CoffeeHousers' Wall, 1 July -  5 July

Pete Hoskin

Apologies for the delay in getting this week's CoffeeHousers' Wall up on the site. I've been away on holiday, and it was forgotten in my absence.

Johnny Buchanan

Talking of labour lies I have heard a rumour that a leading Sunday newspaper has a full recording of a conversation between Brown and McBride some weeks after McBride left. It is said to be dynamite and will be published this Sunday.

Startled Cod

If only Gordon Brown knew he could be topping the polls and staring elctoral success in the face. No-one should tell him all he need to do is launch a Cones Hotline (with associated website). What do we want? A Cones Hotline (with associated website)! When do we want it? Now!

oldtimer

How unkind of me to think you had decided to do a runner before publication of the top 25 of your 50 Essential Films!

I am a such a sucker for such lists that I even went out and purchased the Spectator to read up your selection.

Is it not time, however, to refine the process, along the lines of Desert Island Discs, to force selection of eight Desert Island DVDs (BluRay would count too) that you have to live with forever. We should then have a better idea of what you really enjoy watching over and over again.

Out of your list, the only film I would definitely put in that category would be The Godfather parts 1 and 2. I would certainly add Kurosawa`s Seven Samurai and, for laughs, Its A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Then it gets tricky.

Chuck Unsworth

So,roll on the weekend, then. Just another chapter in the long running saga of the Decline and Fall of the Brown Empire.

Andy

Can we please move on from Michael, bloody Jackson?

egh

Andy - Motion Seconded!!

mac

oldtimer:
" . . .what you really enjoy watching over and over again."

That strict criterion applies to only one film for me: the peerless "Blues Brothers".

Michael Booth

So Michael Martin gets a peerage. Nice reward for being incompetent and partisan. What will Gordon get when he's kicked out - the Dukedom of Kirkaldy? It beggars belief.

Paul B

Quick mention of Michael Vaughans retirement. I will always remember him with deep affection and gratitude for winning the back the Ashes in 2005, in what was a quite splendid series. He out "captained" Ricky Dickie Darlin, that summer, who did not like it up him, which for a patriotic Englishman, was a joy to behold. He was also a fine batsmen, the pinnacle of his batting career being the three centuries he scored in the 2002/2003(?) Ashes tour of Australia. Even the Aussies sat up and admired him, which is praise indeed.

He was a good bloke as well.

Pete Hoskin

Many thanks to THX1138 for the picture and caption above. If anyone else has any photos to submit, just email them to me on phoskin @ spectator.co.uk

egh

'Perfection'?? The home of Mussolini?

Interesting that the Italians keep it in such good condition, though. They must be proud of it, or something - but you wouldn't get me anywhere near it.

Verity

Andy and egh - Can you point to where Michael Jackson has featured in The Speccie? You seem to be complaining in the wrong venue.

Reliably, more desperately uninteresting photos from Thnx. And they're all of venues that have been photographed, better, a million times. What on earth is the point?

I thought it was photos relevant somehow to the lives of Coffee Housers, to personalise the site. No wonder everyone else has stopped posting photos.

egh

Welcome back Mr. Hoskin! Not least because when you're around the censoring at CH grows markedly less arbitrary. I suspect that, in your absence, they use the filter preferred by a couple of your colleagues.

I'm actually delighted that they rejected my final post on last week's Wall - some things are better ignored. Even so, I'd still like to express appreciation of The Bellman, whose remarks about youthful stars developed that discussion in an interesting and informative direction.

THX1138

RIP Karl Malden

The difficult flogging scene from "One Eyed Jacks" the grievously underatted western directed by and staring a magnificent Marlon Brando with Karl Malden pitch perfect in the supporting roll as the sadistic local sheriff.

http://tinyurl.com/nhsyjm

I'm sure we're going to hear a lot about Streetcar, On the Waterfront & How the West Was Won and rightly so, all great films but One Eyed Jacks was always my favourite and most definitely at top 50 film.

The Bellman

@egh: Thanks. I don't normally say anything interesting or informative. Lower sixth facetiousness is my metier. Clearly I am slipping.

