Absent Drummer
March 2025
The novel is undergoing an upgrade and hopefully will reappear in different format sometime soon.
Watch this space.
20 January 2025
Stradelli
and
Czaprański
Some Resolutions and Some Revelations
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Greg: Happy New Year, Dante, and to our friends out there. It's a bit late, I know, but -
​Dante: Never too late to be sending out good wishes, Stradelli.
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Greg: True, true. So what's the plan, man? I understand you've had some info from our sponsor.
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Dante: You mean my old school buddy Karski? Yes, as a matter of fact, I met up with him one day over the holidays. He said that he's thinking of publishing Absent Drummer in printed form. Maybe this year.
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Greg: I'm a bit surprised he didn't do it to begin with.
Dante: Apparently, one of his friends said that since the story is largely set during the 2020 lockdown, some people might say he was trying to cash in on the pandemic and he said he didn't want that kind of accusation.
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Greg: Well, there might be something in that. On the other hand, anyone who writes anything about any subject, could be accused of trying to cash in on that subject. And wasn't there a TV drama recently, all about how the pandemic hit hospitals here in the UK? You could say that it raised awareness. Especially as we've never really had a proper inquiry about what went wrong - about why the country seemed to be so badly prepared when the thing did hit us.
Dante: Actually, I think there is some sort of inquiry ongoing at the moment. . .
Greg: These inquiries usually take years or else get kicked into the long grass. I'm not saying there should be heads rolling, but that the main object of any inquiry should be that lessons should be learned, so that we can be better prepared if, God forbid, something similar should ever happen again.
Dante: The thing is, for some people it does all seem like ancient history now. And many people just like to move on. But for the families who were directly affected, the story hasn't gone away.
Greg: Did MK say what he's planning to do about our broadcasts?
Dante: I couldn't really pin him down on that. He said he liked the idea of us continuing with the Barry Norman film choices discussions, but that he might include all of that in the projected book, so we will probably find ourselves on printed pages as well as on air.
Greg: Really? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Speaking of Barry Norman's film selections, I watched It's a Wonderful Life yet again over Christmas. It's always a winner.
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Dante: Ah, it's so great. For some reason, I found myself watching Whisky Galore! again. The original.
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Greg: And I finally caught up with I Know Where I'm Going. Thought it was great. That's one of my New Year's resolutions. To catch up on some more films. Have you made any?
Dante: Resolutions? To do more reading. In particular, to catch up on some classics. I've never read any Thomas Hardy, for instance, so I've just finished Tess of the d'Urbervilles.
Greg: I saw Far From the Madding Crowd years ago - with Julie Christie and Alan Bates - but I can't say I've actually read any of his books.
Dante: This one - Tess - was quite a powerful novel.
Greg: Oh, yeah?
Dante: I won't give away the plot. I'll just say she does quite a lot of walking throughout the book. And I've just started on the TV adaptation with Gemma Arterton.
Greg: Book before film. Usually a good idea.
Dante: I've also started on Hugo's Les Misérables. So far, so gripping.
Greg: Wow. I'm impressed. My idea of the classics is watching re-runs of Magnum, P.I. Actually, going back to the Scottish theme, it's Burns Night on Saturday so Izabela says to make sure to tell you that you and Flora are invited over for haggis. And a wee dram.
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Dante: Sounds good.
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Greg: I think I'll sign off for now. Might catch the inauguration. Along with the rest of the planet. How wrong you were, eh, Czaprański ? You were convinced it was going to be President Harris, weren't you?
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Dante: I admit my crystal ball needs a bit of a clean. I'm on safer ground with the past than with the future. And, on the subject of the past, here's a class photo of Karski, aged ten, from his days at the US Army school in Munich. Top row, fourth from right.
Greg: "Germany 1959". Are there any pictures of you? I know you said you were in the year below him. Anyway, this isn't much good on a radio broadcast, is it? We'll have to transfer this onto the website.
Dante: Maybe. I'm not sure. Might have to crop the others out of it.
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Greg: Let's leave the picture as it is. Shows it was a co-educational school.
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Dante: I guess there's that.
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Greg: So. We may or may not be back. I suppose it's up to our sponsor. You gotta serve somebody, as Bob Dylan said.
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Dante: Ah, well. We'll see each other Saturday anyway. And then maybe in print after that.
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26 October 2024
In the Studio Again
Final Episode of Greg Stradelli's Podcast
5: Hello Goodbye
Greg: We're winding up these podcasts, dear friends out there. They were mostly designed to keep up with the US elections, but I got sidetracked a bit with the Barry Norman film selections - which was an interesting excursion, and it definitely made me catch up on some films which I missed the first time around - but as for the US elections, people must have decided which way they're going to vote by now.
​Dante: Not necessarily. I've just read that The Washington Post hasn't declared itself for either candidate.
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Greg: You're kidding me. The Washington Post? The paper that took on Nixon?
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Dante: Yep.
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Greg: I have to say, ladies and gentlemen, that for this final episode, we have not only our regular contributor Dante Czaprański in the studio, but also the one and only Mel Trojanowski - should I say Melchior Trojanowski?
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Mel: 'Mel' is fine. You mention the Washington Post. What about media giant Rupert Murdoch? Who is he supporting? He's a US citizen, isn't he? And he's usually got his finger on the pulse.
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Dante: True. Back in 2020, he saw that Biden was on course to win and said Trump was going to 'crash and burn in November'.
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Greg: I remember that. So is he a trend-setter or a trend-follower?
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Dante: He definitely likes to back a winner.
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Mel: But does he have his finger on the pulse this time or is he too wrapped up in his family's business affairs?
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Greg: It's quite revealing though, about US politics, that you're talking about a few huge media outlets or individual media moguls making a difference to the election outcome.
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Mel: That's the way it is. And has been for a long time. And not only in the US. Look no further than here in the UK.
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Dante: And it's also revealing that two of the huge media tycoons, Murdoch and Elon Musk, were originally not US citizens at all, but born elsewhere in the world.
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Mel: Wonder if they'd call themselves immigrants? And on the subject of people who were not born in the USA -
Greg: Nice reference, Mel. Bruce Springsteen is out there campaigning for Harris . . . sorry, you were saying . . .
Mel: I was going to say, Greg, since you're a Brit, an outsider, how about this podcast of yours - has anyone accused you of interfering in US politics?
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Greg: With my grand total of ten listeners?
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Mel: Wow. As many as that?
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Greg: Could even be eleven. But look, here we are in West London. Even if anyone in the USA listens to this podcast, what impression do we make? Meanwhile, there's British parliamentarian Nigel Farage who was actively campaigning for Trump at his rallies a little while back. I think we're pretty low profile in comparison.
Mel: And speaking of rallies, if there are still any undecided US voters, I wonder if last-minute campaigning will change any minds?
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Dante: It ain't over till it's over. Anything can happen between now and the fifth of November. It's still important to be out there and be visible and make your case.
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Mel: We should have had a woman's perspective here. I was thinking Lorna would have been good on these podcasts. Who do you suppose she'd be voting for if she had a vote in the US?
Greg: For Kamala Harris, of course. Lorna told me exactly that many times.
Mel: Why would anyone not vote for Harris?
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Dante: That's right. Why would anyone not vote for the candidate who represents progress and the future? Why would anyone want to go back?
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Greg: So here we are, guys. This has been short and sweet. And now it's time to say goodbye to friends out there. I may or may not revive this podcast. I don't know. If I do, it won't be until next year, although I still like the idea of reviving Radio Free Erconwald as a music station . . . who knows? It could happen one day. But for now, it's goodbye from me.
Mel: And it's goodbye from me and dowidzenia.
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Dante: Arrivederci, friends.
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​Greg: Hasta la vista, dear podcast followers. I'll leave you with a photo of mathematician and Enigma code-breaker Henryk Zygalski, who got a mention on a previous podcast. It was our friend Augustyn Czajka (also known as 'Chai' Czajka, drummer with The Booster Rockets) who posted this on his Chiswick Surfer website, saying that he looks a lot like Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird.
