Well, dear readers, I don’t know about you, but I am finding it more than a little difficult believing that today is the final day of May? Where in tarnation did this month go? Tomorrow is June and half the year is almost over. Well, let us hope and pray that June is a month filled with health, wealth, happiness, creativity, and all things bright and beautiful. Yes, as of tomorrow, June will be busting out all over and I, for one, say bring it on, baby. Meanwhile, it’s still May so let’s not jump the gun or the shark or the elephant in the room or whatever other trendy things we might wish to jump. Yesterday, for example, was just the sort of day I needed. I slept late, I was lazy, I approved our new release’s packaging, I listened to and approved the Jason Graae final mix, I went to Best Buy to buy two of their “exlusive” Blu and Ray releases, I had a bacon cheeseburger and fries for my meal o’ the day, and then I came back home.
Then I did something I haven’t done in four years, at least – I heated up Ye Olde Swimming Pool and went swimming for about thirty minutes and it was surprisingly fun. After that, I did some work on the computer and then finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night, I watched two count them two motion pictures. The first motion picture, which I’d TIVOd was Bad Day At Black Rock, which I’d started a few days ago. It’s really a terrific film and one that I never tire of seeing. It’s compact, very well written, very well directed (I’m a John Sturges fan), with a great cast filled with the kinds of actors that simply don’t exist anymore. I wonder if Spencer Tracy hung out with war veterans and did research on his character. I would guess that Mr. Tracy, being the consummate actor and pro that he was, merely showed up and did his job and today’s overly taught actors could and should take a leaf from Mr. Tracy’s book. Then there’s Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, Dean Jagger, Walter Brennan, Anne Francis – well, you get the idea. Not a mumbler or whisperer among them. Not a lot of backstory or character “arcs” in view and you know what – who cares about that stuff when you’ve got a good story well told, well acted, and well directed. Add to that a nice score by Andre Previn and you have a motion picture entertainment.
I then watched the second motion picture, one of the Best Buy exclusive Blu and Rays – Midnight Cowboy. I don’t think I need to say much about the movie – I’ve written about it before – other than to say it’s a bona fide masterpiece in which everything simply works. The performances of Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman are fantastic, and all the supporting players are great, including Ruth White, Barnard Hughes, John McGiver, Sylvia Miles, Brenda Vaccarro, and many others. And the city of New York circa 1969 gives an amazing performance, a must-see really, since the city that calls itself New York today does not resemble one or even two whits the New York of then. Whether that’s a good thing or bad thing is a matter of individual taste.
Now, I want all you dear readers to listen very carefully – the transfer is excellent. I’ll repeat that – the transfer is excellent. I’ll repeat it again – the transfer is excellent. Naturally, I have already read a “review” by some idiot at some website who calls the transfer not so great. What is wrong with these people? What are his credentials? Certainly he doesn’t know what movies are supposed to look like. And they post screen shots that in no way resemble what is on the blu-ray. These fools do such a disservice to the studios and to their readers who believe what they read without having seen the disc, point to these awful screen shots as their proof that the transfer is an old one (it clearly is a new transfer) and, as always, he shows his stupidity by pointing out the “debris” (every reviewer’s favorite word, along with the now popular “grain structure”) in the opening minutes of the film as some sort of proof that the source material is “dated” and not up to snuff.
Note to fool: The “debris” is a by-product of the opticals that fill the opening minutes of Midnight Cowboy – basically one optical after another. That’s what happens with opticals – the negative that’s duped sometimes gets scratches and marks – nothing to be done about it and it’s been there in every print of the film ever made. It is not because the source material is “dated.” These people think they know what they’re talking about because they read something somewhere, but they know nothing about film itself or filming or lighting or film stocks or grain – it’s just nonsense and it should be stopped. Most of these guys are just guys who signed up to “review” in order to get free discs – they have zero credentials, most of them. A handful of reviewers (and I mean a handful) understand transfers and film and the others flail away, parading their ignorance like a waving flag.
After that, I played on the computer, had a telephonic conversation, but did not do any writing – and that, I think was wise. Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I really must get my beauty sleep.
Today, I shall finally go to Mystery and Imagination Books to get them their copies and to set up a signing, which is now probably going to have to be the second Saturday of July, which I think is the 9th. I don’t see any way of doing it sooner, unless I do it the second week of June, which seems like it might be too soon. We shall see. Then I have some errands and whatnot to do, hopefully I will pick up a few packages, and then we have our stumble-through rehearsal at five, after which I’ll go eat. The thirteen-year-old’s mother is dropping off her daughter and the daughter’s grandmother, and I will be driving them home.
Tomorrow, of course, is show day, with a sound check and the show. Also, the helper will be meeting dear reader Laura just outside of Palm Springs to pick up all the Nudie Musical stuff. Thursday and Friday will be filled with meetings and work sessions, and I think I may have to see a show or two – I didn’t write some stuff down and I really have to remember what’s what.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, go to a bookshop, do errands and whatnot, pick up packages, jog, have a rehearsal, and eat. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films featuring Spencer Tracy, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Dean Jagger and Ernest Borgnine? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, as I hit the road to dreamland, on this final day of May.