Vangelis: The Journey to Ithaka

Given that Vangelis is a reclusive figure who seems uncomfortable with publicity of any kind, a documentary covering his life and career -- in which he has actually taken part -- is a pretty big deal. Apart from Vangelis, this production also features Ridley Scott, Sean Connery, Hugh Hudson, Roman Polanski and opera divas Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle among others. There's no question this is a tremendously interesting and insightful production, and a priceless item for fans of the composer. But alas, it is a flawed one as well.

For starters, the the production was actually shot in standard definition video. Maybe this was because so much of the archival material is standard definition the filmmakers didn't want a jarring contrast between the old and the new material -- I don't know -- but it doesn't look that great. The archival material doesn't look to have come from the best sources either, and there are more than a few moments in this production that are honestly of VHS quality. The camerawork and lighting is also sloppy, giving the whole thing a "community access TV" look. I know in documentaries the information is what matters the most, but this production is honestly hard to look at some of the time.

Significant chapters in Vangelis' career are also given the short shrift or ignored altogether. There is no mention whatsoever of his tenure in the bands Forminx and later Aphrodite's Child (who were very popular in Europe).

On the other hand there are some interesting things here I never knew about, such as the recording of C.P. Cavafy's poem 'Ithaka' on which Vangelis collaborated with Sean Connery. The Connery interview is fairly lengthy too, and details how he met Vangelis, and how they're working relationship.

Other obscure tidbits about Vangelis are revealed, such as the fact he is an accomplished painter (something I never even knew) and had his work exhibited in Spain and later South America. Also interesting was the revelation that Vangelis (who cannot read music) has hired a transcriber, who now writes-out and archives all his compositions. There is even a clip from an old interview with Henry Mancini, who speaks of his admiration for the composer. Vangelis' philanthropic work is also covered, and he has done many benefit concerts and appears to live a fairly modest lifestyle despite his success.

Coverage of his film work however is at once interesting and frustratingly shallow. The Polanski/Bitter Moon segment is mildly interesting (with a brief interview with the director about how they came to collaborate). I'd have liked to have heard Vangelis' observations about the film and working with Polanski, but there are none.

1492 also gets coverage, and there is some terrific archival footage of Ridley Scott in Vangelis' studio discussing the film, though again, little insight into actual the score or film.

The Blade Runner segment offers interesting archival footage of Ridley Scott discussing the recording sessions, though the archival interview with Michael Deeley barely addresses Vangelis' music at all, and mostly covers the row with Yorkin and Perenchio (which is already common knowledge and has nothing to do with Vangelis). Again this score is given the short shrift, with no substantial discussion of the music. And the burning question that's been on everyone's mind since 1982 -- why the Blade Runner soundtrack album took ten years to be released -- is never addressed.

The Chariots of Fire segment is likewise not very insightful or deep, considering the massive popularity of Vangelis' score. A few minutes are devoted to Alexander (and Oliver Stone is interviewed), ad well as El Greco (a film few people have seen) but nothing of Missing, The Bounty or Antarctica.

However, one of the more enjoyable segments is when Vangelis nostalgically talks about the village of Volos where he grew-up, and we are shown some lovely images of the village and surrounding countryside (though inexplicably the filmmakers tracked this segment with the sinister main title from The Bounty!).

The segment on Mythodea (Vangelis' first orchestral work) is great, detailing how it all came to fruition, with lengthy comments from Sony Music's Peter Gelb and extensive observations from Jessye Norman and Kathleen Battle.

It is a bit frustrating that this documentary ignores pretty much everything Vangelis did prior to Chariots of Fire. There is no mention of his "RCA period", during which he produced four albums for that label (much of which was later used -- and popularized -- in Carl Sagan's PBS series Cosmos...which isn't mentioned either). Vangelis is interviewed about his Greek heritage, but there is no reference to the two excellent albums of traditional Greek music (Odes and Rhapsodies) which he recorded with Irene Papas.

One of the most successful aspects of this production however is that it lends insight into Vangelis' compositional process. As he cannot read or write music, he composes directly into the keyboard, but what is remarkable is that pretty much everything he creates is essentially "finished" as he plays it. He doesn't "jot down" an idea, go back and re-work, edit or embellish it. In most cases it is done on first take -- which is remarkable. Perhaps the best moment of this entire documentary is when we're shown Vangelis' custom-made keyboard set-up, and his tweaking the various settings before launching into a beautiful "orchestral" improvisation that lasts several minutes.

