CINEMA CYCLE
(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)
DATE: 01/30/2015
FORMAT: DVD
TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 24 minutes
DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 33.3 miles
TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1008.1 miles
SYNOPSIS: (From International Movie Database [IMDB])
On Valentine's Day, the staff of the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency is hustling and checking out the newest office equipment. Don and Duck clash over an account, and Betty hears from an old friend.
A plane crash causes the firm to go after the account for the airline involved and drop the smaller airline they have an account with. Peggy pays a visit to her mother and sister, who are now guardians of a child.
Harry tries to gather support around a controversial sponsorship in order to bolster his career. When Don ditches work for a day, trouble brews on the set of a commercial. Later, Betty joins her husband when he attempts to placate his clients with an amicable dinner.
CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Guilt and fidelity go hand in hand. Temptation and hedonism are not good bedfellows
PROS AND CONS: On my second go round with this series you pick up things and subtle plot twists that you did not notice the first time through.
Whenever possible, I always listen to the audio commentary on the DVD releases such as this. They tend to give insight into what is going on behind the scenes and the motivations of the creators and actors. This was not the case in the two audio commentaries for “For Those Who Think Young” and “Flight 1”.
Some of the realizations that came to light on this second viewing is that Betty Draper is really no better than Don when it comes to having a wandering eye in relationships. While Betty is much less likely to commit to an affair, she is just as likely to use her feminine abilities to wrap men around her finger.
It was also evident that there were some very subtle indications of Don’s guilt over cheating on his wife as well has his core belief in making art and being more creative set against ‘Duck’ Phillips drive for increased accounts and revenue.
There is an underlying tone of guilt and regret in these three episodes, from Pete Campbell losing his father in a plane crash and not knowing how to deal with it, to Peggy Olsen’s coming to terms with the baby that she had in secret during the first season, which is now being raised by her mother.
The final scene in which Betty cries on Don’s shoulder as she confesses that they make such a good team together is especially poignant considering all that came before.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film.
This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle. A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.
The summary of the project and a glimpse of what is coming up next can be found on my public LaserDisc spreadsheet.
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