So how's about this for my list for oldtimer's Desert Islands DVDs:

- Weekend at Bernie's 2
- Deuce Bigalow: European gigolo
- Theodore Rex
- MXP: Most Extreme Primate
- The house bunny
- Smokey and The Bandit III
- Police academy: Mission to Moscow
- The Are you being served? movie, where they go on holiday and young Mr Grace rescues them from a coup while driving a tank.

I have just heard - literally while typing this - that Mollie Sugden died. I had had second thoughts about including this, and was going to suggest Holiday ion the buses instead, but as a tribute to Mollie I think it should stand. In fact, I think it should be like The Bible on DID - *everyone* gets a copy as gizzit, to make the agony of choice more bearable.)

Over to Pete 'Auteur' Hoskin.

Rhoda Klapp

I see Clive Davis is as annoying as usual, with his BNP/teacher/ban/tolerance post that you can't comment on.

But this comment isn't a reply to that.

It could be the nature of tolerance itself, usually promoted as a virtue, but capable of pleny of wickedness too.

But this comment isn't about that.

It is about this. IF you ban members of some party from having some particular job, or doing some other activity, what legal recourse does the party have? Or is it the case that any party acting legally should never be banned from anything?

THX1138

Rather than whinging at the personal photo's relevant to the life of this Coffee Houser why don't you all send your photo's into Pete I know I'd love to see them and I'm sure others would too.

And what may I ask is the difference between a random photo and a random written post?

That after all is rather the point of the Wall!

Sarah

From Peter Hargreaves, this is what I want to hear. Cut the waste of taxpayers' money. Cut, cut, cut again:

"The sad thing is that closing the budget deficit is a simple matter. The public sector is overmanned on a massive scale. The public sector should be stopped from advertising or using consultants. Public sector flexitime should be abolished – many government buildings are empty on a Friday. The two-week sick pay regime should be halted – many public employees take them as holidays. Their pay should be looked at closely – it is almost certainly 30pc higher than in the private sector.

"Since few parts of the public sector work well, why do they get bonuses? I wonder what revelations we would find if the public sector's expenses were exposed. In addition to all that, just closing the quangos would save £130bn a year – not one of them does anything of any value or use. Sorting out the budget deficit is as simple as the last seven sentences."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/comment/5696818/Raising-tax-is-economic-madness.-Slash-the-public-sector-instead.html

It really is that simple. This deficit could be gone tomorrow if the waste was stopped.

Come on and cut.

egh

THX - I wasn't whingeing about your picture. As I said, I think it's rather interesting; so thank you for submitting it.

It's the former occupant who upsets me!!! Actually, though, I'd rather like to hear your impressions of your visit -

Vulture

Can I be really boring and raise an overlooked topic & spoil the generally light-hearted nature of the Wall? I can? Oh, good.

No-one seems to have noticed a seismic shift in US policy this week indicated by the fact that Obama has dived into bed with a bunch of US-hating, Marxist despots, dictators and demagogues, - Viz. Messrs Castro, Chavez and Ortega - in condemning last week's "coup" in Honduras.

Speaking as a great aficionado of coups - the subject of a future book - I can safely state that what happened in Honduras was not a coup. President Zelaya, faced with a drastic drop in popularity, was attempting to emulate his chum Chavez and extend his period in office - a move forbidden by the Honduras constitution.. Congress refused to change the constitution to allow this. So Zelaya demanded a referendum on the issue. This was forbidden by the country's highest legal authority - the Supreme Court.
Zelaya went ahead anyway. The Court told the Army to stop him. Zelaya fired the head of the Army. The Court told the Army to arrest Zelaya. The Army duly removed and exiled him. Cue: assorted leftist dictatorships led by Chavez, the demagogic Marxist who leads Venezuela, to scream blue murder and threaten an invasion of little Honduras. (Especially ironic as Chavez himself first came to power through a coup).

Incredibly, Obama sides with this bunch of Commies, instead of the constitutional Government in Honduras. Now, according to which conservative
commentator you read, this either means that he is a) A Marxist consciously following an agenda or b) A guilty liberal attempting to atone for decades of US interference in Latin America on behalf of real military coup-makers. Either way, its a step change in US policy.

