Westport Public Library MOVIE & MUSIC Blog

One of our most popular book display tables at the Westport Public Library each year features fun beach reads. This year, the chances to read on the beach so far have been pretty slim. As I write this blog, it is again pouring outside. Luckily, the Westport Library has another relaxing outlet to offer… beach movies.

A lot of beach based movies seem to have an underlying grain of truth that maturing experiences can take place while having fun in the sun. I am often surprised to find any gap at all in our diverse and large film collection but we are a little spare on 60s teen beach movies. (A problem we will remedy!) Still, our collection does contain two true “classics”. Elvis rocks in Blue Hawaii and George Hamilton begins working on his tan while Connie Francis sings her classic in Where the Boys Are. And to think these films might have been a bit racy for the times.

In 1964 Alan Bates meets Anthony Quinn in Zorba the Greek and learns true life lessons about the meaning of joy from this simple man. Zorba’s wild dances across the sand are truly life affirming scenes.

Moving forward to the 70’s the classic coming of age movies with beach scenes takes on some more mature tones. Summer of '42 relies on the beach to provide the setting and mood. In the 2001 Oscar nominated Spanish languge film Y Tu Mamá También , two teenage boys abandoned by their girlfriends take a more mature woman on a road trip to find a mysterious beach in Mexico.

Beaches also provide background for more than romance and dancing. One little word, Jaws! And to add a little scary viewing to your list, I recommend The Fog. Not to be forgotten of course is Cast Away with Tom Hanks. Man lives on beach and overcomes great obstacles.

So, if the rain keeps you away from getting sand between your toes, bring a little sand into your home with a beach movie. You won’t even have to sweep up the sand you drag home.

One of the most frequently asked question in the Audio Visual department, is what do you think of this movie? While staff can offer some viewer’s advisory comments based on their own thoughts of a film or what patrons have told them, sometimes there is nothing like a professional opinion!

Moviereviewintelligence.com is a new website devoted to monitoring and aggregating the work of an endangered species, the movie critics of some 65 print and broadcast outlets. Its chock full of charts, graphs, and other tracking mechanisms that help a consumer make an informed decision about a film. Best of all, there is an archive function dating back to January 1, 2009. So, the website is a useful tool for evaluating recently released DVDs as well. Librarians are trained to look for authoritative sources, and this is a humdinger.

The Westport Library is fortunate to be able to purchase a wide variety and genre of films for the collection. When in doubt about a film, we’ve turned to reviews for guidance.
What a delight to find them all tied up in one neat bundle.

But, please remember that if the library doesn't have a film you would like to see, you are always welcome to put in a suggestion for purchase. While we may not be able to get every film, we will certainly try to accommodate your request.

What is billed as the Third Annual Food Film Festival starts this Saturday in locations at the South Street Seaport and Long Island City, Queens. The festival features Big Night, a terrific film for true foodies and lots of short films about food, the production of food products and ingredients such as mushrooms. But New York isn’t the only place that food lovers can find a great film. The Westport Library collection includes some of the great movies that make restaurants or food another key character. Here are some of staff’s favorites.

Hungry for a Connecticut connection? Go ahead and sample Mystic Pizza (with a young Julia Roberts). Like ethnic food? How about Dim Sum, an independent film about a Chinese American family and the meals that bind them together or the Japanese film Tampopo (Dandelion) in which a young widow is struggling to make ends meet by running a noodle restaurant. Spanglish is a surprisingly sweet film about the relationship between a Mexican housekeeper, her star chef boss and their families. Speaking of chefs, make a reservation for the award winning animated film Ratatouilee or the romantic comedy No Reservations! For desert travel to Europe for a little Chocolat or visit Tuscany for a great home cooked meal served by Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun.

If all these films inspire you to cook, the library’s collection offers many instructional films on the art of cooking and popular series staring great chefs and cooks. Bon Appétit!

Clint. No last name is necessary. The 6’2” icon is coming to a screen very near you which just happens to be large one in the Westport Library’s McManus Room on June 23 at 7:00. Our venue is perfect for showing the actor/director’s latest work, Gran Torino. In this movie, he portrays Walt Kowalski, a retired auto worker who doesn’t have a good word for anyone and harbors unspoken resentments and reactions to his time spent fighting in the Korean War. He is drawn into the life of a Hmong immigrant teen being pressured into joining a gang. As a right of passage, the young man tries to steal Walt’s classic car, a Gran Torino.

Some library borrowers have told me that they borrow Clint Eastwood movies for the men in their life. I understand perfectly, so do I! But, Gran Torino is a movie that all can find meaningful and entertaining. As the Los Angeles Time noted in their review, “Things that would be old-school and sentimental in other hands morph into something different when he (Eastwood) is involved.” The reviewer goes on to note, "Eastwood has, with his impeccable directing style and acting presence, turned Gran Torino into another in his ongoing series of films that ponder violence, its place and its cost. It combines sentiment and shootouts, the serious and the studio, in a way that has become distinctly Eastwood's own.”

So, make my day. Join other fans for the showing of this film later this month. This is a new addition to our schedule. See you on June 23rd.

This year’s Booked for the Evening honoree Adam Gopnick is in for an incredible treat. He’ll hear his words read by a charming quintet of voices complimented by Westport songtress Susan Terry.

While she may be best known for her role as one of seven brides, Jane Powell will be one of five readers. This versatile actress and star of stage and screen is gracing the library by her appearance. She’ll be joined by Westport Playhouse Artistic Director and actor Mark Lamos whose film credits include Longtime Companion and whose play direction has won or been nominated for just about any award you can mention in the theatre. Rounding out the group will be American playwright Tina Howe, a Tony Award nominee for her play Costal Disturbances, George Guidall, who is an Audie Award recipient for his narration of over 800 audio books, and Mark Shanahan who earned rave reviews for his recent performance in Around the World in Eighty Days at the Westport Playhouse.

Please join us for this remarkable event. You can read more about Jane Powell in her autobiography The Girl Next Door and How She Grew.

If like me, you have developed an obsession with the Showtime TV series The Tudors, the upcoming few days are the anniversaries of several interesting dates. After most episodes the librarian in me wants me to begin checking authoritative sources to see how accurately history has been portrayed. But the truth is, even historians disagree on many facts. However, hopefully they are correct about the dates of some events. Anne Boleyn and her brother George were put on trail for adultery and incest 473 years ago today, May 15, 1536. We all know the outcome of that proceeding! Now, you think Mary Queen of Scots would have learned that annoying a Tudor monarch was not a good way to keep your head attached to your body. On the same day some 31 years later she married her third husband James Hepburn who many thought to be the murderer of her second husband which fueled the negative fires already surrounding her reign in Scotland. You get the idea. And, whom should see seek asylum from but her cousin Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth promptly had her put in custody for 19 years while she pondered the thorny issue of the threat of another living and conniving possible candidate for her job. An axe was prominent in this case as well.

So, while you wait for new each new episode of The Tudors and reign in your disappointment that next season will be the last, check out the Westport Public Library’s many films about this period. They feature performances by acclaimed actresses. Start with a double helping by borrowing a DVD featuring both Anne of the Thousand Days with Genevieve Bujold and Richard Burton as the monarchs and Mary Queen of Scots with Bette Davis. Miss Davis stars in The Virgin Queen as well as The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex. Glenda Jackson is featured as Elizabeth in the BBC production Elizabeth R. More recently, Helen Mirren starred as Elizabeth I in a critically acclaimed mini-series.

By the way, if you want a wonderful live theatrical experience, I highly recommend Mary Stuart at the Broadhurst Theatre on Broadway. (My best Mother’s Day gift ever!) British theatre royalty Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter rose to the occasion of portraying monarchs.

What a beautiful warm few days it has finally been here in Westport these last few days. Lines at the nearby ice cream store attest to how much everyone is enjoying the feeling of sun on their face and anticipating more nice days to come. Summer is approaching, and that means one thing to Hollywood, the season of the blockbuster is almost here. Every year, it seems like the studios are pushing the envelope and releasing the movies earlier and earlier. Ads for sequels of previous big box office receipt movies are like the early summer infestation of insects; they are everywhere. Want to know more about the X-Men go see X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Trekkies are excited about Star Trek XI. Do you take a rush of adrenaline with your films? Hollywood supplies it. Coming soon are the releases of Transformers 2, Terminator Salvation and Fast and Furious 4. For the young at heart, movies include Night at the Museum 2, Ice Age 3 and Land of the Lost with the curious choice of Will Ferrell in the lead. You get the idea, sequels and remakes sell.

But perhaps the biggest upcoming movie is Hannah Montana: The Movie. No doubt the first children and lots of other are very excited about this G rated girls favorite first movie.

Until these movies are playing, the library staff invites you to borrow some past blockbusters in our collection. While there may some disagreement among movie critics about what constitutes a big movie, it’s hared to contest the following hits.

Jaws, Transformers, Batman, Forrest Gump, ET, Star War Movies, Jurasic Park, Independence Day, and many more. All these were released for the summer season. So on the next rainy day, sit back and enjoy your favorite.

Excuse the stretch, but as I did mentioned Dracula in a previous blog entry I feel compelled to give equal time to Frankenstein. Since it is always nice to have a connection, this coming Monday marks the 250th anniversary of Mary Shelley’s mother birth. Mary Wollstonecraft was an early writer about and advocate of women’s rights born on April 27, 1759. Sadly she passed away just 11 days after the birth of her daughter, the creator of a very misunderstood monster. Along with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde the three novels are considered classic gothic tales. No wonder, they were among the earliest of stories to be translated to film.

I am by no means an expert or a fan of scary movies. But I have it on good authority (my son and nephew) that the library’s collection is worth a look next time you need a good fright. There is a collection of early silent horror movies along with black and white favorites from the thirties such as Fredric March in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. (Our DVD version shares a double billing with the 1951 Spencer Tracy version.) Modern masters of horror direction such as Robert Rodriguez and Danny Boyle are well represented.

Here’s a tricky question for you. Which American satirist and contemporary of Mark Twain is featured in Rodriguez’s movie From Dusk til Dawn? And another question for everyone. Do your recall the Saturday afternoon monster movies on a New York city station in the 60s?

It’s been a while since I blogged about some of the newer international films in our collection. Our international collection continues to grow with a mixture of films from many countries, a smorgasbord of genres and films – a taste of many cultures and films to feed a variety of movie lover’s appetite.

So here’s a look at some recently acquired films from other lands:

I Do (French) This comedy begins with the a happily single Luis who is pampered by his mother and sisters. All that changes when his family decides he needs a wife. Luis plans to hire the perfect wife. You can imagine the rest of the plot!

Ants in the Mouth (Spanish) After spending ten years in a Barcelona prison for bank robbery, Martin travels to Havana to search for his beautiful girlfriend who got away with the loot!

Under the Pavement Lies the Strand (German) In this reissued to DVD German award winning film, a couple tires to figure out what to do with their lives after having been involved in student political demonstrations.

Day Break (Persian) This is a multi international film festival winner filmed inside Tehran’s century old prison centers around the imminent execution of a man found guilty of murder. The New York Times called the film an “intriguing cultural document.”

Russian Dolls (French) In this light and breezy film, the viewer once again encounters 30 year old Xavier whose life has been one disappointment after another. Could a chance meeting be the answer to both is love life and his career aspirations? An earlier film featuring Xavier is L’Auberge Espagnole.

All of these films have English subtitles.

April is National Poetry Month.

I can just hear the reader asking, “Why is she discussing poetry in a movie related blog?” The answer is simple, not only does the library have a wonderful movie collection, we also have an excellent and wide reaching collection of American and British poets works represented in our collection along with a nice smattering of poets who hail from other countries as well. Our poetry collection and AV room couldn’t be further apart in the physical plant of the library. Poetry is on the highest or balcony level while AV is on the lowest Riverwalk level. But, they come together in movies with a link to poetry.

Barfly was written by Charles Bukowski, a prolific poet and writer often called the Bard of Skid Row. The movie features Mickey Rourke trying to make a good of it while on the skids. Sylvia is of course the story of the rocky romance between Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Sadly, I was reminded of her death by suicide with the recent news that their son had followed his mother’s lead and committed suicide as well. The movie features a truly heartbreaking performance by Gwyneth Paltrow and also stars Daniel Craig (in his pre-Bond days) as Ted Hughes her husband. Dead Poets Society stars Robin Williams as a teacher who inspires his students to love poetry. Il Postino tells the story of a postman who develops a friendship with the exiled Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. Shakespeare in Love features the words of the great bard himself. And Dorothy Parker’s often acerbic poetry is featured in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle.

Then, there are moments when a poem is recited to deliver a message in a film. Sometimes a few words of familiar poetry can say more than anything else a a screenwriter’s could choose to write. Kevin Kline quotes Emily Dickinson in Sophie’s Choice which may at first seem a strange choice. However, the meaning of his chosen lines become clearer as we begin to understand his character’s imbalance. Naomi Watts stars as a pregnant American poet living in France whose husband leaves her in Le Divorce. When invited to give a reading of her own poetry, her first selection is Anne Bradstreets’s To a Dear and Loving Husband. A grieving lover quotes Auden’s famous lines in Four Weddings and a Funeral in a highly poignant moment. Or poetry can be found in a pocket, as when Hope Davis finds lines from Marvell’s poem The Definition of Love in her husband’s (Stanley Tucci) and later comes to understand the complex nature of her husband’s relationship to love.

How has a line of poetry in a film charmed or moved you?

April 2nd is the anniversary of the first theatre devoted to showing movies opening in
1908. I imagine there was just one screen in that Los Angeles theatre 101 years ago. A quick glance at the latest statistics on the National Association of Theatre Owners’ website and I found that the organization claimed 38,834 screens showing movies in the USA in the last reporting period. Let’s make it an “even” 38,835 and add the screen in the Westport Public Library’s McManus Room to the count. Last week, 70 people enjoyed watching Vicky Christina Barcelona on our big screen during one of our periodic MovieLine events. And, they enjoyed free admission and making new friends to go along with the experience. As the movie credits were rolling at the end, I observed 4 women of all different ages deep in conversation about the film and the questions it elicited about love and relationships. Turns out they didn’t know each other! But watching a film on a rainy Thursday evening in the library was an instant bonding experience and led to some interesting conversation. If you’ve seen the movie, ask yourself the following. Would you have taken that plane ride?

So why not join others who come for the movie but walk away with more?

On April 8th the movie Twilight will shine on our screen starting at 6:45. And on April16th, MovieLine will show Doubt at 7:00, which no doubt will leave you with a few thoughts to ponder. While the conversations will be very different, the experience will be similar.

