The Duellists

I have just spent a happy hour and a half reacquainting myself with an old friend.

The Duellists, Ridley Scott's directorial debut and 1977 Cannes Jury Prize winner. Bloody fabulous - haven't seen it for years.

And available for six quid on DVD in the HMV sale.

And, no, I'm not on commission.

The Duellists

I have just spent a happy hour and a half reacquainting myself with an old friend.

The Duellists, Ridley Scott's directorial debut and 1977 Cannes Jury Prize winner. Bloody fabulous - haven't seen it for years.

And available for six quid on DVD in the HMV sale.

And, no, I'm not on commission.

Truly Pretentious...

I am sitting here sweltering in the post-industrial haze that is London.

To round off an incredibly lazy weekend, during which to my immense annoyance a Sunday occurance was cancelled, meaning I missed out on some Nottingham gaming for no good reason as it transpires, I am listening to Tubular Bells 2003.

This is an album that redefines pretention, and I love it. Mike Oldfield has gone back into the studio and re-recorded the entirety of Tubular Bells. Not a remix, not a remastering, but a complete re-recording from the ground up. And the same tunes are sufficiently differently played and produced to make it worth having even if you have the original. Not to mention all that digitally goodness missing from the old analogue transfers of the original.

The only bit I'm not sure about is the use of John Cleese in absentio the late Vivian Stanshall, introducing the various instruments. As such, it should have been OK, but since Cleese goes into full dead parrot mode, I'm not sure it quite works. Mike 'perfectionist' Oldfield must be happy with it though or it wouldn't have seen light of day.

The CD jewel case boasts the latest anti-copying software and warns that it might not run on some PCs. Not only does it run on my PC, but it made the transition on to my MP3 Jukebox, too. So maybe the anti-copy software might not be all the producers expect.

Clearly digital goodness goes further in some directions than others.

I haven't tried to burn a CD of it yet since that seems a tad redundant, but I should have thought pirate MP3 downloads a greater threat to the music industry than home burnt CDs...

But what do I know? And he got his £13 from me anyway, so I feel quite justified in making a portable copy for me sen.

Truly Pretentious...

I am sitting here sweltering in the post-industrial haze that is London.

To round off an incredibly lazy weekend, during which to my immense annoyance a Sunday occurance was cancelled, meaning I missed out on some Nottingham gaming for no good reason as it transpires, I am listening to Tubular Bells 2003.

This is an album that redefines pretention, and I love it. Mike Oldfield has gone back into the studio and re-recorded the entirety of Tubular Bells. Not a remix, not a remastering, but a complete re-recording from the ground up. And the same tunes are sufficiently differently played and produced to make it worth having even if you have the original. Not to mention all that digitally goodness missing from the old analogue transfers of the original.

The only bit I'm not sure about is the use of John Cleese in absentio the late Vivian Stanshall, introducing the various instruments. As such, it should have been OK, but since Cleese goes into full dead parrot mode, I'm not sure it quite works. Mike 'perfectionist' Oldfield must be happy with it though or it wouldn't have seen light of day.

The CD jewel case boasts the latest anti-copying software and warns that it might not run on some PCs. Not only does it run on my PC, but it made the transition on to my MP3 Jukebox, too. So maybe the anti-copy software might not be all the producers expect.

Clearly digital goodness goes further in some directions than others.

I haven't tried to burn a CD of it yet since that seems a tad redundant, but I should have thought pirate MP3 downloads a greater threat to the music industry than home burnt CDs...

But what do I know? And he got his £13 from me anyway, so I feel quite justified in making a portable copy for me sen.