It is also somewhat eye-opening to see that Vangelis is well-respected in Europe, where he is considered more of a classical composer (whereas in America he's always been dismissed as "a one hit wonder"). The production also makes reference to the fact that Vangelis is constantly composing, and only a miniscule amount of his work has ever been heard (which is a bitter pill to swallow considering how rarely his music is released on disc).

While the end result is somewhat "hit and miss", it does hit more often than not, and proves a solid, informative production, and one long overdue, considering Vangelis' popularity and importance.

http://www.gonzomultimedia.com/product_ ... thaka.html

SUMMER RENTAL (1985)

With the snow falling and temps plunging, I thought it was as good a time as any to rewatch my AVCHD HD transfer of SUMMER RENTAL, which I stashed away a couple of years ago after it aired on HDNet Movies.

This is an enjoyable, though not especially developed, John Candy comedy that marked the star's first leading, non-sidekick role. He's quite good in the film, even if it's a mostly one-dimensional family comedy that (judging from its 86 minute running time) seems to have been cut down significantly -- I mean, John Larroquette shows up for a couple of lines but has otherwise nothing to do!

That said, it's entertaining, brainless fare if you like Candy. Karen Austin is agreeable as his wife with Joey Lawrence and Kerri Green as his kids. Richard Crenna serves up the local yocal yacht club snob with sufficient disdain as well...and kudos to Alan Silvestri for a terrific score, which absolutely carries the film's final 20 minutes.

Perhaps the film's hurried production schedule had something to do with it -- as this old Entertainment Tonight clip I uploaded to Youtube mentions, the film was shot in March, finished in April and released in August...all in the same calendar year!

FROZEN 8/10

I pretty much go along with the review that was posted here a couple of weeks ago, although my main quibble is one song-the one between Elsa and a dashing prince that seemed a combination of pre-requisite Disney romantic duet and possibly a satire on that. The songs were pretty good for the most part, but this one felt like one song too much, although if it was meant as a subtle dig at that type of song it then I think it worked for me. The animation was gorgeous, I loved both the snow monster and the Olaf, little snowman with good voice work all around (beautiful 3D work) and a non-Zimmer score (Yay! from me, too ).

I also loved the new Mickey Mouse cartoon on the front of FROZEN-GET A HORSE, which managed to use the voice of Disney as Mickey (the makers combed through every Mickey/Walt cartoon and did lifts to create the dialogue; where something did not exist, they combined sounds to get a word, like when Mickey says "red") and the great Billy Bletcher-the voice of the Big, Bad Wolf-as Pegleg Pete, Mickey's old nemesis. The gags started off as typical MM ones of the time, but after a while the pace quickened to approximating the classic WB cartoons, and the 3D effect was amazing (one bit with a cow hanging off a pipe seemingly right next to your head was really cool) to a whirlwind finale. Looks like Disney Animation has a good shot at taking the Oscar for Animated Short for the second year in a row, after winning for PAPERMAN last year.

AndyDursin wrote: That said, it's entertaining, brainless fare if you like Candy. Karen Austin is agreeable as his wife with Joey Lawrence and Kerri Green as his kids.

MmmmmmMMMMMmmmmm, Kerri Green...

Shame she basically vanished from acting after the 80's...I had the biggest crush on her back in the day (and she still looked great in that Goonies video commentary from a dozen years back).

And count me in for the Frozen praise...like Tangled, it breaks no new ground in the Disney canon (I had to suppress a knowledgable chortle when the parents get on a boat and die off-screen barely a minute after being introduced, appreciating the tradition that a two-parent household in a Disney animated film is inevitably doomed ), but it's tuneful, gorgeously animated and has the best sisterly bond in a Disney film since Lilo & Stitch.

Paul is a huge Kerri Green fan. I looked her up and she was apparently in an indie drama in 2012.

Kerri Green was definitely cute but Karen Austin was no slouch, either.

THE LONE RANGER
6.5/10

A movie that’s going to carry around a dubious reputation for years to come, Gore Verbinski and Jerry Bruckheimer’s The Lone Ranger manages to be entirely watchable, occasionally inspired and yet so thoroughly miscalculated that it ranks as the most violent film to ever carry the Disney brand name.