Personally, I think that after six months Obama is shaping up nicely to be the copper-bottomed disaster than many feared he would be. Massive state spending, high tax and debt and authoritarian Government at home; coupled with weakness, ineptitude and siding with your enemies abroad. Yes, it all sounds strangely familiar.

The Bellman

Pete - what happened to my post about my Desert Island DVDs? Is it because I chose Most Extreme Primate (MVP 3) instead of Most Vertical Primate (MVP2)? If so, why won't you enter into a debate about it? Censorship is not the answer.

Jeremy

I'm going to make a cup of coffee in the kitchen and then I'm going to take it out into the garden, where I will alternate between drinking the coffee and, firstly, rolling and then smoking a cigarette. It's a lovely day. And it's a shame to waste the sunshine. So it's into the garden with me. For a bit, anyway.

Sarah

Vulture, American Thinker has been running daily essays on this. It is just mind boggling but as with everything else to do with Obama, his ethnicity seems to make journalists afraid of giving him proper scrutiny.

Obama's True Colors Shine in Honduras
By Kyle-Anne Shiver

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/07/obamas_true_colors_shine_in_ho.html

Jeremy

Oldtimer:

All About My Mother - Pedro Almodovar

Touch of Evil - Orson Welles

The Third Man - Carol Reed

Withnail and I - Bruce Robinson

La Dolce Vita - Fellini

The Rebel - Tony Hancock (not sure who directed)

Charade - Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn (again, not sure who directed)

After this, it gets a bit tricky. I want to put a "Carry On" in the list. Of the ones I've seen, it would probably be Carry on Loving, Carry On at Your Convenience, Carry On Abroad or Carry On Cabbie. But I can't quite make up my mind which...

Rather an off-the-cuff list, I'm afraid. Not definitive. Although I do think that Almodovar's "All About My Mother" is possibly the finest European film that I have seen.

Pete Hoskin

The Bellman: what comment do you mean? There's one timed at 8:42 this morning, showing above - is it that?

And I'll be jumping into the DVD debate shortly, although I could probably pick 8 John Ford films...

Pete Hoskin

Many thanks to Paul B for the picture above.

The Bellman

Pete: That's the one - thanks. It didn't show until I refreshed at c2pm, but was showing much later posts. Maybe it's my computer stuff.

Pleased to see you endorse the selection of MXP. Can't think why you left it out of the Top 50. For everyone else, here's a reminder of probably the best 90 minutes ever committed to celluloid. Warning: the imdb page contains a spoiler.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0330588/

oldtimer

I like a bit of variety for my top 8 so my remaining 5 would be MASH (Robert Altman), High Society (Charles Walters), Toy Story 1 nd 2 (John Lasseter), Zulu (Cy Endfield), and Roman Holiday (William Wyler).

The nearest I can get to a western is Toy Story. Shows my age probably - the seventh age.

Verity

Number Plate, I was going to post personal photos when Susan Hill was posting hers. And then the site got subsumed by National Geographic and shots of "famous landmarks I, along with everyone else in the world, have photographed". Developing a "Speccie portfolio" are we? Just as a helpful point of reference for you, the plural is not formed by putting an apostrophe at the end of the word and then adding an 's'. It would be nice if you could write in what I assume is your native language when you feel the urge to get up on your hind legs and upbraid others.

Paul B's photo is lovely, though.

Vulture, re your post, this was all predicted before Obama was elected. It was obvious that he was going to pal around with Chavez, the only other communist government (other than Cuba) in the whole of the Americas.

Steve.W

The BNP, teachers, legality and so on. As the BNP meets all of the demands made by the Electoral Commission I fail to see how some teachers can complain, but they do. Occasionally this theme gets an airing in the Guardian. Then many of the people who respond to the article want both the BNP and the NUT out of classrooms. A test case would, I predict, double the membership of the BNP. Are some teachers that daft? Yes I think they are. I fail to see how supporting a legal political party can be illegal.

