manny a. quito

Nessun Dorma (the Italian title translates as "Let no one sleep") came to popular attention when BBC used Luciano Pavarotti's version as the theme for the 1990 Football World Cup held in Italy. It is lifted from the last act of Giacomo Puccini's opera Turandot.

You might also want to listen to Russell Watson's version. Russel recounts that while he was singing in a pub, he was challenged by someone to try to belt out Nessun Dorma, since it was then all the rage, it being football season. The audience response was so heartening that he thereafter quit his job as a welder, and started singing in pubs and clubs. After several more years he traveled from his hometown of Salford to London, where he turned up unannounced at the Decca offices. After his audition, he was immediately signed up by one of the most eminent classical labels in the world, despite his lack of any formal training.

Look for the following album:

The album contents are listed as:

1. Nella Fantasia

2. Amor Ti Vieta

3. Pelagia's Song (Captain Corelli's Mandolin)

4. Caruso

5. Miserere *

6. Panis Angelicus

7. Non Ti Scordar Di Me

8. La Donna E Mobile

9. Saylon Dola (with Maire Brennan)

10. Someone Like You (duet with Cleopatra Higgins)

11. Bridge Over Troubled Waters

12. Vienna

13. Funiculi, Funicula

14. Barcelona (with Shaun Ryder) **

15. Nessun Dorma

Also out there is this DVD:

This DVD features a remarkable open-air concert which Russell Watson gave in Auckland, New Zealand during February of 2002. One of his guests is Faye Tozer, formerly of the British pop group Steps. You'll also be introduced to New Zealand sensation Hayley Westenra, who seems to be the appropriate heir to Charlotte Church as the next female vocal wunderkind.

In the local scene, Robert Sena also gives a worthy popular rendition of this standard aria.

haunting classics?

Oh, and of course, J. S. Bach's Toccata (from Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565) blasted by an ominous organ is a staple of those old black and white horror movies, such that it has been often satirized or spoofed in cartoons and comedy movies.

Likewise, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony with it's opening staccato “DAA-DAA-DAA-DAAAHH!" It was designated by Winston Churchill for use by the BBC in transmitting radio propaganda against Adolph Hitler because in Morse code, dot-dot-dot-dash, means V, for victory.

haunting classics?

Also creepy were pianist Dominic Harlan's rendition of Gyorgy Ligeti's Musica Ricercata No. 2 and Concertgeboux Amsterdam's performance of the Second Waltz from Jazz Suite No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovich in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut.

My search has so far yielded the following influences of classical music in contemporary pop songs.

Coolio's "C U When U Get There" quotes Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D Major.

Alicia Keys' "Piano & I" was based on the first movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" or Piano Sonata No. 14.

Mary J. Blige's "Love" quotes Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King.

Sting's "Russians" was based on Sergei Prokofiev's "Romance" theme from Lieutenant Kije Suite, Opus 60.

Neil Diamond's "Song Sung Blue" was based on the second movement of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Piano Concerto No. 21."

John Denver's "Annie's Song" was based on the second movement of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5.

Barry Manilow's "Could It Be Magic" quotes extensively from Chopin's Prelude in C minor.

Eric Carmen's "All By Myself" was based on Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. "Never Gonna Fall In Love Again" was based on Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony.

Paul Simon's "American Tune" was based on Johann Sebastian Bach's hymn "O Sacred Head."

The Beatles' "All You Need is Love" contains a quotation from the beginning of J.S. Bach's Two-part Invention No. 8. "Because" draws from Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14, or "Moonlight Sonata."

Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" recently covered by Sarah Brightman was loosely based on J.S. Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3, Aria more commonly known as Air on a G String.

Elvis Presley's "It's Now or Never" was based on the Italian ditty 'O Sole Mio' by Eduardo di Capua; "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" was lifted from Plaisir d'Amour by Jean Paul Egide Martini.

haunting classics?

