My Own Private Movie Awards

DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES(July 21, 2014) at the Colosseum With William Brovold..... and let me tell you..... This Movie is a multi-marriage between artists in every Department! Andy Serkis`portrayel of the ape Caesar is of Oscar-material:-) I really fell in love the ape and that performance.... What a dream-role! No surprise if this film started to collect numerous awards.... An Instant classic indeed:-)

July 22, 2014

BURLESQUE

I saw this film in the theatre - Saga 6 in Oslo, on Sunday, March 6, 2011; 13:40 local time....

This has what Chicago 2002 doesn`t: great musical talents in the leading roles. It suffers from a weak script, but improved upon by the star quality of the three principals; Cher, Anguilera and Gigandet.

The musical numbers however are ace and reminiscent of the 1972 Cabaret starring Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey and Michael York.

Christina steals the show and the only real weak spot is the intro to Cher`s big number "You Haven`t Seen the Last of Me!" - the dj asks - "have you got the time to do it"(or something like that) and she answers "Oh I completely forgot.... yeah ok - let`s do it".. ooooh woops....

The song and performance are however of vintage Cher quality.

This film belongs in every shelf of a musical lover:)(:

THE SIMPSONS - THE MOVIE
Quite good...., August 5, 2007

Yup it is.... We saw it last Thursday.... Homer is in his stupid wicked-self and you will find most of the humour(even more needling and outragous than ususal) and characters intact from the TV-series... The story tends to overstay its welcome towards the end - but on a whole - it is a success:)(:



MAMMA MIA - Nevermind the plot; enjoy a tribute to the joy of life, July 19, 2008

There we sat.... two "old" queens with tears and sobs because we had a catch of Dean Martin`s "Memories are made of this" as the film Mamma Mia screened in front of us..... Nevermind the plot; it`s a jubilation of life..... The Great Barinski is soon to be the cat Woman(watch out honey) but with La Diva Streep - the best in the picture:-)))))

 

 

 

SEX AND THE CITY THE MOVIE - Mmmmm the ultimate feel-good film, June 22, 2008      

THEY ARE BACK with us... And they look older:-) more mature - it`s just like seeing old friends again.... I especially like it when Carrie watches Judy i MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS(iT\s pronounced with SSSSSS hehe) This is LIGHT entertainment and on the better side...I will use this as an upper for years to come... It`s Hollywood at its most professional and a victory that the not-so-young girls made it as the all-time box-office blockbuster.... SKÅL!!!!!!!!!:-)))

 

 

 

 

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY


24.06 2007: In 1983 I watched MGMs THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY 1944 starring Hurd Hatfield, George Sanders, Angela Lansbury and Donna Reed....The picture "spoke" to me.... Oscar Wildes poetry is timeless and of staying power...
German, British and American versions of this classic are now sealed in a coffin with a number of nails hehe...
But this film... by Duncan Roy..... is psychedelic.... mtv.... a dopsurrealistic epic of the first class....
David Gallaghar IS Dorian... as was Hurd Hatfield in 1944.....
There are echoes of Gus Van Sants My Own Private Idaho, Baz Lurhmann`s Romeo and Julie, TITUS 1999 and Recquem for a Dream....
The violence and sex in this film is explicit and raw..... the whole film has a raw edge that makes you never indifferent to this Product.

THE PRODUCERS


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
WOOOOOOOOOOOOW:-)))), March 19, 2006

This is by far one of the greatest screen comedy musicals ever produced. Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman and the rest are just hilarious.... The film offers Mel Brooks-trademark humour but it is only Brooks AT HIS BEST:-))) The film is frenetic and u dooo get tired or blown away, but on the whole - this enterprise is as good as any legendary musical of the past. The scoring, costume design, make-up, choreography..... My writing finger melts hehehe..... it`s kitch, it`s camp - but on the posetive side.... THIS IS A MUST-SEE and must be AT ONCE be regarded as a musical comedy CLASSIC:-)




MOULIN ROUGE 2001

THAT GENIUS BAZ LUHRMANN..., Nov 26 2001 He has done it again. He has made several steps from ROMEO+JULIET and made an exciting tribute 2 love in the 20th century. The songs are humouresly chosen and sung with great class by EWAN MacGREGOR and NICOLE KIDMAN. The supporting cast is also ace... This is what film is all about...It is so nicely edited 2gether; that Luhrmann; I can c Oscars, honory Oscars and countless awards in your horizon. U have taught the world 2 love musicals again. I thank u...As I said; a beautiful fable about love, hate and greed...And last(NOT LEAST): JIM BROADBENT is Oscarmaterial and his versions of Madonna`s Like a Virgin and Queen`s The Show Must Go On? Musical treats that must be viewed over and over and over(With Kidman and MacGregor of course...)

GLADIATOR

A GLADIATOR OF A FILM, April 22 2001 Well. While I saw it last year, films such as Caesar and Cleopatra, Ben-Hur, Spartacus, Quo Vadis? and Cleopatra rolled in my head. But this was different. A real characterisation of a person who longed for a family reunion in Valhalla. And even better; the action/spectacular scenes never interfered with the story but served its purpose... It is a magical piece of work and a good swansong for Oliver Reed.


THE SIXTH SENSE 3/11 1999


STAR TREATMENT FROM CAST AND CREW, Jui 15 2000 THE SIXTH SENSE(with The Matrix)is such a film that it makes u almost speechless. U feel tricked, manipulated and utterly on the edge because of the greatness of the work. The twists, the characters, the ACTORS(especially Haley Joel Osment) and the shivering finale makes this a grand finale for the closing of the 20th Century(with The Matrix of course).



MATRIX 19/7 1999

A LANDMARK FILM, Jui 15 2000 When I left the cinema after seeing THE MATRIX I noticed that people left the building as If they had witnessed something truly religious. Very seldom do we see something at the movies that can change the look u have on the reality. Or the feeling that u have witnessed something new and truly remarkable. THE MATRIX is of couse such a film and I think I speak for a looooooooooooooooot of people that I am thankful for that it was made. Notable filmcritic Pauline Kael once said:
"Movies are so rarely great, that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them....."
THE MATRIX is not one of those events.

