TV Bites: Quadrophenia

THE SNACK:
Beef Pie & Mash w/Liquor


A version of this post appears on the Criterion Collection site
On June 10, 1974, I was standing on a platform with some friends waiting for the Long Island Railroad train to arrive to take us to see The Who live at Madison Square Garden. I was a high school drop out, my father had just died, my mother's second husband had just run out on her, and nothing much made sense. In the outside world, there was Watergate, Patty Hearst, the Oil Crisis, and terrorists had recently bombed a building in New York. When the train, which may well have been the 5:15 (or close to it), pulled into the station, the trainman stepped out and announced: “Who train! Get on The Who train!” And we eagerly jumped aboard.

Just four years earlier, I had been unwillingly replanted from Manhattan to a small suburb on the southwestern tip of Long Island. We lived a block from the ocean, and since I was a stranger in that strange land, it was there on the beach where I spent much of my time.

I'm sure we could find a more perfect poster boy for teenage angst and alienation, but if we could all go back in time and observe me in my shoddy parka, standing on the edge of a jetty, alone, on a cold and misty twilight, asking big questions to the sea and sand, wondering why nothing ever went as planned, I would definitely be a likely candidate.

The Class: Raiders of the Lost Ark

THE MENU:
(Nepalese) Shrimp Curry
(Peruvian) Warm Wheat Berry, Quinoa, & Mango Salad
(North African) Lamb Stew w/ Cauliflower "Couscous"
(American) Strawberry Shortcake



First off, this is part one of my "of the" double bill. And by that I mean the next film is also titled "Something of the Something." So try to guess what that'll be.

Class went extremely well, though we were a bit rushed. I had a lot of food and movie to discuss before serving and eating. But everyone seemed quite pleased. Also, always glad to see how many return attendees I had. We even had one person who hadn't seen Raiders of the Lost Ark before. It's always a treat for me to see a movie with someone who's never seen it before.

You know when I began this adventure I was just sort of randomly picking movies I love and seeing what I could do food-wise with them. But I also avoided some movies I love mostly because I wanted to get this all figured out before I tackled them, and also because they tend to have an abundance of material written about them already (and that means hours and hours of research!) While some films don't have much written about them at all - either in print or online - others have enough material to fill a skyscraper with... like this one. But that doesn't mean Raiders of the Lost Ark is a "better" or more "important" movie than say The Lady Vanishes, for example. I just want to make that clear. The Lady Vanishes was made at a time when entertainment was not as dissected nor studied even in universities the way it is now.

TV Bites: Escape from New York

THE SNACK:
Isaac Hayes' "Gonna Get Some" Cornish Game Hens w/Wild Rice Stuffing



Had a rough week last week. Caught a respiratory infection from breathing too much smoke and ash in the air from the wildfires, combined with a bad allergy attack, that pretty much turned into a bronchitis. I was down for like five days. But then had to get better because it was ACLfest last weekend here in Austin. I only caught a couple of acts - Manu Chao (at an after show), Black Dub, Stevie Wonder, and Randy Newman (at a separate ACL taping). But that's all I really needed to see.

Now yesterday was the first day of this year's Fantastic Fest, so I thought it appropriate to feature one of my favorite genre films of all time. It's also part two of the September New York double bill. And boy do I love this movie. John Carpenter has sadly been relegated, I think, to being lionized by only genre film fans. And his films - statements about the times he lived in disguised as genre films - as far as I'm concerned, should be studied more seriously.

While this film was made in 1980, Carpenter first wrote the script in 1974, right after Scorsese made Mean Streets. (If I were going to make this a triple bill, the 3rd movie would be The Warriors, for sure.) So yeah, New York was a tough place in the late 70's and early 80's. A park like Union Square - which today is filled at night with people walking their dogs and playing chess - was considered utterly unsafe to enter once darkness came. That Carpenter - and audiences at that time - could believe New York City could shut down and be re-purposed as a maximum security prison - was not so much science fiction. In one interview as it was being released, when Carpenter explains that New York has been turned into such a prison in the film's future-present, the British fanzine reporter quips: "Isn't it one already?" I got to see some crazy s#!t when I was growing up, I tell you. But more on this later....

TV Bites: A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari)

THE SNACK:
Clint Eastwood's Hush Puppies



Well, I survived the "overcrowded & overmarketed" edition of South by Southwest and it's time to get back to work. Though, for Chef du Cinema, it was a very productive shmoozefest. I've got some interesting things in talks for some fun projects - more to come on that. But, if you've been following me on Twitter, you'll know I met with Mike Etchart of Sound & Vision Magazine Radio and I did a live interview with them. But the most exciting news is that I got contacted by the Rachael Ray Show about possibly doing something with them. We'll see what happens, but either way it's all good and it means that Chef du Cinema is moving onwards and upwards. Maybe some day soon, I'll be able to take this on the road and - if you're not in Austin - have a class in your town!

TV Bites: Slacker

THE SNACK:
Les Amis Cafe Black Beans & Brown Rice



Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of its screening at the Sundance Film Festival this week is Slacker where it will be shown again in tribute. So it's time for it to be served up in TV Bites... and to rant about my current hometown a bit.

TV Bites: A Hard Day's Night

THE SNACK
Scouse (Beef & Lamb Stew) w/ Sir Paul McCartney's Mashed Potatoes



Earlier last year, the Vatican decided to "forgive" the Beatles with this odd pronouncement written in the L'Osservatore Romano, the official Pope newsletter: "It's true they took drugs, lived life to excess because of their success, even said they were bigger than Jesus and put out mysterious messages that were possibly even Satanic, [but] what would pop music have been like without the Beatles?"

TV Bites: Rio Bravo

THE SNACK:
Green Chile Mac & Cheese



I've been aching to feature a Western and there are so many to choose from that I love, but I decided to start with this one first. It has been so influential for decades (see below) and is often considered to be amongst one of the most entertaining films ever made. Some may argue it's not even a true Western, but a Western-Comedy. If you've never seen it, go to it immediately.

The Class: Broadway Danny Rose

THE MENU:
- a four course NY Deli meal -
Homemade Corned Beef (on Rye) w/Cole Slaw & Mustard
Aunt Syd’s Kosher Garlic-Dill Pickles
Potato Latkes with Sour Cream & Apple Sauce
New York Cheesecake



Just came back from teaching class and it was, once again, a ton o' fun. Thanks to all those who came out for the 2nd Chef du Cinema class.