I preferred John Belushi's portrayal.
Posted on 11/04/2010 7:19:12 PM PDT by WesternCulture
70 years ago, Britain and America together murdered the industrial capacity of Continental Europe.
(I have dared to arrive in Dresden early morning - doing so will rip your heart out, the marks of the bombings still are extremely present, words can't describe what you'll encounter)
50 years ago, Continental Europe stood up very well against America and Britain.
21 years ago, the Berlin wall came down.
Today, Communism and Nazism are stone dead in Europe, economic growth is decent in Germany and our school children are not instructed to salute Hitler or Stalin.
We Europeans are annoying when we accuse others of being uneducated fools, yes, but we also know much about shaping the future of Humanity.
Goebbles, a well educated man, didn't know how to handle the heritage of Goethe, Bach and Heine.
He chose to replace this glorious cultural heritage by evil lies. We all know that end of that story.
The truth Schiller and Goethe saw will eternally survive evil.
Beethovens 9th symphony says just about it all and accordingly all of Humanity ought to know it by heart:
(Beethoven's incredible symphony is based on the words of Friedrich Schiller, o)
1 Joy, beautiful spark of Gods, 2 Daughter of Elysium, 3 We enter, fire-imbibed, 4 Heavenly, thy sanctuary. 5 Thy magic powers re-unite 6 What custom's sword has divided 7 Beggars become Princes' brothers 8 Where thy gentle wing abides. Chorus
9 Be embraced, millions! 10 This kiss to the entire world! 11 Brothers - above the starry canopy 12 A loving father must dwell. 13 Whoever has had the great fortune, 14 To be a friend's friend, 15 Whoever has won the love of a devoted wife, 16 Add his to our jubilation! 17 Indeed, whoever can call even one soul 18 His own on this earth! 19 And whoever was never able to must creep 20 Tearfully away from this circle. Chorus
21 Those who dwell in the great circle, 22 Pay homage to sympathy! 23 It leads to the stars, 24 Where the Unknown reigns.
25 Joy all creatures drink 26 At nature's bosoms; 27 All, Just and Unjust, 28 Follow her rose-petalled path. 29 Kisses she gave us, and Wine, 30 A friend, proven in death, 31 Pleasure was given (even) to the worm, 32 And the Cherub stands before God. Chorus
33 You bow down, millions? 34 Can you sense the Creator, world? 35 Seek him above the starry canopy. 36 Above the stars He must dwell. 37 Joy is called the strong motivation 38 In eternal nature. 39 Joy, joy moves the wheels 40 In the universal time machine. 41 Flowers it calls forth from their buds, 42 Suns from the Firmament, 43 Spheres it moves far out in Space, 44 Where our telescopes cannot reach. Chorus
45 Joyful, as His suns are flying, 46 Across the Firmament's splendid design, 47 Run, brothers, run your race, 48 Joyful, as a hero going to conquest. 49 As truth's fiery reflection 50 It smiles at the scientist. 51 To virtue's steep hill 52 It leads the sufferer on. 53 Atop faith's lofty summit 54 One sees its flags in the wind, 55 Through the cracks of burst-open coffins, 56 One sees it stand in the angels' chorus. Chorus
57 Endure courageously, millions! 58 Endure for the better world! 59 Above the starry canopy 60 A great God will reward you. 61 Gods one cannot ever repay, 62 It is beautiful, though, to be like them. 63 Sorrow and Poverty, come forth 64 And rejoice with the Joyful ones. 65 Anger and revenge be forgotten, 66 Our deadly enemy be forgiven, 67 Not one tear shall he shed anymore, 68 No feeling of remorse shall pain him. Chorus
69 The account of our misdeeds be destroyed! 70 Reconciled the entire world! 71 Brothers, above the starry canopy 72 God judges as we judged. 73 Joy is bubbling in the glasses, 74 Through the grapes' golden blood 75 Cannibals drink gentleness, 76 And despair drinks courage-- 77 Brothers, fly from your seats, 78 When the full rummer is going around, 79 Let the foam gush up to heaven*: 80 This glass to the good spirit. Chorus
81 He whom star clusters adore, 82 He whom the Seraphs' hymn praises, 83 This glass to him, the good spirit, 84 Above the starry canopy! 85 Resolve and courage for great suffering, 86 Help there, where innocence weeps, 87 Eternally may last all sworn Oaths, 88 Truth towards friend and enemy, 89 Men's pride before Kings' thrones-- 90 Brothers, even it if meant our Life and blood, 91 Give the crowns to those who earn them, 92 Defeat to the pack of liars! Chorus
93 Close the holy circle tighter, 94 Swear by this golden wine: 95 To remain true to the Oath, 96 Swear it by the Judge above the stars! 97 Delivery from tyrants' chains, 98 Generosity also towards the villain, 99 Hope on the deathbeds, 100 Mercy from the final judge! 101 Also the dead shall live! 102 Brothers, drink and chime in, 103 All sinners shall be forgiven, 104 And hell shall be no more. Chorus
105 A serene hour of farewell! 106 Sweet rest in the shroud! 107 Brothers--a mild sentence 108 From the mouth of the final judge!
