That kid who played Paul McCartney in the Lennon bio-pic, Nowhere Boy plays a Billy the Kid type role as Whitey Winn, that guy who played dumber alongside Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber gives us the most memorable and complex western bad guy in recent years with his finely honed performance as Frank Griffin, that woman from Downtown Abbey gives us a much more grounded character than the aristocratic lady which shot her to fame, and that handsome guy who is not George Clooney from Money Monster is the good bad guy, Roy Good. Curious casting maybe, (in fact with the exception of Jeff Daniels the lead actors are all Brits) but Godless from streaming service, Netflix is the finest small screen western since Lonesome Dove. I kid you not, it is that good - expect it to be rewarded highly when award season comes around.
Written and directed by Scott Frank the production shows a fondness for Leone type tracking shots, Ford'ian cinematography, Tarantino'esque violence and most importantly storytelling of the finest kind. The script was originally intended as a movie but Netflix were on a spending spree and asked Frank to flush out the story for a limited TV mini-series and we should be thankful for this - split over seven episodes, all of them longer than a hour and some of them a mini movie in themselves, gives a larger canvas to work with. And not a second of this time is wasted with each and every character flushed out. Of course we have all the stock western characters - the good time girls, the crusading newspaperman, the noble sheriff. They're all present and correct but the world in which they operate seems very real indeed.
When I first saw the trailer I feared it was another of those all too common shows with correctness as the driving force - the trailer seemed to suggest it was a western about a town populated solely by women and their fight to survive in the harsh environment, and whilst the town of La Belle is important to the story, Godless is really driven by the promise of an inevitable showdown between Frank Griffin (Jeff Daniels) and Roy Good (Jack O' Connell). Of course the all female town is an interesting twist to the standard western story and the origin of this town is explained logically within the story - La Belle is a mining town, a small town in which each of the residents has a stake in the mine and a disaster one day takes out virtually the entire male population. This makes the town interesting to a swindling mining corporation and this is just one of the story threads running through the rich tapestry that is Godless.
The relationships between Frank Griffin and Roy Good is presented in flashbacks alongside the main thrust of the story, and it's all the better for it. After the first episode we view Frank Griffin as a man without a soul, pure evil itself but a couple of episodes in and we see he is much more than a pantomime villain,. In fact in his own mind he's not evil at all, and although he does much during the run of the show that would put the devil to shame, he does a lot of good also. It's a wonderful performance by Jeff Daniels. Likewise Roy Good (Jack O'Connell) who has a father/son, Love/hate relationship with Griffin gives a pitch perfect performance.
'Ain't nothing scarier than a man with a gun. Ain't nothing more helpless than a man without one.' Frank Griffin.
Other notable characters are Whitey Winn, the fast shooting deputy whose lanky frame and amiable manner brings to mind a young James Stewart, the lesbian Mary Agnus played by the always wonderful, Merritt Weaver who steals every scene she's in and a passel of well rounded townsfolk, gunmen and plain old ordinary old west citizens.
All in all this is an excellent show and all 7 episodes are available to stream over on Netflix right now. I'm a western lover and I rate this show as better than the recent Hell on Wheels, hell to my mind it even bests the wonderful Deadwood. Godless then is a true classic of the genre with a soundtrack that equals those old Morricone scores. And that final operatic shoot out - well without spoilers all I can say is that it is an absolute masterclass in action film - virtually the entire town are involved and the women folk of La Belle prove that they are every bit as deadly as the hardened men who would do them harm.
When I first started The Tainted Archive, way back in 2009 it was to write about my love of the western genre and also to promote my first western novel, The Tarnished Star. Over the years the blog has changed and become something that encompasses all of pop culture. My writing's branched out also - as well as the westerns, which I still write, I've been publishing non-fiction historical work through Pen and Sword Books and next year will see the publication of my first crime fiction hardcover. However the Western is still foremost on my mind, it remains the genre which I love the best - earlier this year in fact saw the publication of my eighth novel for the Black Horse Western imprint with Massacre at Red Rock. And I intend to get to work on a new western novel early in 2018.
The western's been pronounced dead, interred, buried and burned more times that Donald Trump's upset the Twitterites. Strange then that a genre that's been on it's last legs for decades is still alive and kicking. The back end of 2017 saw Netflix launch a western mini-series in Godless that just may be the best TV oater since Lonesome Dove. Godless is an absolute triumph that rewards binge viewing; tightly written, brilliantly acted and excellently executed. This is one show that western fans will not want to miss. There have also been more rumours from HBO that the long awaited Deadwood TV-Movie is finally off the ground and moving towards production, but we've had this news before so it's a case of waiting....and waiting...and waiting.......
There have been scores of low budget western movies this past year, most of them straight to DVD but some of them enjoying limited theatrical releases. OK, many of them have been forgettable but there have been some nuggets of pure gold in amongst the pyrite. On particular movie I would urge the reader to view is Tombstone Rashomon directed by Brit Alex Cox.
The movie was crowdfunded and shows not one but five differing versions of the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral, each from the perspective of the different lead players. It's an interesting movie that could have benefited from a larger budget, but even in its lower than low budget state it remains a fine viewing experience. Another low budget and more traditional western I would point fans towards is The Ballad of Lefty Brown, a straight forward revenge western that shows a real love for the genre.
