Thursday, May 29, 2008

another great one gone...

Long before Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz broke each other up on SNL, Harvey Korman and Tim Conway were doing it on The Carol Burnett Show. Well- really Tim was cracking Harvey up. They were such a joy to watch and have been among my favorites, as I am sure among your favorites.

Now word comes that Harvey Korman has passed away at the age of 81 after a long illness. With so many legends and those who have contributed so much to our culture dying, it's terribly sad to see another one go. I loved Harvey on The Carol Burnett Show, and of course as Gazoo on The Flinstones, but perhaps my favorite Harvey Korman moments came in the Mel Brooks films- especially Blazing Saddles.


Very few could play the straight man so well, much less the humorous villian or charming rogue. Harvey had a special quality that in many ways reminded me of Bud Abbott. In fact had Harvey and Tim been active in the 40s and 50s, they might have been another famous comedy duo of that time and give Abbott and Costello a run for their money. It was nice to see that not too long ago, Conway and Korman were performing their two man shows again.


You can read the news of his passing here and here, and of course see imdb for more about his career. I'd like to remember him, laughing at Tim and his impossible straight face, and then fuming with comic menace.

Check out this clip of a skit of Tim and Harvey together from The Carol Burnett Show-classic stuff.




And, one of the funniest of Harvey's scenes in Blazing Saddles, where, among other things, we learn to bring enough gum for everyone:




He will be missed....


Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

It's not Hedy, it's Hedley. Hedley Lamarr.


Monday, May 26, 2008

thank you...

Today is the day (which should be one of many) that we set aside to remember those who fought for our freedom and to defend it. I know many of us will be grilling and doing lots of other things, as it's become more of an unofficial kick off to summer. But let's take a moment and remember what the day really is for, and perhaps to thank those who have served or currently serve in the military.

I personally would like to thank my own dad who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam Era and my grandfather who was in the Army during World War II. The both served with honor. Thank you Dad and Papa, for not only your service, but for your example and the hundreds of lessons you taught me.


I like to also read or reread books about the soldiers such as D-Day, Citizen Soldiers, The Coldest War and so many more, but one of my favorites is Ambrose's Band of Brothers. It was turned into one of the best mini-series/movies I've seen about the subject. I'm posting two clips from the series; one from the beginning where the 101st Airborne drops into Normandy as an advance for D-Day, and one from near the end of the series where a patrol comes across a Concentration Camp. WARNING- some of the scene is a bit graphic, but nothing too bad. But watching these two clips remind me of how much they saw, but how much they accomplished.

Here is clip one from Band of Brothers: Episode 2, Day of Days


And here is the second clip. This time from Episode 9: Why We Fight


Thank you- and Happy Memorial Day.

Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

I've come to realize that there is nothing good about war, but there is good in why you fight wars.


Sunday, May 25, 2008

jeff corwin's back!

Congrats to our Sabrina winners! It's was one of our biggest contests yet! If you didn't win, don't worry- our new contest begins today.

Out of all of the emails, we will randomly pick several winners who will each receive a copy of the recently released The Jeff Corwin Experience: Season Two. You may remember we had a contest for the Season One set earlier this year. Well here's your shot at Season Two. Everybody loves Jeff!
All you have to do send an email to randomshelf@hotmail.com (note the rules below) with a subject of Jeff Corwin 2 Giveaway in the subject line by June 1st at 11:59 pm est.

The rules are simple:

Email us your entry at randomshelf@hotmail.com
1.You MUST include: Your name and full address in the body of the email, and "Jeff Corwin 2 Giveaway" must be in the subject line.
2. The contest is only open to US residents
3. Only one entry per email address (and household, please!)
4. Contest ends on Wednesday, June 1st at 11:59pm. We will draw the winner and notify them by email sometime after the morning of June 2nd.

Please note that your information will be held confidential and will not be published and only used solely for identifying the winner and shipping the prize. Also, we will mail the prize to you, but cannot guarantee that the post office will treat it with the same respect as we will when we send it out. We will only guarantee that we will mail it to the address you provide to us.
So get those emails in and good luck!

Let the contest begin!

Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

I thought we were gonna get television. The truth is... television is gonna get us.


Saturday, May 17, 2008

three kings...

Just stopping by to share a youtube clip I found. I had no idea there had been a stage built that was strong enough to hold this much power. Enjoy!!





Please feel free to comment if the need strikes you.


In America you can go on the air and kid the politicians, and the politicians can go on the air and kid the people.

It is better to die as a wolf than living like a dog.




Thursday, May 15, 2008

film class redux


As many of you many remember I have been teaching an Introduction to Film Studies Class, and I asked readers to contribute suggestions for films to show to a class who have no experience in watching classic films. For the purpose of the class, I defined classic films as pre-1967 and modern classics as 1967-1999. Everything else fell under the heading of "recent." And, wow, there were some great comments everyone and great suggestions. (Impressive lists Laura & Jacqueline).

Here are some of your suggestions:
Ed: The Thin Man series.
Tammy: Casablanca & Citizen Kane
Caitlin: The Adventures of Robin Hood (Flynn style, yo)
brewjoe: The Wizard of Oz
Laura: Singin' in the Rain, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, Meet Me in St. Louis, Love Me Tonight, and of course Hitchcock: Notorious, Foreign Correspondent, North By Northwest and Rear Window.
Bryan: To Be or Not to Be (the mighty Jack Benny and lovely Carole Lombard)
and
Jacqueline: The Grapes of Wrath, My Man Godfrey, Mrs. Miniver, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Kid, Sullivan's Travels, Top Hat (or any Fred and Ginger), 42nd Street and The Lady Eve.

