Thursday's Playlist: 9-29-11

Supertramp – “Breakfast in America (Live)”
Rwake – “An Invisible Thread”
Panda Bear – “Bros”
The Black Keys – “The Only One”
Marvin Gaye – “What’s Going On (Detroit Mix)”
Daft Punk – “The Son of Flynn”
Surf City – “Crazy Rulers of the World”
James Blake – “To Care (Like You)”
Shabazz Palaces – “Swerve the Reeping of All that is Worthwhile”
Surf City – “CIA”
Gang Starr – “Work”
Clem Snide – “The Meat of Life”
Tombs – “Cold Dark Eyes”
Suede – “Dolly”
Smith Westerns – “Diamond Boys”
New Order – “MTO”
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers – “Casa Dega”
Luscious Jackson – “Rollin’”
Neil Sedaka – “Going Nowhere”
OK Go – “Here it Goes Again”
R.E.M. – “Skank (Demo)”
Ryan Adams – “Come Pick Me Up”
Suede – “Stars on 45”
R.E.M. – “Final Straw (MoveOn Mix)”
Laura Cantrell – “Sam Stone”
The Boxer Rebellion – “All You Do is Talk”
Avey Tare – “Umbrellas”
Kylesa – “To Forget”
The Smiths – “This Charming Man (New York)”
The Byrds – “Natural Harmony”
Suede – “Beautiful Ones”
Fennesz & Sakamoto – “0319”
Blitzen Trapper – “Heaven and Earth”
Kate Bush – “Deeper Understanding”
Cut Copy – “Sun God”
X – “See How We Are”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Turquoise Jewelry”
The New Seekers – “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony)”
Big Daddy Kane – “It’s Hard Being the Kane”
The War on Drugs – “City Reprise #2”
Kings Go Forth – “Don’t Take My Shadow”
Old Dirty Bastard – “Baby I Got Your Money”
Okkervil River – “White Shadow Waltz”
This Like – “You Belong to Me”
Gorillaz – “Doncamatic”
M83 – “Kim & Jessie”
The Other Two – “Night Voice”
Mastodon – “Octopus Has No Friends”
The Black Keys – “No Trust”
Robyn – “Indestructible (Acoustic Version)”
Lou Reed – “Street Hassle”
Plastic Bertrand – “Ça Plane Pour Moi”
The Allman Brothers Band – “One Way Out (Live)”
Pearl Jam – “Need to Know (Demo)”
The National – “It Never Happened”
Gene – “Haunted by You”
The Cure – “The Dream”
The Dandy Warhols – “The Last High”
James Brown – “Get Up Off a That Thing”
Damien Jurado – “Coats of Ice”
DeVotchka – “Ruthless”
Stevie Wonder – “Go Home”
Pat Benatar – “Invincible (Theme from “The Legend of Billie Jean”)”
The Black Keys – “Too Afraid to Love You”
The Go! Team – “Ladyflash”
Taco – “Puttin’ on the Ritz”
Adam & the Ants – “Stand and Deliver”
Ikara Colt – “Wake in the City”
Snow Patrol – “How to Be Dead”
Anya Marina – “Satellite Heart”
Jack White & Alicia Keys – “Another Way to Die”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Cowboys from Hollywood”
Jawbox – “Chinese Fork Tie”
The Other Two – “Movin’ On”
Scritti Politti – “Perfect Way”
Vampire Weekend – “Cousins”

Sunday's Playlist: 9-25-11

Drive Like Jehu – “Super Unison”
Surf City – “Yakuza Park”
Valient Thorr – “Disappearer”
Billy Joel – “My Life”
Mumford & Sons – “Dust Bowl Dance”
The Decemberists – “Prelude”
Sun Kil Moon – “Admiral Fell Promises”
Future Sound of London – “Bird Wings”
X – “In This House That I Call Home”
Depeche Mode – “Dream On (Morel’s Pink Noise Club Mix)”
Thin Lizzy – “Emerald”
U2 – “The Hands that Built America”
Childish Gambino – “New Prince (Crown on the Ground)”
Hooray for Earth – “Hotel”
Squeeze – “Slap and Tickle”
ESG – “Come Away”
Alice in Chains – “Angry Chair”
Best Coast – “Bratty B”
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts – “Crimson and Clover”
Shabazz Palaces – “An Echo from the Hosts”
Jem – “Amazing Life”
Bright Eyes – “The Calendar Hung Itself”
Bryan John Appleby – “Glory”
Gruff Rhys – “Conservation Conversation”
Yeasayer – “Grizelda”
Damien Jurado – “Trials”
The Twilight Sad – “Seven Years of Letters”
Styx – “Renegade”
Eels – “Trouble with Dreams”
X – “When Our Love Passed Out”
Wild Beasts – “The Fun Power Plot”
Sugababes – “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”
Feist – “Sea Lion Woman”
A Flock of Seagulls – “Man Made”
Sweet Apple – “It’s Over Now”
Oingo Boingo – “I’m So Bad”
Bright Eyes – “Going for the Gold (Live)”
A Flock of Seagulls – “Don’t Ask Me”
King Khan & BBQ Show – “Tryin’”
Little Dragon – “Place to Belong”
U2 – “Unchained Melody”

Films of the 60s, Part 19: Strange as Angels (The Worlds of Manic Pixie Dream Girls)

"You ... soft and only
You ... lost and lonely
You ... strange as angels
Dancing in the deepest oceans
Twisting in the water
You're just like a dream."
- The Cure, "Just Like Heaven"



Film Critic Nathan Rabin coined the term “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” after seeing Kirsten Dunst in Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown. His definition is, “that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.”(1)(2) Since that time, the sobriquet has really taken off and become part of film culture, with characters played by the likes of Natalie Portman, Zooey Deschanel, and Kate Hudson. However, many critics have now gone back to mine film history for examples of this semi-cryptozoological / magical creature known in shorthand as the MPDG. The following is a survey of three films from the 60s that I consider to exhibit the properties of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl.



The Apartment (1960, Billy Wilder)

Billy Wilder had already proved himself a master filmmaker in several genres including noir and comedy, but The Apartment was his first Best Picture Academy Award win. It was also somewhat a blueprint for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Shirley MacLaine plays the MPDG in question, teaching Jack Lemmon’s character, C.C. Baxter, lessons about love and the important things in life. Heck, she even had a pixie cut to complete the whole package. The usual modus operandi for MPDGs is that they tend to have their heads in the clouds, are free spirits, but somewhat need to grow up. The men in their lives are, of course, attracted to this dreamlike naïveté, at first wanting to occupy the same world as the MPDG. Eventually, the femme’s bad choices get her into trouble and the homme gets to come to the rescue, but rather than both growing up and learning, they tend to succumb to their childish fantasies. This is somewhat true of The Apartment, though we are left wondering what the future may hold.

The premise of the film is that Baxter has an Upper West Side New York apartment that he lets his coworkers use as rendezvous spots for affairs in order to work his way up in an insurance company. One fateful day, he meets Fran, an attractive elevator operator and pursues her, only to find out that she is having an affair with Mr. Sheldrake, the personnel director, played by Fred MacMurray. Fran allows Sheldrake to string her along, preying on her naïve nature, professing his love, but still going home to his wife. Eventually, she is let down one too many times. In a scene that was later mirrored in Almost Famous, a film by Cameron Crowe, who seemingly perfected the MPDG mythos, Baxter saves Fran from overdosing. In the meantime, Baxter allows his neighbors and coworkers to believe the worst of him, even getting slugged in the face by Fran’s brother-in-law for his good deeds. Baxter eventually learns that the boys’ club at work is not worth it and would rather stand up for love than for advancement and respect.

MacLaine has quite a few moments of MPDG-ness, reciting dialogue that veers between a carefree attitude and self-hatred. For instance, looking into a broken mirror and saying, “I like it that way. Makes me look the way I feel.” All it needs in a modern remake is a Smiths song as background. She also shows her vulnerable heart to Baxter in relation to insurance statistics, feeling bad that because she doesn’t get colds, some other poor guy has to get five to meet the average. Exhibit C finds Fran yet again in a state of humor in her darkness, “I was jinxed from the word go. The first time I was ever kissed was in a cemetery.” What makes this film different from the typical MPDG scenario is that Lemmon is somewhat of a Manic Pixie Dream Guy for MacLaine as well, in effect reversing the roles. This film could easily be from Fran’s point of view with Baxter acting as the bubbly yin to her dark yang. His straining spaghetti through a tennis racket and odd turns of phrase, such as “That’s the way it crumbles…cookie-wise,” are illustrative examples of the possibility. But, it is really Baxter’s life that changes, going from corporate social climber to moral human being, whereas Fran remains fairly unchanged throughout, merely seeing something in Baxter after she has affected his life.



Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961, Blake Edwards)

People either love or hate Breakfast at Tiffany’s and I don’t quite get the disparity. Sure, Mickey Rooney’s character is one of the most racist and politically incorrect portrayals in film history. Sure, the ending of the film is drastically different than Truman Capote’s novella. But, it is an iconic film, full of great performances, wonderful music, and the ultimate in Manic Pixie Dream Girls, Miss Audrey Hepburn. One could pick any one of several Audrey Hepburn films to support the MPDG thesis, but Breakfast at Tiffany’s captures it to an extent that the others just don’t reach. Because quite a few men, guilty as charged, see MPDGs as the dreamlike ideal, there are many of us who have had dalliances with our own Holly Golightlys, those girls who just seem too beautiful, effervescent, and charming to be real. And that’s the thing, they aren't real. There is always something roiling under the surface.

Holly Golightly is the MPDG for Paul, played by George Peppard, a down on his luck writer who has taken to becoming a boy toy for a wealthy mistress. To Paul, Holly has it all figured out. She is a Manhattan socialite with tons of connections, lush parties, and rich courters. Paul and Holly, each trying to find their way in their respective worlds, grow closer to each other. We sense that Paul has most likely fallen in love with Holly, though she remains aloof and blithe. Things begin to take a turn when the façade of her life starts to crumble, her former life as Lula Mae Barnes surfaces in the shape of her ex-husband from an annulled marriage, and her engagement to a wealthy beau is called off. This is when the truly MPDG moment happens, with Holly and Paul running around the city, taking turns doing things they have never done before. Who does this in reality? Very few, I think, in that it is purely a construct of the MPDG ideal.

