sachin tendulkar

happy birthday sachin…

walt disney…

hi friends,

let me remind you of a legend….Walt Disney

Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago Illinois, to his father Elias Disney, and mother Flora Call Disney. Walt was one of five children, four boys and a girl.

After Walt’s birth, the Disney family moved to Marceline Missouri, Walt lived most of his childhood here.

Walt had very early interests in art, he would often sell drawings to neighbors to make extra money. He pursued his art career, by studying art and photography by going to McKinley High School in Chicago.

Walt began to love, and appreciate nature and wildlife, and family and community, which were a large part of agrarian living. Though his father could be quite stern, and often there was little money, Walt was encouraged by his mother, and older brother, Roy to pursue his talents.

During the fall of 1918, Disney attempted to enlist for military service. Rejected because he was under age, only sixteen years old at the time. Instead, Walt joined the Red Cross and was sent overseas to France, where he spent a year driving an ambulance and chauffeuring Red Cross officials. His ambulance was covered from stem to stern, not with stock camouflage, but with Disney cartoons.

Once Walt returned from France, he began to pursue a career in commercial art. He started a small company called Laugh-O-Grams, which eventually fell bankrupt. With his suitcase, and twenty dollars, Walt headed to Hollywood to start anew.

After making a success of his “Alice Comedies,” Walt became a recognized Hollywood figure. On July 13, 1925, Walt married one of his first employees, Lillian Bounds, in Lewiston, Idaho. Later on they would be blessed with two daughters, Diane and Sharon .

In 1932, the production entitled Flowers and Trees(the first color cartoon) won Walt the first of his studio’s Academy Awards. In 1937, he released The Old Mill, the first short subject to utilize the multi-plane camera technique.

On December 21, 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated musical feature, premiered at the Carthay Theater in Los Angeles. The film produced at the unheard cost of $1,499,000 during the depths of the Depression, the film is still considered one of the great feats and imperishable monuments of the motion picture industry. During the next five years, Walt Disney Studios completed other full-length animated classics such as Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi.

Walt Disney’s dream of a clean, and organized amusement park, came true, as Disneyland Park opened in 1955. Walt also became a television pioneer, Disney began television production in 1954, and was among the first to present full-color programming with his Wonderful World of Color in 1961.

Filmography ( Director)

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) 2. Golden Touch, The (1935)

3. Barnyard Concert, The (1930) 4. Cactus Kid, The (1930) 5. Just Mickey (1930)

6. Night (1930) 7. Barnyard Battle, The (1929) 8. Haunted House, The (1929)

9. Jazz Fool, The (1929) 10. Jungle Rhythm (1929) 11. Karnival Kid, The (1929)

12. Merry Dwarfs, The (1929) 13. Mickey’s Choo-Choo (1929)

14. Opry House, The (1929) 15. Plow Boy, The (1929) 16. Skeleton Dance, The (1929)

17. Terrible Toreador, El (1929) 18. When the Cat’s Away (1929)

19. Africa Before Dark (1928) 20. Barn Dance, The (1928)

21. Bright Lights (1928) 22. Fox Chase, The (1928) 23. Hot Dog (1928)

24. Hungry Hoboes (1928) 25. Oh What a Knight (1928)

26. Ole Swimmin’ Hole, The (1928) 27. Ozzie of the Mounted (1928)

28. Poor Papa (1928) 29. Ride ‘Em Plowboy (1928) 30. Rival Romeos (1928)

31. Sagebrush Sadie (1928) 32. Sky Scrappers (1928) 33. Sleigh Bells (1928)

34. Steamboat Willie (1928) 35. Tall Timber (1928) 36. Alice at the Carnival (1927)

37. Alice at the Rodeo (1927) 38. Alice Foils the Pirates (1927)

39. Alice in the Alps (1927) 40. Alice in the Big League (1927)

41. Alice in the Klondike (1927) 42. Alice the Beach Nut (1927)

43. Alice the Collegiate (1927) 44. Alice the Golf Bug (1927)

45. Alice the Whaler (1927) 46. Alice’s Auto Race (1927)

47. Alice’s Channel Swim (1927) 48. Alice’s Circus Daze (1927)

49. Alice’s Knaughty Knight (1927) 50. Alice’s Medicine Show (1927)

51. Alice’s Picnic (1927) 52. Alice’s Three Bad Eggs (1927) 53. All Wet (1927)

54. Banker’s Daughter, The (1927) 55. Empty Socks (1927) 56. Great Guns (1927)

57. Harem Scarem (1927) 58. Mechanical Cow, The (1927) 59. Neck ‘n’ Neck (1927)

60. Ocean Hop, The (1927) 61. Oh Teacher (1927) 62. Rickety Gin (1927)

63. Trolley Troubles (1927) 64. Alice Charms the Fish (1926)

65. Alice Cuts the Ice (1926) 66. Alice Helps the Romance (1926)

67. Alice in Slumberland (1926) 68. Alice in the Wooly West (1926)

69. Alice on the Farm (1926) 70. Alice Rattled by Rats (1926)

71. Alice the Fire Fighter (1926) 72. Alice the Lumberjack (1926)

73. Alice’s Balloon Race (1926) 74. Alice’s Brown Derby (1926)

75. Alice’s Little Parade (1926) 76. Alice’s Monkey Business (1926)

77. Alice’s Mysterious Mystery (1926) 78. Alice’s Ornery Orphan (1926)

79. Alice’s Spanish Guitar (1926) 80. Alice Cans the Cannibals (1925)

81. Alice Chops the Suey (1925) 82. Alice Gets Stung (1925)

83. Alice in the Jungle (1925) 84. Alice Is Stage Struck (1925)

85. Alice Loses Out (1925) 86. Alice Picks the Champ (1925)

87. Alice Plays Cupid (1925) 88. Alice Solves the Puzzle (1925)

89. Alice the Jail Bird (1925) 90. Alice the Toreador (1925)

91. Alice Wins the Derby (1925) 92. Alice’s Eggplant (1925)

93. Alice’s Tin Pony (1925) 94. Alice and the Dog Catcher (1924)

95. Alice and the Three Bears (1924) 96. Alice Gets in Dutch (1924)

97. Alice Hunting in Africa (1924) 98. Alice Plays the Piper (1924)

99. Alice the Peacemaker (1924) 100. Alice’s Day at the Sea (1924)

101. Alice’s Fishy Story (1924) 102. Alice’s Spooky Adventure (1924)

103. Alice’s Wild West Show (1924) 104. Alice’s Wonderland (1923)

105. Aschenputtel (1922) … aka Cinderella (1922)

106. Four Musicians of Bremen, The (1922) 107. Goldilocks and the Three Bears (1922)

108. Jack and the Beanstalk (1922) 109. Little Red Riding Hood (1922)

110. Puss in Boots (1922) 111. Tommy Tucker’s Tooth (1922)

Walt Disney is a legend; a folk hero of the 20th century. His worldwide popularity was based upon the ideals which his name represents: imagination, optimism, creation, and self-made success. He brought us closer to the future, while telling us of the past, it is certain, that there will never be such as great a man, as Walt Disney.

Akira Kurasawa

the dronacharya of modern day cinema

Kurasawa, the legend:

If one want to know why the greatest hollywood directors,  Speilberg, Francis Ford Cappolla and George Lucas admired Kurasawa as their guru then, one must see know about him and see his movies…

Akira Kurosawa was born in Japan in 1910. From an early age the young Kurosawa lived an eventful life – his father encouraging him to pursue painting, calligraphy, kendo and an interest in films. Kurosawa’s older brother, Heigo, was also a big influence on the young AK, nurturing a love of literature, and also encouraging him to see as many new movies as possible. But it wasn’t until Kurosawa turned 26 – after the death of his older brother – that he was to enter the movie world in earnes. after being recruited by Japanese movie studio PCL (later to become Toho) on the back of a newspaper advert. From that moment on his life was to change. Throughout his life Kurosawa was to make more than thirty films as a director, and contributed to many more – writing scripts and working as an Assistant Director. Film became his life and his work was to prove extremely influential throughout the 20th Century.

Kurosawa continued to explore complex and delicate humanistic themes, gradually building a reputation as a film-maker unwilling to compromise either his vision or his message, and throughout the 1950s and 60s this was further cemented with the addition of many films that are now considered classics of world cinema. Despite studio interference, continued unfair criticism by some quarters of the Japanese media, the ‘failure’ of his first colour film Dodes’Kaden in 1970, and a subsequent suicide attempt, Kurosawa continued to make films for an appreciative world-wide audience throughout the remainder of the 20th Century, though due to a reluctance on the part of the Japanese film industry to fund his pictures, less frequently than many would maybe have liked.

Kurosawa’s film-making career went on well into his eighties, until his death in 1998. His last few films are considered more minor, more personal works than the epics made previously, though these – without doubt – have great appeal for those appreciative of his work. And Kurosawa’s work continues to live on, after his passing.

Countless celebrated film-makers continue to attribute Kurosawa as their greatest influence – Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, John Milius, Sidney Lumet, and a host of others – and it is not difficult to see why. Kurosawa’s signature style – his cinematic prowess, use of music, writing and characterization, attention to detail – were ground-breaking at the time and truly defined the way many modern film-makers presented their work. Here is a small selection of related quotes.

1. ‘With a good script a good director can produce a masterpiece; with the same script a mediocre director can make a passable film. But with a bad script even a good director can’t possibly make a good film. For truly cinematic expression, the camera and the microphone must be able to cross both fire and water. That is what makes a real movie. The script must be something that has the power to do this.’

2. ‘In order to write scripts, you must first study the great novels and dramas of the world. You must consider why they are great. Where does the emotion come from that you feel as you read them? What degree of passion did the author have to have, what level of meticulousness did he have to command, in order to portray the characters and events as he did? You must read thoroughly, to the point where you can grasp all these things. You must also see the great films. You must read the great screenplays and study the film theories of the great directors. If your goal is to become a film director, you must master screenwriting.’

3. ‘Something that you should take particular notice of is the fact that the best scripts have very few explanatory passages. Adding explanation to the descriptive passages of a screenplay is the most dangerous trap you can fall into. It’s easy to explain the psychological state of a character at a particular moment, but it’s very difficult to describe it through the delicate nuances of action and dialogue. Yet it is not impossible. A great deal about this can be learned from the study of the great plays, and I believe the “hard-boiled” detective novels can also be very instructive.’

4. ‘I began writing scripts with two other people around 1940. Up until then I wrote alone, and found that I had no difficulties. But in writing alone there is a danger that your interpretation of another human being will suffer from one-sidedness. If you write with two other people about that human being, you get at least three different viewpoints on him, and you can discuss the points on which you disagree. Also, the director has a natural tendency to nudge the hero and the plot along into a pattern that is the easiest one for him to direct. By writing with about two other people, you can avoid this danger also.’

5. ‘I‘ve forgotten who it was that said creation is memory. My own experiences and the various things I have read remain in my memory and become the basis upon which I create something new. I couldn’t do it out of nothing. For this reason, since the time I was a young man I have always kept a notebook handy when I read a book. I write down my reactions and what particularly moves me. I have stacks and stacks of these college notebooks, and when I go off to write a script, these are what I read. Somewhere they always provide me with a point of breakthourgh. Even for single lines of dialogue I have taken hints from these notebooks. So what I want to say is, don’t read books while lying down in bed.’
6. ‘A novel and a screenplay are entirely different things. The freedom for psychological description one has in writing a novel is particularly difficult to adapt to a screenplay without using narration.’

7. ‘Characters in a film have their own existence. The filmmaker has no freedom. If he insists on his authority and is allowed to manipulate his characters like puppets, the film loses its vitality.’

8. ‘At some point in the writing of every script I feel like giving the whole thing up. From my many experiences of writing screenplays, however, I have learned something: If I hold fast in the face of this blankness and despair, adopting the tactic of Bodhidharma, the founder of the Zen sect, who glared at the wall that stood in his way until his legs became useless, a path will open up.’

9. ‘Those who say an assistant director’s job doesn’t allow him any free time for writing are just cowards. Perhaps you can write only one page a day, but if you do it every day, at the end of the year you’ll have 365 pages of script. I began in this spirit, with a target of one page a day. There was nothing I could do about the nights I had to work till dawn, but when I had time to sleep, even after crawling into bed I would turn out two or three pages. Oddly enough, when I put my mind to writing, it came more easily than I had thought it would, and I wrote quite a few scripts.’

masterpieces from the master

Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
The Most Beautiful (1944)
Sanshiro Sugata – Part Two (1945)
They Who Step On The Tiger’s Tail (1945)
Those Who Make Tomorrow (1946)
No Regrets For Our Youth (1946)
One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
Drunken Angel (1948)
The Quiet Duel (1949)
Stray Dog (1949)
Scandal (1950)
Rashomon (1950)
The Idiot (1951)
Ikiru (1952)
Seven Samurai (1954)
I Live In Fear (1955)
Throne Of Blood (1957)
The Lower Depths (1957)
The Hidden Fortress (1958)
The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
Yojimbo (1961)
Sanjuro (1962)
High And Low (1963)
Red Beard (1965)
Dodes’kaden (1970)
Dersu Uzala (1975)
Kagemusha (1980)
Ran (1985)
Dreams (1990)
Rhapsody In August (1991)
Madadayo (1993)

spielberg, the storyteller….

Spielberg, my manasaguru

Hi friends,

today I am going to write about a wonderful filmmaker of our generation, a great artist and a human being……

Steven Spielberg is the cinematic mastermind behind such indelible hits as Jaws, Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark, which has essentially assured his place as one of the most well-known and revered directors in film history. He’s inspired countless fellow filmmakers and Hollywood types, and there’s little doubt that his name has become synonymous with expansive, downright enthralling big-budget epics.

Unlike the majority of his contemporaries, Steven Spielberg managed to attain unprecedented success virtually from the start of his career. His second film, Jaws, remains one of the most beloved films of all time, while he has since managed to amass a filmography consisting of both hugely successful epics and critically acclaimed dramas. And although he’s found himself on the receiving end of countless awards and accolades, Steven Spielberg’s greatest accomplishment lies in his ability to barriers of language and culture to touch audiences the world over.

Spielberg, my manasaguru…

Spielberg is my manasaguru. The first time I ever heard about him was in 1994, when I was in 9^th standard. My tuition teacher scolded me for not watching Jurassic Park. In those days, I was not able to go to watch movies I like, especially English movies. Most of the Indian teens at that time suffered the same. I was moved by my teacher’s frustration. From the next year onwards me and my best teen age friends Hari Krishnan (BALU) and Thanzeer went for most of the movies whenever we had enough money  in hand, irrespective of the language and genre…..and that too without our parents will……ha.ha.ha….

Now let me say you why I see him as my manasaguru. From my childhood onwards I was interested in storytelling. I always wanted to share my thoughts and views to people around me and I did whenever I had a chance. Some got interested and most were mocking me behind my back, they still are. In those days the word multimedia was not even heard by us. I still remember my dad taking me to a computer institute. It was one of the most horrible days in my life. The teacher introduced me to one great thing in the world “The Black Screen” and a “Blinking White Cursor”…….yes “DOS” of course. I never went for creating a file or directory or all those roots and..blah…blah…blah….again. But in between I used to update my self to world cinema by watching movies …….

Spielberg is not just a name for me…..he is not just a filmmaker …..he, himself is a film for all those generations to come. The storytelling ability, the craft of using live footage with animated characters. The creative mind for upbringing those characters who lives only in our fantasies alive…..into the big screen. The movies he made, the characters he created, the stories he told, the locations he shot, the emotions he shared, the thoughts he evoked, all these made me attracted toward this intellectual person. Fantasies rule our mind more than realities….especially in arts&animation and this respectable man always made movies for universal audience. Even if  it’s about saving Private Ryans from the war front or hiding an alien in a home with children around. Above all of his films he did a great deal to the film industry by creating one of the best production studio “DreamWorks” film studio (along with David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg).

My favourite Spielberg movies…..

1. Jaws (1975)

When a gigantic great white shark begins to menace the small island community of Amity, a police chief, a marine scientist and grizzled fisherman set out to stop it

2. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

After an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Archeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the US government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis

4. E.T (1982)

A group of Earth children help a stranded alien botanist return home

All these movies are great examples of his artistry.

5. The Color Purple (1985). “The life and trials of a young African American Woman”.

I don’t know how many people saw this movie or atleast heard about it in India. A white filmmaker tackling the black issues explored in that brilliant novel would have to land him in the Oscar circle…unfortunately it never happened.

6. Empire of the Sun (1987)

A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation during World War II.

This was critically under-appreciated, and to this day remains one of the director’s best films.

7. Schindler’s List (1993)

Oskar Schindler uses Jews to start a factory in Poland during the war. He witnesses the horrors endured by the Jews, and starts to save them.

This movie which won seven Oscars in all, including, of course, Best Picture.

8. Jurassic Park (1993)

Scientists clone dinosaurs to populate a theme park which suffers a major security breakdown and releases the dinosaurs

9. Amistad (1997)

AMISTAD is about a 1839 mutiny aboard a slave ship that is traveling towards the Northeast Coast of America. Much of the story involves a court-room drama about the free-man who led the revolt

10. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Following the Normandy Landings, a group of US soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action

11. A.I (2001)

A highly advanced robotic boy longs to become “real” so that he can regain the love of his human mother

12. Minority Report (2002)

In the future, criminals are caught before the crimes they commit, but one of the officers in the special unit is accused of one such crime and sets out to prove his innocence

13. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor

14. The Terminal (2004)

An eastern immigrant finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there

15. War of the Worlds (2005)

As Earth is invaded by alien tripod fighting machines, one family fights for survival

16. Munich (2005)

Based on the true story of the Black September aftermath, about the five men chosen to eliminate the ones responsible for that fateful day.

Now, when I look back, among all those pupils in the class who were laughing around me for not watching Jurassic Park, I must be the one who’ve seen more number of movies than them… and I am the only one who is writing about it.

thank you all…..

the master

The “little tramp”

the little tramp…

To be an original artist you need original ideas, and from where can you get it?  Of course, from your own life. Chaplin is my god in that sense, a god with a little flesh and more wonders inside the skull. He proved the whole damn world that lusting around the size of a fellow human being is nothing when it comes to his/her potential. A short man in this world is something to laugh at. Even before the last breathe somebody may make fun of your little stature. I never had any good experience for being short and I don’t find ashamed of sharing it here. But the spirit I saw in Chaplin’s mannerisms when I saw “The Gold Rush”, “City Lights” and “The Great Dictator” when I was in school….is still running through me. I always find me in him whenever I saw him act. I am not saying about the acting sense, but the characters he portrayed always were struggling one….for a living, for a shelter, for bread and of course for love. The fun he displays while starving in “Gold Rush“ by eating the candle makes you laugh….after sometime you realize, when nothing is left around sometimes you may eat that too….who knows..

God gave me a pair of eyes and I’m glad that even if it’s a little blurry, I saw chaplin’s movies when I had vision. If I walk with my head high he is one reason. He is my inspiration or is it true that I inhale and exhale him….in my spirit…. it maybe true,  because I don’t have the ability to see spirit with naked eye!!!

What he gave to world cinema is unmatchable, his works doesn’t have lingual difference, cultural difference, color discrimination….all around the globe people still can relate to it, one way or another. He is the one who proved, all we need is a good story which entertain people in different walks of  life, not long dialogues, female flesh or throwing automobiles in the air. Most of chaplin’s movies were silent ones. A dump or deaf person can enjoy it with all it’s visual vocabulary……and that’s the genius of chaplin.

The Actor, director, writer, editor, composer, producer…chaplin mastered in whatever he done with a bagful of films. The one human being who proved burning desires will light you up for ever and ever……Most actors says that showing comedy is the toughest in acting, is it? then, this man is the toughest contender for all time.

While watching most of his films I always find me on the floor, laughing without any limits, without thoughts…..but towards the end my mind bursts out of my eyes.

Among his movies, I do hold “The kid”, “City Lights”, “Modern Times” and “The Great Dictator“ as the best.

The acting of the child actor Jackie Coogan in the movie “The kid”, is outstanding.

The concept and execution of the machine ruled world in “Modern Times” is brilliant.

The last scene in which the tramp realizing that the flower girl has got eye sight in “City Lights”….it’s one of the heart breaking scenes world cinema ever created……you love her…..wish to touch her…..your mind pushing you to talk to her..you are happy that she is doing good….yet you are pulled back by your condition to remain silent and say good bye………

The greatest coughing scene while trying to say German as Hitler……… holding the window cloth and sliding from it……….playing with the globe…………. hitting it with butt in an artistic way……….the expression when it explodes…………..all these scenes from  “The Great Dictator”.

Countless are the memories he gave us through some visuals…..the little tramp……he was short, lean, and never was handsome like his hollywood counterparts but was hard working and original….long live your legacy sir…….

HINT:

The World famous Indian director(world famous in India only!!!) Priyadarshan got his first major hit in malayalam by remaking, i think “remaking” is a descent word….actually he did cut, copy, and pasted(churandiyathalla…..muzhuvanayum thechu) “City Lights” into “Ninnishtam Ennishtam”…..starring Mohanlal. Later this movie was remaked on Tamil as Thullatha manavum Thullum, but it was a little bit creative……

as picaso stated, good artist copy…..great artist steal…….