WHERE ARE WE GOING

WHAT REALLY PAK WANTS?

2008-12-23T23:20:00.000-08:00

To be destroyed, or to be removed from the map of the world. We are not going to attack on Pak for the sake of the humanity, not for the sake of atom bombs. Gen kayani's statement that their forces are ready to counter attack and their men are are ready to be sacrificed, does'nt show theirs bravery but the panick and the cowardiece behaviour that they have not the courage to accept that the millitants were the pakistanis. One man who has accepted his pak nationality and his family also, even former prime minister of pak, mr Nawaj Sharrif, but Pak government wants more proofs.

ईसाई धर्म नहीं अपनाने पर दलित दंपत्ति को पीटा

2008-05-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

जालौन। उत्तरप्रदेश के जालौन जिले में ईसाई धर्म अपनाने से मना करने पर पादरी ने एक दलित दंपत्ति की बेहरमी से पिटाई की।
जिले के उरई शहर के मोहल्ला शांतिनगर के निवासी देवेंद्र अहिरवार एवं उसकी पत्नी सुनीता ने बुधवार को कोतवाली पुलिस को दिए प्रार्थना पत्र में आरोप लगाया कि नौकरी का लालच दिए जाने पर उन्होंने मिजपा क्रिश्चियन स्कूल जाकर प्रार्थना सभा में भाग लेना शुरू किया था। छह माह बीत जाने के बाद भी जब उन्हें नौकरी नहीं मिली तो इस संबंध में उन्होंने पादरी डेनियल से शिकायत की जिस पर पादरी ने कहा कि हिंदू धर्म छोड़कर ईसाई धर्म अपनाने पर ही नौकरी मिलेगी।
आरोप पत्र में कहा गया है कि दलित दंपत्ति ने धर्म परिवर्तन करने से मना करते हुए प्रार्थना सभा में भाग लेना बंद कर दिया। इससे गुस्साए पादरी डेनियल एवं धर्म प्रचारक रोशन ने आज दलित दंपत्ति के घर जाकर गाली-गलौज की और पति-पत्नी की जमकर पिटाई कर दी। कोतवाली पुलिस ने पिटायी के दौरान घायल हुई महिला को उपचार के लिए जिला अस्पताल में भर्ती करा दिया है। खबर लिखे जाने तक मामले की प्राथमिकी दर्ज नहीं की गई है।
इस बीच, पीड़ित महिला के परिजनों ने पुलिस एवं प्रशासन से इस घटना के लिए दोषी पादरी एवं धर्म प्रचारक के खिलाफ प्राथमिकी दर्ज कराए जाने के साथ उनकी जानमाल की सुरक्षा किए जाने की गुहार की है।
Oct 17, 11:38 pm

राज का कोई इलाज नहीं सूझ रहा देशमुख सरकार को

2008-05-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

मुंबई [ओमप्रकाश तिवारी]। तीन मई को अपने भाषण में गालियों एवं धमकियों की बौछार करनेवाले राज ठाकरे पर कार्रवाई करने का कोई उपाय महाराष्ट्र की देशमुख सरकार को नहीं सूझ रहा है। जबकि राज की पार्टी के कार्यकर्ताओं द्वारा विभिन्न स्थानों पर उत्तर भारतीयों के विरुद्ध छिटपुट हिंसा जारी है।
राज ठाकरे ने इस बार अपना भाषण इतनी चालाकी से तैयार किया था कि वीडियो कैमरे लगाकर उनका भाषण टेप करनेवाली पुलिस मशीनरी भी उसमें से गंभीर आरोप तलाशने में चक्कर खाने लगी है। एक ओर पुलिस बिना किसी ठोस आरोप के राज को हाथ लगाने से डर रही है, तो दूसरी ओर उसके राजनीतिक आकाओं को अपने ही सहयोगियों के सामने जवाब देते नहीं बन रहा है। इसकी बानगी मंगलवार को राज्य मंत्रिमंडल की बैठक में सामने आ गई, जब गृहमंत्रालय के प्रभारी उपमुख्यमंत्री आरआर पाटिल को उन्हीं की पार्टी के दो वरिष्ठ मंत्रियों अजीत पवार एवं छगन भुजबल के साथ कांग्रेस के मंत्री नारायण राणे ने राज की गिरफ्तारी के मुद्दे पर उनसे जवाब-तलब किया। सूत्रों के अनुसार इस हमले से असहज हुए गृहमंत्री ने मंत्रिमंडल की बैठक में अपने इस्तीफे तक की पेशकश कर दी थी। जिसका बाद में उन्होंने खंडन किया।
राज की गिरफ्तारी को लेकर सरकार पर दूसरे राजनीतिक दल भी दबाव बना रहे हैं। इनमें सबसे आगे हैं समाजवादी पार्टी के मुंबई अध्यक्ष अबू आसिम आजमी। बुधवार को प्रदेश के पुलिस महानिदेशक एएन राय से राज ठाकरे को गिरफ्तार करने की मांग करके लौटे आजमी ने कहा कि उन्हें राज पर उचित कार्रवाई का आश्वासन तो मिला है, लेकिन लगता नहीं कि सरकार राज पर कोई कार्रवाई करेगी। आजमी के अनुसार कांग्रेस और राकांपा की गठबंधन सरकार को लगता है कि यदि उन्होंने राज की गिरफ्तारी का आदेश दिया तो राज को महाराष्ट्रियन समुदाय की सहानुभूति मिलेगी और इन दोनों दलों को मराठी वोटों से हाथ धोना पड़ेगा। यदि राज को यूं ही छोड़ दिया, तो इन्हें मुंबई, ठाणे सहित राज्य में विभिन्न स्थानों पर रह रहे परप्रांतियों के बड़े वर्ग की नाराजगी का खामियाजा भुगतना पड़ सकता है।

पांच गुना अधिक अनाज खाते हैं अमेरिकी

2008-05-07T21:11:00.001-07:00

नई दिल्ली। कांग्रेस ने विश्व में खाद्यान्नों की कीमतें बढ़ने के लिए भारत के मध्यम वर्ग को जिम्मेदार ठहराने के अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति जार्ज डब्ल्यू बुश के बयान को गलत बताते हुए बुधवार को कहा कि वहां के लोग यहां के लोगों के मुकाबले पांच गुना अधिक अनाज खाते हैं।
कांग्रेस की राष्ट्रीय मीडिया समिति के संयोजक कपिल सिब्बल ने यहां संवाददाता सम्मेलन में कहा कि विभिन्न देशों में अनाज की खपत के आंकड़ों के हिसाब से बुश का बयान सही नहीं बैठता। उन्होंने कहा कि विश्व खाद्य संगठन के आंकड़ों के अनुसार अमेरिका में अनाज की खपत चीन और भारत की तुलना में कहीं अधिक है। उन्होंने कहा कि पिछले एक वर्ष में अमेरिका में अनाज की खपत में 11.81 प्रतिशत की बढोतरी हुई है, जबकि भारत में 2.17 प्रतिशत तथा चीन में 1.8 प्रतिशत की बढोतरी हुई। उन्होंने कहा कि भारत में 2006.07 में 19.31 करोड़ टन अनाज की खपत हुई थी, जिसके 2007.08 में बढ़कर 19.73 करोड़ होने का अनुमान है जबकि अमेरिका में यह इस दौरान 27.76 करोड़ टन से बढ़कर 31.04 टन पहुंच जाएगी।

