THE FOUR F-UPS
GOLDEN NAKED GUY
SEASON IS ON AGAIN
31 Days of Oscar
Turner Classic Movies
From February 1 – March 3
For full schedule and more info, log on to
http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com
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the bets are on again, and for the next month every film
aficionado will be talking about the upcoming Academy Awards
ceremony. Will Brokeback Mountain survive Red-State
conservatism and scoop up as many awards as it did on the Golden
Globes? What about King Kong? Will Peter Jackson's remake
of the 1930s classic be the next Lord Of The Rings (honestly, I
don't think so – the voters have been very indie-friendly lately)?
That is anyone's guess until the nominations actually come in
later in February.
In the meantime, Oscar season is
also a time to look back and remember the faves of the past, those
films that were either winners or losers since the whole award
thing began over 70 years ago, and Turner Classic Movies has just
that - a roster of 360 films whose star, director or crew were
either winners or nominees – and the roster this year has the
films connected in a sense that the star of one movie is also
featured in the next picture, beginning and ending with actor Eric
Pohlmman, who appears in both Mogambo
and Lust for Life.
It is impossible to comment on all
300+ films in one article, but here we comment on some of our
favorite gems of the past, such as Casablanca
and African Queeen
(both starring Humphrey Bogart) , which air on opening night at 8
and 10 PM. Who can forget Bogie as the love-worn Rick, who flees
to Morocco after losing the love of his life as the Germans enter
Paris? In a later role, he shared the spotlight with Kate Hepburn
on the immortal love story of mature love in time of war.
Billy Wilder was one of the greatest
directors of his time, and the schedule has a number of his films
on the schedule, such as Sunset Boulevard(Feb. 03), the
film that brought Gloria Swanson back from retirement to play a
crazed, forgotten silent film star in search of her lost glory. In
one of the film's most memorable moments, Cecil B. de Mille makes
a brief appearance (on the set of Samson and Delilah) stating why
Gloria Desmond's career is over.
Another of Wilder's films on
schedule is The Lost Weekend, the sad tale of an alcoholic
writer in search of another drink. The sight of Ray Milland toting
his typewriter to a pawn shop through the streets of Manhattan is
one of the greatest moments in film – I recall watching that movie
for the first time in 1999 at a screening in a Manhattan bookstore
and being unable to even look at a drink for about a week!
There are
more recent moments that are on the roster, such as 1988's Who
Framed Roger Rabbit (Feb 21), the live action-meets cartoon
film in which a 1940s drunken detective (Bob Hoskins) investigates
the murder of the owner of ACME. Can anyone forget Jessica
Rabbit's sexy rendition of Peggy Lee's "Why Don't You Do Right"
(the character was voiced by Kathleen Turner, but Amy Irving sang
the song) at the sleazy prohibition-style variety club?
Another
newer film, 1991 nominee Fried Green Tomatoes (can a
14-year-old film be considered a classic?) has one of these
unforgettable scenes that are worth the picture alone. At one
moment, Kathy Bates' character is waiting to park at a
supermarket. A car vacates a space, but just as she is about to
pull in, two young girls in a VW quickly pull in. As the girls
walk away, Bates says "girls, I was waiting for that space", to
which they scoff and respond, "face it lady – we're younger, we
have more energy". Instead of sucking it up, she gets her family
car and rear-ends the VW six times. The younger women run back,
asking if Bates had gone out of her mind. She smiles, looks at
them and says, "face it girls – I'm older, I have more insurance"
and then simply drives away.
Gregory Peck had many roles
throughout his long career, but it is his Award-winning role of
Atticus Finch in the dramatization of To Kill a Mockingbird(Feb
12) that immortalized him. Watch for the silent Robert Duvall, who
appears at the end of the film – in which would be his first role
ever. Duvall also appears in The Seven Per Cent Solution(Feb
12), adapted by the Holmes parody of the same name. Severely
miscast, he plays Holmes' famous biographer, John Watson as his
friend battles cocaine addiction (with the help of Dr. Freud,
played by Alan Arkin) and ends up saving – and ultimately getting
– the girl at the end of the film.
There are other favorites that are
also scheduled, such as The Sting, Picnic, Lolita, Angels With
Dirty Faces(with the unforgettable James Cagney) and others –
check the schedule on the channel's web site at
http://www.turnerclassicmovies.com
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Jazz and Other Beats:
San Francisco's Six Degrees
label has been very prolific in bringing contemporary Brazilian
music to the U.S. through its association with the Ziriguiboom
label. This time around, they bring The Now Sound of Brazil 2,
which features a collection of songs featured in their recent
releases. Highlights include a remix of Bebel Gilberto's "Simplesmente",
a track featured on a limited-release bonus disc from her most
recent remix CD, Bossacucanova's take on Chico Buarque's "Essa
Moça Tá Diferente", which features vocals by Wilson Simoninha, and
Celso Fonseca's beautiful "Por Acaso Pela Tarde", taken from his
recent Rive Gauche Rio, which was briefly reviewed in this space a
few months back. There are also some previously unreleased tracks,
such as Cybelle's original "Meu Amor", and an exclusive remix of
Dj Dolores "Trancelim de Marfim". The album has been available
since January 17th at major record stores or through
http://www.sixdegreesrecords.com
Zbigniew Libera, one
of Poland’s most controversial artists, will be introduced to the
New York City audience by Eleanor Heartney,contributing
editor of Art in America and Artpress, along
with Raul Zamudio, curatorial director at White Box, where the
event takes place. on Saturday, January 28 at 5 PM. (525 West 26th
Street,betw.10th and 11th Avenues)For more information, contact
info@whiteboxny.org
In the 80s, singer-songwriter
Vinicius Cantuaria penned "Leaozinho", a lullaby that became a
major hit for Caetano Veloso, which prompted him to embark on a
solo career as a sophisticated pop musician. Though that didn't
quite quite work in Brazil, he later found in the U.S. and Europe
an audience for his jazz- inflected tunes. He appears from Jan. 31
to Feb 04 at The Jazz Standard in celebration of the release of
his new album, Silva. Sets
are at 7:30 and 9:30 PM.
Also at The Jazz
Standard, vocalist Joan Crowe appears on the heels of her
self-released début, Bird on A Wire. A former actress, Crowe
manages to throw a lot of sense of humor in her performances,
giving us an enjoyable performance and a few laughs to boot. She
appears on February 06, with sets at 7:30 and 9:30 PM
The
Jazz Standard is located at 116 E 27th Street. For
tickets and more information, call 212 576-2232 or log on to
http://www.jazzstandard.com
