Fragments-Marilyn Monroe

Happily as time goes by more and more people seem to be coming to the realisation that Marilyn Monroe was not a 'dumb blonde' but an incredibly intelligent, aware and sensitive woman. The tragedy is that for so long Marilyn has been viewed as being the archetypical sex goddess and few have realised the depth of her knowledge and interests. A quick google search of the books she owned and read gives up a phenomenal and impressive reading list that puts the most avid bookworm to shame.
She is at her most fascinating and raw in the 2010 book, Fragments. 

As the title suggests Fragments is a collection of fragmentary pieces, letters, poems, diary entries and self analysis written by Marilyn over the duration of her adult life. The subject matter ranges from her thoughts on her childhood, marriage, career, emotions and dreams. She is sensitive, self aware, melancholic and sometimes humorous. I cannot think of a better book to read in order to know the real Marilyn.
Here is an excerpt from one of her poems that I found particularly beautiful and haunting:

And the silence is alone
except for the thunderous rumbling of things unknown
distant drums very present
but for the peircing of screams
and the whispers of things
sharp sounds and then suddenly hushed
to moans beyond sadness-terror beyond fear
The cry of things dim and too young to be known yet
The sobs of life itself
p. 73

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Arthur Penn's infamous Bonnie and Clyde (1967) is based on the true story of bank robbers Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) and Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway). Together they form a gang that terrorises America, robbing and shooting their way to an inevitable but brutal end.

The most arresting character is Dunaway's Bonnie. She's flirtatious, impetuous, intelligent, nervy and loyal. Bonnie is also the most complex character, from the moment the audience is introduced to her we sense her boredom with life, her agitation and her frustrated sensuality.
As the film progresses Bonnie's apparent over exuberance and risk taking behaviour make way for someone intensely frustrated with her position in life. Bonnie is tired of her narrow world, tired of being poor, tired of being a waitress. More than any of the other characters it is Bonnie that the audience sympathises with when she is subjected to the noise and hysteria of Buck (Gene Hackman) and Blanche (Estelle Parsons). And it is Bonnie who rightly sees the dangers of having the screaming Blanche as part of the gang.

There is a jekyll and hyde element to Bonnie. On the one hand she is intelligent and deep thinking, writing poetry, patient with Clyde's apparent impotency and perceptive. On the other she is flighty, reckless and seems to have limited moral boundaries. Or perhaps she is just blinded by love. Whilst Bonnie participates in the robberies and brandishes a gun, she is also a lost girl who longs for her mother and is hurt by her mother's perception that it will all 'go wrong'. Initially the excitement of being on the run sustains Bonnie, but later she asks Clyde what he would do if they could start over, be 'clean'. His admittance that he would continue robbing banks, just not in the same state, seems to dissatisfy her.

There is an intense feeling of claustrophobia in Bonnie and Clyde. Each time Bonnie screams out in frustration over the close living quarters, shared with Buck and Blanche, the audience wants to scream their agreement. Much of the film is spent with five people squashed into cars of varying sizes. There is no room to breathe, no room to move. In contrast, when they are alone, Clyde and Bonnie frequent wide open spaces.

If Bonnie and Clyde exhibit a sort of dangerous glamour, it is a false one, that distances them from the reality of what their lives would be like without crime-what the lives of every other American is like. Set in the Great Depression, opportunities are limited for everyone, and in a sequence that could be straight out of The Grapes of Wrath the criminals come across a family camped by the side of the road with everything they own piled on top of their car. This is a tale of the American dream gone wrong, in part because there was no feasibility of the dream to begin with. A story of the immorality of youth, coupled with the dark underbelly of America's obsession with guns-both from the criminal point of view and from that of the law.

4/5

Born Free (1966)

Based on a true story, Born Free, tells the remarkable story of Joy and George Adamson and the lion cub, Elsa, whom they raise. When Elsa becomes too big to keep at the Adamson's home, Joy is determined that she should be released back into the wild.

