This Day in Cinema History
By Craig Kennedy - July 11th, 2008; 7:56 am
You say it’s my birthday
It’s Yul Brynner’s too – yeah
They say it’s my birthday
We’re gonna have a good time
I’m glad it’s my birthday
Happy birthday to Yul.
Filed under: Miscellaneous
Happy Birthday, fearless leader.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3IzpazVl-I&feature=related
7/11. Cool!
Buy that man a Squishee! The next Cola flavored 64oz tub is on me.
Happy birthday, Craig!!! Have fun today!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR.KENNEDY!
There must be a special screening planned for today.
Have a wonderful day!
I am thinking hard, and using my powers of deduction.
I believe that Mr. Kennedy is a youthful 39 today.
Correctomundo, Sam.
Your e-mail’s coming, you big stud. Never fear. This lion never makes promises she can not keep.
*Ahem*
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, my sweet, adorable crabcake. Here’s to many, many more….
Love and kisses, my darling boy…
Happy Birthday!!!
That’s so cool, hope you have an awesome day. Of course you will.
Thank you all so very much. Nothin’ beats going fishin’ and catching a mess of ‘em.
Incidentally, which one of you fine people got me the new iPhone 3G?
That was me. No need to thank me. ;-)
wow! you rule even more than I imagined!
Omfg, are you serious about the iPhone 3G?
Because if not, I’m sorry, when it comes to the iPhone, which is so freaking over priced, humour flies straight over my head.
Just teasing. The new one came out today and all the next-best-thingers are drooling over it. I couldn’t care less. Call me on my regular phone when they invent one that makes dinner and tucks me in at night, then I’ll be interested.
Told you the humour/teasing would fly over my head. I always want what I cannot have, and the iPhone 3G is just that.
Happy birthday, Craig!
No one is getting a 3G iPhone just yet…apple’s entire activation network is down. It’s also bricking 1st gen iPhones if users try to update to the new software because that requires a reactivation of their account.
Sucks to be Steve Jobs today, probably a rare occurance in his gilded world.
But back to Craig: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Don’t let Yul Brynner talk to you like that Craig. The LiC regulars will rapidly desert the saloon so you can take care of business.
Happy birthday buddy. Thanks for toiling hard and creatively to provide us all with such a great site, and for never trying to be anything but yourself. It’s a winning formula.
Thanks again guys.
It’s funny, one of my coolest recent celebrity sightings was Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss at last weekend’s showing of Tell No One. I wasn’t thinking of it until I posted this clip.
Hey, happy birthday!
What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is goin’ oin here…
A birthday? Well damn!
Happy B-Day! Do your thing!
And please people, it’s truly sad to watch Americans line up overnight for an iphone. Especially given this past week’s FISA ruling effectively giving AT&T the right to spy on you. iphones suck.
I think you mean ‘FISA vote’, not ruling.
Yes, that too.
FISA sellout.
Although there is precedent.
AT&T isn’t doing any spying. The Congress legitimized the Bush administration’s violation of federal law. It’s virtually every branch of the gov’t that’s spying on Americans and anyone else they choose right now.
If this makes the iPhone suck, then any cell phones, PDAs, gmail, hotmail, ISPs, online banking, etc all suck equally.
Welcome to Big Brother, folks.
Jeez, way to rain on Craig’s parade, guys.
Talkin’ ’bout a former constitutional republic becomin’ a police state and stuff.
Yes, you’re right. But i wouldn’t be waiting overnight to add to the collective surveillance state. Which we have now and is one of the first signs of fascism. Fritz Lang’s M says it all.
Hopefully Craig is taking a blog break today and treating himself well. Which is what I do on my birthday. Ferris Bueller style!
You know, I was kidding about the iPhone, right?
I might wait in line for a good blow job or possibly a corned beef Reuben, but a telephone? Not on your life.
Say no to cellphones!
Ok, I was just trying to be crass for the attention value there, but then I thought of a line of people waiting to get a blow job and what might actually be waiting for me at the end of such a line and…well…it wasn’t pretty. I take that first part back. The Reuben stands though.