With a much larger budget and a big name cast, Hostiles (which I've not seen yet since it doesn't get a UK release until Jan 2018) looks hugely promising - already it's gathered good reviews and the trailer promises an intelligent western movie.
The western's continued to put in a strong showing in the literary world - Robert Hale's Black Horse Western imprint, now owned by Crowood Press, continues to put out hardcover westerns on a monthly basis, most of these books also become available digitally and as large print paperbacks. And speaking of eBooks the excellent Piccadilly Publishing continue to release classic and original westerns. And of course over in the US there are several major publishers that continue to put out western novels. I must mention Craig Johnson's modern day oater, the Longmire series which, enjoys strong sales and is helping to bring mystery readers towards out beloved genre. In fact given all the classic westerns coming out in eBook, not to mention the stuff coming out from small and self publishers then there has never been an easier time to get your hands on a western fix.
The Western Writers of America 2017 Awards:
Historical Nonfiction Winner:The Apache Wars: The Hunt for Geronimo, The Apache Kid, and the Captive Boy Who Started the Longest War in American History by Paul Andrew Hutton (Crown)
Finalists: American Serengeti: The Last Big Animals of the Great Plains by Dan Flores (University Press of Kansas); The Earth is Weeping: The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West by Peter Cozzens (Alfred A. Knopf)
Biography Winner:Black Elk: The Life of an American Visionary by Joe Jackson (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Finalists: Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, the Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde by John Boessenecker (Thomas Dunne Books); Nobody Rich or Famous: A Family Memoir by Richard Shelton (University of Arizona Press)
Contemporary Nonfiction Winner:New Deal Cowboy: Gene Autry and Public Diplomacy by Michael Duchemin (University of Oklahoma Press)
Finalists: The Fire Line: The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and One of the Deadliest Days in American Firefighting by Fernanda Santos (Flatiron Books); Stories From Afield: Adventures with Wild Things in Wild Places by Bruce L. Smith (University of Nebraska Press)
Traditional Novel Winner: The Mustanger and the Lady by Dusty Richards (Galway Press)
Finalists: The Contractor by James C. Work (Five Star Publishing); News of the World by Paulette Jiles (William Morrow)
Contemporary Novel Winner:Off the Grid: A Joe Pickett Novel by C.J. Box (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
Finalists: Jasper Spring by James T. Hughes (Dog Ear Publishing); Hidden Star by Corinne Joy Brown (FriesenPress)
Mass-Market Paperback Novel Winner:Return to Red River by Johnny D. Boggs (Pinnacle)
Finalists: Widowmaker Jones by Brett Cogburn (Pinnacle); Frontier: Powder River by S.K. Salzer (Pinnacle)
Juvenile Nonfiction Winner:The Wolves of Currumpaw by William Grill (Flying Eye Books)
Finalists: Entertaining Women: Actresses, Dancers, and Singers in the Old West by Chris Enss (TwoDot); Sissy Bear at the Fort by Holly Arnold Kinney (Fur Trade Press)
Juvenile Fiction Winner:Trouble Returns: A Ruby & Maude Adventure by Nancy Oswald (Filter Press)
Finalists: The Green Colt: The Adventures of Wilder Good by S.J. Dahlstrom (Paul Dry Books); Saddle Up! by Donna Alice Patton and Emily Chase Smith (Chase Smith Press/Redwood Digital Publishing)
Storyteller (Illustrated Children’s Book) Winner:Seasons of the Bear: A Yosemite Story by author Ginger Wadsworth and illustrator Daniel San Souci (Yosemite Conservancy)
Finalists: Voices of the Western Frontier by author Sherry Garland and illustrator Julie Dupré Buckner (Pelican); Big Buckaroo Goes to the Special Olympics by author Rachelle “Rocky” Gibbons and illustrator Jason Hutton (Tate Publishing)
Short Nonfiction Winner:“‘Master of Ceremonies’: The World of Peter Biggs in Civil War-Era Los Angeles” by Kendra Field and Daniel Lynch (Western Historical Quarterly)
Finalists: “Cowboys & Millionaires: How Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders Bonded as Brothers Before Leaving to Fight in the Spanish-American War” by Mark Lee Gardner (True West Magazine); “Touching History: A Grandson’s Memories of Felix Marion Jones and the Massacre at Mountain Meadows” by Will Bagley (Utah Historical Quarterly)
Short Fiction Winner: “Odell’s Bones” by Troy D. Smith (Cane Hollow Press)
Finalists: “Comanche Camp at Dawn” by Johnny D. Boggs (Giacobbe Fritz Fine Art/Nocona Burgess); “Umpire Colt” by Johnny D. Boggs (High Hill Press)
Poetry Winner: “Ain’t A Hermit” by Floyd Beard (self-published, produced by Butch Hause)
Finalists: “Ballad of a Basque Sheepherder: Shaniko, Oregon” by Matt Schumacher (Redbat Books); “Diamonds” by Ann Sochat (TwoDot)
Song Winner: “Halfway Down The Devil’s Road” by Jim Jones and Allan Chapman (East Mountain Music)
Finalists: “Tularosa Rose” by Doug Figgs and Les Buffham (Slash DC Music); “The Cattleman” by Jeff Posey (Buckskin Friend Music)
Drama Screenplay Winner:Hell Or High Water by Taylor Sheridan (Film 44/OddLot Entertainment/Sidney Kimmel Entertainment/CBS Films)
Finalist: Desierto by Jonas Cuaron and Mateo Garcia (Esperanto Kino/ Itaca Films/CG Cinéma/STX Entertainment)
Documentary Script Winner:The Drift: An American Cattle Drive by Geoff O’Gara (The Content Lab)
First Nonfiction Book Winner:The Fire Line: The Story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and One of the Deadliest Days in American Firefighting by Fernanda Santos (Flatiron Books)
First Novel Winner:Jasper Spring by James T. Hughes (Dog Ear Publishing)
The western is even represented in new media, with several podcasts that western fans will find enoyable. So take a seat around the virtual campfire and check out Voices of the West . Another show which I enjoy is Westerns with Dad , in which father and son team, John and Scott Bernhard watch and talk about classic western movies. A recent episode that I very much enjoyed compared the John Wayne True Grit with the Cohen's remake. Another great podcast is Hellbent for Letterbox, which again focuses on western movies and is hosted by Paxton Holly and Michael May. There are also scores of podcasts that present Old Time Radio westerns but one I would urge you all to try is TimesPastWesterns - this particular podcasts cherry picks the best of old time radio for our western pleasures.
