Visit to Stutthof Concentration Camp Museum

Last November, during our visit to Poland, we also went to see the Stutthof Concentration Camp Museum. It is definitely not a typical tourist destination at all.

If you do not know - a quick reminder on some history matters.

Nazi Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939.  The Nazis' plan was to annex Poland and get new living space for German citizens there. To make it possible, the idea was to annihilate all the Poles. Therefore, very soon after the invasion, the massive extermination of Polish people began, and the Stutthof concentration camp was created on Sept. 02, 1939. Prisoners were transported to the camp by trains.

What they found in the place is difficult to put in words. Starvation, extremely hard, slavery labor, the horrifying cruelty of Nazi guards, inhuman living conditions, exposure to extreme cold in the winter and many more horrible things and situations. Mentally disabled persons were killed with lethal phenol injections. It is not possible and I do not intend to describe it all in this short post.

'Death gate' leading to the camp

Prisoners' shoes

Since 1942, people from other parts of Poland and Europe were sent to Stutthof as well. All in all, 110,000 prisoners, citizens of 28 countries (including the USA) were registered at the camp. During the war, about 63,000 - 65,000 were killed there (28,000 of Jewish origin).

Crematoria

Gas chamber 

In January 1945, when the war front (and the Russians) was coming closer to the camp area, Nazis evacuated it. Prisoners had to walk in the freezing winter weather, no proper clothes, barefoot in the snow, exhaustion, and beating by guards - about 23,000 prisoners perished during the evacuation of the camp.

#1 camp surgery/death room, #2 art by a prisoner

We went to the museum by bus - Stutthof museum is situated near Sztutowo village (50 km from Gdańsk). The entrance to the museum is free. In November, due to the colder season, there were very few people visiting the place beside us. The weather was perfect as for that part of the year in Poland. It was cool but there was no wind, snow or rain either. We could walk around the area not being disturbed by anything or anybody.

My husband had never been to a concentration camp museum, I had been to the Stutthof museum quite a few times, with groups of my older students as such a field trip is also part of the Polish school curriculum (the museum is not recommended for children under 13 years old). However, when I had happened to be there with my students, I had to stay focused minding the teenagers more than watching the museum itself. So, although in different ways, it was the first type of such  'tourist experience' to both of us.

We visited the Stutthof museum on Thanksgiving Day. Learning what had happened there, we had so many things to be grateful for. More than one could usually think of.

Stutthof Museum website: http://stutthof.org/english

2016 Memories in Pictures by Klub Polki

2016 was a year with Klub Polki na Obczyźnie (The Polish Lady Abroad). It was a good year - full of common club projects, blogging ideas inspirations and mutual support. We found new friends in the Club as well.

Here are some recollections of the past year caught in pictures - check out The 2016 Gallery by Klub Polki.

We are there too. 👩

Movies Monthly: December 2016

What was on in December?

Vikings came back - according to us - with, so far, the most interesting season of all.

We watched a couple of the new MacGyver episodes. Just to see what the new series is like. Well, the main character looks as if he was 17 or 19 years old. When did he manage to learn all the MacGyver's stuff? The plot in the current series seems to be more developed than in the old one, with more characters around. It was interesting in a way. However, we preferred when each episode was a closed chapter. Thanks to that, if you missed a few episodes or watched them in a random order, you did not miss anything.

I did not like the visuals (additional info on what MacGyver did or used) added in the new series. Such visual elements seem to be common nowadays - written text messages, phone screen shots and such. I am not keen on that type of graphic effects in a movie as I find them disturbing/interrupting. My mind works more independently and less schematically than an iPhone - I do not need to see the text of the messages or somebody's face on the phone communicator, I am able to imagine things and understand them without a written tip given a movie screen.

All in all, the only real MacGyver is the original one.

Our shows of December were:

813. Judgement Night - 1993 (action, crime, drama), with Emilio Estevez.

815. Celtic Woman - Home for Christmas -  Concert in Ireland - a best Christmas show on our list.

822. The Age of Adeline - 2015 (drama, fantasy) - quite an interesting story.

850. Child 44 - 2015 (crime, thriller) - a very different detective story - set in the Soviet Union. With a very different detective (different from the other ones we watched).

854. Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir - another great music concert.