Mmm, corned been Reuben… mmm… I know what I’m getting next time I go to Max’s in Corte Madera. (Actually, that’s what I got last time I ate there, too.)
Whew…for a second there I thought you were going to stand in line for a blow job from a corny guy named Rueben.
Not my idea of a fun birthday, but you do live in Hollywood.
Let’s hear it for Fritz Lang’s M! An absolute masterpiece.
I’m not a corned beef lover myself so I wouldn’t stand in line for the Reuben or the phone. Especially after the lovely imagery set forth in Craig’s most recent comment to his post. The first part, I mean. ;-)
hahahhah…you people.
Alison, could I interest you in a pastrami Reuben? or are you not a meat eater? (ok, the imagery is building up here but that’s TOTALLY NOT what I meant)
Changing the subject:
I’ve listened to Cracker’s “Happy Birthday To Me” like 12 times today. Is that wrong?
I was having a good sleep
In my car
In the, parking lot of the
Showboat Casino hotel
I say, “I remember you
You drive like a PTA mother”
You brought me draft beer
In a plastic cup
I’m feeling thankful
For the small things, today
I’m feeling thankful
For the small things, today
Happy, Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me
And to you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOTCc5Ci6BY
exactly!
I love the internets.
they have everything there
and HERE!
This thread has reached post #39!! I suddenly feel like the Count.
“Thirty-nine! Ah ah ha ha!” (thunder booms, lightning strikes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KnpzTiabgY
except for a Reuben
Perhaps not, but Canter’s Deli has a website. Close enough. If you want to know where I’ll be tonight after Hellboy II, now you know.
http://www.cantersdeli.com/
The Count used to scare me when I was little.
Just got back from an afternoon (1:20 P. M. EST )showing of HELLBOY II with Lucille and the kids. I went in wanting to hate it, and I am sick and tired of superheros, hand to hand combat and explosions, but this film was for the most part very accomplished. The reason of course is………………Mr. Del Toro……………….case closed.
My prediction is that Craig will come in with a four-star review. Myself, I am leaning towards a three or three and a half out of four.
Again have a great birthday evening.
Craig, where are you seeing Hellboy 2? Some friends and I were planning to see it tonight as well.
People better make a big fuss over my birthday later on.
I’m just sayin.
I just got a ticket for Arclight in Sherman Oaks for the 5:30 show. I love reserved seating.
Craig <—-fuss maker
I’m with you Miranda!
I ADORE you, Craig. Hope you got the e-mail.
Well, Sam. Only the best people agree with moi.
When’s your birthday, Sam?
Craig, if you were at the Grove I probably would have a chance at a sighting, but never mind.
August 26th. -Virgo- But I am an old bag….53…….this site has all young people.
And at the fear of going overboard, I do agree that Craig is the rare kind of person that successfully juggles humility, sportsmanship and good taste. And he writes extremely well to boot. You can’t lose with that mix.
When is your birthday, Miranda? Of course, no age needs to be revealed! LOL.
Sam, your kids weren’t too scared by the film’s dastardly demons? And, I’m only a few years behind you on the age front Sam. And the revered Pierre de Plume is a tad older than yourself.
Jeff, perhaps you’ll catch another celebrity sighting instead. Though probably not an A lister like Craig.
53 isn’t old, Sam. Besides, Virgos look younger than their age. I’m Taurus with Virgo rising and therefore know this to be true from personal experience. :-)
Sartre, the youngest one, Jeremy, who is six, was putting his hands over his eyes during those sequences to be honest, but the others who range from 7 to 12 were OK with it. To be honest they were more frightened with PAN’S LABYRINTH. A number of people I know scolded me for allowing them to watch that for his brutal violence and nightmarish imagry.
He’s a great artist, but yes there is price to pay here.
Bless you Alison!
Alison is a saint, but if one looks closely enough a sly dark naughtiness reveals itself.
Uh-oh, I’ve been found out.
Jeez, I should tell people it’s my birthday more often. People say nice things and junk.
Sometimes Sam I think you’re the youngest of us all in spirit. How you juggle like 100 kids and a wife and a job and all the movies you see is a completing f’ing mystery to me.
