Julie Christie

Something Cool
$8.94
I first heard June Christy sing in my teens, and "Something Cool" was always one of my favorites. But, for reasons known only to the Creator, I didn't hear this album in full until I was 58. Is it possible to get hit harder by someone's voice, phrasing, and somehow sincere world-weariness than I've been hit by this recording? In a way, I'm glad I didn't discover it until now--I wouldn't have appreciated her when I was younger. She's from a different world: when "nice" girls got jilted by not-so-nice guys, and maybe never quite got over the experience. This is like the girl next door crying on your shoulder, and boy does it work. "It could Happen to You" is done in a way I've never heard before. I didn't think anyone but Sarah Vaughn could do "Midnight Sun" (on her Pablo album, "Lady Time"). I was wrong. And listening to two different versions of "Something Cool" is a revelation about how a great singer develops depth and insight, not to mention an even better voice. The orchestrations are wonderful and the musicians on the sessions were the best of the best in their time. The trumpet section alone had guys like Conrad Gozzo and Maynard in it, if you can imagine a section with both of them. The bass player here--name escapes me--has great anticipated time. He releases into the right note at just the right moment, so the muted trumpets and bass nearly breathe together with June.

My Heavens. I knew she was a great singer. But I had no idea she was this good. I love Anita O'Day. But I think I love June Christy more. BTW, The only other singer I've heard do "Something Cool" with anything like June's authority is Cheryl Bentyne. Which makes me think I gotta start listening to her a little bit more seriously too.

Darling (1965) [VHS]
$19.98
When I was a teenager in New York, I happened to flip the channel and came upon this movie, which I observed for no more than ten minutes. It left an indelible impression on me, but not because of the witty dialogue or well-crafted cinematography. It was Julie Christie who drew me in, and many years later on my first viewing of the complete film, it is Christie who continues to beckon me, but not just with her beauty.

Handing an up-and-coming star so much screen time (or shall we call it "face time") as director Schlesinger did in "Darling" can be a risky proposition, but it pays off handsomely here. Christie truly deserved her Oscar for this emotionally wide-ranging, nicely nuanced performance of a narcissistic social climber in the "Swinging Sixties." She's adroitly paired with Dirk Bogarde to create an "owl and pussycat" story line, and Laurence Harvey is brought in as a manipulative, sexually ambiguous poseur who shows "Diana" the darker side of success. (Harvey's selection was somewhat ironic given his own "climb the ladder" character in "Room at the Top.")

"Darling" offers a true-to-life window into the growing glitterati subculture that was starting to flower after the Fifties. Most of the main characters make their living through the creation of images (a model, television personality, photographer, advertising man and revered writer), and Diana learns how to use her assets in this milieu most effectively. For all her conquests, all her connections, and all her globetrotting, the broadest, most genuine smiles come across her face when she is "in the moment" with her gay photographer friend or children - individuals who do not threaten to shatter her glass-like personality. Unfortunately, that apparent happiness is not to be sustained by the time the film ends.

Visually, "Darling" is a delight. The opening sequence, in which a poster on world hunger is papered over with a close-up of model Diana, effectively sets the stage for a steady string of sardonic observations by screenwriter Rafael, especially in the charity dinner and art gallery sequences. The episode in the Parisian salon comes off as a psychologically troubling mixture of Fellini freaks and the beach scene in "Suddenly Last Summer", and the cottage and verandah scene on the Italian Riviera is simply stunning. Director Schlesinger could easily have opted for color, but wisely chose black-and-white as befit the plot line and moral ambiguity of many of his characters.

About the only criticism one might make of this film is the too-obvious post-colonial moralizing about "haves" and "have nots." Other than that, "Darling" is much more than eye candy - a well acted, witty, and sometimes troubling look at a coterie of "haves" who grasp the railing on the merry-go-round hard, many times at personal cost.

Far from the Madding Crowd
$19.97
I have always been in love with Julie Christie. From Darling, Doctor Zhivago, Fahrenheit 451, McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Nashville, Shampoo etc. etc. all the way to the "shoulda-won-the-Oscar" gut-wrenching Away From Her. She is many, many adjectives (but always, at least, Luminous, Vulnerable, Edgy). She is all that and more here, surrounded by Terence Stamp, Peter Finch, Alan Bates and a bad, bad, bad Border Collie in this exquisite picture. Sure, Julie has her hands full but she also has her wits about her... she gets through. Buy it now!

"Julie Christie: The Brilliant Young Oscar Winner" ..... 1966 LIFE Magazine Cover, A2160 *** THIS IS A COVER ONLY / NOT A MAGAZINE ***
$19.99
This Item is an original, taken from a vintage magazine of the year indicated. The Cover is suitable for framing and displaying in your home or office. The picture scan of this item is an accurate representation, however it was scanned through protective plastic shrink wrap. The nominal size is 10.5 inches by 14 inches.