Oh boy.
Wish me luck today, everyone. I missed two days and left my culture work in the hands of people who had to call me twice in the same day to ask how to take care of it. The girls who did the work are both good at culture stuff, so I'm sure they did fine. But there were involved plans to do more stuff with the cultures today, only half of which I understood over the phone from the one post-doc I spoke with. (I was sick. I was barely coherent on Thursday.) So I'm writing this up before I even get to work. I'm not sure I'll get another opportunity.
(Of course, even if I have problems with what we're doing tomorrow, I may not be able to voice any complaints. I keep pushing the voice and it keeps going away. I neeeeeeed it back.)
Day 27 - Favorite Classic Movie
I'm guessing this is where I'm supposed to show how classy I am, and say something expected, like, say, Casablanca. I wasn't even sure where the boundary of "classic" movie began or ended. I took "classic" to mean "inarguably good" and "old." I almost went with Dr. Strangelove, which never fails to crack me up (and is the only Kubrick movie I can stand). Or Arsenic and Old Lace, but I used that previously. Both, however, are much younger movies than this, the first movie I saw in my horror film class that completely wowed me. I was agape at this movie--and not just because the director's vision of Mr. Hyde is, rather unfortunately, a racist, simian caricature.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) is either the first or one of the first to blend the story with that of The Portrait of Dorian Gray and set up the Janus-faced protagonist with two women--one for his well-to-do Jekyll, and another, less classy lady for Hyde to torment. It's a brilliant addition that has persisted in most film adaptations since.
This is also one of the sexiest goddamned movies I've ever seen that wasn't a porno. Dr. Jekyll's sexual frustration--he keeps pressing the women he loves to marry him early instead of waiting a socially appropriate amount of time--is palpable and potent. Like any good Jekyll, he's half Hyde before he even starts mucking around with potions. There's a lovely teasing scene where Jekyll meets the prostitute that Hyde will fixate on later. Jekyll refuses her offer of herself in return for his saving her from a bully, but as he walks away, the image of her bare leg swinging over the end of her bed haunts him. It's sexy. I can't do the scene justice.
Nor can I over-complement the performance of Frederick March in the title role. March is extremely funny, which is unexpected in a role that is typically rife with angst. You find yourself cheering for this Jekyll against the inevitable because he's witty and fun, and, goshdarnit, does he really have to wait to get a little booty? Who cares if it's 18::mumbletymumble:: ? He's charming, funny, sexual without being vulgar (very important in a Jekyll if you can get it), very beautiful in his own right. He's just head-to-toe perfect in the role. The actual transformations into Hyde are spectacularly done (more on that in a bit), but March pulls off more than makeup alone could ever do in his body language. In one pivotal transformation, with his back to the camera, March cowers as cringing, frightened Jekyll and arises with a large, shoulder-rolling swagger as Hyde. It's electric. He won the Oscar (co-won, actually, back when you could have ties) for this performance, and, brother, does he deserve it.
The transformations are themselves a revelation and bit of genius camera trickery. The first time I saw this, my jaw dropped open. No, that's not an expression, that was the literal truth. I found a clip of it. It's still eerie. The magic starts around 30-40 seconds into this clip:
The effect is startling, especially for a movie now 80 years old. The secret? Colored lenses put over the camera. March's face is painted red and as the effect needs to suddenly appear, the lenses are removed from the camera. You get crazily dramatic face paint that shows up seemingly out of the ether. Very, very cool stuff. (The camera as reflection stuff you can take or leave, but it's not done often in the movie, and where it's done, it's done fairly well.)
It's a tightly written movie, with some great lines, a lot of sexual intrigue (if no actual sex on screen), great effects, and a performance worth a gold statuette or five. This is so worth your time, and it's a definite favorite. Alas, the DVD comes with the Spencer Tracey 1941 version, which is exactly the opposite in terms of subtlety and nuance. Tracey reputedly once told Frederick March he was happy he could make March look even better as Jekyll. (Previously, March had large shoes to fill as the role had been a signature one of Barrymore or Cheney Sr.--can't remember which.)
