DARRYL DE CINE

(EN CASTELLANO DEBAJO) Have seen again  Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” on the big screen after more than 30 years. It was a brand new copy, so the quality of the colour and sound was good. Besides, it was shown in English with Spanish subtitles, not dubbed into Spanish as I had seen it years ago as this was the “rule” then. A few years ago I read a priceless book on Hitch by French film director, Truffaut, called “El cine según Hitchcock” in Spanish. In this book Truffaut interviewed Hitch and, when they talked about “Vertigo”, I got the impression I had missed it altogether. Well, I will quote that interview between Truffaut and Hitch in this article. Hitchcock declared, when asked about the novel on which “Vertigo” is based, that “I was intrigued by the hero’s attempts to re-create the image of a dead woman through another one who’s alive.” (1) We also learnt from that book that Hitch did not think greatly of Kim Novak (2) as originally he had conceived her role for Vera Miles (can

(EN CASTELLANO DEBAJO) At last a good American cop movie! The last ones I remember were made in the eighties of the last century: “To live and die in LA” (William Friedkin, 1985) and “the Year of the Dragon” (Michael Cimino, 1985). By a “good American cop movie” I refer to movies that are not just of action (like the “Lethal weapon” or “Die Hard” series), but portraits of the society at a certain time. There was also a third one, “State of Grace” ( by Phil Joanou, 1990) though it was more of homage to Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch”(1969) than a portrait of its time. In the case of “To live and die in LA”, the loose morality showed in the relationships with their female counterparts was quite shocking at the time. As well, the two main characters (two Secret Service agents trying to arrest a counterfeiter) even “crossed the line”(1)  in a chase scene that has not been surpassed since.  As for “the Year of the Dragon”, it was a classic tale of redemption set against the Chinese

(EN CASTELLANO DEBAJO) On a recent trip to Palermo we had the chance to visit its “Opera House”, Teatro Massimo. For a visitor like myself it is quite an experience because it’s a very impressive theatre, one that makes you think, even if you don´t know its history, that important productions have taken place there (in fact there are guided tours in the mornings). Something that caught  my attention was that in Palermo the opera is popular: you could see people from all the social spectrum. I believe this to be something of an achievement because it is the only way to fill Opera Houses. I think Italians can be proud to have promoted this love towards Opera. Of course, I don´t know whether it is thanks to the powers that be, family tradition or teaching at school. But the fact is that Opera remains popular. This comes to mind because in Spain we have neglected our “zarzuela”, Spanish Operetta, to oblivion. There were some ladies in the stalls wearing the most incredible over