Preston Pride Launch

Cinema Revisited's Jane was hob-nobbing with the higher-ups at yesterdays' super posh Pride launch.

Cinema Revisited is delighted to be contributing to the festivities this year.  We're going to be showing 'The Wizard of Oz' in full  glorious colour on the big screen at the Museum of Lancashire on October 3rd. We'll be introducing the film and  giving away cheese and cakes.  The event is free so come along!

This years' Pride is looking amazing.  The acts appearing were confirmed at the launch and include Musical Ruth - The Singing Nun, Dave the Bear, local legends Eva Fox and Coco Malone and Stock Aiken and Waterman diva Hazel Dean!  You can find more information on the events here www.prestonpride.com

It was great to see some Preston FM people at the launch too, including Neil who was there with 'Older and Out' and Robin who used to present At the Movies (we miss you Robin).

The event was held at The Hidden Gem on Church Street and it turns out their regular menu contains a cheeseboard. They call it "The Ultimate Cheeseboard"; we'll see about that. Watch this space.  

Brighton Rock 1947

In order to celebrate the lovely weather we’ve been having we decided to give our last show a summer theme and talked about the Boulting Brothers 1947 movie ‘Brighton Rock’. This is based on Graham Greene’s 1938 novel of the same name.  We’ve covered Greene before when we did Carol Reed back in 2010.

On the surface this is a crime story – it’s often referred to as British Noir and was re-titled ‘The British Scarface’ for the U.S. market.  Like much of Greene’s work, though, there is a strong anti-Catholic vein running through it.  Polite reviewers of Greene tend to refer to this as a “challenge to Catholic Doctrine”.  I feel something much nastier and poisoness going on, maybe a manifestation of (Catholic) Greene’s own self hatred.

The plot centers on an underworld criminal gang based in Brighton. Their leader has recently been executed and 17 year old Pinkie Brown has stepped into his shoes. Pinkie is played by Richard Attenborough who had also played the role on stage. Most reviews of this film refer to Pinkie as either a ‘psychopath’ or a ‘sociopath’. Greene refers to the character as “Peter Pan”. Greene claimed ,horrifying, ‘the child who doesn’t grow up remains the great champion of justice’. Pinkie is certainly presented as petulant, expecting high standards of behavior from others but “his crimes have an excuse”. This is evident on the two occasions in the film when Pinkie finds himself cornered and faced with the consequences of his actions. The look of utter incredulity on his face sums his character up more than any of his dialogue.  In order to be allowed to film in Brighton the film makers had to open the film with an on screen blurb about how Brighton’s problems with crime were in the past, as the council did not want to discourage tourists from visiting the resort.  Pinkie is an unpredictable and irrational character, unable to effectively lead the gang. He has secured his position, it seems, because the other gang members fear his violent mood swings and the gang begins to fall apart as the film progresses. 

Pinkie (a Roman Catholic) murders a journalist named Fred Hale. Realising local waitress Rose (also a Roman Catholic) has discovered a clue which could negate Pinkie’s alibi; Pinkie romances Rose and then marries her.  The spanner in the works is pier performer Ida Arnold (the standout performance of the film by Hermione Baddley) who, having met Fred on the day of his death, decides to track down his killers.  This dynamic is where I start to feel a little uncomfortable; Greene (who co-wrote the screenplay with Terence Rattigan) raises some very interesting and valid questions about ‘morality’ but undermines himself by singling out Catholics.

Ida is the wrong sort of woman. She’s overweight, overdressed, coarse and likes a drink and the company of men. She is the sort of woman the British would describe as ‘common’, a woman who is not respectable.  Yet, she has a strong sense of right and wrong and the willingness to actually do the right thing.  Pinkie and Rose, do not talk about right and wrong but ‘good’ and ‘evil’.   As Catholics they do not answer to men but to God and have little respect for earthly justice.  The idea of deferring judgment and responsibility to ‘God’ and the afterlife rather than acting in a morally responsible way on earth is an interesting one.  If this idea was explored without making it a specifically Catholic issue it would be superb. Greene believed that Catholics looked down on people who are not Catholics.   This seems to be a very interesting and stunningly unself aware piece of projection on Greene’s part; Oxford contempory Evelyn Waugh (who later converted to Catholicism himself) noted “Graham Greene looked down on us…”

 Much of the guilt Pinkie feels in the novel is missing from the script although there are references to the fact Pinkie believes he is living in Hell.  There are some nice touches highlighting the subjective point of view we have on life.  We see Brighton ‘front’ a fresh faced family resort contrasted with the crime ridden backstreets. Pinkie and Rose, despite living in a grotty boarding house always give a respectable ‘front’, wearing their Sunday best, whilst Ida, good hearted on the inside, dresses in a cheap and showy fashion.  There is also the recording of Pinkie’s voice which, because the record is scratched, seems to be a loving message to Rose but is in fact a vitriolic statement of hatred for her. Greene’s original story ended with Rose hearing the message in full but the film makers wanted an upbeat ending.  Greene was initially unhappy with this but then realized that viewers would know it was only a matter of time before Rose moved the needle over the scratch and that her agony was merely delayed.

