Category Archives: Cinema, video & DVDs

Gone With The Pandemic

Posted on April 10, 2020 by barczablog

Last night we watched the first half of Gone With the Wind. The film began at 10:00 pm taking us up to the intermission around 11:30 pm.   Whatever misgivings I have about the story it remains an amazing achievement. What … Continue reading →

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Beautiful day in the neighborhood and goodness

Posted on March 11, 2020 by barczablog

There are at least a couple of Mr Rogers films out there. There’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor, a 2018 documentary. And there’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the 2019 film based on an Esquire magazine interview by Tom … Continue reading →

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Moonrise Kingdom on Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 15, 2020 by barczablog

I saw the trailer for Wes Anderson’s next film. Google says it opens in the summer. Argh, I wish I could see it now, but, hmm, …a seed was planted. And there we were, staying in on a chilly Friday … Continue reading →

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Joker reminds me of….

Posted on February 4, 2020 by barczablog

Resonance is a function of history, right? You’ll pick up allusions and associations depending on what you usually see. So of course it’s no wonder Todd Phillips’ 2019 film Joker reminds me of Wozzeck as someone who’s more likely to … Continue reading →

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Brilliantly Problematic Porgy & Bess

Posted on February 2, 2020 by barczablog

Don’t let the headline fool you. When you see that the Metropolitan Opera are producing The Gershwins’ Porgy & Bess for the first time in almost thirty years, seemingly selling every ticket to every performance, you might well ask them: … Continue reading →

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Cinematic rockstars

Posted on September 12, 2019 by barczablog

I wish I could somehow reclaim my innocence.  Sometimes sophistication & experience get in the way. No you can’t believe everything you read, especially when you overthink (….guilty). When will I learn? I came to Rocketman this past weekend more … Continue reading →

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Macho mystery: Till Havs

Posted on August 21, 2019 by barczablog

I’ve been listening to a song since childhood even though I still don’t really know what it means. Imagine if the most impressive song you had ever heard was in a foreign language. So please picture the most impressive song … Continue reading →

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Boheme to close the deal

Posted on May 5, 2019 by barczablog

It’s that time of year when one considers renewing the opera subscription. Oh don’t get me wrong, I was going to renew it anyway. But the comment from the Mrs today was electric. She’s so glad to know that we’re … Continue reading →

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The Empire Strikes Bach?

Posted on March 23, 2019 by barczablog

I didn’t get enough sleep last night.  I got home from the epic St Matthew Passion I wrote about from March 21st aka Bach’s birthday at roughly 11:30 pm, had some vino & pizza with the Mrs and only finished … Continue reading →

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Episode V: beyond popularity

Posted on March 14, 2019 by barczablog

Films with live accompaniment are becoming a regular experience. I don’t mean that the novelty is wearing off, at least I hope not. But what began as an experiment has become a new revenue-stream for the Toronto Symphony, somewhere between … Continue reading →

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