Tag Archives: Vintage Quotes

Vintage Quotes

Author’s fanedit version of “the phone call” scene from Valkyrie (2008). Original clip available courtesy of “Movieclips” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k9bFzgXeXE.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet


Remarkably, few film sub-genres are such reliable earners across time, across demographics, and perhaps most telling of all, across film production teams like the Internal Nazi Fratricide sub-genre is.  (I’ve actually thought for some time that some type of sociological research study could be done, and that it might shed some light into why that is.)

Valkyrie (2008) is undoubtedly one of the highest quality films in this sub-genre.  Yet, another “fanedit” seems to be in order, and I believe this one, as well, wades into the objective-improvement zone.

If you haven’t seen it, Valkyrie depicts a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and ultimately there is mass confusion as to whether the assassination succeeded or failed.  This causes alliances to whipsaw, intrigues and suspicions to pile up, wholesale misinformation, and all of this leads up to “the phone call” scene.

Above you have my (objective?)-improvement fanedit.  Assuming I understand that scene right, the idea is kind of like the Devil has come back from the dead – and that naturally portends to upend everything.  (Hitler’s voice on the other end of line is the first time the viewer and the film’s relevant characters learns of his survival.  He was presumed dead and his loyalists were being jailed, with executions or worse likely looming.)

And yet the original release (right down below for comparison) includes a whole lot of perfunctory, pedestrian details that bog the scene down with unnecessary information, and distract viewers from its intended purpose and true value.

Original clip courtesy of “Movieclips” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k9bFzgXeXE.

1. Do we really need multiple “hello” greetings from one side of the phone line?

2. Did we really need multiple reiterations of how prisoners are to be captured, in this particular scene?  (Which, again, steals attention away from the true value of the scene.)

3. Perhaps most ludicrous of all is seeing exactly how a Nazi soldier would exit from a standard room – first opening the door, and then closing it behind him.

On a side note, to make this simple fanedit I tried out the freeware version of Lightworks – a video editing application that many people recommend.  My impression of Lightworks is that the paid version must be incredibly better than the free version – otherwise I don’t understand the level of acclaim.

To spice up the phone call audio (trying to harken back to the age of lower-quality audio), I used Audacity and the “Walkie Talkie” distortion effect.  However, instead of applying that built-in effect once, I lowered the effect level, and then reapplied it several times in succession.

In closing, I’ve seen this type of issue in lots of different media content, and also outside of media.  For something that’s run-of-the-mill, it doesn’t typically matter if the details are somewhat formulaic.  However, for something that’s supposed to be supercharged with a distinct, higher level of interest, there really ought to be an acute attention to what details are present, how those details are presented, and what the overall effect is.

 

Vintage Quotes

Analysis of 2017 Harper-Strickland MLB brawl, which featured the confluence of sports psychology, sociology, and maybe even psychiatry.

I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of people.

Isaac Newton


A Christian attacks a Muslim in the Central African Republic. The CAR has witnessed the displacement of 1 in 5 of its citizens and is now reportedly in stage 7 ("Preparation") of 10 in the 10 stages of genocide. Photo by Jerome Delay, AP.
A Christian attacks a Muslim in the Central African Republic. The long-running CAR conflict is primarily over religion, and 1 in 5 of its citizens has already been displaced. The CAR is now reportedly in stage 7 (“Preparation”) of 10 in the 10 stages of genocide. Photo by Jerome Delay, AP.

Vintage Quotes

A CNN analyst explains the current tactical exchanges in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.
A CNN analyst explains the current tactical exchanges in the ongoing U.S.-China trade war.

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory.  Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.

Unknown (disputed attribution)

When campaigning, be swift as the wind.

Sun Tzu’s The Art of War

Vintage Quotes

Dire conditions in Venezuela have forced the medical community to resort to protests that would have previously been inconceivable.  Photograph courtesy of Federico Parra / AFP / Getty Images.
Dire conditions in Venezuela have forced the medical community to resort to protests that would have previously been inconceivable.  Photograph courtesy of Federico Parra / AFP / Getty Images.

 

A poem is a protest, a protest is a poem.

Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers

 

Photograph courtesy of Getty Images.
Photograph courtesy of Getty Images.

 

Photograph courtesy of Atlas.
Photograph courtesy of Atlas.

 


†  This is the way I like to remember it.  Online sources note the dialogue as: “A petition is a poem, a poem is a petition.”, which in this case is provably not as memorable.

Vintage Quotes

Map of countries by percentage of population living in poverty. (Redder indicates more poverty.) Map by Peter Lonjers, 2015. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty
Map of countries by percentage of population living in poverty.  (Redder indicates more poverty.)  Map by Peter Lonjers, 2015.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_percentage_of_population_living_in_poverty

The people die fast when the money is slow.

Variant of a Song Lyric

Homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012. (Bluer indicates more homicides.) Map by Nikko2013, 2014. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate
Homicide rate per 100,000 inhabitants in 2012.  (Bluer indicates more homicides.)  Map by Nikko2013, 2014.  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

Vintage Quotes

Considered by many to be the most expensive private home on Earth, Antilia has an estimated value of $1 billion.  Located in Mumbai, India, it boasts 3 helipads, a dedicated air traffic control center, 600 permanent staff members, and 6 stories of private parking.
Considered by many to be the most expensive private home on Earth, Antilia has an estimated value of $1 billion.  Located in Mumbai, India, it boasts 3 helipads, a dedicated air traffic control center, 600 permanent staff members, and 6 stories of private parking.

The best way to realize the pleasure of feeling rich is to live in a smaller house than your means would entitle you to have.

Edward Clarke

Vintage Quotes

The Impossible Escape: With 250-pound-plus Mark Hunt laying on top of him, and an Americana submission forcefully secured on his left arm, Fedor Emelianenko would defy reality and manage to escape.  He would later seize victory.  From PRIDE Shockwave 2006.
The Impossible Escape: With 250-pound-plus Mark Hunt laying on top of him, and an Americana submission forcefully secured on his left arm, Fedor Emelianenko would defy reality and manage to escape.  He would later seize victory.  From PRIDE Shockwave 2006.

 

A fight does not start with a referee asking if you’re ready.

Royce Gracie


†  This statement can be generalized to all of man’s struggles, not just physical altercations.