Meet Me in Rome!
Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in William Wyler's Roman Holiday
Hepburn plays a princess of a small nation playing hooky from her duties, and Peck is a wiley reporter just trying to get a story.
The "Mouth of Truth" located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, Italy. This is the location of one of the best scenes in the movie.
Legend has it that if someone given to lying sticks his hand in the Mouth, it will bite it off. Both Joe and Anna have been telling a pack of lies about themselves, so neither is particularly eager to test the legend. But, unbeknownst to Hepburn, Peck had planned ahead to act like his hand had really been bitten off. When they shot the scene, and he screamed and then pulled out his arm with his hand up his sleeve, Hepburn's reaction of shock was real. It makes an unforgetable scene.
Hepburn and Peck playing cards between takes
Hepburn and Peck on a runaway skooter
Of course they end up in each other's arms
ROMAN HOLIDAY
Best Romance, 1953 - 5-Star Masterpiece
Perhaps the Most Perfect Romantic-Comedy Ever Made
That's not just my opinion - it seems to be universal. It was directed by one of the all time greats, William Wyler, who is known for such mega classics as Ben-Hur (1959), for which he won the Oscar for Best Director; Friendly Persuasion (1956), Detective Story (1951), The Big Country, The Heiress (1949); The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946), for which he was named Best Director; Mrs. Miniver (1942), for which he again won Best Director; The Little Foxes (1941), The Letter (1940), Wuthering Heights (1939) and Dodsworth (1936).
Wyler has more Oscar nominations than any other director (12), and only John Ford has more wins (4). Even without those nominations and wins, Wyler would have to be considered one of the top three directors of all time, along with John Ford and Frank Capra, for the sheer quality and quantity of his work. He is considered to be second only to Ford as a "master craftsmen of cinema." And even though Roman Holiday is a "little" film, as far as budget and scope, it has a huge heart and was probably a lot more fun to make than many of his larger productions. It's definitely more fun to watch.
A Reluctant Warrior
Gideon Could Easily Have Been Born in the 21st Century
On the surface, very little has changed from the days of Gideon, the fifth judge of Israel: we are still unfaithful to God, we still serve idols, we are still in bondage to our enemies, we still cry out to God to save us... and He still does. But underneath the surface, in the spiritual realm, EVERYTHING is different: Christ our Savior has come to live within us, He has broken the chains of slavery PERMANENTLY, He has defeated our enemies FOREVER, and He has made us MORE THAN CONQUERORS NOW.
So why don't we live that way?
The days of Gideon were very much like any other age: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," as Charles Dickens wrote in A TALE OF TWO CITIES. "Every man did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges 17:6) There was an overarching Law, because the Ten Commandments had been given; but people picked and chose how much they would obey that Law, much as Christians do today. There was no unifying culture because the people of Israel were mixing in with the pagan cultures around them, contrary to God's will; and so new, diverse cultures were arising. It was very much like the United States today, with one significant difference: there was an oppressive government bearing down on the people. (Some might argue that that, too, is like the United States today; but that's hardly the case... yet.)
Communism in Hollywood
As a "Whore of Babylon," Hollywood has sold its soul to the god of money, and is a tarnished lady; but is she unredeemable?
Vision Forum, the Christian homeschooling and family resource ministry, offers a CD by filmmaker Geoff Botkin called "Hollywood's Most Despised Villain." When I listened to it, I was not convinced that Hollywood had ever been the target of Communist strategists, as Mr. Botkin proports. I had been studying Hollywood for over thirty years, and knew of very few American films, besides Warren Beatty's Reds and maybe The Way We Were, that I would say were sympathetic to Communism. I felt Mr. Bodkin was preaching from fanaticism due to his own conversion from Communism, rather than from facts - much as my dad used to preach relentlessly against the evils of smoking after he had given up cigarettes. People who have been converted from something tend to be the biggest opponents to it, even to the point of fanaticism. So, I was skeptical.
When you read about McCarthyism and the hearings conducted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities back in the 1950s, the evidence is pretty unclear. Neither side seems particularly convincing. The best testimony that I know of that there was subversive Communist activity in Hollywood in the 1950s is from our film-actor-turned-president, Ronald Reagan: he said there were a lot of Communists in his profession. I believe Ronald Reagan.
