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Reviews
Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us (2005)
A basic accounting of the better known 50's Sci Fi flicks
I was really looking forward to watching this documentary on what I considered to be some of the most entertaining films ever made. Growing up in L.A. during the 60's many of these old black and white films were shown on the local stations. I even remember a Friday night show called "Strange Tales of Science Fiction" that showcased a different Sci Fi flick every week. This documentary however spent way too much time on the opinions of the four famous filmmakers and how they felt about the classic movies of that genre and how they used them as inspiration in their filmaking.
That is not what I was hoping for in this documentary. It really could have been a comprehensive examination of the decade instead of a brief highlighting of the most well known films of the era. Anyone who has studied or been interested in these films are pretty familiar with standouts such as War of the Worlds, Forbidden Planet, The Thing, The Day the Earth Stood Still, etc. I would have liked to see some excerpts from lesser known films and perhaps some interviews with people involved in the making of these movies. I would have to agree the documentary was way too focused on Spielberg's opinions and was a type of commercial for his new release of War of the Worlds.
The Hemingway Play (1976)
A Great Find by Accident
It was 20 years ago this year that I saw The Hemingway Play. It seems that 1986 was the last time it surfaced on air, which is rather surprising, considering that Hemingway's centennial happened a few years ago. I wonder if PBS has any available copies or if it ever plans to run it again. I can't seem to find it on DVD or video.
It was a great idea for a play, having Hemingway confront himself at different stages of his life. The one thing I remember was that the character or "stage" that I wanted to see most was the Hemingway of about 28 to 30 years old. This was Hemingway at his most active and vibrant period. The two older stages of Papa and I forget the name of the Hemingway character at about 45 were pretty run down and decrepit versions of the man. They were true to form, and I guess being so, were rather pathetic. The "fun" Hemingway was shown best by the late 30's version of Hem. A man still at the top of his abilities.
The dialog was great and even if you didn't know much about Hemingway, it was interesting interaction. The character of the secretary, who reminded all the Hemingways of Hadley was a bit idealized. Also, the actress looked a lot better than Hadley ever did, but the older Hemingways kept saying how much she reminded them of their first wife.
Anyway, it would be great to see this again. I wonder what kind of netherworld a lost piece of video like this goes into.