The Simpsons #1

Has a single programme penetrated the world in quite so amazing a way before or since?

Asking Scarlet to pick his favourite Simpsons moment is the opposite of torture, it is an open invitation for me to visit some of my most treasured moments in front of the Television, something I'm sure Homer would approve of very much.

The Simpsons is well past its peak these days, but I was lucky enough to grow up with some of its finest moments, so I am going to revisit some excellent moments with you all.  Just a few this time, but this could easily become a regular thing.

You Only Move Twice



You all remember this one right?  This is Ron's favourite episode and one that sees the Simpsons do what it does best (Put Homer in a ridiculous situation and rip off pop culture along the way).  The Simpsons find themselves in a new town and Homer gets a new job, a job that he actually enjoys for a boss we would all love to work for (the suspiciously Ginger Hank Scorpio).  The principal plot is about Homer and the sacrifices one makes for one's family, but in the background sits a wonderfully crafted Clouseau-esque Homer, who remains oblivious to Scorpio's true motives even when they stare him in the face. 

One could say that this is a piece about the ignorance of American employees to the chaos their corporate world wreaks on the rest of us, but it is also a display of the beautiful naivety of Homer we lost in future Series.

We also get a fistful of Bond references, which is always welcome.


Cape Feare



We move swiftly on to Scarlet's favourite episode.  There are several factors that make this one of the finest episodes of The Simpsons ever made, and at the front we have one of the great guest actors in the history of television, enter Kelsey Grammer as Sideshow Bob.

Grammer had made several guest performances before and would go on to turn up many times in the future, but this episode saw Sideshow Bob become the great character we know him as today.  Bob shows us his psychotic side (of course) but we also see the deep romantic he is underneath the homicidal tendencies, and we see it with a glorious conclusion set to Gilbert & Sullivan:



Amongst it all we see Homer failing to understand the premise of Witness protection and a ridiculous sequence involving rakes.

I often look back at this and wonder if my love of Operetta came from here?  We also get the first appearance of the Sideshow Bob Leitmotiv here, which is the main refrain from Cape Feare, the original film.

Homer's Enemy



Ah whatever happened to old Grimey?

We turn a little dark now, this one saw a real everyday man who had to fight for everything come up against Homer and it quite literally drove him insane.  Perhaps a pop at Western Society and the modern world that common sense may seem so alien?

Homer's Enemy is loved by many Simpsons fans across the world, maybe because it reminds us how as much as we love to watch Homer, to be around him would be a nightmare.  The real strength of the episode is Grimey's interactions with Homer, where Grimes is continually baffled, irritated and frightened, the resentment builds and builds...



What is so well done in this episode is that the whole thing is told from the perspective of Frank Grimes, and although we get to know him and what he stands for, we never become fond of him, maybe we prefer clowns to workers?

Scarlet Out

Top 5 Musicals

It may come as a surprise to those of you who don't know me intimately that behind my gruff, rugged, anti-social exterior lies a staunch romantic.  Just because a man has an 8 pack you wouldn't believe and the face of a young James Dean it doesn't mean I don't have a romantic soul.

I suppose my love of musicals comes quite simply from my love of the Theatre, which to me remains the greatest art a man can enjoy.  Over the years Musicals have gained a special place in my heart, and the ones below evoke happy memories for me more and more each time I watch them, the best place for a musical is on the stage, but a film is a glorious medium, and can be enjoyed forever....

5. Grease!



Is there really anywhere else to start?  This film is a wonderful homage to the American 50's and doesn't miss a beat from Frankie Valli all the way through to a car taking off into the sky.

The entire picture is a homage to the heady days where the teenager was seemingly invented overnight.  John Travolta plays Danny (basically an Elvis impression) and Olivia Newton John plays the lovely but innocent Sandy, the acting is good and the songs are toe tapping and memorable but the strength of Grease! lies in the way that the whole thing seems to live in a bubble of its own, there are surreal moments (Beauty School Drop Out, Greased Lightning) but you never challenge them, they just sit amongst the rest of it perfectly.  It is only after the film is finished you realise that Stockard Channing was quite obviously in her 30's, and that the whole thing doesn't make any sense at all.

To touch on the one sour note, the popularity of this film in the UK seems to have embedded most of the songs into the national fabric.  This in itself is not a bad thing, but it does leave me feeling a little tired, on hearing Summer Nights once my friend Andre remarked: "I've heard so many awful parodies of this, I could never enjoy even the original again, no matter how good it is".

