The Holland Razor Blade
From the Witch’s Brew to the Devil’s Skin, check out Huffington Post’s compelling directory of Halloween cocktails for this weekend’s spooky movie watching parties. See them all at 21 Creepy Holiday Drinks.
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The THRILLER television series (1960 – 1962) is an under-appreciated treasure trove for your Halloween watch list. The expertly crafted episodes feature compelling tales with twists and turns and startling, dark images that can be much more disturbing than big blobs of blood, guts, and over-the-top gore.
Boris Karloff hosted this 67-episode tv series, featuring stories by some of the best writers of the thriller genre, including Robert Bloch of PSYCHO fame. Production quality is top notch from the spot-on, spine-tingling music to the lineup of directors, including Ida Lupino, actress and one of the first female film directors.
These stories scared me when I was young, and they still have staying power. A few of my favorite episodes are “The Grim Reaper,” starring William Shatner, who shows off his best Shanter-esque acting chops in the closing sequence. Invite your friends and ghouls over to hunker down for the “The Grim Reaper” episode, along with “A Wig for Miss Devore, “The Hungry Glass,” and “La Strega.”
They may want to leave the lights on when it’s time for bed. 
Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor,
and author of the novel, Human Slices.
Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow
IMDb.com
I got in a movie line once just because the line was long. “Something good must be happening,” I thought to myself. It was dark and cold outside, winter in Chicago, and I took my place, alone and shivering, Polish-speaking people in front of me, Polish-speaking people queuing up behind me. The Village Theater marquee said only “Welcome to the Chicago Film Festival.”
It turned out that the movie was SEX MISSION (or SEKSMISJA, as originally — phonetically? — titled), and I fell in love with this sci-fi/political satire comedy. If only the subtitles had done the movie justice for this lone English speaker in the room.
To be sure, I laughed as the two fumbling male protagonists awaken, after having been left in a cryogenically suspended state for 50 years. They come to consciousness and discover a world of women living in a post-apocalyptic underground compound. The story, the surprises, and the sight gags all work. Hilarity definitely ensues.
While I chuckled out loud, the Polish-speaking crowd roared, and I mean roared, with that kind of knee-slapping, tear-inducing laughter. More than a few times, the audience erupted with laughter when the simplest declarative statement appeared in English at the bottom of the screen. I felt like a stranger in a strange land, much like the hapless male characters in the movie. Oh how I wished the subtitles would have captured what the Polish speakers understood. Even though I missed most of the jokes, I still recall the sheer pleasure of being in a theater with such a connected and happy crowd.
A recent article by Anthony Paletta in The Wall Street Journal referenced the book, Is That a Fish In Your Ear?, by translator and author David Bellos. Bellos refers to English translators as “among the least-loved and least-understood language athletes in the modern world.” Their job is an art, and it’s a hard one. Not only do they translate dialogue, but they also must capture a character’s essence, create subtleties in meaning, and communicate authenticity. In addition to that, they have the added challenge of adhering to restrictive guidelines, especially in terms of space limitations that dictate the size and length of the subtitles on the screen.
We’ve all experienced the humorous slip up with a subtitle. When there’s a mistake we understand, we smile and forget. Some are classic bloopers, like the one cited in the article of the amusing French translation gaff from Peckinpah’s CROSS OF IRON. The “exclamation of ‘Tanks! Tanks! appears in subtitle form as “Merci! Merci!’.”
Mistakes will be made, as they say. How many times have we been unintentionally fooled or misled?
The future brings us a potential slippery slope. Thanks to today’s technology, there are now open-source subtitle platforms emerging, like Amara, which provide for on-line collaborative subtitle creation.
In our global village, access to translation of videos will open doors of communication like never before. But if subtitling done by professionals is such a painstaking, nuanced, and challenging task subject to errors and failure in interpretation, what will actually be lost in translation when amateurs and volunteers provide the lexicon? What will happen in a brave new world when translation may not be quite right, when the wrong, and possible incendiary words, are added to images?
I worry.
It took me years to find a copy of SEX MISSION. It became a sort of obsession. Every time I met someone Polish (which is easy to do in Chicago), I would feel a need to explain the incredible way the audience responded to the film that night.
At long last, I got a lead. A friend of a friend of a friend who operated an auto repair shop might have a copy. What luck! I remember wandering into the garage and introducing myself to a man who didn’t speak English. He was bored with my eagerness. Gripping a filterless stub of a cigarette between his oil-stained fingers, he casually handed over the tape as if it were nothing. I was thrilled to tuck the black plastic case into my purse and hurry home, anxious to sit down and watch the movie again, just to see if it was as clever as I had remembered it.
