So a couple of weeks ago, I was part of the wrestling version of Fact or Fiction. Every once in a while I'm asked to throw out my meaningless opinions and I do so because 1) I like to help out 411 in any way I can and 2) I like pro wrestling. Before I gave my FACT or FICTION on any of the questions, I gave a small caveat that I don't take it as seriously as most do around these parts. As expected, I was tagged by those in the comments section – mostly from people who don't realize that I was hired primarily to write for the Movie zone at 411. That is neither here nor there.
Something has been bothering me and has struck me as odd lately, though - especially in the wake of TNA's "EV2.0" storyline and HardCORE Justice pay-per-view they just presented. There has been this small contingency of "fans" who always talk about how great wrestling was in the late 90's – the "Attitude Era", when WWF RAW and WCW Nitro would go at it head-to-head on Monday Nights. I'm not one of those guys who like to live in the past – I'm not Al Bundy who only remembers the game I scored four touchdowns in, but I admit the late 1990's was a fun time. There was still something…off about this latest bitchfest apart from the usual bitchfest that the IWC likes to spew out, mostly discussing how wrestling sucks "now".
Then I read this little tidbit from fellow 411 writer Steve Cook for his Tuesday news report column (filling in for Jeff Small) – sorry for using your words as an example, Steve…
"…Good wrestling on television is a great thing, and great wrestling on television hopefully leads to a boom period and wrestling being obscenely popular again. I loved it back in the late 1990s when Raw & Nitro were scoring huge ratings and everybody at my high school was talking about Austin, Goldberg, Rock & the New World Order. The same people that made fun of me for watching the stuff a couple of years earlier would ask me when I thought Goldberg‘s winning streak would end, or if I saw what Stone Cold did to Vince. That was a pretty great time. Then WCW & ECW disappeared, interest died off and pro wrestling fandom once again became something you didn't really publicize. WWE fell into a phase where nothing they were doing was clicking with the masses, and nobody was really there to attract the casual wrestling fans that'd stick around for something cool…"
Notice the parts of the paragraph I highlighted. I have come to the understanding why 1) pro-wrestling isn't as popular as it used to be, 2) why most professional wrestlers basically shrug off(ignore) the spoutings of the Internet Wrestling Community and 3) why I stand by my statement that I don't take pro-wrestling seriously in the first place. Simply put, we (well, not me) are the reason for the lack of "popularity" that pro wrestling doesn't have. I attribute that to insecurity.
Look, the "Attitude Era" was a great time, but the fact of the matter is there was a lot of crap that wrestling put out that if it came up now, people would be up in arms about how "embarrassing" it is. Naked Mideon? David Arquette, WCW Champion? Of course, those are given a free pass because it was "popular". Maybe if the hardcore fans stopped talking about the past and stopped dissing every facet of professional wrestling as "embarrassing" or perhaps didn't suddenly abandon your love of pro-wrestling when everyone else jumped off the bandwagon, maybe you wouldn't be so miserable. Professional Wrestling has ALWAYS been a carny attraction. Always. Most importantly, most fans got bit by the "wrestling bug" when you were a kid. Maybe you were a child at the peak of "Attitude". I have been a fan before Hulkamania ran wild. Andre the Giant was my first wrestling superhero. Even when I was younger and I saw Hulk Hogan "Hulking Up", I knew it was ridiculous, but I ran with it because it was fun. I thought George "the Animal" Steele and Kamala were terrible, but they were fun because they put their all in their characters. I didn't understand 95% of what The Ultimate Warrior said, but it was fun. Notice a key word yet?
Growing up, I always had people telling me, "you know it's fake, right?" and even at eleven years old, my snarky sense of sarcasm would shine. "NOOOOOOO! Really? You JUST figured that out?" The problem I have noticed is that "fans" don't like the current product because they don't want to be burdened with having to defend it. That's why I don't take pro-wrestling seriously. I don't NEED to defend something I like and that is harmless. I don't need something to be popular to enjoy it. Hell, I write every week on films that I'm certain a good majority of those who browse at 411mania have never even heard of. Just because these films aren't "popular" with the main demographic doesn't mean I'm going to stop watching or stop writing about them. Enjoyment is in the eye of the beholder. I don't feel insecure or any less "cooler" because I prefer Fellini to Michael Bay.
