In honor of 007’s remarkable milestone of 50 years in the movies, London’s Barbican Centre has opened a new exhibit, “Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style.” The show runs through through September 5. I may have to plan a last-minute trip to London this summer.
When I was 10 years old, as part of the family’s weekly trek to see the latest movie, I saw my first Bond film — GOLDFINGER. I had never seen such an adult movie, and I was fascinated…and worried by it. I worried about a few simple things: like would I ever get to hear that theme song again, and why did so many people laugh when Honor Blackman introduced herself as Pussy Galore?
But there were so many other worries that the film produced. For days and days afterward, I fretted about what it would feel like to be sliced in half by a laser or to be sucked out an airplane or to die from “skin suffocation” from being painted gold. I never knew so many exotic things could happen to people.
In addition to worrying about the various gruesome disasters that could happen in life, I couldn’t stop thinking about Sean Connery. He was — and ever will be — my James Bond. So devastatingly handsome, so clever, so composed — and just so plain dreamy. He was certainly different from George, Paul, John, and Ringo, and the guys in the Dave Clark Five and Paul Revere and the Raiders. They were cute. Bond was dangerous.
And oh how I worried that I would meet someone like James Bond one day. I would fall for him hard.
Even at 10 years old, I knew that having a man like that in my life would be nothing but trouble.
Fifty years later, Bond’s iconic look still captivates me and the rest of the world. How could it not?
The Barbican show explores the whole Bond brand she-bang — from clothes to cars, to the girls and the gadgets. And I’ll be watching GOLDFINGERand several other Bond movies this year in honor of his 50-year presence on the silver screen, complete with a martini or two. Shaken, and not stirred.
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
Watching movies while the air conditioning blasts away is one of the loveliest (and perhaps guiltiest) of summertime pleasures. Sometimes it’s just too darned hot to be outside playing volleyball and eating watermelon.
Films that feature heat waves are always are an entertaining choice while you’re sitting in the dark on a lazy afternoon, and there are so many excellent scorcher films to choose from — from Hitchcock’s REAR WINDOW (1954), with its absolutely perfect cinematic portrayal of summer, to Spike Lee’s very sweaty DO THE RIGHT THING (1989). It’s so hot inSEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955) that Marilyn Monroe suggests she leaves “the icebox door open and soak the sheets in ice water.” She decides against cold, wet sheets, but she does stand over the subway for a cool breeze. What people did before a-c.
It may not be easy, but if you provide copious amounts of cold beer or shandy, home-made sangria, frozen margaritas, or other icey concoctions, you may be able to get your friends out of their own air-conditioned environments and over to your place to enjoy a cool lineup of films during these dog days of summer.
In memory of author Ray Bradbury, who wrote the original story, you may want to consider the sci-fi classic, IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953). It’s hot out there in the Arizona desert. In a memorable movie line, Sheriff Matt Warren says, “Did you know, Putnam, more people are murdered at ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit than any other temperature? I read an article once — lower temperatures, people are easy-going. Over ninety two, it’s too hot to move. But just ninety-two, people get irritable.” (And remember that 92 degree threshold if you’re tempted to make an insulting hand gesture when someone cuts you off in traffic on a 92 degree day.)
A campy little gem, with a few great songs like “Banana Boat,” is CALYPSO HEAT WAVE (1957). This one is worth a watch, especially because of appearances by Johnny Desmond, Joel Grey, and Maya Angelou. Yes, Maya Angelou.
And then there’s Lawrence Kasdan’s sexy and suspenseful BODY HEAT(1981), a noir homage to THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE and DOUBLE INDEMNITY. Sure, it’s the 1980s during a heat wave in Florida and no one turns their air on. No matter. Kathleen Turner provides some shocking smolder, and William Hurt is an excellent sleaze. Mickey Rourke and Ted Danson also appear. The film still holds up as a compelling thriller, and it’s steamy enough — really, really steamy — that you might want to select your at-home viewing audience carefully.
Have a Happy Fourth. Turn off the lights and turn down the thermostat. When the temperature soars, what will you be watching?