LITTLE VOICE 28/3 1998

4 STAR PERFORMANCES IN 1 FILM, May 7 2001 I saw this film 3 times in the movie house and it was among the first I purchased when I bought a DVD player... Caine, Blethyn, MacGregor and Horrocks are all at their best in this film(husshhh; Blethyn a bit better than the others...) For anyone, everywhere, who has lost a friend, a loved one(here a father) it isn`t hard 2 identify oneself with Laura(LV). The stunning thing is that the film could have been about ME in that department. I have always listened 2 Judy Garland - especially when the World has been against me. And by God that voice has helped me. Enough of the similarieties... When Laura gives the all-stops performance, it is a creative outlet and the LP`s doesn`t mean that much anymore. As Billy explains; there are people ALIVE who fancies (read: him) LV. Cause in a a way: Judy, Shirley and Marilyn represents LV`s Dad and she can`t allow herself 2 be rid of him. 2gether with Billy, she opens one of the pigeons cages and set them free - a metaphore really - LAURA IS FREE(she frees herself from her mental and motherly blocks) The music selections are fine and personally I fully enjoy the tribute 2 Judy(though Jane is not up 2 Judy`s level singing the legend`s songs. The music is nicely arranged though). The DVD offers a "making of" and as said, Brenda Blethyn is the standout(compare the fiction personality and Brenda`s own). It is a treat that can be watched - and will by me - repeatedly.


Titanic - 13/2 1998 - Jack1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:As a blockbuster a 5, July 12, 2004... but as an account of the ship and its demise... a 2....Here we got a Romeo and Juliet-story on-board the Titanic with a cliche-ridden dialogue-("I can fly.....") prologue and epilogue... What Cameron really should have done - STORYWISE - was to let the ship and its passangers speak for themselves...We are not unbeknownst 2 her story, so why mock us Mr Cameron??? As a fiction however; it is great - if on the trashy side. The authency of the Titanic and production values are first rate. The music by James Horner(and the humming by Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjeb?)was a milestone at the time....The photography of the wreck!? - a must-see....

THE BEST SHAKESPEARE ON CELLULOID, June 19, 2000 WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE`S ROMEO + JULIET is by far the best Shakespeare adaption of the screen. Baz Luhrmann`s production is lush and the chemistry of acting, production design, costume, sets, sound and music is spellbounding. This film is repeatadely a treat and borrows its premises from MTV. But it works and it works fine. Leonardo DiCaprio is at his magic best. It takes u back to the "sweet" age of your teens when love was first discovered and u thought that no one could have experienced the trauma of this crazy feeling more A L I V E then urself... This film brings back that feeling. It may be my favorite film...


MADONNA FINALLY IN FROM THE COLD, April 26 2001

(Oslo, Norway) It was Xmas 1996. I was sitting at the premiere of Evita. It started and I cried. My companion was uncomfortable("Is he going 2be like t h a t for the rest of the movie?????) However, I expected something a`la CABARET(1972) and then found myselfwatching - at times - a music video. I found the libretto - at times mind u - 2 much for the music. And the stars? Well, OK, but it was just a piece of walking though a parade. Not ACTING in any sense. However, before it was finished, I started2likewhat I saw and have since held Madonna in great respect. It was great on DVD(no - this is not a cinema film only) and when u buy the the premises - it is good entertainmment. It is important that it was virtally the only musical from Hollywood in the 90s(with Paramount`s Liza Minnelli vehicle Stepping Out 1991) and it is a shame that it didn`t revive the musical genre.


Ed Wood - 17/9 1995 1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:JOHNNY EXCELLS - AGAIN, April 26, 2001The reason I saw ED WOOD was because of Johnny Depp. I like his careerchoices(Benny and Joon, Dead Man, Nick of Time, Don Juan deMarco - though not from 1997 and on). ED WOOD is a magical piece of moviemaking - a beautiful motion picture fable about a man who made motion picture trash. The production design, performances etc make this an all-time classic.



Speed - Jack Traven - 12-13/8 19941 of 4 people found the following review helpful:IT TOOK A NEW LOOK ON THE ACTION-GENRE, June 27, 2000SPEED was T H E blockbuster of 1994. It had a poor sequel though. But anywho; What make this film a classic and above all A GOOD FILM is that it follows the old principal of the 3-time-rule made by European fairytale-collectors(Griem, Asbjornsen & Moe and their kind)that the hero/heorine was go through no less than THREE - yes - 3 ordeals in order to solve a specific problem. This and a SPEEEEEEDY(funny) and andrenalin-filled script makes u NEVER going to get bored. SPEED started off a lot of Bomb-films, including DIE HARD 3 and BLOWN AWAY. It also rocketed Keanu Reeves as an actionstar(finally finding his level) and Sandra Bullock, supporting actress from River Phoenix`last THE THING CALLED LOVE 1993




My Own Private Idaho - Mike - 21/6 1992 1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:NOT JUST A VEHICLE FOR RIVER, BUT A GREAT FILM, June 27, 2000 I caught the attention of River Phoenix in late 1989 when I saw him in LITTLE NIKITA. A few weeks later I saw him in RUNNING ON EMPTY and realised that this was t h e protagonist for my generation. In MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO he plays the hustler Mike Scott longing for normality("I never had a normal dog") and the supposed safety of a long-lost mother. River Phoenix excells in his best role(with Birdlace in DOGFIGHT), but he is helped by a strong cast including Keanu Reeves(his best ACTING role until he chose a wise careerchoice by accepting the actioners SPEED and THE MATRIX), Udo Kier, William Richert and Flea. Director and screenwriter Gus Van Sant has spiced this little film with symbolic touches that enhance this product, made for little money and with no apparent happy ending. Unfortunately, it seems that Gus run out of ideas after this film(note the use of clouds in his EVEN COWGIRLS SINGS THE BLUES and Marion`s showerscene in the remake of PSYCHO). And GOOD WILL HUNTING? It lacks the great style of IDAHO and his art-house films.MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO may be the very k e y film concerning my generation and our seeking for stability, safety and meaning of life

Sunday, January 18, 2015.... Grandmama would have been 111 years old today(With Cary Grant)
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST 1991  I saw it in the theatre, Parketten 2, With Dennis Zimmer..... Aaa what can I say? Belle is not Snow-White or Cinderella, but the film itself is a magnificent musical enterprise.....  Indeed, The Norwegian voices surpasses the original`s hehe---- For me on personal basis, it is a letdown that they pasted a New segment into the film many years later as I feel a Product once presented - should stand firm on its own.....  Still---- a masterpiece....

