Re: Pastorale Symphony

[Elmer Elevator <bobmer@javanet.com>]

Hiya Tim and F_Minorites!

Pastorale seems to be the German spelling of it, and asking AltaVista for hits in
[any language] for keywords [Pastorale] and [Beethoven] turn up gazillions of
references to the symphony in English and German and other lingos. Clearly it's a
very traditional way of referencing it.

That's Stanley Kubrick ... I'm a great fan both of the novel and the film of "A
Clockwork Orange." (on Internet Chat, my nick is Droog4.)

You suggest that ACO was yanked and wasn't a very much-seen movie. Nothing could
be farther from the truth. It's can't even be called a cult film, it's one of the
most oft-watched and best-known movies ever released worldwide; images from it
are as well recognized as King Kong. I think not long ago the ever-protective
Lord High Muckymuck Chancellor or whatever in the UK tried to ban it again. Too
late. Everyone's seen it and will keep watching it forever. It's a brilliant
film.

Indeed with differences and different emphases from the novel which, I've heard,
did indeed dismay Burgess (a classical music conductor and composer). But I think
their differences are just a footnote to the big picture; both novel and film are
brilliant, artistic achievements in their very different genres. (Some of the
differences weren't Kubrick's fault -- there are aspects of the novel which were
much too forbidden for a mainstream studio release movie, the same situation as
Kubrick's brilliant version of Nabokov's "Lolita.")

The "Singin' in the Rain" scene was an ad-lib during filming, apparently the
inspired idea of actor Malcom MacDowell, who played Alex the psycho. The closing
credits reprise the original Gene Kelly version of the song.

One of the most disturbing themes in novel and movie is the Humanizing,
Civilizing Effect beautiful classical music is traditionally presumed to have on
the human spirit and personality. Alex is indeed deeply, knowledgeably and
passionately committed to "Ludwig Van" -- and is simultaneously a sociopathic,
violent monster and gang leader. And one of the cruelest things is that, by
accident, Alex's "cure" -- a Pavlovian treatment called The Ludovico Technique --
leaves him nauseated and paralyzed not only at the thought or image of violence,
but at the sound of his beloved Beethoven.

A very interesting story I heard (it may be just an Urban Legend) is that a
doctor told Burgess he had only a year to live, and Burgess thought, "Oh my God,
what do I most want to do that I haven't done?" He thought he'd always wanted to
try to write a novel, so he wrote ACO. Then -- like an episode of a lousy TV
sitcom -- it turned out there'd been a mistake in the x-rays, and he wasn't dying
after all. He went on to write a swell novel about his experiences in Russia
called "Honey for the Bears," and probably lots of other stuff I don't know
about.

I'm really delighted and tickled that so many of you have such positive memories
about that wonderful Simpsons episode. One is always made to feel a bit guilty
about feeling so strongly about a piece of oft-dismissed TV pop culture ... but
my experience with The Simpsons has always been that there are Very Big Brains
behind every aspect of it. It's funny and thought-provoking for very good
reasons. (Tim, did you like the episode when the Simpsons visited Australia?)

For those of you unfamiliar with but intrigued to see "Soylent Green" ... Rosebud
was his sled.

Bob / Elmer

Tim Conway wrote:

> Dominic Lesnar wrote:
>
> >When that episode originally aired, a friend was so moved by that scene and
> >Beethoven's music (he had no idea of the source of the music, just that it
> >was *good*) that I was obliged to give him a birthday gift of... the 6th
> >symphony! (Not Gould's version). Hmm, I doubt he's since listened to it, but
> >each time they air that episode I dig mine out and enjoy the babbling brooks
> >which surround me!
>
> Has nobody seen Disney's cartoon 'Fantasia', first released in, I think,
> the 1940s? It has the most joyous (and perhaps kitsch) representation of
> LvB's Pastoral (not Pastorale) Symphony ever devised, complete with a
> non-PC, fat, belching, quaffing Bacchus and numerous fawns, nymphs,
> satyrs and assorted tosspots and nubiles. An 'improved' Fantasia has
> recently been released but I'm not sure in what way the improvement is
> achieved. It is designated a 'kids' film but if you haven't seen it, give
> it a go when it hits your video store. The JSB T&F in d-minor alone is
> worth the hire price.
>
> ...and then Max Kuenkel wrote:
>
> >Yes, that scene is magical. I'm sure that scene is used in film schools.
> >It's one long take, if I remember correctly (I haven't watched TV in over a
> >year). What a wonderful scene. I wonder how many people got turned on to
> >classical music by watching that scene. Maybe a lot. Of course, the same
> >could be said for the famous death scene in "Soylent Green". If anything,
> >that was even more powerful, perhaps the most powerful use of Beethoven's
> >music in any movie, ever. If you haven't seen it, watch Soylent Green. There
> >is only a minute or two from the 6th symphony, but that minute will blow you
> >away.
>
> OMFIAMP (One man's fish is another man's poison), but although I've never
> seen Soylent Green I have seen A Clockwork Orange. Stanley Kubrycht
> (sp?), the producer and director, bought the screen rights of AB's novel
> from Anthony Burgess, so the story goes (although it may be that K bought
> the rights from someone else who had previously bought them from AB) for
> a mere £200 or thereabouts when AB was ill and impoverished in, I think,
> the late 1950s. Luckily, AB made his way in the world through his other
> writings.
>
> A Clockwork Orange is a powerful work and features a 'hero', Alex, a
> young thug who beats people up but loves LvB, in particular the 9th
> Symphony. This is all set in the future, and in 1963, the year the film
> was first released, the most futuristic way of playing music was by
> cassette tape. Wow. Nonetheless, that particular lack of vision in no way
> detracts from the film, its story or the magnificent score. Most people
> will remember the absolutely incredibly _right_ use of the The Beautiful
> Blue Danube for the docking of the space craft in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
> Kubrycht was a master when it came to choosing music for films.
>
> Beethoven's 9th permeates the film in the most powerful way imaginable.
> One of the nastiest scenes is set to our hero singing Singing In The
> Rain. However, Alex's love of the 9th was imbedded in AB's novel and was
> not chosen by SK.
>
> Kubrycht allowed distribution of the film for a while in the early 1960s
> and then withdrew the film because, I think, of bad reviews. Now that he
> is dead, the owners of the film have re-released it. Give it a go (but
> tell your aunt to close her eyes when the music gets 'nice').
>
> Tim Conway
> Broome, WA, Oz