It will be a great night out at the library for all who come. See you in the McManus room.

If you will allow us to blow our horn, we’re very proud of the YouTube video done by Staples High School student and library volunteer Alex Genetti. Alex filmed our 10th annual crossword puzzle contested hosted by no other than Will Shortz and made a 5 minute charming video.

Many readers may remember the extraordinarily popular documentary about the world of crossword puzzle contestants Wordplay. If you enjoy movies about the world of contests, library staff suggests other films, some serious, some more lighthearted.

On a serious note, Quiz Show examines the scandal beneath the glittery façade of an early TV game show long before the host tried to prevent the hero of Slumdog Millionaire from winning through an accusation of cheating. Some movies are a bit serious, and a bit fun. Best in Show pokes fun at the dog show circuit, while still managing to capture the emotions of the owners, trainers and dogs. Some are silly and offer deep belly laughs such as Rat Race which finds a casino tycoon giving six very different contestants a chance to win 2 million to be the first to race from Las Vegas to New Mexico. The movie is reminiscent of It’s a Mad Mad World.

Dance contests are a popular topic for films since the beginning. The 1969 film,a grueling drama about contestants in a dance marathon, They Shoot Horses Don’t They brought bake the desperation of the depression.

The sixties were recaptured in both versions of Hairspray with very different actors playing the part of Edna Turnblad. Earlier on a much thinner John Travolta strutted his stuff in the ultimate 70s movie, Saturday Night Fever. And the ultimate bad/good boy, Patrick Swayze taught us all to rumba in Dirty Dancing currently replaying on Showtime. But like all the films in the library's collection, it is available to borrow from our collection at no cost.

The notice in my American Express bill triggered a reminder that the 8th Annual Tribeca Film Festival is fast approaching. (Guess which company is a sponsor!) This year the festival is slated to include, 85 feature-length and 46 short films. Earlier this week, specific details about many of the selections were announced. “Each year we look forward to bringing our films to the most engaged movie-going audience and providing filmmakers a global stage,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival. “Film festivals play a critical role in the life of a film. Tribeca is here to support these films and filmmakers along their journey. We are very proud of the slate this year and hope everyone will come and enjoy the Festival.”

The festival begins on April 22nd with a showing of a new Woody Allen film, Whatever Works, and continues until May 3. According to the TFF website, “This year's exciting slate of films—chosen from a total of 2,254 feature submissions—encompasses feature films from 32 countries, many of which are premieres.

You can count on the library acquiring Allen’s new film when it is released on DVD, but in the meantime, travel with other MovieLine goers for a showing of his last critically acclaimed film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Right now, this is the most popular movie title in the library, indicating that many didn’t have an opportunity to see the film in theatres or want to see it again. So, please do join me (and Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Patricia Clarkson and others) in the McManus Room on March 26th at 7:00. No charge card required. There is never a charge for our movie showings and they are open to all with an interest. You will love the quality of the picture on our large screen. Thanks so much to the Friends of the Library for the gift of our terrific new projector.

Rendez-vous with French

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and IFC Center are currently hosting the 14th edition of their showcase of contemporary French films. A trip to New York to see some of these new cinema features doesn’t fit into your schedule? You can still see works by some of the great directors and actors featured in the Rendez-Vous schedule by borrowing movies from the Westport Public Library’s collection.

The acclaimed director Costa-Garvas will introduce his new film Eden’s West tomorrow evening. The library’s collection includes four films directed by him, including the thriller Z nominated for the Best Picture Oscar in 1970. Eleven films directed by Claude Chabrol are also represented in the library’s archives. His new film which shows next week is Bellamy and stars the always amazing Gerard Depardieu.

Other well known performers represented at Rendez-Vous include Jeanne Balibar and Isabelle Huppert. One of the finest and most radiant actresses to ever grace the screen Catherine Deneuve once again teams with director André Téchinié’ in his new film The Girl on the Train.

Enjoy the library’s collection of French language films. Be sure to suggest any we have missed purchasing.

On the news this morning, I heard that Family Communications, the company Fred Rodgers founded to produce his long running Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood show is planning a tribute to this children's public television pioneer which includes an effort to get people everywhere to wear a sweater on what would have been his 80th birthday on March 20, 2009. Mr. Rogers sweater was his comfy looking distinctive trademark. David Newell, who played speedy deliveryman Mr. McFeely on the show, appears in a YouTube video that touts the event.

It’s been so cold lately, I’ve become quite the sweater lover. So, I began to wonder what other famous TV or movie characters wore sweaters all the time. Unfortunately, I had trouble coming up with many ideas. I must admit that the first iconic sweater that came to mind was the striped one worn by Freddie Kruger in Friday the 13th and other films featuring this character. On a gentler note, Bill Cosby was known for his collection of Dr. Huxtable sweater and sweatshirts on the Cosby Show.

Since it has been so frigid out, hats also come to mind. Hats figure prominently in the movies back to the early film history. Charlie Chaplin’s hat was more than just a head warmer, it was his prop. Laurel and Hardy’s standard costumes included their bowler hats. Every cowboy had their hat and so did Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones. In Goldfinger, his henchman Oddjob’s hat was his weapon.. Basil Rathbone transformed in Sherlock Holmes with a tip of his hat. Sylvester Stallone knew a good trick when he saw one and his pork-pie hat helped make Rocky’s look and express the character’s softer side. Young Mickey Rooney loved to squash his hat down on his head after a good soft shoe dance or a ruckus number.

Let me know if you can think of other great hats or sweaters in the movies.

President Obama and his wife have promised their daughters that the long awaited dog will become part of their family very soon. The family has carefully researched the best dog for them and seems to favor the Portuguese Water breed. Without a doubt, the children will delight in taking care of the new family member – at first. I hope that their experience doesn’t mirror mine and many of my friends! The novelty of a new cute pet soon wears off. So guess who is left holding the little plastic bag? Why Mom and Dad of course! So before the first couple actually commits perhaps they should review some films about owning a pet.

Marley and Me is currently out in theatres and coming to DVD in late March. If you have a dog, you can sympathize. No matter how outrageous their antics, no matter how many shoes they chew, it's all about the love you receive in return for the aggrevation. 101 Dalmations – any version will do! Dogs sure can create mayhem and wet spots around the house. And let’s face facts, the Obama’s have a pretty big house to worry about.

Beethoven – Mr. President, you’re considering a breed that has a standard of up to 60 pounds for the male. While this is certainly no match for the size of a Saint Bernard, you might want to consider the size of your dog after watching this film. Since your dog will be one of the most photographed in the world, why not go Hollywood with a Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

If after reviewing these films, the Obamas still have their heart set on a pet, then may I recommend seeing films that remind the viewers just why their four legged family members are so special such as:

Babe – Who says the first pet has to be a dog or cat? This is an endearing movie about a pig with the soul of Lassie. Homeward Bound featuring two dogs and a cat that undertake an incredible journey to be reunited with the family. In deference to all cat lovers, don't forget what Sassy the imperious cat of the film notes, “Cats rule, dogs drool!” Oh by the way, that’s another problem the White House staff will have to contend with again. And finally, Benji will melt the first couple's hearts, and the two girls will be happily petting their dog in no time. Malia and Sasha, I hope I haven't discouraged your parents. Because, if the Truth About Cats and Dogs be told, pets are most certainly worth the wait.

Hurray for Hollywood, and Bollywood and Australia too! It’s that time of the year again. The Oscars, with first time host from down under, Hugh Jackman, will be broadcast at 8 PM EST on ABC this Sunday evening (February 22, 2009). Competition for Best Picture is particularly fierce this year. Will it be The Curious Case of Benjamin Button or Frost/Nixon or Milk or The Reader or Slumdog Millionaire? Which ever film wins, you can count on the Westport Library to have plenty of copies of it and the other contenders available for loan when the movie is released on DVD.

How we determine the number of copies available to loan is a question frequently asked of the AV staff. At present, the library has a ratio of 1 copy for every 8 holds. For popular movies, we purchase a first come first serve one night loan (Express) copy and 3 day loan copies. All this is accomplished within budget constraints.

In the meantime, I would like to wear my heart on my sleeve and write about my pick in three categories. I will be routing for Frank Langella to walk away with the Best Actor trophy for Frost/Nixon. Mr. Langella inhabits every role and has been a favorite since he sprang to life as Dracula. Finally, here was the Dracula I imagined when my Victorian Literature class read the original novel. Bella Lagosi just wasn’t that guy. And, my pick for Best Picture is certainly influenced by my spouse who is a fan of Slumdog Millionaire’s British born Director Danny Boyle. Also in honor of my husband may I predict Martin McDonagh, the Irish Playwright for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)will win for the film In Bruges. (I even impressed my skeptical spouse when he found out the library had copies of the movie prior to the nomination announcement.)

So, what are your choices? You can pick up a copy of the official ballot in the library or link to it here.

Love is in the air as Valentine’s Day approaches. So if you are in the mood for a little romance, stop by the Westport Library’s audio visual center and check out a romance. You’ll find romances grouped together for easy browsing and all designated by a distinctive sticker marked, appropriately enough, romance.

Speaking of romance, a classic love story was brought to life through the magic of Walt Disney Studios and released to theatres the day after Cupid’s holiday in 1950. Cinderella featuring a lovable fairy godmother and the errant glass slipper is still popular after all these years. This popularity was especially important at the time, as the Walt Disney Company was facing an uncertain future. According to information supplied on the Disney website, “When Cinderella came out in 1950, the studio had been doing little better than treading water… So when Walt poured resources into Cinderella it was part of a strategy designed to return to his greatest successes in the past -- feature-length animated films. The effort paid off. Cinderella received a couple of Oscar nominations, and during its initial release it was one of the highest grossing films of the year, at over $4 million.”

Curiosity, something librarians abound in, got me to take a brief look at the myths and tales which helped to create the version of Cinderella we all know so well. After all, long before there were movies, there were stories to be told. One of the most popular versions of Cinderella was written by Charles Perrault. The popularity of his tale was due to his additions to the story including the pumpkin, the fairy-godmother and the introduction of glass slippers. Here’s a link to a version of the Complete Tales of Charles Perrault as available on Google. More recent movie versions of the “Cinderella” story include Ella Enchanted and Ever After.

Today's question is a fun one. Who provided the voice of Cinderella's fairy godmother in the animated film? You may be surprised.

There is certainly a fair share of talk about corporate mismanagement, greed and mistrust swirling in the media and at the ever dwindling water coolers. So, perhaps, it is time to examine what the movies can teach us about the art of leadership – both the good and the bad.

Perhaps the ultimate example of what happens when business and greed mix is Charlie Sheen as the corrupted young hotshot forced to go head on with Michael Douglas the evilest corporate raider to darken the screen in Wall Street. Other People’s Money, based on a play of the same name offers a less intense version where good does prevail in the form of a wise, decent leader.

Lessons about what makes a great leader can be found where least expected in the movies. Tom Hanks as the determined Army officer who must lead a small squad of weary men through a WWII battle zone to locate just one soldier in Saving Private Ryan. This English teacher turned Army captain teaches the viewer what the face of true leadership looks like. In Norma Rae, Sally Fields plays a flawed woman who through share determination and no lack of courage leads textile workers to the path of unionization. Her conviction and passion for doing the right thing are the key to winning her battle. And Helen Merrin as Elizabeth I learns that leadership is not about the title, it is about the leader who has the right skills to control a kingdom wisely.

There are many other films with positive lessons to share. Apollo 13 shows us that trust and innovation lead to failure not being an option. Henry Ford in Twelve Angry Men instructs us that if you first build the respect of diverse team members, wiser group actions will be the result.

What lessons about leadership and managing others have you learned from the movies?

I wasn’t able to catch any of the recent SAG awards ceremony on television. But I did catch a glimpse or two of some of the highlights on u-tube, particularly because I wanted to see Meryl Streep’s acceptance of Best Actress for Doubt. It’s reassuring to know that even Meryl Streep worries about her wardrobe. Here’s Ms. Streep as captured on YouTube.

And of course, SAG was followed by the release of the Oscar Nominations. If you’ve seen Doubt, it came as no surprise that the cast was honored. Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams were each nominated for Best Supporting Actor/Actress in the film. Meryl Streep is nominated for Best Actress once again. The Westport Public Library will of course have several copies available for loan when the movie comes out on DVD in early April. But save the evening of April 16th to view Doubt on our large screen in the McManus Room.

It’s difficult to recognize Mickey Rourke as the same actor who dominated The Pope of Greenwich Village. After a series of starring roles in such films as Angel Heart, Year of the Dragon and 9 1/2 Weeks in the 1980s, he garnered more press for his off screen actions than his acting talent. In fact in the 1990’s he decided to give up acting to pursue a professional boxing career only to have to retire within four years after sustaining injuries in the ring. His rugged face reflects a life in the ring, and by some accounts, he has undergone corrective surgery as well. Yet, it seemed the film industry wasn’t that willing to allow him a role worthy of a star comeback. That all changed with the critical acclaim for his role in The Wrestler, and Sunday night’s Golden Globe win for Best Actor.

In June 1994, Rourke appeared on the cover of World Boxing Magazine. Undoubtedly, he will grace a few more covers before the Oscar buzz dies down. What remains to be seen is the outcome of this current bout with fame.

This year the Westport Library celebrates Poe at 200. with a series of events. Despite his relatively short life, Poe was an accomplished poet, writer and literary critic considered by many to be the inventor of the detective-fiction genre. And, his stories and other works have inspired films since the beginning of the motion picture industry. The Mystery Writers of America, a premier organization for mystery and crime writers as well as others who love crime fiction honors his memory with awards named after him, including an Edgar® for the Best Motion Picture. Here’s a quick look at some of the past winners in the library’s film collection.

The earliest honor went to The House on 92nd Street in 1946. Last year’s winner was the motion picture Michael Clayton, also a heavy contender in the Oscar race. In 2006, the MWA honored the film Syriana. In 2005, the French film A Very Long Engagement won the award. British director Guy Ritchie may have lost Madonna but probably still has custody of his 2000 Edgar® for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Many winners have included laudable performances by great actors portraying very memorable detectives. These include In the Heat of the Night (1968), The French Connection (1972) and Chinatown (1975).

So the next time you watch a film inspired by mystery or crime, remember you have Edgar Allan Poe to thank.

