Today’s movie is a drama with scenes that happen on October 31. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
MASK
In spite of suffering from craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, a disease that causes facial disfigurement, Rocky Dennis is a humorous and intelligent kid. While many people reject him due to his appearance, his mom’s biker friends accept him. Rocky collects baseball cards and his biggest dream is to take a motorcycle tour of Europe with his best friend Ben. Rocky is concerned about his mother’s alcohol and drug dependence. On October 31, 1979 [26:51 to 30:05] at a Halloween party Rocky develops a headache caused by his condition that can only be alleviated by his mom talking to him. During a visit to a carnival funhouse, the mirrors that distort everyone else’s appearance make Rocky look normal. After a popular and attractive girl at school silently rejects him, Rocky questions if any girl will ever like him. In response his mom hires a hooker for him, but this angers Rocky as it implies women will only like him if he pays them. Rocky wins several academic awards at school. His grandparents come to visit. His grandfather introduced Rocky to baseball card collecting, but they don’t approve of their daughter’s biker life style. Rocky goes to be a counselor’s assistant at a summer camp for blind youth. There he meets Diana, a blind girl and they fall in love. After they leave the camp, Diana’s overprotective parents keep Rocky from talking to her. Rocky is happy when his mom says she has quit using drugs, but he gets upset when Ben moves to Michigan, scuttling the motorcycle tour. Rocky goes to see Diana, who confirms she still loves him, but then Rocky dies in his sleep.
Today’s motion picture is a horror film with scenes that happen on October 30. Watch this movie tonight.
THE SHINING
Recovering alcoholic write Jack Torrance interviews for the job of overwinter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in spite of being told that a previous caretaker went crazy and killed his family. Jack’s son Danny has a vision of horror at the hotel. On October 30, 1980 [17:40 to 34:07] the Torrances move into the Overlook Hotel. Dick Hallorann, the hotel’s cook reveals to Danny that he too is telepathic and clairvoyant, but warns him to stay away from room 237 when Danny asks him about it. After a month Jack starts acting like an ass, while the phone lines are cut off by a storm.Danny goes into 237 and comes out injured. After Jack has a nightmare about killing his family, his wife Wendy blames him for the injuries to Danny. Danny says a woman in the room tried to kill him, but after Jack goes to the room and sees her, he tells Wendy he didn’t see anything. In Florida Hallorann has a warning vision about the Overlook, while Jack interacts with the ghostly guests at a party in the gold room. He has a conversation with Grady who Jack identifies as the caretaker who killed his family. Grady in turn tells Jack he and Jack have both always been at the hotel and that Danny is trying to bring in Hallorann, an outside force. Wendy becomes convinced Jack has flipped out and locks him up in a storeroom. Wendy and Danny are trapped at the hotel in a raging blizzard as Jack sabotaged their radio link and snowcat. Grady releases Jack from the storeroom. Jack goes after Wendy and Danny, who escapes out of the hotel through a window. The arrival of Hallorann saves Wendy, but Jack kills him. As Danny escapes into the hedge maze pursued by Jack, Wendy starts seeing visions of the ghosts who occupy the hotel. Wendy and Danny escape, while Jack freezes to death in the maze.
I may catch a lot of flack, but I think this film is vastly overrated. It is too slow and too muddled, while at the same time pretentious. It does a poor job of explaining the why and how of the characters actions and reactions, with too many plot loose ends.
The date is given in the film at 6:00
Producer - Stanley Kubrick
Director - Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriters - Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson
Runtime – 2 hours 24 minutes
Released – May 23, 1980
Starring – Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance, Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance, Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance and the voice of Tony, Scatman Crothers as Dick Hallorann, Barry Nelson as Stuart Ullman, Philip Stone as Delbert Grady, Joe Turkel as Lloyd, Tony Burton as Larry Durkin, Lia Beldam as Young Woman In Bath, Billie Gibson as Old Woman In Bath, Barry Dennen as Bill Watson, Lisa Burns as Grady Daughter #1 , Louise Burns as Grady Daughter #2, Anne Jackson as Doctor.
Today’s movie is a period drama with a scene that happens on October 29. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA
Chiyo and her older sister Satsu are sold by their impoverished fisherfolk parents. While Chiyo is purchased by a geisha house (an okirya), Satsu is sold to a brothel. While Chiyo arouses the hatred of the senior geisha in the okirya, Hatsumomo, a slightly older girl, nicknamed ‘Pumpkin’ takes her under her wing. On October 29, 1929 [31:13 to 26:16] Chiyo tries to run away and join her sister, but falls and breaks her arm. She learns her parents are dead. She meets ‘The Chairman” a businessman and falls in love with him. An older geisha Mameha, agrees to adopt Chiyo, now called Sayuri as her protégé. After a period of intense study Sayuri becomes an apprentice geisha and again meets The Chairman and his business partner, the disfigured Nobu, who had saved his life. Mamehe sets up a bidding war between Nobu and Dr. “Crab” for Sayuri’s virginity. However, Hatsumomo engineers for the Baron, Mameha’s lover to invite Sayuri to his estate, where he rapes her. However, Sayri’s price ends up being the highest ever reported. As a result Mrs. Nitta the owner of the okirya, dumps Pumpkin, whom she had named as her heir in favor of Sayuri. Hatsumomo, who had acted as Pumpkin’s patron fights with Sayuri, causing a fire that partly destroys the okirya and leaves for good. Nobu saves Sayuri during World War II. Afrerwards he asks her to help him and The Chairman impress an American Col. Derricks of the occupation forces, who controls the future of their business. Sayuri, Pumpkin, Nobu, The Chairman and Derricks take a trip together. Nobu tells Sayuri he wants her to become his mistress. Sayuri asks Pumpkin to bring Nobu to where she is seducing Derricks, so Nobu will reject her. However in order to get revenge for what she sees as Sayuri’s taking the okirya from her, Pumpkin brings The Chairman instead. However, Sayuri learns The Chairman had arranged for Mamehe to take over her training, and that he had stood aside while Nobu pursued Sayuri, as he owed Nobu his life. Now that Nobu had rejected her, The Charman and Sayuri declare their love for each other.