1 of the Best Gay Films Ever, March 7, 2005      

This review is from: Torch Song Trilogy (1988) (DVD)

...thanks to a stellar cast. It`s sad, humourous, cynic... but all in all... It isn`t difficult to fall in love with the main characters or even understand the "villain"(read "mother").

To me it says: "Make your own happiness. U and u alone are responsable for your life. It`s all u got. Now go on and LIVE IT and don`t sulk!"

 

 

THE BEST COMEDY...., December 20, 2004

This review is from: A Fish Called Wanda (DVD)

... of the 80s and ranks as an all-time high. My father has worn out several copies and luckily it`s on dvd now hehehe. Kevil Kline leads a stellar cast; I am giving flower-greetings to the entire cast and crew. Enough said.

 

Timeless, March 3, 2005

This review is from: The Unbearable Lightness of Being (The Criterion Collection) (DVD)

This film is by far one of the best ever produced: It`s erotic, humoures, sad, poetic and the protagonists are all interesting. Now, this is why many Europeans critizise American films.... They feel most productions from the US are stereotyped, all glam and over the top, while the European productions tend to move more straightforward into our human soul.... This film is one of those glorious occasions when film is high art and linked to the freespirited human soul.

 

We didn`t get many musicals in the 80s..., May 21, 2006

This review is from: A Chorus Line (DVD)

but fortunately Richard Attenborough gave us this(a long way from Gandhi indeed)... It is a 80s treatment of the show, but the talent is a treasure to behold. The cast-director of CHICAGO should have seen this and put real musical-talent in the leads...

The finale, One, brings tears to the eyes... IT`S A SHOWSTOPPER INDEED:-)))))))))))

The Temple of Doom... the best of the series, May 21, 2006

This review is from: The Adventures of Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark / The Temple of Doom / The Last Crusade / Bonus Material) (DVD)

The 81 film is a build-up and the 1989-film showcases River Phoenix and Sean Connery to great advantage(River even performed his owns stunts...)

But the best is "The Temple of Doom"...It borrows its premises from old cheap serials, but here it is given an all-stops-out production treatment and a great performance from the future Mrs Spielberg, Kate Capshaw. The opening number is mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm as well:-)))

TO BE OR NOT TO BE 1983

this...
is a remake of the 1942 starring Carole Lombard, Jack Benny and Robert Stack. And actually Anne Bancroft, Mel Brooks and Tim Matheson fill their shoes QUITE NICELY:-)))).... I bought the LP in 1983 but no friend would go with me to the film so I had to see it alone in the theatre. Because of that I was lukewarm to the picture at the time.... but not now.... Sad to say Mr Brooks uses stuff from THE PRODUCERS 1968(and repeated it in the 2005 musical film) and I`ve never been fan of the obvious.... But it stands as a good film and a Polish friend of me hehe - hates it - when I swear in Polish - but THIS film taught me to do so hehe.... The musical interludes are both charming and great.



He`s back..., December 20, 2004

This review is from: Psycho 2 (DVD)

I remember sitting in a moviehouse November 1983 and we where ALL terrified! No, it isn`t Halloween... But it`s still great and in my opinon, superior to the 1960-film...

2day`s writers should learn by watching this film... Here the characters are introduced and the slowpaced narrative just builds a tension within us.... It`s a must-see.... Perkins is brilliant as Norman... he knows his character.... Vera Miles and Meg Tilly shines too....

THE BEST FROM THE 80s..., March 1, 2005

This review is from: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Two-Disc Widescreen Limited Collector's Edition) (DVD)

...but I refuse to watch the new "look" of the film. Please Mr Spielberg: U gave us a masterpiece, a classic. Every scene was a a classic, but u don`t mess with excellence...

The old film of 1982 is not available in Norway any more, but I hope for the sake of future generations, that Mr Spielberg and his like DOES NOT TAMPER with old productions. What if Munch revived his painting "Scream" 20 years later and had a touch-up with better paint?

What I remember is 1 of the most magical children`s film ever made with a splendid Henry Thomas in the lead. Please let us - THE PUBLIC - have the original back... It belongs to us, our memories and the future.

THE BEST BOND, May 21, 2006

This review is from: For Your Eyes Only (Special Edition) (DVD)

This is the prototype of James Bond. The excitement is a treasure to behold and we get to see Sheena Easton perform the great titletune on the opening credits:-)

My only complaint.... why didn`t they ever give Bo Derek a role in a James Bond-film?

NEVER GREAT, BUT HIGHLY ENJOYABLE, July 25, 2000

This review is from: Tarzan the Ape Man [VHS] (VHS Tape)

With KING KONG 76, and SONG OF NORWAY this film was dissected by critics. Yet I cannot help liking it. Like THE BLUE LAGOON 80 it has two beautiful stars(Miles O`Keeffe and Bo Derek), breathtaking photography and a good score. OK! So it i s slowmoving, but it u want an erotic Tarzan movie(who wouldn`t?) this I S the picture. Richard Harris is over-the-top at times and the film does scream for tighter editing. But on the whole; I reckemend it.

FANTASTIC, July 19, 2004

This review is from: The Blue Lagoon (Special Edition) (DVD)

The film was dissected by most critics, but I have always enjoyed it. The stars; Christopher Atkins and Brooke Shields shine in their youthful beauty and performances. The movie was banned in Oslo when it opened in 1980, but it played to full houses in the provinces. The docu on this DVD is good, but the sound is not on par with the movie.
I think the critics at the time was embaressed by its sensual frankness and therefor tried to "kill it". It was a huge hit though and still is a film you should see with your loved-one:-)

:-))), April 16, 2006

This review is from: Grease (Widescreen Edition) (DVD)

The all-time dating film:-))) U can`_t possibly miss with this - it never reaches for anything more than cheer fun - and in THAT department - it delivers plenty:-)

THE BEST SUPERHERO FILM EVER, April 23, 2005

This review is from: Superman - The Movie (DVD)

The credits and music are for starters out of this world. John Williams is at his peek(though much too close to the later theme of Indiana Jones for comfert). Even on vhs and now DVD, it`s a thrill when the opening starts.

