Recently watched movies

[Monty]

Thats the one Maria,

Take some tissues though. Let me know what you think.

Monty

[Maria]

More on the Crystal Skulls

Because of the interest inspired by the Spielberg film, the French national museum service´s research and restoration centre, C2RME, decided a few months ago to subject the crystal skull to the most advanced forms of analysis, including " particle induced X-Ray emission and Raman spectroscopy"

The centre´s official report will be published next week but the principal findings were released yesterday by the Quai Branly museum. " The French skull " was probably made in a small village in southern Germany in the second half of the 19th century. The quartz from which it is made is made of Alpine, not Central American, origin. The " Pre-Colombian " origin of the " French skull " and probably several of the others, was most certainly concocted by the French adventurer and antique merchant, Eugene Boban, who sold it to a wealthy French collector in 1875.

" The grooves and perforations ( on the skull ) clearly show the use of jewellery drills and other modern tools," said Ives Le Fur, the deputy head of collections at the Quai Branly. The Museé du Quai Branly intends nonetheless to place its skull - only four inches tall - on special exhibition from 20 May to coincide with the appearance of the Indiana Jones film.

The skull will be " hidden " in the museum and visitors will be invited to follow clues to try to locate it. French museums directors have, it seems, learnt a thing or two about spin-off tourism since the film THE DA VINCI CODE.

Doubts about the authenticity of Aztec or Mayan crystal skulls have recently been posted on : Archaeology.org, the website of the the Archaeological Institute of America. Jane MacLaren Walsh, an anthropologist at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington and a leading authority on pre-Colombian art, traces the strange history of the skulls and the legends which have come to surround them.

The largest of the skulls, almost 10 inches high, larger than a human head, was sent anonymously to the Smithsonian in 1992. The disturbing milky-white sculpture came with an unsigned letter. " This Aztec crystal skull... was purchased in Mexico in 1960. I am offering it to the Smithsonian without consideration " it said.

" Crystal skulls have undergone serious scholarly scrutiny, but they also excite the popular imagination because they seem so mysterious " Ms Walsh say. " Some believe the skulls are the handiwork of the Maya or Aztecs, but they have also become the subject of constant discussion on occult websites. Some insis that they originated on a sunken continent or in a far-away galaxy. They are intensely loved today by a large coterie of ageing hippies and New Age devotees "

Ms. Walsh points the initial finger of blame at Boban. Several allegedly Mexican crystal skulls have turned up in Europe after France intervened in the Mexican Civil War in 1863 to install Maximillian von Hapsburg as Emperor of Mexico. Two skulls were exhibited by Boban at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867 after he served as the ill-fated Maximillian´s official archaeologist.

Boban went to Mexico as a teenager and learned Spanish and the Aztec language, Nahuatl. He seems to have had a genuine passion for pre-Colombian history and culture but he also had to make a living. He openend an antiquitities business in Paris, which is known to have mingled genuine artefacts with the dubious and the downright fake. He later move his business to New York.

The celebrated Manhattan jewllers Tiffany and Co. bought an " Aztec " crystal skull from Boban for $ 950 in 1881. The British Museum purchased it a decade later at the same price. This skull remains in the museum´s collections in Bloomsbury but it is now presented as being " probably a fake "

- Maria

[Maria]

[QUOTE=Monty;13467]Maria,

Woman in black is an excellent play thats been on at the Fortune theatre for many years, I saw it in September. It was originally a book back in the 80s. Its a ghost story that, as far as I know, has only been adapted for tv and not film. Its an old fashioned, M R James style and is excellent for a small theatre such as The Fortune.

The Orphanage is a Spanish film BTW. Monty.


Monty:

Thank you for the recommendation ! As this film is in Spanish with English subtitles I will enjoy it even more, since a lot is being lost in translation. My local Cinema at the Aberythtwyth University is showing it next week !! In my film guide for this month it says that the film is by the Spanish Director: Juan Antonio Bayona a 2007 film.

