Frank Capra is my favorite movie director of all-time which makes Robert Riskin one of my favorite screenwriters of all-time because he penned most of Capra’s best work for the screen. The best of their films together included:
Robert Riskin won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for “It Happened One Night” which became the first film to ever win all top 5 categories including Best Picture, Director (Frank Capra), Actor (Clark Gable), Actress (Claudette Colbert), and Writing (Riskin). Riskin received Academy Award nominations for his screenplays for the Capra films Lady for a Day (1933), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), You Can’t Take It with You (1938), and Here Comes the Groom (1951).
My favorite movie of all-time is Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life which was made after Capra returned from serving in WW II with Jimmy Stewart. By then Capra and Riskin had parted ways so sadly Riskin did not get the chance to write the script. However, Riskin did write and produce a fantastic movie the next year called “Magic Town” ironically enough starring Jimmy Stewart.
Riskin married Fay Wray, who was famous for being the beauty that killed the beast in the classic 1932 movie “King Kong”. They were married 13 years and had three children. He suffered a stroke in 1950 and passed away very young at the age of 58 in 1955. Ironically enough, Frank Capra’s last film was “A Pocketfull of Miracles” in 1961 which was a remake of Robert Riskin’s “Lady for a Day” from 1933.
Here’s the entire movie “MAGIC TOWN” from 1947 starring Jimmy Stewart fresh from doing “It’s a Wonderful Life”
Breaking Glass (1980) is a favorite film starring Hazel O’Connor who wrote and performed all of the original songs. This was like the punk version of Bette Midler’s The Rose which came out around the same time. Both stories were similar in that they followed the rise to fame of a female music artist and the disillusionment they encountered personally once they reached the top.
Hazel has a wide range of songs in the gem of a movie. She has some high tempo stuff and soft ballads (My favorite being WILL YOU) and everything in between. The movie starts off with her “Writings on the Wall” and just sets the tone of what’s to come. You should check it out.
Here’s the opening and closing sequences as well as the song “BIG BROTHER”
Here’s my favorite track from the movie, “WILL YOU”
Here’s the concert performance for Eighth Day including her Tron outfit and laser show. Hey, it’s 1980.
I watch my favorite movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” every Christmas. One of my favorite things about the movie is Donna Reed who was absolutely beautiful. She went on to win an Oscar in 1953 for her work in “From Here to Eternity” and then starred in her own TV series called “The Donna Reed Show”. Sadly, she passed away too young at age 64 due to pancreatic cancer in 1986. Here are some videos about Donna Reed.
News of her passing with highlights from her career
The amazing phone scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life” which they did in one take!
The lasso the moon scene from “It’s a Wonderful Life”
Few movies ever live up to the hype and expectations these days but I really liked “LIMITLESS” starring Bradley Cooper. It’s centered around a man who takes this new pill that helps him turn his life around by making him more “clear”.
While I don’t like the message that we need some narcotic to change our fate and destiny, I did like the story and the way the movie was shot and edited as well as the music.
This movie reminded me a little of Wall Street with Robert De Niro as Gordon Gekko and Cooper as Sheen… it also made me think of another favorite movie of mine, PHENOMENON (1996) which starred John Travolta whose life turned around when he became “Clear” and ultra intelligent, but it wasn’t via drugs.
“Objectified” is a wonderful documentary about the beauty of design. It was made by the same folks who made another favorite of mine, “Helvetica”.
Here’s my favorite part where Jonathan Ives shares a rare glimpse at the design process at Apple. He shows the raw material that is used to create a MacBook Pro.
BRIGHT STAR (2009) is as beautiful and as moving as the real life romance between poet John Keats and his beloved muse Fanny Brawne which is the focus of the film. Jane Campion, director of “The Piano” wrote and directed this masterpiece of the heart with brilliant colors and exhilarating depths of emotions. She never rushes anything and does not milk any scenes for more than they’re worth which is very difficult to do. You’re left satisfied but always wanting a bit more at the same time which is difficult to explain or understand.