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (Vintage Books, NY, 2005) at page 126 gives the date she tried to run away.
Director - Rob Marshall
Screenwriter - Robin Swicord
Awards – The film won the Best Art Direction, Best cinematography and Best Costume Design Oscars. It was also nominated for Best Original Score, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing at the 78th Academy Awards.
Runtime - 2 hours 25 minutes
Released – November 29, 2005
Starring - Zhang Ziyi as Sayuri, Suzuka Ohgo as Young Chiyo,Shizuko Hoshi as Elderly Sayuri, (narrator), Gong Li as Hatsumomo, Samantha Futerman as Satsu, Kaori Momoi as Mrs. Nitta, Ken Watanabe as The Chairman, Kōji Yakusho as Nobu, Michelle Yeoh as Mameha, Youki Kudoh as Pumpkin, Zoe Weizenbaum as Young Pumpkin, Tsai Chin as Auntie, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Baron, Cathy Shim as The Baron's Guest, Kenneth Tsang as General, Karl Yune as Koichi, Ted Levine as Col. Derricks, Paul Adelstein as Lt. Hutchins
Today’s movie is a drama with scenes that happen on October 28. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
THE PERFECT STORM
Gloucester sword fishing boat Capt Bill Tyne persuades the crew of the Andrea Gail to head out for a late season expedition. They have some success, but then their ice machine breaks, meaning they have to return to port at once to sell their catch before it spoils.The bad news is that two weather fronts and a hurricane have combined in their path to create the “perfect storm” of huge waves and strong winds. A mayday is called in and a Coast Guard helicopter tries to rescue them, but it eventually crashes. Tyne reverses course to get out of the storm, but they encounter a huge rogue wave that capsizes the ship and they all drown on October 28, 1991. [1:50:08 to 1:57:00] On shore their families hold a memorial service.
A tragic story of courage. Unusual weather conditions create a storm like no other the crew had ever seen. This leads to underestimation and bad luck leads to death.
Junger, Sebastian.The Perfect Storm.New York; W.W. Norton & Co., 1997. This book atpage 135 gives the date.
Director - Wolfgang Petersen
Awards - The film was nominated for the Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards.
Today’s movie is a drama with scenes that happen on October 27. Watch this
film tonight.
THE DEER HUNTER
It’s October 27, 1968 [2:00 to 52:30]. In Clairton, a steel town in western Pennsylvania, Russian American steel workers Michael "Mike" Vronsky, the leader, Steven Pushkov, the innocent one and Nikonar "Nick" Chevotarevich, the quiet one prepare for Steven’s wedding to his girlfriend Angela who is pregnant by another man. Mike loves Nick's girlfriend Linda, but keeps his distance from her. At the wedding reception held at the VFW, the guys notice a soldier in a Special Forces uniform. Mike buys him a drink and tries to pump him about the war in Vietnam, as all three of the friends have joined the Army and are going there soon, but the soldier ignores him, except with two toasts of "fuck it". This almost causes a fight, but Mike returns the toast with “fuck it", getting a grin. Steven and Angela drink wine from conjoined goblets, believing that if they drink without spilling any, they will have good luck. However, they don’t notice that one drop of wine spills on her wedding gown. Linda catches the bouquet, so Nick proposes to her and she accepts. A drunk Mike runs through town later that night, and strips naked while Nick begs him not to leave him "over there" if anything happens. The next day, Mike, Nick, Stanley, John and Axel go deer hunting one last time, with Michael killing a deer with "one shot".We then jump to the war in Vietnam, where both sides attack civilians. Steven, Mike and Nick are captured together. The guards force prisoners to play Russian roulette and gamble on the results. All three friends are forced to play. Steven plays against Mike, grazing himself with a bullet. As punishment, the guards put Steven into an underwater cage with rats and dead bodies. Mike and Nick play each other, but they kill the guards and escape. They rescue Steven and float downriver.An American helicopter finds them, but only Nick is able to climb aboard.Mike helps Steven to reach the riverbank, and carries him to friendly lines. He places the wounded Steven on a South Vietnamese truck. Nick recovers in a military hospital in Saigon with no knowledge of what happened to Mike and Steve. After release, he encounters Julien Grinda, outside a gambling den where men play Russian roulette for money. Grinda talks the hesitant Nick into participating.Mike is there, but can’t get Nick’s attention.Nick grabs the gun, fires it at the current contestant, and then again at his own temple, causing a riot. Grinda and Nick leave and Mike loses them in the crowd. Back at home Mike gets closer to Linda. Angela is almost in a zombie like state and gives Mike a phone number of the VA hospital where Steve is a patient. Steven has lost both his legs and is partially paralyzed, but tells Mike somebody has been mailing him cash from Saigon and Mike is convinced it’s Nick. Mike brings Steven home to Angela and then travels to Saigon. He uses Grinda to find Nick in a roulette club, but Nick has amnesia, since he thinks Mike and Steve are dead.Mike enters a game of Russian roulette against Nick to try and jog Nick's memory. Mike reminds him of their hunting trips together and Nick recognizes him. Nick then raises the gun to his temple, and pulls the trigger, killing himself. They have a funeral for Nick.
This is a very strange and muddied film. This is one those films that was hailed at the time of its release, but on later retrospection, is revealed to be a jumbled mess. It does have some powerful scenes and imagery, but overall it’s just not that good.
The production notes give the year as 1968. In his comments about the football game they are watching at 10:45 Michael mentions the Eagles and at 10:48, the Steelers. In 1968 this game was on this date as per The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia ed by Pete Palmer, Ken Pullis and Sean Lahman (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 2006) at page 920
Producer - Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino and John Peverall
Director - Michael Cimino
Screenplay - Deric Washburn
Awards - The movie won the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actor (Walken), and Best Sound Oscars. The film was also nominated for the Best Actor(De Niro), Best Supporting Actress(Streep), Best Cinematography, and BestOriginal Screenplay at the 51st Academy Awards.