Unfortunately, the tape had been recorded off of another tape or broadcast, and only about the top third of the letters of the subtitles appeared on the screen.
I watched the movie anyway. I longed for the laughter.
Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor,
and author of the novel, Human Slices.
Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow
The teenaged me received quite an education in life from the movies of 1969.
There were MIDNIGHT COWBOY, THE MAGIC CHRISTIAN, LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS, EASY RIDER, THE WILD BUNCH, DE SADE, WOMEN IN LOVE, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE, MAROONED, THE STEWARDESSES, MEDEA, and SWEET CHARITY – just to name a few of the most memorable. Scenes from each of these films — feats of daring! blood splatters! nude male wrestlers! beheadings! bare breasts! — are permanently etched into my brain.
But the one film that still resonates the most strongly after all of these years is THE STERILE CUCKOO, a heartbreaking story of young love, longing, and loneliness. Liza Minnelli shines in the role of Pookie Adams, a fragile and kookie college coed desperate to make an impression and a connection.
Liza’s performance, for which she received an Academy Award nomination, is riveting in its honesty and depth. In fact, ever since 1969, I have used her portrayal Pookie as the benchmark to compare other actress’s acting chops, as in, “She was OK in the role, but she sure wasn’t Liza in THE STERILE CUCKOO.” Consider the telephone call scene….
Director Alan Pakula created a visually stunning environment to frame the development of this quiet story and Ms. Minnelli’s fragile character. And to add even more intensity to the sad tale of young love lost is the film’s theme song, “Come Saturday Morning,” by Fred Karlin and Dory Previn, which was also nominated for best song.
This little crystal of a movie was released on DVD just yesterday, October 16. If you have never seen it and you have a fondness for coming of age stories that will break your heart, put THE STERILE CUCKOO on your to-be-watched list today. 
Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor,
and author of the novel, Human Slices.
Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow
Alfred Hitchcock on What’s My Line — a good watch!
There are so many stories in Hollywood of his wit and humor – and there’s one mythic tale (and I’ve never seen the footage, so I’d have to say it was a myth) of Hitch dancing in a hula skirt for a home camera at a party with an idol painted on his swaying and prodigious belly. Well, as to dancing this is the best I could come up with. But, over at The Hitchcock Zone they’ve got the skinny…click on the blue letters.
And, I thought this was charming – Alfred Hitchcock appearing as a mystery guest on “What’s My Line”:
We’re not only celebrating 50 years of bad boy James Bond this year, but it’s also the 50th year of rock ‘n roll bad boys, the Rolling Stones. These may be old guys, but they’re still fascinating to watch.
To recognize the Stones’ impressive milestone, on November 15, HBO is showing its new documentary, CROSSFIRE HURRICANE.
About the film, director Brett Morgan says, “This is not an academic history lesson,” but an opportunity to “experience firsthand the Stones’ nearly mythical journey from outsiders to rock & roll royalty.”
The band also debuted a tour documentary THE ROLLING STONES: CHARLIE IS MY DARLING — IRELAND 1965 as part of the New York Film Festival on September 29.
With these kinds of films available, along with all the archival clips being rolled out on the official Rolling Stones YouTube channel, it’s time to plan your own at-home Stones party. After watching old friends Mick, Keith, and the gang go from fresh faced to craggy, still legends, still appealing, everyone will want to get up and dance when you start playing “Satisfaction.”
I discovered the big green chair at the “Mousehole” in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. What luck! A curious (but comfy) chair indeed, with holes drilled into both arms, so that I could insert the movable stand on either side and adjust the angle for perfect hands-free viewing for reading books and using my tablet to watch movies.
So many products have emerged as a result of the mobile device boom, and here was this chair, perhaps a bit of innovation from the ’50s, that did the trick. Everything old is new again, as they say.
The Vitra NesTable is a version of the big green chair but much more adaptable since you can maneuver this type of stand to work with any seating in the house.
vitra.com
And I really like the adjustable table stands that are coming out, too, like the one below that allows you to prop your tablet any which way — even overhead — for watching while reclining in your chaise lounge. It’s so space age.
Personally, I like using a plain old pillow to prop up my tablet when I watch in bed. But there’s also the Lap Log, a pillow filled with buckwheat, if you want to buy something special, like a pet bed, for your tablet.
One could spend hours checking out all of the tablet stands out there to satisfy your personal preferences. Meanwhile, I think I’ll wait for someone to develop a new version of the big green chair….maybe one that has an adjustable cup holder.
Image courtesy of Fanhattan.com
First it was big screen projection technology that dramatically changed the way we watch movies in our own abodes. And now we’re cozying up with small-screen tablets for in-home watching like never before. It’s predicted that by next year, “there will be more mobile devices than people” on our lovely planet Earth (source: IBM ad).
