have noticed in my own life how the seven year cycle seems to bring distinct changes. These kids are roughly five years older than I am, so their experience is really not so removed from my own (aside from the different country of origin).

I imagine it was a quite different experience in viewing these documentaries as they were released, a feeling of revisiting old friends to see how they were 'getting on'. I've read that many of the subjects become quite well known in the U.K. to the point where some of them have dropped out of the project due to the unease with the public scrutiny of their lives. (frankly, speaking for myself, this is my biggest antagonistic attitude towards 'high school reunions', being a rather private person). Viewing them back to back like I am doing, however, gives one a very melancholy feeling of time passing much too quickly.

The 7 Plus Seven documentary catches up with the kids at 14. A few are starting to get very self concious about the camera, some in an uncomfortably shy way, and a few of them in almost a self serving way, very aware at this young age how they are being perceived and worried about appearances. Tony has started training to be a jockey, some of the upper crust chaps are preparing for higher education and careers in law and politics - Neil and Suzy seemed the most uncomfortable with being filmed (I read later that Suzy's parents had just gotten divorced, which may explain her attitude) and I'm really starting to worry about Neil (perhaps it is because I had a glimpse of his future in one later episode I had seen).

Fascinating stuff, well worth your time.

Addendum: Watched 21 Up this morning. Still pretty interesting stuff. I was confusing Neil with Nick (from my spotty memory of having watched one of the later episodes before). Tony's dreams of being jockey have died after three races, and he seems to accept his fate with a shrug and a toss of the head, now he looks forward to getting his taxi license, and has an interesting attitude towards life in general "be a pest, and eventually you'll get what you want just because people are sick of you". Neil seems to be starting to drift a bit. John continues to become more and more of a snobbish prig and sheltered wealthy suburbanite Suzy remains an enigma. Two of the trio of public school girls (Jackie Lynn and Sue) are already married and starting to settle down. I'm reminded of myself at that age, arriving at 'adulthood', but would still not know any sort of real direction for another ten years.

Addendum Again: Continuing to catch "up" with the 14 children this evening with 28 Up. This was the longest of the films so far. Interesting how each of them, despite their differences in goals and expectations and present situations, for the most part, seem quite content with their lot, as I suppose we all are to a certain extent. A mixture of regret and resignation and rationalization in equal parts. Starting to find myself looking back at my own (and my wife's) lives at each of these arbitrary turning points, where I was at 7, at 14, at 21, at 28 (or for that matter, my son has passed two of the milestones already, and is rapidly approaching the third, talk about time passing much too quickly), and the recurring questions that keep popping up in the series : "Can you see in the person you eventually turn out to be in the child?" "Where do you see yourself in seven years?" "Do you envy those who had more advantages than you did?" . . . A lot to chew over.

And Again: Having an 'Up' marathon this weekend (Library discs are 'one week rentals', so want to fit them all in before the deadline). Watched 35 Up on Sunday afternoon before the oscars. On one hand, seeing the same clips over and over from previous shows gets a little tiresome when you are watching them back to back like we are doing, although if I were to skip over them to get to the 'present day' I'd be missing a lot of interesting juxtaposition. We always start out with Tony, still a cabbie, part time actor with modest goals and ambitions, and some interesting revelations this time. You wonder if he and his wife are sticking together for the sake of the program or for the kids. You also wonder if he would have taken up acting if he hadn't been involved in this project, and so obviously enjoying the limelight - . . . . John returns after skipping the last segment, and he hasn't gotten any less annoying. His pleas for 'the unfortunates in Bulgaria' seem very self serving ("Look at me with all these poor people"), like a politician or celebrity with a pet cause. He's obviously done well in the Thatcher years. . . and in direct contrast, Bruce, while much less flamboyant and charismatic, seems to be truly making a difference with the less fortunate on a more personal level. . . . Neil still is struggling with poverty and mental difficulties, although he seems to be making strides in finding a niche for himself in local theatrical productions . . . Notably absent is Peter in this segment, and Symon (although Symon will be back in 42 Up) . . . Suzy remains sheltered and out of touch but pays lip service to wanting her children to 'get a wider view of the world' but I somehow don't believe they will end up any different. . . Nick still lives in Wisconsin, and seems to be pretty well adjusted overall, and in this episode gives us a little more glimpse behind the mask than he has in previous chapters. There seem to be a lot of tears in this one, a lot of parents passing away, missed opportunities, regrets. Par for the course at this age I suppose.

And Again: Watched 42 Up yesterday evening (DVD series is due back to the library tomorrow). Still a lot of 'rehashing' of old clips, although they do try to edit them a bit more this time. Some very interesting connections to what the kids say in the first couple sessions to how their lives eventually turned out. A nice surprise about Neil (its the last segment, and I won't spoil it for those that haven't seen it, but it is the best part of the whole series I thought). Symon returns in this episode, Paul is gone again, Peter is still missing. Some of the participants are looking sort of tired of the whole project, while others seem to really enjoy participating in it. I probably would have ended up being one of the 'drop outs' if I had the misfortune of being dragged into it at seven years of age. Regardless, it has been an interesting series of documentaries. Looking forward to catching up with these folks in the next film.

UPDATE 2013: Caught up with '56 Up' on Netflix streaming sometime in the fall of the year. More and more these documentaries seem less about 'universal truths' of being a certain age, than it is about dealing the whole phenomenon of being a part of this 'Up' series, and the problems that arise from unintended celebrity, and the feeling like you need something 'new to report' each time the documentary crew comes around. I was surprised to see this time that two of the individuals had struck up a friendship (two of the unlikely ones, I thought, Suzy and Nick), and it was a bit discomforting to see the interviewer call Tony on the carpet about his racist comments. Otherwise, it felt nice to catch up, but there weren't too many new things that had happened in the last seven years. Getting nervous about the next one, as I'm sure we'll end up with a few deaths, of either the subjects or the filmmaker, who is getting on in years.

5 Stars

Released 1964, 1970, 1977, 1984, 1991, 1998, 2005, 2013 -- First Viewing: I’m guessing sometime around the mid 90′s with gradual updates since, the latest being in 2013, and it looks as if I’ll be looking for another one around 2020.