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TADEUSZ KOSCIUSZKO
THE CHISWICK SURFER INTERVIEW
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The Chiswick Surfer, arguably the most cutting edge blog in West London today, has secured an exclusive interview with Tadeusz Kościuszko (1746-1817), Polish national hero and also hero of the American Revolution. The following is an edited transcript:
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Chiswick Surfer: General, welcome to West London in 2024. I hope you had a pleasant flight from your home in the clouds –
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KoÅ›ciuszko: Hold it right there. I hope you’re going to make it quite clear to everyone that this interview is completely fictitious and occurs entirely in your head and that you are putting words in my mouth and therefore I cannot be held responsible for any views you may attribute to me.
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CS: Of course, General.
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KoÅ›ciuszko: Just so we understand each other. As for ‘my home in the clouds’, I sincerely hope your apparent flippancy will not be the prevailing tone of this interview. I was given to understand that we would be discussing the current state of politics in the USA and particularly the upcoming presidential election.
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CS: My apologies, General. You’re quite right. I was going to ask you whether you have any views about today’s candidates for the highest office in the land. As you know, the United States has many voters of Polish heritage. According to one recent estimate, there are currently nine million Polish Americans.
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KoÅ›ciuszko: I’m glad to hear it. The USA is ‘the home of the brave’. And many brave Poles were there, right at the beginning, when independence was being fought for.
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CS: Speaking of those days, General, you were acquainted with the greats of the American Revolution; Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson –
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KoÅ›ciuszko: ‘Acquainted with’ is one way of putting it. I would count them as friends. Thomas Jefferson, in particular, was a great friend, but we all shared the same ideals of liberty and fought for a republic which would be based on freedom from tyranny.
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CS: Looking at the current state of politics in the USA, do you believe those republican ideals are in danger from the prospect of autocracy, as some people claim?
KoÅ›ciuszko: You mention 'republican ideals’. The original republicans were those revolutionaries, the people in the Continental Army, who resisted autocracy and fought for a republic, which is what drew people like myself, Lafayette and others to the American cause. The autocracy which we all resisted in those days, was, of course, represented by the arbitrary rule of a distant monarchy which took no real account of conditions in the American colonies, as they were then. I have noticed a curious development recently, namely that the party which calls itself ‘republican’, has today elevated someone who appears to have the instincts of a monarch, perhaps even an emperor. What happened to the egalitarian ideals of the original republican revolutionaries?
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CS: Does this mean, General, that you would prefer - but before I ask you about your views, please correct me if I’m wrong, but you were, were you not, a US citizen?
Kościuszko: I had that honour. And I still have, depending on how you look at things. But, yes, I was rewarded with US citizenship for my service in the War of Independence. The USA was my second homeland. You may want to append a link on your blog after this interview, detailing some historical information.
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CS: I’ll certainly do that, General. May I ask you then, how would you, as a US citizen, advise today’s Polish Americans to vote in the upcoming elections?
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Kościuszko: You may remember my opinion of Napoleon. Now there was someone who started out as a liberator and was seen as such by many downtrodden people, including a great many of my own countrymen, as you know. But of course, power went to his head, and he had himself proclaimed emperor.
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CS: Crowned, in fact.
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Kościuszko: Indeed. And he crowned himself. And so he lost the support of many.
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CS: Beethoven, among others.
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KoÅ›ciuszko: I see you know the period. It’s usually safe to say that there’s no reining in an absolute ruler, whether he be king, emperor or dictator. And it’s usually a ‘he’, although, in my experience –
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CS: Forgive me for interrupting, General, but I was going to ask you about the Empress Catherine. What are your feelings about Russians?
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KoÅ›ciuszko: Since you know the period, you must also know that Catherine wasn’t originally Russian, but Prussian. And my feelings about Russians are the same as my feelings about any other nations. I don’t judge people according to their nationalities but according to their character. Ambassador Vorontsov, for instance, was very helpful to me during my brief stay in London, following my release from Catherine’s prison.
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CS: So, General, coming back to the question of the presidential election, how would you advise Polish Americans to vote today?
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Kościuszko: I can't tell anyone how to vote, but I am sure that Polish Americans will vote wisely, taking into account the founding principles upon which the nation was built. Some people may not be aware of the extent of the Polish contribution in the War of Independence. My own name is quite well known, as is that of Pulaski, but there were also others: Kotkowski, Jan Zielinski, Jerzmanowski, Karol Litomski, Maciej Rogowski and many others. You might like to post another link detailing these individuals. They were all freedom fighters, opposed to autocracy.
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CS: I hate to bring this up, General, but during the Polish Uprising of 1794, weren’t you yourself a dictator?
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Kościuszko: Naczelnik. A military leader appointed by others to lead during an emergency, but expected, as in the case of the Roman Cincinnatus, to relinquish power once the emergency was over. Had we won our fight back then and secured our independence, I would have retired to my country home, just like Cincinnatus, but events turned out otherwise, as you know. Poland was partitioned and vanished from the map of Europe. I was imprisoned in St Petersburg on the orders of the Empress. But, as to relinquishing power after a victory, look no further than George Washington, who stepped away from power and became the model for all future US presidents.
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CS: So, to sum up, General, are you saying therefore, that the choice is a no-brainer? That Polish Americans would be wise to vote for –
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KoÅ›ciuszko: The current choice, my dear Sir, seems to be between a person who believes in the principles the country was founded on and gives the distinct impression of being concerned with the welfare of every single citizen of the USA and another person who gives the impression of believing only in himself and his own welfare. My position prevents me from naming names, but I can't make it any clearer than that. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll take my leave, sending best wishes not only to anyone with Polish ancestry or Polish connections, but also to anyone familiar with the Kosciuszko Bridge in Brooklyn, or Mount Kosciuszko in Australia, or residents of the birthplace of Oprah Winfrey, etc. etc. So don’t forget to post that link, Mr C. Thank you and dowidzenia.
CS: Goodbye, General and thank you. I will now post that link, and for Polish speakers, historian Longin Pastusiak is the author of Polacy w Zaraniu Stanów Zjednoczonych, which details those Polish fighters who took part in the American War of Independence.
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2 October 2024
Message from Dante to Greg
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Hi Greg. Just letting you know that I won't be available for our recording session on Friday. Can you get Trojanowski maybe? If he can't do it, then I think Czajka may be available. He's off on his travels again soon, but he's still here this weekend, so maybe he'd be able to stand in? Or could you do the podcast on your own? Sorry, but circumstances beyond my control, etc. I'll tell you all about it when I see you next.
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Cheers
D
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3 October 2024
Message from Greg to Dante
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No worries, Czaprański. As a matter of fact, I had been thinking about my whole idea of the podcast. Everyone is commenting about the US election so I don't think our podcast will make much difference to the result. As for Barry Norman's film choices, the next category on his list was going to be 'Comedies', and, considering what's going on in the world right now, it would have been the last thing I felt like talking about. So I think I might put this whole podcast on ice anyway. I'm not sure yet. If anyone wants to know the complete list of the hundred film choices, they can be found online. He provided interesting comments about them but we couldn't have read them out on the podcast for obvious copyright reasons. But I think I did mention that there are some Barry Norman film books available. By the way, did you watch the VP debate? I've got to admit it was too late for me so I gave it a miss.
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Greg
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3 October 2024
Message from Dante to Greg
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The debate was very civil. It reminded me of the contrast between the Trump-Biden debate back in 2020, with Trump talking over and interrupting Biden and then the Harris-Pence debate, where they were both very civil and polite. But at the very end of Tuesday's debate Vance said something to the effect that Trump made a 'peaceful transition' of power. I seem to remember Trump telling his supporters to 'fight like hell' at the time. Vance obviously saw something which others didn't. A bit like an expressionist painter.
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As for the podcast, Czajka has sent me a script, which I’m attaching. See what you think. We could get him to read it, maybe with Trojanowski?
Cheers from me​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
28 September 2024
In the Studio Again
Selections from Greg Stradelli's Podcast
4: Drama
Greg: Since we're mostly talking about films on these podcasts, shall we start this episode with a tribute to the great Dame Maggie Smith?
Dante: Good idea.
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Greg: I first saw her in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie way back in the seventies. Or was it sixties? I'll look it up.
