Hiking Tuesday

Films first today.  Goya's Ghosts is a film from 2006, a partial biography of Goya, with fictional characters inserted at will.  Directed and co-written by Milos Forman, it takes a close look at the years in Spain following the French Revolution.  We were privileged to view many of Goya's paintings while spending an entire summer in Madrid many years ago.  From some of the most horrifying images ever set to canvas to some of the most bucolic, he is a major artist to be reckoned with.  The film explores many of the horrors that the Spanish people endured both under royal rule and during the revival of the Inquisition by the Catholic Church, all of which greatly influenced the artist and his images.  Goya himself seemed to be mostly an observer on the sidelines of major events, carefully digesting, and then reforming on canvas what he saw happening around him.  A recommended film, with period sets and costumes perfectly depicted, including some taken directly from the canvases of Goya and his etchings.

 

Now showing on Prime. 

 

Two more Corman/Poe/Price films came next, both of them highly recommended and fun to watch.  Even though the films have little to do directly with Poe's stories, they certainly capture many of his basic themes and ideas.  First up was the classic The Raven, starring Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff.  Also starring as a young dashing fellow is Jack Nicholson.  From 1963, this is in rich colour and widescreen (Panavision) format.  Many of these films were seen by us on small TVs back in the day, often with commercials inserted at random, and sometimes in b & w.  So seeing restored widescreen versions has been a real treat!  From 1963, the theme of The Raven is treated very lightly by Corman, who allows the stars considerable freedom to be themselves.  They are such professionals that seeing them altogether is one of the highlights of 1960s movies in general.  Lorre is the cowardly wizard (until he has had a considerable amount of wine, when his mouth gets him into trouble) who needs his chest of magic doo-dads in order to accomplish anything.  Karloff and Price are the master wizards, who only need their hands to conjure.  They have a fun magic duel at the end of the film.

 

Now showing on Criterion until Sept. 30th.

 

Lastly came a more serious film in the series, The Pit And The Pendulum, from 1961.  Watching Price descend into madness is great fun, as he channels the spirit of his demented and evil father once he is driven to distraction by the sudden reappearance of his dead wife (Barbara Steele).  The pendulum scene is well done, and the costumes in this one are truly authentic, conjuring up Renaissance Spain down to the last detail.  As is all the other films from this series (there is one more to go!), there are plenty of red candles to be seen, as well as secret passageways, enormous castles, and highly decorated sets.  For once, this house does not burn down (with the same footage used in each film whenever it does happen). 

 

Leaving Criterion Sept. 30th. 

 

We set out for Ann Arbor, MI Tuesday morning for our weekly hike, hoping to use the steep trails of Nichols Arboretum.  After enduring a traffic jam in Windsor, and then on the freeway in Detroit, we abandoned ship and used the less hilly but still pleasant Dearborn Trail.  Alas, it is asphalt rather than dirt.  We walked 5.65 miles, not a lot when compared to some of the upcoming hikes, but pretty good for a couple of old-timers who haven't done this sort of thing for five years now.  We are just finishing up Week 4 of the great preparations, with a little over one week to go.  Wednesday is cross training day; we will cycle.

Redhead on Red Bridge, as we cross a branch of the Rouge (Red) River in Dearborn, MI, near the beginning of our hike.

 

 

Rouge River, with distinct bumps on a log that happen to be sunning turtles.

Red Tailed Hawk watches for something to eat.  Deb spotted him as we crossed a very long footbridge over the Rouge River. 

 

We had our usual delicious lunch at La Shish on Michigan Ave; a rice/almond salad for two, with a side of baba ganoush, and freshly baked pita bread.  We then headed to our favourite Middle Eastern candy store, Hashems Nuts and Coffee Gallery, also in Dearborn, to stock up on supplies.  We will be offering individually wrapped candy, and white wine on Saturday for our piano group.  We finished up in Windsor at the relatively new Yemeni Corner Coffee House.  They had vegan treats along with truly great coffee.  Deb also brought home some green beans to roast from Hashems.

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

Movies, Art, and Ships

 We have enjoyed many spectacular sunsets from our northwest window, including the one I am watching right now.  Friday was cool and dry, with a high in the mid 70s.  It's been humid and very warm of late, as per usual.  Dozens of huge storms went either just north of us, or just south.  Parts of Detroit are still flooded from a week ago, and one of the main freeway stretches will not reopen for at least another week. Other than the weeds growing at an alarming rate, we are good to go.

I have shut down my Facebook page for the summer months.  I usually take February off, but I kept it up this year because of Covid.  As we are now in a pandemic lull, it seems a good time to quit.  Almost half of our local county has had two vaccine doses now, and our cases have dropped below ten per day, usually far below.  So hoping that things will only get better.  With Phase 2 of reopening, I can now get a haircut!  Saturday at 11:30 am!!  I am terribly excited.

