Archive for the 'Death!' Category

Bone Garden Blues: Jack Cardiff

Published
by
Pseudo
on April 24, 2009
in Death!
. 0 Comments

If you’re not familiar with the films of Powell and Pressburger, you need to find copies of Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes and Tales Of Hoffmann right now. One of the singular virtues of these films is that they were shot by esteemed cinematographer Jack Cardiff, who was and always will be a perfect example of how much a cinematographer can bring to a film.

He never used lighting, color, composition or camera movement for their own sake, unlike today’s filmmakers - he used these effects to express emotion, to enrich the characters, to create an environment or a mood. He used them in service of the story being told, a principle that has largely been forgotten.

In addition, Cardiff had a fine career as a director through the sixites and early seventies, adapting D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers for the screen. He also gave us a rollicking Viking saga with The Long Ships, and one of my favorite adventure films - Dark Of The Sun, starring Rod Taylor and Jim Brown. He eventually returned to cinematography, shooting big-budget Hollywood genre films such as Death On The Nile, Ghost Story, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Conan The Destroyer and Tai-Pan. He died on April 22nd at age 94 .

RIP, Mr. Cardiff. You were a master.

Bone Garden Blues: Maurice Jarre

Published
by
Pseudo
on March 30, 2009
in Death!
. 1 Comment

Yesterday we lost one of the truly great composers from the Silver Age of film scoring - Maurice Jarre has died of cancer at age 84. A casual look at his credits will describe his greatness far better than I can. Lawrence Of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, Ryan’s Daughter, A Passage To India, all for director David Lean. The Professionals, Night Of The Generals, Grand Prix, The Man Who Would Be King, Shogun, Witness, Ghost. And a couple of lesser-known but personal favorites - Tai-Pan and Lion Of The Desert

I first became aware of Jarre in the 1980’s, when he jumped on the sci-fi bandwagon, composing terrific scores for Enemy Mine, The Bride and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. He even dabbled in synthesizers for Witness and Dreamscape. And much like Elmer Bernstein with Airplane! or Miklos Rozsa with Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid, he played it completely straight for Top Secret! making it all the more hilarious.

The 1990’s started with a bang when Ghost introduced him to a generation that hadn’t even been born when Lawrence Of Arabia was released - but in the following years, his music became more subdued with scores like Jacob’s Ladder, Shadow Of The Wolf, School Ties, A Walk In The Clouds and Sunshine. Epic adventures and dramas had fallen out of fashion, and to his credit he adapted to the marketplace, producing delicate and intimate work. To quote Norma Desmond, he was still big, it’s the pictures that got small. In 2001 he quietly retired, but remained in the spotlight with concerts, festivals, and multiple re-recordings of his classic work.

In a world that becomes increasingly computerized and mediocre with each passing day, it’s sad to mark the passing of someone who could conjure such emotion with paper, pen, and a conductor’s baton. The best thing I can say about Jarre is that David Lean photographed the desert in Lawrence Of Arabia, but Jarre evoked it with his brilliant music.

Bone Garden Blues: Paul Newman

Published
by
Pseudo
on September 27, 2008
in Death!
. 14 Comments

This morning I awoke to sad news - Paul Newman has checked out at age 83, reportedly from lung cancer.

In an odd coincidence, I was on a bit of a Paul Newman kick lately, having watched both Absence Of Malice and Slap Shot in the past few weeks. The two roles could not be more different - adult drama and profane comedy - yet he succeeded admirably at both.

Indeed, he seemed to succeed admirably at just about everything. Slim, blue-eyed and impossibly handsome, he wisely exploited his good looks to achieve fame, but also used them as leverage to choose good roles - Hud, The Hustler, and Cool Hand Luke being prime examples. A Method actor who began his acting career in the theatre, Newman successfully walked the tightrope that Marlon Brando couldn’t - he balanced being a star with being an artist.

And Newman was also one of Hollywood’s finest examples of aging gracefully. When his hair turned grey and his star began to fade, he didn’t try in vain to remain young, like so many others.

Instead, he embraced his age and tackled roles like The Verdict, Color Of Money, Nobody’s Fool and Twilight - roles equally if not more complex than the troubled young men he had played in the past, but now dealing with the troubles of middle-aged men - and eventually, those of old men.

His acting career aside, Newman was, by all accounts and appearances, simply an admirable human being. In interviews he came across as intelligent and humble, he maintained a long and happy marriage to Joanne Woodward, and he launched the nonprofit brand Newman’s Own, which has given an astonishing 250 million dollars and counting to charity. When Hollywood liberals tout their credentials as philanthropists, they had best look at what Mr. Newman accomplished and bow their heads in shame.

And the greatest compliment I can pay to him is this - I can think of no actor like Paul Newman who existed before him, and I feel absolutely certain that there will never be another actor like him in the future. Smart, handsome, charismatic, humble, dedicated… he was the whole package.

So long, Mr. Newman - you truly were one of a kind.