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
It is a rare documentary indeed that makes for an enjoyable group viewing event, but WORDPLAY (2006) is definitely worth adding to your Home Projectionist list. Think three-letter word for jewel: This film is a G-E-M.
Brilliantly directed by Patrick Creadon, WORDPLAYdelves into the smart and quirky subculture of the crossword puzzle. It’s a world of intelligence, humor, and passion populated by fanatic puzzlers, including New York Times editor Will Shortz (who actually devised his own college major in puzzling) and celebrity crossword fans such as Jon Stewart, Ken Burns, and Bill Clinton.
My father was a crossword fan, and some of my favorite childhood memories are of my dad giving me crossword solution insights and the scoop on good words to know. But whether you’re a crossword fan or not, this film keeps you entertained from beginning to end.
The drama — and yes, there is big drama — is centered around the dynamics of the 2005 Crossword Puzzle Tournament, and it will have you at the edge of your seat. Even a segment about the construction of a crossword puzzle is mesmerizing and provides more than a few “who knew?” moments. At the core of the film, of course, are the crossword puzzle enthusiasts themselves, a cast of some of the most eccentric, delightful, and engaging human beings you’ll have the pleasure to meet. (And their ghosts may still linger in the tournament halls.)
The DVD package for WORDPLAY includes additional commentary on puzzle construction, extended interviews with puzzlers, and deleted scenes. These extras can round out a great night of Home Projectionist entertainment , and you can even add in your own crossword competition at home with your friends.
Get out your pencils…and your projectors. WORDPLAYis a w-i-n-n-e-r.
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
Doomsday scenarios are the stuff that films are made of — from last year’s melancholic MELANCHOLIAto the newly released comedy SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD.The demise of the planet can certainly stoke our imagination. (I hate to admit that I was little disappointed when, this past May, a team of archaeologists reported that the rumors regarding the Mayan calendar end-of-the-world predictions were greatly exaggerated.)
Frankly, if the end was nigh and a rogue asteroid was hurtling toward Earth, I don’t think I would choose to watch a movie. More likely, I would be curled up in a dark corner with some extravagantly fine red wine. But one never knows how one will respond to the news of such an event. So I want to be prepared.
After much pondering, I’ve come up with my top three selections for an imaginary End of Days Home Projectionist Film Festival. I’m relatively convinced that my choices are correct — but still waffling about the order in which I would show them. As of this writing, here is what I’m proposing:
PLANET EARTH(2006 BBC version)
Sure, this is really a 10-hour plus mini series but I’m giving myself some leeway. With its astounding images, coupled with Richard Attenborough’s soothing voice, this extraordinary achievement would seem to be the most appropriate love letter to our stunning planet as it departs the universe.
HARD DAY’S NIGHT (1964)
Neuroscientists have determined that the musical influences of our youth have a profound impact on the way our brains develop, and hearing familiar music releases all kinds of pleasure-inducing dopamines. So why not watch one of the most memorable films of my youth and get all the dopamine I can? I can think of no other movie that brings such unbridled happiness to me — for not only the music, but also the spirit, joyfulness, humor, and, of course, larger-than-life Beatles.
CINEMA PARADISO(1988)
This award-winning film — and its soundtrack — can bring me to tears just by thinking about them. (In fact, I’m crying right now.) With this absolute masterpiece, director Giuseppe Tornatore created a profound cinematic experience about the journey of life and how we love, aspire, lose, endure. And it has a perfect ending.
How would you program your own End of Days Film Festival? What would you watch? Let us know and we’ll compile the results. It may be a good list to have on hand. Be prepared, that’s what I always say.
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
Pride weekend here in Chicago, the weather is fabulous, and everyone’s gearing up for the festivities — I even got a robo phone call last night advising me of the new parade route. That’s some community power.
In honor of Pride Month, I’ve been looking at assorted lists of the Best Gay Films out there, and they include Brokeback Mountain, Beautiful Thing, Maurice, Milk, Hedwig, Priscilla, Jeffrey, and a range of other essential and important movies.
Unfortunately, missing from the lists I’ve seen is DIFFERENT FROM THE OTHERS(1919), Magnus Hirschfield’s groundbreaking and heartbreaking film starring Conrad Veidt.