म्यांमार में मृतकों की संख्या लाख से अधिक

2008-05-07T21:10:00.001-07:00

यंगून। म्यांमार में मरने वालों की संख्या लगातार बढ़ती जा रही है। म्यांमार में मौजूद अमेरिकी अधिकारियों के मुताबिक यह संख्या एक लाख से ऊपर हो सकती है। म्यांमार में अमेरिकी राजनयिक शेरी विलारोजा ने बताया कि जो सूचनाएं हमें मिल रही हैं उसके मुताबिक एक लाख से ज्यादा लोग मारे गए हैं।
विलारोजा ने कहा कि अभी इसकी पुष्टि नहीं हो सकी है। लेकिन यहां काम कर रहे अंतरराष्ट्रीय एनजीओ जो आंकड़े पेश कर रहे हैं उससे तो यही लगता कि मरने वालों की संख्या काफी अधिक है। म्यांमार की सरकारी मीडिया के मुताबिक तूफान में 22 हजार से ज्यादा लोग मारे गए हैं जबकि 41 हजार लोग लापता हैं। अमेरिकी राजनयिक ने कहा कि यहां हालात भयावह हैं। नुकसान इसलिए भी ज्यादा है, क्योंकि जब तूफान आया तब सभी सो रहे थे। तूफान बीते रविवार की सुबह तीन बजे आया था।
उधर, संयुक्त राष्ट्र के राहतकार्य संयोजक ने आरोप लगाया है कि सरकार अभी भी तूफान प्रभावित कुछ इलाकों में राहत कर्मियों के जाने से रोक रही है। एजेंसी 'सेव दि चाइल्ड' के कंट्री निदेशक, म्यांमार एंड्रयू किर्कवुड ने बताया कि लाखों लोग बेघर हो चुके हैं। तूफान प्रभावित क्षेत्रों में शव सड़ने लगे हैं। जल्दी ही राहत नहीं पहुंची तो महामारी फैलने का खतरा है। बेघर हो चुके लाखों लोगों को फौरन आश्रय, पीने के पानी, ईंधन, दवाओं की जरूरत है। समुद्र के किनारे बसे कुछ शहर तो अभी भी पानी में डूबे हुए हैं। संयुक्त राष्ट्र के एक वरिष्ठ अधिकारी ने कहा है कि म्यांमार में तूफान की वजह से मरने वालों की संख्या में बेतहाशा वृद्धि हो सकती है और सरकारी आंकड़ों से कहीं ज्यादा हो सकती है। संयुक्त राष्ट्र में मानवीय मामलों संबंधी विभाग के उपमहासचिव जान होलम्स ने यह नहीं बताया कि मरने वालों की संख्या में कितनी वृद्धि हो सकती है।
उधर, भारत द्वारा भेजी गई राहत सामग्री बुधवार को यंगून पहुंची। इन्हें भारतीय वायुसेना के दो एन-52 विमानों से भेजा गया है। एक अन्य आईएल-76 विमान दवाएं, टेंट और दूसरी आवश्यक सामग्री लेकर गुरुवार को दिल्ली से यंगून के लिए रवाना होगा।

पत्थर दिल होता इलाज

2008-05-07T21:08:00.000-07:00

दानापुर का रविन्द्र कुमार अपने सात वर्षीय पुत्र राहुल का इलाज प्रदेश के गौरवशाली मेडिकल कालेज अस्पताल पीएमसीएच के शिशु रोग विभाग में नहीं करा सका, जबकि राहुल को आपात चिकित्सा की जरूरत थी। मंगलवार को जूनियर डाक्टरों ने बीमार बच्चे के पिता-चाचा को मारपीट कर लहूलुहान कर दिया। मरीज के परिजनों को पीटने के बाद जूनियर डाक्टरों ने शिशु रोग विभाग में काम भी बंद कर दिया। बाद में आरजू-मिन्नत के बाद डाक्टर तो काम पर लौट आये, लेकिन डरा-सहमा रविन्द्र बेटे का इलाज कराये बिना चला गया। बात जरा सी थी। डाक्टर साहब से निवेदन किया गया था कि वे दवाओं के नाम फिर से लिख दें और इस बार लिखावट थोड़ी साफ रखें ताकि दुकानदार उन्हें पढ़ सके। इस निवेदन पर डाक्टर का पारा चढ़ गया और चूंकि उनकी जमात एक संगठित ताकत रखती है, इसलिए उन्होंने अपनी तुनुक मिजाजी के लिए हिंसा पर उतारू होने तक की आजादी ले रखी है। उधर मरीज तो बेचारा, निरीह और असंगठित होता है- सब कुछ झेलने को विवश। कभी-कभी जब किसी मरीज के तीमारदार समूह में आते हैं, तब या तो उनका इलाज ठीक से होता है या टकराव की नौबत आने पर वे स्वास्थ्यकर्मियों पर भारी पड़ते हैं। मजबूत तीमारदारों से पिटे-हारे स्वास्थ्यकर्मी हड़ताल के हथियार से सरकार को धमकाते हैं। बीच-बचाव से मामला शांत होता है। यह कहानी स्थान, मरीज, रोग, तीमारदार, डाक्टर आदि के नाम बदल-बदल कर प्रदेश में अक्सर दोहरायी जा रही है। सरकारी अस्पताल तो ऐसे सामान्य नागरिकों की सेवा के लिए में बने हैं,जो प्राय: साधनों के मामले में गरीब होते हैं। उनके पास न धनबल होता है, न जन बल। मंगलवार को ही राज्य सरकार ने गरीबी रेखा से नीचे जीवन बसर करने वाले ऐसे लोगों के लिए सरकारी अस्पतालों में हर तरह की चिकित्सा नि:शुल्क करने का फैसला किया। यह व्यवस्था अगले ही महीने से लागू होने जा रही है, लेकिन जहां सरकारी सेवा की छतरी में आये डाक्टरों का मन इतना बढ़ा हुआ है कि वे दोबारा पर्चा लिखने की बात पर संतुलन खो बैठते हैं, वहां गरीब नवाज सरकार के फैसले जनता के कितना काम आ सकेंगे? आम रोगियों के प्रति पीएमसीएच ही नहीं, प्रदेश के अन्य सरकारी अस्पतालों और स्वास्थ्य केंद्रों में भी घोर उपेक्षा और लापरवाही का भाव दिखता है।
छपरा के उदय कुमार की बहन रिंकू कुमारी ग्यारह दिनों से पीएमसीएच के टाटा वार्ड में भर्ती थी। 30 अप्रैल की रात में उदय अपनी मरणासन्न बहन की देखरेख करते हुए बेड के नीचे सो गया था। इस छोटी सी गलती पर अस्पताल के सुरक्षा गार्डो ने मरीज के भाई को पीटकर घायल कर दिया। बाद में गार्डो के खिलाफ प्राथमिकी दर्ज करायी गई। उधर, बहन रिंकू की मौत हो गई। हालांकि अस्पताल प्रशासन ने तीन आरोपी गार्डो को हटा दिया और शेष गार्डो को सख्त कार्रवाई की चेतावनी दी, लेकिन डाक्टरों के मामले में तो इतना भी नहीं होता। सरकारी स्वास्थ्य सेवाएं इसीलिए निष्ठुर घटनाओं की आदी हो चली हैं।

