Well, dear readers, I’m taking a brief break from watching a motion picture classic to write these here notes. Yes, you heard it here, dear readers, I, BK, am putting the brakes on to take a break, a brake break, so to speak. The musical accompaniment is Mr. Previn conducting the Walton viola concerto and the violin concerto of Peter Maxwell Davies – the RCA recordings, which are marvelously marvelous in superb stereophonic sound. I am sipping a Canada Dry Zero Sugar Ginger Ale and am overtired from not enough shut eye. But let me talk about the classic film for a moment, if I may. I first saw this motion picture in a little year I like to call 1959, either at the Wiltern in March, or the Stadium or Picfair in May. Those are the only options and I suspect it was the Stadium. The motion picture was entitled Rio Bravo, starring John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, and Angie Dickenson. I was an oater fan so I knew I’d probably enjoy it and enjoy it I did. I was, in 1959, eleven years of age when I saw this and, you know, we all loved the Duke and I liked Dean Martin, and we all loved the Nelsons, including Ricky, and Angie Dickenson was certainly appealing to an eleven-year-old. I didn’t see it again until maybe a TV showing or something, maybe a revival house, but I certainly got the DVD when it came out and I could not believe how hideous the film looked – one of the worst transfers I’ve ever seen and there was no real way to enjoy the film when it looked so poor, although I did sit through all of it. It’s a bit long, but the writing is great and no one can top Walter Brennan in that kind of role. So, about four weeks ago, I saw it was streaming on HBO Maz so I started watching but it was that same old dismal transfer. Then I read that a brand new 4K restoration had been done by Warner Bros. and it and a new 4K restoration of East of Eden were going to premiere at the TCM festival and so that happened last Friday. There was a thread about it at the Home Theatre Forum and someone said HBO Max was streaming the new restoration. I found it hard to believe, so I went to HBO Max, found it (it was still in my continue watching list), and interestingly when you continue watching something you click on “resume” – but this was not “resume” this was play now. And by gum and by golly and buy bonds if it wasn’t the new 4K transfer and I am here to tell you it is a thing of beauty and looks like it should, finally. There are some sketchy opticals in the film, but they’ve always been that way. But the color is great and it’s sharp and just wonderful. And the movie is just so enjoyable and fun, and Dimitri Tiomkin’s score is a big asset. I’m halfway through and just having the best time watching it. I also checked out the new restoration of East of Eden and it, too, looks pretty amazing.
Well, I’m back after a long telephonic conversation. I was asked to go to the Group Rep last night to hear some new members do monologues, as we’re about to cast this workshop production I’m directing of a new play. But apparently, there was miscommunication and so there was one monologue. And then a member, one of our L.A. Now and Then folks did a presentation of a, well there’s only one way to put it, of singers doing a Kritzerland-style show, complete with commentary. It was funny to see it literally on the heels of us doing one of the best shows we’ve ever done. Anyway, the whole thing was under an hour, so I was out of there by nine.
Yesterday was, well, difficult in a way. First of all, I only got about three and a half hours of sleep. I was up at nine and then after I answered e-mails, I went to the bank and made a deposit. Then I came right home. I shared the Sami stuff – more photos – every day we’re revealing the cast of two episodes, accompanied by photos. So, if you haven’t seen this stuff, just visit my Facebook page or the Sami the Series page and it’s all there – and on Instagram, too. Then I ordered the pasta dish I like from Stanley’s – hadn’t had anything from there in a month or more. That came and I ate it all up and it was very good. Then I had to deal with the unpleasant part of the day and it was truly unpleasant, unpleasantly unpleasant. I was kind of like a zombie, I was so tired, and then I had a long telephonic conversation, that at least cheered me up a tiny bit. This should just be a completely joyous week as we head to the premiere of Sami, and I’m hoping there won’t be any further unpleasantness, but we shall see.
After that, I had to put gas in the motor car – it’s basically five bucks a gallon again and something must be done about this price gouging. After I got back home, I finished up some movie I’d begun earlier, called The Long Kiss Goodnight, a title that seems to me to have nothing to do with the movie. Geena Davis stars as a teacher who has amnesia about her past after a car accident. We’ve all seen this before many times. Samuel L. Jackson is something, maybe a private detective – hard to know – and little by little Geena begins to have flashes of her former life – as a government assassin. It’s an extremely silly movie, the villains are pure cardboard, the script is lame, and the director is one of those 90s guys, Renny Harlin, who is just awful. Yes, a lot of pyrotechnics, shooting, and explosions but it’s just so tiresome ultimately. Then I began Rio Bravo and the rest you know.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll pray for a MAJOR miracle, we’ll do Sami stuff, so do check out the stuff for episodes three and four throughout the day, I’m hoping the galley might be ready, but who knows. I already have the makings for Wacky Noodles, so that’s the food of the day. There’s nothing at the mail place that needs my attention, so I’ll just be here doing whatever needs doing, and then I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
The rest of the week is more of the same. Sami stuff, book stuff, praying for no unpleasantness and a major miracle, Friday I’m lunching with David Wechter somewhere – haven’t seen him in person since before the pandemic, so that will be fun. Saturday will be a big push into the premiere of Sami on Sunday. Hoping all you dear readers will watch it on the first day and leave Amazon reviews, which is hugely important.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, pray for a major miracle, do Sami stuff, hope to maybe see the galley, eat, do whatever needs doing, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What are your favorite amnesia movies, a genre I normally love. I’ll start with Mirage, starring Gregory Peck – that’s one of my all-time favorites. Others I like – Mulholland Drive, and The Crooked Way. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, so happy to be watching the sparkly new Rio Bravo.