1946 vs 1978

One thing about retirement is that there is time, if you choose to take it, to do other things. I'd mentioned I'd recently started to get more serious about reading again. The most recent completed book is Ice Ghosts, The epic hunt for the lost Franklin Expedition, by Paul Watson. I quite enjoyed it. When I was a kid I read about the various voyages of discovery, complete with harrowing tales of those who made it back by the skin of their teeth, or rather, by eating the leather of their boots. Many didn't get back.

I'd read of the Franklin Expedition, but it was one of many, no more compelling than the others. Back when Harper was Prime Minister, one of the few bits of news he allowed was his interest in finding the Erebus and Terror. So they did, but the book isn't only about those particular discoverers. Watson talks about many of the rescue voyages, and even more interesting, the social milieu they happened within. Well, except for the paranormal stuff, that had me rolling my eyes. Victorians, you know.

The book in progress is a collection of short stories by Neil Gaiman, called Trigger Warning. So far so good. I've been on a bit of a kick for his works lately. Can't wait for season 2 of American Gods, and might even rewatch season 1 to get up to speed. I recently read an expanded version of this book and loved it.

I forget when I first saw The Big Sleep, but I'm pretty sure it was at the Plaza Theatre in the early 80's. For a time I was a regular there, loving the old movies, the old movie theatre, their particular smell of popcorn, and the whole laid back experience. I even had my favourite seat.

Most of you have probably seen it. If you haven't, we can't be friends anymore. I saw it several times, getting no closer to figuring out the plot. Then I read the book and began to understand a bit more. The 1946 movie is a pretty bowdlerized version of the book, but they had the Hays code back then.

I only found out there was a 1978 version starring Robert Mitchum when I saw it at the library a few days ago. It was a "two-fer" disc that also included Farewell, My Lovely. I'd heard of the latter, but never seen it.

The 78 version of The Big Sleep is more faithful to the book, but it's a dud. Mitchum is sleepwalking through the whole thing. There is no chemistry, whereas the 46 version with Bogie and Bacall is practically the definition of movie chemistry. Even with the restrictions on the script the movie sizzles. Seriously, get it from the library and settle in. Bogie, Bacall, directed by Howard Hawks. It doesn't get any better.

Farewell, My Lovely is much better. First, it was new to us. Second, Mitchum absolutely nailed it. Third, the rest of the cast and movie itself nailed it, and Linda figuring out who Velma was didn't detract from the experience. I almost want to watch it again.

Lots of people don't like old B&W movies. They move too slowly, the effects suck, everybody dresses and talks funny, and it's black and white while the real world is in colour. One of the reasons some of the older movies are so good is because of those restrictions. I love watching them to see the clothes and how people wore them, the cars, the prices, and just general street scenes. They are a glimpse of a lost America (everybody smoking everywhere!), one that at least aspired to be the image it had created. Now we get colour, but everybody dresses the same and it's all sloppy, the cuts are fast and frantic I think mainly because most of the actors can't act for more than a few seconds. Most movies now, especially the superhero ones, are boring.

I am slowly coming to see the charms and potential of B&W in my own work. The other day I was out to run some errands and took the camera gear. The sky was lovely and the landscape is as green as this part of the world ever gets. The second runner up from yesterdays Image of the Month is from this ramble.

There's a few places to get some nice views of the mountains and since it was along the way I forced myself to stop. This first photo was such a disappointment when I saw it on screen, and didn't get any better as I played with it. I liked the composition and worked on it for a while, not getting anywhere. Only that night as I was drifting off to sleep, after watching the 78 version of Big Sleep, thinking it was better in B&W that it occurred to me to try that on the photo. Sure enough.

That worked so well I tried it on a couple other photos that didn't work in colour.

 You might need to look at this one a bit closer to see the polar bear. I mean the sailplane. The subject hints where I was.

There was some Facebook discussion about that second runner up, and a reference to a panorama version of that shot . Here it is.

I'm not completely pleased with it. There should be something more than tire tracks in the foreground. Without the sky I wouldn't have taken the shot, let alone publish it here. And yes, in my full size version of this I can see the referenced soccer goalposts. In case you are wondering, it would print out sized almost 4 x 1.5 feet.

Here's another landscape from the same trip. Imagine the blue of the clouds, and much more of it, all over the first photo above. Then add more blue, even to things that should be green.

Oddly enough, even though the photos suggest it was cloudy, all the action was off to the west. I was enjoying the sunshine after all the rain we've had lately. Here's another view of that sky. The huge sky and endless view is what I love about driving around southern Alberta

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