Idiot Boxing (or Couch Potato-ing 101)

I’ve been watching television ever since I can remember. Yes, like that’s what’s wrong with me.  As a child, I used to memorize to Los Angeles area TV Guide (after Mom went through it with her red Flair pen to check ‘appropriate shows’ we could watch if she & Dad were planning to be out for an evening), and then my sister would quiz me as to what show was on when, or maybe even a synopsis or two.  I still watch a lot of television.  It is a fascinating ‘true social experiment,’ and yes, if used properly can educate and inform, as well as entertain. Today’s list consists of my all-time favorite shows, many of which, are part of my daily construct of dialog. Those who ‘get’ what I’m saying are always in, and those who don’t – well, I just shake my head with a ‘well, that’s too bad.’ Most of the shows are from the bygone era.  I know there are some great shows out there today, but I neither a) have the time (since I’m rewatching classics), or b) don’t have all the streaming resources with which to view them all.  Several of these are more like ‘honorable mentions,’ but I will put them on the list regardless.  The first lists are by decade and premier year order.  The final list is the Top Ten shining stars.

 

1950 – 1979

 

1951 –  I Love Lucy

1959 – The Twilight Zone

1962 – The Lucy Show

1964 – The Addams Family

1965 – The Wild Wild West

1965 – The Big Valley

1965 – Hogan’s Heroes

1966 – Mission Impossible

1966 – That Girl

1967 – The Mothers-in-Law

1968 – Hawaii Five-O

1968 – Here’s Lucy

1969 – Night Gallery

1975 – The Barbary Coast

 

1980 – 1999

 

1984 – Night Court

1990 – Wings

1993 – Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

1993 – The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.

1993 – Frasier

1994 – Friends

1998 – Becker

 

2000 – current

 

2004 – Lost

2007 – Mad Men

2007 – The Big Bang Theory

2010 – Sherlock

2010 – Downton Abbey

2011 – Hell on Wheels

2014 – The Musketeers

 

The Top Ten 

(based on rewatchability, quotable, associated memories)

 

10. The Big Valley (4 season)

09. That Girl (5 seasons)

08. The Twilight Zone (5 seasons)

07. Mission Impossible (7 seasons)

06. Hawaii Five-O (12 seasons)

05. Mad Men (7 seasons)

04. Friends (10 seasons)

03. Frasier (11 seasons)

02. The Wild Wild West (4 seasons)

01. I Love Lucy (6 seasons)

I doubt any shows from the first two time periods will ever change, but if something new comes along to add to the current listing - I'll let you know! Happy Viewing!

 

 

Classic Pairings

Due to time restraints, today’s blog is a reprint from May 2012. I’m sure no one noticed it should have been published last Friday.  I'll leave it at that.

My Top 10 Favorite Uses of Classical Music in Film

Classical music is used in countless films.  It can be used in brief, repeatedly as a theme, or supply an entire soundtrack. It can be heard in everything from Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (believe it or not) to Ed Wood, Mrs. Doubtfire to 10, or Kramer Vs. Kramer to The Witches of Eastwick. This week’s blog is at most a very casual list, and I am sure I am not the only one who has ever created a list and then said at a later date, “How could I have ever forgotten…?” But, when I think of classical music in films, these most always come to the forefront for me.  And hopefully, as my blog always intends, this list is to get you to think of your own favorites as well. So, with that in mind, here we go!

 

#10 – ANIMATED Fantasia (1940)

Although this is not a favorite film of mine, this Disney feature film brings classical music to the masses.  Mussorgsky’s "Night on the Bare Mountain" is a tour-de-force of intensity and fright, while Dukas’ "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" mixes the charm of the beloved Mickey Mouse with exposure of consequences of irresponsibility.  Schubert’s "Ave Maria" is a hallowed piece within this masterwork that must be watched again and again.