Previous entries:
Day 01
Day 02
Day 03 - 06
Day 07
Day 08
Day 09
Day 10
Day 11-13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17-19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22
Day 23-26
(Of course, even if I have problems with what we're doing tomorrow, I may not be able to voice any complaints. I keep pushing the voice and it keeps going away. I neeeeeeed it back.)
Day 27 - Favorite Classic Movie
I'm guessing this is where I'm supposed to show how classy I am, and say something expected, like, say, Casablanca. I wasn't even sure where the boundary of "classic" movie began or ended. I took "classic" to mean "inarguably good" and "old." I almost went with Dr. Strangelove, which never fails to crack me up (and is the only Kubrick movie I can stand). Or Arsenic and Old Lace, but I used that previously. Both, however, are much younger movies than this, the first movie I saw in my horror film class that completely wowed me. I was agape at this movie--and not just because the director's vision of Mr. Hyde is, rather unfortunately, a racist, simian caricature.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) is either the first or one of the first to blend the story with that of The Portrait of Dorian Gray and set up the Janus-faced protagonist with two women--one for his well-to-do Jekyll, and another, less classy lady for Hyde to torment. It's a brilliant addition that has persisted in most film adaptations since.
This is also one of the sexiest goddamned movies I've ever seen that wasn't a porno. Dr. Jekyll's sexual frustration--he keeps pressing the women he loves to marry him early instead of waiting a socially appropriate amount of time--is palpable and potent. Like any good Jekyll, he's half Hyde before he even starts mucking around with potions. There's a lovely teasing scene where Jekyll meets the prostitute that Hyde will fixate on later. Jekyll refuses her offer of herself in return for his saving her from a bully, but as he walks away, the image of her bare leg swinging over the end of her bed haunts him. It's sexy. I can't do the scene justice.
Nor can I over-complement the performance of Frederick March in the title role. March is extremely funny, which is unexpected in a role that is typically rife with angst. You find yourself cheering for this Jekyll against the inevitable because he's witty and fun, and, goshdarnit, does he really have to wait to get a little booty? Who cares if it's 18::mumbletymumble:: ? He's charming, funny, sexual without being vulgar (very important in a Jekyll if you can get it), very beautiful in his own right. He's just head-to-toe perfect in the role. The actual transformations into Hyde are spectacularly done (more on that in a bit), but March pulls off more than makeup alone could ever do in his body language. In one pivotal transformation, with his back to the camera, March cowers as cringing, frightened Jekyll and arises with a large, shoulder-rolling swagger as Hyde. It's electric. He won the Oscar (co-won, actually, back when you could have ties) for this performance, and, brother, does he deserve it.
The transformations are themselves a revelation and bit of genius camera trickery. The first time I saw this, my jaw dropped open. No, that's not an expression, that was the literal truth. I found a clip of it. It's still eerie. The magic starts around 30-40 seconds into this clip:
Click to viewThe effect is startling, especially for a movie now 80 years old. The secret? Colored lenses put over the camera. March's face is painted red and as the effect needs to suddenly appear, the lenses are removed from the camera. You get crazily dramatic face paint that shows up seemingly out of the ether. Very, very cool stuff. (The camera as reflection stuff you can take or leave, but it's not done often in the movie, and where it's done, it's done fairly well.)
It's a tightly written movie, with some great lines, a lot of sexual intrigue (if no actual sex on screen), great effects, and a performance worth a gold statuette or five. This is so worth your time, and it's a definite favorite. Alas, the DVD comes with the Spencer Tracey 1941 version, which is exactly the opposite in terms of subtlety and nuance. Tracey reputedly once told Frederick March he was happy he could make March look even better as Jekyll. (Previously, March had large shoes to fill as the role had been a signature one of Barrymore or Cheney Sr.--can't remember which.)
Previous entries:
Day 01
Day 02
Day 03 - 06
Day 07
Day 08
Day 09
Day 10
Day 11-13
Day 14
Day 15
Day 16
Day 17-19
Day 20
Day 21
Day 22
Day 23-26