2008-05-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

भारतीयों की खान-पान की आदत पर प्रतिकूल और तथ्य से परे टिप्पणी करने के बाद अमेरिका ने जिस तरह कच्चे तेल की कीमतों में वृद्धि के लिए चीन के साथ-साथ भारत को भी जिम्मेदार ठहराने की कोशिश की उससे कुल मिलाकर यही स्पष्ट होता है कि वह खाद्यान्न संकट की तरह से ऊर्जा संकट पर भी सही दृष्टिकोण अपनाने के लिए तैयार नहीं। इसमें दो राय नहीं कि पिछले कुछ वर्षो में भारत में पेट्रोलियम पदार्थो की खपत बढ़ी है, लेकिन ऐसा तो तेजी से आगे बढ़ते प्रत्येक देश में होता है। भारत की तरह चीन में भी तेल की खपत बढ़ी है। आने वाले वर्षो में कुछ और देशों में भी तेल की मांग बढ़ सकती है, क्योंकि अन्य अनेक राष्ट्र भारत और चीन की तरह तरक्की करना चाहते है। यह आश्चर्यजनक है कि अमेरिका की तरह यूरोपीय संघ ने भी खाद्यान्न संकट के लिए भारत को कठघरे में खड़ा करने की कोशिश की। क्या विकसित देश यह मान कर चल रहे थे कि भारत सदैव अविकसित और पिछड़ा ही बना रहेगा? क्या उन्हे भारत की प्रगति रास नहीं आ रही? वस्तुस्थिति जो भी हो, भारत में एक सशक्त मध्यवर्ग के उभार के आसार तो न जाने कब सामने आ गए थे। इसी तरह वर्षो पहले ही यह स्पष्ट हो गया था कि भारत और चीन में ऊर्जा की आवश्यकता बढ़ेगी। जब यह सब कुछ दीवार पर लिखी इबारत की तरह स्पष्ट था तब फिर अमेरिका और अन्य विकसित देश यकायक सोते से जागते हुए क्यों दिखाई दे रहे है? भारत को अमेरिका और यूरोपीय संघ के दृष्टिकोण पर रक्षात्मक होने की कहीं कोई जरूरत नहीं, क्योंकि खाद्यान्न और ऊर्जा के उपभोग के मामले में जो कुछ हो रहा है वह नितांत स्वाभाविक प्रक्रिया है। इस प्रक्रिया पर वही लोग चकित हो सकते है जो भारत की क्षमता से अनभिज्ञ हों। यह अनभिज्ञता और कुछ नहीं एक प्रकार का अज्ञान ही है।
यदि अमेरिका और यूरोपीय देश यह कहना चाहते है कि भारत तथा चीन खाद्यान्न एवं ऊर्जा संकट का समाधान करने के लिए खासतौर पर सक्रिय हों तो वे समस्या का सरलीकरण कर रहे है। ये दोनों संकट विश्वव्यापी है और इनका समाधान करने के लिए सभी देशों और विशेष रूप से विकसित देशों को आगे आना होगा। ऐसा इसलिए आवश्यक है, क्योंकि खाद्यान्न और ऊर्जा की खपत के मामले में विकसित राष्ट्र भारत और चीन सरीखे देशों से कहीं अधिक आगे है। यह विचित्र है कि विकसित देश अपने लिए अलग और शेष दुनिया के लिए अलग नियम बनाते दिख रहे है। इससे भी बड़ी विडंबना यह है कि वे न तो खाद्यान्न संकट के समाधान में हाथ बंटाना चाहते है और न ही ऊर्जा संकट के समाधान में। अमेरिका और यूरोपीय संघ खाद्यान्न से जैविक ईधन बनाने की अपनी नीति का जिस तरह बचाव कर रहे है वह उनकी स्वार्थपरता का ही परिचायक है। यह सही समय है जब विकसित देशों के अहंकार भरे और एकपक्षीय दृष्टिकोण के खिलाफ निर्धन एवं विकासशील राष्ट्र एकजुट हों। यह एकजुटता इसलिए अनिवार्य है, क्योंकि वे कच्चे तेल के बढ़ते मूल्यों के मूल कारणों का निवारण करने से बच रहे है-ठीक उसी तरह जिस तरह ग्लोबल वार्मिग के खतरों से निपटने के लिए सुझाए गए उपायों से कन्नी काट रहे है। अमेरिका और यूरोपीय संघ की भाव-भंगिमा यह बता रही है कि आने वाला समय और अधिक कठिनाई भरा हो सकता है।

