Universal Studios: 100 years of dreams

Yes, one hundred years of "movie magic" are commemorated on April 30th. However much I love the so called seventh art, I've never considered myself a film buff or even a frequent "filmgoer"; but as soon as I started flicking through the fantastic Universal's website, I decided I should write this post with some of my favourite films produced by the renowned American studios. Needless to say, it's not easy to select a handful of titles when you're spoilt for choice indeed, as there are, literally, thousands of them. So after giving it a thought for a while, and clicking on a good deal of windows to refresh my memory, I came up with the list below. 

I've tried to include movies belonging to different genres and different decades, though funnily enough two were premiered the same year, 1973. Then you'll notice most of them were shot when I was just a kid or even before I was born but I treasure them dearly. I guess that's because I've always been really fond of classic films.

OK, without more ado, these are my top six "Universal flicks" arranged chronologically, from the oldest to the most recent.

DUCK SOUP (1933):

I know this is 1933 stuff and I was only a kid when I first watched it - those were the days of Spanish TV in black and white and a mere two channels!

I can't help laughing my head off no matter how many times I watch this hilarious satire by the great Marx Bros! This "war scene" is a fine classic example of their humour:

I just love those nutty, fast-delivered punchlines by Groucho, don't you?


PSYCHO (1960):

Possibly my favourite film of all time, at least the one I've seen most often, and indeed one that made a deep impression on me. The perennial "shower scene", with the blood-curdling music by Bernard Hermmann (do you remember Juanjo's lovely post?), still makes my hair stand on end! Psycho is a must-see movie for everyone, and especially for lovers of Mr. "McGuffin" Hitchcock's awesome thrillers.

But being my fave flick, I can't help embedding yet another fantastic scene, actually the one prior to the brutal stabbing, where Norman and Marion try to get to know each other a little better until ... Well, I won't give away anything. This is, to my mind, Anthony Perkins at his best!

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962):

There are many valid classic examples of the genre, but to me Robert Mulligan's brilliant adaptation of the Prize Pulitzer-winning namesake novel by Harper Lee is the archetypal, quintessential "courtroom drama". Gregory Peck was my unsung hero with his sober yet relentless defense of a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman in the segregated "Deep South".

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR (1973):

"Too much Heaven on their minds".... how deeply moved I was by the title's meaning and, above all, by the shrill delivery of Carl Anderson as Judas in this amazing, ground-breaking rock opera stemmed from the factory of, who else, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Webber. 

There's a story behind this film, or rather, the soundtrack. I was only eleven or twelve and I had a neighbour, Mariano, who was a passionate music lover (how much I felt his passing when shortly afterwards he died). Well, he had this primitive Dual record player (the lid was the loudspeaker) where he would play his records all day long. In those days the building stairs were filled with the music of JCS, and to me the album was (never more suitably") like a "revelation". And this song in particular with the distinctive rock feel touched my heart.

THE STING (1973):
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There's always ample talk of the onscreen chemistry of legendary couples: There's Burton and Taylor, Gable and Leigh ... even Di Caprio and Winslet? (no way, ha ha!). 

Joking apart, the biggest, most adorable scam in movie history proved that an only-male chemistry is possible when these two lovable heartthrobs display their charms, isn't that right ladies?

How about this final scene with the familiar rag piece by Scott Joplin adapted for the screen by Marvin Hamlisch? How many times must have we whistled it!

OUT OF AFRICA (1985):

Last but not least, talking about onscreen chemistry, here's Robert Redford again, this time alongside my favourite actress, the unique Meryl Streep, in this delightful, multiple Award-winning romantic drama directed by Sydney Pollack. 

You know, if there's a time I wish I'd been on a plane in a movie I was watching, this one-off scene would be it: Redford and Streep holding hands while flying across the breathtaking landscapes of Kenya with the backdrop of John Barry's moving soundtrack. Simply mind-blowing!

Well dear students, this is my personal selection of best-loved "Universal" movies. Sure thing I could have included a bunch more but that's no big deal, as you can now complete this blog entry with your own favourite titles. So will you guys email me with at least one film you would like to feature on this post? I really look forward to it!

Gustavo: A brief look at the history of the “fiesta” of Villalar de los Comuneros

Every 23rd of April, the people of Castile celebrate the festival of their autonomous region, which is based on a well-known historic event.

In the location of what is today the village of Villalar de los Comuneros (Valladolid) took place the battle of Villalar, where Emperor Carlos V’s troops beat the army of commoners lead by Juan de Padilla (from Toledo), Juan Bravo (from Segovia – although he was born in Guadalajara) and Francisco and Pedro Maldonado (from Salamanca). 

Detail of the battle. Manuel Pícolo López (1887) 

The commoner troops rose up against the young King, Carlos I, son of Juana (called “la Loca”) and Felipe (called “el Hermoso”), to defend their privileges. In the Old Castilian Regime the governors had to obey a law based on the custom and the King Carlos, who had been born and raised in Gante (Flandes – the present Belgium) was seen by the Castilians as a stranger.

As he started to introduce foreigners in capital government positions such as Toledo’s archbishopric, where 20-year-old Guillermo de Croy followed the all-powerful Cardinal Cisneros, the conflict was early seen coming. And, obviously, the uprising started in Toledo.

The insurrection began to be called “community” and that’s the origin of the uprising’s name: commoner or “comuneros”. However, there are many historians that consider the uprising as a revolution, based on the development of the process. Let’s take a look.

The uprising spread to the cities of the Castilian plateau while the king was attending imperial matters in Germany. In his place, Regent Adriano de Utrecht (the future Pope Adriano VI – also a foreigner himself) couldn’t handle the situation, which ended up broadening the east kingdom of Valencia, in another conflict known as the “germanías”.

The commoners went to Tordesillas to talk to Queen Juana, where she was a recluse, to ask her to rule the kingdom according to the Castilian law, but she refused to betray her son as she had earlier refused to betray her husband and her father (Fernando “the Catholic”) even when both of them deemed her insane though probably she wasn’t.  

Anyhow, this situation was difficult to overcome for the commoners as they were gradually staying out of the current law, as I said before, a custom-based law. It was then when they took the decision to assume the functions of government and the uprising became an anti-seigneurial insurrection that they decided to support. After that, the Castilian nobility quickly abandoned its faltering attitude and sided with the king in a conflict that began to take new features. 

The final battle took place in Villalar on 23rd April, 1521. The end of the story is well-known: Juan de Padilla, Juan Bravo and Francisco Maldonado where beheaded the day after the battle and the commoners’ uprising was crushed (Padilla’s wife, María Pacheco, capitulated in Toledo one year later).  

The story of the Maldonados is more complex. At the first of the uprising, there were two, Francisco Maldonado, commissioned to direct the “salmantina” militias, and his cousin, Pedro Maldonado. Both of them shared the lead of the “salmantina” troops, but only one was beheaded the day after the battle of Villalar. Pedro Maldonado, heir to the “Casa de las Conchas” in Salamanca (as a member of the Maldonado-Pimentel’s family), was executed one year later together with other lesser-known leaders.  

Commoner captains executions. Antonio Gisbert (1860)

All in all, to explain why the Castilians celebrate a defeat symbolizes, from my point of view, the paradox of our history. The emperor’s troops won that day, but Castile lost pretty much in the long term, as supporting Emperor Carlos’s project largely conditioned and caused the ruin of the subsequent economic development.