tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post2494123090589177728..comments2024-03-11T16:51:36.636-04:00Comments on A<br> Mythical<br> Monkey<br> writes<br> about<br> the<br> movies: Cognitive DissonanceMythical Monkeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-21494170265993501802009-11-18T22:45:22.714-05:002009-11-18T22:45:22.714-05:00Colin Firth never announced a retirement from maki...<i>Colin Firth never announced a retirement from making films, though HG did. I do believe Colin stated he would be averse to another BJD film.</i><br /><br />I hate stepping on my own punchlines! Thanks for the heads-up. I'm actually fond of all three performers, despite all the hubbub surrounding two of them -- and I have to say, Colin Firth is an under-celebrated talent.Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-27159619109422471182009-11-18T22:12:35.201-05:002009-11-18T22:12:35.201-05:00President Merkin Muffley: Gentlemen, you can't...President Merkin Muffley: Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.Katienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-40799169248100652982009-11-18T21:06:02.673-05:002009-11-18T21:06:02.673-05:00Colin Firth never announced a retirement from maki...Colin Firth never announced a retirement from making films, though HG did. I do believe Colin stated he would be averse to another BJD film. In the meantime Firth is working on his 17th film since TEOR while Grant, mercifully, has made just 4.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-73255572978870003442009-11-18T18:03:07.210-05:002009-11-18T18:03:07.210-05:00I guess what I'm saying is that you really can...<i>I guess what I'm saying is that you really can't separate the personal from the performance, because one feeds the other. The conflict will always be present.</i><br /><br />You're right actually, KC, and when I say I try to separate the performance from the personal, the most I can really promise is to try to live with the tension in my head while I'm watching the movie. Easier said than done, though. Leni Riefenstahl, for example, I have never been able to wrap my head around even though I know intellectually she was a highly influential filmmaker.<br /><br />I have a feeling this is a subject that I will be revisiting ...Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-85901096104819233132009-11-18T17:46:08.580-05:002009-11-18T17:46:08.580-05:00Wow, laserdisc! I remember at one time thinking o...Wow, laserdisc! I remember at one time thinking owning one would be as cool as owning the Jetsons' flying car or something. Now even my Blu-Ray collection is starting to feel like an investment in buggy whips ...Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-32934773171080838072009-11-18T17:37:31.681-05:002009-11-18T17:37:31.681-05:00General "Buck" Turgidson: Gee, I wish we...<b>General "Buck" Turgidson:</b> Gee, I wish we had one of them doomsday machines.Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-3406521421721539032009-11-18T17:36:21.290-05:002009-11-18T17:36:21.290-05:00General "Buck" Turgidson: Mr. President,...<b>General "Buck" Turgidson:</b> Mr. President, we are rapidly approaching a moment of truth both for ourselves as human beings and for the life of our nation. Now, truth is not always a pleasant thing. But it is necessary now to make a choice, to choose between two admittedly regrettable, but nevertheless <i>distinguishable</i>, postwar environments: one where you got twenty million people killed, and the other where you got a hundred and fifty million people killed.<br /><br /><b>President Merkin Muffley:</b> You're talking about mass murder, General, not war!<br /><br /><b>General "Buck" Turgidson:</b> Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks.<br /><br />I wonder how many times I've said to Katie "I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed" after making one absurd suggestion or another. Boy, I sure hope I live long enough to write about <i>Dr. Strangelove</i> ...Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-9932066234226574372009-11-18T17:34:47.244-05:002009-11-18T17:34:47.244-05:00You know, when I was in junior high I must have wa...You know, when I was in junior high I must have watched that movie 40 times or so on -- you ready for this? -- laserdisc! Oh how time flies. <br /><br />I still love Slim Pickens the best: <br /><br />"I'd say that you're all in line for some important promotions an' personal citations when this thing's over with. That goes for every last one of ya, regardless of your race, color, or your creed..."Joseph "Jon" Lanthierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00826623899121215596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-89589205660655956102009-11-18T17:34:28.545-05:002009-11-18T17:34:28.545-05:00I agree with Katie--artists that impress us often ...I agree with Katie--artists that impress us often do so because