THX1138

Great picture Paul B, Monet would be proud, you really caught it just right lets see what you're like with Water Lilies next time :)

Poppy fields always bring a lump to my throat the beauty and the sadness is an intoxicating combination.

Jeremy

Oldtimer and Pete:

Although I've had my eight, I don't think any list (of mine) would be complete without "North By North West" (Hitchcock) and, possibly, "The Ladykillers" (Alexander Mackendrick).

What about the films you haven't seen but would like to see? Now there's an interesting question for other contributors to answer. My list would run thus:

The Discreet Charm of The Bourgeoisie (Luis Bunuel)

Celine and Julie Go Boating (Jacques Rivette)

Vagabond (Agnes Varda)

Les Enfants Terribles (Jean-Pierre Melville)

And at that point...I've run dry.

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

Pete Hoskin.

Please say what format and size required for the photo's (that's an abbreviatory apostrophe my kittens, as in short for 'photographs' - big no no on a CV, but fine here)

RIP Mollie Sugden. Such a great actress who gave us some marvellous characters and many laughs over the years. I do hope a home has been secured for Mrs Slocombe's pussy.

Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.

Films:

Terminator 2

The Scarecrow

Two Way Stretch

Die Hard

Magnolia

The Hairdresser's Husband

Road (Alan Clarke's, if we are allowed TV films - damned if I know what the difference is)

egh

Poppy fields. It is that there's a pharmaceuticals lab. around Oxford, and having our own fields is better than bringing the stuff in from Afghanistan?

Derek

I think there is a great lesson for Mr. Brown in the Zelaya affair. Of course one might not expect him to try the referendum route in bidding for an extension of his period as Prime Minister, but various unconstitutional possibilities spring to mind which might find favour and support with the administration in Washinton DC.

egh

My Films: The Red Shoes; The Philadelphia Story; Casablanca; Man For All Seasons (w/Scofield); Battle of Britain; Passage to India.

If I have to have a Western, High Noon. For Foreign Films - maybe Kieslowski's Trilogy: The Three Colours (if only one allowed: Blue).

Paul B

If I may comment on the poppy field, my photo doesn`t do it justice at all. For one, my camera is the equivalent of a digital box brownie and secondly the field is , I`m reliably told,approx 100 acres and on the day it was completely smothered in poppies. Also my photo doesn`t show the hundreds of Swallows flying low just over the top of the crop, hoovering up the insects and the Swifts slightly higher, shrieking in delight. I not sure if the poppies are being cropped, I believe the farmer is going organic and may just be letting it go fallow for a year, although I could be wrong. Hes probably getting large subsidy from the EU as set aside-a subsidy in this case I can just about tolerate. There were also several Buzzards on the day, and the farmer has kept the hedgerow and there were plenty of Yellowhammers and Corn Buntings. A quintessential, English heart of the country scene and all the more glorious for that.

I have submiited a photo of Water Lillies for THX, sadly missing a Japanese bridge I`m afraid.

egh

Ooops! @ 12.20 am: Fodder for the elementary schoolmarms among us. Typo for "Is it...?"

Paul B

My films.

Films starring Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Laurel & Hardy. Wizard of Oz. The Commitments. The Godfathers trilogy, Goodfellows and Pacinos Scarface. The original Star Wars. Taxi Driver. Apocalypse Now. Despite Ken Loachs infantile political views, the film Kes , which I thought was a masterpiece in British film making,the scene with Brian Glover pretending to be Bobby Charlton still makes me laugh, even though I know whats coming. Carry on Camping, Passport to Pimlico, Long Good Friday, with the voluptuous Helen Mirren. Mike Leigh films, especially Secrets and Lies. David Lean films- Oliver Twist and Lawrence of Arabia. Kubrick films, especially Strangelove and Full Metal Jacket. Peter Sellars-Pink Panthers, which make me laugh just thinking about them, Peter Sellar films -Im alright Jack. James Bond films- Honor Blackman emerging from the sea, wow wee. Goldfinger , with the golden model. Nicholsons One Flew over the Cuckoos nest and his Joker superseded by Ledgers. John Fords Grapes of Wrath. Rooster Cockburn showing true grit. Hammer House of Horrors. The Exorcist, the original Halloween, with a young Jamie Lee- Monty Pythons Holy Grail & Life of Brian. The list is endless

Vulture-in-the-back-row-with-the-popcorn

er...Paul...It wasn't Honor Blackman emerging from the sea ( she's in Goldfinger); it was the gorgeous Ursula Andress. And we would all have liked to undress Andress.