A true fan of professional wrestling, or of anything – whether it is a sports team or a particular genre of film or music sticks with it no matter what, and is 100% secure in their fandom. That doesn't mean they necessarily enjoy everything – because a LOT of what is involved in pro wrestling doesn't make sense – but they're not embarrassed, nor do they feel they need to defend what they like. They just like it and that's that. It could be, IWC – that the reason why you're not seeing the stars you would like pushed or the storylines you want to see is because when the "mainstream-ness" (I just made up a word) of wrestling came into question, what did the majority of you do?
You came to 411, or whatever other wrestling forum and bitched and moaned about EVERYTHING. You hated Triple H. You hated The Rock. You hated Hogan. You hated the n.W.o. You hated ECW. You hated anything that was given to you. THAT was embarrassing. Then Chris Benoit went batshit insane and the rabid, life-or-death fandom most had for him bordered on sociopathic behavior and most decided to just abandon professional wrestling as a whole so you wouldn't have the stench of that scandal on your hands. I remember for years people clamoring for Benoit to get the "push his talent deserved". Well, he got it – and because of the style he used that you championed so much pushed him to the brink, well…
Look, there's nothing wrong with being a fan of any form of entertainment when it is harmless fun. Even if he's not a five-star wrestler, I don't mind Hornswoggle – because he reminds me that wrestling is first and foremost, simple entertainment. Wrestling does not exist to change the world, or bring social harmony to the world, or expose the evils of politics, or whatever else we should be doing on our own times to help change the world for the better. Pro wrestling isn't going to cure disease or end wars. It won't make your mother or father or sibling love you more. It won't bring the attention you desire. It won't make you more "hip". It won't help you find love or bring you closer to God. It won't make everyone suddenly flock to you and make you the coolest person in the world where everyone hangs on your every word and you become a trend-setter. It isn't meant for that. Pro wrestling simply exists so people can cheer and boo who they like while two or more trained performers pretend to exhaust a conflict in a ring. Not everything has to be so serious, and it's that sense of unnecessary stress and serious nature of fandom that is more embarrassing than anything else. Perhaps if most of the "fans" around here just understood that this form of entertainment isn't going to affect your life in any significant way and didn't feel that your fandom excluded you from whatever social shortcomings you feel you have, perhaps things would look better for you.
Now, I may expect someone to come around with a statement along the lines of "oh, you think I should accept crappy entertainment when it's in front of me? I am a fan, I have a right to PROTEST THE PRODUCT!" Sure you do, but I believe you should also man up and take the "crap". Why is that? The answer is simple: choice.
Wrestling fans are the strangest people. Most are masochists. Most fans will complain about the state of pro wrestling and CONTINUE to watch it. More specifically, most fans with complain about a particular promotion and CONTINUE to follow it. Why? What's the point? Why would you put yourself through self-torture? You don't like "WWE PG FOR KIDZ~!", watch TNA. Don't like TNA and their WWE-lite confusing storylines and Impact-Zone audience, watch ROH. Watch Dragon Gate, or DGUSA, or Chikara, or SHIMMER, or NJPW. I love movies, but I won't torture myself by continually watching the same paint-by-numbers romantic comedy where the movie would be over in the first five minutes if two of the characters just sat down and had a talk. My wife suffers from arachnophobia – would it make sense for her to always lock herself in a room full of spiders? No, she has a choice to not go there, just like you have choice.
...And if you don't like any of the choices before you – you have two options. 1) Start your own promotion and run it the way you think it should be run. Or 2) STOP. WATCHING.
Professional wrestling is a SHOW. Like Days of Our Lives, or American Idol, or CSI or Cirque de Solei. It is a show. A form of entertainment. The aforementioned shows have their fans, and they are all past their peak of mainstream appeal. Just be a fan, and don't worry about whether or not it's "cool" to be one. It's actually cooler to just be yourself and let people know that your life is a little more complex than just living and breathing everything professional wrestling. It's okay. After all, it's all fake, you know? [/rant]
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I love movies. They represent escapism, art, intellect and spirituality. Some are nothing more than popcorn flicks, designed to ease the burden of "real-life" for a couple of hours. Some bring important issues to the forefront that challenges how we perceive our surroundings. The most important thing for me – if one is a serious filmgoer – is to constantly expand and discover new movies. This includes experiencing stories told outside of North America.
