Well, dear readers, I know I go on about this a lot, but can you believe how fast these weeks fly by? I remember a time when they crawled by and I couldn’t wait until the weekend arrived. Now, the weekend arrives so fast that I’m actually missing the crawling a wee bit. “A wee bit.” What am I, Scottish all of a sudden? A wee bit, and a wee bairn, aye that’s what it’s all about, laddie. I’m feeling quite bonnie all of a sudden and I’m not even lying over the ocean. I think I’ll wear my plaid kilt today. It’s a wee kilt and it’s quite bonnie. Speaking of bonnie, I had a perfectly pleasant day yesterday doing all manner of things and all things of manner. I did a ton of cleanup on my short story, I attended to a couple of things in my new book, I did a wee bit o’ shopping, picked up several packages (including a wee true first UK edition of J.B. Priestly’s marvelously marvelous An Inspector Calls), and had several nice telephonic conversations. Isn’t that exciting? Isn’t that just too too?
Last night I watched two count them two motion pictures on DVD. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled The Sea Hawk, starring Mr. Errol Flynn, with able support from the likes of Flora Robson, Alan Hale, Henry Daniell, Claude Rains, and Brenda Marshall. The director is Michael Curtiz, who has never been included in the artsy auteur pantheons, and yet who has directed more great films than most auteurs could have ever hoped to helm. What a terrifically terrific film The Sea Hawk is – filled with wonderful derring-do, excellent dialogue, ripping good swordplay, and probably the most dashing leading man the screen will ever know. There simply aren’t any actors working today (except a couple of our elder statesmen) that could do a film like The Sea Hawk. Everyone in this film is unique – who could do what Henry Daniell does? No one, that’s who. Of course, a major contributor to the film’s success is Mr. Erich Wolfgang Korngold and his amazingly amazing score. When this film was reissued it was shorn of twenty-two minutes. Apparently, those twenty-two minutes of camera negative are now lost. So, we get a great transfer off two different types of elements. The bulk of the image on view is spectacular, with great contrast, amazing sharpness, and vivid detail. The twenty-two minutes is pretty bad-looking – soft, muddy contrast, and worn. Again, not the fault of the transfer. It’s a minor caveat, however, and if you love a good old-fashioned swashbuckler, go get The Sea Hawk. I then watched the second motion picture on DVD, entitled The Offence, starring Mr. Sean Connery. I have never been able to see this film before. Even though the imdb lists a US release date, I’m quite certain the film was basically shelved here. Oh, it may have played a few days somewhere, but that was it, and even then I have no memory of it playing anywhere in LA. Had it, I would have gone to see it, because I like the director, Mr. Sidney Lumet. So, when I saw there was a region 2 DVD of The Offence, I grabbed it. I wish I could say it was a great undiscovered masterpiece, but it isn’t. It’s clear why they shelved it. Despite an excellent turn by Mr. Connery, the film is so dark and bleak and depressing and grim you just feel dirty after watching it. And Mr. Lumet hasn’t helped by visualizing the material literally – a darker, more grim-looking depressing and ugly film you won’t ever see. He also goes very arty and a lot of it just sinks into incomprehensibility (my goodness, what a long word). Of course, to read the comments on the imdb, you’d think this film was a complete masterpiece, one of the all-time great films. I sometimes think that the people who write these things are complete idiots or are having us on.
What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the wee Unseemly Button below so we can see the bonnie next section.
Today I shall be rehearsing with Mr. Kevin Spirtas for a couple of hours. His accompanist lives just off Highland, so my heart will be in the Highlands today. I shall then be supping with our very own Pogue. We’re hoping that Jessica Skerritt will be joining us.
I’ll tell you this – we’re turning Jessica Skerritt into a legend already. Can you imagine if you google her now, you’ll suddenly get an incredible amount of hits.
We’re just a little over a week away from the Ray Courts show, which I know will be a ton of fun. I do hope some of you hainsies/kimlets will show up so that we can gab and say amusing things.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must do wee things, I must wear a wee kilt (with wee pantaloons), I must talk in a Scottish burr, I must sing the score to Brigadoon, I must write, I must pick up a package or three, and I must, above all, be bonnie. Perhaps I’ll even lie over the ocean. Perhaps I’ll even tell the truth over the ocean. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite swashbuckling films? And what are your favorite swashbuckling scores? I, of course, love The Sea Hawk and The Adventures of Robin Hood, and I adore The Court Jester, and I enjoy Burt Lancaster in The Crimson Pirate, and I even enjoyed Robert Shaw in the mediocre Swashbuckler. The latter has one of my favorite scores by John Addison. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, and be sure to make them bonnie, won’t you?