Greetings gentle reader and welcome to another installment of the Sunday Morning Movie. Today it’s a sweetly silly tale of the power of dreams versus the weight of authoritarianism, The Eccentrics:
and next week’s film, Alice:
Alice (1988): Why Jan Svankmajer’s Surrealist Nightmare is a Masterpiece
Reviews of The Eccentrics:
OC Media says:
While a relatively simple film for all intents and purposes — the humour is easy to follow, often edging on slapstick — it offers its viewers an admirable escape from reality, hinting at the promise of better things on the horizon
As director Shengelaia recalled in a 2016 interview, ‘almost all Georgian cinema is an allegory of that time. Because you couldn’t speak directly. For example, The Eccentrics was perceived as a fairy tale, but in fact, it’s an ode to freedom!’
Indeed, for viewers of any age, the lesson gained is to be one’s self, no matter how eccentric, and to go after what brings you joy.
The Guardian says:
Georgian director Eldar Shengelaia’s film Blue Mountains from 1983 has already been showcased on the Klassiki streaming service: a clever satire of Soviet bureaucracy. Now one of his earlier films, from 1973, has been revived; aptly entitled The Eccentrics, it is a very different proposition. You’d be hard put to divine a political or satirical meaning here exactly, although you can find one if you really want. This is more a daft, knockabout comedy, a festival of silliness which looks like something the Georgian cousin of Richard Lester or Terry Gilliam might have made. It is a wacky, goofy fantasy that comes into its own in the final 15 minutes and lets you forgive it for all the broad indulgence that has gone before.
My take: You have to go into this film with a big heart and open mind. It’s got a silliness to it that recalls some Monty Python skits. Most of the time when I see that in a film I move on.
But, somehow, it works here. As mentioned, it does evoke a kind of fairy-tale quality that makes forgiving some goofiness a lot easier. The final scenes are downright beautiful. I’m glad I watched it but only once: ⭐.
Director: Eldar Shengelaia
Writer: Revaz Gabriadze
Plot (Spoilers!):
Ertaoz is a young man with a mission. He intends to sell a chicken. Instead, he falls in love with a married woman, Margalita.
Our hero helps the fickle temptress bury her dead policeman husband. Things go awry when the man turns out to be alive. Ertaoz is sentenced to ten years in a hellhole prison. The chicken gets seven.
In the pen he meets Khristofor, an inventor who has spent years perfecting his design for an airship that is powered by love. The two attempt to escape and fail spectacularly, but accidently break out anyway. They get about building their machine and the movie ends with the man, the inventor, and the lady escaping to freedom over a beautiful Georgian countryside.
***
Bonuses:
Eloy – Ocean (1977) Full Album
Poseidon’s Creation: 00:00
Incarnation of Logos: 11:44
Decay of Logos: 20:12
Atlantis’ Agony at June 5th – 8498, 13 P.M. Gregorian Earthtime: 28:31
All rights reserved to Eloy and its respective labels!
Ocean is the sixth studio album by the German progressive rock band Eloy, released in 1977 and considered one of the best releases from the band.
Please – Seeing Stars FULL ALBUM (1969) UK PSYCH BEAT
Eden´s Children – Sure looks real (1968) (US, RARE Psychedelic Rock, Boston Scene)
Period’s Jazz Digest (Full Album)
1956 Period Records – SPL 302, Vinyl LP, Mono
A1 Charlie Shavers W/ John Kirby Orchestra– Flow Gently, Sweet Rythm
A2 Osie Johnson And His Orchestra- Osie’s Oasis
A3 Jack Teagarden And His Orchestra– Meet Me Where They
Play The Blues
A4 Django Reinhardt & The “Hot Club” Quintet– Nuages
A5 Al Haig Quartet– Woody’n You
A6 Josh White– Evil Hearted Me
B1 Osie Johnson Quintet– Johnson’s Whacks
B2 Ralph Burns Quartet– Bijou
B3 Maxine Sullivan, Charlie Shavers Orchestra– Loch Lomond
B4 Django Reinhardt & The “Hot Club” Quintet– Melodie Au
Crepuscule
B5 Charles Mingus, John Laporta Sextet– Abstraction
B6 Big Bill Broonzy– Baby, Please Don’t Go
[LP Live] Walter Bishop Jr. Trio – Speak Low, Original 1961 US MONO (Jazztime JTS-002)
Walter Bishop Jr. Trio – Speak Low, Original 1961 US MONO (Jazztime JTS-002)
Original Jazz Vinyl
Walter Bishop Jr. piano
Jimmy Garrison, bass
G. T. Hogan, drums
Recorded at Bell Sound Studios, New York City in March 14, 1961.
00:00 Sometimes I’m Happy
06:33 Blues In The Closet
10:34 On Green Dolphin Street
20:16 Alone Together
27:05 Milestones
31:52 Speak Low
41:17 Album Photos
Lute music from the Dutch Golden Age
Emanuel Adriaenssen (c.1554–1604), based in Antwerp, was a leading teacher and author of Pratum Musicum (1584) and Novum Pratum Musicum (1592). These anthologies feature fantasias, dances, and vocal intabulations, showcasing refined polyphony and cosmopolitan style.
Gregor Huwet (c.1550–1617), praised by Robert Dowland, served as a court lutenist in Brunswick. His surviving works—fantasias, pavanes, and galliards—blend contrapuntal depth with expressive ornamentation, bridging Renaissance and early Baroque idioms.
