Friday Night Fugue -- Nothing About The Bakken -- January 30, 2021

Some nights after midnight, I find myself wanting to escape, to forget about blogging about the Bakken ... I find myself surfing YouTube or watching TCM looking for pieces from a previous life.  Tonight is one of those nights. If you came here looking for the Bakken go to the sidebar at the right or scroll down.

TCM: TCM is simply getting better and better.

Ben Mankiewicz is taking this network to higher and higher levels.

I don't know if TCM will reach its potential in my lifetime -- its growth is very, very slow -- it's probably a low-budget network -- and, in addition, they don't want to change the flavor of the network too fast .... but wow, Ben Mankiewicz is doing things he probably never thought he would to do.

Brassed Off: I remember seeing this at a very special time in my life ... long ago and far away ... wow .. the memories ... It was from this movie I first heard the word "colliery" ... I had forgotten all about this movie until tonight when looking for something else ... here's a video clip, followed by notes from Wikipedia:

Concierto d'Aranjuez 

Some comments at YouTube regarding the above:

• This is, without a doubt, one of the best movie scenes filmed. The musical piece and Peter’s conducting were spot on. As a musician and singer, I am so proud of these musicians and the story they told of this painful time. Peter’s conducting was perfect. I cry each time I watch this, and return over and over to listen again.
• Steven Spielberg said Pete Postlethwaite was the best actor in the world. I think he's right!
• Pete Postlethwaite.... what a performance throughout this whole film. He was one of the best. RIP.
• The music in this film was played by one of the top "real and genuine" brass bands in Britain, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band (whose own struggle the film partly reflects).
• One of the best films ever about British social history

From wiki:

Brassed Off is a 1996 British comedy-drama film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Pete Postlethwaite, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor. 

The film is about the troubles faced by a colliery brass band, following the closure of their pit. 

The soundtrack for the film was provided by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and the plot is based on Grimethorpe's own struggles against pit closures. It has been generally very positively received for its role in promoting brass bands and their music. 

Parts of the film make reference to the huge increase in suicides that resulted from the end of the coal industry in Britain, and the struggle to retain hope in the circumstances.

Also from wiki:

Joaquín Rodrigo wrote the Concierto de Aranjuez (1939) for guitar and orchestra which was inspired by the royal gardens of Aranjuez (Spain) and became one of the most famous orchestral compositions of the 20th century.

I had forgotten how good this movie was. 

Which of course leads us directly to this one, another great British movie:

Yes, Sir, I Can Boogie, Chiwetel Ejiofor
And the "original":

Baccara

I Will Follow Him, Maastricht, The Netherlands