Heartland

Heartland (Amazon Prime) is a 1979 drama film starring Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell. The film is a stark depiction of early 1910 Wyoming homestead life. It is based on a memoir by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, titled Letters of a Woman Homesteader (1914). The book can be read online at this link. In 1985, the Elinore Pruitt Stewart Homestead, where she and her family lived, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This is a quiet story, the story of a family, a powerful film. I highly recommend this movie.

via YouTube:

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They Called Us Enemy

image from Wikipedia

They Called Us Enemy is an award-winning 2019 graphic novel, George Takei's memoir of his time in an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War 2. You can read it online (borrow it from the Internet Archive here). I read it for my church women's reading group. This is an important reminder for those of us who know this history and an excellent introduction for those who don't or who only know part of what happened.

Takei reads one section of it, using illustrations from the book:

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The Man in the Iron Mask

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1703 of the Man in the Iron Mask after an incarceration lasting 34 years. His identity remains unknown. According to Wikipedia, the fate of the mysterious prisoner —and the extent of the apparent precautions his jailers took— created significant interest in his story and gave birth to many rumors and legends. Many theories exist about his identity and the cause of his incarceration, and a very large number of books and articles have been written about the case during the last 350 years. Some of these theories were presented after the existence of reliable, contemporary documents was widely known. Still later commentators have presented their own theories, some of them based on embellished versions of the original tale. Theories about his identity that were popular during his time included that he was a Marshal of France; the English Henry Cromwell, son of Oliver Cromwell; or François, Duke of Beaufort. There's a list here of people thought to have been the prisoner.

Several films have been made, of course, none of which are serious in their attempt at historical accuracy. We don't know who he was, after all...

The Iron Mask, the 1929 silent starring Douglas Fairbanks:

The Man in the Iron Mask, the 1939 film directed by James Whale and starring Joan Bennett and Peter Cushing:

The Man in the Iron Mask, the 1977 film starring Richard Chamberlain, Patric McGoohan, Ralph Richardson, Louis Jourdan, Ian Holm, and Hugh Fraser, is available on Tubi and on Freevee via Amazon Prime

The Man in the Iron Mask, the 1998 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, and Gérard Depardieu is available on Tubi and via YouTube:

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Christmas at the Charles Dickens Home Museum

Christmas at the Charles Dickens Home Museum:

Independence Day

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is a 2021 film based on the life of Louis Wain. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role. A tragic story, made even more heartbreaking because it's true. I cried. I watched it on Amazon Prime.

trailer:

 

The Independent concludes its positive review with this:

The Electrical Life of Louis Wain is also disarmingly tender, blessed with a deep affectation for its subject that feels fuller and more romantic in its nature than straightforward respect. Unlike the usual stories of very clever, very accomplished men that Cumberbatch seems wedded to by destiny, this film doesn’t measure Wain’s personal struggles up against the scope of his contributions. It doesn’t ask you to applaud his sacrifices, or to think that it was all worth it in the end. Wain lived a very sad life. And Cumberbatch, as an actor, has stripped back a few layers of his armour and bared a little more vulnerability – both here and in his ferocious turn in Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog. These two performances are the best work of his career.

The Guardian calls it "an affecting portrait of a creative but troubled man".

The Wreck of the Sultana

The explosion of the ship Sultana is the worst maritime disaster in U.S. history.

On April 27, 1865, the overloaded ship (built for 376 passengers, but carrying 2,427) exploded and sank just north of Memphis. According to Wikipedia, the official count by the United States Customs Service of those who died is 1,800. Final estimates of survivors are about 550. Many of the dead were interred at the Memphis National Cemetery. Three victims of the wreck of the Sultana are interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis. There's a museum in Arkansas not far from here.

Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas

Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas is a 2013 French-German Palme d'Or-nominated film based on an 1810 novella which was based on the story of Hans Kohlhaas, a merchant whose grievance against a Saxon nobleman developed into a full-blown feud against the state of Saxony, thus infringing the Eternal Peace of 1495. I watched it on Amazon Prime, but you can watch it free on Tubi. The Younger Son liked and recommended this. I'm thinking if you liked Barry Lyndon you'll like this. That's the film this most reminds me of in terms of pacing. Deliberate would be a good description. If the title leads you to think this is an action movie, let's correct that right off. If you're looking for action, look elsewhere.

trailer:

Thanksgiving, as told by Wednesday Addams

Thanksgiving, as told by Wednesday Addams in the delightful movie Addams Family Values, is an interpretation worth considering.