We played summer themed hits on the show including ‘Here Comes Summer’ The Dave Clark Five, ‘Long Hot Summer’ The Style Council and Laura Veirs’ ‘Summer is the Champion’.  

Ray Harryhausen. 1920-2013

Ray Harryhausen.  1920-2013

In May this year we lost one of cinema’s true legends; Ray Harryhausen.  We covered Harryhausen’s work when we did our 2010 Summer Holiday show.  We talked about the big summer ‘event movies’ which began in 1975 with the release of Steven Spielberg’s 'Jaws' and decided, in the end, to cover the original and best kids movies; Harryhausen’s “Dynamation!” movies.  The films we covered were 'The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad' (1958), 'Jason and the Argonauts' (1963), 'One Million Years BC' (1966), 'The Golden Voyage of Sinbad' (1974) 'Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger' (1977) and 'Clash of the Titans' (1981).

We also got a very special guest in to the studio with us “Nick the Teenager”.  Nick watched the 1981 version of ‘Clash of the Titans’ as well as the 2010 3D remake and gave us his verdict. Nick said he actually preferred the 2010 version which wasn’t the answer we had hoped for! Nick’s beef was interesting; his dislike of the 1981 version was down to Harryhausen’s Kraken.  Teenagers, as you are aware, like to have their facts right.  Being an aficionado of Greek Mythology Nick was correct in stating that the Kraken, a sea monster from Norse mythology, is usually represented as similar to a giant squid or octopus.  Harryhausen, however, chose to present his Kraken as a bipedail, vertebrate primate, wrong we were told “on so many levels”. Harryhausen made the decision to design his own Kraken as he had already used a giant octopus in ‘It Came from Beneath the Sea’ in 1955 and didn’t want to do so again.

Ray Harryhausen was born in Los Angeles. His interest in stop motion animation began in childhood when he was taken to see ‘King Kong’.  He joined the local Science Fiction club where he became friends with Science Fiction Writer Ray Bradbury. The two vowed “always to remain friends and always to love dinosaurs” and both kept their promise. The two remained friends until Bradbury’s death in 2012.  Harryhausen set up his first animation workshop in his parents’ garage. His father made the metal skeletons around which he built the figures and his mother made miniature costumes.

In his early career many of Harryhausen’s films involved animating the destruction of several US landmarks by various creatures.  In 1952 he moved his attention to the Eiffel Tower for the unfinished movie 'The Elementals' because he fancied making a picture in Europe. He eventually relocated to Europe (London) in 1960 and lived there until his death. 

Harryhausen’s major innovations were his split screen method allowing him to combine stop motion models and live actors and the use of rear and front projection to enable the use of glorious colour.  It is his colour productions that are his most iconic, particularly the Sinbad films and ‘Jason and the Argonauts’.  The Sinbad films always include a climactic battle between two creatures.  More terrifying than Medusa and Kali put together must be, though, the most hideous menace ever committed to celluloid; THE SKELETON ARMY from ‘Jason and the Argonauts’. Utterly iconic and the stuff of nightmares the three minute scene took four months to produce. It is now impossible to tell the story without the skeleton army; A 2009  production of “Jason and the Argonauts” by The Dukes Playhouse in Williamson Park, Lancaster, although based on the original myth (Nick was pleased to note), went to great pains to include a version of this scene. It has become part of the Golden Fleece mythology.  

By the time ‘Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger’ came out in 1977 it was up against the mighty ‘Star Wars’ and the special effects now seemed old fashioned and unconvincing.  Although the special effects in ‘Star Wars’ were groundbreaking they were still an updated version of stop motion animation. Speaking after Harryhausen’s death George Lucas said “Without Ray Harryhausen, there would likely have been no Star Wars.”

This show went out as part of Preston FM’s “12 Weeks of Summer” tour where we broadcast from various local locations including the new Media Centre at Preston College and Brite Futures in Ribbleton.  The Harryhausen show went out live from Roccocco Coffee Lounge and Bakery in Leyland. Roccocco is run by Brothers of Charity, an organisation which provides services to people with learning disabilities.

Here's an artists' impression of Cinema Revisited's Jane and Marie; we had this done at The Cornerhouse in Manchester (independent cinema, bar and restaurant).  The artist calls himself  "The Human Camera".

Breakfast at Tiffany’s? 1961

• OK, here’s the plot. A young writer of compromised sexuality moves into an apartment building in a changing and cosmopolitan city. Here he meets a bohemian, off the wall female who has left her past behind and reinvented herself.  The audience can see they’re perfect for each other but she’s looking for someone richer and he’s looking for someone, er,  butcher.

