Even though Pulp Fiction (1994) was released in theaters nearly 20 years ago on October 14, 1994, Samuel Jackson recently showed he still remembers the famous “Ezekiel 25:17” speech by his character Jules Winnfield. During a recent appearance on BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show, Norton asked Jackson to recite the speech and Jackson did. Check it out.
By the way, that “Ezekiel 25:17” speech takes some big liberties with what Ezekiel 25:17 actually says in the Bible. But Jackson still makes me believe it is a real quote.
One of the documentaries in ESPN’s excellent series 30 for 30, lets the viewer watch sports-related events on a single day in June 1994. In 30 for 30: June 17, 1994, director Brett Morgen adds no additional narration but pieces together clips from that day to give you the experience as if you are reliving the day, or for younger viewers, living it for the first time.
The day began with reporters waiting for O.J. Simpson to turn himself in for the double-murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. As the day went on, other sports stories began to be overshadowed by the O.J. Simpson disappearance and Bronco chase.
For example, Arnold Palmer played an emotional last round at the U.S. Open, the New York Rangers celebrated their Stanley Cup, the FIFA World Cup began in Chicago, and Bob Costas struggled to figure out how to cover an NBA Championship game as TV stations cut to the Bronco chase.
The documentary is no longer available in its entirety on YouTube, but it is on Netflix streaming. Below is the preview.
Vulture ranks “June 17, 1994” as the fifth best film in the 30 for 30 series. June 2016 Update: More recently, the 30 for 30 series took a fascinating in-depth examination of the life of O.J. Simpson in the five-part “O.J.: Made in America.”
Do your remember June 17, 1994? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The 1976 documentary Heartworn Highways provided insight into some of the legends of alternative country like Townes Van Zandt, Steve Earle, and Guy Clark. Director Jim Szalapski filled the film with vignettes of the singer-songwriters in their daily lives, providing a fly-on-the wall portrait of them. It is a film for music lovers, without a narrative story, that I found engaging.
Now, to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of Heartworn Highways, director Wayne Price will be releasing Heartworn Highways Revisited.
The new film takes a look at some current outlaw country singers like Shelly Colvin, Matraca Berg, Bobby Bare Jr., Johnny Fritz, Robert Ellis, Shovels and Rope, Joshua Hedley, John McCauley, and Langhorne Slim. Some old-timers make appearances too, like Guy Clark and David Allan Coe. I am happy to see that rising star singer-songwriter Andrew Combs is in the film too.
Check out the promotional video below.
On the film’s website, Price writes, “With electronic laptop musicians commanding the airwaves, I am excited to bring us back to the ‘old school, with songwriters who only need their instrument and their experience to create music.”
Years ago, I loaned my copy of Heartworn Highways to a friend and never got it back. But I enjoyed the movie, which has some great moments like Van Zandt playing “Waitin’ Round To Die.” I still listen to the soundtrack.
Reportedly, there is no release date yet for the new film, but I am looking forward to the release of Heartworn Highways Revisited.
On June 10, 1692, Bridget Bishop became the first person hanged in Salem, Massachusetts after being accused of being a witch. By the end of the year, a total of nineteen innocent men and women had been hanged –and one man had been pressed to death — as a result of the Salem witch trials.
Hysteria around accusations of witchcraft were not unique to Salem and occurred around the world. But the Salem executions remain prominent in America’s history. There are various theories about the conditions and rivalries that led to the accusations of witchcraft and the government’s condoning of the executions.
The Crucible
Although the U.S. does not hang people for being witches today, the Salem witch trials are still invoked for modern day forms of hysteria. Playwright Arthur Miller used a dramatic interpretation of the Salem witch trials to comment on the witch-hunting of his own time. His play The Crucible opened in 1953. This fictionalized version of the Salem witch trials provided a commentary on the American government’s hunt for communists during Miller’s time.
Director Nicholas Hytner turned Miller’s play into a movie in 1996. The film version of The Crucible stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Winona Ryder, Paul Scofield, and Joan Allen.
At the time of the movie’s release, Miller wrote an essay in The New Yorker, “Why I Wrote ‘The Crucible.'” In the article, he explained that when he wrote the play over the course of a year, he also thought of other recent events of national insanity, like the Nazis in Germany. He also noted that the play continued to be relevant to later events in Joseph Stalin’s Russia, Mao Zedong’s China, and Augusto Pinochet’s Chile.