In the book, Holly is somewhat of a call girl, or at least very free with her sexuality. The film version is nearly the opposite, though carefree, she is somewhat chaste, making her even more of a fictional construct. After all, isn’t this what every guy dreams about, a free spirit who is also virtuous? While purists who love the Capote novella feel the film’s ending is a betrayal and a travesty, there is no other way the film can end, and in effect, this is why it has become beloved. Paul could have easily continued his life as a down on his luck writer, resorting to life as a gigolo to survive, but instead, he is inspired by the magical Holly Golightly, eventually selling a short story, getting his life back in order, and believing in love. It is the Hollywoodiest of Hollywood endings, but is nonetheless satisfying. I’ve had my own Holly Golightly, so I know that the MPDG model exists, but my life didn’t end up like Paul’s. The truth is that while these magical females might exist, the guys whose lives they change are usually left behind, so many “Doc” Golightlys.



Jules et Jim (1962, François Truffaut)

By the time Jules and his friend Jim meet Catherine, they already believe she is magical, being a human representation of a statue they found eminently fascinating and beautiful. Catherine, played by Jeanne Moreau, does not disappoint them further, being the embodiment of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, racing with them, jumping into rivers, and saying such things as “I don’t want to be understood.” Like Fran and Holly, she is a free spirit, but as opposed to the other two films, Truffaut finishes the story of what would happen when this type of free spirit gets tied down. When Catherine is allowed to just be herself with Jules and Jim, everything is fine. But, when Catherine marries Jules, things start to change. They have a child and start a family, but one gets the sense that Catherine was never cut out for settling down. Jules senses this as well and is therefore okay with her and Jim starting an affair, as he just wants her to be happy.

The truth is, however, that this occurrence is irreversible. While Catherine may have changed the lives of Jules and Jim, their desire to capture that spirit and bottle it forever essentially drained the magic of the MPDG. This brings to mind another issue and question. Are the actions of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl really just expressions of the wonder of life, or are they signs of bipolar disorder? One can make arguments on both sides, but only Truffaut provides concrete evidence for the latter. One could also make the argument that one simply shouldn’t try to pin down unconventional women into conventional lifestyles. As Holly Golightly says in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, “You musn't give your heart to a wild thing. The more you do, the stronger they get, until they're strong enough to run into the woods or fly into a tree. And then to a higher tree and then to the sky,” or “I'm like cat here, a no-name slob. We belong to nobody, and nobody belongs to us. We don't even belong to each other.”

Whereas Holly, Paul, Baxter, and Fran have different endings than Jules, Jim, and Catherine, or so we are led to believe, Truffaut finishes the story of the boy meets MPDG, boy is entranced by MPDG, boy loves MPDG with MPDG is smothered by boy trying to corral her into a world of harsh realities. Regardless, Jules and Jim is a phenomenally great film and Jeanne Moreau an enchanting, yet realistic version of a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. What no one told Jules and Jim is that, though she changed their lives for the better, the same rarely happens in reverse, even with two chances.


(1) Rabin, N. (2007). "My Year of Flops, Case File 1: Elizabethtown: The Bataan Death March of Whimsy." Retrieved from A.V. Club, The Onion.
(2) Bowman, D., Gillette, A., Hyden, S., Murray, N., Pierce, L., & Rabin, N. (2008). "Wild Things: 16 Films Featuring Manic Pixie Dream Girls." Retrieved from A.V. Club, The Onion.

Saturday's Playlist: 9-24-11

The Kinks – “Drivin’”
The Jesus & Mary Chain – “On the Wall”
Orange Juice – “Flesh of My Flesh”
Grizzly Bear – “Slow Life”
Billy Idol – “It’s So Cruel”
Ruby – “Flippin’ tha Bird”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Stalin’s Cadillac”
Blitzen Trapper – “Might Find it Cheap”
The Roots – “A Peace of Light”
Fugazi – “Ex-Spectator”
The New Pornographers – “If You Can’t See My Mirrors”
Len – “Steal My Sunshine”
Neil Young – “Southern Man”
U2 – “Silver and Gold”
Suede – “WSD”
Camper Van Beethoven – “That Gum You Like Is Back”
Modest Mouse – “Satin in a Coffin”
Crash Test Dummies – “Afternoons and Coffeespoons”
Bryan John Appleby – “Noah’s Nameless Wife”
F%#@ed Up – “One More Night”
Janet Jackson – “Escapade”
Billy Joel – “Just the Way You Are”
Cults – “Never Heal Myself”
Geto Boys – “Mind Playin’ Tricks On Me”
Aphex Twin – “Windowlicker”
The Drums – “Skippin’ Town”
Boston – “Don’t Look Back”
Drive Like Jehu – “If It Kills You”
Shudder to Think – “9 Fingers on You”
Curtis Mayfield – “Wild and Free”
Yes – “I’ve Seen All Good People”
Curtis Mayfield – “Miss Black America”
Röyksopp – “The Drug”
This Mortal Coil – “The Last Ray”
Calexico – “Stray”
Suede – “Let Go”
Haircut 100 – “Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)”
Gravenhurst – “The Ice Tree”
Janelle Monae – “Dance Or Die”
Smith Westerns – “Dye the World”
Journey – “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’”

Films of the 60s, Part 18: Daddy Was An Alcoholic

“Don’t you know you got your Daddy’s eyes
And Daddy was an alcoholic
But your mother kept it all inside
Threw it all away.”
- Starsailor, “Alcoholic”



It was forty and some odd years past prohibition and one could tell. Drinking had become a national pastime. Today, Mad Men, and all of the Mad Men ripoffs, such as Pan-Am and The Playboy Club, immerses its characters in this world of social drinking. Entertainment media has either portrayed this era with glamour or has occasionally displayed its seamy side. This survey concentrates on films that tend to waver between the two, but then heavily fall on the side of the latter. While the following three movies may not be completely about alcohol, we see that it certainly plays a prominent role, especially in how it affects relationships.



Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1962, Sidney Lumet)

If you want to see four master actors at work, watch Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Based on the Putlizer Prize and Tony winning play by Eugene O’Neill, this film faithfully captures the conventions of a stage drama without losing any cinematic quality. Reportedly his most autobiographical work, Long Day’s Journey Into Night is a story of a highly dysfunctional family struggling with addiction. The Tyrone family, living in a seaside Connecticut home, is constantly at loggerheads, alternately bickering with each other over any manner of topic and then trying to make amends. Their expectations of each other, hopes, dreams, and motivations are all fueled by their respective poisons, making it difficult, at best, to determine whom these people truly are behind the masks of addiction.

The father, James Sr., is played masterfully by Sir Ralph Richardson, a perfect choice to portray the aging actor who longs for the old days, resentful of his typecasting, jealous of his sons’ youth, and livid about his wife’s narcotic hazes, all the while drowning his own misery in spirits. Katherine Hepburn plays Mary, the matriarch hooked on morphine, newly returned from a treatment center, but nowhere near out of the woods, with bouts of reverie that are hard to distinguish between the miasma of morphine use and simple nostalgia. One of my favorite actors of all time, Jason Robards, is an O’Neill “go-to” thespian. Having played in a whole host of O’Neill plays and adaptations, Robards traverses this film magnificently, portraying James Jr., or “Jamie,” the oldest son who followed in his father’s acting footsteps. Whereas the father had a hard time landing other roles due to a long run as the same beloved character, Jamie has a hard time because of his alcoholism and womanizing. Then there is Edmund, the character based on the author, played by Dean Stockwell. He is the most markedly different from the rest of the family, more inward and poetic, and suffering from tuberculosis, though this doesn’t stop him from stealing sips of booze every now and then.

At a nearly three hour running time, all in one location, it makes perfect sense that the sense of drama is heightened. Frankly, it would be anyway in this situation. The three alcoholic men are all ironically suspicious of their mother’s inevitable relapse, monitoring her every move and questioning her every absence. As the title of the play / film suggests, the action all takes place in the course of one long day, with each character degrading into the darkest depths of their respective humanity as night approaches. Katherine Hepburn’s appearance is a sight to behold, with her at first tightly coiffed hairdo gaining flyaways and loose tendrils as time goes on. Only her acting is more magnificent. She and her castmates drastically veer from hollow platitudes to strongly worded accusations and betrayals. It is as admirable for its writing and acting as it is incredibly disheartening for its realistic portrayal of addiction at its worst, most controlling, and most hypocritical. I’m a huge fan of dramatic theater, and this is a faithful adaptations of one of the finest works from a true master.



Days of Wine and Roses (1962, Blake Edwards)

Adapted from a television presentation, Days of Wine and Roses is quite possibly the most powerful film on the subject of alcoholism and recovery. I would say that Jack Lemmon is at the height of his acting prowess in this film, but that height lasted for another few decades. Lemmon plays Joe Clay, a public relations whiz that gets caught up in the fast-paced lifestyle of business and martini-lunches. He meets Kirsten, a young non-drinker who Joe lures into his own alcoholic world. The particular scene in which Joe seduces Kirsten is particularly familiar and, at the same time, disturbing. Claiming that she doesn’t like the taste of alcohol, he inquires as to tastes she does enjoy, and then finds an alcoholic beverage that perfectly matches that predilection. We have likely all seen this before, getting someone to enjoy alcohol because they find one that “tastes like candy.”

Joe’s few drinks with the guys turns into full-blown alcoholism and Joe drags Kirsten down with him. Their lives subsequently degrade, with demotions and firings in store for Joe and equally problematic and dangerous events occurring with Kirsten. Joe, passing a shop window, has an epiphany. He looks at his reflection and cannot recognize the alcoholic ‘bum’ he has become. Determined to turn their respective lives around, the young couple go to live with her father, but quickly succumb to their addictions yet again, resulting in a powerful performance by Lemmon in a greenhouse. This scene is one of the most affecting I’ve seen, capturing the absolute power of alcoholism in an absolutely disquieting manner.