Sounds like Hellboy isn’t going to work out Jeff, but keep me apprised of your future New Bev or American Cinematheque plans. I’m quite friendly for a misanthrope.
Also, Cancer’s own all your asses! And if you don’t think so, we will lock ourselves in our room for a week pouting about it.
Ahhh, Virgo. Explains A LOT. Analytical to a fault. Lots of detail…and order.
I’m in my late 20s, actually.
And my birthday’s Christmas week. Though I am a true Capricorn in many respects, my rising sign’s Leo. My personality is far more characteristic of the classic Leo in a lot of ways.
But I guarantee you that you’re much loved around here, Sam. People WILL make a fuss over you.
I for one will definitely remember.
Hey, Beck’s a Cancer.
You heard about that, didn’t you, Craig?
Meryl Streep is also a Cancer. As is the Dalai Lama. You’re in lots of good company, Craig.
And as for being born in ‘69 you’re in great company – Wes Anderson, Javier Bardem, Julie Delpy, Peter Dinklage, Terrence Howard, Ed Norton, and Puff Daddy.
1969 is a magical year to be born in for sure, and sartre’s refs there are impressive.
Thanks so much Miranda, what a lovely thing to say.
And ditto Craig, the secret is that I suffer from OCD and my wife’s an enabler! LOL!!!
Yes Miranda, and I’ve heard he has a way with the ladies.
They only bad thing about being Cancer is it’s in the summer so in grade school we didn’t get to celebrate our birthdays in class. Though my 2nd grade teacher set aside special days for the summer kids. It wasn’t the same.
Has anyone seen the Polanski documentary yet? I am eyeing a late show at the Quad tonite. I think, but I am nor sure that Sasha Stone was praising it. I bet Dan is excited with this film.
Wait, I am losing it…………I think both Alexander and Joel have seen it, if memory from another thread serves me right, and they liked it.
I saw that and I liked it although I’ve seen a couple of fairly negative reviews too. I can some of their reasoning, but I still liked it.
I caught the last 30 minutes or so of it on HBO while holidaying last month, Sam. I thought it was an interesting exploration of the legal/political side of the case. My only hope is that these issues don’t obscure or somehow minimize Polanski’s appalling criminal behavior. I have it on DVD and look forward to seeing the whole documentary.
That was the crux of the negative reviews, sartre, that the director was glossing over Polanski’s crime by indicting the legal system in this case. I think there’s definitely room for criticism there, although it was an appalling case of injustice in how his case was handled by the presiding judge and the media.
I think it probably depends on your point of view about Polanski. I’ve never really liked him much but I appreciate his work and the documentary enlightened me about his personal history. Good enough for me.
“My only hope is that these issues don’t obscure or somehow minimize Polanski’s appalling behavior.”
Oh I complete agree with that sartre, this works only with neutrality, but you say the first part was interesting and Joel likes/respects it, so let’s give it a whirl. Joel, I did see some negative reviews too, but it seems the majority are favorable…………..but we know that means little. LOL. There is an Italian movie in the Quad called DAYS AND CLOUDS, which looks interesting too, but I’ll go for the Polanski. Thanks, gentlemen.
Excellent post there Joel (#68)
I never knew your birthday was the day before mine. Happy birthday, Craig!
I’m a big fan of many of his films. A fact I struggle with given my distaste for his crime and fleeing of justice. I thought the documentary was a telling indictment of the US criminal justice system. In most any other country he would have been convicted and sentenced to at least a few years in prison. That sentence would have been at the longer end given his denial of having committed the crime prior to conclusive evidence being found. But plea bargaining (only perhaps necessary because the accused was wealthy) meant he was convicted of a far lesser crime. The electoral process system for this level of judicial appointment meant that an incompetent and politically expedient judge bungled the sentencing. It’s not that other legal systems don’t get things wrong at times, but the US maximizes the prospect.
Excellent point sartre, but isn’t is ironic that in this instance the US legal system is being indicted for its lenience rather than the other way around?
I love many of his films as well.