Yes, I know: "I don't like to read while I watch movies". Well, neither do I, but I won't use that to prevent me from finding a great story within the screen. It is important, as human beings to discover other cultures and expand our perceptions of those different from us and how they see the world. There are reasons that Bergman, Kurosawa, Fellini, Ozu and Truffaut are important in the movie world – They are just great at what they do.
I intend to highlight a new film every week that is considered "foreign-language"; now that definition is simple, yet broad and complex. For example, if you need subtitles to understand the events of the plot, I will discuss it. If it is a film from a primarily English-speaking nation, but is *NOT* in English (i.e. Leolo or Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner from Canada), I will discuss. If it is a film from outside the U.S. and it *is* in English, I will not discuss (sorry, Brits & Aussies) – for now. My goal is to shed light on some of these gems, and help quell the insatiable appetites for those who can't live without seeing a new movie. Enjoy!
Amarcord: I Remember
Country: Italy
Runtime: 127 min
Distributed by New World Pictures
Release Date: December 18th, 1973
Directed by Federico Fellini
Cast
Pupella Maggio
Armando Brancia
Magali Noël
Ciccio Ingrassia
Nando Orfei
Luigi Rossi
Bruno Zanin
Gianfilippo Carcano
Josiane Tanzilli
Maria Antonietta Beluzzi
Giuseppe Ianigro
Ferruccio Brembilla
What do I remember? What are the memories I hold dear to my heart? The friends I grew up with, the times I shared with them that defined who I am today. I recall my old friend Nathan, who would glide down the slide, slicking his unkempt and nappy hair back and kissing his muscles in homage to pro wrestler "The Natural" Butch Reed and being admonished by a nearby teacher in third grade. Or perhaps the time I discovered a particular four-letter curse word etched on the playground bench and being blamed for putting it there in first grade (up to this day, I don't know who did it.) There's also the time when I truly embraced my rebellious nature and flipped the bird to my seventh grade homeroom teacher and was cheered by my classmates for it, or the time when I skipped school with a buddy to "hook-up" with his girlfriend's best friend – only to be thrown in the closet to avoid a beatdown from said girlfriend's overprotective "gangsta" older brother. Ah, the times of my youth, where all that mattered was what shoes were worn, what music you listened, and the unabashed recklessness aligned with raging hormones.
Federico Fellini's 1974 opus Amarcord may be perhaps the penultimate nostalgic film. There have been other movies that have tapped into the nature of reminiscing over one's youth – George Lucas' American Graffiti and Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous immediately spring to mind – but there is something otherworldly in the joy and playful nature of this film. Even though Fellini crafted masterpieces such as La Strada, La Dolce Vita and 8 ½, Amarcord may be his most complete effort, and is my personal favorite film of his.
Amarcord (which translates to "I Remember") starts out on a simple enough premise: In the fictional town of Borgo based on Fellini's hometown of Rimini in 1930s Fascist Italy, "puffballs" – the seedlings of dandelions – float through the air, enchanting the town. "When puffballs come, cold winter's done", says one of the old villagers. Fellini introduces his characters in a way where they just happen to appear – there are no "stars" or grand entrances in the film to clue the audience in on who the story will be following. In fact, I consider the town of Borgo as the main character, since there is such a rich history and sense of community within the town.