860. Hollow Crown -The War of the Roses: Richard III - a play by BBC - with a stunning role created by Benedict Cumberbatch.

873. Shaolin - 2011 (action, drama) - we thought it would be another movie with Jackie Chan - more or less similar to all the other ones - full of funny scenes and his adventures but Shaolin is not that kind of movie at all. Although J. Chan appears in it, his part is a minor one (well, yes, a few funny gags too). All the movie is about something else - without Chan's participation as the main actor. Chinese production with English subtitles - certainly worth watching.

In case if you do not know what the numbers next to the film titles mean - in December, we finished our 2016 counting project.

The results:
in the year 2016, we watched 878 various shows including different kinds of films, music concerts, documentaries, natural history shows, cartoons, and others. We would have watched more if we had not traveled in November.

This year I am planning to continue my Movies Monthly report, but I am not going to count the programs anymore.

How many movies did you watch last year?

December Photo Summary

December 2016 has just finished. You can see our Dec. recollections in the Photo Gallery by Klub Polki na Obczyznie (Polish Lady Abroad Club). The photos which create the Gallery were taken by club members (and ourselves) who live in various countries all over the world.

Visit December Gallery by Klub Polki!

Our November Visit in Poland

It is high time I wrote something about our trip to Poland. At the end of November, we went to my home city in the country to visit my mom and the place where I am from.

We met with family and friends - it was our early Christmas visit as well. Everybody showered us with presents and treated us with wonderful food. Such a good time!

The weather was quite pretty for this time of the year in the north of Europe so, besides walking around in my city, we also went to some places of interest - the medieval castle built by Teutonic Knights in Malbork - the largest brick castle in the world and the Stutthof concentration camp museum, in Sztutowo.

Malbork Castle - part of the outer walls

Stutthof - concentration camp museum - Death Gate

 I am going to write more about the two places in January.

In Gdansk, where we met my best friend, we went to Solidarity museum, visited the amber museum, and the 16th-century prison.

Solidarity museum in Gdańsk- part of the exhibition

Solidarity museum - replica of the Gdańsk shipyard gate

The time we spent with the friend of mine was truly wonderful. Thank you, Krysia!

My city had changed a bit - some stores and restaurants went out of business, some new ones were open. In one of them, an Italian pizza place, we were hosted by some family members. Well, we had never eaten such kind of pizza before. It was different but delicious indeed!

Friday - great evening (with Monia & Lubo) and talks again!

Both of us enjoyed seeing the view over the Stone Mountain again. The new electric car which had been built and is operated by the City took us (for free) to the top of the Mountain - previously we would have had to use kilometers of stairs.

Gdynia - view from Stone Mountain / Kamienna Góra

Each day of our visit in Poland was interesting and the time there passed by so quickly. Every day we did some sightseeing (we did a lot of walking), every evening it was family time. Each day was packed with cultural experiences and various kind of enjoyment. Finally, I was able to buy myself a few things which are not available in the States such as my favorite brands of European cosmetics for example.

Mom, thanks for everything! We had such a lovely time. Thank you for everything you do.

We very much enjoyed the entire stay only the travel was a bit oppressive - 24 hours and three plane connections from Dallas to Gdansk and then, the same 24-hour trip back home. Wish Poland was closer to Texas!

I am very glad we did our Christmas visit during the Thanksgiving week. If we had gone last Saturday, due to the recent Arctic weather front, we would possibly be stranded at the airport in Chicago, getting nervous and wasting our vacation time, waiting for the next flight to Germany. Obviously, it would have spoilt our plane connections and the entire visit in Poland as well.

Summarizing our travel, we were lucky - weather wise but not only. All went well. At the airports, and when in Poland. Great visit! Just wish could do it every year...

Many thanks to all our family and friends for your hospitality and the great time we spent together and all the gorgeous presents as well! 

Special kudos to my sister for the early Christmas feast delicacies. I had not eaten some of them for four years. 😀

 
More about the places of interest mentioned above - soon. :-)

Movies Monthly: November

In November, we reached #802*.