This holiday season brought news of the death of the noted playwright Harold Pinter. His prolific body of work also included screenplays. Many consider that his biggest impact on the screen was through his adaptations of works by other authors. He won two Oscar nominations for adapted screenplays. The best known of these two is The French Lieutenant’s Woman. But, he also adapted his own play Betrayal for the screen.

For further information on Harold Pinter and his relationship to the film world follow this link to GreenCine Daily .

On February 13th, the library is throwing a love bash for books. We are compiling the library’s own Best Books of 2008 list and honoring them that evening. Check out our home page for a ballot or pick up one in the library.

Another wonder of the best books written is that they often make for terrific movies. So, I wouldn't be surprised if some of our library favorites are soon to be films. We've all engaged in debates around that central thesis, what's better the book or the movie? So what’s your vote for the best books turned into a film this year? Here's a list of many of the films based on a book that were released in 2008. Sorry if I left out your favorite.

Among the most recent releases are:
Twilight based on the book of the same title by Stephenie Meyer
The Reader based on the book of the same title by Bernhard Schink
Yes Man with Jim Carey based on the book by Danny Wallace
The Tale of Despereaux based on Kate DiCamillo’s wonderful children’s book
Boy in the Striped Pajamas from a children’s title by John Boyne
Another version of Brideshead Revisited from the classic by Evelyn Waugh, this one starring a lesser known cast

Films now available on DVD include
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian based on C.S. Lewis’ work
Iron Man based on Stan Lee’s comic. (OK, stretching a bit, but I enjoyed the film too much to leave it off the list!)
Nim’s Island by Wendy Orr
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day was originally a novel by Winifred Watson
The Other Boleyn Girl based on the best seller by Philippa Gregory
There Will be Blood inspired by Upton Sinclair’s Oil

Regifting Films

December 17th is National Regifting Day. Yes Virginia, Santa has a frugal side. So, in the spirit of the old is new again; I’d like to point out some movies released a year ago that you may have missed and invite you to discover them. And best of all, just like regifting, borrowing a film from the library costs you nothing.

The surprise hit of the year, Juno, saw wide release on December 25, 2007 and became available on DVD four months later. The delightful Ellen Page was Oscar nominated for her role as Juno MacGuff, a cool, confident teenager who takes a nine-month detour into adulthood when she's faced with an unplanned pregnancy - and sets out to find the perfect parents for her baby.

Atonement based on the book of the same name saw limited release on December 7, 2007 and immediately generated much buzz. Early buzz was rewarded with an Academy Nomination for Best Picture and an award for Achievement in Music. I awarded it the 5 tissue award for most moving film of the year which was even better than the book.

The Kite Runner based on the best seller by Khaled Hosseini had its limited release on December 14, 2007. Set in Afghanistan and America, it teaches us about friendship and betrayal and the value of redemption. Critics found the movie “confident and honorable” while perhaps “not quite as gripping as the book.”

Take a good old boy, a dazzling Houston socialite (no less than Julia Roberts) with a cause and a renegade CIA agent and you have the character who bring about the largest covert operation in history. The versatile Philip Hoffman Seymour garnered a Best Supporting Actor nomination along side Tom Hanks in Charlie Wilson’s War. As the tagline for the film noted, “You can’t make this stuff up!”

And don’t forget about some of the other year old release with something for everyone. They range from Alien Vs. Predator to Alvin and the Chipmunks to Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street to The Great Debaters.

Thanksgiving is turkey, cranberry sauce, football and, of course, watching movies together. Finding a movie to watch is never a problem with such a wide selection of films to choose from in the library’s collection. For those who want to get into the spirit of the holiday season here’s some suggestions:

Hannah and Her Sisters directed by Woody Allen is often named at the top of “Thanksgiving Movies” lists. This 1986 film features a memorable Thanksgiving during which the viewer makes the acquaintance of a large problem laden family and watches what happens in the space of a year between two Thanksgiving days. This is Allen at his best.

Pieces of April stars Katie Holmes as a young woman trying to prepare a traditional Thanksgiving for her estranged parents. Things don’t go quite as planned. A sweet film that deserved the splash it made.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Have you ever had one of those Thanksgivings when getting to your destination was a bit of nightmare? Well, Steve Martin’s frantic journey to get home in time for the holiday will top your trip anytime. One of those now classic films which is both funny and touching at the same time.

Miracle on 34th Street. No list would be complete without this classic starring a very young Natalie Woods as a little girl who encounters Macy’s Santa who may just be the real Kris Kringle.

Holiday Inn. The start of the season always brings this Bing Crosby/Fred Astaire film to mind. While the film is traditionally associated with the song White Christmas, it is bursting with songs for many major holidays including Crosby’s rendition of I’ve Got Plenty to be Thankful For.

Can’t decide, come to the library and see our heart warming suggestions on display.

I’m thankful for the wonderful suggestions that library members offer for films to purchase or films to watch. Keep them coming and comment on what movies you’d like to add to this list.

One of the greatest all be it diminutive stars of the screen turns 80 today. The most famous mouse of all, Mickey reaches this milestone today. Mickey made his debut as Steamboat Willie at the Colony Theatre in New York City on November 18, 1928. He then went on to star in over 120 different cartoons. And, of course he was a main attraction of the "The Mickey Mouse Club" television show of the 1950s.

According to Disney historians writing on their website, “Mickey Mouse's original drawings used circles for his head, body and ears. 1939's "The Pointer" saw a bold, new design for Mickey as his body became more pear-shaped and pupils were added to his eyes to increase his range of expression. Later on, animators of the 1940s would add a perspective aspect to his ears, giving them a three-dimensional effect. This change, however, was short-lived. The Mickey Mouse of today appears much as he did in the early days with the exception of a costume change here and there.”

Here’s some more interesting trivia. Walt Disney himself provided the original voice for everyone’s favorite mouse. Later, he was voiced by Jim Macdonald and currently Wayne Allwine proudly carries on the duties.

And, Minnie, Mickey’s ever patient girlfriend, made her debut on this date as well. So, join with me in remembering a great theme song of the past.

Who's the leader of the club
That's made for you and me
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there
You're as welcome as can be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Mickey Mouse!

Mickey Mouse!

Forever let us hold our banner
High! High! High! High!

Come along and sing a song
And join the jamboree!
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

This coming Monday, November 17th marks the 107th anniversary of the birth of Lee Strassberg. The multi-talented Strassberg was born in 1901 in Austria-Hungary and came to this country as a young boy. The commentary about him in Contemporary Authors notes, “Until this century, actors were trained primarily for the classics, mastering the Greek chorus style or Shakespeare's iambic pentameter. But the advent of modern drama, characterized in the United States by the plays of Clifford Odets, Eugene O'Neill, and Tennessee Williams, demanded a new breed of actor, one who could project the strong inner turmoil of these contemporary characters. Enter Lee Strasberg, actor, teacher, and proponent of "the Method," the introspective, highly expressive acting mode developed by Russia's Constantin Stanislavski.”

It can be said that his life was thoroughly devoted to acting and related pursuits. Although he last performed on stage in 1929, he made his film debut in 1974, earning an Academy Award nomination for playing Hyman Roth, an elderly gangster in The Godfather – Part II. In this movie he appeared with Actor’s Studio Alumni Al Pacino. While he didn’t win the Oscar, he did loose out to another former student, Robert De Niro.

While his method was deemed controversial by some, his Actor’s Studio gained a reputation as an organization where rising actors and established actors gathered. What Strasberg did was to use the “Method” as an emotional tool, an exercise by which "an actor draws upon events, sometimes traumatic, in his own life in order to help understand the life of a character," wrote New York Times critic Mel Gussow.

Strassberg has been quoted as saying that that he didn’t want tributes and “the work is the tribute.” If that’s the case, his work lives on in performances by the legion of greats who trained under him including, among many others, Oscar winners Ellen Burstyn, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, Sissy Spacek, Ellen Barkin, Jane Fonda , Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.

Library staff was all set to compile a list of movies appropriate for election day or with a political theme when several of us remembered Bob Mondello's list this Summer on NPR. It's darn hard to top his great take on movies and films! So, with that in mind, this blog entry links to his suggestions on the NPR website.
However, because we are librarians we just can't resist adding a couple more from the abundance of films in our audio-visual department. If all this election talk has left you tired of the talking heads, how about the comedy of Dave or the romance of An American President. And don't forget Capra's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

But most of all, don't forget to vote.

Julia Roberts celebrates her 41st birthday today. Last night however, she joined other celebrities in a Los Angeles fund raiser for a camp Paul Newman’s organization founded in 1999, The Painted Turtle. In addition to her incredible talent and striking looks, the pretty woman's inner beauty was apparent in a joint interview I originally recall seeing on Good Morning over three years ago. During the discussion, Roberts and Newman recalled her time spent as a counselor at one of the late actor’s camps for ill children. And, when Diane Sawyer asked the actor if he was going to do another movie and the actor mused that perhaps he had might, Roberts looked him in the eye and said, “Do it with me, please. I’m serious!” This star of screen and more recently stage was also one of the gala co-chairs for the recent successful fundraiser for the Westport Country Playhouse.

Happy Birthday Julia! What is your favorite movie starring this award winning star?

At some point in every movie lover’s life, Halloween is no longer about the candy, its about the Scary Movies. While screaming in the library is discouraged, we offer plenty of titles in our AV room to Scream about. Whether you are a fan of Frankenstein or Shaun of the Dead, The Thing is there is no reason to not to make us your Final Destination for checking out a movie to keep The Boogeyman away.

The collection spans from the first version of King Kong to the latest. Love the Godzilla movies? Find a collection of the big monster everyone loves to hate. Whether it’s a new twist on an incurable virus such as 28 Days Later or zealous zombies such as in Robert Rodriquez’s recent trilogy, there is a heart thumping tale to feed The Hunger of any viewer.

Happy Halloween II you.

Never mind the debate last night! Here is the scoop on what we really want to know about the candidates - the first movie they ever saw and their favorite Marlon Brando character.

According to Entertainment Weekly’s online EW.com, each of the candidates had very emotional early experiences at the movies. The first movie John McCain remembers seeing is Bambi and he recalls shedding a tear when Bambi’s mother died. While Barak Obama doesn’t recall the exact first movie he saw, he does remember one of the first was Born Free. And, he thinks he may have teared up when Elsa was freed at the end.

Obama is a big fan of Marlon Brando as The Godfather and McCain likes the legendary pairing of director Elia Kazen and the actor citing Viva Zapata as his favorite of the three these greats did together. On the Waterfront and A Streetcar Named Desire were the other two collaborations.

And which superhero appeals the most to each? Barak Obama likes Spiderman and Batman. Spiderman has inner turmoil and gets knocked around a bit according the Democratic candidate. McCain is also a fan of Batman because, “He does justice against insurmountable odds.”

Can you guess which candidate thinks the best portrayal of a president is Jeff Bridges' role in The Contender? And which saw Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and enjoyed it so much because “the old guy wins?”

Next - movies about politics and elections in the library’s collection

The Women

I’ve not seen the recent version of The Women, but the 1939 version is based on the 1936 play by Clare Boothe Luce, The Women is a satirical look at the lives of a handful of wealthy Manhattan women, focusing in particular on Mary Haines (Norma Shearer), a cheerful, contented wife of Stephen and mother of Little Mary. Gossip flows more than hair dye at the salon these wealthy women visit where Mary's confidant Sylvia Fowler (Rosalind Russell) learns from a manicurist that Mary's husband has been having an affair with a predatory perfume counter girl named Crystal Allen (Joan Crawford). This scene is so striking, no wonder countless variations have been filmed in movies and TV shows. With a cast like this it was impossible not to watch just for the performances alone. Through a subtle voice change and body language Norma Shearer brings her character through a crisis, stronger and cagier. Joan Crawford is the ultimate mean woman with no compucture about ruining a marriage.

A modern updated version was released this month. Reviews are mixed, but once again the cast features some stellar names including Meg Ryan as Mary Haines, Annette Bening as Sylvia Fowler and Eva Mendez as Crystal Allen. The supporting cast is rounded out by other notable names.

Have you seen both versions? Post a comment.

Warner Brothers: Behind the Scene

My family and I are just back from a visit to California which included a tour of the Warner Brothers Studio. If you’ve been on the Universal Tour, this guided adventure is absolutely nothing like that very scripted one. It’s only 12 people to a large golf cart type vehicle and no sticking to tracks or scripts for that matter. Our guide, a young man originally from Oregon was enthusiastic and as he said “totally into” movie technology. In addition to showing us the must see museum of Warner Brothers' history and famous back lots, he scooted all around in an effort to show us anything of interest happening at the studio that he could find. As a consequence, we watched a carnival scene for the TV show Chuck being prepared. The producers actually brought in a traveling carnival and set it up in the Warner Brother Studios' staff parking lot. We also saw a set being reconstituted to film the show Ghost Whisperer. You may recall that Universal had a fire a little while back, and the lot used for the setting for this CBS show was one of those damaged. So, as I learned, Warner Brothers rents lots not in use by that studio to other film production companies. The kids were excited to see the “homes” used to film The Gilmore girls and the “park setting” used in some scenes from the series Friends. They learned about the magic of the camera, a small set front or grassy area looks much bigger on the screen than in real life. I learned that if you need a petition to gain attention, have Clint Eastwood sign it. Apparently, George Clooney was advocating for a basketball court. He was told to get support from others on a petition. (I assume this was before he was THE George Clooney!) He got one signature, Eastwood’s, and the court was built.

While not inexpensive, the tour was a value for the money.

According to the NBC Olympic Schedule website, they are offering over 1,400 hours of coverage on their flagship station and its many sister stations combined. And if you are really hooked, there is over 2,000 hours of coverage online. Whew! That’s a lot of synchronized diving, cycling, running and ball spiking.

If you’d like to take a break from all the current coverage the library’s collection has some films to consider. No listing of Olympic movies would be completer without mentioning Chariots of Fire. Relive a sad chapter in Olympic history with the movie Munich. If the sport of running interests you, staff suggests Prefontaine about Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine. For those that appreciate gymnastics, give Peaceful Warrior a viewing. It’s a delightful lesser known film with an upbeat ending about a gymnast who faces many challenges.

I’m not sure any of the actual sporting events can top the opening ceremonies directed by Chinese film maker, Zhang Yimou. Several of this director’s films are in the library’s audio visual room.

