Haines His Way
Archives => Archive 2 => Topic started by: bk on May 15, 2004, 11:56:21 PM
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Well, you've read the notes, you've gotten the buzz, you're ready to fly, and now it's time to post on a variety and also a hollywood reporter of topics. To it, I say.
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First Post! Huzzah!!
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Second Post! Huzzah, again!
And in the words of Jane Curtain, "Good Night, and have a pleasant tomorrow."
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Welcome seven GUESTS. Happy Sunday to all.
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Good evening.
I had a rather busy evening. First I went to a concert featuring my dear mother on vielle, an early music instrument. Beautiful performances, especially by the soprano they had. Simply a goregous lyrical voice.
Then I caught a late show of Van Helsing with a few friends. This was, I must say, an extraordinarilly bad movie, IMHO. The dialogue was crap, the story had more holes than my nylons...the special effects were marvelous, of course. It was fun to sit there and make comments about it. Think Mystery Science Theater 3000. There was one scene featuring "dracula's children" which bore a strong resemblance to the flying monkeys. There was actually one scene where they were shown flying past a window of a castle. I promptly leaned over to my friend and started humming the Wicked Witch theme from Wizard of Oz. It was really too funny to be scary.
Anyway, that was fun. Now off to bed.
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The nice thing about Van Helsing is that it spurred Universal to re-release their Drackie, Frankie, and Wolfie flicks in well-packaged DVDs.
Speaking of which, does anyone out there care for the Philip Glass score for Dracula?
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Hmmmmmmmm.....I have only heard a bit of the Glass score for DRACULA, it didn't seem to fit the movie I was watching, but maybe I should watch/listen to the whole thing.
I think DRPANNI may be onto something about the timing of the fly hatchings - which are very predictable a lot like Richard Hatch.
I like Hammer Films to an extent. I don't buy too many of them, but one rather "late" Hammer Film that I like a LOT is PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES. Very atmospheric with some fine acting and some creepy moments.
DRJOSE how does one "win" an underwear contest?
Nice and cool this morning and hopefully it will be drier today than yesterday.
I have a CD of ASIB and WSS - the promo on TCM seems to indicate that the A STAR IS BORN CD will feature the original "pink" LP cover, the box set cover, but I don't know if it is a must have. It does include some of the underscoring which my CD doesn't have. Haven't heard anything about the necessity or the quality of a new WSS cd.
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DRMH - thanks for the comment on my thread over at the DVD Place!
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Speaking of which, does anyone out there care for the Philip Glass score for Dracula?
Not me. I think the bare-bones, cobbled-together classical pieces heard briefly in Dracula work far better.
Philip Glass's score is ponderous and overbearing...and worst of all, he succumbs to the present-day tendancy to saturate the movie with the score. Sometimes, the most effective thing the music can do in a movie is to remain silent.
And, the fact of the matter is that I've never been a big fan of minimalism. There are some pieces I enjoy (like Glass's Songs from Liquid Days, and some Steve Reich works), but minimalism generally leaves me underwhelmed.
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I saw my first cicada this morning!
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I hear ya, DRROBIN, and in some of the parts I listened to, the music didn't seem to have much to do with the action or the mood of the scene on the screen.
I would imagine that DRACULA was many young film fan's first introduction to SWAN LAKE.
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Re: the re-broadcasts of Carol Burnett and Dick Van Dyke.
They will be on NEXT SATURDAY.
Dick Van Dyke: May 22, 9pm
Carol Burnett: May 22, 10pm
It's listed on the homepage at CBS.com.
http://www.cbs.com
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Kidman, Bennett and Blige Join Tony Telecast:
http://www.broadway.com/template_1.asp?CI=38587&CT=38
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I think DRPANNI may be onto something about the timing of the fly hatchings - which are very predictable a lot like Richard Hatch.
Richard Hatch as in Survivor or Richard Hatch as in Battlestar Galactica? They don't look alike.
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I saw my first cicada this morning!
Your first ever, or your first this year?
I've never seen one.
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BK wrote: "I thought the Dick Van Dyke and Carol Burnett things were going to be rerun tonight. That's what people here said. They most certainly were not rerun, not that I can see, unless they were on some channel that I don't know."
No, sir, I did NOT say that. I said they were being rerun A WEEK FROM SATURDAY which would make it Saturday night the 22nd.
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http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/040517/misc/17photog.htm (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/040517/misc/17photog.htm)
If you remember THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM and THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, the article above compellingly tells the tale of the fate of Jana Scneider, a cast member of both, who has fallen onto harder times than Tonya Pinkins.
The article is mesmerizing and depressing, but must certainly be read.
A DR sent me the link this morning, so, I share it with the rest of the DRs; it is quite a tale.
I believe it falls under the heading, "Truth IS stranger than fiction."
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Richard Hatch from the tv series BATTLESTAR GALACTICA thank you.
And my first cicada in this cycle.
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Very sad DR TD
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Very sad DR TD
You were warned. . .it is sad, it is compelling, and as they said on some tv show: "It's all true."
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Good morning. My under the weather-ness seems to have gone over the rainbow. I feel normal again (relatively speaking - cousins, I think). Had a nice walk. So far it's overcast and a bit cool. Very pleasant.
Thank you for straightening out the Dick Van Dyke mystery, DR Jennifer. I do want to catch the show.
Off to shower...
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However, I just watched Dracula Has Risen from the Grave and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, so I was in my Hammer mode. You know the old saying – if I had a Hammer, I’d Hammer in the morning, I’d hammer in the evening all over this land. Anyway, I was pretty disappointed with Dracula Has Risen and Frankie Must be Destroyed, so I didn’t hold a lot of hope out for Kronos.
