-
Message Boards
Movie Soundtracks
A Message For H Rocco & MLWare From Howard L: (Page 2)Archive of old forum. No more postings.
Please visit our new forum, The MovieMusic Lobby, to post new topics.
This topic is 3 pages long: 1 2 3Author
Topic: A Message For H Rocco & MLWare From Howard L:
Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
"A Passage To India" was an excellent film, but my wife & I both thought that Maurice Jarre's score was hilarious.
We actually began laughing at the music about a third of the way into the film, as Jarre pulled out little "hommages" to Zhivago, Lawrence, Ryan's Daughter, etc.
It was worse than Horner's rip-offs!
And a lot funnier!
posted 03-23-2000 05:47 PM PT (US) John Maher
OscarŽ Winner
Thor,I did not see the BBC special, but considering the fact that I hate his films, it isn't likely that I would watch it. You mention that he was praised by Spielberg (a director whose talents I find overrated), I've can only think of three of his films that I admired; and make a comparison to Kubrick (a director whose films, like Lean's, I have hated). I rest my case.
posted 03-23-2000 06:41 PM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
Mr. Maher...I agree.
Kubrick, Lean, Spielberg.
All three have produced classic works of cinema, and yet all three are highly overrated.
For some reason, critics simply refuse to judge their failures honestly.
posted 03-23-2000 09:00 PM PT (US) Wedge
OscarŽ Winner
No one's perfect. Although I tend to ignore the critics when it comes to "Hook." That one's up on my top-ten list. Irrational? Maybe. It just struck SO MANY chords with me.As for the Jurassic Park movies, I laugh at all criticisms that get hurled at them. I mean ... Big-Honkin' Dinosaurs? Explosions? Guns? John Williams? WHAT MORE DO YOU PEOPLE WANT?!? (And don't you DARE say plot/script/acting! You want that, go watch something else. JP is ALL about the dinosaurs, man! Boom-Boom, Scream-Scream, Munch-munch!)
Hmmm ... perhaps that last late-night root beer was a tad overdoing things ...
posted 03-23-2000 09:16 PM PT (US) joan hue
OscarŽ Winner
Now here is the most important question ever posted on this or any other board.How do three guys with the rather mundane names of H Rocco, MLware, and Howard rate TWO pages and their own named thread? I'm mean have they written some famous filmscores I've missed?
So how do they justify their existence?
[This message has been edited by joan hue (edited 23 March 2000).]
posted 03-23-2000 09:26 PM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
Wedge, my Spielberg "guilty pleasure" is "1941". I love that movie. To this day I do not understand WHY it wasn't a huge success in the USA.
I do enjoy parts of "Hook", but my main gripe is that the character of Cap'n Hook is played for broad laughs, instead of terror.
Hook should be scarier than Bruce the shark.
And, if Spielberg had played it that way, I guarantee you that his "Hook" would be regarded far & wide as a CLASSIC!
posted 03-23-2000 09:32 PM PT (US) H Rocco
OscarŽ Winner
Christopher,Kubrick: Overrated. Absolutely.
Lean: Overrated? Possibly.
Spielberg: Underrated. Simply put: STILL underrated.
Spielberg has caught more hell in this country than pretty much any director in memory. I would compare his situation directly to that which Kurosawa underwent in Japan once he became famous OUTSIDE Japan. No other director in WORLD history has ever achieved the same amount of commercial and artistic success, all in the same breath -- to the extent that his name is halfway as recognizably a trademark as Disney's.
It's the "tall poppy" syndrome -- too big, in your face, cut it down. Legions of self-appointed critics have devoted their pathetic lives either to cutting down or overwatering that self-same poppy, while little understanding what it actually produces. (Who doesn't love poppy seeds? They're great on bagels.)
