Undertow

Undertow is a 1930 crime film directed by William Castle. This is Rock Hudson's first credited film role. I watched it on YouTube:

Blackthorn

Blackthorn is an award-winning 2011 Western film that assumes Butch Cassidy grew old in Bolivia under an assumed name. It's a fun concept. It stars Sam Shepard as Butch Cassidy (aka James Blackthorn) and was filmed on location in Bolivia.. I watched it at this link on the Tubi web site.

trailer:

The Bad Sister

The Bad Sister is a 1931 pre-Code drama film starring Bette Davis (in her screen debut) and Humphrey Bogart. I watched it on YouTube:

Don Juan deMarco

Don Juan deMarco is a 1995 film, a romantic comedy/drama starring Johnny Depp from back when he actually acted in films and didn't just play Captain Jack Sparrow in everything. It also has Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway. This is a delightful film. I can't recommend it highly enough. I have it on DVD.

trailer:

Through a Glass Darkly

image from Amazon

Through a Glass Darkly is the 15th in Donna Leon's Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery series. I'm a big fan and am pleased The Husband continues to see them as good presents for whatever ocassion is next. The characters are engaging, the Brunetti family (he has a wife who is a university professor) and their two children (a boy and a girl) are enjoyable company without ever distracting from the plot, and they eat so well! The author lived in Venice for over 30 years so knows it well enough to help you feel like you're there.

from the back of the book:

On a luminous Spring day in Venice, Commissario Guido Brunetti and Inspector Vianello play hookey to help get Vianello's friend Marco Ribetti -an environmental activist arrested during a protest against toxic waste being dumped into the city's waters- released from prison. But on the steps on the police headquarters, they come face0to-face with Ribetti's cantankerous father-in-law, who has been overheard in the bars of Murano making threats against Ribetti. And when the body of a night watchman is discovered at the father-in-law's glass factory next to an annotated copy of Dante's Inferno, Brunetti must find out if there is a connection between the book, the body, and whoever is ruining the waters of the lagoon.

Italian Mysteries has a positive review and says,

Through Brunetti’s eyes, we experience a wonderful springtime in Venice and superb descriptions of glassware and the age-old art of glass making. Leon has done a lot of research for this book which is a primer on glass making lore and the operation of the factories on Murano. There also is biting social commentary on the effects of industrial pollution on the lagoon by not only the glass factories but also by the chemical and oil industries in nearby Margera.

Publishers Weekly says,

As usual, Leon educates the reader about the charms and corruptions of Italian life (the sensuality of the architecture and food, the indolence and stagnation of its bureaucracies), besides presenting a crash course in 21st-century glass-making. Every character, every line of dialogue, every descriptive passage rings true in a whodunit that's also travel essay, political commentary and existential monologue. And the middle-aged, happily married Brunetti remains unique—an everyman who's also extraordinary

Reviewing the Evidence says,

Leon, an American with many years of living abroad, brews her knowledge of Venice expertly and in exquisite detail to accompany her novels every bit as much as a cup of cappucino brings flavor to a rich Venetian pastry. We eat Venetian food with Brunetti and his family, grieve with him (not overly much) on the inevitability of Venetian graft, cruise the canals with him, admire the stately, if decaying, palazzi with him, see with him what makes the leading Venetian crime figures as unique as is their city, and empathize with him as he struggles to keep his personal integrity amid a sea of corruption.

Kirkus Reviews concludes, "Leon shows once more why she has no serious rivals in the art of unfolding mysteries..."

The Old Guard

The Old Guard is a 2020 award-winning superhero film starring Charlize Theron. I watched it on Netflix. A sequel is expected. Count me in. I enjoyed this one.

trailer:

Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 81%.

*******

I'll take a cup of tea over to the T Stands for Tuesday party-goers.

Join me?

Hell Harbor

Hell Harbor is a 1930 film starring Lupe Vélez. Nicknamed "Mexican Spitfire," she had quite a controversial life with many lovers. Vélez was involved in several highly publicized and often stormy relationships. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, she was linked to actors Tom Mix, Charlie Chaplin and Clark Gable. Her first long-term, high-profile relationship was with Gary Cooper. After her breakup with Cooper, Vélez began a short-lived relationship with actor John Gilbert. She was married to Johnny Weissmuller for about five years. Her name was also linked to author Erich Maria Remarque and boxer Jack Dempsey. She killed herself at the age of 36. She is buried in Mexico City. I watched this movie on YouTube:

Major Grom: Plague Doctor

Major Grom: Plague Doctor is a 2021 Russian action film. I saw it on Netflix. It is the first feature-length film based on a Russian comic. It doesn't break new ground, but that's not what I was in it for. It's positively reviewed where I see reviews.

trailer:

Rotten Tomatoes has an audience score of 83%.

The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry

The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry is a 1945 film noir directed by Robert Siodmak and starring George Sanders. Those two names are enough to watch the movie for. I watched it on YouTube:

DVD Talk says it "should have been a celebrated classic. It's a perfect little picture of its kind, with impressive performances and an intriguing theme. But it couldn't find its way around a censorship problem..." The Spinning Image says, " Sanders had one of his best roles as the downtrodden but polite title character." Rotten Tomatoes has a concensus score of 80%.

John Wick

John Wick is an action thriller starring Keanu Reeves. I've forgotten where I came across it... Netflix? Amazon Prime, maybe? I'm glad I did, but it's not currently available free anywhere I can find. Fun film.

trailer:

Variety calls it a "slick and satisfying revenge thriller". Rotten Tomatoes has an 86% critics conscensus score.