So this long dead genre seems to be very much alive and kicking, and no doubt the next classic western is just around the corner. So saddle up, there's plenty out there to enjoy.
This book is a sort of sequel to Black Lands, which I raved about, but it was not in the same league. It's not a bad book, far from it but it seemed disjointed to me and I'd guessed who the killer was by the half way point - it starts out very well but it's nowhere near as dark as Black Lands and on times trends in cozy crime territory. And that to me was a problem when I was reading - I like cozy crime but this story seemed to want to be dark psychological thriller and cozy crime at the same time and I just didn't find it as compelling as the other books I've read by the author. There is a another book that follows on from this one, Finders Keepers and I'm starting that one immediately, but only because I know how good the author is having read two of her other titles. If Dark Side had been the first book I'd read by this author then I probably wouldn't contimue.
The next book, containing several of the characters carried over from this one, should be interesting particularly knowing what I know about them from reading this one.
This is the first of the Wallander books - I knew of the character, but had never read any of the books though I had seen several episodes of the TV series (the BBC version) and I'd promised myself I would check out the books one day. And so this week I picked up the paperback from my towering TBR pile and vanished between the pages.
It's a very dark book and Wallander is a brooding character. There's not much joy in this book - everyone's so miserable, and the main character seems to enjoy wallowing in misery. Mind you he doesn't have much to smile about - he lives alone, eats nothing but junk food, and loses sleep because he's always dreaming of a beautiful black woman. On top of all that he has to cope with the fact that his father is slipping into the clutches of dementia.
It takes awhile for the book to get going, but when it does the pace really picks up and for all his flaws Wallander is a compelling character. The plot sees the detective investigating a brutal double murder of an elderly couple and touches on hard hitting subjects such as racism and xenophobia. These latter points make the book as topical as a newspaper headline.
Noric Noir is the current thing, and this book, this series rather is considered to be a blueprint for the genre. I'll certainly be checking out more in the series - in fact I plan to read them in order and have already downloaded the second in the series to my Kindle. I guess when I've read more of the books I'll know how typical or atypical this book is of the genre itself. All in all I enjoyed this book and am glad I dipped my toe into the Wallander series.
After devouring Rubbernecker (see previous post), and finding it one of the most enjoyable thrillers I've read in ages, I immediately decided to seek out more work from the same author. And so we have - Black Lands, which was actually author, Belinda Bauer's first novel and very successful it was too, actually winning the CWA Gold Dagger Award. No easy task, particularly for a debut novel.
The book is largely told from the viewpoint of Stephen Lamb, a twelve year old boy who lives with his younger brother, his grandmother and his mother. He craves for affection from his grandmother but she has never gotten over the murder of her son, Billy who was murdered by child killer, Arnold Avery, his body never found. Stephen spends much of his time digging holes on Exmoor, feeling that if he can locate his uncle's body then his grandmother will finally be able to get over her grief, which Stephen believes will heal his family. It's quite hearbreaking to read the inner thoughts of this young who spends his childhood searching for the body of an uncle he never met and things take a dark turn when Stephen gets the idea of writing to Avery in prison, asking him for help in finding the body of his long dead uncle.
In some ways the book reminded me of early Stephen King - the way the author pits the innocent young boy against pure evil is almost vintage King. Though where King's child heroes would be facing off against vampires or shape shifting aliens, Stephen Lamb's nemesis is all too real and far more down to earth - one of those monsters who really exist. There are other Kingsian touches too - the way Stephen's young life is blighted by a gang of bullies for one thing, but I'm not trying to suggest that the author is channelling King, but rather making the point that she creates child characters with the masterful sweep that King displayed in his early and greatest works.
It's genuinely unsettling to read the correspondence between the young boy and the child killer, and the tension is ramped up as Avery plays a cat and mouse game with the innocent young boy. Soon we start to realise that Stephen Lamb may in fact become Avery's next victim. The climax of the book is incredible and as Avery stands there against the featureless Exmoor landscape, looking down at the young boy he is far more terrifying than any mere vampire or shape shifting alien could ever be.
