Eliza Turner

Renowned Japanese director Takashi Miike brings us his own version of the samurai movie, and he does not disappoint! The story outline is simple enough: “A group of assassins come together for a suicide mission to kill an evil lord.” This, of course, does not begin to describe the depth Miike takes us to in their quest to stop the sadistic Lord Naritsugu before he ascends to one of the highest positions in the country. Naturally, Takashi Miike is known for his graphically violent films, and it comes as no surprise that this one concludes with a forty minute final battle. However, there is much more to the movie than that; it is not a simple action flick. The overall point of the movie is really traditional bushido values verses freethinking and personal integrity. Both Hanbei (Lord Naritsugu’s body guard) and Shinzaemon (the head samurai of the thirteen assassins) follow the samurai way in an unwavering way. Neither of them forfeited their honor.  Though it seems that Shinzaem...

"What difference is there between a glass of absinthe and a sunset?" --Oscar Wilde Absinthe, as we know it, was invented by Pierre Ordinaire, a French doctor who lived in Switzerland, in 1792. It was originally used as a magical cure-all medicine until 1797 when the first distillery was opened. Through the 19th century it would continually grow in popularity, especially in France, where its eminence would briefly surpass wine. It is made primarily from distilled wormwood (Artemisia absinthium), but also includes hyssop, anise, fennel seed, angelica root, lemon balm, melissa, and juniper. Wormwood has been used medicinally for thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Semites all used it for different purposes and it is mentioned in the bible. It was the preferred drink of many of the greatest artists of the later Victorian era. Everyone from Van Gough and Manet to Hemingway and Picasso chose the Green Fairy as their muse in its heyday. It is for t...

Some say that Maupassant was himself half insane at the time of its writing. He did have syphilis for some time prior and did make a suicide attempt about five years after writing it, but are those the only details we should judge the story by? Paranoia seems to drip from the pages of this short story; is that due merely to the author’s delusions or to his skill at his craft? One must separate the artist from his creation in order to be wholly enveloped in the art. Le Horla is one of Maupassant’s finest short stories. It is written as the diary of a man slowly slipping into either insanity or the grip of an invisible being living in his house. It all begins with “a beautiful three-master” ship sailing down the river near his house. Afterwards, he begins having unexplained feverish attacks over the next week. Then the unnamed narrator awakens one night during some type of vampiric encounter, which leaves him feeling even more apathetic and fatigued. These encounters continue, and e...

Post-mortem photography began in the 19th century, essentially beginning with the invention of the camera, and ended in the 1940s. It was most popular in Britain and America, but it did spread to Eastern Europe by the 1920s. In a broad sense, it is defined as the act of photographing a deceased person. However, in the Victorian age, it became a fine art that may seem a bit macabre to modern sensibilities. It was popular to prop the deceased into a position so as to appear alive with the surviving family or friends posing with them in a sort of family photo. The purpose of this was not to be sensational or macabre, but to have something beautiful to remember your lost loved one by. In the context of the mid-19th century, cameras were new technology and photography a brand new art form and was not as easily available to the public as it is today. That is why they posed the dead to appear, at least in the photo, as if they were still alive. In many cases, these photo shoots would be ...

Midas And Bacchus by Nicolas Poussin We have all heard the story of King Midas and his golden touch. Everyone knows the moral of the story is simply not to be greedy, but is that all there is to the story? What if that straightforward moral lessen is only the surface of something much deeper? Perhaps even a veiled reference to alchemy? After a re-reading of the story with these questions in mind, I have come to the conclusion that there is much, much more to it. I shall tell the story using the version found in Ovid’s Metamorphosis . And not content with this, Bacchus resolved to leave that land, and with a worthier train went to the vineyards of his own Tmolus and to Pactolus, though the river was not golden, nor admired for precious sands. His usual throng of Satyrs and of Bacchanals surrounded him; but not Silenus, who was then detained from him. The Phrygian folk had captured him, as he was staggering, faint with palsied age and wine. And after they bound him in garlands, they ...

In this historical fiction novel, Anne Rice displays her literary prowess without any of the supernatural overtones usually found in her novels. While it is a melodrama, there is enough action to keep the plot moving without that dragging feeling books or movies sometimes get if a scene lasts too long. The story is set in the 1840s and follows the lives of a handful of young gens de couleur libre, or “Free People of Color,” a type of in-between class formed of mixed race Creoles who peopled New Orleans and Louisiana. We get to see all of the characters from many different points of view throughout the story, so you really get a good sense of the world they lived in and the myriad of cultural nuances that explain who they are and why they behave as they do. The main characters are Marcel St. Marie, the illegitimate son of Philippe Ferronaire, a rich white plantation owner who spends his time in the country with his white family and only visits the St. Maries in the city sporadica...

Happy Holidays to all of my friends and visitors! Here is a gift to all from The Forlorn Path: This is George A. Smith ’s short film “Santa Claus” from 1898. Smith was a pioneer of British cinema and was a friend and colleague of Georges Méliès . Smith began as a stage illusionist and magician, and like Méliès, would later incorporate these skills into the new art of filmmaking. This film is most likely the first time Santa was put on film. It is interesting to note that he has the same overall appearance as he is portrayed today, albeit a bit thinner and perhaps a little more pagan-looking. Also, instead of coming down a chimney, he enters the children’s room through a magical portal. I find these old films so very fascinating; they are like magical portals that transcend the sands of time and give us a glimpse into the past. I hope that you enjoy it.