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Ermes Effron Borgnino the actor, otherwise known as Ernest Borgnine was interviewed on Good Morning America today. The 91 year old has been making the rounds promoting his new book Ernie: The Autobiography. I must say, he looked wonderful and carried on a funny and very charming interview with the host. I’ll leave it up to the publishing world to critique his writing. But, there is no doubt that the movie world has recognized his talents throughout his long career. Borgnine was born on January 24, 1917 in Hamden, CT to Italian immigrant parents. His childhood includes time living in both the US and Italy. I was surprised to learn he spent 10 years in the Navy prior to considering an acting career, and attended drama school in Hartford at his mother’s suggestion after ending his service in the armed forces. So, obviously, McHale’s Navy was familiar territory to him.

Borgnine’s first memorable role movie role was as Sargent “Fatso” Judson in From Here to Eternity in 1953. Two years later he won the Oscar for his performance in Marty, a role he earned just $5000 for performing. Like so many other actors, he’s been quoted as saying he would have done the part for nothing.

The gruff sounding actor can be seen in among many other films Ice Station Zebra, The Dirty Dozen, The Wild Bunch, The Vikings and the Poseidon Adventure. He’s even taken a turn as an animated character, lending his voice to the Mermaid Man in the Spongebob Square Pants series.

If you like reading about your favorite star, don't forget to check out the library's many biographies and memoirs about motion picture stars. We have many titles of interest. Recent titles include American Prince: A Memior by Tony Curtis and Doris Day:The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door.

It was recently reported that the great actor with the magnificent mellow voice, Morgan Freeman was in an auto accident but is now recovering from his injuries. This gave me pause to think about the long career of this enduring actor. I’ve always loved his voice, in particular, because he was an antidote to crankiness in any child I babysat. Turn on PBS’s children’s show Electric Company and they would stop crying when the 6’ 2” actor came on screen. Yes, he was indeed in this show before he came to fame.

A press release issued when Freeman joined the legion of stars with their hands and footprints preserved at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on June 5, 2002 nicely summed up the actor’s accomplishments. “Morgan Freeman has established himself as one of America's most admired actors by audiences, critics and fellow artists alike. His breakthrough performance in Street Smart in 1987, earned him the first of three Academy Award nominations, the other two being for Best Actor in The Shawshank Redemption and in the multiple Oscar winning Driving Miss Daisy, the latter of which also garnered him a Golden Globe. Freeman's diverse career spans more than 30 years, and reflects a constant mix of theatrical film roles, stage work and television specials.”

In the last 6 years he has gone on to play even more memorable roles including his Oscar Winning role in Million Dollar Baby and his cool performance in Gone Baby Gone. The Bucket List has been a big favorite in the library’s AV department. He can now be seen on the big screen in Dark Knight. And, The Human Factor, a film in which he portrays Nelson Mandela is in post production.

Feel better soon Mr. Freeman.

Born in New York City, Getty got her start acting in Yiddish theaters and performing comedy at resorts in the Catskills. She had character roles on Broadway and small roles in 80's movies such as Mask, Tootsie, and Mannequin. But, Getty did not achieve mainstream success until an age when most actresses retire. She was cast in The Golden Girls as Sophia Petrillo, the wisecracking mother to Dorothy Zbornak, played by Bea Arthur. In real life, Getty was younger than Arthur by a year! Getty's character delivered memorable one-liners and is thus a fan-favorite. It is hard for me to narrow down a favorite line, but here is one I adore... In response to her promiscuous house mate Blanche (Rue McClanahan) arguing that she is not secretive:

Blanche: My life is an open book.
Sophia: Your life is an open blouse!

If there are any other Golden Girls fans out there, I encourage you to leave comments. And FYI: Lifetime is doing a GG marathon on Friday night and has a poll to vote for your favorite Sophia episodes. Of course, I am always open to the idea of hosting a Golden Girls marathon at the library...

The early summer saw a terrific group of much anticipated films brought to DVD. The next few weeks afford few blockbusters but do offer some interesting bright spots. Here’s a look at some films the Westport Library is anticipating receiving soon and their dates of release. Click on the movie’s name to place a hold. The library’s goal is to have the latest titles available for loan on the date of release.

For the foreign film lover there is The Band’s Visit. An Egyptian orchestra arrives in Israel to play an important cultural event only to find themselves in the wrong town, where they learn about themselves and each other as they spend the night interacting with the locals. This comedy is a 2007 Cannes Film Festival winner in Hebrew with English subtitles and is rated PG13. Release date: 7/29

The Rolling Stones – need we say more! Shine a Light was recorded at New York's Beacon Theatre during the fall of 2006, featuring performances by the Rolling Stones with special guests Christina Aguilera, Jack White, and Buddy Guy. The DVD version includes four performances not seen in theaters and is rated PG13. Release date: 7/29

Families will enjoy Nim’s Island. Nim Rusoe lives on a deserted island with her scientist father Jack and her best friends: Selkie, a sea lion; Fred, a bearded dragon lizard; and Galileo, a plucky pelican. When the island is 'invaded,' Nim reaches out to the author of her favorite book. The film is rated PG and will be released on 8/05.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day again on the DVD release scheduled for 8/19. It’s a quirky Cinderella story about friendship and finding true love. A middle-aged London governess (Francis McDormand) is dismissed from her job and now is attempting to find new employment in the dizzying social whirl of an American actress and singer played for Amy Adams.

Enjoy!

Whatever will be will be! So sang Doris Day to her son (played by child actor Christopher Olson) in the Hitchcock thriller The Man Who Knew Too Much. This lovely tune sets the stage for the over protective mother’s anguish to follow when her son is kidnapped The song was then effectively repeated by the director toward the end of a movie as Day sits down at a piano and plays it to alert the child to her presence in the building where he is held captive. Nominated for an Academy Award, Whatever Will Be Will Be was also a Billboard hit for the actress that peaked at #2 during July of 1956.

The Westport Library has a large collection of films featuring Doris Day, and of course, our collection includes Hitchcock’s film. Did you know that 1956 version was actually a remake of a 1934 film? Guess who was also the director of this version?

A group of lunching ladies of my acquaintance launched into a discussion of the recent American Film Institute’s 10 Top 10 lists. The AFI loves to parse their lists of the best movies and deliver them in new and fun to talk about iterations. Conversation mostly centered on the choice for the runner up in the category of Animation. We were allmothers of teens who lived through endless viewings of the top 10 animated films when their children were young. So naturally, we all had our favorites. Number one on the AFI list is Snow White, which turned out to be the hands down favorite of all present. But the choice for spot two was split. Let's just say some very vocal supporters felt that Pinocchio not Bambi deserved the runner up spot. (I am just grateful that Sleeping Beauty is not on the list. I have strong feelings about that film!) What do you think? Here’s the list in its entirety.

1. Snow White
2. Pinnochio
3. Bambi
4. Lion King
5. Fantasia
6. Toy Story
7. Beauty and the Beast
8. Shrek
9. Cinderella
10. Finding Nemo

You can find the full list on the AFI website. There, a couple of surprise choices await you.

Mama Mia – My My

Mama Mia! With the penchant to turn hit Broadway shows into movies, it was just a matter of time until the hit Broadway play made it to the big screen. July 18th marks the release of the all star cast movie staring some pretty heavy hitters from the world of film including Meryl Streep, Pierce Bronson and Colin Firth. (I imagine we’ll reserve judgment until after the release.) Rounding out the cast is a genuine Broadway musical veteran, Christine Baranski who is no stranger to film adaptations of musical comedy hits. She was featured in The Birdcage based on Harvey Fierstein and Jerry Herman’s Tony Award winning hit La Cage Aux Folles which was based on a French film.
Upcoming Birthdays

Perhaps I am stretching, but there is something to be said for the time warp connection between Broadway, movies and actors. (Just ask Rocky Horror fans.)

Jean Marsh, like the above mentioned Colin Firth, is no stranger to British period pieces. The library collection has a great representation of films based on literary classics, many of which feature this actress who became well known to American audiences through her performance in the British TV series Upstairs/Downstairs. She turns 74 on July 1st.

And Mel Brooks who made a comedy, The Producers that morphed into a Broadway musical phenomenon and then turned right around and became a film is 80 this Saturday.

Oh, and Meryl Streep just turned 60 last Sunday. Coincidence? I wonder...

There is still time to see some of the films from the Utah festival at Sundance at BAM hosted by the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The screenings end June 8th.

Israeli movies are becoming more and more popular in the United States, particularly in the tri-state area. There is just one day left for the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Israel@60 series. However, we have a wide selection of Hebrew films including several shown at the festival. Ushpizin is the story of Moshe and Malli (played by the real-life couple Shuli and Michal Bat-Sheva Rand), new adherents to religious orthodoxy. The couple spends the Sukkot holiday praying for a child as well as for guests to come and share their temporary abode. They get a little more than prayed for when 2 fugitive criminals invade their space, one of whom happens to be Moshe’s old friend from his pre-religious days. Campfire (Medurat Hashevet) focuses on a 42 year-old widowed mother of 2 teenaged daughters with their own rebellions who wants to join a founding group of a new settlement in the West Bank. Or, the title character in this film, has a full time job in a restaurant but a part-time job taking care of her ailing Mother. The movie is of a mature nature. Close to Home (Karov la Bayit) explores the friendship between two very different female soldiers assigned to Magaz, the Israeli Border Patrol and explores the experience of women in the Israeli army.

Michael Delson a Staples High student is currently interning at the Westport Library as part of the pilot year of their Senior Internship Program. He is one of many students gaining real world work experience. As his major project he is helping with the continuation of an ongoing DVD collection enhancement project made possible by generous grants from the Adolph and Ruth Schnutmacher Foundation, Inc. Michael is tracking VHS usage by genre through our catalog records which detail the number of times an item was checked out to the public. Using a formula based on this plus how recently the video was circulated he is helping AV staff determine the priority for ordering a DVD copy of the movie. But his job doesn’t stop there. At this point, Michael picks up and writes his first blog entry for us.

The next part of the project involves going into the library’s vendor (Baker & Taylor) ordering website to see if the DVD is available to purchase. If so, I create a shopping cart for Beth, the selector to review. I’ve already completed looking at the war videos and now I’m in the middle of a really popular genre, action/adventure. I’m a little less excited about the next two genres to review, Romance and Musicals! I am finding some surprises about some movies the library doesn’t own on DVD yet, such as the Terminator movies. But my part in the project will help change that. I was surprised to learn that some of the most popular movies have gone out over 300+ times. A movie I never heard of Payback, checked out 303 times. One movie I like went out 540 times.

I’ve loved my time so far at the library and think that it is one of the most fascinating experiences in my first 18 years!

Just in are two very different books that capture film history. A Short History of Film by Wheeler Winston Dixon and Gwendolyn Audrey Foster is just that, a historical overview of film through the lens of history. The authors are both film historians at the University of Nebraska and offer the reader a crash course through major film movements while highlighting the key directors and studios associated with each. They examine both American and International films and genres. Of particular note is the attention paid to women and minority filmmakers. If you enjoy the wide range of films available in the library’s collection, this book will surely entertain you as well.

The library has also recently added Everything is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard by Richard Brody. The author is an editor and film critic for The New Yorker. In its starred review, Publishers Weekly offered the following, “Brody offers the significant events and achievements of the cinematic innovator who combined an eye-opening concoction of art, politics, music, personal values and social mores.” The library has an extensive collection of the director’s works available for loan.

George Lucas had barely turned 17 when on May 25, 1961 John Kennedy boldly began the race to the moon, challenging America to send a man there by the end of the decade. On the same day in May in 1977, Lucas did better than that. He sent movie goers to a “galaxy far far away” beginning his saga at the end when Star Wars opened.

Movies have a long history of loving outer space. My Dad told stories of sneaking into the movie theater as an adolescent to watch Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon several times. (Apparently in those depression days, ushers were known to leave the back door just slightly ajar for the local boys.)

Of course, TV producers got into the act as well. Lost in Space and the many Star Trex derivative series and films that followed remain popular items in our collection.

So here’s wishing a happy anniversary to George Lucas. After all, the success of that film paved the way for the financing of the Indiana Jones series. Coincidence, I think not. This week Harrison Ford is back in action and I know how I'll spend part of my weekend.

Happy Mother’s Day! My family tells me we’ll celebrate by going … where else but… the movies. But if you’d rather stay home and share the day with some Moms made famous by a movie, here are some staff suggestions.

The weather forecast is for dark and dreary, so with that in mind how about some scary Mamas. Who can forget Mrs. Bates in Psycho? Sure she’s dead. But talk about guilt having a long life line. Piper Laurie as Margaret White in Carrie brings new meaning to the term controlling. And, Kathleen Turner as Beverly Sutphin is the ultimate Soccer Mom in Serial Mom. Come to think of it, Sam Waterson, who played her husband in this film now prosecutes women just like her on Law & Order.

Of course there are Mothers who sacrifice for their daughters and sometimes suffer for it. Barbara Stanwyck as Stella Davis comes to mind, as does Louise Beaver’s performance in Imitation of Life. More modern classics include Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias and Mermaids. All require a nice big box of tissues by your side.

I'm not quite sure how to characterize Edna Turnblad as played by first Devine and later John Travolta in versions of Hairspray. And Cher as the hard living, flawed Mother in Mask stands as one of my favorite performance.

In an previous posting I wrote about April as an important month in movie history and mentioned the significant contribution played by Thomas Edison. Through my favorite way of discovery, serenditiy, I just happened to discover a YouTube posting of some footage of Mark Twain. It was shot by the great inventor himself in 1909, just shortly after the Westport Library opened its doors in April 1908. Twain lived the last two years of his life in neighboring Redding and the footage features him and his beloved Stormfield, the stately home he had built there. I must admit to letting my imagination fly just a bit and got to wondering if Twain at least had an opportunity to take an admiring and perhaps envious glance at Westport’s new jewel. After all, he was busy raising money to build his own town library.

We are quickly approaching May, highlighted by programs on all things Twain, whose life and writings are this year's subject of our popular SpokenWord Series this year. Here’s a link to a true treat to watch in anticipation of all the wonderful programs planned for the month. Enjoy!

This year the Westport Public Library will honor the Pulitzer Prize winning author Oscar Hijuelos author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love at our 10th annual Booked for the Evening event. If you’ve not had a chance to read this wonderful tale of Cuban music, love and the immigrant experience, I urge you to do so. The book was adapted into the high energy romance The Mambo Kings staring Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas.

While not strictly a musical, the movie uses music to punctuate the story and convey the sometimes conflicted emotion of the recent immigrant to this country. Another film I love that succeeds so well in doing this is Big Night staring Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub. This is the tale of Primo and Secondo, two Italian brothers who operate a failing Italian restaurant, Paradise. They scheme to get Louis Prima a famous crooner to dine at Paradise in the hopes his celebrity will revitalize their business.

