The plot not taken

The smart script for this film didn't develop into some of the obvious lines directors would take. Chief among them was the storyline of Fran's pregnancy, which is 1) not revealed until about a half-hour into the movie (and her smoking might throw viewers off the scent, even if the habit was less verboten in the late '70s), 2) does not turn her into a archtypal expectant mother who will suffer health problems and need protection and 3) is not seen to full-term, which is what I expected. (Another director might have succumbed to having Fran be mid-labor when the bikers/zombies get in, for example, like there wasn't enough suspense to go around.)

Also off the path was how some of George Romero's characters developed -- who would be heroic, who would survive, who would elicit sympathy. Did you experience any surprises in that respect?

I'll post about the ending tomorrow, but the earlier Wikipedia link had details about the alternate scenes filmed to conclude the movie, which also would have defied conventional audience expectations.

splatter chatter

I can't decide whether this is a good early question, but it might surface later, so here goes.

I like horror movies. I like the cathartic feeling at the end, if the film's good, and I like believing in supernatural elements against my better judgment (like in "The Shining") during the movie's run. But most horror movies feature a body count to heighten the suspense/gore factor/move the plot along, etc. -- and that's not something others may want to see.

As I rewatched "Dawn" last night, even I thought the initial killing spree and gore was intense, and I'm desensitized from all the other horror films I've watched. Did the violence turn you off initially or throughout the film? Did it detract from the pleasure of watching the movie?

The lowdown on "Dawn"

I don't believe everything my parents told me -- and I feel the same way about Wikipedia -- but it has an extensive, interesting entry on "Dawn of the Dead". It delves into a lot of the shooting challenges of the movie -- trying to film at a mall after close, managing all the extras (some of whom would show up drunk) and handling special effects.

Don't read it until you've seen the film, but it's fun.

It also made me aware that a fourth film came out in 2005, "Land of the Dead," which I plan to watch. Also, a "Diary of the Dead" was shot in late 2006. It reads like a "Blair Witch" retelling of the original lore. There are links to those films from the Wikipedia entry above.

Take a Gamble

One of my most favorite cinematographers is Christopher Doyle. I just realized that I haven’t seen either of the two films he shot last year, so I’m picking one of them for our next movie. In 2003 he shot a film for Pen-Ek-Ratanaruang that is known in English as “Last Life in the Universe”. This is a very cool film and reminds me in some ways of the movies that Doyle has made with Wong Kar-Wai (one of most favorite filmmakers). One of Doyle’s 2006 films is another one with Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, so I thought that this should be the pick. However, my local store with a strong collection of art and asian film didn’t have it, so I thought maybe it will be too hard for people to track down.

So, Doyle’s other 2006 movie is one he did for M. Night Shyamalan called “Lady in the Water”. Although Shyamalan has been making movies for fifteen years, I haven’t seen any of them yet. I didn’t even see the highly popular “Sixth Sense” from 1999. So, thus far, I don’t have much idea if I will like Shyamalan, but this one at least has Paul Giamatti which sounds like a promising start.

There you have it then, my basically blind pick: “Lady in the Water”.

The dead shall walk the earth ...

But not on my watch today.

Went to a dubious-looking video store on the east side of the city to pick up "Dawn of the Dead" (and was pleasantly surprised by the Criterion collection and other choices -- all about a buck less than Blockbuster and LH) and found "Dawn" right away. Get to the counter and realize I picked up the 2004 remake! I congratulate myself for catching this amateurish mistake and go back and pick up "Dawn" and go home.

I put the DVD in the player and realize I checked out "Day of the Dead" instead.

And my co-worker is right -- it's the dud in the series. I felt like I was watching an excerpt from "T.J. Hooker" or "Hunter," except with undead.

So if you want to talk about "Dawn" today, you can start without me -- or I've seen it before, so I can discuss. I'll be in full moderating mode tomorrow.

"My white plume"

"Yes, all my laurels you have riven away
And all my roses; yet in spite of you,
There is one crown I bear away with me,
And to-night, when I enter before God,
My salute shall sweep all the stars away
From the blue threshold! One thing without stain,
Unspotted from the world, in spite of doom
Mine own!
And that is...
That is...
My white plume."