Well, i won't go all vitriolic, but, i found FRANKENSTEIN MUST BE DESTROYED to be one of the best Hammer efforts. Cushing's Frankenstein is the monster, as the script makes clear in many ways, most notably the rape scene.
FMBD does a nice Hitchcockian set piece, too, with the body in the garden and the busted water main.
Simon Ward - Young Churchill himself, seems a bit to beefy to be so put-upon, Hammer regular Shane Briant might have been more effective.
Veronica Carlson is perfect at the heroine, as is the creation (of brain transplanting, not, re-assembled body parts) of Freddie Jones, who was also very effective in David Lynch's THE ELEPHANT MAN.
Although it had a troubled history, Christopher Lee holding out for more money until filming was actually underway, DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE is certainly not without its merits.
As a statement on Edwardian morality, it is a brilliant endeavor; HOWEVER, as a Dracula movie, it sucks. Lee's Drac is given NOTHING to do but stare and scowl, the character does not even really belong to the film.
But, DHRftG is moodily photographed, has the chaste brothel scene which introduced the Count (not Drac) who SHOULD have been the antagonist, leading to the great scene in the "novelty" shoppe, with the films great array of character actors in their prime. The Black Mass scene works well for me too. . .all those buttresses and stained glass create a truly eerie ambiance.
Once Lee's Drac appears, though. . . .
There are still some great-ish scenes all linked to a "sins of the fathers" theme. The sexual tension when the daughter is forbidden to go out for the evening, and might suffer a whipping is intense even for a Hammer film.
Both films look great on dvd, audio-wise, though, DHRftG has a better soundtrack.
It's been a while since I looked at CAPTAIN CRONOS, but, I remember being very impressed with Paramount's presentation on dvd. And, it has Shane Briant, too. It's a comic book, though more, graphic novel inlfuenced film, which should have started a series. It features a very enigmatic leading character, deliberately so. There are times when it reminds me of THE CONQUERER WORM, just the mood, not the violence, and I know I'll watch it again.
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If you remember THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM and THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, the article above compellingly tells the tale of the fate of Jana Scneider, a cast member of both, who has fallen onto harder times than Tonya Pinkins.
The article is mesmerizing and depressing, but must certainly be read.
A DR sent me the link this morning, so, I share it with the rest of the DRs; it is quite a tale.
I believe it falls under the heading, "Truth IS stranger than fiction."
DR TD, thank you for this link. It's a fascinating situation, and my heart bleeds for her. I remember her in DROOD quite well, and I assumed she was one more performer who headed west to LA, married, had a family, left the busness, went back to school, I've worked with people who've chosen many of these options, and you wonder, whatever happened to . . .?
I did dinner theatre back in the 1970s, and one of the actors I worked with ended up in LA as a semi-regular on MURPHY BROWN. I haven't seen him in anything since then, but I'm sure he's working. Another actor in that same production came to New York around 1979 and was killed by hitmen during a landlord-tenant dispute over his boyfriend's apartment.
I worked on a Kern gala in the mid-1980s with an actress in NINE, who left the business to become a lawyer, as did an actress I worked with at Goodspeed in THE CHOCOLATE SOLDIER.
I was friendly with an actor in the 1980s who claimed to be the son of a famous tv actor. I saw him about four years ago, completely strung out, asking friends for money, and unable to complete a sentence.
Several years ago, there was a homeless man living on my block who hung out at the local video store. He was always showing the clerks gay porn video boxes of his "career": Bill Eld. He made his living collecting empty cans and bottles.
I hope whatever demons are controlling Miss Schneider can be put exorcised.
On another note, I still want Hammer's VAMPIRE CIRCUS on DVD! Whenever I go to Amazon.co.uk, I get so angry over DVD releases elsewhere that haven't yet made it to Region 1. I can order a CD with no problem, but I can't do much about DVDs until I get a player that takes any region. Vewwy fwustwating.
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I hear you on Region 2 DVD's. MR BK is always writing about the things we can't see....but he does encourage us to get an all region DVD player which is readily available....so we have been told.
HEY!! When did TCM begin broadcasting in stereo? I noticed it yesterday and this morning HIT THE DECK is in nice 5.1. I didn't notice it last month in KISMET? Is this something new, or has my cable system just started it?
Thank goodness....now TCM is complete!
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Just read the story of Jana Schneider. Such a sad, sad evolution to where she is now. I remember her so vividly in DROOD. Sad, sad, sad.
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This is for the merry searchers, and all of the other FIGS here.
From James M. Barrie's PETER PAN IN KENSINGTON GARDENS:
The Gardens are a tremendous big place, wit millions and hundreds of trees; and first you come to the Figs, but you scorn to loiter there, for the Figs is the resort of superior little persons, who are forbidden to mix with the commonality, and is so named, according to legend, because they dress in full fig. These dainty ones are themselves contemptuously called Figs by David and other heroes, and you have a key to the manners and customs of this dandiacal sextion of the Gardens when I tell you that cricket is called crickets here. Occassionally a rebel Fig climbs over the fence into the word, and such a one was Miss Mabel Grey, of whom I shell tell you when we come to Miss Mabel Grey's gate. She was the only really celebrated Fig.
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I guess that's what makes horse racing, Td. Actually, from your description, it sounds like you're talking about a different film than the DHRFTG that I watched. These new Warner DVDs sport very nice transfers - just wish I liked those two films. I DO adore the Karnstein trilogy (The Vampire Lovers, Lust for a Vampire, and Twins of Evil, I like Plague of the Zombies and The Devil Rides Out, too.
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SPOO! DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE is a take on Edwardian RELIGION, not morals. . .i'm bad. TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA is the take on morality. . .
I like them both, and that's what makes horse racing.
I'm very fond of the scores of these Hammer films too.
