A Day Trip to Cambridge and Back Home, Part Six of our Paris/London Vacation

Cambridge University

Home again.

Nice to be back. Nothing like a trip out of the country to refresh the batteries. It was a great two weeks and it’s made me appreciate the creature comforts of home. I welcome not having to do anything today or tomorrow and only one errand Friday and one Saturday before I speechify at the Finnish Brotherhood Hall on Sunday. Then it's back to ye olde grind on Monday (a grind I very much enjoy).

Since I last wrote we took a day trip on Monday to Cambridge. It was a lovely train ride similar to the one we’d taken a week before to Fountainbleu. I love the English countryside. Bucolic. 

Cambridge positively oozes with charm and they’ve got a rather well-renowned university there. We visited said university and I was blown away by the loveliness of the grounds and the age and majesty of the buildings. It’s very different than the prestigious university we have here in Berkeley. Many areas are restricted for students only. Many of the students zip around on bikes as evidently do some faculty. Also a lot of students wear jackets with some sort of university emblem on them. I didn’t think to ask any of them to stop so I could have a read.

Yesterday we flew back and boy are my arms tired. (Couldn’t resist.)

My favorite parts of the trip were the visit to the Emirates to see The Arsenal play, the day trips previously mentioned, the D’orsay, the Rodin Museum, walking Paris neighborhoods, our nature walk in North London and having fish and chips four times. Had some great meals in Paris too which one can’t help but doing.

I loved riding the Paris Metro and the London Underground both of which are reliable (at least relative to what we have in the Bay Area), comfortable and easy to navigate.

The only downsides to our journey were a few travel hassles and the weather, which in both cities was Winter-like.

I’m glad to be settling back in at home but also look forward to our next journey which, lamentably, won’t in all likelihood, be until next year. Meanwhile my imagination will travel far and wide. Movies will help and believe it or not I haven’t watched a film in over two weeks! Time to get to it.

The Paris Portion of our Trip Ends and I Go to a Proper Football Match, Part Five of Our Paris/London Vacation

At the Arsenal match

A lot to catch up on here. Last full day in Paris we went to the Pantheon and the Luxembourg Gardens. It was brutally cold all day. The coldest winter I ever spent was an April in Paris. Supplementing the frigid climes was occasional rain. Despite this we had a marvelous time. Saw a lot and much of what we saw ranged from good to splendorous. Highlights included the Rodin Museum and gardens, Montmartre and its views, the D’orsay and walking in various Parisian neighborhoods.

Friday we took the Eurostar to London. Rode business class to get a taste for how the other half lives. They live well. I was a man on mission and that mission was to go spend some of my hard-earned cash in the Armoury (with a u in Britain), Arsenal football club’s official store, right there in the stadium. Bought a coat, track pants, tee shirt and water bottle, all featuring my favorite club’s logo.

Then we went for lunch at the same pub at which we dined our last night in London. Again the fish and chips were sublime. From there to our Air B&B in North London. A lovely apartment with all the modern conveniences. Had little time to settle in before I needed to meet Phil and head to the Emirates for my first proper football match in five-and-half years. 

I pause here to discuss what I’d heretofore left out of this account, our various travel hassles that day, most involving Ubers and taxis. The uber that was supposed to pick us up at 5:30 AM outside the Paris apartment where we’d stayed cancelled at the last minute claiming to be unable to find us. No other could be found. We walked up the to Rue Monge wondering if we’d have better luck there. I saw a taxi, it was available and took us to the train station with time to spare. Relief.

After the usual delay our train was ready for boarding. I led us down the escalator to the platform only to discover that the missus had not followed me. I waited as every other living soul got off the escalator. No wife. I was at a loss. My frantic state was interrupted by a text from the missing spouse saying she was on the train. ???? I got on and found our seat but there was no wife anywhere. Was I in an episode of the twilight zone? Then she texted again saying she was on the wrong coach but was making her way to me. It was a tremendous relief to see her at last. She had gotten vertigo at the of the escalator and had had to find an elevator.

Coming back from the Amoury we had three Ubers cancel on us as we stood in the pouring rain. No fun. Eventually we were picked up — after much frustration and taken to where we’d checked our luggage. 

