So as you sink into the couch tomorrow to watch a game, some ads, and a lame halftime show, spare a thought for the days when sports didn't mean spectatorship, and villagers had to either participate or hide:
It was explicitly violent and played between villages, at the time of celebration and festivity. In fact, it was so violent that people living nearby would barricade their windows during matches.
That quote comes from expertfootball.com, which also informs us that the authorities often attempted to suppress the sport:
On April 13, 1314 King Edward II issued one of the first recorded prohibitions, because of the impact that "this hustling over large balls" had on the merchant life. Edward III also tried to stop "futeball" in 1349, followed by Richard II, Henry IV, Henry VI and James III. The game was frowned upon by the bourgeoisie due to its unchristian [sic] nature and its lack of regulations.
By the 17th century, Carew of Cornwall attempted to introduce some sense in his Survey of Cornwall by adding the prohibition of charging players below the girdle and by disallowing the forward pass. These implementations, however, were not widely used and violence continued to [be] relished.
When the Motion Picture Academy looked at 1938, it gave its Best Picture award to Frank Capra's You Can't Take It With You. That's a fine film, but I can think of four that are finer:
1. Porky in Wackyland Directed by Bob Clampett Written by Warren Foster
The most manic, dense, and Daliesque of Warner's classic cartoons.
2. La Bête Humaine Directed by Jean Renoir Written by Renoir and Denise Leblond, from a novel by Emile Zola
Movie historians classify this one as "poetic realism." To me it's a full-fledged film noir, even if it technically appeared a few years too early to qualify.
3. The Lady Vanishes Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Written by Sidney Gilliatt and Frank Launder, from a novel by Ethel Lina White
My favorite of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood pictures.
4. Port of Shadows Directed by Marcel Carné Written by Jacques Prévert
I like Children of Paradisewell enough, but I've never comprehended the cult around it. When it comes to Carné/Prévert pictures, I prefer curious, character-driven crime stories like this one.
5. You Can't Take It With You Directed by Frank Capra Written by Robert Riskin, from a play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
Who says there was no counterculture in the '30s?
6. Bringing Up Baby Directed by Howard Hawks Written by Dudley Nichols and Hagar Wilde
Cary Grant decides to go gay all of a sudden.
7. Pygmalion Directed by Anthony Asquith with Leslie Howard Written by George Bernard Shaw, W.P. Lipscomb, Cecil Lewis, Ian Dalrymple, Anatole de Grunwald, and Kay Walsh, from a play by Shaw
I miss the songs and there's far too much talk at the end, but it's still drenched in Shaw's satiric takes on class, masks, and language. And while I'll probably always prefer Rex Harrison and Stanley Holloway to Leslie Howard and Wilfrid Lawson, Audrey Hepburn can't hold a candle to Wendy Hiller.
8. Holiday Directed by George Cukor Written by Donald Ogden Stewart and Sidney Buchman, from a play by Philip Barry
"When I find myself in a position like this, I ask myself: What would General Motors do? And then I do the opposite."
9. Goonland Directed by Dave Fleischer
Like many of the Fleischer Popeye shorts, this feels like something out of Zap Comix.
10. The Adventures of Robin Hood Directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley Written by Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller
The best superhero movie of the '30s. (And don't try to tell me a masked adventurer isn't a superhero unless he has special powers. What about BATMAN, then? Huh? HUH?)
When the Motion Picture Academy looked at 1948, it gave its Best Picture award to the Laurence Olivier version of Hamlet. Which is actually quite good, despite the absence of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and it's in my top 10. But it isn't nearly as impressive as the film at number one:
1. Red River Directed by Howard Hawks with Arthur Rosson Written by Borden Chase and Charles Schnee, from a story by Chase
Confession: I like the ending, which nearly everyone else (including one of the writers) dismisses as a copout. Why shouldn't those bullheaded rivals listen to the lady, recognize that they're a pair of asses, and make up? It pulls the rug out from under all that macho posturing, and it makes a complex movie even richer.
2. The Red Shoes Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Written by Powell, Pressburger, and Keith Winter, from a story by Hans Christian Andersen
In this film, on the other hand, I don't think there's any way to avoid a tragic ending.
3. Fort Apache Directed by John Ford Written by Frank Nugent, from a story by James Warner Bellah
It's almost an Old West Paths of Glory -- though Ford and Nugent ultimately respect the military, while Kubrick doesn't.
4. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre Directed by John Huston Written by Huston, from a novel by B. Traven
But read the book first. It's even better.
5. Hamlet Directed by Laurence Olivier Written by Olivier, from a play by William Shakespeare
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Must Be Dead.
6. Key Largo Directed by John Huston Written by Huston and Richard Brooks, from a play by Maxwell Anderson
"Listen hick, I was too much for any big city police force to handle. It took the United States government to pin a rap on me. And they won't make it stick. You hick, I'll be back pulling strings to get guys elected mayor and governor before you get a 10 buck raise."
7. The Fallen Idol Directed by Carol Reed Written by Graham Greene, Lesley Storm, and William Templeton, from a story by Greene
"Some lies are just kindness."
8. The Snake Pit Directed by Anatole Litvak Written by Millen Brand, Frank Partos, and Arthur Laurents, from a novel by Mary Jane Ward
On one level, this is a despicable picture: Allegedly an exposé of the mistreatment of psychiatric patients, it winds up justifying even the most invasive coercive procedures as long as the doctor making the decisions seems kind and liberal. But it's a remarkably well-made movie nonetheless, and Olivia de Havilland is amazing in it.
