I love documentaries, I especially love music
documentaries, and Muscle Shoals is one of the best examples of both I have
seen.
Muscle Shoals is a small city in Alabama, located
on the Tennessee River. According to native American legend, the river sings
and is mystical and magical.
Music from this area is now called the Muscle
Shoals sound...and here's why: In the late 50s, Rick Hall, a genius engineer
opened his own studio, FAME Studios. His back story up until then was tragic,
but with a songwriting and musical background he had a great ear and put it to
use. He collected a super group of musicians from the area, who eventually
became known as The Swampers, and were the tightest and funkiest
sessions musicians...especially as they were white. An unassuming bunch of
locals that soon became sought after by the biggest of the
biggest. Rick had a great ear for production, he would
make artists do multiple takes until he got the sound he wanted. Almost always
he couldn't actually articulate what he wanted, but said he'd know when he heard
it. That is the sign of a true genius, the artists mostly didn't mind, as they
always got hits out of his techniques.
Their first client was Arthur Alexander, a local
bellhop. I had not heard of Arthur, but when he sung I knew the songs, they were
covered by both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
The next local to drop by and want a recording of
his little song, was none other than Percy Sledge with When a Man Loves a Woman.
There is actual footage of Rick ringing Jerry Wexler of Atlantic records and
playing the cut down the phone to him.
And so on it goes, Wilson Picket, Aretha
Franklin, Etta James, the list is endless.
Aretha was originally signed to Columbia records,
but with no real success, five years had gone by and they dropped her. Atlantic
snapped her up and sent her to Muscle Shoals. She had this song, Never Loved a
Man!! But, no one could make it work, the keyboardist play a few deep, funky
chords that now make the introduction to the song and it was cut within a few
hours, straight to No. 1 and she was a bona fide star! There is footage from
this period...amazing!
Even Sam
Phillips said Fame studios influenced Sun Studios, especially in the way they
used both black and white artists.
Now this was at the time of segregation, so part
of this film shows how music helped to break down barriers, the majority of the
session band and indeed Rick himself were white, but there were some blacks
playing with them. None of them cared, the were all communicating via music not
the colour of their skin...it simply wasn't an issue.
The Swampers, named by Leon Russell, were Barry
Beckett (keyboards), Roger Hawkins (drums),Jimmy Johnson (guitar), David Hood
(bass). After a while, they split from Rick to form their own studio, Muscle
Shoal Sound Studios. Soon The Rolling Stones arrived to cut Brown Sugar and Wild
Horses, amongst other songsm there. Keith and Mick are interviewed for the film
and rave about the place, especially Keith, wishing they had
returned.
Paul Simon contacted them and asked for the black
dudes who played on The Staple Singers, I'll take you there. He was surprised to
learn they were white, but came down and recorded Love me like a rock and
Kodachrome. The list that went through their studios is a who's who of
blues/funk in the 70s. Bob Dylan recorded Slow Train Coming there.
My only criticism of the film is too much Lynyrd
Skynyrd and Allman Brothers for my taste and a bit too much commentary from
Bono. I love Bono, but am still unsure of his connection to the
film!
Muscle Shoals was a complete revelation to me. I
knew all the music, really well in fact. But I had no idea of the story behind
it all and the links between it all, when you listen to them, as you do when
watching the film, you can immediately see the connection to the Muscle Shoals
Sound. It's remarkable.
Muscle Shoals has a great story, not just the
music, but the characters, the history, the racial aspects and the most
stunningly beautiful cinematography I have ever seen.
But it's ultimately about the music, with so much
footage, interviews and the songs themselves, I found myself dancing in my seat
and grinning from ear to ear. I wept tears of joy watching this and simply
enjoyed hearing the stories behind some of the greatest songs of all
time.
Here's the round-up for May, another month flying
by...
First off the 42 things:
1. More Live Music
Katie Noonan: I had the pleasure of seeing Katie
at Lizotte's with S, C and E. Been a fan since her George days, and love her
classical, pop and jazz infused style. The support, Playwright, were excellent;
with the singer sounding very much like Jeff Buckley. Katie came on after a
short break with just a keyboard, wow! She sung a mix of everything and had us
in the palm of her hand with her wonderful stories, lovely humour and stunning
voice. We lined up later to purchase CDs and books, she was humble and sweet,
taking the time to chat and sign what we purchased. A true star!!!
