Take One of Seven: A Night At The Movies With Artist Judy Mastrangelo

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This wonderful new interview series with Judy Mastrangelo is all about the movies. This is a seven part series… Let’s delve in!

Films have always inspired my life and my art, ever since I was young.  They fulfill needs for fantasy, excitement, etc., which can be experienced vicariously by everyone who loves to partake in the adventure of this delightful art form.

I don’t watch movies all day long, only when I have some time to spare for them.  But many great movies stay with me forever in my memory. Several of the films I mention here, I’ve seen several years ago.  But they were so enjoyable that sometimes they will come to mind, and I’ll enjoy thinking about them and the actors who were in them.  I find the realm of film a magical place of enrichment for my soul, since when I visit it, I can become other characters, visit fascinating lands, and partake in exciting adventures.

Personally, I enjoy both the old and the new films.  They each have something to offer.

 

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Some of my favorite directors:

PETER JACKSON:

I feel Peter is one of the greatest living directors of Fantasy today, most notably, his movies based on the films written by Tolkien.  They all have fantastic and imaginative scenery, plus amazing and endearing fantasy characters: Lord of the RingsThe Hobbit.

FRANK CAPRA

Capra was a great director (winning 3 Oscars for Best Director, Producer and Writer), who created some of the most beloved films, including “IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE.”  His films had some very popular actors such as James Stewart and Gary Cooper. I find them all very heartwarming, and always a delight to watch.

ORSON WELLES

He produced, directed, and starred in the 1941 movie “CITIZEN KANE,” which is said to be the greatest film ever made.  I think it’s wonderful too. Welles was a maverick.  This film was based on the life of William Randolph Hearst.  When it was released, Hearst prohibited mention of the film in any of his newspapers.

FEDERICO FELLINI was a great Italian film director, and his films were noted for their unusual characters and surrealistic qualities.  8 1/2 and JULIET OF THE SPIRITS are two of my favorite Fellini films.

AKIRA KUROSAWA was a great Japanese film director.  I’ve seen several of his movies.  One of his most famous is the wonderful “SEVEN SAMURAI” which inspired the two versions of the Western movies “THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN.”  The popular, handsome and dynamic actor Toshiba Mifune often starred in Kurosawa’s films.

Some of my favorite actors:

Contemporary Male Actors:

Anthony Hopkins  He has an amazing range to his acting portfolio ~ from Captain Blye, to Picasso and Richard Nixon. The only ones I will not watch are his Hannibal series.  I don’t have the stomach for them.

Robert Carlysle  I first discovered this great Scottish actor in the TV series “ONCE UPON A TIME” where he plays Rumpelstiltskin and Mr. Gold. He’s an amazingly talented actor, full of magic and pathos.

Jack Nicholson  Jack is known for his ability to portray disturbed, fanatical, and crazed characters, such as The Joker in Batman, and As Good As It Gets. He received the best actor award as misanthrope Melvin Udall, an obsessive compulsive.

Max von Sydow    Max is 87 today, and is one of the great living actors.  He has played an amazing variety of roles.  He first achieved fame in his films with Ingmar Bergman, such as the memorable knight in The Seventh Seal.  He then went on to play such varied parts as Jesus Christ in “THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD” and Ming the Merciless in “FLASH GORDON.”

Tom Hanks has also done quite a variety of roles and received two Best Actor awards.  To tell you the truth, my favorite role of his is that of Walt Disney in the film “SAVING MR. BANKS.”  I know he didn’t look like Walt, but to me he personified this great creative man.  It was wonderful for me to see Walt Disney actually brought to life in this film. It portrays many of the backstage happenings that occurred during the making of the MARY POPPINS film and what the Disney artists had to go through in relating with P.L. Travers, the author of the Poppins stories.

His portrayal of Walt Disney in this film is very dear to my heart.  In it he dramatizes Disney’s sensitivity, imagination, and loneliness.  Emma Thomson is wonderful as Travers, but as I understand it, the real Travers never did come to love the Mary Poppins movie as she did in this film.  Ms. Travers was perverse to the end of her life.

Patrick Stewart  has also performed wonderful roles, including Scrooge, Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, Professor Charles Xavier in X Men, Lennon in THE FALL OF THE EAGLES, and a wonderful starship captain in “Star Trek the Next Generation.”

John Hurt plays a pathetic Winston in “1984,” THE ELEPHANT MAN,  and Caligula in “I, CLAUDIUS” TV series.  He is another great contemporary actor.

Contemporary Females:

Maggie Smith plays a wonderful Dowager Lady Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey, and Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series.  I first discovered her in “THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE” for which she received a Best Actor academy award.

Susan Hampshire is a most delightful, bubbling, enticing, and energetic actress.  She was in “THE PALLISERS” by Anthony Trollope as Lady Glencora, and she portrayed Fleur Mont Forsyte in “THE FORSYTE SAGA.”   In “THE FIRST CHURCHILLS,” she acted as the Duchess Sarah Churchill.

You can learn more about Judy Mastrangelo by visiting her website here. We will be featuring “TAKE TWO” next week! Keep an eye out, and don’t miss it!

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