Well, dear readers, I’m still clearing my throat like crazy, which is, of course, trashing my voice and annoying the HELL out of me and I want it to STOP because I am ready to eat the head of a chicken and now look what’s happened I’m so irritated that this has turned into one of those damn run-on sentences and we haven’t had one of these in a ‘coon’s age and I think we all know how old a ‘coon’s age is and hopefully some punctuation will arrive to save the day say a semi-colon or a colon or a comma or a semi-comma or an exclamation point or a semi-explanation point or best of all a damn period or a semi-period. Whew! I’m glad that’s over. The thing about this confounded clearing the throat business is it FEELS like there’s something that needs to be cleared but there really isn’t – it’s so irritating. Oh, well, hopefully when I arise in the morning everything will be better and the red red robin will come bob bob bobbin’ along. That sounds like a song cue, doesn’t it, so once again from the CD we made for Benjamin Kritzer, here’s one of Benjamin’s early favorites, as sung by Guy Haines, arranged by me, and realized by Grant Geissman.
01 When the Red Red Robin Comes Bob Bob Bobbin’ Along
Wasn’t that perky as all get out? And I think we all know how perky all get out is, so that’s saying something. Yesterday was Friday although it sure didn’t seem like Friday. It didn’t actually seem like any day – it seemed like a faux day, like a mutant day. I got up at nine-thirty after more than eight hours of blessed sleep and my throat was pretty much better, save for the damn clearing the throat thing that plagued me throughout the day and evening until I finally got so frustrated that I began screaming like a madman – that actually seemed to clear things just fine. Go know.
I arrived for my haircut with Teddy, who did his customary wonderful job. I was subdued because of the throat thing, but Teddy carried on the conversation for both of us. After that, I came right back to the San Fernando Valley and had a patty melt that really hit the spot. Then the spot got annoyed and really hit the patty melt and all HELL broke loose. Then I picked up a couple of packages, then came home. I walked to the bank where I did some banking and then came home again. I did some work on the computer, was told that Sunday’s show is now oversold, and listened to music, after which I finally sat on my couch like so much fish.
Last night I watched two count them two motion pictures on Blu and Ray. The first motion picture was entitled Marathon Man. I always enjoy seeing this film, which has a great cast in Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider and Marthe Keller. John Schlesinger does a terrific job directing, and the film has a brilliant score by Michael Small that is very unsettling. The screenplay by William Goldman (based on his novel) isn’t quite perfect, but it’s very good and has some wonderful dialogue. This is an imported Blu and Ray from the UK – it’s coming out in the US in a few months and if it’s this transfer I’m afraid the news isn’t good. Conrad Hall is a wonderful cameraman but you wouldn’t know it from this transfer, which is murky and certainly not off the camera negative. It is, in fact, bordering on out of focus in every long and medium shot – not even bordering really, it’s just out of focus and shouldn’t be and even the close-ups have almost no detail. And here’s the most amusing part – the guy who reviewed it on my least favorite Blu-ray site, a guy who calls himself Dr. (doctor of what, I wonder – certainly not film) gave the transfer pretty high marks, noticing a few deficiencies but not even calling attention to the real problems. He thinks it looks “organic.” Really, Doctor? You think this film was slightly out of focus when it came out, is that what you think, Doctor? News to the Doctor: It wasn’t, and it didn’t look like this. The lab work was done by the horrible MGM labs (the worst in the 1970s) but had they gone from the camera negative this should have looked superb. It’s just bad, the Doctor notwithstanding. I can’t imagine the US transfer will be any different, but maybe it will – we’ll have to wait and see.
The second motion picture on Blu and Ray was entitled The Producers. I saw The Producers when it first came out and thought it really funny – laugh out loud really funny – screamingly funny. At least I thought two-thirds of it was. But it really ran out of steam for me after Springtime for Hitler and it never quite recovers from it. Seeing it over the years, I feel the same always. I enjoyed the musical version of it and thought that solved at least some of those problems. Watching it again last night, I laughed in all the places I usually laugh and then it ran out of steam. Certain things have not aged well for me – mostly having to do with Dick Shawn – of course they cleverly left out that entire character in the musical, a good thing. But what’s funny is cherce and the performance by Gene Wilder is worth the price of the Blu-ray. For me, the transfer is decent and nothing more. Yes, the film was low budget and I understand that. Some of it looks fine, some less than fine. The colors are good, but it’s clearly taken from an internegative because there are – unbelievably – cue marks at the end of the first reel. I can’t swear they were there for all the reel ends because I didn’t notice, but the only way they can be there is because an internegative was used – back then they burned the cue marks into the internegative. Some of it looks too soft, but again, some of it looks fine.
I also did a late three-mile jog, I ate a bunch o’ junk – three one-hundred calorie ice cream things and a couple o’ pieces of chocolate licorice, just trying to get to the 1200 calories, which I did.
Today, I shall hopefully arise without any more damn phlegm or needing to clear the damn throat – I have HAD it. Of course as I’m typing this I’m madly clearing my throat because it feels like I need to – I just need to stop doing it but boy is it hard to stop. I shall do a jog, hopefully pick up some packages, then we have our stumble-through and then I’ll eat something light but amusing.
Tomorrow we have sound check and the show – I will, of course, have a full report for you. Please keep sending those strongest excellent vibes and xylophones that my voice will be in tip-top shape for the show. If I can get through tomorrow without the clearing the throat thing, I’ll probably be okay. If it continues, I’ll be struggling on Sunday and I don’t want that. Monday I send the singers and musical director all the music for the August show, I meet with the East Coast Singer, I complete all the busy work and get that where it needs to go and prep our next release. The week is then filled with meetings and meals and seeing things.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, hopefully arise feeling all better, I must jog, I must hopefully pick up packages, I must have a stumble-through and I must eat. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite films of Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, and Roy Scheider? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland where I shall hopefully not clear my throat and hopefully not have any run-on dreams.