14. Whip my little backyard into
shape
With Autumn fading, I have been spending time in
my small backyard, or rather the side and front sections. Trimming trees and
hedges, tidying and digging in the dirt. I do try to keep things simple as I can
go for weeks, months without touching any of it, so high maintenance work is out
of the question. But have got it looking more tidy and pleasing. Plus, I enjoy
working in the garden, it is good for the soul I think.
19. Eat and drink out
more
This has been a fabulous month for trying new
places, brand new places in fact. After the French Film Festival opening night,
A, L, M & I visited Grain Store Bar, a boutique beer bar in the old View
Factory building. Huge selection of beers, great atmosphere and a cool crowd, a
lovely addition to Newcastle East. A few days later L & I lunched at Soul
Foods, in the old Bank/KFC building, a delicious array of home cooked, healthy
and organic foods to choose from. Finally the superb Agosti Espresso on Darby
rounds out my trio of new places in Newcastle. A shining beacon at the Hunter
Street end of Darby, Agosti has a fabulous bar with cocktails, wines, beers,
coffees etc, a large breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, plus a dessert cabinet.
The settings are shiny, expansive and expensive looking, very deco and very
modern at the same time. Add in a club lounge mezzanine and I never felt so
completely at home in a cafe. Highly recommend! I do like lunch at Belmont 16
footers, usually not too busy during the week, the menu ok though best if you choose from the a
la carte rather than the precooked options. I mostly like it for the superb
views, even on a cold overcast day, the bay at Belmont is luring. I lunched with
D for a catch up and whilst a cool day, the views were, as always,
lovely.
22. Wash my car more
often
Yes, I have been doing this, and both the car and
myself feel the better for it. Never my favourite job, but on warm day with a
shiny car at the end, you do feel good!
23. Spend more time with my niece and
nephew
I had a lovely day on Mother's Day at the Forsyth
farm. Our parents still holidaying in Qld, it was to celebrate my sister K and
we had a great family day. I had a lot of fun playing tennis with the kids and
dogs after lunch. I was throwing the ball for the kids to hit and the dogs
brought the ball back to me. After a short while Mr 10 tired, and the dogs not
long after, but Miss 5, seemingly charged like the energizer bunnies was unstoppable.
Only a walk around the dams later gave my aching arms a rest!
26. Go to the Farmers Markets
regularly
This has become a regular routine now. I only
skip the fortnightly markets if I am working or the weather is very wet. I have
regular stalls I purchase produce from and find it very difficult to leave
without my gozleme for breakfast and a bunch of flowers. I almost always run
into someone I know, and the walk is also lovely with the lake shimmering at
that time of the morning.
31. Have fun and laugh more at
work
We have been working hard at Swansea Library but
also having a great time. Having a 3D printer at our hands to showcase to the
community has been a blast, with a lot of media attention and phones running off
the hook with queries. The attention has been enjoyable and we've had lots of
fun and laughs with it. We were also lucky to host a gentleman who paints in the
Chinese style earlier in the month. His paintings were superb, but his very,
very zen state and descriptions were what captured me. The way he described his
brushstrokes and what he is going to paint were fascinating. It made you feel
you could do it yourself, I purchased some beautiful hand painted
cards.
33. Go to lots of fun social
events
As always Newcastle has been a bevy of great
events. There was the French Film Festival and shOUT (gay) Film Festival showing
simultaneously one weekend at the Tower cinemas.
The Bibliotweeps bookclub fell twice during the
month. We met early to talk Anna Karenina, a book we all really wanted to read,
but with busy lives and 700 odd pages of tiny writing found it difficult to
finish. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, but found the detail too much and the huge
array of similarly sounding names difficult to keep track of. We are continuing
to read it and will check in each month to see how we are faring. Later we met
to chat about Let's explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris. I
adore Sedaris, he is one of my favourite writers. He writes his memoirs in the
form of short essays and is incredibly funny. He was easy to finish and was
enjoyed by all.
36. Take time to do nothing and daydream
more often I've spent a lot of time photographing rainbows
and sunsets this month. And sitting to enjoy the spectacular shows they both
have put on. It's a good feeling to pull the car over, get out and just take in
the beauty of nature and daydream. I highly recommend it!
Books read
Book Club Books as mentioned above and have been
re-reading all of Sedaris! Also been listening to him read his own stories on
Talking Book, he is the master as far as this is concerned, he writing is dry,
so listening to him tell his stories adds a whole other layer. I always suggest
to those new to Sedaris, to go online and youtube him and you will want to
devour his books immediately!
