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A wise man once said, "Words don't come easy."
That man was F. R. David.
But how wrong he was because they do come easily.
At least, they do to me.
And that's because I'm not the one who has to come up with them.
At least, not right now, I'm not.
And that's because it's the boomerangian return of the feature they're all calling a pivotal moment in the history of mankind. The one in which the first person to comment gets to decide just what the topic du jour shall be.
Therefore, if you have any questions you wish to set for the huddled masses who frequent or even infrequent this site, feel free to do so in the comments section below.
What books / films / comics / music / anything that are widely regarded as masterpieces have you come to quite later in the day?
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking of a few experiences where I've eventually got around to something and been pleased that yes, that's fair enough, that was indeed great.
But opposite experiences also welcome!
Late in the day, not 'later'.
DeleteWasn’t until I turned 59 that I tried out Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Sex Pistols.
ReplyDeleteWonderful question MM!!!
ReplyDeleteCH is very late to the Brigette Bardot movie show! Watching 70 year old movies the past monthor so. Saw “God Created Women” and “Contempt.” Glad I saw them.
Also saw Monty P’s “Life of Brian” this past year. What a hoot! Glad I saw it!
In the last couple of years I've finally watched The Exorcist, This Is Spinal Tap and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I thought the first two were over-rated but I quite enjoyed Rocky Horror and watched it three times over a single weekend.
ReplyDeleteDid you sing along and talk back to the screen?
DeleteCH hopes he does not sound pretentious but as he ages he appreciates Europe more, notably Paris. Perhaps once the testosterone starts drying up one is able to appreciate art, city organization like mass transit, architecture and all that Europe is famous for, better and more profoundly.
ReplyDeleteWithin the past 3 or 4 years, I’ve finally caught up with a couple of well-regarded Hitchcocks that I’d never seen….
ReplyDeleteTHE 39 STEPS — good but not as thrilling as I’d expected it to be. I much prefer THE LADY VANISHES.
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN — yep, it’s a humdinger.
Also, two famous noirs…
GILDA — wasn’t expecting it to be so perverse, but it’s great.
LAURA — pleasant enough, I suppose, but I honestly don’t get why it’s considered a classic.
b.t.
I only fairly recently watched Lawrence Of Arabia and The Last Picture Show. They were as good as everyone says.
ReplyDeleteAnd though I’d watched The Graduate when I was 19 or so it meant nothing to me then, so I avoided it for decades. But I watched it a few years ago and it was dazzling.
I figured when I reached middle age I could safely take up John Le Carre, so I’ve been enjoying him. And Patricia Highsmith.
Tomorrow I am setting aside time to listen to Marquee Moon by Television properly.
Last I listened to 'Marquee Moon'- which is a little while ago now - I was struck by how much late 70s rock music seems like less of a break with the past than it did at the time....
DeleteAnyway, having reached middle age, I found after quite a long time being into Sun Ra, Albert Ayler, all sorts of improvtastic noise I discovered 60s 'Blue Note'-type 'jazz'. Grant Green, Donald Byrd, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Henderson, people like that.
Hmm, nice.
Btw Matthew -
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/feb/24/eliane-radigue-french-composer-dies-aged-94
So after the other day, be careful who you mention in this thread!
-sean
MM - I’ve read most of the John LeCarre novels. Do you have any favorites so far?
ReplyDeleteAnd if you like spy related stuff may i recommend Eric Ambler OBE? The stuff from the late 1930s to early1940s is most enjoyable. CH
I’ve been trying to read them in chronological order - or at least the Smiley ones. I did think The Spy Who Came In From The Cold was excellent, even better than the already excellent film.
DeleteThat’s joined a select list of books I’ve read only after having seen the very very good film versions, but come away thinking the books are so much better that the films become footnotes.
Includes ‘Picnic At Hanging Rock’, ‘The Man Who Fell To Earth’ and more recently ‘Nomadland’.
Thanks for the Ambler tip - I’ll take a look.
Great topic Matthew!
