Home at last - part 2 - the first draft

In memory: Cyd Charisse 1921-2008

"When we were dancing,
we didn't know what time it was."
Fred Astaire

Ken Adam Designs The Movies, James Bond and Beyond - by Sir Ken Adam and Sir Christopher Frayling

Ken Adam is the most distinguished living production designer in the world. His work spans seven decades and more than seventy-five movies, from his revolutionary designs for the first seven James Bond movies to work on Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon and Alan Bennett’s The Madness of King George, for both of which he won an Oscar.

Born in Germany, Adam trained in London as an architect, and his first Art Director credit was on Around the World in Eighty Days in 1956. He has subsequently worked in Hollywood, Italy, and Germany as well as Britain
Ken Adam’s extensive personal archive of concept sketches, drawings, set stills, and photographs from every stage of his career forms the basis of this book. Using case studies from the 1950s to the present day, it shows the whole cycle of his production designs, from initial concept to what appears on the screen itself. The result encapsulates the evolving role of the Art Director and Production Designer from the golden age of the big studios to the digital fantasies of the early twenty-first century.

The commentary is by Christopher Frayling, Rector of the Royal College of Art, London, Chairman of the Arts Council, England, Chairman of the UK’s Design Council, and a Trustee of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Datastream
Binding: Hardback
Pages: 224
Illustrations: 250; 180 in colour
Size: 13" x 9"
R.R.P: £32 / $65
Released: 29th September 2008 (UK) / 27th November 2008 (USA)
Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Beijing Tibetan Games

Technical infos

From MI6:
A new gyroscopic POV camera mount is making its big-screen debut in the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Called the Snakehead, the new camera system from SpaceCam Systems (Los Angeles), specialists in aerial and specialized gyro-stabilized cinematography, allows pilots to fly as aggressively as they dare without sacrificing the drama of the shot.
SpaceCam Systems had the system on set in the canyons of Baja, Mexico, in April for a month-long shoot and it performed extremely well, according to veteran aerial cinematographer Dwayne McClintock, who co-designed the system using 3D CAD software from company called SolidWorks. During filming, a Piper Aerostar 700 with Snakeheads on the nose and tail captured two planes in an aerial chase sequence.
With a 360-degree remotely controlled spherical range of view, the patented Snakehead is a gyroscopically stabilized periscope, compatible with most HD cameras. The lens system maintains a level horizon at all times.
Traditional aerial cinematography approaches—for example, a fixed periscope on a Lear jet–can distract and sometimes sicken viewers by depicting a seemingly lurching horizon. If the filming plane needs to adopt the point of view of a chasing aircraft, Snakehead operators can turn off the stabilization to more accurately convey its maneuvers.
SpaceCam collaborated on the design with engineers at Ballista of Westlake Village, CA, which engineered the optics, also using SolidWorks CAD software.
SpaceCam Systems offers a variety of camera options, including 35mm 4-perf, 35mm 8-perf, 65mm 5-perf, 65mm 15-perf, and numerous HD cameras

Dino Risi : 1917-2008

Vacanze col gangster (Italia, 1951)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ennio De Concini, interpreti principali: Terence Hill, Marc Lawrence, Lamberto Maggiorani, Bud Spencer

Viale della speranza (Italia, 1952)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ettore Maria Margadonna, Gino De Santis, Franco Cannarosso, interpreti principali: Lilliana Bonfatti, Maria Pia Casilio, Cosetta Greco, Silvio Bagolini

Paradiso per quattro ore – Episodio di “Amore in città” (Italia, 1953)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Cesare Zavattini, Aldo Buzzi, Luigi Malerba, Tullio Pinelli, Vittorio Veltroni, Marco Ferreri, interpreti principali: vari

Il segno di Venere (Italia, 1954)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ennio Flajano, Valeri, Cesare Zavattini, interpreti principali: Vittorio De Sica, Sophia Loren, Alberto Sordi, Peppino De Filippo

Pane, amore e… (Italia, 1955)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ettore Maria Margadonna, Marcello Girosi, Vincenzo Talarico, interpreti principali: Antonio Cifariello, Vittorio De Sica, Sophia Loren, Lea Padovani

Poveri ma belli (Italia, 1956)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa, interpreti principali: Maurizio Arena, Renato Salvatori, Marisa Allasio, Mario Ambrosino

Belle ma povere (Italia, 1957)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa, interpreti principali: Maurizio Arena, Renato Salvatori, Marisa Allasio, Lorella De Luca, Alessandra Panaro

La nonna Sabella (Italia, 1957)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa, Ettore Giannini, interpreti principali: Peppino De Filippo, Sylva Koscina, Tina Pica, Mario Ambrosino

Poveri Milionari (Italia, 1958)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa, interpreti principali: Maurizio Arena, Renato Salvatori, Alessandra Panaro, Lorella De Luca

Venezia, la luna e tu (Italia, 1958)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Pasquale Festa Campanile, Massimo Franciosa, interpreti principali: Alberto Sordi, Nino Manfredi, Marisa Allasio, Riccardo Garrone

Il mattatore (Italia, 1959)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Etttore Scola, Alessandro Continenza, Ruggero Maccari, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Armando Annuale, Gianni Baghino, Peppino De Filippo

Il vedovo (Italia, 1959)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Fabio Carpi, Rodolfo Sonego, interpreti principali: Alberto Sordi, Franca Valeri, Nando Bruno, Ignazio Leone

