Boom! 1968
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
Some of us Invite Death…
…..and some of us try to escape it on a lonely island surrounded by the sea, scorched by the eternal sunshine,
‘Sissy’ Goforth (Elizabeth Taylor)the richest woman in the world lives on her luxury island somewhere in the Mediterranean and rules over all like a great dying monster, while dictating her autobiography , a poet( Richard Burton) washes up upon her great island, a poet who has been nicknamed”Angelo Del Morte” or The Angel of Death, because all woman he encounters are ( as Noel Coward puts it) a few steps away from the Grave Digger.
Based off an unsuccessful Stage Play By Tennessee Williams‘ from the early 1960’s that had starred Talulah Bankhead and Tab Hunter, its a wonder any producer would have put any money into it at all ,aside from the fact it was a ”Tennessee Williams” Play and it was to star Power Couple Liz + Burton,
It at the end of the day quite a minimalist play similar to Night of the Iquana , and is set catastrophically on an unnamed private island in the middle of the ocean where Taylor Sunbaths her Dying Body in the sunshine, but there are some redeeming qualities,Noel Coward makes good with his interesting little role as ”the Witch of Capri” essentially playing… Himself and Sports quite a primitive, but interesting score by John Barry ( Born Free, and the James Bond Theme) which to this day is incredibly popular with collectors.
This Film Interestingly enough is Praised most loudly by John Waters who has screened the last remaining print of the film in several parts of the states , has sited it as (along with Imitation of Life) as one of the greatest influences and a testament to his craft
Like Most Taylor Burton Films of the late 1960’s this one bombed most horribally , and was one of their last great screen apperaences together, it had been ravaged bu critics everywhere, and was seen to be a ”Folly” for everyone conserned, However as a film which deals with isolation Dying and or death as a metaphor, its one of the best there is.
Tags: Based off Play, Death, Decadence, dying, fate, Island, Melancholy, metaphor, Noel Coward, Tennessee Williams
The Misfits 1962
Posted by spheer2002 | Filed under Film, Films of the 1960's
Nothing can live unless something dies…
Roslyn (Marilyn Monroe ‘The Seven Year’) Itch is a very beautiful yet disturbed woman who has just got divorced. She meets to traveling stock workers , Guido(Eli Wallach , the only living cast member) and Gay(Clarke Gable ‘Gone with the Wind), who take her to Guido’s house in the country (the House where his wife had died)to relax and forget the difficulties of the past few weeks. Everything is fine at first, but soon the two men fall in love with Roslyn and start showing some bad aspects of their characters. Soon they meet another friend of Gay’s(Montgomery Clift , Interesting as Mr Gable was a big old Homophobe ), and the four of them go to hunt some wild horses (for Dog meat). This is when things just… explode! These guys are all misfits who cling to each over through their loneliness and their deep seeded troubles, although this is never spoken they are all chasing what seems to bt what remains the tail end of their life,
As Clarke Gable and Marilyn Drive off towards the morning star, knowing that in the real world they would both soon be dead within a matter on a month is quiet special and ironic to watch .
But its very special for Marilyn too as she honestly believed Gable to be her Birth Father, so it must have felt like a relief to hold his hand as they both drive off into what lies ahead.
Tags: Arthur Miller, Based off Novel, Death, Desert, Divorce, Marilyn Monroe, Melancholy, Reno
