“I think that’s what separates this film from other films about the civil war, and other films that deal with historical racial dynamics in this country, that Ang was open to the complexity of it. That war is a seminal event in the character of American history, and it continues to inform who we are today, and who we will become. The story is a non-conventional look at historic race relations in this country. “
“I understood the attack they had planned, and I understood the subtlety of the character they had drawn. Holt, the character I played, that Ang described as an emerging character, and I thought it worked on multiple levels, relative to the film. Interestingly that was the first role I got, not having had to audition. Ang said that he had seen my work, he had seen Basquiat prior to that and maybe some of my stage work and said ‘There was something in your eyes that I saw, that was right for the character.’ That as well gave me a lot of confidence in the way that he worked, and the way he understood what acting was.”
“Black folks in the south, in the years before the civil War did not have a voice. Holt, is reflective of the nature of Black folks relation to society at that time. And ultimately as he emerges out of that silence, what he does say is all the more heightened, and all the more powerful.”
“I think it has gained a core audience since then — an expanding audience, it’s a film that’s going to survive. RIDE WITH THE DEVIL is the last film about the Civil War of the 20th century, and I think the arc from BIRTH OF A NATION, at the beginning of the 20th century to RIDE WITH THE DEVIL is an evolution of our ways of portraying this critical and defining point in our history, through cinema.”
There are about two dozen truly great audio actors, whose work on audio books, is a MUST OWN. Among them are Orson Welles, David Birney, Harlan Ellison, Roddy McDowall, James Mason, Michael Boatman to name a few.
Some of these guys work, for various reasons such as rights etc, are not available via streaming or in some cases even on CD. But these are preeminent works, of the greatest voice actors of their respective era, giving their greatest deliveries. And they can still be picked up via LP or cassette, at affordable prices, and deserve to be.
Once bought on LP or cassette go ahead and digitize it so you have these must own works in a preserved format. Here then without further ado, is the first of our 5 must own audio books!
Roddy McDowall reads WOLFEN- I am a huge fan of the 1981 WOLFEN film, I think it is a flawed, but unjustly overlooked masterpeice. However, I love this audio book version as much, perhaps even more, and that iis down to Roddy McDowall.
Roddy McDowall, a prolific actor with over 250 credits to his name, who is likely only remembered by a younger generation for his turn in FRIGHT NIGHT (1985), gave some of the great, humanistic performances of cinema in his abundant career. From Academy Award winning turn in HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY (1941) to his immortal role as Caesar in PLANET OF THE APES (1968) to THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (1973) to the aforementioned FRIGHT NIGHT (1985), and everything in between, Roddy McDowall, despite the quality of the film or script, never gave a bad performance. The consummate actor, he always carried his role, you always believed him; and he brings that veracity to this audio book, and paints with his voice the hallowed and harrowing world of WOLFEN.
Click on the link below to acquire this essential bit of audio book history.
| Material Type: | Fiction, Audio book, etc. |
|---|---|
| Document Type: | Sound Recording |
| All Authors / Contributors: | Whitley Strieber; Roddy McDowall
Find more information about:
|
| ISBN: | 1558002227 9781558002227 |
|---|---|
| OCLC Number: | 21983678 |
| Notes: | Abridged from the author’s book of the same title. |
| Performer(s): | Reader, Roddy McDowall. |
| Description: | 2 audiocassettes (approximately 180 min.) : digital, Dolby processed, 1/8 in. tape |
| Responsibility: | author, Whitley Strieben. |
Often I have heard news dealing with Florida, and it rises in me that self same rage, and I think… “I was not angry till I heard of Florida!”
And again I am sure there are great parts to Florida, great people in Florida, however it seems rightly or wrongly, they are overshadowed by the… mad.
Though it could be argued that… considering who some people voted for in the last presidential election, that all of America is mad.
Perhaps he was right when he switched sides.
I’m talking about Benedict Arnold.
History only remembers him as traitor.
They forget that he was the one everyone looked to, Washington, Jefferson, Banneker all of them. He was the Captain America of his day. Winning battle after battle, until at some point he saw a dichotomy between a colony seeking its Freedom from England, while ever more earnest about creating its wealth through a system of petty tyrannies, fiefdoms, slavery and impoverishment.
Ah Arnold, they have roughly used you.
Perhaps he was right.
https://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2019/07/an-1880-bio-of-benedict-arnold-by-a-sympathetic-relative/
All that to say, that video… riled me.
