No waves made this week in terms of pop culture but I did come across a few gems.
Film: The Leopard
I ran across this 1963 Italian film in one of my film studies book and decided to take a look. The book's author was all "mise-en-scene, blah, blah, blah." (For those of you not in the know, mise-en-scene is a film's setting, costuming, props, etc.) When I received the film from Netflix and saw that it was three hours long I thought, "You've got to be kidding." As I watched - over the course of three different evenings - I realized why the book's author was so enamored with the film. The story is somewhat basic and a knowledge of Italian revolutions might be helpful in fully understanding the storyline. The acting is okay; Burt Lancaster (who'd of guessed) plays Prince Fabrizio Salina. But what kept me watching was the mise-en-scene. The Leopard is probably one of the most beautifully-set films I've ever seen. From the outside scenes to the grand ball at the end, the constumes and settings will blow your mind. If you never actually get around to sitting thought the entire three hours, skip ahead to the final 45 minutes to catch that ball; it will knock your socks off. By the way, don't get the English dubbed version. The Italian is beautiful; it made me want to learn another language.
Television: Make 'Em Laugh
I mentioned this PBS documentary on humor last week as an aside. I caught the first two installments this past Wednesday and it made me laugh. I never realized how funny George Burns and Gracie Allen were! Likewise, I never had the privilege of watching Jonathan Winters perform. Tune in this Wednesday (or check your local listings) for more of the history of American humor. You'll find your dreary winter evening much more enjoyable for a few laughs.
Book: Darwinia
I love a good book that is pure candy for the brain. Darwinia is one such book. Published in 1998 by Robert Charles Wilson, Darwinia begins in 1912 when "The Miracle" occurs: Europe's people and cities cease to exist. In its place is a continent of wild animals and plants never before seen on Earth. What follows is the story of Guilford Law, a photographer who's much different than he expects. Slowly we learn what Darwinia really is and why Europe has gone. The book gets a bit too "sci-fi-y" when it goes into The Archives and psilife but beyond some bogging down in the science sections - which are few - the story reads pretty quickly. It's not the most brilliant thing I've ever read, but it certainly did make for some good beach/pool reading.
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4 comments:
Make Em' Laugh is quality infotainment. Its amazing how funny George and Gracie still is, even though its hard to imagine that George Burns was ever young. Its just such a great analysis of humor, which is all too often an under explored territory (obviously because it is not serious enough). Billy Crystal hasn't been funny for a long while now and "Seinfeld is the greatest American sit com" was hard to take, but this is a great series.
So, I'll try to watch Make 'Em Laugh tonight.
Otherwise, I can't comment on anything this week, so I'll ask: Have you seen Little Children with Kate Winslet? I just saw it and loved it. The narration is a hoot.
Last night's "Make 'Em Laugh" made me sad that both Richard Pryor and George Carlin are dead. Sigh...
I haven't seen "Little Children" but it's on my Netflix list.
By the way, this Sunday's topic will be a discussion of the Oscar noms.
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