The Greatest Things EVER

This page is devoted to the greatest films, music, books art. Anything that I think people must experience or their life will be sad and lonely.

Purple Rain

The album is the biggest selling film soundtrack in history according to the record companies. But in reality this album isn't a soundtrack for the film, the film is the visuals and story to accompany the album.

This was the album that really shot Prince to fame, sure all his albums before this are worth listening to but Purple Rain relly showed what he was capable of. I love the upbeat danceable numbers such as Let's Go Crazy and the pair I Would Die 4 U/Baby I'm A Star which sit back to back on the album. These are a glimpse of what so-called dance music should be about, subtly funky and riding a wave of energy that makes it difficult to stay still. Somebody once said that really good dance music has to keep the feeling going, and that showing off with solos kills the groove, Baby I'm A Star disproves this with Prince's guitar,bass and piano all forcing their way in there. I have heard of dj mixes of this track which make The Orb's Blue Room seem short.

But the real high points of the album are the tracks such as When Doves Cry or The Beautiful Ones which dissapear at some tangent to what is considerd mainstream. Henry Rollins says (shout's?) that people should be passionate and emotional about their music, after hearing the climax of The Beautiful Ones you know what he means. When Doves Cry is most famous for what it lacks, it is probably the only single to go to no.1 in the USA without a bassline, he just couldn't find one which sounded right so he left it out. Another bit of musical trivia is born, and another classic track which stands out from the crowd. It's such a distinctive piece of music I can recognise it as soon as I hear the first drumbeat.

Similarly with the title track the opening guitar chord is so distinctive that it sends me back to the days when I first heard it. We still don't know what the lyrics to Purple Rain mean but that doesn't stop it being a wonderful song. It is an anthem, but without any of the crudity that the description usually implies, even when an audience of thousands are singing along the song never loses it's delicacy.

The film is OK but Prince was never going to win awards for his acting, it does show of his great talent for performing. Just watch him dancing to I Would Die 4 U and Baby I'm A Star at the end of the film, it makes me feel weak and unfit in comparison.

Everyone should listen to this, even if they profess to hate Prince, I used to hate him but my brother listened to this and I realised the error of my ways (hmm that sounds like a born again Christian). Get this album.

Go To NPN Review

Star Wars

Currently the highest grossing film ever this film and its sequels formed a huge subculture and managed to redefine toy merchandising as we know it.

The whole film is one big cliche and the actors even complained about the dialog while they were filming it, but it's absolutely wonderful. The film begins with the phrase A long time ago, In a galaxy far, far away then BANG the horn section of the LSO assaults us with the opening fanfare. The scene is set with a few paragraphs detailing what has happened, It is a period of civil war, rebel spaceships striking from a hidden base have won th eir first victory against the Evil Galactic Empire...... As the words eve ntually fade into the distance the music subdues and the camera pans to a peacef ul view above the planet Tatooine.

Then a ship, a large ship flies in from the top of the screen, firing at somethi ng behind it. Then the pursuer flies into view, apparently taking ages to fly in to shot, the rumble of it's engines sound as if they're trying to blow up the so und system. That's one of those moments in film history that always sticks with me, this be ast of a ship, assaulting our senses while it tears into the poor ship it's pusu ing.

Of course this film has amny other great moments which deserve a place in the li st of great cinema moments. The climax of the film especially with Luke Skywalke r's X-Wing racing down the trench towards the target, pusued by the evil Darth V ader. Or how about the Mos Eisley spaceport canteena with its plethora of alien species where Luke and Ben meet Han Solo and Chewbacca, to hire the Millenium Fa lcon. (It's the ships that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs) Other than scenes this film has great characters Han Solo, wisecracking smuggler , and Princess Leia have a love hate relationship which grows through the 3 film s (although Empire Strikes Back probably has the best dialogue).

Best Lines
Luke: Looks like they've managed to cut off our only escape route.
Leia: This is some rescue, when you came in here didn't you have a plan for gett ing out?
Han: Perhaps you'd like it back in your cell, your highness?

Han: You've never heard of the Millenium Falcon?
Ben: No, should I have?
Han: It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs.

Luke: What a piece of junk!
Han: She'll make .5 past lightspeed, she may not look like much but she's got it where it counts....

Leia: You came in that thing?
You're braver than I thought.

Han: I use these compartments for smuggling, never thought I'd be smuggling myself in them.

Vader: Where are those transmissions you intercepted?
What have you done with those plans?
Rebel Officer: We intercepted no transmissions. (choking)
This is a consular ship on a diplomatic mission.
Vader: If this is a consular ship then where is the ambassador?
Commander tear this ship apart until you've found those plans
and bring me the passengers. I want them alive!.

Oh hell! Why don't I just set up apointer to the entire script.

A link to the Str Wars Home Page.

Babylon 5

Ok so it's not finished yet so maybe my judging of this is a bit premature but IMHO this program is unmatched. When it first appeared it resembled sub-Star Trek (Really scraping the barrel) science fiction, with wooden actors, cliched scripts but nice CGI special effects.

And to be honest if we were to take each episode on its own then this series would have been cancelled long ago. It's real strength lies in the continuing narrative from each episode to the next. The 5 year story behind the series occurs mostly in the background of the individual plots of each episode, the stories creep up on the characters and the viewers alike.

So it's a bit like a soap opera? Well yes it is but the scale of the background plot is enormous, the fate of billions of people, humans and non-humans is in the balance. By the end of the series the whole human race will have changed, It was the Dawn of the Third Age of Mankind we are told at the start to every episode. Exactly what the third age of mankind will be we have not been told yet and few of the writers on the series know either. One man John Michael Strazinsky is the one person who is steering the plot, supposedly he has planned out all the major events over 5 years of the series. The Earth government is falling apart, various factions are trying to gain power including the military, Psi-core and various groups who aren't even supposed to exist. Other governments are having their own troubles, either dissention in the ranks or relations with old enemies, new races are complicating the picture but it is the old races which hold the key.

Many Questions will be raised and others answered but in time everything will come together and destiny will catch up with the characters. Civilisations will rise and fall planets will be laid waste and entire races will become extinct and at the centre of it all will be Babylon 5 .

Currently we have reached the end of the second season and the third season is starting in America in October, I'll probably have to wait until January though for it to come to the UK. But before then Channel 4 may be repeating the first season and I would urge anyone who watched a few episodes and decided it was crap to watch it again, from the start and don't give up on it, there's a lot of good viewing to be found there. Just ignore the odd bit of bad acting and the regular cliches and enjoy the story as it surfaces, oh go on, you know it makes sense.

Link to the B5 HomePage

Or how about JMS personal thoughts on the series.

Lastly we have the B5 FAQ.

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