I also think Jacqueline had a great comment that deserves to be repeated: " I think we must make clear first that watching a classic film is like time travel. You just have to accept things you don't quite understand. Eventually, you will understand." That is very true, but I have also experienced that the basic elements of story and character can transcend time. The other parts of the film that may be dated or different, can be understood later. Which is one reason why repeated viewing of classic films can be great or instructive.When I interviewed Robert Osborne, erstewhile TCM host, earlier this year, I was struck by a comment he made:
"...some of these great movies we have..., [The thing about them] is that they almost refuse to let you leave once you get in. They’re like page turners in a book. One scene just takes you to the other. I’m forever saying, “Oh, well, I’m just going to wait until that scene where they do this or that scene where Ingrid Bergman does that”, but you’re still there at the end of the movie. It’s one of those things that’s so great about good film making."
Great films, not just classic films, all have the same quality: The ability to suck you in.

I've taken some of your suggestions and incorporated some of them. I've exposed my class to quite a bit, with varying degrees of success. My number one rule with them was, even for their weekly personal film viewing assignments, to watch something they've never seen before.
We watched in class:
The Third Man
In the Heat of the Night
Rio Bravo
The French Connection
The Jazz Singer
Double Indemnity
Bad Day at Black Rock
Singin In the Rain
North By Northwest
The Searchers

It has been interesting to hear their comments. I was really surprised by how much they took to certain films - like Singin in the Rain. None of them expressed any fondness for musicals- but they loved it. As Laura said: "Singin' in the Rain is a good one because the comedy wins them over." Very, very true! They were also impressed by the dancing- it really floored them. Some of them even asked why we don't see that kind of talent anymore. It goes to show - sometimes a great flick is a great flick.

I've even been more surprised by some of their personal choices- one student watched Anna Karenina with Vivian Leigh because it was on, and she needed to watch a film for class. She loved it and has since been exploring more of Vivian Leigh's films. She also loved Imitation of Life- and I've recommended some other films like Waterloo Bridge, All This and Heaven Too, Gaslight, Camille, and others- and now that student is off on a great journey of her own.

In an introductory class such as this- I think the main goal is just that: introducing students to many types of films and give them the tools to be able to interpret or understand them. That requires lessons in film terms, film techniques and film history in addition to showing films that display some of the topics discussed. For a more advanced class I think silent films, foreign films and others would be ripe for discovery. In fact, if I had access to a decent copy of Greed, I would've shown it anyway- it is that good.



All in all, I think success comes from their willingness to explore more films (especially further back than the 80's as I found that's where their "movie memory", as it were, stopped). And I don't think I could've said it better than one student who said- "the great thing about these old movies, is that there a whole bunch of them to watch." Exploring is always more fun when there is a lot of treasure to find.

Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

Talking pictures, that means I'm out of a job. At last I can start suffering and write that symphony.


Tuesday, May 06, 2008

this contest will put a spell on you

Congrats to our Growing Up Wildcats winners! We've had many entries- so thanks for entering and if you didn't win, don't dispair...
Our new contest begins today. Out of all of the emails, we will randomly pick 3 winners who will each receive a copy of the recently released Sabrina: The Teenage Witch: The Complete Series. You remember all the Archie series from the sugarery cereal overload from the Seventies? Well you'll remember Sabrina too. Archie fans will want to get in on this one. All you have to do send an email to randomshelf@hotmail.com (note the rules below) with a subject line of Sabrina Giveaway in the subject line by May 14th at 11:59 pm est.

The rules are simple:

Email us your entry at randomshelf@hotmail.com
1.You MUST include: Your name and full address in the body of the email, and "Sabrina Giveaway" must be in the subject line.
2. The contest is only open to US residents
3. Only one entry per email address (and household, please!)
4. Contest ends on Wednesday, May 14th at 11:59pm. We will draw the winner and notify them by email sometime after the morning of May 15th.

Please note that your information will be held confidential and will not be published and only used solely for identifying the winner and shipping the prize. Also, we will mail the prize to you, but cannot guarantee that the post office will treat it with the same respect as we will when we send it out. We will only guarantee that we will mail it to the address you provide to us.
So get those emails in and good luck!

Let the contest begin!

Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

I thought we were gonna get television. The truth is... television is gonna get us.


Saturday, May 03, 2008

yes, yes, I know...



We haven't had a post in over a week. Believe me, it has been one doozy of a week. With finals in a few of my classes coming through, it should lighten up just a bit. Meanwhile, when I can spare a little time, I've been watching films for review here on the Shelf.

Here are the upcoming reviews being written, written, or worked on by the staff here at The Shelf:
Forbidden Hollywood Vol. II
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Bette Davis Signature Collection Vol.3
Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory Vol.3
Sabrina the Teenaged Witch the Complete Animated Series
What Not to Wear: Mom Makeovers
Trading Spaces: The Specials

And a couple more coming up - so stay tuned this week. We will also have a special post on Frank Sinatra and the goings on in May at TCM.

In the meantime- I've got a short polling question for all you Shelfers out there. I am finishing up a film studies class and I have been showing classic films to the class, which has been their first exposure to them. What film would you recommend for a first time viewer of classic films. The class has seen, among others, The Third Man, In the Heat of the Night (which they loved), Rio Bravo, The General (Keaton) and others. What are your picks? Please put your suggestions in the comments section of this post and we'll gather your picks for a future post on an introduction to classic films!

Oh, I know it's a penny here and a penny there, but look at me. I worked myself up from nothing to a state of extreme poverty.

I've got to get busy writing - busy, busy, busy!


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