This is the first book I've read by the author, and it certainly won't be the last. I heard the author talking about the book on Mark Billingham's excellent podcast, A Stab in the Dark. And the fact that the book was set in an area that I knew really well, prompted me to take a trip up the Amazon and click my way into getting the book on the Kindle.
What followed was several hours of getting sucked into the story - I finished the book over two evenings, the best part of a bottle of Penderyn and a packet or two of Doritoes.
The story is largely told using three concurrent story-lines - one of the narrators is a man in a coma following a crash on the A470 (Believe me that can be a bugger of a road), a self obsessed nurse called Tracy and the main character, Patrick. Though it is Patrick, a young man suffering from Aspergers, who really carries the book through. Personally I know next to nothing about Aspergers Syndrome but the character of Patrick really came alive in the story and I was left feeling that I had a better understanding of the condition.
What is interesting, and no doubt testament to the author's skill, is that Patrick is such an emotionless character, and yet he evokes empathy and a genuine affection from the reader. He stands apart from everyone else - the only thing akin to love he ever really knew was his relationship with his now dead father, while his exasperated mother seems if not to hate him, then at least to find him intolerable. Her feelings are perfectly understandable in the context of the story, but then her reasons may be far more complex than they seem on the surface.
Patrick is an anatomy student and whilst dissecting a corpse, known as Number 19, he finds something that leads him to believe the man has been murdered. And this is the main thrust of the novel - Rubbernecker is a thriller with very little violence but plenty of scenes that will have the reader squirming. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book and immediately bought another by the same author (Black Lands) upon turning the final page.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a compelling, intelligent thriller and would liken the author's style to the psychological thrillers Ruth Rendell used to produce alongside her more traditional Wexford thrillers.
Get ready for the end of the month when the Reluctant Terrorist is set free. Chaos will ensue.
Set deep within the picturesque Welsh valleys lies the quiet village of
Gilfach. Nothing ever happened in the village until - the
peacefulness is shattered by a confusion of killer clowns and a
full-scale terrorist hunt.
John Smith is an everyday sort of man
with everyday concerns. He spends his time working at the local
supermarket, walking his dog and arguing with his domineering wife,
Rose. However, John Smith, thanks to a bizarre series of events, most of
which were beyond his control, finds himself with the tag of Britain’s
most wanted.
Set deep within the picturesque Welsh valleys lies the quiet village of Gilfach.Nothing ever happened in the village until- the peacefulness is shattered by a confusion of killer clowns and a full scale terrorist hunt.
John Smith is an everyday sort of man with everyday concerns. He spends his time working at the local supermarket, walking his dog and arguing with his domineering wife, Rose. However John Smith, thanks to a bizarre series of events, most of which were beyond his control, finds himself with the tag of Britain’s most wanted.
I've enjoyed the three episodes I've seen thus far of the new Star Trek series on Netflix - Discovery is set a decade before the events of the original Star Trek, and explores the Klingon/Federation war. The show seems to have been well recieved, though there is debate in the fan community over the appearance of the Klingons. Still, I'm very much enjoying the show...much more than I liked Star Trek Beyond which I finally got around to watching recently.
To celebrate the new show, Netflix have released a list of the most rewatched episodes across all of the show's many incarnations, and what is interesting is how highly Voyager features in the list of rewatched Trek. In fact the Original Series, DS9 and Enterprise don't even get a look in amongst the top ten most rewatched episodes.
Netflix define a 'rewatch' as someone going back and checking out 6+ minutes of a single episode they've previously consumed in full.
It's kind of sad but oh so Terry Pratchett - when the author passed away he left instructions that his computer drives containing his unfinished works be placed in the middle of the road and driven over by a steamroller. The author, it seems, was no fan of other writers continuing the work of dead writers and he didn't want anyone meddling with his work after his own death.
“Pratchett left instructions that whatever he was working on at the time of his death to be taken out
along with his computers, to be put in the middle of a road and for a
steamroller to steamroll over them all”. Close friend and author, Neil Gaimen
And this is just what happened a couple of months ago when the hard drives where driven over by a vintage steam roller.
The symbolism of the moment, which captured something of Pratchett’s
unique sense of humour, was not lost on fans, who responded on Twitter
with a wry melancholy, though some people expressed surprise that the
author – who had previously discussed
churning through computer hardware at a rapid rate – would have stored
his unfinished work on an apparently older model of hard drive.
The hard drive will go on display as part of a major exhibition about the author’s life and work, Terry
Pratchett: HisWorld, which opens at the Salisbury museum in September.
I've written here in the past about the surprising comeback of the vinyl medium,but that facts are that far from being a short lived trend driven by hipster culture it seems that the writing is on the wall - this ancient physical form of music delivery is trouncing digital sales. This is happening right across the board and not only with brand new vinyl but the secondhand market is also booming.
In 2017 the British Heart Foundation reported that sales of secondhand vinyl record topped sales of half a million pounds.
Earlier this year Anthem Publishing released a monthly magazine devoted to the format - I Love Vinyl is available on the high street, sold alongside the regular music magazines which is further proof, if any was needed, that vinyl is now mainstream. There is even an official vinyl chart compiled by the Charts Company - at the time of writing Nick Deep, the Welsh band from Wrexham, are at No 1 with their album The Peace and the Panic. And whilst there are a lot of reissues in the top 40 there is a healthy chunk of newer stuff too, in fact the first reissue doesn't appear in the charts until no 7, so vinyl is not only being bought by aging hacks such as myself. It may have been the older demographic that initially sparked the vinyl revival but this no longer the case, and younger music lovers are falling for the allure of vinyl records.