Un amore a Roma (Italia, 1960)
Regia : Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Ennio Flajano, Ercole Patti, interpreti principali: Mylene Demongeont, Vittorio De Sica, Peter Baldwin, Umberto Orsini

A porte chiuse (Italia, 1961)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Marcello Coscia, Dino De Palma, Sandro Continenza, interpreti principali: Vittorio Caprioli, Anita Ekberg, Fred Clark, Claudio Gora

Una vita difficile (Italia, 1961)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Rodolfo Sonego, interpreti principali: Franco Fabrizi, Claudio Gora, Alberto Sordi, Lea Massari

La marcia su Roma (Italia, 1962)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Age, Furio Scarpelli, Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi, Giampiero Albertini, Nando Angelini

Il sorpasso (Italia, 1962)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, Ruggero Maccari, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Catherine Spaak, Jean Louis Trintignant, Nando Angelini

Il giovedì (Italia, 1963)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Castellano, Pipolo, interpreti principali: Walter Chiari, Michelle, Mercier, Roberto Ciccolini, Silvio Bagolini

I mostri (Italia, 1963)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Age, Furio Scarpelli, Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi, Sal Borghese, Lando Buzzanca

Il successo (Italia, 1963)
Regia: Dino Risi, Mauro Morassi, sceneggiatura: Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola, interpreti principali: Anouk Aimee, Vittorio Gassman, Jean Louis Trintignant, Armando Bandini

La telefonata – Episodio de “Le bambole” (Francia/Italia, 1964)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Rodolfo Sonego, interpreti principali: Nino Manfredi, Virna Lisi, Alicia Brandet

Il Gaucho (Italia, 1964)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Tullio Pinelli, Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Amedeo Nazzari, Silvana Pampanini, Nando Angelini

Una giornata decisiva – Episodio de “I complessi” (Francia/Italia, 1965)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Marcello Fondato, Ettore Scola, Ruggero Maccari, interpreti principali: Nino Manfredi, Riccardo Garrone, Ilaria Occhini, Umberto D’Orsi

L’ombrellone (Francia/Italia, 1965)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ennio De Concini, intepreti principali: Sandra Milo, Enrico Maria Salerno, Leopoldo Trieste, Jean Sorel

Il marito di Attilia – Episodio de “I nostri mariti” (Francia/Italia, 1966)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Age, Furio Scarpelli, Stefano Strucchi, interpreti principali: Ugo Tognazzi, Liana Orfei, Giulio Rinaldi, Carlo Pisacane

Operazione San Gennaro (Italia, 1966)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Nino Manfredi, Ennio De Concini, interpreti principali: Nino Manfredi, Totò, Mario Adorf, Pinuccio Ardia

Straziami, ma di baci saziami (Italia, 1966)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Age, Furio Scarpelli, interpreti principali: Nino Manfredi, Pamela Tiffin, Ugo Tognazzi, Gigi Ballista

Il profeta (Italia, 1967)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ruggero Maccari, Ettore Scola, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Oreste Lionello, Ann Margret, Fiorenzo Fiorentini

Il tigre (Italia, 1967)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Age, Furio Scarpelli, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Ann Margret, Eleanor Parker, Caterina boratto

Il giovane normale (Italia, 1969)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Maurizio Costanzo, Ruggero Maccari, interpreti principali: Janet Agren, Lino Capolicchio, Jeff Morrow, Umberto D’Orsi

Vedo Nudo (Italia, 1969)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Iaia Fiastri, Ruggero Maccari. Interpreti principali: Nino Manfredi, Sylva Koscina, Nino Manfredi, Enrico Maria Salerno, Umberto D’Orsi

La moglie del prete (Italia, 1970)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Ruggero Maccari, Bernardino Zapponi, interpreti principali: Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, Venantino Venantini, Gino Cavalieri

In nome del popolo italiano (Italia, 1971)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Age, Furio Scarpelli, interpreti principali: Agostina Belli, Yvonne Furneaux, Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi

Noi donne siamo fatte così (Italia, 1971)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Age, Furio Scarpelli, Rodolfo Sonego, Ettore Scola, interpreti principali: Monica Vitti, Clara Colosimo, Filippo De Gara, Pupo De Luca

Mordi e fuggi (Italia, 1972)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ruggero Maccari, Bernardino Zapponi, interpreti principali: Gianni Agus, Carole Andrè, Bruno Cirino, Nicoletta Machiavelli

Sessomatto (Italia, 1973)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Ruggero Maccari, interpreti principali: Laura Antonelli, Giancarlo Giannini, Paola Borboni, Duilio De Prete

Profumo di donna (Italia, 1974)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ruggero Maccari, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Alessandro Momo, Agostina Belli, Moira Orfei

Anima persa (Francia/Italia, 1976)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Bernardino Zapponi, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Catherine Deneuve, Danilo Mattei, Ester Carloni

La stanza del vescovo (Italia, 1976)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Leo Benvenuti, Piero Chiara, Piero De Bernardi, interpreti principali: Ornella Muti, Ugo Tognazzi, Patrick Dewaere, Piero Mazzarella

Telefoni Bianchi (Italia, 1976)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ruggero Maccari, Bernardino Zapponi, interpreti principali: Agostina Belli, Vittorio Gassman, Ugo Tognazzi, Cochi Ponzoni, Renato Pozzetto

I nuovi mostri (Italia, 1977)
Regia: Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, Mario Monicelli, Claudio Risi, sceneggiatura: Age, Furio Scarpelli, Ettore Scola, Bernardino Zapponi, Ruggero Maccari, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Ornella Muti, Alberto Sordi, Ugo Tognazzi