This gorgeously shot western – with outstanding work from cinematographer Bojan Bazelli – reinvents the Lone Ranger mythos in the form of a politically correct retelling heavy on the “evil white man” sentiment. In Justin Haythe, Ted Elliott and Terry Russio’s script, Armie Hammer’s Ranger dons the mask of justice to take down vile gang leader Butch Cavendish (William Fichtner) and a railroad baron (Tom Wilkinson) out to claim silver from Comanche land. Tonto (another “quirky” Johnny Depp performance) is less a faithful companion than a disgraced – and mentally challenged – outcast seeking vengeance for the extermination of his tribe. The duo ultimately saddle up to not only right their respective situations but also save the wife of the Ranger’s slain brother, a U.S. marshal gunned down in the film’s opening sequences by Cavendish, who proceeds to carve out his heart and eat it (yes, you read that right!).

Overlong though never dull, “The Lone Ranger” cost a fortune and originally had the plug pulled on its first go-around so the budget could be downsized. The resulting film still carried a $200-million plus price tag and became this year’s “John Carter” when it failed to hit $100 million in the states (it did slightly better overseas, though ultimately won’t be profitable). While some reviewers appeared to condemn the film based on its reputation alone, it’s not a picture without some positive elements, starting with Bazelli’s sumptuous shooting of Monument Valley locales and associated location work in Utah and New Mexico. Despite some excessive filtering, this is a grand looking picture that seems to have filmed without abundant use of CGI (perhaps downsizing the budget put the kibosh on additional special effect sequences, which ordinarily one would expect from director Verbinski’s bloated past work on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films).

The movie’s opening hour, setting up the Lone Ranger character and his first meeting with Tonto during an exciting train robbery sequence, are thrilling – and the movie’s final 20 minutes is a blast as well, finding our heroes leaping from one train car to another while pursuing the bad guys. Hammer is agreeable enough in the lead role but Depp’s performance carries most of the action. He’s funny at times in a reworking of past roles (a bit of Jack Sparrow, a taste of Edward Scissorhands, etc.), though both are upstaged by Silver “the Spirit Horse” whose antics provide the film with some of its principal humor. Also, it’s not often I give credit to a Hans Zimmer score but this is easily the most satisfying work I’ve heard from the composer (and his staff) in years – more orchestral than electronic, more melodic than the kind of ambient noise he wrote for the Nolan “Batman” films, and not nearly as over-the-top as his “Pirates” scores, the music carries the film in its concluding stages with a rousing rendition of the “William Tell Overture” that won’t disappoint old-time fans of “The Lone Ranger” TV series.

It’s unfortunate, then, that too many moments in “The Lone Ranger” misfire – especially in its miserable second hour, wherein we learn about the death of Tonto’s people and most of the action sits on the sidelines while our heroes try to regroup before the picture’s upbeat finale. Along the way we’re also treated to scenes of scalpings, executions, Native American genocide, animal violence (including CGI-enhanced rabbits – with fangs!) and a truly needless subplot with brothel madam Helena Bonham Carter that could have easily have been jettisoned. Ditto for a worthless framing device with an elderly Tonto talking to a young boy dressed as the Lone Ranger – that whole bit could’ve landed on the cutting room floor with no detriment at all to the rest of the movie, seeing as it has no payoff.

It makes you wonder who greenlighted the picture, because the film seems to have been a rewrite or two away from actually working. Alas, what we’re left with is a frustrating viewing experience with flashes, throughout, that give you a taste of the movie “The Lone Ranger” could have been. As it is, it’s not a disaster but nevertheless a disappointment.

Andy, you certainly liked this movie more than I did. I thought that Hammer's character was such a doofus from beginning to end that he totally ruined the movie for me. I thought it looked great and Zimmer's score was OK, but you are so right about the violence in this film, and making Depp's Tonto the central character made me wonder why the film wasn't just called TONTO....with his goofball sidekick, THE LONE RANGER.

