Wednesday 13 March 2013

WEDNESDAY CLUB - Ray LaMontagne - Empty

The menu to-day is a Lincoln Fest, an injustice and Ray LaMontagne
Daniel Day Lewis

 
RAY LAMONTAGNE - Empty (2006)

Did you see the Oscars or any other of cinema's excuses to get on your party dress and say to the world, 'look at me, I'm beautiful, I'm famous and I am special'? By the time the Oscars came round, it was all a forgone conclusion and most of the winners were very predictable. Daniel Day Lewis was odds on favourite to get the best male lead for his excellent portrayal of Abraham Lincoln.

I watched that film and the sets and costumes were magnificent. It was a great insight to what happened at the end of the Civil War and how difficult it was to pass the bill to abolish slavery, The Thirteenth Amendment. The film was more like a play, although quite enjoyable.

Sky TV also had a big production about the conspiracy to kill Lincoln and leading members of the Government. The story was mainly about John Wilkes Booth before and after the assassination. It was good and I found it more enjoyable than the film Lincoln.

Now talk about overload, I got hold of the film The Conspirators which deals with the trial of the conspirators who plotted and killed Lincoln. They included a Woman Mary Suratt who was charged as being part of the gang. It was really a show trial and the verdict and punishment had already been decided. They had to show the trial was being conducted correctly and the conspirators had to be represented by  defence lawyers. Frederick Aiken (James McVie) was the Lawyer for the Woman. He eventually proved that she may or may not have been guilty. There was cause for doubt. Watch the movie it is well worth the effort. In fact, of the 3 films I found this the best.

Mary Suratt

The whole point of this post and how I get to this here is that normally at the end of a movie I switch off but in this case I left it on and was really taken with the song sang over the titles. Eventually (blimey, these titles go on for ages and ages, don't they?) I found out it was by Ray LaMontagne and I could not remember hearing the track before, although it sounded familiar. It is from his album Till the Sun Turns Black (1996). It's a good one. Even worthy of Tuesday Blues!.


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WEDNESDAY CLUB - Ray LaMontagne - Empty
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Oleh

5 comments

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Anonymous
13 March 2013 at 07:39

Gosh. Really could have been Tuesday Blues in disguise, couldn't it? Great song.

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13 March 2013 at 09:20

I guess if you're looking for more action sequences you watch North and South or something, it has Patrick Swayze in it too! It's an appropriate song for the post and a good one at that. All this reminds me of a Black Adder quote mocking one of baldrick's (I think)ideas, referencing Lincoln...

"infact it's the worst idea since Abraham Lincoln said to his wife "I'm tired of kicking about the house, let's go take in a show.""

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sfw
13 March 2013 at 21:48

Great song, great singer Tuesday Blues indeed

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17 March 2013 at 12:19

It's strange for you to like such an educational film with so few explosions and special effects in! Good post though and great song. I love his voice, indeed worthy of TB

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