Cinema Cycle - The Caine Mutiny

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 02/27/2015

TITLE: The Caine Mutiny

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 5 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 27.8 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1180.6 miles

SYNOPSIS: The officers of a navy ship conspire and confront the ship's captain who has lost the ability to command.  The officers are then put on trial for mutiny in a navy court.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Tearing down and complaining about a situation only makes the situation worse.  Working as a team, especially under difficult situations, is harder but the right thing to do.  Beware the peer that has ulterior motives.  Rich mother’s don’t want their sons to marry lounge singers.

PROS AND CONS: This is one of the great films.  I have seen it several times and I never get tired of watching it.  This is not a war movie or a navy film.  It is a film about human interactions and how we can be misled by ego, doubt and the manipulation of others.  

The cast of this film alone makes it worth watching.  They all give stellar performances, especially Jose Ferrer and Bogart.  

This film spells out in specific detail what is so difficult to learn in college or from books.  The film explores the concept of social interaction and how certain personality types can undermine a process or situation.  The lesson here is that a positive attitude and problem solving skills can overcome any situation.  So, beware of the nay-sayers and criticizers, because all they do is make a bad situation worse.

Finally, the film has to have one of the best endings I have seen.  When you think that the story has completed its arc with the mutiny trial and the exposing of Captain Queeg, we are privy to the real confrontation after the trial is over.  The final scene of Ensign Keith on board his new ship is also rather priceless.

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

 

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.

Cinema Cycle - Naqoyqatsi

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 02/23/2015

TITLE: Naqoyqatsi

FORMAT: DVD

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hours 29 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 20.1 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1152.8 miles

SYNOPSIS: The chaos that is modern society is visualized using time-lapse, slow motion, computer and reprocessed imagery, set to the music of Phillip Glass.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The title pretty much sums it up.  The Hopi Native American word for “Life As War”, or ‘life as civilized violence’.  

PROS AND CONS: This is a visual, dream sequence film.  There is no dialogue and the parade of images is meant to make the viewer think about their existence and the place in society and the universe.

I am extremely biased about this film(s).  This is the third film in a trilogy by Godfrey Reggio, the first two being Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out Of Balance) and Powanesgatsi (Life in Transition).  Seeing the original film in the trilogy in 1981, at a small art cinema in Portland Oregon, changed my life.  It made me want to explore media and art and it also made me question a lot of the things I had learned in social studies and through higher education.  

These films are meant to be a visual journey through our world and society.  Their repetition, and cross processing / overlaying of images along with the soundtrack compress our lives and let us see what the essence of society really is.  

How media and marketing affect our mindset and how we interact with others was the overriding conclusion for me after watching these film.  

That said, the main point about these films is that they beautifully shot and the music is hypnotic and perfect.  If I had a video wall in my home that played an image or a scene continually, it would be these three films.

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

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.

Cinema Cycle - Unforgiven

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 02/21/2015

TITLE: Unforgiven

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 11 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 28.3 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1132.7 miles

SYNOPSIS: A retired gunfighter that is trying to mend his ways is recruited to kill two men for stabbing a prostitute.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Trying to forget your past and do the right thing.  In the end, honor and friendship can unleash the demons that we try to suppress.  

PROS AND CONS: I have seen this film before, but it has been a while.  This second viewing was more enjoyable.  When it first came out it was billed as Clint Eastwood’s last western and was considered a masterpiece of sorts.  After my first viewing I didn’t think it was that great a film.  

Now almost 20 years later I have a different opinion.  This is an introspective western from the gunfighters perspective.  What happened to all those pistoleros that didn’t get killed?  Did they move on and get regular 8 to 5 jobs?  That is the question raised by this film.  Can you run away and forget your past and all the heinous things you’ve done?

You have to live through a lot of frustration and learn patience to really understand Eastwood’s character in this film.  Younger viewers probably won’t identify with his character much.  All of the gunfighters in this film are looking for a world that is safer and more secure.  

