Jul 15 2002
Weekend at the Movies
It was a weekend of genius.
On Saturday, we went to see Road to Perdition at the nearby Metro, one of the few remaining neighborhood theaters. We followed Kelly’s movie rules to the letter, and had a wonderful time.
Great cast (Tom Hanks, Paul Newman), great director (Sam Mendes, he of the clever and cutting “American Beauty”, which was written by the brilliant Alan Ball, creator of Six Feet Under), beautifully photographed (one scene in particular is shot with nothing less than poetry, yet it’s the most violent scene of the movie). Much has been made of whether the movie-going public is ready to see Hanks play a “bad guy”. His character does do some bad things, but he’s certainly not pure evil. His motivations are primarily loyalty and the safety and well-being of his family, not personal gain or evil for the hell of it. This story is really one of fathers and sons, whether they are born that way, or find each along the way.
I find it interesting that Mendes, an Englishman, is able to see into the American psyche, both past and present, with such incisiveness and clarity. Maybe you have to be somewhat removed to really be objective.
On Sunday, we attended an amazing event at the glorious Castro Theater, home of the San Francisco Silent Film Festival.
We saw a screening of Harold Lloyd’s hilarious film from 1924, Girl Shy. Not only was there a perfect new print from the Harold Lloyd Trust, the film was introduced by Lloyd’s granddaughter and prefaced with one of his family home movies, never before seen in public, and with sound! I was delighted to see that the speeches and the home movie were given in sign language at the same time.
Harold Lloyd was Jackie Chan 50 years before Jackie Chan. He did most of his own stunts, and suffered the consequences. Two fingers on his right hand were blown off in a stunt with a bomb which turned out to be a little too real, and he wore a prosthetic glove after that. In “Girl Shy”, he was knocked out cold during the chase scene by the heavy brass nozzle on the fire hose, and as soon as he regained consciousness, re-shot the scene. By the way, that scene inspired the chariot race in the 1925 version of “Ben-Hur”, directed by Fred Niblo. Niblo had Lloyd join him while filming the scene to give him tips!
It was wonderful to watch the movie accompanied by live music, as originally intended. Chris Elliott, the organist, had actually studied with the legendary Gaylord Carter, who had scored and accompanied Lloyd’s films himself. The audience was of all ages, and I think nearly every one of the 1,500 seats was occupied. The audience really contributed to the pleasure of the movie, laughing, clapping, booing, and having a wonderful time. I think Lloyd would have been pleased.