The Dig

The Dig is a 2021 film based on a true story about the discovery of Sutton Hoo. It stars Ralph Fiennes. These based-on-a-true-story films aren't usually my thing, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I watched it on Netflix.

trailer:

Roger Ebert's site has a positive review. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 88%.

Sen no Rikyu and Tea

Sen no Rikyu is considered to be, according to Wikipedia, the historical figure with the most profound influence on the Japanese "Way of Tea". He was also the first to emphasize several key aspects of the ceremony, including rustic simplicity, directness of approach and honesty of self. These aspects of the tea ceremony persist. Here's a 5 1/2 minute video overview of his life:

This 3 1/2 minute video focuses on the tea ceremony itself:

Please share a drink-related post and join the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

Strange Fruit

Strange Fruit:

sung by Billie Holiday, who died on this date in 1959 -the same year this video is from- of cirrhosis at the age of 44. from Wikipedia: "The Federal Bureau of Narcotics, under the order of the openly racist Harry J. Anslinger, had been targeting Holiday since at least 1939, when she started to perform "Strange Fruit". She was arrested and handcuffed for drug possession. As she lay dying, her hospital room was raided, and she was placed under police guard."

J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement

Today is the anniversary of the death in 1930 of Arthur Conan Doyle. He is best known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, who has had quite the modern resurgence. You can read Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories online. There are numerous film and TV adaptations as well as series involving characters inspired by the author's creations.

He wrote other stories, but they are not nearly so well known. In fact, truth be told, they're hardly known at all. In his memory on this the anniversary of his death I'd like to suggest the 1884 short story J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement. It is told as a first-person testimony by a survivor of the Marie Celeste, a fictionalised version of the Mary Celeste. The story popularized the real-life story of that ship, which was found mysteriously abandoned and adrift in the Atlantic Ocean in 1872.

You can read the story online here or here or listen to it read to you at the bottom of this post. It begins,

In the month of December in the year 1873 the British ship ‘Dei Gratia’ steered into Gibraltar, having in tow the derelict brigantine, ‘Marie Celeste,’ which had been picked up in latitude 38° 40', longitude 17° 15' West. There were several circumstances in connection with the condition and appearance of this abandoned vessel which excited considerable comment at the time, and aroused a curiosity which has never been satisfied. What these circumstances were was summed up in an able article which appeared in the ‘Gibraltar Gazette.’ The curious can find it in the issue for January 4, 1874, unless my memory deceives me. For the benefit of those, however, who may be unable to refer to the paper in question, I shall subjoin a few extracts which touch upon the leading features of the case.

‘We have ourselves,’ says the anonymous writer in the ‘Gazette,’ ‘been over the derelict “Marie Celeste,” and have closely questioned the officers of the “Dei Gratia” on every point which might throw light on the affair. They are of opinion that she had been abandoned several days, or perhaps weeks, before being picked up. The official log, which was found in the cabin, states that the vessel sailed from Boston to Lisbon, starting upon October 16. It is, however, most imperfectly kept, and affords little information. There is no reference to rough weather, and, indeed, the state of the vessel’s paint and rigging excludes the idea that she was abandoned for any such reason. She is perfectly water-tight. No signs of a struggle or of violence are to be detected, and there is absolutely nothing to account for the disappearance of the crew. There are several indications that a lady was present on board, a sewing-machine being found in the cabin and some articles of female attire. These probably belonged to the captain’s wife, who is mentioned in the log as having accompanied her husband. As an instance of the mildness of the weather, it may be remarked that a bobbin of silk was found standing upon the sewing-machine, though the least roll of the vessel would have precipitated it to the floor. The boats were intact, and slung upon the davits, and the cargo, consisting of tallow and American clocks, was untouched.1 An old-fashioned sword of curious workmanship was discovered among some lumber in the forecastle, and this weapon is said to exhibit a longitudinal striation on the steel, as if it had been recently wiped. It has been placed in the hands of the police, and submitted to Dr. Monaghan, the analyst, for inspection. The result of his examination has not yet been published. We may remark, in conclusion, that Captain Dalton, of the “Dei Gratia,” an able and intelligent seaman, is of opinion that the “Marie Celeste” may have been abandoned a considerable distance from the spot at which she was picked up, since a powerful current runs up in that latitude from the African coast. He confesses his inability, however, to advance any hypothesis which can reconcile all the facts of the case. In the utter absence of a clue or grain of evidence, it is to be feared that the fate of the crew of the “Marie Celeste” will be added to those numerous mysteries of the deep which will never be solved until the great day when the sea shall give up its dead. If crime has been committed, as is much to be suspected, there is little hope of bringing the perpetrators to justice.’