Getting an über to meet Phil was no picnic either. I waited for ten minutes before one cancelled and none other was forthcoming. I was in a state of panic before one finally arrived.

Back to our story….

It was great seeing Phil and having a fine chat about our families, old times and the state of sports and the world in general.

We arrived at the stadium ridiculously early which afforded us the opportunity to give ourselves a tour and to continue to jabber away. 

Going to a premier league football match is the greatest experience I’ve had as a sports fan, starting with my first match in August of 1973 when Arsenal thrashed hated ManU, 3-0. It is always an occasion and a loud one replete with singing, chants and very loud cheering. Our seats were a mere 15 rows from the pitch affording a very different vantage point from what one gets on TV.  Shockingly, the home team (in first place) playing the last place team in the league fell behind 1-0 after less than a minute and a few minutes later it was 2-0. Our heroes got one back before halftime and seemed hell bent to equalize. The second half started brightly but against the run of play the visitors got a third goal and their two-goal lead was restored. Could I actually have come all this way and spent all this money and waited all this time only to see them lose? So it appeared. But two minutes before the end of normal time Arsenal scored and two minutes into stoppage time they equalized. We went bonkers. A minute later an Arsenal shot appeared as though it would be the winner but it hit the crossbar. There were several more chances before the eight minutes of added time were up but none rippled the back of the net. When the full time whistle blew with the teams on level terms many players collapsed to the floor. I felt like doing the same. What an intense experience for players and supporters alike. Not the win I’d expected but a thrilling climax to avoid defeat.

Yesterday was far more relaxed. We strolled down Parkland Walk, a former railway line that though in London appears for its entire length to be in the forest. Oh sure you can see houses on the other side of trees but the dominant sensation is one of being out in nature. The hoot of an owl and the many other birds we heard added to this ambience. There were many other walkers (some with dogs) as well as joggers and bicyclists. The path is so wide that there’s room for all.

Later I took a long and much needed nap then we went out for dinner, ending up at a Japanese restaurant having a sumptuous meal.

This morning we took the underground into the heart of London. We visited yet another museum, this one the National Gallery. More great paintings and personally I can’t get enough. Back at our digs now to rest before another excursion out to eat.

A Train Ride, A Palace, More Museums and More of Paris, Part Four of our Paris/London Vacation

Fountainbleu

The royal palace at Fountainbleu is both beautiful and sad. It is certainly overwhelming. Imagine the mindset of people who would create such ostentatious surroundings for themselves. Today they are amazing to gaze upon but one can’t help but remember that for every king and queen and emperor and princess who lived here, there were thousands, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of people living in poverty. There is something cruel in such self-entitlement. Truth be told today is not so much more an enlightened age. Look at the rise of the multi-billionaire class at a time when to be middle class can mean living paycheck-to-paycheck. Yep, life is brutally unfair and it is the haves disregard for the have-nots that is and has been a primary factor.

We took a train from Paris to the city of Avon. It was a lovely fifty-minute ride, some of it through the beautiful French countryside and a lot of it past small cities and towns. It was nice — however briefly — to get away from the big city. There is a bus that takes one from the train station to Fountainbleu. We stupidly and mistakenly got off much too early forcing ourselves into yet another long walk. Afterwards we were  glad for our hasty mistake. As it afforded us a tour through a more provincial part of France. We strolled past residences and businesses all colorful in their own ways. As the travelogues used to always announce: “it’s a combination of the old and the new.”

The grounds at Fountainbleu are magnificent and they are being kept up as nicely as during the the palace's heyday (from the 1630s through the mid 1800s). Manicured lawns, lovely trees, hedges and gardens surround and bisect the buildings. There was much to see inside including faithful recreations of bedchambers, antechambers, conference rooms, children’s rooms, salons. Much of the actual furniture from the time was on display. 

The royals tastes were garish. Every wall, every ceiling, every carpet had to be ornate. Even cradles were meticulously and lavishly decorated. Napoleon had matching everything in his bedroom and it all seemed too much. But the royals were not one for half measures.