DENGEROUS! BEWRE

2008-05-01T23:49:00.000-07:00

2008-03-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

1 - Shooting in Slo Motion - Peter D. Marshall
You know those wonderful scenes where the actor is walking in slo-mo and his long coat is blowing dramatically in the wind. (Think of Nick Cage in Face Off when he gets out of the car at the airport.
A trick to get the coat to billow like that is to have your costume designer either purchase a coat made of light-weight material, or they can creatively rip the lining out of the coat. This lightens up the material so it will move easier in the wind. And by the way - 60fps and 90fps are good frame rates for the effect.
2 - Shooting Comedy Scenes - Peter D. Marshall
Nothing can kill a comedy scene quicker than the lack of pace. The pace of comedy needs to be faster than drama - but not so frantic that there is no time for reactions. And never over rehearse a comedy scene - use rehearsals to block out actor movement, then turn on the camera and see what happens!
3 - Page Count vs Camera Set-Ups - Peter D. Marshall
When you look at the 1st AD's call sheet and see all those scenes and pages you have to shoot each day, remember: it's not the page count that matters as much as the number of set-ups (shots) youhave each day.
4 - Use Your Hand as the Foot for a Great Hit! - Peter D. Marshall
Want to get a great CU of Person B getting hit in the face/head by Person A's foot?
Take the shoe, sock and pant leg of Person A and dress it on the stunt coordinator's hand and arm.(re: fit the pant over the arm, put the sock and shoe on the hand). You can then move the camera in close and use the stunt coordinator to swing at Person B's head right beside the camera. You get a great looking shot and you have more control of the "kick." I've used this technique several times in fight sequences and it looks great on camera.
5 - Screen Direction in an Fight Sequence - Peter D. Marshall
Which way an actor looks, or which side of the camera he exits or enters, is called Screen Direction (the "180 degree rule"). Maintaining proper screen direction is one of the jobs of the Script Supervisor and is very important to the uninterrupted flow of your story. But should the screen direction rule always be "obeyed?"
During fight scenes, "crossing the axis" adds a dramatic sense of confusion to the action - where punches and gunshots come from odd angles and characters enter and exit unexpectedly. And whenyou add slow-motion, dutch tilts, hand-held cameras and jump-cutting techniques, you can create a ballet-like scene that is stylistic and dynamic.
6 - Work Expands with the Time Allotted - Peter D. Marshall
In a TV Series, you should know what scenes you want to spend extra time on (more coverage or more time with the actors) and which scenes you will shoot quickly (to make up for the longerscenes). Give the 1st AD this information so he can help you out in the schedule.
Remember, if you are shooting a low-budget movie or a TV Series, it's "Gone with the Wind" in the morning and "Duke's of Hazzard" in the afternoon!
7 - The "Walk and Talk" Scene - Peter D. Marshall
Two actors have to walk from Point-A (a hallway) and finish their dialogue when they reach Point-B (an elevator or a door). A quick way of deciding where they must begin (in the hallway) is to havethem start walking FROM Point-B to Point-A. Where they stop (finish their lines) is where you can start them for the scene.
8 - Learn to Balance Your Scenes - Peter D. Marshall
Every script will have scenes that are not necessary; scenes that have nothing going on; or scenes that are only for character development. But if they haven't been omitted, (by the producers or writers) you still have to shoot them. The trick here is to not spend a lot of time on these scenes - just shoot them fast and get onto the next one.
9 - Character Objectives - Peter D. Marshall
Actors and Directors have to come up with as many objectives for a character as possible. A character's objective should be something that will engage the other characters in a scene; it should create it's own obstacles; and it should be something the actor can believe in and commit to.
But there is one important rule to remember when choosing objectives for a character. An actor can only play ONE objective in a scene! Always ask yourself "What is the character's need in this scene?" and then make sure the actor plays that objective!
10 - Advice on Making Short Films - by Luciano Bresdem
My name is Luciano Bresdem, I am from Brazil and I have made some short films. I would like to share some directing tips that I have learned.
For me, the most important part for a director is knowing the script: structure, characters, space, plot,... You should know the material that you have in your hands. Second thing: You should know what you want to say with this film - if you don't know what you want to say, you will lose the control over the material, actors, and crew. And the last thing: You should find the ways to say what you want to say. Discipline and organization are important here. Make a list, in detail, with every aspect of the production (Performance, Location, Direction of Photographic, Sound,...) and remember that "there's no unimportant decisions in filmmaking".
11 - Communicating to the Crew - Peter D. Marshall
An experienced director should be able to talk to key personnel in their own terms.
That means you should not only know the techniques of acting when talking to actors, but you should also understand lenses when talking to a camera operator and DOP, you should understand costumes when talking to the wardrobe department, you should understand the basics of hair and make-up....etc.
Does this make you a better director? Not necessarily. But it will help you to communicate your ideas and vision to the people that have to make it happen!
12 - A Quote from Frank Capra
Here is one of my favorite tips - and it comes in the form of a quote from the legendary director, Frank Capra.
"There are no rules in film making, only sins. And the cardinal sin is Dullness."
13 - Dealing with Actors who Change Dialogue - Peter D. Marshall
When dealing with actors who want to improvise and change their dialogue, make sure they know what the intent of the scene is first. Once you and the actor both agree on the scene intent, they can go ahead and improvise their dialogue - and the objective of the scene will still be met.
14 - The Director and 1st AD Relationship - Peter D. Marshall
In Television - The 1st AD works WITH the Director FOR the Producer
In Features - The 1st AD works FOR the Director, WITH the Producer
15 - Directing for an Audience - Peter D. Marshall
As a director, it's important to properly gauge the length of time the viewer needs to digest the information in a scene. (the greater audience involvement, the more successful the film)
Remember, an audience will accept as pertinent almost anything portrayed on the screen, even if it seems to make little sense. (If it's there, it must be for reason.)
16 - Actors Should "Do" Rather than "Say" - Peter D. Marshall
When working on your script, and when shooting on the set, make sure you have the actors "do things" rather than "say things."
17 - Developing Small Character Roles - Peter D. Marshall
Any character in a script that is worth keeping is worth developing. Allow the smaller roles to have offbeat remarks or unique bits of action to make them memorable.
18 - Understanding the Business of Film - Peter D. Marshall
Understanding the differences and similarities between both TV and Film is essential to a successful and productive career in the film business because of one word: POLITICS!
19 - When to Use a Second Camera - Peter D. Marshall
Shooting with a second camera is a must if you want to save time on the set.
1) Action Scenes - you should always use several cameras during Action and stunt scenes.
2) Dialogue Scenes - you will need to work closely with the DOP, and the soundman, about when to use the second camera, what it is covering and what lens to use.
3) Filming kids and animals - this will help you get the shot on the first or second take as both children and animals will never do the same thing twice.
20 - Night Shooting - Peter D. Marshall
Shooting at night takes more time than shooting in the day so make sure you are totally prepared. It is also helpful to know how to cheat your reverses - so you can spend less time lighting and more time shooting.
21 - Working with Visual Effects - Peter D. Marshall
Most film and TV programs today utilize some form of special visual FX (Green screen, motion control, computer screens etc.) Because of the complexity of these shots, make sure you work very closely with the Visual FX Supervisor to properly schedule all of the plate shots, reference shots and green screen shots.
22 - Blocking a Scene Tips - Peter D. Marshall
Having a shot list will help you during the blocking process. The shot list is like a map: it gives you a path to your destination but you don't always have to follow ita) let the actors show you what they want to do first, then, when you make a suggestion, it is based on something you have already seenb) in Television, speed is essential, so try and block some scenes so that your action takes place in one direction (to avoid turning the camera around for reverses)

'Left want me out before panchayat polls'

2008-03-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

New Delhi: Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen on Tuesday said while she is going out of the country because of health reasons, she still loves India and her heart is still in Kolkata. In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN's National Affairs Editor Diptosh Majumdar, she said she has been forced to leave India because of extreme stress that she went through over these last few months.
Taslima claims she was being kept out of Kolkata primarily because of political reasons as the Left Front Government there didn't want to antagonise the Muslim voters ahead of the forthcoming panchayat elections in the state.
Diptosh Majumdar:Why have you taken this decision to leave India?
Taslima Nasreen: I am being forced to leave India. I have been living under house arrest for seven-and-a-half months — four months in Kolkata and three-and-a-half months in Delhi. I was not allowed to step out or meet anyone. I was constantly under pressure to leave the country. I refused to leave this country because I love this country and I have settled in this country a few years ago. My home is in Kolkata. But because of stress-related hypertension and not being allowed to see doctors for months, I developed some difficult diseases from which it is difficult recover. This confinement has left a very bad impact on my mental and physical health. I am forced to leave India to get necessary treatment and save at least the rest of my body, which has not yet been damaged from this extreme stress, which I went through over these last several months.
Diptosh Majumdar:Where are you going?
Taslima Nasreen: It is not important where I am going, where I will stay. It is important to understand why I am taking this step of having to leave this country, which I love and respect so much.
Diptosh Majumdar:When do you hope to come back and where? Are you keeping your flat in Kolkata?
Taslima Nasreen: I definitely want to come back after the panchayat election. I have been told that after the panchayat elections, when the political parties would have got their Muslim votes and won their elections, I would be allowed to go back to Kolkata. Yes, I am not giving up my connections with Kolkata. I am keeping everything there. I was not allowed to go to my home in Kolkata to pick up some necessary things, which I needed before leaving the country. Anyway, I sincerely hope I will be allowed to live in Kolkata after two or three months.
Diptosh Majumdar:What is the status of your health?
Taslima Nasreen: My doctors have told me that I have hypertension and some problems which are cardiac in nature. I also have an eye problem.
Diptosh Majumdar: What is your message to those who forced you to leave?
Taslima Nasreen: I hope their good sense will prevail. I hope they will try to uphold the ideas of Indian democracy and secularism. Hope they will value human rights and freedom of expression.
Diptosh Majumdar:What is your message to those who supported you?
Taslima Nasreen: I am grateful to all those who have showed their support and solidarity towards me। I consider them my home, my कोउन्ट्री.

