80's Martial Arts

Hi Bloggers,

Hope this finds you in the pinnacle of whatever you do!

Today i would like to discuss with you all a movie.

It in the strictest terms can be categorised in the Action-Adventure genre of movie-viewing.

The movie in hand is "No Retreat No Surrender."The script was penned by the trio of See-Yuen Ng, Keith W. Strandberg and Corey Yuen. It was directed by Corey Yuen himself. While it was produced by See-Yuen Ng.

One last production detail is that its studio was New World Pictures. It was released on 2nd May, 1985.

There were are a lot of martial arts movie being made in Hollywood by the industry's collaboration with Hong-kong based filmakers or studios.

The legendary Bruce Lee had started it all!

The movie if told in a nutshell will appear somewhat like this:

Jason Stillwell(Kurt Mckiney) , a Bruce-Lee fan, is beaten a numerous times and trains from the spirit of the legendary martial artist.

Jason then, must use his new-found capabilities to fight a crime-syndicate, whose top martial artist is Ivan(given in the cast credits as Ivan the Russian!) played by the rugged Jean-Claude Vandamme.

This is just lesser than a nuttshell understanding of the story.The story is for you all to watch.

I will be delighted to give you a little detailed understanding or to put it this way, my non-rigid understanding of the story.

The story takes off when Jason Stillwell, a Bruce-Lee fan finds himself helpless to protect his father from the Russian syndicate which includes its fighter, Ivan from pressurising him via muscle-power to hand over his little Karate-centre in Los Angeles.

The family leaves the city to head for a quiet life in Seattle. Jason's father's leg is broken by Ivan and he has no option left for teachng martial-arts.

A strange grit and a determination of sorts inculcates in Jason's soul throughout this whole experience.

He makes varied friends in the vicinity as R.J.(J.W. Fails) He also earns some tormentors as the fat-bully who is jealous on his knack for martial arts( he is learning in the seattle centre!) as well as on R.J.

Jason unable to keep his lack of practise heads for the local centre which has produced state-level champions including the current one!

There he is pissed of by the fat-bully who takes his revenge on both Jason and R.J.He tells the coach there that jason beat him up on the heated arguement that, L.A. Karate is better than Seattle's!

This angers him and the unknowing Jason is told to fight the peak-level Light-weight champion of the centre.Obviously, our hero is beaten because of his amateur-level.The fat-bully's mission to emberass him is accomplished as Jason doesn't get admitted there.

R.J. sticks with him through thick and thin.

Jason is again humiliated, beaten and insulted in his Girlfriend Kelly's Birthday by the same group of tormentors. As he is no match against the trained players who are the fat-guy's friends he leaves with a heavy heart with some failed and erratic resitance to them!

He once visited Bruce-Lee's Grave with R.J. in town. He again heads for the venue.

He breaks down at his epitaph and tells Bruce that he is a loser!

Back home it is no better, as his father seeing his torn clothes and bruises assumes that his son has had been the bully!

It was natural as he was still shaken by his encounter with the cold-blooded syndicate and was afraid of his son's plight.

He tears the posters of Bruce-Lee in the storehouse outside their home where Jason trains and throws the wooden-dummy where he would practise locking, kicking and punching techniques tirelessly alog with other implements.

Saddened by all these, Jason heads for R.J's place. He asks him a place to store his things needed for practice.

R.J. helps him in getting a temporarily abandoned room of a friend large enough to serve the purpose.

Jason while in the room tired and hapless is visited by the ghost of his idol, Bruce-Lee himself!

Bruce-Lee much to the bewilderment of his fan says that as he called for him by a true heart, lo!he was there to train him.

Rigorous lessons follow. Starting from the rectification of Jason's conventional techniques to the incorporation of new-ones. Bruce-Lee's training sequences are memorable, for he uses his uncanny style often seen in his movies coupled with knowledge attributed to simple, commonplace and often neglected elements.With his unique style, he not only trains him physically but toughens him mentally by clearing his pre-concieved notions.

