London Calling is written by Joe Strummer (main
vocal of The Clash) and Mick Jones (guitarist of The Clash). The title is
imitated afterBBC World Service'sstation
identification: "This is
London calling ..." which was used duringWorld War II,
often in broadcasts to occupied countries.This is an apocalyptic song, detailing the many ways the
world could end, including the coming of the ice age, starvation, and war.
"London's drowning and I live by the
river," comes from the concern that if the Thames burst its banks, most of
central London would be flooded. Strummer was actually living in a high rise
flat when he penned this.
"This is London calling..." was used by
the BBC World Service station to identify themselves in broadcasting to occupied
companies during WWII.
"A nuclear error" is a reference to what
happened at Three Mile Island, in 1979.
The lyrics are also said to reflect the bands
desperation at theirdebt,
lack of management and internal arguments etc
"Now don't look to us, all that phoney
Beatlemania has bitten the dust.." is a reference to their insecurities
over their position as a band, post 1977 punk rock boom in England.
Jimmy’s Hall Is directed by Loach, written by Paul
Laverty and produced by
.Rebecca O'Brien for Sixteen Films
It is the most recent film for Ken
Loach ,period- drama tells a true story of political charismatic Irish communist activist
Jimmy Gralton, Who was deported after building a dance hall on a rural
crossroad in Ireland. The film pictured the kind of conflict that
took place between Ireland's post-civil war church and the free
thinkers of Irish, who found in the hall a chance to life with free
thinking and joy away from the church’s control and abused.
In
1921,the Irish
leader, played by Barry Ward , set up the hall believing in people’s right to
be given
control over their life and to celebrate, song, and dance like a human
beings.
Jimmy Gralton's re-opened the Hall after he returned from a decade in New York on a rural crossroads. It
holds different educational classes from drawing through boxing to dancing. It
is palace where people could think, listen, talk, learn, argue ,dance and have fan . Jimmy’s hall faced a
fierce resistance from the leaders of Ireland's post-civil war church. Although Jimmy
ensure the priest that The hall will respect the reunion and conformity of the society, he called the people
who involved in the hall’s activity anti-cross(atheists). He stated
that the hall
will destroy the natural way that Ireland must live under the unity of the
church.
Peter Bradshaw in The guardian describes Jimmy’s Hall film ‘It is a
watchable and thoughtful, if slightly pedagogic film, with some wonderful
moments, presented with great clarity and seriousness, absolutely unflavoured
by irony or cynicism’.
He also adds ‘The movie is at its
best when it simply expounds an idealism, with its own distinctive frankness.
There is a wonderful sequence in which people just sit in a circle in Jimmy's
hall for a sort of practical criticism session: they discuss WB Yeats's
poem The Song of the Wandering Aengus, and talk about what it means
to them. I could watch simple, thoughtful scenes like this for hours on end’. (theguardian.com, Thursday 22 May 2014
In the
film review of David Sexton in London Evening standard, he says ‘Loach has made a
sumptuous period piece, beautifully photographed by Robbie Ryan, using many
local people in the crowd scenes, wearing wonderful tweeds, slipovers and wrap
dresses, riding on antique bikes and in donkey-drawn carts through the green
hills and boggy valleys, dancing merrily. It all looks great, a dream of
Ireland before the blissful bungalows. The characterful faces are a treat too,
above all that of Jimmy’s aged mum (Aileen Henry, new to acting)’.
A Clockwork Orange is a 1971 film，an adaptation of Anthony Burgess’s 1962 dystopian novelof thesame name.
Movie
review
A
ClockworkOrange set in a not-so-distant future
English society that has a culture of extreme youth violence, the film's
teenage protagonist, Alex, narrates his violent exploits and his experiences
with state authorities intent on reforming him.
In futuristic London, Alex DeLarge is the leader of his
"droogs", Georgie, Dim, and Pete. One night, after getting
intoxicated on "milk plus" (milk laced with drugs), they engage in an
evening of "ultra-violence", including beating an elderly vagrant and
fighting a rival gang led by Billyboy. Stealing a car, they drive to the
country home of writer F. Alexander, where they beat Mr. Alexander to the point
of crippling him for life. Alex then rapes his wife while singing "Singin' in the
Rain".
Alex murder a woman with a phallic statue.
Hearing police sirens, Alex tries to run away, but Dim smashes a pint bottle of
milk across his face, leaving him stunned and bleeding. Alex is captured and
beaten by the police,and he is sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Two years into the sentence, theMinister of the Interiorarrives at the prison looking for
test subjects for theLudovico technique, an experimentalaversion therapyfor rehabilitating criminals
within two weeks; Alex readily volunteers.
The process involves drugging the
subject, strapping him to a chair, propping his eyelids open, and forcing him
to watch images of violence. Alex becomes nauseated due to the drugs. He realizes that one of the
films' soundtracks is by his favourite composer,Ludwig van Beethoven, and that the Ludovico technique will make him sick
when he hears the music he loves.
Alex(Malcolm McDowell), the main character, is a charismatic,sociopathicdelinquent whose interests includeclassical
music(especiallyBeethoven),rape, and what is termed
"ultra-violence". He leads a small gang of thugs (Pete, Georgie, and
Dim), whom he calls hisdroogs(from the Russian друг,
"friend", "buddy"). The film chronicles the horrific crime
spree of his gang, his capture, and attempted rehabilitation via controversial
psychological conditioning. Alex narrates most of the film inNadsat, a fractured adolescent slang
composed ofSlavic(especially Russian), English, andCockney rhyming slang.
Director
Stanley
Kubrick（July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, screenwriter,producer,cinematographer,andeditorwho worked predominantly in the United Kingdom. Part of theNew Hollywood film-making wave, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential directors of all time.
Stanley Kubrick with his camera, age 21
His films, typically adaptations of novels or short stories, are noted for their "dazzling" and unique cinematography,attention to detail in the service of realism. Kubrick's films covered a variety of genres, including war, crime, literary adaptations, romance, black comedies, horror, epic and science fiction.
（July 26,
1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director,
screenwriter,producer,cinematographer,andeditorwho worked predominantly
in the United Kingdom. Part of theNew Hollywoodfilm-making wave, he is regarded as one of the
greatest and most influential directors of all time.His films, typically
adaptations of novels or short stories, are noted for their
"dazzling" and unique cinematography,attention to detail in the service of
realism. Kubrick's films covered a variety of genres, including war, crime,
literary adaptations, romance, black comedies, horror, epic and science
fiction.
Kubrick’sA
Clockwork Orangeis
as artful dark comedy of violence, and Malcolm McDowell’s bravura performance
as Alex lives large in the collective imagination; but the dazzling colours and
fast-paced nature of the film did not appeal to everyone.
Awards and
nominations and rankings
·1983 –Prometheus Award(Preliminary Nominee)
·1999 – Prometheus Award (Nomination)
·2002 – Prometheus Award (Nomination)
·2003 – Prometheus Award (Nomination)
·2006 – Prometheus Award (Nomination)
·2008 – Prometheus Award (Hall of Fame Award)
The novel was chosen byTimemagazine as one of the 100 bestEnglish-languagenovels
from 1923 to 2005.