Elsa and her two sisters are rescued by George Adamson, a game warden, after he was forced to shoot their mother in self defence. He brings the three cubs home to his wife Joy, and they begin to care for them. Eventually two of the cubs are sent to the Rotterdam zoo, but the couple decide to keep their favourite, Elsa. Joy is determined to release Elsa into the wild so she can live a free life. However having been raised by humans, Elsa is unable to hunt for herself, and so the Adamson's set out to train her as best they can. Through a series of trial and error they succeed in helping Elsa learn to hunt.
Her final test is to find a mate, and after leaving her to fend for herself, the Adamson's are delighted when they return to find Elsa with three cubs of her own.

Born Free was based on the hugely successful book of the same name written by the real Joy Adamson. The relationship she had had with Elsa was regarded as a scientific marvel and completely changed the way people viewed lions. All the proceeds Joy made from her books and the film, she put into her conservation trust, named after her beloved Elsa.
In the film Joy and George were played by real life couple, Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers. Determined to make the film as authentic as possible, Virginia and Bill, insisted on working with real lions, whilst the film crew remained safe behind wire cages. This gave the film a greater feel of realism and with it's evocative score by John Barry, it remains a beautiful and moving piece of cinema.

Virginia and Bill were so inspired by their time with the lions that they later formed the Born Free Foundation, dedicated to saving animals and keeping them wild. One of their first missions was to successful rehabilitate the three lions used during the film. Girl, Boy and Ugas were sent to live with George Adamson who then released them back into the wild.

Virginia McKenna, George Adamson, Bill Travers, Joy Adamson

The film continued on with the work started by Joy's book, it showed people a different side to lions, and encouraged people to preserve their lives and their habitats. In telling the story of Elsa the Travers also embarked on a new phase of their careers, and Virginia remains actively involved with animal conservation to this day.

                                                                              4/5

The Ipcress File (1965)

The anti-thesis to James Bond, The Ipcress File, presents a grim, realistic world of double agents with the bleak fantasticalness of Orwell's 1984. It tells the story of Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) an agent working for the Ministry of Defence who helps to uncover a plot involving the brainwashing of British scientists.

The Ipcress File perfectly brings everyday domesticity to the spy thriller and creates a main character that reflects this. Harry Palmer loves cooking, we see him at the supermarket (not a place James Bond would traverse), he enjoys classical music and reading and is from a working class background.
The film brought kitchen sink realism to a genre that was known for its flashy, glamorous and rather unbelievable plot lines. Ipcress is firmly rooted in everyday London, with it's grime and drudgery, this is the other side to the swinging sixties dream. Based on the novel of the same name by Len Deighton the film also owes much to the novels of Graham Greene and George Orwell's dystopian, 1984. The story reflects the Cold War paranoia that was prevalent in Britain at the time, with it's fears of scientific experiments, defection and brain washing.
 However in spite of it's bleak setting Ipcress has it's fair share of humour. Palmer has a laconic attitude and Caine brings his characteristic witticisms to the role. It's also a taut thriller, as who is who, is not fully revealed until the end.
It is a film of secrets and double crossings and so the audience views the characters from the margins. Situations are seen through car windows, telephone boxes, light shades, from behind shoulders-often what we see is partially obscured, as it is for many of the characters. Ironically Palmer has a habit of leaving doors open, something which both his superiors bring him up on, but this could denote his more open, relaxed manner in the face of so many lies.

Sound is incredibly important in the film, and it's not just the brain washing noise of the Ipcress. From the beginning the small everyday sounds are heightened and pre eminent, where in many other films they would be softened. Everything from an alarm clock to a coffee grinder, noise in the street to footsteps. We become aware that this is a film in which every sound has a meaning and sounds can be dangerous. This cacophony of little sounds all lead to the finale of the torture room in which sound is used for a deadly purpose.

4/5

Plein Soleil (1960)

Watching Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) I was struck by how beautiful the cinematography was. It is a perfect mixture of fantastic beauty, and natural realism. The film is concerned with the little details, which is fitting as Tom's life becomes overtaken by these small details. His life is hinged around what will and will not leave a trail. I apologise this is such a picture heavy post, but it is such a visual film. Much like Alain Delon's later film, La Piscine, in Plein Soleil you can feel the summer sun, taste the salt water, and hear the noises of the markets.

Edith Head & Hollywood

I apologise for the absence from this blog, I am hoping to update more regularly this year!
Today I want to talk about the wonderful exhibition being held in Bendigo, Australia, all about Edith Head and her long, successful career as a designer.

