I won't count this as a "recently viewed" since I only caught bits and pieces of it on cable; I've seen it before anyway: Andy Warhol's Blood for Dracula, directed by Paul Morissey (it goes by a variety of aliases, most notably Andy Warhol's Dracula). It's a pretty inane film that I appreciate largely as a guilty pleasure. It stars the incomparable Udo Kier as the count, who, in this sexed-up version of the story, can only feast on the blood of virgins. He has targeted a family with comely daughters, all of whom, sad to say, get spoiled one after the other by a servant before Udo sinks his teeth into them. Like I said, it's an inane film (though prettily filmed in spots) that exists mostly so that the audience might enjoy watching Joe Dallesandro simulate the deflowering process with the winsome maidens. But here's why I'm mentioning the film at all: the score is wonderful! As I was watching, I was enthralled by the music and wondered who the composer could be. I assumed it was patched in music borrowed from some classical composer--a Ravel or Stravinsky (since it had affinities with both). No sir. It was an original score by one Claudio Gizzi, an Italian composer conductor who did other Warhol films as well as Polanski's Che? (which I have yet to find on DVD). The themes have a tenderness and poignancy wholly unbefitting the film (it hardly deserves it). Was there an oboe? I can't recall. But I'm on the hunt for it now and hope to locate it soon. (Sadly, the soundtrack is no longer available new.)
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Five things that might put a skip in your step despite the fact that Adam Sandler introduced The Who at their "VH1 Honors" show with an absolutely stoooopid take-off on "Magic Bus" that made me wish Pete would suddenly appear on stage and brain him with a Gibson SG: (1) Pickle soup at Otto and Anita's, a German restaurant in Multnomah Village, Portland. Sounds strange, I know. But it's the color of a robin's egg, filled with bits of pickle and dill, creamy, and served warm. Delicious. (2) The smells humidity draws out of the wood in an old house, such as my grandparents' house in Springfield, Illinois, or our old apartment in Chicago. A deep, varnished wood odor, as lovely as pipe-tobacco. (3) The incidental music on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Yes, I love the original Neil Innes stuff, but the symphonic pieces, supplied by clips from DeWolfe are wonderful. Am I the only person on earth who wants DeWolfe to release these pieces whole? Tell me, am I? (4) The newly revised Starbucks logo. I'm not a big fan of the company (especially after they bought out Torrefazione only to shut 'em down) but the recovery of the old worldliness in the logo is nice, especially after the idiotic protests from the God squad against its showing too much boobage. (5) Kevin Kline's performance as Nick Bottom the Weaver in what is otherwise a merely passing version of A Midsummer Night's Dream directed by Michael Hoffman. As is often the case in his films, KK is the best thing in it. He gives the role a certain dignity that it deserves, and plays him not as an utter fool, but as mostly a foolish dreamer who believes intensely that art can change lives.
Bottom and Titania by Arthur Rackham
Ian investigating reading material.Adios.
JBF
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