EBERT'S LITTLE MOVIE GLOSSARY
Hey, isn't that ... ?
In countless movies, the extras obviously must get directionalong the lines of: "Whatever you do, do not look at the stars ofthe movie in the scene!" In real life, if someone who looked likeGeorge Clooney or Julia Roberts or Angelina Jolie or Sean Connerywalked through, say, a casino, a lot of people would look, and lookand look.
Deanna Langellier,
Thousand Oaks, Calif.
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Neil Gaiman claims he holds the record for having sold the mostscreenplays to Hollywood that were never produced. I thought HarlanEllison was the gold medalist in that event.
Greg Nelson, Chicago
A. Neil Gaiman writes: "It wasn't me who said it; the HollywoodReporter ran a front page story in 2003 (when 'Coraline' wasoptioned) saying that I was the person with the most things optionedbut never made. They listed lots of them, and interviewed variouspeople about how hard it was to make my stuff. Even at the time Ithought it was a silly way for them to do an article on me anddidn't take it seriously. I'm sure there are many more people thanme with worse runs of getting things made (and I have three moviescoming out in the next 12 months, so I'm definitely off the meternow)."
And Harlan Ellison writes me: "I've no idea what my pal NeilGaiman claims for a total of unproduced screenplays but (includingfilms intended for TV, as well as theatrical, but not series) I hadthe list printed out, and at the moment, it stands at a terrifying27 screenplays written and unproduced. (All were paid for atexorbitant rates, thank goodness.)"
Q. I have long been a dedicated reader of your reviews. You wereresponsible for directing me toward the works of Bresson, Bunuel,Bergman, Tarkovsky and Herzog (particularly Bresson) and thusinspiring my love for the movies. I will forever be indebted to youfor having changed my life in this regard.
I am also a proud American who enlisted voluntarily in the UnitedStates Marines Corps. I served for one year and a half in Iraq. Isaw more of the destructive impact of war on the lives of the Iraqipeople and those of the men around me than you will ever know. And Iam proud to have done so. I know a lot of men and women who weresimilarly proud to fight what they felt was a just war against acommon enemy to all of humanity, a regime of mass destruction.Contrary to what you may believe, many serve the American causebecause they want to. The soldiers fighting there fight in the nameof universal justice that many of the liberal elite take forgranted.
Your review of "No End in Sight" deeply wounded me, as one whohas come to place tremendous value upon your opinion. I may nolonger be in the fight, having served my term and studying now atthe University of Chicago. But the message you've sent to yourreaders is painful all the same for me to receive. I urge you,Roger, to not be so self-possessed in the future, that you presumeto know the hearts and minds of men who do not share your worldview.
Evan Bernick, Chicago
A. Thank you for your heartfelt letter. Those who fought andfight in Iraq are brave and patriotic, and risk their lives in thename of their country. My review was not about them. It was aboutthose who sent them into battle. What makes "No End in Sight" uniqueis that its subjects are almost entirely men and women who served inthe U.S government, military, intelligence and diplomatic corps, andnow feel they were lied to and betrayed by their superiors; they allsupported the war, but their advice from the ground was ignored byideologues in Washington. I hope you see the film, which is aboutyour leaders at the time you served. At the least, you will find itprovocative.
Q. In your Aug. 10 column, you mentioned that you thought SturlaGunnarsson would be the first Canadian director to punch you forcalling him an American, although he was from "the offshore Americanisland of Iceland." I hope not. As far as I've ever read, Iceland isa part of Europe, not North America.
Paul Gibson, Reston, Va.
A. I had a big argument with my editor about that. "Surely," Isaid, "in an item about how we should call Mexicans and Canadians'Americans,' everyone will see I was making a joke."
Q. Is it actually possible that "Desperately Seeking Susan" wasnamed best film of the year 1985 by the New York Times? That's whatWikipedia says in its entry on the film. Or is this just anothercase of Wikipedia demonstrating the power of consensus-drivenreality?
Andy Ihnatko, Boston
A. The New York Times, as itself, does not name any film the bestof the year. The critics do. Janet Maslin, who was a Times filmcritic at the time, writes me: "I don't know how it works now, withall three critics making lists. But we used to have a single listfrom the chief critic, with 10 films listed in alphabetical order.Except for the year (this really happened) when Vincent Canby gotmixed up and listed only nine. We also had a brief, happy period ofbeing able to make a 10 worst list. Then it was decided that thatwas too mean-spirited and un-Timesian. I was sorry to see that go."
Canby did include "Susan" on his list of the year's 10 best. Inalphabetical order: "Desperately Seeking Susan," "Kiss of the SpiderWoman," "Prizzi's Honor" "Purple Rose of Cairo," "Ran," "SecretHonor," "7 Up/28 Up," "Shoah" and "The Trip to Bountiful." That'sonly nine, and a later correction says the list should also haveincluded "Young Sherlock Holmes."
