4.43am, thu5oct23

How to Trump Abuse the Arnold Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIGc98h1r9M

I like Jimmy. I like Arnold. But combined, they're quite repugnant.

On the Monday, October 2nd, 2023 episode of JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE! on ABC (US vs OZ),  Arnold Schwarzenegger waxed divulgent upon Fatherhood, revealing that when the Nanny made his son's bed for him (which his son should've done, no fault there, but) Arnold "grabbed the mattress, threw it out the balcony down into the swimming pool".

There's more.

After three warnings to his daughter placing her shoes in the wrong place, he "threw them in the fireplace", into a roaring fire.

Three warnings? Absolutely fair. Take the shoes away, even punish with a day's Grounding (no kid today even knows what that means any more, but it was once a Major Discipline).

BURN THE SHOES...?!?!? WTF?

Jimmy, and the audience, encouraged Mr. Schwarzenegger.

Now, SnowFlakes may deserve their repulsive moniker, and this world's children could use more Basic Discipline and Guidance by their parental units.

But Abuse is Abuse.

End of.

Here are some recent DAY OF ANGER images -- thx to "Arch Stanton" for the one with Gemma, and thx to both "Arch" and "Maggie" for the Camera Test with measuring tape:

Bill Maher hates Film Fans

And this, from a long-time "fan" of Bill Maher (in all his Incarnations).

Over the years, I've lost count of the number of times I scrambled for the MUTE button watching his programs, when Bill starts discussing a new film, for fear of his ruining it for me.

But tonite, to this credit, there was actually a Spoiler Warning and I hit "mute" in time...then, after watching the various Panel members' (and esp Maher's) gesticulations, I figured it was "safe" to return to Audio...

And I was right...

...for less than 30 seconds!

At which point douchebag Maher blurted out a significant Plot Point for a film I was looking forward to seeing, GRAVITY.

Now, I have to wait long enuff to FORGET THAT I KNOW the Blurted-Out-Spoiler, or else just Never Watch the damn movie BECAUSE I KNOW THE ENDING!!!!

Reminds me (in this case, the problem's reversed) of Mickey Spillane's famous response to an idiot-Publisher's remark that "it wouldn't matter" if the Pee (sic, and obviously quote is a paraphrase) CUT any number of pages from Mick's book...

Spillane said, "OK, I'll give you my next book and cut Only One Word from it to prove my point."

And he did so...the end-line, after building up to Revealing the Murderer, was:

"And she was a ___."

(The key being, the Murderer had dressed as a woman, so "SHE" was a "HE".)

So, you know what, Bill Maher and all like-minded jerks who revel in spoiling stories for your audience?

Fawk U, BM (gee, that also abbreviates to Bowel Movement...how appropriate).

SIX STRINGS AND SIX-GUNS:

Lou Pecci's SPAGHETTI WESTERN THEMES ON NYLON STRING GUITAR

(a review, (c) 2012 by DamnCrazyGringo!)

Recently stumbled upon a fine li’l CD of instrumentals by Lou Pecci, SPAGHETTI WESTERN THEMES ON NYLON STRING GUITAR; it comprises a dozen cover tracks, plus one original.

Approaching Euro-Western film music, one cannot escape Ennio Morricone’s work, and most of this album draws from his oeuvre; but Pecci also covers other composers (prominent or, sadly, overlooked): Luis Enriquez Bacalov’s “Quien Sabe” (from BULLET FOR THE GENERAL), Gian Piero Reverberi’s “You'd Better Smile” (VIVA DJANGO), and Marcello Giombini’s “Hey Amigo, It's Sabata” (SABATA). Personally, it’s nice to see so many Lee Van Cleef films represented (FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE, SABATA, DEATH RIDES A HORSE, GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY) – but LVC was fairly prolific in Spaghettis, so no surprises there.

Pecci arranged the tracks chronologically, according to each film’s theatrical release date...a nice gimmick, actually: it creates a theme beyond the smooth tonal transitions from one cut to another. These touches provide hidden depths that encourage listeners to play the album start-to-finish, never mind over-n-over...an uncommon trait, these days.

The Morricone pieces range from the Leone films (FISTFUL, FF$M, GBU, DUCK YOU SUCKER) to NAVAJO JOE, GREAT SILENCE, DRaH, and FIVE MAN ARMY. Pecci works in ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, via his own tribute composition, "Once Upon A Time".

