Films of my life – 1984

June 16, 2016 Leave a comment

“So, what is my favourite movie of 1984?  I’ve chosen possibly the greatest concert movie of all time -Jonathan Demme’s  film of Talking Heads in concert – “Stop Making Sense”.

Welcome to my blog, where I reflect on different years of my life through the films released in that year.

Having previously covered the first 2 years of my life, this post looks at 1984 – one of my favourite “film” years and a significant year in my life, as it was when I first met my wife, Gill.

In researching this year, it was immediately apparent that by the 1980s far more films were in production. That said, 1984 was an especially bumper year and some great movies were released. Here are a few that stand out:

  • Ghostbusters
  • Gremlins
  • Amadeus
  • Dune
  • Splash
  • This is Spinal Tap
  • Purple Rain
  • The Terminator
  • A Passage to India
  • The Killing Fields
  • Karate Kid
  • Romancing the Stone
  • Once Upon a Time in America
  • Beverley Hills Cop
  • Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom
  • Tightrope
  • 1984

GhostbustersPhew! What a list. Many of those fils are favourites of mine; Comedies like Ghostbusters, Gremlins, Spinal Tap and Beverley Hills Cop; Adventure movies such as Temple of Doom and the Indiana Jones-light “Romancing the Stone” and Karate Kid; “Once Upon a Time in America” – Sergio Leone’s last and possible greatest movie, doing for the gangster movie what he did for the Western with “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”. The post-Vietnam war movie “The Killing fields” was a very affecting watch.

“Amadeus” has a special mention, as on the evening all of our student house went to see it we discovered a tiny kitten upon our return. We called it “Amadeus” (of course) but that only lasted a few weeks before we re-named him after one of our best friends – “George”. George went on to live with Gill and I, my family and eventually, Gill’s brother , Nigel.

stopmakingsense-1080x675So, what is my favourite movie of 1984?  I’ve chosen possibly the greatest concert movie of all time -Jonathan Demme’s  film of Talking Heads in concert – “Stop Making Sense”.

What I like about this movie is the concert itself is centre stage. The filming is very straight forward, because the amazing set and stage settings carry the film. This is a band at the peak of it’s powers, delivering their greatest hits in an unjust way – no shots of the audience, just the band, their music, David suits and great lighting.

Favourite scene

The concert and movie opens with David Byrne walking out to a empty stage, placing a ghetto blaster on the floor and playing an acoustic version of “Psycho Killer” whilst the stage is set around him.

Check it out

 

 

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Films of My Life – 1964

June 12, 2016 Leave a comment

clapperboardThis blog charts my life through the films I love. Each post focuses on one year of my life and I choose my favourite film from that year.

In this post we are looking at 1964 – my first full year of life and probably best remembered for Beatlemania. In fact my mother always said that my first word was “Yeah” after the Beatle hit “She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah)”. The Beatles capped this year of mega popularity with a movie of their own – “A Hard Day’s Night”. It’s a good movie, but not my favourite for that year.

“There were some absolute crackers released in 1964, and I found it hard to choose a favourite”

Again, I have to say that, of course, I was too young to remember seeing any movies in 1964 – my film memories of that year are based on movies I have seen subsequently, some may years after their release.

There were some absolute crackers released in 1964, and I found it hard to choose a favourite. Here are some of the other contenders; all great movies and anyone could have been my movie of the year;

  • Dr Strangelove – Kubrick’s satire on nuclear war, with outstanding performances (3) from Peter Sellers.
  • Fail-Safe – Dr Strangelove without the laughs. Truly terrifying
  • Marnie – Probably Hitchcock’s last great movie
  • Zulu – another bank holiday favourite
  • Mary Poppins – Probably my all time favourite Disney movie, with memorable songs and dodgy accents
  • A Shot In The Dark – more Pink Panther frolics, this time written by the man who would go on to write The Exorcist (William Peter Blatty)
  • A Fistful of Dollars – The first of the Leone “Man With No Name” trilogy

GoldfingerMy favourite movie of 1964 is “Goldfinger”. The third of the Bond series set the template for the next 30 years, until Daniel Craig took the role. Humour, gadgets (the (souped up Aston Martin DB5), great sets (Ken Adam imagining what the inside of Fort Knox might look like), a megalomaniac villain with a bonkers plan  (played by Gert Froebe, but dubbed throughout) and best of all – an outstanding score by John Barry and THAT title song, sung by Shirley Bassey.