The witty one-liners of Bruce-Lee intact and Jason becomes an arsenal complete with the fatal-kick which Bruce-Lee expertised in. It was executed when the other leg is being blocked with the player landing a kick on the chin of the opponent by somewhat propelling himself with balance and precision.

The last scenes are a treat for action-lovers as Jason fights Ivan in the state tournament when every Seattle champion is knocked off by his lethal fighting-skills.

Jason with the same panache and technique-execution as Lee counters Ivan's moves.

Sidelined, Ivan goes for the kill and tries to keep Jason at bay by entangling him in the ropes of the ring and punching his jaw constantly.

To the delight of the positive and indomitable element in Jason, R.J. yells:

Jase, " No Retreat No Surrender ", charging our hero with much needed adrenailine!

Jason strikes with renewed passion and suceeds in knocking him off by landing the specialised kick of Lee on his chin!

He proves his point in a constructive and justified manner.

The hallmark of the production is the music-score by artist, Paul Gilreath. These were typical 80's energetic compositions which so many generations have grown up listening to!

The title-track stand on your own is nostalgic and truly inspiring with the added delight of Gilreath's instrumentals peculiar of 80's pop-rock genre.

Movies on martial arts against all odds are plenty like this productions contemporary, the Karate Kid.

They ran on moral themes with an underdog protagonist having the last laugh.Many youths grew on these movies and tried to emulate the lead characters!

80's was a fantastic phase for pop-culture including unorthodox martial arts, street fighting, comic-book culture, T.V. sitcoms, break-dance etc.

This film is different because the ordinary youth can identify with Jason's character. He has the simple aspirations to get better each day like the ambitious and enthusiastic boy-next door.

The Weak points of the movie can be the tone of its dialogues.They appear campy at places.

The sound-impact of the kicks and punches sound like hitting wooden surfaces.That is something to do with the production values.

The performance of Jason's father (Timothy D.Baker) appear unconvincing as regards his dialogue delivery and corresponding expressions.

The supernatural element of Bruce-Lee's ghost coming to the aid of jason was something new, unused in other martial-arts franchise of that period.

This production led to the making of two more franchises under the same title, but they were not sequels to this story.

Anyway, it was indeed a nostalgic movie for some generations.

I will recommend you all to watch it and relive the magic of the 80's!

Happy viewing!

Peace.

Here 's the original trailer of the movie:

Shield Slinging Sentinel!

Origins of some Food !

Hello Everybody,

What's up!

I thought let me discuss with you all something about Food.

To start with , "Biryani" which is a famous oriental dish has got a great fanfare in India-the ''melting pot'' of almost everything in the world.

This mouth watering and filling dish is prepared in different ways in the states of the country.

The Parsees, a cultural community of Iran who had migrated to India long back in the state of Gujarat and who in contemporary times have quite a number 0f 'nostalgic' eateries in Maharashtra prepare it in a different manner.

The Muslims in Hyderabad prepare it in a different way. Same will be the case with Karnataka, Madras etc.

In Delhi it is prepared in the traditional Mughalai style and has also undergone changes down the ages.

Speaking of Mughalai fare, the Karim's chain of hotels in the city are excellent in this regard , with outlets near Meena-Bazaar in Jamma-Masjid and the one near the Sufi Saint, Hazrat Nizammudin Auliya's Shrine.

Biryani, the assortment of flavoured rice with traditional additions as "Kewra", "Gulab-Jal" (Rose-water) , Bada- Elaichi and boiled Mutton/chicken has a long history of its coming to India.

The Mughals had brought it here among the many 'firsts' they had introduced to this land. Its origin can be traced to Central Asia and Iran from where the Mughal's Family-tree starts from that region with many inter-marriages with Turkish and Iranian nobility.

It was In Emperor Akbar's reign, that his cavalrymen were fed with this dish as it was wholesome and nutritious and gave them a boost to march untreaded terrains.

The Method of carrying these were somewhat like this.

