#REVISITING DVD COLLECTION

[kissablelips-desireslure-vol3]

WELCOME TO L.A: BURBANK Director: EVIL JEFF

Featuring: Austin Wolf Justin Owen

©️ RANDY BLUE

[kissablelips-desireslure-vol3]

SELF REBLOG FROM Vol 1

The Passionate Kiss:

LUKAS & ION GET PASSIONATE while watching...

[renthony]

Lost in the Remaster: Star Trek, Vintage Special Effects, and the Charm of Old Media

by Ren Basel renbasel.com

Originally created by Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek is a franchise that spans decades. From the original series of 1966 to current shows such as Lower Decks, it stands as a titan of television and pop culture. The real world has undergone incredible change since Star Trek’s first appearance, yet nerds everywhere still find entertainment, inspiration, and hope in its classic episodes. Recently, along with my husband and best friend, I decided I wanted to attempt the gauntlet of watching the entire franchise from beginning to end, revisiting favorites and finally checking out the ones I missed. Media and fandom studies are my passion, after all, and Star Trek is a foundational part of modern American nerd culture.

Starting with the original series proved more difficult than expected. Living in a tiny apartment, we don’t have much space for DVDs, so Star Trek wasn’t in our existing collection. The local public library didn’t have copies, either, and putting in a purchase request doesn’t guarantee it will be made available. My family doesn’t have the funds to pay for every single streaming service on the market, and Star Trek isn’t available on any we do have access to. Piracy was starting to look like the only option, but even that fell flat when we couldn’t find a version with subtitles. Finally we dug it up officially and with subtitles, for free via PlutoTV, but there were still limitations: PlutoTV only streams season one, and season one is only available in the remastered edition that replaced the original special effects with new visuals.

It wasn’t ideal, but, hey, it was Star Trek.

Watching just one episode a week gave us enough time to scrape together savings to get what we really wanted for seasons two and three: the official BluRay release, which includes both remastered and original-release versions of each episode. The remasters are fine, but as a lover of media history and practical effects, I’m always disappointed to lose a chance to appreciate the originals. It doesn’t matter how good it might look, remasters are never as much fun to me as matte paintings, camera tricks, and whatever the prop department could pull off with ten dollars and some glue.

Finally having the BluRays in hand for season two only affirmed my love of vintage practical effects. Seeing the Enterprise in her original glory, before she was ever rendered in digital form, felt like opening a time capsule. I love time capsules. My favorite pieces of media are always those which capture a moment in time, showcasing the aesthetics, concerns, and culture of the time and place they were created. Star Trek: the Original Series is rooted in the late sixties, when mainstream culture in the United States was experiencing immense upheaval and social change. That context is written all over the show. The vintage effects add to it, grounding it in a very specific time and place. Updating the show’s effects takes away some of that 60s aesthetic, and while some may see it as making the show more timeless, I don’t care for it. To me, seeing what they could pull off before modern technology is half the fun of watching old shows. The ingenuity and creativity of propmakers, makeup artists, and set designers working on shoestring budgets is unparalleled.

To be clear, digital effects are also done by skilled professionals who deserve much more respect and many more labor protections. There are some truly stunning works created with digital tools. That said, I hate when digital effects are used to cover up the practical effects that came before. It feels disrespectful to the original artists, as if telling them their work wasn’t good enough; as if their work was just a placeholder until something better could come along and fix it. Practical effects aren’t a placeholder, they’re an art form in their own right, and that art form is one for which I have deep appreciation.

It frustrates me that the original, non-remastered episodes were such a pain for us to access, but I’m very glad to have added them to my personal media collection. No matter what future tweaks Star Trek’s rights holders might make, I can always pop in our personal copies to enjoy the Enterprise and her crew in all their vintage, “outdated” glory. If you’re also too young to remember the show’s original airing, and you have the opportunity to watch the unedited version, I highly suggest you do. Watching the version that aired in 1966 gives the show a charm that no amount of remastering can ever match.

_

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[loveliestpenguin]

Today I went to go see the showing of Arrietty in the movie theater! It has always been my comfort film as it’s mine and many others introduction to g/t. I might be a little biased to say that the cozy atmosphere and music make it one of the best ghilbi movies as well!

Anyways, it was just my luck that when we got there the movie wasn’t even playing. Not even the credits played, just a blank screen. Strange, but the packed theater waited patiently as we continued to wonder why nothing was showing. 10 minutes passed by, then 20 and then 30. By then a lot of people got up to see what was going on and I was so sad as I realized I probably wouldn't be able to see it today.

The first time I saw this movie it was special, as it was my mom and I in an empty theater where we were able to completely immerse ourselves in the borrowers world. I don’t really remember all that much as I was pretty young, but from what my mom tells me, she says that she couldn’t take her eyes off me watching it for the first time, as I was completely enthralled through the entirety of the movie. She often fondly tells me that it is her favorite memory of me and how that film also shares a space in her heart.

Back in the present, I was quickly getting bored and realized that I could just pull up HBO Max on my phone to watch Arrietty from there. Needless to say my arms felt like jello from holding my phone up so long for the people in the back and myself to watch the movie. I had to switch arms a few times to keep it level, but I kept going to entertain the crowd and I. I didn’t turn on the volume but it was pretty funny to hear the people in the back actually watch it with me on my phone. (Subtitles and all)

“I feel bad for the people who can’t see this in the front”

“Hey, look it’s actually Arrietty!”

“This is better than nothing. Sitting here watching a blank screen for forty minutes.”

“The art in this movie just makes me want to rewatch it over and over. Shame we can’t see it on the big screen, but this will suffice.”

“I wish I was Arrietty fr :/“

“Wow the only thing missing is the stellar music”

“Thank you person in the front!”

Super disappointed that I couldn’t revisit seeing it on the big screen one more time, but luckily my friends and I got refunds because it wasn’t cheap. 😭🙏

Once I got home though, I rummaged through my dvd collection and rewatched Arrietty on the big 72 inch in the family room. If only I were a borrower, so that I could see it my tv like the real cinema.

[britt-kageryuu]

Donnie is going around his lab, checking on works in progress, re-reading test results for past projects he put to the side, and adding some new pictures and notes onto his Multiverse Board.