Aside from the fine cinematography, Team Zimmer's score(!) and that legitimately marvelous final train setpiece, I hated The Lone Ranger, which, like most of Verbinski's post-Curse Of The Black Pearl filmography, confuses "weird" with "funny", is painfully overlong, ludicrously grotesque, and overall a chore to sit through. What is it with movie studios dusting off old pulp heroes and then refusing to allow the resulting mega-budgeted films to actually be fun? At the end when Hammer lets out a hearty, "Hi-ho Silver, AWAY!", and we smash-cut to a scowling Depp barking, "Do not do that again, EVER!!!", that pretty much encapsulated everything wrong with modern-day event filmmaking (well, that and watching our nominal "hero" literally getting dragged head-first through a steaming pile of horse dung ). We have a "modernized" James Bond who apparently is completely uninterested in sex and who has no need for gizmos and gadgets or witty quips, we have a "realistic" Batman who talks like he has throat cancer and with a notable lack of those "wonderful toys", we have a Superman who MURDERS THE VILLAIN at the end of his movie...ugh. After my matinee of Ranger let out, I had to go home and watch The Mask Of Zorro again to remind myself that these type of films used to be FUN.

MASK OF ZORRO is clearly what this movie should've been patterned after. And you are preaching to the choir MJ
with the fun factor in these escapist movies, which is what we've talked about many times before.

What gets me, like I said -- how does it get to the shooting stage with that script? Has Bruckheimer lost his fastball so much, or has Verbinski and Depp generated so much authority, that they didn't have anyone there to tell them -- "hey, you know the scene where he eats the guy's heart? that's really not a good idea?" Did ANYBODY tell them no beforehand? It's a DISNEY MOVIE for crying out loud! I can't imagine someone at the studio didn't look at this and wonder, "hey guys, it's a bit heavy for what you're doing. And really violent." Some of it could've been toned down, easily -- the elements were all there, and the beginning and especially the end, are a lot of fun...but the second hour really sucked for lack of a better term, and the lapses in taste were just inexplicable. It needed a decent writer to go in and fix it.

I also congratulate "Team Zimmer" on the score. Not sure if it was Geoff Zanelli or the six other "additional music" composers, but whoever orchestrated and supervised did the music did a terrific job. A far cry from the original composer -- Jack White (lol), and easily the most orchestral and satisfying score I've seen credited to Zimmer in years.

DESOLATION OF SMAUG - I loved the rendering of the dragon! However, even I have to admit that I am getting a little "worn out" on this series of films. It should have ended by now. There are a plethora of liberties and "fill-in-the-blanks" that Jackson has done with a film that should not have extended beyond a maximum of two films. The fights go on a bit too long and it almost seems like he's re-imagining the book rather than making a movie about it with a few artistic liberties. It is just not making sense in a way. That is too bad. I will see the third one in theaters but the Tolkien washcloth has little to no water left in it to wring out.

OUTLAND - I finally got to see this film after all these years. I was impressed with much of it. It was taut and suspenseful in that late 70s/early 80s way: conspiracy, suspicion....the late 70s pessimistic pall was hanging over the film and its ambiance. I felt the character development was a bit too sparse; I wanted to identify with the characters more. I loved that it felt like a space western and I enjoyed the nods to ALIEN in several places, from costumes to sets to moments here and there (like when the doctor peers around the corner of a door, kind of like Weaver did around a bend in ALEN). Goldsmith's score gave the film a bit of drive and rhythm in the sequences in which it was used. Its vibe reminded me of films like COMA and CAPRICORN ONE (same director there). Not the best film in the world but definitely not the worst.

Have not seen OUTLAND in years, but one of things I remember about it most clearly is the supporting character which is in every Peter Hyams movie-the wise-ass who is usually the most likeable and who usually gets killed (no spoilers here for those who care).

CAPRICORN ONE-(Two of them) Sam Waterston then Telly Savalas (not very likeable but still a smart-ass)
HANOVER STREET-Richard Masur (Ford's buddy)
OUTLAND-Frances Sternhagen (Io medic)
2010-John Lithgow
RUNNING SCARED-Hines and Crystal shared this part
THE PRESIDIO-Mark Harmon
TIMECOP-Bruce McGill
END OF DAYS-Kevin Pollack

Cannot remember who had this standard Hyams role in THE STAR CHAMBER, NARROW MARGIN, SUDDEN DEATH or THE RELIC, but trust me, that character is in there.

^^Sternhagen was great in OUTLAND!

Sternhagen was great in OUTLAND, and the Hyams character I mentioned is usually the one that is the most interesting and gets the best performance in the film, although I might be stretching it a bit in regards to Telly Savalas.