Superman gets the REAL treatment, it`s both serious, comic and actionfilled. This film really developes its characters. The entire cast and crew is magical; though the accident and later demise of Christopher Reeve brings sad thoughts to the mind... You really THOUGHT he was Superman, at least my generation did and still does:-)

Every action film since owes much too much to this great movie. To my mind, only "The Hulk" 2003 and "Spider man 2" 2004 are of equal brilliance.

JESSICA LANGE `S DEBUT - MMMMM, June 19, 2000

This review is from: King Kong [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This was the first film of KING KONG that I saw. I immediatly fell in love with it. Over the years I have been infuritated by critics who doesn`t seem to dare liking this film. They always compare it unfavourbly to the -33 classic. Right. It doesn`t have the thrills and excitement of the original. BUT. This is a low key fable. A telling of the Beauty and the Beast... A lovely score by John Barry, great photography and the debut of the greatest actress in American movies of the 80s: JESSICA LANGE. She demonstrated further abileties in FRANCES, THE COUNTRY, THE MUSIC BOX, TOOTSIE(Oscar Best Supporting Actress) and BLUE SKY(Oscar Best Actress). I really do hope that the 1976 version of KING KONG will find peace with some critics and I`m delighted that so many others here like it.

Sonja Henie - a Nazi? NO!

 

Sonja in the movie no one talks about; EVERYTHING HAPPENS AT NIGHT 1939 - She plays the daughter of a Nobel-laureate who survived an assassination attempt by the Nazis .... but then when they realize he has survived, Gestapo hunts them again



  Over the years I have become more and more frustrated and annoyed over the Nazi accusations against Sonja Henie!

  Amateur Reporters google her name along with Hitler and find a picture where she greets him after the show in 1936.


  She makes Nazi salutes before and after her Olympic appearance at the 1936 Garmisch Partenkirchen ... it may be because she never got a Norwegian judge on the panel - a fact she was entitled to...

  We forget back home that already in 1930, Sonja Henie was a global superstar. She appeared throughout Europe and the United States - and she filled all the stadiums so there were queues of people who wanted in ......

With Liberace & Susan Hayward

  Just as Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Madonna and Frank Sinatra, she was an institution ....


   Since she was little she wanted and did learn ONE thing ---- to be the best in figure-skating! In her book "My life's adventures" (1938, revised 1954) - Wings on Feet in the US, she can not  repeat enough how devoted she is to be the best at whatever she's doing ....




  I am not writing this to defend her nature .... She was the one she was .... But she was brought up and came to live in her own world - her own bubble.  And doesn`t thousands of men and women live like that and meet respect and admiration for the very fact?... Her father trained her to be like a ox.... If she had been a male her efforts would surely have been more appreciated! 




I think you have to think of her as a man and when you do - however sad you may think it is -  it`s much easier for the general individual to accept her goals and achivements,,,, Women have always found rewards and respect  much more scarce than men....






  Several people have written that she was politically naive ---- We should not forget that Our peaceloving King Olav V, wrote as a Crownprince, to his cousins ​​Edward and Albert in the British royal family that he was concerned for Russia, hoping for a collaboration between Hitler -Germany and England. This was in 1935.


  Tor Bomann-Larsen said it was not unnatural that the crown prince had this view.
- At that time it was not sensational. It was a Peace of hope. The intention was the best, but it was also a blindness to the present, he said.


  Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Märtha also attended the wedding of King Carl Gustaf parents Koburg in Germany as the only other European royals.

- The city had a Nazi municipal council before Adolf Hitler in power. Hitler had been there two days before the wedding took place and was appointed honorary citizen of the city mayor who also stood for the ceremony of the Swedish Royal. Source: Skavlan, television show in 2011.


  We should not forget Neville Chamberlain's "Peace of our time" in 1938:


  Munich Agreement, Munich settlement, agreement in Munich on 30 sept. 1938 between France, Italy, UK and Germany (represented by Daladier, Mussolini, Chamberlain and Hitler) the surrender of the sudetenland areas of Czechoslovakia to Germany. They should be filled in stages by German troops 1.-10. October. An international commission should determine the final boundaries and designate areas where it would be held referendum. In addition Chamberlain and Daladier declared that they maintained the offer to guarantee Czechoslovakia's new borders.


  Hitler and Mussolini would join the warranty as soon as the Polish and Hungarian minority issues were settled. Chamberlain and Hitler eastward also a declaration that the Munich Agreement and the Anglo-German Naval Agreement symbolized the parties desire never to go to war against each other, and that they would consult on all important questions. Czechoslovakia was submitted to the final agreement, without being consulted, and had to silently agree.
  Source; Great Norwegian Encyclopedia


  Meanwhile, Sonja Henie was in Hollywood. The name alone ensured that she starred and got top-billing at 20th Century-Fox.  With the first film, One in a Million in 1936, she entered the top 10 list of America's most popular and moneymaking stars.

in One in a Million and her NeXT to last Hollywood film

  Sonja wanted more than to be in musicals, she craved to play serious roles too .... But until 1939, she had only shown allure and dimples.... Bodil Stenseth writes in her 2002 Henie biography  that Sonja was tested for the role of Scarlett O`Haras in Gone With the Wind .... when you know that little about film history there is a reason why the book - in my case - remained in the shelf....

  Anyway gave Darryl F Zanuck her a chance in 1939 that is totally forgotten in the Norwegian media:


  On December 22 1939  "Everything Happens at Night" has its premiere ... Sonja is the star and supported by  Ray Milland (known from The Lost Weekend-Oscar 1945), Dial M for Murder (with Grace Kelly) & Love Story - and Robert Cummings (also Dial M for Murder, Saboteur and Kings Raw).


