Howard Hugh's Hell's Angels

Hell's Angels was the 1930 Howard Hugh's film that won the first Academy Award as best film. The version of the film I've linked has been remastered and colorized. Normally I dislike colorizing old black and white movies, but it works well in this instance. 

The Hell's Angels was originally filmed as a silent film, but Al Jolson's introduction of sound to films led Howard Hugh to reshoot the film as a talky. Still, there is a lot of silent movie DNA in the film. Their body language and facial expressions can be exaggerated. Most notably the blocking for conversations can be somewhat odd, rather than doing an establishing shot and then cutting back and forth between the characters, they tend to just face each other at an uncomfortably close distance as they talk in a static shot.

The story centers on two upper-class British brothers. Roy is upright and very proper and is infatuated with his girlfriend Helen, who he prizes because he thinks she is pure and demure. On the other hand, his brother Monte is a bit of a bounder, who drinks too much and chases any skirt he sees. Hilariously, when we finally meet Helen (played by Jean Harlow) she turns out to be a completely over-the-top strumpet. Hmmm.., it appears Roy isn't the best judge of character. The film starts pre-WWI and follows them through their time in the RAF.

The above video is queued up to the start of one of its most famous sequences -- a Zepplin raid on London. The German Zepplin commander is adequately villainous, he's quite delighted when he thinks he's blown-up Trafalgar Square. When the English planes show-up he needs to lighten his dirigible to gain altitude and escape. Dropping his ballast and tossing spare equipment overboard isn't enough, so he orders some of his crew to jump off the ship and they, being good Hun automatons, oblige him by uttering 'for the Kaiser and the Fatherland' before jumping through the open bomb bay doors. Oh, the humanity.

There is another large set piece battle near the end of the film. Roy and Monte bomb a German ammo dump in a captured German bomber. As they try to escape the Red Baron and his Flying Circus spot them and give chase. A squadron of British planes arrives to try to cover their escape and a huge dogfight ensues. They used 137 pilots for film and the final dogfights scenes between the captured German bomber and the two squadrons is spectacular.

Should you watch it? The film is nearly 100 years old and so there are many differences in the presentation and mores of the day. One big example is that there is no score to the soundtrack, it is all dialog and ambient sounds. The film is also pre-code, so it is not as prudish as later films; Jean Harlow's dress that she wears to the party should have been enough to convince Roy that Helen may not be the delicate flower he imagines her to be. Yet, the filming and storytelling methods work nicely so I would say it is well worth a viewing. 

The YouTube version I linked to above has a blizzard of ads, if you prefer to skip that you can buy ad-free versions it.     

Eric Ravilious

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Eric Ravilious (1903 – 1942) was an English artist and designer. Although he worked in a variety of medium, he is best known for his watercolors. He painted landscapes and scenes of everyday life. He was also a British war artist, and he was lost in 1942 on a search and rescue flight out of Iceland. 

Eric Ravilious by Phyllis Dodd

Qaisimalaurittuq (Wish You Were Here)

Get ready for a wistful weekend with Elisapie and The Westerlies.

 

The Great Molasses Flood of 1919

On January 15, 1919, a 20-foot-tall wave of molasses, traveling at 25 mph, ripped through North Boston causing massive destruction and killing 21 people. It was caused when a 50ft tall tank, storing 2.3 million gallons of molasses collapsed. The molasses had industrial purposes, used in creating alcoholic drinks and compounds for explosives.

Along with the death and injuries, there was widespread damage -- an elevated rail line was bent, and several other buildings were demolished, with many more suffering different degrees of damage. The rescue and cleanup were difficult because, well... molasses is sticky. Eventually it was discovered sea water could break down the molasses, so water was pump from the bay and sprayed over the area.

The owners of the tank, trying to dodge liability for its failure, tried to blame an anarchist bombing plot, but that claim was dismissed and they were found liable due to poor construction. It was to lead to tightening building regulations to improve safety.

Below are some pictures of the aftermath of the molasses flood. As an aside, I've posted about molasses once before. 

Bui Xuan Phai's paintings

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Bui Xuan Phai (1920 - 1988) is perhaps the most influential 20th century Vietnamese painter. Born in Hanoi he is best known for his paintings of old Hanoi.

He was born in a Confucian household but gravitated to the arts as a young man. He attended an art school that taught traditional Vietnamese art methods, but he was to become heavily influenced by western artists such as Matisse, Picasso and Chagall. It was to mark his lifelong belief in artistic freedom and expression.     

In 1945 he supported the August Revolution which was the beginning of the fight for Vietnam's independence and freedom from foreign interference. He supported that through what he viewed as the Japanese, French and American occupations. 

However, in the mid 1950s he became embroiled in the Nhân Văn–Giai Phẩm movement, which is a push for greater freedom of speech and respect for human rights. As a result, he was declared a reactionary, fired from his teaching job, and barred from publicly participating in art. 

I find his palette interesting. It is not quite what you would expect to see in a Western painting, I assume it is more of a SE Asian color scheme, although red isn't lathered all over the scenes. In his urban scenes of Hanoi, he'll outline the building with a thick line and color in the surfaces. Again, a technique you rarely see in Western art. 

Bui Xuan Phai

Help Me, Rhonda

Get ready for a catch him on the rebound weekend with na Relo.

 

Reading the room

Say Cheese
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The Room - Kevin John Hart

It is my house, and yet one room is locked.
The dark has taken root on all four walls.
It is a room where knots stare out from wood,
A room that turns its back on the whole house.

At night I hear the crickets list their griefs
And let an ancient peace come into me.
Sleep intercepts my prayer, and in the dark
The house turns slowly round its one closed room.