The Doctor's Orders: Albums and Films

Ok then,

This is going to be similar to DE NIRO's album of the week thread, but with better music. (Just kidding DE NIRO, too much punk. :p )

I'll Start with my two favorites. Since DE NIRO already did Sgt. Pepper, I'll move on to my other favorite:

LET IT BE



1. Two Of Us
2. Dig A Pony
3. Across The Universe
4. I Me Mine
5. Dig It
6. Let It Be
7. Maggie Mae
8. I've Got A Feeling
9. One After 909
10. The Long And Winding Road
11. For You Blue
12. Get Back

Definetly a genre breaker. This album was made to show how the Beatles made their music. Originally intended to help keep them together and mold them back together as a group, it ended up breaking them apart. After the troubled times of the White Albumn, the Let It Be sessions only made things worse. By this album, John had already stated he felt he was no longer a part of the group. (Though he stated that he felt apart after 1966, which is total shit because thats when John really opened up his musical abilities. John was already workiing with the Plastic Ono Band when Let It Be was being recorded)
Paul was considered to be the "head" of this album, much as he was so after Brian's (Epstien) death. It showcases three of the Beatles greatest hits, Let It Be, The Long and Winding Road, and Across the Universe. (Which John hated)
Not as groundbreaking as Sgt. Pepper and recorded before Abbey Road, (Stay Tuned to this thread for more) it may have killed The Beatles, (Including shooting the film) but it helped to solidify their place as the greatest musicians ever.


Film:
I'll start with this, my favorite film.



CITIZEN KANE

Voted by many as the greatest American film ever made, including myself, this is truely an Icon of Film. #1 on the American Film Institutes greatest American films ever, this movie has it all. A great script, great director (including one hell of a director of photography), and great actors. Herman J. Mankiewicz hardly gets any credit for co-creating this masterpiece with Orson, who himself was also a genius. No movie of its time, or our time, has created so much controvercy and had to go through so much to be made. Orson Wells may have been the "boy wonder", but, according to many, this was his best film. Unfortunetly for him, it was his first. A downhill slide for Wells was on its was. Though he still had tremendous hits such as The Magnificent Ambersons and The Third Man, he would never return to the spotlight he once held as a young man.
An inspiration for countless filmmakers, again, inclusing myself, this movie had paved the way in showing how to make a GREAT film.

Stay Tuned for Weekly (Hopefully) Updates on what I think to be the greatest in listening and viewing pleasure.

The Doc

Another Amazing Album by the Beatles. Still not seen Citizen Cane

I was considering doing a Film version of DeNiro's thread, but oh well.

Excellent choice for film. In my Citizen Kane review , I explain why I think this is definitely one of the ten best films ever. DECADES ahead of it's time, and timeless as well. Orson Welles was a genius, it's a shame most of his films were edited by producers or unfinished.

One of my favorite movie stills.

As Lennon Says The White Album was the beginning of the End."It was like a slow death after that" Soz posted within minutes

With the trouble he almost got into for making KANE, it's no wonder why though. A rare gift he got though at the time of having total creative freedom must have been a dream come true. Unfortunetly for him, I think it cost him the rest of his carrer as a director. (partially)

The Doc

Doc - Very interesting read, keep'em coming!

Don V. - I'd LOVE to see you make your thread as well, go for it !

Has anyone seen 'Macbeth' with Orson Welles ?

Yeah, he also said the stupidist quote in an interview one time when he stated, "We stopped making good music after Please Please Me (1962) came out". I'm not sure where I read it, or if he was joking or not (didn't seem like it from the tone in the article, though it does seem like a very "Johnish" thing to say) He was definetely big on the "shock value" of things he said though.

The Doc

I really wanna see Chimes at Midnight .

I always feel bad when seeing that part of The Battle Over Citizen Kane.

I think I'm... I made essentially a mistake staying in movies, because I... but it... it's the mistake I can't regret because it's like saying "I shouldn't have stayed married to that woman, but I did because I love her." I would have been more successful if I'd left movies immediately. Stayed in the theater, gone into politics, written-- anything. I've wasted the greater part of my life looking for money, and trying to get along... trying to make my work from this terribly expensive paint box wich is an... a movie. And I've spent too much energy on things that have nothing to do with a movie. It's about two percent movie making and 98% hustling. It's no way to spend a life.
--------------------

Fame, how many Film of the Week threads are we gonna have though?

I have not seen it yet, as it is very hard to find. I did hear though that Orson was not very pleased with it. Anybody see the whole version yet?