Immigrants bring the food, cultural nuiances and certainly their music to this country.
I recently viewed and loved Songcatcher, which tells of the emotional ties and importance of songs brought to this country by its early Scot and Irish settlers when a musicologist stumbles upon a treasure trove of ballads in rural Appalachia. There are many films that use music to the advantage of the story in our collection. Staff also suggests Sueño about a Mexican singer’s experience in California.

On April 30, 1927 American’s Sweetheart Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks were the first to imprint their feet in cement outside the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. Other notables to leave their impressions during the month of April include Bing Crosby in 1936, Fredric March in 1937, Ray Miland in 1947 and Roy Rogers and Trigger in 1949.

Of course none of this would be possible without some earlier inventions. Inventors including Thomas Edison were experimenting with film cameras in the later part of the 19th century. In fact, Edison had been developing film cameras in conjunction with other inventors since the late 1880s. These early strips featured personalities such as Annie Oakley and were shown in arcades on individual viewing devices called Kinetoscopes. It wasn’t until 1902 that the first American movie theatre opened in April in Los Angeles. Admission cost about 10 cents for a one-hour show.

If you are interested in early films the Library’s collection does contain some silent films. Follow the link to see the selection.

DVD releases of popular TV series are a growing part of the Westport Library’s collection. Sometimes, however, some really special TV programs first broadcast as series can be overlooked amidst the hoopla surrounding the release of popular shows. So while you are waiting for the next season of your favorite show to come out on DVD, how about trying something different?

Interested in Space? The Planets was a popular series shown on A&E. Grounded here on earth? Then the multipart PBS series Planet Earth is for you. Don’t have premium cable but want to see some acclaimed series? The library offers The Tudors a beautifully portrayed version of the early life of Henry VIII produced for Showtime and HBO’s Carnivále which follows a traveling carnival across the dustbowl during the depression.

PBS offers a look at two very different cultural experiences. Jewish Americans is a journey through time, from the first Jewish settlers until the present and The Way West chronicles the final settling of the American Frontier. Of course, PBS is well known for offering classic novels turned to film. The library has purchased the Complete Jane Austen, and divided the box set so you can choose to watch one or all of these exquisitely produced British productions.

The Teaching Company’s Great Courses educational series are often requested. The library has just acquired A Brief History of the World and Modern Economic Issues, two recently released courses on DVD. These courses are a bit lengthy and do require some time commitment to watch.

As always, we are happy to take suggestions for purchase.

With the 100th Birthday celebration of the Westport Public Library fast approaching, all things having to do with the year 1908 hold a particular fascination for the staff. It was also a landmark year for the future of the movie industry. That year saw the birth of an incredible array of beloved actors. Bernard Lee known to all as M in the James Bond movies was born in London. The world welcomed Robert Cummings, Eve Arden and Fred MacMurray first respected for their roles in the movies and later on TV. Ethel Merman also belted out her first sounds in 1908. In Los Angeles, Olympic medal swimming medal winner Clarence Crabbe (better known as Buster) took his first breath on earth. Later, he would venture into outer space as Flash Gordon, to the delight of movie goers. Distinctive voiced actors Mae Questel who was the voice of both Betty Boop and Olive Oyl and Burgess Meredith are also among those born.

Academy Award winners are well represented including Don Ameche who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his supporting role in Cocoon and Italian actress Anna Magnani who won Best Actress in 1956 for the Rose Tattoo. But if you want to talk star power of the highest power, four of the truly brightest stars are represented. She of the incredible eyes, Bette Davis was born on April 5th just days before the Westport Library’s grand opening on April 8th. Diminutive beauty Carole Lombard who lost her life at age 33 in an airplane crash (she was headed back from a war bond rally) and dapper Rex Harrison graced us in that year as well. Finally, James Matiland Stewart was born in Indiana on May 20th, which is, take it from me, a great day to have a birthday. (Is this why I can’t resist a Stewart movie?) The actor, known for his halting delivery and self-deprecating humor once said, “If I had my career over again? Maybe I'd say to myself, speed it up a little.”

All of these actors are well represented in our film collection. And, you will find several autobiographies and biographies about them in our book collection. Why not salute their birthdays along with the library's while watching one of their films or reading their life history.

Begin with some older films including Odd Man Out (1947) in which James Mason stars as a wounded IRA gunman on the run in Belfast. The Quiet Man (1952) features John Wayne as an American boxer who returns to Ireland to forget his past only to fall in love with the beautiful Maureen O’Hara. Trouble ensues over the payment of a dowry. Angela’s Ashes (1999) is set in pre-war Limerick and is based on Frank McCourt’s memoir of his humble childhood. The movie is imbued with the same heartbreaking scenes and soulful humor as the book.

Look to the rainbow and find the child in you as you smile along with Finian’s Rainbow staring Fred Astaire in his last musical. And yes, that is Petula Clark singing along with Fred. Your family will enjoy following the adventures of a leprechaun as he tires to retrieve a crock of gold from an old wanderer who has taken it to America.

Other notable films include Dancing at Lughnasa staring Meryl Streep, In the Name of the Father and My Left Foot about Irish poet Christy Brown, both staring Academy Award winner Daniel Day Lewis. More recent Irish cinema films in our collection include Once and The Wind that Shakes the Barley.

Whether or not you are indeed Irish, enjoy one of these films.

Sometimes a book is just so much fun it must be shared. The library has just received a copy of Cinescopes: What Your Favorite Movies Reveal About You authored by the team of Risa Williams and Ezra Werb, writers with an interesting background mix of degrees in psychology and film studies as well as screenwriting experience. According to the authors, “discovering something new about your personality is as easy as making a list of your ten favorite movies.” They’ve identified 16 different personality types that describe what they refer to as the core makeup of every movie fan.

Librarians are forever curious about everything;and I an worse than average. Westport Public Library’s wide selection of movies offers endless delights for every type of film affecionado. So, this writer began to wonder, what does the profile of our dedicated core of film buffs look like? First, I checked out all the possibilities and theorized about the type. Then through the wonders of our database, I abstracted a list of the top 10 circulating movies in our collection, consulted the list of attributes assigned to these movies, tallied the results, and consulted the key. Since we all know, that statistics never lie… well here’s the result and I guessed right. (Honestly, I have the little piece of paper I wrote my prediction on to prove it.) Our movie loving library customers turn out to be Magical Creators! MC’s have a natural zest for life, see the word as full of possibilities and make the world a magical place. No wonder I love working here.

Don’t forget to check out the other new books in our collection just right for movie lovers. One particularly interesting volume is My First Move: Take Two: Ten Celebrated Directors Talk About Their First Film edited by Stephen Lowenstein. Another unusual title that just arrived is Hollywood Science: Movies, Science & the End of the World by Sidney Perkowitz.

By the way, the #1 circulating film in our collection is The Sound of Music.

Once is a Sundance Film Festival winner USA Today described as having “some of the most appealing, moving and rousing musical numbers heard in independent films.” In fact the song Falling Slowly from the movie is nominated for an Academy Award this year. Glen Hansard of the the Irish Band The Frames gives a lovely performance. Ireland’s economic growth and the continuing wave of immigrants from Eastern Europe serves as background, lending an interesting cultural twist to the film.

Come watch Once at 7:00 p.m. on March 4, 2008 in the Library’s McManus Room. This film is 85 minutes long and rated R.

Given the terrific collection in the library, I figured a movie might be just the thing to finally help me understand the game, to really feel the rush. But what should I watch? The choice is overwhelming. Here’s a list of just a few football inspired movies the library’s shelves have to offer.

More recent films include The Game Plan, We are Marshall and Remember the Titans. For the romantics there’s Jerry Maguire and Heaven Can Wait. Want to get tough? How about watching North Dallas Forty? Let’s not forget silly films like Horse Feathers or handkerchief holding classics like Brian’s Song. You can even “win one for the gipper”. I can’t guarantee you will learn the finer points of football from these films. Just concentrate on picking up enough knowledge to hold your own in the kitchen.

Can you name the source of the classic movie line, "Win one for the gipper?"

So where did the craze for crossword puzzles begin? Word squares go back to ancient times. Archeologists have found a word square in the ancient ruins of Pompeii. But the crossword as a newspaper feature dates to Dec. 21,1913 when the Sunday New York World printed a puzzle called a "word-cross creating an immediate success and a new weekly obsession was born. The name evolved into the more melodic sounding "cross-word," and the hyphen was eventually dropped. Given the popularity of the New York Times puzzle, it is hard to believe that this paper didn’t get on the bandwagon until 1942. Today, it is estimated that over 50 million people do crosswords each week. Do you?

James H. Billington, The Librarian of Congress recently named 25 motion pictures to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. These selections join 450 others in the registry. The selections were made as part of a program to assure the nation’s movie heritage with the aim preserving the movies for all times. Billington cites some sobering statistics about the deterioration of an important part of our nation’s history, the movies. He notes, “Even as Americans fill the movie theatres to see the latest releases, few are aware that up to half the films produced in this country before 1950 – and as much as 90 percent of those made before 1920 are lost forever.”

The 2007 choices span genres and across time. The most recently produced films to be nominated are Back to the Future(1985) and Dances with Wolves (1990). The earliest film on the list proves that directors have long seen the value of movies as a medium to convey a social message, Tol’able David (1921) is a coming of age story about a youth who must overcome savage, bullying neighbors. Watch our catalog, the library is planning to purchase a copy on DVD.

Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men

Have you seen the film No Country for Old Men? The movie is based National Book Award winner Cormac McCarthy’s work of the same title. It’s a difficult film for me to recommend because, like the novel, it so relentlessly violent and disturbing. But the performances trump the disturbing aspects. As the New York Times reviewer wrote, “At its center is a figure of evil so calm, so extreme, so implacable that to hear his voice is to feel the temperature in the theater drop.” Spanish actor Javier Bardem plays a sociopath, a hired killer with a twisted honor code. His presence dominates the film, so much so that you fear his return to the screen, but are too mesmerized to look away.

Bardem is a chameleon, able to change his appearance and alter his physical presence for each role he undertakes. In this new film he is barely recognizable as the same actor who portrayed persecuted Cuban poet Reinaldo Arenas in Before Night Falls. (He received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for this role.)

The Westport Library has several offerings, including many Spanish fillms featuring Bardem. While in our Audio Visual department, browse through the growing collection of international films.

Just for fun, please join the Westport Public Library staff in determining the Best DVD released in 2007. Want to vote? Simply comment on this blog entry, or pick up an entry at the Audio-visual center circulation desk. Ballots will also be available at the MovieLine presentation of The Namesake showing at 6:30 on December 11th in the McManus room. So, please let us know what you think. What do you think was the best film you watched from the comfort of home this year? American and international films are eligible. Results will be tabulated and released on January 7th. So vote now.

November 28, 1950

Harris is married to actress Amy Madigan, with whom he has worked many times, including in the film Pollock. Which film were they filming when they got married by a Justice of the Peace in Texas in 1984?

So, you are a little rusty on your recollection of the plot? The Rocketbook summary of the epic poem can be viewed on MyLibraryDV, a service provided by the Westport Library. Rocketbooks are dynamic tools used to engage viewers with the classic.

While you on the MyLibraryDV site, be sure to take a look at all the interesting literature videos including new Author Talks by such notables as Jane Smiley and Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

And coming soon to MyLibraryDV, an author talk by Westport resident and best selling author, Jane Green. Scenes from this were filmed in the library, Jane's home away from home.

Who better than Rolling Stone to issue a list of the top 25 music DVDs? That's just what the editors recently did. You can see the entire list on their website and view clips of the films. To watch the entire film, visit the Westport Library's AV department and choose from among an eclectic group of music DVDs including most of the notables appearing on Rolling Stone's list. Number one on the list is The Last Waltz featuring the 1976 farewell concert of The Band captured by no less a director than Martin Scorsese. The Band is joined by Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Muddy Waters and Bob Dylan. Dylan is the subject of No Direction Home also directed by Scorsese.

Speaking of The Band, they are featured in # 4 on the list, Woodstock, joining other legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Country Joe McDonald and The Who. All of these groups were captured the year before in a documentary about the Monterey Pop Festival.

Moving forward in time The Filth and the Fury is gleaned from the archives of the Sex Pistols, a band that only existed for 26 months. Want to see some talking heads that aren't political now that Election Day is over? See them in Stop Making Sense, number eight on the list.

Icons represented include Elvis in his 1968 Comeback Special, Madonna in Truth or Dare and Prince in Purple Rain.

The International Documentary Association (IDA) has announced the 25 top documentaries as voted on by their members. Not surprisingly, the top 10 list includes two produced by Michael Moore and the Academy Award Winning An Inconvenient Truth. All are available to borrow in the library. A complete list along with essays about each of the films is available on the IDA website. The library has all but one of the winners available to borrow.

#1 Hoop Dreams (1994) Follows two inner-city high school basketball "phenoms" as they chase NBA dreams.

#2 The Thin Blue Line (1988) Accounts the conviction and imprisonment of Randall Adams for the murder of a Dallas policeman while raising questions about his quilt.

#3 Bowling for Columbine (2002) Filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.

#4 Spellbound (2002) A gem that follows eight young people on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

#5 Harlan County, U.SA. (1976) In 1973, the Brookside Coal Miners voted to join the United Mine Workers, a decision not shared by the Duke Power Company. The bitter struggle between the miners and their company is documented.

#6 An Inconvenient Truth (2006) Nobel Prize Winner and former Vice-President Al Gore's passionate campaign to create public awareness of the issues surrounding global warming.

#7 Crumb (1994) Take a ride through the mind of the R. Crumb, creator of Fritz the Cat.

#8 Gimme Shelter (1970) Documents the Rolling Stone's 1969 tour of the United States. Along with Woodstock (#25), the classic rock and roll documentaries.

#9 The Fog of War (2003) A journey through seminal events in American history as seen through the eyes of former Secretary of Defense Robert S.McNamara. He served under Kennedy and Johnson.

#10 Roger & Me (1989) Hard times come to his hometown Flint, MI and Michael Moore doggedly pursues then GM chairman, Roger Smith.

Although nominated six times for an Oscar, she never won. She did win a Golden Globe for her performance in The King and I. Like many girls before me, who adored this move, I had entire sections memorized.

Movie channels such as TCM plan tributes this weekend. And, our collection offers you additonal choice.

How about some perfect movies to mark the age of exploration and commemorate Columbus Day? Our audio visual department offers some choices.