Primo amore (Italia, 1978)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Ruggero Maccari, interpreti principali: Ornella Muti, Ugo Tognazzi, Riccardo Billi, Caterina Boratto

Caro papà (Canada/Francia/Italia, 1979)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Marco Risi, Bernardino Zapponi, interpreti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Stefano Madia, Aurore Clement, Julien Guiomar

Roma – Episodio de “I seduttori della domenica” (Francia/Gran Bretagna/USA/Italia, 1980)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Age, Furio Scarpelli, interpreti principali: Ugo Tognazzi, Lino Ventura, Sylva Koscina, Rossana Podestà

Sono fotogenico (Italia, 1980)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Marco Risi, Bernardino Zapponi, interpreti principali: Edwige Fenech, Renato Pozzetto, Ugo Tognazzi, Vittorio Gassman

Fantasma d’amore (Francia/Italia, 1981)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Bernardino Zapponi, interpreti principali: Marcello Mastroianni, Romy Schneider, Victoria Zinny, Michael Kroecher

Sesso e volentieri (Italia, 1982)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Enrico Vanzina, Bernardino Zapponi, Laura Antonelli, Giuliana Calandra, Johnny Dorelli, Gloria Guida

Dagobert (Francia/Italia, 1984)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Age, Gerard Brach, interpreti principali: Carol Bouquet, Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Serrault, Michel Lonsdale

Scemo di Guerra (Francia/Italia, 1985)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Age, Furio Scarpelli, interpreti principali: Beppe Grillo, Fabio Testi, Bernard Blier, Claudio Bisio

Il Commissario Lo Gatto (Italia, 1986)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Enrico Vanzina, Carlo Vanzina, interpreti principali: Lino Banfi, Galeazzo Benti, Maurizio Ferrini, Maurizio Micheli, Gianluigi Pizzetti

Teresa (Italia, 1987)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Bernardino Zapponi, Graziano Diana, interpreti principali: Luca Barbareschi, Serena Grandi, Pupo De Luca, Eros Pagni

Tolgo il disturbo (Italia, 1989)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Bernardino zapponi, Enrico Oldoini, interrpeti principali: Vittorio Gassman, Elliott Gould, Dominique Sanda, Valentina Holtkamp

Giovani e belli (Italia, 1996)
Regia: Dino Risi, sceneggiatura: Dino Risi, Bernardino Zapponi, interpreti principali: Anna Falchi, Edoardo Scatà, Luca Venantini, Carla Cassola

mashrooms

Hitchcock's Vertigo- 50 years anniversary

Vertigo is one of Hitchcock's most complex movies. On the surface there is a great story that is full of wonderful details, but if we want to go deeper we find out that the movie works in many levels and that it is both psychological and philosophical. It is interesting that Hitchcock almost "hides" this complexity with his style. When we start analyzing Vertigo, we actually discover that every shot has a meaning and a purpose. However, his form is never distracting, and in some wonderful scenes, his camera angle or editing almost seems "simple" and ordinary. Thus, the main focus point is always the story itself.
The story is about someone who feels a very strong obsession towards the past. He feels he has lost the "perfect past" and wants to recreate it. In this paper, I will argue that the idea of the "lost past" and of the "urge to recreate it" is a recurring theme of Vertigo. Some of these instances deepen our understanding of how past can affect a person, and some just reflect Scottie's feelings. I will also briefly discuss the philosophical meanings found in this aspect of the film.


The film clearly has two parts. They can be separated as the events that take place before Madeleine's fictional death and the ones that take place afterwards. In the first part of Vertigo, Scottie falls in love, but at the object of his affection is "dead". All through the second part, he tries to recreate the "beautiful past" again. Especially in the scene in Ransohoff's where he wants to buy her some dresses, his movements are obsessive, his stare very direct. In the movie, it is the first time we see him so sure of what he wants. The scene where Judy comes back to the hotel room after making her hair like Madeleine is also very similar. First, we see Scottie's point-of-view shot looking outside the window and watching Judy (with blonde hair) coming, then he goes out of the room and starts to look at the empty corridor (again point-of-view). The long take of the empty corridor gradually increases our suspense, as we are just as much as curious and excited as Scottie. The scene thus expresses his desire and impatience of recreating the past by making us identify with his emotions.


When she finally comes, he realizes that her hair does not exactly look like Madeleine's. This small detail is sufficient to disappoint him because what he really wants is the "past" itself. Any reproduction of it will not be enough. Of course, it is an illusion, as everything that he will make her do will have to be a reproduction and nothing else. He only is satisfied when she exactly looks like Madeleine. We see his eyes literally shining (by the lighting) with desire and passion. Hitchcock emphasizes the fact that Scottie is creating himself an illusion by using the green light coming from outside. Judy looks lost in the green as if we were not sure whether she was real or not. We understand that Scottie is actually disconnected from the reality of the present and he is lost in his illusion that he created the "perfect woman" who, he thinks, is dead. In this scene, Hitchcock suggests that bringing back the past in its entirety and its reality is impossible.
Then Scottie takes Judy in his arms. The camera moves around them, stylistically reminding us of his acrophobia (I will mention this later.), then the background becomes the stable of San Juan Bautista, the place where Madeleine was dead. Hitchcock thus implies that in Scottie's mind she has been resurrected. However, because of the effects of the previous "green light shots", we know that she actually is not.