I will not go into a huge diatribe now about what a master Spielberg is -- something I was not convinced of for a while there myself (just my rebellious teen phase, I imagine) -- briefly put, it is easy to take potshots at him because he is SO well known, SO successful, it's all too easy to overlook what it is he DOES. He might have had a happier career if he'd had the same artistic freedom with LESS attention paid to him. But it don't always work that way, do it.
Nobody goes after my Steve.
NP: SON OF GODZILLA (Masaru Sato)
[This message has been edited by H Rocco (edited 28 March 2000).]
posted 03-23-2000 09:32 PM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
Joan, the fact that this "Howard L" thread has reached TWO pages so far is certainly a little piece of history-in-the-making.I mean, let's face it...Howard L himself has trouble generating more than three or four posts at his boring threads.
(Can ya' smell the BAIT, Howard?)
NP: "The Valley Of Gwangi" Morossposted 03-23-2000 09:36 PM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
Rocco, I LOVE (many of) Spielberg's films.
I was in the audience, watching "The Sugarland Express" when I realized that I was witnessing the birth of the next Hitchcock.
Fast-forward to "E.T." This is the pinnacle of Spielberg's career, and the last film that he made that I loved totally and completely.
With one exception: "Jurassic Park". Another Spielberg classic.
After ET, the road is mostly downhill.
Having established a truly memorable cinema character in "Raiders Of The Lost Ark", and framing a great film for him, Spielberg prostitutes Indiana Jones in the two Raiders sequels, turning the franchise into comic book adventures mirroring those of the Roger Moore Bond series. Truly disappointing.
"The Color Purple", while containing many effective sequences (as every Spielberg film does), is mostly a manipulative and derivative piece of popular feel-good tripe, which Spielberg made only because he had been denied the Oscar so many times...Alice Walker has disowned the movie.
I don't even want to talk about "Always".
"Hook", well, it's an overblown epic children's film that might have been a classic, if Dustin Hoffman & Spielberg hadn't been having such a good time making it into a slapstick comedy. This one should have been memorable, but they blew their chances.
"The Lost World" is an affront to audiences.
Period.
After watching that one, I wanted to fly to Spielberg's home to demand my money back.
I have not been able to force myself to watch any of his movies ever since, my reaction to "The Lost World" was so intense.I'll get over it, I'm sure.
Yeah, Rocco, he's a great artist. I'm just miffed at him right now, and I'll get over it, OK?
WHY didn't I mention "Schindler's List"?
OOOOOOH!
Because it's impossible to make a film about the holocaust and NOT have Oscars thrown at you by the basketful! (just ask Roberto Benigni!) There wasn't anything at all remarkable about Spielberg's holocaust movie. But he's Jewish, so somehow that makes his movie better...
posted 03-23-2000 10:14 PM PT (US) Wedge
OscarŽ Winner
Ooooh, Chris -- do you have a DVD player? I do ... and the DVD of 1941 (which I received a few months ago as a Christmas present from my father) is just PACKED with goodies! I mean PACKED, not the least of which is Spielberg home-movies and Williams' isolated score!
posted 03-23-2000 10:27 PM PT (US) Wedge
OscarŽ Winner
... and I LOVE "Temple of Doom." I LOVE it! Easily the best of the Indy movies. Best film, best score, end of discussion!
posted 03-23-2000 10:28 PM PT (US) H Rocco
OscarŽ Winner
Christopher, I'm not Jewish either, but I AM a student of history, and my concentration in college was German history, with a particular focus on the Nazi era. I can easily tell you that SCHINDLER'S LIST is the only picture I've seen that begins to convey the MASSIVE and SPECIFIC nature of the horror of the Holocaust -- although I also refuse the general contention that the Holocaust is "owned" by the descendants of the murdered Jews -- depending on the accounts you follow, six million Jews were killed (the usual accepted figure) but nine million "OTHERS" were also killed in the camps -- a figure generally overlooked.None of which even covers the atrocious conditions in the prison camps for the Russian POWs and still more "others." (Gypsies, political dissidents, whoever looked at Hitler the wrong way at tea, etc.)