********
Now a bit more on that Henry the Vth quote:
“I was not angry till I came to France!”
That line has always stuck with me. What was said, and how he said it, and the enormity of the villainy to prompt such words.
However I don’t want people to confuse me being moved by that line, with any problems with France.
I like France, I went through it when I was younger, on a trip from Germany to London than back down through France to Spain.
While some American media has this totally undeserved derision toward France, the truth of the matter is… there would not be an America without France. The 100 year war between France and England, actually being just a small part of a 1000 year rivalry between those Super-Powers of that age, and the battle ground of America, what we called the Revolutionary War, was simply, for those Super Powers, their Vietnam.
Britain was fighting too many wars on too many fronts, battles with Spain, and France and on their own shores, and now a treasonous colony to deal with, that was being supported by their enemies. It was too much.
America likes to think we beat Britain, that is not the case. No, more than Vietnam beat America. In both cases battles on too many fronts, at home and abroad, required that the super power relinquish their expansionist wars, to concentrate on maintaining the nation proper.
So yeah, while Henry the Vth rightfully raged against France at the Battle of Agincourt, for myself, and for I think any American who has studied even basic history, and appreciates (for all its horrendous flaws) the dream of America, well you have to thank France for there even being a nation called America. Much as Vietnam has China to thank for them not being annexed by the United States.
So historically a fan of France, though these days they are dealing, like much of Europe and the World, with the rise of a new form of colonialism and fascism, under the guise of big business supplanting the rights of the individual.
Woah, man. That post went all over the place. 🙂
Somewhere in all that rambling there is probably a point. Me, I’ll leave it there. With this last refrain…
These are my only laws.
Oh, and deliberate cruelty is not forgivable.
In the words of Tennessee Williams and Blance Dubois. Deliberate cruelty is not forgivable.
Be well all.
And here endeth the rant. 🙂
-HT
If my house, god forbid, was being evacuated, and after family, pets and other essentials, they told me “here is a box you have room to bring 15 of your artbooks” ; REBUS by James Jean, would be one of those books.
Now to clarify, I have a lot of artbooks, and if I do say so myself I only own what I consider GREAT and ESSENTIAL artbooks, so to narrow that down to 15… is difficult.
But here for your list reading pleasure, is one of those 15!
I actually love the design and construction of this book, more than the actual content. Don’t get me wrong, the artwork is great, very beautiful, and I like it quite a bit, but I do not love it. It is not quite my style, but the stunning construction of the book, with the red gilded pages, makes it such an art object in and of itself. It is the only James Jean book I own, and it is because of the beatiful construction and design of the book itself.
You can get your copy of REBUS here!
These 4 films, which I have watched since starting my SHUDDER subscription (something like $2.49 for the month, for the next 3 months) are all FANTASTIC, films, in very different ways. But all of them have soared to the top of my MUST BUY List!
I’ll be doing an upcoming piece on Fulci, but I guess it says everything about Fulci, is that even what I consider his ‘slapped together/whatever’ film phase, consists of many films, such as CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, that are must watch films. Even his films of derision, are dripping with imaginative talent.
The best available films of and about the great Suspense Director Henri-Georges Clouzot
In a squalid South American oil town, four desperate men sign on for a suicide mission to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin over a treacherous mountain route. As they ferry their expensive cargo to a faraway oil fire, each bump and jolt tests their courage, their friendship, and their nerves. The Wages of Fear (Le salaire de la peur) is one of the greatest thrillers ever committed to celluloid, a white-knuckle ride from France s legendary master of suspense Henri Georges-Clouzot.
BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
Restored high-definition digital transfer with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
Video interviews with assistant director Michel Romanoff and Henri-Georges Clouzot biographer Marc Godin
Interview with Yves Montand from 1988
Henri-Georges Clouzot: The Enlightened Tyrant, a 2004 documentary on the director s career
Censored, an analysis of cuts made to the film for its 1955 U.S. release
PLUS: An booklet featuring an essay by novelist Dennis Lehane
A big, masterly movie…it joyfully scares the living hell out of you as it reveals something about the human condition. –Vincent Canby, The New York Times
Before Psycho, Peeping Tom, and Repulsion, there was Diabolique. This thriller from Henri‑Georges Clouzot (Le corbeau, The Wages of Fear), which shocked audiences in Europe and the U.S., is the story of two women—the fragile wife and the willful mistress of a sadistic school headmaster—who hatch a daring revenge plot. With its unprecedented narrative twists and unforgettably scary images, Diabolique is a heart-grabbing benchmark in horror filmmaking, featuring outstanding performances by Simone Signoret (Casque d’or, Army of Shadows), Vera Clouzot (The Wages of Fear), and Paul Meurisse (Le deuxième souffle, Army of Shadows).
New digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray editionSelected-scene commentary by French-film scholar Kelley Conway
New video interview with Serge Bromberg, codirector of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s, Inferno
New video interview with horror film expert Kim Newman
New and improved English subtitle translation
PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty
This masterful adaptation of Prévost s 1731 novel Manon Lescaut marks quite a departure for Henri-Georges Clouzot, the French director lauded for his acclaimed thrillers The Wages of Fear and Les Diaboliques.
A classical tragic romance transposed to a World War II setting, Clouzot s film follows the travails of Manon (Cécile Aubry), a village girl accused of collaborating with the Nazis who is rescued from imminent execution by a former French Resistance fighter (Michel Auclair). The couple move to Paris, but their relationship turns stormy as they struggle to survive, resorting to profiteering, prostitution and even murder. Eventually escaping to Palestine, the pair attempt a treacherous desert crossing in search of the happiness which seems to forever elude them…
Clouzot s astute portrayal of doomed young lovers caught in the disarray of post-war France wowed the jury of the 1949 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion award. Unjustly overshadowed ever since by the director s suspense films, Manon now returns to screens in glorious High Definition with a selection of elucidating extras.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
In 1964, Henri-Georges Clouzot, the acclaimed director of thriller masterpieces Les Diaboliques and Wages of Fear, began work on his most ambitious film yet.
Set in a beautiful lake side resort in the Auvergne region of France, L’Enfer (Inferno) was to be a sun scorched elucidation on the dark depths of jealousy starring Romy Schneider as the harassed wife of a controlling hotel manager (Serge Reggiani). However, despite huge expectations, major studio backing and an unlimited budget, after three weeks the production collapsed under the weight of arguments, technical complications and illness.
In this compelling, award-winning documentary Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea present Inferno’s incredible expressionistic original rushes, screen tests, and on-location footage, whilst also reconstructing Clouzot’s original vision, and shedding light on the ill-fated endeavor through interviews, dramatizations of unfilmed scenes, and Clouzot’s own notes.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
The final film of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s (Diabolique, The Wages of Fear) brilliant career, La Prisonnière (1968) is a sensuously colorful film of voyeuristic sexual obsession. It maps a love triangle between abstract sculptor Gilbert (Bernard Fresson), his TV editor girlfriend Josée (Elisabeth Wiener), and art gallery owner Stanislas (Laurent Terzieff). At an art opening, Gilbert ditches Josée, so she ends up going home with Stanislas, who shows her a photograph of a woman in bondage. The image is shocking and alluring, and Josée asks to attend his next erotic photo shoot, her first step in unlocking the depths of her desires. Making full use of the psychedelic optical effects that Clouzot developed for the unfinished L’Enfer, La Prisonnière is a visionary swansong for this legendary cinema artist.
Special Features: Audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger • Booklet essay by film critic Elena Lazic The Rebellious Elisabeth Wiener (25 minutes) • Trailer
Since there is little talk about “La Prisonnière” when ever there is some kind of documentary or article about Henri-Georges Clouzot , It hasn’t been shown on TV for a very long time and so I thought it must be a weak film, probably done with a small budget and only half-heartedly because of bad health. Boy, was I wrong! After Clouzot’s collapse at the filming of “L’Enfer” he had to refrain from filming for some time. He already had a breakdown earlier in his career and his reputation for being excessively obsessed with perfection was very likely the reason for it. He filmed only every few years because he planned his films methodically. After the disaster of “L’Enfer” it looked as if he had to retire because of his health problems. But he recovered and was able to finish one more film.