I also have new sneakers, having completely worn out my previous pair with a year of treadmill walking.  I used them for the first time today, and they seem fine.  On our way home from buying them, we stopped along the riverfront in Amherstburg, catching the Federal Seto heading upstream at sunset.  Deb snapped an image from her phone.

The Federal ships are flagged out of Marshall Islands, but go all over the world.  Several of them frequently work the Great Lakes.  This is the Federal Seto, passing Amherstburg near sunset. 

In movie news, Deb's leaving pick was called I'm Alright Jack, starring Peter Sellers and most other British actors from 1959.  It's a b & w film directed by the Boulting brothers, with a lively script telling of the chaos created by unions trying to hold their own against their rich bosses.  Sellers is perfect in the role of shop steward, leading his boys out on strike nearly every day over something or other.  Some very funny moments as both sides of the equation are skewered mercilessly.

This film finished its Criterion showing on June 30th. 

Next up was my end of the month film festival choices.  I continued on with three more features from the Czech New Wave series, and they all turned out to be pretty good films.  All were in b & w, with excellent restored prints.  The first two were coming of age comedies, directed by Milos Forman.  Black Peter is from 1964, the tale of a young boy getting his first job.  He is supposed to keep an eye out for shop lifters in a small grocery store.  On his first day he follows a suspect for so long that he never returns to work, going home afterwards instead.  He tries to woo a girl, and takes her dancing at night.  But he doesn't know how to dance, and keeps going for lemonade instead.   Finally he has a swig of liquor, and practices to the band's music in a corner by himself.  A very funny moment with which most young boys can easily identify.  He and the girl are continually pursued by a bully and his friend, with some very amusing results.  But the worst moments for this boy, where we can see where his downtrodden character comes from, are the scenes at home with his parents, who are continually on his case, asking endless questions about everything he does.  A classic film, with relevance left over for today.

A film from 1964 by Milos Forman, now showing on Criterion. 

Next up was Loves of a Blonde, as we watch a young shoe factory girl search for her one true love.  Funny but very poignant, the movie has many very funny scenes, but just as many touching ones.  Just at the age when some girls are looking for a permanent relationship, most boys are not.  Thus when the two encounter one another, love will not usually find a smooth path.  Filmed largely in a massive dance hall, the lead boy was the main bully in the previous film.  The blonde girl who allows him to bed her for a night ends up going to his place late one night.  His adventures during their tryst with a recalcitrant window blind is like something from a W. C. Fields movie. He isn't home when she arrives, but his parents are, and the final one third of the film takes place in their tiny two-room flat.  The comedy is nonstop from here to the end, at the expense of the two parents.  Mother is completed mystified at what her son and this strange girl might be up to.  Watching the parents and the son share a small bed, while she sleeps on the boy's usual cot in the other room is a scene that won't be easily forgotten.  Of course the young girl is devastated by the bedroom conversation about her, and she breaks down crying as her second love affair shatters around her.  Quite an amazing film.

From 1965, now showing on Criterion.

Lastly comes The Shop On Main Street, directed by Jan Kadar and Elmar Klos.  here is the Criterion blurb: 

An inept Slovak peasant is torn between greed and guilt when the Nazi-backed bosses of his town appoint him “Aryan controller” of an old Jewish widow’s button shop. Humor and tragedy fuse in this scathing exploration of one cowardly man’s complicity in the horrors of a totalitarian regime. Made near the height of Soviet oppression in Czechoslovakia, THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET features intense editing and camera work which won it the Academy Award for best foreign film in 1965.

This is a pretty amazing film, as we watch the destruction of a peasant, helpless as the world changes for the worse around him.  He soon realizes that he likes the elderly Jewish lady whom he is sent to exploit, and wants to protect her.  But he is incapable of any type of action, and watches helplessly as the city's Jews are rounded up and taken to camps.  There are too many wonderful moments in this film to count, but one of my favourites is when the old woman winds up her old Victrola and puts on a recording of a Jewish folksong.  She is almost totally deaf, but when she sticks her ear on the giant horn and hears the music she gets a great big smile on her face and begins to sing along and move to the music.  As helpless as the peasant is to help her is her mystification as to what is happening around her.  A priceless film, again quite suitable to our time.

Now showing on Criterion, from 1965. 

 

While most of the DIA's major paintings are always on permanent display when not on loan, the graphic arts are much harder to view, sometimes only been displayed once every ten years or so.  So having access to this department on-line is a true godsend and treasure trove, as the collection is nearly endless.  We have only one print by Jacob Savery, and it's a beauty!  It's a very odd hunting scene, mixing architecture with nature in unique manner.

 

Deer Hunt In A Swamp, Before A Chapel and A Tower, ca 1602.  Jacob Savery, Netherlandish (1565-1603).  Etching and engraving in ink on laid paper, 7.5" x 11".

 

Detail of bottom left side.

Detail of right side.

Detail of Center.
 

Au revoir.

Mapman Mike