Christopher Columbus: The Discovery based on a screenplay penned by Mario Puzo includes quite a cast of well known names including Marlon Brando, Tom Selleck, Rachel Ward and Benicio Del Toro.

Discovery tales featuring the Pocahontas and John Smith romance run from Disney's version to The New World featuring Colin Farrell as Smith. The film captures the beauty of then unspoiled wilderness and Q'Orianka Kilcher is radiant as the heroine.

Marco Polo was originally made for TV, it offers stunning scenery and an absorbing portrayal of the Venetian explorer's trek.

If old world exploration doesn't interest you maybe the 20th century equivalents hunting for ancient treasure may. Nothing beats any of the adventures featuring Indiana Jones staring Harrison Ford for a good rush of adrenaline. Watch them again. The latest (and the last?) adventuresis coming to a theatre near you next year. Were you an extra or involved in the production of the scenes filmed in Connecticut?

Movie goers can look forward to lots of films based on best sellers and works by favorite authors. The Nanny Diaries staring Scarlett Johansson is already out in theatres as is 3:10 to Yuma, a remake of a film based on Elmore Leonard’s story. Silk with Keira Knightley (from the director of The red Violin) based on the novel by the Italian author Alessandro Baricco is already in limited release and the Feast of Love based on the novel by Charles Baxter which evokes Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is coming soon. October brings Reservation Road (partially shot in neighboring Easton) staring Joaquin Phoenix while November reminds us this is No Country for Old Men based on the book by Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy and lets us recall Love in the Time of Cholera based on the novel by Noble laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And the much anticipated film adaptation of The Kite Runner is scheduled for release. December brings Keira Knightley (again) to the American screen in Atonement and early next year offers Scarlett Johansson (returning to her period piece penchant) in The Other Boleyn Girl adapted from Philippa Gregory’s book.

The recent issue of my college alumni magazine contains a lengthy article about the Syracuse International Film Festival which will have its 5th anniversary next year. Syracuse University is among the ever growing list of film festivals sponsors, and not alone among the many foreign film festivals and series available to enjoy.

The Westport Public Library offers you a chance to hold a private international film festival right in your living room. Our collection of films from many countries continues to grow. Patrons have told us that foreign films hold a special appeal. In particular, several have noted that these films have a charm or sweet innocence often lacking in modern American films. Other people enjoy the opportunity to learn more about a country’s culture through film or refresh their language skills by avoiding the subtitles and just listening to the flow of the language.

There are lots of new films to choose from. Not sure which to choose? Staff recommends three recenlty acquired movies.

Sallah starring Topol in Hebrew with English subtitles: Originally released in 1964 this classic satire is the most successful film in Israeli history and follows the saga of a new immigrant.

La Moustache is a French drama featuring Cincent Lindon and Emmanuelle Devos. Why doesn’t anyone notice when a man shaves off his trademark moustache? Is it a conspiracy?

Casi Casi is a light hearted coming of age Puerto Rican film which many critics compare to a more innocent version of the classic teen comedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Share it with a teen in your life. The film is in Spanish with English subtitles.

Please feel free to recommend a foreign movie to the Westport Library staff. Many of our purchases are by customer recommendation.

Who can turn the world on with her smile? Who can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile? The answer: Mary Tyler Moore. The Library recently added the first four seasons of the show to our collection.

The show, in addition to being one of the highest-rated sitcoms in history, broke new ground in television. The Museum of Broadcast Communications writes:

As Mary Richards, a single woman in her thirties, Moore presented a character different from other single TV women of the time. She was not widowed or divorced or seeking a man to support her. Rather, the character had just emerged from a live-in situation with a man whom she had helped through medical school. He left her upon receiving his degree and she relocated to Minneapolis determined to "make it on her own." This now-common concept was rarely depicted on television in the early 1970s, despite some visible successes of the women's movement.

Growing up in Minneapolis, I was naturally a huge fan of the show. It seemed to always be on in syndication and I have fond memories of watching it with my mother nearly every day. In May of 2002, I was even present for the unveiling of the Mary Tyler Moore statue in downtown Minneapolis (erected on the very corner where Mary threw her hat up in the air during the show's theme song). Everybody in attendance received a beret. Mary Tyler Moore and Paul Williams, who performed the show's theme, were there to lead a crowd sing-along of "Love is All Around." Of course, at the end we all threw our hats in the air.

I admit it; I always make sure to have a wad of tissues prior to entering a movie theatre. But you may have noticed unusually brisk sales of tissues lately. Entertainment Weekly recently released a list of their choices for the Top 50 Tearjerker movies. There were some hands down winners on the list such as Sophie’s Choice, Ghost, and Life is Beautiful and Tearms of Endearment. Zeffirelli’s Romeo & Juliet made the list as did its modern counterpart West Side Story.

And, contrary to what many men I know claim, it is not just women that enjoy a good cry at the movies. Here’s an interesting tidbit from the folks who bring you Kleenex®. According to the "Kleenex® For Men Crying Game Report" more men actually shed a tear over sad moments in film and TV (44%) than over the break up of a romance or relationship (39%). Peter Marsh, psychologist and co-author is quoted as noting, "Sad moments in films and TV act as 'triggers' that allow men to release 'stored up' emotions, connected with events or experiences in their own lives." The Westport Library collection offers some classics alike will surely offer a good cathartic bawl for gals and guys alike. Why not revisit the Field of Dreams or the Civil War with Glory or Brokeback Mountain or WWII with Saving Private Ryan.

What is your favorite tearjerker?

It’s a great month to be a cowboy or love Westerns. No less than a Senate resolution has declared July 28th as National Day of the American Cowboy. And, July 24th marks the 55th anniversary of the premier of the movie High Noon starring Gary Cooper. If you like Westerns, the Westport Public Library’s collection will have your ridin’ high. One thing that’s long been true of Westerns, they often feature a stellar cast of amazing talent.

So mosey on over to the Western selection and take a gander at the extensive selection featuring such greats as John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and Jimmy Stewart. Among the gems you’ll find She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and My Darling Clementine.
The tradition of a great cast lives on in such modern classics as Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven and the award winning TV series Lonesome Dove.

Who is your favorite movie cowboy?

The weatherman is calling for the possibility of showers this Wednesday. Let’s hope not; but just in case why not borrow a perfect film to celebrate America’s birthday.
Number one on the list has to be James Cagney in Yankee Doodle Dandy. When he dances his way to fame dressed as Uncle Sam, get out your flag and join in the fun. Or join our forefathers (and foremothers too!) as they sing about the Decleration of Independence in 1776.

Want to feel a surge of patriotic adrenaline? Will Smith battling aliens in Independence Day and saving the counrty to boot, will get your pulse beating faster. So will National Treasure about hunting down ancient treasure hidden by the founding fathers with clues on the back of Jefferson's historic document. Want a good chuckle? How about watching Private Benjamin starring Goldie Hawn or Bill Murray in Stripes?

More recent movies that consider the bonds that tie Americans together are Pearl Harbor and Saving Private Ryan. Earlier films include Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Meet John Doe.

Happy July 4th!

Have you seen the new Summer of Love exhibit about psychedelic art and the times that influenced it at the Whitney Museum? In the lingo of the times, it’s a real blast man. Strolling through the exhibit, I began to wonder just what the library’s video collection could offer to those reminiscing or learning about those times besides Hair, a too obvious choice. So here are just a few ideas.

Our movie collection offers such classics as Easy Rider featuring a soundtrack filled with songs of the times and Alice’s Restaurant. The hottest movie of 1967, The Graduate, certainly alluded to the changing times. Later movies such as The Rose staring Bette Midler featured a character based on Janis Joplin and The Doors focused on the life of another 60’s music legend, Jim Morrison. And there are videos on two artists closely associated with the times, Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol. Of course, if you like animation, choose the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine.

Naturally, the collection also includes documentaries produced about the first Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock. For those interested in the life and musical poetry of Bob Dylan we offer No Direction Home and Don’t Look Back. And as I learned at the Whitney exhibit, lore has it that the phrase flower power was coined after the popular beat poet Allen Ginsberg encouraged peace marchers to use “masses of flowers” as a symbol of protest.

So get out your tie -dyed shirt and torn jeans (or borrow them from a hip teenager) and watch one of the films mentioned above.

The American Film Institute (AFI) has discovered that film tastes change every ten years. On a televised program hosted by Morgan Freeman, they revealed their 10th anniversary edition of of 100 Years, 100 American Films list punctuated by interviews with noted directors and actors. My husband was a very happy man when it was announced that Raging Bull moved up 20 slots from number 24 to number 4. I however, was not pleased to see E.T.’s ranking fall. New to the list were The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Saving Private Ryan, Titanic and The Sixth Sense.

Don’t despair for filmmaker Steven Spielberg, even though Close Encounters fell off the list. With five, he still has the most number of movies on the list.

Drum roll please! Citizen Kane is now number one on the list, followed by The Godfather and Casablanca. The buzz among movie critics is that it is the story behind the movie, the charisma and gall of a young 25 year Orson Welles that appealed to the voting audience of filmmakers, actors, writers, critics and others in Hollywood.

Don’t pull any punches on today’s quiz. Which two actors were the most represented, tying at five movies apiece on the list? Think you can pull a rabbit out of a hat? Name the films.

Shiver me timbers, there’s another pirate movie bringing in the doubloons at the theatres. Hate long lines and sticky floors or rather wait for the DVD? There are plenty of pirate tales to choose from in the audio visual section of the library. Johnny Depp’s is not the first dazzling smile to gleam from the screen. He follows in a long line of dashing swashbucklers. Errol Flynn starred as Captain Blood, crossing swords with Basil Rathbone in this 1935 classic and as the greatest of all land based pirates Robin Hood in Shiver me timbers, there’s another pirate movie bringing in the doubloons at the theatres. Hate long lines and sticky floors or rather wait for the DVD? There are plenty of pirate tales to choose from in the audio visual section of the library. Johnny Depp’s is not the first dazzling smile to gleam from the screen. He follows in a long line of dashing swashbucklers. Errol Flynn starred as Captain Blood, crossing swords with Basil Rathbone in this 1935 classic and as the greatest of all land based pirates Robin Hood in the 1938 film. Once again he matched wits and foils with Rathbone as Sir Guy of Gisbone. Even Burt Lancaster dashes his way through 16th century Spain as the Crimson Pirate. (The movie is a lot of fun, even if Burt doesn’t fit your idea of a pirate.)

For kids, there’s a cute selection ranging from the Princess Bride to many versions of Peter Pan including Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman in Hook. Don’t forget the many filmed versions of the classic story Treasure Island. In the mood for a little Gilbert & Sullivan? Then check out The Pirates of Penzance starring Linda Rondstadt and Rex Smith fresh from their stage version.

Finally, if you like swashbucklers of any type, don’t forget about Zorro fighting for injustice in the Americas, The Prisoner of Zenda fighting for the throne or the many versions of The Three Musketeers where they find any excuse to cross swords. Who is your favorite screen swashbuckler?

MovieLine is pleased to announce that two Academy Award nominated films will be shown in June in the library’s McManus Room.

On June 12th at 7:00 p.m. come watch Venus a film released in late 2006 staring two British greats of the screen, Peter O'Toole and Vanessa Redgrave. It is directed by Roger Michell and written by Hanif Kureishi. This movie has a runtime of 85 minutes and is rated R.

On June 26th there will be two showings of the Movie Volver starring the beautiful and talented Penelope Cruz. The movie will show at 2 p.m and again at 7 p.m in order to accommodate viewers who prefer either the afternoon or evening time slot. This film has been rescheduled from a previously announced time and has a runtime of 121 minutes, is in Spanish with subtitles and is rated R.

Whether you are an armchair traveler or planning an exciting vacation, the library has a wonderful collection of travel videos to explore. Recently added are films highlighting many of the 50 states including our neighbors Rhode Island and Massachusetts and DVDs on the Indian Ocean Islands and Venice.

And, we’ve just increased that collection by over still another 200 travel videos you can directly download to your computer through our new service MyLibary DV. (Follow this link to more information and directions for installing this service.) Tour the many films you can view through this service which might just be your passport to global destinations. A nice feature of this service is the ability to check a video’s length and size of the file you will download before you actually save the video to your computer. Journey to among many other spots, Budapest or Sicily with well known travel host Rick Steve’s. Trek to exotic locals such as Cameroon, nature’s stark Arctic Canada or luscious Bali with the Global Trekker series.

The library staff invites you to see the world through our videos. Call 291-4840 for further information.

May 26, 1907 - June 11, 1979

A handful of actors from the past can be considered icons of the American screen. John Wayne may top that list. At 6’4” with a propensity to wear lifts in his later movies to compensate for weight gain, he loomed bigger than life. Regardless of what you feel about his politics or even his acting talent, he was an instantly recognizable as the ultimate personification of an uncomplicated American patriotism. According to several sources, Wayne's fame reached far and wide. Nikita Khrushchev turned out to be a big fan and demanded to meet him, having watched the Duke’s films in as unlikely a place as the Kremlin. It is said that the Communist leader told the star that Stalin had a bounty on his head, but that he as the new head of the Communist state had removed it. Emperor Hirohito of Japan visited the United States in 1975 anxious to see two things, Disneyland and John Wayne.

John Wayne has been immortalized on stamps and both lionized and satirized in song. But in commemoration of his 100th birthday anniversary, the library recently purchased a set of recently released DVD versions of his movies. And naturally, we have many more on both VHS and DVD format.

I have a simple question for today. Name a younger modern actor who you feel will someday reach the iconic stature of John Wayne? A star who will be known by a simple nickname and recognized world over for more than his latest exploits. Love him or leave him, there was only one Duke.

"The Janus Films icon—the black and white image, the lettering, the two faces on the seemingly ancient coin—meant that you were going to see something special, something new, something completely different from anything you'd ever seen before." So declares Martin Scorsese in his tribute to the collector’s edition of 50 Years of Janus Films Art House Collection released this past winter. How amazing to realize that the library already had a very high percentage of these films on its shelves, and some quick ordering is beginning to fill in the gaps as films are released individually.

