THE CZECH NEW WAVE

there are a lot of opinions concerning the explosion of Czech films in the 60s….when it began???  why it grew and persisted??? and what happened??   basically, the Czech New Wave erupted around 1964 with a meld of gifted artists and a government funded film industry centered in Prague….some of the films were slice-of-life…some historical…some semi-documentary in format…basically non-threatening to an Eastern Bloc country…however, a number of these films were socially barbed…controversial…and quite subversive….IMHO, the CNW began in 1964…flourished for five years…and more or less ended in 1969 after the Soviet invasion of 1968….here are some of the star players!!

MILOS FORMAN… best known in the West for CUCKOO’S NEST and AMADEUS…emigrated early from Czechoslovakia…. LOVES OF A BLONDE (1965) is his signature masterpiece…a bittersweet story of a working girl and a musician…full of humor and pathos….BLACK PETER and THE FIREMAN’S BALL are other notable efforts…

JIRI MENZEL… exploded onto the film scene with his debut feature CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS (1966)… this WWII pararable is full of humor and insight into human foibles, with a distinct Czech viewpoint of life…great performances…Academy Award winner…Menzel made LARKS ON A STRING (1969), which was so anti-communist that it was banned for 20+ years…

VERA CHYTILOVA… a feminist filmmaker from the early 60s…rose to prominence with DAISIES (1967)… basically a plotless film with numerous set pieces involving the two Maries…controversial…subversive…funny…avant-garde…and yes there are Daisies in the film…how this got released is amazing…maybe because it was apolitical??

JAN NEMEC… best known in the West for DIAMONDS OF THE NIGHT (1966)…another well told WWII story…two Jewish boys escape a prison train and struggle to survive alone and with help….very humanely told without being maudlin or mawkish…. REPORT ON THE PARTY AND THE GUESTS is Nemec’s most famous film…intensely critical and anti-establishment….the film was “banned forever” and made Jan a persona non grata..

JAN KADAR… before emigating to Canada, JK made the deeply personal SHOP ON MAIN STREET (1965)… yet another WWII story of a Czech Everyman forced to become the overseer of an elderly Jewish woman’s button shop…a wonderfully told and paced story…another Acadamey Award winner…

FRANTISEK VLACIL… MARKETA LAZAROVA (1968)… a epic 3 hour saga of 13th century Bohemia, concerning the clash between the last remnants of paganism and the Christian majority…a visual delight…long stretches of snow…wolves…forest…mountains…voted the best Czech film of all time…

JIRI WEISS… http://www.allmovie.com/artist/jir%C3%AD-weiss-p116325    “possible” New Wave director…

KAREL KACHNYA… http://www.allmovie.com/artist/karel-kachyna-p96541  am only familiar with UCHO…

IVAN PASSER… http://www.allmovie.com/artist/ivan-passer-p105732  well known in the West…I have heard of INTIMATE LIGHTING!!

AVATAR!!!

well....I finally saw it...not in 3D thank you!!!!

THE GOOD.... it is pretty and very blue....good running story line...first class CGI....state of the art everything!!! the two leads (SAM WORTHINGTON & ZOE SALDANA  are believable and have good chemistry!!

THE BAD... too much macho posturing a la STARSHIP TROOPERS (STEPHEN LANG is intense enough for 3+ movies)....an overly simplified picture of "aboriginal" people...CAMERON has developed a meld of AFRICAN & NATIVE AMERICAN cultural societies, but the NAVI are PRETERNATURAL ALIENS and more script work was needed to avoid some banal moments...

THE UGLY.... the 3 "bulging" veins in the right temple of STEPHEN LANG'S "SARG"!!!

AND...............

is it worth $300,000,000???  uh...no!!!  could have been made for 30 million easily!!

is this the future of film??? hopefully not!!  I would prefer an old B&W film/story/sound of "BOGIE" from the forties!!!

GIOVANNI RIBISI... How did such an accomplished actor find himself in such a one-dimensional role!!

SIGOURNEY WEAVER...more two-dimensional...barely!!

the ending...sweet, but 100% predictable!!!

AND...if you want to read "GOOD" SCI-FI about "INDIGENOUS ALIENS",  start with OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET by C.S. LEWIS (part of his "space trilogy")...

concerning the "noble savage"...read some JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU with a repartee by the MARQUIS DE SADE!!!