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Good Morning!
I'm about to rush around again since I stayed in bed longer than I should have this morning... again... ah, but I still have a good chunk of time to get ready to head in for the matinee.
I'm just trying to decide if I want to see SENOR DISCRETION HIMSELF over at Arena Stage tonight. It will be my last chance to catch the show, and since I have a bunch of friends in the show, etc... I guess I'll just see how I feel after playing the matinee today... But I think the "guilts" will kick in, and I will be catching tonight's show before heading back to Richmond for the "weekend".
So, if I do end up catching the show tonight, I will not be able to be a part of the chat here on HHW tonight. Consider this my "note". ;) -But I'm sure you'll have a sparkling and scandalous time without me. ;D
Well, that's all my mind can come up with at this point and time...
Laters...
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What's your take on THE ELEPHANT MAN, BK? Do you, as I, find it to be a tribute to Hammer through Lynchian eyes?
Terrance Fisher is an underrated director, he could have made a nifty film of THE ELEPHANT MAN.
As you can see from my previous post, when I am wrong, I willingly admit it.
I hope that everyone is reading the piece on Jana . . .
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I like The Elephant Man very much and wrote a musical version of it which was excerpted on the HBO comedy show Likely Stories.
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And Plague of the Zombies has a supporting performance by Mr Ted Casablanca himself - Alex Davion.
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Where in tarnation IS everyone?
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I am about to leave on a sojourn to Sandy Eggo to catch a performance of Verdi's La Traviata.
As Dear Reader Jose might say...
"Laters."
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What a shame, Jay, as we're doing our own performance of La Traviata right here at haineshisway.com this very day.
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Had a nice long conversation with Juliana last night - I'll be attending her opening night and escorting her to the after-party. We've got some interesting things cooked up for the end of her Millie journal, and we've got even more interesting things cooking for its after-life.
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I remember reading about Jana Schneider when she decided to leave acting to become a photographer. An article I read talked about why she did it and what she was planning to photograph. I sounded like a wonderful decision and such a noble cause. I always wondered about her, and now, sadly, we know what happened. :'(
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On another note, I still want Hammer's VAMPIRE CIRCUS on DVD! Whenever I go to Amazon.co.uk, I get so angry over DVD releases elsewhere that haven't yet made it to Region 1. I can order a CD with no problem, but I can't do much about DVDs until I get a player that takes any region. Vewwy fwustwating.
I hear you on Region 2 DVD's. MR BK is always writing about the things we can't see....but he does encourage us to get an all region DVD player which is readily available....so we have been told.
Let me give you my testimony. Last year (or maybe the year before), I asked BK about his region-code-free DVD player and he talked about getting it at www.hkflix.com/. I went there and got a Sampo DVD player (which they no longer offer), but it was a great deal and I've since gotten DVDs from England, France and Australia. I highly recommend getting one. They, of course, play US discs. If anyone is looking for a new DVD player at all, get a region-code-free player. There is absolutely no reason NOT to get one!
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When I bought my region-free JVC player, it was top of the line and cost under 250. They can now be gotten for close to 100.00. You must be sure that it will do the anamorphic conversion properly - some players don't. eBay has them up all the time, but the address George gave is where I got mine, and they have quite a few good inexpensive players that work properly, and they're reliable.
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Re: Juliana's journal
Will you catch up what we're missing so we can experience her end of the run when it happens?
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I'm on my way out to see GREASE. Woohoo. :)
Actually a family friend is playing Sandy. And she's cute and a good actress/singer. So it may not be so bad.
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Oh and I saw LOVE ACTUALLY, which I believe DR Jane said she thought i'd really like.
I didn't really like it. It was okay. I mean I do sort of like the concept where you see many different people who seemingly have no connection. But my problem is when there are so many characters, you don't really get to explore each one enough so that I care about them.
I really like Hugh Grant. But I wanted the movie to be about his story.
And what about Laura Linney? I don't even think her story ended.
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Our plan is to have a countdown to her leaving the show - a new entry every day from the time she opens here in LA to the time she leaves.
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May I just say, where in tarnation IS everyone? Chat in a mere six and a half hours.
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I think we got us a bunch of lazy loafers on this Sunday afternoon. Too many mint juleps, I suppose.
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I've been writing and my back hurts, so I may just take a break and go out into the world. It IS Sunday after all.
One of these days I'm gonna get me a DVD player.
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...To clarify, so I don't sound like a total Luddite - I DO have a DVD player, but it's broken. So what i should have said is that one of these days I'll get a NEW DVD player.
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Get a new DVD player, Luddite.
I'm worried about dear reader Jane. I know that her beloved Echo was having problems, and I also know she's got to be back by now, so hopefully she'll let the concerned denizens of haineshisway.com know how she's doing.
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I am hungry, you Luddites. I'm going to get something to eat and I do hope there will be some postings for my mental delectation upon my return. And some topics would be nice.
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...To clarify, so I don't sound like a total Luddite - I DO have a DVD player, but it's broken. So what i should have said is that one of these days I'll get a NEW DVD player.
as long as you have a working cd player. . . .since something is on its way to you. CHECK your mail MATE. :)
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Let me give you my testimony. Last year (or maybe the year before), I asked BK about his region-code-free DVD player and he talked about getting it at www.hkflix.com/. I went there and got a Sampo DVD player (which they no longer offer), but it was a great deal and I've since gotten DVDs from England, France and Australia. I highly recommend getting one. They, of course, play US discs. If anyone is looking for a new DVD player at all, get a region-code-free player. There is absolutely no reason NOT to get one!
DR George, thank you! I shall pursue this.