  But this time - a year before Chaplin premieres with The Great Dictator, three years before MGM sends out Mrs Miniver - Sonja plays the daughter of a Nobel Peace Prize winner who must live in hiding after the Nazis failed an assassination attempt against him in Warsaw.

  Gestapo are on track and chase him and daughter ....

  Would really Sonja Henie take the lead role in such a film where her father is a man of Peace and a antifascist;  She even has monologue about the value of democracy. Would she do that if she was a Nazi? It has been suggested that she and Hitler were close friends .... Would she show such disloyalty to a friend - or would she have provoked him? This was long before Norway was attacked.... It wouldn`t have been in her interest.


Hitler is one of the most documented men in history and his romances, mistresses and eventually wife(Eva Braun)is well documented. Sonja`s name is not among them! Still Vivi-Ann Hulten(a Swedish figure skater who won the bronze medal at 1936 Olympics) insulted her own intelligence and from the mid 90s claimed Henie was Hitler`s girlfriend!




  Would Sonja Henie carry a film With a anti-nazi content? With the status she had until she passed away, she was in the absolute highest of social circles. She mingled with royalty and heads of state ----- When she hears that Thin Ice isn`t released in Germany while she is in Norway in 1937, she takes the phone and speaks to Goebbels ....


  Strange you think? When Crown Prince Olav and Crown Princess Martha, visits  the United States in 1939, they  include Sonja as a natural part of the visit and witness the filming of a scene where she cries in "Second Fiddle". Olav laughs as the director asks Sonja to provide more feeling into her tears  hehe

by her grave on Friday, June 28, 1996

  Both Crown Prince Olav and Sonja most afraid and suspect of  the Bolsheviks ..... And was it not because of the time they actually grew up in? We must not put things out of context and judge too quickly ...


  In the next film for Fox - Sun Valley Serenade (1941), she plays a Norwegian refugee who has lost everything in Norway and is seeking asylum in the United States. Iceland 1942 and the 1943 Wintertime are also movies where war is the backdrop .... The last three are not preachy movies with great dramatic tension - no they have not trembling reputation today, although Sun Valley Serenade appear worldwide today - now on DVD and Blueray.

With Gary Cooper

  But these films had a star name in Sonja Henie and was seen as propaganda movies! These films were seen throughout the free world, but not in Norway because of the content - in other words, they were banned!

 This is never mentioned.

 The thing that always comes up is that she calls her  housekeeper at Landøya after April 9 and asks her to put a photo of her and Hitler on the piano ----- Nazis come to confiscate the property and running down her dog,,, But when they see the Picture they are leaving the scene and never come back


  Another legend that has been cemented is that Sonja did not own any acting talent. But the comic flair and timing she shows in these last films is noteworthy! She learned through experience. She dances with Cesar Romero and Don Loper in Wintertime and It`s a Pleasure (1945) and contrary to what  Norwegian critics believe, she is certainly in her element. Too bad there was never a movie with Fred Astaire, although I have a clip from the 70s where he presents her and her outstanding career. The man is full of admiration.

Oleg Cassini, Grace Kelly, Sonja & Cesar Romero

  Little Norway in Canada requests the assistance of Sonja before Pearl Harbour 1941. Can she donate or hold a show to raise funds for new aircraft? But she responds that since she is now an American citizen she feels it difficult to do so ... She encloses a Picture of herself - "The handsome Norwegian airmen - I'm proud of you" ---- The picture is hung upside down face in against the Wall.


  What we forget is that Neutral United States was not eager to provoke Hitler. The government started giving the pointed finger to the Hollywood studios so they would not let Der Fuhrer be unnecessarily provoked.
  The producer Alexander Korda came to Hollywood to make propaganda film about Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton. The result was Winston Churchill's favorite film, That Hamilton Woman (played by Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh)

  Korda was summoned to the Senate Subcommittee (Senate Foreign Relations) just before the bombing of Pearl Harbour was a fact. However,  the attack soon afterwards, saved him from being deported. From then on - The US was not neutral anymore ....


  When America was no longer neutral, Sonja pulled in uniform and visited and gave money to Little Norway. All Norwegians got free tickets to her shows during the war and repeatedly paid and held parties for them. 

  After the war, Sonja feels that the Norwegians do not like her anymore since she has built up her empire while her countrymen were suffering ... But  then she comes to  the Jordal Amphitheatre in 1953 and holds 33 shows.....The Norwegians go crazy and set up buses throughout the territory and 360,000 people watch the show ---- in 1955 she is back and holds a full house for 3 weeks ...

  What is important here is that King Haakon and his whole Family came and saw Sonja .... Norwegians looks  boundlessly up to the King after the war and they watch who he shows up for and who he doesn`t.

 Though she did not deserve it,  the King refused the same year (1953) to be included in the Bergen International Festival when Kirsten Flagstad was set to appear. In the end they both were there, but not simultaneously.

Sonja Henie and Kirsten Flagstad in Paramount studios in 1937 - Kirsten played in his only film; THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938 where she performs Brunhilde`s  Battlecry.





  Norway has been hard on their female artists .... Flagstad wanted to Return from the States to her husband and went to occupied Norway .... She refused all offers to act --- but she was still nazi declared. Sonja Wigert, Zarah Leander and Sonja Henie were also streaked after the war ..... The men were "forgiven their sins," ladies to lesser extent.


  If female artists made ​​an effort - such as Sonja Wigerts case - she must also be Terboven mistress? (She provoked a risk when she flirted her father free from the Grini camp  and gave Terboven information that the Swedish general staff had given her - but that was of little value. So the nazis planted Nazi-tied-rumours out about Sonja. But even though she was cleared, she was never given the official gratitude as her male counterparts did.)

The Countess of Monte Christo 1948 - her last Hollywood film - With Michael Kirby

  In other words; If these women did something - was it wrong .... they did nothing, it was also wrong ...


  Sonja wrote in 1954 that as the Olympics in Garmisch Partenkirchen were of such outstanding quality that even Hollywood would have been numb with admiration ---- She mentions nothing about the fascist aspect, but vouches for how well organized it all was ... .



