Y2/D230 - All Souls Day
Nov. 1st, 2021 08:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatFinally a beautiful day, clear blue sky, almost not clouds, in the low sixties. I took a walk around Greenwood Cemetery today to celebrate. Not a long walk. About two miles. Sat for a bit and read a contemporary romance novel rec'd by Cat Sebastian, took in the sunshine, and the birds, and the buzz of insects. Also the whistling of sirens that never seemed to end. A constant of pandemic city life...some days worse than others, although such sounds existed prior to the pandemic.
Also a constant I've discovered with fanboard moderators? They fail to appreciate my dead-pan wit. It goes over their heads. Doesn't matter the fandom. Twitter seems to be more appreciative, also dreamwidth.
And once again, someone suggested doing a gratitude journal. I tried the jar approach but I keep forgetting. And I've tried the gratitude journal but keep forgetting. I'm not good at remembering to do certain things. Basically anything that is the least bit ritualistic - I forget to do. I think my brain is hardwired to forget this sort of thing. What can I say? I'm bad cult material? Or religious material?
On Twitter someone asked if an Atheist could be religious? (They spelled Atheist wrong, but I ignored that - it's Twitter and a hard word to spell.) I resisted the urge to respond - "yes, of course. I know a lot of church-going Atheists. Actually some Atheists are better at the whole church thing than the Theists are. I'm a Theist who kind of swings towards Agnostic on occasion and back again, but I'm more spiritual than religious. I don't really do anything religiously - I'm not wired that way.
***
I'm kind of re-watching David Lynch's 1984 Dune on HBO Max - and I'd forgotten who was in the original, or the incredibly cheesy special effects and set design. Not to mention the horrid acting, direction, and dear god, ugly costumes and creature effects. It's really dated and does not stand the test of time at all well (also its kind of gross in places, and with a lot of bad direction - hammy in some spots, I stopped watching after they got past where the 2021 film ended. Plot wise the two films are very similar up to a point. The current version just does Book 1 of Dune, or the first third of the book, while the 1984 version did the entire book in two hours and fifty three minutes.
The cast is, however, rather interesting: Francesca Annis played Lady Jessica, Jose Ferrer (the Emperor), Dean Stockwell (the unwilling traitor), Patrick Stewart (yes, aka Picard, was Gurney), Richard Jordan (Duncan Idadho), Jurgen Prochnow (german actor - Duke Leto Atredies), Virgina Madison (the Emperor's Daughter), Scean Young (Chani), Sting (the Baron's Nephew - who is mostly naked in the film and kind of hot, he wears nothing but a metal loin cloth in one scene), Kyle McLachlan (Paul), Brad Dourif (Harkonon's head aid), Linda Hunt (plays the Freemen Housekeeper who warns them of the traitor), and Max Von Syndow (Kynes). It's a great cast...but everyone is very stiff (because that's how Lynch directs folks).
It's also in stark contrast to Denis Villevenu's 2021 version - very colorful and light in tone. It's not a dark film at all, exact opposite. Kind of wish it was in places. Also, the Baron is portrayed as a homosexual sadist who bathes in the blood from young boys (squirted from a hole in their chests) as he has sex with them. (I don't remember that in the books - I think that was a Lynch thing - David Lynch liked body horror and sadistic visual imagery, it's one of my many issues with Lynch.). Kynes in the 1984 film is played by Max Von Syndow.
A lot of it is similar, what's different is the original does the entire book in one film - and covers exposition with voice over narrative giving a quick summarization. Also there's less time spent on the visualizations, and Paul's training. And less on cinematography - Lynch isn't a cinematographer. It's more homage to 1970s cheesy special effects. The ship and interior set design in the original is ornate and kind of cheesy.
The original also spends more time on the mole subplot and explains why they want to kill Paul and the Atredies - with a brief scene in the beginning with the Guild Navigator and the Emperor, and scenes with Dr. Wu and Harkonnon's. And, everyone is white in the film. There's no one in the film who isn't white. Oh, the cinematography is abysmal in the original. It's like watching a very cheesy sci-fi film (which was basically true of most sci-fi in the 50s through 80s, with few exceptions. Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, The Trek Films, Alien films, 2001 a Space Odysessy, and Blade Runner were exceptions. Dune kind of feels like Buckaroo Banzai.) So from a casting perspective, the new adaptation is far more diverse and fits the book better.
Otherwise a lot of it is similar.
