AV News 191 - February 2013
When Eddie went on a Mediterranean holiday he came back with much more
than a travelogue. ‘Once upon a time in Mallorca’ not only showed us around
the island but related the story of composer Frederic Chopin and his love affair
with novelist George Sand during their time in Valldemossa. Of Chopin's illness,
the arrival of his beloved Pleyel piano from France, the breakup of their
friendship and Chopin's return to Paris. Eddie wasn't going to waste such a good
opportunity to tell a story just because he was on holiday. It didn't end there, as
he went on to take his sequence apart and show in detail how the key shots had
been constructed.
‘Daughter Annie’ showed Eddie at his storytelling best. The sequence was
new to me. I was completely drawn in to the tale of a young student stabbed in
a park near her university. The story was told from her parent's viewpoint, how
they tracked down the killer and discovered the shocking truth behind their
daughter's death. I completely believed what I was watching and shared the
parent's loss. The story must be true. Must it? If you haven't seen it already I
won't spoil it for you. I knew I had witnessed a masterful storyteller at work. What
else would Eddie have in store for us from his varied and original stock of
sequences? ‘Barcelona’ showed the range of architecture in that great city,
almost allowing us to fly through the buildings, ancient, moderniste and Gaudi
influenced. In the ‘Passing of Chief Dan George’ we were taken into the life of
a native North American Red Indian, how one man became famous and
respected in old age because of his film roles, while his contemporaries
remained unknown and forgotten, outsiders in society. A story to make the
viewer think. How different to Dan George is the tribute to the singer Johnny
Cash, set to a soundtrack of his music. ‘Woman Wisdom’ is an abstract moving
background of colours and shapes, with a tall cloaked woman appearing and
re-appearing in amongst them. A sound track with no dialogue but words of
womanly wisdom on the screen. ‘Myfanwy’ is the story of the friendship and
affection John Betjeman had for Myfanwy Evans, told through the medium of
verse, song, poetry and on-screen lyrics. ‘Sydney’ was the final sequence of the
day, made just prior to the Sydney Olympics. We saw the stadium, nearly
finished and enjoyed the spectacle of Sydney by day and glowing by night. The
whole afternoon had been a delight.
Oh, yes! What about Chariots of Fire? We had heard it four or five times
during the day. Each time the music was apt and relevant. But after so many
hearings it was hard not to recollect its previous appearances. Perhaps the
advice to avoid well known music has some truth to it. When