And what a collection it is! The earliest film featured in the impressive collection is W. Pabst’s Pandora Box, starring Louise Brooks as the showgirl in a downward spiral. Don’t forget to watch the interviews with Brooks which are featured as an extra on the DVD. The other choices reflect the international breadth and universal themes explored by the movies. Among the later films are two by Anthony Asquith’s The Importance of Being Ernest and Pygmalion. Other selections include films which pose strong moral dilemmas such as Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring and the British Film, Fallen Idol based on the Graham Greene short story. A wonderful choice for the grouping is the Spanish film Spirit of the Beehive directed by Victor Erice. Its set in the Castilian countryside shortly after Franco won the civil war. Made in 1973 it is an allegorical tale of an 8 year old girl, fascinated by her viewing of the classic Frankenstein movie and her relationship with a republican sympathizer she finds hiding in an outhouse.

Why not check out the classic collection of films available at the Westport Public Library?

When Cate Blanchett won a Best Supporting Oscar for her dramatization of Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, she became the first actress to win an Oscar portraying a true screen legend and Academy Award winning actress. When reviewing her performance, Rodger Ebert remarked, “Critically speaking Cate Blanchett has the task of playing Katharine Hepburn, who was herself so close to caricature that to play her accurately involves some risk.” The Oscar was proof that this risk paid dividends.

The next few days mark birthdays for both stars. The Australian born Cate will turn a mere 38 on May 14th, but May 12th marks the 100th anniversary of Hartford born Kate’s birth.

There is no arguing that Katharine Hepburn was a formidable presence in Hollywood. Her films appear on so many lists of the best and she consistently ranks in the very top of the many lists of best film actresses of all time. Cate Blanchett is beginning to lay claim to the same distinction. In fact, she just ranked number 10 in the recently published list of the Top 100 influential people.

Why not commemorate their birthdays by watching one of their films.

On May 12th the library will show Freedom Writers staring Academy Award winner Hilary Swank. This film is closely based on a true story about a teacher in a racially divided school who gives her English students what they need the most, a voice. It draws heavily from the published journals of the students themselves. The movie is 122 minutes long and rated PG-13 and will be presented in the McManus Room.

I grew up the daughter of a dedicated teacher, so I particularly love a good film glorifying this profession. The library’s collection is rich in such films. My favorite of all times is the perennial late night bloomer, To Sir With Love with Sidney Portier.

But don’t miss more recent films based in the LA area, Stand and Deliver and PG rated family fare, Raise Your Voice.

For opus lovers there is Mr. Holland’s Opus starring Richard Dreyfuss as a frustrated composer who channels his love of music into a teaching career. The culmination of his career is a performance of his opus by his students. And Meryl Streep portrays the real life Roberta Guaspari, who founded Opus 118 Music Center and teaches violin to Harlem school children in Music of the Heart.

For an international flair watch Les Choristes (The Chorus) a 2004 film about a passionate music teacher who arrives at a correctional boy’s school and helps transform lives through music. Ciao, Professore gives us a cultured Northern Italian elementary teacher sent to an impoverished town in Southern Italy who must learn to tame her truant conniving students. What results is a comic battle of wills.

Do you have a favorite "film" teacher?

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Coming Attractions! Westport Public Library Presents!

Showing on April 20, 2007 in the McManus Room at 2:00 p.m. - Water (PG-13) 117 minutes
Showing on May 12 in the McManus Room at 2:00 p.m. - Freedom Writers (PG-13) 122 minutes
Showing on May 26 in the McManus Room at 2:00 - Yellow Brick Road (ages 10 and up) 75 minutes

The Westport Library has initiated MovieLine as a way to showcase some of the excellent newer films released on DVD. The movies to be shown will be touching, thoughtful and well received by public and critics alike. Our films may be those you might have missed an opportunity to see, as most had a short run in local theatres or were not shown in the larger cineplexes. Like the old time town theatres, many of us loved and remember, our aim is for variety of experience rather than a thematic approach.

Please join us at any of these films. They are free and open to all.

Water is the story of Chuyia, an Indian girl that is married and widowed at eight years old and sent to live in a home with other Hindu widows. What follows is a look at how her feisty presence affects the other residents forcing them to confront their faith and society's prejudices. This movie is shown by popular demand of patrons and staff alike.

Freedom Writers staring Academy Award winner Hilary Swank is a true story about a teacher in a racially divided school who gives her English students what they need the most, a voice. It draws heavily from the published journals of the students themselves.

Yellow Brick Road, an HBO documentary chronicles the heartwarming efforts of a Long Island based organization called A.N.C.H.O.R. (Answering the Needs of Citizens with Handicaps through Organized Recreation) as they mount a performance of The Wizard of Oz. Rising to the occasion, the cast exudes a sense of enthusiasm and dedication that reveals the positive impact of community-based efforts to bring joy and purpose to people living with disabilities. It is suitable for ages 10 and up.

Is it me, or does everyone else think that the hype for the movie The Hoax is as over done as the original coverage of the bogus Howard Hughes autobiography actually penned by Clifford Irving? The Swedish Director, Lasse Hallström was interviewed by NPR and other outlets. Richard Gere, who stars as Irving has been popping up on every morning show.

Naturally this brings up thoughts of other movies featuring scam artists, cons and plots to steal a fortune. In John Huston’s acclaimed The Asphalt Jungle a criminal mastermind rounds up a gang to steal a million dollars. The French film Rififi features a gang of jewel thieves who turn on each other. No list would be complete without mentioning movies whose very titles betray the premise such The Sting, The Grifters and To Catch a Thief.

On the more comic side, Michael Caine master minds a gold bullion robbery in The Italian Job. And if you prefer your cons to be a bit bungled, why not revisit A Fish Called Wanda or Guy Ritchie’s (Madonna’s husband) Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels?

There are lots of capers in the library’s collection and that’s no scam! What do you suggest?

Singin’ in the Rain premiered this week in 1952 to great acclaim at Radio City Music Hall. The film is highlighted by Gene Kelly’s famous twirling umbrella dance and Donald O’Connor’s amazing Make ‘Em Laugh number. It also starred nineteen year old Debbie Reynolds. (The story goes that Gene Kelly ridiculed her dancing, causing her to cry. A sympathetic Fred Astaire visiting the studio that day found her hiding and gave her encouraging advice.) The American Film Institute placed the film at the top of its 100 Years of Musicals lists.

The Encyclopedia Britannica lists Jazz Singer staring Al Jolson, released in 1927, as the first musical, not to mention the first talkie. From the beginning, musicals have been costly and time consuming to produce. So understandably Hollywood has hit some dry spells between now and then when this genre was ignored. Let’s see if the success of Dream Girls brings about a resurgence. A remake of the movie turned Broadway smash Hairspray (with John Travolta and other big names) is coming soon.

In the meantime, enjoy the fabulous lending collection available in the Westport Library audio visual department. Your choices range from the great Broadway shows brought to the screen such as Brigadoon, Oklahoma and West Side Story to cult classics like Rocky Horror Picture Show and more recent choices such as Moulin Rouge and Chicago. Come in and browse the selection or check our catalog online.

Comment and share your favorite musical(s).

Two directors, born on different continents, 15 years apart, would seem to share little in common. But, each does celebrate a significant birthday during the later part of March and both made their mark at an early age with recognition for their honest, sometime controversial approach to an exploration of human emotions and relationships.

Italian born director Bernardo Bertolucci just celebrated his 65th. He was born into a family with a love of the arts and literature. His father taught literature and was also a film critic. As a child, Bernardo accompanied him to films. He appeared to be following in his father’s foot steps, receiving literary honors at an early age and attending the University of Rome. But, he left school to pursue film studies independently, making his directing debut in 1961 with La Commare Secca (The Grim Reaper). This film won recognition, but was not commercially successfully. With the release of Il Conformista (The Conformist) he first began to receive world wide recognition. His next film Prima della Rivoluzione (Before the Revolution) won him recognition at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival. But as The New York Times All Movie Guide notes, he is best known in this country "for sweeping epics (The Last Emperor) and for helping to bring eroticism into general release with Last Tango in Paris.”

American Spike (Shelton) Lee reached the half century mark on March 20th. Lee has been quoted as saying his mother nicknamed him “Spike” because he was a tough baby. Born in Atlanta to a literature teacher and Jazz musician father he moved to Brooklyn as a small child. Following in the family tradition of his father and grandfather, Lee graduated from Morehouse University and then went on to get his graduate degree from NYU’s well known Tisch School of Arts graduate film program. Like Bertolucci, he showed early promise, winning a student film award and praise for his early releases. But it was his comedy about an unapologetic young woman pursuing three relationships at once, She’s Gotta Have It, that first garnered Lee international recognition. The film earned the young director the Award of the Youth at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival and the New Generation Award at the Los Angeles Film Festival. His list of accolades and accomplishments has grown with the years including two Oscar nominations. Last year, his powerful documentary series about the devastation in New Orleans, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts brought human faces to the suffering caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Today’s New York Times reported the death of director Stuart Rosenberg on March 15th at his home in Beverly Hills, California. Rosenberg was widely known for his direction of Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman and Strother Martin. He also worked with Newman on other films including Pocket Money (1972) and The Drowning Pool (1975).

If you weren’t aware that Rosenberg cut his directing teeth in the early days of television on such shows as The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, you might be surprised to learn his most commercially successful film was the original 1979 version of Amityville Horror. 1980 found him directing another prison film, Brubaker with Robert Redford.

By the way, the library will shortly order two other Rosenberg films that we are remiss in owning. Please check our catalog next week to place a hold on The Laughing Policeman with Walter Matthau and The Pope of Greenwich Village with Eric Roberts as well as the original Amityville Horror.

It’s the 67th anniversary of the first FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List. But movies have long been interested in the notorious and great actors have relished playing fugitive criminals. The term “public enemy” was first coined by the Chicago press. J. Edgar Hoover and the Justice Department began using it widely in referring to gangsters after the release of the popular, now classic 1931 movie Public Enemy starring James Cagney. More recently, Bonnie and Clyde traced the events leading up to the capture and killing of this gun toting couple. Kevin Costner as Eliot Ness finally trapped Al Capone (portrayed by Robert DeNiro) on a tax invasion charge in The Untouchables. The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre was still another event to depict.

Other depictions include Aileen Wuornos, the subject of the Charlize Theron’s 2003 Oscar winning performance in Monster. She was the first woman to fit the FBI’s definition of a serial killer. Jeremy Iron’s cold, calculating portrayal of Socialite Claus Von Bulow during his appeal trial in the film in Reversal of Fortune won him the Best Actor award in 1991. In an account of a bungled bank robbery, Al Pacino reminded us that he robbed a bank because “there is money there” in Dog Day Afternoon. Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen are on the run in Badlands, based on a true crime killing spree.

And then there are the adrenaline laden fictional accounts including Harrison Ford in The Fugitive. (For my money, Tommy Lee Jones as a single minded FBI agent had the most brilliant performance in that film.)

Crime may not pay. But it sure makes for some great movies. Can you name some other great performances?

131 years (this week) after the first telephone transmission the movies continue their love affair with the telephone. In many a scary movie, the action would dull if it wasn’t for the ringing of the phone. Hearts pound when the phone call comes in The Ring . And who can forget Drew Barrymore in a blond wig teased by a tormenting caller in the opening scene of Scream. These movies can’t hold a candle to When a Stranger Calls starring a young Carol Kane as a trapped babysitter. (No wonder she did zany roles after this!). But it hasn’t all been blood and gore. Colin Farrell teaches us it is just not a smart idea to answer a ringing phone in a New York City Phone Booth because a psycho could be on the other end; while a telephone booth becomes a place of refuge in Hitchcock's The Birds. Jodie Foster wishes Sir Anthony would forget her number in Silence of the Lambs.

Romance was in the air in one of my favorite late night oldies, Bells are Ringing with Judy Holiday. Doris and Rock fell in love (again) while sharing a party line in Pillow Talk. And sometimes the telephone is a link between success and failure, such as in Glengarry Glen Ross . Sadly, a cell phone provides the means to a last farewell in United 93.

There are so many scenes in which the telephone plays an intricate role. What is your most memorable?

W.C. Fields is said to have uttered the famous Hollywood adage, "Never work with children or animals.” I think Will Smith has every reason to disagree. His young son, Jaden Smith stole hearts in The Pursuit of Happyness, an inspiring success story. Certainly as I looked around the theatre, many movie-goers were in desparate need of a tissue. Particularly tissue worthy, the scene where father and son were forced to spend the night in a men’s room in the subway station.

And this year, now at the ripe age of eleven, Abigail Breslin is nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Olive Hoover, the would be child beauty pageant winner in Little Miss Sunshine. Her dance lessons and conversations with co-nominee Alan Arkin displayed the ability to portray a tender innocence laced with comedic timing.

If Abigail wins, she will not be the youngest supporting actress to win an Oscar. That honor goes to Tatum O’Neal who was just 10 when she wowed the Academy with her performance in Paper Moon. Patty Duke was the third youngest, only sixteen when she garnered the award for The Miracle Worker. Then skip to adulthood and Anne Baxter’s win at 23 for Razor’s Edge. Next up, Teresa Wright at age 24 (birthday March 4th) for her performance in Mrs. Miniver. Just a few calendar days separate her and Goldie Hawn (birthday April 7th) who whisked away the statue for her role in Cactus Flower.

So here’s a pop quiz. Who is the second youngest actress to win a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award? And, which actress follows Goldie on the list by age?

Are you a dog show fan? Love your pooch? My dogs don’t have much of a sense of competition, or a sense of honor among breeds. The ten year old lab snored through Best of Show and the two year old Yorkshire Terrier did not seem in the least disturbed that her breed did not win, place or show in the Toy Dog category in this week’s Westminster Dog Show. But there is one place where all dogs, regardless of breed, can be a winner. It is the movies of course.

Browsing our shelves today, I came across Movie Mutts: Hollywood Goes to the Dogs. This concise book offers endearing pictures and a bit of history of such movies heroes as Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. But a quick browse reminds the reader of more modern mutts. For family fare, there’s the silly Beethoven, and the adventurous crew in the Homeward Bound movies, the heartwarming Sounder and Benji, as well as My Dog Skip.

In the category of more “sophisticated” viewing, Verdell the dog proved to be easily bribed with bacon in As Good as it Gets and Turner and Hooch proved that dog slobber, while messy, does have its humorous moments. In a sweet comic performance, Jeneanne Garofalo plays a vet with low self-esteem in the romantic comedy, The Truth About Cats and Dogs.

Here’s a doggone good question for today. Which actress voices Sassy in Homeward Bound and utters my cat’s favorite line, “Cats rule, dogs drool?” What's your favorite film featuring man's best friend?

Are you interested in documentaries? The library has just added some award winning and well received documentaries to its collection. Yellow Brick Road chronicles the heartwarming efforts of a Long Island based organization called A.N.C.H.O.R. (Answering the Needs of Citizens with Handicaps through Organized Recreation) as they mount a performance of The Wizard of Oz.