I’ve always loved the poetry of Keats but never knew about this incredible love affair that inspired his best work for the final three years of his short life. He died at only 25 from consumption which was basically tuberculosis. It’s just such a tragedy that so many gifted geniuses like Keats perished because the physicians and medicine of the time were so weak. Still, I am thrilled to know that he did experience such a glorious love. He used to mock others for their silly feelings of love and always felt uncomfortable around women but that all changed when he fell in love with Fanny.
Fanny was such an extraordinary person in her own right. She was not the typical woman of her time and place and even made her own clothing and enjoyed learning new things such as poetry. In one of my favorite scenes they discuss poetry.
Fanny Brawne: I still don’t know how to work out a poem. John Keats: A poem needs understanding through the senses. The point of diving into a lake is not immediately to swim to the shore but to be in the lake, to luxuriate in the sensation of water. You do not work the lake out, it is a experience beyond thought. Poetry soothes and emboldens the soul to accept the mystery. Fanny Brawne: I love mystery.
Another favorite scene (and there were many!) was this one from the first letter to Fanny. “I almost wish we were butterflies and liv’d but three summer days – three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.”
These quotes were outstanding too
“I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart’s affections and the truth of the Imagination.”
“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.”
“I cannot exist without you – I am forgetful of every thing but seeing you again – my Life seems to stop there – I see no further. You have absorb’d me. I have a sensation at the present moment as though I were dissolving… I have been astonished that Men could die Martyrs for religion – I have shudder’d at it – I shudder no more – I could be martyr’d for my Religion – Love is my religion – I could die for that – I could die for you. My creed is Love and you are its only tenet – You have ravish’d me away by a Power I cannot resist.”
The two leads were wonderful as Keats and Fanny. Ben Whishaw gives a subtle yet powerful turn as the poet and Abbie Cornish is the perfect angel that he calls Bright Star. There is a chemistry that lights up the screen.
The scenes where Fanny reads his letters are spectacular. Jane Campion uses luscious imagery that only compliments the majestic beauty of his words such as the use of butterflies and brightly colored flowers in the field. The music adds yet another layer of emotions to this gorgeous painting of the heart.
I know the film did not do great box office nor did it garner the same amount of critical acclaim as Jane’s previous works but to me this is one of my favorite movies of all-time. It touched me deeply and I believe changed me in some profound ways. What more can you ask for?
Here’s a playlist I’ve curated with videos about Bright Star. It includes scenes from the movie, the trailer, interviews of the director and the cast and more.
John Keats life mask by Benjamin Robert Haydon (1816) from the author’s private collection
Ambrotype of Fanny Brawne, lover of John Keats, taken circa 1850 (photograph on glass).
Watercolour of Fanny Brawne, 1833. This was done during her emergence from her six year long mourning over the death of her beloved Keats. She eventually married and had children. She passed away at the age of 65.
Bright Star Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art– Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night And watching, with eternal lids apart, Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite, The moving waters at their priestlike task Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores, Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask Of snow upon the mountains and the moors– No–yet still stedfast, still unchangeable, Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast, To feel for ever its soft fall and swell, Awake for ever in a sweet unrest, Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath, And so live ever–or else swoon to death.
John Keats‘ tombstone. He died on 23 February 1821 and was buried in the Protestant cemetery, Rome, Italy. His last request was to be buried under a tombstone, without his name. On his grave is written: This Grave contains all that was Mortal, of a Young English Poet, Who, on his Death Bed, in the Bitterness of his Heart, at the Malicious Power of his Enemies, Desired these Words to be engraven on his Tomb Stone: Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water. ~ 24 February 1821
I’m I.T. professional and many of my colleagues have given me a hard time through the years for never watching the 1999 movie “Office Space”. I finally gave in to see what all the fuss was about and I was blown away by how much I loved it. Not only was it funny, thanks to Mike Judge (who did Beavis & Butthead, The Family Guy, etc.) but it captured the true essence of working in corporate America. Yes, it was over the top and the characters were cartoonish at times (it was born in a comic strip called Milton, after all) but that’s what makes Office Space such a cult classic.