They were filled in big-handis i.e., saucepans with wheat-dough smeared around the corners/edges of the lids covering these dishes , preventing the heat from escaping thus, keeping it warm and were tied on to Elephant backs including its rear with ropes!

Biryani was a rich dish and it required a good constitution for digestion so, the Mughals used to have "Burhuni" after the dish. Burhuni was a digestive like the Rajputs, appetiser, "Jaljeera".

It was made of curd with oriental and Indian spices mixed with it.

Be healthy, Eat healthy, Think healthy!!

So Much for now,

I will be back again at your service.

Till then keep bloogging,

Peace.

Of Ranches and Cactuses!

Hi Every body, Hope every thing is going fine.

Last night I watched the movie, Mackenna's gold

Folktales are here to stay!

Hi everybody.

How did the night go.

Good morning. The sun's rays are kissing the face of the earth!

Paheli, The movie directed by the semi-art movies actor of yesteryears, Amol palekar if viewed from the apparent level will show us a canvass of medieval fairytale often narrated by the elders of the house orally to their kith and kin.

As we go deeper into the treatment given to the tale by the director considering the proprtions the medium of cinema covers we get to see that it can also be passed of as a tale about the emancipation of women. Or to put it this way, is it a wrong choice for the jurists to select it for the BAFTA awards equivalent to Oscars.

We can asume that it has something in it which made it India's official entry to 2006 edition of the awards.

The "Hullabaloo" surrounding its selection by the jury-panel is not objective.

Yes, everything has its flaws and loopholes,to which criticism is welcome.But, people judging Black to be a better competitor to paheli is not on. The jurists are not an ignorant or arrogant lot.Their decision is rational.

"Black", the tale of alzheimer's disease and victims falling prey to it and even then , rising, attempting to advance while braving all odds is a remarkable and inspiring tale.But, the tale has been adapted to so called Indian standards of movie making and given a melodramatic touch in the process just to serve our masala- loving cine-goers by Sanjay leela Bhansali.

Such themes in movie making sans the melodramatic touch can be easily concieved by the proffesionals of Hollywood.

In fact, such tales of victims of fatal disease braving all odds and attempting to rie above sympathy is Hollywood's brainchild, the only thing is that such a movie had not been made in our industry.Earlier, there were movies like "Koshish" with Sanjeev kumar in the lead. There was also Sunil Dutt's "Dard ka rishta. " Their treatment of the subjects of malfuctionalities and diseases were awe-inspiring.

Yet at the same time these propositions do mot steal the glory of Bhansali's genius.

Leaving suggestions, Countersuggestions aside, if we introspect Amol Palekar's production, we can see the significance allied with it.

It falls in the genre of paralllel, offbeat cimema which very subtlety interprets complexities and phases of the dynamic human life. These techniques were implemented in moviemaking by the likes of Kudan Shah and Ketan Mehta in his middle phase of filmaking. 

Paheli highlights the culture, traditions and heritage of our land interpreted to the audience via a folk-like feel with use of colours, Puppets, song and dance symbolic to the state of Rajasthan.

The story is originally adapted from Vijaydan Detha's Rajasthani folk tale, "Duvidha."It was earlier made by another gem of a director, Mani Kaul in 1973 by the same title.

The tale permeates our rich composite culture containing in the unparalleled literary compositions of indigenous authors.

Instead of lauding Shahrukh Khan who is a main stream superstar of the tinsel town attempting along with Amol Palekar to present to the world the rich Indian collection of stories which gave their stamp on the Hans Anderson, Grimms Fairytales and even the Aesop fables, we are demoralising them by branding the film which runs  on a non-stereotyped theme, as a wrong choice by the jury panel.

Also we have to keep in mind that literature has been the forte of Indian cinema for many years and years to come.

signing off only for today,

keep blogging. peace

Which is the Best-Science or Arts?

Hello folks,

Salaam and Namaskar to you all!

I would like to throw in front of you all a topic as to which is the best discipline, Science or Arts.

