scene project take 5...

Pennies From Heaven (1981) - Let's Misbehave

The great Christopher Walken showing off his unexpected dance moves. Apparently, both Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire gave Walken their stamp of approval on this number. It's a delightfully seedy routine where Walken is trying to corrupt poor, lonely Bernadette Peters into becoming one of his prositutes.

Pennies From Heaven is a terrific film starring Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters that shows the ugly realities that lived beneath the surface of the happy, positive tunes of the 1930s. Highly recommended.

i believed, i believed, i believed...

I have decided that Wednesday shall be Nanci Griffith video day:)

So, in order to celebrate I give you a video of It's a Hard Life Wherever You Go. Something about this particular video moved me very deeply the first time I encountered it...there is something so mesmerizing about Nanci's stage presence. Perhaps it is the fact that she can command your attention (and you thank her for it): not with flashy clothes, or pyrotechnics, but with the power of her beautiful voice and the conviction of her heartfelt lyrics. It is so clear that she feels deeply about each and every word she is singing...and this is still true 20 years later.

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come home to your mother...

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Canadian folk singer Kate McGarrigle passed away several days ago of cancer at the age of 63. I just recently discovered the music of she and her sister Anna McGarrigle and was saddened to hear of her death.

This is a song that Kate performed at her family's (inluding children Rufus and Martha Wainwright) annual Christmas concert just this past December. She had just written this song 2 weeks prior to the show. It is a gorgeous piece of music with one of the most haunting melodies I've ever heard. It's a wonderful swan song for this talented lady.

RIP Kate...

scene project take 4...

A Mighty Wind (2003) - Catherine O'Hara

This was when I fell in love with Catherine O'Hara. She and Eugene Levy played famed folk singers Mitch & Mickey. Back in the 1960s they were the hottest couple in folk music; now Mickey has gotten married and Mitch has gone off the deep end slightly.

In this scene, the emotional climax of the film, Mitch and Mickey perform their signature tune, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" at Town Hall in NYC. When they used to perform this number, they would always end with a kiss...will they now? Well, I've ruined it for you but there you have it.

Catherine O'Hara gives my favorite performance of hers in this film. She's funny as ever but she's also beautfully melancholy throughout the film. This is a Christopher Guest film which means that everything was improvised and poignant improvisation is not easy, but she pulls it off with aplomb.

BTW, Town Hall is where I saw Nanci Griffith in concert and she mentioned this movie during the show...the lady has taste:)

some repetition...

As I look over my "scene project" posts, I'm realizing how similar the scenes are that I'm highlighting. I guess I have very specific tastes:) But things will be shaken up a bit later...I do own a lot of comedies where nary a tear is shed...so stay tuned!

scene project take 3...

Since You Went Away (1944) - Claudette Colbert

Claudette Colbert was one of the crown jewels of the Golden Age of Hollywood. She was adept in both comedy and drama and she was something of a rebel off-camera. She also had that rare quality of being both chic/glamorous and down-to-earth.

In this touching homefront drama, she plays the mother of two whose husband is off fighting in WWII. She has received a telegram months before this scene, saying that he is missing in action and she and her family have almost accepted the fact that he is probably dead.

In this final scene of the film, Colbert's maid has placed gifts that were left by her missing husband a year ago under the Christmas tree. He has given her a beautiful powder box and a loving note that finally causes Colbert to break down and shatter her stoic demeanor. She can no longer hold back the tears and sadness that she's let sit inside her all these months. After opening the gift, her telephone rings and it's a cable gram alerting her that her husband is safe and on his way home. She goes off to tell the girls (played by Shirley Temple and Jennifer Jones, who just recently passed away). It's a bit of a quickie Hollywood happy ending, but you feel so deeply for Colbert and the love she has for her husband in these final moments that you could care less if it's a plausible conclusion or not. You simply sit back and celebrate the good news right along with the brave ladies at home. This is one of those quiet, tender scenes of real human emotion that make all the expensive sequences of battle and war pale in comparison.

scene project take 2...

