An inordinate number of peppers

Under discussion:

Ascent of Man: Hidden Structure  (1974)

Here is where I learned that cinnabar is mercury(II) sulfide (HgS) and has very strange properties when heated. The red powder sort of violently burns away leaving a dollop of mercury. But if heat is continually applied, it turns back to red powder. 

I have the book that is the companion to this BBC series and was excited to find that the series is available, even on Netflix where I have been slowly making my way through them. I like Bronowski as a thinker. He loves the elegance of certain concepts. His enthusiasm for his subject is quite infectious . He has a decidedly modern viewpoint, not anti-religious, but with a little of the serious scientists pshaw.  

 I seem to recall that some of the filmmakers behind this went on to do Cosmos and some other series. I was quite impressed by the production. Given the time, it's is impressive to think this was done on film at so many locations. The cinematography can feel a little like talented film school artistry, but in general I appreciated the extra touches. The soundtrack is sometimes spectacularly dated, but in a substantive way. 

I miss this sort of expose of one man's thought. There should be more series like this. I suppose Hawking has had his few. You should see Bronowski showing these amazing computer graphics in a dank little basement, clearly envisioning some great 3D modeling technology that just was too far out of reach with 1974's best mainframe. Still, it must have been spectacularly difficult to pull off.

Under discussion:

The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean  (1972)

This was another recommendation from my friend Tom. Tom loves this movie. It has a lot going for it, Paul Newman, John Huston, John Milius. I'm afraid though that it felt like a bit of a mess. We were talking about John Milius, who has done such great things with the series Rome. What an intersting career. Scripting Conan the Barbarian, Apocalypse Now, etc. etc. Check out his listing. 

Judge Roy Bean made me think immediately of Robert Altman's  Buffalo Bill. This is the era of those sort of exploitive westerns. Then it hit me, this is Don Quixote as a western. Ah, sometimes unlocking that sort of reference defuses a film. Lily Langtry is the knight's courtly love. 

I didn't think this was surreal as the synopsis suggests. That seems like a bit of hand-wringing confusion. It's actually a pretty straight forward inversion of the heroic western hero. Judge Roy Bean is an anti-hero, a tall tale for an audience morally exhausted by spaghetti westerns.

Still, Victoria Principal is beautiful. Paul Newman is Paul Newman. It's a fun flick. It looks like they had a lot of fun with the bear.

But then, to think that just the year before Altman had done McCabe and Mrs. Miller which is a superior film in every way. I'm not disparaging this film. I liked it. But it light fare.