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Facebook has let me connect with friends old and new, of course, but also with groups that are part of what made me who I am, especially the music business in the ’70’s & ’80’s, a golden age, and the Harbin Hot Springs experience beginning 1-1-01, a new age. (Segue from “Life in the Fast Lane” to Madonna’s “Ray of Light”.) In between I became teacher of Shaolin Yoga, did a Vipassana meditation and discovered a living saint, Amma. She gave me a mantra, and my yoga practice became dedicated to the divine feminine, which was, conveniently, embodied in the Quan Yin statue at the top of Harbin’s sacred springs. But mine is also a warrior practice; my students were mainly martial artists. As a result, I try to preach compassion, tolerance, vision, positivity and a healthy (yet worldly) lifestyle. There are two levels of connection that really help me in maintaining health in body, mind and attitude. First is my marriage. For the sacred warrior to maintain his chi, his power to be strong for himself and others, he needs his Shiva energy to be matched with Shakti energy, that of the goddess, the divine feminine. My wonderful wife, Shashi, has learned my yoga (she could teach it now!); we practice together almost daily. She nurtures me in every way I could hope for. Second, and this has been another late-life blessing, I’ve enjoyed a growing network of friends, acquaintances and connections.There’s no doubt that Facebook (and its accessibility on smartphones) has been helpful in connecting. (I’m sure that LinkedIn, Twitter, Snapshot and others are also important, but my experience is with FB.) After the Valley Fire that devastated south Lake County and destroyed Harbin Hot Springs, FB kept us refugees in touch, and still does. It’s proven to be truly valuable. Beside the Harbin groups, I’ve got a Music Industry Reunion group. We’ve also been blessed to make some lifetime friends since we moved from Harbin to nearby Cobb Mountain. There is a ring around Harbin of dear souls who truly live the ideals Harbin represents. Not bound by anything other than common goodwill, they represent an orbit of compassionate power. We had to be away from the blinding light of the heavenly hot springs to discover the synergy available beyond. I feel so blessed with such truly supportive friends who I’m able to see with frequency. Where am I going with this? Simply, that I believe in positivity, and prefer to avoid negativity. Up to a point, this means avoiding confrontation. That point is when the sacred warrior needs to step up to be a protecter. Family, friends, the innocent… those he can. But it seems that there’s a fear-mongering going on in the world and our country now that is encouraging people’s worst prejudices in many ways. I don’t think I need to worry too much about that which I can’t control, or at least have some choice. But I can refuse to give in to negativity unnecessarily, and to do everything I can to spread positivity. We love to have dinner parties. I love to turn people on to music, movies and books. I don’t need to bitch (although I love Joe Walsh’s line, “I can’t complain, but sometimes I still do”). And Facebook has been an amazing way to resurrect, maintain and grow connection. I feel good just acknowledging the birthdays of those who’ve been in my life in any way. And so many have been so significant, or impressive, or both. So use your social media to spread the good word. And make more friends in the non-virtual world, to grow your network. Be a digital bodhisattva and a virtual peaceful warrior. Remember the Serenity Prayer, and may Shiva & Shakti empower you with chi, devotion, service, practice…and beloveds. (Repinted from an August '16 FB post) 
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1933. The sweet spot, post-sound but pre-code. Busby Berkeley's golden moment. Of the three films he did that year, with racier scenes and dialogue than would be allowed a year later, "Spotlight Parade" is my favorite. The chemistry between James Cagney and Joan Blondell was obvious, and the combo of Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler was reliably good. In clasic BB style, the movie ends with three spectacular numbers. And, dig this poster!  I just powered through the 3,000 pages of Ken Follett’s magnificent historical epic, the Century Trilogy. It begins with Fall Of Giants, as five interrelated families move through the momentous dramas of the First World War, the Russian Revolution, and the struggle for women’s suffrage. Winter of the World follows the same five families—American, German, Russian, English, and Welsh—through a time of enormous social, political, and economic turmoil, beginning with the rise of the Third Reich, through the great dramas of the Spanish Civil War and World War II, and into the beginning of the Cold War and nuclear age. In Edge of Eternity, the families come to one of the most tumultuous eras of all: the 1960s through the 1980s, from civil