Archive for film

“Across 110th Street” (1972) #BlackAndWhiteAmerica #tfilms

Posted in Motion Pictures with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on 18.12.2010 by thomas

Across110Street

I got to watch this the other night. I’ve been trying to watch every good movie that was ever filmed in NY.

This is the kind of movie you watch today and it’s not just a dope movie, it’s a historical picture. This was not that long ago, even though it seems that way. It’s the same New York. It’s not based on a true story and some of the performances may be overacted a little,  but from what I’ve learned from old school New Yorkers, this isn’t so far off.

These 3 guys robbed a mafia safehouse for 300,000$ and took out some cops in the process. So they have not only the italian mob headed by a guy who has no problem using the N word in the most negative way, but the cops are after them too. Anthony Quinn plays the “old boys” Captain about to retire when this happens and the new Lieutenant is going to take charge, except the new Lieutenant happens to be black, and this change of power is something these 2 guys have to work through, the first with his lifetime of bias to get over.

All of the acting in this is good to great. I found this looking for more stuff Anthony Quinn is in, a favorite actor of mine.. everyone in this was good though. Real s#%t.  Some of the scenes are really powerful and all of the action scenes are some dope pre-computers realFX ish

#itsOnNetflix

Peace

~t

 

ps – i’ma do more of these

Oh and I forgot to say the soundtrack is great too. Check it

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TODAY YOU ARE THE LAW #JUSTICEFORALL

Posted in film, Life with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 15.01.2010 by thomas

You know so much of the time we’re just lost, we say please God, tell us what is right, tell us what is true. And there is no justice, the rich win, the poor are powerless. We become tired of hearing people lie. And after a time we become dead. Little dead we think of ourselves as victims. And we become victims. We become weak. We doubt ourselves. We doubt our beliefs. We doubt our institutions. And we doubt the law, but today you are the law…

You are the law. Not some book. Not the lawyers, not the marble statue. Or the trappings of the court. Those are just symbols of our desire to be just. They are in fact a prayer, a fervent and a frightened prayer. In my religion they say “act is if ye had faith, faith will be given to you”… If.. If we are to have faith in justice we need only to believe in ourselves, and act with justice. See I believe there is justice in our hearts.

PEACE

TO OUR WORLD

ACT WITH JUSTICE

PLEASE DONATE AGAIN IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY TO THE HAITI RELIEF EFFORT

‘YELE’ TO 501501 HTTP://YELE.ORG

OR ‘HAITI’ TO 90999 RED CROSS

WE ARE ONE WORLD

ONE LOVE

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Stanley Kubrick – Paths of Glory (1957)

Posted in Motion Pictures with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 28.12.2009 by thomas

Wikipedia – Paths of Glory (1957) is a war film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb.

PathsOfGlory

The book had no title when it was finished, so the publisher held a contest.

The winning entry came from the ninth stanza of the famous Thomas Gray poem “Elegy Written in a Country Church-yard.”

— The boast of heraldry, the pomp of pow’r,
And all that beauty, all that wealth e’er gave,
Awaits alike th’inevitable hour.
The paths of glory lead but to the grave.

For anyone who has seen the more famous Kubrick films like “Full Metal Jacket” , “2001: A Space Odyssey”, I don’t think this will be unfamiliar to anyone watching. The way Kubrick does things is really his own way as far as the direction! This one is about World War I trench warfare. I’ve seen a lot of war movies and I can’t say I’ve seen any that were about trench fighting. Like his other films about war what he shows you is a harsh reality, lunacy, that is terrifying and somehow sometimes hilarious at the same time. I caught this because it’s on netflix live stream. Definitely will watch again. It’s only 94 minutes long. It’s nothing like the epic ‘Saving Private Ryan’ of modern times… it’s like stepping into that world for a short chaotic time rather than seeing an overall good/bad moral-of-the-story situation. I’ve never been a soldier but I feel like this is an honest representation of what war might be like. Why watch it? Maybe it’ll make you feel empowered or inspired to stop more war? IT’s history either way.

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the dreamers of the day are dangerous men…

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on 28.12.2009 by thomas

“Those who dream by night, in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible.”

~ T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)

Lawrence

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The Lines are Drawn Clearly (Film Business 101)

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on 11.12.2009 by thomas

In the film business you have “above-the-line” and “below-the-line”. Above is the cast, directors (director of photography, maybe), producers. Below the line is everyone else : all of the other departments : Camera, Grip [Shooting - Rigging - Construction]  (which is what I am – a rigging grip) , Teamsters, Electricians, Wardrobe, Scenic Artists, Hair & Make-Up, Caterers, Craft Service, Set Dressers, Props, Parking, Production Assistants, Assistant Directors, Sound techs, Video techs. All of those departments are below the line.

If you don’t know what a call sheet is, basically every day we get like a mission plan and it’s two sheets of paper. Page one is the scenes we’re going to shoot that day with info like a short description, cast in scene, length in pages of scene, location. Also are notes for the different departments below this plan for the day.

An excerpt from tomorrow’s call sheet:

Special Requirements : **HEATING TENT FOR CAST**

…… word. it’s not said but – the message is – NOT FOR THE CREW. guess who picked up the heaters that aren’t for us to use…. we did! Guess whose responsibility it is to provide heaters? Not my department! Guess who was doing this as a last minute favor? We did. Guess who’s going to benefit? Everyone above the line. Guess who will get no thanks? We who are just the guys who stand around smoking cigarettes. We’ll get a wrap gift and a party but in reality you’re not a human being you’re a simply appeased and replaceable drone. There are lines drawn that are made very clear. It’s going to be 23 degrees and 20-30mph winds tomorrow night and we’ll be right on the east river. It took me 3 years outside working 4 seasons in #NYC  to really learn to dress for any weather. There is no quarter for the crew. I love my job. I love doing what I do. I enjoy the challenge and the benefits of working outside. But all of that is nothing when I’m constantly reminded of the lines that are drawn between people.

‘Donuts’ save me today

thanks Dilla for putting me on to this while I write my time

‘

peace & light

grind on shine on our times coming

t

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