10 Years Later…

Favorite Title Theater: Game Of Death (1978)

Born Lee Jun Fan in San Francisco on November 27, 1940, later rechristened “Bruce” Lee, it’s doubtful anybody outside this wiry lithe genius himself could have foreseen his stratospheric rise to mortal deity, let alone being named by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential persons of the 20th century (that’s a Sagittarian for you). Lee not only acted as a symbol for oppressed peoples, he changed the way martial arts were viewed around the world through his Jeet Kune Do. He also created the templates for modern cinema fighting choreography. His battle scenes are still marvels of physical prowess and editing kineticism. As Danny Peary stated, he’s the greatest action star in film history.

Instead of inserting a random battle, here’s the fantastic opening to GAME OF DEATH, the legendary uncompleted project he was working on before ENTER THE DRAGON (1973). Rushed to completion by Raymond Shaw and director Robert Clouse, the film is an embarassing technical disaster, such as a superimposed shot of Lee’s face placed over the actor portraying him. Poor Gig Young is barely sober and it seems Dean Jagger is given one take for his lines. Still, the inclusion of the Lee pagoda duels with Dan Inosanto and Kareem Abdul Jabbar are worth the price of admission (though longer versions are now available). The other thing that saves GAME OF DEATH from Golden Turkey status is John Barry’s awesome theme and score, one of his best (he had always wanted to work with the Little Dragon). If Bruce Lee had lived on, there’s no doubt John Barry would have been soundtracking him. Sun yat fai lok, Jun Fan.

Awe and Shock.

LONDON – The United States was “hell bent” on a 2003 military invasion of Iraq and actively undermined efforts by Britain to win international authorization for the war, a former British diplomat told an inquiry Friday.

Jeremy Greenstock, British ambassador to the United Nations from 1998 to 2003, said that President George W. Bush had no real interest in attempts to agree on a U.N. resolution to provide explicit backing for the conflict.

The ex-diplomat, who served as Britain’s envoy in Iraq after the invasion, said serious preparations for the war had begun in early 2002 and took on an unstoppable momentum.

As diplomats frantically attempted in early 2003 to agree upon a U.N. resolution approving a military offensive, Bush’s key aides grew impatient — criticizing the process as an unnecessary distraction, he said.

Grumbling from Washington “included noises about ‘this is a waste of time, what we need is regime change, why are we bothering with this, we must sweep this aside and do what’s going to have to be done anyway — and deal with this with the use of force,’” Greenstock testified before the inquiry into the Iraq war.

Several nations had hoped to stall the invasion of Iraq to allow U.N. weapons inspectors more time to search for evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction — the key justification for the war. No such weapons were ever found.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091127/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_iraq_inquiry

A Message From Arlo Guthrie

Thanks

Spotlight please. Can you hear me? Is this thing on-ON-ON-ON-ON-ON…okay, sorry. Now that I’ve got your undivided attention…I started this “blog” — truly the ugliest word of the 21st century — a little over a year and a half ago as a way to pimp essays, articles and whatnot that I wouldn’t be able to find a published home for elsewhere. Thanks to the disintegration of print media, with ill-conceived cheerleading by folks like Kos and Andrew Sullivan, we will all be blogging for 15 minutes in the future. I’ve grown quite addicted to my site and the ability to get insta-gratification out of fresh electronic screeds, and having a word-baby like this requires constant love and supervision.

But no man is an island, and neither is TECHNICOLOR DREAMS. I require a readership, and comments to fuel the esthetic fire. I get all tingly when I see a new comment from Leah or Chuck or Craig or JKeeling or THE FUTURIST! or Bob or even LexG and all the others (like “Romper Room” I can see frankbooth and J.D. and Daniel…). And in little over one year the site has expanded its audience to a surprising level to me and I’m honored anybody clicks over here to partake. There’s so much exquisite film and culture writing out there in cyber-space, it makes me sad the market for words has been devalued thanks to the democracy of the web. It’s an irony that historians will appreciate more than us someday. But my audience cares, and without your readership I would be alone (but not lonely) out here in the digital ether.

So while I am grateful for many things in this crazy, mixed-up world straddled between two centuries, as far as this blog goes, I bow in honor of your continued patronage.

Thank you.

