Tuesday, February 12, 2008

An Italian Job...

Well this post has its genesis in the movie downloading spree i've been on (Did I mention I bought a 160GB external hard drive? or that I bought a 2 GB pendrive to aid in torrenting? Oh I haven't? Well, consider yourself told and gloated infront of now :) )

I've been watching the Godfather trilogy. And man its amazing. I'll have to confess that I hadn't watched any of the Godfather movies till now. And now am completely blown away by them. Al Pacino as the quiet chap with steely resolve and determination - just absolutely awesome. The silent yet inevitable spiral through which he changes from the man who sees his association with the 'family' to be a handicap, if not an outright curse, to the man who runs the whole mafia, not with a strong hand but a razor sharp brain. The tragic figure that he portrays in the movie really overpowers all other brilliant performances. His silences are just mind blowing and the his theme - Halls of Fear is such a perfect background score for the expectant menace that he portrays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sacJyt_H28&feature=related

(In fact was contemplating calling this post ' The offer you can't refuse'. Then decided that it may have overtones that all my readers may not appreciate. So the Italian Job it is :) )

Anyway, I don't really want this post to be a review or critique of the classic movie. I mean, the movie's been placed in the numero uno position by IMDB. Whatever there is to be said about it has probably been said, discussed and analyzed threadbare by now. Also I'd probably be 36 year late in reviewing Godfather!

So i'll focus on another aspect of this movie I love. Now everyone knows I drive an italian car (I drive a Fiat Palio. The sexiest, sportiest car ever. er...atleast in India)and after this movie I love the italian accent in the movie. Especially the one Brando uses or Robert de Niro (both playing Don Vito Corleone).

The slow drawl that all words are spoken in. And the slightly sing song way of putting words together to make sentences. The hand movements to provide emphasis. And the silences to create menace. I love it all.

Roberto is Rhobyerrto (T is like the hindi TO, rather than the sharp english to)

What is this fixation with accent and language and grammer and voice I have. I mean seriously, the voice and articulation plays a very important part in the way I perceive people. An articulate person with a great voice can do no wrong in my book :). Crazy, but there it is.

Anyway, you really should see some of these italian movies. Or movies that have Italian-American actors. If only to hear them talk in that awesome accent.



PS: This is my 99th published post. Who would've thought that this small personal blog started on 8th February last year would have a 100 posts and a set of regular readers in just over an year.

I'm planning something really special for the 100th post. Keep your eyes peeled...

4 comments:

bhumika said...

call it a co-incidence...i am planning to watch the Godfather trilogy this weekend after my new boss educated me about its genius for over an hour! i thought i was the only person on the face of this earth who had not watched this movie, but i was wrong :P

waiting to see the 100th post...should i EXPECT sth unusual?!

Swapnil said...

Bhumika: You will not regret watching it. It is actually quite amazing.

Yeah, well, I've seen it a week before you have. So I win!

I am planning something interesting for the 100th. Lets see if I can execute it well enough

raindrops said...

well thnks 4 recommending the movie.. y dont u start movie club sort of thing!!
100th post so we have high expectations now..

Ashwin said...

:)
The best trilogy ever made!