They didn't feel like they wanted to revisit an old project, but their curiosity was really pushing to see what possible changes could happen if he just poked through to change even just a few variables. But he remembered why he shelved that particular project, and instead adjusted it.

He figured if he couldn't open a way to a different dimension, he could at least make it so that only other versions of their brothers and himself could find their broadcasts and VODs. They haven't found proof of this adjustment working just yet, but then again he was purposefully making sure they couldn't directly come to their dimension. So messages might also be getting caught in that filter.

They stop infront of a set of shelves that have multiple Comic Books, Novels, DVD/Blu-ray, games, and some toys of their alternate selves. They started collecting these because it was the "safer way" to have a form of contact from the different dimensions, plus it made it much easier to watch their whole story and not just see random glimpses that were vastly lacking in context.

Donnie pulls out his custom jailbroken Switch, specially modified to get games from other dimensions, to play through one of the games based on one of their variants. They still had trouble with getting some of the games, but they're sure it's just a 'timing issue' with release dates. Some of these games were purposefully chosen for their multiplayer functions.

They had opened a theoretical 'Multiverse Server' and would leave these online games as an open join, or random drop in, from this server. It was technically the safest way from them to have multiplayer games without some random crazy trying to drop in. But there wasn't any new activity or added members since Donnie had added his families accounts to it.

Donnie had shared the games with their brothers, and they agreed to play a few of them on stream for the hell of it. Maybe if only to cause some chaos and confusion for the audience. The only times they let the audience join a game is through the Patreon Servers, or Jack Box games, and even then it's with limited interactions.

Though Donnie kept this MVS open, just incase one of his counterparts wanted to have some form of contact to their dimension. Even if it's mostly through the chat systems of some random online games.

Donnie tried to keep their mind from wandering while trying to play through one of the games about one of their variants. They were enjoying the game despite the fact that they were slowly running out of possible upgrades without beating the big boss. He had gotten so close that one time, but alas he forgot the trope of there's a second stage that's harder than the first.

They still keep an ear out for any notifications that might come in while he tries to ignore the urge to potentially RIP apart reality, just to meet alternate versions of themselves.

Donnie totally didn't chose a very specific notification sound just incase someone did try to contact them.

These is definitely not a small pile of broken controllers from him, in an uncharacteristic moment, throwing a controller at the wall in rage, because he thought a notification was from a different dimension, and not his father asking for help fixing the projector again.

This is at least partially why he set himself up with multiple things to do, because if he didn't need to do so much, they'd be sitting here all day just waiting for the slight possibility of contact...

Maybe he should check in on whoever's streaming, and see if they wouldn't mind them joining the stream...

Yeah, that would be a much better distraction...

Once he finished this run through in the rouge like game, and double checked that everything was still running at max proficiently!

HE WAS NOT TRYING TO AVOID HIS PLANS TO AVOID MONITORING THE MVS!!!

--------------

Masterpost

Technically speaking Donnie has breached the Multiverse, it's just they're not allowed to open a portal to them. Thus he's collecting merch, and sending copies of his drones into a void to monitor other Multiverse Merge Points.(AKA TMNT AU meetups)

[not-your-bro]

hi there! idk if u still do hcs, but if u do, can u do some platonic climbing class hcs? thank you!

hiya!! i am always doing hcs! depending on what i've got front of brain and how busy i am, it may take a minute for me to answer, but i am p much always ready & willing to yap 🫡

a lot of these hcs have been mentioned in fics of mine over the years, so apologies if any are familiar, but here's what i've got:

made short horror films together when they were kids. josh was the driving creative force, chris was the cameraman & editor. hannah and beth always featured in them, and so did their other friends from time to time. (jess loved being in them but she's a terrible actress LOL.) in an old fic of mine, i had josh make a dvd collection of these films and give them to chris as a present. josh would also keep a copy in the washingtons' media collection, and he rewatches them more than he'd admit. chris gets too much secondhand embarrassment to revisit them super often.

because absolutely nothing can keep them from yapping, they were nonstop note passers in school. josh was good at getting away with it, but chris wasn't - not as quick with the sleight of hand, and he always just looked like he was doing something he wasn't supposed to. at some point, josh had the bright idea to write their notes with invisible ink pens, so getting caught wasn't a big deal. in middle and high school, when they didn't spend all day in the same classroom together, they left notes in each other's lockers a lot.

always do joint halloween costumes, and they've been doing it for so many years that it's just an unspoken, understood thing that they'll be dressing up together. some costumes i think they'd do: billy and stu from scream; adam and lawrence from saw; wayne and garth from wayne's world; lloyd and harry from dumb and dumber (the ugly suits specifically); ian malcolm and alan grant from jurassic park.

chris was deeply into the lord of the rings movies as a kid, and even though he didn't get far in the books (not a reader), he thought it was cool that tolkien made up an entire language. so...you can guess what he and josh tried to do... it wasn't deep/robust - more individual words/common phrases than a proper language - but they liked being able to communicate with each other in a way only they could understand. sometimes they did it for privacy, other times to be annoying. like it bothered beth to no end, so the boys definitely just made shit up in front of her to get a rise, even though they had no idea what the other was saying.

chris drinks mainly to keep up with josh, even though he doesn't particularly care for alcohol unless it's masked in a mixed drink. but chris likes to smoke weed, and so does josh, so they're always slipping outside together to smoke. when they were younger, they really tried to keep it secret - had a little hideout in the woods and everything. later, they realized that a) it was pretty obvious what they were doing and b) nobody gave a shit. so as they got older josh liked to make up increasingly ridiculous reasons for why they needed to step out.

chris is largely the driver and josh the passenger princess, and if other friends are riding with them, josh has to get shotgun or it's, like, a problem. he's such a baby about it - he just feels it's his seat. when josh drives it's because he had an idea of something they could do together, and he just sort of...showed up at chris's house. leading to lots of text exchanges like this

in this vein, they hang out constantly but they don't often make set plans or decide what they're doing beforehand. it's really just a lot of hanging out, in the purest sense of the word, and they aren't opposed to parallel play - each doing their own thing in the same room, like chris playing a game while josh doodles and half-watches. lots of late nights turn into unplanned sleepovers, to the point that josh bought an extra toothbrush to keep in the bathroom for just such occasions. whenever friends or family are like "what'd you guys do?" they get shrugs and "nothing really." which sounds like a brush-off, but most of the time it is nothing really, and imo that's the best part of their friendship to me. they can do fuck-all for hours and still enjoy themselves together. no stress, no expectation. and i think this is crucial for both of them, for different reasons. chris has social anxiety and josh is always On. for chris, being with josh doesn't trigger that anxiety, and for josh, being around chris doesn't require the same level of performance. it's just comfortable.

[samasmith23]

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Prologue)

I’ve made it no secret on this Tumblr blog that one of my personal favorite anime franchises of all-time is Hideaki Anno’s magnum opus, Neon Genesis Evangelion. Comprised of 26 TV Episodes, 2 follow-up movies, and a 4-part reboot/sequel film teatrology, Evangelion has certainly made a lasting impression among both Japanese and American anime audiences. What started out as a simple deconstruction of the mecha genre ended up rapidly evolving into one of the most psychologically complex and multi-layered stories I’ve ever encountered in any medium, reflecting Anno’s own personal experiences with depression while also exploring themes of personhood, loneliness, self-worth, self-destruction, relationships, sexuality, love, death, and psychoanalysis in an incredibly earnest and thoughtful manner. I was personally first introduced to EVA through my best friend at university, who told me it was one of her personal favorite anime series, and subsequently marathoned the entire original series plus the Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion movies. For the longest time I’ve avoided the Rebuild teatrology since I’ve heard incredibly divisive opinions from long-time EVA fans who have argued that the newer films are vastly inferior to the original and miss the point. But following the release of the final Rebuild film, Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0: Thrice Upon A Time, I’ve heard many former detractors of the Rebuilds come around on the new films and argue that they actually expand upon the themes of the original series + movies in a thematically rich manner, further reflecting Anno’s personal experiences and growth.

And seeing that I own the original out-of-print ADV Films’ “Perfect Collection” DVDs for NGE and the Manga Entertainment DVDs for Death & Rebirth & The End of Evangelion, recently bought the GKids Limited “Collector’s Edition” Blu-Ray boxset collecting the both the original series + movies in high-definition (and includes both the original ADV/Manga Entertainment Dubs & the modern Netflix Dub), and Amazon Prime includes all 4 Rebuild movies for free, I’ve decided to do a complete marathon revisiting both the original Neon Genesis Evangelion series + movies, as well as watching all 4 Evangelion Rebuild movies for the first time ever!

This marathon will serve as a reaction/watch-through thread, as well as an in-depth analysis of the various themes & nuances of each episode & film! Plus, I’ll also frequently inject some lighthearted humor & references in these posts since in the immortal words of my favorite internet reviewer, Lewis “Linkara” Lovhaug, “I’m a snarky bastard!”

A couple of ground rules for this marathon, however:

First, I’m going to be watching the original English dubs since they’re the versions that I’m personally most familiar with and am incredibly fond of the main cast (i.e. Spike Spencer as Shinji, Amanda Winn Lee as Rei, Tiffany Grant as Asuka, and Allison Keith as Misato). I personally have not watched all of Netflix’s new dub, from what little I’ve seen of it I feel that it’s vastly inferior to the original ADV & Manga Entertainment dubs. While the new dub does include a talented cast of voice actors (especially non-binary VA Casey Mongillo in the lead role of Shinji…), the new translation provided by Studio Khara suffers heavily from hyper-literal translations of the original Japanese script which sound incredibly awkward and unnatural when spoken in English, lacking the same level of emotional weight that the ADV and Manga translations allowed for. While the original dubs have their fair share of flaws did take some creative liberties, they were mostly faithful IMO and possessed a greater sense of energy and passion behind them.

Second, I’m going to be basing my analysis of each episode & movie based off the aforementioned DVD and Blu-Ray collections that I own, and will note key differences between the two versions. This will especially pertain to the ending credits theme song, a karaoke rendition of Bart Howard’s iconic “Fly Me To the Moon” which was completely removed from all international versions of NGE when Netflix acquired the licensing rights for the original series + movies in 2019, replacing the ending theme with an alternate version of Shiro Saigsu’s “Rei I.” So while my original DVD copies keep “Fly Me To the Moon” intact, the iconic song is sadly absent from my new Blu-Ray boxset.

Third, Episodes 21-24 of NGE are unique in that they later received “Director’s Cut” versions following the conclusion of the TV broadcasting of EVA, reanimating key frames and including entirely new scenes which were developed for the Death & Rebirth recap movie. My DVD copies included both the original “On-Air” and “Director’s Cut” versions of these episodes, whereas the Blu-Ray solely includes the Director’s Cuts. While I personally feel that the Director’s Cuts are the far superior versions of these episodes, I’m going to analyze both versions of these episodes back-to-back to highlight key-differences between them.

Lastly, I’ll be watching the infamous TV ending in the form of Episodes 25 & 26 before I watch the redone movie ending in the form of The End of Evangelion, which stands as not only one of my all-time favorite anime movies, but one of my Top 5 favorite movies period. Additionally, in-between the TV ending and The End of Evangelion film I’ll be watch the Death & Rebirth film which is simply a condensed recap of Episodes 1-24 of the TV series. It’s also worth noting that there are two different versions of the film, with the “Death” portion of the film covering the recap, while the “Rebirth” portion is the unfinished first 30-minutes of The End of Evangelion (it ends immediately before Asuka’s doomed fight against SEELE’s Mass-Production Evangelions). The version of the film on my Blu-Ray release is Death (True)², which completely omits the “Rebirth” portion of the film, while the original DVD includes the “Rebirth” portion. So I’ll be watching the “Death” portion on the Blu-Ray, and the “Rebirth” portion on the DVD.

And with all of that out of the way, let’s us officially begin the launch sequence for the "Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon” saga!

[890prodoctions]

Hello all again!

Bet you weren’t expecting me to make two posts today huh?

While not exactly a “thing I own now”

I still have never posted about it here so...

I figured it was time to introduce everyone to my absurd Matrix collection.

All of these are different releases of the matrix movies (and Enter The Matrix)

There is;

The Matrix - DVD

The Matrix Revisited - DVD

The Matrix - VHS, collector’s edition

Enter The Matrix - PlayStation 2

The Animatrix - DVD

The Matrix Reloaded - VHS

The Matrix Reloaded - DVD, Full-Screen Edition

The Matrix Reloaded - DVD, Wide-Screen Edition

The Matrix Revolutions - DVD, Full-Screen Edition

The Matrix Revolutions - DVD, Wide-Screen Edition

Yeah... that’s a lot of Matrix films. And I’m probably not even done at all. Nope, but that’s fine. The crazy thing is... I’ve gotten all of these from thrift stores.(Except Enter The Matrix) So I have gotten all of these for ridiculously cheap. Like 3$ each max.

So yeah, that’s my collection!

[mikesq10]

My Top 50 Favorite Movies

2

21 (2008)

I like to use a moniker here: I have probably seen this movie 21 times. Dating back to 2008 in theatres to owning it on DVD and even purchasing it on my phone, 21 is accessible through many different formats. What makes this movie so good to me? It all starts with Ben Campbell, a Massachusetts native who is trying to get into Harvard Med but does not have the $300,000 to do so. Enter Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) who teaches Ben in one of his classes and sees a very smart young man and invites him to a secret card counting club. Reluctant at first, Ben is then convinced by an attractive sidekick Jill (Kate Bosworth) to join not only for the money though as well for the experience of a lifetime, going to Las Vegas every weekend to count cards for the table game Blackjack. It is up to Jim to stay focused, collect what he needs and get into Harvard Med. Easier said then done. A strong cast ensemble led by Spacey works wonders in this movie that is easily rewatchable and appealing to most crowds. There a few side plots also worth having your attention like Ben and his close friends in robotics, Jill and Ben's budding chemistry, and Micky's long history with the casinos in Vegas. 21 is such a good movie that it is over before you know it and I usually revisit this film once a year now and still pick up something new. Locked in at number two.

[kissablelips-desireslure-vol3]

Title: GIVE AND TAKE 3

Subtitle: The Best of Bel Ami Flip Flops

Models: PHILLIPE GAUDIN ANDREI KARENIN

©️ BEL AMI STUDIOS

[the-rewatch-rewind]

Back after a week off!

Script below the break.

Hello and welcome back to The Rewatch Rewind, the podcast where I count down my top 40 most rewatched movies. My name is Jane, and today I will be discussing number 31 on my list: RKO’s 1937 dramatic comedy, or comedic drama, Stage Door, directed by Gregory La Cava, written by Morrie Ryskind and Anthony Veiller, from the play by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman, starring Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, and Adolphe Menjou.

When heiress Terry Randall (Katharine Hepburn) decides to go into show business, she moves into a theatrical boarding house called the Footlights Club with other, significantly poorer, aspiring actresses. She keeps the details of her privileged background secret, but nevertheless struggles to fit in with the others, particularly her new roommate Jean Maitland (Ginger Rogers), who see her as a snob. The conflict heats up even more when Terry is cast in a role that another Footlights Club resident, Kay Hamilton (Andrea Leeds) had her heart set on.

I can’t remember exactly how I first discovered this movie, but I assume it was because I love both Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers, and I was trying to watch as many of their films as I could get my hands on. They are two of the four actors to make it into at least 4 of the movies that will be on this podcast, so it makes sense that I would keep revisiting a movie that featured both of them, even though they apparently didn’t get along very well offscreen. I think I might have seen Stage Door for the first time in 2002, I’m not sure, but once I started keeping track, I watched it 17 times: twice in 2003, three times in 2005, once in 2006, twice in 2008, twice in 2009, twice in 2011, once in 2013, once in 2014, once in 2015, once in 2016, and once in 2022. Back in 2013, I blogged about the movies I had watched at least 10 times in 10 years, and at the time Stage Door was the only one of those I didn’t own a copy of, so I know that at least all the views prior to then were because I borrowed it from the library. When I finally got it on DVD, it was part of a Katharine Hepburn collection that included the 1933 version of Little Women, which won Best Adapted Screenplay. When I was going through adapted screenplay winners in 2017, after I watched that one, the collection somehow fell under my bed without me realizing it, so the next time I wanted to watch Stage Door, I couldn’t find it, and it wasn’t until 2022 that I finally cleaned out under my bed and uncovered it. So Stage Door would be even higher on this list if I cleaned my room more often.

In my last episode, I mentioned that what I really wanted out of Newsies was more of the ensemble just hanging out, and that is exactly what Stage Door provides. There are so many great scenes featuring Footlights Club residents exchanging witty banter, without in any way hindering the plot. While some of that comes from the stars, particularly Ginger Rogers, the supporting cast is absolute gold and features several relative unknowns at the time who became quite famous later, such as future television stars Eve Arden and Lucille Ball, in addition to then-14-year-old Ann Miller, who used a fake birth certificate to pretend to be 18, and somehow managed to hold her own dancing with Ginger Rogers. Gail Patrick was already somewhat established as a master of the cold, calculating secondary character, and she continues that here as Linda, Jean’s main rival before Terry shows up, but she later became even more noteworthy for executive producing the Perry Mason TV show in the 1950s and 1960s, when she was the only female executive producer of a prime-time show. It’s so fun to see these soon-to-be household names so early in their careers hanging out and swapping jokes. But I think I would still enjoy the ensemble scenes at least almost as much if I’d never heard of any of the performers. One of my favorite moments is when the oldest resident who is now an acting coach, played by Constance Collier, is going on yet again about “Back in my day” and somebody who’s holding a book interjects, “when knighthood was in flower” and Constance Collier is all offended until she says, “I’m sorry, I was just reading aloud” and her face and delivery are so perfect, and I have no idea who that character or actress is but I love her.

I’ve read several different stories of how this script came to be. While it’s ostensibly based on a play, apart from the title, the setting, and some of the characters’ names, it’s barely recognizable as the same story. Playwright George S. Kaufman reportedly quipped that the title should have been changed to Screen Door to further distance itself from his play. One story claims that director Gregory La Cava sent an assistant to pose as an aspiring actress in a boarding house and write down what the residents said to use as dialogue in the film. Another version says that La Cava had the actresses from the film hang out together on the set prior to shooting and incorporated their interactions into the script. And yet a third version is that much of the dialogue was improvised while filming. I’m not sure which is true, and I suppose it could be a combination of all three, or none of them, but regardless, the banter is excellent and feels entirely natural. While the slang is, of course, rather outdated, the way they insert snarky comments into their conversations feels exactly like how friend groups – particularly those who are discouraged and fed up but laughing to keep from screaming – interact in real life even now. It’s unusual to see a movie with a primarily female ensemble being so witty together, and I can’t even begin to explain how fun it is to watch. Granted, some of it does get a bit stereotypically catty, but even the least-developed unnamed extra in this movie feels like a real person. Beneath their jovial facades lurks a deep longing for success on the stage, as well as frustration at how difficult that is to achieve, and they all convey that so brilliantly. Mad props to the entire cast.

Like many of the movies I’ve talked about so far, Stage Door has a rather complicated relationship with sex and romance. Because production codes of the time prohibited most sexual content, they had to leave it kind of vague, but it’s implied that the character of theatrical producer Anthony Powell, played by Adolphe Menjou, is providing Gail Patrick’s character, Linda, with expensive clothes and jewelry in return for sexual favors – although why she’s still living at the Footlights Club is rather a mystery – until Ginger Rogers’s character Jean catches his eye and he gets her a job dancing at his nightclub. Jean initially despises him, and only starts dating him because of how much she hates Linda. It’s not entirely clear whether Jean actually sleeps with him – there’s a scene of her in his apartment getting very drunk, but then she starts talking about marriage and Powell has his butler send her home. But they apparently keep seeing each other after that, and Jean does seem to develop feelings for Powell, for completely unfathomable reasons, but Katharine Hepburn’s character Terry sees through him. There’s a great scene when Powell takes Terry to his apartment to discuss the role she’s just been given and she resists his advances, but then when Jean shows up Terry pretends they were in the middle of something so that Jean will see that Powell is no good. This doesn’t help Jean and Terry’s relationship, and most of the characters at the Footlights Club probably think that Terry got the role by sleeping with Powell – although the audience knows it’s because her father said he would help finance the new play if she was the star, hoping that she would fail and return home. Jean already thinks that Terry has previously had a similar arrangement to the one Linda had with Powell because Terry also has expensive clothes and a photograph of an old man she claims to be her grandfather – but again, the audience knows that Terry comes from a rich family and that the man probably is her actual grandfather. I guess showing characters inferring that other characters were having illicit sex was okay with the censors as long as it wasn’t confirmed? Also Powell tells Jean in the scene when she’s drunk that he has a wife and son, but later Terry exposes this as a lie, so even if he is sleeping with any or all of the people that characters think he might be, at least he’s not committing adultery because he’s not really married. Maybe this is just me, but I find it so fascinating what was and wasn’t allowed under these production codes. Anyway, in a similar but perhaps more innocent vein, Lucille Ball’s character is from Seattle, which apparently means she knows every lumberman who visits New York, so she’s often going out on dates with them. Jean clearly despises their uncouth ways, but the food at the Footlights Club is notoriously almost inedible, so she’s willing to let them dance on her feet and bore her in exchange for dinner. Incidentally, one of these double dates is what Eve Arden’s character is referring to in the line I quoted at the end of last episode about “a pleasant little foursome” and predicting a hatchet murder. It doesn’t seem like there’s sex involved in this arrangement, although Lucy’s character does end up marrying one of the lumbermen at the end, but it feels similar to the Powell situation in that it shows women willing to give men what they want in exchange for security, luxury, or both.

The idea that men always want sex and women either tolerate or use sex is certainly not unique to this film – it’s a prevalent stereotype even now that is harmful in so many ways, encouraging and normalizing incredibly toxic relationship dynamics between straight allosexuals. And a side effect is that it makes things very confusing for asexuals. Those who are socialized as girls may not recognize their own asexuality because women aren’t supposed to really want sex that much anyway. And those who are socialized as boys are pressured to ignore their asexuality because men are supposedly defined by their obsession with sex. It’s not great and we need to stop spreading this false narrative. But in terms of this movie, when you remember that it’s from 1937, the same year as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and “Someday My Prince Will Come,” it almost feels progressive to at least show women taking control of their own lives, even if they’re forced to do so within the confines of an oppressive, patriarchal society. There are a few times throughout the film when it’s suggested that these women would be better off getting married and raising children and giving up on their acting dreams, but this is presented as the view of society at large, particularly men like Powell, and not necessarily the truth. It’s rather empowering to see these women stubbornly taking the path that feels right to them even when they’re constantly being told to give up and conform. So from that perspective, the message feels less problematic and more encouraging, and that aspect speaks to me.

This movie also addresses mental health struggles in a very interesting way that I want to discuss a bit. Trigger Warning: I will be talking about depression and suicide in this section, so I’ll put time codes in the show notes if you need to skip through that [skip this and the next paragraph on the script]. For its time, I feel like this movie actually does a pretty good job of distinguishing between feeling a bit down and actually suffering from depression. Most of the residents of the Footlights Club are struggling to find work, but they’re managing. Kay Hamilton, however, is clearly not. She’s behind on her rent and skipping meals but refuses to ask for or accept help. It’s established that she gave a highly acclaimed performance in Anthony Powell’s previous play but hasn’t been able to find work since. Kay desperately wants the leading role in his new play, both because she needs the work and because she relates to the part. When Terry is cast instead, Kay is devastated, but insists that none of the others inform Terry how much she wanted it. To add insult to injury, Terry is awful in rehearsals, refusing to take direction and reading the lines as emotionlessly as possible, so we can all see that Kay would have been a much better choice. On opening night, Kay gives Terry her good luck charm, and then jumps out the window, killing herself. Jean confronts Terry and blames her for Kay’s death. Terry is beside herself – Kay was basically the only one who was nice to Terry – and at first doesn’t want to perform at all, but her grief puts her in the perfect mindset to play the character whose feelings she’s never understood before. She’s clearly performing to honor Kay’s memory, and all of the Footlights Club residents in attendance recognize that, and afterwards Jean and Terry finally become friends.

The main thing I remember from the first time I watched this was how shocked I was by Kay’s suicide. It felt like such an abrupt and upsetting change of tone from what had been mostly a lighthearted comedy. But upon rewatch there are so many signs. When all the other residents of the boarding house are laughing off their troubles, Kay never joins in, only occasionally managing a weak smile to try to reassure her concerned friends that she’s fine. Nobody knows how to help her, and she doesn’t know how to accept the help that’s offered. It’s an upsetting but realistic portrayal of depression, and Andrea Leeds plays it so perfectly that she was even nominated for an Oscar. Considering that, even with all the recent advances made in mental health research and treatment, many people still consider depression just a period of sadness when you’re not trying hard enough to cheer yourself up, it’s astounding that a movie made 86 years ago does such an excellent job of conveying what it actually feels like. It’s not really sadness; it’s more of a void. A hopeless void that you feel like you’ll be stuck in forever. And that’s what Kay shows us. I don’t think I consciously realized this when I was watching Stage Door as a teenager suffering from depression, but I do think in a weird way it helped, to see what I was feeling from the outside. To see that Kay was surrounded by people who cared about and wanted to help her, that the void was lying when it told her there was no other way out except through the window. I wish there had been a way to save her, and I don’t love the implication that her death was necessary to make Terry a good actress, although I don’t think that was the message they were going for. I think the film is trying to say that art and storytelling can be used to channel pain into something beautiful, and while there are certainly better ways to convey this that don’t involve suicide, I still feel like this movie is surprisingly respectful of mental health struggles, particularly for its time, and I appreciate that.

I know I’ve been emphasizing some of the darker aspects, but it’s mostly an uplifting movie. It’s just also trying to be realistic about the hardships faced by women pursuing artistic careers, particularly during the Great Depression – not that things are much better now. I kind of think having this movie in the back of my mind has contributed to at least some of my decisions to support female actors and producers on Patreon. If only the residents of the Footlights Club had had access to the internet. Anyway, there are lots of fascinating behind-the-scenes Stage Door stories, and I’m not sure if any or all of them are actually true, but I want to mention some of them nonetheless. There was apparently a random cat on the RKO lot that took a liking to Eve Arden, so Gregory La Cava decided to make it part of the movie that her character was almost always holding or playing with the cat. Perhaps the most famous line in Stage Door is Terry’s speech in the play, which starts with “The calla lilies are in bloom again…” This was taken from a play called “The Lake” in which Katharine Hepburn had appeared on Broadway, and, in the words of critic Dorothy Parker, “ran the gamut of emotions – from A to B.” So Hepburn used this performance to redeem herself a bit. She certainly shows more emotional range than A to B, although I feel like she still had more to learn before becoming the truly excellent performer she’s remembered as. According to several accounts, Katharine Hepburn was extremely envious of Ginger Rogers, whose career at the time was going much better than her own. Rogers had a much easier time taking direction and getting along with people, and just seemed to generally have more natural talent for performing. So Hepburn resented her, and insisted on sharing top billing instead of taking second billing under her. Rogers was disappointed when Margaret Sullavan, who had played Terry Randall on Broadway and was originally cast in the film version, became pregnant and had to drop out. So neither of them were thrilled to be working together. Since I love both Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers, it makes me a little sad that they didn’t actually like each other, but that was kind of perfect for their characters’ dynamic in this movie. A nicer story is that Ginger Rogers helped launch Ann Miller’s career by insisting she get the role of her dance partner even though the director thought she was too tall, and apparently Rogers and Miller became life-long friends. And one last fun piece of trivia that I recently stumbled upon is that the woman in the photograph of Anthony Powell’s pretend wife was Verree Teasdale, who was married to Adolphe Menjou – so the character’s fake wife was the actor’s actual wife.

Thank you for listening to me talk through another of my most frequently re-watched movies. We’re a quarter of the way through the list already! Remember to subscribe or follow on your podcast platform of choice for more, and rate or leave a review to let me know how you’re enjoying it so far. This episode is coming out on International Asexuality Day, so I hope my fellow aces out there are feeling particularly supported and celebrated today. As always, I will leave you with a quote from the next movie: “You promised me a zillion dollars! And a nickel!”

[josephthesnailshow]

Sammy's Secret (Sequel to Sammy the Cat)

~~~

Days turned into weeks after the discovery of the disturbing "Sammy the Cat" DVDs. The unsettling events and nightmares continued to haunt my thoughts. I decided to go deeper into the mystery, determined to uncover the truth behind this haunting show.

I have contacted the local police department again to inquire about any updates on their investigation into the second DVD I've reported. They informed me afterward that the man responsible for the show's disturbing content had been identified as Richard Turner, an actor who had struggled with severe mental health issues.

Intrigued and horrified by this disclosure, I decided to visit Richard Turner in prison. I wanted answers. As I entered the cold, dimly lit prison visiting room, I was met with a crooked and untidy man in a prison uniform. It was Richard Turner, the man who had portrayed Sammy the Cat.

He looked up, his eyes filled with a mixture of sadness and madness. I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for him, despite the gruesome scenes I had witnessed in his show.

"Richard," I began cautiously, "I need to understand what happened with 'Sammy the Cat.' Why did you create such a disturbing show?"

Richard hesitated, his gaze fixed on the table. "It was my descent into madness," he mumbled, his voice trembling. "I was plagued by my demons, and I thought creating this show would somehow help me cope."

"But why the violence? The nightmares it caused?" I said.

Tears welled up in Richard's eyes as he recounted his troubled past. "I lost everything—my career, my family. I became consumed by my own darkness. I thought that by creating something so horrifying, I could share my pain with the world. It was my cry for help, albeit a twisted one."

I left the prison with a heavy heart, struggling to comprehend the depths of Richard's torment. It was a chilling reminder of the power of mental illness and the damaging impact it could have on a person's life.

Still, the mystery surrounding the second DVD remained. Why had it shown a seemingly different side of Richard, one that hinted at remorse and regret?

Determined to find answers, I revisited my great-aunt's estate, sifting through her belongings once more. Hidden among her possessions, she stumbled upon a diary that belonged to her. In it, she chronicled her experiences as a nurse at a psychiatric facility, including her interactions with a troubled patient named Richard Turner.

The diary entries revealed that my great-aunt had developed a deep connection with Richard, attempting to help him overcome his mental health struggles. She believed in his potential for recovery, even though others had given up on him.

As I pieced together the puzzle, it became clear that Richard had a complex history with my great-aunt. Her unwavering support and compassion had made a significant impact on his life, and he had dedicated the disturbing "Sammy the Cat" show to her memory.

The revelation left me with mixed emotions. While the show's horrors couldn't be excused, it was a stark reminder of the profound impact one person's kindness and understanding could have on another, even in the darkest of times.

I decided to preserve the story, not as a tale of terror but as a cautionary tale about the importance of mental health awareness and the potential for redemption, even in the most disturbing of circumstances.

After talking to Mr. Turner and sifting through my great-aunt's belongings, I realized that the police department was searching the house, and they found something unexplainable. It turns out he was living inside the walls the whole time before the police found him, and during that, they also found blood stains from the victims he killed. They already collected what he used in the show: his Sammy costume and the long-barreled shotgun. They decided to put the shotgun in a bag. They hired strong men to grab the costume and lock it away somewhere.

One of his friends was Jack Kennedy. How do I know him? I was searching more about Richard, and I found his name, so I clicked it to find more information; he was one of the people who knew Richard Turner at the facility where my great-aunt met Richard Turner, though the guy was less insane than he was. Jack Kennedy is a traumatized but intelligent man who suffered from child abuse. He later found the Sammy costume and saved it for family-friendly entertainment purposes, though he made it less low-budget in order to make it less creepy.

Now, before I end this, I have nothing else to say to anyone who reads this. Richard may not return to the public, but I assure you that I hope, and I'm being serious here, that despite him being a terrible person as seen in the previous tapes I watched, he does seem like he has remorse and regret for his actions, and I'm assuming that he's being truthful about it. Anyone can change if they put in the effort.

I'm glad I tried to end this on a little happier note, but I don't know yet, and luckily, I'm feeling a bit better after this situation.

[ren3gade]

file Home 04x02 under "x-files episodes that made us lose our collective minds"

This episode is a permanent resident of top 10 lists. I recall it mashing some of the same buttons as Humbug, which I had the pleasure of revisiting last year. if you missed the premier, you missed it for a while as it was infamously banned from re-airing on FOX. I didn't see it again until I picked up the season 4 DVD set in the early aughts.

i probably haven't seen this episode in a decade (!). will it delight or disgust? I think I know the answer but let's gooo

[vintage1981]

Defenders of Earth! | The Collection: Season 9 Announcement Trailer | Doctor Who

Jo Jones - defender of ALL life on Earth! 🌍 #DoctorWho: The Collection returns with the Third Doctor's third season as the next instalment - find out more here ➡️ https://bbc.in/3HvHdsq

CREDITS 

Jo Jones - Katy Manning

Alex - Isabelle Palmer

Kat - Julia Haworth

Sea Devil - Hal Townsend

Junior - Mike Tucker

Filmed on location at Redcliffe Caves and Clevedon

Thanks To: Lee Binding | Peter Crocker | Julie Martin

Runner - Ellie Collins

Location Managers - Alex Moore, Andrew Stocker

Creature Costume - Philip Robinson

Make-up - Kate Lockwood Cowell

Title Sequence - Bernard Lodge, Rob Ritchie

CGI Artist - Chris Thompson

VFX Designer - Mike Tucker

DIT/Camera Assistant - James Dalby

Sound Recordist - Adam Tavner

Dubbing Mixer - Mark Ayres

Camera - Paul Vanezis

Director of Photography - Matt Patrick

Executive Producers - Pete McTighe, Russell Minton

BBC Studios 2023

The third season for Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor is the next release to come to Blu-ray with Season 9.

Pre-order DOCTOR WHO: THE COLLECTION - SEASON 9 from Amazon, Zavvi and Rarewaves in the UK, and Amazon in the US ahead of its release on the 20th March.

Across an action-packed twenty-six episodes, the Doctor and Jo (Katy Manning) face off against Daleks, Ogrons, Sea Devils, Ice Warriors, Mutants and their old enemy the Master (Roger Delgado). Joining them in their adventures are the UNIT team of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (Nicholas Courtney), Captain Yates (Richard Franklin) and Sergeant Benton (John Levene).

All episodes have been newly remastered from the best available sources – these classic adventures have never looked or sounded so good on home media.

The Collection: Season 9 Blu-ray box set also includes extensive special features including:

MAKING THE TIME MONSTER Looking back on the Season 9 finale with Katy Manning, John Levene and more.

MICHAEL E BRIANT AT THE HELM A profile of director Michael E Briant.

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION Katy Manning and friends revisit the filming locations of Season 9.

THE FELL GUY A profile of prolific stuntman Stuart Fell.

BEHIND THE SOFA Five new Behind the Sofa episodes featuring Katy Manning (Jo), Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor), Wendy Padbury (Zoe), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa), Janet Fielding (Tegan), Sophie Aldred (Ace) and director Michael E Briant.

BLU-RAY TRAILER A brand new slice of classic Doctor Who.

MOVIE-LENGTH EDITIONS Special repeat screenings of DAY OF THE DALEKS and THE SEA DEVILS, previously unavailable.

CONVENTION FOOTAGE A chance to hear from UNIT’s Nicholas Courtney and Richard Franklin, recorded in 1986.

5.1 SURROUND & DOLBY ATMOS SOUND On THE SEA DEVILS (episodic and omnibus edition).

HD PHOTO GALLERIES Including many previously unseen images.

AUDIO ARCHIVE Featuring many unreleased gems.

INFO TEXT Behind-the-scenes information and trivia on every episode.

PDF ARCHIVE Including scripts, exclusive unseen BBC production files and other rarities.

And loads more!

This eight-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD including Documentaries, Featurettes, Audio Commentaries, Day Of The Daleks Special Edition and more.

Doctor Who: The Collection – Season 9 includes the following stories from 1972:

DAY OF THE DALEKS

THE CURSE OF PELADON

THE SEA DEVILS

THE MUTANTS

THE TIME MONSTER

[dragoninatrenchcoat]

Since I've had this post pinned to my blog for the entirety of 2023, I feel like I need to review & thank this post for all it's done for me

COLLECT PHYSICAL MEDIA

My book collection died when I moved in 2021. I didn't make a conscious effort this year to rebuild it, but I did continue to collect more books and buy & use DVDs of shows I liked.

2. SAVE RECEIPTS AS ROOM DECOR

I never came through on my plan to print out all my short story rejections in the spirit of the way Stephen King famously tacked his rejections to his bedroom wall, but I've been continuing to collect them.

3. READ AND REREAD AND REREAD AND REREAD

I've been rebuilding my reading habit along with my book collection; both revisiting old favorites and discovering new ones.

4. LOSE YOUR PHONE

I can't say I used my phone less this year than previous years--but I've embraced the necessity to live screenless once in a while. I think I've only gone screenless one or two days this year, but I fell in love with it, and am always looking for ways to make my day more analog.

5. ORANGE

I HAVE eaten more fruits and veggies this year than in past years. This is related directly to being more financially stable.

6. LOSE AMBITION

My dreams had painted a rose-tinted view of my own future, and I bit off more than I could chew. I am still ambitious, but now my eyes are open.

7. KILL THE SHAME MAN

I've been tempted to feel ashamed because I quit my job and moved back in with my parents, but this list, among other things, helped me remember that I'm extremely lucky just to have the option.

8. DANCE IN THE KITCHEN

This is something I've done a lot in the past, in this year, and hopefully through the entirety of my life.

9. WINE AND ESSAYS

I don't drink alcohol, but I have indulged this year--both in momentary happiness, and in learning new things.

10. BUSES ARE ALIVE

This would have been apropos in 2022, when I lost my car and found out that even in big cities, American public transport is a farce. I was able to get a new car in Jan 2023, and have only been on a bus once since; but apart from the logistical nightmare, I miss public transit in a way that's difficult to explain. Buses are alive.

2023

COLLECT PHYSICAL MEDIA

SAVE RECEIPTS AS ROOM DECOR

READ AND REREAD AND REREAD AND REREAD

LOSE YOUR PHONE

ORANGE

LOSE AMBITION

KILL THE SHAME MAN

DANCE IN THE KITCHEN

WINE AND ESSAYS

BUSES ARE ALIVE

[moderndigitalconverters]

From Analog to Digital: Digital Converters’ Role in Modern Media

The transition from analog to digital technology has revolutionized how we capture, store, and share media. Analog formats, such as VHS tapes, vinyl records, and cine films, were once the pinnacle of media storage. However, as technology advanced, the limitations of these formats became apparent—physical deterioration, bulky storage, and the need for specialized equipment made them increasingly impractical. In the modern era, digital formats have taken center stage, offering convenience, longevity, and ease of access. This transformation has been made possible by the essential work of digital conversion technologies.

At the forefront of this shift are services like Digital Converters, which play a crucial role in bridging the gap between analog and digital media. These services specialize in transferring content from outdated analog formats into versatile and durable digital files. Whether it’s converting old home videos on VHS tapes, audio cassettes, or even delicate cine films, digital converters provide a seamless way to preserve and modernize valuable media. By ensuring these materials are not lost to time, they allow individuals and businesses to retain their content in a format that aligns with today’s technological landscape.

One of the key roles of digital converters is media preservation. Analog formats are inherently fragile and susceptible to environmental factors such as heat, humidity, and dust. Over time, tapes degrade, film reels become brittle, and audio records lose clarity. Digital conversion halts this deterioration by transferring the content into a format that doesn’t degrade over time. Once in a digital form, the files can be stored on various platforms, such as external drives, cloud storage, or even DVDs, ensuring that the content is safe, secure, and accessible for decades to come.

Another major advantage of digital conversion is accessibility. Analog formats often require specialized equipment to view or play, such as VCRs, cassette players, or projectors, which are becoming increasingly rare. By digitizing your media, you make it accessible on modern devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops. This enhanced accessibility is especially important for families who want to revisit old memories or share them with younger generations. Digital files can be easily shared via email, social media, or cloud services, allowing treasured moments to be enjoyed anywhere, anytime.

Digital converters also play a significant role in enhancing media quality. Analog formats, particularly those that have aged poorly, may suffer from issues such as static, color fading, or audio distortion. Advanced digital conversion services often include restoration features that improve the quality of the original media. For example, video footage can be stabilized, colors corrected, and audio cleaned up to eliminate hissing or popping sounds. These enhancements help breathe new life into old media, making it more enjoyable and visually appealing.

The shift to digital also simplifies media organization and storage. Analog formats are bulky and require substantial physical space to store safely. In contrast, digital files are compact and can be stored in a highly organized manner. Whether on a hard drive or cloud platform, digital media can be sorted into folders, labeled with metadata, and tagged for easy searching. This level of organization is nearly impossible to achieve with analog formats, making digital conversion a clear choice for those looking to streamline their media collections.

In addition to personal use, digital converters have become indispensable in various professional sectors. For instance, media production companies often rely on digital conversion services to archive old footage, while museums and libraries use them to digitize historical records and artifacts. Educational institutions also benefit from these services by converting outdated teaching materials into digital formats, ensuring they remain relevant and usable in modern classrooms.

Lastly, digital conversion future-proofs your media collection. Technology evolves rapidly, and analog formats are increasingly difficult to maintain or use. By digitizing your media now, you protect it against obsolescence and ensure its compatibility with future technologies. This proactive approach guarantees that your content will remain accessible and relevant regardless of how technology advances.

In conclusion, the role of Digital Converters in modern media is both transformative and essential. They provide a practical solution for preserving and modernizing analog media, ensuring its longevity and accessibility in a digital age. By bridging the gap between the past and the present, digital converters empower individuals and organizations to protect their valuable content and enjoy it for generations to come. Whether you’re safeguarding family memories or preserving historical artifacts, digital conversion is the key to ensuring your media stands the test of time.