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1930's, action, Action-Adventure, adventure, archery, archery contest, arrows, Basil Rathbone, classic, classic Hollywood, England, Errol Flynn, giving to the poor, golden age of Hollywood, hero, heroes, Hollywood, justice, korngold, legend, medieval, merry men, movie review, myth, Nottingham, Olivia de Haviland, robbing from the rich, Robin Hood, Romance, Sherwood Forest, stopping tyranny and injustice, sword, sword fight, sword fighting, sword fights
Well, this has been an…interesting few months hasn’t it? 2016 refused to leave without taking a few more beloved stars with it, we saw a changing of the guard that has everyone either flocking to the church or the streets, heck, the last few weeks alone has thrown the world into such uncertainty and madness that I just want to lose myself in a bit of escapism that has nothing to do with what’s going on outside right now.
I’ve got it! Harry Potter! I love those movies. There’s nothing more magical and escapist than the tale of a boy who discovers he’s a wizard and goes to school and fights an evil power-mad sorcerer whose followers share his outspoken racism and Nazi-like methods of suppression…
Maybe a comedy is what I need. Something timeless and hilarious, like the Marx Brothers. Those guys are great! Their best movie is this one called Duck Soup where Groucho suddenly becomes president of an entire nation, puts a bunch of his crazy inept friends on his cabinet, and his loud mouth and ego plunges his country into a giant war…
You know, there’s a number of unappreciated animated gems I have on my Shelf, and one of them is Twice Upon a Time. Only recently released to DVD after years of petitioning from fans, it tells the tale of a mime and an Animorph with the voice of Garfield trying to stop a foulmouthed despotic little madman from turning the world into an inescapable bomb-ridden nightmare and OKAY THIS JOKE IS DONE.
The point is it’s been bloody difficult to find almost any form of entertainment that doesn’t feel touched by current events in any way. Many films that I usually enjoy in times of crisis have served as reminders of the world we’re living in now. Indiana Jones? Makes me wish that dealing with meddlesome Nazis was as simple as finding and opening the Ark of the Covenant. Star Wars? Hard to look at objectively now that my country has officially become the Empire. Disney? Bob Iger is on the council of a certain Oompa Loompa reject and is too afraid of losing profits if he stands up to his tangerine overlord. I just…I just want something that can raise my spirits. Something other people in the film community and the public can get behind. A symbol.
Something that appeals to the best of us.
Something good.
Something decent.
Something pure.
Something…classic.
Huh. Good thing I already put the film’s name in the title.
Up On The Shelf 