A Battle to Remember: Napier War Memorial

The film is posted...

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Gallup: Much reaction?

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Neilsen: Over 200 viewings in the first day.

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Gallup: Is that good?

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Neilsen: Well, if you are an absolute nobody you might get three or four. If you are a celebrity or covering an international disaster, you might get thousands.

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Gallup: So you’re in the middle?

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Neilsen: We’ll see. The speakers have passion. As one of the commentators puts it: “We had the facts, we had the history, and we had the emotion.” The issue is attracting traffic.

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Voice-over

How some citizens of Napier persuaded the city council to reinstate the city's iconic war memorial after commercial interests had commandeered the site.

https://youtu.be/YthzRv5gF5I

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French film: Lumière!

A paean to the genius of the Lumières…

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Marguerite: A collection of 108 remastered 50 second-films.

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Auguste and Louis

Jeanne: They were inventors and directors, not just inventors, like Edison. He shut the moving pictures in a box, in his kinetoscope. The Lumières showed the moving pictures using their cinematograph, so many people could see at once.

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Marguerite: The cinema was born.

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Jeanne: Edison’s invention was like seeing pictures on a smartphone. The Lumières created cinema. A distinction that exists today.

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A star is born...

Marguerite: They formed a, what you say, a disciplage of directors who went out and shot exotic places and activities. Collaborative power.

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Jeanne: And their actualités are really the first documentaries. Apt naming too. Their name means “light”.

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Marguerite: And what a body of work they left. Produced 1500 films between 1895 and 1905, then just quit. Went on to other things.

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Voice-over

Brothers, Auguste and Louis Lumière, inventors, producers, directors. In a sense, they founded the movie business. Kudos to Director Thierry Frémaux for his 4K montage of 108 films: Lumière!

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Paul Newman and Robert Redford

Charles and Leonard discuss Paul Newman’s death.

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Charles: Paul Newman died.

Leonard: Great actor. Lived in a small community. Ran a 250 million dollar business and gave away all profits to charity. Had quality friends.

Charles: Robert Redford.

Leonard: Helps to have someone like that say things like, “Certain friendships are too good and too strong to talk about ,” when you pass on. Some people you owe the debt of your identity to. Sundance became Sundance.

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Voice-over

Memorable quotes:

from: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Butch Cassidy: You know, when I was a kid, I always thought I'd grow up to be a hero.

Sundance Kid: Well, it's too late now.

Butch Cassidy: What'd you say that for? You didn't have to say something like that.

from: The Sting (1973)

Johnny Hooker: He's not as tough as he thinks.

Henry Gondorff: Neither are we.

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The sound of air hissing out

Oliver is thinking of submitting a short film for the “Filmed by Bike” festival to be held in Portland, April 2008.

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Oliver: It’s only short films, six to ten minutes, see, so I just thought up this scenario.

Ned: Tell.

Oliver: This actually happened to me. I’m riding my bicycle through the forest and I’m saying to myself be careful of the tree roots because if you hit one you’ll get a puncture and you have no repair kit.

Ned: No repair kit.

Oliver: And I’m humming along and suddenly there’s a bump and I say “Steady on” and then there’s this SSSSS – sound. “Darn it.” I’m just thinking about getting a punk and damn me if doesn’t actually happen there and then.

Ned: Power of positive thinking? Visualizing your goals?

Oliver: I jump off and look down and there’s this leaf caught between the brake and the tire whizzing round is making the SSSSSS –sound.

Ned: And you want to make a film of this?

Oliver: What do you think?

Ned: Ten seconds long should be plenty.

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