Of course Spielberg doesn't go into these things because that wasn't what SCHINDLER'S LIST was about -- and for the record, I don't even think it's his best film (that's still CLOSE ENCOUNTERS, which DOES have some astonishing foreshadowings of SCHINDLER'S LIST throughout.)
As for Alice Walker disowning THE COLOR PURPLE ... there is something too sugary about the picture throughout, I agree, but at the same time, the fact is that Walker is a dreadful writer and an even worse intellect, someone who has managed to build a career simply out of the fact that she is (A) African-American and (B) a woman, who appeared at a time when precious few such authors were registering on the national consciousness. If you try to read her OTHER stuff, you will find out what a mediocre mind she actually possesses, and realize that in deigning to make a movie of her little story, Spielberg gave her the largest audience she ever would have won otherwise. Talk about ungrateful. But for the Spielberg movie, she'd have been forgotten by now, I surely promise you.
As for defending Spielberg's artistry ... well, I've already tried to make a case for Frankenheimer, and that's even larger an uphill battle, and it's getting late. One thing at a time. Cheerio.
posted 03-23-2000 10:31 PM PT (US) Wedge
OscarŽ Winner
I'll never forget the night I finished watching "Close Encounters" with a good friend who was seeing it for the first time. He sat back, nodded thoughfully, and said, "That was okay, but 'Independence Day' was better. The music, too, it wasn't very good." I was ready to LEAP out of my chair and SLAP HIM SILLY!
posted 03-23-2000 10:34 PM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
Wedge, I don't have DVD yet, but you've just provided a powerful nudge for me to GET MOVING!As for "Temple Of Doom"...Wedge, my Haiku Brother, we are going to have a little brou-ha-ha over this one...
"Raiders Of The Lost Ark" is the CANON upon which every succeeding film MUST be based.
Do we agree upon that?
The character of Indiana Jones was PERFECTLY defined in the first film. If you don't agree, watch it again. It's PERFECT.
NO WAY would Indiana Jones be interested in spending more than 30 seconds with that "Short Round" kid!
I'M SORRY! NO DARN WAY!
And Willie Scott? YEAH! What a BABE!
Jones would have found a way to SCUTTLE BOTH OF THESE dead-weight cartoon characters before the opening credits even started!The script for this movie STINKS, and the screenwriters totally prostituted the wonderfully established character from the original film.
Is this movie FUN? ABSOLUTELY!
It's like a fabulous roller-coaster ride!
I LOVE John Williams's score!
"Temple Of Doom" is HIGHLY ENTERTAINING!But it is NOT a worthy successor to the original "Raiders".
Period.
posted 03-23-2000 10:42 PM PT (US) H Rocco
OscarŽ Winner
Wedge,Gimme his address. I'll take care of the fellow. No questions asked. Nor any answered, heh.
INDEPENDENCE DAY ... bleaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!
NP: UNDER FIRE (Mike Hennigan)
posted 03-23-2000 10:49 PM PT (US) Wedge
OscarŽ Winner
Sorry, Chris. I'm going to have to disagree. Since this is such a FUNDAMENTAL matter of opinion (which is the "better" Indy characterization, ignoring film order) why don't we leave it at that?Of course, TOD IS a prequel.
You can get a good DVD player nowadays for less than $200. I got mine for $185 last August. The 1941 DVD includes:
* Restored footage not included in the original theatrical release.
* An original documentary on "The Making of 1941" including new video interviews with Steven Spielberg, Bob Gale, John Milius, Robert Zemeckis and others involved in the film.
* Steven Spielber's home movies and behind-the-scenes footage.
* Theatrical trailers.
* Isolated Music Score (not listed on DVD cover.)
* Outtakes from the film
* Storyboards and production photographs
* Original advertising, marketing and publicity materials.