According to a new ICM poll, nearly 50% of vinyl buyers are under the age of 35. Approximately 16% of people buying vinyl records are aged 18-24 and 33% are aged 25-34.
Personally I think it's great - I'm too long in the tooth for all this digital streaming - I come from a generation where there was only two ways to own music and that was on vinyl and cassette - christ, I was in my late teens when CD's first came out.
Earlier this year we lost Roger Moore, he died at the age of 89 after a short but courageous battle with cancer, and although I didn't personally know the man I was genuinely hurt. I'd lost someone who mattered to me - he was my hero and I was beset with grief. He'd been a big part of my life - I'd worshipped him as a child; following his incredibly colourful adventures in The Persuaders and then later discovering the re-runs of The Saint. Later still he became screen royalty when he took over the role of James Bond. This was the man I wanted to be and I bowed down before the brilliance of his Rogesty
Moore filled my formative years with glamour and adventure - I was 8 years old when he first became James Bond, and 20 when he retired his licence to kill. Think of that for a moment - For much of my life, for my entire teenage years, Roger Moore was THE ACTION HERO - of course screen heroes were plentiful but Moore was unique in his sartorial elegance, his charm and his wicked, often boyish sense of humour. Such was my worship of the man that he became a role model to me, and I'd practise raising one eyebrow and then the other until my forehead was left with permanent creases. I kid you not - I still have the creases caused by a young boy gazing up at the silver screen and dreaming of being just like his Rogesty.
In the 2014 paperback reissue of the The Saint in New York, I wrote, It was Roger Moore, you know, who gave me my first experience with that debonair, buccaneering gentleman we know as the Saint. Those TV episodes, although broadcast in black and white, were likely the most colourful thing in my young life...
And I stand by those words - and when series editor, Ian Dickerson offered me the chance to write the foreword to the new edition I jumped at the chance, for I was a lifelong fan of the series but I knew that my foreword would not only praise the incredible works of Leslie Charteris but would be equally an admiration of his Rogesty himself.
Now as I said I'd never met Moore but I did meet his one time wife, the Welsh singer Dorothy Squires. In the 1990's she was living in the Rhondda town of Trebanog, which was just down the road from where I was living at the time - indeed when Squires died in 1998 at the age of 83 it was in Llwynapia hospital, which was actually the hospital where I was born. When I met Squires she was an elderly lady and although her break-up with Moore had been acrimonious she never had a bad word to say about him. And I cherish the memories of the several conversations I had with the singer,who at the time was sadly penniless and living a reclusive life. While she had been largely forgotten, Moore was still a superstar but she wasn't bitter, at least not openly, and when I brought up the subject of Roger Moore I detected a wistful look in her eye.
I have that same wistful look now when I remember Roger Moore - of course he's not dead to me. Only yesterday I watched an old episode of The Saint on television, and whenever the mood takes me I can watch one or other of his James Bond movie. People like Roger Moore don't die in the conventional sense, for their work is always there and no doubt will continue to inspire and entertain for years to come.
And so I raise an eyebrow, as well as a glass, to his Rogesty with thanks for all the entertainment.
I've just watched the TV movie of the Saint on Netflix, and although I wasn't expecting much (after all this was a pilot that didn't get picked up), I did find it quite entertaining. And new Saint, Adam Rayner was fine in the title role - he looked good in the action scenes and delivered the witty lines with class. It is a pity that the show didn't get picked up for a series.
Ex-Saints Ian Oglivy and Roger Moore also appeared though Moore's part was little more than a cameo, while Oglivy steals every scene he is in and smoulders as the bad guy. Back in the day there was talk that Oglivy would make a great replacement for Roger Moore as James Bond, but that was not to be. Though judging by his performance here he would make a great Bond villian.
The TV movie looks great, with some incredibly stylish location shooting, and although it doesn't really hit boiling point, it is much better than the Val Kilmer Saint Movie.
Entertaining enough but a missed opportunity. Though fear not and watch out for the sign of the Saint for one day he will return.
This week marks 40 years since Elvis Presley died an inglorious death in the admittedly plush toilet of his Graceland home. That the little boy's room within which Elvis drew his last breath may have been the height of lavatorial splendour matters not, for he still died in the bog. What a sad end for a legend that still burns bright (arguably burns brighter then ever) today. Elvis was just 42 years of age.
The official cause of death was heart attack, but it has since become clear that it was a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs that killed the King of Rock and Roll -
'The painkillers Morphine and Demerol.Chloropheniramine, an antihistamine. The tranquilizers Placidyl and Valium.Finally, four drugs were found in "significant" quantities: Codeine, an opiate, Ethinamate, largely prescribed at the time as a "sleeping pill," Quaaludes, and a barbituate, or depressant, that has never been identified.
I was 12 years old when Elvis died - I can still remember the report coming over the television, what I was doing at the time. They say everyone can remember where they were when they heard President Kennedy had been assassinated, well the King was my generation's Kennedy. Everyone remembers what they were doing when the news broke of Elvis Presley's sad and untimely passing. And now 40 years later in 2017, the ripples that young man made back in the mid 1950's, when he visited Sun Records to cut his first disc are still being felt today. These days Elvis fandom sometimes borders on the absurd; there are some people that even worship the man and attend one of the many Churches of Elvis...I kid you not..