Let’s rebuild the World.
In 1785, Schiller nurtured a vision of brave men giving up their silly complaints of worldly matters and becoming men of substance.
True individuals seeking to change the world around them instead of constantly crying over everything discomforting them are to be honored.
I don’t exactly cry tears over Prince’s (the Symbol’s) failed agreements with record companies.
I’m fagged and going to spatchka. Dobby Nochy!
“Beethoven is the greatest composer ever. Period.”
Yes, but please don’t forget Schiller was some kind of poet.
Beethoven would have bowed down to Schiller.
A fantastic label, orchestra, and conductor - however controversial.
Burt Bacharach is the greatest composer. Period. Chuck Berry is a musical genius. Pedestrianism and conventional wisdom are the enemies of thought!
Droogie bump. Let freedom ring.
Balderdash! Everybody knows that Barry Manilow is the greatest composer! Ray Stevens is a musical genius.
OK, OK, what about the lyricist? Don’t give me no Schiller, I vote for Barry Mann: “Who put the Bomp...”, etc...
Yes. I wish FR had a "like" button as Facebook does so I could click "like" on this wise post of yours.
Best composer: Duke Ellington
“Burt Bacharach is the greatest composer. Period. Chuck Berry is a musical genius. Pedestrianism and conventional wisdom are the enemies of thought!”
Let’s talk “genious”.
Jimmy Hendrix vs Chuck Berry:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPtHv48e1No
- What Hendrix did to rock’n’roll - a revolution in itself - words can’t describe.
Are you at work at this hour in Sweden?
As far as Hendrix, read some of the reviews of his discs on Amazon, written by a younger generation of listeners. They are not as impressed, and manage to articulate their criticisms convincingly. Listen to Bill Frisell.
I invested the nine minutes (frantically conducting in front of the laptop, lol). Not exactly the first time I’ve ever heard that particular recording: my late father, a middle-European whose cultural center was Wien, often played it on LP disks.
Of course, my personal favorite for this was Sir Georg Solti and the CSO.
Two things: 1) Beethoven was the first musician to break out of the "musicians are servants" attitude that the aristocracy held (in the 18th century, Haydn was treated as such: he ate and slept in the servant's quarters; Beethoven ate and slept with some of Europe's most eligible female nobility). 2) He suffered terribly from his deafness, yet his genius channeled the pain into some of the most beautiful and transcendent compositions mankind has known.
Everything else in the movie was just a vessel for these two messages.
Indeed it does. The purpose of war is to kill people and break things until the enemy sues for peace. Killing civilians is a good way to make the populace desire that very peace and turn against their warmongering overlords.
This is a fact of war. Stop whining.
Then I suppose you support the fact that the Nazis killed lots of Jewish civilians who the Nazis considered their sworn enemies.....I guess it was a “good way to make the populace desire peace”....after all the purpose of war is to kill people, including civilians, according to you...whether they are at Auswitch or Dresden.
Yeah, we Americans are idiots. I must have missed the Swedish man on the moon. Or the Swedish iPod. Or the Swedish Personal Computer.
The swedes make nice blondes.
Stick to what you know.
Or we will drop a smart bomb on you.
I preferred John Belushi's portrayal.
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