(Movie) The Sunshine Boys directed by Herbert Ross

What do you get when you put two old retired showmen together for one last show? especially when they cant stand the sight of each other? and when one is absolutely irritatingly and lovingly cantankerous and the other is suffering is suffering from slight dementia?

The answer is one hell of a rip-roaring hilarious movie!!!

Willy Clark (Walter Matthau) and Al Lewis (George Burns)were one of the best known vaudeville comic pair but who fell out when Lewis retired suddenly…now cut to the present. They are old but have lost none of their rancour. That's the fun part!!!

Now many years later Willy and Lewis are given a chance to get back together when Willy’s nephew Ben Clark (Richard Benjamin) gets a slot from ABC to pair them together…but the problem is that Willy does not want to because he still passionately hates the sight of Lewis. Lewis is willing but unwilling to put up with the bad behaviour of Willy…

The result is absolutely side-splitting. The dialogues are witty and the acting by the two lead guys and the poor nephew who is caught between an ancient feud is serious fun. The contrast between the acting of Willy (every muscle in his face seems to act on their own) and Lewis (placid and unchanging expression) just about completes the picture. The ending is also very appropriate for the movie and is a perfect ending, according to me…

This movie cannot be explained..it needs to be seen and the blues will chase themselves out :) One of the best comedies I have ever seen!!! 

Labels: comedy, movies

posted by Protik Basu @ 9:54 PM 0 Comments

(Book) Paths of Glory written by Jeffrey Archer

“The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave,
Awaits alike th' inevitable hour:-
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.”

                                                       - Thomas Grey "ELEGY WRITTEN IN A COUNTRY CHURCH-YARD"

“Because its there” – attributed to Mallory, the response to a question as to why he ‘bothers'’ (to risk his life to climb Everest)

That the book was about one of most romantic-tragic character in history who has always fascinated me – George Mallory, was one of the main reasons that I picked up the book. I have always enjoyed Archer’s short stories collection but not his longer novels, so this required a leap of faith of sorts…But the subject matter and the undoubted talents of the writer swung the balance.

And I have not regretted that decision. From the first page of the book, the book sweeps you into an era that was the last great eras of human exploration, an era that ended in man’s final conquest of nature, a victory of the frail human body over all the odds thrown against it. It was an era when explorers and adventurers were arguably as much a celebrity that movie stars, if not more at certain occasions. It was an age when both the North and South Poles fell, when man started to conquer the airspace. The age ended with the landing on the moon bringing to a close the era of heroic explorers and discoverers. It was also during this age when many of the highest mountains of the world were conquered. This book is about this final conquest. And what high mistress of the mountains is there other than Chomolungma (or as we know by the British given name – Mt Everest). When did Everest yield and to whom? to Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, as we have been taught or did it yield to the intrepid George Mallory thirty years earlier, who when last seen before he disappeared in the mist near the summit, was a few hundred feet from the highest seat in the world?

The controversy has not been resolved yet, even though Mallory’s frozen body was found a few years ago by climbers. The evidence on his body threw open fresh controversies since the photo of his wife Ruth  was not found on his body. He had promised Ruth that he would put her photo on the summit when he climbed it.

This book takes us on a fictionalized account of the life of the climber and offers an opinion on what really occurred in 1924 after Mallory and Irving (his climbing partner) disappeared from view.

The main bulk of the book is devoted to knowing Mallory as a man rather than a legend and in this I feel that in this regard, Archer is excellent unlike what many other reviewers feel. We come across a man who is liberal in his thoughts and open to criticism and alternate views. In many ways, he is a man ahead of his time – especially in regard to women empowerment. Remember that at this time women did not have the right to vote and their education was frowned upon. His indomitable attitude to everything (especially to anything that needed climbing!!) is also brought out well. His skills as a mountaineer was astounding and he was proclaimed a genius even in his lifetime…

The book dwells at length on the fairy tale romance between Mallory and Ruth, the woman he fell in love at first sight and to whom he remained faithful and completely in love till the end. It was a love story which make the stuff of legends. His impassioned letters to her starting with “My Dear Ruth” have become one of the most well known correspondences in history. His last letter to her was almost prophetic and makes for emotional reading.

To woo her, he risked arrest by climbing a national monument in Venice!!!. An illustration of the love between them comes across when Ruth gives up security to encourage Mallory to go on his last fateful climb even though he had decided to give up climbing to stay with her since he did not want to lose her. She understood that men like Mallory can only rest when they had conquered what beckons them. The exchange in this regard between Ruth and Robert Scott’s widow is poignant and one of the hallmarks of the book.

The book is ultimately about the fatal attraction between Mallory and Mt Everest. It was the final frontier for a mountaineer and Mallory was arguably the best man available to conquer the heights. But a combination of bad luck (WWI) and the prevalent ‘climbing ethics’ (called the amateur code – which included looking down on use of oxygen) prevented him from attempting the summit seriously until he was in his mid-thirties. So when he climbed his fateful climb, he knew very well that this was the last chance to imprint his name on history. He was also unlucky to not get George Finch, the only person he considered his rival, as his climbing partner due to the imperial frostiness (They did not want an Australian and a divorcee on top of a mountain which they considered theirs).

Of course we may never know what caused Mallory to never come back to safety and to Ruth and the book also leaves the question hanging though Archer does make him the first conqueror of the mountain.