And I’ve also noted that the smile-inducing documentary, THE TOPP TWINS: UNTOUCHABLE GIRLS (2009) isn’t front and center on the lists as well. I am formally nominating it as a must-see and encourage you put in on your Pride Month Home Projectionist list.
This feel-good, award-winning documentary by Leanne Pooley follows the lives of the absolutely delightful Jools and Linda Topp, lesbian twin sisters who are New Zealand icons (who knew?).
Talented as singers and comedians, and influential as political activists, the Topp Twins are inspirational (although their skits can be corny, they still entertain). The beauty of the film is that it shows how the sisters’ joyfulness, strength, intelligence, honesty, and authenticity lead to love and understanding — and influence a cultural shift. It’s a movie about the power of the human spirit and demonstrates what Pride is all about. In that, the Topp Twinns are totally untouchable girls.
The movie’s title song will stick in your head all weekend:
Happy Pride to all!
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
He’s still keeps ’em coming: Woody Allen’s new film To Rome With Love kicked off the Los Angeles Film Festival (www.lafilmfest.com) on June 14. Last year, Midnight in Paris (2011) was absolutely delightful (and who knew that I could ever fall madly for Owen Wilson?).
But for me, MANHATTAN(1979)still shines. It’s beautiful look at, has a smart script and memorable performances, and it’s a classic that deserves a revisit. I am always surprised how much I love it every time I see it, and it’s a stellar film for a Home Projectionist event.
Shot in black and white to stunningly show off the grit of the city (and the shades of gray of the dilemmas that characters face), the film is rich with Allen Angst and hapless hilarity (although you may laugh out loud only a few times). Allen — along with Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, and Meryl Streep — ruminate, wallow, digress, change partners, fall in love, and fret, fret, fret, good lord how they fret about their daily little lives. And for all their self-absorption, you love them nonetheless.
The film’s locale provides a long list of options for themed entertaining. Manhattans for cocktails and an array of potential menu items from deli trays to Waldorf salad, bagels to dirty water hot dogs, and hot pretzels to New York cheesecake. (The downside is that there are so many options and it’s hard to choose.)
As a special bonus, a recent viewing of the film spawned a spur-of-the-moment, made-up game called “What You Saw In the Movie That You Don’t You See So Much Anymore.” The list included a typewriter, smoking in restaurants, luggage without rollers, a dictaphone machine, big telephones, racket ball, women with really bad perms and tiny boobs and no bras. Oh yes, and when was the last time you heard someone talking about Kierkegaard?
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
Welcome to Home Projectionist, a unique forum for people who love watching movies and sharing the experience with the people in their lives.
Home Projectionistis for the would-be movie theater owner. If someone handed you the keys to Manhattan’s Angelika, Chicago’s Music Box, San Francisco’s Castro, or L.A.’s Egyptian, how would you handle programming?
You know you’re a Home Projectionistwhen you’re inspired (as we are) by the possibilities that exist – be it with the classics, the campy, the quirky, the contemporary, or anything else that we happen to discover to share on our home screens — no matter how big or small they are.
Home Projectionist is about adding a meaningful third dimension to a two-dimensional movie by creating a shared experience with our friends and family. Not only do we enjoy connecting our guests with compelling and entertaining films, but we also have fun adding unique touches — like showing cartoons or clips or serving themed food and drink.
Home Projectionists share a certain fondness for the movie experience of the past, where the draping curtains added an air of mystery, when we weren’t bombarded by commercials and overwhelming prices, when the audience was attentive and respectful, and when there was a definite magic when you went to the theater. Home Projectionists still love going out to the cinema, but they’ve discovered the pleasure of being programming director and host in their own homes.
At Home Projectionist, we’ll be talking about films, resources, technology, industry news, themes, menus — you name it. We want to count you among the proud Home Projectionistsout there.
Join us by subscribing to our blog site, Liking us on our Facebook page, and following us on Twitter. Stay tuned!