I see where you’re going, sartre, although I think someone with wealth and fame can get away with a lot in most any country. The documentary points out that not only has France happily embraced Polanski since he fled the US, they’ve annointed him with their highest artisitic merit, membership in the Académie des Beaux-Arts. This is weird because I’m fairly certain Polanski’s crime, drugging and raping a 13 year old, would have been just as serious a crime there as well.
But the documentary also points (rather clearly) why Polanski is Desired in Europe yet Wanted in the US, one of the things I really liked about it.
I thought the ‘injustice’ of the case was more about the presiding judge deciding to ignore the plea bargain that had been reached in order to ’send a message’ about how hard he could throw the book at Polanski.
Having spent a little time working in the California justice system I gained the impression that plea bargaining – motivated for the most part by the desire to save the State money – is commonplace. The irony is that the savings resulting from less Court time, hardly compensate for the costs of the State’s punitive sentencing response for even relatively minor crime.
“I see where you’re going, sartre, although I think someone with wealth and fame can get away with a lot in most any country.” I’m not sure about that. Money can prolong the legal process in most any country, but at least the absence of plea bargaining means that the person is tried for their actual crime and the State no longer has a vehicle for reducing costs – a motivation potentially increased by the wealth of the accused.
Actually, France considers Polanski’s crime in a far more seriously light than the US, as anything involving children is taken quite seriously….the red carpet treatment by the French to Polanski is often attributed to the cold relations between the countries. But I guess this is dealt with in the film.
Jeff, Polanski was getting a slap on the wrist either way. The judge turned the case into his own personal media show and basically went outside his own discretion, which caused all kinds of problems. I’m not going to try explain all of it, but it was fairly ridiculous what he tried to get away with.
Submission no. 76 here by sartre is fascinating.
Most cases, period, are determined by plea bargaining as opposed to trials.
Jeff is right on that one.
I’m no legal expert, and I haven’t seen the film, but my understanding has always been that the judge was trying to impose an excessive penalty even for the nature of the crime, to make an example out of Polanski.
Oh, and this talk of underage rape and legal proceedings is my birthday present to Craig. Next year, bloody gloves.
Jeff, the grand jury charged Polanski with giving a drug to a minor, committing a lewd act upon a person less than 14, rape of a minor, rape by use of a drug, oral copulation and sodomy.
Polanski was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of engaging in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
The prosecution agreed to dismiss the other charges, including two more serious counts—furnishing drugs to a minor and rape by use of drugs.
I’m sorry, I could go on but the subject just seems wrong for a Friday afternoon when it’s someone’s birthday. Carry on without me if you want.
The last point I want to make is that my understanding (again, not complete) is that the judge was going to give Polanski a sentence that would have been excessive even considering the full panoply of charges against him.
sartre, that was an excellent, excellent point there (#84)
And I admit it, I am the guilty party here—I started this long (but nonetheless fascinating) discussion, by asking if anyone has seen the film.
I suspect Craig can handle such a topic, birthday or not.
Any documentary that provokes such discussion, regardless of the neutrality or otherwise of its makers, has considerable value.
Yeah, but we’re not really talking about the documentary.
Amen, sartre, amen.
Had the Polanski doc not been the opener for the HBO series this season, Sam, I may not have been as interested in it. When I previewed the season on my blog the day of its airing, a commenter reported quite a bit of disappointment with the film the next day. That being said, I know it’s received rave reviews from a number of trusted sources, but in any case I don’t have HBO and it’s not playing here, so I’m in the dark.
Hope Hellboy brought the goods for your birthday, Craig. My thoughts on it are in line with Sam’s.
Birthday movie experiences are always memorable for me, especially when it’s on a Friday, like when I saw The Beach on my birthday.
Anyway, happy birthday to Matthew tomorrow, too!
Don’t make me sing again, damnit!
As for Polanski, I can’t comment because I haven’t seen it. I have ideas, but best they remain quiet until I see the movie, then I’ll argue with ya’ll.
I liked many aspects of the documentary, Sam, though I do think those who see it as partially glossing over Polanski’s crimes have a very valid point.