they are different from the rest of us, which usually means that they don't play by the same rules either. We wouldn't love them without this unique force that they possess--and which can so easily swing between good and evil. I guess what I'm saying is that you really can't separate the personal from the performance, because one feeds the other. The conflict will always be present.KChttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17587905976811500791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-57034316175284952502009-11-18T17:17:43.080-05:002009-11-18T17:17:43.080-05:00But I can't ignore them, Myth! They're giv...But I can't ignore them, Myth! They're giving me truly excellent flashbacks:<br /><br /><b>General "Buck" Turgidson:</b> General Ripper called Strategic Air Command headquarters shortly after he issued the go code. I have a portion of the transcript of that conversation if you'd like me to to read it.<br /><br /><b>President Merkin Muffley:</b> Read it! <br /><br /><b>General "Buck" Turgidson:</b> Ahem... The Duty Officer asked General Ripper to confirm the fact that he *had* issued the go code, and he said, uh, "Yes gentlemen, they are on their way in, and no one can bring them back. For the sake of our country, and our way of life, I suggest you get the rest of SAC in after them. Otherwise, we will be totally destroyed by Red retaliation. Uh, my boys will give you the best kind of start, 1400 megatons worth, and you sure as hell won't stop them now, uhuh. Uh, so let's get going, there's no other choice. God willing, we will prevail, in peace and freedom from fear, and in true health, through the purity and essence of our natural... fluids. God bless you all" and he hung up. <br />[beat] <br /><br /><b>General "Buck" Turgidson:</b> Uh, we're, still trying to figure out the meaning of that last phrase, sir. <br /><br /><b>President Merkin Muffley:</b> There's nothing to figure out, General Turgidson. This man is obviously a psychotic. <br /><br /><b>General "Buck" Turgidson:</b> We-he-ell, uh, I'd like to hold off judgement on a thing like that, sir, until all the facts are in. <br /><br /><b>President Merkin Muffley:</b> General Turgidson! When you instituted the human reliability tests, you *assured* me there was *no* possibility of such a thing *ever* occurring! <br /><br /><b>General "Buck" Turgidson:</b> Well, I, uh, don't think it's quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up, sir.<br /><br />Question: Is it even <i>possible</i> for me to take us even further off-topic, or have we set the record? :-)Who Am Us Anyway?https://www.blogger.com/profile/08260586634760800759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-79909281105072706332009-11-18T16:02:15.278-05:002009-11-18T16:02:15.278-05:00Oh, and I wasn't ignoring your comments Mister...Oh, and I wasn't ignoring <i>your</i> comments Mister Muleboy -- they just came in while I was drafting mine.<br /><br />Okay, <i>now</i> I can ignore them.<br /><br />I kid.Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-72838630324319926432009-11-18T15:55:23.646-05:002009-11-18T15:55:23.646-05:00at least she calls it "Tiger Balm". . . ...at least she <i>calls</i> it "Tiger Balm". . . .mister muleboyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14367123802128879318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-52328058241226943072009-11-18T15:55:14.948-05:002009-11-18T15:55:14.948-05:00I have to agree with Ezra Pound that it's the ...I have to agree with Ezra Pound that it's the art not the artist that makes the poem (or the movie) worthwhile. As a side note, one of my frustrations with movies about artists is they nearly always focus on the man (and in such a predictable way -- talent, personal failing, failing overcome) -- rather than cracking the nut that makes the artist interesting in the first place: the art itself. So you get Picasso the philandering pig with an occasional shot of him with a brush in his hand, or Ray Charles writhing in the throes of addiction, without a corresponding insight into how the glob of gray matter in their skulls produced great paintings and music while my very similar-looking gray matter can't even carry a tune.<br /><br />Polanski is one of the more extreme examples of how a very flawed man can produce nearly flawless art. I hadn't chimed in on the subject before in part because I'm writing chronologically and in part because I figure Switzerland and the California penal system are going to do what they're going to do no matter what I think about it and the more things I can free myself from worrying about, the better I feel. (Okay, I think he should go to jail, for a very long time. There, I've said it.) But at the same time, I have to take ownership of what I do write about and suddenly I found Errol Flynn hanging around out there.