YOU TUBE TREASURES
Memoirs of a Geisha, Malice , The Sixth Sense, The Flight of the Navigator , Caesar and Cleopatra, One Step Beyond, Karen Carpenter Story, Alexander Graham Bell Story , Invaders From Mars, 75th Past Oscar Winners, Fairytale Castles of Ludwig II, 42 Classic Romantic Recordings
By Charles Canovas
We´ve got some newer films and some good oldies and music too. Hopefully something for almost everyone.
Ed’s note: Sorry, the videos are no longer available.
Memoirs of a Geisha – 2hrs. 25min.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBgvjMD5xmM
A lavish production, with hauntingly beautiful art direction and cinematography with music by John Williams and produced by Steven Spielberg, this film follows a geisha from her point of view from the age of 9. It was nominated and won many awards, among them Oscars, Bafta, Golden Globe. You may love it or not but you will remember both the story and the protagonists. A must see!
Malice – 1 hr. 46 min.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m1H2zTJ7Rw
A convoluted 1993 thriller with Alex Baldwin and Nicole Kidman. If you already saw it, it´s worth a second look to tie up all the leads, secrets, blind alleys and subplots. The film has one of AFI´s 100 Movies… 100 Movie Quotes: “You ask me if I have a God complex. Let me tell you something. I am God.”
The Sixth Sense – 1 hr. 47 min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bxvtOZJzrM
The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American supernatural thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film was nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture and 4 BAFTA awards. The line from the film “I see dead people”, included in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes, became a popular catchphrase after its release. Included in the greatest movies of all times, The Sixth Sense also scored 60th place on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills, honoring America’s most “heart pounding movies”.
Flight of the Navigator – 1 hr. 30 min.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0gj8xuc11w
Flight of the Navigator is a 1986 science fiction film distributed by Disney. It´s great family fun plus, for all you Florida lovers, you get to see Fort Lauderdale – not a movie set.
Caesar and Cleopatra -1945 2 hrs. 7 min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oavWcqHcX-M
A true treasure – will not last – hard to find anywhere. In color, made in 1945 and starring Claude Rains, Vivien Leigh and a young Stewart Granger.
No, this is not the Cleopatra of Elizabeth Taylor; this is the version of George Bernard Shaw´s incomparable Caesar and Cleopatra play. Only for those who love the theater, wit, great acting and directing. Produced in England during World War II which made filming difficult with Shaw collaborating in the production, it presents a playful, almost kittenish Cleopatra and an all wise and mature Caesar. As always with Shaw, delightful and truly entertaining! If you like it and want to see it again, download it, this one will not last on YouTube.
One Step Beyond – Brainwave – 25min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pmVcXC2s20
Before The Twilight Zone, before almost anything in the paranormal genre, there was the TV series, One Step Beyond. From 1959 to 1961 it was hosted by John Newland who presented tales that explored paranormal events and various situations that defied “logical” explanation in the form of straightforward thirty-minute docudramas. Expressly said to be based on true events, the program was promoted as “your guide to the supernatural and the world of the unknown”.
The theme music was very famous and is still one of the most identifiable parts of the series.
The quality of this video is not the best, but for a glimpse at this still intriguing and ground breaking TV series, it´s worth watching. This is only one episode however, you can look to your right of the screen when you go to the video to see more.
Karen Carpenter Story – 1 hr. 32 min.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL-932__v8s
Karen Carpenter – one of the great unique voices of our time. As the Carpenters, with her brother and music producer and arranger, she became one of America´s best loved singers and their records worldwide top sellers. Her personal tragedy coping with anorexia and the demands of her family and career ended her life too soon. For everyone who loved her and her music, here is a peek at how it all went down. This is a 1989 American TV movie produced by her brother, Richard. He also wrote the musical score. All the songs are the original Carpenter recordings re-mastered for the movie by Richard Carpenter. The movie was the highest rated 2 hour TV movie of the year and 3rd highest rated of all the 1980s.