But I came across another piece of evidence that helps support Mr. Bodkin's claim.
I’m Taking You to Italy!
"We're not really talking about glass, are we?" You got that right. Katharine Hepburn and Rossano Brazzi in David Lean's Summertime, an incredibly romantic film set in an incredibly romantic city - Venice
- Jane and Renato first see each other in a cafe in the Piazza San Marco
- Not knowing it is his, Jane stumbles into Renato's antique shop, attracted by a red goblet in the window. This shop is located in San Barnaba di Venezia.
- Jane and her self-appointed guide, Mauro, in Piscina Sant'Agnese in Dorsoduro. The photo in the corner shows how it looks in recent years. Italians preserve their past; which is why watching this 1955 film is almost like going there today.
- Jane falling into the canal on San Barnaba di Venezia while trying to film Renato's shop. Mauro saves the camera just in time. The photo in the corner is of the San Barnaba di Venezia in recent years, but from the opposite direction. The shop by the bridge in the lower left was used as Renato's shop in the movie, so Hepburn would have fallen into the canal in the foreground. She got an eye infection from that, and suffered from it for the rest of her life.
There are other places known for their charming waterways besides just Venice. One of them is San Antonio. If you go there, you will want to spend most of your time on the River Walk. Wonderful waterside cafes amidst gigantic cedars make this a very pleasant place to dine with a friend.
Best Films Set in Italy, Beginning with...
SUMMERTIME (aka, Summer Madness)
Best Romance, 1955 - 5 Stars
A very romantic film set in a very romantic city
This summer, I'm taking you to Italy... via your DVD player. There are some fabulous "vacation packages" out there, and they're only a click away. Each one is set in a different city, and they all make you feel like you're actually there. I'll finish up the summer with an Italian film that I consider to be their best.
Our first stop is Venice, and the movie is Summertime, starring Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, Isa Miranda and Darren McGavin. It is 1955, and this is David Lean's last "little" movie, before directing such monumental classics as The Bridge Over The River Kwai, Lawrence Of Arabia, The Greatest Story Ever Told and Doctor Zhivago. But the ones preceding Summertime are no slouches either, including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations and Brief Encounter. So Summertime stands as a turning point in Lean's career - one last summer fling before getting down to some very serious work.
Eat Right, Be Healthy, Live Long, Look Good… and Do It All on Less Than $250 a Month
My grandmother at 100 and 108 years old. She has really taken good care of herself.
My mom at 83 and me at 57.
The fast food industry has been blamed for the obesity of America. I think it's fast food, junk food, ignorance and laziness. On the left: Morgan Spurlock, writer-director-and-star of Super Size Me. On the right: the results of "McDonalds Hits Africa," an ad spoof.
Art immitating life. Pixar blew out the stops in Wall-e, with the way they addressed the problem of obesity, though director Andrew Stanton later denied that was their intent. In the movie Up, they again cast an overweight character, the Boy Scout Russell. This trend indicates that obesity is becoming accepted in America.
I don't believe in being cruel to anyone. But in the old days, public ridicule would keep certain behaviors and lifestyles in check. Today, we're told to be nice to everyone, not to offend anyone, and, by all means, to go out of our way to accommodate people's weaknesses. Jesus wouldn't have fit too well into our indulgent society.
It's Easy, It's Simple, and My 109-Year-Old Grandmother is Proof!
That's right: my grandmother will be 109 years old this July, and she is on no medication. My mother will be 84 this year, and everybody tells her she looks like she's 69. And I've had the same body weight since high school, when I was playing three sports. (Okay, it's distributed a little differently... but still!)
I have friends in their twenties that struggle with being over-weight. Some are my size (and I'm no giant) and are as much as 50 pounds over-weight. They are young men with middle age bodies. I almost can't go out to eat anymore because I feel like I'm on the cruise ship from the movie Wall-E with all those adults that look like chubby babies. Yes, Michelle, our nation has an obesity problem!
But don't panic - help is on the way. Dr. Waits is here with some simple things you can do to eat right, be healthy, live long and look good... and, yes, do it all on less than $250 a month.