Paul B

One further film I forgot to mention and I would like to add is The French Connection with with Gene Hackman as Popeye Doyle.

Rhoda Klapp

There's not a mention in the Americano blog of the passing of Cap and Trade in the house. A 1500 page bill nobody read, a bigger tax burden than ever before, a conspiracy by the government and corporations against the people, isn't important enough to get a mention? If the US goes 1984, this would be one of the most important steps on the way. Unless I am misinformed, of course.

Rhoda Klapp

Films. I wouldn't want to be stuck on the island without a Miyazaki. Laputa or Spirited Away, probably. Sub-titled, so I can learn Japanese. And Waterloo, De Laurentis as I recall. Now that is an epic.

THX1138

egh This is funny

Stoned wallabies make crop circles

Australian wallabies are eating opium poppies and creating crop circles as they hop around "as high as a kite", a government official has said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8118257.stm

Sarah

THX, you show us shoddy photos, bore us with your music and 'jokes' etc.

Is there something wrong?

Mouse 2

Love your list, Paul B - I'd put most of those on mine, too.

I think Honor Blackman was a later Bond girl, though - she flew aeroplanes in Goldfinger. I don't remember her sea scene, but I do remember the one with Ursula Andress (because some guys pronounced it 'Undress') at 'Crab Key' (Dr. No).

egh

THX: Finally! A clear-headed explanation for crop circles!!

On films btw: Nobody's mentioned Greer Garson and Mrs. Miniver. That was special.

David Ossitt

Verity.

"Personally, I think that after six months Obama is shaping up nicely to be the copper-bottomed disaster than many feared he would be"

I agree; I perceived right from the start; that he is a flim flam merchant.

But anyone who did not rate the man; was ridiculed by the majority.

Paul B

Ursula Andrews, yes of course I knew that all along, just testing(turns red face away)

Moving swiftly on, Brian De Palma, another excellent director- Carrie being one of my favourites. The final scene still makes me jump- quite pathetic for a 50year old male.!!

Pete Hoskin

Thanks to Paul B for another great photo above.

And as for the great Desert Island DVD debate, here are my choices. I've exploited my Web Editor's prerogative by picking twenty. And - I stress - I don't necessarily think these are the best films ever made, but they're among those that I could watch endlessly and which cover a wide range of moods:

1. Sunrise (F.W. Murnau, 1928)

2. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)

3. The Mask of Fu Manchu (Charles Brabin, 1932)

4. The Adventures of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz, 1938)

5. The Roaring Twenties (Raoul Walsh, 1939)

6. They Were Expendable (John Ford, 1945)

7. Canyon Passage (Jacques Tourneur, 1946)

8. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell + Emeric Pressburger, 1947)

9. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (John Ford, 1949)

10. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)

11. Track of the Cat (William A. Wellman, 1954)

12. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)

13. Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (Frank Tashlin, 1957)

14. Les demoiselles de Rochefort (Jacques Demy, 1967)

15. O Lucky Man! (Lindsay Anderson, 1973)

16. The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice, 1973)

17. Histoire(s) du cinéma (Jean-Luc Godard, 1988)

18. A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang, 1991)

19. Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999)

20. And my final choice isn't exactly one film, but I'm sure you won't mind me taking this set: http://www.filmpreservation.org/dvd/treasures.html. As its title suggests, it's a treasure trove for film fans.

Incidentally, do fire me an email if you want a pdf of the Speccie film supplement I edited, and I can wing one onto you.

THX1138

David O

"But anyone who did not rate the man; was ridiculed by the majority'

Unfortunately for your analysis the majority are still very happy with his performance as President.