Runtime – 3 hours 2 minutes
Released – December 8, 1978
Starring -
Robert De Niro as S/Sgt. Michael "Mike" Vronsky
Christopher Walken as Cpl. Nikanor "Nick" Chevotarevich
Today’s motion picture is an action/adventure film with scenes that happen on October 25. Watch and enjoy this movie tonight.
THECHARGE OFTHELIGHTBRIGADE
The 27th Bengal Lancers, commanded by Capt. Geoffrey Vickers escorts Sir Humphrey Harcourt to the court of Surat Khan of Suristan, who’s upset that the British over money. Geoffrey refuses to believe his brother Perry who tells him he and Geoffrey’s fiancée Elsa Campbell have fallen for each other. Geoffrey is sent to Chukoti, while Perry is sent to Lohara, a nearby fort. Surat Khan attacks and lures the garrison out with a false offer of safe passage and only Geoffrey and Elsa escape. Geoffrey finally figures out Elsa is in love with Perry. The 27th Lancers are sent to the Crimea as part of the light brigade, and Geoffrey is made adjutant to Gen. Macefield, British commander. Surat Khan fled India to Russia. Geoffrey fakes an order directing the 27th Lancers to attack the Russian guns. Geoffrey keeps Perry from participating in the attack. On October 25, 1856, Geoffrey gives a stirring speech to the troops before they charge the Russian guns and Surat Khan. [1:30:57 to 1:53:02]
One of the classic Flynn/de Haviland pairings. Romance and action in one film. Really a western set in India. Not very solid on the facts, but definitely exciting.
Dupuy, R. Ernest and Dupuy, Trevor N. The Encyclopedia of
Military Historyfrom 3500 B.C. to the Present. New York; Harper & Row, 1977. This book at page 827 gives the date of the charge
Producers – Samuel Bischoff, Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner
Director - Michael Curtiz
Screenwriters: Michel Jacoby and Rowland Leigh
Awards -The film won the Best Assistant Director Oscar. It was also nominated for the Best Sound and Best Score Oscars at the 9th Academy Awards.
Today’s movie is period drama with a scene that happens on October 24, Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
HENRY V
A group of Londoners attend the Globe theatre to watch a play by William Shakespeare. The new King of England Henry V, after being insulted by the French Dauphin decides to pursue his claim to the French throne. The English army lands in France, besiege and capture Harfleur.The English army marches to Agincourt. On October 24, 1415 [1:02:48 to 1:28:42] King Henry wanders incognito in the army camp to try and learn what the troops think about him and the upcoming battle. The next day, in a fierce battle after a rousing speech by Henry, the outnumbered English defeat the French. Henry marries Princess Katherine daughter of the French King, Charles VI and is adopted by him as the heir of France.We return to the Globe as the actors take a bow to conclude the play.
The Encyclopedia of Military History from 3500 b.c. to
the Present by R. Ernest Dupuy & Trevor N. Dupuy (Harper & Row, New York, 1977) at page 413 gives the date.
Producers - Filippo Del Giudice and Laurence Olivier
Director - Laurence Olivier
Screenwriters - William Shakespeare, Dallas Bower, Alan Dent, Laurence Olivier
Awards – Laurence Olivier won a special Oscar. The film was also nominated for the Best Actor(Olivier), Best Picture, Best Score and Best At Direction at the 19th Academy Awards.
Runtime – 2 hours 16 minutes
Released – November 22, 1944
Starring – Laurence Olivier as Henry V of England, Renee Asherson as Catherine of Valois, Robert Newton as Ancient Pistol, Leslie Banks as the Chorus, Felix Aylmer as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Helpmann as the Bishop of Ely, Vernon Greeves as The English Herald, Gerald Case as the Earl of Westmoreland, Griffith Jones as the Earl of Salisbury, Morland Graham as Sir Thomas Erpingham, Nicholas Hannen as the Duke of Exeter, Michael Warre as the Duke of Gloucester, Ralph Truman as Mountjoy, The French Herald, Ernest Thesiger as the Duke of Berri., Frederick Cooper as Corporal Nym, Roy Emerton as Lieutenant Bardolph, Freda Jackson as Mistress Quickly, George Cole as the Boy, George Robey as Sir John Falstaff, Harcourt Williams as Charles VI of France, Russell Thorndike as the Duke of Bourbon, Leo Genn as The Constable of France, Francis Lister as the Duke of Orleans, Max Adrian as The Dauphin, Jonathan Field as The French Messenger, Esmond Knight as Fluellen, Michael Shepley as Gower, John Laurie as Jamy, Niall MacGinnis as MacMorris, Frank Tickle as The Governor of Harfleur, Ivy St. Helier as Alice, Janet Burnell as Queen Isabel of France, Brian Nissen as Court, Arthur Hambling as Bates, Jimmy Hanley as Williams, Ernest Hare as a Priest.
Today’s movie is a period biography with a scene that happens on October 23. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
LUST FOR LIFE
After being refused a regular appointment as a minister, Vincent van Gogh goes to a mining area as a pastor. After a rough start he gains the respect of the inhabitants because he lives like they do, but church leaders think he’s insulting the dignity of the church. His brother, Theo takes him home and Vincent starts painting. He fall in love with his cousin Kay, but she refuses him. Vincent goes to Amsterdam and starts living with a prostitute who leaves him because he does not make enough money as a painter. His cousin Anton Mauve teaches him about painting. Vincent goes to Paris and meets the major painters of the day. Vincent moves to Arles, where on October 23, 1888 [1:12:35 to 1:16:55] the artist Paul Gauguin arrives to stay with him. They argue about painting and everything else. Vincent tries to cut his ear off and checks himself into a mental sanitarium. He starts painting again, but later shoots himself.
A very good biopic. Tries to really get inside van Gogh’s head and show his theory of art. A well acted film that for the most part sticks to the real story.
Van Gough: The Life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith (Random House, New York, 2011) at page 664 gives the date of Gauguin’s arrival
Producer - John Houseman
Director - Vincente Minnelli
Awards - The movie won the Best Supporting Actor(Quinn) Oscar. It was also nominated for the Best Actor(Douglas), Best Art Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 29th Academy Awards.