Eventually, Joe gets help through Alcoholics Anonymous and his sponsor, Jim, played by Jack Klugman. But, because Kirsten refuses to get help, Joe has to choose between sobriety and his family. It is a heartbreaking film, and one that does not pull any punches in its depiction of the struggles of real people in their fight with alcoholism. Like Long Day’s Journey Into Night, it is also a master class in acting, with Lemmon and Remick able to elicit disgust, pathos, pity, affection, and empathy throughout their many ups and downs. It also shows just how easy it is for ordinary people to succumb to the excesses of alcoholism and that it is a disease, treatable and yet never escapable to a certain extent. In other words, every day is a struggle. When Jack Lemmon appeared on Inside the Actor’s Studio, in talking about Days of Wine and Roses, he stunned host James Lipton by saying, “Which I am, incidentally.” Confused over whether Lemmon was referring to his character or himself, he asked him to clarify. “No, as Jack Lemmon. I’m an alcoholic.” Lemmon and Remick both reportedly got help from AA sometime after the film’s release, and so too did more than quite a few viewers, and there is possibly no better story to result from a film like this.



Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966, Mike Nichols)

In this film, we once again visit an adaptation of a well-known play, this time one by the gifted playwright, Edward Albee. In this film, a professor of a New England college and his wife, the daughter of the college president, invite a young couple, a new addition to the school, and his wife, over for drinks. The young couple find themselves subsequently invited into an intensely volatile and hostile situation in the process. It is hard to tell whether alcohol is the progenitor of the hostility between George and Martha, played to the hilt by real life couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, or whether alcohol is merely a crutch for their severe relationship problems. Either way, it is almost a fifth character in this taut drama that is as equally impressive as it is incredibly uncomfortable.

Throughout the film, George and Martha are constantly bickering and belittling each other, making their young guests feel awkward and in the middle of a booze-filled maelstrom. As the events progress, the situation only escalates in sarcasm, bitterness, seduction, and danger. In the end, one cannot tell with any certainty whether this is a couple in the throes of madness fueled by alcoholism, or the throes of alcoholism fueled by madness. Either way, it is a highly watchable film with riveting performances though, as stated earlier, it can make one feel very uncomfortable. Albee and Mike Nichols, in his astounding directorial debut, manage to present a truly voyeuristic window into the lives of severely troubled characters that eventually reveal elements of their lives that are as equally pitiable as shocking. Not many actors could pull off such heavy material, but Burton, Taylor, George Segal, and Sandy Dennis do so more than admirably.

While all three films received several nominations of different types, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? achieved something that few other films have, earning Academy Award nominations in every eligible category. Though it lost out to A Man for All Seasons in some categories, which by the way is another great film based on a play, it did win five Oscars, including Elizabeth Taylor’s much deserved second win for Best Actress. One could almost see Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? as sister films and plays, providing a glimpse into the realities of addiction and relationship dysfunction. Both somehow display a stark realism and over-the-top dramatic tension at the same time. These are three powerful films that have had a lasting legacy in movie history, and rightfully so.

Thursday's Playlist: 9-22-11

The Coconutz – “Nothing Compares 2 U”
Goldfrapp – “Rocket”
The Black Angels – “Phosphene Dream”
Bauhaus – “Ziggy Stardust”
PS I Love You – “Where’s the Party”
Little Joy – “Brand New Start”
The Zombies – “Time of the Season”
Destroyer – “Chinatown”
Ryan Adams – “1974”
Superchunk – “Stretched Out”
Machines of Loving Grace – “Richest Junkie Still Alive (Sank Remix)”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Pictures of Matchstick Men”
Public Enemy – “Prophets of Rage”
Billy Bragg – “Never Had No One Ever”
Morrissey – “Friday Mourning”
The Smiths – “Shoplifters of the World Unite”
The Doobie Brothers – “Jesus is Just Alright”
Janelle Monae – “Mr. President”
The Alarm – “Father to Son”
Tricky – “Christiansands”
The Jayhawks – “Martin’s Song”
Luscious Jackson – “Fantastic Fabulous”
Torche – “Hideaway”
Fleetwood Mac – “Honey Hi”
Kansas – “What’s On My Mind”
Kylesa – “Spiral Shadow”
Big Daddy Kane – “Set it Off”
The Jayhawks – “Precious Time”
The Chameleons – “One Flesh (Demo)”
John Cale – “Mary Lou”
Stevie Wonder – “Superwoman”
The Innocence Mission – “The Happy Mondays”
F#$@ed Up – “A Slanted Tone”
Explosions in the Sky – “A Poor Man’s Memory”
A Winged Victory for the Sullen – “Steep Hills of Vicodin Tears”
Hothouse Flowers – “Ballad of Katie”
The Radio Dept – “Domestic Scene”
Destroyer – “The Sublimation Hour”
Art Brut – “Ice Hockey”
Yes – “Perpetual Change”
KISS – “Black Diamond”
Bruce Springsteen – “Wrong Side of the Street”
The Men – “Bataille”
Phoenix – “Fences (Friendly Fires Remix)”
Laura Veirs – “Sleeper in the Valley”
Sufjan Stevens – “All Delighted People (Original Version)”
Kinky – “Mirando De Lado (KCRW)”
Robyn – “Fembot”
Christopher O’Riley – “Karma Police”
Janet Jackson – “Love Will Never Do (Without You)”
Feist – “Mushaboom”
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Rage Hard”
LCD Soundsystem – “Oh You (Christmas Blues)”
The Walker Brothers – “No Regrets”
Sunny Day Real Estate – “Bucket of Chicken”
Phoenix – “Lisztomania (A Fight for Love 25 Hours a Day Remix)”
Here We Go Magic – “Vegetable or Native”
Stricken City – “Small Things”
First Aid Kit – “Tangerine”
Bright Eyes – “Soon You Will Be Leaving Your Man”
Perfume Garden – “When”
X – “Burning House of Love”
Yuck – “Suck”
The Decemberists – “Down by the Water”
The Go-Go’s – “Good Girl”
Happy Mondays – “Grandbag’s Funeral”
The Cult – “Nirvana”
Gomez – “Whippin’ Piccadilly”
Band of Skulls – “Hollywood Bowl”
Phosphorescent – “Be Dark Night”
Elvis Costello & the Attractions – “Everyday I Write the Book”
James Brown – “Out of Sight”
Tears for Fears – “Ideas as Opiates”
The Radio Dept – “This Time Around”
Engineers – “Song for Andy”
The Smithereens – “The World We Know”
Oscar Brown, Jr. – “Brother Where Are You? (Matthew Herbert Remix)”
The Clash – “Rock the Casbah”
My Morning Jacket – “Slow Slow Tune”
Orbital – “Dwr Budr”
R.E.M. – “Wolves, Lower (Fast Version)”
Shudder to Think & Billy Corgan – “When I Was Born, I Was Bored”
The Bird and the Bee – “I Hate Camera”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Landslide”
Frankie Knuckles – “Your Love”
Kaiser Chiefs – “Man on Mars”
The Bird and the Bee – “One on One”
Faunts – “Out on a Limb”
Danzig – “Evil Thing”
Interpol – “Summer Well”
The Cult – “She Sells Sanctuary (Long Version)”
The Hold Steady – “Stuck Between Stations”
Ministry – “Abortive”
The Cure – “Close to Me”
Girl Talk – “Let it Out”
Gang of Four – “I Can’t Forget Your Lonely Face”
Journey – “Any Way You Want It”
Chicago – “If You Leave Me Now”

Tuesday's Playlist: 9-20-11

Yuck – “Stutter”
Duran Duran – “Ordinary World”
New Order – “Age of Consent”
Orange Juice – “Breakfast Time”
The Boxer Rebellion – “Both Sides are Even”
Archers of Loaf – “Web in Front”
The 88 – “Waiting for the Next Drug”
Canada – “Cold Mouse Winter”
Suede – “Brass in Pocket”
Blonde Redhead – “In an Expression of the Inexpressible”
Iggy Pop – “China Girl”
The Jesus & Mary Chain – “Taste of Cindy”
Clem Snide – “The Ballad of David Icke”
Flight of the Conchords – “Angels”
Hans Zimmer – “Mombasa”
The Chameleons – “Silence, Sea and Sky”
ABC – “Vanity Kills (USA Remix)”
Fugazi – “And the Same”
Phosphorescent – “Nothing was Stolen (Love Me Foolishly)”
Dusty Springfield – “I Wish I’d Never Loved You”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Payed Vacation: Greece”
Tammany Hall NYC – “Always on Sunday”
Austra – “The Beast”
Arcade Fire – “Keep the Car Running”
WU LYF – “14 Crowns for Me & Your Friends”
Nine Inch Nails – “Just Like You Imagined”
The Like – “Catch Me if You Can”
Prince – “Sexy MF”
Creedence Clearwater Revival – “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”
Blitzen Trapper – “Heaven and Earth”
The Byrds – “Old John Robertson”
Zero 7 – “Distractions”
My Morning Jacket – “First Light”
Laura Veirs – “Galaxies”
Crowded House – “Archer’s Arrows”
Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds – “Far From Me”
Here We Go Magic – “Song in Three”
Loggins & Messina – “Rock ‘n Roll Mood”
Duran Duran – “Careless Memories”
Arctic Monkeys – “She’s Thunderstorms”
Jeff Beck – “Hi Ho Silver Lining”
Fennesz & Sakamoto – “0407”
Espers – “Meridian”
Adele – “One and Only”
Krallice – “Untitled”
Sufjan Stevens – “Seven Swans”
Hot Hot Heat – “Oh, Goddamnit”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “The Killing Moon (All Night Version)”
Squeeze – “Black Coffee in Bed”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Bye June”
Los Campesinos! – “There are Listed Buildings”
R.E.M. – “Fall on Me”
The Tallest Man on Earth – “Burden of Tomorrow”
Dum Dum Girls – “Wrong Feels Right”
Foals – “Electric Bloom”
ESG – “Get Funky”
Madonna – “Burning Up”
Fleetwood Mac – “Not That Funny”
Sufjan Stevens – “They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead!! Ahhhh!!”
Suckers – “Black Sheep”
The Killers – “Andy, You’re a Star”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Hey Brother”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Cherub Rock”
Magnet & Gemma Hayes – “Lay Lady Lay”
Feist – “Strangers”
Wild Beasts – “Bed of Nails”
Bruce Springsteen – “Thunder Road”
Be Your Own Pet – “Bicycle, Bicycle, You Are My Bicycle”
Frightened Rabbit – “Skip the Youth”
New Edition – “With You All the Way”
X- “Beyond & Back (Live)”
Beulah – “The Aristocratic Swells”
The Black Keys – “She Said She Said”
Conor Oberst & Gillian Welch – “Lua”
Bad Brains – “Right Brigade”
Rufus Wainwright – “Movies of Myself”
Valient Thorr – “Without Hope Without Fear”
Antony & the Johnsons – “The Spirit Was Gone”
Luscious Jackson – “Find Your Mind”
Scritti Politti – “The Word Girl”
Girls – “Saying I Love You”
Neil Finn – “Last One Standing”
Lorraine Ellison – “Stay With Me (Baby)”

