Wednesday, September 26, 2012

no such request

Re-reading the interesting Comments from a Reader of The New Republic, about current movies -- phrases stood out:

...Mainstream movies today, it seems, have not only abandoned story, and character, and photography -- in short, both style and substance, the entire art. They're downright cruel, besides. They're vicious, vulgar, sadistic, inhuman.
[I started to notice that over a period of years -- and I am a person who goes to "the movies" to ENJOY the movie, not to criticize.  It was like the quality of the "product" just drove me away.  I asked a co-worker in 2005 or 06, "Are movies getting stupider, or are my tastes becoming more sophisticated?"  He said probably both -- I don't agree, though, my taste is probably same as always....]
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...or some action-movie atrocity that would be beneath contempt if it weren't so profitable.
[Profit is irrelevant; dehumanizing schlock is beneath contempt.  But he references profit because he believes that's the reason a movie co. makes a movie -- however the claim that, "This is what the public wants" is incredibly WRONG, wrong-all-over-the-place, that's why they SAY it so OFTEN -- no one in Hollywood has EVER asked me what I want in movies and I'll bet they haven't asked you either. 
It makes me think of an early episode of "Bewitched" -- within the first two or three seasons, when it was in black-and-white -- Uncle Arthur plays a trick on Darrin, getting him to think he will have magical powers to "zap" Endora back with, if he sings a magic chant and rings some bells and blows into a ka-zoo.  "Yagga-zoozie, yagga-zoozie, yagga-zoozie, ZIM!!"  (ring-a-ling-a-ding, mmffphooo!!)
He sings it in front of Endora and Samantha, & interrupts his magic singing long enough to bellow in frustration and imminent revenge, "Sam, your mother's been asking for this for a long time!"
And Samantha turns to Endora and deadpans in a voice that is flat but for a tiny hint of a perplexed tone, "Have you been asking for this?"
LOL
When movies come out that are advertised, indeed touted, for having A LOT OF VIOLENCE, I think of Darrin Stephens' silly song, and of Endora, & I think to myself, "No.  I have not been asking for this."
"It's what-the-public-wants" -- bull-roar.]

And his analysis of "The Godfather" and the tidal wave of Mafia movies it inspired for the next THIRTY years -- "They're criminals because they've never risen above their heartless, illiterate upbringing. And there's nothing, absolutely nothing, romantic about it."

[And] --
The Godfather … the gangster picture as oil painting with gilt frame  
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Thinking of "The Godfather" made me think of "Last Tango in Paris."  I was thinking, "I think they both had Marlon Brando in them, and I think they came out around the same time...."  When I was old enough to be aware of these movies, but not old enough to go to them.

Professor Google lets us know, Yes, Marlon Brando was in both of those films, & they both came out -- same year:  1972.
Marlon Brando.
His name was always familiar to me, through my whole life, from the time I was a little child. 
"Marlembrando" was how I used to hear it -- like one word.
A brand name, perhaps.
Cigarettes, maybe -- like Marlboro.

No thanks, I only smoke Marlembrandos.

Marlon Brando.
Called, by Roger Ebert, "the greatest film actor of all time."

-30-




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