Film review: Egypt, Rediscovering a Lost World (2006), BBC, ****

Synopsis

Focusing on three of the most important discoveries from the world of the ancient Egyptians, this series journeys back in time to explore Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun, the Great Giovanni Belzoni's finds from the reign of Ramesses II and Jean-François Champollion's deciphering of the hieroglyphs. Join Carter, Belzoni and Champollion as they overcome immense obstacles to unlock the secrets of an as-yet undiscovered world and reveal their seminal finds. Then travel even further back, to the amazing period of Egyptian history unveiled by their astounding work.




Disc 1:
Episode 1 and 2 : Carter and Tutankhamon
Episode 3: Belzoni and Ramses, first part

Disc 2:
Episode 4: Belzoni and Ramses, second part
Episode 5 and 6: Champollion and the hieroglyphs

Disc 3:
The making of the pyramids
Extras: trailers, photo gallery, fact files, visual effects


Review

Tut Ankh Amun funeral mask, Cairo Museum

This is a fictional rendering of the life and work of the three most important discoverers of ancient Egypt. It is a comprehensive work, at least as much as can fit into three DVDs packed with action. The idea of a fictional narration instead of a pure documentary is a good one in this case, as it helps bring the characters to life. The three stories of research and discovery are interlaced with the personal lives of the three men, their strengths and weaknesses, and it all makes for an entertaining as well as instructive narration.

I am not sure why the authors chose this particular order of the episodes, in that Belzoni should come first, as his discoveries preceded the work of the two others. Carter's episodes should be the last: not only did he work a century after Belzoni and Champollion, but his subject, Tutankhamun, lived a thousand years after Ramses and the inventors of the hieroglyphs. The viewer might want to watch episodes 3 and 4 first, then 5 and 6, and finally 1 and 2.

Abu Simbel before restoration

Acting is not going to win any Oscars but that's not why one buys this set. The third "bonus" DVD on the pyramids is the worst of the three. The CGI are rather poor (more like 1990s than 2010) and the narrator's voice tries to be solemn but is just boring.

You can read my review of the book on Giovanni Belzoni by Marco Zatterin (in Italian) here on this blog.

Buy the European DVD set here:




In the US you can buy it here:

Film review: The Odd Couple (1968) by Gene Saks, *****

Synopsis

Neil Simon's beloved story about two divorced men who decide to share a New York apartment. Felix (Jack Lemmon) is fussy and fastidious to a fault. He proves that cleanliness is next to insanity. Oscar (Walter Matthau) wreaks havoc on a tidy room with the speed and thoroughness of a tornado. An enduring and endearing picture with the intelligence one usually misses in comedies.


Review

Today I have seen this great film for the first time, nearly half a century after if was made, and I had a ball. Not only is the film superfunny. Not only it keep a nice clip throughout. It is actually a pretty serious analysis of many of the most common idiosyncrasies of men. All men, or at least most men, in any country. On the one hand we just want to be left alone, but on the other hand, when we are, we resent it and look for relationships.

Also, I sympathized a lot with oscar for setting up the two girls only to see them fall for Felix, who could not care less, at least in the beginning, and ends up reaping the fruits. It happened to me so many times! (I am usually the Oscar, not the Felix, in this kind of circumstances!)

Some memorable quotes:

[When Oscar can't take it anymore and asks Felix to leave]
Felix: In other words, you're throwin' me out.
Oscar: Not in other words. Those are the perfect ones!

Felix: I think I'm crazy.
Oscar: If it makes you feel any better, I think so too.

[When Felix is very tense]
Oscar: Look at this. You're the only man in the world with clenched hair.

Film review: Chaplin blu-ray box set, *****

This is a collection of five films:

The Kid (1921) silent
A moving story of poverty and generosity.

The Gold Rush (1925) silent
Irony about greed. Poor man against poor man, in the hope of striking gold and turning the page.

The Circus (1928) silent
Love and desperation intertwined in a moving story.

Modern Times (1936) last silent film by Chaplin
A timeless classic about the dehumanization of man by machines.

The Great Dictator (1940)
Filmed as WW II was getting underway, it is a totally unveiled veiled satirical attack on Hitler and Mussolini. A movie about the need to speak up for freedom, then as now.

These are among the best masterpiecess made by Charlie Chaplin. They are timeless works, and each evokes as much emotion and humor today as it did almost a century ago.

The BD rendering is very good, even though I am not sure it justifies the expensive price tag. Perhaps a DVD set would be enough. Yet, I would still recommend this set, considering one is likely to view them again and again with undiminished pleasure.

Film review: Julie and Julia (2009), by Nora Ephron ****

Julia Child in Time magazine

Synopsis

A culinary legend provides a frustrated office worker with a new recipe for life in Julie and Julia, the true stories of how Julia Child's (Meryl Streep) life and cookbook inspired fledgling writer Julie Powell (Amy Adams) to whip up 524 recipes in 365 days and introduce a new generation to the magic of French cooking. Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada) co-stars in director Nora Ephron's delicious comedy about joy, obsession and butter. It was to be the last of her movies, as she died in 2012. Bon appetit!

Film review: Olympia (1936), by Leni Riefenstahl ***

Synopsis

A documentary of the 1936 Summer Olympic games held in Berlin.



Review

This is undoubdtedly great photography, and controversial director Riefenstahl was very innovative in her positioning of the camera, especially in the low angle. For its time, it was a masterpiece.

Today I find it a bit boring. The sequence of events is monotonous and repetitive.

Interesting to hear the British version commentator cheer for a "European" runner (who happened to be an Italian) runner when an American and a Canadian were in the lead in the 800 meters. An indication that at the time the ideological differences between fascist Italy and democratic Britain did not prevent him to voice sympathy for a fellow European when competing against an American.

Also interesting to hear him use of the term"negro" when referring to black athletes. This is of course politically incorrect today, but did not have a pejorative connotation at that time. Indeed, Martin Luther King and Leopold Senghor used the word even much later.

Funny to see swimmers as they swam "breast stroke" also with butterfly strokes, at will, as it was not differentiated at the time.

The audio in this DVD is pretty bad, could have been remastered better.

An interesting piece of history nonetheless.




Buy the US version here

Book review: Prisoner of the Japanese, by Tom Wade, *****

English prisoners freed in Japan, September 1945 (AP Photo)

Synopsis

On 15 February 1942, the Japanese captured Singapore and took 130,000 Allied prisoners of war. One of those prisoners was British Lieutenant Tom Wade. For the next three and a half years he was to suffer the indignity and hardships of captivity and the torture and brutality of his captors, first in Changi, then in Korea and finally in Tokyo.

This book is the story of those years in captivity. They were years of horror and despair, characterised by harsh treatment at the hands of sadistic guards who believed that a soldier who has surrendered has lost all humanity. At Tokyo Headquarters Camp in particular, Wade and his fellow POWs had to suffer the paranoid beatings and victimisation of Sergeant Matsuhiro Watanabe, who successfully avoided prosecution by the War Crimes Commission at the war's end.

Wade's moving account of his period of captivity is characterised by the sense of determination, hope and endurance which sustained all those who shared his experience.