Pecking out a story

I watched a couple of movies over the weekend that got me thinking about pace - both in film and in books.

I have a few fave networks, AMC (Amercian Movie Classics) and TCM (Turner Classic Movies), I'm a classic guy. My favorite era is the 70's, a golden age for American Films. But the one that really got me thinking was Birdman of Alcatraz from 1962, with Burt Lancaster. As I am watching this biopic slowly, and I do mean SLOWLY, unfold, I am increasingly drawn in. It's a fascination different than modern movies, which employ fast editing and character arcs on steroids - sometimes, I feel a move is over before it begins and I feel like I have had a cinematic one-night stand.

The part that really gets me in Birdman is this scene where a canary egg is about to hatch. The camera zooms in on the little nest (inside of Stroud's prison cell) and we wait. And wait. And wait some more. Until finally, peck by peck, a little bird struggles to emerge. Remember, this isn't part of a discovery channel doc, where you would expect the camera to linger - it is a Hollywood blockbuster. I couldn't believe the tension and the eventual joyful release when the bird makes it out of the shell. What filmmaker takes the time to do that now?

Same goes for some fiction that moves at that car-exploding cinematic pace - sometimes, I am totally in the mood for that. But often, halfway through this sort of read, I start thinking, why am I wasting my time with this? It's a bit like getting halfway through a big bag of popcorn, and realizing it tastes like cardboard dipped in motor oil.

I am not ranting about these type of books, I hate being a book snob - I say if you like it, just read the damn thing. But for me, disappearing into a well paced story that pecks it's way out of a shell is heavenly. And yep, they still do make them that way. Richard Ford and Don DeLillo come to mind - especially DeLillo's The Body Artist. Not his best book, but I will always remember the opening dialogue between husband and wife. Reading it was like listening to it happen in real time.

Next time, pace and my other weekend movie - The Eiger Sanction.

Link to a bio on the real Birdman, not nearly as charming as Burt Lancaster.