  
  

  I’m talking about Blake Edwards 1961 film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ but you’d be forgiven for thinking I’m referring to Bob Fosse’s 1972 ‘Cabaret’ as they have more than a little in common.

  
  

  
  

  Although ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ was the earlier film, the roots of ‘Cabaret’ are oldest.  ‘Cabaret’ is based on the stage musical of the same name which was an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood’s 1945 novels ‘Goodbye to Berlin’ and ‘Mr Norris Changes Trains’. Reader, I’ll be honest with you,  I’m a huge Isherwood fan so if you’re hoping ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ is going to come out of this stand off the better you’re going to be  disappointed. 

  
  

  Isherwood’s novels are a fictionalised account of his time in Berlin in 1931 during Hitler’s rise to power. Openly homosexual, Isherwood had been initially attracted to the sexual liberation of life in Berlin prior to the rise of the Nazis.  Following a period of imprisonment for 'Reciprocal onanism'” (Google it) he traveled to China with the poet W H Auden before relocating to America on the eve of the war.

  
  

  It was here he met the young Truman Capote, a young writer greatly influenced by Isherwood’s Berlin stories and in particular by the character Sally Bowles.

  
  

  Capote published the novella ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ in 1958 and it is clear reworking of Isherwood.  New York replaces Berlin, Post WWII social change replaces the rise of the Third Reich and Holly Golightly steps in for Sally Bowles.  

  
  

  The 1962 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a film many hold in great affection. It’s light, stylish and fresh but it is what makes it so enduring that is precisely what’s wrong with it. Edwards plays down Holly’s occupation (the oldest profession) and Fred’s sexual orientation. Understandably this is due to the conservatism of the time, eleven years later with the sixties behind it ‘Cabaret’ could be a lot more daring.  Both novels involve the relationship between a gay man and a straight woman; what endears us to these characters is that, given the social mores around homosexuality at the time, both Fred and Chris are both writing about women they think, hope that maybe, just maybe,  they could make it “work” with, and live a socially acceptable  life.

  
  

  Holly Golightly is undoubtedly Hepburn’s most famous role but, iconic as she is, I can’t help feeling she’s, deep breath,  miscast (Capote, incidentally wanted Marilyn Monroe for the role and, as with most of the roles Monroe didn’t get you can’t help but think she’d have been better).  Fred and Holly are a pair of hustlers living on their wits; the problem is Hepburn doesn’t look like it. She’s far too chic. The scene when she and Fred decide to shop at Tiffany’s doesn’t work because she doesn’t look out of place. The financial position of the main characters in both films is precarious to say the least and you should leave the cinema wondering what will become of them, and don’t think this is the case with Breakfast at Tiffany’s.  Minnelli's equally iconic Sally Bowles looks fabulous in a different way, she looks down on her luck, trashy and down at heel. Isherwood’s Sally Bowles has, in the novel, come to Berlin from Lancashire, the home county of Cinema Revisited.

  
  

  ‘Cabaret’ features a supporting cast of characters who, though quirky are also wholly human and vulnerable (particularly given the rise of fascism).  Breakfast at Tiffany’s is populated with grotesques like Rusty Trawler and Mag Wildwood who frankly, you don’t give a fig about.    Another of Edward’s (typically) heavy handed inclusions is the obligatory party scene; a lazy and over used shorthand way of signalling how crazy the times are.

  
  

  Edwards also takes the easy step of giving Fred and Holly a happy ending, playing it as a conventional romance.  This was not how Capote intended it, the bittersweet power of both stories is that they are the story of someone the narrator has loved and lost.  Isherwood ends his tale of Sally Bowles by imploring her, if she’s reading this, to get in touch.  Maybe it is this that is the key to understanding why Isherwood’s tale trumps Capote’s; Sally Bowles was based on a real friend of Isherwood’s Jean Ross, who died before ‘Cabaret’ was filmed and never saw herself immortalised by Minnelli.  Isherwood was describing very real feelings of loss, not only of a friend but of his youth, a time and place that was never the same again and his chance of that ‘normal’ heterosexual life. Capote’s Holly Golighlty is based only on a fictional character, Sally Bowles, the shadow of a ghost, as flimsy and  insubstantial as Edward’s film.

The Great Gatsby 2013

• Baz Luhrmann - t'other half of Cinema Revisited likes you again.
  
  Fitzgerald's novel is difficult to transpose onto the screen, so the director has instead translated it. There are both obvious and subtle referencesto the hypocrisy of hierarchy and failure of the "American Dream" (the bronze eagles on the stone plinths a gentle nod and the dialogue at times a slap to the face) of the text but he's chosen to focus on the love story. Perhaps it's more accurate to label it a dream, the fantastical nature of the visuals and the frenetic editing creating a film reminiscent of a Freudian subconscious night scape. Shots are held for no longer than a few seconds and images almost stutter at times; the editing is careful, providing a fluidity of movement and highlighting the ephemeral nature of the tale, the hero and the "love" between him and Daisy.
  
