Movie fans are familiar with the spaghetti western, made by Italian production companies, usually shot in Spain, often with American actors in the lead roles. Last night This-TV, channel 111 on Cablevision in NYC, ran what may be the only Polish western ever, Dead Man’s Bounty (2006). The storyline and dialogue were so disjointed that I can only assume the creator was dealing in symbolism, although what was being symbolized is a complete mystery to me. For a while I thought he was reaching for something like the hell of High Plains Drifter (1973), Clint Eastwood’s third directorial effort. There are two interesting things about the film -- the cinematography and the music. The title track, Summer Love, is in the style of pre-1970’s oaters, sung by a rich, deep-voiced male. It was actually recorded by John Davidson in 1966, but that wasn’t the track that was used. And its touching lyrics didn’t really fit the narrative. Also used was a Lorne Greene track similar to Ringo, his big hit -- I’m a Gun, of which I'd had no recollection. Val Kilmer played a dead body! He was seen periodically throughout the film, mostly lying in the street of the grungy frontier town. According to a contributor at IMDb, he was approached by the creator at a European film festival and offered a bag that contained 50 grand cash for his appearance, which required a one day shoot and no dialogue. The writer, producer and director is Piotr Uklanski of Warsaw, his only credit to date, which is not surprising (stop with the Polish jokes already). It is rated 3.9 at IMDb. I won’t rate something I didn’t understand, but I did watch the entire film, expecting some kind of payoff, hoping Kilmer would awaken and begin blasting away at the sleaze balls that populated the town. It didn’t happen. Three of the Europeans in the cast have substantial credits. They were not stigmatized for their association with the film.
My thanks to those who bought books today on Bay Parkway, and to Bob, who donated about ten just as I was about to leave. Unfortunately, I felt obligated to endure his conspiracy theories, which he related for the next 20 minutes. He believes authors Vince Flynn and Tom Clancy were murdered by security forces, who "wouldn't give Obama the key to the men's room," so little regard have they for the Commander in Chief. Bob also believes a UFO crashed outside Dresden, Germany during the late stages of WWII, the craft recovered by the Nazis and brought to the Nordhausen rocket facility to Werner Von Braun, the "only one who would know what to do with it." With the U.S. and Russian armies closing in, Von Braun had to choose a side. The spaceship was secretly shipped to America. Bob has written screenplays about such events. He's as silly as those who believe President Bush brought down the Twin Towers. I voiced my skepticism as gently as I could.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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