The introduction of the characters is reminiscent of Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, where a large event is used to gather everyone in one particular setting and uses that moment to fill the audience in on a particular characters' traits or flaws: There's Gradisca (Magali Noël), the village beauty and town hairdresser, the blind accordion player (Domenica Pertica) who is relentlessly tormented by schoolboys; Volpina (Josiane Tanzilli), the stringy blond nymphomaniac; the stout and buxom tobacconist (Maria Antonietta Beluzzi); Titta Biondi (Bruno Zanin), the rosy-cheeked adolescent and Aurelio (Armando Brancia), Titta's father, a construction foreman of working-class background. Modest and reserved, Aurelio responds in frenzied anger to Titta's pranks while Miranda (Pupella Maggio), his wife, always comes to her son's defense. Miranda's always teetering on the edge of insanity, constantly threatening to take her own life. Miranda's brother, Lallo (Nando Orfei), lives with Titta's family, sponging off his brother-in-law. In tow are Titta's grandfather (Peppino Ianigro), a likable old goat with an eye on the family's young maid, and a street vendor, Biscein (Gennaro Ombra), the town's inveterate liar.
Giudizio sits an effigy of "The Old Witch of Winter" in a chair on the stack while Gradisca, naturally, is given the honor of setting it aflame. Lallo maliciously removes the ladder, trapping Giudizio atop the inferno. As the crowd dances round the bonfire and schoolboys run amuck exploding firecrackers, from a window, the Fascist bigwig (Ferruccio Brembilla) fires his pistol into the air. "I feel spring all over me already," says Gradisca in ecstasy. The local aristocrat and his decrepit wife raise a toast to the dying flames. Schoolboys drag Volpina near the cinders then swing her back and forth in rhythm to the blind accordionist's tune. A motorcyclist roars through the glowing coals in a mindless display of exhibitionism. Black-clothed women scoop the scattered embers into pans. There will be various narrators to tell the tale of Amarcord, but the town lawyer (Luigi Rossi), who appears walking his bicycle will most often address the camera to explain choice tidbits of the town's history.
I would go so far to say that Amarcord may have given the blueprint for the "R-Rated Comedy", with it's hormonal teenage protagonists paving the way for Porky's and American Pie. Fellini was one of the few filmmakers who wholeheartedly embraced the nature of human sexuality into his films, and took it a step further to use the bluntness of sexuality raw images as a means to create comedic moments. There is a great scene in which Titta tries to get a smoke from the inhumanly buxom Tobacconist – a woman that Russ Meyer would give up his firstborn to have in one of his films – and impresses her with his strength. Poor Titta doesn't realize that his testosterone is about to get the best of him, as he is reduced from a man to a child (literally with Fellini's imagery) in the blink of an eye. Another great moment involves the entire Biondi family as they spring their Uncle Teo (Ciccio Ingrassia), Aurelio's brother, who is confined to an insane asylum, out for a day in the country during summer. Eventually Teo escapes and climbs a tree, exclaiming, "I want a woman!" All attempts to bring him down are met with stones that Teo carries in his pockets. A dwarf nun and two orderlies finally arrive on the scene. Marching up the ladder, the nun reprimands Teo who obediently agrees to return to the asylum. Like a marvelous piece of inspiration from Luis Buñuel, the scene questions Teo's fetish – does he come down because it is a female nun, or is it because she is a "little person"?
Fellini uses the oversexed madness of the town and contrasts it with the rigid expectations of religion and politics. When Titta attends confession with the local parish priest (who doubles as the myopic religion instructor at school), he warns Titta that "Saint Louis cries when you touch yourself." Titta confesses that it is impossible to not give into the ills of masturbation, since he succumbs to the many fantasies of the women in town, including the sensual math teacher, Volpina and fat-bottomed women who ride on bicycles. Even his friends get together to fantasize and jerk off. In a wild daydream, Ciccio – Titta's large friend - stands before a giant face of Mussolini who blesses him and his current crush, Aldina as his "Fascist bride." Fellini does not use politics as a tool to gain any sympathy for a particular character; Aurelio is brought in for questioning by the police for a gramophone recording of "The Internationale" interrupting a Fascist-led parade. It was wired to the town bell tower before it was shot down. Due to his past as an anarchist, the police berate him and finally force him to drink Castor oil. The actions taken by the two separate sides of politics are over-the-top – in all actuality, both sides look foolish. Fellini does not use these moments to make a statement about any political leanings, but ends the scene where Miranda cleans him in a bathtub with a little bit of "slice-of-life" comedy that Homer and Bart Simpson would be proud of.
