Richard Lester's “A Hard Day's Night” (1964). It's so layered, and beautifully filmed. Also, young Phil Collins as an extra in the crowd. (He played drums on Another Green World (1975)).
There's one scene, when the band is off searching for the wayward Ringo, in which George is mistaken for an actor auditioning for a trendy TV show, and is brought into a discussion with a sniffy production designer and his assistant. George isn't having any of it, and the designer can't believe he's getting lip from what should be essentially a mannequin. As I was watching, I realized that lines in that scene rapidly zipped through all of the narrative voices in my head, and so laid itself out as a strip in an instant.
And that line - that became the Soap Strip frame - "The new thing is to care passionately and be right wing!" What is he talking about? Is it a crack on people who take on politics as fashion? Is it a comment on self-hating minorities? (The speaker clearly minces.) Is it just a comment on the fatuous nature of fads, and politics, and faddish politics?
And the Art response: clearly, the heart of the film for me is the moment when Starkey, feeling unappreciated, tries to strike out on his own to establish his autonomy, and fails miserably. But...he is not alone. Misfits abide.
Guy holds some Ringo drumsticks to bang on his traps.
Richard Lester's “A Hard Day's Night” (1964). It's so layered, and beautifully filmed. Also, young Phil Collins as an extra in the crowd. (He played drums on Another Green World (1975)).
ReplyDeleteThere's one scene, when the band is off searching for the wayward Ringo, in which George is mistaken for an actor auditioning for a trendy TV show, and is brought into a discussion with a sniffy production designer and his assistant. George isn't having any of it, and the designer can't believe he's getting lip from what should be essentially a mannequin. As I was watching, I realized that lines in that scene rapidly zipped through all of the narrative voices in my head, and so laid itself out as a strip in an instant.
And that line - that became the Soap Strip frame - "The new thing is to care passionately and be right wing!" What is he talking about? Is it a crack on people who take on politics as fashion? Is it a comment on self-hating minorities? (The speaker clearly minces.) Is it just a comment on the fatuous nature of fads, and politics, and faddish politics?
And the Art response: clearly, the heart of the film for me is the moment when Starkey, feeling unappreciated, tries to strike out on his own to establish his autonomy, and fails miserably. But...he is not alone. Misfits abide.
Guy holds some Ringo drumsticks to bang on his traps.