Today we're jumping into history again, this time with the 1800's Russian revolutionaries, The Decembrists.
This is a two part documentary on The Decembrists who plotted against the Russian Tsar over at the Epic History Youtube channel.
I really don't have that much more to say except enjoy and that's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
I finally sat down and watched:
The Battle of Algiers (1966).
First off, this Italian-Algerian movie is black and white and apart from one line delivered by an American journalist, it is completely in French and Arabic. Unless you are fluent in these languages, you will need the subtitles. The Battle of Algiers is not a movie to have on in the background, you need to pay attention.
The movie takes place over a period of time (1954-62) in Algiers, then a French colony. We meet Ali La Pointe, a young street punk who gets by on scams. He gets sent to prison where he becomes radicalized and joins the fledgling FLN (National Liberation Front).
The FLN begins by killing French police officers and soon graduates to bombing cafes, despite checkpoints and police crackdowns. The increasing violence brings the French paratroopers to Algiers, troops who were used to fighting insurgents in French Indochina. The paratroopers, led by Lt. Col. Mathieu (Jean Martin, the only trained actor in the movie) soon turn the tide on the FLN and things get very ugly incredibly quickly. Colonel Mathieu has no qualms about using torture to crack the FLN cells, believing in the simple fact that to win, you need to do what must be done.
The Battle of Algiers is directed by Gillo Pontecorvo who also co-wrote the soundtrack with Ennio Morricone. Pontecorvo basically chose to make the movie look like a newsreel, despite there being no actual news footage in the entire film. He chose to use normal people to heighten the sense of realism, with Jean Martin being the only exception. Despite playing such a ruthless character, Martin lost his standing as a French actor for signing a petition to give Algiers its independence.
Being two hours long, The Battle of Algiers is not boring but at times it is slow. Perhaps patient is a better term for it than slow. The screenplay is based on the book Souvenirs de la Bataille d'Alger by Saadi Yasef who was a real FLN freedom fighter and has a role in the movie. With all this going on, it is no surprise that the movie was banned upon release in France. It stayed banned until 1971. Despite its controversy in France, it won several awards internationally, including the Golden Lion in Venice and three Oscars; Best Foreign Language Film in 1966 and Best Screenplay and Best Director in 1968, being the only movie to have managed several Oscars in non consective years.
The Battle of Algiers is a brutal movie. The uncut version even shows the “interrogation” techniques used by the French, which is not fun to watch. The movie was even used to teach American forces how to handle insurgencies, make of that what you will. What is interesting is that the character Ali La Pointe is a pretty unpleasant person, and Col. Mathieu is quite charming. I'm assuming that this is to illustrate that a bad person can fight for a good cause (freedom) and a pleasant person can fight for a bad cause (tyranny). I'm not educated enough to analyze such a heavy matter with any precision, you'll have to make up your own mind.
So, do I recommend this movie? Absolutely! The Battle of Algiers is a hard hitting film that pulls no punches and gives no apologies. It just shows you what went on. The Battle of Algiers only focuses on the struggle in the city, with the greater national struggle being only referenced in passing, creating a more focused narrative. I don't think I'll rewatch it, but I am very glad I saw it. The Battle of Algiers is a brilliant but unpleasant movie.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
Everyone has presumably seen a picture of the Pontifical Swiss Guard who guard the Vatican and the Pope, both at home and abroad. They have been doing this since 1506, and are they are still going strong, and that is what today's documentary is about; what it takes to join the ranks of the Pope's army.
My only complaint about the documentary is that the voice over is text to speech which gives it a flat tone, instead of using actual voice over actors, but beyond that it is pretty interesting, whether you are religious or not.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great week!
I have on two separate occasions watched videos on movies and shows that traumatized British viewers, either unintentionally or entirely on purpose.
Both videos featured:
Whistle and I'll Come to You (1968).
This 42 minute long TV movie is based on “Oh, whistle, and I'll come to you, my lad” by M. R. James who wrote many acclaimed ghost stories in his time.
It stars Michael Horden as Cambridge Professor Parkin who we meet as he arrives at a hotel somewhere on the English east coast. The professor is there on a small walking holiday, unlike the few other guests who are there for golf. On his first outing, as he walks briskly around, muttering and humming to himself, he finds a crumbling grave in an old cemetery. The grave is half exposed due to the erosion of wind and sea, and upon closer inspection he finds and pockets an ancient flute, or whistle. After dinner, he cleans it up and blows it. That night as he falls asleep he hears a vague fluttering noise. The next night, the noise is louder and almost sounds like a heartbeat, and as he falls asleep, he is constantly disturbed by dreams where a spectral figure chases him along the beach. Something is coming closer, but that is all I'm going to reveal. Watch it yourself if you want to know the ending.
It is worth noting that this story was first published in 1904 and this was shown in 1968, so it's not incredibly scary. If you are a horror aficionado, you may even find it a bit dull, but they managed to make something very atmospheric with very little. Whistle and I'll Come to You is a proper ghost story, not a gore fest.
Whistle and I'll Come to You was remade in 2010 starring John Hurt but I haven't seen it yet.
So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, absolutely. As I said, it isn't super scary, but I did get a couple of quick chills, which is more than enough. It is a bit slow and very old fashioned, but they really did a great job building the atmosphere from the very beginning. Being so short, I would urge any and every fan of ghost stories to give a go, in fact, I'll embed it below.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
I had this whole thing planned with World of Warcraft Legion: Remix, but I got slapped with a proper flu, and my brain has been replaced with snot. Instead I'll just say, Legion: Remix is really cool and if you play WoW, give it a shot.
