Shining Lights and Smoke and Mirrors - Perhaps when the color came, along with the dollar signs, and the misplaced value of things… I was looking at old black and whites of Hollywood stars of yesteryear, from candids to set photos – it looked like, and was, an entire world away. Was it that the advent of color contributed to the gradual fading away of that world? Before, seeing images and films was like seeing something several degrees removed from reality. We see things in colour of course, so the B&W aspect was reserved for the stars (apart from your family photo albums – but even then, those were records of ‘special’ moments and occasions) – Hollywood was a special occasion unto itself – for all the rest of the us, it may as well have been permanently in Black and White – the world of celluloid existed within a special moment - they were those characters. (Allowing a moment for a special nod to that equally marvelous Technicolor decades of the 60’s and early 70’s) Nowadays, we look for the broken, the incomplete hero, the tormented soul, the dirt behind the velvet curtain, the drugs in the drawer, the running mascara… it’s all about the real (and the advent of reality TV), when celebrities are portrayed as just people, as they always have been, flawed. Of course Hollywood has long been known as the place of lights and shattered dreams, but that’s not why I wrote this. I want to know if there’s a suitable compromise. At best we’re treated to rare occurrences where a modern film can transcend era’s to offer something that would succeed anywhere and still hold true to that sense of mystery, prestige and allure that was the bread and butter of ‘old Hollywood’. We can talk about art and life, integrity and business, and how one side of the industry needs the other to survive, and how the audience will watch what they’re given, or whatever the hype machine spews out… the talk of blockbuster tent-pole productions and that Hollywood is no longer so much a community as it once was, the exclusive hallowed league it once was (or was thought to be) – can that element ever be replicated? In today’s tinsel industry, money is the currency, where talent once was (or at the very least it was more of a narrower contest). We’re desensitized, to the extent that now people seem to want the wool to be pulled back over their eyes, because gritty realism just isn’t real enough, because once Hollywood finds a formula (and makes it a cliché), it will grind it out till every morsel is had. It’s the ‘golden woman’ – that complex that promises everything and brings you so far, but still only ‘so far’, always keeping that last little something out of your reach, because as an audience, we can never be satisfied. I am in a position to look upon those old images with nostalgia because I have the benefit of hindsight – looking at a past I was never a part of and can never be… so it will always seem that much more romantic and appealing, or was it just that appealing? Of course it could’ve been made to look so because the world was a different place, with World Wars, dark and unknown patches remained in the world, no internet… and the media was a different animal too, sort of… but the stars still carried a natural air of class and whimsy though. So, with surrounds made up mostly of dark things, the glamour, appeal and shine of that old-school tinsel, was made that much more brighter, stars glinting – because the world wanted the mystery, because everyday reality was often not such a great dwelling place. Shining lights and Smoke and mirrors – it’s what the world needed back then… and maybe, probably, it’s what the industry- the world – needs right now, again, even if we ignore the dust on the lights, the fire causing the smoke, and the cracks in the old mirrors. "I'm not interested in money, I just want to be wonderful." - Marilyn Monroe Perhaps its wishful thinking in hoping we can get some of that essence back, considering that the central totem to what made ‘old Hollywood’ so endearing, was the warped innocence of those stars, themselves struggling to come to terms with fame, shoved into the limelight and experiencing the two edged sword of a thing called celebrity - the virgin superstar. You’re not a mega star, until the people make you one. I suppose we'll always hope, and we'll always have... Such things were not meant to last,perhaps, for if they did, we would not hold them in such high regard - (one cannot have caviar, everyday, forever...) *** {article/letter/retrospective by Steven Benjamin... Images from easyart.com, unless otherwise stated}
2 Comments
