THE BEATLES, HAYAO MIYAZAKI’S FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND THE ULTIMATE WESTERN

cerebral writing on art, cinema and culture, Feature Essay, MUSICAL MILESTONES 5 Minutes

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN(1960)

This is one of the many quintessential, definitive Westerns to have stood the test of time. To finally watch it is a wish fulfilled thanks to the library available to us cinephiles on a streaming platform like Amazon Prime.

The tale of settling scores with marauding bandits, a village full of farmers seeking aid from a group of bravehearts and the seven brave men who each contribute individually to this collective mission evinces a classic genre template.

But like every good Western, The Magnificent Seven serve as men of diverse backgrounds, the one seeking help are not simply woebegone by dint of skin colour nor by their domicile but by the nuisance of being robbed of food, peace and stability while each braveheart has vulnerable points that never overreaches to a place of blatant machismo. Watch as one fears for the outcome and has a bad dream, another admonishes young village kids for dismissing their fathers as cowards and instead praises them for standing up for community and family.

For me, Horst Bucholz is the livewire, young gun and looker among all. He is a nifty performer and has an innocence all of his own. Watch as he playfully spends time with a bull and contends with his identity throughout the narrative.

There is an ease to the proceedings here, a lack of dependency on gore or unwanted brutality while the end result proves that violence is hardly the corollary for valour. Desperate times invite measures of vigilantism. Guns and masculine codes hardly prevail.

In the end, it is the somber realisation here, the scenario and the united front among the diverse cast members that give it a relevant timelessness.








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YUKI’S SUN(1972)

As ‘The Boy and The Heron’ marks the probable end of a storied career, it is heartening and humbling to know that the journey began with this four minute short from Hayao Miyazaki.

Tracing the titular Yuki’s very young life as an orphan where cheer meets the despondency of tragedy within her foster unit, this is quintessential Studio Ghibli fare, condensed to its preoccupation with young enterprising females, colours, nature and empathy in the face of odds.

Watch it to trace the beginning of an empathetic legacy.



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THE ASSISTANT(2019)

Manual labour, workplace exploitation, a current of prevalent sexism are just the operative blocks of this riveting, condensed study of one young woman’s day to day life as a big city professional.

The sense of claustrophobia within these seemingly sanitised spaces is extreme and the passive aggression of the alpha males controlling every ounce of a misogynistic culture is spelled out in terrifying internalisations.

As the unnamed employee, Julia Garner is excellent in the micro world she inhabits with a control over her body language. Even as nervous tics and the sheer pressures of her multiple tasks reduce her to an empty human being whose calls to even her parents are like the air evaporating from a closed container.

Pitted against the world, her beginnings as an adult in the early stages of her professional journey put her in grim confrontation with the truth. Her powerlessness is another among millions. This stark, realistic take on the universal struggles specific to the fairer sex accumulates a docu-drama aura that strangles by its abject use of silences.



This is lived reality compounded by the inner testimonies of those in the fold of a paid workforce. A photocopier machine, manuscripts, water cooler, lifts, cab drives, visit to the HR office and especially a telephone all amass a sinister edge as objects typifying one’s imprisonment within this vortex.

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BOULEVARD! A HOLLYWOOD STORY(2021)

Even if one hasn’t watched Sunset Boulevard, one is liable to be accustomed to its classic tale about a cinematic superstar’s tryst to revoke her glory days. The name Norma Desmond itself has become one of the most iconic screen creations, drawing from the eternal discourse around ageism and ego.

This documentary is about the great, enduring pop culture figure that is Gloria Swanson, the woman who immortalised Norma Desmond’s breakdown on celluloid seventy years ago. It is about two men, namely the prolific musical genius Dickson Hughes and the strapping lyricist/ actor Richard Stapley who came together with Swanson to give musical heft on the stage to this dramatic tale made so searing and timeless by director Billy Wilder.

Boulevard! is an arc on creation, time past and present, legacies and the love story of two creative partners in the form of Stapley and Hughes. Their personal equation arcs with the ascending high of collaborating with Ms. Swanson and descend as Time and Eras affect this ambitious saga.

The archival footage, animation, interviews and photographs here point to the extent of fame and the singular way this non-fiction trajectory makes all three associates get their dues for posterity. Bittersweet is one way of looking at them. Triumphant is the way they deserve to be seen as. This work achieves that, according them fair and equal shares.



I also love the self-reflexivity in including the legacy of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic stage musical Sunset Boulevard that has now become a benchmark with such songs as ‘As If We Never Said Goodbye’ & ‘With One Look’ as well as Glenn Close’s definitive turn as Norma Desmond.
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NOW AND THEN- THE LAST BEATLES SONG(2023)

First Rolling Stones, Roger Waters and now The Fab Four. 2023 is turning out to be a great year for classic rockstars to mount new material and fill us with gratitude.

The Beatles mark a new chapter with the release of the official final song from their catalogue, complete with a vocal sample from John Lennon that had remained hidden in the vaults owing to lack of technological expertise back in the early 1990s.

To watch the twelve minute documentary directed by Oliver Murray and beautifully edited by Jonny Halifax unveiling this journey of decades, culminating with Peter Jackson employing cutting edge techniques with a team of revivalists, is priceless for fans of multiple generations.



My biggest takeaway from the footage is the rare warmth of watching the late great George Harrison in the studio in 1995, the past and contemporary footage of these extraordinary men spliced together with a Midas touch and the celebration of their different eras.

As a song, Now And Then is classic Beatles- simple, unassuming lyrics, yearning for connections and not ruling out the possibility of a bittersweet end to partnerships of yore. The guitars, the strings and the harmonies aided by Ringo Starr and Sir Paul McCartney’s contributions make it complete and a pure treat for all of us. This is clearly then one of the best high points of a year where coming of age is taking on a whole new paradigm thanks to these ageless creative veterans.

https://youtu.be/Opxhh9Oh3rg?feature=shared

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NOTE: all the clips are courtesy YouTube.

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I launch myself, with a searing, soaring passion for all domains verging on the writerly and creative with a beginner's appetite here and that's how I believe in adding meaning to each day. A lucky mascot of literature, cinema and culture, I come riding on spirited wings from the emblematic city of Lucknow where all those reside and thrive. My breeding ground and my mindscape all are committed to these three life forces. Cinema. Culture. Literature. But the biggest and all consuming parent to these is life that breeds them . There is the discovery that comes from expressing yourself, clear eyed and even mystical, when you come from a city like this. I am here to expand my worldviews, share my earliest inspirations and evolutions and go with the flow through the most accessible outlet there is : writing. Conventionally, my biography is that of a degree holder in English literature encompassing Undergraduate, Postgraduate and M Phil years and every possible experience of learning finer points of knowledge . I have already taken the plunge of creating a solid base for my works by publishing my poems and articles on the renowned worldwide community/ writing sanctuary Wattpad since 2015, a platform which is a miracle for anyone pursuing so much as a flash of wordplay and thoughts to spare. It has redefined my life and allows me to go strong. You can read my works there under the username MadMenWearingFedora / Prithvijeet. That is the springboard that catapulted me to a confident vocational revival. So here I am. Both originality and novelty are the key words to define this eternal student of life. So with the tip of the pen blessing my head and a new vigor, I welcome you all to my realm. AN AWADH BOY'S PANORAMA beckons.

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