It says its a stunningly terrifying gothic film winning 23 different awards so far. An Orphanage with a terrible past begins to have an effect on the child of a couple who reopen the building. Gradually building the tension. This is a superior ghost story that understands exactly how to manipulate its audience.

- Maria

[Doctor X]

I am in a mood. . . .

The Devil's Backbone

Gingersnaps I & II

Saved!

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Sexy Beast

--J.D.

[Monty]

Maria,

Woman in black is an excellent play thats been on at the Fortune theatre for many years, I saw it in September. It was originally a book back in the 80s. Its a ghost story that, as far as I know, has only been adapted for tv and not film. Its an old fashioned, M R James style and is excellent for a small theatre such as The Fortune.

The Orphange is a Spanish film btw.

Monty

[Maria]

Monty:

" A Woman In Black ? I have heard of " A Woman In Red " but not in BLACK.

Remember when someone even composed the lyrics of " A Woman In Red " to Sarah Fergusson as she appeared with a stunning red long dress and her wavy long red hair ?

You have left me intrigued by this " Woman In Black " it gives the impression of " A Black Widow " sort of woman, is it ? Is this a new film ? Go on, give us more without telling us the story. Tricky I know...but a subtle idea...

How can this ORPHANAGE film compare with this other film: " Woman In Black " If I have not seen either, I´m completely without a clue !


- Maria

[Maria]

...the lengths some people go to in order to hedge their bets at the Boat Race!

Gareth:

Ha,ha,ha, that was very witty ! I suppose if you belong to both universities it doesn´t really matter who wins at the end of the boat race, since you belong to both !

A bit like major corporations when they invest campaign money on both political parties, it doesn´t matter which one of the two wins... in either case, they will get what they want

- Maria

[Monty]

I was dragged out to see The Orphanage at Cineworld Hull Thursday night.

Glad I was. Really good old fashioned film, in the style of Woman in black, I reccommed it.

Monty

[Limehouse]

Too true Sam. And here am I, a mere Sheffield graduate, feeling suitably humbled and insignificant!

[Sam Flynn]

Jennifer Westwood is a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge.

...the lengths some people go to in order to hedge their bets at the Boat Race!

[Maria]

For a great book about Lyonesse, check Tom Holt's "Overtime".

Magpie:

Thank you for the tip. Currently I´m reading ALBION by Jennifer Westwood she is a graduate of both Oxford and Cambridge. A specialist in Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse language and literature, she also belongs to the Folklore Society and the Viking Society. She has published several books for children drawing on myth and legend, including Medieval Tales ( 1967 ) and Tales and Legends ( 1971 ) and was a contributor to The Faber Book of Northern Legends edited by Kevin Crossley-Holland ( 1977 )

It is a great book very scholarly.

- Maria

[Doctor X]

Good. I thought I had posted a linkypoo or two to some articles by someone who demonstrated that these were modern.

Still . . . old stories die hard. I remember watching a show as a Wee Spud where a lady who owned one claiming that it "cried" the day Kennedy was assassinated.

--J.D.

[Magpie]

Crystal Skulls story....

This was in the news this morning:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080418/ennew_afp/entertainmentfilmcannesindianajonesskull;_ylt=AhbvrmBE4vpkEan5ZUdcuWbLOrgF

[Magpie]

The land off Cornwall that legend has it sunk beneath the waves is Lyonesse.

For a great book about Lyonesse, check Tom Holt's "Overtime".

[Magpie]

I looked at, heard about it, and finally figured, "what the hell." It is far better than I expected. Seriously. Reminds me a bit of Shawn of the Dead in that I got it thinking, "okay, heard this is funny," then while watching thought, "hey! This is actually a very good movie!"

It is not a spoiler: the opening scene is based on a true story.

--J.D.

]

Was the version you saw dubbed or subtitled?