I also read the book of Silver Linings Playbook,
and I almost always prefer the book over the movie, but not in this case. The
movie was superior, harsher in parts and softer in other. Very
interesting.
I read a memoir called Lessons from Madame Chic
by Jennifer L Scott. It is about her time in Paris as an exchange student. She
was placed with a wealthy family and her boyfriend with a more bohemian type of
family. The books details her experiences and also goes through what she learnt
from living in another country. Fascinating.
TV
Yay, RocKwiz is back. This would have to be my
favourite show. Set in the seedy Esplanade Hotel in my beloved St
Kilda with Julia (I want to be her when I grow
up) Zemiro as host, this pub style trivia show is pure gold. Zemiro is quick
witted, amiable and perfect. Brian, the brains trust, is quirky and a fellow
music lover. The three piece band, tight and remarkable. The audience members
collected for the panels rarely make you squirm and the musical guests are
always superb. I adore the duet at the end and love to see how good I go on the
questions. With Million Dollar Riff being my area of expertise! I watch the show
with a large number of tweeps, most of whom are now close friends I have met in
real life and we have a blast chatting online throughout the show! Worth staying
in each Saturday night I must say!!
I always say I am not a fan of Australian
television (it is usually too parochial) but my other favourite, Offspring, has
returned. I have loved Asher Keddie since her Love My Way days and feel I have a
little of her Nina in me! But it is Kat Stewart's Billie that steals the show,
every time...she kills me. A huge ensemble cast, showing what families are
really like, quirky and funny one moment and drop down tragic the next.
So, there you go two Aussie tele shows to
love...who would've thunk it!?!
Movies
Other than the Film Festival films and The Great
Gatsby, I have only seen one other movie this month and that was Star Trek. I
love the original series, so was concerned when this was rebooted, and you know
it was pretty darn good. What I love the most about this is the fabulous
casting, each new cast member, not only resemble the original cast but takes on
their persona. What a coup! The story for this one was not as great and it
lacked the impact of the first, however I had fun. Look, this is Star Trek, it
is not Academy Award winning drama, and I just watch such films for the ride.
The lack of female characters is annoying, but it is based on a 60s TV show,
other than Uhuru, you didn't get many women, so it is what it is! Cumberbatch
was a great villain, but I still wanted a bit more. We shall see where the
franchise heads from here.
DVDs
I watched a lot of DVDs this month:
Magic Mike - I didn't mind this, it was more
about the struggle of the characters than the fact they were male strippers.
This is not why I watched the film, I find the whole male stripper thing
repulsive, and I think that was the point of the movie. But it is Soderbergh and
it had Channing Tatum (who does nothing for me in the looks department either,
he looks like a drip if you ask me!) who I think is becoming an interesting
actor. It doesn't come highly recommended, but you know, it was
solid!
Seven Psychopaths - oh I loved this! Written and
directed by Martin McDonagh who did In Bruges which I also loved. Starring Sam
Rockwell, Colin Farell, Christopher Walken, Harry Dean Stanton, Woody Harrelson
and Tom Waits. I LOVE these actors, and they must have had a hoot making this
film about psychopaths. Farell is a screen writer, trying to write a film about
psychopaths but struggling, all the while psychopathic behaviour is surrounding
him, and he takes a while to clue up. It is funny, dark and violent, but in a
cool Taratinoesque way. The dialogue is astonishing, Walken steals the film (of
course), with Waits coming in a close second. But Farell is great in this, he
was also great in In Bruges, so obviously McDonagh knows how to write for him! I
highly recommend this is you don't mind a bit of violence.
Game Change - is the made for tele movie about
Sarah Palin starring Julianne Moore, Woody Harrelson, and Ed Harris. It's a
solid effort with Moore nailing Palin, and a very interesting behind the scenes
look at the campaign and what went on. Suffice to say she was even less smart
than we thought, so much so I almost felt sorry for her at times...almost, but
not quite! What I love the most about Game Change is it was written by Danny
Strong, who Buffy fans will remember as Jonathan!!
The hunter -
this is a superb Australian film starring Willem Dafoe as an animal hunter
tracking Tasmanian Tigers....yes, Tasmanian Tigers!! It is a very haunting film, set in the Tasmanian
bush, it has the feel of Picnic at Hanging Rock and Japanese Story, whereby, you
are waiting for something to happen. It is eerie and thrilling, and also speaks
to environmental issues. I really loved this, one of the best Australian films I
have seen in a long while. The cast is rounded out by Frances O'Connor and Sam
Neil.