My tablet has become a good little friend, like a pet, actually. I can hunker down to watch whatever, wherever, and whenever I want, and the magic is that I don’t even need to find the remote to use it.
Best yet is that if I want to transform my tablet image into something big and cinematic, there are new projectors, like the less-than-three-pound Optoma ML500, which can connect to my tablet and transform the small-screen image into a big one — and for less than $600 too.
All of this innovation is thriving with a little help from the streaming content boom. It seems that every day there is an announcement about expanded content availability on one platform or another. But now, instead of separately searching Netflix, Hulu, HBO, Amazon Prime, or other video content provider to find what we want to watch, Fanhattan lets us search across all of these platforms in one simple app.
And the opportunities to nab huge quantities of streaming content continue to come at us at an extraordinary pace. In addition to its aggregating capability, Fanhattan recently announced a new WatchList feature, which allows users to add a show to a personal watch list and eagerly await a Fanhattan email when the show is available for streaming.
I’ve been stumped sometimes, standing in a drug store or grocery aisle, just staring at the array of toothpaste, olive oil, soup, and organic cereal. Regardless of all the algorithm recommendations that appear on our screens, I can’t help but wonder how all of these content choices will impact our ability to make the final decision on what to watch. But I’m not complaining. Choice is good. A little overwhelming, to be sure, but good.
With big screens, small screens, streaming, and who knows what’s next, in a very short time indeed, everyone in the world will be a Home Projectionist. And in that, you’ll actually have no choice in the matter.
Best Buy (Photo credit: Kevin McShane)
You may love your big screen television, but it can end up being a looming, intrusive, and not-so-attractive presence in your living room, den, bedroom, or even your garage. You may prefer to leave it front and center as a room-ruling monolith, but it doesn’t necessarily have to get all of the attention.
Houzz’s recent article, “Decorate With Intention: Helping Your TV Blend In,” provides some camouflage tips, from thoughtful placement options to how to balance the big black screen with other objects.
Today I learned that the first real movie star, Florence Lawrence, committed suicide with ant poison, that the first close up in cinema featured a sick kitty, and there was some hot erotic dancing going on in the silent movies.
Of course, the history of cinema is comprised of much more than the stuff of cocktail conversations. It’s a vast collection of stories that have impacted each and every one of our lives.
THE STORY OF FILM: AN ODYSSEY (2011) is a 15-part, 15-hour documentary exploring the convergence of technology, business, intelligence, and vision that has created the remarkable and powerful art of cinema.
THE STORY OF FILM is quietly narrated by its creator, film critic and historian Mark Cousins. Part I of STORY includes “The Birth of the Cinema (1900 – 1920)” and “The Hollywood Dream (1920s),” which provides a sequence of mini tales featuring the inventors, the stars, the breakthroughs, and the innovations that started it all, from the Lumieres to Lloyd. The segments on the evolution of film editing are particularly strong.
Like a professor, Cousins will periodically veer into non-essential territory (like fretting over the glamour and the glossy veneer of Hollywood), which doesn’t particularly add to the narrative, but no matter. He has compiled an anthology of information and resources that will be turned to again and again.
Of course, because of the sheer breadth of material, Cousins must alight on some topics for only moments of time, leaving us wanting more. After seeing the shocking clip of Asta Nielsen’s erotic dance from the 1910 silent film THE ABYSS, for example, I am hoping that someone has created a documentary on THE HISTORY OF EROTIC DANCE IN SILENT FILMS.
(You can view the entire film at http://archive.org/details/Afgrunden_1910. The dance begins at 20:11 and there’s much more to it than in the clip above.)
Music Box Films is distributing the documentary, and Chicago’s Music Box Theater has just begun its multi-week screening of this ambitious effort. The DVD will be released in November 2012.
Next up is Part 2, “Expressionism, Impressionism and Surrealism: Golden Age of World Cinema (1920’s).” 
Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor,
and author of the novel, Human Slices.
Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow
A must-see for Beatles fans just released on DVD. BEATLES STORIES: A FAB FOUR FAN’S ULTIMATE ROAD TRIP features a collection of 90-second stories shared by celebrities, musicians, execs, groupies, and assorted other fans who had the good fortune to share a moment in time with John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
Filmmaker and super Beatle fan Seth Swirsky spent seven years collecting these personal tales. The film premiered last night (October 2, 2012) at L.A.’s Egyptian Theater.
I still get goose bumps when I see the Beatles in A HARD DAY’S NIGHT (1964). I imagine I’ll get goose bumps just hearing people talk about the times they connected with the absolutely Fabulous Four.