FINALLY...I doubt if the "KING OF THE WORLD" has read "CIVILIZATION AND IT'S DISCONTENTS" by SIGMUND FREUD....he would have avoided a lot stale. wrmed-over plot devices!!

MARK SANDRICH

http://www.filmreference.com/Directors-Ri-Sc/Sandrich-Mark.html
a nice reference and overview of director MARK SANDRICH...another director NOT listed in 501 DIRECTORS by Steven J. Schneider...the author discusses some causes and reasons for his anonymity...some would say "one-dimensional" film maker...early death at age 45...collapse of the studio system....star-filled films that eclipsed his directorial skills...I would argue that he made wonderful niche films....basically invented the ASTAIRE/ROGERS chemistry....produced quality and successful films...if you do not believe me, check out these five gems!!
#1. THE GAY DIVORCEE (1934)... the first ASTAIRE/ROGERS pairing has a little more plot than most...still has it's share of music and dance...based on the broadway play THE GAY DIVORCE....great songs, including "CONTINENTAL" & "NIGHT AND DAY"...good support from ERIK RHODES & ERIC BLORE...
#2. TOP HAT (1935).... my favorite ASTAIRE/ROGERS vehicle...minimal plot based on "mistaken identity"...a ton of wonderful IRVING BERLIN songs, including "CHEEK TO CHEEK" & "PICCOLINO"....BLORE & RHODES return for comedic relief....look for LUCY!!!
#3. FOLLOW THE FLEET (1936)... a small step down from the high level TOP HAT...plot involves two sailors (FRED ASTAIRE & RANDOLPH SCOTT) romancing two sisters (GINGER ROGERS & HARRIET HILLIARD(NELSON)...based on the IRVING BERLIN musical HIT THE DECK...LUCY as "KITTY"!!!!
#4. SHALL WE DANCE (1937)... an equal in brilliance to TOP HAT..flimsy plot, to say the least....it is really all about the Gershwins..."YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME"...THEY ALL LAUGHED"..."LET'S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF"..
#5. HOLIDAY INN (1942)... sorry..no GINGER...fred and bing crosby try to run an inn that is only open for "the holidays" (it ain't Shakespeare), setting up a song and dance session for virtually every known HOLIDAY, including GEORGE WASHINGTON... a bevy of IRVING BERLIN songs with BING singing the academy award winning "WHITE CHRISTMAS"....

THE ODESSA STEPS

BOING ! ! !

SIMPSON GIFS

HOLY CRAP!!!

APOCALYPSE NOW????

The Sense and Morality of Agnosticism | Truthout

from VINCENT BUGLIOSI...quite an interesting read....ABE LINCOLN quote!!!

THE GIFS THAT KEEP GIFING!!!

WOW!!!

UM!!!!!1

NOT!!!

SEINFELD

MEANING OF LIFE

WOULD YOU LIKE FLIES WITH THAT???

THE HOUSE THAT ANNMARIE BUILT

DO YOU FEEL A DRAFT????

PURE GENIUS

SALUTADOS A LOS PERROS!!!

1) The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. -Anonymous
2) Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. -Ann Landers
3) If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. -Will Rogers
4) There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. -Ben Williams
5) A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. -Josh Billings
6) We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made. -M. Acklam
7) Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate. -Sigmund Freud
8) I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. -Rita Rudner
9) A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down. -Robert Benchley
10) Dogs need to sniff the ground; it's how they keep abreast of current events. The ground is a giant dog newspaper, containing all kinds of late-breaking dog news items, which, if they are especially urgent, are often continued in the next yard. -Dave Barry
11) Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. -Franklin P. Jones
12) If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise. -Unknown
13) My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money. -Joe Weinstein
14) Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth! -Anne Tyler
15) Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein
16) Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read. -Groucho Marx
17) Speak softly and own a big, mean Doberman. -Dave Miliman
18) If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man. -Mark Twain
19) Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. -Roger Caras
20) If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them. -Phil Pastoret
21) My goal in life is to be as good a person as my dog already thinks I am. -- an OleHoss
from MICHAEL CHEVERIE DEWEY...
via facebook...



.

POST #100....GIFS

chaplin

sound of music

dragonwyck

LEARNING DIAGRAM

it's a gif!!!!

Memory Games - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

Memory Games - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com
I usually hate stuff like this...but it is really challenging!!

sunset 3/1/2010 6pm

actual photo taken by me in front of my house with a cell phone and no photoshop!!!!!