Today’s scene that I love comes from Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia. Von Trier is always going to be controversial filmmaker but no one has ever matched his brilliance when it came to capturing the end of existence.
In Melancholia, a depressed woman (played in a revelatory performance by Kristen Dunst) finds unexpected strength in the end of the world. As can be seen in the scene below, it’s a beautifully sad film, one that ends on a note of triumphant apocalypse:
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today, TSL wishes a happy birthday to cinematographer Robert Richardson. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Robert Richardson Films
JFK (1991, dir by Oliver Stone, DP: Robert Richardson)
The Horse Whisperer (1998. dir by Robert Redford, DP: Robert Richardson)
Inglourious Basterds (2009, dir by Quentin Tarantino, DP: Robert Richardson)
Hugo (2011, dir by Martin Scorsese, DP: Robert Richardson)
When the infamous epic Caligula was first released back in 1979, a disco version of Caligula’s love theme — We Are One — was also released as a promotional gimmick.
This song is so over-the-top, so blatantly exploitive, so insidiously catchy, and so totally inappropriate for so many reasons that become clear after you watch the film it was written for that it simply cannot be ignored. To me, this song represents everything that makes the Grindhouse great.
(As well, I hope whoever was playing bass got paid extra…)
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Rest in Peace, Mr. Tim Curry.
4 Shots From 4 Tim Curry Films
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, dir by Jim Sharman)
Clue (1985, dir by Jonathan Lynn)
Legend (1985, dir by Ridley Scott)
It (1990, dir by Tommy Lee Wallace)
Tim Curry is an actor I’ve always loved. So many love him for THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW and CLUE, and while those are probably his most memorable performances, neither of those are the first movies I think of when I think of Curry. I think of HOME ALONE 2: LOST IN NEW YORK, because I saw it in the theater, and I think of PASS THE AMMO because it was filmed here in my home state of Arkansas when I was a teenager. In my personal celebration of his wonderful career and life, I share this scene from PASS THE AMMO (1988), which also stars Bill Paxton, Linda Kozlowski, and Annie Potts!
Rest in Peace, Mr. Curry!
Yesterday, the great actor Tim Curry passed away at the age of 80.
Though Tim Curry will probably always be best-known for his role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, my favorite Tim Curry film is 1985’s Clue. Here he is, in all three of the film’s endings.
Like most of America, I’ve always loved Dolly Parton. I’ve been to her “Stampede” in Branson at least 10 times in my life. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for her movie STRAIGHT TALK, because one of my all-time favorite actors, James Woods, was her co-star and played her love interest. They have a great chemistry in the film, and Woods has said, “Dolly Parton is the nicest person I’ve ever worked with…. She’s everything you imagine and so much more. Anybody who’s ever spent any time with her absolutely adores her.” That’s high praise, but it’s right on point with what almost everyone says about her.
In celebration of an incredible life, well lived, I thought I’d share this scene where Dolly and James first meet. Thanks for a lifetime of good music, good movies, and just being a good human being.
Today, on Sean Connery’s birthday, our song of the day is the theme for one of my favorite Bond films. I know that some people claim that Diamonds are Forever is a lesser Bond film but personally, I think it’s just silly enough to be effective. James Bond and Las Vegas are a match made in heaven.
Today’s scene that I love features Sean Connery, born on this day 95 years ago. In this scene from 1964’s Goldfinger, Connery needs only one simple line — “I must be dreaming,” — to create an iconic moment.
Daniel Craig could never have pulled this off. Indeed, Craig probably would have found the whole thing beneath him. Only Sean Connery could have made this scene unforgettable and that’s why Sean Connery will continue to be the Bond to which all others should be compared.
4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Today would have been Sean Connery’s 96th birthday. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Sean Connery Films
From Russia With Love (1963, dir by Terence Young, DP: Ted Moore)
Goldfinger (1964, dir by Guy Hamilton, DP: Ted Moore)
The Man Who Would Be King (1975, dir by John Huston, DP: Oswald Morris)
Highlander (1986, dir by Russell Mulcahy, DP: Gerry Fisher)