Scottie's obsession of recomposing the past is never over. Just as he achieves the change he wants in Judy, he discovers that she is the same person as Madeleine. Only then can he understand that the "perfect" past that he had in his mind was just an illusion. It was just a fictional reality created by Gavin Elster. Thus, he is actually cured from his "melancholia" and he is no more in love with that woman. Now, he is only obsessed with facing the truth and taking revenge by making Judy face it as well. For example, in the last scene of the movie, at the top of the bell tower, his look is not the look of a lover, but a look of someone who is full of hatred. The dark lighting of his face also emphasizes the dark size of Scottie that comes to the surface at that point. Also, his last line in the movie is: "Too late… too late... there's no bringing her back." He has totally lost his internal ideal.


Moreover, Madeleine's imaginary obsession toward Carlotta Valdes is not only a plot element that helps Hitchcock constructs his story, but also makes us think about the limits of being affected by the past. As we do not know the reality (as Scottie), we are forced to think whether "…someone out of the past, someone dead, can enter and take possession of a human being?" as Gavin puts it. With Scottie, we are questioning ourselves about the reality and reasons behind Madeleine's acts. "How much can the past affect the present?" or "How much of our present life is based on our memories from the past?" are the types of questions we are forced to raise while we are following Madeleine with Scottie. In the movie, there are long scenes just showing his car following hers. By making all those long scenes without any apparent reason Hitchcock makes us think about the hero's emotional state and ask all those questions. They are also a metaphor for Scottie's state of mind. He does not know where he is going; he does not know where everything is going to lead him. There is no predetermined destination, there is only wandering, which symbolizes the search for truth. Is Madeleine mad or not? And who is she, really?


Moreover, Carlotta's story reflects the life of an important person in the film who we see only once: Gavin's wife. As the historian Leibel tells us, Carlotta was a woman loved by her husband and then "thrown away". It is interesting to notice that Gavin's wife is also literally "thrown away" by her husband. This connection brings us to another nostalgic element in the film: the idea of San Francisco as a city that symbolized the freedom for man in the past and that has now changed. Leibel later adds: "Men could do that in those days. They had the power… and the freedom." Similarly, Gavin Elster is still the man who has "the power", as opposed to Scottie who is not even able to have a normal relationship with a woman. He often repeats that he is a "man of independent means", as if he wants to prove it to himself.
The decor in the bookshop conveys a feeling of nostalgia from the very beginning. There are not only some old maps of San Francisco and some prints, but also some antique objects. One interesting thing to be noticed is the poster of the outlaw who is wanted. This can be related to Scottie's feeling of guilt for letting someone die, and also the fact that Gavin is going to end up being just like that outlaw. I already mentioned that he is also parallel to Carlotta's husband. Therefore, Hitchcock describes an important character of the movie without even showing him.
The idea of old San Francisco is also mentioned in the scene where Scottie is in Gavin's bureau. Again on the walls, there are some old pictures and drawings of old San Francisco. Gavin says: "San Francisco's changed. The things that spell San Francisco to me are disappearing fast. I'd like to have lived here then. The color and excitement…the power… the freedom." He obviously envies Carlotta's husband who could easily throw his wife away. The difference between the "manhood" of the two men is also underlined by the mise-en-scene in Gavin's office. Although Scottie sits as if he was unconfident (the plot gives his physical disability as a reason to that), his friend seems very relaxed and very sure of himself.
The recurring of the same idea of "gay, old bohemian days of gay, old San Francisco", as Midge puts it, deepens the feeling of nostalgia and the idea of "lost, perfect" past. In the beginning, in the scene where Scottie and Midge have a long chat, we understand that Midge is still in love with Scottie. She even says: "You know there is only one man for me in the world, Johnny-O." Then we learn that they were engaged once and that she "blew" it. Her look and emotions that she is trying to hide, which is also stressed by Hitchcock who uses two close-ups, tells that she really is nostalgic about that. Parallel to the other characters in the film, she too thinks that she found the happiness in the past, and cannot find it anymore.

It is interesting to see that although the main story is only about a past lived in the first part of the movie, many elements force us to go much earlier. I already mentioned the idea of "gay, old San Francisco", Midge's nostalgia and Madeleine's obsession toward Carlotta.
There are also other examples that follow this formula, such as Scottie's acrophobia. From their conversation with Midge, we learn that he had it before the cop fell from the rooftop. In his dream, we see the idea of Vertigo blending in his uneasiness with the past. The Scottie's fall dissolves to Madeleine's spiral hair and the image of Scottie shouting is superimposed to Carlotta's grave. Hitchcock thus implies that they are parallel feelings and in Vertigo, they are interconnected. The connection is also expressed by some formal elements recurring throughout the film. For example, the turning circle is a motif that forces us to make this connection. First, in the two animated sequences (the credit titles and the dream), there are rotating circles, which actually symbolize Scottie's acrophobia. Then, Madeleine's spiral hairstyle that is the same as Carlotta's in the portrait reminds us those circles, as does the flowers she bought. When he realizes that the Madeleine's hairstyle and her flowers are the same as the ones in the portrait, two similar forward tracking-zoom shots express the parallelism between those. The stairs in the San Juan Bautista that are a symbol of his Vertigo are an example too. Lastly, the tracking camera movement around Judy and Scottie, which I already mentioned, reuses the motif. This interconnection between acrophobia and his preoccupation of the past raises the possibility that both of his problems may be related to the same psychological problem, dating back to his childhood. They may even be the results of the same fear, which is not the subject of this paper.
Another example is the scene in the forest. From the very beginning of the scene, there is a disturbing silence in the surroundings. Scottie says: "Only silence. It's always like this. No birds live here!" The silence and the lack of movement around them convey the idea of eternity in that scene. Hitchcock also emphasizes this by taking some middle-long shots of our heroes, showing how they seem unimportant compared to those huge trees that seem to be "ever-living" as Scottie puts it. Their voices seem to be coming from far away, which suggests that they are lost in this environment, symbolizing how Scottie is actually lost in the psychological sense. As I mentioned earlier, he is led by the events of the story, and never has the "power" to act on his own.
This scene is very different in many ways from the other scenes of Vertigo. It is the first time in the movie that time seems to stand still as if the past, the present and the future seem to unite in one point. It is therefore questioning what "the past" really means. I think Hitchcock suggests that the memory is only a human invention that has nothing to do with the nature. Those trees do not have anything to be nostalgic about or to remember although they are "ever-living". However, human beings force themselves (and because of their psychologies, are forced) to think about the concepts of past and future. Looking at the cut tree, Madeleine says: "I don't like them… knowing I have to die."