The Doc

What did you think of The Stranger Ferro?

Not into The Beatles.

Into Citizen Kane, easily one of the most essential, influential, overall great films of all time. The artist's moving image, par excellence. Composition, mise-en-scene, score, acting, editing, photography (the best of the lot), and, of course, the amazing directing.

The only other Welles I've seen is another masterpiece, Touch of Evil (1958).

Mick

Yes well there is this "Movies you just saw thread" but I was thinking..you and Capo can start a thread and paste there all the review threads "MFA:TOP 100..." so one could read all your old reviews in one thread...personally I think they were all great!

I saw it my senior year of high school, while we were reading the story. I thought it was excellent. The 3 witches at the beginning, though, were creepy as hell! I had nightmares for a week.

I saw it my senior year of high school, while we were reading the story. I thought it was excellent. The 3 witches at the beginning, though, were creepy as hell! I had nightmares for a week. [/b][/quote]You know one of those witches was a guy?
Haha. It's true.

The Doc

I've seen the Polanski version of Macbeth. For all its yearning for a more faithful, perhaps controversial, adaptation, it still falls a whole wood short of Kurosawa's: Throne of Blood.

Fame, if you take a look here to see all the reviews written so far (we're still not finished).

Mick

Yes well there is this "Movies you just saw thread" but I was thinking..you and Capo can start a thread and paste there all the review threads "MFA:TOP 100..." so one could read all your old reviews in one thread...personally I think they were all great! [/b][/quote]I was thinking a thread every week with a random film. I don't know about the MFA Top 100 single thread idea though, I wouldn't mind; What do you think Capo?

I wanna do it to review more films. For some reason I've been getting a review urge lately. The movie whoring thread is a Proview thread, just short explanations why we like a movie.

Yeah, he also said the stupidist quote in an interview one time when he stated, "We stopped making good music after Please Please Me (1962) came out". I'm not sure where I read it, or if he was joking or not (didn't seem like it from the tone in the article, though it does seem like a very "Johnish" thing to say) He was definetely big on the "shock value" of things he said though.

The Doc [/b][/quote]Lennon Stated that as a group they never recorded there best music,going back to The Quarry Men Days,and when they was touring the UK and Hamburg days in the late 50's early 60's.Check out this rear piture.

Yeah, just like I said. John thought he was the best with the Quarrymen? He's waaayy too big into shock value. He would say just about anything as long as it would blow people away, and make them think otherwise.

The Doc

so whats you Opinon on Lennon-Ferro,do he inspire you

Don't get me wrong. I love Lennon. He's my second favorite musician of all time, right after Paul. But he was really big into the idea of saying whatever he thought would make people think he was a genius. He was a genius, but a key characteristic of most insane geniuses is that they don't always address it. Lennon stated several times he thought he was a genius. Lennon is the best but this was always one thing I questioned.

Don't get me wrong, again, because I'm sure Paul was a pompous asshole too. I mean, he basically got a gigantic head after Sgt. Pepper (Basically his album) took off. But he was at least more reserved about his thoughts. When you are in a group like that, you need to be considerate of your other band members. They all had their problems though, they did live together for like 10 years, so you can't really blame them.

The Doc

2nd Installment:

MOVIE:



Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage and Terrible Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.

(From my post in Thompson's Suicide Thread)

Thompson invented "Gonzo Journalism", an entirely new form of journalism that arouse out of the New Journalism of the sixties with Tom Wolfe, Timothy Leary, ect. GOnzo was different because it demands the writer to be present in the story and have him become an element in it using subjective taste. It's an incredibly personal form of journalism and requires a writer not afraid to insert himself, entirely, into a piece of writing.

Thompson had a cult following. While many people have heard of Leary and Wolfe, not as many have heard of Thompson, at least not until the film. I have enjoyed Thompson for many years, have all his books, and read all his writings. He was indeed the best ever. He is one of the only living (at the time) authors to be inducted into the Modern Library with TWO books. The eqivilence of getting an oscar. He's right before Tolstoy. His books have aquired a fan base of many people who enjoy literature and good, solid, descriptive writing. A man who could create the most interesting and adjective chunked work.

I miss him so much already and the world already feels empty without it's Prince of Gonzo.