People argue that Science is a discipline which lives in the real world whereas Arts in a make believe one.

With no offence made to any of the propositions I would like to state that The world is not a compartmentalised matter, it has had over centuries and ages produced Scientists, inventors, mathematicians, discoverors, innovators, biologists, alchemist, astronomers, metereologists, ornithologists etc..

In a similar manner, the world over has had the privilege of witnessing the articulate, romantic( not in the limited sense of the term.) , delicate and well-crafted works of Poets, Authors, Novelists, Playwrights, Essayists etc.

An ignorant senior of mine once commented to me while we were indulged in an evening stroll, "students from Science background can easily go for arts studies in his/hers higher degree of studies and also adapt to it but an Arts background student cannot do so! "

Little does he know that how can that science student bring lucid vocabulary in his/her pen? How can that student involved in dissection of parts of amphibians in his lab be satirical in his compositions and notes?How can that student inculcate in himself connectivity, creativity, nuances required or to put it this way how will he/she in one stroke develop aesthetic sense?

India has had the blessings of a long tradition of learning, knowledge gathering, chronicling them via the mediums available down the ages.

It has had the previlege of being bestowed with two of the oldest universities known in the annuls of history, The Taxxila and The Nalanda.

It has had the previlege of being visited by knowledge-seekers like Huen-Tsang and closer home the oriental scholar from middle east, Al-Biruni.

I will quote one instance from Al-Biruni's treatise on India which speaks volumes about his modesty and humility as far as pride upon his learning was concerned.(Arabs like Indians has had the proud legacy of Astronomers, Chemists, Mathematicians, Inventers-the world's first camera was made there)

He was in his death bed and was disturbed regarding the solution of a mathematical problem and was constantly inquiring about it to his freind by the bedside.His freind not to worry about it as will strain his nerves. His freind went out of the chamber to fetch something and heard a yell of joy. On returning, he found his freind dead and a paper lying beside him on which was scribbled the solution of the mathematical problem!

The famous Physicist, Issac Newton when on the peak of his achievements had stated-"I am still picking up the sea-shells by the shore!" 

Persons giving irrational or judgemental staements on any issue should be made to do their homework and acquainted with the time-tested saying of Rousseau which runs as:

"A little learning is a dangerous thing ! "

The Mughals were patron of letters, architecture as well as technology, evident from the capacity of their awe-inspiring weapons and arsenal.

Tipu Sultan, the warrior-king of erstwhile Mysore state knew 4-5 languages, was a distinguised poet, an author( he had written the military mnual, Fateh-Al-Mujahideen),was an innovator too. He had modernised Rockets invented during his father, Haidar Ali's time, to that level that English adventurer,William Congreve, involved in the last battle of Mysore in which the ruler was martyred, carried the technology to England and came to be known as "the father of rocket-technology"

Cinema is composed of varied elements it  has comic relief borrowed from great dramatists works, it has satire from essayists and authors works, it has aesthetic sense in the form of poetry, paintings, pictures, portraits etc..with the many special-effects, sfx ,sync-sound, camera-positioning it involves. 

Nothing happens in isolation. The discipline of Journalism now into an advanced sphere of electronic-media is all-encompassing. It covers almost everything under the sky.The cause and effect methodology of approaching concepts, issues comes into play here.

So to all wannabe journalists being carried away with their little learning, be responsible and objective in whatever comment you think to make.

This applies to individuals of any occupation and vocation otherwise terms like "being politically correct" wouldn't have existed!

Thank you all for blogging!

Be positive,

Peace.

 

The Birds - Boon or Bane ?

(First Pic: Actress, Tippi Hedren.  Second Pic: Poster of the movie.)

Hello bloggers hope this finds you all in the pinnacle of whatever you all do!

Today I would like to blog about a Classic movie "The Birds" by master of mystery and suspense, the late Alfred Hitchcock.

Based upon the thrust of the theme of the movie, I would like to dedicate this note to the greatest ornithologist of India, Mr. Salim Ali aka as "the Birdman of India!"