Vertigo covers a long time scale, starting from the growth of the trees and ending with the present. By putting in the center of the story a man who has a fixation to the past, and repeating, in many occasions, the difference of the past from the present, Hitchcock makes us think about our personal memories from our childhood (acrophobia) and our collective memories about the society (San Francisco). Nobody in Vertigo is able to deal with this problem: Scottie does not know the difference between illusion and reality; Midge is not mature enough to see that Scottie is not attracted to her anymore, the fictional Madeleine cannot live the present as someone dead takes over her life and Judy does not understand that Scottie only loved the puzzle of Madeleine. The only exception is Gavin Elster who at least achieves what he wants, although he knows it would be much easier a century ago.
Showing all those people struggling with their memories and their past, Hitchcock forces us to think about ourselves. He makes us ask questions such as "How much of my present life is the result of the past?" or "What are the ways of liberating ourselves from memory-obsessions?" Interestingly, despite all of this, he also reminds us that "past" is nothing but a creation of human mind and should not be given more importance than it deserves.

TheFall

Goldfinger Reunion Event

On Sunday 13th April 2008, over 120 guests plus over a dozen cast and crew members came together to celebrate what is considered to be a Bond classic - Goldfinger. In previous years Bondstars.com has organised events at the studio with actors from the films (an Afternoon With Richard Kiel; A Celebration of Bond and An Evening with George Lazenby; Bond Girls Are Forever, and Behind the Scenes of Bond), but this year’s event was to pay tribute to Goldfinger.
What started as a screening with a few special guests turned eventually into an historic reunion the likes of which will never be repeated! At 10:45 the doors were opened and our attendees enjoyed refreshments and mingled with our special guests - Norman Wanstall, Shirley Eaton, Tania Mallett, Margaret Nolan, Caron Gardner, Guy Hamilton and Burt Kwouk. The Cinemastore were also on hand to sell Bond goodies to eager Bond fans. A little later more special guests arrived in the guise of production designers Peter Murton, Sir Kenneth Adam with his Lady Adam, Peter Lamont, lyricist Leslie Bricusse and his wife Yvonne Romain, and Martin Benson.
On show was the one of a kind prototype Corgi DB5 which was kindly loaned to us by Corgi UK. It's value was said to be over £15,000!
Dave Worrall and our guests braved the weather to tour the studio locations used in Goldfinger, including the ornamental gardens for the location of the statue - which is the first victim of Oddjob's deadly bowler hat - then on to the paddock tank where the pre-title sequence was filmed, the covered way and the backlot which is where the exterior of the Fort Knox set was built and Goldfinger's Kentucky Ranch. The Aston Martin DB5 meanwhile awaited the tour in the covered way - scene of the famous car chase.
After the tour and the April showers, the warmth of Theatre 7 was very welcoming as our guests took their seats for what would be a very memorable afternoon, starting with the newly restored and remastered version of Goldfinger. However, there was one more surprise - to introduce the film was Pussy Galore herself, Honor Blackman, to a well deserved standing ovation.
For a film over 40 years old the quality of both sound and picture was simply stunning. We have to thank our friends at EON Productions and Park Circus who kindly loaned us this new version of the film.
After a short break, the Q & A session took place with Golden Girl Shirley Eaton and Tania Mallett reminiscing about their time on the film where Shirley was again asked to explain the procedure for covering her body in gold paint - a question she never tires of answering with great enthusiasm.
Tania chatted about how she was offered the lead in From Russia With Love, but declined as she 'was not an actress' and said she'd prefer 'a smaller role to get started with'. Her wish was granted on the next film!
Leslie Bricusse chatted about the famous title song, and his other John Barry collaborations - even revealing he had penned lyrics for a possible title song for On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Put the words to that!
Next up were Burt Kwouk and Margaret Nolan. Margaret explained how the producers wanted her to model for the opening titles, but she said on the proviso they gave her a small part! Burt chatted about the ever enduring success of Bond, before our guest of the hour, director Guy Hamilton was welcomed to the stage.
Guy spoke about his four Bond films, and revealed he had been asked to helm Dr No, but could not for family reasons. He also spoke about how he is still not quite satisfied with the movie, and feels he could improve on some scenes. Is that really possible?!
There was one more surprise too. Before leaving the stage, Guy was presented with the Cinema Retro Outstanding Achievement award by Honor Blackman.
It was then back to the house for more refreshments and autographs, with each attendee being presented with a souvenir Corgi Aston Martin DB5 to take home.
At around 6.15pm, the ever enthusiastic visitors made their way back to the Pine Room to collect their goodie bags of a Pinewood book, Bond DVD, Casino Royale playing cards, magazines and discount vouchers. An absolutely packed day and one of the best ever BondStars events met with unanimous approval from everyone in attendance with everyone asking "now what about next year!"

