2019-04-11 - Fun Questions
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tomasino writes:
1. Name one film that everyone should see at least once.
2. Name one book everyone should read at least TWICE.
3. Name one song everyone should listen to at least once a year.
Diclaimer: I'm crap at just picking ONE THING
Movie: Probably _Ladri di biciclette_ aka _The Bicycle Thief_
I know its become sort of a cool thing to decry the film
as some sort of poseur artsy thing, but it really is quite
a magnificent piece of work. Filmed in the aftermath of
World War II, with a cast of untrained actors, with no
budget. It holds up even today.
I'm cheating and also nominating _Lost in Translation_
as an additional movie, because I love it so. Don't worry
about the plot holes, it doesn't matter a damn what he says
to her in the rain. Just soak up this incredible movie and
its look, and its soundtrack is amazing.
Book: Ursula K. LeGuin's _The Dispossessed_
Anarchists in Spaaaaaace! The book which has informed my
own reading ever since I read it when I was very young,
far too young to actually appreciate it.
I reread it last year, and it has moved me beyond compare.
There's simply nothing else really like it, a wonderful
mind-bending story, portraying a world I still wish I lived
on. Read it once quickly for the story. Read it again, more
slowly, and study the world.
Song: The Beatles, _Within You, Without You_
Kind of a tie between this and _While my Guitar_, but
I still think this is the best song on _Sgt Peppers_
by quite a distance, and that's still, 50 years later
probably still the best popular music album ever made.
If I was permitted another one or two, then I'd choose
_Disintegration_ by The Cure, the full 8:18 album cut,
and _Vesti la giubba_ from Leoncavollo's _Pagliacci_.