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Dante: I watched her quite recently in Ladies in Lavender with Judi Dench.
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Greg: 'Dame' as well.
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Dante: Right. Did you see Tea with Mussolini? They were both in that as well, I think.
Greg: Correct. Along with Cher, Joan Plowright, it says here . . . also Maggie Smith was in Hook.
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Dante: Ah! Of course.
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Greg: And in The Secret Garden, it says here, directed by Agnieszka Holland. I must say I never saw that.
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Dante: I watched it not too long ago. Flora recommended the book, so I read that and then watched this film version. It was very good.
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Greg: So many other films listed here - A Room with a View, Othello . . .
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Dante: Oh yeah! She was Desdemona. I saw that years ago.
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Greg: What a filmography. Great loss to the world of cinema.
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Dante: Yes, indeed. And theatre, of course.
Greg: Absolutely.
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Dante: On the subject of cinema, you know we were talking about the new French film version of The Count of Monte Cristo a while ago. Well, I was thinking that before I actually read the book, or even saw the US film version - Richard Chamberlain, Tony Curtis et al - I'm pretty sure that I first came across the story in comic book form and those comics we used to get in the US Army PX somewhere in downtown Munich.
Greg: PX?
Dante: Post Exchange. It was a store which had all sorts of everyday stuff sent over from the States which you couldn’t get in German shops. I looked up the location and it seems the building now houses the Bavarian Ministry of Economics, but apparently, from 1938 until the end of the war it was the regional headquarters of the Luftwaffe.
Greg: Wow.
Dante: We were never very far away from some reminder of what had happened not all that long ago – I’m talking about late fifties, early sixties - except we kids probably didn’t quite realize it, whereas our parents were probably very much aware.
Greg: Must have been strange for them living there.
Dante: They must have had mixed feelings because it was a beautiful city. Is a beautiful city. At the time - in the early sixties - it was definitely a great place to live for a family. Parks, swimming pools . . .
Greg: OK. So, before we get into this week's Barry Norman film selections, let me read you a message from Trojanowski.
Dante: Maybe we should get him into a recording session?
Greg: Maybe. Remember last week we were talking about The Jungle Book and that Barry Norman had said in his notes that Brian Epstein had lined up The Beatles to get involved with the Disney studio but John Lennon had rejected the idea? Because he didn't like the new Beatles cartoon? Here's what Trojanowski writes: 'Dear G and D, you said in your podcast that The Jungle Book was released in 1967. Could Yellow Submarine have been the new cartoon which Lennon was unhappy about? I read somewhere that he didn’t like it at first but changed his mind later. But it didn't come out until 1968, a year after Jungle Book. Maybe Lennon saw some advance footage. Also, to Dante, on the subject of Chico Marx and sanity clause, I know Chico was only joking but I hope you’re not in the business of Santa Claus denial, especially since you’re a grandfather. Remember the famous editorial ‘Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus’? Regards, T.’
Dante: Good grief. He sounds serious. Mel, old friend, if you’re out there listening, do you really think I’d behave like some kind of – who’s a Santa Claus denier?
Greg: I think the Grinch might have been.
Dante: Do you think I'm some kind of Grinch? But, actually, Greg, he could be right about John Lennon. Maybe the cartoon was Yellow Submarine. Although I had a message from my old school buddy from the States who thinks that Lennon was talking about something else. ‘Maybe Lennon meant the Yellow Submarine film,’ he writes, ‘but there was a Beatles cartoon series on TV over here. It was shown on ABC from 1965 to 1967. My guess is that it’s the TV series which Lennon may have been unhappy about. All the best from this side of the pond. Interesting selections from Barry Norman BTW. If you’re doing his choices for ‘Drama’ next week, I wonder if Norman includes Elmer Gantry, which I just happened to watch. I also recently watched 84 Charing Cross Road. Would that count as ‘Drama’? Also I wonder if he had Forrest Gump on any of his lists?
Greg: Well, there we are. I’m not saying what Barry Norman’s choices are until we get to them.
(musical filler - theme from Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' by Nino Rota)
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Greg: So - anyway, about the selections, are you ready for your close-up? Because this week's film category featuring Barry Norman's ten choices is 'Drama' and the first one is Sunset Boulevard from 1950.
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Dante: I saw this many years ago. All about a film star trying to re-live her past glories?
Greg: More or less. Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, a former star convinced she's going to make a great comeback. ‘I’m still big, it’s the pictures that got small.’
Dante: I might have to watch that again. In fact, that goes for a lot of these films.
Greg: Number two is Raging Bull from 1980 with a great performance from Robert De Niro.
Dante: Yeah. I’d agree with that. Another powerful Scorsese film. Although it’s a while since I saw it. Apparently a pretty accurate biopic, I remember reading somewhere.
Greg: It’s a Wonderful Life – 1946 - is at number three. This must be a film which everyone on the planet has seen.
Dante: I thought at first that this should have been in the 'Family Films' section, since it’s the kind of thing which is shown at Christmastime, but, of course, it is a drama.
Greg: I suppose the categories can be fairly fluid. So, back to the list and number four is a film that often tops all-time great movies lists – Citizen Kane from 1941.
Dante: Great film. An incredible achievement for the young Orson Welles. Wasn’t he only twenty-something?
Greg: Twenty-five. He co–wrote it, directed it, produced it and starred in it.
Dante: I know you're a big Welles fan. I suppose you've seen the Welles version of Macbeth. I had it recorded and finally watched it. Dark and brooding, as was to be expected.
Greg: Did you ever see the Welles treatment of Kafka’s The Trial?
Dante: No, I haven’t seen that.
Greg: It had Anthony Perkins in it. It was what you might call idiosyncratic. But I’d watch just about anything starring or directed by Welles.
Dante: Funnily enough, The Lady from Shanghai was on TV a few days ago and I recorded it. You must know that, too.
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Greg: The famous hall of mirrors sequence. Welles with an Irish brogue . . .
Dante: Don't tell me. I haven't watched it yet. I saw Touch of Evil a while ago. That superb opening sequence. The long continuous camera shot. Charlton Heston . . .
Greg: Yes. Brilliant. But shall we move on from Orson Welles? So, carrying on with the choices. At number five Norman has The Shawshank Redemption from 1994.
Dante: I had to watch that a second time, because I think I missed a vital plot point.
Greg: Really? But maybe I won’t ask you what plot point you mean, since we don’t want to give anything away here. In fact, sometimes it’s difficult to give a summary or review of a film without giving away crucial plot points.
Dante: There’s a danger of being unnecessarily critical of things as well. I told Flora about what we were doing and she said she hoped we wouldn’t end up sounding like Statler and Waldorf.
Greg: Ha! Number six is from 1955 – Bad Day at Black Rock.
Dante: Saw it but can’t remember much about it. When this happens, it’s not the film that’s to blame, but my memory. I have problems.
Greg: Remember the one-armed Spencer Tracy? It's a John Sturges film. Kind of an updated western.
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Dante: John Sturges? Didn’t he direct The Magnificent Seven?
Greg: Indeed he did. And on we go to number seven. It’s All About Eve from 1950.
Dante: I told you I’d seen nine out of ten in this category, but actually I realize now that I’ve seen all of them. This is the one which I didn’t think I had seen, but then I looked it up and it rang some bells. I remember Marilyn Monroe was in it in one of her very early film appearances.
Greg: My turn to admit that it’s not one I’ve seen. I caught up with Bette Davis in Now Voyager a little while back, so I'll catch up with All About Eve sometime. OK, so the next film, at number eight, is one which is terrific, as was the book it was based on. To Kill a Mockingbird from 1962.
Dante: Yes, I only recently caught up with the film, but the book I read ages ago. The scene in the film which stands out for me is Gregory Peck and the mad dog. Actually, the character of Atticus Finch reminds me of a photo which Czajka posted on his website a while ago. One of the Polish trio of codebreakers who worked on cracking the enigma codes just before the war was the spitting image of Gregory Peck as Finch. I’ll just find a photo . . . hang on –
Greg: Number nine, meanwhile, is from 1975 and starred Jack Nicholson – One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Do you know something? I think you were with me and a bunch of our friends when we went to see this at the cinema.
