I’m reeling with the delight and the unexpected impact of discovering a rare artist of immense depth and humanity — Krzysztof Kieslowski, the Polish movie director who gave the world his famous Three Colors Trilogy (Blue, White, Red) and the 10-film series Decalogue, among many others.
A chain smoker and a hopeless workaholic, Kieslowski (pronounced kisch-loaf-ski) died of a massive heart attack at the young age of 54 in 1994 not before, however, he showed us what a transformative, moving and humanizing experience watching movies can be.
Coming from the same film school in Lodz that also gave the world other exceptionally talented Polish directors like Andrzej Wajda and Roman Polanski, Kieslowski recaptures the essence of being a human by consciously keeping away from politics and focusing on the problematic nature of high-flying ideals like “liberty,” “equality,” “fraternity” or the “10 Commandments” - the topics of some of his best known movies and TV series.
Rather than approaching these issues from a didactic point of view like he did in all his earlier films when he was shooting a lot of short documentaries, Kieslowski instead takes us down the steps from the level of every day reality to the depths of the human soul, one fine detail at a time.
Watching Kieslowski’s Trilogy was for me an experience similar to watching that other great trilogy, “L’Aventure,” “L’Eclisse” and “La Notte” by Michelangelo Antonioni.
But with Antonioni the style and the form is elevated to such a level of meta language that one is dwarfed by the sheer weight of the visual architecture of his work.
Style is also very apparent with Kieslowski. You can see it, feel it, almost taste it in every beautiful frame.
Yet Kieslowski does something more than that. He somehow, helped with the considerable artistry of his sound editor and composer, releases us into our own “human predicament,” into our own inner spiritual landscape, after initially capturing us with his stylistic bravado.
This is the sort of movie making which makes one realize that there is life after all the car-chasing car-exploding bed-hopping f-word-rattling pyrotechnic extravaganza that more often than not passes for a blockbuster these days in Hollywood.
Watch the Trilogy in the following order: Blue, White and then Red. The fact that all these three award-winning films were written, produced, directed, edited and released in only 12 months explains the ferocious energy and dedication with which Kieslowski tackled this project.
In the very last scene of Red, you’ll realize that not only there is hope for Hollywood and film-making in general, but there is hope and salvation for each and every one of us as well.
Politics continues to divide and kill us while art continues to revive our smashed hearts and heal our wounds.
Kieslowski’s blinding searchlight continues to reveal the greatness of the human soul even long after his untimely death.
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Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases. movie reviews and hi-tech documentation.
He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.
You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs or visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com.
Posted by admin as Movies Parlor at 3:41 AM CDT
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One of the most beloved shows in television history, The Andy Griffith Show takes its viewers back to a simpler time of small town America, apple pie, and black and white television… The trademark whistling theme song is one of the most recognizable in history, and the duration of the show in syndicated reruns is unrivaled by its peers. The Andy Griffith Show follows the exploits of the small town of Mayberry and its family values, no nonsense sheriff Andy. Widowed, and father to a small boy named Opie (Ron Howard), Andy is joined in Mayberry by his sidekick Deputy Barney Fife, his relative and housekeeper Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier), and a host of other eccentric characters.
The Andy Griffith Show (Season 5) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere “Opie Loves Helen” in which Opie falls head over heals into puppy love with his teacher, Helen Crump, lavishly spending seventy-four cents on a gift for her… Other notable episodes include “Otis Sues the County” in which the appearance of an ambulance-chasing lawyer leads to trouble when he convinces Otis to sue the county for hazardous jail cell conditions, and “Banjo-Playing Deputy” in which Jerry Van Dyke makes a hilarious guest appearance as Jerry Miller, a carnival act who becomes Andy’s deputy for a short time after losing his job…
Below is a list of episodes included on The Andy Griffith Show (Season 5) DVD:
Episode 128 (Opie Loves Helen) Air Date: 09-21-1964
Episode 129 (Barney’s Physical) Air Date: 09-28-1964
Episode 130 (Family Visit) Air Date: 10-05-1964
Episode 131 (The Education of Ernest T. Bass) Air Date: 10-12-1964
Episode 132 (Aunt Bee’s Romance) Air Date: 10-19-1964
Episode 133 (Barney’s Bloodhound) Air Date: 10-26-1964
Episode 134 (Man in the Middle) Air Date: 11-02-1964
Episode 135 (Barney’s Uniform) Air Date: 11-09-1964
Episode 136 (Opie’s Fortune) Air Date: 11-16-1964
Episode 137 (Goodbye, Sheriff Taylor) Air Date: 11-23-1964
Episode 138 (The Pageant) Air Date: 11-30-1964
Episode 139 (The Darling Baby) Air Date: 12-07-1964
Episode 140 (Andy and Helen Have Their Day) Air Date: 12-14-1964
Episode 141 (Three Wishes for Opie) Air Date: 12-21-1964
Episode 142 (Otis Sues the County) Air Date: 12-28-1964
Episode 143 (Barney Fife, Realtor) Air Date: 01-04-1965
Episode 144 (Goober Takes a Car Apart) Air Date: 01-11-1965
Episode 145 (The Rehabilitation of Otis) Air Date: 01-18-1965
Episode 146 (The Lucky Letter) Air Date: 01-25-1965
Episode 147 (Goober and the Art of Love) Air Date: 02-01-1965
Episode 148 (Barney Runs for Sheriff) Air Date: 02-08-1965
Episode 149 (If I Had a Quarter-Million) Air Date: 02-15-1965
Episode 150 (TV or Not TV) Air Date: 03-01-1965
Episode 151 (Guest in the House) Air Date: 03-08-1965
Episode 152 (The Case of the Punch in the Nose) Air Date: 03-15-1965
Episode 153 (Opie’s Newspaper) Air Date: 03-22-1965
Episode 154 (Aunt Bee’s Invisible Beau) Air Date: 03-29-1965
Episode 155 (The Arrest of the Fun Girls) Air Date: 04-05-1965
Episode 156 (The Luck of Newton Monroe) Air Date: 04-12-1965
Episode 157 (Opie Flunks Arithmetic) Air Date: 04-19-1965
Episode 158 (Opie and the Carnival) Air Date: 04-26-1965
Episode 159 (Banjo-Playing Deputy) Air Date: 05-03-1965
About the Author
Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of The Andy Griffith Show (Season 5) DVD.
Posted by admin as Movies Parlor at 9:23 PM CDT
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Screened March 26, 2006
Florida Film Festival
Back in 2002, when Jennifer Aniston was married to Brad Pitt and co-starring in the hugely successful “Friends,’ she played the title role in director Miguel Arteta’s independent film “The Good Girl.” Her portrayal of a drab, depressed store clerk trapped in an unhappy marriage to a pot-bellied house painter was so moving that she received a nomination for an Independent Spirit Award.
At the time, Arteta told me in an interview that “Jennifer is a naturally happy person and had to learn how to reflect the appearance of someone who is severely depressed. She wore ankle and wrist weights for weeks before filming in order to help her slump over.”
I’m guessing that Aniston doesn’t need the weights anymore to be convincing.
In “Friends With Money,” writer-director Nicole Holofcener’s third feature film, Aniston plays another drab, depressed character, only this time she’s the friend without a husband, without a promising future, and (as the title implies) without any money. The film is promoted as an ensemble piece which includes Catherine Keener, Frances McDormand, and Joan Cusack as three long-time friends of Olivia (Aniston’s downtrodden teacher now working as a maid). However, “Friends With Money” begins with Olivia’s story, centers around developments in her personal life, and ends with a possibility (rather than a promise) for her future.
As we watch Olivia beg, borrow, and steal to get by — including stealing another woman’s husband for a few romantic encounters — her wealthy friends struggle with their own problems. Ensemble or not, clearly the sticky-fingered Olivia (i.e., Aniston) steals the show, as well.
Christine (Keener) realizes that she and her husband — screenwriting collaborators — don’t communicate anymore. Confronted by her own mortality and a strikingly effeminate husband, fashion designer Jane (McDormand) fears that she’s losing control. On the other hand, Frannie (Cusack) is happily married and independently wealthy, and has no significant worries except the basic inconveniences of daily existence.