If you want to hear more of their songs, here´s a collection on YouTube with (not good) still photos but excellent sound quality of their album:
Carpenter´s Love Songs – 1 hr. 15 min.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn0Dy3Y-y1I
The Story of Alexander Graham Bell – 1 hr. 38 min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WDyKO7GQ70
Cell phones, smart phones any kind of phones. We couldn´t live without them until a few years ago. Does anyone remember when you had to find a phone booth to call home when you were away from a house or the office?
This is the story of an extraordinary man – Alexander Graham Bell – of how he developed the phone and how he battled large companies to retain his rights to exploit his discovery eventually winning and founding the Bell Telephone Company. Of course, it´s an old Hollywood style, but charming and informative and basically true to the actual events. Filmed in 1939 and starring Don Ameche as Bell, Henry Fonda as Watson and the beautiful Loretta Young. It´s definitely worth seeing and sharing with younger generations.
Invaders from Mars – 1953 – 1 hr. 24 min.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzzFYQnWOdg
Okay, this is not the best sci-fi movie but it has been a memorable one for many people who are now older. My mom says it was all she could do for a few days after seeing this film to not look for telltale signs of aliens in her immediate family. Once you see it, you´ll understand why. At the time, this was a hugely remarkable and influential film because it told the story principally from the child’s perspective. We take this sort of narrative for granted in the post-Spielberg age but, when this film was released, children were generally little more than props in movies of this kind. That is the reason it affected a whole generation of children the way it did. The ending has been driving people nuts for over half a century. The great William Cameron Menzies directing Arthur Franz and Helena Carter in this original in color.
However, I´ve included the re-make with the same almost everything but with spectacular visual and creature effects for the younger generation. Feel free to check both out and see which you like best (aside from the creatures, of course, which were definitely 1953ish)
Invaders from Mars 1989 – 1 hr 39 min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRCqQMcsORo
Olivia de Havilland Presenting the 75th Past Oscar Winner Reunion – 12 min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyOYokyiCF8
For those of you who love nostalgia, love Olivia and love seeing the greats of Hollywood, here are 50 Oscar winners together on stage with Olivia de Havilland. Only 12 minutes, it will lead you down the memory lane of all-time great Hollywood productions and their Oscar winning stars, some of whom have already passed away. Don´t miss this one!
The Fairytale Castles
of King Ludwig II – 4 parts,15 min.each
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TQQoX9U5HM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQv7yI60ZxM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrrvgGQEHXs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFrNmukBN3Q
Perhaps the best way to unravel the enigma of King Ludwig II is through his castles. From the mock-medievalism of Neuschwanstein the iconic fairytale castle, which became the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle, to the rich Baroque splendor of Herrenchiemsee, Ludwig’s answer to Versailles, they reflect his tastes, philosophy, hopes and aspirations. Ludwig II is a sad, mysterious historical figure who was murdered, in part, because of his exorbitant expenditures on these incredibly beautiful architectural landmarks. These castles were reviled in their day as the product of an insane monarch which cost the country and the monarchy much of its revenues. Today, they provide the basis for huge tourism earnings for his country.
This is a BBC documentary presented by Dan Cruickshank, an art historian with great expertise in architecture and frequent presenter of specials for BBC. He gives an excellent scholarly presentation both of the architecture and the psychology of the man and his time. Beautifully photographed and well presented – very interesting both to history buffs and lovers of all things magnificent, magical and mysterious.
42 YouTube Classic Romantic Recordings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28Qi4jLtigc&list=RD43Yu4KObwynSc
Absolutely perfect! A YouTube Collection of 42 recordings of mostly Debussy, also Rachmaninoff, Ravel and many others with romantic, haunting melodies. Just go to video and they will be played automatically one after another. Also each title has some lovely paintings and scenes. Relaxing, inspiring, ideal to listen to alone or with a special someone. This is a keeper!