Hanging Out in the Land of the Sadducees
- Knights in submission to God's will
Knight showing submission
- Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son
Obedience - The First Knightly Virtue
I had lunch recently with a young friend of mine, and I asked him to share with me his thoughts on the subject of obedience - what he thinks of when he hears that word, etc. He shared some ideas, and then said, "You know, a lot of people might interpret your articles as being legalistic."
"Really," I said with a wry smile. "But you've never actually read any of my articles, so how would you know?" He said that he had. "How many?" I asked. He finally confessed that he had only read a couple.
Then he clarified his statement: "My generation is so grace-oriented that anything other than grace sounds legalistic." I see. So, if I try to balance grace with, say, discipline, that's legalistic. I would agree with him that his generation is grace-crazy; but I would call it something else - LICENTIOUSNESS.
Before anyone gets the wrong idea, let me explain the difference between grace and licentiousness... and, for that matter, legalism and obedience.
Backpacking on Mount LeConte
Sunrise at Icewater Spring
Getting fresh water the hard way, with a microfilter pump
Charlie's Bunion: a magnificent rocky craig flanked on either side by a narrow walkway that is dangerously precipitous
My friend Larry Smith took all these photos. He has painted this view of Charlie's Bunion, as well as other scenes from the Appalachian Trail. See the banner ad at the bottom of this page.
There is nothing like an early morning walk in the woods. 
Me, with two of my friends. I'm on the left. We weren't this happy for the entire trip, believe me. Read about our trudge up "Mount Mordor" below.
They're not called the "Smokey Mountains" for nothing. This was the morning after the big storm, coming down the other side of Mount LeConte.
We were on the Appalachian Trail in early June, which is when most of the flowers are in bloom. It looked like a professional landscaper had come in and worked his magic. Well, the truth is, He had.
Coming back down on the Alum Cave Trail
There are some very clever, unique sections to Alum Cave Trail, like this staircase, which, I believe, was made of logs. Flowers and petals sprinkled much of our trail over the four days.
This is the river at the base of Mounte LeConte, which we followed out. Larry has painted this as well. Unfortunately, at a spot near the end of the trail, a bus-load of teenagers decided to walk up the river, disturbing the rocks and upsetting the natural balance of the river. The only bad thing about being out in nature is seeing how disrespectful humans can be.
Four Days and Forty Miles on the Appalacian Trail and the Tallest Mountain in the Eastern United States
I don't think I have to sell anyone on the beauty of North Carolina in general or Great Smoky Mountain National Park in particular. It is the most visited park in the national park system, boasting the greatest variety of animals in the world (with over 1,600 black bears), more flowering plants than any other North American national park (over 1,600 varieties), more native tree species than all of northern Europe (over 100), over 800 miles of maintained hiking trails (including the famed Appalachian Trail), and a range in elevation from 800 to 6,643 feet, including the tallest mountain in the Eastern United States, Mount LeConte. To say the least, it is spectacular and breathtaking.
In 2007, I had the opportunity to hike up Mount LeConte with three buddies as part of a four-day, 40-mile backpacking trip. Little did we know that the weather would turn against us, and we would almost be fighting for our lives before we reached the top. But starting out, it was very pleasant. That's the way mountains are: they change on you suddenly. One minute they're loving on you, and the next they're trying to kill you, as Jim Craig points out to Jessica in The Man From Snowy River.
Anyone Feeling Confused?
Sometimes Confusion is a Good Thing
I went to my Bible study group yesterday where we read a chapter together silently, and then the leader calls on people to share their thoughts on one or two verses or ideas. We usually have 12 to 15 people there. Yesterday, we read John 7, and then I sat there in quiet amazement as this group of seasoned Christians rambled and stumbled about things that, seemingly, had nothing to do with the text. Many were retrospective, recalling events from their past that also seemed to have little to do with what we just read. As I sat there listening, I asked God to show me what was going on. The best I could determine was that Holy Week is a very confusing time.
I don't know if it's this way for unbelievers, but for Christians, I think Holy Week is a time for reexamining who Christ is and what He means to us personally - and I don't think that is a comfortable or reassuring thing to do. If anything, it is humbling, because we realize how short we come up when we compare who we are and what we do with who He is and what He did. We bring nothing to the cross and He brings everything. We are weak, needy people who desperately needed Him to die for us.
As all the characters of the crucifixion stood there that day watching Christ die, I can understand why they were confused.