Quite the gold mine! If ONLY I could say the same for Hook, which includes: * Theatrical trailer. >
posted 03-23-2000 11:11 PM PT (US) H Rocco
OscarŽ Winner
Any mention of the fact that Spielberg played piccolo (wasn't it piccolo?) during one of Williams' recorded cues?And how do you make that I'm-so-blue-face, Wedge?
posted 03-23-2000 11:52 PM PT (US) Wedge
OscarŽ Winner
I was TRYING to make an angry face ... but evidently, the board registers ":" followed by "(" as sad -- even with the ">" in front of it. Hey -- anyone know how to make an angry-face?On that note, visit http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/90q3/waka.html to laugh until you turn blue.
posted 03-24-2000 09:05 AM PT (US) mlw
OscarŽ Winner
I love every Kubrick movie for that specificity of purpose unlike anyone before or in the future. Even when the films were sort of mundane (hint: Full Metal Jacket).I hated ET-- I was just hoping ET would go into convulsions and start splitting apart into John Carpenter's THE THING and send all those sniffling people in the audience to the trauma unit. I liked it later on though. But not on video because Michael's no longer going as a terrorist. Just like that weak rendition of Han Solo as a "good guy" cuz Greedo shoots first.
[This message has been edited by mlw (edited 24 March 2000).]
posted 03-24-2000 01:47 PM PT (US) Howard L
OscarŽ Winner
Private Pyle, outstanding! But it was E.T. that solidified my suspicions that old Spiely's been influenced more by Serling/Twilight Zone than he's ever let on."(Can ya' smell the BAIT, Howard?)"
Interesting how a thread just takes on a life of its own...as in pulling a 'Templeton'? Now if the two ninnies would only see Wonder Boys as requested in the first place--well, just watch...
[This message has been edited by Howard L (edited 24 March 2000).]
posted 03-24-2000 03:35 PM PT (US) joan hue
OscarŽ Winner
Chris, my boy,If you've seen no Spielburg movie since The Lost World, does that mean you haven't seen Saving Private Ryan? (Just the sound of that movie demands a theater.) Perhaps that movie would redeem your original faith in him. Just curious.
[This message has been edited by joan hue (edited 24 March 2000).]
[This message has been edited by joan hue (edited 24 March 2000).]
[This message has been edited by joan hue (edited 24 March 2000).]
posted 03-24-2000 03:38 PM PT (US) mlw
OscarŽ Winner
I WANTED to see Wonderboys, really! But when I got there it was like...... Romeo Must Die...Wonderboys...Jet Li... Wonderboys...tons of female leather-jacket hotties with cell phones standing in line....Wonderboys...ROMEO MUST DIE! Again! Now I'm broke.
posted 03-24-2000 03:46 PM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
It's true, Joan.As much as I loved Spielberg's early movies, I detested what he did with Indiana Jones after the initial "Raiders" classic; "The Color Purple" and "Always" were both uneven, derivative hodgepodges, and despite a very promising opening, "Hook" was all bluster and bombast (I didn't think I would be able to make it out of The Lost Boys sequence alive...If there had been even ONE more lingering close-up on that little round black kid, they'd have buried me the next day!). "Jurassic Park" represented a return to the Spielberg that I loved before, and I was once again ready to trust him. "Schindler's List" is a very good film, but not nearly as glorious as all of the genuflecting that surrounded it...but I was so thoroughly disgusted with "The Lost World", that a filmmaker of Spielberg's calibre would perpetrate such an affront to fans like ME who trusted him...and something in me just SNAPPED.
In the words of Paddy Chayefsky:
"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
I didn't want to turn one more penny of my money over to Spielberg Ltd.
And since then he hasn't received one minute of my time (except for pontificating, of course) or one cent of my earnings.It's been said that the opposite of love is hate, but I don't believe it. I believe that the opposite of love is indifference.