So awesome I had to share: the Film was officially released at a premiere on the 28th of September in Canada, but further screenings are still scheduled for later in October, so I'm unsure of when we can expect it to reach SA. This may be a "Ski" film (literally about Skiing), but Sherpas Cinema has proven itself in going beyond genre (and sport) and filming way more than simply extreme action sports films, as the trailer itself illustrates in a visual feast... I've never Skied in my life, but projects like this kind of get you interested, in the very least. Beyond that though, its just a kickass production that also happens to be a sports film. There is an actual storyline to this it too (in that its not just a bunch of cool segments that coincidentally have skier's doing their thing), its about rising to the ultimate challenge and risking your own mortality to achieve success. The sound editing, visual effects and score are all by Sherpa - a first for them as they sought to outdo their previous work, the award winning "All.I.Can" - you can view that trailer HERE. Enjoy! The word 'romance,' according to the dictionary, means excitement, adventure, and something extremely real. Romance should last a lifetime. Bonus video: Conrad Anker in Denali I added this for the warm feeling I got in my heart, the slight wetness on my eyes and the itch in my legs and feet - its just THAT beautiful... another reminder - hit the full screen tab! “Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” To the day – the 12th of September 1963 – John Le Carré’s "The Spy who came in from the cold" hit bookstore shelves. To celebrate, I decided to finally get round to reading it. It’s been labelled many things, including ‘the definitive spy story’ or ‘the best spy story ever written’, and in many ways forms as the signature John Le Carré novel. It took me a few years and two attempts to get around to reading it, but then again my first attempt was hampered by my own impatience. Older and wiser, I've finally taken the vaunted steps into this dark world. Plot Synopsis In the height of the Cold War,and the shadows of the iron curtain, the British Intelligence hatch a plan to entrap a high level German officer. The plan though, involves a Trojan-horse like operation that may result in them knowingly sending one of their own agents to his death. Target When I first attempted to read this I was still a teenager, and couldn’t get to grips with the initial pacing. So the target is a more mature reader. But you grow accustomed to the pace as well as the style of the narrative – as certain things occur in an atypical timeline, learning of conversations and events that have already happened, to punctuate and better explain events in the present. Once you’re in the groove though, the pages will turn quite swiftly. “... I chose le Carré. God alone knows why, or where I had it from.” Bottom Line Painted by the dull colours of his time in the service, David John Moore Cornwell – pen name John Le Carré – had to forcibly retire from British Intelligence (MI5/MI6) in the 60’s because of the success of “Spy”. British tabloids somehow got hold of his true identity and the rest is history. Most of the great authors of the era tend to have some inside knowledge of the game (Robert Ludlum had his sources and friends within the CIA, Frederick Forsyth used his journalistic research skills for ‘The Day of the Jackal’), so the gritty and cold realism of his third novel seemed too good to be true in many respects. True enough, the world had never seen a book like it. It was, and still is the antitheses of the Spy novel we’re used to; namely the glossy, quirky, action packed and romanticized 007 archetypes. There are no gadgets or posh locations here, its all stark and in shadows, or alternatively, cold blinding and all exposing light. What struck me was the way Cornwell describes characters and makes the ‘grey area’ of the spy world so apparent. Seldom do you find a villain so grating and sinister simply by the nature of the description of the character’s physical appearance. The antihero is a man you wouldn’t ordinarily like… and that is essential to the tormented beauty of this story – it’s simply about people, who happen to find themselves on opposing sides of a wall. They may of course have different values, opinions and beliefs, but when you disregard the dividing lines, it’s hard, or impossible to tell them apart and decipher the good from the bad. Of course the pace does quicken, but it's more of a tightening, and the tension in the climatic scenes is unparalleled. If you enjoy this genre, then of course it goes without saying that this is a must read, a ‘must own’ even. It is a cold hard hammer of a spy story. Sometimes we do a thing in order to find out the reason for it. Sometimes our actions are questions not answers. Plainly put, there are two sides to every story, or genre… in the spy world, there’s the two polar opposites as mentioned above, and then there’s everything in between. It speaks volumes that in modern culture producers, filmmakers and storytellers have seemingly sought to find the balance or blend between the two worlds of espionage. Even Timothy Dalton aimed to dirty things up with a darker and grittier James Bond in his 1980’s incarnation, a dynamic that has been taken to heart in the latest Daniel Craig version, all to keep up with the times, with a wiser audience to cater for. David Cornwell set a trend, and continued it with his subsequent George Smiley novels, and that is a hallmark. It may not have been Cornwell’s first release, but this was the one that got him noticed in a big way, it was the one that made him… Film: The Spy who came in from the Cold was adapted for film starring Richard Burton as the fatigued and burnt out Alec Leamus and Rupert Davies as George Smiley. In 2011 we saw the release of “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” with Gary Oldman playing Smiley. David Cornwell’s sons have been spearheading the new wave of film adaptations with "A Most Wanted Man" to be released later this year (based on the Le Carré novel of the same name) starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman. The timing of the