Showing posts with label Dazzle Ships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dazzle Ships. Show all posts
May 30, 2025
October 9, 2024
20,000 vinyl LPs 375: The Philadelphia Experiment & Michael Paré
~
vinyl LP front cover detail
cover photo by
photo of album cover by Styrous®
Today, October 9, is the birthday of American actor Michael Paré; he starred in three of my favorite movies; two rock & roll films, Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) and Streets of Fire (1984), and a great Sci-Fi film, The Philadelphia Experiment (1984).
It is actual fact that during the two world wars of the twentieth century, German submarines would torpedo transport ships and sink them. In an attempt to avoid this, both the United States and Britain created camouflaged "dazzle" ships (link below).
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USS West Mahomet - 1918
photographer unknown
The Philadelphia Experiment is based on an urban legend some believe to have actually happened. The legend involves an experiment conducted by the U. S. Navy during WWII in 1943 to render a destroyer escort, the USS Eldridge,
invisible to radar, however, a malfunction causes the ship to disappear
with disastrous consequences. The film is a recreation of this event
and its consequences (link below).
_underway,_circa_in_1944.jpg)
The
film score is, of course, very dark and sinister and the
special effects are quite remarkable, although the result of the
experiment is extremely creepy!
Paré was born on October 9, 1958, in Brooklyn, New York and was a fan of James Dean, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Paul Newman, and Robert Mitchum, and felt he was "a kindred spirit" to them. He was working as a chef in New York City when he met talent agent Yvette Bikoff, who convinced him to try acting. In the early 1980s, he studied acting under Uta Hagen.
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Side 1:
A1 - The Experiment
A2 - The Eldridge Remains
A3 - David Confronts The Past
A4 - The Vortex And Escape
A5 - Tender Moment
A6 - The Doctor Reflects
A7 - The Chase
A2 - The Eldridge Remains
A3 - David Confronts The Past
A4 - The Vortex And Escape
A5 - Tender Moment
A6 - The Doctor Reflects
A7 - The Chase
Side 2:
B1 - Storming The Compound
B2 - Fugitives In Love
B3 - Decision
B4 - David's Father
B5 - Fate Of The Vortex
B6 - David Makes A Choice / End Title
Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Abbey Road Studios
Credits:
Composed By, Conductor – Ken Wannberg
Edited By [Music Editor] – John R. Harris
Orchestrated By – Albert Woodbury
Performer – National Philharmonic Orchestra Of London*
Producer – Ken Wannberg, Len Engel
Recorded By – Eric Tomlinson
Remix – Len Engel
Notes:
Contempo Recording CO, Los Angeles
Original Music Recorded at Abbey Road Studios, London
Ken Wannberg – The Philadelphia Experiment (Original Soundtrack)
Label: Rhino Records (2) – RNSP 306
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Modern Classical
Styrous® ~ Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Label: Rhino Records (2) – RNSP 306
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1984
Genre: Electronic, Stage & Screen
Style: Soundtrack, Modern Classical
Viewfinder links:
September 3, 2024
Dazzle Ships articles/mentions
Dazzle ships, Vorticist art & BLAST
mentions:
Gavin Bryars ~ The Sinkinig of the Titanic
USS West Mahomet - 1918
photographer unknown
Styrous® ~ Friday, September 10, 2021
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May 13, 2024
November 14, 2023
Wyndham Lewis articles/mentions
mentions:
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) ~ Dazzle Ships
Wyndham Lewis - 1913
photo by George Charles Beresford
John Graham Kerr articles/mentions
mentions:
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) ~ Dazzle Ships
John Graham Kerr - 1917
photo by Walter Stoneman
Henri Gaudier-Brzeska articles/mentions
mentions:
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) ~
date & photographer unknown
Edward Wadsworth articles/mentions
mentions:
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) ~
date & photographer unknown
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti articles/mentions
mentions:
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) ~
date & photographer unknown
March 1, 2021
November 1, 2018
1,001 LaserDiscs 8: Titanic
photos by
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ship during its maiden voyage.