#09 –LEGEND Excalibur (1981)

I love the legend of King Arthur, and this adaption is an all-encompassing one. With the use of Orff's "Carmina Burana,” Wagner’s "Prelude to Tristan & Isolde" & his "Siegfried's Funeral March for Gotterdammerung, " the tale becomes even more mystical in its telling.

#08 – WAR The Dirty Dozen (1967)

How can you not love the escapades of Major Reisman and his rag-tag crew of military inmates in their quest to assassinate a hive of German top ranks, all the while we hear Joseph Hayden's "Emperor" and Johann Strauss II’s "Emperor Waltz"?  It just works!

#07 ROMANCE Somewhere in Time (1980)

Rachmaninoff's "Variations on a Theme of Paganini" becomes the background of one of the most romantic movies ever made; the beauty of Mackinac Island, Michigan, the idea of time-travel; and the beauty of both Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve are increased by the haunting melodies of this piece.

#06 SCI-FI Rollerball (1975)

The spine-chilling, hair-raising use of Bach's “Tocatta in Fugue” at the onset of the title sequence grabs the viewer from the start.  What in the world does this Baroque piece have to do with the future? At first glance, this science-fiction classic looks to have lost its effectiveness due to age; however, the storyline goes deeper than its 1970’s appearance, and the visionary message is louder than ever today than it was 40 years ago.

#05 MUSICAL An American in Paris (1951)

I fell in love with musicals around the age of 13 and soaked up as many as possible. With the use Gershwin’s signature piece to create Jerry Mulligan’s (played by Gene Kelly) dream sequence, it surrounds and enraptures us in the marriage of dance and music. For me, An American in Paris is the opera of musicals, and leads me to my next selection.

#04 OPERA Philadelphia (1993)

The depth of writing in this film not only makes Tom Hanks’s character an attorney, but a lover of opera.  This deepens our knowledge of Andrew Beckett and serves as a catalyst for our interest and concern for him. The score is woven with operatic fare, and Umberto Giordano’s “La Momma Morta” provides the backdrop for an emotionally moving motion picture sequence.

#03 – DRAMA/COMEDY The Four Seasons (1981)

Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” is the canvas of this how 'friends stay friends' story written & directed by Alan Alda. Alda weaves these love-hate relationships among the threads of Vivaldi’s composition, and the seasons turn, we see how friendship can be tried and tested. This is one of my Top 10 favorite films, and I will be bringing it back to the blog for more exposition in the future.

#02 BIOPIC Amadeus (1984)

This has to be the ‘father’ of all biopics, especially when it comes to the use of the subject's craft used within the story.  Aside the fact that this film garnished eight Oscars, Mozart’s music is used as the soundtrack that mimics the master’s life. I am always amazed at how 2 hours and 40 minutes can go by so quickly. This is mostly due to the perfected use of the song to story relationship.  My favorite are in the brightness of the "Symphony No. 25" & the darkness of the "Requiem."

#01 OVERALL Gallipoli (1981)

This sleeper film introduced me to Mel Gibson. But it had more impact than that – it is the briliant choices of music for this historical drama set in World War I. Bizet's "Duet from the Pearl Fishers and Paganini’s "Centone di Sonate No 3" are lovely pieces that add to our knowing the story's destiny; yet it is the haunting recurring theme of Albinoni’s "Adagio" that will solidifies the visual images in our minds of the unfortunate fate of subject.

A Little Romance

 

As Valentine’s Day approaches, I thought the most appropriate list for this week’s blog would be my favorite romantic movies.  This poses a slight conundrum for me, as I am not a fan of ‘chick flicks’ or romances, although there are a few movies that have caught my fancy that lie within this category.  There are, as well, movies that have good love stories within them; however, the movie itself, for me, would not be considered a romance.  So, I have taken some time to ponder which films I do love that qualify.  