Sunday's Playlist: 9-18-11

The Jayhawks – “Bad Time”
Nine Inch Nails – “The Big Come Down”
Hoodoo Gurus – “What’s My Scene”
El-P – “Stepfather Factory”
Katrina and the Waves – “Walking on Sunshine”
Mercury Rev – “In a Funny Way”
Stevie Wonder – “Happier than the Morning Sun”
F#@%ed Up – “Recursive Girl”
Goldfrapp – “Alive”
Menomena – “Oh Pretty Boy, You’re Such a Big Boy”
Rufus Wainwright – “Movies of Myself”
Toro y Moi – “How I Know”
Eric B & Rakim – “Rest Assured”
James Blake – “Lindisfarne I”
The Magnetic Fields – “The Dada Polka”
Oneohtrix Point Never – “Disconnecting Entirely”
Nancy Wilson – “Lucky Trumble”
OK Go – “While You Were Asleep”
Hans Zimmer – “Time”
Big Daddy Kane – “Cause I Can Do It Right”
Def Leppard – “Billy’s Got a Gun (Live)”
U2 – “Happiness is a Warm Gun (The Gun Mix)”
Crash Test Dummies – “God Shuffled His Feet”
Modest Mouse – “The World at Large”
Foo Fighters – “Monkey Wrench”
The Smithereens – “Blood and Roses (Live)”
The White Stripes – “Fell in Love with a Girl (Live)”
Billy Idol – “Rebel Yell (Session Take)”
Stevie Wonder – “Girl Blue”
39 Clocks – “Psycho Beat”
INXS – “This Time”
Nine Inch Nails – “The Fragile”
The Smithereens – “Elaine”
Gillian Welch – “The Way it Goes”
Radiohead – “Life in a Glass House”
St. Vincent and The National – “Sleep All Summer”
Suede – “The Wild Ones”
Midnight Oil – “Warakurna”
Daft Punk – “Finale”
Maxence Cyrin – “Crazy in Love”
Duran Duran – “Like an Angel (BBC Radio 1 Session)”
New Edition – “If It Isn’t Love”
ESG – “What She Came For”
The Kinks – “See My Friends”
Phoenix – “Fences (The Soft Pack Remix)”
Fleet Foxes – “Quiet Houses”
Barabara Manning – “Through with People”
The Weeknd - “Life of the Party”
The Clash – “Rock the Casbah”
How to Dress Well – “You Hold the Water”
Jenny and Johnny – “Committed”
The Radio Dept – “Heaven’s on Fire”
Fugazi – “Glue Man”
Les Savy Fav – “Yawn, Yawn, Yawn”
Queens of the Stone Age – “You’re So Vague”
The Books – “I Didn’t Know That”
Air – “Cherry Blossom Girl”

Films of the 60s, Part 17: I Swear He Had No Name

“I met the walking dude, religious, in his worn down cowboy boots
He walked like no man on earth
I swear he had no name
I swear he had no name.”
- The Alarm, “The Stand”



I would venture to say that if there is one film icon that is representative of the 60s, after James Bond, it would be Clint Eastwood’s “Man with No Name.” This mysterious figure redefined Westerns for the entire hemisphere, becoming a symbol of stoic bravado, silent strength, and restrained toughness. His look is now infamous, with the wide, flat brimmed hat, the Spanish poncho and black jeans. It is so infamous that I would dare say that his image pops into many people’s minds upon hearing the word, “Western.” Director Sergio Leone originally meant to revolutionize the genre in Italy, having been disappointed with its representation in his home country, but ended up revolutionizing not only the genre as a whole, but also filmmaking in its entirety. These three films alone have had long lasting effects that are still felt today, with techniques, homage, and references dotting the filmic landscape.



Per un Pugno di Dollare (A Fistful of Dollars) (1964, Sergio Leone)

I had seen these films as a child, as my father was fond of Westerns, but I hadn’t remembered them as well as I would have liked. When I revisited them for this project, I saw them in reverse order, with Fistful as the final one viewed. It doesn’t seem to matter. These do not form a trilogy in the sense that we view them today, as a three-part, serialized story. These are not necessarily connected. While Clint Eastwood could be playing the same no-named character throughout the three films, there is nothing within the film to signal this continuity (though some have tried; we’ll get into that). Instead, Clint Eastwood’s character is an archetype, representing a particular symbol of a character. That hasn’t stopped many fans from trying to reorder the films to figure out a continuity that would fit both Eastwood’s look and motivations. If those people are right, I actually viewed it in their preferred order, with Fistful representing the final incarnation of the man with no name.

A Fistful of Dollars is, in actuality, as close to a shot-for-shot remake of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo as you could get. In fact, Akira Kurosawa wrote to Leone, after seeing the film, “It is a very fine film, but it is my film.” Of course, remakes such as this are common these days, but none done as appropriately as this one. Whether you see samurais as cowboys of the east, or cowboys as samurais of the west, we can agree that the two are somewhat synonymous, and merely different indicators of the same archetype. If we are to believe the “retconners,” the man with no name has turned from con man / outlaw, to bounty hunter, and now has enough money to merely wander from town to town, finding amusement where he can. I’m not sure if I buy it, but there is certainly a kind of sado-masochistic streak behind Eastwood’s mysterious motivations. There seems to be very little reason for him to wedge himself between the two sides in San Miguel, other than to exploit the situation for money, which puts a wrench in the retcon theory.

The story of Yojimbo, A Fistful of Dollars, Red Harvest, and every other property associated with this constant stream of make and remake is the same, involving a small town with two warring factions and an outsider who arrives and takes advantage of the situation. What sets this adaptation apart from the rest are Leone’s directorial choices, Eastwood’s manner and dialogue, and a few iconic scenes that have since been recreated numerous times. Everyone who grew up in the 80s is likely to recognize the duel with an armored plate as protection having been co-opted for Back to the Future III. Quentin Tarantino has certainly been influenced by the music and visual style for Kill Bill. And if you were to tell me that George Lucas had not modeled Salacious Crumb after the braying Rojo gang member in the scene where Eastwood is beaten up, I’d be more than surprised. Jeremy Bulloch has been said to have based his portrayal of Boba Fett on Eastwood’s character in this particular film. On the visual front, Leone, according to legend, either knew nothing about how traditional Westerns were shot or knowingly chose to ignore these traditions, and thus shot certain duels or shooting scenes from over Eastwood’s shoulder, something that was not common practice. The look of Fistful is more akin to David Lean’s epics than of traditional Westerns, capturing the expansive landscapes, which captured the look of the 19th century western United States, despite having been shot in Spain.

Clint Eastwood cemented himself in film history with A Fistful of Dollars, and had he never made another movie after this trilogy, would most likely still be well remembered. His slit-eyed, weathered face was enough to create an archetype, with Leone saying that he had two facial expressions, one with his hat on, and one without. Though certainly not his first film, this was Eastwood’s breakout starring role. Eastwood was more known as Rowdy Yates, a “white hat” good guy, in the television show Rawhide. Seeking to change his image, he accepted the role of “Joe,” one of the different placeholder monikers for the man with no name. I’m not sure he realized just how indelibly it would change that image. As this character, Eastwood found his perfect niche, able to blend stoicism and dark humor into a morally ambiguous, yet admirable antihero. “Joe” comes in looking to exploit, but as we have seen in current shows such as Dexter, does an exploiter of the exploiting become righteous? As he walks through town, passing the undertaker on his way to display his mettle, he says, “Get three coffins ready.” On his way back, after having killed four men, he says, “My mistake…four coffins.” Yet, despite his displayed greed and violence, upon learning of the situation involving the young damsel Marisol and her husband, he rescues her and sends the family on their way with some money for the journey out of town.



Per Qualche Dollare in Più (For a Few Dollars More) (1965, Sergio Leone)

In A Fistful of Dollars, the man with no name is heard saying, “When a man’s got money in his pocket, he begins to appreciate peace.” I’ll avoid getting political, as I often tend to do, and instead remark that throughout these films, money is often the motivator for violence, making this statement highly profound. In this film, released one year after its predecessor in Italy, but a few months after in the U.S. (every film in the trilogy was released in 1967 in America), Eastwood plays Manco, which is not so much a name as it is a description, being a Spanish or Portuguese word that could alternately mean “one-armed” or “hand cripple.” In effect, he is given this name as he uses his left hand for everything including drinking, picking up cards, lighting his cigar, and more, while his right hand always stays under his serape, ready to draw his gun at a moment’s notice. Additionally, he wears a leather wrist brace on his right arm. As opposed to a wandering opportunist, Manco has an agenda in this “sequel.” He is a bounty killer, hunting down outlaws for money, pitted against his equal in the field, the ruthless Colonel Douglas Mortimer, as played by Lee Van Cleef.