In their 2007 Oscar nominee for best documentary, Jesus Camp, producers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady introduce us to children who are growing up as evangelical Christians. They follow the children as they attend a devotional summer camp. Along with An Inconvenient Truth, this may be the most talked about documentary in the category.

In another nominated film, the state of democracy, both Iraq's and the United States', is the focus. My Country, My Country, can be described as an unforgettable journey into the heart of war-ravaged Iraq in the months leading up to the January 2005 elections.

A Los Angeles Film Festival winner, Sir, No Sir documents the GI movement to end the Vietnam War. It’s particularly compelling in light of a growing Iraqi War veterans’ movement.

Don’t be put off by the politically incorrect title of this film. Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary has garnered much acclaim. Filmmaker Arturo Perez Torres follows two friends on the perilous journey from Central America to North America. The two encounter gangs and vigilantes as well as border patrol. Reviewers note that these immigrants navigate real-life nightmares with uncanny calm, grace and humor as they pursue a better life.

This weekend the library will host a viewing of Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July and film historian Dr. Martin Haas will reflect on the US value system leading to war and the struggle of a young man learning to accept the consequences of Vietnam for himself and the nation.

Thinking about this topic led me to wonder about other complementary films in the library’s collection which delve into the psyche of Vietnam veterans. In Search and Destroy, a decisively opinionated guide to the cinematic legacy of Vietnam, author Jack Hunter focuses on a compelling group of films in which the main characters are troubled vets. He cites films such as Coming Home and Scorsese's Taxi Driver as examples. Hunter notes that these drastically different films share something in common; they directly address America’s sorrow and guilt in the aftermath of the war. Not surprisingly, as the years distanced Hollywood from the war, well known movies such as Forrest Gump and In Country and even Good Morning Vietnam (although not the story of a returning vet) were much softer and the characters more sympathetic.

If these films lead you to wonder more about the effect of this “conflict” check out the docudramas Be Good, Smile Pretty which chronicles the loss shared by children whose fathers were killed in Vietnam and Hearts and Minds which chronicles the war from a psychological perspective.

The 79th Annual Academy Award nominations have been announced. The library owns a majority of the nominated films and has plans to purchase the others as they become available. Do you agree with the academy?

It seems there is a day to commemorate everything. Today is National Belly Laugh Day, on which you are encouraged to have a hearty chuckle or a good guffaw. Why not do it with a film from the extensive comedy selection in the library’s collection? You can browse our comedy section for some favorites or watch one of the 100 Funniest American Films as compiled by the American Film Institute.

Number 1 on the list is Some Like it Hot directed by Billy Wilder.

Four is a magic number for Woody Allen. He directed four films on the list including Annie Hall (#4). Bill Murray is in good company with Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, as each appeared in four movies named by the AFI.

Mel Brooks once quipped, “Humor is just another defense against the universe.” Mel should know! Brooks (real name Melvin Kaminsky) directed three movies on the list. A box of his favorite candy Raisinets® (or at least he once said it was), to the first to comment and list all three by year released. And, Mr. Brooks, if a different candy has replaced the chocolate covered raisin, please write and let us know. Library blogs have a duty to get their candy facts right.

I had jury duty last week. Much to my relief (and somewhat to my disappointment) I did not get assigned to a panel. But give me four hours of uninterrupted thinking time, and a blog entry comes to mind. Clips of court room drama and famous jury scenes had plenty of time to replay in my head. Naturally the three classics, Sidney Lumet's Twelve Angry Men, Inherit the Wind and To Kill a Mockingbird sprang to mind.

Then as the hours dragged other movies came into focus. Richard Gere just can’t seem to stay out of a courtroom whether he is an American attorney on trial for murder in China (Red Corner) or a slick lawyer defending Edward Norton in Primal Fear. And yes, he even sings and dances his way as the suave Billy Flynn in Chicago. Al Pacino has plenty of billable hours in the legal thriller And Justice for All. Paul Newman is a washed up lawyer with a last chance to save his career in The Verdict.

As in real life, sometimes film trials can make us laugh. In a situation later to be copied in countless situation comedies, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy find love and marriage can be a bit rocky when on opposite sides of the bench in Adam’s Rib. But for all time funny scenes, catch Marisa Tomei’s performance in My Cousin Vinny. Her scenes as an “expert witness” providing testimony about tires and tracks stole the movie and helped win her an unusual Best Supporting Actress Oscar in a comedy.

So what movies will you think about the next time you have jury duty? Darn! I really wanted to go through the voir dire process.

This week Nicolas Cage celebrates a birthday. The actor was born on January 7, 1964 into a family with quite a film pedigree. His birth certificate most likely lists his real name, Nicolas Coppola. Nephew of Francis Ford Coppola and older cousin to director Sophia, this actor is equally at home playing a melancholy romantic lead in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, the hero in World Trade Center or the opera crazed one armed baker in Moonstruck. For an actor still in his early 40’s, he has quite a resume. The late film critic Pauline Kael once noted that Cage "may be the only young actor who can look stupefied while he smolders.”

The library offers a great selection of films featuring this fine performer.

On January 4th, the Westport Library will present the first movie in our 2007 Overcoat Film Series. Come and enjoy My Favorite Year starring Peter O’Toole. This charming movie about a dissolute matinee idol set to appear on a live TV variety show in the mid 1950s is sure to delight. So, a bit about this 74 year old, Irish born, Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts graduate actor is in order.

To start with, an interesting piece of trivia. At 29 and ruggedly handsome, this star portrayed Lawrence of Arabia and received his first Academy Awards nomination for his mesmerizing performance. Surprisingly, he did not win. In fact, he has never won an Oscar for an individual performance. He was however, awarded the Academy of Motion Pictures Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2003 Oscar ceremony. At first, O’Toole was quoted as reluctant to accept, quipping that the Academy needed to put the honor off until he was 80. Surely he mused; he had many more years of nominations ahead of him. In his simply stated gracious acceptance speech the actor shared his thoughts. “The magic of the movies enraptured me when I was a child. As I totter into antiquity, movie magic enraptures me still.”

Reviews, blog buzz and Golden Globe nominations leave no doubt that he and Vanessa Redgrave can still offer stand out performances. Their brilliance has clearly not dulled as they light up the screen in the recently released film Venus. NPR correspondent Bob Mondello recently mused, “Peter O’Toole, has crammed a lot of living into his 74 years, and these days, he looks it.” But this insightful critic adds, “O’Toole is pretty marvelous in Venus, raunchy and charming in equal measures.”

Finally, here’s one last chance to win a free beverage and a cookie at our café this year. Post the first correct answer to qualify. (Fittingly, our café is named "As You Like It." O’Toole is also known for his work on the Shakespearean stage.) Can you name all seven films for which Peter O’Toole received an Academy Award nomination in the lead actor category? Here’s a hint. Two are mentioned in this entry.

Looking for a movie to bring in 2007 with some popcorn, a cozy fire and enough interest to keep you awake until the ball drops? Here's some ideas.

The cast of mostly veteran character actors are celebrating the turn of the year on a luxury liner when a tidal wave causes it to flip over in the original The Poseidon Adventure. (The weight of the Oscar statues owned by these actors could easily have righted the boat.)

Or would you rather celebrate with a bit of romance? For many, When Harry Met Sally is the ultimate New Year’s Eve movie. Play it all the way to end, because the combination of young and old, diverse couples recalling moments from their relationships interspersed with shared moments from Harry and Sally’s wedding is a delight. It’s a pity this technique is now used (some might say overused) in advertising. Of course, there is soft hearted Bridget Jones suffering through some very awkward, but memorable moments at a New Year’s brunch in this version of Helen Fielding's book brought to the screen. And, don’t forget about the old classic, Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire competing for Virginia Dale’s attention at an inn only open on holidays. Now these stars really knew how to throw a party.

A toast with thanks to all who read this blog and frequent the library's audio-visual center. Ring in the year by sharing some of your favorite new year’s scenes on film.

I can’t help it. When a bell rings I really do believe that an angel was outfitted with wings. Arguably, cherubic Clarence (Henry Travers) in It’s a Wonderful Life may be the most famous angelic movie character of all times; but he’s joined by a whole “host” of others. A panel of angels judges Meryl Streep and Albert Brooks in Defending Your Life. Years later, Streep gives an ethereal performance as the Angel of Australia in the compelling drama about the effect of AIDS, Angels in America.

Let’s not forget about the elegant Cary Grant aiding a harried clergyman and his neglected wife through marital troubles (David Niven and Loretta Young) in the 1947 film The Bishop’s Wife. Fifty years later, a dapper Denzel Washington does the same for Whitney Houston and Courtney P. Vance in The Preacher’s Wife. (The library has just added Denzel Washington’s first book A Hand to Guide Me to our shelves. The proceeds from the sale of this collection of inspiring stories of legendary individuals and those that guided them benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.)

Of course, there are angels who just don’t quite fit the image. John Travolta as Michael somehow manages to charm despite being unshaven, slovenly and just plain crude. And then there are escaped cons mistaken for angels in another holiday time classic We’re No Angels starring Humphrey Bogart. The list goes on. Can you add to it? Please comment and share your favorite.

ASIFA-Hollywood a society devoted to the advancement of animation recently released the 34th annual Annie Awards nominations, with the winners to be announced on February 11th. (Unfortunately, this came on the heels of an announcement by Disney that it would layoff 160 of 800 employees in the company’s feature animation unit.) Pixar Animation Studios’ Cars lead the field with 9 nominations. DreamWorks Animation garnered 17 nominations, shared between Over the Hedge and the currently released film Flushed Away. (Library staff members who have seen Flushed pronounced it as fun, lively, and suitable for most.) Other family features nominated include Happy Feet, Monster House and Open Season. In the category of home entertainment features, Bambi II and Winnie the Pooh, Shapes and Sizes, as well as The Adventures of Brer Rabbit received recognition.

Traditional style, family fun animated features ranging from the first, Snow White, to the current, are perennial favorites in the library’s AV department. But the library’s collection of anime is quickly becoming a go to area for many families. The latest acquisitions in this area include the critically well received Japanese movie, Howl's Moving Castle in which an lonely young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch and her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard. This film is by the same director as Spirited Away and like that film is rated PG. The computer generated My Beautiful Girl, Mari is described as a dream like example of Korean animation gently exploring the pangs of adolescence and growing up. This film was the Grand Prix winner of the 26th International Animated Film Festival.

Of course, we have anime suitable for adult and teen audiences as well. Don’t forget to offer your suggestions for purchase in this area or to suggest a film to other readers. What is your favorite animated feature film?

Thanks so much to those readers who took the time to share a favorite movie line with other readers. Enjoy your café treats.

There’s one last memorable movie line to share. “Why does everything in my life have to be such a disaster?” So laments Joyce Brabner in American Splendor. This real life comic book enthusiast was portrayed by Hope Davis in her Golden Globe nominated performance. How difficult it is to recognize Davis, an attractive blond, under that dark wig and large glasses in this award winning movie based on the true life of graphic novelist Harvey Pekar. As her co-star (Academy Award winner Paul Giamatti) described in an interview, “She has never shied away from the challenging or unflattering, and in the process has brought to the surface the humanity in a diverse array of characters, no matter how outlandish they may initially appear.” Critics view Davis as a gifted Indie film actress now receiving attention for her flawless performances in several recent studio films. Watch her staring with Nicolas Cage as a chilly suburban housewife in The Weather Man, or with Greg Kinnear as one half of a gullible married couple in last year’s hit The Matador. She’s the somewhat ditzy bride- to-be daughter in About Schmidt with Jack Nicholson and a tragically self-involved mother in Hearts in Atlantis. Families might enjoy Duma, a mild adventure peril about the bond between a cheetah and a boy in South Africa.

Do you have a favorite "lesser known" actress? Would you like to nominate one you feel deserves more recognition? Please share your thoughts.

Driving home today, I was saddened to hear of the death of director Robert Altman at the age of 81. The radio waves filled with tributes. In his, Elliott Gould, who appeared in several of Altman's films recalled that he was a director "who loved actors." Several NPR commenators mused that he loved working with ensemble casts and gave his actors the opportunity to, as Garrison Keillor noted, "use their own heads." And, how lucky we are that he gave his audience the same opportunity. I recall seeing Nashville for the first time during my college years, and with my fellow students feeling pretty smart that we actually got the political satire and most of us humming, "It Don't Worry Me" all the way back to our dorms.

Which Robert Altman film resonates with you the most? Is it his last, Prairie Home Companion or another? Why not borrow one of his many films and watch it again.

So, what’s your favorite movie line? The first three readers to comment and offer one will enjoy a beverage and cookie with the compliments of the WPL.

I’ve been a fan of the actress Rachel Weisz ever since her character proudly exclaimed a true pride of profession in the 1999 remake of The Mummy, “I am proud of what I am, I am a librarian!” This British born actress won last year’s Best Supporting Oscar for her performance in The Constant Gardener. Several years earlier she was named one of the European Film Board’s Shooting Stars. Her classic, but slightly off-center beauty, (she was a Revlon spokeswoman), seems ideally suited for period films. Along with one Fiennes brother, Ralph, she stared in Sunshine, an epic tale of a Hungarian Jewish family caught up in the upheaval of 20th century Europe. Two years early, she was featured in Enemy at the Gates, the true story of a WWII Russian sharpshooter, starring the other Fiennes brother Joseph. She currently has films in post production.

Have you seen the library’s expanding collection of foreign films on DVD? For some, a film with subtitles or dubbed dialog is an acquired taste. But why not browse this area of our collection which offers a unique look into other cultures and a chance to borrow some outstanding movies? Purchased films are often the result of patron recommendations. Here are some suggested titles we’ve recently added:

In Water a widowed eight year old is sent away to a home where Hindu widows must live in penitence. Her spirited presence affects the other residents, forcing each to confronth her faith. Noted one patron, “Most beautiful film I have seen in a very long while.”

In spite of blood ties to both Jewish and Arab populations, Moshe leads a rootless, weary existence full of complications in the Hebrew language film Yom Yom (Day after Day). “Really enjoyed this, cynical but funny!” noted one patron as she returned the film.

In the Spanish film, Frente al Mar ( In Front of the Sea) Lucia returns from Madrid to her small hometown only to find it changed by the appearance of many new immigrants and a new found racism among the town residents. “Parallels to America,” noted one wise Westport Library viewer.