 

Honorable mention goes to these four films (in no particular order), although for me, they have a bigger truth than the romance within them:

 

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Ghost (1990) 

Roxanne (1987)

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

 

This fifth honorable mention is a ‘romance,’ but doesn’t make the Top 10 Cut:

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

 

My Top Ten Romance Films:

 

#10 - Rocky (1976) – Breaking the rules from the start! The romance should be secondary to the

             underdog story of the boxer, but I Rocky’s love for Adrian supercedes any ring

             challenge. 

 

             R.I.P. Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed) – you were/are loved.

 

#09 – Pillow Talk (1959) – A ‘comedy’ for the list. 

 

#08 – Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) Although I have never been a fan of Andie

             MacDowell (nor do I NOT like her), for me, the romance of this movie is about Charlie

             and his cohort.  Will he discover love the way of his friend in the weddings, or will he

             ‘settle’ and live life attending wedding with his cohort for the rest of their lives.  Although

             it isn’t a ‘kissy kissy’ movie, I feel for Charlie and his desire for a life-long love

             relationship.

 

            And ‘thank you,’ to my son, Logan, for giving me my own personal dvd copy this past

               Christmas.

 

#07 – Hope Floats (1998) – This film surprises many of my friends when I mention this as a

             favorite, as they know Sandra Bullock is NOT a face I care to watch in any film!  The

             romance comes from Harry Connick, Jr.’s sweet, country boy character.  Oh, to have

             someone pursue in such a gentle way. Boy, howdy!

 

#06 – Love Actually (2003) – A Christmas season movie for the list! This hyperlink film is filled

             with a dynamite cast.  Christmas is the backdrop, but the stories of these intertwined

             characters and how they traverse through the story of love makes me happy. 

 

            This is Hugh Grant’s second appearance in the list.  This is purely coincidental.

 

#05 – Shall We Dance (2004) – This entry is the ‘youngest’ of the list films. It has several things

            going for it:

            1 – Wanting to know how to dance and actually taking classes to do so,

            2 – Jennifer Lopez looks absolutely stunning,

            3 – Richard Gere is not only a ‘birthday buddy’ (Aug 31), but has a permanent home on

                      ‘Denise’s Yummy List.’

 

            John wanting to learn so he can dance with his wife, Beverly, and then actually doing just

             so, melts my heart, and I cry every time.

 

#04 – Crossing Delancey (1988) Amy Irving’s first appearance in the list.  The chemistry

             between her and Peter Riegert is absolutely delicious.  It is organic and fresh, and as in

             Hope Floats, Sam’s gentle pursuit of Isabelle, let her come to him.  THAT’S romance.

 

#03 – The Competition (1980) Here is Amy’s second appearance for the list.  It truly is

             coincidence; perhaps she knows just what films to choose to make me love them.  Co-

             starring one of my favorite actors, Richard Dreyfuss (my go-to dream lunch date), this

             sleeper focuses on a young man’s (final) pursuit of the Van Cliburn scholarship award

             and another competitor with whom he has met in prior years.  Again, for us nerds,

             another organic and honest relationship story.

 

#02 – The Good-Bye Girl (1977) The romance of romances.  An out-of-shape dancer and an

             actor get tangled up in an apartment misunderstanding and then well… Neil Simon’s

             writing is superb (when is it not?) and the chemisty between Richard Dreyfuss (list

             appearance number 2) and Marsha Mason (Simon’s wife at the time) makes me ‘warm

             and fuzzy,’ especially when Elliot makes Paula the rooftop dinner. Richard Dreyfuss won

             an Academy Award for his role as Elliot, which at the time, earned him the title of

             youngest male to have won the Best Actor trophy. He held the title for 26 years.

 

#01 – Somewhere in Time (1980) If The Good-Bye Girl is the ‘romance of romances,’ 

             Somewhere in Time is the ‘love story of love stories.’  Starring two of the most beautiful

            faces of the day (Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour), these star-crossed lovers navigate

             their story of time travel with full-blown passion.  I bawl like a baby each and every time

             I see it.  Director Jeannot Szwarc took these photogenic faces and used them to their

             fullest potential by placing them in the beauty of the Grand Hotel of Mackinac Island, 

            Michigan. This film also makes my all-time tear jerkers list.

