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Katie-Bar-The-Door and I saw The Big Lebowski in Paris during a freakishly unseasonable heat wave in 1998. Along with the Cinema Astro in Florence, Italy, any theater in Paris is the best venue for watching a movie anywhere in the world.
By the way, the French call all those ads and previews before the feature film starts the "séance"—a term Katie and I still use. They are (or at least were) also adverse to translating heavy-duty swearing into the French subtitles, preferring the all-purpose "merde," the explanation being that to see anything stronger in print on the screen would be too shocking for the audience. Which may or may not be true, but certainly it meant that the non-English speakers in the audience missed out on the rather delightful tapestry of profanity that made The Big Lebowski such a great film.
PICTURE (Drama)
winner: Saving Private Ryan (prod. Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon and Gary Levinsohn)
PICTURE (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Shakespeare in Love (prod. David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick and Marc Norman)
Must-See Comedy/Musical:
PICTURE (Foreign Language)
winner: Central do Brasil (Central Station) (prod. Martine de Clermont-Tonnerre, Arthur Cohn, Robert Redford and Walter Salles)
ACTOR (Drama)
winner: Ian McKellen (Gods and Monsters)
ACTOR (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski)
ACTRESS (Drama)
winner: Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth)
ACTRESS (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Jane Horrocks (Little Voice)
DIRECTOR (Drama)
winner: Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan)
DIRECTOR (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight)
SUPPORTING ACTOR
winner: Bill Murray (Rushmore)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
winner: Kathy Bates (Primary Colors)
SCREENPLAY
winner: Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love)
Except in terms of their uniform excellence, Jurassic Park and Schindler's List are about as different from each other as any two movies can be. That they were both directed by the same man in the same calendar year—indeed Spielberg was editing the former in the evenings while directing the latter during the day—is extraordinary. Very few directors exhibit that sort of range over the course of a career, much less at the same time.
PICTURE (Drama)
winner: Schindler's List (prod. Steven Spielberg, Branko Lustig and Gerald R. Molen)
PICTURE (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Groundhog Day (prod. Harold Ramis and Trevor Albert)
PICTURE (Foreign Language)
winner: Ba wang bie ji (Farewell My Concubine) (prod. Feng Hsu)
ACTOR (Drama)
winner: Liam Neeson (Schindler's List)
ACTOR (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Bill Murray (Groundhog Day)
ACTRESS (Drama)
winner: Juliette Binoche (Trois couleurs: Bleu a.k.a. Three Colors: Blue)
ACTRESS (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Angela Bassett (What's Love Got To Do With It?)
DIRECTOR (Drama)
winner: Steven Spielberg (Jurassic Park and Schindler's List)
DIRECTOR (Comedy/Musical)
winner: Harold Ramis (Groundhog Day)
SUPPORTING ACTOR
winner: Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
winner: Winona Ryder (The Age of Innocence)
SCREENPLAY
winner: Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis, from a story by Danny Rubin (Groundhog Day)
Well, the results are in on the latest Mythical Monkey Poll—"Which of Chaplin's four films from 1917 do you like best?"
The number one answer, with 16 votes? "I haven't seen any of these films."
Second was The Immigrant, with 10. Rounding out the field was Easy Street with five, The Cure with two and The Adventurer with one.
The 34 total votes cast were the fewest in a Monkey Poll in nearly a year, and considering that 109 of you voted in the last poll, I'm guessing the real number of my readers who haven't seen the Chaplin Mutuals is much higher. But I can't say I blame you. Two years ago, before I started this blog, I don't think I'd seen any of them either. What can I tell you—I was busy.
I asked a few friends to tell me why they hadn't seen Chaplin's Mutuals.
Phil Connors: "I was in the Virgin Islands. I met a girl. We ate lobster, drank Piña Coladas. At sunset we made love like sea otters. That was a pretty good day."
Joliet Jake Blues: "Honest. I ran out of gas! I—I had a flat tire! I didn't have enough money for cab fare! My tux didn't come back from the cleaners! An old friend came in from out of town! Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake! A terrible flood! Locusts! It wasn't my fault, I swear to God!!!"
Jeff Bailey: "Near the plaza was a little cafe, called La Mar Azul next to a movie house. I sat there in the afternoons and drank beer. I used to sit there half-asleep with the beer and the darkness. Only that music from the movie next door kept jarring me awake."
You can't argue with any of those excuses.
And what about you? Share your personal memories— Where were you and what were you doing the night you weren't watching Chaplin's Mutual Comedies?
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