Not only does this film up the ante in drama, but also in filmmaking techniques and overall style. Take one look at a scene in which Mortimer stares at a wanted poster of El Indio, with quickly alternating closeups of the Van Cleef and the poster, highlighted with the sound of gunshots and you can see what I mean. Even Ennio Morricone’s score, though memorable in Fistful, is even more dramatic here, with one example being the duel between El Indio and the man who turned him in to the authorities. Mortimer is magnificently set up as a possible antagonist to Manco, given his own mannerisms, devices, and mystery. In one of the first duels we see him enter, he reveals an impressive array of weaponry in the gun roll on his horse. Included in that array is a long barreled pistol with an attachable rifle stock, an odd contraption that Manco later uses as an object of humor. Everything in the early parts of the film seems to set the two main characters up as adversaries, but a fantastic scene involving the shooting of hats, with over-the-top sound effects, has them respecting each other and collaborating to hunt down El Indio.

Eventually, we see Manco and Mortimer as perhaps two sides of the same coin, both with the same end goal, but with different motivations. Both are men with very few words, instead often choosing to allow their actions to speak for them, but when they do speak, it is often menacing and to the point. For instance, when Manco interrupts a poker game and plays one hand, beating the man he’s looking for, he is prompted with “I didn’t hear what the bet was.” Manco’s short answer comes, “Your life.” A musical stopwatch plays a key part throughout film, leading up to a meaningful revelation at the end of the film. We also see that the man with no name’s humor is still intact as he counts up the bounty as represented by dead bodies in the back of his wagon, realizing it isn’t adding up, shooting a sneaking bandit behind him in nonchalant fashion, and then answering a questioning Mortimer with, “Thought I was having trouble with my adding. It’s all right now.”



Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly) (1966, Sergio Leone)

Whereas Fistful centered on one character with many secondary figures and For a Few Dollars More added a worthy foil and partner for Eastwood, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, as the title suggests, ups the dynamic to a trio. We are introduced to the ugly first, a man by the name of Tuco, played magnificently by the versatile Eli Wallach. We first hear the sound of dogs howling, a sound that is mimicked by the now famous strains of the Ennio Morricone theme. Tuco is ambushed by three bounty hunters, but manages to kill all three, or so we assume. With his introduction, we also get to see a new style addition from Leone, that of the superimposed titles over freeze-frames. Next, we are introduced to the bad, marking the return of Lee Van Cleef, this time as “Angel Eyes,” whose presence would again spoil the theories of the retcon faction. He sits at a table eating with an unnamed old man. It is difficult to tell just what they are eating, but it looks like jalapeños, which, if so, would completely change the tone and threat level of the scene. Angel Eyes eventually shoots his companion under the table, a scene that surely influenced the now infamous Han Solo / Greedo scene in the cantina. Finally, we are introduced to the good, our man with no name, the badass of all badasses, revealed to be running bounty schemes with Tuco. Once again, Eastwood is given a nickname as opposed to a real name, staying in line with the other films, this time appearing as “Blondie.”

In saving Tuco from the noose, however, Blondie doesn’t have to kill anyone, rather shooting the rope to free his partner, then shooting the hats off of the lawmen to scare them away from retaliation. Early on, Blondie severs his ties with Tuco, creating an adversarial relationship that lasts throughout the rest of the film. They alternately get the upper hand on each other with each outlaw’s life saved through happenstance and fortune. One darkly funny moment has Blondie trying out his bounty scheme with another partner, named “Shorty,” but interrupted by Tuco, forcing a situation that leaves the new partner to die, and Blondie coldly remarking, “Sorry, Shorty.” The film is set against the backdrop of the Civil War, and is meant to be a larger commentary on the folly of war in general. The three characters are in search of a stash of Confederate gold that is rumored to be hidden somewhere. As the three main characters hunt down clues, the Civil War rages around them in the background, and sometimes they get caught up in it. One hilarious scene has Tuco and Blondie driving a coach through the landscape when they come upon a group of grey-suited soldiers. Eager to avoid trouble, Tuco starts shouting, “Hurrah for the Confederacy!” and a series of other remarks meant to endear them to the approaching soldiers. Of course, as they get near, the lead soldier brushes the dust off his uniform to reveal it as blue Union garb. Blondie makes the most profound statement about the war, revealing Leone’s moralistic intent, as he says, “I’ve never seen so many men wasted so badly.”

Just as with the previous two films, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is a triumph in style and dramatic action. Though some claim it to be overlong, I would say that every scene is meaningful and gorgeously shot. The plot is intricately woven, with characters interweaving and finding each other again and again through cleverly laid clues and circumstance. Each character, though morally flawed, is smart, with each one getting the upper hand on another in equal measure. This, of course, sets up with the memorable three-way duel at the end of the film, itself a masterpiece of filmmaking. Just before the final duel, Blondie dons a serape for the first time, taken off of the body of a dead soldier, fueling much of the retcon speculation as the Eastwood character wears the trademark serape from the beginning throughout the other two films. This film, and the other two as I’ve mentioned previously, have influenced other films, and not just Westerns, for generations. Stephen King’s Gunslinger in the Dark Tower series is notoriously based on Clint Eastwood’s man with no name character and the Man in Black is possibly based on Lee Van Cleef’s characters. The video game, Red Dead Redemption, lovingly bases most of its gameplay and design from all three films. Whereas the 40s and 50s may have portrayed John Wayne as the archetype hero in its representation of the Western hero, Leone and Eastwood upended that stereotype and put a new archetype in its place, the stoic antihero, the Man with No Name.

Films of the 60s, Part 16: I'm a Creep

“I’m a creep,
I’m a weirdo,
What the hell am I doing here?
I don’t belong here.”
- Radiohead, “Creep”



There are all types of horror films, from the gore-filled rampages of unstoppable sociopaths to the complex psychological terrors that surround us every day, but that we perhaps don’t like to think about or face. The following films from the 60s are somewhere in between. There are certainly fantastical, almost science-fiction, elements, perhaps rooted in folklore, mythology, or even medicine, but these are all, at their hearts, stories about humanity, and those who don’t quite “fit.” This is why I have chosen the above lines from Radiohead’s first single, the one that the band now somewhat shuns, making it analogous to the subject of the song itself. It is unwanted and forgotten, just like the characters in these films, and when that happens, there is danger ahead. These films show us that horror sometimes lies within those who are the creeps, the weirdos, the ones who don’t quite belong here.



Les Yeux Sans Visage (Eyes Without a Face) (1960, Georges Franju)

Twenty-four years before Billy Idol paid tribute to in a ballad of the same name on Rebel Yell, French director Georges Franju came out with a very entertaining, yet disturbing film called Eyes Without a Face. This highly influential film is a spin on the traditional mad scientist story. Pierre Brasseur portrays the mad scientist, Dr. Génessier. Mad might be a misnomer, as he seems quite brilliant, instead merely driven by the love he has for his daughter. Of course, the madness presents itself in the lengths he goes to in which to save his disfigured loved one. Génessier’s daughter was horribly maimed in a car accident and most of the world thinks she’s dead. Instead, her father has her hidden away, desperate to find a way to transplant a new face onto the space where hers once was.

Much of the horror comes in Dr. Génessier’s actions and his daughter, Christiane’s appearance. Christiane wears a mask that is absolutely haunting in its simplicity. It is basically a plastic mold of a face with eyes cut out. The mouth does not move, which makes the moments when she speaks utterly creepy. In effect, Christiane becomes a wax figure come to life. I have always been a little weirded out by wax figures, and even though Christiane is an innocent, her presence and mannerisms make her frightening. Meanwhile, her doctor father, along with his assistant (all mad scientists need assistants, right?), scour the countryside for young women who might be perfect candidates for a face transplant, killing them to save his little girl.

But, who is the outsider? Though some might say it is Christiane, due to her disfigurement and isolation, others might say it is Dr. Génessier, making an exile of himself through his actions and repudiation of morals. While the doctor does his hunting and experimenting, the detectives seem hot on his trail. The ending provides some poetic justice to the entire affair and makes one think about what an outsider really is. It is not the scariest movie I’ve seen, and even has some elements of humor, especially in the music that accompanies the opening scene, but the image of Christiane will stay with me, haunting me in my weakest and loneliest moments.



Spider Baby (1968, Jack Hill)

This movie is an absolute hoot. I’m not sure I could categorize it as one of the great films of history, but it surely is memorable. In doing my research, creating a list of films to watch in this epic 60s project, I found Spider Baby in a feature on the best cult films of all time. It is part horror film and part black comedy, but it is all campy goodness. From the very first moments the film starts to roll you can tell you’re in for a weird and fun ride. Horror film legend, Lon Chaney, Jr., stars as the caretaker of the film and sings the opening theme song, a “Monster Mash”-like tune that mixes up horror clichés in its lyrics, and still somehow spelling out what ensues in the plot, as crazy as it is. Chaney, as Bruno, watches over a group of children with “Merrye Syndrome,” a fictional plot device that finds the kids growing more and more savage as they age. The symptoms of the syndrome get so specific that they say the children will eventually regress into cannibalism.

We quickly get our first taste of what these twisted offspring can do when a delivery man comes calling and is artistically dispatched by Virginia, the so called “Spider Baby” of the title. The picture at the head of this article shows the charming young Virginia in action, kind of like a twisted, maniacal Zooey Deschanel. The scene is both incredibly eerie and darkly funny at the same time. While it’s not considered a classic, it’s not everyone who can pull off such black humor. Distant relatives arrive to try and lay claim to the house, but as usually happens in horror movies, they get more than they bargain for. The centerpiece scene of the film has the family serving their guests a meal they’ll never forget. Though they claim they are serving rabbit, they are really serving a housecat that young Ralph killed in the yard.

That isn’t near the end of the quirks in the Merrye family. They keep their dead father’s body in his bedroom and kiss him goodnight. Older members of the family who have regressed past the point of no return are locked up like animals in the basement and seen as playthings for the children. There are even some good, old fashioned, traditional “jump” scares. Watch for the owl. Now, these kids may seem evil, but can we blame them? They are casualties of biology, misfits of medicine, and monsters of nature. The movie is constructed as such for us to revel in their violent and terrible actions. Plus, even in its campy humor, there is justice meted out, and the end has a fun little twist. Consider it another side of the coin represented by the X-Files episode called “Home.”



