Da Blogs Da Thang: friday and a long weekend

friday and a long weekend - phew!

Published Thursday, May 25, 2006 by lecram sinun | E-mail this post

If I have the time or the inkling... I may add to this post later in the day.

weekend movie selection

Every year or so I will pull out this movie and watch it just to be awed by it's sheer brilliance. I actually first watched it when I was about 16 and it has stuck with me ever since. Network is one of those movies that is not only a poetic satire but a prophetic one at that.

Written by Paddy Chayeskfy and directed by Sidney Lumet this movie boasts of an ensemble cast of screen titans of the time. The scary thing is that everything in this wonderfully layered yet absurd premise of a movie - is oh so true today.

Another thing to love about it is the power of language that explodes from it. A literary dirty-bomb of dialogue that is intellectual, witty verbose and... yes, entertaining. And here is the real kicker... a commercial success! Could anyone dare make such a movie today and hope for that?

Here are some quotes:
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Howard Beale: (anchoring a live news TV broadcast) I would like at this moment to announce that I will be retiring from this program in two weeks' time because of poor ratings. Since this show is the only thing I had going for me in my life, I've decided to kill myself. I'm going to blow my brains out right on this program a week from today. So tune in next Tuesday. That should give the public relations people a week to promote the show. You ought to get a hell of a rating out of that. 50 share, easy.
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Max Schumacher: We could make a series of it. "Suicide of the Week." Aw, hell, why limit ourselves? "Execution of the Week."
Howard Beale: "Terrorist of the Week."
Max Schumacher: I love it. Suicides, assassinations, mad bombers, Mafia hitmen, automobile smash-ups: "The Death Hour." A great Sunday night show for the whole family. It'd wipe that fuckin' Disney right off the air
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Diana Christensen: Hi. I'm Diana Christensen, a racist lackey of the imperialist ruling circles.
Laureen Hobbs: I'm Laureen Hobbs, a badass commie nigger.
Diana Christensen: Sounds like the basis of a firm friendship.
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Cheers!