Set It Up

Set It Up is a 2018 romantic comedy. I don't tend to care for romantic comedies, but this got great reviews so I gave it a shot in the interests of being open-minded and broadening my horizons. I quit after 45 minutes, but if you like romcoms you'll probably like it. I watched it on Netflix.

trailer:

IndieWire closes its poritive review with this: "At its heart, though, “Set It Up” is a classic rom-com brought to life by a pair of wonderfully well-matched stars who seem to revel in the genre. This is cinematic comfort food, the kind we’ve been starving for." Roger Ebert's site, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety each has a positive review. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 92%.

The Professionals (1966)

The Professionals is a 1966 Western film starring Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance, Woody Strode, and Ralph Bellamy. That cast is enough to convince me to watch it, but it's also an Oscar-nominated and critically acclaimed film. I watched it at Internet Archive at this link.

trailer:

It has a critics consensus score of 88% at Rotten Tomatoes.

Tea Time

Tea Time:

by Robert Emil Stubner, who died on March 18, 1931. Please post a drink-related something and join us by linking at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering hosted by Bleubeard and Elizabeth.

Daddy Mack Blues Band

The Daddy Mack Blues Band:

Live at the Center For Southern Folklore in 2017.

Howl (2015)

Howl is a 2015 indie horror movie. Nicely done. There's a werewolf attacking people on a train. I'm always happy to see new entries in the werewolf/vampire/mummy traditions. I watched it free at Tubi at this link. You can also watch it on Amazon Prime.

trailer:

Heaven of Horror gives it 4 out of 5 stars and calls it an "overlooked gem".

Ruler 42

I've had this ruler for as long as I can remember but had never before noticed the 42.

Kingdom: Ashin of the North

Kingdom: Ashin of the North is a 2021 film, part of the South Korean Kingdom franchise. It should be watched after the second season of Kingdom. I watched it on Netflix. Zombies, just so you know.

trailer:

Juliet of the Spirits

Juliet of the Spirits is a 1965 Italian-French fantasy comedy-drama film. This was Federico Fellini's first feature length color film, and the color is gorgeous. I found it on HBO Max.

trailer:

Empire Online calls it "an intriguing film". DVD Talk calls it "a lulu of visual overkill". Roger Ebert considers it a Great Movie. It's included in the book "1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die".

Fear (1946)

Fear is an hour-long 1946 film adaptation of the main plot of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. I watched it on Tubi.

Where Danger Lives says it is "an inventive, exciting, and thought-provoking little movie" despite its flaws. TCM has an overview.

Chimes at Midnight

Chimes at Midnight is a 1965 film based on the Shakespeare figure Falstaff. It is directed by Orson Welles and stars Orson Welles, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford, and John Gielgud. Regarded as one of Welles' highest achievements, Welles himself called it his best work. I found it on HBO Max.

trailer:

via Internet Archive:

 

 Roger Ebert called it "a brilliant tribute to Falstaff". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 96%.

Raise a glass with Falstaff:

Share your own drink-related post and join me at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

The Wind (2018)

The Wind is a 2018 horror suspense western. Horror westerns are not generally well known, and it's an underappreciated sub-genre. I tend to enjoy them. I watched it on Netflix. It's also available on Amazon Prime. Both of these are subscription services.

trailer:

The Hollywood Reporter says,

Loaded with atmosphere, this fragmented chiller is set far out on the American frontier, where a lonely wife — played by an intense Caitlin Gerard — starts seeing and hearing things... Well-shot and edited, with a script that keeps you guessing for a certain stretch of time...

Roger Ebert's site opens a positive review with this:

"The Wind," an impressive horror/western hybrid, is the kind of artful genre movie that some filmgoers think simply doesn't get made anymore. It's a modestly-scaled character study about Lizzy (Caitlin Gerard), a resourceful, alienated frontierswoman who — living in a desolate cabin in the middle of an undisclosed part of 19th century America — slowly loses her grip on reality.

Remnant Population

image from Amazon

Remnant Population is a 1996 science fiction novel by Elizabeth Moon. This is one of only a few novels I know of with an elderly woman protagonist. I can recommend it highly as interesting, thought-provoking, and re-readable.

from the back of the book:

For forty years, Colony 3245.12 has been Ofelia’s home. On this planet far away in space and time from the world of her youth, she has lived and loved, weathered the death of her husband, raised her one surviving child, lovingly tended her garden, and grown placidly old. And it is here that she fully expects to finish out her days —until the shifting corporate fortunes of the Sims Bancorp Company dictates that Colony 3245.12 is to be disbanded, its residents shipped off, deep in cryo-sleep, to somewhere new and strange and not of their choosing. But while her fellow colonists grudgingly anticipate a difficult readjustment on some distant world, Ofelia savors the promise of a golden opportunity. Not starting over in the hurly-burly of a new community ... but closing out her life in blissful solitude, in the place she has no intention of leaving. A population of one.

With everything she needs to sustain her, and her independent spirit to buoy her, Ofelia actually does start life over–for the first time on her own terms: free of the demands, the judgments, and the petty tyrannies of others. But when a reconnaissance ship returns to her idyllic domain, and its crew is mysteriously slaughtered, Ofelia realizes she is not the sole inhabitant of her paradise after all. And, when the inevitable time of first contact finally arrives, she will find her life changed yet again—in ways she could never have imagined....