I liked the 2021 film better. This is just awful. That said, the plot is admittedly easier to follow (it's not a dark film at all - if anything it is over lit.) There's more action, and the pacing is slightly better. And the escape of Lady Jessica and Paul is harder - they are also confronted by the Harkonnons and manhandled. Also part of the reason I had no problem figuring out what was happening in the current version is I saw this one in the 80s and remembered a lot of it. It's kind of funny in places. But, I'm feeling sorry for Jurgen Prochnow, Max Von Syndow, and Patrick Stewart (who apparently got early training on dealing with sci-fi craziness from this).
**
My father is in the hospital again. Mother called at two pm to inform me that he was admitted to the Emergency Room - for confusion, dehydration, and they were afraid of a UTI, but he may not have one and it could just be dehydration. They don't know - but he was off this morning, unable to eat, and confused.
She's feeling guilty for not going into the emergency room with him. I told her to give herself a break - hello, COVID is still around, so she can't do it anyhow. Her sister managed to get that across to her.
I walked around the cemetery afterwards, and realized I'm losing my father bit by bit. I'm getting used to him going into the hospital. I'd hoped that I would have a day without worrying about my parents. But alas no. I feel almost numb to it now.
And I'm trying to figure out when to get plane tickets, how long to visit, when to leave, etc for Xmas Holidays this year. Shouldn't keep procrastinating or I won't be able to get tickets at all.
***
NYPD according to the news only had 34 cops go out sick, with the rest getting vaccines. And 81% of the City Workers got vaccinated in response to the vaccine mandates put in place by the Mayor. So the mandates are working.
Tomorrow is election day in the US, please remember to vote.
Random Photo of the Day...
Also a constant I've discovered with fanboard moderators? They fail to appreciate my dead-pan wit. It goes over their heads. Doesn't matter the fandom. Twitter seems to be more appreciative, also dreamwidth.
And once again, someone suggested doing a gratitude journal. I tried the jar approach but I keep forgetting. And I've tried the gratitude journal but keep forgetting. I'm not good at remembering to do certain things. Basically anything that is the least bit ritualistic - I forget to do. I think my brain is hardwired to forget this sort of thing. What can I say? I'm bad cult material? Or religious material?
On Twitter someone asked if an Atheist could be religious? (They spelled Atheist wrong, but I ignored that - it's Twitter and a hard word to spell.) I resisted the urge to respond - "yes, of course. I know a lot of church-going Atheists. Actually some Atheists are better at the whole church thing than the Theists are. I'm a Theist who kind of swings towards Agnostic on occasion and back again, but I'm more spiritual than religious. I don't really do anything religiously - I'm not wired that way.
***
I'm kind of re-watching David Lynch's 1984 Dune on HBO Max - and I'd forgotten who was in the original, or the incredibly cheesy special effects and set design. Not to mention the horrid acting, direction, and dear god, ugly costumes and creature effects. It's really dated and does not stand the test of time at all well (also its kind of gross in places, and with a lot of bad direction - hammy in some spots, I stopped watching after they got past where the 2021 film ended. Plot wise the two films are very similar up to a point. The current version just does Book 1 of Dune, or the first third of the book, while the 1984 version did the entire book in two hours and fifty three minutes.
The cast is, however, rather interesting: Francesca Annis played Lady Jessica, Jose Ferrer (the Emperor), Dean Stockwell (the unwilling traitor), Patrick Stewart (yes, aka Picard, was Gurney), Richard Jordan (Duncan Idadho), Jurgen Prochnow (german actor - Duke Leto Atredies), Virgina Madison (the Emperor's Daughter), Scean Young (Chani), Sting (the Baron's Nephew - who is mostly naked in the film and kind of hot, he wears nothing but a metal loin cloth in one scene), Kyle McLachlan (Paul), Brad Dourif (Harkonon's head aid), Linda Hunt (plays the Freemen Housekeeper who warns them of the traitor), and Max Von Syndow (Kynes). It's a great cast...but everyone is very stiff (because that's how Lynch directs folks).
It's also in stark contrast to Denis Villevenu's 2021 version - very colorful and light in tone. It's not a dark film at all, exact opposite. Kind of wish it was in places. Also, the Baron is portrayed as a homosexual sadist who bathes in the blood from young boys (squirted from a hole in their chests) as he has sex with them. (I don't remember that in the books - I think that was a Lynch thing - David Lynch liked body horror and sadistic visual imagery, it's one of my many issues with Lynch.). Kynes in the 1984 film is played by Max Von Syndow.