Gene Hackman’s character, as the town Marshall of Big Whiskey, wants order, security and to build his ideal little house.  Richard Harris’ character has his own 19th century version of the Paparazzi follow him around to glorify his past deeds.  Eastwood just wants to raise the children of his now deceased wife and honor her memory.  

The film is slow paced and well acted and directed.  The ending scene is one of mass carnage and violence, but in a satisfying way.  You know it is coming, but you don’t expect it to be that graphic.  All in all a good swan song to Eastwood’s western career.

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

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.

Cinema Cycle - Blade Runner: The Final Cut

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 02/18/2015

TITLE: Blade Runner: The Final Cut

FORMAT: Streaming (Google Play)

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 57 minutes
 

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 25.8 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1104.4 miles

SYNOPSIS: A special police assassin is recruited to hunt down four rogue biologically engineered humans known as replicants and kill them.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The age old story of creation, do the creators have responsibility for what they create?  What does a life form owe it’s maker.  Los Angeles is very dark and wet in 2019.

PROS AND CONS: I don’t know how many times I have seen this film.  This is supposedly the last modification to the original film and is intended to show Ridley Scott’s ideal unfolding of the story.  

This is one of the few films I saw as a young college student when it first came out in the late 1970s.  I was so impressed with the film, that I walked out of the theater and promptly bought another tickets and watched it again.  It was that profound at the time.  

Watching it now. almost 40 years later, it is like walking through a familiar dream where I am able to look for all the details that I may have missed during previous viewings.  The changes to this version are subtle.  The most notable difference is that the tone of the piece is much darker, depressing and intimate.  

Gone is the voiceover that the studio put in over Scott’s objections.  The studio felt that the plot might be a bit too hard for some viewers to figure out without help from the voice inside Deckard’s head.  Without the voiceover, Deckard becomes a much more sullen and introverted character.  He is more of an unsympathetic killing machine.

Another noticeable, albeit subtle, change in this version of the film is the sound and music.  It is heightened and more intense in this version, or at least it seemed to be.  In Ridley Scott’s version of 2019 L.A., there is always mechanical sound in the background of very scene and it is always raining.  There is a deep sound ambience to the entire film that gives a sense of intimacy and isolation.

There has been a lot of speculation regarding some of the odd clues that Scott leaves in the film, specifically the unicorn vision that Deckard has and the tiny origami unicorn that Gaff leaves on the landing outside the elevator at the end of the film.  In the original cut of the film, Deckard’s voice over indicates that Rachel has no termination date, yet in this final version of the film, he does not know this, so he has no idea of how long Rachel may live.  Depressing indeed.

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

 

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.

Cinema cycle - Playboy's Fabulous Forties: The Girl Next Door All Grown Up

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

 

DATE: 02/13/2015

TITLE: Playboy’s Fabulous Forties: The Girl Next Door All Grown Up

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 49 minutes 45 seconds
 

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 12 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1078.6

SYNOPSIS: Six previous Playboy Playmates reminisce about their lives, loves, accomplishments and fantasies 20 years later.
 

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: You aren’t getting older, you are getting better. There is pornography and then there is good pornography.  Being young and beautiful is overrated.

PROS AND CONS: I have a bunch of Playboy content on Laserdisc.  These were produced back in the 80s and 90s when Playboy was trying to expand it’s media reach into the home entertainment market.  The content included calendar summaries, individual playmate profiles, video magazine, and special interest (The Girls Of Rock & Roll, etc), all of which were available on VHS and Laserdisc.

 

This is one of the special interest discs highlighting how you aren’t over the hill if you are over 40 years old.  As far as the content goes, it is all pretty much softcore porn, but considering how times have changed, you see much more revealing stuff at the supermarket check out stand or on a Miley Cyrus video these days.
 

The fantasy scenes and interview segments on this disc are mostly forgettable and not that inspiring, but they are very well done.

 

The difference between bump and grind pornography and these segments are the fact that these scenes have tracking shots, boom cameras, production design staff and makeup artists.  They didn’t not do these on the cheap, which give a very professional look to the content.  

