Shock Corridor (1963)When one wishes to understand 'Pulp' filmmaking one should look no further than Samuel Fuller's masterpiece Shock Corridor. Peter Breck plays the films protagonist Johnny Barrett, an ambitious young journalist looking for that Pulitzer Prize and a claim to fame. Johnny hears about a murder that happened at the local insane asylum and coerces his boss to get him submitted to the institution so he can do some un
dercover journalism to find out who really killed these patients. Johnny's girlfriend (a stripper named Cathy) is opposed to the whole idea, but agrees to go along with the plan to get Johnny submitted.
Once Johnny is submitted he meets a large ensemble of "crazy" patients. The beauty of this film is the way this film deals with insanity. Though it's not P.C. by any means, it bleeds a very important message: The world is sick and no one is well. In the institution there's an African American who hates black people, women are depicted as nymphomaniacs, and a shell shocked WWII veteran who thinks he's part of the Civil War, just to name a few. The choice of characters are completely reflective of the times, the early 60s where so much socio-political change was happening for better or for worse. All of this done under Samuel Fuller's bizarrely beautiful direction, through superimposing images and auditory experimentations his circus of looney's reads more like a reflection of reality. 
La Fin Du Monde: (The End of the World)
Triple fermented and using a unique yeast straining technique which gives this beer a champagne-like tartness on the tongue and a wonderful aroma of wild spices. Hoppy and full bodied this is North America's first Trappist beer, which means that it is brewed and controlled under the authority of Trappist monks. The monks of La Trappe Abbey in France would brew this style beer to fund their work. In my opinion the best work the church has ever done.
Country of Origin: Chambly, Quebec
Alc. Vol. 9%
Tom Waits, Blood Money (2002)
No one can capture both the grittiness and the merit of humanity like Tom Waits can. It's always hard to decide which album of his to put on or talk about because the man hasn't made a bad record in his life and he spans so many genres and styles that it's hard to pin him down in anything. When I chose this album to accompany this film and beer I was going with the theme of destruction through mitigation. I believe that Blood Money captures this. With songs like "Misery Is the River of the World," "Gods Away on Business" and "Everything Goes to Hell" you hear the deconstruction of hope in life, but at the same time the croons of "All the World is Green," "Another Man's Vine" and "Lullaby" almost say the opposite, that through this struggle we will prevail. Just another notch in the belt of masterpieces Mr. Waits keeps around his waist.
Recommendations: "Starving In the Belly of a Whale," "Everything Goes to Hell" & "Another Man's Vine,"
Tom Waits, Blood Money (2002)No one can capture both the grittiness and the merit of humanity like Tom Waits can. It's always hard to decide which album of his to put on or talk about because the man hasn't made a bad record in his life and he spans so many genres and styles that it's hard to pin him down in anything. When I chose this album to accompany this film and beer I was going with the theme of destruction through mitigation. I believe that Blood Money captures this. With songs like "Misery Is the River of the World," "Gods Away on Business" and "Everything Goes to Hell" you hear the deconstruction of hope in life, but at the same time the croons of "All the World is Green," "Another Man's Vine" and "Lullaby" almost say the opposite, that through this struggle we will prevail. Just another notch in the belt of masterpieces Mr. Waits keeps around his waist.
Recommendations: "Starving In the Belly of a Whale," "Everything Goes to Hell" & "Another Man's Vine,"
1 comment:
Of all the Tom Wait's albums Blood Money is the only one that is truly unparelleled.
Post a Comment