I've been in and out with laundry and proofing on this Mickey-Judy show, which is a nightmare because the copyist is a lovely lady who never checks the notes she's entering to ascertain they're harmonically correct (a lot of Finale copyists enter what they see and don't know a thing about harmony), so every chord has to be read from flute to bass to ascertain the notes in the chords are correct! A major pain in the ass, let me tell you! I've got 13 numbers to go on this round, the producer screams about budget, and I feel only responsible for the few notes I put incorrectly on paper!
I will be at Chat, maybe with more scandalous gossip.
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I should note (A#) that I am currently enjoying one of my all time favorite films on dvd, and it's one of DR Elmore's as well:
NASHVILLE
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I have no idea what you people are talking about, so here's my topic for free-for-all day. My brother brought home a box of salt water taffy. I can't tell what flavor the green ones are supposed to be. Discuss.
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I should note (A#) that I am currently enjoying one of my all time favorite films on dvd, and it's one of DR Elmore's as well:
NASHVILLE
Doesn't Ronee break your heart?
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I have no idea what you people are talking about, so here's my topic for free-for-all day. My brother brought home a box of salt water taffy. I can't tell what flavor the green ones are supposed to be. Discuss.
Green? Mint? Algae? Asparagus? Avocado? Pea Soup?
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So sad, to be all luddite in the world.
::)
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Doesn't Ronee break your heart?
Indeed she does. It is one of the great female film performances of all time.
The highly under-rated Gwen Welles turms in quite a performance as well.
I never get enough . . . I never get enough . . . I never get enough of your love . . .
[/i]
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BK, your Derby winner from a couple of weeks ago also won the Preakness (by twelve lengths). We could be looking at a Triple Crown Winner.
Funny Johnny Mercer story Mr. Drake regaled me with at the ballgame the other night: After seeing a British musical (don't know which one), Mr. Mercer was heard to comment, "If I ate alphabet soup, I could shit better lyrics than that."
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This afternoon I put in a movie I almost never watch - GIRL CRAZY. When I think of Mickey and Judy, I generally go to BABES ON BROADWAY which is my favorite of their films. However, I had forgotten that sensational dance Judy does with Charles Walters to "Embraceable You" in GIRL CRAZY, and now I'm furious with Warners for not giving us this Mickey-Judy on DVD instead of LOVE FINDS ANDY HARDY.
Hopefully, the folks in charge there have another batch of Judy on the back burner that will include EASTER PARADE, THE PIRATE, SUMMER STOCK, BABES ON BROADWAY, and GIRL CRAZY. At least, that's what I'd like to see.
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Dear Reader td,
Thanks for the link to the sad story...
Found this related to it!
http://www.madison.com/captimes/news/moe2/74150.php
Can't stay online right now; sone guest is waiting to use the iMac!
See y'all soon!
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Still on page 2?
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About time!
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There's still something I don't get here with this dance!
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Well, we have another remake on TV tonight - HELTER SKELTER. As someone who had nightmares from the one with Steve Railsback back in the 1970s, I have NO intention of watching this new version.
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BTW, I read the VARIETY review of the new version of THE LION IN WINTER. It was very positive with especially good words for Stewart and Close.
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Can't attend chat, because I'll be at the opening of Diary of a Scoundrel, the Russian farce for which I've provided incidental music. It plays tonight at 8 and tomorrow at 2 & 8 for free at The Circle in the Square, where Frozen normally plays.
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The Rosemary Clooney Show.... on DVD! NEW!
http://www.rosemaryclooney.com/tvshowcd/singingatbestdvd.htm
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I remember seeing Jana Schneider in the touring version of Drood and she was the chosen murderer that night. I wonder after reading that sad article about her if her character wasn't chosen more times than all the others.
Maybe one day we will find out who was the most chosen murder of all time in the Broadway version of Drood.
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Starting to price my vacation to NZ and it is becoming a little more expensive than I bargained for and with traveling time about 3 days to get there and 2 to get back that only leaves me a week there and I really wanted to see both islands. I wish that I had three weeks and that would have made it so much easier. I think I will have to look for alternatives.
Maybe driving across the USA from one ocean to another that looks like an adventure and then I could spread the word of HainesHisWay to thousands of people!!
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Are these Hammer DVDs the British versions or the edited USA version of the film which usually deleted the violence and nudity?
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Watched over the weekend Torch Song Trilogy with Harvey Firstein's commentary. Interesting what he had to say about the history of the play and what they did to get it to be filmed.
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Well, as to DROOD's most popular choices, I have no idea; I've never read any statistics about how many times each potential person got chosen, but we do know that Princess Puffer was the choice on opening night.
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Also watch Love! Valour! Compasssion! Had not seen it since I saw it in the theater. This time around I think that Jason Alexander was all wrong for the part of Buzz. It was too bad that Nathan Lane did not want to do the film version as the part was written for him. It has his beats. JA was a "name" when it was filmed. I think Mario Cantone would have been soo much better in it.
Feirstein says in his commentary that it is hard for gay men to play gay men in films. Well in LVC there are three: Stephen Spinella and John Benjamin Hickey who play lovers and John Glover who plays twins and won a tony award for it.
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The Hammer DVDs which contain nudity (i.e. the Karnstein trilogy) all have their nudity intact.
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Green salt water taffy is the flavor of leaves.
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Well, as to DROOD's most popular choices, I have no idea; I've never read any statistics about how many times each potential person got chosen, but we do know that Princess Puffer was the choice on opening night.
I think Rupert Holmes at one point was suppose to divulge that info to BK, but it never happened.
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Meant to also say that I did not see LVC on stage and the setting was not realitic. Those that saw it on stage and on film: Did the realistic setting in the film detract?
PS the movie was film just outside Montreal, Canada.