Now in his sixth month in office, his honeymoon has already exceeded the durations of those for Ford, Clinton, and George W. Bush. If he can maintain ratings above 55% through the summer, his honeymoon will match the length of those for Jimmy Carter and Reagan.

Obama's continuing honeymoon could be considered impressive, given that few of his predecessors faced such trying economic and international conditions upon taking office.

PayDirt

Robert Peston has a really good go at Banker's remuneration in his blog on "Why Bankers aren't worth it" today --
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/

And who still says they need to be paid so much otherwise the country will lose their talents?

THX1138

Paul It's just all about the Monet with you, isn't it?

David Ossitt

THX1138

You have a fair and valid point but can I remind you that many were still in thrall of Tony Blair long after he was exposed as a fraud and shyster.

Please; I know that he is your hero but you are now one of a very small number who rate the man.

PS. I liked your photograph of the Grand Hotel Villa Feltrinelli and my wife and I would love to stay there.

THX1138

David O -You're probably right that I'm part of small number of die hard TB fans, but I bet Labour would get a bounce in the polls if he came back. As Enoch Powell said:

"All political lives, unless they are cut off in midstream at a happy juncture, end in failure"

Well TB knew when to go, a rare thing in politics.

As for Villa Feltrinelli it's a remarkable hotel Michael Winner called it the best hotel in the world. Who am I to disagree

It's Expensive but far better to live like a king for one night than to be yet another tourist for a fortnight.

Paul B

Monet, he was just a load of old Haystacks.

David Ossitt

I am a dog lover; I have loved dogs ever since I was a child.

And I think that the policeman dog handler; who kept two dogs in a police van during this hot weather, and they both died as a result should be prosecuted.

But the sight of a policeman in his uniform stepping forward on camera to lay out flowers like a silly teenage girl who seeks to pretend her grief and bereavement.

Made me want to vomit.

Jeremy

Pete,

You have cast your cinematic nets wider than I - which suggests to me that you have seen more films than I have, and have a greater love of the medium - for itself - than I currently do.

Many of the titles on your list I have never seen.

However, "Black Narcissus" certainly bears repeated viewing. Gorgeous colours and great visual style that film has, amongst other things...

I'm also glad that you included "O Lucky Man!". I have fond memories of it. Ralph Richardson - gloriously bonkers. Arthur Lowe. And of course McDowell (sp?) himself. Something of a journey into the dark heart of provincial England, wasn't it? An odyssey into the dark heart of the Black Country. Something like that...I remember it as being very good and quite strange.

We have to agree to differ over your choice of John Ford films. Were I choosing Ford (and, as you know, I did not) I would have gone for "The Grapes of Wrath" (as another poster already has) and "My Darling Clementine". My own view being that the Ford/Fonda outings are more effective than Ford/Wayne.

"They Were Expendable" and "The Roaring Twenties" sound interesting - I've seen neither.

I didn't realise that Michael Curtiz directed the 1938 Robin Hood, although I still don't rate the film. Hollywood accents hardly complement Sherwood Forest...

I would also be interested to see the first three films on your list - 'cause I ain't seen them, neither.

Interesting.

PS: I would also agree with a previous poster's choice of the first "French Connection" film. That film, I think, is a genuine modern American epic.

Frank P

Verity

Sarah Palin: the end or the beginning?

Verity

Oh, Frank, this is the beginning! Wheeeeeeee! She's smarter than any of them!

She governed the largest state in the Union and the richest in natural resources. As in, for the slow class, oil and gas. And she negotiated a gigantic, important pipeline deal with Canada.

So, she doesn't know the names of a lot of European "leaders". Given that their level of power, under the under-the-radar governance of Common Purpose and the real people, not the actors, who are governing the EU, so what?

Go Sarah! Go First Dude!

I can't wait!

David Ossitt, I agree with you. Diana has a lot to answer for. The officer who perpetrated this crime of ommission should be prosecuted and imprisoned. Lots of men in jail have dogs and might feel quite cross with him.

Re the female police officer, someone should have kicked her posturing arse into the wall. As though her vapid posing relieved by one degree the suffering undergone by those poor animals locked in a car by a moron.

