Welcome to Monday’s News on the March – The week that was in my digital world.
Claire Lehmann: The threat to free speech from the Right
Video Interview by Freddie Sayers at UnHerd
This interview is such a salient and informative critique about Trump’s first 100 days in office (excluding economic policies ie tariffs). As someone who supported Trump’s reelection (albeit as an outsider) and given the chaos since his inauguration, I see this interview as a valuable opportunity to pause, take a deep breath, and reflect on the changes in his administration – particularly the legitimacy and due process (or lack thereof) behind his appointments, directives, and policies.
Both UnHerd and Quillette (which Claire Lehmann is founder) have long been critics of woke-culture and draconian policies and authoritarianism from the Left. As such they been labelled as far-right by some and not being as ‘independent’ as they might claim. Well here we have them discussing concerns regarding ‘undue process’ and authoritarianism in Trump’s presidency so far with particular focus on the legitimacy of Elon Musk’s appointment as DOGE leader and key adviser. This interview takes a while to get going, so if you want to get to the ‘nitty-gritty’, I point you to 9:30 and beyond.
Join Freddie Sayers on UnHerd as he sits down with Claire Lehmann, founder of Quillette, the Sydney-based magazine launched in 2015 that’s become a global force for reason and free expression. With Trump powering through his first 100 days and Right-wing populism surging across the West, the free speech landscape is shifting. Are journalism and open debate now under threat from the Right? Has the Left’s ‘woke’ orthodoxy given way to a new ‘woke Right’ menace?
Radiohead: A Job That Slowly Kills You
Documentary at hund
This is the first time that UK English rock band Radiohead have featured on my blog. I had always been intrigued why their reputation procedes them for being such an influential and innovative band. I had heard and enjoyed their breakout hit Creep and read how their album OK Computer was hailed by some as one of the greatest of all time. So I wanted to know what it is I had been missing out on. Or at least get a sense of it. So this documentary – being my first foray into the group and its turbulent history was quite absorbing and compelling. It features excerpts of many songs from the group, which I need to explore further on my music exploration journey. May be there are Radiohead fans here who can point me to what they most like in their vast discography.
The Godfather – Commentary by Francis Ford Coppola
Audio commentary with visuals at M.B. Archives
It took me many years to appreciate the grandeur and magnificence of The Godfather movies (Part 1&2) despite having seen the first film at least 5 times. I saw Part 2 recently for the second time and I also found myself in wonder. Often after I have seen such movie marvels, I like to view the documentaries about their making which are on some occasions as fascinating as the movie experience itself. That was certainly true of another Coppola film – Apocalypse Now when I watched the accompanying documentary – Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. Also the documentary of the making of Citizen Kane called – The Battle Over Citizen Kane is regarded like Hearts of Darkness as one of the greatest movie-making documentaries.
So this all leads us neatly to today’s featured Francis Ford Coppola commentary of his Godfather movie. I cannot begin to tell you just how many sweet little offerings for the curious cinefile are on the smorgasbord here including the following:
– an ‘extra’ reentering a shot to get a glimpse of Brando (and it staying in the movie),
– when Coppola was coerced to change the music at the wedding which his father had created,
– when he fired his assistant director preempting his own demise by the studio, and
– how the gruesome head of the horse scene came to be and differed significantly from Mario Puzo’s version. The list goes on…..Please enjoy.
That is all. Thank you for reading.
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I love The Godfather movies ~ well not Godfather III so much.
Right now I’m reading The Godfather novel for the very first time.
I have only seen bits of 3 and wasn’t impressed too much with what I saw. Are you enjoying the book as much as you did the movies?
The book is AWESOME. I got it out from the library & it’s one I will definitely eventually buy for my own library. There’s a lot more in here than ever made it into the movie.
Books are nearly always more wholesome and satisfying than their movie adaptations, but there are exceptions like perhaps Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’. But they are usually few and far between.
My father said that the movie “Doctor Zhivago” was better than the novel. I’m not sure that I concur ~ I do love the novel. But the movie is one of my very favorites.
I have Doctor Zhivago in my collection. I remember seeing it just the one time and I was struck by it. It’s a bit of a precursor to Alexander Solzhenitisyn’s take on the USSR under Stalin and the Gulags etc. I must revisit it. I would love to read the book, but I have no idea how since my Ekindle died.