A victim perhaps of her own success?  She still edges into my top 5.

I might add that someone very special to me bought me a copy of the soundtrack and told me "You will keep this in your car, forever". It is still in there, and always will be.

Best Song Summer Nights
Best Performance Stockard Channing
Best Moment Frenchie meets her guardian angel


4. Singin in the Rain



The film with maybe the single most famous song-dance sequence in American cinema, this one was the love child of Gene Kelly and remains his greatest gift to us 60 years on.

It is America in the 1920's and Don Lockwood (Kelly) has lucked his way to being 1/2 of the greatest silent film partnership in the world with his co-star Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen).  The main line up is rounded out by Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds as we explore the advent of the 'talkie' through music and song.

Amongst the glitz and glamour lie some of the greatest sequences in American cinema.  Kelly's dash across the city to get away from tribes of fans, Donald O'Connor jumping around the walls, and of course Kelly hanging from a lamppost.

This is the only one in the Top 5 that started out as a film, thank you Gene Kelly, thank you very much.

Best Song You were meant for me
Best Performance Gene Kelly
Best Moment Film Title....


3. The Music Man



This is maybe the most overlooked Musical ever made.  Robert Preston stars as Harold Hill, a con man lovably ripped off in The Simpsons right here:

Marge Vs the Monorail

Hill casts his spell over a small town in Iowa and learns a lesson of his own along the way.  76 Trombones, Til There was You & Goodnight my Someone make this film a diamond studded with even more diamonds (not sure that makes sense :S).  Hill lets the town into his heart and somewhere along the way they all learn the meaning of music. 

The charm of this one is very similar to Grease!.  Once you are in the world of River City, Iowa you never want to leave, I was sucked in by the colour and presentation from beginning to end.  In a unique move the director of the stage show also directed the movie and you can see how that works so well throughout, the cuts and set pieces are pure Theatre!

Best Song Ya Got Trouble
Best Performance Robert Preston (honourable mention for Ron Howard, making his debut)
Best Moment Hill turns a Pool Table into something to be afraid of with 5 minutes of song


2. Little Shop of Horrors



It begins with a man finding a strange plant, and before the end the fate of the world is at stake, it could only be Little Shop....

Rick Moranis is Seymour; an orphan who lives on the poor side of New York with a crush on the classic tart with a heart Audrey (Ellen Greene).  They work for Mr Mushnik in his flower shop and a bizarre set of circumstances unfold as Seymour starts to feed an unusual plant his own blood. Little Shop is bloody, nasty and fun from beginning to end but my own love for this picture comes through the performance of Moranis.  I absolutely love the quiet nerdiness and naivety of Seymour, why does it feel so familiar to me I wonder?

Note also an excellent cameo from Bill Murray, who was one of the biggest stars in the world at the time.

Best Song Somewhere that's Green
Best Performance Ellen Greene does the best job, but Rick Moranis is my favourite
Best Moment Suddenly Seymour



1. My Fair Lady



This will come as no surprise to Ron who had to put up with listening to the soundtrack of this one in my Vauxhall Corsa for almost a year.  The story is one of the most famous and is a straight adaptation of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.

Prof Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) bets he can make the common Flower Girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) into a lady and pass her off as one at the Embassy Ball. Harrison couldn't sing so he speaks most of his song lyrics on pitch to great success, singing wouldn't have suited the character of Higgins at all.

For her part Hepburn produces one of the greatest performances of her career (she is dubbed though, which probably cost her an Oscar) and a young Jeremy Brett does a lovely job playing a hopeless romantic called Freddy.

I saw this around about Christmas 2008 I think, I was hooked straight away, the beauty of the whole thing beginning to end is staggering and Eliza remains my dream girl.

Best Song I Could have danced all night
Best Performance Rex Harrison
Best Moment Eliza lets her tongue slip at Ascot.

So those are Scarlet's top 5, notice how there is nothing modern on there?  My bet is that The Book Of Mormon will one day crack my list, until then.....

IMDB Ratings

My thanks to Andre, whose conversation with Scarlet influenced this article

I have a friend, I have several in fact, hide your surprise please but Scarlet is capable on non written communication.