Today’s motion picture is a drama with a scene that happens on October 22. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
THE BIBLE: IN THE BEGINNING
On the evening of October 22, 4004 b.c. (at least according to Bishop Ussher), God creates the Earth, [00:35 to 1:40]followed on successive days by the Sun, Moon, oceans, plants, animals and man. After the serpent tempts them to disobey God, Adam and Eve are driven out of Eden and Cain kills his bother Abel. When mankind falls into sin, God tells Noah to build an ark and God sends the great flood. The survivors multiply and build the Tower of Babel, but they scatter after God causes the people to speak different languages. Abram obeys God and goes to Canaan. Abram and his nephew Lot separate their herds, with Lot moving to the city of Sodom. God promises descendants to Abram.His wife Sarai takes maters into her own hand and sends her maid Hagar to Abram and Hagar becomes pregnant. Four kings attack, capturing Lot, who is rescued by Abram. God changes their names to Abraham and Sarah. Ishmael, Hagar’s son is born. Three angels visit Abraham who say in a year Sarah will have a son. She laughs at this but is rebuked. The angels journey on to Sodom, which God has decided to destroy. The angels save Lot, but his wife looks back in defiance of their directions and is turned into a pillar of salt.Isaac, Sarah’s son born and Hagar and Ishmael sent away by Abraham. God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, but relents after seeing Abraham is willing to obey and do so.
A fairly accurate portrayal. The acting seems a little stilted at times.Has some humor, especially in the sequences about Noah and the flood.
How Old is the Universe? by David A. Weintraub (Princeton University Press,Pinceton, NJ, 2011) at page 13 gives Bishop Ussher’s date for the Earth’s creation.
Director - John Huston
Screenplay - Christopher Fry
Awards - The film was nominated for the Best Original Score Oscar at the 39th Academy Awards.
Today’s movie is a biography with a scene that happens on October 21. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
JOBS
On October 21, 2001, Steve Jobs introduces the ipod to his employees at the annual Apple Town Hall Meeting. [1:28 – 4:11]. In a very long flashback we go back to 1974 where Jobs drops out of college and later travels to India. He works at Atari and with Steve Wozniak creates the game Pong. Steve is excited when he sees Wozniak has developed the graphical interface. Steve persuades a local electronics store to order 50 computers and even though Steve only delivers boards and not finished computers persuades the owner to buy them. Mike Markkula invests in their company Apple Computers and they create the Apple II, which is a big seller. Apple eventually has a hugely successful IPO. Jobs refuses to acknowledge the daughter he had with longtime girlfriend Chrisann Brennan. Jobs persuades the board of Apple to hire John Sculley to run the company, but Sculley soon forces Jobs off the team that is developing Apple’s new computer, the LISA.Jobs takes over the Macintosh development team. Even though Macintosh receives a lot of interest, Wozniak quits and Jobs is forced out of the company. Ten years later Jobs is married and has now accepted his daughter. He returns as a consultant at Apple, but eventually takes over, forcing the prior CEO out. Jobs develops the ipod and introduces it to the world.
historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/jobs.php gives the date of this meeting
Producer - Mark Hulme
Director - Joshua Michael Stern
Screenwriter - Matt Whiteley
Released – January 25, 2013
Runtime – 2 hours 2 minutes
Starring –
Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, Josh Gad as Steve Wozniak, Lukas Haas as Daniel Kottke, Victor Rasuk as Bill Fernandez, Eddie Hassell as Chris Espinosa, Ron Eldard as Rod Holt, Nelson Franklin as Bill Atkinson, Elden Henson as Andy Hertzfeld, Lenny Jacobson as Burrell Smith, Giles Matthey as Jonathan Ive, Dermot Mulroney as Mike Markkula, Matthew Modine as John Sculley, J. K. Simmons as Arthur Rock, Kevin Dunn as Gil Amelio, John Getz as Paul Jobs, Lesley Ann Warren as Clara Jobs, Abby Brammell as Laurene Powell Jobs, Annika Bertea as Lisa Brennan-Jobs (adult), Ava Acres as Lisa Brennan-Jobs (child), Ahna O'Reilly as Chrisann Brennan, James Woods as Jack Dudman, David Denman as Al Alcorn, Brad William Henke as Paul Terrell, Robert Pine as Edgar S. Woolard, Jr., Amanda Crew as Julie
Today’s motion picture is a war movie with a scene that happens on October 20. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
BACK TO BATAAN
In March, 1942 during the Battle of on Bataan Col. Joseph Madden has to try and get one of his Filipino officers, Capt. Andres Bonifacioback to combat readiness as he became depressed after learning his girlfriend Dalisay Delgado, is collaborating with the Japanese invaders by making radio propaganda broadcasts. After Madden is picked to go behind enemy lines to organize a guerrilla group he learns that Delgado is using her broadcasts to pass along valuable military information to the Allies, but Madden is ordered not to reveal this fact to anyone, including Bonifacio. Madden’s men recruit a group of schoolchildren, rescue Bonifacio from the Bataan death march and begin a campaign of sabotage against the Japanese. The Japanese stage an “independence” ceremony for the Philippines. Madden’s men attack it and Delgado during her radio broadcast of the event reveals her true loyalties by urging a revolt against the Japanese. One of the students, who had been captured, dies rather than betray the guerrillas. Madden is recalled to the USA, but returns and meets with Bonifacio, now leader of the guerrillas to discuss an important mission. On October 20, 1944 [date @1:21:17; 1:23:23 to 1:33:05] the American army land on the island of Leyte. The guerrillas are to hold a village to stop Japanese reinforcements from reaching the landing zone. After fierce fighting in which they are almost wiped out, troops from the landing arrive and turn back the Japanese attack.
A World at Arms: A Global History of World War II by Gerhard L. Weinberg(Cambridge University Press, New York, 1994) at page 851 and the film at 1:21:17 give the date of the invasion
Today’s motion picture is a dark comedy film with a scene set on October 19. Watch this film tonight and enjoy.
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
A girl starts reading a book by an author written in 1985 where he tells about a trip he took to the Grand Budapest Hotel in 1968. The Author meets Zero Moustafa, the owner of the hotel, who tells his story. Zero began as a lobby boy under the hotel concierge, Gustave H., who seduced the hotel’s elderly and wealthy female guests. On October 19, 1932 [17:46 – 34:13] the will reading for Madame Céline Villeneuve Desgoffe und Taxis, one of these guests is held. She has left Gustave H. a very valuable painting, which Gustave and Zero purloin and hide in the hotel safe. In return for his help, Gustave makes Zero his heir. Gustave is arrested for murdering Madame Celine. Agatha, Zero’s fiancée, smuggles tools into jail and Gustave uses them to escape.Jopling, a killer working for Madame Celine’s son and heir, pursues Zero and Gustave. They escape, but Jopling kills the only witness who can clear Gustave’s name. Since war is imminent the army has requisitioned the hotel as a barracks, but Gustave, Zero and Agatha sneak in and retrieve the painting. Hidden with it is a copy of a new will by Madame Celine that leaves everything she owned, which included the Grand Budapest Hotel to Gustave H. He makes Zero the new concierge. After Gustave is arrested and killed by a new repressive government, Zero becomes the owner of the hotel, where he lived with Agatha for two happy years before she died. Zero traded the entire balance of Madame Celine’s fortune, which he had inherited for the right to keep the Grand Budapest. The author leaves the hotel for South America. The author finishes his memoirs in 1985, which the girl continues to read as the movie ends.
Ah, yes one of those fantastically quirky films that Hollywood rarely turns out anymore. On par with Field of Dreams, ScottPilgrim vs. TheWorld, Amelie and MoonriseKingdom. A real must see.
Producers - Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven M. Rales and Jeremy Dawson
Director - Wes Anderson
Screenwriter - Wes Anderson
Awards – The film won the Best Original Score,Best Production Design, Best Costume Design and Best Makeup and Hair Oscars. It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Film Editing at the 87th Academy Awards
Runtime – 1 hour 40 minutes
Released – February 2, 2014
Starring – Ralph Fiennes as Gustave H., Tony Revolori as Young Zero Moustafa, Adrien Brody as Dmitri Desgoffe und Taxis, Willem Dafoe as J.G. Jopling, Jeff Goldblum as Vilmos Kovacs, Saoirse Ronan as Agatha, Edward Norton as Inspector Henckels, F. Murray Abraham as Old Zero Moustafa, Mathieu Amalric as Serge X, Jude Law as The Author as a Young Man, Harvey Keitel as Ludwig, Bill Murray as Monsieur Ivan, Jason Schwartzman as Monsieur Jean, Tilda Swinton as Madame Céline Villeneuve Desgoffe und Taxis, Tom Wilkinson as The Author as an Old Man, Bob Balaban as M. Martin
Today’s movie is an espionage thriller with a scene that happens on October 18. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
OCTOPUSSY
After MIG agent 009 is found dead in Berlin holding a fake Faberge egg, James Bond 007 is sent to a Sotheby’s auction of the real item. Bond switches the fake for the real egg.He then goes to India to investigate the buyer Kamal Khan. Bond beats Kamal Khan in a backgammon games, winning 200,000 rupees and Q plants a homing device and a bug in the fake egg. On October 18, 1983 [43:18 – 59:22] Bond hooks up with Maghda, an associate of Kamal, who steals the egg. Bond is captured by Kamal and learns Kamal is tied in with Orlov a war-mongering Soviet general. Bond escapes and goes to the Floating Palace, owned by another Kamal associate, Octopussy who leads an all-female criminal syndicate. She is grateful that Bond allowed her disgraced father time to commit suicide as an alternative to arrest and disgrace. Kamal tries to have Bond and Octopussy killed, but fails. Orlov has been supplying imperial Russian treasures to Kamal who in partnership with Octopussy, use her circus to smuggle them into the west. This time Orlov and Khan replace the jewels with an atomic bomb that will detonate at a US Air force base in West Germany leading to European calls for unilateral nuclear disarmament. Bond discovers this races to the base and convinces Octopussy that Kamal has double-crossed her. This allows Bond to disarm the bomb with no time to spare. Octopussy and her girls raid Kamal’s palace and he tries to escape in a plane. Holding Octopussy hostage. Bond follows and after a fight outside the plane while it is in flight kills Gobinda, Kamal right-hand man. The plane crashes, killing Kamal and injuring Bond who is nursed back to health by Octopussy.
The date is given in the film at 45:36 as Tuesday the 18th. In 1983 October 18 was a Tuesday.
Producer - Albert R. Broccoli
Director - John Glen
Screenwriters - George MacDonald Fraser, Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum
Today’s motion picture is a science fiction film with a scene that happens on October 17. Watch and enjoy this movie tonight.
THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN
After exposure to a strange glowing cloud, Scott Carey begins to shrink. After his story makes him a curiosity in the press he starts recording his experiences so he can sell his story. Then on October 17, 195__ [17:52 – 19:00] an antitoxin is found that appears to stop his shrinkage when he is at one-half his previous height. He meets and befriends a carnival midget, but he continues to shrink. He’s attacked by his cat and has to retreat to his basement, but his wife now thinks he is dead. He eventually has to battle a spider to survive and eventually becomes so small he leaves the basement through the holes in a screen window.
Today’s movie is a romantic comedy with a scene that happens on October 16. Watch and enjoy this
film tonight.
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
In 1977 Harry Burns and Sally Albright, a friend of his girlfriend Amanda drive from Chicago to New York. In their discussions Harry says men and women can’t be friends. She later accuses him of making a pass at her and they part on bad terms. Five years later they meet on a plane. Sally is dating Joe, a former friend of Harry’s. Harry is now engaged to Helen. They again decide not to be friends. Five years later Joe and Sally have broken up. On October 16, 1988 [25:46 to 28:32] Harry discusses his divorce from Helen at the Giants-Lions NFL football game with his friend Jess. Sally and Harry meet in a bookstore. They decide to be friends and talk a lot, but date others. Harry tells Sally she is “high maintenance, but thinks she’s low maintenance.” Sally convinces Harry that women fake it. They set each other up with his friend Jess and her friend Marie. They go on a double date, but Jess and Marie hit it off. They later get engaged. While shopping with Sally for a wedding present for Jess and Marie they meet Harry’s ex Helen and her new husband, Ira. Late one night Sally calls Harry and asks him to come over because she has found out that Joe, her former boyfriend, is getting married to his assistant.They have sex, but Harry quickly leaves the next morning as he usually does after sex. They have a huge fight at Marie and Jess’s wedding. Harry immediately regrets this and keeps trying to apologize to Sally. On New Year Eve he crashes a party she’s at with Marie and Jess and tells Sally that he loves her. They make up and three months later get married.
One of the better romantic comedies. We can see from the beginning that Harry and Sally belong together, but of course they can’t. We still don’t know the answer to Harry’s question of whether men and woman can ever be just friends.
The ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia ed by Pete Palmer, Ken Pullis and Sean Lahman (Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 2006) at page 968 gives the game date. At 29:46 Sally says she last saw Harry six years ago, so 1977+5+6 = 1988. [Continuity error – at 1:21:18 it says 16th Rockin New Year’s eve – that was Dec.31, 1987. The game referenced is the only one it could be since the Giants and Lions had not played for several years before 1988]
Awards – The film was nominated for the Best Original Screenplay Oscar at the 62ndAcademy Awards.
Producers - Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman and Nora Ephron
Today’s motion picture is a mystery film with a scene that happens on October 15. Watch and enjoy this movie tonight.
THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES
Dr. Mortimer visits Sherlock Holmes and tells him about the curse of the Baskervilles.Hugo Baskerville kidnapped a young girl to ravish her, so the family has been cursed by a gigantic hound. Dr. Mortimer is worried because at the scene of Sir Charles Baskerville’s death he found the footprint of a gigantic hound.He is worried about the heir Henry Baskerville. Sir Henry meets Holmes and Watson, where a missing boot, a threatening letter and the legend are discussed. They can’t catch the person who has been following Sir Henry. Sir Henry and the two doctors return to Baskerville Hall on the lonely moors of Devon. They learn the convict Selden has escaped from a local prison. Sir Henry and Dr. Watson meet Stapleton and his sister, Beryl who warns Dr, Watson to flee, thinking he is Sir Henry.Someone diverts Watson’s letters to Holmes. Dr. Mortimer, Mr. Frankland and the Stapletons dine at Baskerville Hall. Sir Henry becomes attracted to Miss Stapleton. On October 15th Watson and Sir Henry spot the butler, Barrymore signaling someone on the moor. They investigate and see Selden.When confronted Barrymore reveals Selden is his wife’s brother and that they have been feeding him and are going to smuggle him out of the country.Sir Henry agrees to keep silent and gives Barrymore some of his old clothes.Sir Henry meets Miss Stapleton and is told off by her brother, who then strangely comes and apologizes. Barrymore reveals that Sir Charles had appointment with a lady, initials L. L. when he died.Dr. Watson visits Mr. Frankland and learns of his daughter, whom he has cut off for marrying an artist named Lyons. Frankland has spotted a boy delivering food to someone on the moor, who he thinks is Selden. Watson and Dr. Mortimer investigate and find Holmes who has been hiding out on the moor. The hound kills Selden, thinking he was Sir Henry, as he was wearing his old clothes. Holmes and Watson visit Laura Lyons who reveals that Stapleton had proposed to her and that she wrote at his instigation the note asking Sir Charles for an interview, which she did not keep at the request of Stapleton. Holmesreveals that Stapleton’s ‘sister’ is really his wife. Holmes deduces Stapleton is actually a Baskerville and the heir if Sir Henry dies. Holmes and Watson pretend to return to London, while Sir Henry dines with Stapleton and then walks back home. On the way he is attacked by the hound, but it is shot before he is seriously hurt. Holmes releases Mrs.Stapleton, who had been locked up. Stapleton finds the hound dead, gets lost on the moor and drowns in a bog. Stapleton had trained the hound to attack Sir Henry.
The classic Sherlock Holmes tale. Excellent suspense. Shows off Holmes reasoning methods to best advantage.
The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle (Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., New York, 1936) p. 838-851
Director -Brian Mills
Screenplay - T.R. Bowen
Running Time - 1 hour 45 minutes
Released - December 6, 1988
Starring - Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, Edward Hardwicke as Dr. Watson,Neil Duncan as Dr. Motimer, Ronald Pickup as Barrymore, James Faulkner as Stepleton
Today’s motion picture is a war movie with a scene that happens on October 14. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
DAS BOOT
The crew of the U-96 celebrates in La Rochelle, France prior to going to sea on a mission. An addition to the crew is Lt. Werner a navy correspondent. Ullman, one of the crew has a French mistress who is pregnant. They head for sea on Otober 14, 1941. The captain orders a battle drill and afterwards they are bombed unsuccessfully by a British plane. The only excitement is a false plane alarm. Some of the crew doesn’t like Werner because they think he is a useless pretty boy. A convoy is spotted and they head towards it, but they are spotted by a destroyer. They are depth charged, but escape.The boat and crew endure a storm that lasts for three weeks. We learn the uber-Nazi first officer who came home from Mexico City to enlist lost his fiancée in an air raid. They find a convoy and attack, but are immediately set upon by a destroyer. They hit three freighters. While the submarine is being depth charged the chief engineer goes mad and deserts his post. The boat escapes and the captain decides not to court-martial the chief engineer, but to get him off the ship as soon as possible. The captain refuses to try and rescue crewmen from a burning tanker. The ship is ordered to La Spezia in Italy, meaning they will have to pass through the narrow and dangerous straits of Gibraltar. They travel to Vigo in Spain where they pick up supplies from an interned German merchant ship. The captain had planned to put the chief engineer and Werner off here but this is not allowed.When the reach the strait, the captain plans on letting the current pull them into the Mediterranean, but they are spotted and attacked. They have to dive so deep they hit bottom. After a long and harrowing repair jobthey return to the surface and for home. They reach La Rochelle on Christmas Eve, but the base is attacked by an air raid. The boat is sunk at anchor and many of the crew including the captain are killed. Werner survives.
The best sub film ever made. Brilliantly displays the boredom and terror experienced by the U-boat crews. You almost want to cheer for the crew.
On the first day at sea at 30:21 the wall calendar in the officer’s dining area gives the date as October 14.
Director & Screenwriter - Wolfgang Petersen
Awards - The film was nominated for the Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Director, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay Oscars.
Runtime - 2 hours 30 minutes
Released - September 17, 1981
Starring - Jürgen Prochnow as the Commander, Herbert Grönemeyer as Ensign Werner, Klaus Wennemann as Chief Engineer, Hubertus Bengsch as 1st Watch Officer , Martin Semmelrogge as 2nd Watch Officer , Bernd Tauber as Chief Helmsman Kriechbaum, Erwin Leder as Chief Mechanic, Martin May as Senior Cadet Ullmann, Heinz Hoenig as Petty Officer Hinrich, Uwe Ochsenknecht as Boatswain Lamprecht, Claude-Oliver Rudolph as Ario, Jan Fedder as Petty Officer Pilgri, Joachim Bernhard as Theologian
Today’s movie is a horror comedy with a scene that happens on October 13. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
DARK SHADOWS
In 1776 maid Angelique Bouchard uses black magic to kill her romantic rival Josette du Pres and turn Barnabas Collins, who had scorned her affections into a vampire. Barnabas is buried for 176 years. Victoria Winters comes to Collinsport, Maine to be the governess to young David Collins in the family mansion Collinswood.David has a live-in psychiatrist Dr, Julie Hoffman and a cousin Carolyn.His aunt Elizabeth Collins Stoddard is head of the Collins family; while his father Roger is a ner do well. Then Barnabas is dug up, returns to Collingswood and convinces Elizabeth that his story is true when he reveals hidden treasure to her. Barnabas is smitten with Victoria, who resembles his long dead lover Josette. Branabas and Elizabeth use the hidden treasure to rebuild Collinswood and the family fishing and cannery business. The immortal Angelique on October 13, 1972 [1:03:33 –1:09:10] tries to seduce Barnabas into give up this idea, but he refuses. Barnabas learns Victoria can see ghosts and that Julia was using his blood to make herself immortal. Barnabas kills Juila. At the party reopening Collinswood Barnabas forces the worthless Roger to choose between putting himself or his son first and when Roger chooses himself, David is devastated. Victoria learns Barnabas is a vampire and runs away. Angelique tries to get her revenge on Barnabas, revealing what he is, destroying the Collins cannery and blaming him for all the deaths he caused. The ghost of David’s mother defeats Angelique and Barnabas has to turn Victoria into a vampire so she can survive a suicide attempt. The Collins family prepares to carry on.
The date is given in the film at 1:03:55
Producers - Richard D. Zanuck, Graham King, Johnny Depp, Christi Dembrowski andDavid Kennedy
Director - Tim Burton
Screenwriter - Seth Grahame-Smith
Runtime – 1 hour 53 minutes
Released – May 5, 2012
Starring – Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins, Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman, Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard, Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis, Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins, Bella Heathcote as Victoria Winters, Chloë Grace Moretz as Carolyn Stoddard, Gulliver McGrath as David Collins, Ray Shirley as Mrs. Johnson, Christopher Lee as Silas Clarney, Alice Cooper as himself, Ivan Kaye as Joshua Collins, Susanna Cappellaro as Naomi Collins, William Hope as Sheriff Bill of Collinsport, Hannah Murray as Hippie Chick, Guy Flanagan as Bearded Hippie
Today’s film is a drama with a scene that happens on October 12. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
1492:THE CONQUEST OF PARADISE
Christopher Columbus visits the University of Salamanca to try and convince the scholars there that his idea of reaching the Indies by sailing West is a sound one. The pilot Pinzon and his brother arrange a meeting with Queen Isabella, who agrees to back Columbus. After disputes about his contract are ironed out he sets sail with three ships, Nina, Pinta and SantaMaria.Columbus has to make fake entries in his log about how far west they’ve sailed to calm his increasingly mutinous crew. They reach land on October 12, 1492 and meet the natives. [49:06 to 1:01:53]They sail on to Hispaniola. When the Santa
Maria is wrecked, a fort is built and some of the crew left behind. He returns to Spain with the other two ships. The Queen sends him on a second trip and he finds the fort has been destroyed by the natives. The other Spaniards want to wipe out the natives, but Columbus says no. They start to build the city of Santo Domingo. Mining for gold leads to a war with the natives, which in turn sparks a civil war among the Spanish. A hurricane devastates the town. Spaniards who oppose him remove Coilumbus from his post as governor, imprison him, and ship him back to Spain, where the Queen releases him.
A big budget Holywood biopic of Columbus. It just doesn’t feel real. Everything just seems two dimensional and clichéd. Political correctness has snuck into this film also trying to make a point instead of telling the story.
Columbus and the World Around Him by Milton Moltzer (Franklin Watts, New York, 1990) p. 81
Today’s motion picture is war movie with a scene that happens on October 11. Watch and enjoy
this film tonight.
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
During World War I German army soldier Paul Baumer and his comrades
endure a French attack on their trenches and then they launch their own assault on the French lines. Paul’s friend Franz Kemmerich is wounded and later dies in the hospital. Paul thinks back to how their high school teacher Kantorek indoctrinated his students in the superiority of German culture and devotion to duty. The entire class enlists in the army and is sent for training under the sadistic Corporal Himmelstoss. When they board their train for the front, another train arrives carrying wounded soldiers back from the fighting.Stanislaus Katczinsky, an old hand is assigned to their squad and he teaches them what they really need to know to survive at the front. Paul and his friends endure a hell of rats, poison gas and endless mud in the trenches. Paul has to confront death face to face when he has to spend the night trapped in a shell hole with a dying French soldier.Himmelstoss appears as the commander of some new recruits, but Paul’s squad no longer lets him intimidate them. Indeed Paul later pushes Himmelstoss to stay on the offensive during an attack.The Kaiser inspects their unit, pinning medals on some of the troops. Paul and two of his pals visit a brothel. In a spate of urban fighting Paul is wounded and later sent home on leave. He learns his mother is dying of cancer.
Paul cannot connect to the older men left in the town who have no idea of what he has been through. He lies toKemmerich’s mother telling her he was killed instantly. Back at the frontKatczinsky is wounded and even though Paul carries him miles to a field hospital, Katczinsky dies of his wounds. On October 11, 1918, [2:02:18 to 2:06:23] Baumer is killed by a sniper. The German Army’s official communiqué for the day simply reads “All quiet on the Western Front”.
A powerful anti-war film. Tries to show the true nature of warfare. The films shows there is no glory in combat, only death and destruction.
Date given in film at 2:06:15
Awards – The film won the Outstanding Film Editing for a Mimi-series or SpecialEmmy at the 32nd Primetime Emmy awards.
Today’s motion picture is a period drama with a scene that happens on October 10. Watch and enjoy this film tonight.
I, CLAUDIUS
In Rome, the Emperor Augustus favors his son-in-law Marcellus over his old companion Marcus Agrippa. The Empress Livia wants her son Tiberius to succeed. Marcellus launches popular games, but then dies, resulting in riots. Marcus Agrippa, who has left Rome, is asked by Augustus to return, but the price is marriage to Julia, the Emperor’s daughter and Marcellus’s widow.Nine years later when Marcus Agrippa dies, Tiberius divorces his wife and marries Julia, but still favors his ex-wife Vispania. His brother Druses goes to Germany but dies there. Augustus refuses Julia’s request to divorce Tiberius. There is a ‘sign’ foretelling Claudius, who stammers and has a clubfoot will be great. Livia recruits Clotius to sleep with Julia and spy on her. Herod Agrippa arrives in Rome as a hostage. Lucius tells Augustus about Julia’s affairs and she is exiled. Lucius dies and Tiberius returns to Rome. At the Battle of the Teutoborg Forest the Roman army is wiped out. Augustus tells Posthumous he is to succeed. Livia manipulates Augustus to send Germanicus and not Postumous to Germany with reinforcements and to keep Tiberius in Rome. Livia frames Posthumous for rape, and he is exiled, but not before warning Claudius about Livia’s schemes. Claudius is wed. Claudius tells Germanicus his suspicions about Livia.Augustus visits Posthumous in exile and Livia manipulates the Vestal Virgin to learn Augustus has changed his will. Augustus confides his suspicions to Claudius then dies. Posthumous is killed, while Livia substitutes a false will naming Tiberius as successor. Germanicus dies on October 10, 19. [Ep. 6, 2:32 to 3:38] Constans prosecutes Piso for poisoning Germanicus. Ultimately Piso suicides. Caligula is a brat. Tiberius leads a life of debauchery. Serjanus, commander of the Praetorians seduces Constans wife. Livia confesses all to Claudius on her deathbed.Claudius weds Serjanus’s sister. Constans then Livia die. Tiberius refuses to let Serjanus wed Costa’s widow. Claudius presents evidence to Tiberius that Serjanus and Lavilla poisoned Costa. Tiberius makes Caligula his heir. Serjanus is arrested and executed. A purge follows and Tiberius dies. Caligula goes into a coma and awakens as a ‘god’. Clauduis’s mom suicides. Claigula kills his sister. Caligula forces the nobility to work in a brothel. Claudius weds Messalina. Caligula is assassinated. Claudius made emperor. While Claudius is conquering Britain, the Empress engages in a contest with a prostitute to see who can bed the most men and wins. Jesus is discussed. The Empress has affair with Silinius then ‘marries’ him.They are executed.Claudius weds Agrippinilla, the mistress of Marcus Antonis Pallas. Claudius dies and is succeeded by Nero. They think they’ve destroyed his book, but he’s hidden a copy.
A frank story of the sordid political life of Rome. It may or my not be true, but it’s certainly interesting. Definitely holds your attention.
Chronicle of the Roman Emperors by Chris Scarre (Thames & Hudson, London, 1995) at page 31 gives his death date
Producer - Martin Lisemore
Director - Herbert Wise
Screenplay - Jack Pulman and Robert Graves
Awards - The film won the Outstanding Art Direction for a Drama Series Emmy. It was also nominated for the Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series and the Outstanding Limited Series Emmys.
Runtime - 5 hours 50 minutes
Released - September 20, 1976
Starring -
Derek Jacobi as Claudius
Siân Phillips as Livia Drusilla
George Baker asTiberius
John Hurt as Caligula
Brian Blessed as Augustus
Patrick Stewart as Lucius Aelius Sejanus
Margaret Tyzack as Antonia Minor
Patricia Quinn as Livilla
John Paul as Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Sheila White as Valeria Messalina
Christopher Biggins as Nero
Ian Ogilvy as Nero Claudius Drusus
David Robb as Germanicus
John Castle as Agrippa Postumus
Fiona Walker as Agrippina the Elder
Frances White as Julia the Elder
James Faulkner as Herod Agrippa
Kevin McNally as Julius Caesar Drusus
Stratford Johns as Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso
Bernard Hepton as Pallas
John Cater as Tiberius Claudius Narcissus
Barbara Young as Agrippina theYounger
Beth Morris as Drusilla (sister of Caligula)
Simon MacCorkindale as Lucius Caesar
Sheila Ruskin as Vipsania Agrippina
Angela Morant as Octavia the Younger
John Rhys-Davies as Naevius Sutorius Macro
Christopher Guard as Marcus Claudius Marcellus
Graham Seed as Britannicus
Jo Rowbottom as Calpurnia
Sam Dastor as Cassius Chaerea
Kevin Stoney as Thrasyllus of Mendes
Freda Dowie as Milonia Caesonia & Cumaean Sibyl
Irene Hamilton as Munatia Plancina
Darien Angadi as Aulus Plautius
Peter Bowles as Caractacus
Norman Eshley as Marcus
John Bennett as Xenophon
Patsy Byrne as Martina
Douglas Melbourne as Tiberius Gemellus
Karin Foley as Julia (daughter of Drusus the Younger)
