supersoul

And in The American Friend, there are stunning scenes, like the one where Tom goes to the shop and sees the framer playing with a very light sheet of gold, the one needed for engravings, passing it from one hand to the other and making it float in the air with gentle puffs, in a shop filled with lived-in things in a myriad of warm colors. It’s the scene where Ripley, admiring the harmony of the gestures and the spartan yet "rich" place, tells Jonathan that he is lucky because in the end, he can see the result of his work.

@mistergigi there’s no doubt that opinions should be respected, or should I clarify that? Jokes aside, I’ve read Highsmith’s books and seen the films, as I think you have too, and I assure you that Wenders’ film is the least faithful. In "Ripley's Game," Tom is a distinguished and refined gentleman (albeit an outlaw) who kisses the hands of women, while the author herself expressed disapproval of Wenders’ Tom, a nihilistic and alcoholic drifter. The very presence of Jonathan’s wife, who plays an important role in the book (at the end, she spits in Ripley’s face at her husband’s funeral), is secondary in the film, which is based on the "brotherly" bond between the two men. The films by Hitchcock and Clement are, in essence, closer to the books. Not that this is a flaw, mind you, but Wenders was much more personal, much more “author.” And the result is evident.

Anyway, I would like to point out that we all remember Erikson, but the real driving force of the group for this album was Tommy Hall; he plays the jug, and he and his wife were the true enthusiasts behind the lyrics and the psychedelic sound, as well as LSD.

A minimalist yet essential review for a legend. I believe the 13th Floor were the first to use the term psychedelic for an album. Just for the record, the jug is the large container into which you blow, used in country-folk music. Erikson's madness, as he was convinced he was a Martian, earned great respect from several groups on the same wild wavelength, such as the Butthole Surfers. In my opinion, this album is a unique "delight."

I agree on Delon, but in my opinion, Wenders' film is much more complex, layered, more "cinema" than "Plein Soleil," which indeed relies heavily on a great performance by Delon and Ronet. Both films, by the way, share the same fate of having two remakes, one more lackluster than the other: "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Minghella for the French film and that disgrace of "Ripley’s Game" by Liliana Cavani for "The American Friend."

@ mistergigi, let's set aside Strangers on a Train by Uncle Hitch, which is a masterpiece, I would be curious to know which other films adapted from Highsmith are at least on par with this one.

Right, empty talk, are incomparable, Chaplin is a "mask": he is Charlot, he needs the little mustache, the bowler hat, the baggy trousers. Keaton is always a different character but his face is always the same everyday one.

Well damn, the fact is that when you witness in person the agony of a loved one suffering terribly with a tube instead of an esophagus, you can't take it too lightly. Talking is easy for everyone, but it's when you run into things that you stop to think.

Thank you, Odradek. I knew about the special on Zappa, but not the update on Zappa the composer. I saw Zappa in concert at the San Paolo Stadium in Naples in '82. On stage, that latrine Massimo Bassoli also came up, who I don't know if you'll remember as the director of the magazine Rockstar and the author of the Italian lyrics for "Tengo una minchia tanta." Zappa accompanied him in a version of "na tazzulella 'e cafè" by Pino Daniele. Bassoli was arrested a few years ago for the so-called publishing fraud, as he inflated the budgets of "Giornale d'Italia," where he was the director, to receive more contributions from the State. Two days after Naples, Zappa played in Palermo, and the people wanted to get on stage while the police launched tear gas. Quite an adventurous life for the Maestro, right? Best regards.
@maledimiele, thank you for the compliment. There’s nothing worse than boring people when you’re doing something for fun. Sending back kisses.

It's a film that everyone who has seen it describes as beautiful, nice, moving, but I believe it has actually been little understood. Those who have also seen "The Decline of the American Empire" might have a bit more context; the university students in that film are now at the end of their journey and must counter the advance of new barbarians, with their cell phones, technology, and money (which, however, help to die without excessive pain). The theme of death is addressed without self-pity and clichés, but with lightness. That's the impression the film left me with, and yet I criticize it for: the lightness of death, because in reality, it is not that simple.