Craig, we gotta know: how was Hellboy 2?
I just got home from The Edge of Heaven, which I liked a good deal, though didn’t love it.
Ok, I’ll say this though I’m sure I’ll regret it: I think our broken legal system and our society’s obsession with celebrity is a more interesting issue than the crimes of a single man, no matter how salacious they may be so if Polanski softballs the latter but tears into the former, I’ll be happy.
As for Hellboy II, highly enjoyable. Not perfect, but better than the first one and more interesting than any of the other superhero movies this summer.
Looked amazing and the FX were terrific. A little carnage, a few laughs and a lot of strange beauty. Del Toro’s imagination is boundless and he’s given free reign here.
You perfectly sum up the state of my interest on the documentary, Craig.
Indeed on Edge of Heaven, Alexander. My thoughts validated. It’s up to Sam to defend its outright excellence on his own for now!
A birthday present, in the form of some weekend reading: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/google
Don’t know if people have read that yet or not. My sister forwarded it to me like a month ago. Ironically, I found it too long and put it off. On this, my second attempt, I made it through with just a little bit of a struggle. I found myself wondering, “Would this have been more comfortable for me 10 years ago? 5 years ago? Is something happening to me?”
Whether you agree with him or not (and don’t be taken by the somewhat misleading title), I’d say it’s one of the most important essays I’ve read in a very, very long time. Lots of far-reaching ramifications, and I thought it appropriate to the interests in the confines of LiC.
Birthday cake for those who read it by the end of the weekend.
My main problems with The Edge of Heaven were the unfortunate lack of subtlety on the director’s part in stitching together the power of fate, and the happenstance of coincidence, the titles of the first two acts giving away two incredibly important plot developments (therefore making the film more Brechtian and less emotional than it would seem the more manipulative approach to so much of the film would indicate was the ideal) and some slightly didactic sequences/moments.
That said, it had a lot of tremendous acting. And, on the whole, it’s really the film that Babel desperately wanted to be, as one RottenTomatoes blurb I just saw said.
Will write a review sometime in the very near future…
“it’s really the film that Babel desperately wanted to be”
You mean “it’s really the film I wanted Babel desperately to be” :-)
Thanks for that link Daniel, I’ll have a 5 page book report on your desk on Monday. :)
ahahah..Sartre the one man Babel brigade!
Oh, no, Sartre, not this again. :)
I was just going through the Babel copse with a friend a few days ago, as he had just finally seen it. :)
A hunnert!
Now that’s a perfect one paragraph review, Alexander, on all counts.
Craig, what kind of cake would you like for finishing the article? I was thinking an ice cream cake.
And…100!
Jinx!
What a fantastic article, Daniel. Thank you for posting the link to it.
Glad to, Alison, but wow, if you’ve already finished it then you probably don’t have to worry about what it says!
That’s one slice of cake coming up!
Thanks, Daniel. :)
I’m thinking about writing a full review at CCC, expanding a bit on that breezy one-paragraph write-up. It’s definitely a worthwhile film, full of much intellectual and political meaning, despite the flaws.
Thanks for that article as well, Daniel, I’m off to take a look…
Daniel, I’m one of those paranoic people that has always both appreciated and feared technology. I do tons of reading and research on the Internet, but I also mix it up with “deep reading” as Carr puts it. And I’ve always been aware of how media overload affects the attention span. Television, the Internet have certainly brought about changes. Everything is so quick and immediate, everything from politics to movie reviews gets spliced down to ’sound-bytes’, a word that is used a lot.
The parallel that he draws to 2001: A Space Odyssey and the emotional demise of Hal is so striking. ‘…its despair as one circuit after another goes dark, its childlike pleading with the astronaut—“I can feel it. I can feel it. I’m afraid”‘. Chilling.
Mm, cake. And it’s chocolate cake with chocolate icing. My favorite!
