{"id":5292,"date":"2012-07-23T14:53:29","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T18:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mondomark.com\/wordpress\/?p=3341"},"modified":"2012-07-23T14:53:29","modified_gmt":"2012-07-23T18:53:29","slug":"rita-hayworth-part-i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=5292","title":{"rendered":"Rita Hayworth: Part I"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, this kind of contradicts the blog's argument, but this is why you don't know Gilda… until you've seen Gilda.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Rita Hayworth, aka \u2018the Love Goddess,\u2019 would forever be remembered for Gilda <\/a><\/strong>[M<\/a>] (1946), an iconic smoldering sexed-up noir that\u2019s much smarter and intricate than most people remember, but it\u2019s also a film that ensured Hayworth would be remembered for sex appeal rather than acting talent.<\/p>\n

The problem isn\u2019t complex: if you\u2019ve seen Gilda<\/strong>, you understand why most men walk away from that film in a daze, and it\u2019s peculiar because Gilda<\/strong>\u2019s two best-known musical numbers don\u2019t happen until the end, and they\u2019re plot-functional rather than standalone music sequences designed to sell singles.<\/p>\n

Hayworth remains fully clothed, and yet those two numbers \u2013 notably \u201cPut the Blame on Mame\u201d \u2013 are the equivalent of being smacked head-on by a bullet train, and I can\u2019t imagine the sensation further deepened by seeing the film the big screen. Even on home video, until you\u2019ve seen Gilda<\/strong>, you just don\u2019t know<\/em>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all about context, because the reason those number hit hard (ahem) is their specific occurrence when the titular character is at major emotional lows; they\u2019re not sexy scenes designed to wake-up dozers, they\u2019re the character\u2019s reaction to being dumped, betrayed, and left in a vulnerable place by a shitty husband or boyfriend, and it\u2019s that specific vulnerability which makes the film and Hayworth\u2019s performance far richer than a black & white femme fatale archetype. She\u2019s the equivalent of Casablanca<\/strong>\u2019s Ilsa on a corrosive vengeance streak with a pre-determined crash & burn finale, and it happens in small, carefully developed stages.<\/p>\n

Hayworth supposedly once said men would go to bed with Gilda, and wake up disappointed with Rita, and there is that vulnerability which the actress adds to characters in small lookaways \u2013 moments when her character reflects on a lousy event which seems to resonate with the actress on a subconscious level.<\/p>\n

Whereas Gilda<\/strong> is in dire need of an HD remaster (not to mention Criterion-style special edition), Hayworth\u2019s prior blockbuster, Cover Girl <\/a><\/strong>[M<\/a>] (1944), is available as a limited Blu-ray from Twilight Time. There are no extras, but you do get a sharp HD transfer of the actress\u2019s first Technicolor musical, and every nuance of the film\u2019s rich cinematography comes through sharp & crisp.<\/p>\n

As for Criterion, the label just announced Roman Polanski\u2019s Rosemary\u2019s Baby<\/strong> (1968) is part of their upcoming roster, and their SE will feature a feature length documentary on the film\u2019s composer, Christopher Komeda, who died not long after the film\u2019s completion just as he was poised to start a new career in Hollywood.<\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mark R. Hasan<\/strong>, Editor
\nKQEK.com <\/strong>( Main Site<\/a> \/ Mobile Site<\/a> )<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reviews of Twilight Time’s new Cover Girl Blu-ray + Sony’s old, olde Gilda DVD, which is in dire need of a HD overhaul, Criterion-style.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[1449,1450,1451,1180,911,1452],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-1nm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5292"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}