SATYJIT RAY

2008-03-16T01:19:00.000-07:00

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Satyajit Ray
b. May 2, 1921, Calcutta, India.
d. April 23, 1992, Calcutta, India.

by Helen Goritsas

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Helen Goritsas is a Sydney-based film enthusiast - a regular cinemagoer, writer, film student and filmmaker.
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filmography bibliography web resources

Satyajit Ray was born in Calcutta into an exceptionally talented family who were prominent in Bengali arts and letters. His father died when he was an infant and his mother and her younger brother's family brought him up. After graduating from Presidency College, Calcutta, in 1940, he studied art at Rabindranath Tagore's University in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. He took up commercial advertising and he also designed covers and illustrated books brought out by Signet Press. One of these books was an edition of Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhya's novel, Pather Panchali, which was to become his first film. In 1947 Ray established the Calcutta Film Society. During a six month trip to Europe in 1950, he managed to see 100 films, including Vittorio De Sica's Ladri di Biciclette (1948), which greatly inspired him. He returned convinced that it was possible to make realist cinema and with an amateur crew he endeavoured to prove this to the world.

In 1955, after incredible financial hardship (shooting on the film stopped for over a year) his adaptation of Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) was completed. Prior to the 1956 Cannes Festival, Indian Cinema was relatively unknown in the West, just as Japanese cinema had been prior to Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950). However, with Pather Panchali, Satyajit Ray suddenly assumed great importance. The film went on to win numerous awards abroad including Best Human Document at Cannes. Pather Panchali's success launched an extraordinary international film career for Ray.

A prolific filmmaker, during his lifetime Ray directed 36 films, comprising of features, documentaries and short stories. These include the renowned Apu trilogy (Pather Panchali, Aparajito [1956] and Apur Sansar [1959]), Jalsaghar (1958), Postmaster (1961), Charulata (1964), Days and Nights in the Forest (1969) and Pikoo (1980) along with a host of his lesser known works which themselves stand up as fine examples of story telling. His films encompass a diversity of moods, techniques, and genres: comedy, satire, fantasy and tragedy. Usually he made films in a realist mode, but he also experimented with surrealism and fantasy.

Pather Panchali
Pather Panchali was based on the aforementioned famous novel of the '30s depicting a poor Bengali family's grim struggle for survival. In this story, a father, although talented artistically, is compelled to eke out a living for his wife and two children by collecting rents. For a long time he struggles to bring up the family in its ancestral home, but ultimately he is forced to abandon the home. Aparajito (The Unvanquished) forms the second part of this great trilogy. It deals with the adolescence of Apu following his father's death. Sarbojaya, after some hardships, takes Apu to live in her uncle's household in the country. The local schoolmaster nurtures Apu's interest in learning and in the wider world, and at 16 Apu wins a scholarship to study in Calcutta. Caught up in the excitement of the city, he visits his mother reluctantly and rarely. She is lonely and dying but refuses to appeal to his sympathy for fear of impeding his education. Finally a letter from his uncle brings Apu home, one day too late. After the funeral, Apu, refusing to follow his father into the priesthood, leaves again for the city.

Apu Sansar
Before concluding the trilogy Ray made Paras Pather (The Philosopher's Stone, 1958), a satirical comedy about a poor clerk who chances on a magic stone that turns all metal to gold. The concluding film in the trilogy is Apu Sansar (The World of Apu), in many ways the most mature and deeply felt of the three works. Apu, now a grown man, marries, writes his first novel, and then loses his wife Aparna in childbirth. Shattered, Apu refuses to his son, blaming him for Aparna's death and he wanders off in anguished solitude. Five years later his friend Pulu unearths him and at last he is reunited with his son. This event gives him the vitality and joy with which to face the future. The theme of change, of the countervailing gains and losses attendant on the forces of progress, has often been identified as the central preoccupation of Ray's work. This theme, underlying much of the Apu trilogy, finds its most overt expression in Jalsaghar (The Music Room), an underrated film and one of Ray's finest achievements. Jalsaghar is the story of Biswambhar, a feudal lord who ruins himself through holding music concerts to outclass the boorish upstart son of a moneylender. The film as a whole explores the idea that truly great art is created in that space of time just before disintegration takes over. Time seems to be frozen for Biswambhar and it is within this act of refusal that his ruin lies.

The inner struggle between traditional and modern values in Indian life has coloured several other Ray films. Devi (The Goddess, 1960) is essentially a story exploring the dangers of religious fanaticism and superstition. Daya is a young bride at the end of the 19th century who (because her father-in-law has a vision) suddenly believes that she is the reincarnation of the goddess Kali. The gullible Daya accepts the worship of the people around her, but she eventually becomes a victim of a quarrel that develops between her husband and her father.

To mark the centenary of the birth of Rabindranath Tagore, Ray made Teen Kanya (Three Daughters) in 1961. The Postmaster is the first of the three-part series making up Teen Kanya. A young man from Calcutta, exiled as postmaster in a remote village begins teaching a young orphan girl (who tends his house) to read and write. Acting out of sheer boredom, he is too selfish to notice her growing attachment to him, and when the chance of a transfer comes he leaves without consideration. The second episode, Samapti, is a comedy about a young law student who rejects the dull bride chosen by his mother and marries the village tomboy. The third episode is Monihara, a ghost story about a wife who returns after her death to claim her husband's last gift.

Charulata
Ray's first original script was for Kanchanjungha (1962), which was also his first picture in colour and the first film for which Ray composed the score. Filmed entirely on location in Darjeeling, it traces the varied activities of a vacationing family dominated by the father, a rich Calcutta businessman. Yet another disillusioned character is the taxi-driver protagonist of Abhijan (The Expedition, 1962). In Mahanagar (The Big City, 1963), Ray tackles the problem of whether or not both a husband and wife should take up jobs to maintain the family. The Big City is set in contemporary India, but the issue at stake - that being a woman's place in society - is essentially the same in Charulata (1964), which takes place in 1879 and is based on another story by Tagore. Admirers of Ray's work have often quarrelled as to which are his best films. Most have agreed however that Charulata is among the very finest. Ray himself rates it as his favourite. "It's the one with the fewest flaws." (John Wakeman, 1988, p. 845.)

After the confident mastery of Charulata, Ray seemed for the rest of the decade to lose his sureness of touch, unable to come satisfactorily to terms either with his material or with the world around him. Films such as Kapurush-o-Mahapurush (The Crowd and the Holy Man, 1965), Nayak (The Hero, 1966) and Chiriakhana (The Zoo, 1967) contain little of Ray's personal touch. It was not until Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest, 1969) that Ray returned to form. In this accomplished work, Ray isolates and removes a group of modern young Calcuttans from their natural habitat in order to study their attitudes and reactions and to reveal aspects of their respective characters. During the late-'60s, Ray made a fairytale for adults in Goopy Gyn Bagha Byne (The Adventures of Goopy and Bagha, 1968) and then went on to make The City Trilogy (comprising of Pratidwandi [The Adversary, 1970], Seemabaddha [Company Limited, 1971] and Jana Aranya [The Middleman, 1975]) but before its completion a number of other film projects intervened. Two documentaries from this period are Sikkim (1971), a travelogue on the northern border kingdom, and The Inner Eye (1972), a short tribute to the blind artist Binod Behari Mukherjee. Between these two documentaries, however, Ray made Ashani Sanket (Distant Thunder, 1973), his second colour film.