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Charles Dickens

Today is the anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens in 1870 at the age of 58 having not regained consciousness after a second stroke (according to Wikipedia). You can read his works online. There's an interactive virtual tour of the Charles Dickens Museum online here. There are images and descriptions of the rooms at his home here. There is information on what England was like during the lifetime of Dickens here. Here's a 4 1/2 minute BBC animated life of Dickens:

There's a 45-minute biography here at Biography.com.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is specifically dedicated to remembering the military personnel who have died in the performance of their military duties while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It's not to honor all veterans (there's a day for that).

Enjoy your picnic, but remember what the day is set aside for.

Listen to Britain

Listen to Britain is a 1942 British propaganda short (10-minute) film. from Wikipedia:

In Listen to Britain, Jennings is selling a myth of national unity; that in spite of pre-war differences all classes were united in war socialism but it's a bottom up view that highlights individuality, the "unity within difference". Having learnt through Mass Observation that the British people were uncomfortable with detecting propaganda, Jennings used a poetic style to mask it. The use of sound was vital in this, allowing the montage of shots to imply hidden meaning, such as the sound of an unseen aircraft on a seemingly peaceful day. Edgar Anstey feared the "beauty" would detract from the message and when the film was released in America, an introduction was added because the art had made the message ambiguous. Only at the end was the film's ambiguity dropped as Rule, Britannia! plays out over a sequence that at last implies 'totalised' unity. "Propaganda finally wins out over poetry".

We have our own propaganda, of course, as all countries do.

The Kon-Tiki Expedition

I don't remember when I first discovered Thor Heyerdahl and his Kon-Tiki expedition, but it made quite the impression on me. I read books -in particular Heyerdahl's own- and made them available to my kids when they were young. So exciting! It turns out Heyerdahol was wrong... but still, what an adventure!

There's a documentary from 2012 here:

The voyage began on this date in 1947. There's a museum.

A History of Horror Films

A History of Horror is a 2010 three-part documentary series made for the BBC by British writer and actor Mark Gatiss. It was divided into parts based on the major eras. It's a wonderful idiosyncratic overview.

part 1, begins with the 1925 Phantom of the Opera:

part 2, Home Counties Horror, which focuses on the Hammer Studio films:

part 3, The American Scream, in which he looks at American horror movies of the late 1960s and 1970s:

In 2012 it was followed by Horror Europa, a 90-minute exploration of European horror

Happy Birthday, Theremin!

image from Wikipedia

The theremin was invented 100 years ago this month. Here's a 2-minute introduction to this instrument:

Blues Story

Blues Story is a 2003 documentary film. from the IMDb:

Blues Story presents an impressionistic history of one of the most lasting art forms America has ever produced - as told for the first time through the eyes of the artists who lived it. Combining exclusive interview and performance footage with vintage clips and the music of many Blues legends long gone, the history of this richly felt music is illuminated - from its African roots to its American urban expression - along with its profound place in our cultural heritage. The result is a rare, first-hand glimpse into the lives of these vanishing artists, and a moving, insightful and informative look into a music that continues to be loved by millions throughout the world.

Perhaps a cup of espresso as we share a drink at the weekly T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.