  She actually forgot to be human as we know it... she was a product ... and she enjoyed herself in the role .... As a woman many feel it is not appropriate.... There must be something suspicious, tacky or right Down illegal that a woman of that time became number one in any Field she ever entered.  Had she been a man however, her energy, talent and business ventures would have been applauded!




  To the last she was a competitor in everything she did .... But for me she is not a negative person ---- For me she is a role model in that  you to "go to the head" when you have a problem (advice from father Wilhelm Henie) ... she is a role model of what she succeeded and made  in her life ---- She was indeed a fighter!!

Sonja Henie NAZIST? Nei!

Sonja i filmen ingen snakker om; EVERYTHING HAPPENS AT NIGHT 1939 - hvor hun spiller datteren til en Nobels-ferdprisvinner som ovelever et attentat fra nazistene.... men da de skjønner han har ovelevd, jakter Gestapo på dem

 

 

Sonja Henie nazist?


Gjennom årene har jeg blitt mer og mer frustrert og mettet over nazistanklagene mot Sonja Henie!
Amatørreportere googler navnet hennes sammen med Hitler og finner ET bilde hvor hun hilser på ham etter oppvisning 1936.


Hun viser nazihilsen før og etter sin olympiske opptreden i Garmisch Partenkirchen... kan det være fordi hun ikke fikk en norsk dommer i panelet - et faktum hun var berettiget til?


Vi glemmer her hjemme at allerede i 1930 var Sonja Henie er global superstjerne. Hun viste seg over hele Europa og USA - og hun fylte alle stadioer slik at det var køer for folk som ikke kom inn......
Liksom Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Madonna og Frank Sinatra ble hun en institusjon....


 Fra hun var liten lærte og gjorde hun EN ting---- å bli best i kunstløp på skøyter! I boken "Mitt livs eventyr"(1938, revidert 1954) kan hun ikke få gjentatt nok hvor hengiven hun er til å bli best i alt hun foretar seg....


Jeg skriver ikke dette for å forsvare hennes natur.... Hun var den hun var.... Men hun var oppdratt til og kom til å leve i sin egen verden - sin egen boble! At hun var så stor stjerne at hun var hevet over vanlige grå mennesker.... At reglene kunne bøyes for henne... Dette er min egen teori...


Flere har skrevet at hun var politisk naiv---- Vi skal ikke glemme at vår fredselskede Kong Olav V, skrev som kronprins, til sine fettere Edvard og Albert i det britiske kongehuset at han var bekymret for Russland og håpet på et samarbeid mellom Hitler-Tyskland og England. Dette var 1935.


Tor Bomann-Larsen mente det ikke var unaturlig at kronprinsen hadde denne innstillingen.
– I den tiden var det ikke oppsiktsvekkende. Det var et fredshåp. Intensjonen var den beste, men det var samtidig en blindhet til samtiden, sa han.


Kronprins Olav og kronprinsesse Märtha deltok også i bryllupet til kong Carl Gustafs foreldre i Koburg i Tyskland som de eneste andre europeiske tronfølgere.
– Byen hadde et nazistisk kommunestyre før Adolf Hitler makten. Hitler hadde vært der to dager før bryllupet fant sted og ble utnevnt til æresborger av byens borgermester som også sto for vielsen av de svenske kongelige. kilde: Skavlan, TV-show 2011.


Vi skal heller ikke glemme Neville Chamberlains "fred i vår tid" i 1938:


Münchenavtalen, Münchenforliket, overenskomst i München 30. sept. 1938 mellom Frankrike, Italia, Storbritannia og Tyskland (representert ved Daladier, Mussolini, Chamberlain og Hitler) om avståelse av de sudettyske områder i Tsjekkoslovakia til Tyskland. De skulle besettes etappevis av tyske tropper 1.–10. oktober. En internasjonal kommisjon skulle fastlegge de endelige grenser og utpeke områder hvor det skulle holdes folkeavstemning. I et tillegg erklærte Chamberlain og Daladier at de fastholdt tilbudet om å garantere Tsjekkoslovakias nye grenser.


Hitler og Mussolini ville slutte seg til garantien så snart de polske og ungarske minoritetsspørsmål var ordnet. Chamberlain og Hitler avgav dessuten en erklæring om at München-avtalen og den tysk-britiske flåteavtale symboliserte partenes ønske om aldri å gå til krig mot hverandre, og at de ville rådslå om alle viktige spørsmål. Tsjekkoslovakia ble forelagt den ferdige avtale, uten å være rådspurt, og måtte bøye seg.
Kilde; Store Norske Leksikon


I mellomtiden var Sonja Henie i Hollywood. På navnet alene sikret hun seg hovedrollen og top-billing hos 20th Century-Fox og føk allerede med første filmen, One in a Million 1936, inn på topp 10 lista over USAs mest populære og innteksgivende stjerner.

Sonja ville mer enn å være med i musicaler, hun ville spille alvorlige roller.... Men inntil 1939 hadde hun kun vist sjarme og fotogenitet.... Bodil Stenseth skriver i sin biografi fra 2002 at også Sonja ble prøvefilmet for rollen som Scarlett O`Hara i Gone With the Wind.... Når du vet så lite om filmhistorie så er det en grunn til at den boken forble ukjøpt.


Allikevel ga Darryl F Zanuck henne en sjangse i 1939 som er totalt glemt i norske medier:


22 desember 1939 har "Everything Happens at Night" premiere... Sonja er stadig stjernen og med seg har hun Ray Milland(kjent fra The Lost Weekend-Oscar 1945), Dial M for Murder(med Grace Kelly) & Love Story - og Robert Cummings(også Dial M for Murder, Saboteur og Kings Raw).


Men denne gangen - året før Chaplin hadde premiere på The Great Dictator, tre år før MGM sender ut Mrs Miniver - spiller Sonja datter til en Nobel-fredsprisvinner som må leve i skjul etter nazistenes mislykket attentat mot ham i Warsawa.


Gestapo kommer på sporet og jager ham og dattera....

Ville virkelig Sonja Henie hatt hovedrollen i en film hvor hennes far er en frihetstenkende mann og hvor hun selv har monolog om demokratiets verdi hvis hun var nazist? Det har blitt fastslått at hun og Hitler var nære venner.... Ville hun da vise slik illojalitet til en venn? Eller ville hun provosert ham? Dette var lenge før Norge ble angrepet - det ville ikke vært i hennes interesse.

