Haines Logo Text
Column Archive
November 24, 2006:

HIT THE ROAD TO DREAMLAND

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, I have given thanks, I have eaten turkey, and I am here to tell the tale. Yes, Virginia, another Thanksgiving has come and gone and also gone and come and I am sated beyond repair and ready to hit the road to dreamland. However, before hitting the road to dreamland there is the little matter of having to write these here notes. There will be no hitting the road to dreamland until that little bit of business is done, hence here I am writing these here notes apace because Ye Olde Bedde is awaiting my tired bones. Speaking of tired bones, yesterday was just the kind of day I wanted and needed, not necessarily in that order. For example, I awoke around nine o’clock after a good night’s sleep. I answered a few e-mails and jogged, and then settled down to watch some DVDs, which is all I wanted to do. And watch DVDs I did. The first DVD I watched was entitled Life After Tomorrow, a documentary about many of the kids who’d been in Annie on Broadway and on tour. That’s just my kind of documentary, and I found it interesting, fun, and touching, hearing about the trials and tribulations, the joys and frustrations of having appeared in the show and adjusting to life post-show. The film will be making its debut on Showtime on Christmas Eve, and I enjoyed having my little sneak peek.

I then finished watching The Wreck Of The Mary Deare, starring Mr. Gary Cooper and Mr. Charlton Heston. It’s not a great movie by any means, by I always enjoy Mr. Cooper, and some of the action scenes are very well done. But what made it eminently watchable was the excellent transfer with its perfect color. If you want to see the difference between a film transferred poorly (in terms of color), simply put on Harper, then put on Mary Deare – it will be instantly apparent that Harper is taken from a fading element and that the telecine operator should have done his/her job and fixed it by adding back some blue and taking away some yellow. The fleshtones in Mary Deare are exactly right and Harper’s, with their pasty-brown look are exactly wrong.

At that point, my Thanksgiving guests arrived with the Thanksgiving feast in tow – Miss Adriana Patti, her mother, Simone Patti, and former dear reader Hisaka. Within thirty minutes we were all seated at Ye Olde Dining Table stuffing ourselves with turkey, a dish of sautéed mushrooms, garlic cheese bread, mashed potatoes, and former dear reader Hisaka’s crab mold – all food was quite yummilicious and the crab mold was a bit addictive, I must say. We had various and sundried desserts. After dinner, we watched two count them two motion pictures on DVD, both of which young Adriana had never seen – they were an excellent education for her. The first motion picture on DVD was entitled Annie Hall. It’s never been my favorite Woody Allen film, but it has aged very well and is still very funny and very sweet. The region 1 DVD is a travesty – non-anamorphic and not great looking. Happily, I have the region 2, which is anamorphic and better-looking, although hardly perfect. After that, we watched Mr. Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest, which was, as always, perfect and brilliant. What a script – every line of dialogue a gem, and so many quotable lines. What direction – every perfectly filmed sequence building and building to the exciting conclusion of the film. What a score – Bernard Herrmann at his finest, which is as fine as it gets. In fact, it may well be my favorite Herrmann score, especially given how brilliantly it works in the film. What a cast – Cary Grant, looking impossibly suave and handsome, James Mason delivering every great line in his unique way, Eva Marie Saint looking impossibly beautiful and sexy, Martin Landau playing the impossibly gay Leonard, Leo G. Carroll as the cynical government man, Jessie Royce Landis hilariously playing Mr. Grant’s mother despite being the same age as Mr. Grant, and on and on. The transfer is excellent, but not as perfect as people have made out to be.

What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I must soon hit the road to dreamland.

After North By Northwest, everyone left, and I finished watching the DVD of The Conformist, which I got an early copy of. I must say, I found the film a bit confusing and odd, but it’s so gorgeously directed and photographed and designed that it was just a mesmerizing viewing experience. Wonderful actors (Jean Louis Trintingnent, Dominique Sanda, Stefania Sandrelli), a great score by Georges Delerue, and some of the most exquisite imagery I’ve ever seen.

So, it was grand to get through five count them five DVDs, and I shall try to get through lots more as the long, long weekend continues.

Today is not quite a day of rest, as I have to get up and tape a radio show with Donald – mostly about the new book (I may read something) and Simply Sondheim. We’ll also be doing a show devoted to The Brain. I haven’t done the show since Rewind came out, which is a year ago, so I know we’ll have a good time. Then I’ll come home, watch a DVD or three, and then I’ll be toddling over to the Ahmanson Theatre to see Light In The Piazza.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog, do a radio show, watch some DVDs, do an errand or two, and see a musical. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, the soundtrack to The Conformist. DVD, next up will be The Fountainhead and then another in the Paul Newman set. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings shall we, whilst I go hit the road to dreamland.

Search BK's Notes Archive:
 
© 2001 - 2024 by Bruce Kimmel. All Rights Reserved