Longlife buddies

goatboy.com.au - aussie irony

To launch their new online store, Australian T-Shirt brand Goatboy ("irony will set you free) has been creating some online buzz with an image of the Queen wearing a T-shirt of Princess Diana with the slogan - "She's Dead, so get over it". Brilliantly executed.

James Bond in Italy

Daniel Craig arrived in Italy on Sunday 6th April 2008. Filming for the upcoming James Bond film "Quantum of Solace" is now underway in and around the town of Siena. According to local press, Craig arrived during the night, escorted by two bodyguards. He has taken residence in a quiet region on the outskirts of the city.
The first scenes to be filmed were in Sant' Agata, where Craig was performing stunts on cables and harnesses. In one sequence, 007 climbs a drain pipe up the side of a building whilst his target runs across the rooftop.
The town council at Siena gave permission for filming in which James Bond chases through the steep and narrow cobbled streets, across the rooftops and through the underground medieval aqueducts, while the horses thunder round the Campo, the main square. Bond himself will not be riding any horses during the film. The first round of filming back in August focused on the race, with scenes involving actors to be inserted later.
Preparations in Siena began on February 11th, and since then four cranes have appeared towering over the Siena skyline.
Early in the adventure, roughly ten minutes of the film will be spent amongst the streets and rooftops of Siena in a thrilling chase sequence. Some buildings are having minor adjustments made to accommodate the action. Filming for these scenes is now underway (ending by April 13th) and the production is utilising a 'cable cam' to capture to action - the first time this equipment has been used on a feature film. Other location work during this period will also take in the marble quarries of Fantiscritti and Canalgrade near the city of Carrara.
Shooting will then move to Passo del Vestito and Altagnana on May 2nd for a week, with the chase culminating at the Piazza del Campe (where the Pailo horse race was featured) during the first three weeks of May. The chase on-foot will move through the buildings, rooftops and balconies in Siena.

The chase sequence was originally written to end at the Siena Duomo (cathedral), but this was later discarded as it was seen to be disrespectful to the location. Instead, 007 will emerge from the fountain in the Piazza del Campo just at the moment that the horse race ends. The network of underground tunnels ('bottini') were reconstructed in Pinewood as filming at the real location was not possible.
A small unit and four stuntmen had been preparing for the action scenes since March, especially for the stunt where Bond jumps out of a window on to a fast moving bus (a specially modified bus was built for the shot). The bus will be speeding against the flow of traffic towards a bridge.

William Goldman remembers Richard Widmark

By WILLIAM GOLDMAN

I only met Richard Widmark once, and briefly, a third of a century ago, but I'm not going to forget him.
I was in London, working with the director John Schhlesinger on a novel and screenplay of mine, "Marathon Man." Schlesinger, unquestionably brilliant, had won the best directing Oscar a few years earlier for his work on "Midnight Cowboy." He had also been nominated for "Darling" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday."
And he was, at this time, terrified he was dead in Hollywood. He had finished a movie, "The Day of the Locust," that he was convinced would destroy him. So he accepted "Marathon Man" -- a thriller -- for salvation.
We had a marvelous cast -- Dustin Hoffman, Roy Scheider, William Devane -- and the very great Laurence Olivier.
Who was sick, and maybe dying.
I asked our producer, Robert Evans, if Olivier was set and he replied: "Is he set? Is Oliver set? He's so set you wouldn't believe it." Then he paused, finished up with this: "Of course he isn't set-set."
OK, I am staying at a hotel, working in Schlesinger's house, and I ring his doorbell on this special day, and he answers, looking very surprised indeed.
"Richard Widmark is coming over -- he wants to read for Szell," the Olivier part.
I was excited to meet Widmark. He had gone to Lake Forest College, just a couple of towns north of where I was brought up in Illinois, had taught there, then came to New York, worked on Broadway, became a radio star.
Then, at 33, he made his film debut.
He arrived at Schlesinger's on time. He was well dressed, obviously a gent, said this: "Thank you for seeing me. I know you want Larry for the part. I hope he plays it. But I just thought, as long as we were all three here, I might give it a try. I promise I won't take long."
With that we moved into the library. He had a copy of the screenplay, took it out, cleared his throat, started to read.
A few things I should remind you of:
(1) the part of Szell is the villain, a sadistic Nazi dentist, who, among other things, tortures the star, Hoffman, with dental tools, all the while asking this question over and over: "Is it safe?"
(2) Widmark's debut film, "Kiss of Death," which got him an Oscar nomination, was the one where he played the sadistic Tommy Udo, who, among other things, pushed a crippled old lady down a staircase to her death.
Now, in that London library, Tommy Udo came alive again.
I cannot tell you how thrilling that was.
I can still see Widmark turning the pages of the script, and his voice was so frightening. He was not repeating his most famous role, but you knew that evil son of a bitch was somehow still lurking, still inside him, ready and willing to kill you but, more than that, anxious to put you in agony.
He finished, got up, thanked us. We chatted briefly and pleasantly. At the time, his daughter was married to Sandy Koufax.
And at that moment, I was surrounded by heroes ...

home at last - part 1 -

Let's all go to the lobby

Let's All Go to the Lobby is a 1953 musical animated snipe played as an advertisement before the beginning of the main film. It featured a family of four talking concession stand products, singing "Let's all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat" (to the tune of "We Won't Be Home Until Morning") and walking to the concession stand.

