Robert Greenfield

The Civil War has many amateur historians who are arguing over a beardless Stanton for instance. it is true that the Lincoln actor was weak however it was not about Lincoln so this is a minor issue in my view. The keys to the series are JW Booth, he speaks a great deal. His horrific character comes out, his self aggrandizing that he is more than just a Southern sympathizer. Others are also broadened out, such as Andrew Johnson, the killing of the 40 acres and mule and the effect on the newly freed Blacks. You can see the storm coming between Stanton and Johnson which will lead to his impeachment but also reconstruction and its limitations. Nothing is perfect, what is done well is done very well. The costumes, the dirt, the use of the telegraph. Arguing about a beard or Lincoln's height shows a lack of interest in the broad themes. Watch it, you will see the issues of the end of the Civil War and post war being etched out. And like me may learn a few things along the way, expert or not.

Others can write about how great Scorsese is or DeNiro or Leonardo DeCaprio, I would like all of us to focus for a moment on how we have expected indigenous people (those who survived that is), to integrate with modern society from just about zero. In Australia, 60,000 years, in North America, 15,000 years and overnight we expect them to be like westerners. It is simply not only impossible, but totally wrong. On top of that stealing from them when they were pushed to almost uninhabitable places where this time oil was found (In Australia iron ore, gold etc) means they are driven beyond their breaking point. Scorsese has made a film that will be watched for generations, not for the murders or the fine performances of the actors, but rather the dialogue of the Osage. Not their words, they were put in their mouths but how they said them, how they were seemingly totally lost throughout the entire movie. Scorsese took a broken people, gave them something to say and they said it back without rancour, without anger and sadly without conviction. It makes you wonder what in fact was going on in their minds, a payment a chance to make history right? Around the world we do not understand indigenous people, we expect them to change, why should they? That should be our question. Scorsese is beyond brilliant, he is iconic and we can only begin to try to understand what he is trying to say. And the last 5 minutes are a real treat, make sure you watch it closely. Of course 5 stars for this film which will be watched for years to come and dissected and hopefully used to understand the indigenous of the world not just the tragedy of the Osage.

Christian Bale's tortured performance shows what can happen in an instant slowly but surely can and most probably will destroy us. Especially if we, run and do not find help, admit our guilt and do not deal with the problem we have created. We all make mistakes, but Bale's character descends into a hell on earth as he literally kills himself step by step until there is nothing left. I hated watching this movie but couldn't stop. Bale is a legend, I cannot think of anyone who could pull this off more convincingly than he did. Watch and learn how pain can be transferred, then altered and finally control us completely until there is nothing left.

It was a time of Pax Americana, post WWII when an American could show up in Paris and win the best girl to him on the planet and then dance and dance and dance. Is there anything more magical than the extended dance scenes that simply are no longer made like this today. There was no darkness, there were fabulous costumes, each dancer was beautifully taken care of, everyone was valued. And let's face it, Gene Kelly looked out of this world. In perfect shape, sure a bit full of himself but after all it was Hollywood at it's height.

I was in the Peace Corps in Nepal and saw The Sting at a US Embassy function in 1974. There were a couple of thousand people in the audience. Never have a seen such fascination with American culture, movie making and beautiful simplicity that transcended language and the various cultures of Nepal. This is a beautiful film that I just rewatched in 2023 and the only downside for me is that they are all but gone. Such great actors and fun, this is movie making at it's best.

Having visited Salzburg recently and relearning the issues surrounding the Anschluss and the NAZIS this is far more than a fantastic movie. It is about an era where Austria was trying to find itself in the world after 500 years of Hapsburgs. That said it is brilliant and if you are fortunate enough to go to Salzburg the opening scenes are almost exactly the same today in this lovely city in the Austrian Alps.