paganhippie

First, let me state that I am an unabashed Ralph Bakshi fan. If you are at all interested in animation, and the history of animation, you will find Bakshi a seminal figure. He broke a lot of ground that modern film-makers tend to take as given, such as using live actors and animating 'over' them (see his {outstanding but frustratingly incomplete} treatment of "Lord of the Rings").

I first saw this film in its original theatrical release while I was in college (yes, it's been a while), and when I found it as a remaindered VHS at a local video store, I jumped at the chance to own a copy.

Yes, Bakshi fictionalised a lot of the popular music of the 20th Century, and (to my mind, at least) took especial liberties with the late 1960s. Nonetheless, his treatment of each musical era caught the proper feel, the zeitgeist, if you will, and his animation work was nothing short of pioneering.

Modern animation is mind-boggling. Hollywood has almost eliminated the need for live actors. If you want to experience the foundation for today's synthetic cinematography, then you owe it to yourself to experience Bakshi's work. View "Wizards." View his "Lord of the Rings," if you can find it. View this film. Find copies of the "Mighty Mouse" cartoons that he did in the early '90s. And appreciate the Art. You'll be astounded.

I especially liked the film because, unlike so many re-makes of Shakespeare's works, here Marlowe's writing shines through almost untouched by later hands. As far as I know, this is the only one of Marlowe's plays that has made it to the screen, and the film is very true to the play itself. The language is authentic, the special effects understated, and the use of drama students in the secondary roles gives, to my mind, a freshness that a star-studded production would have lacked.

If you are a fan of Renaissance theatre, you owe it to yourself to see Doctor Faustus.

Peter Sellers has always been one of my favourite actors. I especially appreciated, and still do, his embracing and treatment of the values and people of the 1960s in America and Britain (see 'I Love You Alive B. Toklas,' 'The Party,' and even 'Casino Royale' if you appreciate the latter film for the intentional farce that it is and don't try to make an Ian Fleming/Sean Connery story out of it).

I had heard, some time after his death, that Peter Sellers had lost his sense of himself late in his life. In this Muppet Show episode (if I remember correctly), Peter asked Kermit the Frog what he should do in the show, and Kermit suggested to Peter that he "just be yourself" (or something to that effect). Peter replied: "Me? There is no 'me.' There *used* to be 'me,' but I had it surgically removed." It seemed innocuous and amusing enough at the time, but gave me the shivers in hindsight....