The medieval sound of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with its mostly Latin text became widely used in movie music, primarily associated with the original The Omen. "O Fortuna" was used in the 1981 film Excalibur, Oliver Stone's "The Doors," parts of the soundtrack for the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and in many movie trailers including "Glory". It has even been used in commercials.

"Carmina Burana" is the title that Johann Andreas Schmeller first gave to the collection of poems, some in German and most in Latin, that he published in 1847. Their source was a 13th-century German manuscript from a Benedictine abbey in the Bavarian city of Benediktbeuren. Hence, the title which means Songs of Beuren.

Depends on what codec was used to encode the video file. If it's an MPEG1 or MPEG2 file, then your best bet is

TMPGEnc Plus. Use the MPEG Tools to split the file.

If the file is DivX, then a good free utility is VirtualDub, which can be used to split most AVI viles.

Sorry, my bad. It's Gretchen Mol, not Molly Sims, starring in The Notorious Bettie Page.

Molly Sims stars in The Notorious Bettie Page

http://www.impawards.com/2006/posters/notorious_bettie_page_ver2.jpg

Nagisa Oshima's "In The Realm Of The Senses" (aka "Ai No Corrida") was shown at MIFF in the late 70's. Very rare, but pirated DVD locally available.

There has been a recent trend of showing explicit sex scenes usually associated with triple-X porn movies in mainstream cinema.

Here's a listing of the ones I've seen:

Danish music star Gry Bay in "All About Anna"

Margot Stilley in "Nine Songs"

Chloe Sevigny with then boyfriend Vincent Gallo in "The Brown Bunny"

Anapola Mushkadiz in "Battle In Heaven"

Kerry Fox in "Intimacy"

Porn legend Rocco Siffredi has appeared in some of Catherine Breillat's films as a leading protagonist, to wit, "Romance" with Caroline Ducey and "Anatomy of Hell' with Amira Casar.

Less explicit, but still more daring than usual:

Eva Green, who starred in "Kingdom of Heaven" with Orland Bloom, was very, very daring in Bernardo Bertolucci's "The Dreamers"

A very young Penelope Cruz (only 17) appeared nude in Bigas Luna's "Jamon, Jamon" with Javier Bardem.

Elizabeth Hurley was naked in "Rowing With the Wind" co-starring then boyfriend Hugh Grant.

More next time.

Rachel Weisz in The Shape of Things to Come

Some singers have distinct vocal qualities or stamp their own unique interpretation on standard songs so that once you hear them you at once know who is singing without being told. To these group of vocal stylists belong Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole. Lesser known, but also quite excellent are Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman and Freddy Cole (younger brother of Nat King Cole).

If you can find them, try listening to:

My Foolish Heart - Billy Eckstine

Imagination - Billy Eckstine

Lush Life - Johnny Hartman

In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning - Johnny Hartman

For All We Know - Freddy Cole

Somewhere Along The Way - Freddy Cole

Somewhere Over the Rainbow / What A Wondeful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

from Meet Joe Black, Fifty First Dates

Book of Love - Peter Gabriel

from the movie Shall We Dance?

Promise Me You'll Remember - Harry Connick, Jr.

from The Godfather

To make this more interesting, let's explore instances where classical music was used to enhance the impact of cinematic art. For example, Strauss's Also Sprach Zarathustra was employed to choreograph the establishing sequence of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The juxtaposition was so appropriate that the two are inextricably linked in pop culture.

Made in China portable HDD Player. It's a 2.5" hard disk external enclosure which comes with USB attachment to connect to your laptop or desktop so u can use it to store MP3, WMA, MPEG and DivX files, or even VOB files ripped from DVDs. You can then use it to play music or video files even without a PC by connecting it to a monitor or TV. Operates with AC/DC adapter or battery pack (4 X AAA) and comes with remote control. (P4,500 for HDD Player + P4,200 for 2.5" hard disk)

The Unbearable Lightness of Being starring Daniel Day Lewis, Juliette Binoche and Lena Olin

Anne Hathaway of "The Princess Diaries 1 & 2" goes topless in "Havoc"