Spotlight OFF. Back to our regularly scheduled programing:

Snoopy fighting a chair:

Impeach Obama

I predicted here after Obama’s inauguration that the rabid right-wing losers would call for his impeachment within a year. If I were a gambling man, I’d be collecting my winnings. Today I received this in my inbox from GOP comedy site, Townhall.com:

Enough is enough. We’re calling for the Impeachment of Barack Hussein Obama. And if you agree, you can join us right now.

Right here and right now, you can add your voice to ours… and add your name to the Articles of Impeachment against Barack Hussein Obama.

Why are we calling for the Impeachment of Barack Hussein Obama?

Radio-personality Tammy Bruce may have said it best:
“… ultimately, it comes down to… the fact that he seems to have, it seems to me, some malevolence toward this country, which is unabated.”

You Bow To No One

Hear Dick Speak:

When the President of the United States bows to a foreign leader, our friends and allies don’t expect it and our adversaries perceive it as a sign of weakness. I think it’s fundamentally harmful and it shows in my mind that this is a guy, a president, who would bow, for example, who doesn’t fully understand or have the same perception of the U.S. role in the world that I think most Americans have…

What I see in President Obama is somebody who bows before foreign leaders and spends his trips aboard primarily apologizing for U.S. behavior. I find that very upsetting.

Filibuster! The GOP Musical

The media reminds America how vocally Republicans opposed the filibuster as partisan Democratic obstruction just a few years ago:

And there was Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), who warned four years ago that “if the filibuster becomes an institutional response where 40 senators driven by special interest groups declare war on nominees in the future, the consequence will be that the judiciary will be destroyed over time.”

On Tuesday, Graham voted to institutionalize the filibuster.

Its WAR.

From right-wing think-tank Townhall.com, the cloture of a middling Health Care bill has inspired the next generation of neo-civil war veterans. Praise The Lord and Pass The Ammo:

“I’d rather die on my feet, than live on my knees. Our next actions must be carefully planned. VERY carefully planned. Soft targets are best for lone wolves. Take care of yourself.”

Here’s another manifesto from a FOX/Beck/Palin proto-warrior:

“Its WAR. The American congress has declared war against the American people. They voted to impose slavery on 99 % of the country. This is war on our freedom. This is exactally why there is a need for revolution. These democrats dont care about the safety of their familys. Pick a target, (tides, acorn, americorp) people, and study it, Stay stealth until its time. There will now be a revolution. when it starts, it will not end until all the radical groups are wiped out. I will die for GOD for my family and for my freedom. We must now fight and wipe out the traitors in the government. When we get rid of them, we will regain all the great things our country stands for. Evil must be now wiped out. Good luck everyone, you’re not alone.”

Go Bears!

That’s the first time I ever expressed this archetypal UC Berkeley battle-cry from my Alma Mater. How come never before? To quote Kevin McCarthy from INNERSPACE, “Frankly, I don’t give a shit.” But I do care about these ridiculous UC tuition hikes that will further keep a brain drain on the state that’s already lost its collective mind by electing The Terminator twice. Blame our foreign entanglements. The eventual trillions being spent and squandered in Iraq and Afghanistan could help reduce our deficit and provide real health care for every American citizen. Not to mention pumping more funds into schools, the intellectual engines that hardwire the country into social and technological evolution. As a 60′s radical who wasn’t there, I always applaud the students in their revolts and it’s important to put a face on these struggles. Oh…Go Bears!

Forgotten Films: The Final Option (1982)

For about five minutes in 1982, Lewis Collins was whispered to be a likely successor to Roger Moore for the James Bond series. This seemingly unknown film — titled WHO DARES WIN in the United Kingdom — acted as his screen-test and based on his performance alone, I would have loved to see Collins step in as 007. He has Timothy Dalton’s serious gaze and Daniel Craig’s action physique. THE FINAL OPTION, written by Reginald Rose (THE WILD GEESE) and directed by Ian Sharp (who shot second unit for GOLDENEYE), was rushed into production in the wake of the terrorist capture of the Iranian Embassy in London and successful rescue by Special Air Services. The plot here is more dramatically arched: Frankie Leith (Judy Davis) the former lover of SAS agent Peter Skellen (Collins), leads a group of terrorists to capture an embassy in England and the agent goes undercover to convince Leith to let him join. With expected violent results.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on the film, as it’s not all that great, but there are nifty scenes and performances, and I still own the long out of print LP soundtrack with an awesome theme by the killer Roy Budd (GET CARTER). As stated, the main reason to watch THE FINAL OPTION is to pretend Collins is in a James Bond film; he’s quite intense and engaging. Another reason is to see the brilliant Judy Davis heft a machine-gun in her low-cut evening gown while mouthing political platitudes in a not-quite-right American accent, replete with lots of “fucking, man.” There’s also Edward Woodward in fine stock form as a SAS Commander and Richard Widmark as The American Diplomat.

