Embassy over

An Embassy to China: Being the Journal Kept By Lord Macartney During His Embassy to the Emperor Ch'ien-lung, 1793-1794
$164.18

Almost Over
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Man Who Had Power over Women [VHS]
$19.99
Rod Taylor has been one of my favorite actors for most of my life. He
represented a type of honest masculinity in films that gave young men the
kind of role model they wanted to grow up to be like. I was no exception
and I hope I became much like the characters Taylor portrayed in his
best films such as "Time Machine" and "The Birds". Sadly, this type of
positive role model is almost extinct in the movie world now overrun with
the whiny, punky Dustin Hoffman/Al Pacino wannabes.
"The Man Who Had Power Over Women" is one of Taylor's lesser-known movies
but one of his best performances. It is a British film from the late-60's
and had a good supporting cast including the always-watchable James Booth.
It is a satirical film with measured doses of both comedy and drama, and
a sort of time capsule of the world as it was at that very moment in the
waning moments of "swinging England".
A particularly powerful moment is when Taylor's character seeks out his
estranged father late one night and tries to re-create a bond that was
never there. It is a scene both poignant and memorable that stays etched
in the memory. Immensely sad without becoming cloying.
The film was originally rated "R" but I doubt it would even garner a plain
"PG" today: subjects taboo at the time (illegal abortion) and fleeting glimpses of female upper-body nudity ostensibly being the offending elements. There is virtually no profanity as it exists in film today
yet this movie's story still captivates and there is an aura of charm
that pervades the whole proceeding.
Unfortunately, the VHS release (now thankfully out-of-print) used a
butchered TV print which cut out huge portions of the film (even resorting
to "blacking" out the image of a prima-donna actress giving the middle-
finger salute)which totally destroyed the flow and impact of the tale.
This is a film which showcased a delightful comic persona Taylor never
had a chance to reveal much in his roles and really deserves a 1st-class
digital restoration and DVD release. I would love to hear Taylor do a
commentary track on the DVD extras. Until that day, we can only hope, but
my advice is to wait for the DVD and avoid like-the-plague the hacked-up
butchered print put out on the VHS release.