 

It is interesting to note that the women portrayed here focus more on the concept of sensuality from the female perspective than on the concept of physical pleasure through sexual contact.  In that aspect, this media is miles removed from present day pornography, which is almost like watching Olympic events that revolve around sex.

 

The one segment that stood out in my mind was the drive-in movie vignette in which three 40 something playmates drive three vintage cars into a deserted drive-in at night and proceed to pance around in their birthday suits while a movie flickers on the big screen.  It was memorable, because the cars were; a 1957 Cadillac convertible, a 1955 Edsel convertible and a 1957 Chevy BelAir hardtop.  All the cars were the same color red.  Hubba, hubba (the women were good looking as well).

 

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

 

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.

Cinema Cycle - The Avengers '63 - Volume 7

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

 

DATE: 02/11/2015

TITLE: The Avengers '63 - Volume 7

FORMAT: VHS

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 39 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 22.1 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1044.1 miles

SYNOPSIS: (from the VHS cover)

Intercrime: When Cathy assume the identity of an assassin imported by Intercrime, she finds her first target is Steed! Fortunately for THE AVENGERS, there's no honor among thieves, and the villains' internal squabbling helps bring on their ruin

Immortal Clay: Immoral passion breeds peril for the inventor of an 'immortal clay," an unbreakable ceramic. Cathy, researching a book on china, and Steed, seeking proof of the impervious pottery, uncover a lethal lust and a redeeming romance.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: There are a couple of things about the British; they are somewhat repressed, they value Shakespearean delivery, they are all about the ‘intrigue’.  Sex is implied but never shown or discussed.

PROS AND CONS: These are two episodes out of five seasons from this television show.  I found these in a Goodwill store about 8 years ago, so expect a lot more of the adventures of Steed and companion in the coming months and years.  

There are a lot of folks that haven’t seen the early seasons of this series which were only shown in Britain.  Most readers will remember the latter years when John Steed was linked with Emma Peel (Diana Rigg), but not many have seen the early seasons when Steed’s partner was Cathy Gale (Honor Blackman, eventually to be of Goldfinger “Pussy Galore” fame).  Cathy was a much more hard nosed, assertive partner for Steed and she had the ice cold ‘sexy-bitch’ role down pat.  

Unlike most modern day television, you really have to watch these episodes carefully to follow them.  They talk very fast and often times the sound and diction isn’t the best.  It appears that many of these episodes were filmed live with minimal editing, hence there is still a bit of a stage play look and feel.  All of the episodes are filmed on sound stages and it is humorous to see the occasional goof like a camera in the background or someone tripping or dropping something in a scene.  The best way to describe the acting is like watching ‘Dragnet’ on fast forward.  Very staccato dialog and mannerisms.

One of the themes that stood out between the two episode were the villains.  They were all loud and over-the-top regarding their acting and personalities.  Subtle villainy is not part of British stage craft.

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.  

 

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.

Lost Memories - Volume 113

If you are of the Church of Latter Day Saints persuasion then this is almost a must see.  The Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City AND the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!  Surprising good color considering it was indoor cinematography. 

The Project Overview:I am firing up a long dormant project as I continue my trek toward retirement and moving on to other things. 

Over the years I have amassed a rather significant collection of 8mm home movies.  Some of these I have taken myself and some I have found in thrift stores and at garage sales.  This all dates back to my early days in media when I was interested in film editing and cinematography.  Since those days are long gone and it is doubtful that anyone will ever want to, or know how to view these films, I thought it best to digitize them and then send the film off to the dump.  

My goal here is to post about 5 of these films a week.  I have enough raw footage to make this project last about 6 months at that rate.  

The clips speak for themselves.  I do not know most of the people or locations in these movies and what I can glean from watching them is documented in the keywords for each segment that I have posted on YouTube.  Since YouTube limits free content to under 10 minutes, most of these films will be less than 5 minutes long.  The file name for each segment is the date that I transferred the film to digital format.

Most segments hearken back to a much simpler time.  A time before AIDS, Ebola, terrorism, the internet, social media, etc.  For that reason alone, they are worth watching.  All of the films along with my other YouTube content can be found on my YouTube Channel.  