The trailer was animated by Dave Fleischer (producer of Popeye cartoons) and produced by Filmack Studios of Chicago, a company that specialized in snipes. It was part of a series of Technicolor trailers aimed at alerting audiences about a theater's newly installed concession stand.

In 2000 the United States Library of Congress deemed the short "culturally significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Further color snipes, such as ones using a clock and featuring singing and dancing hot dogs, popcorn boxes, candy bars and other concession stand products took their cue from this trailer. Those targeted at drive-in theaters directed their patrons to the snack bar. Such shorts are still used for this purpose

Here is an updated version.....

If Star Wars was filmed two decades earlier and Saul Bass did the opening title sequence, it might look like this..

Entr'acte

This extraordinary early film from director René Clair was originally made to fill an interval between two acts of Francis Picabia’s new ballet, Relâche, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris in 1924. Picabia famously wrote a synopsis for the film on one sheet of note paper, headed Maxim’s (the famous Parisian restaurant), which he sent to René Clair. This formed the basis for what ultimately appeared on screen, with some additional improvisations. Music for the film was composed by the famous avant-garde composer Erik Satie, who appears in the film, along side its originator, Francis Picabia. The surrealist photographer Man Ray also puts in an appearance, in a film which curiously resembles his own experimental films of this era.

The typewriter

theHITCHCOCKportfolio from VanityFair

Charlize Theron

Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem

Naomi Watts

Keira Knightley and Jennifer Jason Leigh

Emile Hirsch and James McAvoy

Renee Zellweger

Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey jr.

Tang Wei, Josh Brolin, Casey Affleck, Eva Marie Saint, Ben Foster, Omar Metwally, Julie Christie

Jodie Foster

Seth Rogen

Marion Cotillard

JenniferHolliday vs. JakeGyllenhaal

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

the first quad

happy40's

title unveiled

in memory: Heath Ledger 1979-2008

control

....he's back!

The long wait since Casino Royale hit the big screens is over! The 22nd James Bond film 'lensed' Wednesday 2nd January 2008 - at Pinewood Studios in England.
Variety confirms that shooting is nearly a month behind the original schedule, but the general release on 7th November is not at risk.
Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (Eon Productions), BOND 22 (title to be announced) is scheduled for release November 7th 2008 and will be directed by Marc Forster.
Principal photography will start on January 2nd 2008 at Pinewood Studios (UK), and foreign locations to include Italy, Panama, Austria and Bolivia. Paul Haggis completed the script based on a first draft screenplay developed by regular scribes Neal Purvis & Robert Wade.
The story will be a direct continuation of the events of Casino Royale. It is British actor Daniel Craig’s second outing as James Bond, following his debut film Casino Royale released November 16th 2006. Dame Judi Dench (M) and Giancarlo Giannini (Mathis) will also reprise their roles. Mathieu Amalric and Anatole Taubman will play villains.

best way to start 2008: THE KEY TO RESERA -Martin Scorsese does Alfred Hitchcock

I have been a longtime fan of Alfred Hitchcock from day one.
Since I opened up the file for "Key To Reserva" I had to watch many times.
As explained in the prologue, Martin Scorsese found some notes depicting a three minute scene from an unrealized Hithcock film called "The Key To Reserva". Scorsese decided to film the three minutes in the style of Hitchcock, basically the style of late 1950's Hitch ("The Man Who Knew Too Much", "North By Northwest", even "Torn Curtain") Not Marty style, Hitchcock style. Well, it was like Hitchcock came back from the grave (actually his ashes) and lensed this great piece. We have a hero in a blue business suit, ala Roger Thornhill, seek out a hidden key in an elegant theater box. It's pure Hitchcock, even down to the crazy Hitchcock logic (The key is hidden in a place that would be scientifically impossible. But we're watching Alfred entertainment us, not teach us.) Our villain hardly looks like a villain. He looks like anybody can mop the street with him, but watch it, still waters run deadly and deep.

manamana

Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds : a celebration

Alfred Hitchcock once admitted that he was in constant conflict with his audience. "When a new Hitchcock film appears, the public and critics sit back at the start and say to themselves, 'Let's see him scare me.' My job is to get them up on the edge of their seats, and to keep them there. It gets more difficult all the time because one must find new ways to surprise an audience. Any time a viewer of one of my films can say to himself, 'I knew that was coming,' I've lost him.
In The Birds, Hitchcock perhaps went to the greatest lengths of his career to avoid those "cliches." His Technicolor film version of Daphne du Maurier's novella (then widely accepted as one of the greatest horror stories by a living author), scripted by Evan Hunter, showed thousands of birds making organized attacks on mankind--evil was presented as an environmental fact of life.
The director also reportedly drew inspiration from a 1961 incident in which seabirds attacked the terrified residents of Monterey Bay. Recent research has shown that the birds were suffering the effects of ingesting contaminated plankton, but in 1961, the then-inexplicable "revolt of the birds" helped Hitchcock devise the simple but horrifying "what if" premise.

