dirac

I think of the dazzling show created by Zhang Yimou for the Beijing Olympics,a feast of grand-scale movement that worked on every level. Thank you for that list, meunier fan.

I'd say in this context that's not a dumb question - we're talking about an audience of millions, and I'll bet most of them didn't know why the house was upside down, either. And these are sports commentators, so I'd cut them some slack. That's what Pozner was there for - supposedly.

Hey, never mind the high culture. Check out the animatronic bear, leopard, and ski bunny! Of course they'll never match the Great Inflatable Beaver.

I'm inclined to agree. The camerawork could have been better and ballet can project farther than just about any other dance form, but one or two dancers striking poses, or even a whole corps, just isn't going to have much impact in the performance space of an Olympic ceremony, a stadium event on the largest scale. A bizarre remark on several levels. God forbid he should be informing viewers on what they're watching. You gotta love the Russians, though. In both the opening and closing ceremonies at a gargantuan sporting event -- art, literature, ballet, great music....what a magnificent culture on display. I did think they could have made a little time for their chess champions. I imagine a lot could have been done with a chess board projected on the stadium floor....

Frank Ohman has written his autobiography.

So sorry to hear that she has died. Never one of my favorite child stars but she was a pretty cool kid, although one can only be grateful that her home studio, Fox, would not loan her out for The Wizard of Oz. Unlike so many child performers she had a happy and successful second act outside show business. Temple's vehicles were generally simple and straightforward, geared to the rural audience that was the heart of Shirley's fan base. Graham Greene once got in very hot water for pointing out other aspects of her appeal: Temple and 20th Century-Fox sued against this vile foreign slur on Shirley's wholesomeness, resulting in the closure of the small magazine for which Greene wrote the piece - they had no way of paying the damages - and causing Greene to contemplate getting out of the country for a while. Of course, if they'd ignored the article it would have fallen into obscurity save for those curious about Greene's non-fiction. As it is, the Times and other publications mention it in her obits and the fracas makes it into all the bios. Greene would be amused, although certainly he was wearing no smiles at the time.

Composite characters can work successfully - sometimes they're essential when telling a story involving a large group of real people, because trying to fit everyone in can diffuse the drama, making it hard for viewers not already familiar with the personalities and the outline of the tale to remember who's who. They just shouldn't be stock composite characters. In fairness they're not always terrible movies, just ones unsuited suited for release during Oscar season, when the competition among new releases is very tight. In the case of "The Monuments Men" the story was that they wanted to polish something that was already in splendid shape, but given the mixed critical reception, perhaps there were problems that needed fixing.

“Blue Jasmine” is out on DVD.. I didn’t see anything that would make me change my no-theater policy on Allen’s pictures. The echoes of Streetcar are very, very strong in many of the San Francisco scenes - so much so that it was distracting for this viewer. Not good, especially as Allen’s dialogue does not benefit from the comparison. I have read that Allen says he did not have Streetcar in mind while writing his script. On the evidence of what made it to the screen….hmmm. As Quiggin notes upthread, the movie is shot mainly in the Mission District. It’s true that Allen doesn’t give the city the glowing travelogue treatment we’ve become familar with from his recent pictures shot overseas. We are apparently supposed to think Ginger’s flat is horrid, but it looked nice to me, if possibly a tad cramped for two adults and two kids, and any clerk for a local grocer in contemporary San Francisco in possession of it would be in good shape. I kept waiting for someone to point this out to Jasmine but perhaps Allen doesn’t know any better? His relationship to modern pop culture seems fuzzier than ever. (Jasmine and her husband’s “song” is “Blue Moon.”) Allen’s preference for brevity can be refreshing in a day where dramatic feature films routinely balloon past two-and-a-half hours but it can also look like carelessness, as it does here - characters inadequately sketched in, heavy reliance on stereotypes, important story lines and backstory not filled out. Blanchett’s Jasmine begins affected and batty and ends affected and batty, with no development, and even in flashback we don’t learn enough about her. I liked the scenes with Sally Hawkins and Louis C.K.

