Pophistory: music, movies, history, and life.
A funny video takes stock video images to create famous scenes from movies.
In this humorous video, Dissolve uses stock video images to show iconic scenes from famous films. How many can you name?
How many did you get? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
On November 4, 1879, William Penn Adair Rogers was born on a ranch in Cherokee Indian territory. His birthplace was near what is now Oologah, Oklahoma. The family called the young boy by the name “Will,” and he would grow up to be beloved by the country as Will Rogers.
In 1898, the young man left home to work as a cowboy, and in 1902 began his show business career when he joined Texas Jack‘s Wild West show as a trick roper and rider. Before long, Rogers realized that audiences loved his humor and cowboy philosophy, eventually becoming a national celebrity through movie roles, magazine and newspaper articles, and in-person and radio appearances.
Rogers’s honest humor struck a chord with America as it went into the Great Depression. In 1931, President Herbert Hoover’s Organization on Unemployment Relief asked him to address the nation. Rogers delivered what became known as his “Bacon, Beans, and Limousines” speech, where he addressed unemployment and the causes of the Depression.
Check out this video of the October 18, 1931 speech from the Will Rogers Memorial Museums.
Will Rogers, however, did not get to see the end of the Depression, as he passed away on August 15, 1935. Rogers was an advocate for the early aviation industry, and he died in a plane crash while traveling in Alaska with renowned aviator Wiley Post. Many mourned the passing of one of the most beloved Americans whose life overlapped with another rising Oklahoma philosopher, Woody Guthrie (1912-1967).
The weekly television show Man of the Year paid tribute to Will Rogers when it looked back on the year 1935. The interesting episode featured a lot of video footage of Rogers. The show covereed the life of Will Rogers, and he host introduced humorists Steve Allen and Fred Allen to discuss the importance of the cowboy philosopher. [2024 Update: Unfortunately, this video is no longer available.]
Several actors have portrayed Rogers in movies, including Keith Carradine (who also played Woody Guthrie in a film). I recall first learning about Will Rogers from the 1952 film called The Story of Will Rogers
Many today may not know much about Will Rogers, but he was significantly influential in his time and worth remembering on this anniversary of his birth.
Public domain photo via Library of Congress. What is your favorite Will Rogers story? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
The European Space Agency released a short science fiction film, Ambition, to promote its upcoming real Rosetta probe. The ESA hopes the unusual tactic will help explain to the general public the purpose of the mission, which is a study of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In November, they will put a small robot on to the surface of the ice comet to analyze it.
The film, which runs less than seven minutes, stars Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) and Aisling Franciosi. Check out Ambition and learn more about the Rosetta probe.
Ambition was filmed in Iceland, and it initially screened in London on October, 24 2014 during the British Film Institute’s sci-fi program, Days of Fear and Wonder. For more on the making of the film, check out this video.
Did the ESA come up with a good way to teach science? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
This week, The Simpsons ran its 25th “Treehouse of Horror” episode. One of the three segments in the show was “A Clockwork Yellow,” which spoofed films by director Stanley Kubrick. This clip includes references to A Clockwork Orange (1971), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Full Metal Jacket (1987), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and Barry Lyndon (1975). [2019 Update: Unfortunately the clip from “Treehouse of Horror XXV” is no longer available for embedding.]
Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
I recently watched In Bruges (2008) for a second time to see if it still held up for me after liking the movie the first time I saw it. I enjoyed the film, written and directed by Martin McDonagh, even better the second time even though I still find it hard to categorize. Is it a black comedy? A drama? A thriller? A modern film noir? A love story? A travel adventure? Or is it, the way one character describes their visit to Bruges, a “balance between culture and fun”? Maybe it is a little bit of each.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as two hitmen who are sent by their boss, played by Ralph Fiennes, to Bruges, Belgium to wait for his further instructions. The two travelers do not know why they are in Bruges, and they wonder whether they are there to lay low after their last job or if they are going to be given an assignment in the city. Meanwhile the two men squabble as Gleeson’s character enjoys following their instructions to appear as tourists, while Farrell is miserable in what he sees as a boring town.
The actors all give excellent performances. Farrell shows vulnerability and humor playing the young troubled character. Fiennes gives one of his scariest performances since Schindler’s List. Gleeson is excellent in a role where his character has to be completely believable for the film to work. Clémence Poésy and Jordan Prentice are excellent in important smaller roles. At the beginning, an American viewer might struggle a little to catch all the words due to the accents, but the movie is not hard to follow.
When the assignment comes, the three men must struggle with their concepts of loyalty, friendship, and honor. But these heavy ideas — and some violent scenes and profane language — are tempered by humor and the beauty of the surrounding city. I will not spoil the movie by revealing the events, but if you enjoy dark humor, buddy movies, and beautiful scenery, you may find that In Bruges is a hidden gem.
Some Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me? Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a respectable 82% critics rating and an 85% audience rating. It does not surprise me that the critics and audience ratings are similar because it is an intelligent film that should appeal to many in both categories. Jason Zingale at Bullz-Eye.Com calls In Bruges “one of the most original films in years.” But Marjorie Baumgarten at the Austin Chronicle did not like the film so much, concluding that “the film’s light comedy and dark morality make for an unsettling mix.”
{Missed Movies is our continuing series on good films you might have missed because they did not receive the recognition they deserved when released.}
What did you think of In Bruges? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
