In Titanic, there is a scene showing a boy playing with a spinning top on deck. This is actually a recreation of a real photo taken onboard the ship on April 11th, 1912 by Francis Browne. It shows 1st Class passenger Frederic Spedden and his 6 year old son Douglas. Both survived the sinking.
How did the camera survive?
Titanic had two stops on her voyage, one in Cherbourg, France and the other in Queenstown (now called Cobh), Ireland. Francis Browne, the photographer, left the ship in Queenstown and didn’t continue the voyage to New York.
Gelmis:Did you deliberately try for ambiguity as opposed to a specific meaning for any scene or image?
Kubrick:No, I didn’t have to try for ambiguity; it was inevitable. And I think in a film like 2001, where each viewer brings his own emotions and perceptions to bear on the subject matter, a certain degree of ambiguity is valuable, because it allows the audience to “fill in” the visual experience themselves. In any case, once you’re dealing on a nonverbal level, ambiguity is unavoidable. But it’s the ambiguity of all art, of a fine piece of music or a painting — you don’t need written instructions by the composer or painter accompanying such works to “explain” them. “Explaining” them contributes nothing but a superficial “cultural” value which has no value except for critics and teachers who have to earn a living. Reactions to art are always different because they are always deeply personal.
Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” is a film that has been pored over and dissected by critics and audiences alike since its release in 1941. At the heart of its labyrinthine narrative lies a single word—Rosebud—a cryptic utterance from the dying Charles Foster Kane that frames the entire film. This enigmatic term has become a symbol of cinematic mystery, a puzzle that the film invites us to solve. But what does “Rosebud” truly represent, and why does it continue to captivate the imaginations of viewers more than eighty years later?
While the AI-generated art debate rages on, some are taking it in a more harmless fun direction by making imagined shows with existing casts. That’s what Reddit user u/reddimatz did at least, reimagining Game of Thrones as a Friends-style sitcom. While some important characters are noticeably missing (This Jaqen H’ghar disrespect WILL NOT stand), the others are a pretty on-point interpretation, terrible nineties fashion and all.
Wong Kar Wai’s “Chungking Express” intricately weaves a narrative that delves into the emotional labyrinth of love, presenting a story that is as multifaceted as love itself.
Through the interconnected lives of its characters—Ho Chi Moo, Cop 663, and Faye—this cinematic masterpiece explores the cyclical nature of love, from the depths of despair to the heights of newfound affection, and everything in between.
1. You go on a road trip together and still like each other at the end of it. Traveling together in general is a great test of a relationship. Packing, airports, cabs, foreign languages, etc. Being able to navigate all the potentially stressful aspects of traveling and still have a good time together is a huge green flag in my opinion.
“It was much better to imagine men in some smoky room somewhere, made mad and cynical by privilege and power; plotting over the brandy. You had to cling to this sort of image, because if you didn’t then you might have to face the fact that bad things happened because ordinary people, the kind who brushed the dog and told their children bedtime stories, were capable of then going out and doing horrible things to other ordinary people. It was so much easier to blame it on Them. It was bleakly depressing to think that They were Us. If it was Them, then nothing was anyone’s fault. If it was Us, what did that make Me? After all, I’m one of Us. I must be. I’ve certainly never thought of myself as one of Them. No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do the bad things.”
― Jingo, Terry Pratchett
This quote comes from “Jingo,” a novel by Terry Pratchett, part of his critically acclaimed Discworld series. The Discworld novels are known for their wit, wisdom, and the way they mirror real-world issues through the lens of a fantastical universe.
I have lived nearly fifty years, and I have seen life as it is. Pain, misery, hunger … cruelty beyond belief. I have heard the singing from taverns and the moans from bundles of filth on the streets. I have been a soldier and seen my comrades fall in battle … or die more slowly under the lash in Africa. I have held them in my arms at the final moment. These were men who saw life as it is, yet they died despairing. No glory, no gallant last words … only their eyes filled with confusion, whimpering the question, “Why?”
I do not think they asked why they were dying, but why they had lived. When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. To seek treasure where there is only trash. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!
― Dale Wasserman, Man of La Mancha: A Musical Play
The quote comes from “Man of La Mancha,” a musical play written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion. The play is inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” but is not a direct adaptation.
“Don Quixote” a novel published in two parts (1605 and 1615) by Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, tells the story of Alonso Quixano, an older gentleman who becomes obsessed with the chivalric romances he reads.