Fear and Loathing is about a trip Raoul Duke (Thompson using an alias) and Dr. Gonzo (Oscar Acosta) made during the Mint 400 bike race he was covering for Sports Illustrated to discuss matters important to them and Dr. Gonzo's Law Firm (this is the real story, the movie version does not go into these details) in the film, they go to cover only the race, but get sidetracked on a search for the American Dream "in action". I wont say more but I will say it is my favorite film tied with 3 others of all time. I loved it and you will love it too if you are a fan of Thompson or Johnny Depp. I alos suggest Where the Buffalo Roam starring Bill Murray as Thompson and Peter Boyle as Gonzo (Name changed to Lazlo in this version), it to, is great.

Thompson left behind him a legacey not soon to be forgotten. His wild public life and written personas will live on in his unforgettable image. Thompson lived 100 lives of normal men. He recently broke his hip and leg in a hotel room in Hawaii and close friends say he has never been the same, in constant pain, unable to leave his house often, something a very active man like Thompson would never want to continue living through. he did this, I'm sure, because of a terminal illness or for the above reasons.

As Dylan Thomas said, "Do not go gently into that sweet goodnight". I think Thompson heeded his advice.

I've been trying to think of a good way to say goodbye to Hunter, but I think this will do it nicely.

"I'd like to say RIP. But that doesn't seem appropriate. I know not the truth in these matters but wherever Hunter S. Thompson might be, if his soul is anywhere, peace is nowhere nearby. Just the way it should be for a man who embraced madness.

A shot of whiskey and a bottle of beer ... here's to you Hunter S. Thompson."


MUSIC:

ABBEY ROAD



1. Come Together
(Lennon-McCartney)
2. Something
(Harrison)
3. Maxwell's Silver Hammer
(Lennon-McCartney)
4. Oh! Darling
(Lennon-McCartney)
5. Octopus's Garden
(Starkey)
6. I Want You (She's So Heavy)
(Lennon-McCartney)
7. Here Comes The Sun
(Harrison)
8. Because
(Lennon-McCartney)
9. You Never Give Me Your Money
(Lennon-McCartney)
10. Sun King
(Harrison)
11. Mean Mr. Mustard
(Lennon-McCartney)
12. Polythene Pam
(Lennon-McCartney)
13. She Came In Trough The Bathroom Window
(Lennon-McCartney)
14. Golden Slumbers
(Lennon-McCartney)
15. Carry That Weight
(Lennon-McCartney)
16. The End
(Lennon-McCartney)
17. Her Majesty
(Lennon-McCartney)

The Beatles stated that they thought this was a great way to end their run on. After the hatred and madness that Let It Be had created, they felt it was wrong to go out like that. So, they created one of the greatest works around. With a large majority of the album being comprised of half songs mixed together by Lennon and McCartney, and a large number of piano works by Paul, it came in as one of their deepest works. Released before Let It Be, people were well aware of it's "finality" sound. Through the last messages of the songs, the public knew that The Beatles were finished. John had one comment about Paul's last message on the album, excluding "Her Majesty", the line being, "And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make". That line John said, "proved deep down somewhere, Paul was able to stir up cosmic feelings and still master writing great lyrics." The Beatles all agreed it was much better in recording this album because they knew it was going to be the last and the tensions seemed to melt away, and instead, they felt good about it.

The Doc

I've seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas twice I believe and never cared for it either time. I think it's overrated quite honestly. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big Johnny Depp and Benicio Del Toro fan, but the movie was just too weird for me in certain parts and just didn't appeal to me

I rate Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas four stars. It's mostly Thompson's masterpiece but Terry Gilliam deserves a lot of credit, especially since the surrealism was very hard to translate to cinema. Along with Dead Man, it's Depp's best performance. He completely became Thompson.

Gilliam's Brazil is supposed to be more surrealistic and even better then Fear and Loathing.

It's not as surreal, but is better.

Thug

Thug, didn't you like Fear and Loathing?

I liked it very much but am not too sure of its value as a piece of art. Need to see it again.

But Brazil is a true masterpiece, one of the finest films ever made.

Thug

I have yet to see Brazil but Fear and Loathing proves he's the man.

The Doc

It'll probably be a while for me. The Criterion DVD is usually around $60. Three cases all for one film.

I got it for about $35 on the internet, DV.

Thug

Used or new?

Anyway, if I'm paying 30+ dollars for any movie on the net, it's gonna be Le Samourai.

Thug, where did you get that price? Vercetti's right, everytime I try it's 50-60.

The Doc

May 10th they're releasing the SE for Gilliam's 12 Monkeys.

I got it for that price at http://www.barnesandnoble.com a year or two ago (brand new). The price has gone up $13 there now, but http://www.dvdplanet.com has it for $39 with free shipping. They are great site to order Criterions from.

Thug

Thanks, Thug!

The Doc