New series:

• Ashes to Ashes (BBC) - 2008 - about a lady police inspector who was shot and somehow, due to that, was moved in time - she was transferred to the beginning of the 80s. Lots of European music from that era included in the series soundtrack, nice to watch the fashion of the times as well. However, the main character - Alex Drake - the female police investigator most often wears (during work-time) the kind of clothes which in the 80s would have been worn at a night club or at a date not in an office. I guess, the series creators wanted the actress to look more attractive/less conservative but sometimes those outfits simply 'speak too loud'.

We managed to see the next three episodes of the Bourne series (although in rather accidental order):

• 744. The Bourne Ultimatum - 2007 (action)
• 752. The Bourne Supremacy - 2004 (action)
• 770. The Bourne Legacy - 2016 (action)

However, we still have not seen the newest Bourne made in 2016. Maybe we will, soon.

It was interesting to watch the old cartoons:

• 786. Popeye The Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves (1937) - duration 1 hour 21 min.
• 787. Popeye The sailor Meets Sindbad The Sailor (1936) - duration about 97 minutes.

Funny stories. New (at that time), 3D-like way of making cartoons which were as long as regular movies too.

Our Movies of the Month 

764. The Revenant - 2016 (adventure) - quite a different story/ movie, with lots of plot twists and turns. How could anybody survive such a struggle, fighting people and elements?

785. Battleship Potemkin - 1925 (drama) - a silent movie very different from the films made at the same time in the west. When you watch it, you have an impression you are watching an interesting documentary, not moving pictures/ a movie. The drama includes a first ever filmed scene - a baby carriage rolling down the stairs, which was copied later also in 'Untouchables'.

Sergei M. Eisnstein, the director of  Potemkin, made another great piece a few years later, in 1938. It was Alexander Nevsky with the epic 13th-century battle scenes on the frozen and cracking river. Wish we could see it again too.

The weakest film

769. Power, Passion & Murder - 1987 (drama), with Michelle Pfeiffer.

Very slow plot - we were waiting it would develop into something interesting but, instead of it, the film just suddenly ended. It was quite disappointing and a waste of time too. Considering, M. Pfeiffer was in it, we had expected something better. I assume, it is one of her worst movies. Not only the plot is weak but also the wardrobe, the clothes she is dressed in the movie, make her look awful.

On the other hand, Power, Passion & Murder is still better than Gravity as it, at least, contains more sophisticated lines than the latter one.

* It means that we had watched that many various shows by the end of November. 

Movies Monthly: September

By the end of September, we reached no. 692. Which means that during the past 2016 months, we had watched that many movies - various ones.

Detective stories 

New (to us) series started:

• Inspector Lynley (BBC)
• New Tricks (BBC)
• Murdoch Mysteries - season 5 (Canadian production) - I am glad, the next part of his 'adventures' is being shown. 

Besides, Father Brown came back in September too.

Dramas

Poldark II (BBC) and Indian Summers II (BBC again) began.

Comedy shows

We enjoyed more jokes by Yakov Smirnoff:

605. Yakov Smirnoff - Just of the Boat

Most interesting movies of September

606. The Truman Show - 1998 (drama, SF) - with J. Carrey - directed by Peter Weir

608. The Bounty - 1984 (drama), with Mel Gibson - directed by Roger Donaldson

610. Lord of the Rings. The Fellowship of the Ring - 2001 (fantasy) - directed by Peter Jackson

636. Unforgiven - 1992 (western) - with C. Eastwood and G. Hackman - directed by C. Eastwood

638. The Secret Garden - 1993 (drama, family) - directed by Agnieszka Holland - In our opinion, it is the best movie version of the novel.

649. The Forger - 2015 (drama), with J. Travolta - directed by P. D'Ovidio

654. The Strip - 1951 (crime) - directed by Laszlo Kardos

662. Trail of the Pink Panther - 1982 (comedy) - directed by Blake Edwards.
The outfits worn by A. Hepburn in the movie were made by de Givenchy. Most quite wonderful, except the white one + the white hat, showed at the very beginning of the movie.

671. K-19 The Widowmaker - 2002 (drama, biography), with H. Ford - directed by Kathryn Bigelow

674. The Conversation - 1974 (thriller) - with G. Hackman - directed by F. F. Coppola

679.A Song to Remember - 1945 (drama, music) - directed by Charles Vidor
It is not a biography - the Chopin's life story pictured in the movie was not true, just made up by the filmmakers. But the music was real and only because of the compositions by Chopin I found the movie interesting.

