GEORGES MELIES: GENIUS

As you know, Georges Melies was the father of film special effects. He was also a very great filmmaker. He's in my Pantheon of personal heroes, meaning that any important move I make must in my imagination be layed out before him for his comment and approval. Martin Scorcese's "Hugo" was about Melies and some of the images here are from that film. I thought I'd discuss a few of those images here. 

Melies was a terrific artist and his "Trip to the Moon" was full of iconic images.  How did he ever come up with the unforgettable image of a row of pretty sailors (above), all holding each other at the waist, and loading a giant canon? 

The composition seems crowded. You could argue that the rooftops and girl soldiers at attention were unnecessary. You could argue that the complex composition was uncinematic and too influenced by print media. You could argue that, but you'd be wrong. Melies had a knack for that sort of thing and a knack trumps everything. 

The girls wave triumphantly after the capsule's loaded. Melies had live theater experience and knew you had to give the audience a release, a chance to cheer, after a powerful visual image.

Melies was a stage artist with lots of experience in the beautiful cluttered look of Victorian era set design. It's very mannered, but I infinitely prefer this to modernist minimalism.

In real life, stage sets like this (above) would have required awkward blackouts to cover the scene changes. On film Melies had only to cut to a whole new set-up, ready-made.  He must have found that liberating.

So far as I know Melies' artistic skills were self taught. That's amazing!  I saw a good print of this film on Steve's giant home theater screen and the effect was overpowering.

Melies wasn't the only director to paint the frames of his films, but he was the only one who did it right. 

The dyes used for film paint were unrealistic and seemed out of place in ordinary dramas. That kind of theatrical color, with its puffs of crimson smoke, worked best on Melies' kind of fantasy stories.  

Melies possessed enormous charm. Here (above) he has his astronauts sleep like children on the lunar surface and dream of outer space. Imagine that...there they are on the dangerous, rugged surface of the moon and they dream of funny Greek Gods.

It's fun to imagine what the NASA lunar astronauts of our own era dreamed when they were falling asleep on the Moon. In the midst of all that sophisticated equipment I'll bet they fell asleep thinking of girls they kissed in cars when they were in school. Melies would have seen the humor in that. Humans are such puny and silly things yet somehow we're also suffused with greatness.

Of course Melies' stars (above) don't hold themselves up. They had to be held up by beautiful girls.

Melies owned a live action theater devoted to magic, and I imagine the sets from his films did double duty as stage backdrops. Geez, wouldn't you have loved to see what the stage shows were like?

Melies was a magician who made movies. There were no rules in those days, filmmakers just did what looked like fun. Now rules dominate. Did you ever see Syd Field's film books? Fields tells you exactly where every beat of the film should fall, and how long it should last [actually, I admire Fields for sticking his neck out like that]. How different things are now!

If I understand right Melies was the chief designer of the sets used in his films. That's amazing. He was university educated in the liberal arts, was a successful business man, an artist, a professional magician, an engineer, an inventer, a theater owner, a filmmaker (some 400 shorts) and a film pioneer. Was there anything this man couldn't do?

For his film Scorcese lovingly recreated the energy in the old Melies studio (above).

Steve says Melies' sets were made of painted cardboard.

Eventually tastes changed and Melies was reduced to near poverty. Many of his films were burned by creditors for the silver content. He only escaped utter destitution because his friends got together enough money to buy him a toy kiosk at a railroad station (above). I wish I could have seen what toys he chose to sell.

This is the fate of so many creative people. In order to achieve what they do they have to focus their whole passion and intellect on one thing, then when that one thing is superceded they're reduced to an empty shell. Boy, life can be tough!

EDDIE REVIEWS TRADER JOE'S

"Hi! Uncle Eddie here! I just left Trader Joe's. I thought I'd stop for coffee on the way home and chat about the food I just got. I can only talk for a few minutes, though. I have frozen food in the car.

"What the heck!?"

"Oh, that's an endless loop of Kate Upton. She's the new spokesman for Carl Jr's. They're trying to change their image."

"Anyway...the food! The big news is a Trader Joe's frozen TV dinner called Chicken Tikka Masala. Don't dismiss it just because it's a TV dinner. It's just as good as the Tikka Masalas you'd get at an Indian restaurant, and beats the Masalas you buy in jars by a mile. Eat it with Trader Joe's Whole Wheat Naan. Their naan isn't exactly authentic, but it's still pretty good. "

"The only problem is, the Masala's portions are a bit on the skimpy side. It's kinda pricey considering how little you get."

"I thought about making it myself, using the contents list on the box as a guide, but that might not work. In India they use fresh spices and let them simmer all day long. When they cook a meal, they're primarily cooking the spices...the rest is just an afterthought. You might need a knack to do that."

"Next on the agenda is another indian dish, "Punjab Choley." Man, that's good! I've had it every few weeks for a year now and I've never gotten tired of it. Not only that, it's only two bucks a box. What a deal!"

"I was about to say that it's just as good as restaurant choley, but I think it IS restaurant choley. I'll bet restaurants have mountains of those boxes in the back. They just open up the pre-cooked packets like I do and microwave them."

'"Hmmm, is there anything else? Maybe I better throw in a negative review so I don't look like I'm on the take from Trader Joe's."

"Well, the TJ kimchi was only so-so. A Korean friend got mad at me for even daring to buy the store-bought kind. Boy, Koreans take their kimchi VERY seriously. They think it has mystical properties. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to raise the dead with it."

"Okay, I'm outta here."

"Wow, an interesting ad!"

