Category Archives: arts

QotD

Jim Henley on Spider-Man 2: We are fortunate that genuine equality is impossible because it would be the social analog of entropy [ . . . ] ‘heat death’ of the social universe.

Posted in arts, economics, humanities | Leave a comment

watching the talkies

Technicolor is always fun, and Scaramouche (1952) is a splendid example. Does digital image processing software (such as Photoshop) have filters that try to match the flavor of Technicolor? Later: Technicolor could not save The Crimson Pirate (also 1952). I … Continue reading

Posted in cinema | Leave a comment

inochi mijikashi

LanguageHat tells of seeing Kurosawa’s 生きる Ikiru (1952) for the first time, and provides the words of the song “Life is Short”.

Posted in cinema, language | Leave a comment

Mary Sue classic

In The Importance of Being Earnest, is Algernon Moncrief meant to resemble Oscar Wilde? In the film of 1952 he does.

Posted in cinema | Leave a comment

watching the talkies

I watched half of Don’t Bother to Knock (1952) and found none of the characters at all interesting. My housemate and I both enjoyed Outside Edge (1994), a series about two contrasting couples (Brenda Blethyn and Robert Daws; Josie Lawrence … Continue reading

Posted in cinema | Leave a comment

casting

“I wonder how often Angela Lansbury has played somebody evil” (as in The Manchurian Candidate which is on KQED now). “Not nearly often enough.”

Posted in cinema | Leave a comment

at the pictures, 1951

I’ve just seen An American in Paris, whose supporting cast includes the pianist Oscar Levant, who also said: My psychiatrist once said to me, “Maybe life isn’t for everyone.” Happiness isn’t something you experience; it’s something you remember. I envy … Continue reading

Posted in cinema, economics, psychology | Leave a comment