A Collection of Some Things I Found, Some Thoughts I Had This Week
Today's Weekly Checkup includes several videos that I like to watch from time to time. Most of them are snippets of movies, documentaries, or television shows. Each one continues to evoke an emotion in me, even after repeated viewings.
As always, consider reading through each section and watching each video (they are short): besides the benefits of discovering a new topic or subject, you will gain more insights into my own personal thoughts and inspirations.
The Opening to The Last Unicorn
When I was a young child (around nine or ten-years old), my family owned a LaserDisc player. I remember watching two movies on it: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Last Unicorn. I would watch the latter almost every day. Although a few scenes have not aged well (there is a part where two characters sing that makes me cringe), I still love sitting through it. There was a period of my life when I would fall asleep on the family room couch watching certain films over and over again. This was one of them.
"Rare is the man who is taken for what he truly is..."
I am sharing the intro. It opens with images of the unicorn's world set to some instrumental music. The animation may be dated, but it still resonates with me, not just because of nostalgia, but also its simplicity. I feel like I am in a world of folk magic. Then there is the dialogue between two hunters, which I find amusing, but also sad. Finally we get the first song of the soundtrack, with lyrics written by Jimmy Webb, and performed by America and the London Symphony Orchestra. They do a fantastic job throughout the film, but this song sets the stage. The imagery throughout the song is inspired by the Unicorn Tapestries.
"No, no, listen, don't listen to me, listen."
A Scene from Adventure Time
I am grateful for my former student suggesting this series. I am also grateful that my two daughters have enjoyed watching the series with me from the beginning. When the finale to Adventure Time finally aired, I teared up. The world consists of fantastical people and beasts, which are ruled by a magical science. It may sound childish, but it is far from it. Although the first episode may not reveal it, the series gets deeper emotionally and philosophically. It is set in a post apocalyptic Earth, thousands of years after a nuclear holocaust.
"Dude, suckin' at something is the first step to being sorta good at something."
(My wife, who has never seen the show, loves this quote, so much so that I framed an image of the character saying the words and gave it to her for Christmas.)
Yes, the scene I am sharing requires understanding a lot of context. But, in my mind, it sums up everything I love about the show. There is a silliness to it, that almost seems infantile, but so many mature notions underlie the story: issues of morality and identity, relationships including friendships and family, even of time and space. Nostalgia permeates throughout the scene. And, this particular song and montage rewards the viewer who patiently sat through season after season, watching all these characters grow up. The scene ends a three episode story arc of the character, Lemonhope.
It still gives me chills watching him walk through the building at the end (love the lighting throughout that part). So much art, poetry, and beauty.
Yes, I love these kinds of animated series (i.e., Futurama, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Samurai Champloo).
The ending to No Country for Old Men
*Spoiler Alert!*
This one will probably be more interesting to most of my readers--even if the movie never appealed to some of them--than the other two above. It is the ending to No Country for Old Men. It does not matter if you saw the movie or not. In fact, I only saw it once, but have watched this scene a dozen times. It is that good. One of the best movie endings ever. While it is quiet (the movie is very violent) and subtle (the violence is not), it is still powerful and insightful. The discussion of the two dreams is so realistic, and dramatic. Tommy Lee Jones delivers it brilliantly. And Tess Harper as his wife is just so beautiful here (yes, I said she is beautiful, all 57 years of her). Her facial expressions reinforces the weight of her costar's emotions.
I get chills every time I hear him talk about the second dream, and I always freeze up with the cinematography at the very end (hint: the sound of the clock amplifies the visuals).
It's that fucking good.
The Introduction to The West
For me, this is one of the most memorable documentary introductions I have ever witnessed. If The West has a flaw, it's that it was not filmed in widescreen and high definition. I have heard that Ken Burns is remastering the Civil War, improving on the quality of the images. Hopefully he will be able to improve this The West in my lifetime.
Unfortunately, I cannot directly share with you a copy of what I call "history spoken of poetically, and revealed through myth". I want to describe the power it holds over me, but I lack the ability to do so. In the opening dialogue of the first episode, N. Scott Momaday says,
Here is some of the opening narration and commentary of Episode 1 of The West. Reading it may help, but it does not do it justice (the website leaves out an entire section of descriptive narration).
Also, here is the opening theme song. Those images in the video, despite the quality, are so awe-inspiring, and the music so haunting.
Netflix is not streaming it currently (it did in the past). I cannot find it on the PBS Thirteen app. Amazon Prime has it, but it will cost $4.99 for each episode ($29.99 for the entire series). Perhaps that is the price to be paid in order to understand what moves me so deeply when it comes to this film.
If you are interested, at the very least, purchase or get a copy of The West: Episode 1, and watch the first five to six minutes. Perhaps you will appreciate it like I do.