  The limited use of wide angle shots increases the pace and intensity of the film and contrasts the enclosed, encapsulating environment of the interiors with the calming yet ever-present threat of the exterior - the ocean, the working class territory, the roads running as veins though the industry that feeds the luxury of Long Island and capitalism of central New York.
  
  The soundtrack going from jazz to Jay-Z by way of Bach reinforces the fantasy element of the tale and the differing versions used of the same songs reflects the way different characters view both themselves, their history and others. Only the anachronistic use of Gershwin jars, it's a clunky moment in an otherwise impressive array of song arrangements.
  
  The referencing of serpents in relation to women (the chandelier, the decoration of the handrail by the pool for example) hints at both mythical and biblical tales of the destructive or fatalistic influence of women; in particular the florally named Daisy and Myrtle (let's not linger on the potential meaning of Carroway/caraway). There's the usual subtlety of sturdy trees and pale flowers using nature to illustrate the masculine/feminine; again highlighting the impermanence of Daisy's love against the enduring love of Gatsby. The Ad Finem Fidelis emblazoned on his gate is a very literal sign to the audience of his loyalty to both her and the notion of love he has for her.
  
  The occultist symbolism of the novel is over-played and perhaps only has relevance to those of us who have read the source material; the green light, whilst providing a wonderful visual, is also an unnecessary link to the book. Luhrmann should have played to the strengths of his alternative adaptation. The Hitch-style cameo may be a hint to the viewer that he's adopted the auteur's style of extracting the elements of a novel that play best in a film rather than laying the text verbatim on the screen. The early French farce scenes work to clear the mind of Firzgerald's more gentle, carefully laid out scenarios; the film then softens its focus, not just with the images but also the interplay between characters. In spite of, or perhaps as a result of, the pervasive party scenes the viewer becomes the Carroway character; the third person both watching and participating. There are haunting hints of Carné's Les Enfant du Paradis; the failure or success of relationships, the power and harm of attraction and dependence.
  
  DiCaprio's heavy acting style managed not to crush the nuances of Gatsby but actually to sustain them through a close, crowded, intense film. Mulligan portrays the evasive, elusive traits of Daisy well and Fisher is bold yet brittle as the overly made-up, passionate Myrtle. Jordan Baker is under-used; perhaps because Luhrmann was less confident with the more androgynous female, to ensure the audience isn't distracted by another potential romance or just for reasons of economy with regard to the script. Edgerton is strength disguised in the form an unfaithful fool. Maguire's Carroway is a less well-formed creation, this is either a strength of the film in that the audience can more easily place itself in his role or a weakness in that he fails to elicit sympathy for Gatsby and the others. Bachchan's Bollywood star shines in his minimal appearances.
  
  I love the novel and I also admire this film but they are two separate, yet linked creatures, and should be treated as such; if you seek to compare you'll be disappointed, take the occultist hint and open your eyes and mind to something different.

Top Ten Hottest Women in Cinema

It's taken some time but t'other half of Cinema Revisited (Marie) has finally settled on her ten hottest women in cinema.  In no particular order....

Kathleen Turner: I challenge you to suggest another actress who could have burned her way into an audience's psyche with the sort of performance she produced in Body Heat.

Anna Karina: but only in black and white, unfortunately her teeth are a bit grim in colour!  She's captivatingly cool.

Hedy Lamarr: incredibly beautiful and intelligent (look up her contribution to technology, really), but with vulnerability.

Monica Belluci: girl crush! The woman has incredible allure  and the ability to take on challenging roles

Faye Dunaway: sexy, sharp and stylishly sixties. The chess scene in The Thomas Crown Affair is legendary for a reason.

Catherine Deneuve: think Belle de Jour and Repulsion: she draws you in but holds you at a distance. Chic and cutting.

Berenice Marhole: I confess to only having seen her i the latest Bond but she practically crackles on screen; confident, striking and different from the standard Hollywood fare.

Marisa Berenson: she glides with a certain serenity and has a calm beauty that would surely quell any audience in uproar.  Not likely with Death in Venice or Barry Lyndon but never mind.

Charlotte Rampling: surely no other actress has a verb for a form of attraction in her name but take a look at Helmut Newton's photos of her and you'll understand why.

Julie Christie; her Lara is so embedded in my mind I still haven't recovered from discovering that Pasternak's version was not the complex, conflicted blonde shown in Lean's film.  Charlize Theron's recreation for Dior of her Darling "strip" is a good but superficial version of the spiky original.