(And the award goes to….Home Projectionist blogger Dave Hunter for his talent and commitment to creating this site, graphics, and the outstanding Home Projectionist logo. See Dave’s work at http://www.dhdd.net/ )
If I set my Way Way Back Machine to 1976, I can recall being addicted to the Masterpiece Theatre I, CLAUDIUSmini series the same way I am addicted today to Downton Abbey, Mad Men, and the Housewives of New Jersey.
Earlier this year, the 35th anniversary edition of the BBC I, CLAUDIUSseries was released. What memories that announcement brought back.
Although I clearly remember being enthralled with every episode of I, CLAUDIUSthat I watched on television in the ‘70s, I don’t clearly remember the home projection screening of the series we did sometime in the ‘90s.
Blame the summer heat and copious amounts of red wine for the fuzzy recollections, but our screening of I, CLAUDIUS was memorable nonetheless. (It still comes up once in awhile when friends reminisce – a true sign of a Home Projectionist success.)
A small group of us who are old enough to have seen the original airing of I, CLAUDIUSwere raving about it to our friends who hadn’t seen it. We wanted to show off our new big screen and agreed to make a true marathon event out of it — hunkering down for a screening of 13 episodes on two consecutive Sundays during one of the hottest spells of summer.
Everyone came in on the first Sunday at noon looking limp from the 90-degree heat and 100 percent humidity. They immediately perked up when the blast of over-conditioned air hit them at the door.
The food theme was “Bring Something Mediterrean,” and the kitchen was overflowing with olives, grapes, dried meats, roasted peppers, bruschetta, fabulous cheeses, and an obscene number of bottles of Italian wines. After eating a drinking a bit, people moved into the living room and scrunched up on the couch, grabbed dibs on chairs. We didn’t have enough seating, so in true Roman style, there was also a lot of lying around on the floor.
The opening credits were riveting, the theme, and that snake sliding over the tile floor. So far, so good. But I remember feeling a bit panicked when the first scene appeared with its playhouse production style. I could sense a collective groan.
But within only minutes, really, everyone was drawn in and my worries were over. How could they not be mesmerized?
The cast and performances are over-the-top stellar. Derek Jacobi stammers his way through the leading role as hapless Claudius. Sian Phillips brilliantly plays the evil matriarch Livia while Brian Blessed blusters around as Emperor Augustus. Star Trek fans will be excited to see a young Patrick Stewart in a leather skirt playing the handsome and crafty military officer Sejanus. And John Hurt absolutely kills it as Caligula. Absolutely kills it.
The whole series is a kind of Survivor game show with insider politics and power plays, murder and mayhem, insanity and sexual intrigue…and more sexual intrigue, a few battles, and more sexual intrigue.
During the first day of our mini series marathon, we took long breaks between episodes, and even though we started watching at noon, we didn’t stop until the late, late evening. And copious bottles of wine were empty. Everyone had a bleary-eyed Monday morning.
The next Sunday, the same group of friends reappeared for Round Two, bringing along a repeat of the last Sunday’s Mediterranean spread, as well as a few new participants. We held a plot recap to catch up everyone on the story so far and settled in for the last six episodes.
As the day went on, the breaks between episodes got longer and longer. Sam, who knew the in’s and out’s of Roman history, helped clarify some of the genealogy and missing links. (Note that the 35th anniversary edition has featured extras that will help in that arena.)
I had anticipated that the group would go home early on the second Sunday and that there was no way that we would have a late-night repeat of the week before. But when the last episode was done and I, CLAUDIUSreached its wonderful conclusion, no one went home.
Everyone migrated back to the kitchen to refill glasses and happily pick at leftover dried up cheese and other unappetizing bits and pieces. There was a weird kind of spirit in the air and a sense of ensuing late-night drama. I knew that our own little reenactment of a Roman soiree was going to continue when I walked in on an improbable make-out scene (that still makes me shake my head), and then later when, courtesy of Miss P. Caster, some rock band’s tour bus and entourage pulled up in front of the house.
Sometimes, life can imitate art.
I woke up in the morning to find one friend asleep on the bathroom floor, and he was holding a bowl of grapes.
If you’ve never seen I, CLAUDIUS put it on your Home Projectionist must-see list. And let the intrigue begin.
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
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