Napoleon is a focus of the tour. Artifacts from his life and portraits of him and his wives and family are everywhere. He is a fascinating historical figure and I applaud the French for not hiding from his legacy but for better or worse embracing his seminal role in French history.

We took the bus back to the train station, this time being sure to wait until the end of the line before getting off. The return trip was as enjoyable as the journey there. Back in Paris we dined at a restaurant across from the Gare ’d Lyon train station. The food was delicious but the waiter contemptuous. When I asked for ketchup he said, “of course” as if I was confirming that I was a backwards American. 

We opted for a cab home and our driver was the mirror opposite of the waiter. Though he spoke virtually no English he made every effort to enthusiastically communicate with us. At one point he reeled off the name of American authors. I responded by naming some of my favorite French directors and writers. He was duly impressed and called me an “intellectual.” 

Tuesday we decided to take it a little easier, doing a load of laundry and lounging around the apartment. We did get out for a walk down the Champs-Élysées which has morphed into the Parisian version of Times Square. Not worth the effort. However the walk ended at the Arc de Triomphe which I find to be a magnificent structure. A huge and hugely impressive outdoor museum piece.

For dinner we found an Italian restaurant that provided us with what has been our best meal of the trip. I had  pasta with all manner of selfish “frutti di mare.” The three flavors of sherbet for dessert were perfect. The two proprietors — likely a husband and wife — didn’t seem to care much for people. It was not just us as Americans who they treated with barely contained contempt, they didn’t seem to care for any of their customers. C’est la vie.

Yesterday we went to the Picasso museum and you’ll never guess whose works they featured. In addition to the grand old master there was a display of Faith Ringgold’s work, an African American artist whose work from the ‘60s and ’70’s I particularly admire. I could roll out the adjectives for the art we saw there but will spare the reader.

 

Next we strolled around various boulevards, streets and lanes, always enjoyable in Paris. Then we repaired to our apartment for a brief rest before visiting the botanical gardens. Another Parisian delight.

Today is our last day in Paris. Tomorrow it’s off to London.

Another Great Museum and Some Observations, Part Three of Our Paris/London Vacation

That's me getting some thinking done.

Saturday to the Montmartre section of Paris. I loved it. The views were spectacular. The cobbled stoned streets, shops and cafes charming. We dined at a highly-recommended restaurant that specializes in crepes. The praise was richly deserved.

Sunday there was something new: sun. The rain has stopped and is not forecast to return during the rest of our stay. Merci beacoup. It was actually pleasant weather and thus a perfect day to go to the Rodin Museum which is as notable to me for it’s long, lush gardens as the interiors. Indeed it is as much a park as a garden. The missus took my photo in front of Rodin’s most famous work, The Thinker. Cliche I know but one simply has to. The museum was filled with amazing sculptures. So many and of such quality as to cause one to wonder how one man could have produced so much in one lifetime. There was more of the great artist’s work scattered about the gardens.

From there we walked to the Eiffel Tower, an obligatory tourist stop. We’d been there on our previous two visits but this time approached it from the “back.” Tourists were everywhere and in great numbers. We then took a boat ride to Notre Dame which was most relaxing and pleasant not to mention scenic. Third time was a charm for visiting Shakespeare Book and Co. Had to wait in line but it was less than fifteen minutes. I made a purchase and we returned from there to the apartment.

A few observations: The Paris Metro is fantastic. You miss a train and another one is coming in a few minutes. It’s easy to get around and there are stops all over the city. Everything is accessible. It’s amazing to me that I’ve heard some of my Parisian students complain about it.

The French generally either stroll leisurely or walk fast and purposefully. In their rush to get places they dispense with niceties. If you’re in their way and they have to brush against you it’s no matter and don’t expect a “pardon moi.” But for the most part they are polite people always giving with the bon jour, merci and au revoir. At the cafe we frequent everyone is not only bi-lingual but speaks nearly perfect English. At all the museums, tourist attractions and popular restaurants, workers speak at least some English. Many menus offer English translations.

It’s a beautiful city, generally clean. While modern conveniences abound the look of the city is quite old and I mean that in the best possible sense. The architecture has been preserved and everywhere you go there are centuries-old buildings that dazzle the eye.