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The Rosemary Clooney Show.... on DVD! NEW!
http://www.rosemaryclooney.com/tvshowcd/singingatbestdvd.htm
Who is Rosemary Clooney? ;D ;) :)
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BTW, I read the VARIETY review of the new version of THE LION IN WINTER. It was very positive with especially good words for Stewart and Close.
Who is in this version? Glenn Close and ????
It would have been interesting to Anthony Hopkins play Henry.
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Open question out there.
I have been seing infocommercials for VOOM satellite service. It boasts more HiDef programing than any other service. Has anyone tried it or is using it? Or knows if anyone is using it? I am tempted to try it out.
My local cable service is behind in the HiDef service and haven't looked into other companies out there who offer a simialr service.
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I be surprised if Jana wasn't elected the murderer most often. She was just that good. The audience loved her.
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Can't attend chat, because I'll be at the opening of Diary of a Scoundrel, the Russian farce for which I've provided incidental music. It plays tonight at 8 and tomorrow at 2 & 8 for free at The Circle in the Square, where Frozen normally plays.
So, what you're telling us is that Diary of a Scoundrel is skating around Frozen's regular performance schedule?
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In the production I saw Jean Stapleton was Puffer, Clive Revill was the Chairman, Paige O'Harra was Drood and John Herrara was Neville. This version was not the same as the broadway version it had been rewritten. Ceylon was dropped and there were a couple of new songs as well.
This was also the production that had George Rose in it and who was murdered during a break in the touring schedule.
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I hate flies. And I’m quite certain that flies hate me, as I kill each and every one of them dead as a doornail, and we all know how dead doornails are.
Hmm, very strange, BK. Have you thought of discussing this hatred of flies with David (Al) Hedison or Jeff Goldblum? I am sure that some of our younger dear readers will find this difficult to believe, but when I first saw the original version of THE FLY at the age of eight or nine, it was the most terrifying movie I had ever seen at that time. This was, of course, pre-PSYCHO or HOMICIDAL; and long before Freddy or Jason.
Which brings up a possible Topic we could discuss:
What movie did you see as a child or young adult that scarred you so much that the film still makes you uneasy today? (Now, to be fair, it doesn't have to be a horror film or a ghost story or a slasher movie. Different movies can affect people different ways -- like ISHTAR)
I'll start. I can remember two different movies that left lasting impressions on me as a child, and both were released in the same year - 1961. The first was William Castles's MR. SARDONICUS. For some reason that entire film was an uncomfortable movie for me to sit through, although if I were to see it again now, I would probably laugh and laugh (BUT, I won't watch it again). The second film was THE INNOCENTS with Deborah Kerr. At the end of that movie I found myself sitting in this darkened theater in a literal cold sweat. To me it was the classic ghost story and it bothers me to this day. (Even the opera terrified me)
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Green salt water taffy is the flavor of leaves.
Ah, but which leaves? Basil? Bay? Would something that has the flavor of Leaves of Grass taste of Walt Whitman?
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Which brings up a possible Topic we could discuss:
What movie did you see as a child or young adult that scarred you so much that the film still makes you uneasy today? (Now, to be fair, it doesn't have to be a horror film or a ghost story or a slasher movie. Different movies can affect people different ways -- like ISHTAR)
Mine would have to be The Exorcist which I saw when I was 13 years old. I think I looked like 18. I had never seen a movie quite like that one and was in shock for a couple of hours after that.
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The film that still makes me uneasy today and which I still have difficulty watching, as great as it is, is Repulsion. I wouldn't watch Psycho for over ten years after I initially saw it (see Kritzerland).
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"The Innocents" (1961) was the scariest movie of my childhood. (I was 15 at the time and thought it was chilling). Mind games are so much more effective than what they show as "horror" today. The Jasons etc are just stupid (IMHO).
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Meant to also say that I did not see LVC on stage and the setting was not realitic. Those that saw it on stage and on film: Did the realistic setting in the film detract?.
DR Michael, I saw LVC twice onstage, once with Nathan Lane in previews and once with Mario Cantone later in the run, and I preferred the film. To me, the play was so much about a narrator talking to the audience and i'm sick of this device: don't tell me, dramatize it
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What movie did you see as a child or young adult that scarred you so much that the film still makes you uneasy today? (Now, to be fair, it doesn't have to be a horror film or a ghost story or a slasher movie. Different movies can affect people different ways -- like ISHTAR)
Two films: PSYCHO and THE WICKER MAN.
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And one for Mahler.
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And one for page four.
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Has DR Panni wished you all a "Gloomy Sunday". I need some Monday morning reading.
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We have the non North American alliance on the board. Hello François.
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DR Elmore, when you do the dance, try putting a space between the smilies and the moving brackets. That always helps me.
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GREASE was pretty bad.
Went to a buffet after and I ate way too much.
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Dear Reader Jennifer,
I hope it was not greasy food!!
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Oh, oh!
Canada's breaking the alliance :D
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DR Elmore, when you do the dance, try putting a space between the smilies and the moving brackets. That always helps me.
Gee! i did not know that dancing could be so ...coded! :o
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Glide and Step, and then Step and Glide
And everyone stand aside!
Sad to dance all alone!
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I sent DR Jane a PM which has just been answered. She's fine! As is Echo. They've just arrived home.
td - my cd player is warmed up and ready to go. I'll be waiting by the mailbox (well, I don't have a mailbox - so I'll be metaphorically waiting by the mailbox).
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I got hired today to put a cabaret act together for a friend. Looking forward to doing it.
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I was
surfing this afternoon (yeah, right) channel surfing this afternoon, and I came upon an episode of Banacek on the Hallmark Channel. When I originally saw that series, I thought it was so sharp and so clever (and Mr. Peppard, so hot), but the cleverness was a bit strained in this episode. Oh well, it had John Saxon, Cesar Romero, and Sue Anne Langdon so it couldn't be all bad.