Lost Memories - Volume 112

Evidently the cinematographer had yet to learn that shooting from a moving car is not the best way to compose a shot.  More of the road trip through Utah, circa 1960.  Lots of waterfalls and wonderful downtown Ogden!. 

The Project Overview:I am firing up a long dormant project as I continue my trek toward retirement and moving on to other things. 

Over the years I have amassed a rather significant collection of 8mm home movies.  Some of these I have taken myself and some I have found in thrift stores and at garage sales.  This all dates back to my early days in media when I was interested in film editing and cinematography.  Since those days are long gone and it is doubtful that anyone will ever want to, or know how to view these films, I thought it best to digitize them and then send the film off to the dump.  

My goal here is to post about 5 of these films a week.  I have enough raw footage to make this project last about 6 months at that rate.  

The clips speak for themselves.  I do not know most of the people or locations in these movies and what I can glean from watching them is documented in the keywords for each segment that I have posted on YouTube.  Since YouTube limits free content to under 10 minutes, most of these films will be less than 5 minutes long.  The file name for each segment is the date that I transferred the film to digital format.

Most segments hearken back to a much simpler time.  A time before AIDS, Ebola, terrorism, the internet, social media, etc.  For that reason alone, they are worth watching.  All of the films along with my other YouTube content can be found on my YouTube Channel.  

Cinema Cycle - The Magic Flute

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

 

DATE: 02/06/2015

TITLE: Die ZauberFlote (The Magic Flute)

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 2 hours 30 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 36.4 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1044.5 miles
 

SYNOPSIS: The Queen of the Night (Isis) schemes to have a young prince kill the Day King (Osiris) in exchange for her daughter’s hand in marriage.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The average modern viewer can not relate much to this work.  It comes from a different era where social concepts and relationships were perceived differently.  In the most simplistic terms, true love will find a way, although it will take a very indirect path to get there.

PROS AND CONS: Where to begin with this one?  This is one of the reasons that I started collecting LaserDiscs.  You can’t find content like this very often unless you really go looking for it.  

 

A couple of pre-cursors to this viewing.  It is an opera, shot in Germany and sung in German.  I watched it in 4:3 format to preserve the subtitles to the dialogue and music.  The media is on 2 laserdics (4 sides) but only takes up 2.5 hours of content, which means the production could have fit onto just three sides (it is not a CAV format disc).  I tend to color anything done by Mozart in the light of the movie ‘Amadeus’, which paints the picture of Mozart as he probably was, young, brash, irreverent, inspired and...oh yes, a genius.  

The plot is almost too difficult to explain.  It centers around the king of the day and the queen of the night, their daughter and the young prince that pursues and marries her.  There are all sorts of twists and turns in the plot, so much so, that I could never tell what was coming next.

There is a long list of odd characters that populate the opera, the strangest of which is the Moorish slave that serves the king of the day.  He is played in blackface by a white actor and his singing and behavior are extremely politically incorrect by today’s standard.  The Prince's sidekick throughout the opera, Papagino is almost as odd, not to mention the three young boy muses that float above the stage guiding the young prince (trippy).

What makes this a fascinating work to watch is the window that it gives you on society back in the 1700s.  The viewer has to keep in mind that this was state of the art entertainment in its day and was meant to be viewed by the elite that made up the 1% of 18th century European society.  In that regard Mozart snuck in as much satire and political commentary as he could.  So this is sort of a musical comedy with political undertones.   At its core, this work serves as a primer for society, both poor and aristocratic, on how to act and behave properly.  Themes of true love, devotion, honor and proper governance abound in this work.  

Back in the day, times were slower and nothing was done very quickly.  By today’s standards, it was almost a world in slow motion and this opera demonstrates that.  It is slow.  Painfully slow in some sections, where the characters will take 5 minutes to describe the smell of a flower or the beauty of the stars in the night sky.  The comedy is a bit dated but must have been side splitting in its day.  Then again, keep in mind that viewing this work back in 1790, you expected to get your monies worth so there was no hurry to get to the end.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.  

 

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.