When you have seen the documentary “L’Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot” then you know that all the tests he had made for it have not been in vain. “La Prisonnière” looks very much like another try on “L’Enfer” from a different point of view. The strange lightning tests he made with Romy Schneider, Dany Carrel and Serge Reggiani and the experiments with shapes and optical illusions, that all and much more went into “Le Prisonnière”. And here it makes more sense than in “L’Enfer” since the male character is an art collector and gallery owner who exhibits modern designs. From all we can see of the fragments of “L’Enfer” through “L’Enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot” it would have been a great film. And since so many good ideas could not be used there, he gave them all to “La Prisonnière” – and it is a great film! There are pure cinematic moments in this film too, and I had a feeling that Clouzot realized this would be his last film and he wanted to use everything that he had not tried yet and to finish with a bang.
David Goggins, has been described as the man who the hardest men on the planet, look at as an inspirational tale. And with good reason. I did a post a while back that links to some of the coverage that introduced me to him.
David Goggins is a man who does not suffer fools, and does not suffer excuses, and lives by a grinding work ethic, that makes the hard or difficult or grueling day most of us think we are dealing with, literally pale in comparison.
He is a man who to some extent ensconces himself in the miserable and suffering, to find what lies beyond.
He is a hard relentless man, for an oft hard relentless world.
But he cares, he cares.
By his own estimation he is a natural introvert, a natural stutterer, a challenged learner, a fat man, and by any estimation he has transcended all labels that was put on him by others or by himself. When most of us make excuses for our failings, David Goggins at some point, at many points, said no… no more.
In a world that loves mediocrity, David Goggins learned to loathe it with a passion and a response and a tenacity that can only be called… relentless. “No you are not Big Boned…. You are fat!!!” to paraphrase Goggins.
He can come off as a gruff and a brusque human, in his language, in his stance, in his relentlessness, but what is clear is that relentlessness is shield and armor… for a man who cares deeply for all of us, and our wars against mediocrity.
Spending ten hours calling your followers for the holidays? Who the eff does that??? Who subjects themselves to that??? David Goggins does. He doesn’t hold himself up as perfect, and he’s not asking you to be perfect. He is asking you to when you get kicked in the teeth, (which you will, it is what life does) to get up, and be harder to knock down next time.
The most inspirational person I know this year, who I do not really know, someone that is outside my circle of friends and family (who if we are lucky are the ones to most tangibly inspire us), hands down is David Goggins. His story and his videos this year taught me clearly something we allow ourselves to forget, that no one cares about the things we complain about, no one, and they should not, what people should care about is the things you spend time fixing. You are either a complainer or a problem solver, part of the problem or part of the solution.
David Goggins calls you to be part of the solution. Whatever your specific solution is. He welcomes you to the war.
If you like this installment, please like, subscribe, and support this blog at this link!
Really loving JMJERVA’s ActionFlix blog. Go ahead and like and subscribe to him at the link above. Any blog that lets me know ACCIDENT MAN 2 (a great Scott Adkins’ action vehicle based on an excellent British magazine strip from the early 1990s) will be arriving on streaming soon, is a site for me.
I have been way remiss, by failing to check out routinely two of my favorite people keeping alive the pulp fiction flame, and that would be the great Derrick Ferguson and Ron Fortier. Go ahead and subscribe to their sites using the links above; and give some likes and check it daily, or at least weekly for updated content.
Speaking of Derrick Ferguson, I know by now everyone has a review up, or has read a review, read his review at Ferguson Theater as he always gives an excellent and thoughtful take on the subjext at hand. And message him about purchasing a copy of THE MADNESS OF FRANKENSTEIN or his other titles.
Check his writings and work out here.
That is it for this installment.
Thanks for looking and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
WoW!
No one saw that coming.
And everyone will be looking at the above video.
And for a lot of people it will solidify the negative thoughts they had in regards to Anthony Joshua. The questioning thoughts regarding seemingly ducking Wilder, etc. And taking a ‘lesser’ fight with Ruiz. It did that for me, watching the above video.
But I will urge you to watch the below video. In many ways Anthony Joshua has been the most disrespected champion, however this video i think puts into perspective something that one doesn’t often see.
The measure of a champion.
In adversity you see the true character of a man. And the below video, seeing this after seeing the above video, I think anyone who was an Anthony Joshua dismisser or hater, will come away from that video with a new found respect for him. I did.
I don’t know many men who could have had the night he had, and speak immediately after it with such, no excuses candor.
I think in many ways Anthony Joshua now, if he wants it, is poised to be more respected and more dangerous than he has ever been. He is now a man freed of needing to protect perfection, he is a man who can concentrate on just… fighting.
We may rather than seeing the end of a career in the above two videos, be seeing the beginning of one.
Time will tell.
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