Well, dear readers, there are motion pictures and there are motion pictures. Yes, you heard it here, dear readesr, there are motion pictures and there are motion pictures. Over the course of our fourteen years of these here notes, I have written about a LOT of motion pictures – the good, the bad and the ugly. And over these fourteen years there are just a handful of films that I’ve written about more than any others. The reason for that is simple: I find that handful of films perfect in every aspect and therefore I never tire of them and can watch them over and over and over again. They are my desert island discs. And last night, I watched one of those again.
I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen it but it’s probably well over one hundred. And there is never a time when I am not bowled over by every aspect of it, there is never a time I don’t discover something new, there is never a time that I’m bored even though I’ve seen it all repeatedly. That is because the movie magic is always there. And the films that do this for me are never tricked out films, never films with CGI or things where when you know it well enough the seams show. So, last night it was Chinatown. Once again. It is a masterpiece of the highest order. Every component of it is perfect, from the brilliant script (an original by Robert Towne), to the amazing direction of Roman Polanski, to each and every performance, from Jack Nicholson to Faye Dunaway to John Huston to Perry Lopez right on down to the tiniest role – one of the most perfectly cast films in the history of cinema.
Then there’s the production design of Richard Sylbert, the gorgeous costumes of Anthea Sylbert, the great camerawork of John Alonzo and the perfectly paced editing of Sam O’Steen. And then there’s the score – the score, sparse as it is (around thirty minutes), that just puts Chinatown into a whole other universe, thanks to Jerry Goldsmith. It’s a textbook example of what a movie score should be and from the opening titles it turns Chinatown into an iconic experience. From all reports, the original score by Philip Lambro, with which the film previewed disastrously, didn’t help the film at all. If you’ve heard it you know it plays okay away from the film, but Lambro’s main theme, nice as it is, is just too clichéd and his literal “Chinese” sounding music for the ending sequence in Chinatown is just plain wrongheaded. Goldsmith had less than two weeks to score the film and maybe that kind of looming deadline just brought out the absolute best in him. In a career filled with amazing scores, Chinatown ranks right at the top. One shudders to think what Chinatown would be like if they made it today. All the studio know-it-alls who know nothing would have their “notes” on the film and they would systematically ruin every scene. The film would be scored with aural wallpaper and thumping drums, the actors would all mumble and have no color – well, who’s to say they WON’T remake it at some point. I simply can’t think of a more pleasurable way to pass two hours than watching Chinatown. It’s a tragedy, of course, but it has a lot of humor and its story is just so compelling and layered and the characters are so well drawn. If for some reason you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t seen Chinatown, you owe it to yourself to purchase the Blu-ray immediately. You will thank me. The transfer is fine but less than it should be. The color is perfect but it really deserved a brand new scan off the camera negative, which would have looked amazing.
After watching the movie (with a friend who’d never seen it) the rest of the evening was just so much fun, with fun conversation and lots of laughs. I haven’t had such a nice evening in quite some time.
Prior to all that, I think I got about six hours of sleep. Then I got up, the helper came by, and we did the Costco run, where I got the cutlery and cups for our launch partay on Monday. After that, I came back home, where I had to send Doug Haverty the balance of the song lyrics for Sandy’s album – I’d sent him the first nine weeks ago, but I had to get him the final six – they required formatting, but I got them all done and off to him. Then I had a few telephonic calls and then it was time to eat.
My friend and I went to The Smoke House. I decided to have all starter dishes – so, a cup of clam chowder, a shrimp cocktail, and a lettuce wedge. And some garlic cheese bread, too, of course. It was all great and surprisingly filling. My friend had the fish and chips. Then it was home and movie.
Today, I think I have a pretty easy day. I have some errands and whatnot to do, hopefully I’ll pick up some packages, and then I think I can just relax.
Tomorrow I have some stuff to do during the day, and then I’m going to a dinner theater for dinner and theater, specifically Spamalot, which, shockingly, I have never seen. Kritzerland regular Chelsea Emma Franko is playing The Lady of the Lake. Not sure what’s going on on Sunday. Monday is our launch party and that should be a lot of fun.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, do errands and whatnot, hopefully pick up packages, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player and your DVD/Blu and Ray player? I’ll start – CD, who the HELL knows. Blu and Ray, maybe Hannah and Her Sisters, or maybe the Spielberg film, Always. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, where I shall fall asleep saying, “Forget it, Jake – it’s Chinatown.”