Roger Ebert surmises Amarcord is "like a long dance number, interrupted by dialogue, public events and meals." Fellini, who at some point in his life, was dramatically altered spiritually by the arrival of the circus, constructed scenes so it always felt like the characters were moving like a group in precession, forming a kind of spontaneous parade march. As it was common at the time, Fellini post-synched his dialogue and he always had a small orchestra or phonograph on set while filming a scene. If you watch most of his films carefully, you may notice that his characters seem to have a little something extra in their bounce, like there is some sort of humming in the distance that the audience cannot hear.
All of this is perfectly tuned to the music of longtime collaborator, Nina Rota. One year prior, Rota had previously scored perhaps his most famous piece of music for Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, and was one year removed from winning the Academy Award for Best Original Score for expanding that vision for The Godfather, Part II. In between those two masterpieces, was a dizzying array of musical arrangements that he wrote for Amarcord, mixing old world Italian folk leanings with circus melodies and even throwing in some contemporary numbers for fits and giggles. It is an infectious and joyous score, full of longing and that comforting feeling of nostalgia. Giuseppe Rotunno also lends his wonderful eye in regards to the photography, capturing shots and helping Fellini paint every corner of the frame in a rainbow of colors, effectively playing with light and shadow - a scene in which the towns inhabitants gather on boats to meet the passage of the "S.S. Rex", a large liner ship, is so splendidly fake in its construction that it speaks to every person who has ever embellished while remembering a great moment in their lives. The atmosphere caused by the silence and the fog and the way the light reflects off the water makes for a visually stunning picture.
It all culminates in one of those "great moments of cinematic Zen" most filmmakers sell their souls to achieve: A friendly snow fight breaks out between Lallo, Gradisca, and the schoolboys one winter day. Everyone is but is quickly interrupted by a piercing bird call. They all gather and watch mesmerized as a peacock, on the rim of a frozen fountain, struts its magnificent tail. It's a quiet moment, filled with all the mystery and wonder of nature. Not many filmmakers have been able to conceive moments that are staged but somehow are not. The peacock just stands there, its bright feathers even more prominent on the white snow and raises Amarcord from simply a great film to great art. To me, it is like the mirage in Lawrence of Arabia, the "Hall of Mirrors" shot in Citizen Kane, the world suddenly colorized in The Wizard of Oz or the final shot of Ikiru - it is perfection, like seeing through the eyes of God on film.
Amarcord became an instant sensation upon its release and considered an "unmitigated success". Critic Giovanni Grazzini, reviewing for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, described Fellini as "an artist at his peak". British film critic and BBC radio host Russell Davies compared the film to the work of Thornton Wilder and Dylan Thomas. When Amarcord opened in New York, critic Vincent Canby lauded it as possibly "Fellini's most marvelous film", while Roger Ebert stressed Fellini's value as a director. Jay Cocks of Time Magazine considered it "some of the finest work Fellini has ever done - which also means it stands with the best that anyone in film has ever achieved." Amarcord was rapidly picked up for international distribution after winning the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1975, and is considered in most films circles to be Fellini's last major commercial success. Amarcord has the distinction of being the first film released in a consumer video format in 1984 with the letterbox aspect ratio fully intact.
After the success of Amarcord, Fellini would struggle in the 1980's and 90's to find any commercial or critical acclaim as his films delved deeper into self-indulgence and focused more on visuals and mood than conventional plot. He would branch out to become a full-fledged artist, exhibiting many of his drawings in Paris, Brussels, and the Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York. In 1985, Fellini was awarded the Golden Lion for lifetime achievement at the 42nd Venice Film Festival. That same year, he became the first non-American to receive the Film Society of Lincoln Center's annual award for cinematic achievement. He would also be awarded the Praemium Imperiale, which is the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in the visual arts, by the Japan Art Association in 1990. In April of 1993, Fellini received his fifth Oscar for lifetime achievement "in recognition of his cinematic accomplishments that have thrilled and entertained audiences worldwide". In June of that year, he underwent heart bypass surgery but suffered a stroke in Rimini two months later. Partially paralyzed, he was first transferred to Ferrara for rehabilitation and then to the Polyclinico Umberto I in Rome to be near his wife, Giulietta Masina , who was also hospitalized. He suffered a second stroke and fell into an irreversible coma. Fellini died in Rome on October 31 at the age of 73, a day after his fiftieth wedding anniversary. Five months later on March 23, 1994, Giulietta Masina died of lung cancer.