Lions Roar

MJ Rest in Peace...

Dont stop until you get enough...

;)

mac

@ Frank P:

With her tortured syntax, how would one know?

David Ossitt

THX1138.

"It's Expensive but far better to live like a king for one night than to be yet another tourist for a fortnight"

She who must be obeyed always quotes her mantra that she would always choose five nights in a five star rather than a fortnight in a three or four. And I agree.

THX1138

So if we're going to judge the cleverness of a leader by the size of the Country and the amount on natural resources over which they govern that would make Dmitry Medvedev a genius and the Pope a retard.

Frank P

Verity

Hmmnn! St Mark of Steyn demurs:

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=N2ZiOTA5MmU0MjQ0ODJmNWI3OGQ4ZTg2ZGE1Nzg5NmE=

I'm astride the fence. The interpretations are endless, but I smell a rat!

Or perhaps that's the fallen dead K9 comrade over there! Only time will tell.

Just as a matter of record, it's probably true that more policemen in pursuit of felons have been bitten by police dogs than the felons they were pursuing.

As for coppers who lay flowers on and then salute the site of their fallen pooches in a counter-productive public relations exercise for the TV cameras in an attempt to compensate for the dereliction of a constabulary cretin .....? FMOBB!

Walt Disney has a lot to answer for, I suppose. Not mention the CC of Nottinghamshire for sanctioning such nauseating, sentimental nonsense.

Steve.W

Gordon Brown nearly a retard, I'm thinking about that.

Frank P

Pete

"Will success spoil Rock
Hunter?"

Well - suck-excess sure spoiled Rock Hudson. He should have insisted on wrappers for the lollipops.

Paul B

Couple of further films that I have thought of, and I throw up for consideration.

Bonnie & Clyde starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. I have a problem with film in that imo it overly glorifies violent bank robbers to an extent that I find overdone. That apart, it was glorious cinematic romp through the American Depression, with marvelous photography, great music and a wonderful supporting cast, including the great Gene Hackman.

I have also been thinking about children's films, and although I have issues in the way that Disney ascribes personalities to animals and presents them as cuddly lovable being, which to my mind, has helped turn people soft in the head with in their dealings with animals- I'm thinking of the hunting ban,and the export of livestock in particular here- Jungle Book for me as child was a glorious film, with wonderful wonderful music and songs. "Im the King of the Swingers" still gets my toes a tappin`

Verity

Well, Frank P, St Mark makes some unanswerable points about smart arse comedians joking about her nearest and dearest ... and didn't even touch upon that well-known gynephile Andrew Sullivan's obsession with her amniotic fluid.

Sadly, we may miss out on a dynamic, patriotic and right thinking Chief Executive in favour of "the timeserving emirs of Incumbistan (Biden, McCain)" and in the meantime, Palin can move on to a job that pays real money.

(There really is no fighting vicious lefty "comedians", viz our own nauseating Jo Brand tank.)

Verity

Frank P - I tried to post a response to you here, but it kept switching to James's post on Palin on his Americano blog. When it finally runs on Americano, I will cross-post it here.

I agree with Steyn and you 100 per cent.

Verity

Oh, I see the above got posted here after it flashed up on James Forsythe's blog. I don't know what happened.

Jeremy

Paul B:

"...Jungle Book for me as child was a glorious film, with wonderful wonderful music and songs. 'Im the King of the Swingers' still gets my toes a tappin' "

There have been quite a few filmed adaptations of the Jungle Books, haven't there? At least three of which I am aware. And although this is slightly to one side of the point you are making - if not actually tangential to it - none of them, in my view, have come remotely close to capturing the charm and beauty of the books themselves. And some of them - artistically speaking - have been complete disasters. The reason for this is quite simple. The Jungle Books, as I'm sure you already know, are a series (or collection) of short stories. In other words, the best way to adapt them for the screen is not to try and turn them into a single feature film, but rather to adapt and film each story as an individual episode in an ongoing television series. This makes perfect sense to me (even if you only adapted the Mowgli stories). With the digital technology now available to both film and television production companies, there really is no excuse not to make a colourful, imaginative and generally first-rate adaptation of the Jungle Books for television. I am not aware that it has ever been done. So it would be a first, too.

