Wednesday 14 September 2011

Author Spotlight - June Bryan Belfie talks about her favorite movies


Movies played a large role in my childhood. Growing up in the forties and fifties, there was little else. Sunday nights the family sat and listened to the radio before television entered the scene. I kept a diary from age ten to thirteen and it's amazing how often I did go to the movie theatre. We even had double features on Saturdays.

The first movie I remember loving was Brief Encounter, which looking back seems like an odd choice for a ten-year-old girl. It was a love story. The music is what drew me in. When we left the theatre I raved about it and my father informed me that we had the recording at home. It was Rachmaninoff's 2nd Piano Concerto and to this day it is my favorite piece of music. When I was in high school I purchased the piano score and attempted to play a few pages. It was over my head, but it was still a thrill to be able to play some of the brief passages that meant so much to me.

Later, I fell in love with Mary Poppins. I was a mother by then and used my young daughter as an excuse to see it three times! Having read it as a child, it had special meaning to me and Dick Van Dyke? Amazing dancer!

If I look back in the last few years, Slumdog Millionaire stands out as one of the best movies of all time. I was riveted to my seat. Of course, The Passion was also spell-binding in its portrayal of Christ's crucifixion. I will not watch it again, though it will stay with me for my lifetime.

Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, and some of the old Danny Kaye movies are still fun to watch.

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