latter release earmarks it for award season attention. The trailer – Coming Soon! There's also a sequel to Tinker Tailor in the pipeline. The films have also rekindled the interest as book sales have spiked, with new and younger audiences drawn in to rediscover a literary legend and his collection of genre defining works. The 23rd and latest John Le Carre novel: 'A Delicate Truth'; view the Book trailer below. This of course all this, stories, novels and films, tell of a very amoral world, where men and women hold themselves to higher or simply a standard removed from everyone else, a world constantly aware of the puppet strings, the walking wounded – it is cold and dark and unromantic, yet for the larger population it intrigues us to no end… suffice is to say, we’d rather read about, and watch it on the silver screen than actually live it. But, for those who do, us novelists (me in my infancy as it is - I do aim to emulate the greats - and this is timely inspiration) try to tell their stories, amplify their voice in whichever way we can, and to take a line form the book, (because sometimes that voice is hard to hear, the message either plainly simple or incoherently convoluted in the grey stage of world politics and economics, and war) “Once she had cried out, and there had been no echo, nothing. Just the memory of her own voice.” Visit Author John Le Carré's official site at www.johnlecarre.com For an in depth interview to get a deeper sense of Cornwell the man, his personal life and what he’s up now in all his 81 year old glory, follow the link to an interview conducted by Dwight Garner for the New York Times earlier this year. We get to hear his thoughts on the modern Spy world as well as his sentiments about modern media and politics, even his views on the film Zero Dark Thirty. Article: John le Carré Has Not Mellowed With Age "A desk is a dangerous place from which to watch the world" Celebrating our second year of providing you with film reviews, news and more... only this landmark brings with it many a new and wonderful thing - you see we have so many new features coming soon in addition to our regular content. This includes something never before seen (at least in South Africa) in our quest to push the envelope be even more interactive. We may still be toddlers in the game, but we're learning how to run, fast. Click the link (image) to see all the awesomeness unfold - this week's feature review is the blockbuster Pacific Rim. Other news: A trip to No man's land! A friend of mine and previous artist "featuree" Jason Hayden, put together this video for the GravityAdventure GoPro Film Festival. So, he has progressed from Photography, to Timelapse, to Short films in a very short space of time... Feel free to view, Like, Share and VOTE for the video: Click HERE for the Artist Feature post on photographer and oceanographer Jason Hayden. In July 2013 I made an expedition out to some unexplored caves in the Southern parts of Madagascar. I unfortunately had very limited time on this trip but will be returning shortly, I hope! It is an absolute privilege to know that I have now officially been to where no man has been before..a life long ambition of mine! This video was shot 100% with a GoPro 3 Black addition, Im quite impressed with its low light performance! Calvin & Hobbes 'finally' get a movie, It's not clinically an official project, and it is just a documentary, but this is as official as its going to get. You see, if you didn't already know this, Creator Bill Watterson has never allowed his comic to be commercialized. This is why you don't see Calvin&Hobbes mugs, duvet covers and T-shirts, or feature length animated films. Sure, some fans have printed their own variety of C&H merchandise, but its never been requisitioned for mass production - he felt that taking this route would cheapen his comic. "Watterson is known for his views on licensing and Syndication" - Wikipedia. The Calvin and Hobbes cartoon ran for ten years from 1985 to 31 Dec 1995. The comic only came to my attention a couple of years later, but still, I've been a fan since the Spice Girls still had chart toppers. And, as you may well have noticed whilst perusing this website, my 'fandom' remains steadfast, actually its stronger than ever, because as you will know, or soon find out, this comic is timeless. From myself: Thank you Mr. Watterson. Your genius is much appreciated! Here's the trailer for Documentary "Dear Mr. Watterson": Bill Watterson's note to his fans on ending the publication: Dear Reader: Bill Watterson quotes: I liked things better when I didn't understand them. I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night. That's the whole problem with science. You've got a bunch of empiricists trying to describe things of unimaginable wonder. News surrounding Edward Snowden continues to dominate headlines, another "secret spilling" case tied directly to Wikileaks is coming to light in the form of a documentary film that looks, and reportedly feels, like an espionage thriller. As a film "We Steal Secrets' only received an average rating on IMDB, but interestingly was rated by Rotten Tomatoes at 94% - either way, it will be an interesting watch. Synopsis: This film basically tells the story of Wikileaks - quite possibly the biggest phenomena to hit the internet and modern media (It's amazing that Wikileaks was only started in 2006!). Put together