Rosemary’s Baby (1968, Roman Polanski)

Rosemary’s Baby is definitely the most well known film among these three. Roman Polanski’s first American production is a study in the evil that is found in the everyday. John Cassevettes and Mia Farrow play young couple Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse, having just moved into a Gothic 19th century apartment building in New York while Guy looks for acting gigs. While there, strange things start to happen, much of it incredibly subtle. In fact, they are so subtle that some of them could only be caught with a second viewing. As one example, Guy seems to hate their nosy neighbors at first, played brilliantly by Ruth Gordon and Sidney Blackmer, but then quickly takes a liking to them. It goes almost unnoticed due to Cassevettes’ wonderful performance, which mixes normalcy and impotent anger.

As the film progresses, stranger things start to happen, until eventually Rosemary has what appears to be a fever dream with satanic and demonic imagery. She screams out, “This is no dream! This is really happening!” We, of course, are merely left to wonder for ourselves. Rosemary becomes pregnant in June of 1966. That’s right, in the 6th month of the 66th year. With the help of some outsiders, especially an old friend, Rosemary starts some digging into the history of the building and its residents, finding out that all of her neighbors are essentially the devil’s coffee klatsch. The ending leaves us guessing. Are we seeing a testament to the power of motherhood or the seductive power of evil? Polanski has never been one to spell it out for the audience.

Rosemary’s Baby is the second of Polanski’s apartment trilogy, preceded by Repulsion and followed by The Tenant, both of which gave me horrible nightmares. The evil in Rosemary’s Baby is a different kind of evil than that portrayed in the other two films. Rather than an inner madness, the evil in this film is from outside, yet forcing its way into the lives of an ordinary couple. It takes the worst things that can happen to a newlywed couple in a new apartment to an extreme. Unfortunately, that kind of evil, the kind that inserts itself into one’s life uninvited, actually visited Polanski’s wife Sharon Tate and their friends just one year later.

The power of Rosemary’s Baby lay in its contrast of evil in an ordinary setting. One doesn’t expect the old, kindly couple next door to be Satanists. One doesn’t expect one’s newlywed husband to be enthralled by their dark magic. One doesn’t expect their first child to be the son of the devil. Though these events surely veer toward the religious and mythological, most of the film is set in the ordinary world. You don’t see any dark magic other than the fever dream. There are no spells or monsters or even maniacal killers. There are just neighbors, but what they hide behind their ordinariness is terrifying.

Thursday's Playlist:: 9-15-11

Depeche Mode - “Fragile Tension (Peter Bjorn and John Remix)”
Billy Joel – “The Entertainer”
Ani DiFranco – “Gravel (KCRW)”
Bryan John Appleby – “…And the Revelation”
Gorillaz – “Empire Ants (Paul Harris & Paul Rogers Vocal Mix)”
The xx – “Infinity”
Scritti Politti – “Absolute (Version)”
Fleetwood Mac – “I Believe My Time Ain’t Long”
Junior Boys – “Teach Me How to Fight”
Jenny Owen Youngs – “F#$@ Was I”
This Mortal Coil – “Not Me”
Modest Mouse – “Trailer Trash”
Blueprint – “Stole Our Yesterday”
Dirty Projectors – “Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie”
The Hot Rats – “I Can’t Stand It”
Smith Westerns – “Imagine Pt.3”
The National – “Sugar Wife”
The J. Geils Band – “Centerfold”
Little River Band – “We Two”
New Order – “Regret”
The Innocence Mission – “I’d Follow If I Could”
The Books – “We Bought the Flood”
John Cale – “The Jeweller”
Loose Fur – “Chinese Apple”
Little Dragon – “Ritual Union”
Echo & the Bunnymen – “Zimbo (Live)”
Alice in Chains – “Dirt”
Menomena – “Oh Pretty Boy, You’re Such a Big Boy”
Duran Duran – “I Take the Dice”
Ra Ra Riot – “Do You Remember”
Wilco – “Jesus, Etc.”
Daft Punk – “C.L.U.”
Big Daddy Kane – “Young, Gifted, and Black”
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince – “Summertime”
Blue Scholars – “Marion Sunshine”
KISS – “Firehouse”
The Boxer Rebellion – “Semi-Automatic”
Red Fang – “Into the Eye”
LCD Soundsystem – “Dance Yrself Clean”
The Durutti Column – “Home”
The Rosebuds – “Without a Focus”
Dexys Midnight Runners – “Thankfully Not Living in Yorkshire It Doesn’t Apply”
The Jayhawks – “Won’t Be Coming Home”
The Big Pink – “Tonight”
Ladytron – “The Last One Standing”
The Jayhawks – “Sleep While You Can”
The Books feat. José González – “Cello Song”
LCD Soundsystem – “Daft Punk is Playing at My House (London Session)”
R.E.M. – “Cuyahoga (Demo)”
Blonde Redhead – “Missile + +”
A Sunny Day in Glasgow – “Ashes Maths”
Fleetwood Mac – “Walk a Thin Line”
Marvin Gaye – “Save the Children (Detroit Mix)”
Stricken City – “Terrible Things”
Kate Bush – “The Song of Solomon”
Raekwon – “Ice Cream”
Health – “USA Boys”
Kylesa – “Identity Defined”
Cat Power – “Fortunate Son”
Washed Out – “You’ll See It”
Brooklyn Bounce – “Get Ready to Bounce (Radio Attack)”
Scorpions – “Still Loving You”
Elvis Costello & the Attractions – “Shipbuilding”
Billy Idol – “Hot in the City”
Kyuss – “Odyssey, Conan Troutman, N.O., Whitewater”
Mew – “Repeater Beater”
Kim Carnes – “Bette Davis Eyes”
Eagles – “Those Shoes”
Baths – “Aminals”
Robyn – “U Should Know Better”
Sara Watkins – “Same Mistakes”
Ryan Adams & the Cardinals – “Stop Playing with My Heart”
Luscious Jackson – “Daughters of the Kaos”
New Order – “Ceremony (Alt. Version)”
‘Til Tuesday – “Sleep”
The Rolling Stones – “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”
Q and Not U – “Beautiful Beats”
Alphaville – “To Germany with Love”
Eels – “Souljacker, Part 1”
British Sea Power – “Luna (Extended Mix)”
Kings of Leon – “Sex is on Fire”
Camper Van Beethoven – “Dustpan”
Van Morrison – “Come Running”
AC/DC – “Back in Black”
Fleetwood Mac – “Paper Doll”
Robyn – “Indestructible”
Feist – “Snow Lion”
Modest Mouse – “Pink Cadillacs”
Jawbox – “Livid”
The Railway Children – “Brighter”
Morrissey – “It’s Not Your Birthday Anymore”

Wednesday's Playlist: 9-14-11

Here We Go Magic – “Tunnelvision”
Mötley Crüe – “Shout at the Devil”
New Order – “Ceremony”
The Smiths – “Golden Lights”
David Bowie – “Word on a Wing”
We Were Promised Jetpacks – “It’s Thunder and It’s Lightning”
Sigur Rós – “Hjartað Hamast”
Altered Images – “I Could Be Happy (Dance Mix)”
Bright Eyes – “Poison Oak”
Oingo Boingo – “Not My Slave”
Washed Out – “Hold Out”
How to Dress Well – “Endless Rain”
Public Enemy – “Security of the First World”
The Rosebuds – “Come Visit Me”
Paul Simon – “One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor”
John Cale – “Cable Hogue”
Franz Ferdinand & Jane Birkin – “A Song for Sorry Angel”
Sleater-Kinney – “Far Away”
Modest Mouse – “Autumn Beds”
Suede – “Beautiful Ones”
A Sunny Day in Glasgow – “Headphone Space”
Sons & Daughters – “The Model”
ABC – “Judy’s Jewels”
Kevin Drew – “Love vs. Porn”
Girl Talk – “Down for the Count”
Boo Radleys – “Wake Up Boo!”
Ramsey Lewis – “Do What You Wanna (Mr. Scruff’s Soul Party Mix)”
New Order – “All the Way”
Circle of Ouroborus – “Punaisen Viivan Paassa”
The Cure – “Last Dance (Live)”
Gillian Welch – “The Way It Will Be”
The Cult – “Wild Flower”
Les Savy Fav – “Our Coastal Hymn”
Röyksopp – “Tricky Two”
Suede – “So Young”
The Pixies – “Vamos (Live)”
The Mountain Goats – “Sourdoire Valley Song”
Quicksand – “Dine Alone”
The Radio Dept – “This Time Around”
tUnE-YarDs – “My Country”
Erykah Badu – “20 Feet Tall”
Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi (feat. Jack White) – “Two Against One”
Gruff Rhys – “Rubble Rubble”
De La Soul – “Eye Know”
Foo Fighters – “Walk”
Here We Go Magic – “Ahab”
Blueprint – “Keep Bouncing”
Eagles – “The Disco Strangler”
Delta Spirit – “White Table”
George Thorogood – “Back to Wentzville”
The Boxer Rebellion – “Forces”
Fountains of Wayne – “Fire Island”
Moby – “Go”
Faunts – “Das Malefitz”
Lee Hazelwood – “Pour Man”
The Smiths – “I Want the One I Can’t Have”
BLK JKS – “Paradise”
Deadmau5 – “Animal Rights”
Smashing Pumpkins – “I Am One”
The Smiths – “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Suffer”
Boston – “More Than a Feeling”
Danger Mouse & Danielle Luppi – “Theme of Rome”
Suede – “Colours”
Shabazz Palaces – “Blastit at the Homie Rayzer’s Charm Lake Plateau BBQ July at Outpalace Pk”
The Cure – “A Night Like This”
New Order – “Thieves Like Us (Instrumental)”
Animal Collective – “Brother Sport”
Torche – “Pirana”
Liz Phair – “Never Said”
The Cool Kids – “Get Right”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Rhinoceros”
Japandroids – “Crazy / Forever”
Fleetwood Mac – “I Know I’m Not Wrong”
Sigur Rós – “Ágætis Byrjun”
Rilo Kiley – “Silver Lining”
The Supremes – “The Happening”
Fleetwood Mac – “Eyes of the World”
The Boxer Rebellion – “Soviets”
Mötley Crüe – “Smokin’ in the Boys Room”
Eagles – “Journey of the Sorcerer”
The Bangles – “Hero Takes a Fall (Remix)”
Supertramp – “Another Man’s Woman”
Smashing Pumpkins – “Rocket”
Art Brut – “Bad Comedian”