The film premiered on November 1, 1997, at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where reaction was described as "tepid" by The New York Times but positive reviews started to appear back in the United States. The official Hollywood premiere occurred on December 14, 1997. Upon its release, Titanic achieved critical and commercial success but the film has been derided by some as fluff, which it may be. However, I did not think of the film as fluff in any way. True, it is highly fictionalized, but that is part and parcel of what film makers do to make a film more interesting; one must have a suspension of disbelief if one is going to enjoy a movie. I can watch PBS if I want a documentary.
I loved it for many reasons. The facts of the cause of the sinking are true; the score composed by James Horner is brilliant and the love theme, My Heart Will Go On, sung by Celine Dion, is excruciatingly dramatic and beautiful. To say noting of the Special Effects which are astounding!
Since I was a kid, I have been enamored with the story, legend, mystery or whatever you want to call it, of the event that happened on April 14, 1912, the day the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg, sank the next day and took more than 1,500 people with it.
Also, my "niece", Lex, took us to see it when it opened. She was 13 or so at the time and had used money she had saved up from her weekly allowance to treat us. It is one of the sweet things I have experienced in my life and it is for this, if nothing else, that I love the film.
The film premiered on November 1, 1997, at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where reaction was described as "tepid" by The New York Times but positive reviews started to appear back in the United States. The official Hollywood premiere occurred on December 14, 1997. Upon its release, Titanic achieved critical and commercial success but the film has been derided by some as fluff, which it may be. However, I did not think of the film as fluff in any way. True, it is highly fictionalized, but that is part and parcel of what film makers do to make a film more interesting; one must have a suspension of disbelief if one is going to enjoy a movie. I can watch PBS if I want a documentary.
I loved it for many reasons. The facts of the cause of the sinking are true; the score composed by James Horner is brilliant and the love theme, My Heart Will Go On, sung by Celine Dion, is excruciatingly dramatic and beautiful. To say noting of the Special Effects which are astounding!
Since I was a kid, I have been enamored with the story, legend, mystery or whatever you want to call it, of the event that happened on April 14, 1912, the day the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg, sank the next day and took more than 1,500 people with it.
Also, my "niece", Lex, took us to see it when it opened. She was 13 or so at the time and had used money she had saved up from her weekly allowance to treat us. It is one of the sweet things I have experienced in my life and it is for this, if nothing else, that I love the film.
The Titanic ~ LaserDisc album cover is a gatefold format which I love because more information and photos are available . . .
The cast is excellent but for me the standout was Kathy Bates, whom I have loved for decades. She was perfectly cast as Margaret "Molly" Brown, a real-life person on board the Titanic when it sank and who was nicknamed The Unsinkable Molly Brown by the media after the sinking. A Broadway musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, was written about her; Tammy Grimes portrayed Brown.
I have always loved ships, however, I have only had one experience with one; It was a voyage from Cyprus to Israel in 2000 and it was stunning.
I have an article I've written on the Viewfiner about the World War I and II Dazzle Ships as well as the vinyl LP album by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark which was based on them (links below).
Titanic ~ LaserDisc 1
Titanic ~ LaserDisc 2
NY Times ~ A Spectacle As Sweeping As the Sea review
Hollywood Reprter ~ Titanic: THR's 1997 Review Rotten Tomatoes ~ Titanic review
RollingStone ~ Titanic review
Titanic (1997) Sinking Scenes (8 min., 49 sec.)
Titanic Sinking Scene - Part 1 (9 min., 50 sec.)
Titanic Behind the scenes Part 1 (31 min., 16 sec.) Titanic: Behind the Scenes Part 2 of 2 (4 min., 19 sec.)
Celine Dion ~ My Heart Will Go On
This is dedicated to Lex!
Styrous® ~ Thursday, November 1, 2018
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