Anyway this friend is a fantastic chap but if I talk about cinema this is the conversation will go:

Scarlet: I saw a great film trailer the other day, fancy it?
Scarlet's friend: Maybe, what are its ratings on IMDB?

:(

Now then, there is nothing wrong with using an aggregate of what others think to try and help you influence what films are worth your time but to me it emphasises how some people feel differently about Cinema to how I do.

I came to Cinema through Theatre.  To me live Theatre is the ultimate form of art.  I have seen great actors show emotion in such a way as to move me greatly, face to face actors have reduced me to tears, and made me laugh the hardest in my life. The suspension of beliefe can break down and leave me feeling as vulnerable as ever.  Cinema makes atmospherics more difficult but still holds beauty in emotion, in character and in art.  Stories which resound with me like those of a broken heart (Casablanca), of corruption (Wall Street), and the exploration of evil (Chinatown) can move me to a point where I and the camera are one.  Great cinema can almost equal the beauty of the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare's Globe.

You may say: This is all very well but what has this got to do with IMDB?

Well, where do I find the stories to watch?  The IMDBphiles decide on what will move them by looking at the average man, Scarlet takes a different approach.  What is most likely to move me?  Certain kinds of story, certain styles of acting, certain relationships.  Who are most likely to show me the things that move me the most?  The people I know and love, the actors and directors who have made me feel that way before.

So whilst the suggestion that what may apply to the populace may apply to me is a sound one, I take a different approach; Cinema is art, carve your own way through the wealth of options, but make your own mind up, decide what you like and who cares what the world thinks?

The Shawshank Redemption

Shawshank sits at the very top of the IMDB #250, it clearly has a wider popular appeal to the world than any other film ever made (sweeping statement), what is it that makes Shawshank universal, what are the universal values?  What is it really about?

To talk about what it is really about I suppose we have to look at what is played out before our eyes:

Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins is sent to Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover, Andy befriends a fellow convicted killer Red who is a seasoned veteran and a 'man who knows how to get things', Red is played by the incredible Morgan Freeman who established himself firmly as one of Hollywoods leading men in this role as the cynical old hand who guides us through prison life and the rise and fall of Andy in this very different world.Andy struggles to make friends but he gets there, the film is tied together in episodes, following Andy's meeting with various prisoners and his rise through the establishment to a respected man amongst the inmates and staff alike.  Things go up and down until Andy reaches breaking point and does what he has to do, Red then moves on with his life and is released toward the end of the film.

The whole thing continues a theme throughout of Andy trying desperately to keep a kind of freedom inside him until he gets out (which he must do, it is what keeps him going).  Andy's drive is there for the whole film as the theme but it never commands, it sits in the backseat as the action rolls by.  This particular picture is not blessed with a cracking script, the real delight lies in character as the actors make us care for Andy, Red and the rest of them, we get seriously invested in the characters as the film goes on and we never want it to end.  Even though Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins play their parts to perfection I think that real strength in this film is in the background characters, Andy's morose nature seems particularly apt against the brash, cynical men he meets.

Shawshank gives us it all and it is one of the few films which I can watch in any mood, it gives us hope and joy, it gives us sadness and terror of what might have happened and what surely did happen in far too many places.  The film is about Andy and his refusal to accept being caged, he is like a bird flapping away for years, he struggles as he beats his wings against the cage.  Whether it is crawling on his hands and knees or taking his own life he will get his freedom to choose back.  As a haunting juxtaposition the movie shows us the other side, most obviously in the character of Brookes who cannot deal with his freedom, in the end he longs to be in the cage again.

Perhaps Shawshank is so popular because it shows both a yearning to be free and a yearning for control, it represents all of us whether we be submissive or aggressive, introvert or extrovert, left or right, old or young.  Whatever we are we are represented here, amongst murders, liars and cheaters we see all that is human, and the part of you that can never be taken away.

The Godfather

Scarlet is maybe onto a loser here.  Precisely how are you supposed to write something original about The Godfather?  It comes to mind that this is going to be a recurring problem with this particular blog, this isn't going to be the first review of The Godfather anyone is going to read and the same goes for the other films I have queued up but I shall certainly try my best.

The Godfather is the story of a mafia crime family in New York over a few decades and the action focuses on one man war hero Michael (Al Pacino) who keeps himself distanced from the family business.  As time goes by Michael becomes involved and a masterpiece unravels before our eyes. 