La Traviata - this is the filmed version of the
classic opera as staged on Sydney Harbour. You know, with the humungous
Swarovski crystal chandelier! It is a larger than life Opera and even more so on
this remarkable set. It is romantic, and gorgeous and sumptuous and sexy, as all
good Opera should be, but the stars twinkling in the sky, the Bridge and Opera
House within shot and actual fireworks add a few extra layers of dazzling
perfection. If you love Opera, or want to start enjoying Opera, this is a must
see!!!
Mammuth - an
interesting French film with my beloved Gerard Depardieu. GD is retiring work
and finds out he won't get his pension as the government does not have the
details of his other jobs. So he sets off on a journey on his bike to his past
10 employees to see if he can track the paperwork. Sounds odd, but is sooo
French! Some of the journey is funny, poigant, sad, odd, there are sexual
encounters and trips down memory lane. To be honest it sounds better than it
was, it was good, but not great. I found his usual impecable acting rather
sloppy and annoying. Mon Dieu!
Take this Waltz - oh I loved this too. About a
young married couple, Michelle Williams and Seth Rogan, but she is restless and
falls in love with their neighbour. At first theirs is an affair of the mind,
and whilst you feel for her husband, you see how happy the 'new' couple are
together and it makes more sense. It is the kind of film where you constantly
change your stance and have your morals challenged. It is very bohemian and
subtle, stunningly acted. I loved this a lot, I think about it a lot, I still
don't know what I feel. I won't tell you what happens, I am not sure I know
myself. Williams continues to dazzle me, I am yet to see a performance I don't
like. Also a great supporting turn from Sarah Silverman, who I also like a
lot.
Cabin in the Woods - this was pure silly and I
can't say I loved it. It did intrigue me. A group of teens go to a cabin in the
woods and mysterious things happen, but who is controlling them, are they being
controlled at all and why!! Sort of a thriller, comedy, horror co-written by
Joss Whedon, who obviously was mucking around with us!?!
Your Sister's Sister - Jack (Mark Duplass) is
grieving his brother, his best friend (Emily Blunt) let's him stay in the family
cabin. But her sister (Rosemarie Dewitt) turns up, wounded from a broken
relationship. And things get messy from there. It is a predictable story, with
some strong acting from both women, who I admit I will see in anything, they are
both charasmatic actresses.
Boardwalk Empire
S3
I've always enjoyed Gangster films, and BE empire
is a brilliant depiction of the 20s in Atlantic City with prohibition and
bribery and scandal and crime. Buscemi is charismatic and hypnotic as Nucky
Thompson the kingpin of the town. I have always loved Buscemi and he is on fire
in this role where he walks a fine line of utterly charming and menacing thug.
Supported by an outstanding cast of character actors including Kelly McDonald,
Gretchen Moll, Michael Shannon, Vincent Piazza, Jack Huston and Dabney
Coleman. The set design is outstanding, with intricate attention to detail in
the boardwalk, homes, cars, and costumes. Also a superb soundtrack that I must
get my hands on. It is violent of course and this season the violence gets taken
up a notch with the introduction of new guy, Rosseti played with malevolent
force by the wonderful Bobby Cannavale.
Rake S2
Richard Roxburgh is devilishly sexy as rogue
barrister Cleaver Greene, even his name is delicious! With a crime of the week
feel, but oh so much more. Based on supposed real life events, this is always
tantalising and hilarious. Great Aussie tele...yeah maybe we aren't so bad after
all! If you haven't seen Rake, then get moving...geez, what's wrong with
you!?!
New Girl - this is good, not great, but it's
getting there. I do love Zooey Deschanel, but she can be a little too twee in
this! I gave up watching it on tele, but then saw she was dating the dreamy
Dermot Mulroney, so I caught what I missed up on DVD, and enjoyed it a lot more.
So give it a go, it's harmless and cute and this creepy world can do with some
more cute I think!
Music
I've been listening to Katie Noonan, sublime and
The Rolling Stones, I bought Grrrr, which is an excellent compilation,
I've really been getting in
to it! I've always loved The Stones, had no choice growing up in my family, and lurve Keith more than words can say. But have always preferred the early, more obscure bluesy tracks. But the funky 70s tracks like Emotional Rescue and Waiting on a friend are just fabulous.
