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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 8, 2023 11:21:48 GMT -5
Tonight I watched Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968). Suggested alternate titles: Zatoichi Kills Everybody Zatoichi and the Pile of Corpses Zatoichi in Another Day At The Office. "Justice is blind...and so is Zatoichi!"
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Post by Rob Allen on Mar 8, 2023 18:00:25 GMT -5
Just saw most of Gentleman's Agreement, the anti-antisemitism film (does that make it pro-semitism?) from 1948. My wife got it on DVD from the library and watched all of it; I was in and out of the room. She is Jewish and was born in 1947, so this is about the social environment she grew up in. We both thought that the main character, played by Gregory Peck, was unrealistically naive about the nature and extent of antisemitism. She was confused about the ending; she couldn't tell if he and his girlfriend got back together or not (they did, when she finally got that just silently disagreeing with antisemitism was allowing it to continue). All in all it was an interesting piece of American history.
Reading about the reactions to this film was interesting too. HUAC called several of the participants to testify and some were blacklisted. My wife started to wonder how much of the McCarthy "anti-Communist" crusade was really antisemitism in disguise. On the other side, B'nai B'rith gave producer Darryl Zanuck its "Man of the Year" award. At the gala celebrating the award, the crowd was entertained by a new comedy team making its Hollywood-area debut: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 8, 2023 19:11:50 GMT -5
Just saw most of Gentleman's Agreement, the anti-antisemitism film (does that make it pro-semitism?) from 1948. My wife got it on DVD from the library and watched all of it; I was in and out of the room. She is Jewish and was born in 1947, so this is about the social environment she grew up in. We both thought that the main character, played by Gregory Peck, was unrealistically naive about the nature and extent of antisemitism. She was confused about the ending; she couldn't tell if he and his girlfriend got back together or not (they did, when she finally got that just silently disagreeing with antisemitism was allowing it to continue). All in all it was an interesting piece of American history. Reading about the reactions to this film was interesting too. HUAC called several of the participants to testify and some were blacklisted. My wife started to wonder how much of the McCarthy "anti-Communist" crusade was really antisemitism in disguise. On the other side, B'nai B'rith gave producer Darryl Zanuck its "Man of the Year" award. At the gala celebrating the award, the crowd was entertained by a new comedy team making its Hollywood-area debut: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Here's the thing, though; this film and the Hobson novel are not about the blatant kind of hatred of the Jews that we'd seen on display in Nazi Germany, but about the less obvious segregation and intolerance of the Jews that had always been part of the American way of life. I think Peck's character's naivete is intentionally crafted; he has lived his life unaware of the extent and the repugnance of Christians toward Jews. He even has a scene early on in which he looks at his reflection and muses that he looks a lot like a Jew, thereby emphasizing his own ignorance. This film may seem tame now, but it was quite controversial when it came out. I find the ending very unconvincing; the McGuire character -- and this is a tribute to her performance -- repulses me throughout, and I always have the feeling that the impending marriage is headed for disaster. Peck's character remains naive despite his experiences and all the conversations with John Garfield's character. These two will never have to deal with Jews, Jewishness or anti-Semitism again because of the circles in which they'll travel all the while patting themselves on the back for being so damned "tolerant." I find both of them repellent in the long run. Like you, Rob, I am also married to a Jewish woman, and over our 50+ years together, you can't imagine how many times she's heard clients, presuming she was not Jewish, mentioning "Jewing down" or similar slurs in conversations with her. (Our last name is clearly Irish, and that is how she's been known all these years.) Her retort, after hearing that one time too many, was to say, "That's funny, I've never found my mom or dad to be that way." The effect was like cold-cocking a guy, but with words. PS: The irony of the blacklisting of various actors in the film is compounded when you realize that Anne Revere, a fine character actress, was a direct descendant of well known pinko Paul Revere.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Mar 9, 2023 3:24:18 GMT -5
(...) My wife started to wonder how much of the McCarthy "anti-Communist" crusade was really antisemitism in disguise. (...) I believe that was a very big component of it for many. It was also an opportunity for racists to let their freak flag fly. Before, during and after that time, Black political activists - and non-Blacks sympathetic to or actively involved in assisting their cause - were also often accused of communism (although many racial justice advocates were in fact actual communists).
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Post by Roquefort Raider on Mar 9, 2023 8:38:32 GMT -5
Just saw most of Gentleman's Agreement, the anti-antisemitism film (does that make it pro-semitism?) from 1948. My wife got it on DVD from the library and watched all of it; I was in and out of the room. She is Jewish and was born in 1947, so this is about the social environment she grew up in. We both thought that the main character, played by Gregory Peck, was unrealistically naive about the nature and extent of antisemitism. Gregory Peck was in The Boys from Brazil, which I saw yesterday, but was exactly the opposite of an anti-semite... he played none other than the infamous Josef Mengele! Excellent thriller based on a novel by Ira Levin (of Rosemary's Baby fame). The tension builds up nicely and the investigation that leads to the discovery of a fantastic conspiracy is quite believable; no fortuitous discovery, no unbelievable logical short cut. I was extremely happy to see that the writers actually understood how human cloning would work, and how it is not a process that simply photocopies people. The very high rate of failure mentioned in the movie was also remarkably believable. The choice of a blood cell as the DNA provider had me puzzled, however, since red blood cells are ineligible (having no nucleus in mammals) and lymphocytes having undergone a chromosomal rearrangement that would leave the cloned babies severely immunodeficient. Maybe the scientists went for monocytes, but using some other cell -a banal fibroblast, say- would have been more sensible. As in Inherit the Wind, actual names get changed for dramatic purposes; Yakov Liebermann replaces the real-life Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, and is said to have caught Adolf Eichmann. No big deal as we're dealing with fiction, and not a fictionalized account of a real-life event, but credit goes where credit is due. Yay Wiesenthal! The German accents of the English-speaking actors are a little all over the place, but that too isn't much of a distraction. There was a painful social comment in the film, beyond its references to the Holocaust... At one point a salt-of-the-earth farmer is warned that old Nazis might be after him, and he says something to the effect of "I don't much care about Nazis or Jews or whatever... what worries me are n****s!" The more it changes... Tübi and its classic catalog are going to ruin my social life, what little of it is left!
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 9, 2023 21:53:12 GMT -5
Just saw most of Gentleman's Agreement, the anti-antisemitism film (does that make it pro-semitism?) from 1948. My wife got it on DVD from the library and watched all of it; I was in and out of the room. She is Jewish and was born in 1947, so this is about the social environment she grew up in. We both thought that the main character, played by Gregory Peck, was unrealistically naive about the nature and extent of antisemitism. Gregory Peck was in The Boys from Brazil, which I saw yesterday, but was exactly the opposite of an anti-semite... he played none other than the infamous Josef Mengele! Excellent thriller based on a novel by Ira Levin (of Rosemary's Baby fame). The tension builds up nicely and the investigation that leads to the discovery of a fantastic conspiracy is quite believable; no fortuitous discovery, no unbelievable logical short cut. I was extremely happy to see that the writers actually understood how human cloning would work, and how it is not a process that simply photocopies people. The very high rate of failure mentioned in the movie was also remarkably believable. The choice of a blood cell as the DNA provider had me puzzled, however, since red blood cells are ineligible (having no nucleus in mammals) and lymphocytes having undergone a chromosomal rearrangement that would leave the cloned babies severely immunodeficient. Maybe the scientists went for monocytes, but using some other cell -a banal fibroblast, say- would have been more sensible. As in Inherit the Wind, actual names get changed for dramatic purposes; Yakov Liebermann replaces the real-life Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, and is said to have caught Adolf Eichmann. No big deal as we're dealing with fiction, and not a fictionalized account of a real-life event, but credit goes where credit is due. Yay Wiesenthal! The German accents of the English-speaking actors are a little all over the place, but that too isn't much of a distraction. There was a painful social comment in the film, beyond its references to the Holocaust... At one point a salt-of-the-earth farmer is warned that old Nazis might be after him, and he says something to the effect of "I don't much care about Nazis or Jews or whatever... what worries me are n****s!" The more it changes... Tübi and its classic catalog are going to ruin my social life, what little of it is left! Boys From Brazil was a great thriller and the kid was creepy as hell. Great cast, with Laurence Olivier, Uta Hagen, James Mason, Walter Gottel, Rosemary Harris, Wolf Kahler, Wolfgang Preiss, Denholm Elliott, Michael Gough, Bruno Ganz (who would play Hitler, in Downfall) and even Fawlty Towers' Prunella Scales. It also has Steve Guttenberg, but we won't hold that against them.
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Post by Hoosier X on Mar 9, 2023 23:23:04 GMT -5
Tonight I’m watching Abashiri Prison, a 1965 Japanese movie about how prison is not much fun.
Abashiri is a real place way up north in Hokkaido. It looks rather unpleasant.
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Post by Hoosier X on Mar 10, 2023 14:05:25 GMT -5
Over the weekend, I watched Topsy-Turvy, a very long 1999 British movie about Gilbert and Sullivan. It is a great movie! I know just barely enough about Gilbert and Sulllivan to be interested. I did not know that the movie is about The Mikado. So it was just a coincidence during a week where I watched several Japanese movies that I also saw a British movie about The Mikado, which, it appears, is somewhat tangentially related to Japan.
I was a little obsessed with Gilbert and Sullivan this week. I’ve requested H.M.S. Pinafore (on CD) from the library, and I watched the 1967 version of The Mikado on YouTube.
As I watched a few more Zatoichi movies lately, I’ve had the germ of an idea for a story where Zatoichi wanders into Titipu (the town in The Mikado) and gets involved with the young lovers Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum, and Zatoichi wreaks havoc because of the great injustice he perceives in order to keep Nanki-Poo from being executed. Chaos ensues. I have an image of Zatoichi carving up a whole chorus of Victorian actors dressed as Japanese villagers.
I don’t know anyone who would get it. The Gilbert and Sullivan crowd and the Zatoichi crowd don’t seem to have much crossover.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 10, 2023 21:39:47 GMT -5
Over the weekend, I watched Topsy-Turvy, a very long 1999 British movie about Gilbert and Sullivan. It is a great movie! I know just barely enough about Gilbert and Sulllivan to be interested. I did not know that the movie is about The Mikado. So it was just a coincidence during a week where I watched several Japanese movies that I also saw a British movie about The Mikado, which, it appears, is somewhat tangentially related to Japan. I was a little obsessed with Gilbert and Sullivan this week. I’ve requested H.M.S. Pinafore (on CD) from the library, and I watched the 1967 version of The Mikado on YouTube. As I watched a few more Zatoichi movies lately, I’ve had the germ of an idea for a story where Zatoichi wanders into Titipu (the town in The Mikado) and gets involved with the young lovers Nanki-Poo and Yum-Yum, and Zatoichi wreaks havoc because of the great injustice he perceives in order to keep Nanki-Poo from being executed. Chaos ensues. I have an image of Zatoichi carving up a whole chorus of Victorian actors dressed as Japanese villagers. I don’t know anyone who would get it. The Gilbert and Sullivan crowd and the Zatoichi crowd don’t seem to have much crossover. Maybe they should try to team up with Patton, so we can have George C Scott growl.... "I am the very model of a modern major general.......you son of a b@#$%!"
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 10, 2023 21:51:52 GMT -5
ps If you like Topsy-Turvy, you might try a Sherlock Holmes pastiche novel, by Nicholas Meyer (of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and Time After Time fame). He did three Holmes pastiches, the first being the most famous, The 7 Per-Cent Solution. The second is The West End Horror, where Holmes investigates a case that involves the West End theater district and the very real figures of George Bernard Shaw (then a journalist) and Gilbert & Sullivan. Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker also appear in the novel.
The third novel is The Canary Trainer, which finds Holmes, during his "sabbatical," playing violin in the orchestra of the Paris Opera House. There he encounters a mystery involving the Opera Ghost and runs into Irene Adler, who replaced the prima donna soprano, and has taken a young girl, Christine Daae, under her wing. The conductor of the orchestra is Gaston Leroux. You can guess who the Opera Ghost is.
Sadly, only the 7 Per-Cent Solution ever got filmed, though it is a fine production, with Nicol Williams as an excellent Holmes, though Robert Duvall makes a dodgy Watson, with his attempt at an accent. Charles Grey is Mycroft Holmes and Laurence Olivier is a very different Professor Moriarty. Alan Arkin portrays Sigmund Freud, who treats Holmes for his increasing cocaine addiction and gets him involved in investigating the disappearance of a patient, played by Vanessa Redgrave, where she re-emerges, again addicted to drugs. Jeremy Kemp plays a Prussian aristocrat and soldier, who is part of the villainous side of things.
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Post by Hoosier X on Mar 11, 2023 23:22:24 GMT -5
Last night I watched Goyokin, a 1969 Japanese movie about corrupt samurai stealing gold shipments on their way to the shogun and then killing all the villagers who witnessed it.
And today I watched The Pornographers, a 1966 Japanese film about the messed-up family life of a pornographer. It made me think of John Waters or Almodovar. The Pornographers would make a great triple bill with Polyester and What Have I Done to Deserve This?
The pornographer is living with a widow who has two teenage children. She has a giant carp in a fish tank. It’s not really a pet. She says it’s her dead husband reincarnated as a carp.
Yeah, it’s that kind of movie.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 12, 2023 12:51:59 GMT -5
Last night I watched Goyokin, a 1969 Japanese movie about corrupt samurai stealing gold shipments on their way to the shogun and then killing all the villagers who witnessed it. And today I watched The Pornographers, a 1966 Japanese film about the messed-up family life of a pornographer. It made me think of John Waters or Almodovar. The Pornographers would make a great triple bill with Polyester and What Have I Done to Deserve This? The pornographer is living with a widow who has two teenage children. She has a giant carp in a fish tank. It’s not really a pet. She says it’s her dead husband reincarnated as a carp. Yeah, it’s that kind of movie. This is a country with a manga and film series, about a character called Rapeman. Not that the US porn industry is superior or anything, even when it was still making actual films, with a sort of narrative. I love a lot of Almodovar; but Waters has been a tougher nut to crack, for me.
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Post by Hoosier X on Mar 12, 2023 13:52:32 GMT -5
My favorite John Waters film is Polyester. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it. Over and over again. Have you seen that one?
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Post by Prince Hal on Mar 12, 2023 13:58:10 GMT -5
My favorite John Waters film is Polyester. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it. Over and over again. Have you seen that one? In the movies, with our Odorama scratch 'n' sniff cards.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 12, 2023 14:26:51 GMT -5
My favorite John Waters film is Polyester. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it. Over and over again. Have you seen that one? No. Hairspray, yes, Serial Mom, Cry-Baby. The crass nature of the satire is off-putting to me, at times. Serial Mom was the one I liked, since it tended to stay away from the worst parts of that.
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