In the key role of Melanie Daniels, Hitchcock cast Tippi Hedren, a model he spotted in a TV commercial. The blonde beauty rose to the challenge, working all but one-half day of the film's 75-day schedule. Acting opposite leading man Rod Taylor and stage actress Jessica Tandy (playing Taylor's mother), Hedren took sides in the bird war on mankind--but not until after she had been fomally introduced to her "co-stars."
"For a solid week," said Hedren, "we were in large cages with the birds. And five prop men threw birds at us for seven long days. They didn't exactly bite us, but they couldn't get out of our way. In order to stand it, I shut off something mentally and said to myself, 'You can do this.' It was awful." Hedren, besieged by birds for days on end while filming the terrifying attic attack scene, suffered a breakdown during production.
Perhaps the most important player on Hitchcock's team was animal trainer Ray Berwick. "I don't think (Hitchcock) knew what he was getting into," Berwick said. "He quickly had to give up any idea of using mechanical birds if he wanted realism. No book or ornithologist could give us guidance on the control of flocks of wild birds."
"I got used to [the birds] rather quickly," claimed Jessica Tandy, "simply by looking upon them as other actors. Although I must say, I was beginning to wonder in some of those scenes toward the end. I've never had another actor bite me before."
After Hitchcock completed principal photography, two separate units continued their special effects work. Ub Iwerks, on loan from Walt Disney Studios, begna intricate laboratory work while the shooting of special effects was done by another unit. To publicize The Birds, Hitchcok, his wife Alma and Hedren went to New York to begin and advance promotional tour. Joined there by Berwick, they took part in a one-hour segment of the Today show devoted to The Birds. Hitchcock also addressed an overflow crowd of top Washington journalists at a luncheon meeting of the National Press Club.
Then, The Birds was selected to inaugurate the 1963 Cannes Film Festival with a gala showing. "The Birds Is Coming!" was the key phrase of all advertising. Critics raved and audiences flocked to see Hitchcock's most expensive film to date--perhaps enticed by Hitchcock's claim that his depiction of an assault upon the human race "could be the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made." A masterpiece of thrills and sophisticated, subtle humor, The Birds became one of 1963's top grossers and yet another feather in the cap of the Master of Suspense.
"It is merely an exercise in imagination," Hitchcock claimed, "done necessarily with complete realism. We had no extensive bird data to go on, except the basic idea provided by du Maurier in her story. I like to think that our birds are merely getting back at the human race for centuries of being hunted and shot . . . This horror story offers a unique challenge to delight me. It will give audiences the entertaining taste of fear and the knot in the stomach they expect from me.

NoL007 : out now

only by appointment. shipping worldwide.

the presence of God

W A R R I O R S O F T H E N E T

I WILL SURVIVE

in memory: Deborah Kerr 1921-2007

Collapsing in an Elegant Way : out now

only by appointment, please enquire for further details.shipping worldwide.

Sleuth (1972)

Sleuth 2007

Blade Runner 25th anniversary

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the movie Blade Runner. The film's neo-noir production is cited as having influenced building design. Some argue that its dystopic setting of Los Angeles in 2019 is not far removed from life on the streets of downtown Los Angeles today.

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE - 40th Anniversary

It's hard to believe it's been 40 years since the fifth James Bond epic, You Only Live Twice opened on theater screens around the world. To commemorate the occasion, Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall (authors of the best-selling book The Essential James Bond) along with Bond author and CR columnist Raymond Benson, have provided reflections on the legacy of the film. These articles can be found on the 007 web site www.mi6.co.uk.

Ahead of the film's opening, the publicity campaign for You Only Live Twice was facing opposition with the unofficial spoof version of Casino Royale also opening the same year. United Artists ensured Bond was on top with a stunning billboard that spanned an entire block in New York City above the Astor and Victoria theatres in December 1966.

Shortly before its release, two television specials were broadcast to hype Sean Connery's fifth outing as 007. BBC 1 in the UK aired a special edition of "Whicker's World" with a behind-the-scenes look at the film, and NBC in the USA broadcast "Welcome To Japan, Mr Bond", a special featuring skits by M, Q and Moneypenny. Both can now be found on the Ultimate Edition DVD.

On the night of June 12th 1967, the World premiere of You Only Live Twice took place at the Odeon Cinema in London's Leicester Square, sponsored by the Variety Club of Great Britain in aid of the YMCA and Imperial Cancer Research Fund.

As with previous Bond premieres and blockbusters of the time, the crowds began to gather outside the Odeon early in preparation for the big event hoping to get a glimpse of the stars that would be attending. What made the premiere of You Only Live Twice all that more special was the appearance of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Phillip. The event would be their first James Bond premiere and paved the way to future attendances.

Amongst the many cast and crew members, Sean Connery and wife Diana Cilento were the star attraction, especially as it was Connery's first British 007 premiere since From Russia With Love. Connery looked very un-Bond-like as he sported a bushy moustache and did not don his usual toupee.

Along with the usual press entourage were household names such as Jerry Lewis, Phil Silvers and Dick Van Dyke, as well as members of the production crew such as screenwriter Roald Dahl and producers Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman.

Guy Hamilton, who had previously directed "Goldfinger", was also in attendance.

You Only Live Twice broke the opening day record at the Odeon Leicester Square in London, and instantly became the number one film in the USA when it opened the following day. It took a total of over $600,000 in Balitmore, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia over its first weekend, and scooped almost $7m across 161 venues nationwide in its first three weeks.

for the love of God

-Damien Hirst-

Hold your breath