Verity

The thuggish American left prefers, in the words of the sainted Mark of Steyn, "the emirs of Incumbistan, Joe Biden and John McCain" to any fresh thinking. Fresh thoughts, real achievements: threat.

Sarah Palin, with her brilliant negotiation of that 1,790 mile pipeline from Canada is the only - repeat only - candidate who has done anything effective about American's servile dependence on Middle Eastern oil sheiks. Bold women are a bit of a threat to the old boys' clubs.

mac

Hilary Armstrong, who was to Labour Chief Whipping what "Lord" Martin was to Labour Speakering, is to stand down.

Will she be graciously pleased to hand on her family fiefdom seat to another Armstrong, or will the Gouldian tendency be scrambling to grab this safe Red heartland seat?

EC

Frank P: "He should have insisted on wrappers for the lollipops"

What sort of barrier did Channel 4 provide you with when you were on the sofa after dark with David Mellor? Fearless Frank! And who was Bob Dick?

Loved the Smith and Jones parody of that series.

Frank P

EC

"Who was Bob Dick"

You obviously missed the episode in question, or you would know. Read his book - "The Bagman" - all will be revealed.

EC

Frank P,

Thanks, I'll try and get hold of a copy.

It was such a long time ago, maybe I dropped off. However when I finally woke up I found that 'someone' had given the country away. Was Mellor in his Chelsea shirt?

I'm off now to take a picture of my garden shed for next week's wall. I hope Pete has got a sense of humour. It's a listed building dontcha know.

oldtimer

Jungle Book is a terrific film that stands the test of re-watching at regular intervals.

For light comedy, william Wyler (Roman Holiday) has also given us Some Like It Hot and Avanti. For musicals Stanley Donen`s Singing in the Rain and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers pass the test. And I enjoy La Dolce Vita (Fellini) and The Leopard (Visconti).

Jeremy

oldtimer,

You do this deliberately, don't you? Even I know that Some Like It Hot and Avanti were directed by Billy Wilder.

As for Disney's "Jungle Book", I haven't seen it since I was about seven years of age, so I'm in no position to judge it...

I, too, like La Dolce Vita. I think one has to concede that it is a great film - as much for its style, as for anything else. Although I found eight-and-a-half (also by Fellini) to be a crashing (and even crushing) bore.

The Leopard I have never seen.

oldtimer

Jeremy,

The Leopard is worth a look. It is set in Sicily at the time of the Risorgimento and is the story of adaptation (by the aristocracy) to revolutionary change.

If you haven`t seen Kurosawa`s Seven Samurai, that too is worth a viewing. B&W with sub titles.

Jeremy

"If you haven`t seen Kurosawa`s Seven Samurai, that too is worth a viewing. B&W with sub titles."

Funny you should say that. I've got the BFI dvd of "Seven Samurai". I've had it for about four years, but I have not yet been able to work up the stamina to actually sit down and watch it...*laughs*

I know, it's my loss.

I did actually see it, as a kid, on the telly, back in the days when the beeb used you show those wonderful seasons of "foreign" films. But I was very young. All I can remember is that it rained a lot, and that Toshiru Mifune (?) ran around looking very intense and Japanese...^^

You make The Leopard sound very interesting indeed. I'm not that big a fan of Visconti. I think he relies too much on the set-piece image. I'm thinking in particular of Death In Venice. Visconti never really attempts to bring out the mythic subtexts which are very much a part of the novella. At least, that was my view the last time that I saw it. But neverthless I must concede that some of those "set-piece images" of Visconti's do remain and recur in the memory for years afterwards. Which, I suppose, is one of the marks of a great (visual) director...I found Visconti's version all a bit "chocolate box", if you see what I mean...

Frank P

Verity

Dick Morris on Sarah P:

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/dick_morris_sarah_palin/2009/07/03/231817.html?s=al&promo_code=82BC-1

Everybody's guessing.