Sunday's Playlist: 9-11-11, Part 2

Neil Finn – “King Tide”
The Future Sound of London – “Egypt”
The Black Angels – “Telephone”
Anamanaguchi – “Overarrow”
Ministry – “The Land of Rape and Honey”
John Cale – “You Know More Than I Know”
Dr. Dre & Snoop Doggy Dogg – “Nuthin’ But a ‘G’ Thang”
REO Speedwagon – “Shakin’ It Loose (Instrumental)”
Suede – “See That Girl”
The English Beat – “March of the Swivelheads”
Band of Skulls – “Death by Diamonds and Pearls”
The Boxer Rebellion – “Organ Song”
The Cardigans – “You’re the Storm”
Washed Out – “Amor Fati”
Q-Tip - “Manwomanboogie”
Serge Gainsbourg – “Ah! Melody”
Alice Cooper – “Mary Ann”
Belle and Sebastian – “The Ghost of Rockschool”
Better than Ezra – “The Killer Inside”
New Order – “Denial”
Cal Tjader – “Soul Sauce (Fila Brazilia Mix)”
Nine Inch Nails – “The Mark Has Been Made”
.38 Special – “Hold on Loosely”
Urban Dance Squad – “Deeper Shade of Soul”
Explosions in the Sky – “Your Hand in Mine”
King Khan & BBQ Show – “Tastebuds”
The Radio Dept – “David”
Psychedelic Furs – “All of the Law”
Red Fang – “Bird on Fire”
Troop – “Spread My Wings (Clark Kent Super Mix with Rap)”
The Go! Team – “Super Triangle”
Scritti Politti – “Small Talk”
Michael Jackson – “Get on the Floor”
The xx – “Intro”
Engineers – “Hang Your Head”
Interpol – “Lights”
Boston – “Hitch a Ride”
Blitzen Trapper – “Street Fighting Sun”
The Decemberists – “January Hymn”
Feist – “1 2 3 4”
The Maldives – “Goodbye”
Sigur Rós – “Flugufrelsarinn”
Queens of the Stone Age – “Quick and to the Pointless (Live)”
Christopher O’Riley – “Exit Music (for a Film)”
The New Pornographers – “Silver Jenny Dollar”
Little Scream – “Boatman”
Prince – “7”
Boston – “Higher Power”
Tom Waits – “The Black Rider”
Cream – “Tales of Brave Ulysses”
The Smiths – “Handsome Devil (Live)”
The Doobie Brothers – “Takin’ it to the Streets”
James Brown – “Hey America”
The National – “Cold Girl Fever”
Jenny and Johnny – “Straight Edge of the Blade”
Suede – “The Living Dead”
Asia – “Here Comes the Feeling”
Free Energy – “Bang Pop”
Iceage – “Intro”
Jens Lekman – “The Opposite of Hallelujah”
Led Zeppelin – “When the Levee Breaks”
Sufjan Stevens – “Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)”
The Cult – “Big Neon Glitter”

Sunday's Playlist: 9-11-11

Jimmy Eat World – “The Middle”
Hall & Oates – “One on One”
Rocket from the Crypt – “Ditch Digger”
Bad Brains – “Don’t Need It”
Devotchka – “Bad Luck Heels”
The Smithereens – “House We Used to Live In”
The White Stripes – “I’m Bound to Pack It Up”
Fountains of Wayne – “Stacy’s Mom”
Woods – “To Have in the Home”
The Birthday Party – “Release the Bats”
Belle and Sebastian – “Calculating Bimbo”
Mike Ness – “Long Black Veil”
Castanets – “Down the Line, Love”
The Future Sound of London – “Yage”
Bear in Heaven – “Ultimate Satisfaction”
Metric – “Black Sheep”
Destroyer – “Blue Eyes”
ESG – “You’re No Good”
Bomba Estéreo – “Pa’ti”
Crash Test Dummies – “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”
Christopher O’Riley – “Subterranean Homesick Alien”
The Fixx – “Liner”
Bon Iver – “Wash.”
Prince – “Diamonds and Pearls”
The White Stripes – “Icky Thump (Live)”
Daft Punk – “End of Line”
Liars – “Goodnight Everything”
Danzig – “Not of this World”
R.E.M. – “Catapult”
Suede – “Cheap”
Van Morrison – “Caravan”
Mike Ness – “Crime Don’t Pay”
Sufjan Stevens – “Age of Adz”
ESG – “Tiny Sticks”
This Mortal Coil – “Late Night”
The National – “All Dolled”
Van Morrison – “Come Running”
Elliott Smith – “Coming Up Roses”
Psychedelic Furs – “Torture”
Bryan John Appleby – “Backseat”
Suede – “This Time”
R.E.M. – “Two Steps Onward”
REO Speedwagon – “Keep on Loving You”
Explosions in the Sky – “A Poor Man’s Memory”
Flying Lotus – “German Haircut”
Male Bonding – “Your Contact”
Lone – “Coreshine Voodoo”
Zero 7 – “Distractions”
Robyn – “Don’t F#@%ing Tell Me What to Do”
Broadcast – “Come On Let’s Go”
BLK JKS – “Banna Ba Modimo”
X-Ray Spex – “Oh Bondage, Up Yours!”
Art vs. Science – “I See Red”
Obits – “Naked to the World”
Blonde Redhead & Devastations - “When the Road Runs Out”
Here We Go Magic – “I Just Wanna See You Underwater”
Bruce Springsteen – “Dancing in the Dark”
Sigur Rós – “Illgresi”
The Books – “IDKT”
Drive Like Jehu – “Turn it Off”
Depeche Mode – “Freelove (Josh Wink Dub)”
Mariachi El Bronx – “Litigation”
Morrissey – “I Knew I Was Next”
Frankie Goes to Hollywood – “Warriors in the Wasteland”
Rick Springfield – “Jessie’s Girl”
Stevie Wonder – “Keep On Running”

Films of the 60s, Part 15: Unless You Sing, Sing, Sing, Sing

“Baby, if you sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing
For the love you bring won’t mean a thing
Unless you sing, sing, sing, sing” – Travis, “Sing”



I’ve never been a fan of musicals. In fact, I was thinking of excluding musicals entirely from my survey of films from the 60s. The completist in me won out, however, over any arguments of personal taste. Plus, I wanted to give musicals, as a genre, a more reasonable try to combat the sour experiences I’ve had. If there is any one reason I could give for my bias, it would be that I find them to be disingenuous. When I think about it a bit longer, I realize that this is my bias toward most movies I don’t like, not just musicals. With musicals, this is usually manifested with characters breaking out into song for no reason other than to have it qualify as a musical. Even worse, there are the musicals that attempt to find younger audiences by using more modern rock tracks (Across the Universe, I’m looking at you). During my survey of the 50s, I watched Singin’ in the Rain. Now, it may be that this is widely considered the best movie musical of all time, but that film changed my perspective on the genre forever, and for a few very simple reasons. The simplest one is the basic framing of the narrative. As a movie about the making of a movie, it makes perfect sense that these performers could break out into song. It’s what they do! Anyway, these three films have also become some of my favorites, continuing to change my mind about musicals, in general.



Une Femme Est Une Femme (A Woman is a Woman) (1961, Jean-Luc Godard)

Jean-Luc Godard does not make films that could be considered mainstream, by any stretch of the imagination. Godard is a student of film, but he is also an experimental artist, playing with the boundaries of genres and pushing them to their limits. That is his way of showing his love for his favorite films. Throughout this survey, I have fallen in love with Godard’s movies. I have now seen nine of them, with four more in my queue. As much as I have loved watching all of the films and writing these mini-essays / reviews, I will always look back on this time as the year I found Godard (pun intended).

Une Femme Est Une Femme is Godard’s love letter to musicals, specifically American musicals, but with his added touch of the French New Wave. Right off the bat, we can see that this is not going to be an ordinary musical, following the unspoken and unwritten rules of the genre. The gorgeous Anna Karina, who was Godard’s paramour, with this just being one of a series of great collaborations, is able to stop the music mid-stream with mere force of will, breaking all conventions, and making us think about the boundaries of diegetic and non-diegetic sound. With most musicals, the characters are not aware they are singing; it is merely a representation of their emotion. Again, this makes Singin’ in the Rain, and I suppose The Sound of Music (certain songs), stand out, as they are aware of it due to the narrative construct. Une Femme Est Une Femme takes it one step further, still employing the idea of unaware singing, but putting the characters in control. After one of these sudden stops, in which Karina walks away from the pining Jean-Paul Belmondo, now one of my absolute favorite actors of all time, Belmondo breaks the fourth wall saying, “Off she goes.”

The narrative itself is one that most in the industry, and frankly in the world, would not consider being worthy of the lofty nature of musicals. Yes, there is a love triangle, but it is not nearly as emotionally wrought or overly romantic as we would think. Karina and her lover, played by Jean-Claude Brialy, argue about nearly everything and most of it inconsequential. At one point, Karina even plays a childish copying game with Brialy, repeating his words and escalating the argument. The basic plot has Karina and Brialy in a relationship that is full of petty bickering. She is a stripper, but wants to have a child and take the relationship to the next level. He is completely resistant. On the outside is Belmondo, desperately in love with Karina and making it known at every turn.

