Clonus/Island Lawsuit Update

Last year I wrote a tiny article for the Village Voice that exposed Michael Bay's "The Island" -- starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson -- as a rip off of the 1978 sci-fi opus "Parts: The Clonus Horror." Well, after I had a long talk with "Clonus" director Robert Fiveson, he decided to launch a lawsuit against Warner Brothers and the producers of "The Island." After Warner tried to have the lawsuit thrown out, a New York judge ruled that the case should go to trial. A February date has been set.

Do It, Do It...

How ya like me now? Yeah, baby, that's genuine velour.

New Camille Paglia Interview on Salon

Salon.com has a new, super looooong interview (5 web pages) with superstar culture critic Camille Paglia. Camille takes on the Left, the Right, slams the media for creating a gay backlash with the Mark Foley "scandal" and generally goes against the grain...as usual. An entertaining read. How many sacred cows does she trample on? How many you got? Nothing really new here but if you're like me, an informed, acerbic take on current events is always welcome. For an extra kick, read the letters page.

DVD Review: The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes

36 years ago this week (October 29th, to be precise) saw the release of legendary director Billy Wilder's grandest production -- The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes. The movie, intended as a "road show" extravaganza costing the then princely sum of $10 million, turned out to be the director's biggest flop, grossing only $1.5 million to date.

Kicked to the curb and buried early on, the movie has since enjoyed a critical reputation inversely proportional to its contemporary appeal. Boasting no marquee stars as such, the film was cut from its original running time of three hours to a more manageable two and change. Unfortunately the trimings, which comprised two more discrete stories, have been lost to time with only audio clips and stills surviving.

Nevertheless, Private Life is an immensely enjoyable flick, combining a rarely seen mixture of humor and sadness, genuine romance and gothic thrills as well as a superlative performance from star Robert Stephens, who plays the great detective as an acidic-tongued fop, a characterization which stirred a bit of controversy back in 1970 -- "Were Holmes and Watson (gulp) GAY?" The question is addressed directly in the film -- as is Holmes' drug use -- although the answer is never elementary.

Stephens handling of I.A.L. Diamond and Wilder's funny and fast-paced script may have as much to do with the film's reception than anything else. Basil Rathbone's more sober performance as Sherlock in the '40s film series was (and still is) in the interested public's mind at the time and Stephens' preening was seen by some as blasphemy.

You don't have to be a Sherlock Holmes fan to "get" Private Life. The film is a beautifully lensed satire of Victorian mores and modern day manners. The point is drawn even finer in the film's missing prologue, preserved in script form as an extra on MGM's 2003 DVD, where Dr. Watson's grandson is led to the unpublished manuscripts of his grandfather.

The MGM DVD is not without its problems. Dark scenes in the film are marred by black halos which obscure the rather severe 2:35 matting. Color problems plague certain scenes and fading is evident throughout. The mono audio track is adequate allowing Miklos Rozsa's excellent, bittersweet score to shine. The extras, as mentioned earlier, are pretty extensive, with scripts, stills and audio bits filling in key, deleted scenes. Stick around for interviews with editor Ernest Walter and co-star Christopher Lee. Fascinating but probably a bit much for the average viewer.

I fell in love with this film after seeing it a few years ago and consider it more than a lost classic. Actually, I might nominate this as one of my favorite films of all time. And although it would be interesting to see the deleted scenes restored, I can't help believe that The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes is as good as it can be which in this case is almost cinematic perfection. Highly recommended.

This Week in News

Busy couple of weeks. Got my car broken into AGAIN. This time they busted out the window and took my prescription sunglasses. Nice. Went to the State Fair of Texas twice...once as part of a work-mandated trip. Hey, they bought the tickets and gave me a shitload of coupons. Biggest disappointment: the much talked about "Deep Fried Coke." It basically consisted of a clear plastic cup filled with Munchkins with a drizzling of Coke (or RC -- I'm not sure) syrup topped with non-dairy "whipped cream." Nasty. I did enjoy the Children's Petting Zoo. Got to pet a zebra. Tiffany and I went to a wedding out in Fredericksburg -- this was the third time we've been to the Hill Country in the past three months. I hate Fredericksburg. Came home to discover the furnace in our house is kaput. At least it hasn't been that cold, although Tiffany would beg to differ. I think it feels rather comfortable. Now if I could just shake off this acid reflux and lose 15 lbs, everything will be just peachy.

Get in the Groove

Play B Boy Off, Keyboard Cat - watch more funny videos

Radiodread - Toots and the Maytals

Picked up a copy of the new Easy Star All-Stars album, Radiodread, this weekend on a trip to Austin. The CD is a track-by-track, reggae version of Radiohead's OK Computer from the NYC crew who brought you Dub Side of the Moon -- a track-by-track, reggae version of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. It's pretty lightweight but totally worth the price alone for the legendary Toots and the Maytals version of "Let Down". It really put a smile on my face. These guys have been favorites of mine for years and they make the song their own. Check it out.

Toots and the Maytals -- Let Down.mp3

Best Movies in the Public Domain

Wired has a list of the Best Public Domain Movies. Nice to see that one of my faves, Detour the sleazy, Edgar Ulmer-directed Noir from 1945 made the list at number one. I really like the Fleischer Superman cartoons from the early '40s as well. We'll have to agree to disagree that Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is one of the best -- although it does make decent MST3K viewing. One film missing is 1961's One-Eyed Jacks -- the only film ever directed by Marlon Brando. It's hard to believe that it is actually in the PD...and its even harder to find a decent DVD copy but it is required viewing.