Shatranji Ke Kilhari
In 1961 Ray had revived Sandesh, the children's magazine founded by his grandfather and continued by his father until his premature death. From this time, alongside his movie-making he also produced a constant flow of illustrations, verses, translations and stories for the magazine. Several of his stories featured Felu Mittar, a private detective and it is one of these that he adapted for his second children's film Sonar Kella (The Fortress, 1974). Like all of Ray's children's films it was hugely successful. Wary of making films in a language in which he was not proficient, Ray resisted the idea of moving outside the restricted Bengali. However, he was persuaded to aim for a wider audience by making his first film in Hindu, Shatranji Ke Kilhari (The Chess Players, 1977), a period piece set in Lucknow 1856. In this film Ray traces two parallel stories. While General Outram, the British resident, moves to oust Wajid Ali Shah from the throne of Oudh and annex the Kingdom for the East India Company, two of Wajid's indolent nawabs, indifferent to history, play endless games of chess. Although a strong film, it would seem Ray failed to adequately mesh the two separate strands of the plot as he intended. After The Chess Players, Ray returned to making films for children. Ray adapted another of his short stories for Joi Baba Felunath (The Elephant God, 1978). The plot revolves around a stolen gold statuette, which Felu eventually recovers in the face of bribes from assorted heavies. Ray followed this film with Hirok Rajar Deshe (The Kingdom of Diamonds, 1980), a sequel to Goopy and Bagha in which the two characters find themselves in a police state where idealists are exiled and dissenters are brainwashed.

In 1981, as a result of a successful revival of Ray's work in Paris, ORTF commissioned a new work, Pikoo, a 27-minute fiction film. Pikoo is a story which depicts a family crisis through the uncomprehending eyes of the six-year-old son. The same year, Ray was commissioned to make a film for Indian TV. The resulting film was Sadgati (Deliverance) a 50-minute piece filmed in Hindi, which relates a story of callous exploitation. In 1984 Ray made Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World), telling the story of a love triangle in which the characters are forced to confront the wider effects of their own limitations.

Due to his medical condition (which resulted from a heart attack during the making of The Home and the World), Satyajit Ray was told by his doctors not to do any location work and he was forced to shoot in studios. Unfortunately, this constraint of shooting does mar the last of his films as a whole. This is true of not only Ganashatru (Enemy of the People, 1989) but also Shakha Prashakha (Branches of the Tree, 1990) and Agantuk (The Stranger, 1991).

* * * *

There is perhaps no filmmaker who exercised such total control over his work as Satyajit Ray. He was responsible for scripting, casting, directing, scoring, operating the camera, working closely on art direction and editing, even designing his own credit titles and publicity material. His films come as close to complete personal expression as may be possible in cinema. Ray's style grows out of the material itself, and from an inner compulsion to express it clearly. The thread that ties the body of his work together is its strong humanist basis. By his own admission his films are the antithesis of conventional Hollywood films, both in style and content. His characters are generally of average ability and talents. Perverted or bizarre behaviour, violence and explicit sex, rarely appear in his films. His interest lies in characters with roots in their society. What fascinates him is the struggle and corruption of the conscience-stricken person. He brought real concerns of real people to the screen. His works serve to remind us of the wholeness and sanctity of the individual. Above all, Ray's is a cinema of thought and feeling, in which the feeling is deliberately restrained because it is so intense. Although Ray continued to experiment with subject matter and style more than most directors, he always held true to his original conviction that the finest cinema uses strong, simple themes containing hundreds of little, apparently irrelevant details, which only help to intensify the illusion of actuality better. These themes cannot come from the passing fashions of the period; they must be drawn from permanent values.

Aparajito
By depicting physical environments with the utmost truth and by exploring human relationships to their limits, Ray reveals many aspects of the human condition. Through particulars, he reaches universality, conveying through his cinema this co-existence. Much of his cinema's strength lies in the total impression of its average moments, moments that can't be picked out as necessarily striking scenes. This is because he strikes a carefully judged balance between form and content. He does not let one part override the other. He was known to reject locations because he thought them too spectacular and overpowering, stating they would upset the balance.

In the last few decades we have seen greater emphasis on form and technique in film at the expense of content. Form has come to be identified as the content of film. With formalism reigning supreme, subject matter has disappeared. Meaning has been divorced from the subject and a steady dehumanisation in cinema has resulted. What is refreshing about Satyajit Ray and his films is that they represent sanity and faith in humanity. With him, the subject comes first and with the material on hand he allows it to dictate the form.

Throughout his career, Satyajit Ray maintained that the best technique of filmmaking was the one that was not noticeable, that technique was merely a means to an end. He disliked the idea of a film that drew attention to its style rather than the contents. That is why his work touches one as a revelation of artistry. For at the same time, he reveals his attitude, his sympathies, and his overall outlook in a subtle manner, through hints and via undertones. There are no direct messages in his films. But their meanings are clear, thanks to structural coherence.

Agantuk
Ray makes us re-evaluate the commonplace. He has the remarkable capacity of transforming the utterly mundane into the excitement of an adventure. There is the ability to recognise the mythic in the ordinary, such as in the train sequence of Pather Panchali where the humming telegraph poles hold Durga and Apu in a spell. In addition, he has the extraordinary capacity of evoking the unsaid. When viewing one of his films we often think we know what one of his characters is thinking and feeling, without a single word of dialogue. This ability to create a sense of intimate connection between people of vastly different cultures is Ray's greatest achievement. More then any of his contemporaries in world cinema, he can create an awareness of the ordinary man, and he doesn't do it in the abstract, but by using the simplest, most common and concrete details such as a gesture or a glance.

What is also distinctive in Ray's work is that the rhythm in his films seems almost meditative. There is a contemplative quality in the magnificent flow of images and sounds that evokes an attitude of acceptance and detachment, which is profoundly Indian. His compassionate work arises from a philosophical tradition that brings detachment and freedom from fear, celebrates joy in birth and life and accepts death with grace. This perspective attempts to create the whole out of a fineness of detail. Ray succeeded in making Indian cinema, for the first time in its history, something to be taken seriously, and in so doing, created a body of work of distinct range and richness.

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© Helen Goritsas, May 2002

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Satyajit Ray
Filmography

Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) (1955) 115min B/W

Aparajito (The Unvanquished) (1956) 113 min B/W

Parash Pathar (The Philosopher's Stone) (1957) 111 min B/W

Jalsaghar (The Music Room) (1958) 100 min B/W

Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) (1959) 106 min B/W

Devi (The Goddess) (1960), 93 min B/W

Rabindranath Tagore (Documentary, 1961) 54 min B/W

Teen Kanya (Three Daughters) (1961) (comprising of Postmaster [56 min], Samapti [56 min] and Monihara [61mins], all B/W). (There also exist different versions of this film, combining only two of the three stories, under the title Two Daughters.)

Kanchenjungha (1962) 102 min Colour

Abhijan (The Expedition) (1962) 150min B/W

Mahanagar (The Big City) (1963) 131 min B/W

Charulata (The Lonely Wife) (1964) 117 min B/W

Two (1964) 15 min B/W

Kapurush-O-Mahapurush (The Crowd and the Holy Man) (1965) (Two-part film - The Crowd and The Holy Man, running at 74 min and 65 min respectively, B/W)

Nayak (The Hero) (1966) 120 min B/W

Chiriakhana (The Zoo) (1967) 125 min B/W

Goopy Gyn Bagha Byne (Adventures of Goopy and Bagha) (1968) 132 min B/W & Colour

Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest) (1969) 115 min B/W

Pratidwandi (The Adversary) (1970) 110 min B/W

Sikkim (Documentary, 1971) 60 min B/W

Seemabaddha (Company Limited) (1971) 112 min B/W

The Inner Eye (Documentary, 1972) 20 min Colour

Asani Sanket (Distant Thunder) (1973) 101 min Colour

Sonar Kella (The Fortress) (1974) 120 min Colour

Jana Aranya (The Middleman) (1975) 131 min B/W

Bala (Documentary, 1976) 33 min Colour

Shatrani Ke Khilari (The Chess Players) (1977) 113 min Colour

Joi Baba Felunath (The Elephant God) (1978) 112 min Colour

Pikoo (Pikoo's Day) (Short, 1980) 26 min Colour

Hirak Rajar Deshe (Kingdom of Diamonds) (1980) 118 min Colour

Sadgati (The Deliverance) (1981) 52 min Colour

Ghare Baire (Home and the World) (1984) 140 min Colour

Sukumar Ray (Documentary, 1987) 30 min Colour

Ganashatru (Enemy of the People) (1989) 100 min Colour

Shakha Proshakha (Branches of the Tree) (1990) 121 min Colour

Agantuk (The Stranger) (1991) 120 min colour

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Select Bibliography

Cowie, Peter, 50 Major Filmmakers, New York, Tanity Press, 1975.