I’m right there with you, Alison. I feel like I’ve always been aware of the change (it’s not like this is a surprise or anything), and I’ve actually made a mental effort to not shy away from the deep reading (and that includes reading more books in the last year or so – speaking of which, I’m off to finish Things Fall Apart right now), but when it’s presented in this manner it becomes quite a bit more frightening, all the more so because you experience it in real time. Probably how people feel when they read my, ahem, often long-winded comments, haha…but seriously, it’s food for thought for anyone who’s writing content online, most of the present company included.
Well if the cake isn’t entirely made of ice cream, a generous scoop would sure go well with your delicious description! Wonder what the birthday boy’s preference is?
Guess he can’t say much cuz I jinxed him, sucker! Just kidding, go celebrate, CRAIG…
I’m with you on that one Alison, I’ve been surprised at times how much people struggle with films, music, literature etc. that is more contemplative in nature. Impatience closes the door to a different quality of reward, one that usually resonates for far longer.
True, sartre.
A long time ago a friend and I had a discussion about great orators, like Winston Churchill, and how they didn’t exist anymore really. I think it’s part of the effect of the ’sound-byte’ culture. No one has patience for long, well-thought out orations of that sort, anymore than they have patience for long novels like War and Peace. We live in a world of short, catchy slogans and phrases.
The tendency really spills over into everything that requires a long attention span, particularly films, music and literature that is more contemplative and more challenging in nature.
Which is why it’s interesting to me that so many of the best movies of 2007 clocked in at over 2 hours (over 2-1/2 hours in some cases, like TWBB), and with no intermission. And people still went to see them. Granted, there was usually at least one person opening up their cellphone (and distracting me with the light from it) to check the time. But these were the minority.
Before I go, I just have to make an observation. Sartre’s brief, pithy comment here perfectly encapsulates what he’s trying to say. At the same time, Alexander absolutely nailed my thoughts on The Edge of Heaven in a simple paragraph.
My point is, our ability (maybe yours rather than mine, hehe) to write more “efficiently” is ever-improving. Anytime I’m typing something (blog post, comment, email, work stuff), I’m mindful that the less I write, the more it will be read. In one sense that’s unfortunate, but in another it can be considered a positive adaptation. Right?
White cake with chocolate frosting, s’il vous plait.
Wow, a bunch of stuff I missed by going to see Hellboy 2 (I agree with Craig – a lot better than the first one, which was mired in exposition and – probably – studio meddling.)
Also I must have missed all this Babel discussion from back when. For the record, I thought it was a mixed bag, with a few terrific scenes and performances, but then I’m also not a fan of its subgenre.
I saw the Polanski doc last night as planned, and while I appreciated the meticulous coverage of the judge’s resposes to all the media pressure, (definitely as Joel stated in one of his responses on this thread yesterday well beyond his decretion, and pretty appalling) and a blow by blow recapitulation of each and every step that led to Polanski’s fleeing and becoming a ‘model’ French citizen. The film ‘coasted’ in the final 40 minutes or so, and much of what is actually on screen leaves us with a sense of deya vu. I wasn’t overwhelmed with it, but was still intrigued and interested. But I know I am in the minority.
As far as what my good friends Alexander and Daniel have have said about THE EDGE OF HEAVEN, well I disagree, but I disagree with full repect to your position and observances. It is interesting to note that the critic, whose opinion I value above all others, Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic, has come down on your side, and his issues with it are the same as both of your issues. You are in very good company there.
However, Kauffmann is in a severe minority as you have seen I’m sure. I found the film very subtle in its presentation of the fate motif…………that is primarily why it worked as well as it did. It was a fascinating sociological study with compelling characters, a splendid omnibus narrative that wisely did not link in the end (unlike Babel’s structure) giving the film added emotional resonance and the added level of speculation. It is film of deep moral conviction, and characters that are as sharply drawn and rendered as any film of the past few years. Fassbinder regular Hanna Shygulla delivers a towering performance as the German girl’s grieving mother, and her mourning scene literally rips your heart out. Within the framework of social upheaval, when characters are usually presented as symbols, here in Akin’s film there is a pervading and overwhelming sense of humanity, warts and all in the fascinating omnibus structure. As a result, you get to know these characters so well, it’s almost as if you were living next door to them. Within the multi-cultural design, this is of couse an incredible feat.
