Behind the scenes

Dirty Harry 1971

                   

On acting

Back in '54

It's 1995. Bob Mitchum, aging bad boy of Hollywood. Noir icon. Working with indie filmmaker Jarmusch on postmodern Dead Man. Mitchum tells him, “I saved up a million dollars acting and spent it on a horse farm in Tuscon. Now when I go down there, I look at the place and realize my whole acting career adds up to a million dollars’ worth of horseshit.”  

Shirley McLaine said he was a ‘poet with an ax’.

Walking Distance

Ever heard the saying that you can't go home again? Well, Martin Sloan actually does! "Walking Distance" is one of the best Twilight Zone episodes ever. 

...it taps into the desire of all of us to return to that place (Real or imagined) where we were carefree and worry-free. The scene where Gig Young (Martin Sloan) realizes that he cannot stay in the past is masterfully directed and filmed, 

with all of the characters leaving the scene except young, who is left alone in the dark on the merry-go-round. Just a wonderful scene. Everything about this episode is well done. I agree that the scene with his father is very powerful as well. It is clear that Sloan will go back to

his own time with a renewed sense of vigour and leave that summer to his 11 year old self. He will look for "merry-go-rounds" in his own way and his own place.
(imdb.com)

And here's the parting conversation between Martin and his father:

Robert Sloan: Martin.
Martin Sloan: Yes, Pop.
Robert Sloan: You have to leave here. There's no room, there's no place. Do you understand that?
Martin Sloan: I see that now, but I don't understand. Why not?
Robert Sloan: I guess because we only get one chance. Maybe there's only one summer to every customer. That little boy, the one I know - the one who belongs here - this is *his* summer, just as it was yours once. Don't make him share it.
Martin Sloan: Alright.
Robert Sloan: Martin, is it so bad where you're from?
Martin Sloan: I thought so, Pop. I've been living on a dead run, and I was tired. And one day I knew I had to come back here. I had to come back and get on the merry-go-round, and eat cotton candy, and listen to a band concert. I had to stop and breathe, and close my eyes and smell, and listen.
Robert Sloan: I guess we all want that. Maybe when you go back, Martin, you'll find that there are merry-go-rounds and band concerts where you are. Maybe you haven't been looking in the right place. You've been looking behind you, Martin. Try looking ahead.

Walker Books

Mystery Train

‘He hears the train a comin', it's rollin' 'round the bend, and he ain't seen the sunshine since he don't know when…’

Jim Jarmusch's cult classic from 1989 set in Memphis. Three stories, two Japanese teens crazy about 50s music, gunshots, beautifully crafted sideburns and Sun record studios.  Elvis everywhere in the shadows.

Film title taken from Elvis’ cover of Junior Parker and the Blue Flames ‘53 track. Driving rockabilly number derived from gut-thumping Delta Blues. Both versions recorded and released on Sun, naturally.

Here’s Robert Ebert’s excellent take on the film:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-mystery-train-1989