To begin with let us dwelve into the obvious fact, i.e. human psychology is an interesting and complex study.

Equally interesting is the study of co-creations of his world-the animals and birds.
Birds have millions and millions of species and sub-species with its origins being traced to the pre-historic creature, Archaeopteryx.

The movie, "Birds" directed by Alfred Hitchcock runs on the time-tested themes of human psychology and his attitude towards other "lesser-creatures."

It stars the then debutante, Tippi Hedren ( mother of actress,Melaine Griffith) .She was a classic beauty who could give any contemporary actress a run for her money had she been in her prime.
She portrays the role of Melanie Daniels, the dashing and outspoken daughter of a rich newspaper owner in NewYork.

The story as many of you would know takes off when the second lead character of a gentleman named Mitchell Brennor arrives at a bird-shop to buy a pair of Love-birds for his sister essayed in the role of Cathy Brennor on her 11th Birthday.

Here he has a chance meeting with Tippi as she is a freind of the lady who owns the shop. Her unputdownable attitude towards life convinces her of giving Mr. Brennor a surprise by delivering the birds at his doorstep along with a message-note!

Upon not finding our hero in his appartment at the city, she heads for his summer- retreat home at Bodega Bay in the countryside.

Thereafter, alittle bit of inquiring at the general store leads her to the place where the Birthday girl's Schoolteacher, Miss. Annie Hayworth resides.
After brushing up the details about the Brennor family from her, She delivers the cage of the lovebirds at their doorstep.

While coming out of the house through the backdoor and taking the boat which she used to ferry herself across the river leading to the house on the other end, she is seen by our hero!

Her trauma and distress starts when she is literally attacked by a sea-gull with the creature cutting across her head with its razor-sharp claws while she is ferrying herself tro the other end.

Luckily, Mr. Mitchell Brennor comes to her rescue and nurses her with the first aid he can lay his hands upon in the general store.This "incident'' becomes the talk of the quiet little town.

As days go by, this town is seen at the recieving end of mass-attacks by "Sea-Gulls and Crows"

They make the townfolk run helter and skelter for fear of their lives!
Our hero's mother had, Mrs. Brennor had in the meantime witnessed the ghastly death scene of one of her freinds in his home with piercing marks, bruises all over his body and with his eyes perforated. There were dead birds strewn all over the room.

How they( the townfolk) react and respond to yhese attacks is to be seen...
The birds surely prove menacing than anything anyone could possibly ask for!

Hitchcock's franchise if viewed from the apparent level makes it a tale of suspense, thrills, mystery and macabre abound!

On an analytical level, it throws light on human beings preparedness to face any disaster-natural or artificial.

Also we get to see human psychology with corresponding body language through the mannerisms and tone of dialogue of the different characters.

Human attitudes are vividly shown in the scene when Tippi converses with he girl's Schoolteacher(where she stays for the night) and finds out that Mrs. Brennor, Mother of our hero is a possesive, obssesed woman who suspects every woman coming into her son's life(This was shown in the portrayal of the mother of Norman Bates in Hitchock's earlier production,'Psycho.')

As for Tippi Hedren's role, she is the thread of the story and is shown in a typecast portrayal of a rich and pretty blonde who in this case, is not only pretty but has the presence of mind to use her intelligence when needed.

Her profile needs her to be associated with Page-3 socialising of the Rich and Famous circles.

From Technological level, the birds when shown attacking humans look unconvincing with only close shots of the creatures shown biting the fingers of their victims appearing real . But considering the timeline of the production, and with the amount of special effects available at hand, it was an enviable ''concept-execution.''

Alfred Hitchcock's characters are essayed as having an aura of mystery around them.

All said and done, well folks, I am raring to watch the newest adaptation of this classic with Australian beauty, Naomi Watts playing the lead. Till then, comparisons are bound to occur.

Keep watching and commenting!
Peace to all.

This is a picture of Australian actress, Naomi Watts: