Didn't plan anything for tonight? You do know it's Valentine's Day? Looking for last minute ideas? I've been served up a mountain of dross from hacks pitching everything from edible dark chocolate panties to red suede Valentine Uggs. Along the way I secured this not at all surprising nugget: 10% of the under 25 crowd would interrupt sex with their partner to check a text message.
I grew up with this 1966 soundtrack playing in the house so despite the, "...whaba-dhabba-dhap" chorus that might seem so dated to you... the music still grabs me by the gonads and my heart. I understand it does the same for some women. "Twitchy" is an expression I seem to remember. A Man and a Woman is available to rent and buy on iTunes. I can't find the original soundtrack but I'll keep looking and report back if found.
The film, which I first saw in 1972 at the Flick movie theater in Colorado Springs, has a little bit of everything. Car crashes, stunt men, Samba, French countryside, cigarettes and Anouk Aimée. It and she would leave a helluva impression -- Mostly, the importance of understatement and restraint despite my short attention span. Everything is about mood and the mood is a love story told very slowly and with death everywhere. Even in bed. It takes its time. Just like you should take yours tonight. Especially if this is your first viewing.
Order this on your iPad, grab a bottle of something with bubbles, order in some Chinese dumplings and see what happens. By the way, you might want to surprise her with a shearling coat. A shearling coat and this movie could set you up for the rest of the year... but only if you put the phone away.
I have that soundtrack on vinyl. It's one of my soon-to-be four year old daughters favorites. She refers to it as "the pink jam".
ReplyDeleteWaitasec: a movie prominently featuring a K-Code rally Mustang and a Ford GT40 that I haven't yet seen? Impossible.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I think.
The standard advice to women from all quarters on this contrived holiday: "Show up naked...bring beer."
ReplyDeleteSimplicity and direct attack...nearly always a sound strategy!
I once watched this film with a girlfriend and she was really mad that the guy was actually cheating on his wife. Could you blame my friend for dwelling on that? Otherwise, she thought the film was okay.
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Giuseppe- You would have this on vinyl. You may wanna keep your daughter away from the film from a few yrs.
ReplyDeleteBen- Great racing rally and LeMans footage from the era not to mention the stuff parked on the streets.
Andy- "Show Up Naked - Bring Beer" is my next novel.
DB- What the hell are you talking about?
Re-watch the movie, re-read the subtitles. You'll see.
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I think DB is referring to Grand Prix, the James Garner film set with early Sixties European GP racing as its backdrop. Great movie with some infidelity in it. And some incredible cinematography by John Frankenheimer.
ReplyDeleteBen-DB knows Man & Woman. My guess is she we don't know about his situation until well into the 2nd act. I think. DB dated some tough acts himself so I'm not sure what this is about.
ReplyDeleteSo excited - This might be the best Valentine's Day since I was in 9th grade! Interlibrary loan, take me away!
ReplyDeleteNothing androgynous or girl next door about this sweetheart Tintin or many other French actresses of the period. Even when they looked as if butter wouldn't melt in their mouth one knew better. Interestingly Aimee's real name is Dreyfus. Don't know if she's related to the good captain.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add that I've recently started using the Trad "Man's Movie" list as a way to filter possible coffee dates in the online dating world. So helpful! "Barry Lyndon" fueled some good conversation, and I liked that one particular guy had owned the soundtrack on vinyl. (So Trad!) But, when he said he'd recently bought a reissue of "BL" on blue ray,(Not my interpretation of Trad.), I knew then that I should move on to the next coffee date. Thank you, Tintin. Hope your Valentine's Day was loverly. (As in Audrey.)
ReplyDeleteDB- You're right. Also watched making of doc with Claude back in '67. He points out the moment she falls in love with him. Never knew. Thanks for pointing put a subtle plot point that is so understated I never saw it. I blame Spielburg for using a shovel to make a point.
ReplyDeleteJulie- please be careful. If I were a woman I wouldn't date me.
Not a problem. I blame French movies. Miss a bit of dialog and the whole plot might go wandering in search of a meaning. I even have to turn on subtitles with Scottish and Guy Richie films.
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I forgot to mention. Here's a fun, if geeky, little exercise: During the Bossa Nova horseback riding montage, copy down all the Samba artists' names the guy mentions and try to find them on Pandora (or elsewhere on the interwebs).
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