Summer Reading Challenge

I'm excited to say this year I have signed up to take part in Out of the Past's 2016 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge. The aim is to read 6 classic film books before September 15. (However I must admit that it will sadly be Winter in my part of the world!)

The six books I have chosen are:

1. Bendigo Art Gallery & Twentieth Century Fox Present Marilyn Monroe: This is the book that accompanied the exhibition held at the Bendigo Art gallery, its a quick read, but has some interesting reflections on Marilyn's life and career.
2. Double Feature by Terence Stamp: Having read both 'Stamp Album' and 'Coming Attractions' this was next on my list! This is the third autobiography written by Stamp and deals with his life and career in the sixties, particularly his relationship with Jean Shrimpton. Having read and enjoyed his other books I am looking forward to this one!
3. By Myself and Then Some by Lauren Bacall: I have heard good things about Bacall's autobiography, and I am really looking forward to learning more about her life.
4. From Shane to Kill Bill-Rethinking the Western by Patrick McGee: Westerns are my favourite film genre and I think they are often misrepresented and sidelined in modern film analysis, so I am hoping this book might shed some new light on this often complex genre.
5. Natalie Wood by Rebecca Sullivan: This is a new book (and I'm hoping it arrives on my doorstep before September!) From the blurb it sounds fantastic, Sullivan aims to highlight how Natalie was often the face of the changing mores of the fifties and sixties and how her films shifted the way females were viewed.
6. The Hustler by Walter Tevis: I'm looking forward to seeing how the book compares with the classic film (and if it can live up to Paul Newman's epic-ness!)

                                                       (Not seen-Natalie Wood)

If anyone else is interested in taking part in the challenge all the details can be found at Out of the Past's blog.
Happy Reading!

Blue (1968)

Blue/Azul (Terence Stamp) has been raised by Mexican bandits after the murder of his parents when he was five years old. The bandit leader raises him as one of his own and Blue takes part in their murdering and pillaging. When the bandits decide to raid a town on the American side of the river Blue is confronted by his past. After rescuing the daughter of the local doctor from one of the bandits, Blue is taken in by them, and tries to renounce his past.

Upon it's release Blue was panned by the critics, and most hold the same view today, and I really do not understand why! I loved it!

Like most films made in the mid 60s Blue is something of a revisionist Western. It has a darker thread running through it than the majority of Westerns, and has more complex characters, Blue is definitely an anti-hero, who goes through a complex redemption during the course of the film. It is also grittier and more realistic than some Westerns (for example, the injured tend to be really injured and are unable to go on fighting spectacularly!).

Directed by Silvio Narizzano and with a cast that includes Karl Malden and Joanna Pettet Blue is a thought provoking film. Visually it is quite beautiful, although alas my dodgy screen caps don't really do it justice!

Pettet's character, Joanne, is a major catalyst not just for the general plot line, but also for Blue himself. As a character she breaks down some of the traditional boundaries put on women in Western films. She is strong, caring, forgiving, and with a great sense of justice. She is able to look past what other people see and find good. 

Blue is generally silent, his actions speak louder than his words. Stamp doesn't speak until about 40 minutes into the film but his face portrays his thoughts. As he is further confronted by the settlers way of life Blue begins to remember things. The scene in which he bashes away at the piano is the first moment he lets his guard down and it becomes evident that there is something more to him than just a lawless bandit. Upon his initial arrival at the farm he is almost mute, and it is hard to know if this is through spite, or because he simply finds it hard to speak his thoughts. After all he speaks little with the bandits. When he wishes to stay with Joanne and her father, he is unable to tell them, he simply begins ploughing their field, and Joanne comes to the realisation that this is his way of talking. As he and Joanne fall for each other, he opens up more, he reveals his past and it becomes evident that the death's of his parents still impact him. And there seems to be a lost element to Blue, one that belongs neither to the settlers or the Mexicans, after all he admits that Blue is not even his real name, and it remains unknown if he remembers his real name or not. In his final confrontations with his bandit father, and even through his love for Joanne, Blue is constantly torn between the two warring parts of himself, the past and the present, and throughout the film he is in a constant struggle between wanting to change and believing he is not able to change. I thought Stamp did a wonderful job of portraying Blue, roguish and tender at the same time. 

Blue is an underrated gem of a film and I wish more people could appreciate it! 

4/5

Little Rita of the West (1967)

"The biggest little pain in the West"

Little Rita is a gunslinger with an interesting quest, she wants to rid the world of gold. Rita spends her time stealing gold from famous gunslingers, and then delivering the gold to her Native American friends who plan on destroying it, thus riding the world of all evil.

Ah, the things I will watch for you-Terence Hill.

Little Rita was essentially a vehicle for Italian singer, Rita Pavone who was popular in the 60s. The pint sized, feisty Rita had a powerful voice, and made several quirky films during her heyday. At the time of filming Rita was involved with a married man (whom she eventually married) and it was hoped that this film would re-establish her with the public, particularly her male fans, who were disappointed with her impending marriage. Terence Hill had been making a series of Westerns in Germany, and this was his first Spaghetti Western since that period. As the film was a showcase for Rita the story frequently diverges into song and dance numbers often with no warning! As I am unable to understand Italian I watched the English dubbed version, however none of the songs are dubbed! They remain in their original language, strangely catchy, but hard to understand!

What 'Little Rita' really is, is a spoof of the popular Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s. Rita spoofs the extreme violence, obsession with gold, ineffectual sherifs and dirty gunslingers of these films. Rita even takes on Ringo and Django (famous Spaghetti Western characters). It's a bizarre mix of Spaghetti Western and musical comedy, the ending is also rather odd! Some of the jokes are quite funny though, and the film is rather quotable, here are some of my favourites:

"Look a herd of buffalo. What a magnificent spectacle I just love buffalo"
"Those are skinny cows, and don't you forget it"
"Cows? Well I'll be darned"

"You better talk, or I'll put my signature on your face with a red hot iron!"
"But you don't know how to write…"

"But a movie is supposed to have a happy ending, or else the producer will lose all his money, cause no one will go and see it"

Of course, lets be honest, the real point of this film is Terence Hill (ha!). For those of you who don't know, he is my very favourite! His part isn't huge, he appears about 40 mins in, and often looks slightly bewildered during all the singing and dancing! The film though was to have several happy outcomes for Terence. The director of 'Little Rita', Ferdinando Baldi, was to cast Terence in his next film, Django Prepare a Coffin. The cinematographer of 'Little Rita', Enzo Barboni, was to cast Terence in his star making vehicle, They Call Me Trinity. And as Little Rita accurately describes him, "He's beautiful!"

If you're intrigued by this slightly crazy, but oddly endearing film, you can find the English version on YouTube!

Here's a look at the Pink Panther-esque opening credits:

3.5/5