Ron Livingston was wonderful in the lead and so was Jennifer Anniston in a superbly laid back role. Gary Cole was amazing as the annoying boss from Hell…and Stephen Root was hilarious as Milton. The rest of the casting was also incredible as every single one of them was perfectly selected. David Herman as the other Michael Bolton (the nerd who loves hip hop music) and the break dancing Samir played by Ajay Naidu. I also thought Peter’s mullet-wearing neighbor was fantastic (Diedrich Bader).
Over a decade later and the film’s popularity continues to grow thanks to video/DVD rentals and Netflix. Many of the lines from the movie has slipped into every day vernacular. They had a 10th anniversary special for the cast of Office Space where they shared memories of their experiences working on the movie. Here are some clips.
My favorite Italian director is Fellini but I have to admit that I also love Michelangelo Antonioni and his unique voice in cinema. I know that his work is not everybody’s cup of tea but that’s what makes him so incredible and thus unforgettable. There is so much emotion and beauty in his films despite many complaints regarding flaws in plot structure or characterization that you still can’t help falling in love with his films. Even when you’re annoyed by his patented abrupt and seemingly negative endings you still appreciate the experience in total. His films require more than one viewing and you have to let them settle in for a while before judging them. Time has been very kind to the maestro for his best works are aging like fine wine. Here are the films that I consider Essential Michelengelo Antonioni.
L’Avventura (1960) is considered to be part of an existential trilogy of love and isolation followed by La Notte (1961) and L’Ecclisse (1962). Many include Red Desert (1964) as part of this series of isolation in the modern age of Man. Yes, the unanswered questions will irk you at first but you will come to appreciate it all.
La Notte (1961) Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau are a couple on the verge of breakup. They visit a dying friend and then deal with the realization that they might not be in love with each other anymore.
L’Eclisse (1962) Monica Vitti and Alain Delon starred in this third film of the trilogy. The chemistry between this two beautiful stars was powerful. Alain was french but starred in many Italian classics including Vischonto’s Rocco and His Brothers. The ending might leave you scratching your head but trust me, this movie is a priceless gem.
Red Desert (1964) Antonioni’s first film in color is a brilliant masterpiece. He used all of his artistic skills as a painter and made celluloid his canvas with the gorgeous Monica Vitti as his Mona Lisa. They were lovers during this incredible period of filmmaking.
Blow Up (1966) This is Michelangelo’s best work in most people’s mind. It came to symbolize the generation with its hip cool story about a photographer and all of the beautiful models that surrounded him. A gorgeous young Vanessa Redgrave shined brightly in this one.
Michelangelo made some other quality films before and after these films that I’ve selected such as 1955’s Le Amiche (The Girlfriends) and The Passenger in 1975 starring Jack Nicholson but I think the five that I picked out should be considered merely a starting point into the amazing body of work from one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time.
I loved this documentary about screenwriting. You will learn a ton of things you never knew before about the craft of writing for the big screen. There are tons of behind the scenes stuff that keep you thoroughly enthralled, if you’re a big film buff as I am anyway. If you’re a screenwriter (as I am) then you’ll truly love this entertaining and informative film.
Here’s an excellent example of how technology is helping famous film critic Roger Ebert find his voice again. It’s a fascinating look at the progress he’s made along with the technologies he’s used including one which involved slicing together a database of words he’s spoken in the past to create an audible library of phrases. Ultimately, though, his favorite solution is the computer voice from his MacBook.
Someday, technology will be able to recreate our own voice and produce smooth, human-like phrases generated from messages written on a mobile device or merely thought. We’ve been interested in artificial intelligence for the longest time, but we’ve got to invest more time in developing a more human digital voice.