Cyrano's "white plume" is referenced several times throughout the film. I wondered why it was such a big deal, then assumed the white plume was a symbol of his bravado, his desire to be the center of attention, to be independent. Then I discovered this on Wikipedia:

Panache is a French word for which there is no English equivalent, but carries the connotation of reckless courage. The literal meaning of the word is a plume, such as is worn on a hat or a helmet, but the reference is to King Henri IV of France. Pleasure-loving and cynical, but a brave military leader, who is the best-loved of the kings of France, he was famed for wearing a striking white plume in his helmet, and for his war-cry "Follow me!" (literally "Join me where the white plume is" (Fr. "Ralliez-vous a mon panache blanc")).

The epitome of panache and the reason for its establishment as a virtue, is Rostand's depiction of Cyrano de Bergerac, in his play of that name. (Prior to Rostand, panache was not necessarily a good thing, and was seen by some as a suspect quality).

Panache is referred to explicitly at two points in the play, but is implicit throughout: For example, Cyrano's challenges to Montfleury, Valvert, and at one point, the whole audience, at the theatre (Act I) and his nonchalant surrender of a month's salary to pay for the damages; his duel with a hundred footpads at the Porte de Nesle, (Act II) and his dismissal of the exploit when talking to Roxanne ("I've been much braver since then"); his crossing the Spanish lines daily to deliver Roxanne's letters (Act IV); and his leaving his death-bed in order to keep his appointment with her in Act VI.

The explicit references bring in the double meaning: First, in Act IV, when sparring with De Guiche over the loss of his (de Guiche's) white sash: "I hardly think King Henry would have doffed his white panache in any danger"; and finally, Cyrano's last words: "... yet there is something still that will always be mine, and when I go to God's presence, there I'll doff it and sweep the heavenly pavement with a gesture -- something I'll take unstained out of this world ... my panache."

"Panache" is a fairly well-known word these days; do you think it was too unfamiliar in 1950 to use in the movie? Obviously something is lost by translating it to "white plume," namely the "reckless courage" meaning, or as my dictionary defines it, "dashing elegance of manner or style." It's a perfect word for Cyrano, I think, and it's rather a shame not to use it.

Christian

What was your opinion of Christian? Were you sympathetic to him? How would he have done with Roxane without Cyrano's help?

Was Cyrano noble?

Was Cyrano wrong to agree to teach Christian in the first place? Should they have seen the eventual outcome? Was he wrong to keep silent after Christian died? What positive effect would not knowing have on Roxane? Did it help her to hold onto that image of Christian? Wouldn't she have been happier being married to Cyrano, or would that have even happened if he had told her?

Within the ethics of this romantic tragedy, I can see Cyrano as unfailingly noble. I'm just wondering whether these ethics are upside down in some ways. Does this romantic ethic not want an ugly man to be with a beautiful woman? Would his nose have magically shrunk if they had married? (I'm not kidding -- that doesn't seem too far out for this story.)

Roxane

What was your take on Roxane? Did you find her shallow? Do you think she ever suspected that Christian's words were not his own? Couldn't she have recognized her cousin's particular manner of expression? And do you think she had a sense that Cyrano had feelings for her?

War

Does this movie have anything to teach a modern audience (or even a 1950 audience) about war?

Fencing

What did you think of the fencing scenes? Were they realistic? And, on a related note, is Cyrano's skill believable? Is it supposed to be?

José Ferrer

José Ferrer won the 1950 Best Actor Oscar for this film. What did you think of his performance? Would this performance win today, or does the Academy look for different things now than they did then?

Ferrer beat Spencer Tracy (Father of the Bride), Jimmy Stewart (Harvey), Louis Calhern (The Magnificent Yankee), and William Holden (Sunset Blvd.) for the award. Did he deserve to win over those performances? (I've only seen one of the others, but I'm guessing some of you have seen others.)

Cyranoes

This is the only version of Cyrano de Bergerac that I know. I have not seen any other movie versions, I have not seen the play, and I have not read the play. Do any of you know any other versions? If so, how do they compare? I read a review that said this was not the best film version, but that it was worth watching because José Ferrer was so good.

Christy's pick: "Dawn of the Dead"

OK. It's time for a horror movie.

My film critic co-worker hounded me, a horror film fan, for almost a year to watch this film, and it was well-worth my time. "Dawn of the Dead" is the second in George Romero's "Dead" trilogy but can be watched on its own. Though the same premise -- the dead are walking the earth and hungry for a taste of the living -- carries throughout the trilogy, the characters and storylines stand alone in each film.