In his essay, Miller further explained, “below its concerns with justice the play evokes a lethal brew of illicit sexuality, fear of the supernatural, and political manipulation.” The play remains relevant as a reminder to stand up against hysteria and tyranny.
The West Memphis 3
A few years before the release of the film version of The Crucible, similar concerns about justice, illicit sexuality, fear of the supernatural, and political manipulation arose in the prosecution of the West Memphis 3. That case involved three young men convicted of the 1993 murders of three boys in West Memphis, Arkansas.
In the case, where some evoked parallels with the Salem with trials, the three accused eventually were released. Documentaries had helped create supporters for the three young men.
One of the three young men in the West Memphis 3 case, Damien Echols, was sentenced to death. Echols dressed and believed differently than others in the Arkansas community. Many believed his differences contributed to the reason he was prosecuted and sentenced to death.
After Echols was released from prison, he moved to Salem, Massachusetts. He explained, “Due to its history, Salem’s like a mecca for people in any form of alternative spirituality.”
A recent movie, Devil’s Knot (2013), tells the story of the West Memphis 3 in a dramatic retelling. That film, by chance or intent, was released on DVD in 2014 on the June 10 Salem anniversary.
Devil’s Knot, which stars Colin Firth and Reese Withspoon, is a decent introduction to the West Memphis 3 case and features a strong performance by Witherspoon. But the movie may try to do too much. And it is hard to beat the outstanding Paradise Lost documentaries.
The three documentaries are worth seeking out (the first of which currently is on YouTube). But viewers should be prepared that the films evoke strong emotions in recounting the horrible murders and problematic justice system. Similarly, the 1996 movie version of The Crucible features fine acting and remains a powerful reminder that injustice is not confined to one time period.
The Legacy of Salem
Bridget Bishop was around sixty years old when she went to the gallows. But we do not know what she thought as the executioner put a noose around her neck this week in 1692.
Perhaps the residents of Salem failed to stop the execution because of their own fears. Perhaps they would not risk their own lives for someone who was “different” because she had been married three times, frequented taverns, and did not dress like other Puritans.
But I wish Ms. Bishop could have known that she and the other condemned “witches” would not be forgotten. And I wish they could know that they continue to challenge us and make us question our beliefs more than three hundred years later.
Bridget Bishop picture via public domain. Leave your two cents in the comments.
Two movies in American theaters now illustrate completely different approaches to movie-making. Godzilla (2014) is a summer blockbuster that many will see as something to watch while eating popcorn, only to be forgotten the next day. One has to look around to find the other movie, Ida, a 2013 black and white film that makes no attempt to be the summer’s biggest movie while still having something to say. Both are enjoyable, but in different ways.
Godzilla has garnered mostly positive reviews, and there is little need to summarize the story here. If you are interested in action and seeing things smashed, you will probably enjoy it even if you do not find the deeper meaning in the story about man’s attempts to mess with nature and nuclear power.
Certainly, that deeper meaning and some excellent actors like Ken Watanabe and David Strathairn elevate the film somewhat above being just another Transformers movie. There are some human stories tucked in among the monsters, but I did not find that the filmmakers made those stories very compelling, as Steven Spielberg has done in movies like War of the Worlds (2005). I enjoyed the movie like I enjoy popcorn, but like the snack, it is not really a meal, no matter how you dress it up.
By contrast, Ida is a black and white film in Polish set in the early 1960s about a woman raised in a convent who is about to become a nun. Before taking her vows, Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) goes to visit her earthy Aunt Wanda (Agneta Kulesza), who reveals to Anna that she is Jewish, that her name is Ida, and that her parents probably died during World War II. The odd couple then go on a journey to discover what happened to Ida’s parents.
Director Pawel Pawlikowski uses no special effects, but he reveals something scarier than a giant monster while also offering something more honest and redeeming too. I was not blown away when I saw the quiet film, but it has lingered with me long after I have forgotten the story in Godzilla.
Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me?Rotten Tomatoes gives Ida a high 95% critics rating and 81% audience rating, although the high numbers partly may be due to the fact that most movie-goers who sought out the movie knew they would like this type of film. Walter Addiego at SFGate says “Ida reminds you of what movies can be.” Rotten Tomatoes gives Godzilla a 73% critics rating and a 74% audience rating.
What did you think of Godzilla and/or Ida? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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had helped create supporters for the three young men.
(2013), tells the story of the West Memphis 3 in a dramatic retelling. That film, by chance or intent, was released on DVD in 2014 on the June 10 Salem anniversary.