Check out this video for Emotional Rescue, hilarious!! If this doesn't make you groove and/or smile there is simply something wrong with you!!!
Crop Dusters. Bernard Herrmann. James Mason.
Martin Landau.
This is North by Northwest and it is my favourite
film by the master, Alfred Hitchcock. It is a film I have seen many, many times,
but never on the big screen and I was lucky enough to see it at the Tower
Cinemas last week. It was magnificent.
Made in 1959, it has not dated in the slightest.
Cary Grant, at 55, never looked better. Eva Marie Saint was a lucky girl
indeed.
From Saul Bass's amazing opening credits you know
you are in for a treat. Everything about this
film is a masterpiece. The big and the small.
I love the character's names: Roger O. Thornhill,
what does the O stand for...nothing! James Mason as the villain, Phillip
Vandamm, what a great name. I love seeing Edward Platt (the Chief from Get
Smart) in a small role as The Thornhill's lawyer, Victor Larrabee - also a great
name, one I am certain Mel Brooks used for inspiration in Get
Smart.
James Mason and a very young Martin Landau are
excellent as the baddies, very menacing...even after seeing it as many times as
I have.
And of course, a small cameo by the master himself, very early on in the film.
North by Northwest is suspenseful, it's classy,
funny and romantic.
Of course Eve Kendall is not all she seems, the
hurt on Grant's face when he finds out is palpable, and he means business getting
to the bottom of things. A formidable pair they make as the film progresses with
twists and turns, in their relationship and especially in the action scenes,
where Saint holds her own. And then there is the final scene, which is very
cheesy, I am still unsure whether Hitchcock intended it to be subtle, it is
certainly not...if you have no idea what I am talking about, I am not going to
divulge it here...you simply have to see the film.
The action is where this film is at. Beautifully
done too, Grant is on the run as he has been mistaken for a man called George Kaplan. From
the breath holding initial scenes, where the baddies kidnap and ply Grant with
alcohol and pop him behind the wheel of a sports car around some twisty bends,
you know you are going to be in for a ride. Filmed as if you were behind the
wheel, you do wince with every turn of the steering wheel. Not long after he
escapes his kidnappers and is trying to work out what on earth is going
on, Grant witnesses a murder but is mistaken for being the murderer (in a
classic plot moment), so not only are the baddies are after him but the police
too!
On the run, he is trying to find the person who
everyone thinks he is, George Kaplan. If he finds Kaplan, all this craziness
will end! In one of the most classic action scenes of all Hitchcock films, and
probably action films ever, Grant is waiting alone by the side of the road, near
fields in the middle of nowhere. He is waiting for Kaplan, but it's a set up. A
plane is above, 'dusting' the crops, but the plane turns and starts to hunt
Grant down. This was pure exhilaration to watch on the big screen for the first
time. It's iconic, clever, simple in fact, and looked timeless and
brilliant!
The more grueling scene of Saint and Grant
climbing over president's faces at Mount Rushmore towards the end of the film,
with the baddies in hot pursuit, is also breathtaking and very clever. Using an
iconic monument for an iconic scene can be common place these days, but
Hitchcock made it his own in North by Northwest.
Speaking of icons, the house
used by the baddies will also go down in cinematic history. Hitchcock was not allowed
to film at Mount Rushmore, so they recreated the monument in the studio. And he
wanted to build a Frank Lloyd Wright House on the top near the monument. Neither
was possible, the grounds wouldn't take something built there, and Wright was too
expensive to commission. So they built an imitation, The Vandamm House as it is
known, not bad really!
Throughout the film, you are hearing the music of
Bernard Herrmann, in fact, in some of the more suspenseful sections, you will
hear pieces that seem like a precursor to the shrill strings that make the
shower scene in Psycho so iconic.
The dialogue is great, witty and sophisticated,
and from the great Ernest Lehman. It was Lehman's idea for Mount Rushmore, that was
the first thing he came up with, a climatic scene atop the president's faces.
His humour can be seen in many of Grant's sharp one-liners, especially when he
is initially kidnapped, with his mother, and in the auction
scene.
Above all, this is Grant's film, he is sharp,
witty, sophisticated, masculine AND gets the girl. He has never looked better,
no wonder this was his biggest box office hit.
If you have not seen this movie, go find a copy
of it right now and if you ever get a chance to experience it in a cinema, go go
go!
Finally, if my gushing is not enough, have a look
at the trailer as narrated by Hitchcock himself!
I rarely do full book reviews here...which is
odd, given the amount I read and the fact I am a Librarian.
But I read the most remarkable book yesterday
that I have to share. It is called The Secret Museum and is by Molly
Oldfield. Molly is a researcher for QI, amongst other
things. The book is a lovely small sized coffee table book about hidden
treasures in museums of the world. Many museums, galleries and libraries do not have
all of their collection on show, in fact usually it is a very small percentage
that one can see. The items are moved around to make the most of the collection,
but most have some items that they NEVER show. This is usually because they are
too large to place on display, or too small to showcase properly, they are rare,
light may effect their wellbeing or other odd reasons. Molly goes to many museums and gets to see some
of these amazing items. The book was full of fascinating information of these
items, and the history behind them. I was transfixed. So here are a few that tickled my fancy, but are
only a small amount of those mentioned. The Gutenberg Bible - Morgan Library, New
York Below the amazing Morgan Library are three floors
of vaulted materials, all underground. I think I was amazed by that more than
what might be in these vaults. Amongst the treasures is one of the first
Gutenberg Bibles...which is the first known book. Spacesuits - Smithsonian Storage
Facility, Maryland First off, I had no idea this facility even
existed, Maryland is outside of Washington where the main Smithsonian Museums
are. The facility has a range of spacesuits, all worn by various people who have
made that trip up into space. They are housed specially as some of them have
moon dust on them...moon dust!!!! They are working on the most special one of
all, have been for some time, trying to restore it, but being careful with the
moon dust...that suit belongs to Neil Armstrong of course! 3 pieces of Mars - Vatican
Observatory Just outside of Rome is the Vatican Observatory
and YES they have three pieces of Mars. The book details how they came to be
distinguished as pieces of Mars. And then when the Mars Rover went up they could
validate their theory. Amazing stuff. Apparently other scientific and space labs
have pieces too. They fall to Earth quite regularly! Vladimir Nabokov's Butterfly Genitalia
Cabinet - Museum of Contemporary Zoology, Harvard
University Yes, it takes a while to get your head around
this one. When Nabokov was not writing books, he was a foremost Butterfly expert
and worked out of Harvard, being appointed curator in 1942!! He collected and
identified many new species of Butterflies, 20 of which are named in his
honour. His room is much as it was, just someone new in his spot, and some
computers now. But this curiosity is not as racy as it may seem, though it is
Nabokov we are talking about. The genitalia (YES, Butterfly penises to be
exact!!!) are how one can distinguish between some species. They are collected
and stored in a small cabinet and kept under wraps as they are incredibly
fragile. Dickens's Letter opener - New York Public
Library This will fascinate some, but why so special...it
has the paw of his cat, Bob, on the end of it!! Bob the cat, loved to go through
Dickens's mail and help him, so when the cat passed on, he had the paw fixed to
a letter opener. Also with the collection are his collection of prompts. This
fascinated me, as I had never heard of them. Dickens loved to perform his own
material, so he took the best or favourite scenes from his novels and placed
them in a separate book of 'prompts' for him to read from whilst performing.
These are one off books and housed at the New York Public Library too, how
wonderful! Archives - Roald Dahl Museum,
Buckinghamshire, England Now, I did not know such a museum existed, got to
stick that on my travel list. Amongst other things, the museum houses his
archives, which is fairly standard except for one piece. This piece is
remarkable, it is the first thing Dahl kept or archived. It is a letter from
C.S. Forester's agent stating quite simply that Dahl should be a writer.
Basically it is the piece of correspondence that changed his life and without
it, we may have never been entertained by his stunning array of work!! Forester
had interviewed Dahl for war stories, he had heard about Dahl's experiences
during the war and felt he could get some great stories for his own books. They
met and chatted and Forester was so transfixed he took no notes. He asked Dahl
to write them down for him, but was so overcome with how well they were written,
he sent them to his agent, who in turn wrote this letter. What a turn of
events!! Animals - Museum National d'Historie
Naturelle, Paris Underneath this natural history museum there are
3 floors of animals, stuffed, taxidermied or in jars. The thought of a complete
zoo or Ark underground in Paris is rather fascinating. Livingstone and Stanley's hats - Royal
Geographic Society, London Keep under wraps behind the scene, but side by
side. The hidden Miro mural - Guggenheim, New
York This is quite the story. Inside the entrance to
the Guggenheim is a large white wall, this is a false wall hiding a Miro
Mural! The mural was commissioned as a memorial for Harry F Guggenheim's wife,
Alicia. It was displayed for some time, but it was felt the piece overwhelmed
everything else on display and the false wall
was built to hide it. Occasionally it is knocked down to reveal the hidden
mural, but mostly it stays unnoticed. An unopened book - Isabella Stewart
Gardner Museum, Boston I know this museum well, and would love to visit
it one day. I read a fabulous book about a large heist that was pulled there
back in 1990, the items still lost. Isabella began collecting in the late 1800s
after her son died at age 2, and with an inheritance from her father. Distraught
from her sons death, she took to travel. She loved art and especially Venice.