There are a lot of interesting subtexts about gender, race and suburbia in this 1978 original. (I hear the 2004 remake is good, but that's not the one to watch.)

Enjoy!

Housekeeping

OK, just a few things to make sure we're all on the same reel, because
people have been very busy lately with vacations and jobs and moving and
singing contests and whatnot. My understanding is that Ben will begin
discussion of Cyrano sometime tomorrow or shortly thereafter, so this
would be a good time for last-minute thoughts on Transamerica. And
Christy is due to pick the next film. Driftwood follows her (assuming
he did not join some primitive polygamous commune while climbing in
the wilds of Utah). Have I forgotten anything?

On the road

What did you think of this as a road movie? — that hallowed American film tradition where two or more people, ususally at odds in some way, get in a car and drive across our beautiful country, usually from East to West (in true frontier spirit), and end up closer to each other, or with a greater understanding of themselves, at the end of the trip. Did Transamerica just follow the cliche route of road movies, or did it take some unexpected detours?

For comparison, here are some road movies I thought of: Little Miss Sunshine, Thelma and Louise, Dumb and Dumber, Another Day in Paradise (this is fantastic), Kalifornia, Lost in America, the Wizard of Oz ... a million others.

(What is your favorite road movie, by the way?)

Sexualities

And what did you make of Toby? Particularly his sexuality. He had been abused as a child (by someone who was not openly gay but was masquerading as a "normal" married heterosexual). He learned that sex was a valuable commodity, that he could make money at it and survive. In the end, he is making a living as a gay porn star. And yet, the only time we see him being sexually affectionate for no monetary gain is with the teenaged girl at the truck stop — and when he very touchingly offers to marry Bree, a woman, and accept her for who she is, before he learns of the blood relation. Are we supposed to think of him as straight, gay, bisexual, or is the point that it's all fluid and it doesn't matter in the slightest as long as he feels sexually free and content? Are the filmmakers making a point about labels?

And, on a related note, what did you think of Bree's response to the transsexual party? She was put off by their openness, by their unwillingness or inability to quietly "pass" for the opposite gender. I think this was a really important scene. Being in their midst made her feel freakish, like she wasn't entirely comfortable with the whole enterprise after all. Toby's unflinching acceptance of them made a telling commentary perhaps on Bree's worldview not being as expansive as she thinks it is. I think it's common in the gay world, too, where people who feel like they are straight looking and acting — people who need to "pass" — are dismayed by flamboyant behavior in men and "butch" behavior in women. Paul Monette, in his fantastic book "Becoming a Man," writes very eloquently of how he had that exact same feeling and that as he matured and became more comfortable and confident in his own skin he started becoming unconditionally accepting of others: femme, fey, butch, queen, bear, "straight-acting," etc. ad infinitum. It just had no relevance anymore. Just let people be.

Moms

I thought some of the strongest scenes in the movie were toward the end, when Bree and Toby visited the parents. Fionnula Flanagan as the dysfunctional, abnormally tanned matriarch was especially awesome. As soon as we meet her we get an immediate, palpable sense of what it must have been like to grow up with her as a "normal" kid, let alone a "special" kid, and it really adds a deep dimension to the film and our understanding of Bree. The affection that she lavishes on Toby — as a reward for being a "normal" masculine boy (little does she know) contrasts sharply with the vitriol and iciness she exhibits toward Bree. The pivotal moment in the movie for me was when she told Bree, "Don't do this awful thing to yourself, please. I miss my son." And Bree responds: "Mom, you never had a son." That was when I stopped thinking, "Oh, this is a guy who wants to be a woman," and started thinking, "Oh, this has always been a woman."

But what did you make of the mom being so over the top? Super bleached hair, permanent suntan, gaudy clothes, tiny "sex maniac" dog, dramatic mannerisms. She looked almost like a drag queen, I thought — sort of a caricature of a woman, or at least someone who went to great pains to maintain her "womanly" charms. Bree even points out that her mom, like her, has to take hormones, to prop up the illusion of femininity. Thoughts?

Fabulous Hero! Famous Nose!

Our next movie, to be discussed starting April 23rd, is the 1950 version of Cyrano de Bergerac. There are several movie versions of this play -- be sure to get the version with José Ferrer in the title role.

TRANSAMERICA

Rush, I know you are busy with your new career, but if you don't get us started soon, we'll all just start babbling. AEL is up to pick the next movie, if she wants, and then it goes to Ben.