rights, assassinations, Vietnam, the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, presidential impeachment—and rock and roll. The last book starts about the time I was beginning college, so the subsequent events, turbulence, political activism and war are somewhat familiar. What’s fascinating is how deeply interestingly and understandable the earlier periods of the 20th century are rendered by Ken Follett. WWI always seemed absurd to me, but in fall of Giants we see it as the end of another world, that of colonies, monarchies, alliances and class discrimination. That Mr. Follett recounts historical fact through dramatic events affecting five families is brilliant. We care about, or at least are fascinated by, these people and their generations. He did the same in his medieval Kingsbridge trilogy, beginning with The Pillars of the Earth, set in the 12th century and the building of a cathedral in England. The same location is used in World Without End, but in the 14th century. The final volume, A Column of Fire, is set in Elizabeth I’s 16th century, and comes out in September. Each of these is 1,000 pages, also. Believe me, the time flies by. (Did I mention that there’s lots of sex to go along with the impecable historical research?) The overwheming sense of these books is a compassion for humanity. The aristocrats have no corner on intelligence. Goodness and evil exist among every nationality and class. We pull for the goodness, but must acknowledge the power of the dark side, too.   Looking through the top 100 films list from the American Film Institute (AFI), I was pleased to see I’ve rewatched quite a few, multiple times. The top 10 starts with “Citizen Kane” (1941) and ends with “The Wizard of Oz” (1939). “Casablanca” (1942) is #3. “Singin’ In the Rain” is mis-dated as ‘39 (it was ‘52), and “Gone With the Wind” as ‘54 (it was ‘39), but the fact is that many of our favorite films were made in the decade before I was born (‘43). There’s something about the concept of fantasy and the imagination of filmmakers of that time that still impresses. “King Kong” in ‘33 was never equalled; the special effects were too costly, and Ray Harryhausen had to dream up new methods for “Mighty Joe Young” in ‘49. We had all the great Universal monster movies, which began to spoof themselves (“Abbot & Costello Meet…”, “The House of…”) in the ‘40s. I recently saw Laurel & Hardy’s “March of the Wooden Soldiers” (‘34, along with “It Happened One Night”). I had no idea how much “The Wizard of Oz” owed visually to that modest action comedy! It looks primitive now, but Stan & Ollie are special and well worth watching. (My grandfather used to laugh his ass off watching them.) It’s a hoot! 1940’s “The Thief of Bagdad,” debuted Sabu, who was also well-cast in Powell & Pressburger’s terrific “Black Narcissus” a few years later. Michael Powell was one of the three directors working under the Kordas, the powerful family of Hungarian-born filmmakers in England. Technicolor was king, then, following “Gone With the Wind” and “The Wizard of Oz,” so when England entered WWII in ‘39, production was shifted to the U.S., where it was still available. The continuity errors are humorous, as is the tone of the entire movie! And why is it that these crude special effects still charm when, with 21st century CGI, we’re often unimpressed?   I recently did a post on some of favorite crime writers, and was just getting into Jo Nesbo’s books, set mainly in Oslo. Now I’ve read them all. As far as I can tell, only “Headhunters” has been made into a movie. It’s a stand-alone, not one of the ten Harry Hole stories, but it’s exactly like the book, and it’s recommended (although subtitled). Moral choices are dubious with this cast of characters! Another author (who I haven’t read) is Liza Marklund; her Swedish crime reporter Annika Bengzton is a fearless single mom. Swedish TV have done at least six of her stories, available on Netflix as “Annika Bengzton: Crime Reporter.” Each installment is 1-½ hours; two to a disc. Not as dark as Nesbo, but very good as thrillers! Finally, on the subject of crime series, I have a non-Scandinavian recommendation, especially for anyone who enjoyed the Australian series “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries,” which had a lighter touch. It’s “Murdoch Mysteries,” set in Toronto in the 1890s. At first, I found the titular police detective to be a bit dull, though very smart. He’s tres handsome, but a bit of a science nerd. Over the course of a few episodes, the show develops the same cast chemistry and almost whimsical approach that made “Miss Fisher” so much fun.    I finally saw “Hell or High Water,” which has been doing excellent business as an independent film, and is now generating Oscar buzz. It’s about two brothers in rural Texas (“Star Trek”’s Chris Pine, and Ben Foster, who was so nasty in the “3:10 to Yuma” remake a few years ago). They’re small-time bank robbers, and are pursued by a grizzled old sheriff (Jeff Bridges) and his Cherokee/Mexican partner.
