The Birds

I am a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock (my rankings change all of the time but he is definitely one of my top three favorite directors) so I was really excited to see The Birds, which is back in theaters in honor of its 60th anniversary, last night.  I have seen this movie many times but it was a very different experience seeing it on the big screen!  Socialite Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren) meets a man named Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor) in a San Francisco pet store as he attempts to buy two lovebirds for his eleven-year-old sister Cathy (Veronica Cartwright).  On impulse, she decides to buy the birds and take them to him at his family home in the small Northern California town of Bodega Bay where she meets his former girlfriend Annie (Suzanne Pleshette) and his disapproving mother Lydia (Jessica Tandy).  As the relationship between Melanie and Mitch develops, the town is inexplicably and viciously attacked by a variety of birds.  What is so brilliant about this movie is the almost casual introduction of the romance between Melanie and Mitch with subtle foreshadowing of the horror to come.  Then, when the birds finally begin attacking, the tension is almost unbearable.  I was especially unnerved by the suspense as Melanie waits for Cathy outside of the schoolhouse while birds ominously gather on the playground and when Mitch, Melanie, Lydia, and Cathy anxiously wait inside their house for an attack they know is coming.  The practical effects, involving both real and mechanical birds, really hold up because they are quite disturbing, particularly the attack on the school children as they are running away, the attack on Melanie as she is trapped in a phone booth, and the attack on Melanie in the attic.  The sound design is absolutely brilliant because the sound of the birds attacking is terrifying but the use of silence is even more effective at creating an atmosphere of dread.  Finally, the ending is so bleak (my audience sat in stunned silence even after the lights came back on) but it is the perfect way to emphasize the fact that we are all powerless against the forces of nature.  This is one of Hitchcock's best movies, in my opinion, and I'm so glad I got to see it on the big screen (especially during the month of October).

Pumpkin Carving 2023

Since Tashena is living in Washington and Sean is in college living in a dorm, Marilyn and I thought that we probably wouldn't be doing some of our holiday traditions this year.  Then Marilyn got a text from Sean asking when we would be carving pumpkins!  We had our annual pumpkin carving party last night while he was home for dinner (my family gets together every Sunday for dinner) and it was a lot of fun!

I am quite proud of my pumpkin this year because it actually turned out like the pattern!

I have a picture like this from every year since he was a little boy!  We'll see if he wants to do gingerbread houses for Christmas!

Ballet West's Dracula

Two years ago I had the opportunity to see Ballet West's amazing production of Dracula and it immediately became one of my favorites.  I was, therefore, really excited when I found out that it would open the 2023-2024 season and I loved seeing it again last night.  In Act I Dracula (Tyler Gum) emerges very dramatically from a tomb in the crypt of his castle and summons all of his brides who dance at his command.  I really loved the choreography in this scene because the brides, who wear ethereal white dresses, are controlled by Dracula with just a glance or gesture and he works them up into a frenzy as they leap (and sometimes fly) across the stage.  Renfield (Vinicius Lima), Dracula's minion, brings a young woman named Flora (Amy Potter) to the castle in a horse-drawn carriage (the horses are portrayed by dancers Kai Casperson and Phillipp Mergener and their costumes are very macabre).  The brides help Dracula to beguile her and the two of them dance a gorgeous Pas de Deux before he transforms her.  In Act II an innkeeper (Jake Preece) and his wife (Emily Adams) are celebrating the birthday of their daughter Svetlana (Katlyn Addison) with a group of peasants who perform various dances based on the folklore of the area.  The costumes worn by the peasants are very vibrant and colorful and I loved the patterns the women make with ribbons and the ones the men make with staffs in these dances.  Svetlana is in love with a peasant named Frederick (Hadriel Diniz) and, when they become betrothed, they dance another beautiful Pas de Deux.  They also perform a series of solos and I loved it when the choreography has Svetlana spinning on her heels.  Dracula hears of Svetlana's beauty so he sends Flora into the village to capture her and bring her to his castle.  In Act III Flora flies back and forth across the stage directing the other brides to prepare Dracula's bedchamber.  When Svetlana arrives Dracula attempts to beguile her in a stunning Pas de Deux where she appears to glide across the stage (I think Addison is a beautiful dancer and her grace and elegance are really on display in this role) but Frederick and her father interrupt him when they suddenly appear at the castle to rescue her.  A battle, featuring lots of special effects, ensues.  The performances are outstanding and the choreography is exciting but I also loved the atmospheric music by Franz Liszt (after the Utah Symphony concert the previous evening I immediately recognized the use of the Dies irae from the Requiem Mass), the beautiful costumes (including all of those I mentioned previously as well as a cape worn by Dracula which, when unfurled, looks like a bat's wings), and the striking sets (especially the dark and gloomy crypt in the castle).  This production is absolutely perfect for Halloween and I highly recommend it (go here for tickets).