After her husband died in 1898, she began to build a museum/house in a Venetian
style (in Boston)to house her works. It remains today, her collection is the
largest private collection in the world amassed by one person, and a woman too!
There are many books within the collection, but one that is rarely seen by
others, so much so, only a handful of people know what is in it. The author was
lucky to arrange a visit on one of the special invitation only evenings where a
few pages of the book were to be shown. It was quite the experience and the book
is one of 11 volumes from Naples (the rest remain in Italy) and is an
illuminated manuscript of Gregorian chants. The book includes the actual music,
with notations very different to what we know today. Friendship book - Anne Frank's House,
Amsterdam I left this very special piece until last and
will admit it had me in tears. The friendship book belonged to Juultje, a school
friend of Anne Frank. It is kept locked up due to it's fragility. Like Anne,
Juultje didn't make it out of the concentration camp. Friendship books were
little books where friends wrote words of encouragement to the owner of the
book. It was given to Juultje on her 11th birthday and Anne was 10 when she
wrote this beautiful poem: Dear Juultje, What shall I write here? Wait, Dear Juul, I have an idea; Good health and all the best! Be good and full of zest, and whatever fate may be divining. Remember, every cloud has a silver
lining. In memory of your friend, Anne Frank. Ten. Years. Old.
Wise beyond her years,
intelligent, a way with words, so chilling and sad. There is many more items within this amazing
book, lots of drawings and such, but the disappointing thing, no pictures of
these items. I guess they are hidden for a reason, but knowing they exist made
me smile.
I saw The Great Gatsby last week and I really
enjoyed it...which would be a different response from most reviews of it. But
then I have never had most people's taste! Nor really bothered about most
reviews.
I did not love it, that is not unusual for me and
Baz. I adore his first film, Strictly Ballroom, a masterpiece in my opinion. Fun
and flashy, great music, fabulous story, and very Australian. The dance scene on
top of the shop roof at dusk with the twinkling Coca-Cola sign in the background
is one of the most beautiful and romantic scenes in Australian
film.
Then there was Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge,
and with each of these films he went bigger and better and more flashier, so you
expected something more each time, I loved both of them, but walked out wanting
more, thinking there was something missing, something I have never been able to
put my finger on.
Was it my expectations, or the fact Strictly
Ballroom was hard to follow?
I think for both of these films there were so
many outstanding scenes, usually towards the beginning of the film, so when
there were quieter, less flashier scenes you felt let down. But as I say, it is
an intangible thing that stops them from being as good as Strictly
Ballroom.
And then there was Australia...the less said
about that appalling piece of crap the better.
So, onto Gatsby, it's a favourite book of mine, I
love Fitzgerald's prose. It is part satire, part tragedy, an odd choice in a
way, but you can see why Baz choose it. Those party scenes, over the top,
frivolous and vacuous, expensive and gauche, perfect for that trademark Baz
razzle dazzle. But how would he handle a book with so much inner dialogue and
observations that may be hard to translate from words.? This was my concern, and
you know, I need not have been concerned at all.
To me, and this is the most important thing, he
*got* the book, the satire, the excess, the tragedy, and above all the doomed
romance between Daisy and Gatsby. For a smallish book, there is a lot packed
into it, and whilst not every single moment is captured - that can never happen
in film, too difficult - he does a great adaptation of it. There was the
addition of Nick being placed in some sort of sanitarium and being told to write
his experience, definitely a dumbing down for the American (??) audience. This
worried me when I heard about it, and whilst completely unnecessary it actually
worked.
