Westport Public Library MOVIE & MUSIC Blog

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