9. Sorry, Wrong Number Directed by Anatole Litvak Written by Lucille Fletcher, from her play
It was a good year for Anatole Litvak, I guess. Litvak, John Huston, and Shakespeare.
10. Macbeth Directed by Orson Welles Written by Welles, from a play by William Shakespeare
It was filmed on the cheap for a B studio in just 23 days. And it's one of the best Shakespearean movies ever made.
TITICUT TUESDAYS: I thought my first radio show in its new timeslot went well. Highlights included a pre-inaugural set, a caller asking me if a song was "a Latin jazz version of 'Frankenstein'" (it wasn't), and nods to upcoming concerts by Dan Hicks, Jerry Douglas, David Allan Coe, and the Blind Boys of Alabama:
Esquivel: Take the A Train Andre Popp: Java Camper Van Beethoven: Vladivostok Boiled in Lead: Sugarfoot Congress The Young Fresh Fellows: Amy Grant Henri Guédon: Vulcano Don Drummond: Occupation Steve Earle & The Pogues: Johnny Come Lately Golden Smog: Pecan Pie Patsy Montana: I Want to Be a Cowboy's Sweetheart Robbie and Donna Fulks: I'm Gonna Take You Home (And Make You Like Me) George Jones & Tammy Wynette: We Go Together Merle Haggard: Silver Wings David Allan Coe: You Never Even Call Me By My Name Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks: My Old Timey Baby Jerry Garcia, David Grisman, and John Kahn: Blue Yodel #9 Louis Armstrong: Potato Head Blues The Everly Brothers: Illinois Nick Drake: Poor Boy Tom Zé: Gene Talking Heads: I Zimbra David Bowie: DJ Jason and the Scorchers: Help There's a Fire The Plugz: Hombre Secreto Andre Williams & The Sadies: My Sister Stole My Woman Van Morrison: Madam George Herbie Hancock: Wiggle-Waggle The Bar-Kays: Soul Finger Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: What Have You Done for Me Lately? Rufus featuring Chaka Khan: You Got the Love Warren Zevon: Werewolves of London Public Enemy: 911 Is A Joke The Blind Boys of Alabama: Spirit in the Dark The Original Five Blind Boys of Alabama: The Sermon Mrs. Mary Lee: Jesus Is Real To Me Charles Mingus: Slop Thelonious Monk: Caravan Lauryn Hill & Carlos Santana: To Zion Charlie Poole: White House Blues Vassar Clements: White House Blues Blue Mountain: Jimmy Carter Jerry Douglas: Two Friends The Kinks: Alcohol Squirrel Nut Zippers: It Ain't You Wilmoth Houdini: Song No. 99 Ivo Papasov: Hristianova Kopanitsa The Klezmatics: Goin' Away to Sea Jello Biafra & D.O.A.: We Gotta Get Out of This Place Bob Dylan: Wigwam
When the Motion Picture Academy looked at 1958, it gave its Best Picture award to Gigi, a mediocre musical that even Maurice Chevalier couldn't save. In fact -- and I say this in sorrow, as a confirmed Chevalier fan -- he wasn't very good in it himself. Maybe if they'd cast Harpo Marx hiding a phonograph under his coat instead...
1. Touch of Evil Directed by Orson Welles Written by Welles, from a novel by Whit Masterson
"A policeman's job is only easy in a police state."
2. Vertigo Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Written by Samuel Taylor and Alec Coppel, from a novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac
I'm not exactly in the minority here. Half a century after the fact, most critics are going to pick either this or Touch of Evil as the best American movie of 1958. So I'd just like to take this opportunity to remind you again that the Oscar went to Gigi.
3. Ivan the Terrible, Part 2 Written and directed by Sergei Eisenstein
Completed in 1946, but suppressed by Stalinist censorship until the Khrushchev thaw.
4. Mon Oncle Directed by Jacques Tati Written by Tati, Jacques Lagrange, and Jean L'Hote
Slapstick vs. technocracy.
5. Man of the West Directed by Anthony Mann Written by Reginald Rose, from a novel by Will C. Brown
The last entry in Mann's series of layered, psychologically complex westerns.
6. Night of the Demon Directed by Jacques Tourneur Written by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester, from a story by Montague R. James
The American cut is called Curse of the Demon. Watch the British edition if you can -- both versions were damaged by the oafish interference of producer Hal E. Chester, but the American one was mangled more.
7. Ashes and Diamonds Directed by Andrzej Wajda Written by Jerzy Andrzejewski, from his novel
Another product of the Khrushchev thaw, or more precisely the Gomulka thaw, which is what you get when you combine Khrushchevism from above with labor unrest from below. The film's ambiguous attitude towards the Communists is handled delicately -- unlike Hal E. Chester, the East Bloc authorities could mangle much more than a mere movie -- but there's little doubt about where the Polish audience's sympathies lay.
8. The Magician Directed by Ingmar Bergman Written by Bergman, from a play by G.K. Chesterton
A playful mixture of horror and humor, with some crafty things to say about illusion's relationship to truth.
9. The Big "O" Directed by Carmen D'Avino
Variations on the 15th letter.
10. A Movie Directed by Bruce Conner
The lost bridge between Joseph Cornell and YouTube Poop.
N.B.: Night of the Demon technically debuted in 1957, though it didn't make it to America til '58. I included it anyway for the usual reason: I didn't realize its actual year of release when I compiled my '57 list last year, and I'd hate to ignore the picture entirely. If I were forced to exclude it, I'd fill out this top 10 with Claude Chabrol's Le Beau Serge.
