Jeffrey Wells

Posted today by Atlantic Daily’s Elaine Godfrey:

…as reported by Paul Schrader in a Facebook thread. Devotional comments by all, and then along came Davey Holmes…

The vast majority of well-regarded films shot in frigid temperatures share a basic visual trait — snowscapes.

The highest ranking members of this fraternity include Fargo, The Revenant, The Hateful Eight, The Dead Zone, the ‘51 and ‘82 versions of The Thing, The Shining, Cliffhanger, Snowpiercer, Everest, Misery, Society of the Snow and, last but not necessarily least, the currently unfolding True Detective: Night Country.

But there have been damn few shot in miserably cold climes that aren’t swamped in whiteness, and there may, in fact, be only two of these: Elia Kazan’s On The Waterfront (‘54) and William Freidkin’s The French Connection (‘71).

I’m not saying there aren’t more that qualify in this regard; I’m saying I can’t think of any.

I realize that only a morally bankrupt admirer of a director who behaved selfishly and hurtfully 45 years ago would even flirt with paying to see Roman Polanski’s WWII-era masterpiece, but…

Native American history, identity and (if the New Academy Kidz along with Variety’s Matt Donnelly have their way) inevitability.

Sorry but the concept of merit needs to step aside; bigger, more important social fish need to be fried.

But Leonardo DiCaprio never had a shot at a Best Actor nom. No way. Certainly not after that “idiot” quote from Paul Schrader got around.

No more Iron Eyes Cody-resembling Native American mannequins wearing deerskin and moccasins, living in forest-shrouded teepees and armed with spears and bows-and-arrows….displays of this sort in various museums are now history, thanks to the sensitive policies of the Biden administration.

Perhaps museums could replace these horrific displays with depictions of suburban habitats of middle-class Americans during the Eisenhower, Kennedy and LBJ administrations? You know…white-bread types watching 18-inch black and white TVs while eating dinners of meat loaf and mashed potatoes?

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When I was a young buck I had this primal thing for Jovan musk cologne, which hit stores sometime in the mid ‘70s. The scent did something to me, and perhaps for me. I had this possibly bogus idea, you see, that occasional Jovan slap-ons might have upped my batting average, which was in the .350 to .400 range during the Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations.

Yesterday I bought a reduced-cost bottle of the stuff (CVS discount) and the scent just time-travelled me…whoooosh! Decades were erased in a flash. I was suddenly Marty McFly, driving my 1975 VW Fastback and wearing flared jeans and puka shells and Frye boots. Aromas are as good for time travel as Rod Taylor’s valour-seat, spinning-wheel device in George Pal’s The Time Machine (‘60).

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…which included an unoriginal self-description: “Left conservative.” (Norman Mailer coined the term in the ‘70s.) 29 years ago! Jett was six, Dylan was four.

18-plus years ago All Movie Guide content director Kristi Coulter was feeling frustrated by Warner Bros.’ slow-roll-out release of Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby (‘05).