An evening pause: “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?”
Watch how a politician gets his underlings to do his dirty work, while keeping his own hands clean. From the 1964 film, Becket. Click through to part 15 to see that dirty work being done.
Barnes Wallis: the man behind World War II’s Dam Busters.
R.I.P. Ray Harryhausen (1920-2013).
An evening pause: If you listen real close to the second movement of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, you will hear the roots of this lovely song.
An evening pause: In honor of Rand Paul’s filibuster today, let’s watch Jimmy Stewart perform a movie filibuster from the (1939) movie, Mr. Smith goes to Washington.
As Mr. Smith says, “Somebody will listen to me.”
An evening pause: I posted this clip from the 1972 film, Man of La Mancha back in 2010, where Peter O’Toole, as Cervantes, explains why he does not like to look at life, “as it is.”
It is worth revisiting ever so often, as it invokes hope and the possibility that even in the worst times, all things are possible, if we demand it.
An evening pause: The words are still worth living by.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue.
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true.
An evening pause: A short clip from one of the best films ever made, Akira Kurosawa’s The Seven Samurai (1954).
An evening pause: On this day, the 74th anniversary of the start of Krystalnacht in Germany, some appropriate and beautiful music from the animated film, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996).
R.I.P. Actor Herbert Lom.
Good for them: More films about Mohammad in the works.
Not surprisingly, both filmmakers fear violence from the religion of peace.
Both filmmakers are closely guarding details of their productions due to security concerns. They decry “Innocence of Muslims” as historically inaccurate, offensive and of poor quality. In the wake of its release, Yousef has been scrambling to meet with his investors — whom he describes as a mix of Egyptians and Americans — and ensure that they’re still on board.
Sina, for his part, said he had been exploring ways to hide the identities of the producers and actors in his movie and said he would not reveal the planned location for the movie shoot. He described his investors as a handful of Persian atheists who live in Los Angeles. “I’ve become more secretive,” said Sina, who insists that his goal is not to incite Muslims but to persuade them.
The National Media Museum in Great Britain has restored the first color movie images, shot in 1901-1902. With video.
An evening pause: “Silly, isn’t he?”
From 1944, with numerous references to the war effort. What I like most, however, is the brazen confidence. Bugs Bunny in more ways than can be imagined so clearly represents the American spirit of the war years.
An evening pause: Of the movies from which these dance sequences come, how many can you name? All of them are worth watching, over and over again.
Seven ways Star Trek changed the world.
R.I.P. composer Marvin Hamlisch.
An evening pause: You might never heard of her, but you will almost certainly recognize Liz Callaway’s voice, as she has been the singer in several of Disney’s animation features, including Anastasia (1997).
An evening pause: John Williams conducting a performance of his overture to the 1972 movie, The Cowboys.
An evening pause: Once, a long time ago, the concept of charity was something that you gave voluntarily, not forced upon you by the will of others.
A technical aside: If you listen closely to the soundtrack to Mary Poppins (1964), you will discover hints of the melody from this song sprinkled throughout. The composers clearly considered it a central theme on which they wished to link to the rest of the score.