I loved Spielberg's early films, and I still do! I looked forward with eager anticipation to each new film, but I am totally indifferent to everything he does now. I had no interest whatsoever in seeing either "Amistad" or "Saving Private Ryan". I believe this will pass, but I'm not sure...
posted 03-24-2000 05:41 PM PT (US) joan hue
OscarŽ Winner
Chris, I didn't like Amistad or The Lost World. I was VERY disappointed in The Lost World. However, my faith in S. Spielburg's talent was restored with Saving Private Ryan. The acting was amazing and the direction unique. Every Hitchcock movie wasn't a classic. Every Goldsmith score isn't amazing; however, then JG produces something wonderful. I'd suggest you think about SPR.
posted 03-24-2000 05:53 PM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
I've read many of the reviews of "SPR", which vary from those who have proclaimed it to be the greatest WWII film ever made, to those who view it as a mediocre film held together by two memorable battle sequences.I've also read the views of those who found the level of violence to be disturbing.
Many WWII veterans have proclaimed this film to be the most realistic depiction of actual wartime battle ever committed to film.
My personal snit over Spielberg's output has less to do with my avoidance of "SPR" than the fact that my life has been a full plate of difficulties, and when I finally manage to get to a theatre to see a movie for the fun of it...well, my life often seems like it's being lived out on a battlefield. I require something different in my chosen entertainment.
Make me laugh.
Take me to another world.I'm weary of battle...
War movies don't interest me.[This message has been edited by Chris Kinsinger (edited 24 March 2000).]
posted 03-24-2000 08:49 PM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
My writings at this thread have thrown me into a GUILT complex...I recognize Steven Spielberg to be a truly GREAT cinematic talent, and yet I have been harshly critical of his work...
So, in order to atone, I'm watching "Always" right NOW...The Trademarked Spielberg qualities are all there: Excellent production values, magnificent camerawork, John Williams's music supports every moment beautifully, the editing is super, as is the production design, and of course the visual effects are the absolute TOP!
SO WHY DOES THIS FLICK SUCK BIG TOES?
CHEESH! Roger Corman made better movies than this in three days with no money!
I was right.
"Always" is the perfect example of everything that has been WRONG with Steven Spielberg, TIMES TEN!
Hollow, manipulative, derivative...empty.
As I said...Roger Corman has made better films in three days with no money.
posted 03-24-2000 09:39 PM PT (US) H Rocco
OscarŽ Winner
ALWAYS is a poor example of Spielberg's artistry -- although I remember enjoying it immensely, still, it's not one I've ever cared to return to.Spielberg lost his way through the late eighties and early nineties, just as Brian DePalma has lost his way and is nowhere near relearning the lay of his own land. Such terribly indulgent pictures as ALWAYS, HOOK, and "The Mission" from AMAZING STORIES (which I did like) are typical of his output from this period.
As mediocre a film as THE LOST WORLD ultimately is, it is STILL actually MORE interesting and MORE experimental than the original JURASSIC PARK was -- a picture he really need not have made, but I guess he figured, ANYTHING he made after SCHINDLER'S LIST was going to be shot down by the critics -- so why not this? (AMISTAD was being prepared at almost the same time -- I wondered if he was consciously trying to recreate the one-two punch of JURASSIC and SCHINDLER'S in the same year.)
Christopher, I'm afraid you simply have a blind spot here -- and an awfully large one at that.
NP: SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET just ended.
posted 03-24-2000 10:08 PM PT (US) Howard L
OscarŽ Winner
mlw, memories of our tangle with the Swashbuckler over SPR & Spielberg on the old home base, hmm?Anyway, think I shall go see Wonder Boys again this evening for a second, more-critical look.
posted 03-25-2000 09:52 AM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
Rocco, it's not so much a blind spot as it is a bad attitude.
I'm an artist myself...CHEESH! If anybody should recognize that every artist has his ups and downs, it should be ME!
Just yesterday I produced a piece of work that was so bad it made my stomach hurt!
Like I said...bad attitude.