Radio Pictures

669. Wide Open - 1930 (comedy)
670. The Roar of the Dragon - 1932 (adventure), directed by Wesley Ruggles
688. Gunga Din - 1939 (adventure) - directed by George Stevens - based on the poem by R. Kipling.

We had watched quite a few movies by Radio Picture/Radio Pictures - all of them were exquisite or really good. That is why, whenever we see at the beginning of the film, that it is a Radio Pictures production, we can expect it should be an interesting show. Considering the three movies listed above, we were not disappointed either. We especially Gunga Din, both the story and the character of that name as well.

Movies Monthly: August

I am still counting the movies we watch, just to find out whether the number reaches 1,000 by the end of the year. So far, we have seen 602 various films and tv shows.

In August, I asked members of The Polish Lady Abroad Club what their favorite detectives and detective stories were (the ladies, born in Poland, live in various countries/ all continents). I created a mini poll, listing a few series which the two of us enjoyed watching. Here are the voting results:

1. Columbo - 5 votes
2. Sherlock Holmes (traditional version) - 3 votes
3. Hercule Poirot - 2
4. Father Brown -1

0 votes:

• Midsomer Murders
• Murdoch Mysteries
• Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
• Miss Marple
• Whitechapel

Apparently, the ladies either did not know the 0 votes series or they did not find them interesting. Or both. However, they named other crime and detective stories which they liked:

• Bron/ The Bridge (original Swedish version) - 6 likes/votes

• 5 votes: Twin Peaks

• 4 votes - Sherlock (newest series) , Dexter, The Mentalist,

• 3 votes - Dempsey & Makepeace, Monk,

• 2 votes each: The Bridge (American version), True Detective, The Killing, Wallander, Father Dowling Mysteries,

• 1 vote each: Hannibal, Ripper Street, CSI, Murder She Wrote, Gotham, Bones.

One could say - as many people, as many likes. I also watched some series mentioned above when I lived in Poland (Twin Peaks, Monk, Bron, Wallander, CSI-LA, Dempsey & Makepeace). In some cases, having seen a few episodes, I skipped following them, as they were not of my interest (Dexter).A long time ago, my favorite series was Father Dowling Mysteries as well. I have tried to find it on the local TV channels since I came to Texas, but so far - only a Christmas episode was aired last December.

Our movies of August were:

563. Brooklyn - 2015 (drama) - directed by John Crowley
590. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - 1993 (SF) - directed by Steven Spielberg
591. The Bourne Identity - 2002 (action) - by Doug Liman
592. The Pink Panther Strikes Again - 1976 (comedy) - directed by Blake Edwards
595. Braveheart - 1995 (drama) - directed by Mel Gibson
598.  Mars Attacks - 1996 (SF, comedy) - directed by Tim Burton
600. Forrest Gump - 1994 (drama) - directed by Robert Zemeckis

Other shows:

The 33 - directed by Patricia Riggen. A true story of 33 miners who survived in a collapsed mine for over two months.

• 539. The 33 - 1945 (biography)

Yakov Smirnoff - We had not heard about this comedian before. His stand up shows made us laugh loud, many times. Totally our kind of humor - no bad language or low jokes just pure word play. Hilarious!

• 599. Yakov Smirnoff: What a Country - 1996 (comedy)

 Ted 2 -  Not our cup of tea at all. We watched only about a half of the movie - we did not find it funny (although we knew when we were supposed to laugh, we did not), so we stopped watching it.

• 580. Ted 2 - 2015 (comedy)

The Tunnel (detective story) - the second season of this British-French series ended. We also enjoyed watching the final season of Inspector Lewis with Kevin Whately and Lawrence Fox

Are You Being Served (British comedy series) - in our opinion, John Inman as Mr. Humphries was the funniest character in the series, and a very talented actor as well.

•  552. Are You Being Served: Bliss Girl - 1978 (comedy)
•  573. Are You Being Served: Happy Returns - 1978 (comedy)

 

Curious documentaries:

The Olympics Berlin, 1936 - It was strange to learn that many things - which we had thought had been part of the Olympics since always - the Olympics torch, festive openings and such, were actually first time introduced by the Nazis in 1936.