Complicating the genre even further, Godard employs his usual method of meta-references; making us wonder about the reality of the film and in which spheres it actually exists. In one of the more amusing references, Belmondo mentions the film Vera Cruz, and his favorite actor, Burt Lancaster, giving a very Lancaster-like toothy smile to the audience. Other nods are given to Jules et Jim (amazingly referring to this one several months before its release), Shoot the Piano Player, and Godard’s own Breathless. It can’t get much more meta than that. I was most moved by a scene in a café, in which Belmondo plays a record by Charles Aznavour, the star of the previously mentioned Shoot the Piano Player and a legendary French singer, called “Tu t’laisses aller,” with lyrics that are vitriolic, reminding Karina of her troubled relationship. The song is amazing, and one of the few that is played in a true diegetic fashion, though it speaks to the narrative.

It is truly Godard’s experimentation with the convention that make this a memorable film, though much acclaim should be given to the actors involved, especially the great Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo. At one point, before an argument, Karina insists that she and Brialy bow to the audience, which they do, facing the camera. Touches like these keep us intellectually invested in not just the film, but in the art of filmmaking and the nature of narrative. The songs may not be as memorable as true musical set pieces and themes, but that wouldn’t have been Godard’s style. When Karina makes her final wink to us, her audience, we know that we have taken part in viewing something unique, a magical film that is rooted and based in the minutiae, reality, and degradation of everyday life. Few directors could make a musical out of this reality, even fewer could turn it into such genre-bending, challenging, and intellectually humorous fun.



Les Parapluies des Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) (1964, Jacques Demy)

Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is another example of experimentation with the general nature of movie musicals, but in a completely different way. Rather than a film in which people break into song at any given moment, there is never a moment when the characters are not singing. All dialogue in the film is in the form of continuous song, recitative in nature, much like an opera or operetta. While some may find this jarring, especially as some of the songs are not typical musical fare, but instead merely narrative dialogue set to music, I found it to be fascinating, keeping me more interested in the film than I would be with most examples in the musical genre. I was completely captivated by not only the nature of the film, but also its radiant stars, Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo, its signature song, as well as the atypical resolution, the latter two making me weep like a child.

The story is a simple one, full of romance and tragedy, somewhat mirroring the love triangle of Une Femme Est Une Femme, yet this one adds one more to make it a love quadrangle. We are quickly introduced to the young couple of Geneviève and Guy, she, working with her mother in an umbrella shop, and he, working at an auto repair shop. The film is immediately striking, not only because we realize they are going to be singing the entire time, but also for its amazing visuals, providing striking and brilliant colors. Not enough can be said or written about the color here, and the look of the town of Cherbourg. There is one scene in which the drinks that are served in a bar match the color scheme of the walls. This is one of the few films after Vertigo that really made me pay attention to color as being important to the film itself, corresponding to either different characters or moods. Further providing a noticeable distancing from the established musical tradition, Guy’s first song has him singing, in meta fashion about the nature of musicals, “All that singing gives me a pain. I like movies better.”

Guy is drafted to serve in the Algerian War, taking him away from his true love, after having spent the night with her, making her pregnant. Geneviève is encouraged to marry Roland, a handsome jeweler, after Guy’s letters become far less frequent. The nature of this relationship is somewhat of a reference to one of Demy’s previous films, Lola, which is a very French New Wave / Godard twist. Guy returns, however, injured and sullen, finding that everything has changed: the umbrella shop sold and his teenage love married. He goes through a bout of anger, drunkenness, misbehavior, and bad life choices, but is brought around by his godmother and guardian’s caretaker, Madeleine, who has always loved him unrequitedly. Guy rebounds with her help, opens a gas station and repair shop, marries Madeleine and has children. The ultimate scene finds Geneviève pulling up to Guy’s station, along with the daughter they created, and we begin to wonder what will happen. I won’t give it away if you haven’t seen it, but it is so moving, real, and contrary to the nature of most “Hollywood” storylines that I found it one of the most satisfying codas in film history.

The film’s musical centerpiece, “I Will Wait for You,” became a huge hit and not only the film’s version. Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and literally hundreds of other artists have since made it a standard, each putting their particular stamp on it. But, the version sung by the characters in the film, even in French, a language I don’t speak, stands out to me because of the context of the song. Merely thinking about the song, its plaintive melody, and how the interpretation of the song changes from one point of the film to another, makes me choke up with a rush of varied emotions, some tied into the narrative of the film, and some tied to my own romantic experiences. For many different reasons, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has become a personal favorite film. (I also just love saying “Parapluies.”)



Camelot (1967, Joshua Logan)

I’m not sure that anything I write about Camelot could do it the justice it deserves. There is so much to write about in relation to the film, the original Lerner & Loewe Broadway musical, the book on which it is all based, and the Arthurian mythology, that I fear of leaving out some important element or connection. Added to this fear is the fact that my mother is such a huge fan, that it just puts more pressure on me, and my subsequent analysis. I will, however, make an attempt. As opposed to the films above, Camelot is indeed patterned in the traditional American musical style, with memorable set-piece songs that guide along the narrative. In this case, the narrative is the famous love triangle between King Arthur, Guinevere, and the knight, Sir Lancelot, adapted from T.H. White’s fantasy masterpiece, The Once and Future King. The musical focuses on the third and fourth book, out of four, leaving out the chapters in which Arthur was a boy, learning from Merlyn, and coming of age, though the play and film often refer to particular scenes from those chapters. It is in these last chapters that the romance, drama, and the gravitas of the underpinnings of democracy truly reside, making it perfect subject matter for a musical adaptation.

Taking the place of the original Broadway cast of Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, Robert Goulet, and Roddy McDowall are Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, and David Hemmings. Though I’ve never seen the musical performed, I think I can safely say that the film’s cast handles their respective roles masterfully. Though I did find it somewhat jarring to see an Italian actor playing a French knight, Franco Nero is the embodiment of the handsome, valiant, and self-obsessed Lancelot, especially during his performance (albeit dubbed) of the great song, “C’est Moi.” He plays it so well, that I had forgotten about his starring as Django, a Clint Eastwood type cowboy in the film of the same name. The same can be said of David Hemmings as Mordred, and his other turn as the lead in Michelangelo Antonioni’s brilliant film, Blow-Up. The real standouts here, however, are Redgrave and Harris, and not just for the fact that they performed their own singing, but because of their outright fantastic acting skills. Harris and Redgrave inject each and every song with just the right amount of necessary emotion, neither underplayed nor overwrought. Some perfect examples revolve mostly around Harris, revealing a somewhat youthful naïveté during “I Wonder What the King is Doing Tonight,” done in a great talk-sing fashion; showing a more joyous pride and newfound love, yet also somewhat a self-deprecation, during “Camelot”; setting himself up for a grand fall with the vulnerability of “How to Handle a Woman,” and finally, somehow amazingly able to show a deep pain that he is also hiding below the surface while singing along with Guinevere, “What do the Simple Folk Do.”

As a grand musical film, it is very well put together. With a balance of indoor set-pieces and outdoor duels, jousts, and battle scenes, it captures both the feel of a stage musical and the grandiosity of an epic film. Camelot, the film, further bridges the gap between the two mediums by providing an opening Overture and an “Entr’Acte.” But, as someone who was not a big fan of musicals, it couldn’t have been these things that pulled me in. Partly, it was the fact that my parents love this musical, being able at times to recite not only each and every song by heart, but also dialogue, which, by the way, was taken at times verbatim from White’s book, particularly the last scene of the film, with Arthur on the battlefield talking to a young, want-to-be knight. But, we’ll get to that scene later. The other thing that drew me in was a love of the Arthurian legends, from Malory to Monty Python and beyond. I was curious to see how a musical could adapt the White book and also to see what parts would be the focus. I was not disappointed.

I was especially intrigued and impressed by the way that the film handled the characters as archetypes as well as individuals with their particular motivations. Arthur, as the progressive bastion of Democracy, and Mordred, as the totalitarian manipulator, were great foils for each other. I love seeing Arthur explain the round table, giving each knight, and the king himself, equal importance. It gives me hope in this time of great inequity. I also love the concept that Arthur espouses of the knights standing as "might for right" as opposed to "might makes right," a phrase that has often been spouted at me from staunch conservatives. If I were to stretch the analogy, I could probably peg Lancelot as a symbol of Capitalism, taking what he wants, using obfuscation when necessary, and following an Ayn Rand kind of selfishness, but as I said, that might be stretching it. Another memorable scene is the one in which he is trying to explain his new method of a fair trial by jury to Pellinore, to the guest king's befuddled consternation. Just like Umbrellas, the ending of the film made me well up with tears, played amazingly by Harris and Redgrave. Redgrave, in particular, made me cry like I hadn’t in a long time. Also, like Umbrellas, it was a good cry, one that truly reflected real reflective emotion and not just filmic manipulation.

The scene that immediately follows, the one I referred to earlier, finds a young boy with a bow wanting to join Arthur on the battlefield in his war against Lancelot. It is both hopeful and heartbreaking at the same time, a scene that will stick with me for years to come. (The young boy's name is Thomas, a supposed cameo for a young Thomas Malory who would go on to chronicle Arthur's adventures). The scene is also one that was a favorite of John F. Kennedy’s, having been a huge fan of both the musical and the T.H. White book, further solidifying the aura surrounding his presidency and youthful ideals, which is often characterized by the term, Camelot. The two are now nearly inseparable, even referred to in an episode of Mad Men. I couldn’t possibly go through all of the ways in which this connection is apt, but let’s just suffice it to say that the connection exists. Getting back to that last scene, however, it speaks to how precious and fragile democracy truly is, and how even just the actions of one person, and more importantly, a young person, are to preserving it. I think what I love most about the film, and also the book, is this message. As Arthur says to the young boy, Thomas, on the eve of battle, having had his heart broken, but not his values, in a speech that is echoed in the chapter’s title, "The Candle in the Wind":

“Thomas, my idea of those knights was a sort of candle, like these ones here. I have carried it for many years with a hand to shield it from the wind. It has flickered often. I am giving you the candle now – you won’t let it out?”

“It will burn.”

(p.637)

I truly hope so.



White, T.H. (1958) The Once and Future King. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons.