Skip to main content

Another Little Shoutout on June 21st, 2017


Just wanted to also say a few words about the magnificent composer Lalo Schifrin on his birthday. Schifrin is a phenomenal talent who has contributed to some of the most well-known and beloved cult classics, such as the knockout crime thriller Dirty Harry, the martial arts classic Enter the Dragon, and the iconic horror film The Amnityville Horror. Schifrin, through various works in film and his legendary theme for the TV program Mission Impossible, Schifrin championed writing challenging works that employed jazz and general avant-garde technique that have always worked well with the films they sit behind. But now, let's celebrate with a personal favorite of mine by Schifrin: the Main Title to 1968's Bullitt. Happy Birthday Mr. Schifrin! 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Double Feature: Clearwater Features's TUGS (1989) & Cosgrove Hall's The Wind in the Willows (1983 - 1988)

INTRODUCTION It's probably best that we dial things down and finally get around to talking about something I mention in the description of this godforsaken blog: TV! Namely 80s British children's programming! There's one major reason why I've chosen this unnaturally specific arena of the small screen...I grew up on it. Through the power of the internet, DVDs, and even syndicated broadcasts in the US in some instances, I was able to experience what kids from London to Lancaster watched during the days of Thatcher and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. And I ate that stuff right up as a tot. There was something unique about English programming in general at the time. There was a certain homeliness to it. It was as if you return to your house or flat, turn on the tube, but it was catching an episode of Last of the Summer Wine or Only Fools & Horses that truly made you feel like you were at home. When it comes to kid's programming, I find that the UK is...

Review: The Color of Money - 1986

INTRODUCTION When I first saw The Hustler  on TCM, the 1961 pool hall drama starring a young Paul Newman alongside legends like Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, and George C. Scott, I was rather impressed. I loved its mustiness, Kenyon Hopkin's snazzy score, and the knockout performances by all, and I shall hopefully get around to taking a stab at The Hustler at a later date. So when I learned of a sequel, decades later, but helmed by the one, the only, the cinematic titan Martin Scorsese, my curiosity was more than just peaked. And so I come today to divulge my thoughts on the story of Paul Newman, back at it again as now former hustler "Fast Eddie" Felson, his surprise protégé Tom Cruise, and Cruise's girlfriend, the fiery Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, in Scorsese's 1986 flick, The Color of Money . PROS So there's is a lot to unpack with this film. Does Newman still have it in him to bring back to life the "Fast Eddie" Felson character? H...

Review: American Pop - 1981

INTRODUCTION  I must say this: I'm a fan of Ralph Bakshi, and I'm a fan of music. So put the two together, and that's a recipe for one happy me. And here to deliver the goods is the 1980 animated opus, American Pop , a tale of four generations of talent where only one comes out on top. THE PROS Okay then, where to begin with a piece like this? How about something along the lines of, "My God was that freaking amazing!" Those words were the first out of my mouth after having watched it, and those are words I stand by. I was blown away by this piece for how unashamedly ambitious it was. Conceptually, Ronni Kern's screenplay is an ingenious one, telling the tale of four men whose lives are intertwined with that of the music of their time, showing how sometimes honest-to-God hard work can all be for not, and success can sometimes come from what could be viewed as an "undignified" gateway. The stories are all reasonably developed, at least ...