Too Absent Herald

First, the good news. The new DVD of The Outsiders, known as The Complete Novel, finally gives the cinematic end of that wonderful sentence that opens the book: “As I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie, I only had two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.”

The bad news… Well, that’s more complicated. I never thought that I’d say this, but I miss the Carmine Coppola score. The new edition has a lot of added music, mostly Elvis songs that fit the period. But then there is a bunch of surf guitar licks and clips. Now that I’m writing this, I can even accept the Presley, since they are at least period-specific (the book/film is set in 1960 Tulsa, OK). But the surf sound?

I’m pretty sure (I’ll have to go to the Beta tape) the original only had Van Morrison’s version of “Gloria” as the only scene setting credit (this was during the opening, with Matt Dillon’s psychotic “52 Pick-up.”

The big let-down is that the surf-guitar sound replaces the score even when a cinematic (stringy) score is called for: during the rumble. As a kid I remember reacting to this scene. No, I didn’t go out and stomp some Soc’s face into gorilla cookies. My reaction was to how the moodiness of the score as the Soc’s arrive for the rumble changes, almost imperceptably, during the fight to the dynamic sweep of a “we-win” feel; then followed quickly by a sad tone as Dally takes Ponyboy to the hospital.

I’ve seen this revisionism before, and not only with Greedo. You can’t get a copy on DVD, but John Sayles’ Baby, It's You had a terrific soundtrack when shown on TV, but the release on video (VHS) chose to take advantage of “nostalgia nation” by changing the songs to give more breadth to Oldies stations.

But what about the movie, itself?

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Over the weekend at Lou & Talley’s wedding (review coming), I was touched to find out that all along during my hiatus I had been included in the Wikipedia entry for Thee Iran Contras. And that I had a mention on Green Lantern, as well. So I determined to get into the regular habit of entering here. Otherwise, it’s as wasted as that second and third loaf of bread I seem continually to buy.

Tonight I don’t have the energy, though, so I’ll just share this great thing I found, thanks to Chris Poole:
People over 30 Should be Dead, listing things people my age have, for lack of better terms, survived.

My favorite is:
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the street lights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. No cell phones. Unthinkable!
and:
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.

more tomorrow.

There were only the two of us on the train.

I was still sweating, nervous from the moment I had found myself heading the wrong way on the F. But I was right as rain, now, and I’d made it under the river, past Canal, and was well above Union, safely coursing toward my mid-town room. The anxiety had gotten all the extra alcohol out, leaving me with only the lightheadedness.

She had gotten on soon after I turned around, maybe at Carroll Gardens. She was clearly not in town for work. This was her town, and she was probably heading up the East Side somewhere. But no, not on this train. A late night party?

It was only the two of us on the train, and I let the lurch get me going toward her, so my holding the rail would look natural. I was about to speak, when the guy got on with the black T-shirt that read, simply:

Han Shot First.
After that, I don’t remember what color hair she had. I laughed all the way to 57th.
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Now, it seems, the long dark night of Gen Xers trying to differentiate themselves from their lessers is finally coming to an end. Ever since the re-release, in ‘95, those who actually SAW Star Wars in the theatre have tried every means of making it abundantly clear that they were superior and exempt.
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First, THE STORE should be is up and running soon. You will be able to do most, if not all, of your Amazon shopping through this site. The generated profits will go toward, well, gas money so that I can get Gerard, Whittier, Battles and Tallent to “do what I said” in front of a camera.

Speaking of camera: The most recent Too Absent Production, Recycle Wars, a 15 min. short on the benefits and trials and tribulations of recycling, – and involving homages to The Natural and that George Lucas enterprise — It’s funny, but I won’t be able to release it here until (if) I garnered releases from the actors. So we’ll see.
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