I'm in a snit, and I'll get over it."Always" was really terrible, though.
OK, OK...I'll stop now.
posted 03-25-2000 09:54 AM PT (US) Thor
OscarŽ Winner
Jeez, just because I mentioned the name Spielberg, this has turned into a "Spielberg: Good or Bad" debate? Not my intention.However, I'm far too biased on this matter (being the founder of the Spielberg Fan Club and all) to defend the film master in a proper manner, so I will refrain from doing so - for the moment.
posted 03-27-2000 06:26 AM PT (US) Luscious Lazlo
OscarŽ Winner
Spielberg is a bad judge of music. In the liner notes to ET, Spielberg said that ET is his favorite Williams score. He said: "John Williams *is* ET." Although actually---if you believe Tom Scofield's plagiarism claim---Les Baxter is ET.In John Simon's review of THE COLOR PURPLE, Simon mentioned how the villain was photographed from below. Simon thought it was a cheezy cartoonish effect that proved that animated cartoons have been the chief influence on Spielberg.
posted 03-27-2000 08:03 AM PT (US) H Rocco
OscarŽ Winner
And we all know how perceptive John Simon is ...
posted 03-27-2000 10:43 AM PT (US) Marc Flake
OscarŽ Winner
I feel almost like an interloper here, with all you folks from that other message board carrying on a great conversation like this. But I wanted to chime in, if I may.After reading this topic Friday, I pulled Temple of Doom out Sunday. Quite frankly, I can't see why the Indiana Jones series didn't die with this movie. The highlight was Dan Akroyd.
From the opening dance sequence to the weak climax (the bad guy loses his balance trying to catch a rock he could always retrieve later on), this is one lame movie. It's merely a roller coaster ride. There's nothing to move any of the characters forward (unlike the other two Indiana Jones flicks).
Speilberg is a master story teller, when he wants to be. But sometimes he gets lazy and takes the easy way out in his film-making. (Don't even get me going about the P-51 coming out of nowhere to blow up a Tiger tank with .50 caliber machine guns and save Speilberg from the plot corner he'd filmed himself into.)
I liked HOOK, no, I love HOOK -- especially the opportunity it gives me to sit and watch it with my eldest son. You know, he likes it better than the original Peter Pan -- calls it "The Movie Where Peter Pan is a Daddy." I don't know that we'd like it as much if Captain Hook was played more darkly. Really, he's scarry enough as it is for a five-year-old.
There aren't that many creative geniuses out there who can consisently churn out great stuff. I guess what I'm saying is that Speilberg ain't no genius -- but he is creative and also very good at pushing the buttons of a gullible public. Nothing wrong with that, it's something every good storyteller needs to know.
That's my two cents worth.
Marc
posted 03-27-2000 11:32 AM PT (US) MWRuger
OscarŽ Winner
I just wanted to back up what Mr. Rocco had to say about Schindler's List. Steven Spielberg definitely got it right. I was and am student of history and he captured the horrors of the holocaust about as well as anyone could. The scale is just too large to be taken in.But I remember thinking that when I heard about this picture I thought Well, I guess he decided he really wanted an Oscar. Here is a picture that the academy cant ignore (The Color Purple, Empire of the Sun, etc) So I can see Chris point as well. (Because it's impossible to make a film about the holocaust and NOT have Oscars thrown at you by the basketful!)