 

If you haven’t seen any film on this list, I highly recommend any of them, but since most of them are well-know, I’m sure you have seen at least one.

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

 

In the Beginning…

There’s a big part of me that is the movies. There’s also a big part of me that keeps track of everything – Christmas gifts given, guests for holiday meals, animals’ birth/adoption dates, dvds and video cassettes, and of course, movies attended. Yes, before the Excel spreadsheet came along, I wrote on each of my movie ticket stubs the date, and if needed, the movie I attended. I rarely wrote who I went with, since those are ingrained memories. Once in a blue moon, I couldn’t recall whom I went with, and every now and again in the early years, I discarded a ticket stub, so there is no record. But 98% of the time, there was a little colored piece of thick paper to serve as a reminder of a (usually) wonderful experience in a darkened theater. When I was very young, I hadn’t begun to keep track with ticket stubs, but I do know with whom I went and where I went, just not always the ‘when’ I went. This first potion of the list only includes film release dates, and five out of these first six are at the Drive-In (as only sensible parents would do)! 

Let’s take a look at what I saw that inspired my love of the movies when I was young: 

1964 The Incredible Mister Limpet (Orange Drive-In) 

1965 The Sound of Music (Tustin Theater) 

1967 The Gnome Mobile (Orange Drive-In) 

1967 The Jungle Book (Orange Drive-In) 

I loved this movie so much that I got my first metal lunchbox with this all over! 

1968 Blackbeard’s Ghost (Orange Drive-In) Being the second of a double-feature, I fell asleep about 20 minutes in. 

1969 The Love Bug (Orange Drive-In) 

One of the above was in a pairing, as I DO remember Blackbeard’s Ghost was the second of a double-feature. 

 

Following these, there are diary entries or ticket stubs to keep record: 

1971 Bedknobs and Broomsticks (Cinedome, Orange) 

I saw this with my mom, since my older sister was at youth retreat. “Mom & me dates” were plentiful beginning with this movie. 

1973 Mary Poppins (re-release) (South Coast Plaza) 

1973 Disney’s Robin Hood (Cinedome, Orange) 

Again, another “Mom & me date.” Robin Hood is my favorite Disney classic animated feature. 

1974 The Little Prince (Cineramadome, Hollywood) 

This was for a 7th grade English class field trip. We had just read the book. 

1974 That’s Entertainment (Foxx Mann, Costa Mesa) 

The film that ‘changed my movie life.’ Mom and I took my grandma and her sister to see this, since it featured many early film stars. We sat in the mezzanine front row, and I became ‘star-struck,’ as one would say. This was followed by the double-LP soundtrack. I can still sing all these songs by heart, and yes, I still have the LP set! 

1974 Herbie Rides Again (location unknown)

Another “Mom & me date”, although I don’t recall the occasion. 

1976 That’s Entertainment Part II (Foxx Mann, Costa Mesa) 

Following these were movies with just a few with one or both of my parents,  friends, dates, and eventually my own family. 

Nowadays, it’s fun to recall when, with whom, or on what occasion I saw a movie - - and sometimes not.

The fact is, movies make me happy. That’s enough.