The exhibition features hundreds of costumes from films ranging from the 1930s to the 1960s, including, Samson & Delilah, The Ten Commandments, Funny Face, Sunset Boulevard, The Lady Eve and Vertigo. The exhibit provides lots of quotes from Head and the actors and actresses she worked with about her designs, as well as featuring sketches and her Oscar for Roman Holiday. 
It was wonderful to see outfits worn by all three of my favourite actresses, Audrey Hepburn, Natalie Wood and Joanne Woodward, and I've included some pictures below.
Head worked with almost every actress you can think of and always made sure to design costumes that would suit their shapes and make them feel confident. She also studied the film scripts extensively and made sure her costumes suited the character and their actions, she never wanted an outfit to outshine the actress, their work was always centre stage.
Looking at the beautiful costumes it is easy to see why Head had such a long career in the fickle film industry. Her creations are meticulously made and she had a wonderful eye for detail. Not only that but each outfit perfectly suited the film and actress they adorned.

(Suit worn by Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face, 1957)

(Gown worn by Natalie Wood in Inside Daisy Clover, 1965)

(Dress worn by Natalie Wood in The Great Race, 1965. It's a bit hard to see in the photo because of the background, but I've included a picture of the sketch as well)

(Cocktail dress worn by Joanne Woodward in A New Kind of Love, 1963)

(Ensemble worn by Kim Novak in Vertigo, 1958)

(Peacock gown worn by Hedy Lamaar in Samson and Delilah, 1949)

(Dress & coat worn by Shelley Winters in A Place in the Sun, 1951. This one was unusual as they also had the original shoes Winters wore on display. Apparently owing to the nature of the studio system few shoes survived their frequent reuse)

(Costume worn by Yul Brynner in The Buccaneer, 1958)

(All photographs taken by me)

Cinematic Endings

The other day I was thinking about some of my favourite endings in classic films, so I thought I'd compile a little list. I think one of the things that makes these particular endings my favourites is because they stay with me long after I have watched the film, they tend to be sad but beautiful.
And a warning-there are spoilers ahead!


1. Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

Everything about this scene is perfect, and it makes me cry every time (especially when she finds cat)! I think Breakfast at Tiffany's must be one of the only films to have a perfect opening and ending.


2. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)

This video clip includes the entire final duel, which in itself is fantastic, but the part I'm talking about begins at about 13.06- Blondie (Clint Eastwood) riding across the plains as the iconic theme starts to play. I just think it's epic, and so encapsulates all that is good about a western.


3. The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947)

Unfortunately I couldn't find a clip for this ending, but it's when Lucy Muir dies and Captain Gregg comes back for her, when he says, "And now you'll never be tired again", I just think it's beautiful how they walk out of the house together and how they are reunited.


4. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

I was unable to find a clip of this one either! It's when Yevgraf (Alec Guinness) learns that Tanya (Rita Tushingham) can play the balalaika, he tells her 'it is a gift', and it is then he knows for certain that she is Zhivago's daughter. It's a very poignant scene, particularly as 'Lara's Theme' begins to play as he watches them walk away.


5. The Sound of Music (1965)

I remember when I used to watch this film as a child I was always so sad when I reached this scene because I didn't want the film to be over! I still feel the same way today. As with every scene in this film it's beautifully shot, for the audience there is the relief and hope that the family will be safe, but there is also a tinge of sadness because we do not know what lies ahead of them.


6. Shane (1953)

This will probably be the most controversial scene on my list, since I know Joey (Brandon DeWilde) annoys many people! But I think this scene is lovely. It's such an iconic scene because the audience is as sad as Joey that Shane's leaving, and there are so many ambiguities-is Shane really alright? Joey is losing his hero but Shane too has lost the ability to have a normal life without violence. Cleverly it both strengthens and collapses the mythos of the west.


7. Splendor in the Grass (1961)

This scene is so sad, but so wonderfully acted, I think it's impossible to watch this film and not ask- 'Where was Natalie Wood's Oscar?' In this scene in particular there is so much left unspoken, but it is conveyed through the way Deanie looks at Bud and her silence in the car. Elia Kazan the director once said this was his favourite part of the film.