The book is fast paced and covers all aspects of his life. And because you know what is going to happen in the end, the chronicle of his short life becomes even more evocative. You almost wish that he did c0nquer the mountain. But even if he didn't, he set an example for all the men to follow – by his open minded attitude, his leadership qualities, his humanitarian approach to climbing (when he gave up an attempt on the top because of an injured partner when he could have gone on – a contrast to many modern climbers who forget this alpine spirit) and above all for his spirit of adventure…

One of my unforgettable reads…

Labels: adventure, Books, historical

posted by Protik Basu @ 6:51 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) Spartacus directed by Stanley Kubrick

For me, the best Roman era epic to come out of Hollywood. For me, Spartacus beats hollow Ten Commandments and its ilk. For me, this is mainly because firstly this has a historical element to it (and I am fascinated by the history of slave rebellions – and the most famous name in that history always goes to Spartacus), which makes it real and believable. Secondly there is no preaching a la Moses et al which can make you cringe…

The story is about Spartacus (played by Kirk Douglas – the better of the two Douglas according to me!!!) and his doomed slave rebellion (the Third Servile war). It was the most successful slave rebellion in the history of the Roman empire, a rebellion which threatened Rome itself. It was a rebellion which had in its army some gladiators (Spartacus and his generals were all gladiators) while the majority were hastily trained slaves who seemed magically to destroy almost any legions that the Romans threw at them and which reached a point when Rome did not have legions to defend itself and had to recall legions fighting abroad to come to their rescue. It was a rebellion that took three whole veteran armies to destroy though by this point Spartacus’ army was very much weakened.

Spartacus has been an inspiration to centuries of rebels fighting oppression, most notably Toussaint L’Ouverture (he was called the black Spartacus by the French). Indeed his legend has lived on through the centuries as a symbol of uncompromising and heroic defiance of tyranny (and Imperialism).

Of course since the movie is only three hours long, Hollywood simplified the whole rebellion, shortening it and making a linear structure to the whole process (when in fact there were many twists and turns in the actual rebellion). In the process, it also manufactured a somewhat fictionalized account of the life of Spartacus (Very little is known of Spartacus himself historically – his body was never found). But its a beautiful job done since the only the peripheral elements are changed to bring cohesiveness to the story. And Kirk Douglas is sublime as the leader of the rebels where he is projected as a freedom fighter who aims to free all the slaves in the empire and allow them to go back to their homes. Historians agree that his actions did aim for the freeing of the slaves (though not from all the empire – just whatever he could do).

The movie starts with Spartacus as a slave when he is bought by a Gladiator trainer for his Gladiator school. He falls in love with a slave girl, Varinia, there but there is little he can do about except steal glances and long for her silently. However a small rebellion starts when a show is put up for Crassus and his entourage where the four gladiators are forced to fight to death. Spartacus is defeated but his opponent Draba refuses to kill him, instead charging up the podium towards Crassus, being killed in the attempt. The mood turns ugly in the camp and the spark is lit when Spartacus sees Varinia being taken away to Rome where Crassus had bought her and kills the guard who jeers at him. The other gladiators join in and the rebellion starts…

The story of how the rebellion progresses and how from being dismissed off a gang on a small time rampage, the rebellion is slowly seen as a major threat by the Roman Senate whose armies are decimated systematically by the poorly equipped and semi-trained slave army…Along the way, the story develops Spartacus’ personality, his love for Varinia, his loyalty towards his men (refusing to save himself at the end) and more importantly his growth as a defender of the weak and the oppressed, giving them the strength to fight back, thus creating history.

The best scene in the whole movie is surely the “I am Spartacus” part (and a whole lot of fans of this movie would agree), when his men refused to give him up for a chance at liberty. This is of course not historical but I am sure the kind of man he supposedly was, it would have probably happened if the situation had actually occurred. This part is really the climax for me – the rebels defeated but unbowed. That really makes the movie perfect.

Another good part of the movie is the development of the personality of the main characters in the movie – other than Spartacus and his generals (especially Crixus), Crassus, Gracchus, Julius Caesar, the Gladiator school owner Lentulus Batiatus, Varinia and Antoninus. You understand what each man is fighting for and the movie also makes clear that there are no specific villains in the whole story, only heroes and victors. This, for me, is what makes the movie so compelling and moving.

Spartacus is a movie that should be watched by all…not only is it an epical tale well told but a tale that is told beautifully. It a movie whose scenes and dialogues stay with you for a very very long time…and you begin to understand the legend that is Spartacus…

Labels: book adaptation, historical, movies, revolution, true story

posted by Protik Basu @ 10:45 PM 0 Comments

(Movie) The Condemned directed by Scott Wiper

The Truman show, its not…it does not really bring in question our sense of reality and how warped it can become. Untraceable it is not - it does not show the incredible power of the internet in becoming the playground of a voyeuristic killer. Though the movie does bring in both elements, watch the movie mainly for the action of brawny men fighting it out barefisted!!! Even that is patchy, with it becoming watchable only when the two main guys fight it out…action wise, ‘Death Race’ was much better and it has a similar plotline…

The story is of a millionaire who hits upon a plan to double his capital assets by making ten men and women who were on death row in various countries fight each other to death in an island and have the action transmit live on the internet, an action that subscribers have to pay money to watch…the story is of how the ‘condemned’ ten try to kill off each other and how the whole plan goes awry at the end…

Its an interesting watch only if you discount the attempts to have the movie have a ‘message’. The movie tries to get you to consider the immorality of the whole proceedings and also tells you that because we watch, perhaps we are the ones who are ‘condemned’. But its all done in a half-baked manner and the politically correct statements make you a bit weary. And in fact the attempts to bring in the morality angle only prevents the movie from becoming a thoroughly enjoyable action movie, which it had a great potential to be…Another thing that gets a bit irritating is the fact that there is a sort of a brooding American Rambo which emerges at the end…Hate it when that happens…

So all in all, nothing new…every premise of the movie has been done much better in other movies. The movie does not really hold on to you and I found myself checking the watch in between…

Labels: action, internet, movies, thriller

posted by Protik Basu @ 10:35 PM 0 Comments