Das Gupta, Chidananda, Film India Satyajit Ray, Bombay, Tata Press, 1981.

Nyce, Ben, Satyajit Ray: A Study of his Films, New York, Greenwood Press 1988

Robinson, Andrew, Satyajit Ray, The Inner Eye, Great Britain, WBC Ltd Bristol & Maesteg, 1989.

Seton, Marie, Portrait of a Director: Satyajit Ray, London, St Ann's, Press 1971.

Montage No 5/6 July 1966, Anandam Film Society Publication, Bombay.

World Film Directors, Volume 11 1945-1958, Wilson Company, 1988.

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Web Resources Compiled by Michelle Carey

Satyajit Ray Film and Study Collection
Excellent website for the non-profit educational organisation dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of Ray's cinematic, literary and artistic oeuvre.

Satyajit Ray
Good overview of the filmmaker as part of Film India's website.

Maanvi Media presents. Satyajit Ray
Great resource for information on his films, awards, books, crews, biography, testimonials.

Satyajit Ray
Good (though basic) site with some enlightening articles.

Reportages - Satyajit Ray
Great French site, consisting mainly of shots of Ray at work on set.

Retrospectiva Satyajit Ray
Question (in Portuguese) and answer (in English) with the director on his influences and methods.

Pather Panchali
Basic page (with stills, quotations and testimonials) dedicated to this film.

Manas: Culture, Indian Cinema - Satyajit Ray
Great overview of Ray's life and cinema.

Click here to search for Satyajit Ray DVDs, videos and books at

Back to Great Directors index page

FACTS AND FEATURES

2008-02-05T20:58:00.001-08:00

Facts and Figures
1.1 billion people live without clean drinking water

2.6 billion people lack adequate sanitation (2002, UNICEF/WHO JMP 2004)

1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoeal diseases.

3 900 children die every day from water borne diseases (WHO 2004)

Daily per capita use of water in residential areas:
- 350 litres in North America and Japan
- 200 litres in Europe
- 10-20 litres in sub-Saharan Africa

Over 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries mostly without adequate legal or institutional arrangements.

Quantity of water needed to produce 1 kg of:
- wheat: 1 000 L
- rice: 1 400 L
- beef: 13 000 L
(D.Zimmer,and D.Renault, 2003)
Resources / Supply
By water resources, we mean all the water available for human use, namely domestic use, agriculture, industry.
By water supply, we mean water that has been treated and has become drinking water.
The poorer the country, the smaller the difference, as people often drink water without treatment. As long as the country develops, the management of water resources in general differs from the one of drinking water.
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WATER CRISIS

2008-02-05T20:53:00.000-08:00

Home WWC / Water at a glance / Water Crisis

Water Crisis
While the world's population tripled in the 20th century, the use of renewable water resources has grown six-fold. Within the next fifty years, the world population will increase by another 40 to 50 %. This population growth - coupled with industrialization and urbanization - will result in an increasing demand for water and will have serious consequences on the environment.

People lack drinking water and sanitation

Photo by ADMVB bokidiawe@yahoogroupes.fr
Already there is more waste water generated and dispersed today than at any other time in the history of our planet: more than one out of six people lack access to safe drinking water, namely 1.1 billion people, and more than two out of six lack adequate sanitation, namely 2.6 billion people (Estimation for 2002, by the WHO/UNICEF JMP, 2004). 3900 children die every day from water borne diseases (WHO 2004). One must know that these figures represent only people with very poor conditions. In reality, these figures should be much higher.

Water resources are becoming scarce

Agricultural crisis

Although food security has been significantly increased in the past thirty years, water withdrawals for irrigation represent 66 % of the total withdrawals and up to 90 % in arid regions, the other 34 % being used by domestic households (10 %), industry (20 %), or evaporated from reservoirs (4 %). (Source: Shiklomanov, 1999)

As the per capita use increases due to changes in lifestyle and as population increases as well, the proportion of water for human use is increasing. This, coupled with spatial and temporal variations in water availability, means that the water to produce food for human consumption, industrial processes and all the other uses is becoming scarce.

Environmental crisis

It is all the more critical that increased water use by humans does not only reduce the amount of water available for industrial and agricultural development but has a profound effect on aquatic ecosystems and their dependent species. Environmental balances are disturbed and cannot play their regulating role anymore. (See Water and Nature)

The concept of Water Stress

Source: WaterGAP 2.0 - December 1999

Water stress results from an imbalance between water use and water resources. The water stress indicator in this map measures the proportion of water withdrawal with respect to total renewable resources. It is a criticality ratio, which implies that water stress depends on the variability of resources. Water stress causes deterioration of fresh water resources in terms of quantity (aquifer over-exploitation, dry rivers, etc.) and quality (eutrophication, organic matter pollution, saline intrusion, etc.) The value of this criticality ratio that indicates high water stress is based on expert judgment and experience (Alcamo and others, 1999). It ranges between 20 % for basins with highly variable runoff and 60 % for temperate zone basins. In this map, we take an overall value of 40 % to indicate high water stress. We see that the situation is heterogeneous over the world.

An increase in tensions

As the resource is becoming scarce, tensions among different users may intensify, both at the national and international level. Over 260 river basins are shared by two or more countries. In the absence of strong institutions and agreements, changes within a basin can lead to transboundary tensions. When major projects proceed without regional collaboration, they can become a point of conflicts, heightening regional instability. The Parana La Plata, the Aral Sea, the Jordan and the Danube may serve as examples. Due to the pressure on the Aral Sea, half of its superficy has disappeared, representing 2/3 of its volume. 36 000 km2 of marin grounds are now recovered by salt.

Towards a way to impove the situation

"There is a water crisis today. But the crisis is not about having too little water to satisfy our needs. It is a crisis of managing water so badly that billions of people - and the environment - suffer badly." World Water Vision Report

With the current state of affairs, correcting measures still can be taken to avoid the crisis to be worsening. There is a increasing awareness that our freshwater resources are limited and need to be protected both in terms of quantity and quality. This water challenge affects not only the water community, but also decision-makers and every human being. "Water is everybody's business" was one the the key messages of the 2nd World Water Forum.

Saving water resources

Whatever the use of freshwater (agriculture, industry, domestic use), huge saving of water and improving of water management is possible. Almost everywhere, water is wasted, and as long as people are not facing water scarcity, they believe access to water is an obvious and natural thing. With urbanization and changes in lifestyle, water consumption is bound to increase. However, changes in food habits, for example, may reduce the problem, knowing that growing 1kg of potatoes requires only 100 litres of water, whereas 1 kg of beef requires 13 000 litres.