As always, consider reading through each section and watching each video (they are short): besides the benefits of discovering a new topic or subject, you will gain more insights into my own personal thoughts and inspirations.
The Opening to The Last Unicorn
When I was a young child (around nine or ten-years old), my family owned a LaserDisc player. I remember watching two movies on it: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and The Last Unicorn. I would watch the latter almost every day. Although a few scenes have not aged well (there is a part where two characters sing that makes me cringe), I still love sitting through it. There was a period of my life when I would fall asleep on the family room couch watching certain films over and over again. This was one of them.
"Rare is the man who is taken for what he truly is..."
I am sharing the intro. It opens with images of the unicorn's world set to some instrumental music. The animation may be dated, but it still resonates with me, not just because of nostalgia, but also its simplicity. I feel like I am in a world of folk magic. Then there is the dialogue between two hunters, which I find amusing, but also sad. Finally we get the first song of the soundtrack, with lyrics written by Jimmy Webb, and performed by America and the London Symphony Orchestra. They do a fantastic job throughout the film, but this song sets the stage. The imagery throughout the song is inspired by the Unicorn Tapestries.
"No, no, listen, don't listen to me, listen."
A Scene from Adventure Time
I am grateful for my former student suggesting this series. I am also grateful that my two daughters have enjoyed watching the series with me from the beginning. When the finale to Adventure Time finally aired, I teared up. The world consists of fantastical people and beasts, which are ruled by a magical science. It may sound childish, but it is far from it. Although the first episode may not reveal it, the series gets deeper emotionally and philosophically. It is set in a post apocalyptic Earth, thousands of years after a nuclear holocaust.
"Dude, suckin' at something is the first step to being sorta good at something."
(My wife, who has never seen the show, loves this quote, so much so that I framed an image of the character saying the words and gave it to her for Christmas.)
Yes, the scene I am sharing requires understanding a lot of context. But, in my mind, it sums up everything I love about the show. There is a silliness to it, that almost seems infantile, but so many mature notions underlie the story: issues of morality and identity, relationships including friendships and family, even of time and space. Nostalgia permeates throughout the scene. And, this particular song and montage rewards the viewer who patiently sat through season after season, watching all these characters grow up. The scene ends a three episode story arc of the character, Lemonhope.
It still gives me chills watching him walk through the building at the end (love the lighting throughout that part). So much art, poetry, and beauty.
Yes, I love these kinds of animated series (i.e., Futurama, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Samurai Champloo).
The ending to No Country for Old Men
*Spoiler Alert!*
This one will probably be more interesting to most of my readers--even if the movie never appealed to some of them--than the other two above. It is the ending to No Country for Old Men. It does not matter if you saw the movie or not. In fact, I only saw it once, but have watched this scene a dozen times. It is that good. One of the best movie endings ever. While it is quiet (the movie is very violent) and subtle (the violence is not), it is still powerful and insightful. The discussion of the two dreams is so realistic, and dramatic. Tommy Lee Jones delivers it brilliantly. And Tess Harper as his wife is just so beautiful here (yes, I said she is beautiful, all 57 years of her). Her facial expressions reinforces the weight of her costar's emotions.
I get chills every time I hear him talk about the second dream, and I always freeze up with the cinematography at the very end (hint: the sound of the clock amplifies the visuals).
It's that fucking good.
The Introduction to The West
For me, this is one of the most memorable documentary introductions I have ever witnessed. If The West has a flaw, it's that it was not filmed in widescreen and high definition. I have heard that Ken Burns is remastering the Civil War, improving on the quality of the images. Hopefully he will be able to improve this The West in my lifetime.
Unfortunately, I cannot directly share with you a copy of what I call "history spoken of poetically, and revealed through myth". I want to describe the power it holds over me, but I lack the ability to do so. In the opening dialogue of the first episode, N. Scott Momaday says,
"It is a dream. It is what people who have come here from the beginning of time have dreamed. It's a dream landscape. To the Native American, it's full of sacred realities, powerful things. It's a landscape that has to be seen to be believed. And as I say on occasion, it may have to be believed in order to be seen."That's how I feel about the introduction to this documentary: "it has to be seen to be believed, and has to be believed in order to be seen."
Here is some of the opening narration and commentary of Episode 1 of The West. Reading it may help, but it does not do it justice (the website leaves out an entire section of descriptive narration).
Also, here is the opening theme song. Those images in the video, despite the quality, are so awe-inspiring, and the music so haunting.
Netflix is not streaming it currently (it did in the past). I cannot find it on the PBS Thirteen app. Amazon Prime has it, but it will cost $4.99 for each episode ($29.99 for the entire series). Perhaps that is the price to be paid in order to understand what moves me so deeply when it comes to this film.
If you are interested, at the very least, purchase or get a copy of The West: Episode 1, and watch the first five to six minutes. Perhaps you will appreciate it like I do.
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