Dante: I’m sure you’re right. I know my memory is terrible but I do remember the sequence when they were all introduced to someone as eminent doctors. I remember being really impressed with the acting in the film. And here’s the photo I was talking about – Henryk Zygalski.
Greg: Ah, yes, I can see a resemblance. Shame this isn’t TV, ladies and gentlemen. OK, then. Last, but most definitely not least – and Barry Norman did say that these weren’t arranged in any order of merit – is . . . drum roll . . . from 1957 - 12 Angry Men. Totally brilliant, in my opinion.
Dante: Absolutely. Brilliant acting all round. Watched it again quite recently. “You work your life out!”
Greg: Did you ever see Henry Fonda in The Wrong Man? A Hitchcock film. That would be a good one to go on this list.
Dante: Yes, I think I did. Actually, I thought of one or two others for 'Drama' off the top of my head. What about Amadeus? All the President’s Men? And since Barry Norman does have the odd foreign-language films, what about quite a few by Andrzej Wajda? Ashes and Diamonds, for instance. Or Fellini films? La Strada, 8 ½, La Dolce Vita . . .
Greg: We need to stop somewhere. No doubt we’ll get more suggestions from one or two listeners out there. So next time, Barry Norman’s choices will be ten films in a lot of people’s favourite category – ‘Comedies’. Until then, dear podcast listeners, I’ll leave you with a quote from Charles Foster Kane on the topic of media influence: “If the headline is big enough, it makes the news big enough”.
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​(longer section of Nino Rota's 'La Dolce Vita' theme)
21 September 2024
In the Studio Again
Selections from Greg Stradelli's Podcast
3: Familiar Viewing
Greg: You growing a beard?
Dante: Well, now that the summer's over . . .
Greg: It looks like it's going to be white. You'll end up looking like Santy Claus.
Dante: There ain't no sanity clause.
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Greg: Name that film, dear listeners.
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Dante: Are we recording, then?
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Greg: Shall we do a round-up of the news? Or do we leave it to other podcasters and websites?
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Dante: Looking at some of the US websites, I've noticed that Donald Trump is still mispronouncing Kamala Harris's first name.
​Greg: I've been thinking about whether the idea of this podcast was so great.
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Dante: How do you mean?
Greg: Whether it was such a good idea to include politics. There was a reason for not including politics when we did our Radio Free Erconwald music broadcasts back in 2019. I thought at the time that politics was too divisive and I was right. Also, the news is usually so depressing. Let's face it, not a week goes by without some fresh horror story. The continuing wars and terrorism all over the place. Now we've got floods in central Europe. Did you see the posts from Szostak in Poland? People are losing their lives. There are all these natural disasters to cope with but so many in the human race still want to solve their problems using violence. I know the counter-argument is that people have a right to defend themselves, but I don't feel like getting into those discussions. Not here. Not now. Shall we skip straight to the Barry Norman film choices?
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Dante: You sure? It's up to you, Greg. So are we broadcasting your intro then, or do we cut it?
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Greg: Sorry. Let me start again.
Here we are again, friends, with another episode in our podcast. A week is a long time in politics, as Harold Macmillan said.
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Dante: I think it was Harold Wilson who said that. ​Macmillan said: 'Events, dear boy, events.'
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Greg: In other words, stuff happens.
Dante: Politely put, Greg.
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Greg: How about we don't discuss the US election campaign for a change? There are all sorts of other things happening. Szostak has posted news about terrible floods in southern Poland.
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​Dante: I saw the photos which Izabela posted. Devastating. And maybe I should explain to listeners out there that the Szostak we're talking about, was not only our bass player in Kreutz Sungrazer at one point, before he moved permanently to Poland, but is none other than BJ Szostak, award-winning film-maker. And, according to Trojanowski, he may be coming over here to the UK around Christmastime to catch up with family. But about the floods, it's not just Poland, but elsewhere in central Europe. People have lost their lives. Grim news.
Greg: Sometimes it's just so difficult to find anything that's positive. I'm not going to go into the subject of climate change on this podcast, but there are all these natural disasters happening and people still want to - anyway, let's turn to other things. The main item on the agenda is to discuss Barry Norman's film choices, isn't it?
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Dante: Whatever you say, Greg. It's your podcast.
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Greg: It's my podcast and I'll talk about films if I want to.
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(musical filler - theme from Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' by Nino Rota)
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Dante: Any feedback about our last episode?
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Greg: Trojanowski had nothing to say about the 'Romances' category, but he offered some more ideas for Barry Norman's 'Thrillers' section. Actually, what I should have done right at the outset, is to stress that Norman himself didn't regard these choices as set in stone - that he probably would have chosen a different list at another time. Also, the list of a hundred films invited readers to send in their own choice for the hundred-and-first.
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Dante: Right. So what did Trojanowski say about the 'Thrillers' category?
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Greg: He writes: "What about Double Indemnity from 1944? Or Backdraft from 1991, directed by Ron Howard, with Kurt Russell and Robert De Niro, all about Chicago firefighters. That's a thriller. Also there's Captain Phillips with Tom Hanks. (From 2013, so too new for Barry Norman's list I know). There are a couple of thrillers from Kathryn Bigelow: The Hurt Locker from 2008 and Zero Dark Thirty with the brilliant Jessica Chastain from 2012. I've got no suggestions for 'Romances'. If you're doing 'Family Films' next, then I bet Barry Norman's first choice will be The Sound of Music. Regards, T."​
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Dante: Is he right?
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Greg: You already know the answer to that and we'll find out in a minute.
Dante: Actually, Flora suggested Shakespeare in Love for the 'Romances' category.
Greg: Good one. "I had that Christopher Marlowe in my boat once". Great stuff. I've also heard from Czajka with some suggestions for Shakespeare films. A Midsummer Night's Dream from 1999 with a 'stellar cast' he says. Orson Welles's Chimes at Midnight, which he says is 'superb'. Henry V directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, which he says is 'a terrific piece of film-making'.
Dante: I thought maybe some Elvis movies might fit the description of 'Romances'. G.I. Blues, for instance. Or would you call that a musical?
Greg: Izabela suggested - for 'Romances' - Howard's End and The Remains of the Day.
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Dante: Good choices. Both from the nineties, I think, and both with Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins. Actually, I've just watched Panic in Year Zero with Ray Milland. Brought back memories of the early sixties and the genuine unease - fear even - at the time of the Cuban missile crisis. Would that film come under thriller or sci-fi or would it need a category of its own? Apocalypse films?
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Greg: Speaking of apocalyptic, or post-apocalyptic, to be precise, have you seen The Road, based on the Cormac McCarthy book? I don't agree with those people who say it's unrelentingly bleak.
Dante: I can't comment because I haven't seen it, but what about all the Planet of the Apes films? They don't feature in Barry Norman's choices.
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Greg: "You maniacs!" Actually, I recently watched Charlton Heston and the bellissima Sophia Loren in El Cid. I haven't seen that since it first came out. Maybe Barry Norman should have had a historical films category. Julius Caesar, the Shakespeare adaptation, with Marlon Brando, would be in there.
Dante: Going back to 'Thrillers', did you see that The Big Sleep is on TV tomorrow? Also The Day of the Jackal. That's a strong candidate for Norman's hundred-and-first film.
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Greg: Tomorrow being Saturday, dear listeners. We record these episodes on Friday. But it's weird that The Day of the Jackal can be so suspenseful, since everyone knows the history. Great film.
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Dante: Would The Revenant be included in the 'Thriller' section? Too new, I know, for the Barry Norman list. Or would it come under 'Drama'? Or 'Action and Adventure'?
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Greg: Definitely not a family film. Which brings us neatly to this week's category. So - 'Family Films', Dante. Trojanowski was half right. Number one features Julie Andrews, but it's not The Sound of Music. It's Mary Poppins from 1964.
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Dante: Good choice. I don't think I can add anything to what's been said about it. Bert the chimneysweep's Cockney accent will live forever. That's a great sequence with Dick Van Dyke and the penguins.
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Greg: Number two on Barry Norman's list is the 1946 version of Great Expectations.