With campaign season in full force, we can’t help but think about movies that delve into politics. One of the best, and most depressing, is ALL THE KING’S MEN, the 1949 classic and Oscar-winning Best Picture, based on the Pulitzer novel by Robert Penn Warren. It’s filled with some great slap scenes too.
Broderick Crawford plays Willie Stark, the honest idealist, champion for the “Everyman,” turned power-hungry politician. You know Willie is going to turn out to be the ultimate jerk when his wife sweetly says “I love you,” and he snarls, “Get me some coffee.” And that’s when he’s still playing the good guy.
I wish the film would take a longer and more thoughtful road for us to travel with Willie as he leaves behind his principles and succumbs to the power of political position and his own narcissism, but director Robert Rossen is dealing with a long story here. The pace is as frenetic and choppy as the staccato, quick-fire delivery of the lines. But the lines are sometimes oh so good.
Broderick, who won Best Actor in this role, shines when he’s on the stump spitting out rallying cries like, “Listen to me, you hicks. Nobody ever helped a hick but a hick.” And later, “You wanna know what my platform is? Here it is. I’m gonna soak the fat boys and spread it out thin.” Gotta love language like that on a campaign trail.
But once he’s done flailing about as the sincere guy that “Everyman” can count on, and he’s decided that playing politics means playing rough, Willie is no longer that interesting as a character. Mercedes McCambridge’s role as his campaign confidante, Sadie Burke, carries the day. I get tired of Broderick’s bluster in this film, but I can’t wait for McCambridge, who won Best Supporting Actress in this role, to appear on screen, especially when she’s in slap scenes like this with co-star John Ireland:
One of the creepiest moments in the film is Willie showing his father-in-law how to use the new police radio he’s bought him. When they hear the dispatcher say, “Tom Jones is beating his wife again,” both Willie and his father-in-law share a big laugh. These are not good people. In fact, Stark’s driving belief is that good can only come out of evil, and it’s an unsettling philosophy that leaves one pondering a bit about the dark side of human behavior. Everyone here, in one way or another, caves in to something, be it to power, greed, booze, lust, envy, and all those other deadly sins.
As a perfect antidote to the ugliness and cynicism in ALL THE KING’S MEN, cue up the Capra classic, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939), starring an ever-principled James Stewart. You’ll feel a lot better about the human spirit.
Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor,
and author of the novel, Human Slices.
Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow
English: Publicity photo of Andy Williams from his television show. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Andy Williams is gone. We will miss his charm, his distinctive voice (formally declared a “national treasure”), and his singular, laid-back style that we came to know through his long run as a recording artist and entertainer of stage and television.
Although he’s known for his blockbuster hits of several movie theme songs, including, of course, Moon River and Love Story, Andy didn’t have a substantive track record as an actor on the silver screen.
There is one little treasure, though, that I am longing to see. Williams starred in the Ross Hunter romantic comedy I’D RATHER BE RICH (1964), along with Sandra Dee, Robert Goulet, Maurice Chevalier, Hermione Gingold, Charles Ruggles, and Rip Taylor. What a cast. What possibilities.
From the reviews and clips I’ve seen, I’D RATHER BE RICH appears to be a delightful indulgence, and it includes the captivating song Almost There. Unfortunately, a quality home video DVD version isn’t available. It seems a mystery that this one’s been neglected, but the good news is that there is an opportunity to vote in favor of such a release here on the Turner Classic Movie web site.
Please vote today and help us get this one out in honor of Andy. RIP, Mr. Williams. You were one in a million.
SPECIAL NOTE: Home Projectionist blogger, Ben Alba, was a personal friend of Andy Williams. To access his recent WGN radio interview reflecting on Williams’ life, go to Remembering Andy Williams.
Gloria Bowman is a writer, storyteller, blogger, movie lover, freelance editor, and author of the novel, Human Slices. Access her blog at www.gloriabowman.com; on Twitter @GloriaBow
East London-based Hot Tub Cinema is adding a simmering new dimension to the world of outdoor movie-watching. And here I thought chaise lounges on the roof were a good idea.
(Thanks to Home Projectionist fan Bruce Bieber of Wines of Washington promotion agency for alerting us to this steamy trend.)
To celebrate their 20-years of hilarious success, the ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS gals have created three specials recently released to the U.S. market after airing to rave reviews on BBC. If you love Ab Fab, you need this in your stash of tv treasures.
Edina (Eddy), ditzy public relations agent, continues to struggle with aging; Patsy, her ever-stoned sidekick, continues to be confused. And Saffron (better known as Saffy) continues to be exasperated with the adults in her life.
For more information, go to http://www.bbcamerica.com/absolutely-fabulous/photos/20th-anniversary-special-3/#422
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