July 30, 2013 Video & Multimedia Too Hot, Too Greedy By Sadie Stein Close watchers of this space may observe that we have, in the past, posted the iconic video for “Wuthering Heights.” But when we realized that today was not just Emily Brontë’s birthday but also Kate Bush’s, well, you can see that we had no alternative.
July 23, 2013 Video & Multimedia William Faulkner, a Fine Gentleman By Sadie Stein While all of this 1952 Ford Foundation Omnibus film—a sort of scripted documentary on William Faulkner—is fantastic, bizarre, and well worth watching, this clip is particularly noteworthy for the exterior shots of the author’s house, Rowan Oak.
July 15, 2013 Video & Multimedia Watch Richard Wright Act in Native Son By Sadie Stein In 1948, Richard Wright starred in this screen test for the film adaptation of his classic 1940 novel, Native Son. Says Studio 360’s Amanda Aronczyk, “if that sounds like a bad idea, that’s because it was”—not least because the non-actor was twice as old as twenty-year-old Bigger Thomas—but this clip remains a fascinating piece of literary and cinematic history.
July 4, 2013 Video & Multimedia Happy Fourth! By Sadie Stein George Plimpton’s passion for fireworks is legendary: he devoted a book to the subject, and held the title of Fireworks Commissioner of New York for some thirty years. In 2011, his son, Taylor, wrote movingly about sending his father’s ashes into space with his favorite firework, the kamuro. In 1994, Plimpton hosted the terrific documentary Fireworks, based on his book.
June 28, 2013 Video & Multimedia I Am Not Resigned! By Sadie Stein I think we can all agree that what this day needs is Joan Crawford dramatically reading Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Dirge Without Music.”
June 17, 2013 Video & Multimedia No Books Were Harmed By Sadie Stein Herewith: the Seattle Public Library sets a 2,131-book domino-chain world record.