I also enjoy the debates between the terrorists and their hostages, ridiculous though they be, since I’m a sucker for Stanley Krameresque adversarial dialogues. Even better are the action beats, with lots of rappeling and shooting, and Davis’ last moment is one of the most memorable scenes in 80′s action cinema. THE FINAL OPTION is still unavailable on DVD here, although you can pick it up on Region 2 under its original title. If you want a cinematic flashback to Reagan era jingoism and heroics, this is an interesting and underlooked timepiece.

Friday Song: Ben Folds Five

Normally, any late 90′s band with the name Ben Folds Five would probably not be allowed near my disc-rack or turntable. But I was feeling brave and bouncy, looking for some new indie rawk to act as background to Saturday cleaning during my Berkeley Days circa 1997. I had heard snippets of Ben Folds Five 1995 debut, and since I am a fan of rollicking piano music, I took a chance and picked up their second disc, “Whatever And Ever Amen.” Happily, this was the perfect record to clean by, and I still have fond memories of vacuming while listening to this even today. Although I never developed into a major fan, here’s “Battle Of Who Could Care Less,” a witty song about slacker apathy and my favorite BFF tune with my favorite lyrics of the 90′s (“This should cheer you up for sure/See I’ve got your old I.D./And you’re all dressed up like the Cure”). So bust out the duster and sing along. Or don’t. I don’t care. Really.

GOP Fearmongers

So I can’t figure it out from the Republican mindset: America bows to no one and we kick ass. But prosecuting the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 in the city where they did the most damage is…wrong. Because America can’t handle it. Or worse. Now the GOP is reaching into their bag of slime via Louis Gohmert (Texas-R) to accuse Obama and the Democrats of wanting a terror attack so they can push through all their socialist programs.

Happily, this latest example of Republican hate and stupidity is not going unchallenged from Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen:

“Congressman Louie Gohmert’s outrageous comments not only insult the victims of 9/11 and their families but also offer the latest evidence that the Republican Party has been taken over by right-wing extremists. House Republicans should immediately condemn Congressman Gohmert’s offensive remarks.

“Whether they’re attending ‘tea party’ rallies featuring Holocaust imagery, comparing health insurance reform to terrorism, or staying silent about plans to burn public officials in effigy, the tenor from House Republicans grows more alarming by the day.

“It’s long past time for the House Republican Leadership to speak out against this disturbing pattern of increasingly extreme rhetoric from their ranks and engage in the constructive search for solutions that America’s many challenges demand.”

Favorite Klaus Kinski Quote Theater

“Have A Coke And A Smile? I have a Coke and my stomach hurts.”

- Fangoria Magazine, 1982

Happy Birthday Martin Scorcese

How apropos that the New Beverly/Grindhouse Film Festival presented a Roberta Collins double-feature to honor her birthday memory (and Clu Gulager who was in his usual seat) and that the first film, THE UNHOLY ROLLERS (1972), happened to be edited by none other than Martin Scorcese in his Roger Corman toiling days. What’s fascinating about this raw, rough, roller derby exploitationer is that Scorcese’s editing fingers are so dominant all over the movie. From the rock n’ roll music montages to the clever voice-overs with kinetic footage used to show, not tell, his unique editing stands out in this rarely screened AIP drive-in standard. Alongside that you have the luscious 70′s exploitation queen Claudia Jennings skating her way to Hell with a team of cruel misfits. I could go on about MEAN STREETS or TAXI DRIVER — I prefer THE KING OF COMEDY myself — but I think Marty would dig a shout-out for his B-Movie backlot razzle-dazzle…Salud!