The men in their lives, played by Simon McBurney, Jason Isaacs, Scott Caan, Greg Germann, and Bob Stephenson, have their own intricate stories to tell.
We get to view these tangled relationships from every angle, and are privy to conversations between the four women, between two of the women gossiping about the others, between the individual couples, between friends and clients, between friends and lovers (or past/potential lovers), between the men, and various combinations of all of the above. It may be complicated keeping track, but it’s certainly lots of fun.
Honestly written and sensitively portrayed, this Sony Pictures Classics Release reveals the comedy and drama of modern couples in Los Angeles trying to work things out, but “Friends With Money” shares the triumphs and frustrations of middle-aged women everywhere as they come to terms with their social, personal, familial, and sexual status in life.
Copyright 2006 Leslie Halpern
Central Florida entertainment writer Leslie Halpern is the author of more than 1,300 articles in trade and consumer magazines. She wrote the books “Reel Romance. The Lovers’ Guide to the 100 Best Date Movies” (Taylor Trade Publishing), which reviews date movies for couples and suggests romantic ideas inspired by these films, and “Dreams on Film: The Cinematic Struggle Between Art and Science” (McFarland & Company), an analysis of representations of sleeping and dreaming in the movies. Both books are available at Amazon.com. Visit her website at http://home.cfl.rr.com/lesliehalpern/leslie_halpern.htm
Posted by admin as Movies Parlor at 10:12 PM CDT
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Thievery is alive and well in Hollywood. The glamorization of crime invariably tickles the curiosity of the public. Criminals have been portrayed as exciting, daring and cunning tantamount to hero status. They are the risk takers who should not be completely judged upon their criminal expression but rather looked at as individuals with some merit. They are cast sympathetically as their relationships are examined and ultimately lend credence to the justification, in their minds, of the criminal choices they have made. But worst of all, they are often shown as being ‘cool’, even as they hurdle towards the death of their freedom.
Take, for example, the jewelry or art thief. Movies like the Italian Job, the Score and Ocean’s Eleven display criminals as generally model citizens, other than when they are committing crimes. There may be such criminals but are they so suave in their real lives? Are they seemingly morally upright in their relationships with others? Are they really just good guys who happen to commit crimes? In real life the majority of criminals are not suave, cool or sympathetic figures. They are cutthroat, ruthless and to a degree, sociopathic. Mob figures are the best example of the paradox between the glamorization of criminal life and reality of criminal behavior.
All agree that the Soprano’s, a show about mob life in New Jersey, is a great show. The production value is high, the actors are skilled and the plot lines are well conceived. People get whacked, money gets laundered and criminals get promoted for good work. Yet, in order for the audience to tune in every week they must connect with the characters. Hence, the boss of the family, Tony Soprano is shown as a father, a husband and as attempting to improve his relationships with the outside world by visiting a therapist. This is a ploy to create sympathy for a ruthless murdering crime boss. And it works, as the Sopranos is a hit. What then are the real criminals doing?
True mob figures don’t give a damn about the outside world. Their loyalty lies with their crime families. They lie, cheat and murder for riches and would stomp on the average person, literally, to further their gains. A true jewelry thief is usually a two bit criminal who robs the local family owned jewelry store, as can be verified by FBI criminal statistics. Real criminal life is fraught with betrayal, pain and stints in prison. Most criminals are caught at some point with over 13 million arrests made in the US in 2005 alone, according to the FBI.
The business side of Hollywood is reactionary in nature. The glamorization of criminal life is partly in response to a demand by the public. Interest in stylized underworld figures comes from a public perhaps bored with their average daily existence. The idea that there are people who survive in a world where they ignore the law, fascinates us. But when the glamour is shaken off, and the dust clears, there is only an empty fancy suit left, where a thief once stood.
Derek Belay holds a BA in English Literature from Cal State Pomona. He writes part time primarily as a hobby. He currently works for Jewelry Payless.com as a marketing manager.
Posted by admin as Movies Parlor at 2:12 PM CDT
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