Capitalism - Feudalism without the Kings
Tax the Rich

 

 Movie Monday

After the Gracchi brothers were assassinated in 2 BCE, Rome lost all vestiges of democratic/representative government. Oh, the charade of "electing" an emperor was continued for a while and that emperor would throw crumbs to the poor when social discontent was high but the reality was that reform measures to help the less fortunate were history and absolute power was held in the hands of the very rich who basically only had to appease their "private" army, the Roman legions, until the fall of the Roman empire in the 476 CE.

 

It looks like the 2012 US presidential election may be a time when this country might be honestly compared to Rome at the time of the Gracchi. (I usually see a stronger comparison to Spain in the 16th century.) However, I think that all the years that Americans have been told that their best interests were always served when capitalism was vigorously defended has taken its toll and we are way past the tipping point for caring about our less fortunate citizens.

 

Just like those medieval farmers whose thoughts I ponder as they looked up from their fields to see Mongol hordes descending; the barbarians are now at our gate. But unlike that toiling farmer who could not control his fate, we are to blame. Unlike Theoden facing the orcs at Helms Deep, we can't ask: How did it come to this?  It came to this because we, as a society, allowed it. Whether it was ignoring Jimmy Carter ringing the alarm bell decades ago or the OWers' largely ignored, brutally put-down, recent protests, we walked away from the challenge of protecting the social contract. It was easy to do and we were so very busy with our private lives. Pretty depressing times ahead, I'm afraid. I think I need to find a Manichaean for a good (or evil) talk. 

 

http://www.theyshootpictures.com/gf1000_top100films.htm

 

OK, back to the movies. No reviews this week but click on the outdated list above for a list of  the top 100 films. I said "outdated" because a British VIP list now puts Vertigo as the #1 movie in the world, beating out Citizen Kane. That's a mistake for while I think Hitchcock is a superior director (even his inferior Topaz has great touches like the conversation you see but can't hear), Citizen Kane, like the work of the much earlier D. W. Griffith, was a break-through movie. Welles did things as a director which had never been done. Plus, it told a damn good story. 

 

Looking at the top ten movies, I've seen them all and I'll still take issue with 2001. What a slow, boring movie (it also always pops up in my movie package so I'm sure I'm in the minority.) While I can understand the excruciatingly slow pace in space since space astronauts always seem to move so deliberately, those damn apes at the opening were on earth!. I was so frustrated with that pace I was ready to grab the rock and bean one of them just to move the plot along.

 

The site says of itself: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? should be viewed primarily as a cinematic traffic cop. In other words, we'll guide you in the direction of each director's best work (both from our own perspective and also from a critical-acclaim perspective).

 

I like the fact that in the top 10 films, 4 are foreign films. And a fantastic plus is all the links: to Amazon (you don't have to buy, just read reviews) and to other reviewers' thoughts on the film. This site, with all its links, will provide you with weeks, if not months, of reading. I know it's not Website Wednesday but I'll steal a phrase from it: This site is worth many return visits. Enjoy.