The casting was always going to be interesting. I
thought Tobey Maguire did well as Nick Carroway, the outsider included into the
inner sanctum of Gatsby and those around him. Elizabeth Debicki and Joel
Edgerton were perfect as Jordan Baker and Tom Buchanan. Carey Mulligan, who I
always love on screen, was solid as Daisy Buchanan, but somewhat not exactly
right...though who would I cast otherwise, I have no idea. She was fragile and
beguiling, a little ditsy, but maybe because you knew it was Carey Mulligan, she
brought with it a certain otherworldliness that Daisy should not have. Also I
was very distracted by her fake fingernails, they were the 'right' sort of nails
for that period, but so obviously fake I was annoyed by it. I generally have
issues with fake nails, I can't stop looking at them and wondering why anyone
would do something to ridiculously stupid to themselves...but, you know, that's
me.
Jay Gatsby, enigmatic, heroic, childish, aloof,
naive, idealistic, flash, false, true, passionate. What a character, what a
difficult part to cast. Redford never pulled it off and Leonard Dicaprio comes
very close, but not quite. But again, I can't imagine who could pull this
character off. I do adore Dicaprio, a great actor who is becoming a stunning
leading man. It took a while for me to buy him as Gatsby, as he was, you know,
Leo! But there was a scene, where he is at Nick's cottage about to meet Daisy
for the first time in years, he disappears and reappears soaking wet - his Colin
Firth/Darcy moment if you will - and he was Gatsby, standing there is a pale
blush suit, looking ridiculous, earnest and wet. From then on he pretty much
pulled it off, which is saying something. Not 100% but close!
The supporting cast was a who's who of Australian
character actors including Baz himself!
There was much fuss about the music, a lot of hip
hop and very modern music. This had me really really concerned. I love the
20s/30s above all periods, and therefore adore that music. Why on earth would
you do a period piece without the period music. However it was a lovely mix of
both, the modern worked quite well. And the masterpiece scene where they are
partying unlike anything you have ever seen before and subtly introduces Gatsby
at the same time was accompanied by Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. This is my
favourite piece of music of all time...bar none!!! You have to do it justice
otherwise incur my wrath...it brought tears to my eyes, in the right kind of
way...splendiferous!
Which brings me to the set, perfection! Rambling
houses, stunning rooms, deco sets, chandeliers, fountains, swimming pools, and
Moet! Nothing was left to chance, it was utterly amazing, bright and sparkly, a
rapid movement of flash and glitz, yet I wanted more. What, how, who can know? I
think maybe that's where his quick, quick cutting fails, you actually don't get
to see the detail in as much detail as you like because the camera never lingers
long enough on what you want to look at. It's more like wow, that was, what was,
oh gorgeous, huh, what...with an overall feel of spectacular, spectacular...but
then a bit of longing for more. Someone later pointed out the cgi, which I sort
of noticed at the time, but wasn't that bothered by. But, yes, each sweeping
shot was more than likely cgi'd in, which is a shame. I think this with the
severe and sharp cutting always add to my wanting more, or wishing the sweeping
wasn't so sweeping and definitely not cgi, and the quick, quick, kept a fast
pace but maybe not so fast!
The finer detail of costumes, jewels, room
design, floral arrangements, food, cars and so forth were also spot on
perfect.
Some scenes are great though, Myrtle's demise, and
Gatsby's final scene with the pool were as I imagined them when reading the
book. The Rhapsody in Blue scene that introduces Gatsby, perfectly reveals the
excess of the period. The hot and cranky scenes at The Plaza hotel also
perfectly captured. Gatsby longingly looking across the bay from jetty to jetty.
His love of Daisy, so pure and so painfully unobtainable. I always thought Jay
Gatsby was the most desirable character in the piece, in that his character was
the purest and most realistic. The others were too flawed, or not quite fleshed
out in a desirable way.
I also loved the billboard that distinguishes the various areas in the movie, It has the iconic blue cover on it, almost as if Fitzgerald was watching over the movie and guiding us through.
I didn't see it in 3D, I would be keen to see it
again in 3D. I did thoroughly enjoy it, but yes, all the parts did not quite add
up to love, love, love. But the film still stays with me, more than a week after
seeing it too. It certainly more than makes up for the severe disappointment
that was Australia.
I saw it for a fundraiser at The Tower Cinemas in
Newcastle, L and I dressed up for it, as did everyone else in attendance...what
a thrill.
Don't listen to the critics, go and see The Great
Gatsby, and then go and find the book and read it too.
Hello, this blog is a journal or diary of cultural events I have attended. I will also review music, books, film and television amongst anything else of significant interest. I call on one and all to discuss and debate my entries - do you agree, disagree, have another point of view. Join me, I am interested!
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