I had a farm in Africa.

John Barry, composer of many movie scores, died yesterday in New York. He was 77 years old.

Barry composed the scores for many films, including most of the earlier James Bond movies from Dr. No (1962) to The Living Daylights (1987). The Bond films are his best known contribution to cinematic orchestral composition, but I remember him from his scores for Somewhere In Time (1980) and Out of Africa (1985). Back in my college days, I can recall hearing that lush orchestration booming out of my parents' stereo, or out of Eric's apartment. (Yes, we were drama queens. Still are.) Barry's music helped to solidify my love for the french horn, which played prominent roles in many of his orchestrations. His sappy melodies, reminiscent of Baptist church music in their chord-in-the-left-hand, melody-in-the-right-hand structure, helped to soothe many a bruised heart back in the day.

Here's some of his best work, in my opinion:

Old favorite movies

There are a few movies that I love, but that no one else seems to know about. On those rare rainy or snowy Sundays when I'm not working and don't have anything planned, I love to settle into the sofa and put on one of these old classics. There's something comforting about a great old movie. It's like visiting your grandma.

The Quiet Man (1952)

I love this movie. It stars John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, and while I don't always get into John Wayne movies (for a number of reasons), I do like this one. It's the story of a boxer who retires after accidentally killing an opponent, and moves to Ireland to the town where his family came from. He tries to lead a pacifist life there, but soon realizes that the only way to win the heart of the woman he's fallen in love with (O'Hara) is to stand up to her bully of a brother. Not a terribly insightful or poignant story, but it's a great flick. The little old man who serves as the town's matchmaker has lots of great lines from his seat at the local pub... "Oooooh I could tell ya blood-curdlin' stories... but me throat... it's gone dry... ". And O'Hara as the mid-century Shakespearean shrew is fabulous. "Come a runnin'? I'm not the kind of girl to be honked at and come a runnin'!" Fabulous.

The Women (1939)

If there's another movie out there from this era with this many one-liners, I don't know what it is. There are so many memorable lines that it would be a futile exercise even to try listing them. This film from 1939 stars Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, and Rosalind Russell, and is a great addition to the "This Will Make You Gay" movie list. The plot centers around a New York socialite whose husband has an affair with Joan Crawford, and follows her as she takes the train to Reno for a divorce. It reminds me of how different things are now... 1939 wasn't all THAT long ago... imagine how different things would be these days if people still had to travel to Reno for a divorce decree. If we're gonna try to protect "opposite marriage" from being destroyed by the dirty homosexuals, then maybe putting these divorce restrictions back on the books would be a nice first step.






84 Charing Cross Road (1987)

This is the best rainy Sunday movie ever, and no one ever mentions it. Anne Bancroft is one of the finest actresses of the previous generation and totally overlooked in discussions of the topic. Anthony Hopkins is mesmerizing in anything he does, but is particularly riveting in these quiet, understated roles. The whole movie consists of Bancroft and Hopkins reading letters that their characters wrote to each other over the course of several decades. Bancroft's character is a voracious reader in New York whose pen-pal relationship with Hopkins' character (a London rare book merchant) becomes a truly heartfelt and sweet friendship. It's not a quotable movie... there are no one-liners... but because of the amazing performances and quietly beautiful story, I heartily recommend this film.