When auditors looked into Elvis Presley's finances after his death they were shocked to find that his total worth was less than 10 million dollars - and yet in his lifetime he'd generated many hundreds of millions. To put this into perspective when John Lennon died he left more than a hundred and fifty million dollars...then again Lennon's finances were being looked after by Yoko Ono, the daughter of a Japanese banker, while Elvis had old carnie Tom Parker in charge of his money. Of course Elvis has made much much more since his death - in 2016, an album of Elvis songs backed by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra sold over a million copies. In fact it is estimated that now, 40 years after his death, Elvis pulls in over $50 million a year for his estate.
"There are now at least 85,000 Elvis’s around the world, compared to only 170 in 1977 when Elvis died. At this rate of growth, experts predict that by 2019 Elvis impersonators will make up a third of the world population."
The quote above, although intended humorously does make a good point - Elvis Presley continues to touch people's lives, even today. But amongst all this ridiculous nonsense, the jump suited middle aged men (and women) who claim to channel the spirit of Presleyinto their performance it is often forgotten just how groundbreaking Elvis truly was. His first album, 1956's Elvis Presley, is still an incredible listen and remains one of the finest rock albums every recorded.
The Elvis Presley industry is kind of distasteful - like a rock and roll Disneyland, and it's all about the money, not the sublime artist who actually drives it. Though in fairness his back catalogue has been given some respect with some great box sets available - every fan needs to own the 50's, 60's and 70's sets that came out from RCA several years back.
For all the heights in the Presley story there are so many missed opportunities - if only he'd given Tom Parker the elbow, if only he'd taken a few years off mid-seventies, if only he'd continued in the vein of his excellent 1968 comeback performance, if only he'd recorded a pure blues album, if he'd made less of those corny movies and actually paid attention to what he was recording in the studio.
You know I'm a fan, always have been and always will be, and whenever I think of the Elvis Presley story I realise that for all the fame, all the riches, it is actually one of the saddest stories ever told.
Maybe it seems a little cheesey these days, but there is no doubting that the modern 007 movies have lost a lot of their distinctive style. This was Roger Moore's first stab at playing Bond and his hold on the character is still taking shape - it would take another two movies before Moore seemed perfectly comfortable in the role, but there is no doubt that he looked very much the part in this classic 1973 Bond movie. However it was not until 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me that Moore's take on the character was firmly established.
EON have offically announced that the 25th Bond movie will hit cinemas in November 2019 - the announcment provoked a flurry of rumours with one newspaper claiming that the new film would be based on Raymond Benson's Bond novel, Never Dream of Dying. However there was no truth in this and author Raymond Benson made the following statement -
'"Some of you may have seen an article published by U.K.'s The Mirror yesterday that claims that the next Bond movie will be based on my novel Never Dream of Dying. I know nothing of this, but as I have not spoken with any Mirror journalists at all, I can only assume that the article is a piece of fabrication. It would, of course, be wonderful if it were true."
Another rumour doing the rounds and one that seems more credible is that Bond 25 and 26 are to be shot back to back, and the release dates staggered so that we have a new Bond movie in 2019 and then 2020 - this would make sense to EON as it means they could keep Daniel Craig in the role for another two movies and reports are that the actor has been paid £150 million to shoot both films. Personally, as a Bond fan, I'd like to see a new actor in the role but the box office seems to like Craig's Bond and EON are desperate to keep the actor in the role.
It seems that the next two Bond movies, if indeed shot back to back, will be heavily based on Fleming's original stories with the second movie expected to be a re-make of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
All that is known for certain though is that Daniel Craig is back despite famously stating that he would rather slash his wrists than play Bond again
The hot news this week is nothing to do with Brexit. Nor does it concern Theresa May's futile cling to power. Even the criticism over Ed Sheeran's cameo in Game of Thrones pales into insignificance when placed beside such momentous events. Nope it's none of that - even Donald Trump has been relegated to the back pages by the one story that is burning up both the virtual and physical media - the big news, the world changing revelation, the pivotal piece of information is .... wait for it....
HERE WE GO - Doctor Who has regenerated and he's become a she. Yep, without a scalpel or hormone in sight the Gallifreyan penis has vanished and left behind a crack in time.
The BBC made the official announcement last weekend during the Wimbledon final - this Christmas current Doctor Peter Cabaldi will regenerate and become Broadchurch star, Jodie Whittaker.
'How am I going to masturbate to the Daleks now when there's a fucking woman in the way,' One angry fan Tweeted.
'The show is now dead to me.' Complained another.
'The show's pink agenda is now complete,' Tweeted yet another.
The 13th Doctor
Though does it really matter if the character of Doctor Who is male or female? Time Lords can of course regenerate when their current body is injured or grows too old for galactic adventuring. And since the show began way back in the black and white world of the 1960's, the character has changed time and time again...though each time the masculine gene has dominated. So does it really matter if a character who has throughout its fifty years plus history been a man suddently changes gender? Will the dynamic of the show change? I suppose the dynamic is bound to alter but will this be to the detriment of the show? There is always the possibility that this major change could actually freshen things up? In principle I've no objection to the Doctor being a woman, but I do worry that this will alter the show in such a way that it will no longer be the Doctor Who we know and love.
