Knights, Dragons and Magic Oh My!

Some of my favorite stories originate from history and legends of the British Isles: King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Guinevere, Merlin, Tristan & Iseult, Robin Hood, Richard III, dragons, sorcerers, The Lady of the Lake and so many others. One of my favorite books is my 1939 copy of The Boy's King Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory's History of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table illustrated by N.C. Wyeth. This beautiful book is full of stories and illustrations of Arthur, Launcelot, Tristan, the Fair Maid of Astolat, the Holy Grail and many of Arthur's other Knights.

Growing up my son also enjoyed many of these stories, his favorites were tales of Robin Hood, the Sword in the Stone and anything with dragons in it. As more and more movies and TV series were made retelling these stories, special effects evolved so much that when you see a dragon on film it's hard to believe that the creatures never existed.

Some of our favorite film and TV adaptions of these mythical stories include:

• The early 1980's TV series Robin of Sherwood (a cult classic, my son and I have the series on DVD and have watched each episode many times. Still the best version in my opinion)
• The 1981 film Excalibur (another cult classic with a who's who of before they became famous actors including Helen Mirren, Patrick Stewart and Liam Neeson)
• The 1996 movie Dragonheart (my son watched this movie over and over when it was released. Dennis Quaid valiantly tries to save the last dragon from a young King who becomes evil. The dragon's voice is Sean Connery)
• The 2004 film King Arthur (Clive Owen as Arthur and Keira Knightly as Guinevere)
• The 2006 Ridley Scott produced film Tristan & Isolde (James Franco and Sophia Myles as the tragic lovers)

I've watched a few episodes of the TV series Robin Hood on Netflix that ran from 2006-2009 on the BBC. It's a fun and more modern interpretation of Robin Hood and not nearly as dark as the 80's TV show Robin of Sherwood. Another series that I've begun on Netflix is Merlin which ran from 2008-2012 on the BBC. This series is fantastic and while it completely mixes up the legends, the adventures of Arthur and Merlin while they are young men is irresistible. If you are a lover of legends and myths you can't go wrong with watching some of the better interpretations of the stories on TV and film. 

Flash Back Friday #56-The movie Legend

In 1985 when I was 15 years old the fantasy film Legend was released and it's been a favorite of mine ever since. For a young girl who loves fairy tales as much as I do, this film has it all, a beautiful Princess, unicorns, a magic land, an evil villain and a love story. The entire movie is lushly filmed and the ethereal soundtrack with songs by Tangerine Dream, John Anderson from Yes and Bryan Ferry from Roxy Music sets the mood. The movie was considered a flop even though it starred a young Tom Cruise and was directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator and the famous Apple commercial from 1984).  However in the years since it's release on VHS and then DVD it's become a cult classic.

I read today that the brilliant actor Tim Curry was recovering from a stroke. Movie watchers know Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) or as Rooster in the movie version (1982) of Annie. I love him as both of those characters, but my favorite Tim Curry role is as Darkness in Legend. The clip below is fantastic, not only for the amazing costumes and makeup, but for Tim Curry's voice, when he says "All things change Lady. The dreams of youth are the regrets of maturity" I get chills. The black wedding dress worn by actress Mia Sara is the Halloween costume I have wanted to wear for over 25 years.
Enjoy.

Now-The Incomparable Lauren Bacall

I recently watched a wonderful interview with the legendary actress Lauren Bacall. Interviewed by Robert Osborne on TCM's Private Screenings she discusses everything from meeting Humphrey Bogart on the set of her first movie (one of my favorite films, To Have and Have Not), her long career on stage in NYC and her amazing memories of Hollywood legends such as Frank Sinatra (her boyfriend after Bogart), Kirk Douglas, Harry Truman, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, John Wayne and others.

In the late 1980's I found a copy of Lauren Bacall's 1978 autobiography, By Myself on a bookshelf at my high school boyfriend's house. His Mom had introduced me to some classic old films during weekends at their family's cabin in Wisconsin and when I found the book she told me to read it and then watch all of Lauren Bacall's movies. I read the book and fell in love with Bacall, with Bogart and with old Hollywood.