by acclaimed Director Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, 2007 - 100% on RT - watch trailer here) and featuring in depth behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with founder Julian Assange, with prominent focus on the Bradley Manning affair. It covers a variety of cases involving government secrets - particularly the US, and how the managers of the website (and their sources) are treated like "most wanted" criminals. It once again poses that question of transparency - what information should we be privy to, if not all... in light of at least one Pentagon official's belief that government cannot run without secrets. It's another look (for this director) at what goes on in the shadows, and what really happens when (US) governments get scared - or what the public may learn about their methods... My comment: I've always been a believer in that credo that 'a government should be afraid of those they govern' - not the other way around. Secrets are just another medium for government to instil fear and thence manipulate the people. Sex Scandal: It seems that the trend for most governments - when faced with an intelligence leak and possibly compromising and damaging information comes to light in the public - immediately rely on a smear campaign against the would-be whistle-blower which invariably involves a sex scandal of some kind. It seems like the easiest and dirtiest trick in the book, to try and "drag their name through the mud". Maybe its because so many politicians are caught with their pants down, so this is their way of getting their own back, sort of... although, how many scandals don't we know about. Everyone's guilty of something - but who do you believe? Certainly not the government... The Fifth Estate - the Hollywood biopic film on Julian Assange This film, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC TV's Sherlock Holmes, for those in the dark or sleeping under a rock) as Assange, looks to be touted as an Oscar contender. It also stars Daniel Bruhl. The Skin I live In - a sublime Spanish Horror film Trailers of the best foreign films and some forth coming attractions. Since we're into awards season I thought of indulging my film reviewer persona. A recent article/feature I did for In The Kan ("Top 10 films of 2012 you may have missed") got me thinking about foreign language films and how little exposure they receive by English speaking audiences. Often Hollywood attempts a usually less-than-successful remake of non-English films; a typical example of this is 2010's 'The Tourist' starring Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. This typical romantic comedy wrapped in an action flick was actually a remake of a french action thriller called Anthony Zimmerman starring Sophie Marceau (though I can't give you an accurate review as the original film still eludes me - and I have no motivation to see the remake). You might be wondering how I can make general assumptions like this - well i have a very trustworthy instinct about films with the only real surprise being the recent release of Pitch Perfect - a film I wouldn't have batted an eye at, but somehow ended up watching, much to my delight. To the list then - all these films are good, if not brilliant, and yet I haven't seen all of them yet... see it as a to-watch list. Russia: Twilight Portrait A privileged social worker is gang raped by three policemen, A look into contemporary Russia. Brazil: Elite Squad 2 - The Enemy Within (technically a 2011 film, but so what) A former cop, now head of prison security, gets entangled in a web politics and police corruption after a prison riot. (Those who know me already know that for some reason, I really want to see this film) Denmark: A Royal Affair Nominated in the Best Foreign Language film category in this years Academy Awards. France: The Intouchables Currently in cinemas (art-house/nouveau), watch this trailer then see the film - it'll make you smile. Spain: The Skin I live in My unofficial #1 - technically released in 2011, but as is usually the case, only reached South Africa in mid Jan 2012. "A man tries to recreate his long lost love". This is a Hitchcock-style horror film (also reminding me of some recent David Morrell novels) thinly veiled as a psychological thriller. It's difficult to describe this film adequately, you just have to see it for yourself, with friends, and then chat about in the middle of the night because sleep will not come easily. --> this trailer gives you nothing really, but it's difficult to really quantify the film in trailer form. What to look out for in 2013 Searching for Sugar Man Something with a distinctively South African flavour! Nominated in the Best Documentary category of this years Academy Awards: And then, for now anyway, My most anticipated film of at least the first half of 2013: Dead Man Down Causing waves all because two names have been reunited - watch to find out. Some other titles to look out for: Most are really getting their panties in a twist over Niel Blomkamp's return to our screens with Elysium (which is NOT really a sequel to District 9 - it's set in the year 2159), and then there's, need I mention, Man of Steel . There's a number of sequels (as always) to big franchises: Die Hard, Hunger Games, Ironman, Anchorman etc... But here are some lesser known titles:
--> Happy viewing... |
[Banner illustration by Joel Kanar]
WRITING
|