I managed to see all of the Bond movies in the cinema. Bond movies didn’t make it onto TV until the late 1970s. Throughout the 1970s, they were often re-released as double headers, sometimes for only 3 or 4 days, which meant that some weeks I could see 4 Bond movies at the Classic cinema in Low Fell, or the Studios in Newcastle!

The first time I saw “Goldfinger”, I persuaded my cousin, Nigel Filby, to take me one Sunday afternoon, when his family were visiting us. The deal was that he kept the money we were given for sweets (which he used to buy fags). I didn’t care, I just wanted to see the movies!

1964_Corgi_Aston_Martin_DB5My other abiding memory of “Goldfinger” was having the Corgi replica of the Aston Martin (I think every young lad, and many lasses, had that car, with its working ejector seat). I had the car for so long before I got to see the movie, I remember that when  I did see it, I was amazed that it was silver -not gold like the toy!

In my opinion Goldfinger is not the best Bond (O.H.M.S.S. and Casino Royale are better) but it is the most famous. Connery was never better and the film was the top grossing movie of 1964. It also led to a plethora of copycat productions, from “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” and “Mission: Impossible” on TV to “Our Man Flint” in cinemas

Yes, 1964 was a great year for Britain – it started with Beatlemania and ended with Bondmania.

 

 

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Films of my life – 1963

June 10, 2016 1 Comment

 

“I say attend, actually I didn’t see the movie, as my mother was pregnant with me and she went to see it!”

clapperboardWelcome to my blog! Each week I will be reviewing the movies released in a particular year of my life and identifying my favourite movie from that year.

It makes sense to start this journey with the year of my birth. My first cinema experience, and one that may explain my love of movies, was “attending” a showing of the Bond movie “From Russia With Love”. I say attend, actually I didn’t see the movie, as my mother was pregnant with me and she went to see it!

“From Russia With Love” is a favourite movie and one of the best Bond’s, but it is not my film of the year. Other contenders (obviously all seen later in life) include the following classics;

  • The Birds (Hitchcock classic)
  • Jason & the Argonauts (Iconic sword & sandals from Ray Harryhausen )
  • Its A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (the very definition of madcap)
  • The Pink Panther (introducing Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau)
  • 81/2 (Fellini classic that I only saw for the first time in 2015)
  • Disney’s The Incredible Journey (household pets are lost and trying to get back home)
  • The Nutty Professor (as a child, I thought it was funny)
  • Move Over Darling (Doris Day and Rock Hudson (!) in a romantic comedy which is far funnier than I thought as a child)

Great EscapeNo,  my choice for 1963 is “The Great Escape”, a perennial bank holiday movie from my youth with a great true(ish) story, superb cast (Steve McQueen – “Cooler King”; Dicky Attenborough, James Garner, Donald Pleasence to name but a few) and one of the most familiar and iconic themes. I actually played the theme (badly) as part of my brief flirtation with the clarinet, playing in the St Cuthbert’s Grammar School Band in 1975-76.

I actually played the theme (badly) as part of my brief flirtation with the clarinet,

Why did I choose this movie over the others I mentioned? It is probably one of the best war movies and I was born at the tale end of the post-war baby boomer era (apparently it ended in 1964). As such,  we  grew up nourished on stories from the second world war, both those told by our families (Uncle Billy worked as a translator, possibly for British Intelligence during the war) and in the plethora of movies on the TV. Remember, this was in the era before video or DVD, when movies could only be seen by live transmission – at the cinema or on TV. So, I grew up on the heroism of WWII, playing “Japs and English” (I know, not PC).

Directed by John Sturges, The Great Escape is similar in tone and style to his previous movie “The Magnificent Seven”. It also includes 3 stars from that movie; McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn. The contrast between the stiff upper lip and formality of the Brits and the more laid-back approach of the Yanks (James Garner as Hendley “The Scrounger” is particularly good fun).

Although it is remembered as light hearted, the ending of the film is bitter-sweet, as not everyone gets out. That said, the various storylines are beautifully played.

All in all, the perfect movie for a wet bank holiday.

Best Scene

Steve McQueen on a motorbike! Apparently it was not based on a real event, but was added in at the actor’s request!

What do you think of “The Great Escape”?

 

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