Libertas Blog

For those interested in movies and politics, I recommend checking out Libertas, a blog run by Jason Apuzzo and Govindini Murty that acts as "a forum for conservative thought on film."

It's a thoughtful, often caustic, ongoing rumination on Hollywood, mass culture, indy stuff, and the entire political spectrum. Read their "Why Libertas?" statement here.

Comments

[Henry]

Harry Lime--a great film character, one of the all-time greatest. Also, a mass murderer--why don't they quote his lines about the people below the ferris wheel appearing as ants, who could just as easily be blotted out without a qualm?

Ford or Kurosawa would eat these wussies for breakfast, then go out and make a "conservative" film that I want to watch--and without having to suck off Mel Gibson in public. Yuck.

[spur]

his statement seems full of shit:

"Bothered by stereotypes of fanatical Muslim terrorists? Again, no problem. We?ll turn the Muslim terrorist villains"

This is total crap. Muslims are generally portrayed badly in US films since at least the 80s, the Iron Eagle fims comes to mind for some strange reason. Name a US film with major distribution that portrays muslims in a good light -- few and far between, the horrible Robin Hood remake with Costner comes to mind.

Then this putz goes on to compare the box office returns of the Christ film and Moore's Far-9/11 -- he talks about the relatively meager returns 9/11 got while omitting that its a fucking documentary, the highest grossing documentary in US history (and a horrible documentary IMO). Christ films usually never have a problem making a profit -- controversy tends to bring it about -- whether anti-conservative films like The Last Temptation or fundy S&M films like The Passion --

the whole idea that conservative films can't be made is shite. For every conservative scriptwriter that can't get a film picked up by a studio there are probably 10 lefty filmakers that can't get a script bought. And liberal/lefty screenwriters and directors are asked and demanded to make changes in their films by producers and studios with their heads up their ass all the time.

I wonder what he thought of Angels in America...

[JIm Walsh]

I wanted to like this blog. I really, really wanted to like it. We could really use an ongoing critique of the Hollywood scene from a conservative/libertarian perspective, albeit one sans the pointless venom of Ann Coulter, the Mideval blue-nosery of Brent Bozell and the Okely Dokely cluelessness of Michael Medved.
So...what do we get? More of the same old Bush-diapering, gay-baiting Bible-thumping horseshit, that's what.
Thanks for nothing, guys.

[cdunlea]

Sorry, Walsh, but this is America in 2005: Conservativism = licking Bush's nutsack. Anything else has been shipped to the trashheap along with George Will, Brent Scowcroft, Newt and the other holdovers from the Olde GOP.

[Tim Cavanaugh]

From this post:

This led Kersh to tell a great story about his first ever visit to a movie studio, back in 1948, when he got to visit the set of The Fountainhead (a GREAT potboiler starring Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal). Kersh was literally pulled by a friend through a window onto the Warners lot. He eventually got nabbed by security, but not before watching Billy Wilder shooting process-shots for The Spirit of St. Louis (starring Jimmy Stewart), sitting in Jack Warner?s chair, and watching Spencer Tracy almost get electrocuted while shooting The Old Man and the Sea (an arc-light fell into the water tank!). The story also featured a seagull that almost drowned after a prop-man loaded the poor bird down with buckshot designed to keep the bird flying low and in frame! (The days before digital, folks ?)

Warners must have had not only history's slowest-moving security guards but the longest production schedules in Hollywood. The Fountainhead came out in 1949, The Spirit of St. Louis in 1957, and The Old Man and the Sea in 1959. In fact, at the time The Fountainhead was released, the source novel for The Old Man and the Sea was still two years away from being written.

Also, I can't speak for the book version of The Fountainhead, but the movie is dull as dirt. Who conceived the idea that a femme like Gary Cooper was some kind of man's man? Patricia Neal was carrying the testosterone load for that picture.

[kevrob]

Name a US film with major distribution that portrays muslims in a good light. - spur

Disney's Aladdin flicks. Raiders of The Lost Ark - Sallah and his men are seen as decent folk. Who knows some others?

Kevin

[Ken Shultz]

Off the top of my head, there's [Malcolm] X, Independence Day, The Chronicles of Riddick (both Pitch Black and the most recent one), there's a generally positive portrayal of a Muslim prince in the current production of Merchent of Venice in an art house near you. There was that Rambo film--Rambo in Afghanistan, and, as I remember, there were positive portrayals in the English Patient.

Thinly written charachters in formulaic, mass market films are stereotypical necessarily. I suspect Muslims fare no worse than a lot of other groups and much better than business men.

[D Anghelone]

Who conceived the idea that a femme like Gary Cooper was some kind of man's man?

Peter Lorre?

"What are you going to do, Roarke?"
"Terrible things."

Have you a different actor in mind?

[Tuco Benedicto Pacifico Juan M]

Who conceived the idea that a femme like Gary Cooper was some kind of man's man? Patricia Neal was carrying the testosterone load for that picture.

Actually, for Rand, it was probably perfectly cast, if you imagine Roark as Frank O'Connor and Dominique Francon as Rand herself.

[east flatbush]

Why should w portray Muslims in a positive light?What have they ever done to deserve it?

[Henry]

Ken, you forget to mention--those Muslims in Afghanistan in the Rambo flick were Reagan's "freedom fighters". Ronnie loved 'em too. They were the good guys.

Right?

[Gary Gunnels]

So the Necromongers in The Chronicles of Riddick are Christians? Sorry, I ain't buying that one.

[DavePotts]

Libertas thoughtful? Not when they consider "Passion" to be the year's most impactful movie. As popular as it may have been, I don't think I've ever seen a flick with a narrower target audience. I know too many people who went to see what Gibson might have to say about the life of Jesus, hoping for some sort of spiritual perspective, but instead being treated to an over-indulgent gore-fest. Besides that, there are too many other thoughtful and well crafted movies in the running: Sideways, Ray, The Incredibles, Million Dollar Baby, Hotel Rwanda, etc. It would be nice if Libertas provided a more intelligent and alternate view of Hollywood, but when you really think that Star Wars (great effects, atrocious script) should have beat Annie Hall for the 77 award, I've really got to wonder.

[Gary Gunnels]

DavePotts,

Yeah, I was wondering about Star Wars too. 🙂

[Jim "Sorry" Walsh]

"Sorry, Walsh, but this is America in 2005: Conservativism = licking Bush's nutsack."

EWWWWWWWWWWW...

[Harman]

An Israeli friend tells me that the amusing thing about that Rambo film is that all the Mujadeen are played by Israeli comedians who were unknowns at the time. Now they've have fame in Israel and for my friend, its a cult thing to watch Rambo and look for familiar faces.