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Dante: I think I saw it ages ago. Black-and-white, I think. Was it Alastair Sim?
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Greg: Alastair Sim was Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. This one was with John Mills, Jean Simmons, Alec Guinness . . .
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Dante: It's one of the Dickens books I thought was good. Others I've had problems with. He doesn't like using a sentence where a paragraph will do.
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Greg: Number three is Toy Story from 1995. So I suppose this must be the first one.
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Dante: They are all so brilliant. You can't help appreciating them when you have kids and grandkids. "To infinity and beyond!"
Greg: "A stranger. From the outside". Superb. Number four is one which may be a bit too cutesie for some tastes, but, of course, it's always a hit with the kids. ET from 1982.
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Dante: Weird how concepts of aliens from outer space have changed since the fifties. Total extremes. Cute, like ET, then absolutely terrifying, like the one in Predator. My favourite alien must be Mork from Planet Ork.
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Greg: "Nanu Nanu". If I said Third Rock From the Sun, would that give away the plotline of that TV show to anyone who hasn't seen it?
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Dante: Well . . .
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Greg: But we're drifting away from Barry Norman's choices. Bambi from 1942 is at number five in this week's list.
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Dante: 1942? You sure? I saw it in the cinema when I was a kid in the fifties.
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Greg: That's what it says here.
Dante: I remember it made quite an impression on me when I saw it.​
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Greg: Shrek from 2001 is at Number six. I've got to admit I haven't seen it. What about you?
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Dante: Same here. Never got around to it.
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Greg: Number seven is The Railway Children. The original from 1970, not the remake. I have to admit I've never got around to seeing that one. Bit of a weepie, so I've heard.
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Dante: Maybe not a weepie, because - and I'd better not give away the ending - but I guess you'd call it sentimental. Is that the right word?
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Greg: Well, maybe there are some people who haven't seen the film or read the book. Let's go on to number eight. It's The Jungle Book. 1967. Little snippet of info here from Barry Norman about the vultures' Liverpool accents being a tribute to the Beatles. Apparently manager Brian Epstein, according to Barry Norman, wanted to involve the band with the Disney studio but John Lennon dismissed the idea because he didn't like the new Beatles cartoon.
Dante: There was supposed to be a Beatles cartoon? Are we talking about Yellow Submarine? Greg is shrugging, ladies and gentlemen. Actually, The Jungle Book could just as easily have been in the 'Musicals' category.
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Greg: Number nine is Harry Potter 2001-2011, so I suppose that's the whole series.
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Dante: I saw the first three. Haven't got around to seeing any more.
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Greg: We're not doing too well with any incisive reviews here, are we? What did you think of them? I only saw the first one.
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Dante: Maybe an acquired taste? But great as escapism, I suppose. Not sure if I'd count them as 'Family Films', though.
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Greg: But isn't the idea of 'Family Films' something which kids and parents can watch together? Does that ever happen nowadays, what with individuals watching stuff separately, each in their own bubble?
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Dante: Do families even go to the cinema like they used to?
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Greg: We're sounding like a couple of old -
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Dante: Relics. Boomers. Escapees from the sixties.
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Greg: The last one on the list is from 1939. Considering the year, this was pure escapism. Or did it have a hidden message? I'm talking about The Wizard of Oz.
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Dante: Subtle message about unmasking tyrants, maybe?
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Greg: Another reason why this may not have been such a great idea - I mean it was my idea, I know, but I'm realizing that there could be too many spoilers for people who haven't seen the films.
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Dante: I think we're OK. We haven't been giving away plotlines, have we? Or endings? Also, ahead of next week, I can tell you now that I've seen nine out of ten. I leave you to announce the category.
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Greg: The next category in Barry Norman's choices, dear friends, is 'Drama'. There are some classics. ​​​​​​​​​​ And here's a final note to finish on - it's Sophia Loren's birthday. Tanti auguri!
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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​(longer section of Nino Rota's 'La Dolce Vita' theme)
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14 September 2024
In the Studio Again
Selections from Greg Stradelli's Podcast
2: The Truth About Cats and Dogs
Greg: Welcome, friends, to another episode of our podcast. With me again is Dante Czaprański, writer, diarist and one-time guitarist with Kreutz Sungrazer.
Dante: Two-time guitarist, counting our band reunion of last year.
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Greg: Well, I guess listeners should know that I'm a two-timer as well, since I was the lead guitarist in the same outfit. Except being a two-timer doesn't sound too great.
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Dante: Hmm . . .
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Greg: So what have you been up to since we last spoke, my old compadre?
Dante: I spent most of the week in North Wales, as a matter of fact. We went - Flora and I went to visit Portmeirion, among other places.
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Greg: Port - ?
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Dante: Portmeirion. Where The Prisoner was filmed.
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Greg: Ah. The Patrick McGoohan series? I remember that. It must have been 1967 or 1968. I caught some of the episodes. Quite surreal, I seem to remember. But I don't think I saw how it actually ended. I must catch up with it sometime. Wasn't Leo McKern in it as the big Number One?
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Dante: He was Number Two. Twice, I think. It's been a while since I've seen it but I did watch all the episodes. Terrific series. There were lots of well-known faces in the various episodes. Leo McKern, as you said, Paul Eddington . . .
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Greg: Paul Eddington from Yes, Minister?
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Dante: Also from Yes, Prime Minister and The Good Life. George Baker was in it. Loads of others.
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Greg: You mean George Baker who played Tiberius?
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Dante: Aye, Claudius. That's him.
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Greg: So you enjoyed your stay in Wales?
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Dante: Wales is great. We went on a little steam railway to a picturesque little place called Beddgelert. Loads of tourists. But one minute it was fine and sunny and the next it was raining cats and dogs. There was even sleet at one point. Four seasons in one day.
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Greg: Four Seasons in One Day. Wasn't that a song?
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Dante: I think it was about Melbourne. By Crowded House.
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Greg: Actually, speaking of cats and dogs, did you manage to catch the big debate? Hang on, before you answer that, maybe I'd better put in our piece of music . . .
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(musical filler - theme from Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' by Nino Rota)
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Greg: So, Dante, did you catch Trump v Harris where you were?
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Dante: Oh, man, I wouldn't have missed it. Stayed up late to watch it. Harris was the clear winner. I can't help feeling it was a decider in this campaign.
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Greg: You think so? The big takeaway seems to be the cats and dogs thing, and the memes and jokes are doing the rounds, of course, but will his die-hard supporters start drifting away from him because of that kind of claim? Was it any more bizarre than other stuff he's said before?
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Dante: What his fans will think is the big question. Everyone else on the planet saw a cool and focused politician scoring point after point against an angry and resentful complainer.
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Greg: Ah, well. There's still a way to go. It ain't over till it's over.
Now, how about we turn to the Barry Norman film choices? We've had some feedback about last week's episode.
Dante: Oh, really? That's encouraging. So there are some people listening out there.
Greg: Don't know about some. I can tell you there's at least one. It's our friend Trojanowski and he's made some comments.
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​Dante: Good old Trojanowski. Here's a bit of info for anyone out there who remembers our band Kreutz Sungrazer. Mel Trojanowski was our roadie for a long time and he even stood in for Czajka at one point and played drums for us.
Greg: He did indeed. Here's what he says, about Barry Norman's 'Thrillers' category: 'With all due respect to the great Barry Norman, what about Hell Drivers with Stanley Baker and Patrick McGoohan? What about The French Connection films? Great car chase in the first one. In fact, what about Bullitt? There's also a Polish film, Jack Strong, with a terrific car chase through Warsaw. Regards, T.' ​
Dante: Ha! Patrick McGoohan in Hell Drivers? That's one I haven't seen. But Trojanowski mentions a Polish film. Does Barry Norman include foreign-language films in his choices? Where's the list?​
Greg: Here. Have a look. See? There are one or two. It's not all mainstream English-language films.
Dante: But talking about cars and speed - I can think of one which was too new to be included in Barry Norman's list, but would Ford v Ferrari count as a thriller? That's a great film. Known over here as Le Mans '66. Another film I caught up with recently was The Driver with Ryan O'Neal. Nineteen-seventy something. He played the total opposite of the clean-cut wholesome roles he's usually associated with.​
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Greg: The late Ryan O'Neal, of course.