The story is by Taylor Sheridan (“Sicario”), and reminds me a lot of Jeff Nichols’ “Mud,” which was one of the Matthew McConaughey resurgence films a few years ago. (Nichols’ new film, “Loving.” is generating major Oscar buzz.) It shows us the American South as a poor place, with jobs gone and banks repossessing land. These brothers are desperate, not intrinsically bad, people, who have no choices left. The film gives us both their, and the sheriff’s, points of view. It’s about circumstance, not moral judgement. All the actors are superb, and the cinematography and direction (by British guys!) captures the feeling of desolation brilliantly, with road signs focused on debt and loans. It’s not a formula film, and helps us understand the feelings of the dispossessed in what have become Red states. Our establishment hasn’t paid attention to these folk. A timely movie!  Recently, I saw an article that made the case that the remake of “True Grit” by the Coen brothers was superior to the original, which starred John Wayne. This is the stuff of endless discussions about movies. When the original is very old, it probably feels that a new version, with currently popular actors and the latest technological improvements, is a commercially viable proposition. This didn’t work out too well for last summer’s “Ghostbusters.” There’s another King Kong movie coming, and I hope it’s good, but even Peter Jackson couldn’t capture the thrill of the 1933 original. I absolutely loved the ‘98 Alfonso Cuaron version of “Great Expectations.” I’d put off seeing it for years because I just wasn’t that excited about Gwyneth Paltrow, who was featured in the poster. But later, after “Y Tu Mama Tambien,” “Children of Men” and “Gravity” had cemented Cuaron as a master (not to mention his cinematographer, triple Oscar-winner Emmanuel Lubezki), I finally saw it. Ms. Paltrow was no less than stunning in the part of the beautiful but spoiled and cold-hearted Estella. The male protagonist, whose name is changed from Pip to Finn, was ably portrayed by Ethan Hawke. Other versions of the story have been faithful to Dickens’ book, set in 19th Century England, but Cuaron updated it to the present day, and reset it in Florida and New York. After that, I had to watch the version I remembered from childhood, David Lean’s 1946 black & white classic, available as a Criterion disc. The distinguished critic Leonard Maltin considers Cuaron’s update mediocre, because it misses much of Dickens’ narrative; I understand his point, as the modernizing of the story required a serious re-write. Maltin considers Lean’s version among the best movies ever made. Lean’s version was moody and gorgeous, and those of us who love to watch B&W classics, and appreciate that the man who would go on to make “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Doctor Zhivago” and other masterpieces, will have to agree. 17-year old Jean Simmons made her debut as the younger Estella. Valerie Hobson, as the adult Estella, can’t match the Vivien Leigh-type fire Simmons had. John Mills, a sturdy British actor, also seems a bit old for the part of the adult Pip. Alec Guinness hints at his future greatness as Pip’s friend and roommate, a relatively minor part. I have to call this a draw, overall; Cuaron truly remakes the story, and Paltrow really makes you understand Pip’s, I mean Finn’s, longing. On a less prestigious level, I enjoyed the French film “Nathalie,” about a girl of the night who’s hired by a well-off wife to seduce her husband, whom she suspects of infidelity. What does he want from his lover? This doesn’t go where you might expect; it’s a sensual mind game between the women. So, I was delighted to see it remade by multiple Cannes award winner Atom Egoyan, who resides in Canada. He renames it “Chloe,” and dials it up to what I’d call an erotic thriller. The cast is excellent, with the delectable Amanda Seyfried as the titular character, the always-effective Julianne Moore as the wife, and Liam Neeson as the husband. There is a scene where Chloe stares into the camera; Seyfried’s eyes are remarkable. “Nathalie,” which has an excellent French cast, is worth seeing for it’s fresh story, but “Chloe” does it better   Commercial directors can do very well. Ridley Scott, for example, has been very successful doing commercials and movies. Harmony Korine and Nicholas Winding Refn do so well with commercials that they can afford to make films that may or not be, uh, commercial. Korine made a big splash with “Spring Breakers,” which featured several former Disney girls in bikinis, behaving badly. James Franco has an out-there part as a Florida drug dealer with whom these bad girls get involved while on Spring Break. The film is a testament to youthful exuberance, to say the least. It also goes completely bonkers. The Spring Break scenes feature hormonal urges let loose. It’s also a curious bit of female empowerment; our heroines aren’t victims, but players. Refn (who puts a “NWR” logo on his films, much like Creed Taylor used to imprint his jazz productions “CTI”) is typically even darker. His “Bronson” (with Tom Hardy) and “Drive” (with Ryan Gosling) are pretty brutal. His latest, “The Neon Demon,” got wildly mixed reactions at Cannes. Elle Fanning (who was cast at 16) plays a naive but beautiful girl who comes to L.A. to get into modeling; she was captivating in the part. It’s a bit of a horror movie, ultimately, as her character discovers that they’re not kidding when they say it’s a “cutthroat business.” Why would you watch these? For starters, Korine and Refn are successful doing commercials because of their art direction, lighting and editing. Many young filmmakers are studying their every move. They can finance their own films, and, win or lose, keep going. It’s pretty cool.   I’ve always loved vampire movies. Of course, they’re not all great. Some are serious (“The Hunger”, “Interview With A Vampire”) and some are silly (“Blacula” comes to mind). But, in the early ‘70’s, anything seemed possible. British Hammer Films had launched its terrific Christopher Lee Dracula series, adding some cheesecake to the mix. The Italian directors Mario Bava and Dario Argento brought in the psychosexual element. But the two sexiest vampire movies were ‘71’s “Daughters of Darkness” and ‘74’s “Dracula’s Daughters,” aka “Vampyres.” These have been restored by Blue Underground and are available on Netflix. I’ll just go with the Netflix descriptions: “Daughters of Darkness”: “With an eye toward fresh virgin blood, ageless vampire Elisabeth Bathory (Delphine Seyrig) enlists the aid of her lesbian consort, Ilona Harczy (Andrea Rau), in seducing a newlywed couple amid the trappings of an upper-crust seaside European hotel. Danielle Ouimet and John Karlen play the young marrieds whose honeymoon is short-lived in this surreal slice of sychosexual horror stylishly directed by Harry Kumel. “Vampyres”: “In this controversial cult classic (also known as “Daughters of Dracula”), two beautiful bisexual women -- played by Marianne Morris and Anulka -- roam the English countryside, luring men to their estate for orgies of sex and blood. When an innocent young couple stumbles into the vampyres’ dangerous lair, they’re sucked into a vortex of savage lust and forbidden desires. Jose Ramon Larraz directs this landmark of erotic cinema.   Please excuse my dearth of posts in the last two months. I was in a Hindu monastery in India learning hypnotism from master yogis. Nothing can stop me now. You are compelled to read about “Chandu the Magician,” a 1932 masterpiece of B movies.
What a great time in movie history! In 1932, sound had just been used in film for three years; nevertheless, most of our familiar genres were coming fully to life. Universal had launched their ‘way successful monster movies, including “Dracula,” making Bela Lugosi a star. The next year, he stole the scenery in “Chandu.” It didn’t hurt that it had the great set designer Cameron Menzies as co-director, as well as the great cinematographer James Wong Howe (who would go on to shoot “Citizen Kane). The other actors (including the lead) weren’t so brilliant, but adequate. “Chandu” completely anticipated “Indiana Jones.” To quote a Netflix reviewer: “Eastern mysticism. mind control, exotic mountain temples, mad scientist labs, death rays and insidious deathtraps. A fearless hero, a beautiful Egyptian princess and of course a dastardly super villain bent on world destruction. It all comes together in this fantasy adventure based on a popular radio serial. The production values are superb, with wonderful sets and miniatures innovatively photographed by the legendary James Wong Howe. The action is breathless, the perils extreme, yet it's mind over matter (and some inventive special effects) that saves the day. Edmond Lowe may not have been the most charismatic choice for the mystical hero Chandu, but it's more than made up for by Bela Lugosi's wonderfully over the top performance as the sadistically evil Roxor. Lugosi is at his absolute best. This is his movie! The lovely Irene Ware is princess Nadji. June Lang and Henry Walthall have supporting roles. The perfectly transferred print and its soundtrack are in pristine condition. This may be the classiest potboiler ever. If it isn't, I would love to know what is. Incidentally, this is NOT a matinee serial or serial condensation, It is a feature film complete unto itself. FOOTNOTE: "Chandu the Magician" may have been the most popular radio serial of all time. At its peak, an astonishing 60 percent of the national radio audience, kids and adults, tuned in daily.” |
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