A Genius Legacy

It’s been 12 years since I last authored my Dusty Corner blog, using 2012 as a year to write about my relationship with the movies. Last year, I posted “Friday’s Famous Faces” (to which many of you responded) strictly to Facebook. This year, I decided to revisit my blog page and put my ‘disciplinary skills’ to work and write lists. These lists will be based again on entertainment; some will be factual, but most will be subjective and based solely on my opinions and perceptions. I’ll aim for just two a month. This year I had two cable channels (H&I and Syfy) present New Year’s Day Twilight Zone marathons. Even though I was given the gift of a complete Blu-ray set years ago, I still get hooked watching on television! So, with that being said, this first list was completed quite some time ago and made an easy first post. I won’t pontificate on why I like each of these, but I will recommend you checking them out. Of course, my favorites are not always the ‘popular’ episodes, but who am I to like what everyone else does? ;-) 

My Twilight Zone (original series) Top 20 

Honorable Mentions (in no particular order) 

Sixteen Millimeter Shrine (s1) 

The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street (s1) 

The Prime Mover (s2) 

Dead Man’s Shoes (s3) 

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (s5) 

11 - 20 

20. Living Doll (s5) 

19. Miniature (s4) 

18. The Trade-Ins (s3) 

17. A Stop at Willoughby (s1) 

16. A Kind of Stopwatch (s5) 

15. The Hunt (s3) 

14. The Parallel (s4) 

13. A Most Unusual Camera (s2) 

12. A Penny for Your Thoughts (s2) 

11. Elegy (s1) 

1 – 10 

10. Nick of Time (s2) 

 9. The New Exhibit (s4) 

 8. The Little People (s3) 

 7. The Masks (s5) 

 6. The Silence (s2) 

 5. The Obsolete Man (s2) 

 4. Deaths-head Revisited (s3) 

 3. After Hours (s3) 

 2. Five Characters in Search of an Exit (s3) 

 1. The Howling Man (s2)

Fade In / Fade Out

Those of us who experienced our school days before the 1980’s remember the feeling that came when the audio-visual kid rolled the movie projector into the classroom, and the feeling was increased the bigger the movie reel!  However, there was also a feeling that came when the film escaped the clutches of the reel and came to an abrupt conclusion – it was over.

Well, that feeling has come to me as I have reached the end of a yearlong blogging commitment about my love of the movies.  As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, everyone who loves the movies is a self-proclaimed expert. Blogs, websites, movie star fan dedication pages, and critique sites are countless. If you love the movies, you have personal feelings and emotions that are attached to them, simply because that’s what movies do.

This same feeling is not unlike the feeling I get when I see my first theatre released film of a new year.  I see that new year copyright date in Roman numerals scroll up following the rest of the end credits knowing that all previous movie watching is now in the past. But, the good news is there is more in the coming year.  Hopefully there will be more good films than bad, new ideas than reboots and remakes, and memorable moments than forgettable ones.  There will be new stars on the horizon and legends lost to the ages. These legends truly will never be lost, however.  To quote myself from my very first blog of January 7, “Why?  Because we have that wonderful gift of celluloid – film and the magic that made me fall in love with it when I was a girl.  These amazing faces, movie stars, if you please, were truly larger than life, and they took us to a new place each time we walked into that dark room ready to be transported.”

I have enjoyed bringing this blog to the web for the year.  I will admit it has not been easy every week; some ideas have floated around for years and were ready to strike the page, while others were created for the week in their very own timing with much difficulty.  It has disciplined me to write and to be faithful to a medium.  

If I may, I would direct your attention at another blog about the cinema written by my son, Glenn. You can find it here at http://acinephileslens.blogspot.com/.  His unique and fresh perspective provides insight from the younger mind.  I hope you enjoy it.

So now 52 weeks and 49 blogs later, I end the way I began – with the Turner Classic Movies’ “TCM Remembers.” So many stars have left us.  I did not see Chad Everett, Deborah Raffin, Doris Singleton, Don Grady, Sherman Hemsley, Richard Dawson all who made films as well as making their mark in television, and I am sure there are more that I did not catch. We also said 'good-bye' this past week to Jack Klugman, Charles Durning, and animation innovator Gerry Anderson. Each one, whether highlighted or not, will be missed.  They will be missed long after this blog will be.  I know that these stars, even though gone from our daily movie-watching lives, will be seen on the screen for the years to come.  They have left us here and entered the heavenly galaxy of timeless legend. 

Fade Out -