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Dante: Right. And - at the risk of sounding like some kind of name-dropper - O'Neal went to the same school as me. Or I went to the same school as him. He was many years ahead of me and he was gone back to the States by the time I was there.
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Greg: Oh, yeah? You mean the American High School in Germany?
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Dante: Munich. Yeah.
Greg: Another series occurred to me - what about the Die Hard films? They count as thrillers, don't they?
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Dante: What about the Rocky films? Especially the first one. Barry Norman didn't do a sports category, did he?
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Greg: He has 'Action and Adventure'. OK, Dan, shall we get to his actual choices and this week's category? It's 'Romances'.
(musical filler - theme from Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' by Nino Rota)
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Greg: Here are his ten films: the first one is William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet from 1996.
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​Dante: With the fab Claire Danes. I saw her recently in one of the Terminator films. Really good actress. I have seen this updated Shakespeare - it was a while ago and it worked for me. As far as I remember they kept the actual text of the play.
Greg: Yes, they did. That's what it says here.
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Dante: Wasn't there a re-working of The Taming of the Shrew also set in modern-day USA?
Greg: Ten Things I Hate About You.
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Dante: Czajka is probably the one we need to ask about Shakespeare adaptations.
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Greg: I can't say I've seen the Baz Luhrmann Romeo and Juliet. Right. Barry Norman's second choice here is the classic Casablanca from 1942.
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Dante: What can I say? A classic indeed. Probably inspired more copies and tributes and pastiches than any other film. Funnily enough, I watched the Marx Brothers in A Night in Casablanca not too long ago.
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Greg: You can't go wrong with the Marx Brothers. So, moving on to number three, Barry Norman chooses Gone with the Wind from 1939, although he does note that it's a film nobody could make now, and he was writing this back in 2012.
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Dante: I did see it once, probably on TV many years ago and probably because it was one of those things I felt I ought to see, but, frankly, old bean, it washed over me a bit.
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Greg: In all these years of cinema-going, I've never actually seen it. So, how about number four in the list, A Matter of Life and Death from 1946?
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Dante: Now there's a classic from Powell and Pressburger, with the great David Niven probably giving the performance of a lifetime. Brilliant film. The sequences where Marius Goring appears and time stands still are unforgettable.
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Greg: I watch it whenever it's on. Superb piece of film-making. Fantastic use of the medium. As a matter of fact, I discovered recently that Martin Scorsese is a big fan of Powell and Pressburger. OK, here we go with number five on the list and it's Brief Encounter from 1945.
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Dante: Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson?
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Greg: Correct.
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Dante: I've definitely seen it. It's very much of its time - a different England where people spoke differently and were bound by different rules. I seem to remember one character saying that she was heppily merried.
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Greg: I'm racing through these for some reason.
Dante: Not your favourite genre, perhaps?
Greg: Maybe. Here's the next one. It Happened One Night, 1934, is at number six.
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Dante: Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn?
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Greg: Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. You're probably thinking of Bringing Up Baby. Both films are probably more comedies than romances, I would have thought. Maybe Norman should have called this category rom-coms.
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Dante: I've seen both films, as it happens. I think they're called 'screwball comedies.' Lightweight stuff. Good for a rainy afternoon in front of the TV, I guess.
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Greg: Gregory's Girl is at number seven. From 1980.
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Dante: I don't think I ever got around to seeing it but I believe that was the same person who directed Local Hero. Now that was superb. I've watched it twice, maybe three times. Not sure if 'whimsical' is the right word to sum it up because it's not really lightweight but nicely balanced between whimsy and - and -
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Greg: Seriousness?
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Dante: Maybe that's it.
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Greg: The director you're thinking of is Bill Forsyth. And if you liked Local Hero you'll like Gregory's Girl. And, on a Scottish theme, another one you might like, recommended by our friend and one-time Radio Free Erconwald technician Lorna, is an eighties film called Heavenly Pursuits with Tom Conti and Helen Mirren.
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Dante: My films-to-see list will be expanding.
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Greg: Number eight is When Harry Met Sally from 1989. Don't tell me you've seen it. It's one that Izabela has tried to get me to watch when it's been on, but I believe I was always otherwise engaged.
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Dante: I don't know why, but I usually avoid rom-coms. I was sort of persuaded to watch this and I have to admit it was good. Clever script if I remember, and ultimately I suppose a feel-good movie is designed to make you feel good. What can I say?
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Greg: Number nine is from 1945 and is called I Know Where I'm Going. I've heard of it but have never seen it. Have you? It says here this was also a Powell and Pressburger film.
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Dante: I have seen it and I remember it vaguely. Wendy Hiller was in it, but what it was about I don't remember. Should have looked it up to refresh my memory, but I was in the village, your Honour.
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Greg: The Graduate from 1967 is the last one in this category. I suppose it's one of those films which we boomers have all seen.
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Dante: You're probably right. Made a star of Dustin Hoffman, didn't it? He was great in Rain Man. Does Barry Norman include that anywhere?
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Greg: Hang on - let me just check - no, it doesn't look like it. Anyway, which category would it come under? 'Drama', I suppose.
Dante: Well, that was all very illuminating, I guess. I don't know what I would have chosen in the way of 'Romances'. Maybe Picnic with William Holden and Kim Novak? Hitchcock's Vertigo which we mentioned last week? Maybe Trojanowski will provide some feedback again?
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Greg: And now, Dante, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to join me next time to discuss Barry Norman's next category, which is 'Family Films'. Could be films about cats and dogs, of course.
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Dante: Cats and dogs! Good grief! I just remembered there's a great film that would fit the 'Romance' category perfectly. It's called The Truth About Cats and Dogs. I think it was sort of based on Cyrano de Bergerac. Give me a second and I'll look it up.
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Greg: Can't say it rings any bells.
Dante: Yes. 1996. Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofalo. I remember it was really clever and funny.
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Greg: So cheers until next time, Dante, and you should have plenty of time to catch up on any family films you haven't seen, now that you're back home from the village.
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Dante: I'll do my best, but there are things to do and places to go. And grandchildren to catch up with.
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Greg: See how it goes. No pressure. You are not a number, you're a free man.
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Dante: Be seeing you.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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(longer section of Nino Rota's 'La Dolce Vita' theme)
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7 September 2024
In the Studio Again
Selections from Greg Stradelli's Podcast
1: The Long and Widening Road
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Greg: OK. Before we start the podcast proper, have you had a chance to look through the film list?
Dante: Some of it. It's interesting. When was this from? Because Barry Norman hasn't been around for a while.
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Greg: This appeared as a supplement in the Radio Times back in 2012, so about five years before he died. I knew I had it somewhere. Izabela found it in with some correspondence. We'll need to mention in the podcast that he was a well-known British film critic and this is a compilation of his choices of a hundred films. Arranged by different genres.
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Dante: I've seen quite a few of them, as a matter of fact. I surprised myself.
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Greg: Good. Shall we get going, then? Ready to record?
Dante: Yeah, fine.
Greg: Welcome, friends. We start this series of podcasts by saying that we have no idea how long this idea will continue. It's a bit of an experiment. I had a vague plan of doing these until maybe after the result of the US election is known, so sometime in November. We'll see how it goes. My co-host today is the one and only Dante Czaprański. Hi Danno.
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Dante: 'Danno'? What? Have you been watching 'Hawaii Five-O' then?
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Greg: Not exactly. Czajka came round last night with stories of Honolulu. I think I may be in Hawaiian mode. Maybe we'll get him to contribute sometime. He tells me paradise has its own problems. He sent me a link to one of the local papers.
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Dante: I tell you what, Greg. I'm not going to be very good here if we don't stick to the script.
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Greg: Don't worry, Dan. We can edit any guff and bloopers later. So what have you been up to lately?
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Dante: Not much. I've been catching up on some of those - catching up with some films which I didn't see when they first came out.
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Greg: I suppose we'd better get on with some sort of plan. I had a vague agenda - the US election campaign.