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Before I forget, the new recording of FINE AND DANDY (with orchestrations by our own Elmore3003) is a must. Even Mario Cantone can't spoil it and the rest of the cast is first rate. The score is very good too, as are the four bonus tracks.
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Too bad about Jana. She was chosen the murder the night I saw DROOD. Next time, though, I wish an article could be "cut and pasted" onto this here site. I kept getting advertising windows from US News until I finally got to the article.
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Too tired to get to "Godzilla". I hope it will be held over. However briefly...
The "New York Songs" at the Museum of the City of New York was quite entertaining and left plenty of songs for future editions. However Phyllis Newman Green has lost her voice. She was charming as the hostess but fortunately left most of the singing to the others.
From an historical standpoint it was great to see the 1917 Kern-Wodehouse-Bolton HAVE A HEART. However this was one of the weakest casts I have ever seen at Musicals Tonight. Most of them sang fine, but they either overacted or underacted and none of the cast had any stage presence. But Kern could write great songs even then.
Part 1 of the Tony Highlights at the Museum of Television and Radio was great and I can't wait for part 2. This covered from 1967-76 and featured none of the numbers on the recently released DVD/PBS special. We did get a ten minute Merman tribute, the opening and closing of A CHORUS LINE, "Basketball" and "Turkey Lurkey" from PROMISES, Martin and Preston in I DO! I DO!, Ben Vereen and chorus doing "Magic To Do", and a lot more. The only Sondheim was lyrics in the Merman tribute ("Roses") and the auditorium was less than half full.
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I see a Jane. Of course it was dear reader Panni who told me Jane was going home right after we breakfasted (or within a day or so) and that Echo was at death's door. So, glad all is well - I thought Jane wasn't getting home until this weekend - serves me right for listening to others.
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Which brings up a possible Topic we could discuss:
What movie did you see as a child or young adult that scarred you so much that the film still makes you uneasy today? (Now, to be fair, it doesn't have to be a horror film or a ghost story or a slasher movie. Different movies can affect people different ways -- like ISHTAR)
When I was 7 or 8 years old, I saw "Beware! The Blob" (a.k.a. "Beware of the Blob," "Son of Blob" and "Son of the Blob" according to imdb.com) on TV late at night with a bunch of friends. I could only watch a little bit of it. After the Blob ate the fly, the little kitten and the wife, I was out of there. Anyway, at the time, I used to sleep with my arm under my pillow with my hand sticking out at the top. After seeing that movie, I believed that the Blob was under my bed and wanted to eat my hand. Not all of me (a...famous song reference ::)), but just my hand. I was so scared that I couldn't sleep that way any more. I had to learn to sleep with my hand covered so that the Blob wouldn't get it. It's the only time that I can remember that a movie affected me in such a powerful way. Scary, huh? ;)
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It's not an entire movie which gave me nightmares as a child -- it's a moment from a movie. I went through enough real horror as a young girl, not to seek out the make-believe kind, so I never watched scary movies. One day I was alone at home trying to find something to watch on TV. As I switched from channel to channel, I suddenly came across a scene from some old black and white horror film: A child was peacefully sleeping in a darkened room, the camera slowly pans over to the closet, the door is ajar... and the Wolfman (or some such creature) is watching him! ...Well, let me tell you, for years after that before I could go to sleep I had to check to make sure the closet door was firmly closed - and of course that the Wolfman was not inside.
The other film which, as an adult, just touched some weird place inside me was CRIES AND WHISPERS. Don't ask me why, I don't know. Even thought the title suggests it, it's no horror film. But as I was sitting in the theater watching it, very involved, my heart suddenly started to beat so fast I thought it would burst right through my chest and i could hardly breathe. I tried to calm down, but couldn't and finally had to leave.
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I agree that REPULSION is FRIGHTENING. I lived it when I was a young actress. During a season with the Stratford Children's Theater, I shared an old house in Stratford with the only other actress in the small company. I was between boyfriends, so to speak, so was quite at loose ends. She, on the other hand, had a Japanese boyfriend who would come from Toronto to Stratford on weekends to visit her. The walls were thin; the "visits" were loud. There was no rabbit rotting in the fridge, though. And although the hallways of the house were narrow, I did not quite get to the point where hands were reaching out of the wall to grope me as I walked by. However, if the season had been any longer, it may just have come to that...
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Of course it was dear reader Panni who told me Jane was going home right after we breakfasted (or within a day or so) and that Echo was at death's door. So, glad all is well - I thought Jane wasn't getting home until this weekend - serves me right for listening to others.
NO! NO! and NO! (That's three "no's" IN CAPS) I said that I THOUGHT DR Jane might be going home because Echo was not doing well. Which is what DR Jane told me as we stood on the street after our lovely breakfast... She said they MIGHT have to go home because Echo was not well. I hope that DR Jane will back me up on this so that I don't look like an alarmist to whom people should not listen. BTW - The sky is falling.
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That is not the way it was put to me. We mustn't rewrite history. It wasn't couched in "she THOUGHT she might have to go home". I rest my case. Next witness.
Chat in a mere seventy minutes.
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I am more than likely to believe that the sky is indeed falling. Stranger things happen - people vote for Bush.
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Panni thank you for posting I’m home while I read today’s posts. We arrived home to a beautiful newly painted bedroom. Now we need a new carpet and a bedspread that doesn’t clash with the walls. (Quick insert for Panni-the next paragraph, I had typed prior to reading your last post, will back you up).
Not only did our sitter paint our bedroom but he took great care of Echo and Bogie, allowing us to stay the entire time originally planned in LA and to have a more relaxing two day drive home. Penny O, thank you for introducing us to Bill and for walking Echo while we were gone. Echo is in better shape than when we left home.