Joachim van den Hove (1567–1620), a pupil of Adriaenssen, fled north after the Fall of Antwerp and became a prominent lute teacher in Leiden. His printed collections (Florida, 1601; Delitiae Musicae, 1612) combine original pieces with intabulations of Italian madrigals and French chansons, marked by elegance and technical brilliance.
Adriaen Smout (1578–1646) is known for compiling the Thysius Lute Book, an immense manuscript of over 900 pieces. It preserves a wide repertoire of dances, psalm settings, and popular tunes, offering a vivid picture of domestic music-making in the Dutch Republic.
Finally, Nicolas Vallet (c.1583–c.1642), a French Huguenot in Amsterdam, authored Le Secret des Muses (1615–1616) and Regia Pietas (1622). His music combines Renaissance clarity with emerging Baroque expressiveness and includes Calvinist psalm settings for lute.
Together, these figures illustrate the lute’s central role in Dutch musical life, balancing art music traditions with vernacular culture.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) | The Deleted Scene That Revealed the Aliens True Purpose
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey originally featured a much darker, world-ending finale that was hidden from theatrical audiences. Discover the deleted nuclear climax, the Apollo 11 conspiracy, and the ending explanation Kubrick kept secret for 40 years.
For over half a century, audiences have tried to decode the enigmatic conclusion of 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, the iconic Star Child sequence you saw in theaters was not the original plan. Early drafts involved a devastating nuclear climax echoing Dr. Strangelove, which Kubrick intentionally erased to preserve the film’s cosmic mystery. This shift in narrative turned a direct commentary on humanity’s self-destruction into one of cinema’s most debated philosophical endings.
Behind the scenes, the production of this sci-fi masterpiece was equally complex. From discarding four separate Monolith designs to intentionally destroying virtually all the physical props to prevent their reuse in B-movies, Kubrick’s legendary perfectionism shaped every frame. He even built a studio so technically accurate that visiting NASA officials affectionately nicknamed it “NASA East.”
The film’s legacy extends far beyond its groundbreaking practical effects. Its release fueled enduring cultural myths—from the stubborn conspiracy that Kubrick faked the Apollo 11 moon landings to ancient alien theories sparked by the Monolith. Meanwhile, HAL 9000’s chilling breakdown stands as an early, highly accurate warning about the AI alignment problem, an issue technology researchers are still aggressively battling today.
The Porter Chevrolet Santa Disaster
Every Christmas, a vintage picture circulates on facebook, of a giant Santa sitting on top of a car dealership holding a car. The photo of the massive Statue often surprises the viewer because the Santa is long gone and few people ever knew it existed. In this episode learn the full and tragic history of the short lived giant Santa that graced the Dallas skyline in the winter of 1953. Photo and Video Credit: The Dallas Morning News.
WWII P-47 “Thunderbolt” Pilot Strafing German Aerodrome(4/13/1945)
Pilot Capt. Walter L. Flagg strafes a German aerodrome in his “Shoot!! You’re Faded/Darling Dottie” Republic P-47 Thunderbolt on or about April 13, 1945. He was assigned to the 63rd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force. This video shows multiple strafing runs on what was known then as Eggebek Aerodrome. He was credited for two enemy aircraft destroyed/one damaged(for which he was awarded his 2st oak leaf cluster to the Distinguished Flying Cross medal).
(1929) Glorifying the American Girl: Pioneers of Technicolor.
Released in 1929, Glorifying the American Girl is a pre-Code musical film that offers a fascinating glimpse into the world of Broadway and the rise of the “American Girl” as a cultural icon. Produced by the legendary Florenz Ziegfeld, the film captures the glamour and extravagance of the Ziegfeld Follies, while also hinting at the darker realities behind the dazzling spectacle.
Remarkable Historical Photographs Rarely Seen
Pre-Code Hollywood: Classic Clips in Color
When people think of Pre-Code Hollywood (1929–1934), they usually picture black-and-white movies — smoky nightclubs, shadows, and silver tones.
But color film did exist, and a handful of Pre-Code features were shot or partly shot in color, often using early Technicolor.
Surviving Fragments of Lost Films
Cleopatra (1917) ( 0:00 – 0:14)
The Black Secret (1919) (0:15 – 2:16)
The Centaurs (1921) (2:17 – 4:31)
Madame Sans Gene (1925) (4:32 – 5:22)
The Great Gatsby (1926) (5:23 – 6:22)
The Cat Creeps (1930) (6:23 – 8:06)
Surviving Fragments of Lost films 2
Leonard-Cushing Fight (1894)
The Sin Woman (1917)
Salome (1918)
The Miracle Man (1919)
A Lover’s Oath (1925)
Homosexuality in Pre-Codes: “The Sissy” Vol. 4
The term “sissy” referred to a specific male stock character used primarily for comic relief, often characterized by effeminate traits, a high-pitched voice, and fastidious, nervous, or prissy behavior. In both live action and animation, this character was a coded representation and caricature of a homosexual man, without explicitly stating the character was gay.
Poorly Aged 50s Commercials
A compilation of poorly aged 1950s commercials from an era when advertising played by a very different set of rules.
From cigarette endorsements and questionable health claims to products we now know were hazardous, these old commercials that didn’t age well offer a fascinating look at mid-century marketing