Erin Brockovich (2000) - Marg Helgenberger

I love when a director and a star are able to turn the spotlight to another player and give them their moment to shine. Those moments when the headliner of the movie is in the scene, but you forget they are even around due to the power of their scene partner. (Think Judy Holliday alongside Katharine Hepburn in her film debut, Adam's Rib)

This scene is a prime example. In case you don't know the story, Marg Helgenberger plays Donna Jensen, a woman who discovers through Erin Brockovich's (Julia Roberts) exhaustive research, that the cancer she and her husband have been battling is a result of a poisonous compound the neighboring water plant has been using. Donna and her fellow town residents decide to file a class action lawsuit against the plant, and in this scene Erin stops by to inform Donna of the settlement amount.

Helgenberger's playing of Donna's reaction to the news that she and her family will be receiving $5 million is a beautiful piece of work. The shock and joy and sudden glimmers of hope that pass over her face are so organic you forget that she's playing a character. Even Roberts seems taken aback by her sincerity. And in that last frame above when she is thanking Erin for all of her hard work, I must say that may be the most genuine display of gratitude I've seen on film...you can hear it in her voice and you can almost feel the hug she's giving Roberts.

Helgenberger really only has about 2 scenes in the film, but they are the best...it is in those moments when you think, "Julia who?"

scene project take 1...

So, I am going to attempt to go through my entire DVD collection (around 100+) and pick out my favorite scene/moment/shot/etc. I'm very new with capturing images, so they may not be too fabulous.

I'm going to start with Live-In Maid (2004). This is an Argentine film directed by Jorge Gaggero and starring Norma Aleandro and Norma Argentina. The plot concerns a domestic maid (Argentina) who decides to leave her boss (Aleandro) after many, many years. It is a very interesting and moving look at the relationship between these two very different women.

This scene concerns Beba (Aleandro), the boss. Dora, her maid has left her and she is doing her best to cope. She is also dealing with her own money troubles which was partially to blame for Dora's exit. In this scene, Beba has basically traded a skin product she has been peddling for a free meal. This is a quietly devastating moment that demonstrates the loneliness that Beba is facing. Norma Aleandro is one of the greatest living actresses (The Official Story will make an appearance later in this series) and she breaks your heart in this brief scene. The sadness and shame that she expresses is done with no words but only her wonderfully expressive face and eyes.

it's the elevator doors...

Well let's get things started with Nanci Griffith. So, I discovered the singing gal just last May by chance and I have been a devoted fan ever since. She's one of those rare artists who is really the whole package: beautiful songwriting, a unique voice, skillful musician, a wonderful stage presence, hilarious and pointed stage banter, and an internal beauty that seeps through those big, expressive eyes and only enhances her outward attractiveness. In a word, she's a true gem. So, this video is from her legendary One Fair Summer Evening video that was recorded at the famed Anderson Fair in Texas. And this song is certainly one of her best...she's able to tell the entire history of a romantic love that first bloomed in a Woolworths store in about 4 minutes. This particular performance is notorious for the rambling and absolutely charming introduction where she divulges the origin of the "ping" guitar sound in the tune.

If you aren't completely charmed by this woman from this video alone, then I have a lot of work to do...

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an introduction...

"Have you ever seen______?"

"I loved the Mom in that."

"I posted this new Nanci video on Facebook..."

I have often thought that if I ever were to write an autobiography, I would use one of the above as my title. These three simple phrases pretty much sum up my favorite topics of conversation: film, mature women in film and Nanci Griffith. I consider myself a feminist and a champion of female achievements. Couple that with my love of film, music, theater and acting, and you have my interests in a nutshell. Anyone who knows me can attest to my perhaps annoying way of somehow bringing film or Nanci into any conversation.

My genuine admiration of any form of media and women's roles in them, led me to this blog. I just must have a venue for my thoughts and opinions on these topics...I must:) I've tried this in the past and I'm afraid I was a total failure, giving up after just one entry. But I'm going to try and be disciplined about this one...all the blogs I read look like so much fun!

So, here goes...if anyone is out there, wish me luck!