The movie is out. Turns out Kirstein never made it into the movie - he's subsumed into a 'composite" character played by Bob Balaban. The reviews I've seen are mixed-to-negative, but if you're interested in the subject matter it sounds worth checking out.

Some of those fans celebrating at the parade may well have contributed to that event. As a rule Super Bowls tend to be relatively quiet, if not drowsy, because they're usually played on neutral territory in front of an audience heavily loaded with expense-account types. Not many fans of the Broncos or Seahawks were expected this time because of the distance involved, but it turned out that a considerable number of Seahawks people made the trek to the Far East to support their team. They outnumbered Denver fans significantly and their noise was blamed for the miscommunication that led to the safety. Truly a team-effort victory....

Oh, I didn't mean to imply there was anything wrong with it, only that I'd seen it before. Not a big reflection on Macaulay's writing either way.

I didn't find the reference to Stoppard particulary distracting, myself. And given the ballet's subject matter and title I can understand why the work of Housman might come to Macaulay's mind. Respectfully, atm711, I tend to agree with those who have said that this wasn't intended as a put-down. It's also a trope I've seen in other profiles of artists (e.g., "Some not familiar with his work might find it hard to imagine, given X's cherubic face, bright eyes, and cheerful outlook, that in his writing he is preoccupied with the grimmest of subjects, torture and murder." )

I've noticed that, as well.

The people who attended certainly didn't miss a very competitive game, although blowouts can be fun when the team you root for is administering the thrashing. On a high culture note, Renee Fleming performed a lovely but oddly slow rendition of the national anthem, as if she'd taken a few too many Valiums to soothe her nerves. Congrats to the people of Seattle and their NFL franchise. Party! Party!

Yes, she was sweet in The Women, just right for that part.

Thank you for posting this, Cygnet. I always forget to keep tabs on these.

"Umpteen"? At least. Thank you for that link, kfw. I note with pleasure that Bruce Springsteen's appreciation, the first in the list, mentions the name of John Hammond, one of the great behind-the-scenes heroes of American music.

Thank you for posting the news, sandik. Assuredly we will never see his like again. Little birdie, little birdie, Come sing to me your song. Got a short time to stay here And a long time to be gone. Little birdie, little birdie, What makes you fly so high? Dissatisfied, dissatisfied And a-caring never a bit to die. Little birdie, little birdie, What makes your wings so blue? It's nothing else but grieving, But grieving over you. Fly down, fly down, little birdie, And sing to me your song. Sing it now, while I'm with you, Can't hear you when I'm gone.

Certainly she inspired others with it, yudi. Gelsey Kirkland mentions in her first book that she saw Plisetskaya do the jump and promised herself that she would get one of those for her own. As she did: Those were the days.......

The show may air in 2015:

I doubt if the following counts, but Harriet Hoctor used to kick the back of her head while on pointe, a stunt she can be seen performing in the Astaire-Rogers vehicle "Shall We Dance." I couldn't find a video of that online, but here's a clip of Hoctor and ballet girls in "The Great Ziegfeld" along with some patient borzois.

You shouldn't dance "Diamonds" exactly as you would "Swan Lake" but Odette and the "Diamonds" ballerina may be sisters under the skin. There are hints of "Swan Lake" in both the score and the choreography -- the hunting motif, what seem to be echoes or refractions of the second-act pas de deux. It's certainly always given me that feeling. Looking forward to seeing Smirnova.

An acquaintance of mine kitted out his bunny rabbit in a 49ers jersey. More furry Seahawks fans here.

"We are all the 12th Man now." In fairness there isn't much to celebrate when the team isn't competitive. Nice to know Seattle is succumbing to the same sort of lunacy with which San Francisco is familiar when the Niners are doing well. I wish all the best to the fine people of Colorado, Drew, even if I can't pull for their team. Speaking of lunacy, I can only imagine the current degree of Manningmania....

So sorry to hear this. Thanks for posting, Mme. Hermine. Tributes from various parties in The Guardian: