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adamwatchesmovies · 2 years ago

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Carrie (1976)

Carrie is more frightening, and more relevant than ever. Although there are a few (two) rough spots, the cast is perfect, the imagery is iconic and the characters resonate like they were written for the screen yesterday. You couldn’t imagine anyone taking another crack at this story and making it work as well as director Brian DePalma.

Shy, lonely Carrie (Sissy Spacek) is constantly tormented at school and suffers an even worse fate at home thanks to her mentally unstable religious zealot of a mother (Piper Laurie). After a particularly harsh round of bullying, two of Carrie's classmates (Amy Irving and William Katt) and her phys-ed teacher, Miss Collins (Betty Buckley) take pity upon the girl and invite her to prom night. They don't know Christine "Chris" Hargensen (Nancy Allen) and her boyfriend, Billy (John Travolta) are planning on ruining the evening. Meanwhile, Carrie discovers that she possesses telekinetic abilities.

The screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen nails its characters. You don’t get much more of an underdog than Carrie. At first, she's so reserved and broken that she’s almost a non-entity. When this invitation to prom comes her way, you think "This could be the one thing that turns it all around". Carrie is getting cruelly stomped on by pretty much everyone there is but the worst of them all is Chris. There’s no reason for her to dislike Carrie as much as she does; Chris has looks, friends and a boyfriend that’s wrapped all around her finger. She could just let the poor girl be but refuses to. You can’t wait to see her get knocked down to where she belongs.

Just when you think things couldn’t get any worse for Carrie, you meet her mother, Mrs White. This mom’s a whole other bag of crazy, the kind of person everyone in town knows about and dislikes. She’s always ranting and raving about these poisonous ideas. It takes about 10 seconds for you to realize there’s no getting through to her no matter what kind of angle or tactic you use. Better to just politely walk away and be done with the madwoman as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Carrie does not have that option. Piper Laurie brings an intensity to the role that’ll have your blood boiling. She dominates the screen like a mountain and all Carrie can do is shrink and obey.

It takes a while for Sissy Spacek’s character to crawl out from the hole she’s been forced into, which is why the actress’ look is key to bringing Carrie to life. You completely believe her in every scene she’s in because she’s got such an unusual look to her. She isn’t ugly but she looks like she’s never smiled in her life without getting slapped five seconds later. You see this young woman and your mind extrapolates an entire childhood of misery.

And then, Carrie begins to discover her abilities… that’s when things change completely. Most people probably already know the film’s big scenes, the ones that come right at the end and confirm that you are indeed watching a horror movie. If, for a second, you can ignore what you already know, Carrie feels like a different kind of picture. It’s a high school drama that could end with a sweet sort of romance. This tone threatens to trick you into believing that you’re watching something else, particularly with the funny little scenes where the boys are going shopping for their tuxes and Carrie is getting ready for the prom. You see how this story COULD end, which makes the conclusion - stylishly shot with great uses of the color red - feel that much bigger.

Even if you “know” what happens to Carrie, you don’t actually know the movie unless you’ve seen it front to end. It’s a horror film that plays with you. It gives you hope and then smashes it to dust. The performances are fantastic and the characters so real you latch onto them instantly. It’s a great horror film that you can never forget. (On Blu-ray, March 5, 2020)

#Carrie #movies #films #movie reviews #film reviews #Brian De Palma #Lawrence D. Cohen #Stephen King #Sissy Spacek #Amy Irving #Betty Buckley #Nancy Allen #William Katt #John Travolta #P.J. Soles #Piper Laurie #1976 movies #1976 films

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camisoledadparis · 25 days ago

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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … January 24

41 AD – Roman Emperor Caligula is assassinated at the Palatine Games by his own officers after a reign of only four years. He was noted for his madness and cruelty including arbitrary murder and arbitrary sex encounters with men, women, and animals, including forcing his officers into regular sex bouts.

Hadrian and Antinous

76 AD – The Roman Emperor, Stoic and Epicurean philosopher Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus or as he has come down to us, Hadrian was born in Spain. Hadrian was the third of the "Five Good Emperors". His reign had a faltering beginning, a glorious middle, and a tragic conclusion.

He is considered by many historians as the most versatile of all the Roman Emperors. He liked to display knowledge of all intellectual and artistic fields. Above all, Hadrian patronized the arts: Hadrian's Villa at Tibur (Tivoli) was the greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating a sacred landscape, lost in large part to the despoliation of the ruins by the Cardinal d'Este who had much of the marble removed to build Villa d'Este. In Rome, the Pantheon, originally built by Agrippa but destroyed by fire in 80, was rebuilt under Hadrian in the domed form it retains to this day. It is among the best preserved of Rome's ancient buildings and was highly influential to a many of the great architects of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Today we recall his abiding love of Antinous, his eromenos (boy lover), who he honored so greatly in death. It was while visiting Claudiopolis that Hadrian espied the beautiful Antinous, a young boy who was destined to become the emperor's eromenos — his beloved. Sources say nothing about when Hadrian met Antinous, however, there are depictions of Antinous that shows him as a young man of twenty or so. They became inseparable companions and carried out one of the most storied love affairs of history.

Hadrian and Antinous in Egypt

In October 130 AD, while Hadrian and his entourage were sailing on the Nile, Antinous drowned, for unknown reasons. though accident, suicide, murder or religious sacrifice have all been postulated. After Antinous' death, Hadrian's grief knew no bounds, causing the most extravagant respect to be paid to his memory. Cities were founded in his name, medals struck with his effigy, and statues erected to him in all parts of the empire.

Following the example of Alexander (who sought divine honors for his lover, Hephaistion, when he died), Hadrian had Antinous proclaimed a god. Temples were built for his worship in Bithynia, Mantineia in Arcadia, and Athens, festivals celebrated in his honour and oracles delivered in his name. The city of Antinopolis or Antinoe was founded on the ruins of Besa where he died. One of Hadrian's attempts at extravagant remembrance failed, when the proposal to create a constellation of Antinous being lifted to heaven by an eagle (the constellation Aquila) failed of adoption. Legend was that his likeness was placed over the face of the Moon.

Hadrian died in 138 on the tenth day of July, in his villa at Baiae at age 62.

Frederick II & Voltaire

1712 – The Prussian King Frederick II, aka Frederick the Great, was born. (d.1786) Interested primarily in the arts during his youth, Frederick unsuccessfully attempted to flee from his authoritarian father, the "Soldier-King" Frederick William I. Young Frederick persuaded his lover, Hans von Katte, a Lieutenant in the Royal Guard, to help him flee the king's ruthless domination. They were captured and von Katte was sentenced to death. The prince was ordered to be present at von Katte's execution by sword.

For another ten years Frederick had to live under the yoke of his tyrannical father and accept his arrangements for a marriage that was probably never consummated. (Upon his father's death in 1740, Frederick immediately separated from his wife, Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick.)

Frederick was a proponent of enlightened absolutism. For years he was a correspondent of Voltaire, with whom the king had a turbulent friendship. Voltaire was later to write a book exposing Frederick's homosexuality, but it was published only in 1784, six years after its author's death. In his correspondence with Voltaire, Frederick early on evinced a great interest in what we would today call gay culture. In an astonishingly open fashion, this interest was encouraged by Voltaire.

It was not only through literature that Frederick extolled homosexuality. He collected ancient artwork, notably ancient carved gemstones picturing nude athletes and the Adoring Youth, a Hellenistic bronze that had previously belonged to another famous homosexual general, Prince Eugene of Savoy, which he placed in view of his library window. He commissioned frescoes of Ganymede for his palaces; and, in 1768, inspired by Voltaire's poem bearing that title, had a Temple of Friendship built in his garden at Potsdam, inscribed with the names of lovers and friends of antiquity, such as Orestes and Pylades and Nisus and Euryalus.

Apart from Katte, a few of Frederick's great loves are known: Fredersdorf, the handsome guard assigned to him after his escape, who eventually became his Majordomo; Count Algarotti, the seductive Italian writer; and the abbé Bastiani, a Venetian who was made Canon of Breslaw (Wroclaw) Cathedral and who did not hesitate to show his compatriot Casanova the love letters he had received from the king.

Close to him also, but showing the same tastes in a more outrageous manner, was his brother Prince Henry. Voltaire called him a Potsdamite (that is, a Sodomite), and he was reputed to recruit only homosexuals in his regiments.

The philosopher Diderot, well informed and not prone to exaggeration, wrote in March 1760 a note on Frederick in which he says: "The only one thing that this admirable flute player was missing was a mouthpiece that should have been a little cleaner." He also penned a poem entitled Parallèle between Caesar and Frederick (undated) that includes the statement: "Caesar was generous, Frederick is miserly. When I compare them I see but one point in common, namely that they were both buggers. But there wasn't a Roman lady who was worthwhile with whom Caesar did not sleep, whereas His Prussian Majesty never touched a woman, not even his own wife."

The works of Niccolò Machiavelli, such as "The Prince," were considered a guideline for the behavior of a king in Frederick's age. In 1749, Frederick finished his Anti-Machiavel — an idealistic writing in which he opposes Machiavelli. It was published anonymously in 1740, but Voltaire distributed it in Amsterdam to great popularity. Under Frederick, Immanuel Kant published religious writings in Berlin which would have been censored elsewhere in Europe.

Frederick had famous buildings constructed in his capital, Berlin, most of which still exist today, such as the Berlin State Opera, the Royal Library, St. Hedwig's Cathedral, the French and German Cathedrals on the Gendarmenmarkt, and Prince Henry's Palace (now the site of Humboldt University). However, the king preferred spending his time in his summer residence Potsdam, where he built the palace of Sanssouci, the most important work of Northern German rococo. Sanssouci, which translates from French as "carefree" or "without worry", was a refuge for Frederick, where he surrounded himself with freethinking men—no women were allowed—many of whom, such as Count Algarotti or the philosopher La Mettrie, were homosexual. Voltaire describes the utter freedom of their suppers there (for instance, discussing Plato's theory of the Androgynes) and the exact way in which Frederick would pick handsome soldiers for his sexual "schoolboy games."

Near the end of his life Frederick grew increasingly solitary. His circle of male friends at Sanssouci gradually died off without replacements, and Frederick became increasingly critical and arbitrary, to the frustration of the civil service and officer corps. The populace of Berlin always cheered the king when he returned to the city from provincial tours or military reviews, but Frederick took no pleasure from his popularity with the common folk, preferring instead the company of his pet Italian greyhounds, whom he referred to as his 'marquises de Pompadour' as a jibe at the French royal mistress. Frederick died in an armchair in his study in the palace of Sanssouci on 17 August 1786.

1746 – Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. (d.1792) He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia. (See above)

Gustav was educated under the care of two governors who were amongst the most eminent Swedish statesmen of the day, Carl Gustaf Tessin and Carl Fredrik Scheffer; but he owed most perhaps to the poet and historian Olof von Dalin. His education was far more liberal than that of his uncle, Frederick the Great.

On the whole, Gustav cannot be said to have been well educated, but he read very widely; there was scarcely a French author of his day with whose works he was not intimately acquainted;and his enthusiasm for the new French ideas of enlightenment was sincere.

A vocal opponent of abuses by the nobility, he seized power from the government in a coup d'état in 1772, ending the Age of Liberty and venturing into a campaign to restore royal autocracy. As a bulwark of enlightened despotism, his expenditure of considerable public funds on cultural ventures contributed to his controversial rule. Attempts to seize first Norway through Russian aid, then to recapture the Baltic provinces through a war against Russia were unsuccessful, although much of Sweden's former military might was restored. An admirer of Voltaire, Gustav legalized Catholic and Jewish presence in the realm and enacted wide-ranging reforms aimed at economic liberalism, social reform and the abolishment of torture and capital punishment (although freedom of the press was curtailed).

A patron of the arts and benefactor of arts and literature, Gustav founded several academies, among them the Swedish Academy, created a National Costume and had the Royal Swedish Opera built. In 1772 he founded the Royal Order of Vasa to acknowledge and reward those Swedes who had helped to advance process in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce.

By proxy in Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, on 1 October 1766 and in person in Stockholm on 4 November 1766, Gustav married Princess Sophia Magdalena, daughter of King Frederick V of Denmark. The match was not a happy one, owing partly to an incompatibility of temper; but still more to the interference of the jealous Queen Mother. The marriage produced two children: Crown Prince Gustav Adolf , and Prince Carl Gustav, Duke of Småland. For the consummation of the marriage, the king requested the assistance of Adolf Munck, reportedly because of anatomical problems both spouses possessed. Gustav's mother supported rumors that he was not the father of his first son and heir. It was rumored at the time that Gustav indulged in homosexuality. The close personal relationships he formed with two of his courtiers, Count Axel von Fersen and Baron Gustav Armfelt, were alluded to in that regard. His sister-in-law implied as much in a diary.

Gustav was assassinated at a masked ball by a conspiracy of noblemen claiming only to commit tyrannicide, although later research has revealed more personal motives.

1928 – Heterosexual actor Michel Serrault (d.2007) was a French stage actor and film star who appeared from 1954 until (and including) 2007 in more than 150 films. He was best known for his role as Zaza in La cage aux folles.

Although he wanted to be a circus clown, Serrault's parents sent him to a seminary to study for the priesthood. He spent only a few months there before taking-up acting. His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's Les Fourberies de Scapin. After military service in Dijon, he returned to Paris and joined Robert Dhéry's burlesque troupe and appeared in their second hit show, Dugudu.

In 1948, he began his career in the theatre with Robert Dhéry in Les Branquignols. His first film was Ah! Les belles bacchantes, starring Robert Dhéry, Colette Brosset (Dhéry's then-wife), and Louis de Funès in 1954. Serrault played in the 1955 suspense thriller Les diaboliques, starring Simone Signoret and directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot.

He met and worked with Jean Poiret in the early 1950s, which led to a song and comedy cabaret act and their playing together in 18 films from 1956 to 1984, and in a number of plays written by Poiret. The films they worked together in included Cette sacrée gamine (1956), with Brigitte Bardot, and Sacha Guitry's last film, Assassins et voleurs (1957).

From February 1973 through 1978, he portrayed the role of Albin/Zaza opposite Jean Poiret in the play La cage aux folles, written by Poiret. He recreated the role for the film version of the play, which was released in 1978. Serrault died from relapsing polychondritis at his home in Équemauville on 29 July 2007 at age 79.

1944 – German performance artist and counter-tenor Klaus Nomi was born in Immenstadt, Germany (d.1983). Nomi is remembered for bizarrely theatrical live performances, heavy make-up, unusual costumes, and a highly stylized signature hairdo which flaunted a receding hairline. His songs were equally unusual, ranging from synthesizer-laden interpretations of classic opera to covers of 1960s pop standards like Chubby Checker's "The Twist" and Lou Christie's "Lightnin' Strikes."

Born Klaus Sperber in Immenstadt, Germany, in Nomi's youth in the 1960s, he worked as an usher at the Deutsche Opera in West Berlin where he would sing on stage in front of the fire curtain after the shows for the other ushers and maintenance crew. Around that time he also sang operatic arias at a Berlin Gay club called Kleist Casino. Nomi moved from Germany to New York City in the mid-1970s. He began his involvement with the art scene based in the East Village. Nomi died on August 6, 1983 in New York City, one of the first celebrities to die of an illness complicated by AIDS. His ashes were scattered over New York City.

1951 – Michael Cohen (d.1997) was an American singer-songwriter from New York City. He released three albums in the 1970s which were among the first to deal with explicitly gay themes.

Cohen was licensed as a cab driver in New York City in 1972.

Cohen self-released his first album, eponymously titled Mike Cohen, in 1972. This was followed by two albums on Folkways Records, "What Did You Expect: Songs about the Experiences of Being Gay" (1973) and "Some of Us Had to Live" (1976). The latter two are available from Smithsonian Folkways.

Cohen was influenced by James Taylor and Leonard Cohen (no relation) and his music is very much in the folk rock style.

"What Did You Expect: Songs about the Experiences of Being Gay" consisted of nine songs that recounted Cohen's coming-out experience, ballads about his lover and a cover of a song by Leonard Cohen (no relation).

"The Last Angry Young Man", which opens What did You Expect?, deals with the misconceptions around homosexuality of the older generation while "Gone", from the same album, deals sensitively with the death of a gay friend. Frieze Magazine describes Cohen's "Bitterfeast" from the same album as a "raw and chokingly emotional" ballad based on a poem by Leonard Cohen.

After releasing a third album on a small label, Cohen "dropped off the radar" until his death in 1997.

You can read some of his lyrics in his own hand here: Queer Music Heritage

1975 – Norman Lear's trail-blazing, groundbreaking, though, alas, short-lived series "Hot L Baltimore" premiered on this date. The television situation comedy series was adapted from the hit off-Broadway play by Lanford Wilson and took place in the "Hotel Baltimore" in Baltimore, Maryland and drew its title from the cheap establishment's neon marquee, which had a burned-out letter "e" that had never been replaced. The half-hour series premiered January 24, 1975 and was produced by Norman Lear for ABC. (It was, in fact the first Norman Lear property to air on ABC.) The cast included Conchata Ferrell, James Cromwell, Richard Masur, Al Freeman, Jr., Gloria LeRoy, Jeannie Linero, and Charlotte Rae.

The series had several controversial elements, including two primary characters who were prostitutes (one of whom was an illegal immigrant) and one of the first gay couples to be depicted on an American television series. George (Lee Bergere) and Gordon (Henry Calvert) were middle-aged gay lovers in their fifties. Because of the story lines the show was the first network television show to have a warning at its opening, cautioning viewers about mature themes. The network supported the show and gave it a full publicity campaign, but it failed to win an audience and was canceled after thirteen episodes; its last telecast was June 6, 1975.

1983 – Frank James Michael Grande Marchione , usually credited as Frankie Grande, is an American musical theatre actor, producer and YouTube personality.

Grande was born in New York City. He grew up in Englewood, New Jersey and moved with his mother to Boca Raton, Florida, at age 10. His half-sister is singer and actress Ariana Grande. He graduated from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania in 2005, having triple-majored in biology, theatre and dance. Grande is openly gay.

He began his acting career in 2007, appearing as Boots the Monkey in a national tour of Dora the Explorer Live! (Dora's Pirate Adventure) and in regional theatre productions including the title role in George M!, Mike Costa in A Chorus Line and Lewis in Pippin, among others. Later in 2007, he joined the Broadway cast of the musical Mamma Mia!, in the ensemble and as understudy for Eddie, in which he performed for three years. Grande was named "Mr. Broadway" in the "Mr. Broadway 2007" charity benefit. He co-founded the non-profit arts organization "Broadway in South Africa", travelling to South Africa to work with disadvantaged youth for seven years, before it merged with buildOn. Grande also helped buildOn to build a school in a rural village in Malawi, and in 2014 buildOn honored him for his efforts with its Global Impact Award.

Grande has produced shows on and off Broadway, including Broadway productions of Hamlet (2009) starring Jude Law, La Bête (2010–11) starring David Hyde Pierce, and Born Yesterday (2011) starring Jim Belushi. He also produced Brooke Shields' one-woman cabaret show in 2011. Grande has performed in cabaret acts in New York City, including at Birdland Jazz Club and 54 Below.

In 2012, Grande established a YouTube channel and has also been building a following on Twitter and Instagram. Earlier in 2014, he was a contestant on the reality television series Big Brother 16. His philanthropic work includes co-founding the non-profit arts organization "Broadway in South Africa" and work for buildOn.

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