<br /><br />Speaking of Flynn, one thing Katie-Bar-The-Door said last night was something along the line that his personal shortcomings -- an addiction to adrenaline, a reluctance to grow old gracefully -- may have had a lot to do with why he was so good in <i>Robin Hood</i>, <i>Captain Blood</i> and <i>The Sea Hawk</i>. He was completely sold on how much fun it would have been to be those characters. If he had ever once winked at the camera to say "I'm above this," all the air would have gone out of it. If he was winking at all, it was to say "Boy, this is even more fun than it looks."<br /><br />The next time I watch those films (or Polanski's work, for that matter), I'll think about what Jon wrote about the "scintillating texture" the moral dilemma adds. It's an interesting idea.<br /><br />In any event, knowing what Flynn was like in person reminds me of his underrated performance in the 1957 adaptation of <i>The Sun Also Rises</i> where he plays the morally- and financially-bankrupt drunk, Mike Campbell. A wicked piece of casting, that.Mythical Monkeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11330587602682498820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-17812523590142500522009-11-18T15:53:35.576-05:002009-11-18T15:53:35.576-05:00I mean, Idon't think it's quite fair to co...I mean, Idon't think it's quite fair to condemn a whole director because of a single slip up sir.Gen. Buck Turgidsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09560196852975512048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-87207805261557635682009-11-18T15:48:40.634-05:002009-11-18T15:48:40.634-05:00a grown man drugging and sodomizing a 13-year-old ...<i>a grown man drugging and sodomizing a 13-year-old girl is -- or should be -- unimaginable.</i><br /><br />Well, I'd like to hold off judgment on a thing like that, sir, until all the facts are in.Gen. Buck Turgidsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09560196852975512048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-51578601170406735682009-11-18T15:42:49.957-05:002009-11-18T15:42:49.957-05:00John Ford was an insufferable bastard, Henry Fonda...<i>John Ford was an insufferable bastard, Henry Fonda was a terrible father, Woody Allen married his girlfriend's daughter. Dalton Trumbo was a Communist, Ward Bond hated Communists, Elia Kazan informed on his friends. Veronica Lake earned the nickname "the Bitch," Margaret Sullavan was a depressed alcoholic and Betty Hutton was as crazy as an outhouse rat. Clark Gable had bad breath and Joan Crawford's and Marilyn Monroe's legendary shortcomings I dare say you know about.</i><br /><br />Well, my dick was big, I divorced the love of my life, and I was kind to children and puppies. So you can rest a little more comfortably.<br /><br />And you forgot to mention that Lon Chaney was an insufferable, no-talent hack bastard. . . .Douglas Fairbankshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07618933609577319699noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-54079523542333324772009-11-18T13:42:40.309-05:002009-11-18T13:42:40.309-05:00‘sOK! Thingy & I were mulling a similar conund...‘sOK! Thingy & I were mulling a similar conundrum earlier, only in connection with <a href="http://whoamusanyway.blogspot.com/2009/11/for-reasons-that-should-be-obvious.html" rel="nofollow">writers ‘n poets who prophesy with their pens</a>. Re RP, I'd give him an award AND send him to jail. There aint too many saints among us, but Polanksi is flat-out disgusting -- the idea of a grown man drugging and sodomizing a 13-year-old girl is -- or should be -- unimaginable. Yet ... <i>Chinatown</i> is an undeniable great movie.Who Am Us Anyway?https://www.blogger.com/profile/08260586634760800759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6924668268143757716.post-47340160610528529042009-11-18T13:19:33.552-05:002009-11-18T13:19:33.552-05:00Excellent points, Monkey. I actually find that the...Excellent points, Monkey. I actually find that the added "moral" dilemma involved with enjoying art produced by the wicked provides the experience with a scintillating texture; in the case of film there's part of us that, knowing what we know, and knowing what we DON'T know, can't quite trust what we're seeing on the screen (even more so than usual). Such movie artists are, in a way, an excellent reminder of the superficial pageantry of film, and of that fact that sometimes (but not always, certainly) the best pretenders are those with the most to hide.<br /><br />I'm also reminded of Ezra Pound's quote: "It's immensely important that great poems be written, but it makes not a jot of difference who writes them." It's the same with film -- it's not that authorship should be entirely discarded, but when taking a critical perspective of a director, actor, or whoever, it's always the art that makes the man (or woman) and not the other way around.Joseph "Jon" Lanthierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00826623899121215596noreply@blogger.com