At the moment the show is not at its strongest point in any case, and it has already lost many of its classic era fans, as well as many who only found the show when RTD brought it back to the screen. Personally I'm not against the idea of a female playing the lead, but I am dubious...it seems like too much of a gimmick, it seems desperate and I think it is too drastic a change and will fall flat on its feminine face. The casting of a female doctor was inevitable in the long run, but maybe now is not the time and the odds are that the show will turn into a kind of Buffy in space. Though honestly that's just my opinion and it's not sexist, nor is it misogynistic
The thing about the Doctor is that he's kind of Sherlock Holmes in space, he's a cold fish and would a woman work as such an emotionless character? I guess only time will tell, and whilst I am no longer a part of the show's core audience I have grown up with the show, and for me Jon Pertwee will always be the Doctor, but I would like the show to continue and captivate children in the same way it once captivated my generation. And you know what, maybe a doctor with boobs could work.
Today I heard the saw news that Roger Moore, the screen's best Bond, has died at the age of 89 after a battle with cancer. I've been a fan of Roger Moore since I was a little kid, glued to the screen watching repeats of The Saint, and later The Persuaders. Then later still Moore took over the role of 007 and to my mind his Bond movies really were an all time high. I genuinely feel as if I've lost someone close to me, because in a way, even though I've never met Moore, he has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I'll be writing a full tribute soon but for now I repost this article from some years back in memory of the great man. RIP, SIR.
Why Roger Moore is the best Bond
It
is Sean Connery who usually wins polls to name the best James Bond,
but it should be remembered that Connery was the first big screen Bond
and he was making his films during a period of true Bondmania - the
books had been red hot since President Kennedy named From Russia with
Love as one of his favourite novels and when the Connery movies were
showing in the cinemas, the UK was enjoying its status as the pop
cultural capital of the world. London was swinging, The Beatles were
sound-tracking the times and it also helped that there was little else
being made that could compete with the glamour of the Bond movies
anywhere in the world.
Connery
was a superb James Bond but the longevity of the franchise and its
ability to even survive the terrible miss-casting of Daniel Craig was
down to Roger Moore. And Craig is indeed miss-cast - Fleming had enough
trouble accepting Connery in the role but in comparison to Craig's Bond
for our insurgent times, Connery's Bond seems the very definition of
sophistication. What Fleming would make of Daniel Craig one can only
guess but it is a safe bet his judgement would be expletive ridden.
At
the time Connery's Bond movies were truly groundbreaking and whilst no
one would say that he wasn't excellent in the role, he didn't have the
ardous task Moore had when he stepped into the 007 shoes. Before Moore
there was already one other actor who had tried to take over from
Connery in the shape of George Lazenby and whilst these days his one
stab at the role is fondly remembered, often considered something of a
classic for the series, it was a flop at the time - fans didn't by large
like him in the role. Maybe he would have improved and gone onto become
one of the best Bonds - who knows? But it was not to be and Connery was
brought back for Diamonds Are Forever.
Now
Diamonds are Forever is an interesting film and is often called the
first Roger Moore Bond film, even if it was Connery in the role. And
there is some sense in this - the style of the film was far more comedic
than previously, even more larger than life, so when people say that
Moore brought too much comedy to the franchise they are clearly
forgetting Connery's Diamonds are Forever which actually ushered in this
style of Bond movie.
When
Moore stepped into the role - the franchise had lost its original sheen
and many people considered the series to be over - Diamonds, whilst
financially successful, was not such a critical success and the thinking
was that James Bond was a thing of the past, a glorious memory of
Britain's final days as a super-power on the world stage. James Bond was
in fact old fashioned and couldn't compete with the new wave of action
cinema with stars like Clint Eastwood and Steve McQueen. James Bond was a
hanger on from the British Empire and dreadfully unhip in this brave
new world.
Roger
Moore proved that there was still life in the old dog and indeed his
Bond movies were amongst the most successful ever made - time after time
I have argued with people who have called Moore a terrible Bond and his
films nonsense for this is clearly wrong and I would maintain that
Moore was closer than anyone else to Fleming's original creation. And
for me Moore will always be the definitive James Bond.
I
thought Timothy Dalton was excellent too, as was Pierce Brosnan and
George Lazenby was OK if a little amateurish at times. Daniel Craig, I
think, is a great and very talented actor but I just don't think he's
right for James Bond and I feel that both his Bond movies were lacking
the essential ingredients that make Bond stand out from all the other
action movies out there. It would be interesting to find out how many of
the people who think Craig's Bond is the Bond of the books have
actually read Fleming's original novels. Not many, I think.
But I digress - back to Moore.
When
you analyse Moore's Bond, there's a lot of similarities between the way
he and Connery played Bond - Connery also, at least from Goldfinger
onwards, presented Bond as a larger than life, devil may care character
and both actors were fond of the corny one liners. Of course Moore's
tenure as Bond happened to coincide with a period where the comedy was
becoming more important to the series, and it also helped that Moore was
superb, far better than Connery, at playing for laughs.
If
Moore's Bond had failed then we would never have had Dalton, Brosnan or
Craig and Connery wouldn't have returned for Never Say Never Again. It
was Moore that kept James Bond at the top of the box office for more
than a decade and for that reason alone he deserves the accolade of the
best ever James Bond.