On the downside I find it shocking how many Parisians smoke. Didn’t they get the memo? And it’s not just old geezers from a less enlightened generation. Lots of young people can be found puffing away. Sad.

I have enjoyed how many people are out and about in the evenings enjoying cafes, eateries, bars and each other’s company. There was a saxophonist in a square last night entertaining scores of people who were in surrounding establishments or just standing about. Night life is vibrant. Every place feels safe.

We’re having a fine time.

More Wanderings and Two Great Museums, Part Two of our Paris/London Vacation

Inside the D'Orsay

We made the curious decision to walk from our digs to the Musee d’Orsay on Thursday, a trek that took us somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 minutes. A few wrong turns here and there added to our travel time. There was some sunshine and some rain and some cold and some warmth and some clouds and some blue skies accompanying us. We’d started the day at our favorite cafe. The day after enjoying a delicious omelette, I tried the scrambled eggs and am compelled to say I’ve never had better. This fueled the walk to come.

Paris is lousy with tourists these days as many parts of the world are enjoying Spring Break. The tourists have thus brought with them their progeny, many of these young people were dragged to the d’Orsay where they fit right in with some of the school groups who were also brought to the museum, like it or not.

An art museum is a wonderful place for someone like me but a terrible place to bring a ten-year old boy or for that matter most anyone under eighteen. Then again some younger adults are not too keen on museums (then again now one is forcing them to go). 

So the hordes of people crowding the d’Orsay were a definite downside to our visit albeit the only one. The d’Orsay is a fabulous museum, surely one of the best in the world and my personal favorite.

I marveled at the Rodins, the Renoirs, the Manets, the Gauguins, van Goghs, the Toulouse-Lautrec’s and so much more. 

After the long walk and having stood admiring paintings and sculptures, the missus and I found ourselves exhausted and in need of refreshments. We queued in a long life for the cafe and were propelled to seventh heaven when at last seated. I had a hot chocolate (Viennese) and ice cream, overloading on sugar but also getting a rush that gave me second and third winds. Our exploration of great art continued.

Eventually we’d seen plenty and bid this marvelous place adieu. Wisely we took the metro home.

Yesterday it was the Louvre. This time we took the metro (after another visit to our favorite cafe and some scrumptious French toast) but luck was not with us. The metro stop by the museum was closed so we had to get off at the next one, some distance away. We then used my unerring sense of direction to walk in the wrong direction. It took what seemed like years to right ourselves and find the museum. 

The crowds were overwhelming, but so was the great art. We soaked in as much as we could then left in search of a repast. We found a charming restaurant and dined like kings. Finding the metro and our way home proved easy.

We’ve spent a lot of our time, lost, frustrated, cold, wet and hungry and I’ve found myself wondering when the vacation is going to start. But I realized this IS the trip. And we’re enjoying it. After all we’re together, we’re in Paris and we’re being exposed to great art, fabulous architecture, a wonderful variety of people. We’ve gotten far away from our daily grinds and regular creature comforts. This is surely the perfect re-charge for our human batteries. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

A Rocky Start But All Good, Part One of Our Paris/London Vacation

The "Exceptionally Closed" Bookstore

Don’t know when this will be posted as we’ve been unable to access the wifi at the apartment we’re staying in but I’m writing it nonetheless in hopes that some day it will reach my reading public (Rihanna Oglethorpe of Topeka, Kansas).

Sunday night at 10:00 boarded a Virgin Atlantic airplane that was barely half full for an overnight flight to London. I slept most of the way. We arrived at about four local time and took the underground express to Paddington station which is two blocks from our night’s lodgings. We had one of the premier rooms in the hotel and I can only imagine how tiny the non-premier rooms must be. Anyway there was room for a bed — if not much else — and a bathroom with shower. All we needed for one night. 

We set out for dinner and found the Euston Flyer a lovely pub/restaurant were I got exactly what I wanted: fish and chips and a non-alcoholic beer. It was delightful and the first highlight of our journey.

Early the next morning we trudged over to the nearby train station to catch the Eurostar to Paris. We arrived safe and sound at Gar da Nord to begin our third stay in Paris (previous visits were in ’08 and ’13 and were chronicled on this blog). A cab driver took us for our ride both literally and figuratively but ultimately got us to my friend Phil’s apartment (Phil and I have been friends since high school, he has an apartment in Paris that his family has owned dating back to the late 1800s, he uses it sparingly during the year allowing other kin and good friends to stay from time-to-time). 

The apartment is in the Latin Quarter — a great location — and overlooks a park that was once a Roman arena that would be filled with water for nautical fun and games.

It was a great relief to put suitcases and bags down after lugging them about for parts of three days. However disappointment was to follow as we could get neither the wifi nor the cable to work. While I was looking forward to considerably less screen time than normal, I did want to check a few things including matters relevant to our trip.

We got over this setback and went for a walk. It wasn’t long before we were dealt another blow. The line for Shakespeare and Co. books stretched to Dunkirk, we’d have to try again another day.

I was in desperate need of a hat and there were souvenir stands aplenty but I could find nothing that met my exacting sartorial standards. We enjoyed a long walk along the Seine then returned to the apartment where I had a much-needed nap. 

Finally it was out into the rain to search for dinner. I love the rain but we had quite enough in the Bay Area this year and didn’t need anymore while vacationing. In any event we found a nice restaurant. No one spoke English but we managed and even enjoyed a chuckle with the waiter who I believe doubled as co-proprietor. Dinner was fine which was a disappointment given that most meals one has in Paris are splendorous. 

We got lost walking home in the rain — not what we needed or wanted — but eventually returned to our digs for a long night’s slumber.

This morning we found a cafe for breakfast that the missus had read good things about. The praise was well-deserved. Breakfast was delicious and I enjoyed the fact that the two waitresses were not only charming but very cute. That I was taken by the two young ladies did not get past my darling wife but being as I’m an old geezer she didn’t mind a bit. After all I’m a perfect gentlemen not given to leering or making inappropriate remarks. 

From breakfast we made our return to Shakespeare Books and Co. This time there was no line. Why would they be they were closed for the day. (Or as the sign said, "exceptionally closed." Bastards! At least I subsequently found a suitable cap, and at under nine euros.

Later we went grocery shopping, then embarked on another walk. We had a terrific dinner — scallops for me — and are finally feeling normal and in a settled sleep cycle. (At dinner there were four German gentlemen at a table nears ours. I couldn't help to think how different their presence would have been eighty years ago during the occupation.) We’ve got more plans for the coming days including trips to Versailles and Fountainbleu as well as visits to various museums (hint: one of them is called the Louvre.) Today we’re off to the D’Orsay. 

Some hiccups so far but otherwise a case of so far so good. 

The Easy Answer to the Question: Who is My Favorite Actress?

On Monday I addressed the question: who is my favorite actor. Today I will determine who my favorite actress is.

Barbara Stanwyck.

That was easy.

Stanwyck was a great actress who excelled at both comedy (The Lady Eve) and drama (Double Indemnity). She could be sexy and she could be tough and she could be vulnerable and she could be sassy. She also showed up in a lot of my favorite all-time films. In addition to the two already mentioned there was Christmas in Connecticut, Meet John Doe, Baby Face, Ball of Fire, Night Nurse, and Remember the Night. She also featured in a slew of other good films such as Clash by Night, Sorry Wrong Number, The Furies, Lady of Burlesque and Stella Dallas. 

That was too easy. Let’s look at other favorite actresses. 

I love Myrna Loy who more than held her own in over a dozen films with William Powell. She always came off as smart as hell, sexy and a real wit — likely because she was. I’m also second to no one in my admiration for Carole Lombard who in her short life made such classics as My Man Godfrey, Twentieth Century, To Be or Not to Be, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and Nothing Sacred. She may have been the greatest comic actress of her generation. No, she was — definitely. 

I’m also a Bette Davis fan (what cinephile isn’t?). She had a prolific career highlighted by her work from the late thirties through the mid forties: Petrified Forest, Marked Woman, Jezebel, The Letter, The Great Lie, The Little Foxes, the Man Who Came to Dinner, Now Voyager, Watch on the Rhine.

Jean Arthur showed up in a lot of terrific pictures such as Talk of the Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Easy Living, specializing in comedy. 

Greta Garbo, Jean Harlow, Katharine Hepburn, Loretta Young, Joan Crawford were all terrific. But I have to give a shoutout to Joan Blondell. Though she rarely had starring roles and was in only a handful of outstanding films, she’s a personal favorite. She was absolutely adorable AND sexy at the same time. 

I also feel compelled to single out Marlene Dietrich. Her films with director Josef von Sternberg from the early ‘30s are among the best vehicles for an actress ever made (see especially, Blonde Venus, Morocco and the Shanghai Express). Dietrich had a long brilliant career.

Ingrid Bergman has to rank high. Casablanca, Notorious, Stromboli, Voyage to Italy, Gaslight, Spellbound, Cactus Flower, and Autumn Sonata.

So far I’ve only looked at actresses from Hollywood’s golden age. Let’s look at more recent stars.

Faye Dunaway is the first name that comes to mind. From 1967 through 1976 she was in Bonnie and Clyde, The Thomas Crown Affair, Little Big Man, Chinatown, Three Days of the Condor and Network appearing opposite, Warren Beatty, Steve McQueen, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford and William Holden. Not a bad run.

Natalie Wood, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Julie Christie were all fine actresses whose work I always enjoyed. However of them only Christie was the only who appeared in more than a couple of my favorite films (McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Shampoo, Heaven Can Wait).

Then there’s Diane Keaton. She was in the first two Godfather films, Manhattan, Annie Hall, Love and Death, Manhattan Murder Mystery and Reds, all beloved films. Keaton didn’t just stumble into great films, she was always a part of what made them great. And look at her range, The Godfather and Annie Hall are VERY different films, only similar in that they’re great.

Among foreign actresses I love Monica Vitti, Jeanne Moreau, Liv Ullman, Bibi Andersson, Lea Seydoux, Claudia Cardinale and Kati Outinen. Vitti had the good fortune to appear in Michelangelo Antonio's best films (La Notte, L'Aventurra, L'Eclise and Red Desert) while Ullman and Andersson featured in a lot of Ingmar Bergman's best work. Ullman was also in the two great films from another Swedish director, Jan Troell (The Emigrants and A New Land). Outinen has been a regular in Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's pictures. 

There are many really good actresses working now who I always enjoy such as Kristen Stewart, Kate Winslet, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Penelope Cruz and Frances McDormand. Of them I think Blanchett is the best actress but they all are brilliant. 

For favorite actors I had one from the first half  of cinema history (Cary Grant) one from the second half (Al Pacino) and one from foreign language films (Marcello Mastrioni). Among actresses in the same categories (drum roll please) the winners are Barbara Stanwyck, Diane Keaton and Liv Ullman. 

I Examine the Question: Who is My Favorite Actor, Then I Answer it

Cary Grant

Someone asked me recently who my favorite actor is. Oh my. There’s so many sides to that question. Am I looking at someone who consistently gave or gives great performances? Am I leaning toward an actor who is in a lot of my favorite movies? Am I considering star quality? 

How do you compare Cary Grant and Robert DeNiro? They’re from different eras and were expected to do such different types of things. 

Grant is the first name that pops into my mind because he was in so many films that I love — His Girl Friday, Holiday, Talk of the Town, Notorious, The Awful Truth, Bringing Up Baby, Mr. Lucky, The Philadelphia Story, Suspicion. Many of them are comedies. Far from being disqualifying that’s a testament to his skills. Being a good comic actor is difficult and Grant was a great one. Grant couldn’t give a performance to match Brando in Streetcar Named Desire (who can?) but then again we’re talking about favorites here not best.

Al Pacino is the second actor who comes to mind. He’s given some of the greatest lead acting performances I’ve ever seen including in three cinematic classics: The Godfather, The Godfather Part 2 and Dog Day Afternoon. He was brilliant as a supporting player in Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. He was never better than in Donne Brasco, a lesser film that he stole. He also shone in Serpico, And Justice for All, Panic in Needle Park, The Irishmen, Heat, Insomnia, Scarecrow and Glengarry Glen Ross. I think he’s the greatest actor of the past fifty years. 

My third candidate is Humphrey Bogart. Arguably he’s more star than actor then again he certainly did some serious acting in Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The African Queen. He wasn’t merely standing there reading from the script in Casablanca, The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon, Petrified Forest, To Have and Have Not, Dark Passage or Key Largo. Bogart had such on screen presence he could practically make a film just by showing up and he was made for certain roles such as Philip Marlow, Sam Spade and Rick Blaine.

Al Pacino

In scanning my extensive collection of DVDs I note that the actor who appears the most is Max Von Sydow. Many of these are Bergman films such as The Seventh Seal, Winter Light and The Virgin Spring, but he’s also in two films — The Emigrants and the New Land — by another Swedish director, Jan Troell as well as several American films including Hannah and Her Sisters, the Exorcist, Shutter Island, Three Days of the Condor and as the narrator in Europa. I absolutely love his work, he made a lot of good films even better including some of the best in cinema history.

The previously mentioned Robert DeNiro also shows up in a lot of my DVDs: Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Mean Streets the King of Comedy, The Godfather Part 2, Silver Linings Playbook, Jackie Brown, The Deer Hunter and Heat. Wow. And so many iconic performances. His turns as Travis Bickle, Jake LaMotta and the young Vito Coreleone are enough to hang a career on, three careers.

I also like Paul Newman who somehow didn’t win an Oscar for either Hud or The Verdict. Unfortunately Newman’s career including an inordinate number of clunkers and few great films. Of course he was memorable in two films with Robert Redford —Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and the Sting. Redford is another beloved actor who lit up the screen in The Candidate, All the President’s Men, Downhill Racer and Three Days of the Condor but he was never a great actor at least not in comparison to the likes of DeNiro and Pacino

Dustin Hoffman is unquestionably a great actor as are Daniel Day Lewis, Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins and Denzel Washington but none of them are enough of my favorite films.

I’m a big fan of Malcolm McDowell but there’s not much to him besides If…. And A Clockwork Orange.

Oh my, I've forgotten Jack Nicholson (Chinatown, The Shining, The Last Detail, Five Easy Pieces). 

I love William Holden who was so good in Sunset Blvd. Stalag 17, Bridge on the River Kwai and Network but that’s not quite extensive enough a list. Similarly I’m a fan of Burt Lancaster but he doesn’t have enough on his resume either.

James Stewart appears in a lot of good to great films and was amazing in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington but I’ve never fully warmed up to the person he was and that counts for something when you’re talking about favorites. 

I also love Charlie Chaplin —doesn’t everyone? Notably he spent the overwhelming majority of his film career as the Little Tramp character, a different sort of acting. But as a potential favorite he has to rank high.

So too Groucho Marx who essentially played the same character throughout his film career but he did it so well and in so many great comedies.

Marcello Mastrioni

Let’s see I haven’t mentioned William Powell or Jack Lemmon or Woody Allen (he's also been in a lot of my favorites and has directed himself in many) or Leonardo DiCaprio or Henry Fonda or Steve McQueen. My god, McQueen, certainly my favorite actor from the first half of my life and still someone whose work I greatly admire. The Great Escape, Bullitt and Getaway are great examples of star performances by Mr. Cool.

And other than Von Sydow I’ve mentioned no actors from foreign language films. I’ll remedy that by invoking the name of Marcello Mastrioni who was both a “star” and a talented actor. I love him in La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, La Notte, The Organizer, and A Special Day. Then there’s Jean Gabin who starred in such films as La Grande Illusion, Port of Shadows and The Lower Depths. Matti Pellonpää featured in many of Aki Kaurismäki’s early films including Shadows in Paradise, La Vie Da Bohme and Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth. Can’t forget Toshiro Mifune a regular in Akira Kurosawa’s films of the fifties. The Swiss actor, Bruno Gansz deserves a mention for his many roles in German films such as Downfall and Wings of Desire.

Okay, it’s time to fish or cut bait, so who’s my favorite? I’m going with three. My favorite from the first half of the 20th century is Cary Grant, as previously suggested, my favorite after that is Al Pacino and my favorite foreign language actor is Marcello Mastrioni.

Coming up later this week: my favorite actress.