Silly Thinking

STHome Theatre.



What’s new and happening on the couch!

A few recent DVD finds…

1. “Sunday In The Park With George”. A recording of the Stephen Sondheim Broadway masterpiece from the mid 80’s. The DVD is a beautifully mastered, complete, restored look at one of the most interesting Broadway Musicals ever made.
Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters star in the multi layered story that, in the first portion, tells the troubled story of a moody artist, “George”, and his girlfriend and model “Dot”. It is loosely based on the French artist George Saurat who painted the hauntingly beautiful “A Sunday Afternoon On The Island of La Grande Jatte” . The play explores the painting and the people in it, who come to life as painted and “in real life”.
In the second half, another painter named George, a distant relative of the first “George”, is also struggling to be an artist and it is told in contemporary time and place. All of the characters are rearranged from the first half and makes an interesting comment on the subject of rebirth and resurrection.
The cast boasts a wonderful collection of actors who went on to other successes including
“Data” (“Star Trek: The Next Generation”)himself, Brent Spiner, and Charles Kimbrough (“Jim”, the stuffy news anchor on “Murphy Brown”).
Slightly under the surface of this tale is a story of art and artist, how a real artist is addicted
to creation, and how that tears at the fabric of a personal and social life.
The pain, anguish, and beauty of an artist’s life has never been so compellingly brought to life.
It is deeply moving and I strongly suggest seeing it if you write, paint, or dream.

2. “Touching The Void” . The movie “docudrama” tells true story of two mountain climbers who have an ill fated climb, as one of the climbers cuts the tether to his companion after a bad fall, and leaves him for dead. But he’s not dead. Their stories are told first hand by the actual climbers in extended interviews intercut with actors, literally, acting out the horrifying details of the climb.
The harrowing accounts of this event are compelling, as is the after story where the one who cut his partner loose was criticized publicly for his actions and supported by his friend who was cut. After all they went through, they had a disagreement later and stopped speaking to one another.
Humans! I just don’t know.

3. “Mickey Mouse In Black and White”. A two disc set of the very earliest Mickey Mouse cartoons (1929- 1934) is amazing to watch despite “host” Leonard Maltin who made a few comments that Disney decided were so compelling they replay them continually between cartoons. The exact same things over and over. How long would it have taken for Maltin to record a few other remarks?
But the cartoons are the main thing and they are fascinating. Walt Disney has been considered a genius for everything from Mickey Mouse to Epcoc, but few projects actually had his personal involvement. These did. And from the primitive “Steamboat Willie” in 1929 through the inventive and rich “Mickey’s Premiere” in ’33 and stories that later were reused for features and shorts, these cartoons just get better and better with each passing month, Disney pushed the envelope again and again. When watching the batch from 1934, it is incredible that in just 4 to 5 years, the art form of animation changed so much, and so much of it was from the dedication and talent of one man.
One thing Disney never thought about back then was Mickey Mouse as a corporate icon. These early shorts show Mickey smoking, shooting, and spitting tobacco!

That’s it for now! See you on the couch (but if your on my couch I’ll call the police!)

ST IS!