SFSite says, "All told, Remnant Population is a great story and a well-written book. Beyond that, it accomplishes what too few books, science fiction and otherwise, fail to do -it raises bigger questions that don't necessarily have neat answers." Publishers Weekly concludes with this: "Themes of independence and the value of wisdom form the backbone of this well-written, original novel." Speculative Book Review says, "Remnant Population will be considered classic speculative fiction, I have no doubts. [It] is a mature and intelligent piece of literature."

Badland

Badland is a 2019 Western film. It's a generally likable western but hardly a classic, and it got mixed reviews. I've forgotten now where I saw it, but you can watch it at Youtube:

Bluebird Wings

Bluebird Wings:

by Caleb Sweazy

Victim

Victim is a 1961 drama film. I looked for it for years and finally found it on HBO Max. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Syms, and Dennis Price. It was the first English-language film to use the word "homosexual". On its release in the United Kingdom it proved highly controversial to the British Board of Film Censors, and in the U.S. it was refused a seal of approval from the American Motion Picture Production Code.

trailer:

BFI calls it "a courageous, landmark thriller". Roger Ebert considered it a Great Movie. Rotten Tomatoes has a concensus score of 100%.

Three Days of the Condor

Three Days of the Condor is a 1975 political thriller. I'm sharing it today in memory of Max Von Sydow, who died on this date in 2020. This film also stars Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, and Cliff Robertson and is directed by Sydney Pollack. It takes place during the Christmas season. I watched it at Internet Archive.

trailer:

Roger Ebert calls it "a well-made thriller, tense and involving, and the scary thing ... is that it's all too believable." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 86%.

Breakfast

Breakfast:

by Alberto Morrocco, who died on March 10, 1998. Please join me at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

Nightmare Alley (2021)

Nightmare Alley is a 2021 award-nominated Guillermo del Toro remake of the 1947 film by the same name. It stars Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Ron Perlman, and Mary Steenburgen. I watched it on HBO Max, and I'm glad I've seen it. I like this director and seek out his work. That said, go watch the 1947 Tyrone Power/Joan Blondell original (link to YouTube video) if not instead at least first.

trailer:

Roger Ebert's site gives it 4 stars, calling it "a movie of psychological tunnels and downward spirals" and calling it "Hypnotic with its increasingly tense slow-burning plot progression and alluring atmosphere". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics concensus score of 80%. The Guardian review gives it high praise. Rolling Stone calls it "the lushest portrait of spiritual desolation you’re ever likely to see".

Cosmic Sin

Cosmic Sin is a 2021 science fiction film starring Bruce Willis. Bruce Willis is enough for me, but there's nothing else there. I watched it on Netflix.

trailer:

Roger Ebert's site has a negative review. Rotten Tomatoes has a 60% audience score.

La ciénaga

La ciénaga (English: The Swamp) is a 2001 award-winning foreign drama film. I watched it on HBO Max.

trailer:

 

Roger Ebert gives it 3 stars and begins the positive review with this: ""La Cienaga" is a dank, humid meditation on rotting families. By its end we are glad to see the last of most of its characters, but we will not quickly forget them." Rotten Tomatoes has a critic consensus score of 88%.

Robin Hood (2018)

Robin Hood is a 2018 film, yet another adaptation of the Robin Hood legend. We have the DVD, but it looks like it's available on Peacock with a free account. I like seeing the various films based on this story, but if you're just going to watch one skip this and go with the 1938 version.

trailer:

Variety has a positive review, calling it "a diverting live-wire lark". Roger Ebert's site has a negative review. Rotten Tomatoes has an audience score of 40%.

The Judge (1949)

The Judge is a 1949 film noir. I watched it on YouTube, but it's in the public domain so readily available.

TCM has an overview.

The Mummy Trilogy

The Mummy Trilogy is series of action/adventure light comedy horror films, with an emphasis on the action/adventure -think Indiana Jones. All three of them starred Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah. I enjoyed all three and wish there'd been more of them. I can highly recommend this if you'd like to try horror films but are scared to go there. The connection with the original Mummy monster movie from the 30s grounds them, while the horror elements are secondary to the more modern action/adventure feel. We have a set that includes all three films and don't regret getting them. They are definitely rewatchable, and we picked it up for under $10.

The Mummy is a 1999 remake of the 1932 classic.

trailer:

The Mummy Returns came out in 2001.

trailer:

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor came out in 2008. It moves the action to China and stars Jet Li as the antagonist and Michelle Yeoh.

trailer:

Floating Weeds

Floating Weeds is a 1959 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. It is considered by many, including Roger Ebert to be one of the greatest films ever made. I watched it on YouTube. It's also on Internet Archive at this link.

via YouTube:

 

Roger Ebert says,

For me, “Floating Weeds” (1959) is like a familiar piece of music that I can turn to for reassurance and consolation. It is so atmospheric--so evocative of a quiet fishing village during a hot and muggy summer--that it envelops me. Its characters are like neighbors. It isn't a sad story; the central character is an actor with a healthy ego, who has tried to arrange his life according to his own liking and finds to his amazement that other people have wills of their own. He is funny, wrong-headed and finally touching.

Classic Art Films says,

Subtle, lyrical, and delicately bittersweet, Floating Weeds offers an excellent introduction to the cinema of Yasujiro Ozu —one of the greatest of all Japanese filmmakers, and until recently in the West, one of the least known.

96% of Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a positive review.

I've never had sake. Please post a drink to your blog and join us at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

Jamaica Inn

Jamaica Inn is a 1939 Alfred Hitchcock film based on the Daohne duMaurier book by the same name. It stars Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara. You can watch it free on Tubi or via YouTube below.

Eye for Film calls it "an entertaining and surprisingly dark period drama."