• 546.  The Nazi Games - Berlin 1936 - 2016 (documentary)

 

Nazi Secret Files - little-known facts about Nazis, their ideas, and developments.

• 537. Nazi Secret Files: Nazi Killer Bugs (documentary),
• 593. Nazi Secret Files: Hitler's Messiah Complex - 2016 (documentary),
• 601. Nazi Secret Files - 2016 (documentary) 

• 564. Evolution of Evil - part 1 - 2014 (documentary)
• 565. Evolution of Evil - part 2 - 2014 (documentary)

What was your movie of the month?

Movies Monthly: July

Our Movies of July:

Schindler's List - directed by Steven Spielberg,

Woman in Gold - directed by Simon Curtis,

Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars - directed by Brian Henson

Apocalypse WWI - written by Isabelle Clarke and Daniel Costelle.

Trees in July

In July, we finished watching Farscape. We not only managed to see the episodes we had missed, we also watched the final, 4th season. The two parts of The Peacekeeper Wars were like two cherries at the top of a great cake. They were the best of all the series!
Anyway, I think Farscape is the best SF series ever and I do not really know why we had not heard about it before. Maybe it was not advertised much?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - the turtles' costumes seem so obsolete nowadays...

Scream - we usually do not watch horrors. This one could be better, even being a horror. What spoilt the entire film (at least in my opinion), was the age of 'teenage' cast. The actors in their twenties/ thirties pretending high school kids were not convincing to me at all. The worst part of it were the men, who might be 30+, trying to copy 'brainless' teenage behavior. That was why I found the horror funny and rather fake instead of thrilling.

The Tunnel is based on the Swedish series The Bridge which I saw in Poland. Fortunately, the plot of The Tunnel is not a total copy of the original idea. It has been altered in a way which makes watching the series interesting and involving.

Apocalypse WWI - the two part documentary is a compilation of the original movies shot during the war. My great grandpa fought in WWI.  He lived in the part of Poland which was under Prussian rule, that was why he was drafted into the Prussian army. Like many other soldiers, great grandpa never came back home from the war. He was killed somewhere, maybe in some French forests. We do not know exactly where. All in all, whenever I watch video materials showing real WWI scenes and battlefields, I tend to think: ' Maybe one of those soldiers or dead corpses was him - Anton Dybowski, my great grandpa?'

My great grandfather

Colors (related to movie genres) which I use in my diary notes:

Action
Adventure
Comedy
Documentary
Detective/Crime Story
Drama
Biography
Fantasy, SF
Family
History
Horror
Musical/Concert
Thriller
War 
Western
Cartoon

420. Farscape: PK Tech Girl - 1999 (SF, adventure)
421. Farscape: Thank God It's Friday Again - 1999 (SF, adventure)
422. 007: Tomorrow Never Dies - 1997 (action)
423. Gentleman Prefer Blondes - 1953 (comedy)
424. Farscape: I, E.T. - 1999 (SF, adventure)
425. The Rundown - 2003 (comedy, action)
426. Some Like It Hot - 1959 (comedy)
427. In Harm's Way - 1965 (war)
428. Desperado - 1995 (action)
429. Midsomer Murders: Midsomer Rhapsody, part 1 - 2005 (detective story)
430. Midsomer Murders: Midsomer Rhapsody, part 2 - 2005 (detective story)

431. K-9 - 1989 (comedy)
432. Scream - 1996 (horror)
433. A Tale of Two Kittens - 1942 (cartoon)
434. A Corny Concerto - 1943 (cartoon)
435. A Rabbit Who Came to Supper - 1942 (cartoon)
436. The Three Bears - 1935 (cartoon)
437. The Impatient Patient - 1942 (cartoon)
438. The Case of Missing Hare - 1942 (cartoon)
439. The New Three Stooges - 1965 (family/cartoon)
440. another old (cartoon)