A lot of it is similar, what's different is the original does the entire book in one film - and covers exposition with voice over narrative giving a quick summarization. Also there's less time spent on the visualizations, and Paul's training. And less on cinematography - Lynch isn't a cinematographer. It's more homage to 1970s cheesy special effects. The ship and interior set design in the original is ornate and kind of cheesy.
The original also spends more time on the mole subplot and explains why they want to kill Paul and the Atredies - with a brief scene in the beginning with the Guild Navigator and the Emperor, and scenes with Dr. Wu and Harkonnon's. And, everyone is white in the film. There's no one in the film who isn't white. Oh, the cinematography is abysmal in the original. It's like watching a very cheesy sci-fi film (which was basically true of most sci-fi in the 50s through 80s, with few exceptions. Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, The Trek Films, Alien films, 2001 a Space Odysessy, and Blade Runner were exceptions. Dune kind of feels like Buckaroo Banzai.) So from a casting perspective, the new adaptation is far more diverse and fits the book better.
Otherwise a lot of it is similar.
I liked the 2021 film better. This is just awful. That said, the plot is admittedly easier to follow (it's not a dark film at all - if anything it is over lit.) There's more action, and the pacing is slightly better. And the escape of Lady Jessica and Paul is harder - they are also confronted by the Harkonnons and manhandled. Also part of the reason I had no problem figuring out what was happening in the current version is I saw this one in the 80s and remembered a lot of it. It's kind of funny in places. But, I'm feeling sorry for Jurgen Prochnow, Max Von Syndow, and Patrick Stewart (who apparently got early training on dealing with sci-fi craziness from this).
**
My father is in the hospital again. Mother called at two pm to inform me that he was admitted to the Emergency Room - for confusion, dehydration, and they were afraid of a UTI, but he may not have one and it could just be dehydration. They don't know - but he was off this morning, unable to eat, and confused.
She's feeling guilty for not going into the emergency room with him. I told her to give herself a break - hello, COVID is still around, so she can't do it anyhow. Her sister managed to get that across to her.
I walked around the cemetery afterwards, and realized I'm losing my father bit by bit. I'm getting used to him going into the hospital. I'd hoped that I would have a day without worrying about my parents. But alas no. I feel almost numb to it now.
And I'm trying to figure out when to get plane tickets, how long to visit, when to leave, etc for Xmas Holidays this year. Shouldn't keep procrastinating or I won't be able to get tickets at all.
***
NYPD according to the news only had 34 cops go out sick, with the rest getting vaccines. And 81% of the City Workers got vaccinated in response to the vaccine mandates put in place by the Mayor. So the mandates are working.
Tomorrow is election day in the US, please remember to vote.
Random Photo of the Day...
no subject
Date: 2021-11-02 02:24 am (UTC)I have to agree on all counts. I was never sure if the casting was that bad or the directing was, but too many things were just off putting. I understand Lynch disowned the film, because he wasn't given final say on the editing. But I just don't think there was much good that he produced to work with.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-02 02:36 pm (UTC)Also for the most part he let his directors do whatever they wanted, but he did like big show-pieces, and he was hard to get along with (according to Campbell and Altman's bio's).
But..
Having seen a lot of Lynch (director) films, and all of the actors in other films and presentations? 80% of this was on Lynch and the film editing. It's not the script - I can say that with absolute certainty - because the script isn't that different from the current version. Nor the plot - it's the same. No, it's the special effects, casting (10% is spot on, the rest are off), film editing, visuals, and god, the direction and focus on certain things over others.
I understand why Lynch disowned it - it's horrible - if I didn't know better - I'd have guessed it was done in the 1950s or 60s not 80s.
But Lynch has a few..quirks? He likes body horror, absurd visuals, and understated to the point of stiff acting in the leads, and over-the-top cackling in the villains. Kyle McLachlan's understated stoic/stiff acting style was a favorite of Lynch's. And the fetish sadistic sex freak - also a favorite of Lynch. And the addiction, and body horror - same. It's a pattern I've seen across his films - from Eraserhead to Twin Peaks.
So, I'd say this is pretty much a case of the wrong director for a film. Or rather the wrong producer and director.
no subject
Date: 2021-11-02 11:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-11-02 05:42 pm (UTC)