Yep
it's trendy to dismiss Roger Moore's Bond and claim that Daniel Craig
is the closest to Fleming's vision but that's just bollocks. Fleming's
bond was a professional killer but he killed out of choice, it was his
profession and he was never the cold blooded thug as the latest films
have seen fit to present him. Bond was a snob, a misogynist, and Moore
brought out out all of these characterisations with the minimum of
effort.
"Just keeping the British end up, sir."
Roger
Moore may have made arguably the worse Bond movie in Moonraker, but at
least the film is good natured and fun, and I would rate it far higher
than Quantum of Solace which was truly shit. And Moore may have gone on
too long in the role, being far too old during A View to a Kill - It
doesn't change the fact that he starred in so many high-points of the
series - The Spy Who Loved Me, Live and Let Die and For Your Eyes Only
can stand shoulder to shoulder with the best the series has to offer.
And no one, not even Connery, could deliver a quip with the style of
Roger Moore. Let us not forget that not all of Connery's Bond movies
were excellent - Thunderball was plodding and overlong, Diamonds are
Forever was uninvolving and You Only Live Twice whilst having its
moments suffered from a boring middle section. Connery did at least make
three classic flawless Bond movies but then so did Roger Moore.
Roger Moore was an excellent James Bond and best not forget it. And here we reprint another Moore/Bond based article If Roger Moore had thought stepping into the shoes of James Bond would be a life of luxury. he was in for a big surprise.
'As the star of the picture I was given a caravan all to myself,' Moore wrote in his autobiography. 'Not
a luxury Winnebago but the kind you see in motorway lay-byes selling
tea and coffee. I did have a bucket in the rear though in which to
relieve myself.'
One
day on set an out of control vehicle collided with the caravan and
obliterated the back of the caravan and Moore's bucket only moments
after the star had done a number one. On screen Moore was expected to
face danger with a nonchalant eyebrow, but it was dangerous enough
behind the scenes. One afternoon Moore watched as his double was almost
eaten by an alligator while performing the famous stepping
stones/alligator scene.
'He was wearing my crocodile skin shoes and ruined them.' Moore jokingly grumbled later.
Prior
to taking the part of 007 for Live and Let Die, Moore had been
considering sign up for a second season of, The Persuaders, but while
filming the later episodes of the series Moore had found the Bond team
filming Diamonds are Forever at the same studio. Moore met the producers
of the story and he had a pretty good idea that the offer of the role
was coming his way. TV mogul, Lew Grade was furious when Moore signed
for Bond and warned that the move would ruin the actor's career.
How wrong he was.
Lots
of criticism has been leveled at Moore because his Bond was so light
and more comedic than earlier films, but Connery's last Bond movie,
Diamonds are Forever actually set the blueprint for the direction the
series was going. In some ways Diamonds can be considered one of the
Roger Moore Bond's even if it was Connery in the role, and in truth
Moore's first Bond, Live and Let Die is a far better movie than Diamonds
are Forever. And the lightening of the Bond character had actually
started some years before with Goldfinger, often considered the best
Bond movie. So to criticise Moore for his lighter Bond is actually
nonsensical even if the comedy and outlandish elements were to reach all
new highs - not necessarily an all time high.
Moonraker
for instance may the worse Bond film of all, though personally I'd give
that dubious honour to Quantum of Solace. But at the same time The Spy
Who Loved Me is one of the best. Moore made as many good Bonds as
Connery and was guilty of only a couple of really dreadful ones. To my
mind the two bad Moore/Bonds are Moonraker and A View to a Kill and the
failings of both movies are due to more than the leading man.
I'm
a big Bond fan and I think that each of the actors who have played Bond
have delivered both good and bad - George Lazenby whose one Bond is
now considered a classic managed to be both excellent and terrible in
the same film.
It
was during the filming of Moonraker that Moore met a young director
named Steven Speilberg who was currently a hot property and the
director, a huge fan of the series told that actor that he would love to
direct a Bond movie. Moore told Cubby Broccoli about this but the
producer dismissed it by saying Speilberg would be too expensive. And so
Speilberg and Bond never happened and so the director went off and made
Raiders of the Lost Ark, James Bond with a whip.
THE POSTERS FOR MOORE'S BONDS WERE AMONG THE BEST
'My
contention of playing Bond light is that it's all a big joke. How can
he, a secret agent, walk into any bar in the world and be recognised and
served his favourite tipple? It's pure fantasy,' Roger Moore
Moonraker
had been rushed into production after the success of Star Wars and all
things science fiction. The movie that was supposed to have been in
production was to have been For Your Eyes Only. This was a mistake and
For You Eyes came after Moonraker and turned out to be one of not only
Moore's best Bonds but anyone best Bonds. This was the way to play Bond
tough and at the time, after growing used to Moore's light style, it was
truly shocking. Awesome, we would have thought had such yelps of
delight been in common usage then.
"I
am happy to have done it, but I'm sad that it has turned so violent.I
would love to be remembered as one of the greatest Lears or Hamlets, but
as that's not going to happen, I'm quite happy I did Bond." Roger Moore
Now I've already written about why I think Roger Moore was the best Bond above,
but as we await the return of James Bond to our cinema screens, in his
all new thuggish persona, we realise that the series has never truly
recovered from the loss of Roger Moore.