Q. I have a "Godfather" question that NO ONE can answer. In "TheGodfather," just before Michael leaves to kill Sollozzo and policeCapt. McCluskey, the family is in the Corleone home, trying todetermine where Michael will have this meeting. There are six peoplein the room: Michael, Sonny, Tom, Clemenza, Tessio and anunidentified person wearing a brown suit. He has only seven secondsof screen time and no dialogue.
Who is he? Only the top "family" members would be there as theydiscuss killing a police captain. Why would anyone outside of theelite group be there?
Phil Giordano, Plainfield, N.J.
A. I am reminded of the great movie line, "And there was anotherman -- a third man." You list all the possible identities for thesixth man, and explain why it couldn't be any of them. I asked TimDirks, author-manager of filmsite.org, which supplies countlessinvaluable plot details, and he replies: "It looks like PhilGiordano is searching for some 'logical' answer. And he has alreadydismissed guesses that may be correct. I don't think there's goingto be a definitive answer to his question, because of the way he hasmade assumptions about who the person must be."
COMING SOON TO A DVD NEAR YOU: 'KILLER OF SHEEP'
Q. I read your Great Movies essay about Charles Burnett's "Killerof Sheep" and was struck with an enormous desire to see the film.But it seems that the film is simply unavailable on DVD. Do you haveany information on where or when the film might be released so thepublic can once again see it outside of a retrospective or festivalscreening?
Mark Adkins, Austin, Texas
A. The film, in a beautiful new print restored by Ross Lipman ofthe UCLA Film and Television Archive, is being exhibited on the art-house circuit, should inevitably come to Austin and will be releasedby Milestone on DVD.
SMALL SCREEN
CLASSIC FILMS ON CABLE TV THIS WEEKEND
TODAY
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939): Quasimodo, a deformed bellringer (Charles Laughton), rescues Esmeralda (Maureen O'Hara), agypsy girl falsely accused of witchcraft and murder, in directorWilliam Dieterle's version of Victor Hugo's novel. With CedricHardwicke, Thomas Mitchell, and Edmond O'Brien. 5 a.m., TurnerClassic Movies
"Jamaica Inn" (1939): In director Alfred Hitchcock's thriller,based on Daphne du Maurier's novel, a woman (Maureen O'Hara)stumbles onto a ring of bloodthirsty scavengers operating off on theBritish coast. With Charles Laughton. 7 a.m., Turner Classic Movies
SATURDAY
"Fury" (1936): In director Fritz Lang's morality tale, aninnocent man (Spencer Tracy) escapes a lynch mob and then returnsfor revenge. With Sylvia Sidney and Walter Brennan. 5 a.m., TurnerClassic Movies
"Northwest Passage" (1940): The true story of Rogers' Rangers andtheir fight to open up new frontiers in colonial America. WithSpencer Tracy, Robert Young and Walter Brennan. Directed by KingVidor. 7 a.m., Turner Classic Movies
"Boys' Town" (1938): Spencer Tracy won his second best actorOscar in this true story of Father Flanagan's quest to build a homefor orphans. With Mickey Rooney and Henry Hull. Directed by NormanTaurog. 9:15 a.m., Turner Classic Movies
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963): Greedy competitors tearup the countryside in search of buried treasure. With Spencer Tracy,Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Dick Shawn,Peter Falk and Jonathan Winters. Directed by Stanley Kramer. 7 p.m.,Turner Classic Movies
"Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961): Director Stanley Kramer's all-star drama follows an aging American judge (Spencer Tracy) as hepresides over the trial of Nazi war criminals. With MarleneDietrich, Maximilian Schell, Judy Garland and Montgomery Clift.10:15 p.m., Turner Classic Movies
SUNDAY
"Inherit the Wind" (1960): Based on the Scopes Monkey Trial ofthe '20s, in which a schoolteacher creates a national furor when hebreaks a law against the teaching of evolution. With Spencer Tracy,Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Dick York and Harry Morgan. Directed byStanley Kramer. 1:30 a.m., Turner Classic Movies
"The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938): In medieval England, thebandit king (Errol Flynn, in his best role) of Sherwood Forest leadshis Merry Men in a battle against the corrupt Prince John (ClaudeRains). With Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Eugene Palletteand and Alan Hale. Directed by William Keighley and Michael Curtiz.7 p.m., Turner Classic Movies
"The Fabulous Baker Boys" (1989): A pair of brothers (Beau andJeff Bridges), who have toiled over a decade on the lounge circuitas a piano duo, hire a singer (Michelle Pfeiffer), and then discoversome hard truths about themselves and their music. Directed by SteveKloves. 9 p.m. Fox Movie Channel
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