There are moments in this film that are ingrained in my mind that resonate with the deepest of emotions. One could hardly expect more for a film.
Hence relatively minor reservations are really left in the dust. THE EDGE OF HEAVEN is a masterpiece.
(I must get my thoughts together an dwrite a full review, but I still have the Polanski, Hellboy, The Grocer’s Son, etc. to complete as well………LOL!)
I hope you had a great birthday Craig, and I thought you would have that exact HELLBOY reaction. I do largely agree.
and yes sartre, I see that the film was indeed a telling indictment of the US legal system (a statement you had posted yesterday). It is conceivable that a number of people can and will come away from this documentary with a sour taste for the hypocricies of the court system, which often succumbs to ficle media pressure, as was clearly the case here.
Very interesting and true points in The Edge of Heaven’s favor, Sam. (You can click my name and check out my review if you wish.) As you will see, I certainly agree about the film’s greater strength of human emotion coupled with doses of markedly pronounced intelligence.
The Polanski documentary was indeed somewhat overhyped by certain people; I liked it because it was investigative, with that blow by blow approach, but on the other hand I do agree that it largely “coasts” in the long final stretch.
Hope your birthday was everything you were hoping, Craig! :)
I would agree it does coast somewhat, but because I was so ignorant of that period of history regarding Polanski I found it quite interesting. My only issue with it is that it appears to simplify Polanski’s crime and place some of the blame elsewhere, but I don’t think it’s over the top in this respect. I do think there’s room for criticism there though. And it may be that my general annoyance with our whole “What about the children/To Catch a Predator” culture right now might be getting in the way of that. I just think it’s all senstationalized in the media these days, to an extent that it appears to be a much bigger problem than it really is.
I do think Polanski got off very easy and that a regular citizen would have been given a much more serious sentence and spent a much longer time in prison. What he did was just plain inexcusable.
Alexander, once again I commend you on an exceptionally written, probing and beautifully structured essay. Your writings with any luck should be published in major publications, and I mean it.
I have no issue with the title cards, as this film is neither a mystery nor the kind of film that is spolied by the advance telegraphing of events. I like your Bergman reference, but I’m not sold that it is applicable here. Akin deliberately uses this device, in my view to downplay the inevitability of events that were part of a known thread of social upheaval. As you pointed out yourself the characters are central to this film.
If the admittedly minor issues you bring here somehow compromise this experience, I don’t feel it would be possible to have the reaction that I had in the end.
Only the truly great contemporary films give one the kind of emotional catharsis that leaves these quibbles in the dust.
Joel: I also saw that “simplification” you just brought up, and I must say I do agree with that as well.
Completely concur with your take Joel.
Polanski drugs and rapes a minor (among other things), he falsely proclaims his innocence, is only convicted of a far less serious charge, and then flees the country to avoid more jail time (he had served a prison sentence to this point far less than he would have received most anywhere else).
I found the documentary interesting, but what concerned me was that these bottom-lines were glossed over in an effort to present his own “victimization” at the hands of an incompetent and unethical judge.
sartre, your last sentence is really what this film was all about…….I took it that Polanski was being “victimized” by a judge who was unduly influenced by media hounds.
Thank you very much for the kind words, Sam. It means a great deal particularly coming from “a gentleman and a scholar” such as yourself. Your sentiments are based in terrific reasoning.
Joel, Sartre and Sam, I agree with the consensus you have formed regarding HBO’s look at Polanski’s case. There are certainly some scabrous aspects of the entire affair that are unfortunately glossed-over.
Alexander, you are truly a prince of a person.
Happy fucking birthday!
Here’s to Craig! Be polite!
Why are there people like Frank?
Welcome back neighbor.
Let’s take our neighbor for a joy ride!
Thanks Frank. Good to see you again, as always.
Wow, I go internetless (well, almost) for a few days…..and I miss this party.
Happy belated birthday!
I’m *really* late to the party, but sweetheart, happy birthday!!!
Hedwig and Dorothy. Thank you and you’re better late than never. Besides, just between you and me, I’m celebrating all week.