As far as Saving Private Ryan (SPR) goes, I thought it was a very well done picture when it came to capturing the horror of the invasion. In actuality, a lot of those events were taken from several different sources and collapsed into a shorter period and a smaller area. But I wouldnt mind seeing a movie that does for the pacific theater what SPR does for the European. (Think New Guinea, Tarawa or Saipan)
posted 03-27-2000 11:50 AM PT (US) H Rocco
OscarŽ Winner
I'm workin' on it, Ruger ... a loose trilogy of sorts, actually ...Have you read "Prisoners of the Japanese" by Gavan Daws? One of the most harrowing and appalling works I've ever encountered ... there is a GREAT deal about the Pacific Theater that hasn't been explored yet (wasn't there an Australian or New Zealand TV show about the Japanese occupation of their nation called, I think, "A Town Like Alice" -- that was pretty hair-raising. Ignore, however, the absurd, repulsively self-indulgent MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE -- only good thing about it was the performance by Takeshi, before he started making his own pictures. He's so good in it that I didn't even recognize him, a couple years later, as the same guy who clowns his way halfway round the clock on any number of Japanese TV variety shows named after him. Lord, does he sleep?)
posted 03-27-2000 12:10 PM PT (US) MWRuger
OscarŽ Winner
Very cool. I can just imagine the scenes on Saipan when the Americans realize what is going on cliff side. Horrific.Marine Invasion of Tarawa. Chilling.
There is a really good story in Studs Terkel "The Good War" about a couple of nameless American soldier who are sitting the near continual rain and are flicking little bits of coral into the water that was pooled in the head of a dead Japanese soldier. He had died behind a machine gun, a bullet had taken the top of his skull off and..well you get the picture.
"The Good War" is mainly about the home front, but there are a bits and pieces about the fighting.
I would also recommend John Toland's The Rising Sun and Gordon Prange's At Dawn we Slept.
There is also a very good book by a Japanese historian (Can't Think of his name or the title) who talks about what the Japan was like during war and how the people were lied to by the Japanese Government. He says that from the opening incident at Marco Polo bridge right up until the surrender, they never heard an ounce of truth. (A little self serving, but an unusual perspective not generally available in the west)
There is definitely still some stories to be told.
posted 03-27-2000 02:31 PM PT (US) Howard L
OscarŽ Winner
This mention of Saipan's sort of got my ear. My father was stationed there for a while, in addition to Guam and other Pacific locales. He ended up on Hokkaido after the surrender.
posted 03-27-2000 03:02 PM PT (US) H Rocco
OscarŽ Winner
Mr. Ruger, I know the Toland and Prange books, but not the one by the Japanese author. I *have* been fortunate to speak to any number of Japanese veterans of the self-same war, all of whom (coincidentally -- my concentration was on the movies, but one feeds into the other, I've found) -- went on to become filmmakers. My grandfather was a Lt. Col. in the European theater; I've never known any Americans who served in the Pacific. (My father was in Vietnam, but not in combat -- lucky him -- so obviously that doesn't count, although he came to his own personal perceptions of what Asia happens to be like.)Have you read Toland's recent autobiography? He also wrote a remarkable book about Hitler, though I find Toland somewhat heavy going these days -- he tends to concentrate on the military battle aspects, which are the least interesting to me now (it just seems to come down to who had the most tanks, doesn't it?)
I wonder what you made of THE THIN RED LINE. I thought it was an infinitely more interesting picture than the decent but rather overrated SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. (Not least because RED LINE was based on the novel by the actual combat vet James Jones, one of my own faves. I've given up the idea of making or remaking any of his stories though -- what makes him special isn't going to be captured by me. I was amazed at how much Terrence Malick WAS able to capture.)
NP: RUNAWAY (Goldsmith)
posted 03-27-2000 07:59 PM PT (US) Chris Kinsinger
OscarŽ Winner
"more interesting picture than the decent but
rather overrated SAVING PRIVATE RYAN."Rocco...NOW you've got me really confused!
I say Spielberg's overrated, and you jump to his defense, countering that he is underrated!
Hmmmm...maybe I just should have said "rather overrated".
posted 03-27-2000 08:17 PM PT (US) Wedge
OscarŽ Winner
The scariest thing about the Jewish Holocaust is that, while truly on an unimagineable scale, it was neither the first nor the worst historical atrocity. I just wish more people realized that.
posted 03-27-2000 09:02 PM PT (US) Old Infopop Software by UBB