During these short days and long dark evenings Moi and I have taken to watching our old DVDs. We snuggle up on the couch, but now along with turning the lights low we also have to turn the volume up and the subtitles on. Age can include its moments of entertainment; we just have to work harder at it. An excellent quote I saw recently went something like this: “Embrace old age, many are denied the privilege.”
Some favourites to watch again and again
Our DVDs are in clear DVD storage bags. There are about 35 in each bag and we have ten bags, so we have plenty to go at. What we often find is that one of us will claim not to have seen the particular film we have started to watch, or to know we have seen it but can’t remember the end.
There are many that we know we have seen and know the end but are amongst our favourite films that we are more than happy to watch again and again. Just some of these are: Oh Brother Where Art Thou, released in 2000 staring George Clooney; Brassed Off, 1996, starring Ewan McGregor; The Full Monty, 1997, Robert Carlyle. Another Robert Carlyle film we like is The Legend of Barney Thompson. There are two films that include a scene that is guaranteed to split my sides with laughter: one is the Trivial Pursuit scene in Cuban Fury, 2014, with Nick Frost and Ian McShane, and the other the Champaign cork scene in Top Gun, 1986.
A favourite actor
We love all of Tom Hanks’s films, although on top of the list is The Ladykillers, 2004. Remakes rarely make the grade, particularly if it is an American remake of a classic British Ealing Studios film, but in my humble opinion the Tom Hanks version is equally good. The knack to fully enjoy this film is not to compare the two; the title and the plot are the same but they have completely different styles.
Another of my Tom Hanks favourites is Forrest Gump, 1994. I have seen this film many times and there is a scene in it that fills me up every time – I’m even filling up slightly just thinking about it. It’s the scene where he meets his young son for the first time. I know this scene is coming and I try to convince myself not to be a soft wart but it’s no good, I’m busted every time.
Upsetting scenes of luxury vehicle abuse!
The film that we watched yesterday was The Italian Job, 1969, starring Michael “not many people know that” Caine (apparently, he never said that!). Even though it was an excellent film, there were two scenes that disturbed me greatly. One was the final scene when after they had pulled off the audacious robbery of the century, the escape coach driver managed to get stuck hanging half off the edge of a cliff. The first time we saw this film at the cinema, I think there was a collective groan from the audience that seemed to say “You stupid bugger”.
However, the scene that upset me most at the time was when the Italian Mafia stopped our heroes on the mountain pass into Turin and, to show their displeasure, used a bulldozer to flatten two series one E-Type Jaguars, which in my opinion are the most beautiful and iconic British cars of all time. And if that wasn’t enough, the same bulldozer pushed an Aston Martin DB 4 off the cliff turning it into a thousand pieces. I was horrified. How could they do this just to make a film?
A film biography of the iconic Aston Martin
An Aston Martin had already featured in two of the James Bond films, Goldfinger, 1964, and Thunderball, 1965.These were Aston Martin DB 5s, but it would be difficult to tell the difference from the one thrown over the cliff. The ‘DB’ in DB2, DB4, DB5, DBS etc stands for Sir David Brown, who had an engineering company in Huddersfield.
Of the two E-Types, the dark coloured one, registration 619 DXX, which looks black in the film, was a 1962 fixed-head coupé (hard top). It was originally ‘signal red’ but was sprayed dark blue for the film. The one that looks red but is actually orange was a drop-head (convertible soft top), registration number 848 CRY, built in 1961, the 12th production roadster to leave the production line. The film makers wrecked all three.
Aston Martins have featured in nine of the Bond franchise and countless television and film appearances including The Batman, The Crown, Top Gun Maverick and in one of my favourites at the time, The Persuaders. This was an action-comedy television series starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis, who played globetrotting millionaire playboys, broadcast in 1971. Lord Bret Sinclair, played by Roger Moore, drove an Aston Martin DBS V8, and Danny Wilde played by Tony Curtis drove a Ferrari Dino 246 GT.
Troubles finally put to rest
This wanton destruction of three beautiful iconic British sports cars in The Italian Job troubled me for many years in fact it wasn’t until researching for this ramble that I have been able to sleep soundly at night.
It turns out that even though all three cars were actually badly damaged by the bulldozer, the Aston thrown over the cliff wasn’t an Aston – it was a fake mock-up. And it and the two Jags have since been lovingly restored.
How can film makers toy with our emotions in this manner? It’s almost as if they don’t have a care in the world. There should be a law against it. At the very least, there should be a disclaimer at the end of each film stating that “No beautiful cars were destroyed during the making of this film”!
Time for a smile
An old cantankerous Yorkshire farmer sees a chap drinking from a stream on his land and shouts to him: “Eye up cock, tha dun wanna be drinkin’ watter fra theer, it’s fulla hos piss n’ cow shite.”
The chap says, “I can’t understand a word you say my man. I’m from London, can you speak a little slower?”.
The farmer replies, “If – you – use – both – hands – you – won’t – spill – any”.