441. The Enchanted Square - 1945 (cartoon)
442. Casper: The Friendly Ghost - 1945 (cartoon)
443. Scrapily Married - 1945 (cartoon)
444. The Tunnel - part 1 - 2016 (crime story)
445.  Farscape: DNA Mad Scientist - 1999 (SF, adventure)
446.  Farscape: They've Got a Secret - 1999 (SF, adventure)
447. The Tunnel - part 2 - 2016 (crime story)
448. The Tunnel - part 3 - 2016 (crime story)
449. Shrek 2 - 2004 (family, animation)
450. Triple Cross - 1966 (war)

451. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - 1990 (family)
452. Midsomer Murders: The House in the Woods, part 1 - 2005 (detective story)
453. Midsomer Murders: The House in the Woods, part 2 - 2005 (detective story)
454. Seinfeld - Pilot - 1989 (comedy)
455. Seinfeld: The Steakout - 1990 (comedy)
456. Seinfeld: The Robbery - 1990 (comedy)
457. Seinfeld: The Male Unbonding - 1990 (comedy)
458. Seinfeld: The Stock Tip - 1990 (comedy)
459. Seinfeld: The Ex-Girl Friend - 1991 (comedy)
460. Seinfeld: The Pony Remark - 1991 (comedy)

461. Seinfeld: The Jacket - 1991 (comedy)
462. Seinfeld: The Phone Message - 1991 (comedy)
463. Seinfeld: The Apartment - 1991 (comedy)
464. Seinfeld: The Statue - 1991 (comedy)
465. Seinfeld: The Revenge - 1991(comedy)
466. The Brothers Karamazov - 1958 (drama)
467. Paddington - 2014 (family)
468. Seinfeld: The Heart Attack - 1991 (comedy)
469. Seinfeld: The Deal - 1991 (comedy)
470. Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, part 1 - 2004 (SF, adventure)

471. Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars, part 2 - 2004 (SF, adventure)
472. Black Mass - 2015 (biography, crime)
473. Seinfeld: The Baby Shower - 1991 (comedy)
474. Seinfeld: The Chinese Restaurant - 1991 (comedy)
475. The Tunnel - part 4 - 2016 (crime story)
476. Seinfeld: The Stranded- 1991 (comedy)
477. Endeavour II: Trove - 2014 (detective story)
478. Endeavour II: Nocturne - 2014 (detective story)
489. Endeavour III: Trove - 2014 (detective story)
480. Endeavour III: Ride - 2016 (detective story)

481. Endeavour III: Arcadia - 2016 (detective story)
482. Endeavour III: Prey - 2016 (detective story)
483. Endeavour III: Code - 2016 (detective story)
484. Shrek The Third - 2007 (family/ animation)
485. Heaven Can Wait - 1978 (comedy)
486. The War - 1994 (drama)
487. The Odd Couple - 1968 (comedy)
488. The Alamo, part 2 - 1960 (history)
499. The Roman Invasion of Britain: Dominion - 2009 (documentary)
500. The Roman Invasion of Britain: Onslaught - 2009 (documentary)

501. Special Agent - 1935 (crime story)
502. The Tunnel - part 5 - 2016 (crime story)
503. We Who Are About to Die - 1937 (crime story)
504. The Roman Invasion of Britain: Revolt - 2010 (documentary)
506. Schindler's List - 1993 (drama)****
507. Everest - 2015 (drama)
508. Still the King: Gues Who's Coming to Dinner - 2016 (comedy)
509. Still the King: Take Your daughter to Your Work Day - 2016 (comedy)
510. Still the King: A Family a Fair - 2016 (comedy)

511. Five Graves to Cairo - 1943 (war)
512. Buck Privates - 1941 (comedy, musical)
513. Entourage - 2015 (comedy)
514. Shallow Water Invasion - 2016 (documentary)
515. The Ipcress File - 1965 (thriller)
516. Wrath of a Great White Serial Killer: Sharkopedia - 2016 (documentary)
517. Woman in Gold - 2015 (biography, drama)****
518. Still the King: The King Has Left the Building - 2016 (comedy)
519. Still the King: Mother Trucker - 2016 (comedy)
520. Still the King: Hands on a Hard Vessel - 2016 (comedy)