MY CONNECTION WITH THE HOLOCAUST

It's a tiny, tiny, tiny connection to be sure, but it's still a connection. I'm just amazed that an Anglo cartoonist living in America in 2013 (me) would have any personal connection at all, no matter how insignificant.

The story starts with a book of a German comic strip I bought at a book fair more than twenty years ago: "Aber Klarchen!" by M. Bertina. Most Americans won't know the name. It's a charming first edition compilation of a German newspaper comic from the 30s and early 40s about a mischievous little girl who's always playing tricks on adults. The drawings remind me of what German, Belgian and Dutch artists were doing in the 20s and 30s and I can even see the influence of one of my favorite 19th Century cartoonists, the gifted Wilhelm Busch.

Anyway, I bought the book for the cartoons, then promptly lost it when I got it home. Now, after rummaging through my garage, I found it again, only this time I paid more attention to the inscriptions inside, and to the old, yellow newspaper clippings (above) wedged between the pages.

According to an old, typewritten card by the book dealer, the book was taken from Heinrich Himmler's personal library. It had been a gift to Himmler's daughter Gudrun from her aunt. Sure enough, the inscriptions (above) bear that out. Gudrun's birth date is available on the net so, doing the math, I discovered that Gudrun received the book in 1941 on her 12th birthday.

According to the net sources Gudrun (above) is still alive, and in her old age is still "pin sharp." Since she was only a cartoon loving kid during the war I figured she probably shared the sorrow and regret of so many Germans from that era, and probably had completely disavowed her genocidal father. I actually thought of contacting her and selling her the book.

Well, that was my initial thought. As I read farther I discovered that, far from having regret, Gudrun is an unrepentant supporter of neonazis, actively raises defence funds for suspected war criminals, and has nothing but admiration for her dad. Yikes!

The affection for her dad isn't totally implausible. On the net I found several pictures of Himmler with his daughter and I have to admit that they're uncommonly moving. There's a gentleness and affection there. How odd that Himmler the loving father could be so merciless to other loving fathers and other daughters. How could the adult Gudrun fail to see the contradiction?

Anyway,  I'll keep the book for the time being while I figure out how to sell it.

THE BEST SHERLOCK HOLMES YET?

I found an Amazon review of this wonderful DVD set that so accurately reflects my own thoughts that I think I'll open with an abridged version of it. The reviewer wrote: 

"I needed another adaptation featuring Sherlock Holmes about as much as I needed a full frontal lobotomy. I patently refused to accept this new BBC adaptation and refused to watch it--but I relented (I'm so weak willed) and now, hat in hand, I repent. This glorious updating is fast, smart, and riveting entertainment. What an idiot I would have been to miss it!"

"Set in contemporary London, "Sherlock" modernizes three classic mysteries. Episode One is "A Study In Pink" and, by itself, it is an absolutely perfect film. The way the murder is introduced, the stellar screenplay, the ingenious play on familiar characters, the droll humor, the emotional resonance, and the technological innovation to update this tale all work in perfect harmony to create an unforgettable re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes." 

"Benedict Cumberbatch turns in a star making portrayal as Holmes. Cumberbatch, with his unorthodox appearance, has always stood out for me--but this is easily his most memorable performance.' 

"But surprisingly, it is Watson who is the real revelation here. Martin Freeman brings incredible depth as a war veteran who is alternately awed and frustrated by Holmes. While the banter is devised for maximum cleverness, there are real characters in "Sherlock." While Richie's cleverness led to a "too cool for school" vibe, the BBC version has actual emotional consequence by fully fleshing out the lead characters....[This] ranks with the best. KGHarris, 11/10."

Well said, K. G. Harris! I'll simply add that this BBC treatment also gives full vent to the philosophical side of Conan Doyle's creation. Sherlock can do what he does, not only because he has brains, but because he's able to screen out distractions and focus entirely on the problem at hand.

Can he do that because he has Aspergers? The screenwriters might have thought so, but I'm not so sure. My impression of Aspergers is that it gives focus but denies perspective. It wastes focus by attaching it to what are trivial ends. That doesn't gel with what we know about Holmes. One of his greatest strengths is exactly that he does know what's important. The screenwriter also has Holmes say that he's a high functioning sociopath, but I don't buy that either.

How much focus any of us ordinary people can give to an intellectual task isn't really known. If we were disciplined to do that from an early age, that would no doubt help, but we all have the suspicion that too much prodding would be harmful. It's hard to know how much is too much. Besides, even if we wanted to do that for our kids, how would we go about it? No institution is geared for that.

One more observation: I like the music in this series. I'm always interested to know what I believe to be the hidden emotional messages in music (sans lyrics), so I ask myself what the Sherlock music is saying. Unexpectedly, it seems sad. What I'm hearing is "You wanted this, and now you've got it. Feel the exhilaration of being truly human and accept the tragic outcome."

The title graphics that overlay the opening music carry a message of their own. First we see (above) the modern London skyline, replete with Ferris wheel. It's very tranquil, though the monochrome adds a dissonant note.

After that we see Piccadilly Square and Soho, and the traffic races ahead in fast motion. That and the montage of scientific close-ups that follow make us feel that we're seeing London as the dangerous place it really is, through the eyes of some extraordinarily perceptive person. Later in one of the stories somebody says something like, "The rest of us shuffle around the city and see only shops and cars. He looks around and sees a battleground." Yikes!

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BTW, a friend asked if he should get this collection for his 12 year old niece since one of the episodes involves a dominatrix. My answer was a loud "yes!" The positive messages in this series easily outweigh the negative. Also, twelve is the last age where kids would consider watching or reading something recommended by their uncle. After that they care only about what their peers think.