Jennifer sorry you didn’t care of LOVE ACTUALY.
We had a delightful time at Du-Par’s. It was great meeting Panni, Charles and the lovely wife, and of course seeing Bruce and Jay again. Maybe next time we can go to Art’s Deli we hear is so good. We can’t recall having been there but it hard to imagine we weren’t. I believe it was there when we lived in the valley.
Michael Shayne if you travel across the U.S. be sure to stay at Mesa Verde if you have never been there.
TCB, thanks to the original THE FLY I had nightmares for years from the ending. I was very nervous the sequel would have the same effect but thankfully it didn’t. Since the original movie Keith has dragged me to so many scary movies I can tolerate them and even enjoy them now. WILLARD was one I did not tolerate or enjoy.
For weeks after watching THE BIRDS I recall jumping every time a bird chirped near me.
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Is Michael Jackson scarier than Willard or Ben? I have not seen either movie.
Welcome home Jane. So pleased to hear that Echo is somewhat better.
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Any GOOD news Sandra?
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It's always a brighter day when dear reader Jane is back amongst us at the funny farm.
I'm sure Jane said exactly what Panni is NOW saying, but that was not how it was said to me earlier this day.
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Chat in a mere forty-nine minutes.
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Do you mean Bushmen in your land, Dear Reader Tomovoz????
Chicken Little told me that the sky is falling so I believe it!
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Before I forget, the new recording of FINE AND DANDY (with orchestrations by our own Elmore3003) is a must. Even Mario Cantone can't spoil it and the rest of the cast is first rate. The score is very good too, as are the four bonus tracks.
I'm glad to hear it's a must. I'm thoroughly pissed because PS Classics told me I'd been sent a copy, which hasn't arrived yet, after I'd ordered two, which haven't arrived! One thing about working for Dear Friend BK, the cast, the orchestra, and I got it as soon as copies crossed his desk!
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Chat in a mere forty minutes.
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I could of course be referring to both Bush men DR François. The term is not used in OZ - and I was not referring to the Bushmen of the Kalahari desert either.
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Welcome six GUESTS. We're having so much fun in here. We're having a BLAST. We're having merriment and mirth and laughter and legs.
I rest my case.
Next witness.
I've fully been expecting a stranger or two in chat for the last couple of weeks. Maybe tonight's the night.
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No, my grades still aren't posted. I know I passed, so it really isn't that big a deal. It's just that I worked myself stupid to get all that stuff ready by the deadlines and some of my teachers seem to be taking their time.
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As this matter is being tried in a public court, may I say in my defence that people sometimes understand things that are said in a way they are not meant to be understood. This is not the fault of the speaker (me) or the listener (bk). It is, as the great Strother Martin once said, "A failuh to communicate." I rest my case.
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Next witness.
Chat in a mere fifteen minutes.
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Which brings up a possible Topic we could discuss:
What movie did you see as a child or young adult that scarred you so much that the film still makes you uneasy today? (Now, to be fair, it doesn't have to be a horror film or a ghost story or a slasher movie. Different movies can affect people different ways -- like ISHTAR)
It's really odd that this topic would come up today, because earlier this afternoon, I watched the deeveedee of Horrors of the Black Museum, a movie that has an opening scene that positively horrified me as an eight-year-old. I hadn't seen the movie for at least twenty years, and that opening still made me more than a little queasy. And I knew full well what was coming, and I still got pretty nervous about it.
A movie called The Hypnotic Eye also had a wallop of an opening scene. I've not had the opportunity to see that movie in quite a long time, too.
The Haunting. I'm referring, of course, to the original version, not the unintentionally hilarious remake. I dunno what it is about this movie that does it to me, but I find it unrelentingly, deliciously creepy. For me, this is the gold standard of horror movies. They just don't get better.
I've never found a Friday the 13th-style slasher movie to be even remotely frightening.
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Movie that gave me nightmares was HOMICIDAL...a dreary, violent little creeper in the aftermath of PSYCHO with a knife-stabbing cross-dresser. Ugly little movie from, I believe, William Castle. I think it is another of his gave me a few restless nights as well... STRAIGHTJACKET with Dame Joan Crawford, no less. Never been one for blades going into flesh or bodies being decapitated.
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There was just one film that bothered me after I saw it on television, the original version of The Time Machine. Not the Morloks, no, just a bit that took place much earlier in the film.
Remember when Rod Taylor was travelling into the future, stopping every once in a while? And he stopped at one point, where an atomic war was about to begin? For some reason, the date (August 18th, 1966) stuck with me, and I had trouble not thinking that what the film predicted would come true.
(By the way, is everyone absolutely sure the war didn't occur then, and we've been dreaming everything that's happened since? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!)
(No, that's impossible. NO ONE has enough imagination to create the world we're living in now.)
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OK, that piece of taffy was definitely root beer. Ew!
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Robin - of course, poor Benjamin Kritzer had the exact same reaction to Horrors, and he went running up the aisle and out the theater.
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Chat in a mere five minutes.
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(By the way, is everyone absolutely sure the war didn't occur then, and we've been dreaming everything that's happened since? Bwa-ha-ha-ha!)
The world ended in August of 1999. Both Nostradamus and Criswell said so, so it must be true.
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Welcome ten GUESTS. Should be interesting.
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Time to get dinner started. Hamburger Helper without the mix, made from scratch. Don't know what I'll be putting in it yet, sort of depends on what we have on hand.
Although, since we have both crystalized ginger and saurkraut...nah, not a good idea, the crystalized ginger is too pricy, want to save that for something else.