ReplyDeleteThis subject is especially fitting as retirement provides the opportunity to pursue some of these previously-missed classics. I've made it a goal to do just that. In the past year, I read "A Tale of Two Cities" for the first time. Magnificent story, worthy of it's reputation. Followed that with the collected Works of Poe.
Also a first ("A Cask of Amontillado " was my fave).
Additionally, my wife and I now regularly have "classic film night". Recent viewings include "Midnight Cowboy", "Hatari!", "The Sting", "To Kill a Mockingbird", and "Three Coins in a Fountain". All firsts (yes, there's loads more that I somehow missed seeing before, enough to keep busy for years).
b.t.- well stated! Love Hitchcock, and I concur with you regarding "39 Steps".
Colin- ah. Everyone should experience "Rocky Horror' at least once! Was fortunate enough to see it in a local 'art theater' and got the whole sensory inundation.
b.t. the Kenneth Moore, & Robert Powell 39 Steps are very different, aren't they?
ReplyDeleteLast year I finally read '100 Years of Solitude'. Not bad at all.
Last week (or the week before) I finally watched the 1939 'Wuthering Heights', with Olivier & Niven. Not bad, but lacked edge.
Phillip
I'm afraid I can't think of anything that was considered a masterpiece that I came to appreciate years later, however I can list a few things considered masterpieces of their genre that I just don't get.
ReplyDeleteBook. Catcher in the rye by Salinger.
Film. The Shinning. I didn't find it at all scary and found it rather boring.
Comics. Kirby's New Gods epic, I love Kirby work but I don't really get the reverence this series is held in, poor dialogue and some bland characters.
Music. Prog rock ( barring a few exceptions). Yuk!
I'll get my coat!.
Trying to think of comics ‘masterpieces’ that I’ve come to appreciate later in life, but can only think of the opposite. I’ve bought several collections of Hal Foster’s PRINCE VALIANT over the years — I flip through them, vaguely admiring the pretty pictures, but whenever I actually try to read them, I can’t do it. They’ve always seemed impenetrably dull.
DeleteI’ve never been able to enjoy Caniff’s TERRY AND THE PIRATES or STEVE CANYON either.
b.t.
I tend to agree about Prince Valiant, b.t., but can see the appeal. I definitely don't 'get' Terry & the Pirates and Steve Canyon though, or what was so great about Caniff in general.
ReplyDeleteI guess some things are just widely regarded in their day, but don't stand up so well later.
'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' is a 'classic' I still haven't come round to. Not the Bee Gees best work imo...
-sean
Matthew, thanks for the topic. Sadly, I'm struggling to think of anything highly-rated that I've come to late in life that I've enjoyed or that I've found to be overrated. I shall go away and contemplate further upon the matter.
ReplyDeleteAll - We must cheer up Steve! We can NOT have a sad Steve.
ReplyDeleteSean, I'm the same with the "Sgt Pepper" LP, I want to like it but can't get into it ( love almost all the other Beatles albums) maybe the Bee Gees version is better lol.
ReplyDeleteI have similar feelings for Pink Floyds Dark side of the Moon, it's certainly good but that's as much as I can say about it
I grew up being told that Sgt Pepper and DSotM were unassailable masterpieces.
DeleteI agree on the former, but the latter is really boring.
Except the lyrics to 'Time', which are truly terrifying and brilliant.
Well…
DeleteCH has now come to enjoy opera via mrs. charlie.
Few attend opera but does anyone dis it? No. It is still generally hailed as “great.”
Paul, I am a Beatles sceptic anyway. I've never understood their appeal.
DeleteMatthew, when I first had a cassette player at 12, someone made a copy of Dark Side of the Moon. By the time I was 14 I'd listened to it too many times to ever want to hear it again, and tbh have no real idea of whether it's any good or not...
The Pink Floyd record from their mega stadium era I actually like is 'Animals'.
As a positive answer to your question, a few years ago I finally heard Milton Nascimento (and Lô Borges)' 1972 double album 'Clube Da Esquina'.
I suppose a lot of people don't know it because Brazillian music exists in a bit of a world of its own, but it's brilliant and totally lives up to the claims that it's one of the best albums ever.
-sean