Another (older) movie ... and ....
... the elusive quality of charisma.
What is it about certain actors that, for lack of a more elegant way to put it, makes me want to jump their bones? Across the span of SIXTY gd years? Seriously.
Let's indulge, shall we? You are a pretty, pretty princess, given to inhaling the delicate scents of flowers.
Pretty! So, as is any princess' luck, you get two guys in love with you in the course of the movie. (1940, "The Thief of Bagdad [sic]")
These two:
Hero, and Villain. (Two guesses as to which is which!)
So, who would you mack on, given the two choices present in these shots?
Hero?
Or Villain?
(n.b. The villain is actually the guy in black. That six-armed statue is a mechanical toy he brings to life. (Did I mention he's a sorcerer?) You see, he kinda wants to get your doddering dad out of the way ...
,,, so he sets it up for the Silver Maid to give Papa a kiss and a stiletto to the neck.)
Hm. The whole usurping-the-throne thing combined with skewering-inconvenient-relatives thing might make family dinners a bit awkward - wait - What's that you say? You need to see more before you decide? ...
Let it never be said that I was not indulgent!
So ... how about some close-ups?
Prince:
Sorcerer:
Hmm. I guess they can both rock a turban. Sorry that the prince is blurry - it was one of the few full-on face pics of that actor I could find. Funny how there are quite a few more of the sorcerer.
Huh.
OK. So, how do you interact with them, princess?
Like this:
Or like this?
*scratches head* The way it's set up - well, you're equally close to them in both shots. You get to wear a pretty diadem with the prince, and you get to feel the sorcerer's hot breath whispering over your veil ... um.
OK. So what do your guys get up to in their spare time?
Prince Ahmed kinda looks forlorn (when, admittedly, he's not sailing, or running. Or looking soulful. ETA: or playing the xylophone on his own sternum because: *damn*!)
That's the eponymous Thief at Ahmed's side, btw.
Grand Vizier Jaffar doesn't care for the thief too much. That's why he turns him into a dog. Right after he strikes Ahmed blind.
In his spare time, Jaffar also:
Crafts blue roses of forgetfulness (TM):
Calls up the wind and the rain, the better to sweep away pursuit when he gets you aboard his ship.
Oh, and watches you while you sleep.
Hmm ...
*shrugs* That's about all I have for comparison - both of these guys have a bit of unfortunate facial hair, yeah, but they're both pretty obsessed with you. I don't know what might tip the scales for you, unless it's -
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
HOLY FUCK.
Oh, sorry, what I meant to say was: I'll be in my room. Doing - um. Homework. Yeah!
What's that you say? You want to end up with the prince and have a lot of really boring sex?
Works for me! I'll just ask for private tutoring in sorcery from that imposing, glowering guy in the shadows over there.
/flippancy. Seriously: this film dates from 1940 - seventy years ago, not sixty, as I originally wrote. And Conrad Veidt's charisma still radiates from every frame he's in.
*applause*
ETA: here is a link to a cool clip. It shows how Veidt was attuned to the value of light and shadow, drawing off his early career in silent cinema. Michael Powell, a famous director, wrote of the actor: "He was invention, control, imagination, irony, and elegance. He was the master technician of the camera, who knew where every light was placed."
And if you notice Veidt's heavy German accent, Powell does relate that as his only weak point: "Because of the fear he inspired, and the admiration that his gifts awakened ... [directors] let him get away with mispronunciations and false readings of key words that made his English unintelligible .... I vowed that I would change all that and bided my time."
Here's a valedictory: Veidt + stairs = "panther" (Scorsese, in the commentary.)
Sexy walk: ur doin it rite.
What is it about certain actors that, for lack of a more elegant way to put it, makes me want to jump their bones? Across the span of SIXTY gd years? Seriously.
Let's indulge, shall we? You are a pretty, pretty princess, given to inhaling the delicate scents of flowers.
Pretty! So, as is any princess' luck, you get two guys in love with you in the course of the movie. (1940, "The Thief of Bagdad [sic]")
These two:
Hero, and Villain. (Two guesses as to which is which!)
So, who would you mack on, given the two choices present in these shots?
Hero?
Or Villain?
(n.b. The villain is actually the guy in black. That six-armed statue is a mechanical toy he brings to life. (Did I mention he's a sorcerer?) You see, he kinda wants to get your doddering dad out of the way ...
,,, so he sets it up for the Silver Maid to give Papa a kiss and a stiletto to the neck.)
Hm. The whole usurping-the-throne thing combined with skewering-inconvenient-relatives thing might make family dinners a bit awkward - wait - What's that you say? You need to see more before you decide? ...
Let it never be said that I was not indulgent!
So ... how about some close-ups?
Prince:
Sorcerer:
Hmm. I guess they can both rock a turban. Sorry that the prince is blurry - it was one of the few full-on face pics of that actor I could find. Funny how there are quite a few more of the sorcerer.
Huh.
OK. So, how do you interact with them, princess?
Like this:
Or like this?
*scratches head* The way it's set up - well, you're equally close to them in both shots. You get to wear a pretty diadem with the prince, and you get to feel the sorcerer's hot breath whispering over your veil ... um.
OK. So what do your guys get up to in their spare time?
Prince Ahmed kinda looks forlorn (when, admittedly, he's not sailing, or running. Or looking soulful. ETA: or playing the xylophone on his own sternum because: *damn*!)
That's the eponymous Thief at Ahmed's side, btw.
Grand Vizier Jaffar doesn't care for the thief too much. That's why he turns him into a dog. Right after he strikes Ahmed blind.
In his spare time, Jaffar also:
Crafts blue roses of forgetfulness (TM):
Calls up the wind and the rain, the better to sweep away pursuit when he gets you aboard his ship.
Oh, and watches you while you sleep.
Hmm ...
*shrugs* That's about all I have for comparison - both of these guys have a bit of unfortunate facial hair, yeah, but they're both pretty obsessed with you. I don't know what might tip the scales for you, unless it's -
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
HOLY FUCK.
Oh, sorry, what I meant to say was: I'll be in my room. Doing - um. Homework. Yeah!
What's that you say? You want to end up with the prince and have a lot of really boring sex?
Works for me! I'll just ask for private tutoring in sorcery from that imposing, glowering guy in the shadows over there.
/flippancy. Seriously: this film dates from 1940 - seventy years ago, not sixty, as I originally wrote. And Conrad Veidt's charisma still radiates from every frame he's in.
*applause*
ETA: here is a link to a cool clip. It shows how Veidt was attuned to the value of light and shadow, drawing off his early career in silent cinema. Michael Powell, a famous director, wrote of the actor: "He was invention, control, imagination, irony, and elegance. He was the master technician of the camera, who knew where every light was placed."
Click to viewAnd if you notice Veidt's heavy German accent, Powell does relate that as his only weak point: "Because of the fear he inspired, and the admiration that his gifts awakened ... [directors] let him get away with mispronunciations and false readings of key words that made his English unintelligible .... I vowed that I would change all that and bided my time."
Here's a valedictory: Veidt + stairs = "panther" (Scorsese, in the commentary.)
Sexy walk: ur doin it rite.