521. The Absent Minded Professor - 1961 (comedy)
522. MacGyver: Harry's Will - 1990 (adventure)
523. Nazi Secret Files: Hitler and the Aryan Myth - 2016 (documentary)
524. Trouble Makers - 1948 (comedy)
525. The Love Parade - 1929 (musical)
526. Nazi Secret Files: Hitler's Death Ray - 2016 (documentary)
527. Forbidden History: Hitler: Suicide or Survivor? - 2016 (documentary)
528. Meet the Hitlers - 2014 (documentary)
529. Asphalt Jungle - 1950 (crime story)****
530. Forbidden History: The Real Arch of Covenant - 2016 (documentary)

531. It's Always Fair Weather - 1955 (musical)
532. Sudden Death - 1995 (action)
533. Apocalypse WWI, part 1 - 2016 (documentary)****
534. Apocalypse WWI, part 2 - 2016 (documentary)****
535. Billy Budd - 1962 (drama)
534. The Tunnel - part 6 - 2016 (crime story)

Movies Monthly: June 2016

In June, we continued watching Farscape. It is quite strange, neither of us had heard about the series before.
On the other hand, we decided to quit following the BBC made Top Gear. Why? With the new crew, the show is not what it used to be at all. We enjoyed it when it was funny and entertaining. Since we found the newest episodes uninteresting, there was no point in watching the British Top Gear any more.

Solaris - with George Clooney - directed by Steve Soderbergh, is based on one of my favorite SF novels by Stanisław Lem (Polish writer). The screened version is a bit different to the book though. In my opinion, it made the plot more curious. The book itself is full of descriptions and mental divagations of the main character. It is quite involving when you read it, but it would be difficult to make an interesting movie out of it.

Some time ago, in 1972, Russian film makers did create a filmed version of the Solaris novel (and they kept the original story line). We have seen it as well - it was quite a production. The point is, in the seventies, the audience was a bit different from the nowadays one. There were no computers and computer effects in films, so people who watched movies, expected to see different things than they do today. And they also found different things interesting. That is why I am not surprised, the newer Solaris needed to be adopted to put it on the screen.

Our movies of the month:

• The Intern - directed by Nancy Meyers, with Robert de Niro and Ann Hathaway;
• Saving Private Ryan - directed by Steven Spielberg, with Tom Hanks among others;
• The Hiding Place - directed by James F. Collier - based on a true story of two Dutch sisters (never heard of it before).

 

Best series of the month:

Farscape of course - made in Australia - main stars: Ben Browder, Claudia Black, Anthony Simcoe, Gigi Edgley, Wayne Pygram and Virginia Hey.

P.S.

1. I forgot to mention, that the animation/fairy tales based movies, which we watched in June, seem to be examples of 'traditional means boring'. Prince Charming pictured as an idiot, Cinderella prefers a life of single mother than being a Princess. Who needs a fairy tale if everybody knows it? I hope children still do. In other way, the (real) old bed time stories soon will be forgotten.

2. The Riot Club - in my opinion, , more adequate title would be 'Moral Rot Club'.

Colors (related to movie genres) which I use in my diary notes:
Action
Adventure
Comedy
Documentary
Detective/Crime Story
Drama
Biography
Fantasy, SF
Family
History
Horror
Musical/Concert
Thriller
War 
Western
Family

397. Farscape: Losing Time - 2001 (SF, adventure)

398. Farscape: Relativity - 2001 (SF, adventure)
399. Farscape: Incubator - 2001 (SF, adventure)
340. Farscape: Meltdown - 2001 (SF, adventure)

341. MacGyver: The Odd Triple - 1988 (adventure)
342. Midsomer Murders: Sauce for the Goose, part 1 - 2005 (detective story)
343. Midsomer Murders: Sauce for the Goose, part 2 - 2005 (detective story)
344. Ice Sation Zebra - 1968 (thriller)****
345. Farscape: Scratch'N'Shift - 2001 (SF, adventure)
346. Farscape: Infinite Possibilities, part 1 - 2001 (SF, adventure)
347. Farscape: Infinite Possibilities, part 2 - 2001 (SF, adventure)  
348. Secrets: America's Lost Pyramid - 2016 (documentary)
349. Farscape: Revenging Angel - 2001 (SF, adventure)
350. The Martian - 2015 (SF)

