Do yourself a favor: put on your best headphones and listen to all eight videos, either one at a time or all at once. You won’t regret it.
Eek! A Greek!
Of course I had to go see this despite reservations about Matt Damon. How could he possibly convince as the wily Odysseus? Well, the script helped him out by ignoring “wily” and turning Odysseus into a pensive, guilt-ridden bore, a complete anachronism. Mr. Damon had no problem with that.
But there’s plenty to like. Most of Homer’s Odyssey is a flashback, and Christoper Nolan handles matters temporal very well. The Polyphemus episode, as well as those of Circe and Scylla/Charybdis were excellent. As were the Shades emerging from Hades. Cool shipwrecks too.
The Laestrygons episode might have been better had Monty Python and the Holy Grail never existed. For some reason the giants were dressed in medieval armor, which made me expect them to demand a shrubbery or say “none shall pass.” As they were chasing the Greeks off the island, I was half-expecting the Greeks to start shouting “Run away, run away!”
In a similar vein, Agamemnon resembled Darth Vader, which seemed comical to me. I was reminded of Rick Moranis in Spaceballs.
Some of the inevitable changes to Homer worked well, others not. The movie cut the island of the Lotus Eaters, instead having Calypso give Odysseus lotus flowers to keep him forgetful and happy. Excellent idea. But for some reason Helen and Clytemnestra are now twins. Why? I get changes that make a leaner movie, but that seems random. And where the hell was Laertes?
Borrowing Sinon from the Aeneid was an excellent idea, but poorly executed. Excellent as a plot connection that I won’t get into here. But completely wrong as a character. Sinon was the point man for the Trojan Horse trick, a glib con-man. But in this movie he’s an awkward innocent who utters a few words after getting mortally wounded.
The Trojan Horse episode was well-depicted despite Sinon’s botched character and Agamemnon as Darth Vader. But due to Sinon’s reduced role and the absence of horse-doubters (Laocoon and Cassandra), the Trojans’ decision to accept the horse would seem like idiocy to those unfamiliar with the story. As a majority of Americans can no longer tell you who won WWII, that likely would be most people. Granted, Laocoon makes no appearance in Homer’s version, but if you’re borrowing Sinon to add coherence, why stop there?
My biggest problem with this movie involves a spoiler, so I’m mum on that.
Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend seeing it on the big screen. Shipwrecks. Mythical Monsters. Minimal CGI. Yes, please.
Another Horror Movie Restoration?
Grab a copy here, if you’re so inclined.
Sagittarius/Ballroom/Millennium
The various 60’s projects of Curt Boettcher are an addiction I come back to every couple of years. There’s a 30 minute Andrew Hickey episode on “My World Fell Down” that tells the full, ultimately sad story. Here’s what I know: “My World Fell Down” was originally a flop single by the Ivy League, a British band. Across the pond in LA, Gary Usher* thought it could be a hit, but he could find no takers. So he got some studio musicians (a pre-fame Glen Campbell on verse lead vocals and Bruce Johnston on chorus lead vocals) to record it. He pitched it to an A&R guy at Columbia who signed the “band.”
But there was no band, which Usher didn’t mention. Friend Curt Boettcher had a band called The Ballroom, mostly a studio project. Boettcher had made a name for himself by writing amazing vocal arrangements for the Association, among others. It’s his work you hear on their hits. He was a Brian Wilson type (BW admired him and was likely influenced by him) who spent many studio hours on a single song, which was unusual back then for anyone not named the Beatles or Brian Wilson. Anyway, Usher brought in Boettcher and the Ballroom to complete an excellent album which was released under the name Sagittarius. Boettcher ended up dominating the project. “My World Fell Down” and “Hotel Indiscreet” were released as singles. The first did ok on the west coast but flopped nationally. The other just flopped. Both single versions had Musique Concrete sections that were edgy for the time.
Boettcher’s next project was The Millennium. They made one album, Begin, which is brilliant, a sunshine pop masterpiece with far less filler than the Sagittarius album. At the time it was the most expensive album ever made due to CB’s obsessiveness. It flopped, so Columbia dropped them. Perhaps it could have gone somewhere had they not been so studio obsessed, or maybe sunshine pop needed the novelty of a family group like the Cowsills to sell it. I also wonder if the burgeoning acid rock scene up north in the Bay area rendered them passe. I’m not sure about the timing, but tastes changed very rapidly back then, and vocal pop was getting to be old hat.
And maybe it still is. Back when we were doing Music League, I posted a couple of the songs above, and they tanked. But but give them a shot. Some of it sounds twee, but the musical ideas are outstanding. I think all of the released music is available for streaming. Word is, there’s strong work that’s never become available. Even the released music used to be very hard to find. “My World Fell Down” appeared on Nuggets, and Various CD releases of the Sagittarius and Millennium albums trickled out over the years, but a small box of all the Millennium sessions didn’t come out until 2021. We’re in extreme cult territory here…
”Another Time” would have been perfect for The Carpenters.
*producer of the Byrds and Beach Boys, and best of all, the horror hot rod/surf album Dracula’s Deuce by the Ghouls, featuring such classics as “The Little Old Lady From Transylvania” and “Be True To Your Ghoul.”
I Love Shit Like This
I’ve been a David Shrigley fan for a while. In fact, I’m drinking coffee out of this as I type. Anyway, a few years ago he embarked on a new project that I found both hilarious and brilliant.
In 2017, a charity bookshop in Swansea, UK made headline news as a result of exhibiting several hundred copies of Dan Brown’s 2003 novel ‘The Da Vinci Code’ in its window with a sign requesting that no more copies of the book be donated as they had more than they could sell.
‘Pulped Fiction’ is a project by visual artist David Shrigley, who has produced a limited run of 1,250 copies of George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ made entirely from the pulped remains of unwanted copies of ‘The Da Vinci Code’.
In 2023, Pulped Fiction was launched at the very charity shop in Swansea that started it all. 250 copies were available to buy at an exclusive price. After selling out within the first hour, and making headline news, the remaining copies are now available to buy.
Throughout the journey David and his studio team were documented by filmmaker Jay Bartlett. Telling the story of how the project came to be and the numerous hurdles faced along the way, the documentary can now be seen online for the first time here.
And if you’re interested in picking up one of the few copies left, it’ll set you back £1095. Cheap!
The Curse of Frankenstein 4K Restoration
Some dude bought Hammer Films a few years ago and is restoring the catalog in 4K – from the original negatives! I found the YouTube channel and watched a few trailers; these things are absolutely stunning.
Anyway, here’s an eight-minute video explaining the process. I understood some of it.
Restoring A Porsche 914
I think I’ve mentioned before that my dad drove one of these briefly. I would push both of my grandmothers down the stairs for one now.
Anyway, enjoy or don’t.
Guillermo Got His Teeth Fixed!
And I’m super-excited to see his take on Frankenstein, apparently something he’s wanted to do for years. Even if it sucks, it’ll be gorgeous. Available on Netflix November 7, you monstrous bastards!
Oh, and if you haven’t checked out his Cabinet of Curiosities from a few years ago (also on Netflix), you definitely should.
I’d Like To Solve The Crime
What Superhero Movie Fatigue?
I’m all in on this one, mostly because the FF was one of my favorite comics as a kid. I mean, Ralph Ineson is Galactus? Come on!