Taking Chance

In the news this week was the Obama administration's decision to revisit the policy on allowing pictures of the caskets bringing home dead soldiers. The previous president did not want pictures such as the one here to see the light of day. I am glad about Obama's decision, it's both patriotic and symbolic, but I also understand if family members of the deceased would choose not to want photos like this be seen.

All of this ties in with a new HBO film that screened at Sundance called Taking Chance. It stars Kevin Bacon who plays a real life colonel who accompanies one casket back to its final resting place. I say often that one of the things I like about films is when they take me some place I would never get to go, and this film does that. We follow Bacon's character on his journey from Dover Air Force base to the family in Wyoming. It was fascinating in its simplicity.

I have always thought Kubrick's Paths of Glory was the best anti-war war film I have seen. I think Taking Chance is right there with it. We get to see the very real and very unglamorous after effects of war. I have seen some reviews from its Sundance screening that weren't all that favorable, but I liked it. It's small and quiet and dignified and pays its respects to the fallen soldiers.

See it if you can.

PeterH

The Adams Family

While on hiatus from Filmmaking 101 one of the things I did was watch the remarkable HBO mini-series John Adams. The series was based on David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize winning biography of our second president, John Adams. The series stars Paul Giamatti as Adams and Laura Linney as Abigail Adams, David Morse as George Washington and the always terrific Tom Wilkinson as Ben Franklin.

The show was excellent on many levels, not the least of which was the craft of filmmaking. Combining period costumes and exteriors (Colonial Williamsburg) with state of the art graphics- 18th century Philadelphia and the White House were recreated in a computer- brought the early years of our country to life.

The film made me think about the guts our founding fathers had to divorce themselves from Mother England on the hope that things would be better. Given that our fledgling country had no currency, constitution or nation government, this was no small risk taken.

The other thing that struck me was what an unusual lead character John Adams makes. Unlike the convenient heroes of our country- warriors, noble men, victims with a cause, crusaders- John Adams was a cantankerous, cranky, sarcastic, talkative New Englander. He never met an argument he felt he couldn't win. He stood up for what he believed even when it wasn't popular. He fought authority, he did what he felt was right, and he made enemies of powerful people.

Dale Carnegie he was not.

A few summers ago I went to a family reunion on my mother's side and saw my future and my past. Almost all the men there were cantankerous, sarcastic, talkative and bald. I was proud to be there because I, too, am an Adams. The HBO film, like the family reunion, showed me my past and my future- warts and all.

See the mini-series it is worth the effort. And for this one time I will sign off with my full name.

Peter Adams Hawley

Let's Play Two!

Meteorologically, today is the nicest day we have had in Chicago since a freakish 65-degree sunny day came and went in early January. The calendar says spring, but the Cubs played their first home game last Monday in a 45 degree mist. With the exception of today it still seems like spring is a ways off. However, today's nice weather got me thinking about baseball and more specifically baseball films.

Baseball pictures by and large stink. I like Field of Dreams and Bull Durham and a lot of The Natural. Eight Men Out is great, but that is more historical than anything else- plus who can resist John Sayles and our friend Studs Terkel as the writers Ring Lardner and Hugh Fullerton. But more often than not baseball films are garbage- especially if you are a baseball fan. William Bendix as Babe Ruth? Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig? The worst is Anthony Perkins as Jimmy Piersall in Fear Strikes Out. Trust me Perkins is scarier as a ball player than as a motel keeper in Psycho.

A problem I have with baseball films is that even the best baseball film is not better than the experience I have going to an average mid-season major league game. (Major League, the film is not a great movie, either.) And going to a minor league game is even better. It's just a blast and so much less commercial and more "joy of the game" than Big League ball-and way better than a bad baseball movie.

The best baseball film I have seen is a documentary HBO did years ago called When It Was a Game. They used home movies from fans from the 1930s- 1960s and voice over of real ball players to describe the experience. Some highlights include 16mm color film from the 1938 World Series between the Cubs and Yankees- color footage of Lou Gehrig. Take that Gary Cooper! Also, ball players like Enos Slaughter talk about how they played for the love of the game. They even had to bring their own sandwiches to eat between games of doubleheaders.

For you youngsters doubleheaders are what teams used to play on holidays and most Sundays so they could take the next day for travel. The owners wised up and realized they could maximize profits by playing 81 home dates, hence the opening days on in snowy March and a World Series that bumps into Halloween.

But of course you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

PeterH

p.s. I know that is a photo of Jackie Robinson and not Ernie Banks-the source of "Let's Play Two." Robinson is the most important player in baseball history- he is emblematic of the idea of when it was a game. His picture deserves to be here- just as it is a good thing that his number 42 has been retired by all major league teams.

Flight of the Conchords

International week continues.

I am a huge fan of the HBO series Flight of the Conchords. Not only is it funny, and often it is very funny, but I really like what they do with the form of TV. Twice in each episode they break into a song and the ensuing low tech music video reminds me of Ernie Kovacs and early David Letterman.

They use their limitations- a low budget- as their strengths. In the most recent episode one video was shot as they rode bikes through the lower east side of Manhattan. Before that they did a dream sequence where "David Bowie" flew in to the room with his guide wires very visible.

There is a plot to every episode, but the real charm is their banter and their songs. I am not doing them justice here so take a look for yourself. This clip features Murray the band manager.

http://www.hbo.com/conchords/video/index.html

PeterH