Long May She Reign

We cannot judge either of the feelings or of the characters of men with perfect accuracy, from their actions or from their appearance in public; it is from their careless conversations, their half-finished sentences, that we may hope with the greatest probability of success to discover their real characters.

Maria Edgeworth, preface to Castle Rackrent (Unitarian, author)

I think Sharon Tate was there to show the new wave of young actors and actresses that were up and coming in Hollywood at the time. Her husband was one of the most celebrated new directors at the time. While she wasn’t a star in her own right, she symbolized the young actresses of the late swinging sixties, in the way that Leonardo diCaprio’s character represented the old Hollywood that was dying out. 

As for Charles Manson, there’s the Tate connection and the Hollywood connection. He and his followers lived at Spahn Ranch, which used to be a movie set for movies and TV Westerns a few decades earlier, the same time Rick Dalton was on Bounty Law (clearly loosely inspired by Lancer, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, etc). Spahn Ranch is the symbol of broken dreams and abandoned sets from old Hollywood. It also represents death and decay in the film (I mean, look who’s living there--an old, blind, dying man and a sinister group of fake-hippies that would go on to produce some of the most infamous and grisly murders in Los Angeles history--literal bringers of death). 

Also, member of the Manson family threatened different Hollywood actors like Steve McQueen (who feared for his life so much he didn’t show up at his friend Sharon Tate’s funeral), Richard Burton, Frank Sinatra, etc. 

Another important thing to connect Manson to the main plot of the movie is that he and a couple other male members of his “family” killed movie/tv stuntman Donald Jerome Shea, called Shorty, who they believed ratted on them to the police when the ranch was raided by police a few weeks after the murder (police at the time didn’t connect Manson and his followers to the murders, it was a drug bust). Manson, Tex (Charles Watson, who is in the film), Clem (Steve Grogan, the blond guy Brad Pitt beats up at the ranch), and Bruce Davis brutally murdered Shorty and hid his body near the ranch. Throughout the movie, up until the very end, I thought Brad Pitt was going to be this movie’s stand-in for Shorty, which is part of what made the scene at Spahn Ranch so intense. 

The Manson family and Sharon Tate are a part of this movie because they add to the film’s idea that this is the end of an era for Hollywood and for America--the end of the sixties, which started out full of hopes and dreams (like actors who first make it to Hollywood) only to end in cynicism and violence.

Once upon a time in Hollywood

This movie came out about a week ago in Australia; 15th August 2019.  I wanted to see the movie when it came out but due to uni, I had to make Once upon a time in Hollywood my last priority. One of my lecturers recommended seeing it, saying “Use it as a celebration movie for getting through tri 1.”

Quentin Tarantino’ s 9th movie and rumoured second last movie of his to be done. Starring amazing talent; Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Al Pacino just to name a few.

This movie follows Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) in 1969 and 1970,where Rick goes through a career crisis. With tie-in’s to Sharon Tate and Charles Manson.

I’ll be honest all this was before my time. Charles Manson’s cult was in jail by the time I had grasped a concept of who they were. I may have grown up on Bruce Lee movies but my non-martial art movie knowledge of him is unknown nor do I know who Sharon Tate is. Seeing this movie is more from an outsiders point of view, looking into a team that I don’t know.

Some have said to take Once upon a time in Hollywood with a grain of salt; few say this is a work of fiction while few say this is true. While Quentin Tarantino has admitted this is, he love letter to Hollywood.

I hadn’t heard much about Once upon a time in Hollywood except that no one was allowed to spoil the ending due to it being a huge thing that needs to be seen first-hand.

Once upon a time in Hollywood has limited sessions in Australia due to the run length of the movie but if you do see it than you’ll find that time flew by even if you didn’t like it.

Once upon a time in Hollywood is an interesting story, I want to say I hated it but as a film student it was fantastic, I absolutely loved it. The way a dolly was put to use, jump cuts well and countless other things I’ve been studying; the cinematographer, Robert Richardson seems like someone a film student can use as inspiration. Unfortunately, if I wasn’t a film student, I would have found this movie incredibly boring except for the last ten minutes where it shows gruesome yet somehow hilarious ending.

My issue with this movie was why get Sharon Tate and Manson’s cult involved? The movie would’ve have been fine without those two.  I sort of understand why a Bruce Lee impersonator was used but after his fight scene with Cliff there wasn’t a reason to why Bruce was needed any more.

Once Upon a time in Hollywood is a movie that will show a different perspective of the late 60’s and early 70’s but not quite how you’d think. Even I’m not sure what to think of it.

This show deserves more love. 

After watching House of the Dragon, I’m not sure I’d want ANY of these characters on the throne. 

Rhaenerya - I know we’re supposed to sympathize with her, but she keeps making terrible choices. 

Aegon II - Nope. Just nope.

Daemon - He’s all about getting power, not about using it. Clearly not trustworthy. (Is he going to steal someone’s dragon? Is that why he sang to one of the dragons in the finale?) 

Alicent & Otto - If these two worked as a team to support a better claimant than Aegon (ugh) I’d like them more, but they chose Aegon...clearly not a smart move. 

Oh no! 

finding out that the woman I was just telling about frances burney’s mastectomy and how awful and traumatic it must’ve been for her is actually currently in treatment for breast cancer

Every other guy in France during this time period was named Francis/Francois. There are PLENTY of candidates. 

So excited for The Serpent Queen!!!! Both new actors are playing a character named Francis I don't know which one is Mary's Francis.

Some favourite staging moments in productions of Shakespeare plays:

Clarence actually getting drowned in a barrel of wine on stage in Richard III; it was a small barrel, they stuck his head into it as he struggled, pulled him out for an instant as he gasped for air and screamed, his head was wet and sopping, his face all red

Macbeth clutching his empty hands to hold an imaginary child, casting a clawed shadow on the wall

Ophelia ripping out hanks of her hair to give to people during her ‘flowers’ scene (obviously fake hair in real life)

Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing hiding from Claudio, Leonato and Don Pedro, taking a swig from a can of beer that happened to be full of cigarette butts and spit-taking it all over Don Pedro and Leonato

who then awkwardly pretend to check if it’s raining

Angelo in Measure for Measure taking off a bloody cilice belt from around his thigh while saying ‘Blood, thou art blood’ 

Also a really good bit where Angelo shows up in a two way mirror later on when the Duke’s speaking to himself and cursing him; the Duke turns to point at the mirror and there’s Angelo, in the chain of office, pointing back, accusing the Duke as much as the Duke does to him

The moment in Julius Caesar where Brutus asks his servant Strato - who’s been sitting with his back to the audience and wearing a hat with a wide brim - to help him commit suicide; Strato stands while taking off his hat to reveal that he’s played by Caesar’s actor

(a collective gasp went around the theatre; really lent a whole new meaning to ‘Caesar, now be still. I killed not thee with half so good a will’)

After a frantic chase scene in The Comedy of Errors which ends with all the cast collapsed across the stage in exhaustion and the scenery itself falling to bits…a pair of underpants falls from the ceiling, and Dromio of Ephesus (who’d tried in vain to retrieve them at the start of the play) crawls over several other characters, seizes them and screams in triumph