Glory and Freedom of Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished

The national anthem of Ukraine:

Ukraine’s glory hasn’t perished, nor freedom, nor will.
Upon us, fellow kin, fate shall smile once more.
Our enemies will vanish, like dew in the morning sun,
And we too shall rule, brothers, in a free land of our own.


We’ll lay down our souls and bodies to attain our freedom,
And we’ll show that we, brothers, are of the Kozak line.
We’ll lay down our souls and bodies to attain our freedom,
And we’ll show that we, brothers, are of the Kozak nation.

Murder on the Blackpool Express

image from Amazon Prime

Murder on the Blackpool Express is a 2017 comedy film. I got a big kick out of this light-hearted romp. I watched it on BritBox through Amazon Prime. I can't find so much as a trailer online, but this is well worth the time if you subscribe to BritBox. It was extremely popular.

Diary of a Lost Girl

Diary of a Lost Girl is a 1929 German silent film starring Louise Brooks.

via YouTube:

Senses of Cinema says, "Diary of a Lost Girl is a compelling indictment of the society of the time". This film is on Roger Ebert's list of Great Movies. It has a Rotten Tomatoes concensus rating of 100%. TCM has information.

The Earrings of Madame de

The Earrings of Madame de​ ... is a 1953 French romantic drama film directed by Max Ophüls and starring Charles Boyer. I watched this on HBO Max. Romantic drama isn't really my thing, but this is a beautiful movie.

trailer:

Senses of Cinema has an article examining the film. Roger Ebert gives it a 4-star review and says it "is one of the most mannered and contrived love movies ever filmed. It glitters and dazzles, and beneath the artifice it creates a heart, and breaks it." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus score of 97%.

Ten Canoes

Ten Canoes is a 2006 award-winning Australian film. According to Wikipedia: It is the first ever movie entirely filmed in Australian Aboriginal languages. The film is partly in colour and partly in black and white, in docudrama style largely with a narrator explaining the story. The overall format is that of a moral tale.

via YouTube:

The Guardian says,

Ten Canoes is a strange beast, both ethnographic document and high-spirited flight of whimsy: a curious mixture of entertainment and anthropology. Any notion that this is “high” or “low” art can be quickly dispelled; this is quintessentially a film about people and storytelling.

Spirituality and Practice calls it "A primal adventure story about forbidden love, sorcery, fear of strangers, and justice that proves that a tale well told is good medicine for all." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics concensus score of 98%.

Gloria (2013)

Gloria is a 2013 Chilean-Spanish drama film about a divorced woman whose children are grown and independent. She's looking for romance. I've forgotten now how I came across it. It showed up in a list of films recommended for one reason or another, I imagine. It won some awards and is well-reviewed. I watched it on HBO Max, but it's also available on Amazon Prime.

trailer:

Paste Magazine opens with this: "Gloria is such a lovely, simple story that it’s amazing (or depressing) that we don’t see more of its kind." The LA Times calls it "near-perfect" in their glowing review. Roger Ebert's site has a 4-star review that opens, "Gloria, "Gloria" —hallelujah! Your truth has marched its way into my heart." It has a 99% critics consensus rating at Rotten Tomatoes.

A Cup of Tea

A Cup of Tea:

by Lilla Cabot Perry, who died on February 28, 1933, at the age of 85. Please share a drink-related post and visit with the T Stands for Tuesday bloggers.

The Outlaw Josey Wales

The Outlaw Josey Wales is a 1976 Revisionist Western film starring and directed by Clint Eastwood. I watched it on HBO Max.

trailer:

Roger Ebert gives it a positive review, opening with this:

Clint Eastwood's "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is a strange and daring Western that brings together two of the genre's usually incompatible story lines. On the one hand, it's about a loner, a man of action and few words, who turns his back on civilization and lights out for the Indian nations. On the other hand, it's about a group of people heading West who meet along the trail and cast their destinies together. What happens next is supposed to be against the rules in Westerns, as if "Jeremiah Johnson" were crossed with "Stagecoach": Eastwood, the loner, becomes the group's leader and father figure.

It's on Paste Magazine's list of 100 best Westerns of all time. Rotten Tomatoes has a critics consensus rating of 90%.

Dracula's Daughter

Dracula's Daughter is a 1936 Universal horror movie. It is a direct sequel to the Bela Lugosi Dracula film, beginning with the scene where Renfield lies dead at the foot of the stairs and Van Helsing has staked the Count. There's some interesting background at that linked Wikipedia article, including information on how it came to be a Universal project. It also notes, "Horror author Anne Rice has named Dracula's Daughter as a direct inspiration for her own homoerotic vampire fiction." It was well-reviewed in its day, and if you like old monster movies you'll like this. It's just over an hour long, so it won't take long to check it out.

Horror Homeroom has an article titled "Coded Queerness in Dracula's Daughter" which says, "As noted by film historians, Dracula’s Daughter contains a number of scenes in which a lesbian subtext is evident..." Classic Monsters calls it "A sharp, moody piece filled with a palpable sense of grief, Dracula’s Daughter makes the most of its fine cast" and says the film "stands up today as well as any other film of its era, sustaining a brooding melancholy throughout which is delightfully affecting." DVD Talk says, "This is one of the top Universal monster classics. In mood and theme it has a creepy, death-affirming attitude that only the original The Mummy can top; although it's short on action, it is long on suggestion and class." TCM has an overview.

City Homicide 42

This 42 is on a locker in the police station featured in the Australian TV series City Homicide. Shown in this shot is Nadine Garner, who plays one of the homicide detectives and who you might better remember as Jean Beazley from The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

The Mark of the Wolfman (1968)

The Mark of the Wolfman is a 1968 Spanish horror film, the first in a series starring Paul Naschy. This film was released in the U.S. as Frankenstein's Bloody Terror, despite having no Frankenstein.

Moria has a review.

Casanova

Casanova:

by Memphis band Werwulf.

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:

Tea and Tea Drinking

"Tea" by George Dunlop Leslie (1894)

Tea and Tea Drinking is an 1884 book by Arthur Reade. You can read it online here at this link or have it read to you at the bottom of this post. A sample chapter:

CHAPTER IV.

HOW TO MAKE TEA.

The Siamese method of making tea—A three-legged teapot—Advice of a Chinese poet—How tea should be made—How Abernethy made tea for his guests—The "bubbling and loud-hissing urn"—Tate's description of a tea-table—The tea of public institutions—Rev. Dr. Lansdell on Russian tea—The art of tea-making described—The kind of water to be used. The Chinese method of making tea—Invalids' tea—Words to nurses, by Miss Nightingale.

The mode of preparation of tea for the table has always given rise to discussion. Different nations have different methods. In Siam one method was thus described in a book entitled "Relation of the Voyage to Siam by Six Jesuits," which was published in 1685. "In the East they prepare tea in this manner: when the water is well boiled, they pour it upon the tea, which they have put into an earthen pot, proportionally to what they intend to take (the ordinary proportion is as much as one can take up with the finger and thumb for a pint of water); then they cover the pot until the leaves are sunk to the bottom of it, and afterwards serve it about in china dishes to be drunk as hot as can be, without sugar, or else with a little sugar-candy in the mouth; and upon that tea more boiling water may be poured, and so it may be made to serve twice. These people drink of it several times a day, but do not think it wholesome to take it fasting."

In "Recreative Science" (vol. i., 1821) there appears a very curious note relating to the translation of a Chinese poem. The editor says,—

"Kien Lung, the Emperor of the Celestial Empire, which is in the vernacular China, was also a poet, and he has been good enough to give us a receipt also—would that all didactic poetry meddled with what its author understood. The poet Kien did, and he has left the following recipe how to make tea, which, for the benefit of the ladies who study the domestic cookery, is inserted: 'set an old three-legged teapot over a slow fire; fill it with water of melted snow; boil it just as long as is necessary to turn fish white or lobsters red; pour it on the leaves of choice, in a cup of Youe. Let it remain till the vapour subsides into a thin mist, floating on the surface. Drink this precious liquor at your leisure, and thus drive away the five causes of sorrow.'"

Poets, as everybody knows, are allowed a good deal of licence, and tea-maids may be pardoned if they are sceptical of the value of the advice of the Chinese poet. How, then, should tea be made? First and foremost, remarks Dr. Joseph Pope, it should be remembered that tea is an infusion, not an extract. An old verse runs thus:—

"The fragrant shrub in China grows,
The leaves are all we see,
And these, when water o'er them flows,
Make what we call our tea."

Dr. Pope lays emphasis on the word flows; it does not say soak. There is, he contends, an instantaneous graciousness, a momentary flavour that must be caught if we would rightly enjoy tea. Assuredly Dr. Abernethy, the celebrated surgeon, must be credited with the possession of this "instantaneous graciousness." "Abernethy," said Dr. Carlyon, in his "Early Years and Late Reflections," "never drank tea himself, but he frequently asked a few friends to come and take tea at his rooms. Upon such occasions, as I infer from what I myself witnessed, his custom was to walk about the room and talk most agreeably upon such topics as he thought likely to interest his company, which did not often consist of more than two or three persons. As soon as the tea-table was set in order, and the boiling water ready for making the infusion, the fragrant herb was taken, not from an ordinary tea-caddy, but from a packet consisting of several envelopes curiously put together, in the centre of which was the tea. Of this he used at first as much as would make a good cup for each of the party; and to meet fresh demands I observed that he invariably put an additional tea-spoonful into the teapot; the excellence of the beverage thus prepared insuring him custom. He had likewise a singular knack of supplying each cup with sugar from a considerable distance, by a jerk of the hand, which discharged it from the sugar-tongs into the cup with unerring certainty, as he continued his walk around the table, scarcely seeming to stop whilst he performed these and the other requisite evolutions of the entertainment."

If every woman had treated her guests in the same manner, there would have been little outcry against tea. The innovation of a "bubbling and loud-hissing urn" was strongly condemned by Dr. Sigmond, who, writing in 1839, after quoting Cowper, remarked: "Thus sang one of our most admired poets, who was feelingly alive to the charms of social life; but, alas! for the domestic happiness of many of our family circles, this meal has lost its character, and many of those innovations which despotic fashion has introduced have changed one of the most agreeable of our daily enjoyments. It is indeed a question amongst the devotees to the tea-table, whether the bubbling urn has been practically an improvement upon our habits; it has driven from us the old national kettle, once the pride of the fireside. The urn may be fairly called the offspring of indolence; it has deprived us, too, of many of those felicitous opportunities of which the gallant forefathers of the present race availed themselves to render them amiable in the eyes of the fair sex, when presiding over the distribution

"Of the Soumblo, the Imperial tea,
Names not unknown, and sanative Bohea."

The consequence of this injudicious change is, that one great enjoyment is lost to the tea-drinker—that which consists in having the tea infused in water actually hot, and securing an equal temperature when a fresh supply is required. Such, too, is what those who have preceded us would have called the degeneracy of the period in which we live, that now the tea-making is carried on in the housekeeper's room, or in the kitchen—

"For monstrous novelty, and strange disguise,
We sacrifice our tea, till household joys
And comforts cease."

What, he asks, can be more delightful than those social days described by Tate, the poet-laureate?

"When in discourse of nature's mystic powers
And noblest themes we pass the well-spent hours,
Whilst all around the virtues—sacred band,
And listening graces, pleased attendants stand.
Thus our tea-conversations we employ.
Where, with delight, instructions we enjoy,
Quaffing, without the waste of time or wealth,
The sovereign drink of pleasure and of health."

Fortunately for the lovers of the teapot and the kettle, a change in the fashion of making tea is taking place, the "loud-hissing urn" being now confined almost exclusively to a public tea-party and the coffee tavern. The quality of tea and coffee supplied by the latter institution has long been considered the blot upon an otherwise excellent movement. Not too severely did the Daily Telegraph speak a short time ago against the atrocious stuff supplied under the name of tea in public institutions. The editor said,—

"The very look of it is no longer encouraging. It is either a pale, half-chilled, unsatisfactory beverage, or it contains a dark black-brown settlement from over-boiled tea-leaves. The consumption of tea, no doubt, in England is enormous, and we boast to foreigners that we are fond of our tea; the fashion of tea-drinking, owing mainly to our example, has extended to France, once extremely heretical on the point; and yet where is the foreigner to find a good cup of tea in England? At the railway stations? Very rarely. At the restaurants? Scarcely ever. And at the newly-started tea and coffee palaces, which are to promote sobriety, the great and crying complaint is that the tea and coffee are so poor that the best-intentioned people are forced back to the dangerous public-house, in order to obtain a little stimulant, for it is idle to deny that both tea and coffee are stimulating to the constitution. Everywhere a great reform in tea is required. Once on a time no confectioner, railway-station, or refreshment-house could rival the home-made brew, made under the eye of the mistress of the household, with the kettle on the hob and the ingredients at hand; but now that the good old custom of tea-making is considered unladylike, and the manufacture has been handed over to the servants, the great charm of the beverage has virtually departed. No one can conscientiously say that they like English tea as at present administered, for the very good reason that it is no longer prepared scientifically. The English fashion of drinking tea would be laughed to scorn by the educated Chinaman or the accomplished Russian. Indeed, it is surprising in how few houses a good cup of tea can be obtained now that it has become unfashionable for the mistress of the establishment, not only to preside over her own tea-table, but to have complete sway over that most necessary article, a kettle of boiling water. The Chinese never dream of stewing their tea, as we too often do in England. They do not drown it with milk or cream, or alter its taste with sugar, but lightly pour boiling water on a small portion of the leaves. It is then instantly poured off again, by which the Chinaman obtains only the more volatile and stimulating portion of its principle. The most delicious of all tea, however, can be tasted in Russia—supposed to import the best of the Chinese leaves, as it imports the best of French champagne."

According to the Rev. Dr. Lansdell, however, the Russians do not pay extravagantly for their tea, "When crossing the Pacific," he says, "I fell in with a tea-merchant homeward bound from China, and from him I gathered that three-fourths of the Russian trade is done in medium and common teas, such as are sold in London in bond from 1s. 2d. down to 8d. per English pound, exclusive of the home duty. The remaining fourth of their trade includes some of the very best teas grown in the Ning Chou districts—teas which the Russians will have at any price, and for which in a bad year they may have to pay as much as 3s. a pound in China, though in ordinary years they cost from 2s. upwards. The flowery Pekoe, or blossom tea, costs also about 3s. in China." But Dr. Lansdell heard of some kind of yellow tea which cost as much as five guineas a pound, the Emperor of China being supposed to enjoy its monopoly; but a friend of the doctor told him that he did not think it distinguishable from that sold at 5s. a pound.

The excellence of the Russian tea is attributed, in part, to the fact that it is carried overland. "Whilst travelling eastwards," says Dr. Lansdell, "we had frequently met caravans or carts carrying tea. These caravans sometimes reach to upwards of 100 horses; and as they go at walking pace, and when they come to a river are taken over by ferry, it is not matter for surprise that merchandise should be three months in coming from Irkutsk to Moscow." Whatever the cause, all travellers eulogize the Russians as tea-makers. Dr. Sigmond, for instance, says,—

"My own experience of the excellence of tea in Russia arose out of a curious incident, which occurred to me during a hasty visit I made to that highly-interesting country. Previous to this adventure, I had been in the habit of taking coffee as my ordinary beverage, and was by no means satisfied with it. I had no idea of the prevailing habit of tea-drinking, previous to my arrival, at Moscow. In the course of the afternoon I left my hotel alone, obtaining from my servant a card, with the name of the street, La Rue de Demetrius, written upon it. I wandered about that magnificent citadel, the Kremlin, until dark, and I found myself at some distance from the point from which I started, and I endeavoured to return to it, and asked several persons the way to my street, of which they all appeared ignorant. I therefore got into one of the drotzskies, and intimated to my Cossack driver that I should be enabled to point out my own street. Although we could not understand each other, we did our mutual signs; and with the greatest cheerfulness and good-nature this man drove me through every street, but I could nowhere recognize my hotel. He therefore drove me to his humble abode in the environs; he infused the finest tea that I had ever seen in a peculiarly-shaped saucepan, set it on a stove, and this, when nearly boiled, he poured out; and a more delicious beverage, nor one more acceptable after a hard day's fatigue and anxiety, I have not tasted."

Other travellers refer to the excellence of tea in Russia. If we could have an improvement in the quality of tea made in England, we feel sure that a decrease in the consumption of intoxicating drinks would result.

Some reform has already taken place at railway-stations. For the reduction of the price of a cup of tea from sixpence to fourpence on the Great Northern Railway the public are indebted to the Hon. Reginald Capel, Chairman of the Refreshment-Rooms and Hotels' Committee of that company. On the Midland Railway, also, a reduction in the price of non-intoxicating beverages has been made. At the present time the coffee taverns stand most in need of reform.

With the object of inducing our tea-makers to reform their methods of tea-making, we quote some important recommendations of leading physicians. Dr. King Chambers, in his valuable manual of "Diet in Health and Disease," remarks that the uses of tea are (1) to give an agreeable flavour to warm water required as a drink; to soothe the nervous system when it is in an uncomfortable state from hunger, fatigue, or mental excitement. The best tea therefore is, he contends, that which is pleasantest to the taste of the educated consumer, and which contains most of the characteristic sedative principles. As Dr. Poore has pointed out, tannic acid, which is one of the dangers as well as one of the pleasures of tea, is largely present in the common teas used by the poor. "The rich man," he says, "who wishes to avoid an excess of tannic acid in the 'cup that cheers,' does not allow the water to stand on the tea for more than five, or at most eight minutes, and the resulting beverage is aromatic, not too astringent, and wholesome. The poor man or poor woman allows the tea to simmer on the hob for indefinite periods, with the result that a highly astringent and unwholesome beverage is obtained. There can be no doubt that the habit of drinking excessive quantities of strong astringent tea is a not uncommon cause of that atonic dyspepsia, which seems to be the rule rather than the exception among poor women of the class of sempstresses." The late Dr. Edward Smith devoted considerable attention to this subject, and we cannot do better than quote his observations:—"The aim should be to extract all the aroma and dried juices containing theine, with only so much of the substance of the leaf as may give fulness, or, as it is called, body to the infusion. If the former be defective, the respiratory action of the tea and the agreeableness of the flavour will be lessened, whilst if the latter be in excess there will be a degree of bitterness which will mash the aromatic flavour. As the theine is without flavour, its presence or absence cannot be determined by the taste of the tea. All agree, therefore, that the tea should be cooked in water, and that the water should be at the boiling-point when used; but there is not an agreement as to the duration of the infusing process. If the tea be scented or artificially flavoured, the aroma may be extracted in two minutes, but the proper aromatic oil of the tea requires at least five minutes for its removal. If flavour is to be considered, it is clear that an inferior tea should not be infused so long as a fine tea.

"The kind of water is believed to have great influence over the process; soft water is preferred. The Chinese direction is, 'Take it from a running stream; that from mill-springs is the best, river-water is the next, and well-water is the worst;' that is to say, take water well mixed with air. Hence avoid hard water, but prefer tap-water or running water to well-water. It is the practice of a good housewife in the country to send to a brook for water to make tea, whilst she will use the well water for drinking." The mode of making tea in China is to put the tea into a cup, to pour hot water upon it, and then to drink the infusion off the leaves. While wandering over the tea-districts of China, Mr. Fortune only once met with sugar and a tea-spoon. "The merchant invited us to drink tea," writes the Rev. Dr. Lansdell, who recently visited the Mongolian frontier at Maimatchin, "and told us that the Chinese use this beverage without sugar or milk three times a day; namely, at rising, at noon, and at seven in the evening. They have substantial meals at nine in the morning and four in the afternoon." Dr. King Chambers considers tea most refreshing to the dyspeptic if made in the Russian fashion, with a slice of lemon on which a little sugar-candy has been sprinkled, instead of milk or cream. One small cup of an evening is enough. He also gives the following receipt for making invalids' tea:—

"Pour into a small china or earthenware teapot a cup of quite boiling water, empty it out, and while it is still hot and steaming put in the tea and enough boiling water to wet it thoroughly, and set it close to the fire to steam three or four minutes. Then pour in the quantity of water required, boiling from the kettle, and it is ready for use." Miss Nightingale offers a word of advice to nurses upon the amount of tea which should be given. "A great deal too much against tea is," she remarks, "said by wise people, and a great deal too much of it is given to the sick by foolish people. When you see the natural and almost universal craving in English sick for their tea, you cannot but feel that Nature knows what she is about. But a little tea or coffee restores them quite as much as a great deal; and a great deal of tea, and especially of coffee, impairs the little power of digestion they have; yet a nurse, because she sees how one or two cups of tea or coffee restore her patient, thinks three or four cups will do twice as much. This is not the case at all: it is, however, certain that there is nothing yet discovered which is a substitute to the English patient for his cup of tea."

*******

The T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering is at this link.

Furious

Furious is a 2017 Russian epic action film.

From Wikipedia:

The film is based on the period when Kievan Rus' was under control of the Golden Horde. Ryazan knight Evpaty Kolovrat is the leader of the squad, which decides to fight back khan Batu, who has divided Kievan Rus'.

I watched it on Amazon Prime. It's also available free on Tubi at this link or on Youtube.

trailer:

The Turn of the Screw (2009)

The Turn of the Screw is a 2009 adaptation of the Henry James story. from Wikipedia: "Although generally true to the tone and story of James's work, the film is set in the 1920s —in contrast to the original 1840s setting— and accentuates sexual elements that some theorists have identified in the novella." I watched it on Tubi. It's also on Amazon Prime. I liked it fine but wouldn't recommend it as the first adaptation you see.

trailer:

The story has been oft adapted, and there are lists online ranking them. Screen Rant ranks this one 10th out of 12, noting the discrepancies from the original story. IMDb ranks it 6th of 9. Old Style Tales places it 8th of 8, calling it a "notable yet regrettable interpretation".

