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January 30, 2007:

DAMN THE TORPEDOES, FULL SPEED AHEAD

Bruce Kimmel Photograph bk's notes

Well, dear readers, damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead. Isn’t that a lovely way to start the notes? Just “Damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead” just like that – that sentence just propels us into the notes, doesn’t it? But, it’s also how I feel about life itself – a metaphor, if you will or even if you won’t. You can either play it safe and hope the torpedoes of life don’t get you, or you can just say damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead – in other words, take chances. What the HELL am I talking about? What torpedoes. Frankly, I say damn the speedos and full speedos ahead. Did you know, for example, that speedos spelled backwards is sodeeps? I am fighting a headache right now. The headache is being pummeled mercilessly by two Tylenol – we’ll see who wins. Speaking of wins, yesterday was a day that was very even-keeled with neither highs nor lows nor even lows nor highs. I got up and answered some e-mails and such, then wrote a little bit, then did some errands, then wrote a bit, then picked up some mail, then picked up the new mix of the Kritzer Time songs, which sound 100% better now, then came home and wrote a bit more. After that, I supped on some Eyetalian food, then came home and sat on my couch like so much fish.

Last night, I watched a motion picture on DVD entitled The Butterfly (Le Papillon), which was mentioned here last week by tomovoz and Francois. I must say, I found it a completely captivating film from start to finish (a very brief seventy-six minutes). The story is simple, the direction is simple, and the film is both funny and touching and also very sweet. Americans no longer have a clew how to make a small film like this, so leave it to the French, who do. Michel Serrault is, as always wonderful as an elderly butterfly collector, and the young nine-year-old actress who tags along with him is really natural and turns in a terrific performance. The score is very nice (I just found a used copy of the CD, so that will be on its way shortly). The only downside was the image quality – stupidly non-anamorphic 1:66 transfer, hazy and not attractive. I’m sure it looks much better on its French DVD, but that doesn’t have English subtitles. I also finished re-watching Written On The Wind, this time from a new Douglas Sirk box set from the UK. What a crazy melodramatic beautiful film it is – Mr. Sirk is like someone who takes bold primary colors and smears them on a campus in big, thick strokes. The color in the film is astonishing, and the acting is as bold as the colors, especially the Oscar-winning performance of Dorothy Malone as the nymphomaniac sister of Robert Stack. It’s the kind of melodrama no one would dare make today (even though Far From Heaven was an homage to this sort of Sirkian film – it never went quite this far). The transfer is interesting in comparison to the Criterion DVD, which came out in 1999. The Criterion is bluer overall and the colors really pop. But, that transfer is taken from a print or an internegative (it has the reel change markers), whereas the new Universal region 2 transfer is obviously off some kind of negative (no reel change marks) – hence, the new transfer is smoother and sharper with much less grain. It’s also darker (not a good thing) and has more yellow than blue in it. I went back and forth between the two transfers several times, and they both have their pleasures.

What am I, Ebert and Roeper all of a sudden? Why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below – yes, damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead.

Today I plan to write as much as possible, and then I have to do the Disney/ASCAP workshop this evening. I know that one of my fellow panel members is the composer of The Color Purple musical. Later in the week, I’m going to a couple of double bills at the American Cinematheque. I never even look at the programs there, but I happened to see one and they’re showing two Blake Edwards films this Thursday – Experiment In Terror, which I’m quite fond of, and Mister Cory, which I’ve never seen. Stephanie Powers, who appears in Experiment In Terror, will be in attendance. There’s also a double bill on Saturday night that I’m thinking about – Woman Of Straw, which I saw many years ago at a sneak preview – I didn’t like it back then, but it is Basil Dearden, and its got Ralph Richardson, Sean Connery, and Gina Lollobrigida, so I’m thinking it might be fun to see it again, since it’s never been on DVD or even home video that I know of. The second feature is Carol Reed’s The Running Man, which I’ve never seen.

The audio clips for The Brain From Planet X and Joan Ryan are up and running, so check ’em out and order a CD or three while you’re there.

Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, jog (a must), write (a must), do a few errands, and then attend the Disney/ASCAP workshop – and, at some point, sup. Today’s topic of discussion: What is the most perplexing thing you’ve ever had to learn? You know, the thing that just stumped you and caused you problems, but that you eventually learned – or didn’t learn? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead as we come to the final day of January.

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