It would be foolish to not be aware of Federico Fellini's influence on the cinematic world. La Strada took Italian Neorealism to new unprecedented heights artistically. Nights of Cabiria infused the neorealist genre with tragicomedy and created a free-flowing narrative. I don't even need to get into the cultural influence – both in film and pop culture – in regards to La Dolce Vita and 8 ½ as they are considered two of the most influential, copied and parodied films ever. Nearly every major filmmaker; names like Martin Scorsese, Arthur Penn, Tim Burton,Terry Gilliam, David Lynch, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, David Cronenberg, Woody Allen, François Truffaut, George Lucas and Pedro Almodóvar have cited Fellini as a direct influence on their work. When American magazine Cinema asked Stanley Kubrick in 1963 to name his favorite films, the film director listed Fellini's I Vitelloni as number one in his Top 10 list. Nights of Cabiria was adapted as a Broadway musical, which then was adapted into a film (Sweet Charity by Bob Fosse and starring Shirley MacLaine.) Just last year, the film Nine directed by Rob Marshall and starring Daniel Day Lewis, is a direct adaptation of 8 ½.
I remember one particular winter when I started junior high. After the snowplows had done their job of clearing out the roads and pathways, there were mounds of snow at least seven to eight feet high. During our lunchbreak, we wouldn't play "King of the Mountain" - we would re-enact our own "Royal Rumble" on these glorious white banks. Professional wrestling was all the rage when I was growing up, so it wasn't uncommon to see a group of us pretending we were our favorite wrestling superstar. To make a long story short, somehow I weaseled my way into being one of the final two standing, along with a guy who was the center of our senior basketball team. I must have stood four-foot nothing while he was probably on the lower end of being below six-feet tall. He went to rush me and power his way to victory, but I dodged just quick enough for him to hurdle past me so I could simply nudge him off that high, snowy mountaincap. There were gasps of shock, echoes of cheers, and high fives to go around. I was carried on the backs of two of my playmates. A girl I had a ridiculous crush over smiled at me and cheered my name. Does this memory mean anything to you? Most likely not – but it means the world to me. It was one of the few moments of pure joy and victory I recall while in school. I could re-call (and embellish, with glee) those events and start a story from there. Fellini, through Amarcord took that idea of reminiscing on celluloid and made it into pure joyous art.
Amarcord is currently available on DVD.
Trailer for Amarcord
{Film Passport Stamped]
Coming Attractions: Around the World tackles comedic genius Jacques Tati for a three part retrospective starting with Tati's first major breakthrough.
Here is the list of festivals that may potentially show Beating Traffic; if you want to see the film played in your area, email the organizers. The best way to ensure to see a movie you want to see is to express the demand for it. Click on the links to get more information!
Your view on wrestling is pretty much the way I've felt for awhile now, and it's mostly because of the constant negative criticism towards wrestling on this site.
I used to be highly critical, but even when I thought things were awesome, I'd come on here and it'd be torn to shreds. So I'm back to being a wrestling FAN...I love watching it, and when something comes on I don't like, I flip the channel for a few.
I was one of your supporters in the FoF column, because you really were a breath of fresh air from the tired, unsatisfied "smarks" that constantly judge everything in wrestling as though they were discussing life and death situations.
I'm sick of wrestling fans that don't like wrestling, and I'm overjoyed anytime someone says "that's it, I'm done" in the comments section, because I hope that's one less downer we have to hear from every week.
Thanks Len. I hope you come back to the wrestling section again one day.
Posted By: DeeRayMoore (Guest) on August 27, 2010 at 07:45 AM
"I want a woman!" is one of the best movie lines ever (and the scenario makes it priceless).
It sounds better in Italian though:
"Voglio una donna!"
Posted By: Dave C (Guest) on August 29, 2010 at 02:56 PM
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