Four Chaplains — New on SpiritClips

Posted on October 21, 2013 at 8:00 am

SpiritClips, a wonderful online resources for uplifting films, is premiering “Four Chaplains,” based on a true story of extraordinary heroism and sacrifice. In 1943, four Army chaplains of different faiths banded together to save military and civilian personnel aboard the sinking troop ship USAT Dorchester. In a time of crisis, these “Immortal Chaplains” demonstrated the common foundation of their religions: they gave selflessly to aid and comfort the men around them, giving up their lifejackets and sacrificing themselves so that others could live. They were Lt. George L. Fox, Methodist; Lt. Alexander D. Goode, Jewish; Lt. John P. Washington, Roman Catholic; and Lt. Clark V. Poling, Dutch Reformed.

“Four Chaplains” is the SpiritClips directorial debut of James Hernandez, who also edited the documentaries “Excelsior” and “Flight of Honor.” The story appealed to James because he was raised around many religions and grew to appreciate their common values. In directing “Four Chaplains,” James strove to convey the chaos of that night and the fear and panic the men felt as the boat was sinking. With careful research and materials from The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation in Philadelphia, James pays tribute to these heroes.

 

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MVP of the Week: Chiwetel Ejiofor

Posted on October 20, 2013 at 8:00 am

I have been a huge fan of Chiwetel Ejiofor since I first saw him in the 2004 film Dirty Pretty Things. “12 Years a Slave” may be his breakthrough performance, and I hope it encourages audiences to seek out some of his previous work in films as widely varied as Denzel Washington’s sidekick in Spike Lee’s Inside Man, a sci-fi villain in Serenity, a romantic pianist in Woody Allen’s Melinda and Melinda, and a drag queen in Kinky Boots.

He also plays a musician in “Dancing on the Edge,” a miniseries premiering this week on Starz.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF5LQY2fvWE

 

 

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Actors Breakthrough Perfomers

Dancing! Tributes on Slate and at the National Portrait Gallery

Posted on October 19, 2013 at 10:31 am

Washington DC’s National Portrait Gallery is one of my favorite museums, and yesterday I had the great treat of visiting a special exhibit on the history of dance with photos, paintings, drawings, and video.  Josephine Baker’s famous banana dance shows that the inspiration for Miley Cyrus goes back almost 100 years.  Clips showed the Nicholas Brothers in “Stormy Weather,” John Travolta in “Saturday Night Fever” and Beyoncé singing “Single Ladies.”  One wall had QR codes linking to YouTube videos, including a “Thriller” dance at a wedding with over 17 million hits.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJPOoDq82Iw

And Slate has a nice tribute to dancing in the movies, featuring John Travolta (again) in “Pulp Fiction,” Elvis Presley in “Jailhouse Rock,” and Channing Tatum and his wife Jenna Dewan in “Step Up.”

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