351. Soapdish - 1991 (comedy)
352. The Major and the Minor - 1942 (comedy)
353. Murder She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery - 2016 (detective story)
354. Seven Sweethearts - 1942 (musical)
355. Are You Being Served: Takeover - 1977 (comedy)
356. Farscape: The Choice - 2001 (SF, adventure)
357. Farscape: Fractures - 2001 (SF, adventure)
358. Diagnosis Murder: Retribution, part 1 - 1998 (detective story)
359. Diagnosis Murder: Retribution, part 2 - 1998 (detective story)
360. The Duff - 2015 (comedy)

361. Are You Being Served: Goodbye Mr. Grainger - 1977 (comedy)
362. Top Gear: Postal - 2016 (documentary)
363. The Intern - 2015 (drama)****
364. The Riot Club - 2014 (drama)
365. Pound of Flash - 2010 (drama)
366. Farscape: I-Yensch, You-Yensch - 2002 (SF, adventure)
367. Farscape: Into the Lion's Den: Lambs to the Slaughter, part 1 - 2002 (SF, adventure)
368. Farscape: Into the Lion's Den: Wolf in Sheep's Clothes, part 2 - 2002 (SF, adventure)
369. Into the Woods - 2014 (fantasy, musical)
370. Farscape: Dog with Two Bones - 2002 (SF, adventure)

371. BBC Top Gear - 2016 (documentary)
372. The Woman's World - 1954 (drama)
373. Happily N'Ever After - 2007 (family)
374. Are You Being Served: It Pays to Advertise - 1977 (comedy)
375. What Women Want - 2000 (comedy)
376. Farscape: Crichton Kicks - 2002 (SF, adventure)
377. Farscape: What Was Lost: Part 1 Sacrifice - 2002 (SF, adventure)
378. Kangaroo Jack - 1979 (comedy)
379. Farscape: What Was Lost: Part 2 Resurrection - 2002 (SF, adventure)
380. Farscape: Lava's a Many Splendored Thing - 2002 (SF, adventure)

381. The 'Burbs - 1989 (comedy)
382. Farscape: Promises - 2002 (SF, adventure)
383. Farscape: Natural Election - 2002 (SF, adventure)
384. Farscape: John Quixote - 2002 (SF, adventure)
385. Farscape: I Think Therefore I Am - 2002 (SF, adventure)
386. Solaris - 2002 (SF)
387. Farscape: A Perfect Murder - 2002 (SF, adventure)
388. Farscape: Coup by Clam - 2002 (SF, adventure)
389. True Lies - 1994 (action)
390. Bean - 1997 (comedy)

391. Far and Away 1992 (drama)
392. E.T. - 1982 (SF)
393. Con Air - 1997 (action)
394. Farscape: Unrealized Reality - 2002 (SF, adventure)
395. Farscape: Kansas - 2002 (SF, adventure)
396. The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again - 1979 (comedy)
397. Farscape: Terra Firma - 2003 (SF, adventure)
398. Farscape: Twice Shy - 2003 (SF, adventure)
399. Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm - 1938 (comedy)
400. Farscape: Mental as Anything - 2003 (SF, adventure)

401. Farscape: Bringing Home the Beacon - 2003 (SF, adventure)
402. Dr. Dollitle - 2001 (comedy)
403. Farscape: A Constelation of Doubt - 2003 (SF, adventure)
404. Farscape: Prayer - 2003 (SF, adventure)
405. Jerry Maguire - 1996 (comedy)
406. Farscape: We're So Screwed, part 1: Fatal Attraction - 2003 (SF, adventure)
407. Farscape: We're So Screwed, part 2: Hot to Katratzi - 2003 (SF, adventure)
408. Saving Private Ryan - 1998 (war)
409. The Hiding Place - 1975 (war, drama)
410. North to Alaska - 1960 (western)

411. The Alamo, part 1 - 1960 (history)
412. My Hero: It's All in the Mind - 2003 (comedy)
413. Farscape: We're So Screwed, part 3: La Bomba - 2003 (SF, adventure)
414. Farscape: Bad Timing - 2003 (SF, adventure)
415. My Hero: Space Virus - 2003 (comedy)
416. Driven - 2001 (drama)*
417. Nurse Betty - 2000 (comedy)
418. Farscape: Back and Back and Back to the Future - 2003 (SF, adventure)
419. Farscape: Throne for a Loss - 2003 (SF, adventure)