Throughout, his playing is uniformly flawless, and the overdubbing (necessary to include full notation of the songs), as well as echo and other special effects, make for an absorbing aural experience.

If this sounds intriguing to any of you, sample tracks (an’ maybe buy it!) here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/loupecci

Lee Van Cleef film-TV prints (Best Sources)

[This is an ongoing List, so check back -- and feel free to email me with your own suggestions for the Best Sources for prints of LVC's film & TV performances.]

BIG GUNDOWN, the [La Resa Dei Conti] (66-IT/SP) 1.47
"Franco Cleef" Restoration -- uncut Anamorphic (16:9) Widescreen (2.35:1), including Italian & English Audio Options, Optional English Subtitles, and a Trailer.
NOTES: "Franco Cleef" painstakingly and seamlessly spliced together a Definitive Version of this film from diverse International prints, cleaning up the image and audio to create a stellar print. Due to the varied Sources, a handful of shots (literally, under five minutes of film, total) are in the original Italian language with English subtitles, as this was the only way to include the scenes and compile a Definitive Version.
http://www.thedriveinconnection.com/fc.html


More to come....

Meanwhile, "Franco Cleef" (the Man Behind the Curtain, who worked his Wizardry on THE BIG GUNDOWN) provided me the following list of "the best and most complete versions" of Van Cleef's Spaghetti Westerns --- I'll expand upon the Details, as time permits:

TITLE // LANGUAGE // ASPECT RATIO // REGION CODE // DVD LABEL
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BAD MAN'S RIVER // English language // WS // PAL // Stonevision

BARQUERO * // English language // WS // NTSC // TCM

BARQUERO * // English language // FS // NTSC // Encore Westerns

BEYOND THE LAW // English language // WS // NTSC // Wild East

BIG GUNDOWN // Eng lang // 2.35:1 // NTSC or PAL // "Franco Cleef"

CAPTAIN APACHE // English language // WS // PAL // Stonevision

DAY OF ANGER // English language // WS // NTSC // Wild East

DEATH RIDES A HORSE // English language // WS // PAL // MGM-UK

EL CONDOR // Eng lang // OAR // NTSC // Warner Archive DVD-R **

GOD'S GUN // English language // WS // PAL // MGM UK
(FC comments: "best available; apparently is missing a second or two, haven't checked it".)

GRAND DUEL // English language // WS // NTSC // Wild East

KID VENGEANCE // English language // FS // NTSC // Legacy
(FC comments: "[Legacy] used a VHS source, best available right now".)

RETURN OF SABATA // English language // WS // NTSC // MGM

SABATA // English language // WS // NTSC // MGM

STRANGER AND THE GUNFIGHTER, the // Eng lang // WS // PAL // Seven (French DVD label)

TAKE A HARD RIDE // English language // WS // NTSC // Anchor Bay

===

KEY TO ABBREVIATIONS ABOVE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FS = Full Screen, approximately the shape of standard US TV screens -- 1.33:1 aka 4:3
-----
OAR = Original Aspect Ratio (as it was originally shot by the director)
-----
WS = Wide Screen [aka, "Letter Boxed"; either OAR or fairly close]
-----
Label Name in Italics = no professionally-produced DVD exists; Source is TV-Cable channel

* BARQUERO was shot Full Screen (or Full Matte), according to the best information available; Turner Classic Movies aired a WS version early this century, but it was indeed cropped to produce the "WS" effect [I have compared the two versions side-by-side to confirm this point]; thus, BARQUERO gets two listings, above.

** Warner Archive DVD-R collection: I receive NO stipend for this, it's merely in service of Fandom -- purchase EL CONDOR (et al WBAs) here:
http://www.wbshop.com/Warner-Archive/EXCLARCHIVE,default,sc.html
You can learn more than you would ever want to know about WBAs here:
http://www.wbshop.com/Warner-Archive/ARCHIVE_FAQ,default,pg.html


ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As is evident, I have chosen to organize the films via their best-known English Language Title.

I've also taken the liberty of placing "El Condor" under "e" -- rather than the standard format of dropping "the", "a", etc, when they occur at the beginning of a Title -- as the English Language release kept the Spanish Language Title (a place name) intact. If I were writing this List in Spanish,
I would position "El Condor" under "c"...but I'm not, eh?

Max Headroom

Film at 11.

(Or 12, or 1, or whenever the hell I get 'round to it....)

"It's all Tom B's fault!" ;)

Best,
DCG.