Wonder Woman 1984

We watched Wonder Woman 1984 not long after it came out. I think this one's dreadful. The post would be too long if I detailed all the reasons I think it's a fail. 

trailer:

Vulture calls it an "empty spetacle". More than half (59%) of the Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it positive reviews.

Nothing Sacred (1937)

Nothing Sacred is a 1937 screwball comedy directed by William Wellman, produced by David O. Selznick, and starring Carole Lombard and Fredric March. Margaret Hamilton and Hattie McDaniel are also in this. Oscar Levant did the score. This was the first screwball comedy filmed in color. I watched it on Tubi. It's also free on Roku.

via YouTube:

Senses of Cinema says, "its supporting cast is up there with the best in screwball comedy," and also,

Nothing Sacred is actually the keenest of all the screwball comedies to shine a light on society’s ills. What is “screwy” in this film isn’t just a woman but America as a whole; it is a land of opportunists – not to mention liars, cheats and scoundrels – with opportunity.

It has a Rotten Tomatoes critics concensus score of 92%.

Shin Godzilla

Shin Godzilla is a 2016 monster movie, which drew inspiration from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. I watched it at Internet Archive:

Roger Ebert's site calls it "winningly optimistic" and "pleasurably eccentric". Rotten Tomatoes has a critics concensus score of 86%, meaning 86% of all the critics who reviewed it liked it.

Twelfth Night (1986)

Twelfth Night is a 1986 adaptation of the Shakespeare play. Geoffrey Rush is the name most familar to me. He plays Sir Andrew Aguecheek.

via YouTube:

I admit I didn't finish this one. It can be hard to watch yet another adaptation of a story you've already seen several times. Your mileage, as they say, may vary.

Eraserhead

Eraserhead is a 1977 experimental film directed by David Lynch, his first feature-length film. I watched it on HBO Max. It's listed in the book 1,0001 Movies You Must See Before You Die. Shocking when it was released, it's still no soothing walk in the park. I'm determined, though, to broaden my film horizons using lists and online recommendations.

trailer:

I'm having a soothing cup of hot chocolate while I watch it. I have a set of mugs like these:

image from Poshmark

Please join me in a beverage of your choice even if you aren't interested in the film. There'll be something more appealing over at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering.

Raw Deal

Raw Deal is a 1948 American film noir crime film directed by Anthony Mann and starring Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt, John Ireland, Raymond Burr, and Whit Bissell.

via Internet Archive:

Senses of Cinema has an in-depth article that says in part, "It’s one of those noirs where you hold your breath, where its tension gets your heart rate up almost so you can hear it beating" and "It is this heavy, claustrophobic air, as thick as the fog that crowds the city streets and captured so iconically by Alton, that makes Raw Deal such a masterful example of noir. That fog has become famous..." and noting that "With all of its visual achievements, Raw Deal is notable, too, for its use of female voiceover."

Time Out says, "The action is sharp, the characterisation vivid" and calls it "A fine noir thriller, product of the dream marriage between Mann's direction and John Alton's camera." Rotten Tomatoes has a critics concensus score of 100%.

The Black Castle (1952)

The Black Castle is a 1952 horror film with Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney, Jr.

The Eyes Have It

The Eyes Have It is a humorous science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. You can read it online at this link or listen to it read to you at the bottom of this post. It begins,

It was quite by accident I discovered this incredible invasion of Earth by lifeforms from another planet. As yet, I haven't done anything about it; I can't think of anything to do. I wrote to the Government, and they sent back a pamphlet on the repair and maintenance of frame houses. Anyhow, the whole thing is known; I'm not the first to discover it. Maybe it's even under control.

I was sitting in my easy-chair, idly turning the pages of a paperbacked book someone had left on the bus, when I came across the reference that first put me on the trail. For a moment I didn't respond. It took some time for the full import to sink in. After I'd comprehended, it seemed odd I hadn't noticed it right away.

The reference was clearly to a nonhuman species of incredible properties, not indigenous to Earth. A species, I hasten to point out, customarily masquerading as ordinary human beings.
...

*******

Zack Snyder's Justice League

Zack Snyder's Justice League is a 2021 director's cut of the Justice League film released back in 2017. Coming in at over 4 hours you might well wonder why watch it, but in many ways this is an entirely different movie and a better one. I watched it on HBO Max.

from Wikipedia:

As details surfaced about the [original 2017] film's troubled production and its state before Snyder stepped down, many fans expressed interest in an alternate cut more faithful to Snyder's vision. Fans and members of the cast and crew petitioned for the release of this, which they nicknamed the Snyder Cut.
...
Zack Snyder's Justice League was released via HBO Max on March 18, 2021. Critics generally considered the film an improvement over the 2017 theatrical release; praise was directed at Snyder's direction and the improved characterization, though the runtime was criticized.

trailer:

The Music

The Music:

by Al Kapone

Jojo Rabbit

Jojo Rabbit is a 2019 United States/New Zealand/Czech Republic WW2 comedy drama. I had never heard of it, but it was recommended to me by The Younger Son. This one's a winner. I watched it on HBO Max.

trailer:

Still Life with Cup of Coffee

Still Life with Cup of Coffee (1913):

by Andre Lhote, a French painter who died on January 24, 1962, at age 76.

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