Ville hun da bære en film med et slikt innhold? Med den statusen hun hadde til hun gikk bort, var hun i den absolutte høyeste sosiale sirkel. Hun minglet med kongelige og statsledere----- Da hun hører at Thin Ice ikke er satt opp i Tyskland mens hun er i Norge 1937, tar hun opp telefonen og snakket med Goebbels....


Var dette rart synes dere? Da Kronprins Olav og Kronprinsesse Marta har gjennomreise i USA 1939, besøker de Sonja som en naturlig del av besøket og ser innspillingen av en scene hvor hun gråter i "Second Fiddle". Olav ler da regissøren synes Sonja kan gi mer innlevelse i gråten sin hehe


Som også Kronprins Olav var Sonja mest redd for bolsjevikene..... Og var det ikke pga den tiden de faktisk vokste opp i? Vi må ikke bli historieløse og dømme for fort...


I de neste filmene for Fox - Sun Valley Serenade(1941)spiller hun en norsk flyktning som har mistet alt i Norge og blir asylsøker i USA. Iceland 1942 og Wintertime 1943 er også filmer hvor krigen er bakteppe.... De tre siste er ikke belærende filmer med stor dramatisk spenning- nei de har ikke skjelvende renomme i dag, selv om Sun Valley Serenade vises over hele verden den dag i dag - nå også på DVD og Blueray.

Men disse filmene hadde et stjernenavn i Sonja Henie og ble sett på som propagandafilmer! Disse filmene ble sett over hele den frie verden, men ikke i Norge pga innholdet - mao de ble forbudt! Dette nevnes aldri. Det som alltid kommer opp er at hun etter 9. april ringer sin husholderske på Landøya og ber henne sette ut et fotografi av henne og Hitler på flygelet----- Nazistene kommer for å beslaglegge eiendommen og kjører ned hunden hennes,,, Men da de ser bildet forlater de åstedet og kommer aldri tilbake

En digrisjon:
En annen legende som har blitt sementert er at Sonja ikke eide skuespiller-talent. Men den komiske teften og timinga hun viser i disse siste filmene er yppelig! Hun lærte gjennom erfaring. Hun danser også med Cesar Romero og Don Loper i Wintertime og It\s a Pleasure(1945) og i motsetning til hva musikalhatende norske kritikere mener, er hun så absolutt i sitt element. Synd det aldri ble en film med Fred Astaire, selv om jeg har et klipp fra 70-tallet der han presenterer henne og forteller om hennes enestående karriere. Mannen er full av beundring. digrisjon avsluttes

Little Norway ber om å få hjelp av Sonja før Pearl Harbour 1941. Kan hun donere eller holde et show til inntekt for nye fly? Men hun responderer at siden hun nå er amerikansk statsborger føler hun det vanskelig å så gjøre... Hun legger ved et bilde - "Til kjekke norske flyvere - jeg er stolte av dere"---- Bildet blir hengt opp ned med billedsiden inn mot veggen-.


Det vi glemmer her er at nøytrale USA var veldig lite lystne på å provosere Hitler. Myndighetene begynte å gi pekefingeren til Hollywoods studioer så de IKKE skulle la Der Fuhrer bli unødvendig provosert.
Produsenten Alexander Korda kom til Hollywood for å lage propagandafilm om Horatio Nelson og Emma Hamilton. Resultatet ble Winston Churchills favorittfilm, That Hamilton Woman(spilt av Laurence Olivier & Vivien Leigh)
Korda ble kalt inn på teppet til Senate Subcommittee(Senate Foreign Relations) rett før bombingen av Pearl Harbour var et faktum, men etter angrepet reddet det ham fra å bli utvist. For nå var ikke USA nøytrale mer....

Laurence Olivier & Vivien Leigh

Da USA ikke lenger var nøytrale trakk Sonja i uniform og besøkte og ga penger til Little Norway. Alle nordmenn fikk gratis billetter til hennes show under krigen og gang på gang spanderte hun fester på dem.....


Etter krigen føler Sonja at nordmennene ikke liker henne lenger siden hun har bygd opp sitt imperium mens hennes landsmenn led nød... Men da hun kommer til Jordal Amfi 1953 og holder show 33 ganger blir det satt opp busser på hele Østlandet og 360 000 mennesker ser showet---- I 1955 er hun tilbake og holder fulle hus i 3 uker...
 
Det som er viktig her er at Kong Haakon og hele hans familie stiller opp for Sonja.... Nordmenn så grenseløst opp til Kongen etter krigen og hvem han stilte opp for fungerte som en pekepinn og som rollemodell....
Enda hun ikke fortjente det, nektet Kongen samme år(1953) å være med i Festspillene i Bergen om Kirsten Flagstad skulle opptre. Det endte med at de var der, men ikke samtidig.

Sonja Henie og Kirsten Flagstad i Paramount studios 1937 - Kirsten spilte i sin eneste film; THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938 hvor hun femfører Brunhildes kamphyl

Norge har vært harde mot sine kvinnelige kunstnere.... Flagstad ville hjem til mannen sin og dro til okkuperte Norge.... Hun avslo alle tilbud om å opptre--- men ble likevel nazierklært. Sonja Wigert, Zarah Leander og Sonja Henie ble også stripete etter krigen..... Mennene ble "tilgitt sine synder", damene i mindre grad.


Hvis kvinnelige kunstnere gjorde en innsats - slik som i Sonja Wigerts tilfelle - måtte hun jo samtidig være Terbovens elskerinne?(Hun flørtet faren fri fra Grini og ga Terboven opplysninger som den svenske generalstaben hadde gitt henne - men som var av liten verdi. Dermed satte nazistene rykter ut om Sonja. Men selv om hun ble klarert, fikk hun aldri den offisielle takknemligheten som hennes mannlige motstykker fikk.)


Med andre ord; Hvis disse kvinnene ikke gjorde noe - var det galt.... gjorde de noe var det også feil...