::)
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Robin - of course, poor Benjamin Kritzer had the exact same reaction to Horrors, and he went running up the aisle and out the theater.
One could hardly blame him. I saw it on teevee...thank heavens for the commercial, or I wouldn't have calmed down enough to watch the rest of the movie.
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As I mentioned last week and as per usual - the minute I mentioned ten GUESTS, suddenly there were eight GUESTS.
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Chat is open, get thy butt cheeks in there. We are going to be telling tales and dishing dirt.
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The world ended in August of 1999. Both Nostradamus and Criswell said so, so it must be true.
Actually, as far as Criswell was concerned, he was only off by seventeen years. (He died in 1982.)
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The world ended in August of 1999. Both Nostradamus and Criswell said so, so it must be true.
Kim Criswell the wonderful singer is a prognosticator?? ;)
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Chat is still going strong. I have lasagna to eat so I left.
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GO CHAT!!! It's happening, man.
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Chat was chatty. We dished, we dashed.
My floppy disk driver is driving me crazy.
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Thanks Tomovoz. I don’t know about scarier, but Ben was definitely cuter.
Thank you Bruce. The funny farm is a good place to be.
You don’t have to wait until Saturday to watch The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited . It will be on TVLAND Tuesday night at 6:00.
We are going to snuggle with the pets and watch KILL BILL. :)
Goodnight.
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Just heard Placido Domingo in a fascinating interview. He was asked what performer he admired the most - in any discipline. He picked Frank Sinatra. Talked about his impeccable phrasing, the usual stuff. But then he said something really interesting. He pointed out the way the words just linger in the air after Sinatra has sung them.
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The same thing has been said about Guy Haines. I'm not sure it was "words" though, but something lingered in the air.
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Perhaps the "lingering" had something to do with Chinese Food in Bed.
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Trying to decide on a movie - but am sort of not in a movie mood. Maybe I'll catch up on some of my TIVOd stuff.
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We have supped, and we have supped well. I don't know what I did differently this time, but der Brucer really liked my "Hamburger Helper Without the Box" meal tonight. Ground beef, browned and drained, a couple of bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, Italian seasoning, a can each of crushed and diced tomatoes with their liquid, half a can of water, salt, pepper, a little Balsamic and a little sugar, and pasta, all simmered in the pan until the pasta was cooked. Same as I usually do. But for some reason he thought it was "better" tonight than my usual.
Shouldn't complain.
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Well, not tp pour cold water, but I did not enjoy DICK VAN DYKE SHOW REVISITED. I thought everyone except possibly Carl Reiner was just a beat off hitting their perfect comedy timing. Dick looked good and I liked Ann Morgan Guilbert (Millie), but the crispness and spot-on timing and delivery just wasn't there. Totally understandable, of course, since it's been almost 40 years since they played these characters, but there it is. You can't go back.
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My goodness, either my watch has stopped or this place is dead.
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Yes, like the Wicked Witch, this place is dead, and only a French Early Bird could pay it a visit!
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Well, I don't have anything to say tonight, but I suppose if you are desperate for posts, I could always post a picture.
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I wouldn't use the word desperate. We don't need no stinking desperate. The situation with the flies - now, THAT'S desperate.
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SOPRANOS was terrific tonight.
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PAGE SIX!
In honor of Echo, who is better...
(http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/tiere/animal-smiley-037.gif)
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SOPRANOS!
But what about COLORATURAS????
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The way that doggie runs, he must have seen the bill of fare at S Woody White's!!
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BK, you should be the Lord Of The Flies!!
-- he's gonna kill me for that!! --
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The way that doggie runs, he must have seen the bill of fare at S Woody White's!!
I'll have you know that our dogs like my cooking.
Wait a sec, that still doesn't sound right......
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Good Evening!
I'm back home in Richmond for my "weekend" - which will be shorter than usual since I have rehearsal back up in DC Tuesday afternoon - so, I'll be heading back up 95 tomorrow night. Ah, well...
I went to see Senor Discretion Himself (the "new" Frank Loesser musical) at Arena Stage tonight. I could say very little about it. I could say many, many things about. And I think I will leave it at that for now. Ah, well...
RE: The Green Taffy - Usually, green taffy is either spearmint or sometimes sasparilla (which is the base flavor of root beer), so.... Although, sometimes it's also just a generic mint flavor depending on the maker.
RE: Scary movie - "The Exorcist" - which I've yet to see all the way through, and "The Amityville Horror" (speaking of flies). I guess I had good nuns in grade school. Slasher movies never really scared me. However, anything dealing with the occult and/or the devil/Satan/etc. usually had me up for a few nights afterwards. Heck, I still get a little "pang" when I look at my clock radio and notice that it's 3:15.
RE: DR SWW's "Hamburger Helper Without the Mix" - I used to love experimenting that way with ground beef. -Hmm.. something sounds unsavory about that statement... TCB?? Well, aparently, in some parts of the country it's called "American Chow Mein" - or something like that... OH, "American Chop Suey" since it's a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. -And next time, you can top it with chopped onions and cheese! (And maybe even put it in individual ramekins and give some broiler time to brown the cheese!!!) -Hmm... Now I'm getting hungry...
Well, time to play catch up on the rest of the e-mail...
As DR Jay so eloquently quoted me earlier...
Laters...
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SOPRANOS was terrific tonight.
The baritone wasn't too shabby either(http://www.click-smilies.de/sammlung0304/liebe/love-smiley-035.gif)
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ba-dump bump.
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Box office report: In spite of the terrible reviews TROY did well this weekend. 45.6 million. (Of course that's a drop in the bucket compared to what it cost.)
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Well... I simply must try to get to bed and get some sleep now... -My mind is just racing still... Maybe it's green tea time... We shall see...
For now...
Goodnight.