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Dante: I remember when you were doing our Radio Free Erconwald broadcasts, you were very keen on staying away from any mention of politics. What's changed?
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Greg: Well, this isn't going to be exclusively about politics, except everything involves politics, if you think about it -
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Dante: I thought we were going to be doing mostly book and film reviews.
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Greg: That was the original plan but I'm not sure about books. Maybe some other time, depending on how the podcast goes. Maybe I can get Czajka to come in with some of his selections. But we're both film and music fans, aren't we? And since you mention films, have you seen there's a new film version - from France - of The Count of Monte Cristo? Wasn't the book discussed in your Absent Drummer?
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Dante: My Absent Drummer? My diaries, yes, and there were contributions from Czajka, remember, but it was Karski who put the whole thing together. But, yes, I've seen the ads for the film, and one or two commentators are talking about swashbuckling and swordfights, but I've got to say I don't remember any swordfighting in the book and I've read it twice.
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Greg: Wow. Really? I've only seen the seventies film. The Richard Chamberlain one.
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Dante: That was actually a pretty good effort at compressing the novel. But I'm not sure any film version can take in all the complex strands of the story.
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Greg: I don't know if this latest one will have subtitles. If it doesn't, I'll be struggling.
Dante: I've read it has subtitles.
Greg: OK. You mentioned Karski. Have you seen him lately? I know you both went to the same school . . .
Dante: He was in the year above me. For any listeners out there - it was a US Army school in Germany. I don't see him all that often, but we do exchange emails and ideas.
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Greg: Because I get the feeling he's some kind of recluse, or like the mysterious Robin Masters in the Magnum series, manipulating things from behind the scenes.
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Dante: Magnum? I used to watch that now and again back in the - what was it? Seventies?
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Greg: I'm watching some re-runs and they all say 1986. I didn't really watch them the first time around, but I'm quite enjoying these. Guess who got me watching Hawaiian-themed stuff?
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Dante: The globe-trotting Czajka, of course. Who else?
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Greg: I even caught up with the 1973 Elvis concert from Hawaii.
But hey - changing the subject, since the plan was for this podcast to be vaguely topical, have you managed to listen to anything other than your favourite Italian music? Any finds? Have you managed to catch up with anything by Taylor Swift, for example? What do you think about the news of the Oasis reunion?
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Dante: Too many questions, Mozart. I can't help feeling that Oasis took the idea for re-forming the band from our Kreutz Sungrazer reunion of last year. And I have been listening to Italian music, as a matter of fact. I enjoy listening to new sounds, even if most of the music is aimed at people who are half my age or even younger. I may be an old duffer but in my head I'm still eighteen. OK. Maybe fifty-eight.
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(musical filler - theme from Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' by Nino Rota)
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Greg: Right. Got some items jotted down here. Time for a look at developments in the USA and the presidential election campaign. How's it looking, Dante?
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Dante: I'm kind of following CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post, etc, but there's an old school friend of mine who sends me some info from across the pond now and then - blogs and webpages and commentary - and it's looking interesting. How things have changed from a few months ago.
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Greg: So are you going to stick your neck out and say it's going to be President Harris?
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Dante: Er -
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Greg: Go on, Dan. Nobody's listening.
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Dante: You heard it here first, ladies and gentlemen. The podcaster admits he thinks there's no-one out there. And, yes, I'll say it'll be President Kamala.
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Greg: President Kamala? On first-name terms already, eh? Nobody said President Donald or President George or President Richard.
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Dante: Richard?
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Greg: The president who went to China and ended up having an opera written about him. Which I must catch sometime.
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Dante: I watched a broadcast of that on TV a while ago.
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Greg: Oh, yeah? What did you think of it?
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Dante: I thought it was pretty good. And on the subject of Nixon, yes, no doubt he was controversial, to put it mildly, but I think it was Czajka who suggested somewhere that he could be due for a reappraisal. I'm not sure about that, but there was a time, I remember my dad telling me, when RFE was threatened with closure and Nixon overruled the naysayers and basically saved -
Greg: RFE - that's Radio Free Europe - for the benefit of our listeners. All two of them.
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Dante: Not forgetting their dog, of course. Actually, going back to the subject of first names, remember how many headline writers over here were saying 'Boris'? Rather than 'Prime Minister Johnson' not so long ago?
Greg: I wonder what he's up to nowadays? There was a time when you couldn't avoid seeing him on TV, in the papers -
Dante: The political page has turned.
Greg: Spoken like a diplomat, Dante. So, back to the USA, what does your friend think?
Dante: I think we're generally on the same wavelength. I was going to say that I didn't see the Arlington Cemetery incident covered over here in the UK at great length, but I guess popular papers tend to cover domestic news and only splash on big international stories.
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Greg: I did see the Arlington story somewhere. I still don't know exactly what happened. But moving on from the USA, let me ask you - before I forget - because I did make a note here. Actually, maybe I'd better stick our jingle in at this point - between topics. This is still a bit of a learning curve . . .
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(musical filler - theme from Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' by Nino Rota)
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Greg: Here's what I was going to say. You lived in Germany for a while, didn't you?​
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Dante: A few years in Munich when I was a kid. Tail-end of the fifties and early sixties.
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Greg: So what do you think of that regional election gain by the AfD which made the news?
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Dante: I had a feeling you were going to mention that. Let me read you what I wrote down . . .
Greg: Something you prepared earlier? Like those TV chefs?
Dante: Ha! Digest this nugget, then: "A nation which can produce people of the calibre of Bach, Beethoven, Goethe, Heine, Clara Schumann, Thomas Mann, Franz Beckenbauer, Michael Schumacher, etc. is not about to make another catastrophic historical mistake."
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Greg: Nice sentiments. Hope you're right.
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Dante: That's not to say you can airbrush any evil out of a nation's history or pretend that the Nazis were some kind of aliens who suddenly descended on Germany. But in an ideal world, it would be good if a nation could be judged on its best citizens rather than its worst ones - remember the Munich anti-Nazi White Rose, for instance - but that rarely happens. Maybe the best we can hope for - and particularly from historians - is realism and accuracy.
Greg: Yeah. The long view. So maybe this result is a blip and the far-right will be seen off by a united opposition? It happened in France recently.
But how about we leave politics and turn to films?
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Dante: Fine. But don't we need our jingle? Between topics?
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(musical filler - theme from Fellini's 'La Dolce Vita' by Nino Rota)
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Greg: What I've got here is film critic Barry Norman's - British film critic, the late Barry Norman's list of a hundred must-see films. This came out in 2012, so quite outdated, but shall we see how many of these we're familiar with?
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Dante: OK. I'm up for that.
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Greg: He has eleven categories. Nine of them have ten films in each, but the tenth and eleventh have five in each, making up the total hundred. So basically there are ten sections of ten films.
The first category is 'Thrillers'. Number one is Goodfellas from 1990. Seen it?
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Dante: I didn't see it when it came out, but caught up with it last year. Compelling but pretty brutal.
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Greg: Is that it?
Dante: Scorsese has made some great films. I thought Mean Streets was terrific. But what can I say? Goodfellas was a violent story about violent people.
Greg: Now that's what I call a concise review.
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Dante: Brilliant performances from a great cast. Did you see Ray Liotta in Cop Land? Also Sylvester Stallone was exceptional in that. It's not necessarily the violence and the killing in Goodfellas that I object to - I know the actors will pull themselves together to star in other movies - but there was one thing I didn't like at all. There was a scene in which a married couple were shouting at each other and a baby which one of them was holding ended up crying. Genuine distress - too young to be acting. To me that's a dodgy area. I don't think it could have been CGI back in those days.
As for concise reviews, I was going through my dad's diaries a few years ago, and he tended to write down one or two-word reviews for films he and my mother had seen at the cinema. Maybe I'm taking after him.
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Greg: Right. Film number two is Dirty Harry from 1971.
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Dante: I've seen that and the sequels, I think. Were there three? Tyne Daly was good in - was it the second one?
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Greg: There were actually five and Tyne Daly was in the third one. The Enforcer. Moving on from Dirty Harry - number three on Barry Norman's list is The Big Sleep from 1946.