Note:  I decided not to subscribe this season because I wanted to be able to choose performances based on casting.  I really enjoy seeing Katlyn Addison, my favorite dancer in the company, in a main role.

Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2

Last night's Utah Symphony concert was a fun way to celebrate the spooky season with Halloween-themed pieces on the program and moody lighting on the stage.  The orchestra began with Danse macabre by Camille Saint-Saens which is based on a legend where Death plays the fiddle on Halloween as skeletons dance on their graves.  I really enjoyed the theme played by a solo violin and the use of the xylophone to depict the rattling of skeleton bones.  Next came Totentanz ("Dance of the Dead") by Franz Liszt with Utah favorite Joyce Yang as soloist.  This is an incredibly fiery piece that features the Dies irae theme about death and judgment from the Requiem Mass and a number of variations.  I loved the percussive opening from the piano followed by dramatic variations from the brass and the woodwinds.  I also loved the swelling themes by the strings punctuated by short piano interludes that varied in volume and intensity and it was fun to see Yang's fingers literally flying up and down the keyboard (she also leaned back and wiped her brow theatrically after a particularly challenging run).  She received a thunderous standing ovation and, in return, favored the audience with an encore.  After the intermission, the orchestra performed Symphony No. 2 by Sergei Rachmaninoff.  I absolutely love Rachmaninoff because I think his music is so emotional (something he has in common with many of the Russian composers I love) and this particular piece is incredibly lush!  I especially loved the instantly recognizable fanfare (also inspired by the Dies irae which fascinated Rachmaninoff all throughout his life) played by the horns at the beginning of the second movement and then repeated throughout.  The third movement includes some of Rachmaninoff's most beautiful music with themes and variations played by the violins, with an interlude by the clarinet, that are unbelievably romantic.  I also loved the percussion, especially the timpani and crash cymbals, at the beginning of the exuberant final movement as well as the recapitulation of the major themes.  It was a brilliant performance!  This same program will repeated again tonight and I recommend it for some seasonal fun (there are also Halloween activities, photo ops, and concessions in the lobby before the performance).  Go here for tickets.

Killers of the Flower Moon

Last night I had the chance to see an early screening of Killers of the Flower Moon in a packed theater at the Broadway.  It is a masterpiece and I know I will be thinking about it for a long time to come because it is so intense and unsettling.  The Osage Nation becomes unbelievably wealthy when oil is discovered on their land in Oklahoma in the 1920s but it also brings trouble as the white men in the nearby towns lie, cheat, manipulate, steal, and eventually, murder, to gain control of the money.  One such man is William King Hale (Robert De Niro), a wealthy cattle rancher who has evil intentions but presents himself in the guise of a benefactor to the Osage.  When his nephew Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns home from the Great War and begins working for him, Hale suggests that he woo and marry an Osage woman named Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone) in order to gain control of her headshares from the oil profits.  After the wedding, Hale and Burkhart begin plotting to kill members of Mollie's family one by one so that their headshares will be transferred to Mollie but these murders eventually get the attention of Tom White (Jesse Plemons), an agent of the new Bureau of Investigation.  Much has been made of the long runtime (three and a half hours) but I feel like it is earned because it is an incredibly compelling story that is equal parts epic Western, lurid crime drama, tragic love story, and scathing commentary on greed and corruption and my attention never wavered.  Frequent Scorsese collaborators De Niro and DiCaprio are outstanding (some of the best work of their careers) but Gladstone is absolutely captivating in a restrained performance in which she portrays every emotion imaginable (sometimes with just a glance).  One specific scene near the end of the movie where Gladstone's character silently accuses DiCaprio's character with just her eyes is devastating and left me reeling.  The supporting cast is also great and I was particularly impressed by Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, and Tatanka Means who all make the most of limited screen time.  All of the technical elements, from cinematography to production design to editing, are brilliant and I also really loved the score by Robbie Robertson because it really adds to the tension.  This is one of Scorsese's best movies and, while it won't be for everyone because of the dark themes and melancholy tone, I highly recommend it.