My Favorite Movies Many of the following films are primarily for children. But most are my "pre-computer" days. And then came Madam Computer ... Uh-oh ... you all know what I'm saying. I offer the following list with this quotation attributed to Ben Hecht (1893-1964): "Movies are one of the bad habits that corrupted our century. Of their many sins, I offer as the worst their effect on the intellectual side of the nation. It is chiefly from that viewpoint I write of them--as an eruption of trash that has lamed the American mind and retarded Americans from becoming a cultured people." This was said in spite of the fact that he created some of the most entertaining screenplays in Hollywood (including Some Like it Hot). Who would know better than he who worked right in the middle of it. And truth be told, I would say he is right. Btw, he also was a prolific storyteller, and authored some 35 books; quite a guy for the 20th century.
A QUICKIE LSSSON ON MOVIE OR MOTION PICTURES For more information, you too can visit Wikipedia. Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films (also referred to as movies or motion pictures) are produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects. Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating — or indoctrinating — citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue. Films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement. The origin of the name "film" comes from the fact that photographic film (also called film stock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, moving picture, photo-play and flick. A common name for film in the United States is movie, while in Europe the term cinema is preferred. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema and the movies. "Oh, one more thing" ... said in so many of the Columbo episodes. That Peter Falk certainly knew how to create a character. While putting this page together I keep thinking of one of the entries, Dracula, with Bela Lugosi. Using his naturally thick Eastern European accent and his stage experience, Lugosi masterfully made Bram Stoker's Count Dracula came alive in that 1931 movie. It was a pivotal performance that launched him into stardom. The truth is that he didn't know a word of English; I've been informed that the words were written out for him phonetically and that "handicap" helped him play the part in such a way that one can only think of him as the one and only, Count Dracula. Listen to his first three lines when he slowly walks down those stairs and greets the unsuspecting Renfield, and says: "I am (pause) Count Dracula. (pause) I bid you (pause) welcome." (then he walks up the stairs through the huge spider web, we hear the wolves howling outside, he stops, turns around and continues) "Listen to them; (pause) children of the night; (pause) what music *they* make." The effectiveness of this style was due to Lugosi's creepy lugubrious manner and the eerie silences of Browning's directing; it's those pauses that are most effective (I suppose he was struggling with the English sounds) and his Hungarian accent added to the total effect. Lugosi was not alone with his scare ability in this picture. Dwight Frye, who played the "strongly influenced" Renfield, portrayed insanity in a very convincing manner (no small task unless you are really insane). All right, back to ... Brighton Beach... if this was a detour. Or back to the ... Navigator ... the site's menu. |