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Dante: I saw it ages ago but don't remember much about it. Was it with Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre? And Humphrey Bogart, of course.
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Greg: You're thinking of The Maltese Falcon. The Big Sleep had Elisha Cook Jr in it and strangely enough, I just saw him as a guest star in one of the Magnum episodes. Number four on Norman's list is The Godfather from 1972.
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Dante: So the first one of the trilogy. Have you seen the revised last one?
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Greg: Yeah. And it's no good saying this is a violent story about violent people because these films are classics.
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Dante: Far be it from me to disagree. There is some superb acting all round. I don't think I can add to what's already been said about any of these films. Although I don't know many women who are huge fans, I've got to say.
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Greg: Number five is The Silence of the Lambs from 1991.
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Dante: Pass. I've never seen it. Maybe I'll get around to it one day.
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Greg: Really? I thought - well, if you haven't seen it, then you haven't seen it.
How about number six on the list; LA Confidential from 1997?
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Dante: Nope. Another one that has passed me by.
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Greg: You mean you passed it by. We're not doing too well here.
This next one - number seven - you must have seen. Hitchcock's North by Northwest from 1959.
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Dante: Definitely. I've seen it a few times. Excellent film. And we could get into a discussion about other Hitchcock films, but I can see you're looking at the clock.
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Greg: No, don't worry. Which other Hitchcock films did you have in mind?
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Dante: Where do I begin? There are so many: Vertigo, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder . . .
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Greg: Strangers on a Train, The Birds, Marnie . . .
Dante: Apparently - so I've been told - the word 'marnie' in Polish is an adverb and translates as 'badly' or 'poorly'.
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Greg: Fascinating, Mr Czaprański. OK, shall we go to number eight? It's Chinatown from 1974.
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Dante: I saw it when it first came out. I went to the cinema with - with - I don't remember. I don't remember much about the film either apart from the plaster on the guy's nose.
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Greg: Number nine is - guess what? - another Hitchcock: Psycho from 1960.
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Dante: Again, what can I say that hasn't already been said? Any horror seems mild by today's standards.
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Greg: And the last one in this category is . . .The Third Man from 1949.
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Dante: One of my absolute all-time favourites. I read somewhere that Welles ad-libbed the ferris wheel speech.
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Greg: "Five hundred years of democracy and brotherly love and what did that produce?"
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Dante: Spoiler alert, ladies and gentlemen. Spoiler alert.
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Greg: We could discuss other Orson Welles films, but - spoiler alert - Citizen Kane comes up in one of Barry Norman's other categories.
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Dante: I did jot down some notes when you gave me this list. No Mission Impossible films? Wouldn't they be classed as thrillers? Or any of the Bourne films? Or do they come up in another category? Action movies?
Greg: I was thinking there should be at least one Bond film here. But also, what about the seventies disaster movies - The Towering Inferno, The Poseidon Adventure. Or the more recent Terminator films?
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Dante: The Taking of Pelham 123?
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Greg: Assault on Precinct 13? Or maybe that's classed as horror?
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Dante: RoboCop? Or is that sci-fi?
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Greg: So many more, but I think we'd better stop somewhere. Are you up for more of Barry Norman's choices?
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Dante: Why not? What's the next category, as if I didn't know?
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Greg: Next time is 'Romances', and before you say 'chick-flicks', that's not necessarily what they are.
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Dante: I wasn't about to say that, Greg. We're not unreconstructed relics of the seventies, are we?
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Greg: Not sure. I do feel a bit of a relic right now after all those film titles. As if I've been clobbered by history.
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Dante: Forget about films for a bit. Go read a book. Until next time. Arrivederci.
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(longer section of Nino Rota's 'La Dolce Vita' theme)​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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11 August 2024
Email from Greg Stradelli to Dante Czaprański
Hey Czaprański
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What do you think of the idea of a podcast? Everyone's doing it nowadays. We could call it 'The Rest is Opinionated Old Geezers Pontificating About Anything and Everything'. Pretty catchy, huh? The problem with me doing another music programme is all the hassles about copyright and royalties, so I thought maybe a podcast would be easier all round. Maybe you'd be interested in providing an angle about the upcoming US election, what with your background in the American education system. What do you think? We could do a trial run and keep it going until the results are known.
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GS
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11 August 2024
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Dante's reply:
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Hi Greg
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Not sure about the podcast idea. You're right that everyone seems to be doing it, but what could I add? (I can see Harris winning in November, BTW - you heard it here first). But I wonder sometimes what my teachers at the US Army School in Munich would have thought of the choice. A woman candidate? Wow! That would have been unthinkable back in the fifties and early sixties when I was there.
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I take it you're thinking of you and me doing the podcast. It has to be at least two people. Maybe we could get Czajka and some others? Not sure when he's coming back from Honolulu. He's out there just when we're having a heatwave here.
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But where do we record? At your place? And do we follow a script or just spout off the top of our heads? We need to talk about this. Flora says I should do a barbecue this evening and she's thinking of inviting one or two people. Are you and Izabela doing anything tonight? We could discuss all of this over a beer. ​
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Did you see the message and photos from Czajka which Marielle posted? Both of them posing outside the Police Station at Waikiki Beach? A brush with the law? Again? Ha ha. But he says there's more to Oahu than what the tourists see and he's planning to write about it. Material for a podcast maybe?
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See ya later
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Dante
The Speedy Malinowski Radio Show
and other stories
Flora says now’s my chance to write my book. She’s right. How about ‘I, Florence’, I said to her, written from a woman’s perspective? All about her boring husband who has no flair for gardening and spends his life under headphones, listening to rock, blues, jazz. And Motown. Plenty of Motown. Although, of course, it would be catchier if I called it ‘I, Claudia’. Would you like to be called Claudia? ‘Claudia was actually one of my grandmother’s names,’ Flora tells me; ‘she was Florencia Gabriela Claudia. Anyway,’ she said, checking on her phone, ‘it looks like someone has already beaten you to that particular title.’ ‘Only joking’, I said. ‘I could never write from a woman’s point of view anyway and I don’t know how a man could ever do that’. ‘Think of all those Victorian women novelists’, said Flora. ‘They used to write from every point of view'.
Kosciuszko in London
SCENE 4
INTERIOR – THE SABLONIERE HOTEL, LEICESTER SQUARE
LIBISZEWSKI: (WRITES)
Wednesday 31st May, 1797.
My dearest Marta, I hope you are well and still think of me as often as I think of you. We arrived in England from Sweden on Monday. Niemcewicz was sea-sick. God knows how he will cope with a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. Word has spread that General Kosciuszko is here in London. It’s in the newspapers and people are flocking to see him.
You wouldn’t believe the size of this city. It is absolutely overwhelming and stretches out for miles. And the number of different people there are here! In fact, Niemcewicz says that when he was last in England , he felt much more like a foreigner than he does today. Because today, in the wake of the revolution in France, he says, we are only a few of many. It’s true, we see not only French exiles, but people of all nationalities walking along the streets. No wonder people feel safe here. And so they come from all the trouble spots of Europe, indeed the world. It’s a shame that General Kosciuszko will not be able to see much of the city in his condition. No-one dares tell him, but we think he may be paralyzed for the rest of his life.
The Chronicle of Lerna
An Unapproved Account of the Campaign at Troy
I haven’t found any descriptions of Helen yet, sir, but I’m sure there must be something somewhere. But if I don’t find anything then I can give you a description myself. I did visit Troy, if you remember.
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And you saw Helen?
Indeed.
And was she as beautiful as they say?
Well, it’s all a matter of taste, I suppose. Remember I was very young back then. I must have been about eight years old and generally overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the city. All I know for sure is that she was the absolute focus of everyone’s attention and that she definitely wasn’t ugly. Even a youngster like myself knew she was something special at the time.
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Ah, well, maybe this was a case of some kind of mass hypnosis. Or extremely successful propaganda. Were her eyes dark blue?
I couldn’t really tell from where I was standing, venerable sir.
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Did you see Cassandra as well?
I did. She had the reputation of being eccentric, but she didn’t look it, as far as I remember. In fact, I found her far more attractive than Helen, but what does a young boy know about these things?