Instead of my planned content I want to highlight a channel: WW2 Pod: We Have Ways of Making You Talk.
This channel is WW2 history with comedian Al Murray and historian James Holland who are currently talking about the Battle of Britain. I've seen two videos so far and it is really good. So, enjoy that if you like history. I'll embed the first video for you.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
I just finished reading:
The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte published in 1993. (Beware of spoilers in the link).
I chose this novel because it is the basis for The Ninth Gate (1999) by Roman Polanski and starring Johnny Depp, Lena Olin, Frank Langella and Emmanuelle Seigner.
The Ninth Gate has always been one of those movies that stuck with me, and I was pretty happy to sit down and finally read its origin. Like almost all novels with a movie based on it, the two are pretty different.
First off, the book has two main plot lines, instead of only one; an unknown, hand written chapter from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, and a separate plot with a book called Of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows.
Our main protagonist Lucas Corso, or Dean Corso in the movie (Depp), a book mercenary in the world of rare antique books, is hired to authenticate the Dumas chapter while also checking up on the Nine Doors. This book, written by Aristide Torchia in 1666 was reputed to be able to summon the Devil. The church burned him and his book in 1667, although three copies survived. Corso's job is to figure out which copy is real and which are expensive forgeries.
A sinister figure stalks Corso as he travels around Spain, Portugal and France, attacking him and trying to steal his bag of books. He is aided by a mysterious young woman, who shows up when she wants to and even helps him fight off the mysterious attacker.
The two plot lines are intimately entwined, up until the end, where as is normal, we get our resolutions. There were times where I was a bit lost trying to make sense of what was going on, and this is not by accident. The Club Dumas is very well written, and nothing is left to chance, but I appreciate the two plot lines being resolving separately. This really helps keep things in perspective, and provides much needed clarity.
Now in the movie, the Three Musketeers plot is removed completely. Certain elements from that plot line are folded into the Nine Doors plot instead, in order to make the full narrative make sense. I think it was a smart move to remove the Dumas part as it is nice but takes a lot of space in pure explanations, something the movie couldn't have handled. If someone wanted to make a TV show based on the novel, the Dumas plot should absolutely be included.
The movie follows the Nine Doors plot pretty faithfully, going to far as to use the engravings created for the novel with only two minor changes to fit into the movie. As movie adaptations go, it is pretty good.
So, do I recommend this book? Yes, I think so. I'm a bit biased as I really like the movie, but I do think the book is well worth reading. It is charming if at times a bit goofy. I don't feel cheated by the end at all, but I would understand if someone else felt that way. Overall I found it interesting and a pretty nice read. I learned a great deal about Alexandre Dumas as a bonus.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
The other day I sat down and watched:
The Innocents (1961).
This classic movie, based on Gothic horror novella The Turn of the Screw (1898) By Henry James, was directed and produced by Jack Clayton with the screenplay written by Truman Capote.
We meet Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) as she is being interviewed for the job of governess. Her prospective employer known only as The Uncle (Michael Redgrave) is an incredibly rich man who has had his niece Flora, and nephew Miles, dumped on him due to the death of the children's parents. He is however completely uninterested in them, preferring to travel and do business. He does however have a sense of responsibility, and so houses the kids in his enormous country estate, Bly. He hired a governess to take care of them, but she died a year ago, and now he needs a new one. Enter Miss Giddens, who is told that she is completely in charge of children and household. The Uncle wishes to remain completely undisturbed. No contact whatsoever.
Miss Giddens travels to Bly and meets the niece, Flora, a charming but slightly weird young girl. There is also the kind and caring housekeeper Mrs. Grose as well as a few other staff members, but we rarely ever see them.
Flora seems to have a way of knowing things she couldn't possibly know, including the fact that her brother Miles who is away at boarding school will soon be returning home, and she is correct. Miles is equally charming, but has a strangely intense and adult way about him.
Miss Giddens soon sees two dark figures, a woman in black and mysterious handsome man. No one else seems to be able to see them, and the reason is, they are dead. The woman is Miss Jessel (Clytie Jessop), the previous governess and the man is the Uncle's former valet, Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde). Quint used to be in charge of the household, until he was found dead one winter evening.
Miss Giddens learns that not only did Miss Jessel have a very unhealthy relationship with Quint, the children were devoted to them and may have witnessed things children really shouldn't see. Miss Giddens sets out to save the children from the wicked ghosts however she can. If they are real...
The Innocents is filmed in black and white, and fun fact, in order to deepen the shadows and get the necessary atmosphere, the set was lit so brightly at times that Kerr sometimes wore sunglasses between scenes. This also happened during the shooting of The Lighthouse (2019) for exactly the same reason.
The central theme of the movie is the ambiguity of the ghosts. Either they are real and influencing the children, or they aren't and it is all in Miss Gidden's head. That at least was the intent, but I think they leaned too hard on the ghosts being real, and the mystery fails a little bit. Granted this was 1961 and the filmmakers were constrained in what they could do and show, but apparently Miss Gidden's own repressed sexuality should be the cause of her own potential delusions, and to be honest I saw none of that. The Innocent's comes across as a straight ghost story.
So, do I recommend this movie? Absolutely. Despite the lack of intended ambiguity it is a great movie. Creepy more than scary, particularly today, it is a really good Gothic story. All the actors are great, with a special shout-out to the child actors, who did their job extremely well. Deborah Kerr is great, juggling caring kindness with desperate paranoia in a truly professional manner. All in all a good film, even if it isn't all that scary anymore. Well worth watching.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
