Saturday December 3
DANIEL CRAIG
The Golden Compass [e.tv.20.00]
Sunday December 4
Bambi [M-Net.10.00]
Mr and Mrs Smith [e.tv.20.00]
Monday December 5
Charlie Wilson's War [SABC2.22.00]
Days of Glory [SABC3.03.00]
***
BAMBI AND FRIENDS IN THE FOREST
Bambi [M-Net.Sunday.10.00], Walt Disney’s animation classic, was made in 1942; at a time when Animal Rights were a contradiction in terms; they didn’t exist—a mink coat was the ultimate status symbol and Green was not a state of mind; it was a secondary colour distilled from yellow and blue.
FELIX SALTEN-FELL FOUL OF HITLER
Bambi the white tailed deer began live in 1923, as a creation of Felix Salten, an Austrian Jew who, after the coming to power of the Nazis, lived in exile in Switzerland. Needless to say, the Hitler regime banned Bambi.
BAMBI AND HIS MOTHER
Disney bought the rights to Bambi pretty cheaply, but on release, the movie actually lost money. It was only on re-release in 1947 that Bambi and his story began to resonate. Bambi became the face of the helpless animal stuck forever in the deadly sights of man; the evil destroyer, armed with a gun.
THE BAMBI EFFECT
The film is vintage Disney, made with a charm, sensitivity and a deep warmth seldom matched; then or now. A comment from 2011, espouse the Bambi Effect and teach our children to save this planet.
NORTH BY NORTH WEST REVEALS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE
Set The Golden Compass [e.tv.Saturday.20.00] and head straight for the Arctic Circle. Of course, the story, Northern Lights, like many Fantasy sagas, comes complete with its own moral code, special vocabulary; alternate universe, animal familiars, innovative villains etc.that are often complicated and difficult to assimilate cold.
SNOWY SPECTACULAR
If, of course, you are a fan of the Philip Pullman trilogy His Dark Materials, the action is much easier to fathom. If not, just let the snow and spectacle flow over you for now and place an order at the library for the books next week.
TWO OLD KNIGHTS IN ACTION ON STAGE
The cast of The Golden Compass is one of the most talented and diverse ever gathered together—we have three Knights of the Realm, Sir Tom Courtney, Sir Derek Jacobi and Sir Ian McKellen; a trio steeped in Shakespeare and traditional theatre, to whom acting in film has been a lucrative extra mural activity.
SIR CHRISTOPHER-VERY AT HOME IN HIS COFFIN
There is a fourth Knight, Sir Christopher Lee, who in his long and illustrious career has Hammered his way to success, playing Count Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Fu Manchu, Rasputin and lately roles in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, he also provided the voice of the Jabberwocky. Top that, if you dare!
PHILIP PULLMAN WANTED NICOLE KIDMAN FOR THE PART
Add to that, an American/ Australian actress who, once she rid herself of her pretty boy acting husband, won an Oscar for playing writer Virginia Woolf in The Hours.
KATHY BATES-EARS A TWITCHING
Plus, the newly minted Irish James Bond, a charming British ingénue and the voices of two great actresses, one British and one American. So sit tight on Saturday night and infuse the visual effects as they sweep your senses away. But, beware of snow blindness.
BRAD AND ANGELINA
Chris Weitz who directed both The Golden Compass and The New Moon has, over the years, done a little acting too. He appears in the 2005 film, Mr. and Mrs. Smith [e.tv. Sunday.20.00], which is more famous today for what happened off camera than on. The screenplay by Simon Kinberg is slick and original, funny too; a bored married couple comes to realize that they both live secret lives as assassins.
BOGIE AND BACALL
But, like all those years ago, when Bogie met and matched Lauren Bacall on the set of To Have and to Have Not, so too, when Brad Pitt reached out for Angelina Jolie in Mr. and Mrs. Smith they sparked an electrical charge that could light up a small city.
BRANGELINA
Watch the movie and see it happen before your eyes; Brad and Angie turn into Brangelina. The movie is a tongue in cheek romp, where love conquers everything on every level.
THEY WERE VERY, VERY FUNNY TOGETHER
Charlie Wilson’s War [SABC2.Monday.22.00] is based on a true story written by George Crile has a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin and direction by Mike Nichols, a man whose first two films were Whose Afraid of Virginia Wolf in 1966 and his Academy Award winning The Graduate, made in 1967. Nichols writes as well as directs, and began his career writing comedy with Elaine May in the early 1960s.
IN AMERICA, DIANE IS MORE FAMOUS THAN MIKE
Obviously, the man has a cast iron longevity gene, he is married to news anchor Diane Sawyer, fourteen years his junior and he was 76 years old when he directed Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Wilson’s War.
FULL OF DIRTY TRICKS- PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN
The fast moving plot, set in the world of international intrigue tells how one false flicker can upset a political house of cards so delicate that the historical reverberations can go on forever. The cast is pertinent and believable while the action never lets up for a moment.
SOME BRILIANT ACTING IN A WELL TOLD STORY
It is war of a sad and different kind in Days of Glory [SABC3.Sunday.03.00], an excellent movie made by Rachid Bouchareb, which tells the stark and violent story of black volunteers from North Africa, who during World War 2 end up being victims of their own patriotism.
THE FLYING FEET OF GREGORY HINES
Tap [e.tv.Sunday.22.25] is about just that, a dance form with flints and sparks in it's shoes. Gregory Hines heads a talented cast; in a movie, a little light on plot perhaps, but where movement is mesmerizing.
MR BOJANGLES
Tap also provides us a last chance to see veteran entertainer Sammy Davis, Jnr—he truly was one of the all time original greats. I was trying to find a way to sum up Sammy Davis: this is the best I can do; listen to his version of Bye, Bye Blackbird, and you'll hear what I mean.
WELL TIMED PERFORMANCES FROM JULIA ROBERTS AND TOM HANKS
Well, as I promised short and sweet. Back next week, in the meantime, my pick is Charlie Wilson’s War [SABC2.Monday.22.00]; it’s one hell of a good movie.
WHY ARE MY SHOES SHAKING?
By now, everybody has seen The Hangover [M-Net. Sunday.00.55] more than once. This photo is a slice of life; been there, done that. In my case, far too often.