In the early 1990's shortly after the birth of my son, Bacall was on a book tour for her 2nd autobiography, Now. My son slept in my arms for hours while I waited in a small bookstore near Chicago to meet Bacall and have her sign my book. I'll never forget the first moment I saw her in person, she was about 70 years old and had aged beautifully with her striking cheekbones still prominent. She was dressed all in black with gold bracelets lining her wrists and gold rings on most of her fingers. She asked me my name in her deep smoky voice and signed my book while she asked about my son who was still sleeping in my arms. She was kind enough to sign both of my books including the tattered 1978 copy of her first autobiography that I still had and have reread so many times.

In the years since she's had a career resurgence in the Barbara Streisand movie The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) and more recently in movies with Nicole Kidman. Leave it to Bacall to have a fascinating career of over 60 years that began in a movie with Bogart when she was only 19 years old (To Have and Have Not), included a leading role with Marilyn Monroe (How To Marry a Millionaire), starred in a movie where she played one of the first lesbians seen in film (Young Man With A Horn), and continued on stage where she established herself on Broadway (winning 2 Tony awards) and she is still making movies today. Even with a legendary career, it's Bacall's personal life that is the stuff of fairytales...true love, tragic loss, single motherhood, triumph and sass. There is no one like her but every time I wear a vintage dress, faux furs or long gloves I feel a little bit like Bacall in the 50's and that's cool.

Follow Up Read-Worth Fighting For by Lisa Niemi Swayze

Back on March 1, 2010 I blogged a book review for the audio recording of Patrick Swayze's autobiography, The Time of My Life. I was very  moved listening to Patrick's story, especially knowing that he had recorded his memoirs in the final weeks of his life.

Two years later and almost 3 years after Patrick's death from pancreatic cancer, his wife Lisa has written her story of Patrick's fight against cancer and their life together. Once I started reading Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss, and Moving Forward, I couldn't put it down and finished it within a few days. Lisa's honest and emotional retelling of Patrick's diagnosis, his strength during the brutal treatments, his final TV series (The Beast, filmed here in Chicago in 2008) and his last days is inspiring but very sad.

Lisa was Patrick's wife of over 30 years, his business partner and in the end, his full time caregiver. Upon Patrick's diagnosis, he was given weeks to live but lived for 20 months, largely in part to the sheer will of his spirit and the dedication to his medical care from doctors in California and Chicago. But it was Lisa who learned how to care for him, how to research new treatments, and how to keep him comfortable. One of the most interesting aspects of this book is the evolution of their marriage from lovers and partners to fighters, their only goal was to keep him alive.

What I wanted more of...the Moving Forward portion of the book. There is only one chapter written after Patrick's death and a short Epilogue, not nearly enough on how Lisa is doing or in fact how she is coping without her partner of 34 years. Maybe it's too soon. Maybe that will be in yet another book. Until she is ready to share those stories, this book tells of the 2 years they fought cancer together and like their first book is a true love story.

Kurt Russell is King

In the lapse of anything decent to watch on tv I am introducing my son to the man who made movies worth watching in the 1980's. KURT RUSSELL. Russell is my King of the ridiculous but classic cult films and absolutely my favorite 80's actor. We started with the cherry on the sundae of Russell's 80's films, Escape from New York. My son was very skeptical at first but Snake Plissken is now one of our favorite movie references. We then moved on to the campy combination of Asian street gangs, monsters, 200 year old horny ghosts, Chinese girls with green eyes, truckers (my heroes), Kim Cattrall, and a floating head with dozens of eyes, the excellent Big Trouble in Little China. Really I don't think there is a better campy director than the brilliant John Carpenter who directs Russell in both. Next on the film review list are Overboard with Russell and real life love Goldie Hawn and one of my favorite romances EVER Tequila Sunrise. We will then work our way into Russell's 90's films including the absolutely excellent Tombstone and the sequel to Escape from New York, Escape from LA.
Looking for something to watch? Netflix a Russell/Carpenter film and relive the days when there were no rules in film making and actors still said quotable lines.

From Escape from New York
Hauk: "Plissken? Plissken, what are you doing?"
Snake Plissken: "Playing with myself! I'm going in."

From Big Trouble in Little China
Jack Burton: "When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: "Have ya paid your dues, Jack?" "Yessir, the check is in the mail."