Sonja skrev i 1954 at slik olympiaden i Garmisch Partenkirchen var av slik enestående kvalitet at til og med Hollywood ville vært stumme av beundring---- Hun nevner ingenting om den fascistiske aspektet, men går god for hvor bra arrangert det hele var....

Hun faktisk glemte å være menneske... hun var et produkt... og hun likte seg i den rollen....


Hun var til det siste en konkurrent i alt hun gjorde.... Men for meg er hun ikke negativ person---- For meg er hun en rollemodell med at du skal "gå til huet" når du har et problem(råd fra faren Wilhelm Henie)... Hun er en rollemodell på hva hun maktet og klarte i sitt liv----


 Hvem annen kan komme opp mot 3 OL gull, flere år på toppen i Hollywood, være stjerne i eget isshow som gjør deg blant verdens rikeste mennesker og til slutt blir kunstsamler og forærer alt til Bærum kommune.....


På 60-tallet er hun midtpunkt for både Sverige og Norges kongelige når det gjelder utstillingen av samlingene hennes og i Tate-galleri ønsker hun prinsesse Margareth og Lord Snowdon velkommen. Da hun og Niels Onstad åpner "Henie-Onstad kunstsenter" i 1968 er Kong Olav, Harald & Sonja Haraldsen til stede.... men da bryllupsgjestene kommer noen uker senere for å se på herligheten er IKKE Sonja og Niels invitert---- flaue drar de hjem til Hollywood....


Har gårsdagen begynt å ta Sonja igjen?

Ifølge Per Jorsett og Henie-biograf Mona Pedersen var ikke samtiden så krasse som ettertiden har blitt....  Ifølge Pedersen fant hun kun 2 leserinlegg om at Sonja burde bidratt mer etter krigen.....


Bare et år senere dør Sonja Henie 57 år gammel av Leukemi.... Ved bisettelsen er igjen Kongen tilstede....


Årene går og jeg ser ditt ettermæle blir mer og mer flekkete....

Broren din - Leif Henie-  gir ut en bok om deg - Queen of Ice - Queen Of Shadows 1985 - og den er rene karakterdrapet; boka er så å si kildeløs(ja jeg har den jeg)og klippet og sakset fra tallrike filmbøker jeg har fra utlandet, bl a. Leslie Hailliwell`s Filmgoer`s Companion.  Dorothy Stevens - Sonjas sekretær fra 1943 - kommer med mye grums i Leifs bok, men det er grums som sier om hvem Sonja var som menneske. Og en rekke av Sonjas andre nære kan bekrefte Dorothys fortellinger.

Men er dette Leifs verk? Han døde jo 1984. Min teori er at hans kone nr 2 - enken Sally - som aldri ble en venn av Sonja - ville tjene lettjente penger og dermed fikk hjelp av Raymond Strait til å berarbeide et upublisert manuskript.

Boken skildrer også en nær venninne kalt Belle Christy som jeg aldri har hørt om og gjerne skulle visst mer om---- Det er merkelig at hennes historier bare er å finne i Leifs bok... hun var visst i skøytetruppen til Sonja fra og med Thin Ice 1937. Men navnet hennes er ikke å finne blant statistene på IMDb eller AFI - Catalogue of Feature Films. Ifølge Leifs bok var hun også Sonjas stand-in----- igjen - dette er ikke å finne i annet enn Leifs bok---- Sonja skal også ha hatt umettelig sexbehov og da de spilte inn Sun Valley Serenade havnet hun i senga med alle skiinstruktørene - som var selvsagt tyske og østerriske  og selvsagt nazister.... Sitatet er visstnok fra produsenten Milton Sperling.

Jeg finner det rart bare at det er kun Leif Henies(og Raymond Strait) bok Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie,   som viser til Sonjas nære kontakt med nazistene.


Og denne boken har siden vært sitert i det vide og det brede.

Venner og bekjente som Ann Miller, Milton Berle og Roddy McDowall benektet alle tre at hun var nazist i TV-programmet Fire on Ice fra 1997 - produsert av 20th Century-Fox. Men alle tre og flere med dem, erkjenner at Sonja var et tøft kvinnfolk som elsket penger, trening, arbeid og prestige. Dette var folk som jobbet og kjente henne...  Leif og Sonja endte som uvenner og uten a ta noe parti, så må jeg vel bare konstantere at boken var Sally Henies mulighet til å tjene noe på henne....

Leif Henie døde i 1984 - 76 år gammel.

DET er ikke det jeg har skrevet dette for.... Sonja Henie og hennes far måtte være albuefrelste for å nå hennes tallrike mål som sikkert aldri vil bli gjentatt.... Sonja var ikke den som måtte sove seg til filmroller....  hun hadde det i kjeften og hun kunne gatas språk----  Hennes daglige liv bestod av arbeid, trening og atter trening....  hun hadde nok ikke talent for å bare nyte og kose seg i livet uten å gjøre "noe"....

Skandinavia har alltid vært harde mot sine kunstnere som dro utenlands; i dag har Henrik Ibsen, Edvard Grieg, Ingrid Bergman, Kirsten Flagstad og Liv Ullmann. blitt stuerene...

Da jeg vokste opp var det kult å mobbe Ullmann for de dystre rollene, øynene etc.... I dag ser jeg at vi nordmenn h a r fått en ny respekt for henne----- Men selv mener hun at Norges filmmiljø er lukket for henne.... jeg vet ikke... Jeg synes hun står mer stødig ved å spille og lage film i utlandet.... Ikke bry deg om det Liv Ullmann.... Du trenger ikke vårt lille miljø... Vi trenger mere DEG enn du gjør oss!

Janteloven lever i BESTE velgående dessverre.....

Nå er det deg igjen Sonja....  du var ikke nazist....

Og du fortjener å bli klarert...


Du er stjernen Sonja... ja for det er DU-)

Sonja and Gary Cooper

Faye Emerson, Sonja, Edith Piaf, Judy Garland & Ginger Rogers

in her one Technicolor film - the 1945 IT`S A PLEASURE

Sonja møter Prinsesse Margaret i Tate gallary 1962

Sonja ønsker kronprins Olav og kronprinsesse Marta velkommen til Hollywood 1939