The Godfather begins with a single monologue with one long zoom out shot as an elderly man (elderly for the time) narrates to Vito Corleone - known to his many associates as 'Godfather' - his love for his homeland and the American dream, and how the American justice system has let down this patriot.  Our friend extends an olive branch to Don Corleone in the correct way (with some prompting) and a new business relationship is formed.  Attention then turns to Vito's daughter's wedding and we see the family in full, symbolised with a great family photograph.  You see the Godfather is all about family, the Italian obsession for family shines through this picture like nothing else, it is all about family, even when it is not.

So our friend Michael becomes involved in the 'family business' and his role as the Don slowly takes hold of the family we are given some of the most amazing scenes in cinematic history, a horses head in a bed, an assassination in an Italian restaurant and the film culminates as a spectacle with a thrilling baptism scene, family family, The Godfather is about family.

Santino dies after his anger gets the best of him because of his brother in laws treatment of his sister
FAMILY
Michael goes to Sicily to escape some heat and marries a beautiful Sicilian girl
FAMILY

In order for a film with such strong fraternal links to succeed we need the family link to be viable, and how it works on that front, not only is every actor on form in this one but the chemistry of the family sizzles from beginning to end and Diane Keaton plays the outsider perfectly, her role is central to the film as she is never able to fully integrate into the family until she marries into it, FAMILY, CATHOLIC FAMILY.

The Godfather is Italian, it is about Family and food.  It is an insight to part of humanity we wish we didn't have in us, but it is there in all of us.

Enjoy

Casablanca

A series of film reviews, spending some time poring over some of my old favourites and sharing it with the world, what better place to start than the ultimate Wartime Drama, the film that is remembered even today for its incredible cast, script and how well everything sits together.  Casablanca shows us the Hollywood studio system in full swing; Casablanca shows us a timeless cliched old story in what was a staggering poignant contemporary light.  There are no rolling mountains and vastly extravagant shots, Casablanca is a film that plays out through a narrow window, we are part of the scene and part of the experience, it draws us into its world and most of us never tire of visiting her like an old family Photo Album.  Casablanca will be around as long as humanity recognises raw beauty, both the physical and the mental, she is a treat to our eyes.

That's enough sentimental nonsense and lets talk Casablanca.

The plot to Casablanca is the stuff of legend these days but for those of you who aren't sure there won't be any major spoilers in this blog, although truth be told the term spoiler isn't all that appropriate in any case, as this is not a film I have ever found a way to spoil.  Rick (Bogart) is a cynical bar owner in Casablanca (a city in the French possession of Morocco) during the second world war.  Rick's life is turned upside down when the love of his life Ilsa (Bergman) turns up in his bar fleeing the Nazi's with her husband Victor, whom Rick never knew she had.  Fate conspires that Rick has something that Ilsa and Victor need and from there a tale of love, greed and passion plays out before our eyes.  Accompanying us on our journey are the customers of Ricks bar, the staff and the local law officials.

This brief synopsis opens the book on the first thing which I really love about this film, the characters are excellent, even the minor roles are played by established actors of their time and each character gets at least one great moment.  Everyone is on their A game from Casablanca from Bogie and Bergman all the way down to a delightfully horrible Peter Lorre and the subtly arrogant Sydney Greenstreet.  The only actor who gets anywhere close to not delivering his best is Paul Henreid who puts in a slightly wooden turn, but as Henreid plays Victor the character who keeps Bogie and Bergman apart it feels right that Victor is not a particularly likable character which is ironic because truly he is the one character in the film with a truly moral purpose.

At the end of the day the sizzle between Bogie and Bergman is the glue that holds everything together.  From their first scene together to the final dance of their romance both actors put in the best performance of their career as well as one of cinemas greatest partnerships.  Both characters are brilliantly played in their own right but it is when they are together that they each take on another level, as they dissolve and let the romance create one from the two of them.

Casablanca gives us some of the finest lines in cinematic history, the script never feels forced and the plot keeps the characters where they need to be with no fluff at the edges.  We are treated to some of the most iconic lines in cinema history: "Round up the usual suspects", "Of all the gin joints..." and of course "Here's looking at you kid".

Casablanca will give millions more the thrill of the perfect picture, it is a screenshot of life, of love and of honour; it is perhaps the studio systems finest hour and we will love her forever.