Improving drinking water supply

Water should be recognized as a great priority. One of the main objectives of the World Water Council is to increase awareness of the water issue. Decision-makers at all levels must be implicated. One of the Millenium Development Goals is to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation. To that aim, several measures should be taken:
guarantee the right to water;
decentralise the responsibility for water;
develop know-how at the local level;
increase and improve financing;
evaluate and monitor water resources.
Improving transboundary cooperation

As far as transboundary conflicts are concerned, regional economic developement and cultural preservation can all be strengthened by states cooperating of water. Instead of a trend towards war, water management can be viewed as a trend towards cooperation and peace. Many initiatives are launched to avoid crises. Institutional commitments like in the Senegal River are created. In 2001, Unesco and Grenn Cross International have joined forces in response to the growing threat of conflicts linked to water. They launched the joint From Potential Conflicts to Co-Operation Potential programme to promote peace in the use of transboundary watercourses by addressing conflicts and fostering co-operation among states and stakeholders.
More about this program: www.gci.ch/en/programs/natural_02.htm
www.unesco.org/water/wwap/pccp

THE SCREEN PALY OF STAR WARS

2008-02-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

Greatest Films (www.filmsite.org and www.greatestfilms.org)With descriptive review commentaries and background history on many classic, landmark films in cinematic history, especially American/Hollywood films. Including posters, Academy Awards history, film genres, film terms, film history by decade, trivia, and lots of lists of 'best' films, stars, scenes, quotes, resources, etc.
Buy This Film
Star Wars (1977), (aka Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope) is one of the most popular, profitable, entertaining, and successful science fiction/action - adventure/fantasy films of all time. The film, shot mostly on location in Tunisia, Guatemala and Death Valley (California), advanced special-effects technology to a degree unseen before, with computerized and digitally-ti

With the sound of the Sand People approaching, they decide to find safety elsewhere. The damaged C-3PO (with a broken arm) and the other droid are put in the landspeeder with Luke and Ben to travel to Kenobi's small desert dwelling. While Luke repairs his droid, he speaks with Ben, denying that his father was ever a Jedi, an heroic warrior-guardian from ancient times who preserved order in the universe: "My father didn't fight in the wars. He was a navigator on a spice freighter." Then, he learns that his uncle told him a lie to keep it a secret from him because "he didn't hold with your father's ideals." Luke is told that Ben is the last living member of a planetary Round Table known as the Jedi Knights: "I was once a Jedi Knight. The same as your father." Luke learns that his father fought in the Clone Wars and was indeed a Jedi, the "best star pilot in the galaxy and a cunning warrior. I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself. And he was a good friend."
Now that Luke is old enough, Ben goes to his chest and removes a small sword handle to give Luke something his father has passed down to him. According to Ben, Luke's uncle wouldn't allow it and feared that Luke "might follow old Obi-Wan on some damn-fool idealistic crusade like your father did." Kenobi explains the laserbeam light-saber/sword, the weapon of the Jedi Knight:
An elegant weapon, for a more civilized age. For over a thousand generations the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old republic - before the dark times. Before the Empire.
Luke wants to know more and learns how his father died, finding a justifiable motive for avenging his father's death:
Luke: How did my father die?Ben: A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force.Luke: The Force?Ben: Now, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, it penetrates us, it binds the galaxy together.
Ben activates R2-D2's message. Together, they see the holographic image of the beautiful girl and listen to the entire message from Princess Leia, telling about how the stored secret Death Star plans inside R2-D2 must be delivered to her father on Alderaan:
General Kenobi. Years ago, you served my father...Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person. But my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. I've placed information vital to the survival of the rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.
Ben tugs at his beard, turns to Luke and advises: "You must learn the ways of the Force if you're to come with me to Alderaan." Luke is uncertain about getting involved in the mission, insisting that he is already in trouble with his uncle who needs him at home to help with the harvest: "Alderaan? I'm not going to Alderaan." Ben needs new blood to continue the fight against the Empire: "I need your help Luke. She needs your help. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing." When Luke only offers excuses, Ben reminds Luke: "That's your uncle talking."
Ben encourages him: "Learn about the Force, Luke." Luke reluctantly decides to help only in a small way by transporting him to the local spaceport: "Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport there to Mos Eisley or wherever you're going." Ben accepts with a wily grin: "You must do what you feel is right, of course."
Seated around a large conference table on the fearsome Death Star battle station light years away, the evil Galactic Empire is led by the vicious tyrant, the skeletal Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing), Governor of the Imperial Outland Regions, whose power-mad goal to dominate every planet within his reach is nearing completion: "The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the Council permanently, the last remnants of the old Republic have been swept away." One of the officers is concerned about their vulnerability, possible danger to the Death Star and other challenges posed by the Rebels. The Grand Moff's right-hand second-in command, Darth Vader, assures everyone that the stolen plans for the Death Star will soon be back in their hands. Another officer is confident: "Any attack made by the Rebels against this station would be a useless gesture, no matter what technical data they've obtained. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe. I suggest we use it."
But Darth Vader warns of the awesome power of the Force:
Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. The ability to destroy a planet is insignificant next to the power of the Force.
The officer sneers back at Vader, mocking him: "Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerer's ways, Lord Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes, or given you clairvoyance enough to find the Rebel's hidden fortress..." Raising one black armored fist, Darth gives the skeptical officer a demonstration of the powers of the Force. He commands the mystical, evil power of the Force to telekinetically strangle the officer: "I find your lack of faith disturbing." Tarkin commands Vader to release the choking grip: "Enough of this! Vader, release him!" Vader complies and the officer collapses.
The Death Star threatens to rule the galaxy as the greatest and most developed weapon and threat. The Grand Moff assures everyone that Vader will succeed in obtaining the plans and destroying the Rebels: "Lord Vader will provide us with the location of the Rebel fortress by the time this station is operational. We will then crush the rebellion with one swift stroke."
On their return, Ben and Luke discover the blasted, grisly remains of an attack on the Jawa's sandcrawler transport, owned by: "the same Jawas that sold us Artoo and Threepio." On the ground are the bodies of the dead Jawas. Kenobi knows that the destruction was not caused by the Sand People: "These blast points - too accurate for Sand People. Only Imperial stormtroopers are so precise." Suddenly, it dawns on Luke that his relatives are in danger: "If they traced the robots here, they may have learned who they sold them to, and that would lead them back...home!" After Luke speeds home in his landspeeder, he sadly finds the two, incinerated charred skeletons of his aunt and uncle, and their farm has been burned to the ground. Darth Vader's Imperial Forces have already visited in a deadly search for the plans.
Meanwhile, in a dungeon cell within the Death Star, Vader is escorted by Imperial soldiers to enter imprisoned Princess Leia's cell, where he questions her about the location of the hidden Rebel base, threatening robotic torture with a cruel-looking, black, round floating device with sharp needles, containing truth serum. The Princess recoils in fear as they prepare her torture.
Soon, Luke returns to Ben and the droids at the site of the ravaged sandcrawler, where they are burning the bodies of the dead Jawas. Ben comforts Luke, reminding him that he also would have been killed if he had been at home, and that he would have been powerless against the Imperial stormtroopers. Luke has already changed his mind, deciding to accompany Ben to Alderaan, and angrily vowing vengeance for the deaths of his aunt and uncle: "I want to come with you to Alderaan...I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father."
Luke joins Ben (and the robots) and travels with him in the landspeeder to Mos Eisely, Tatooine's spaceport in a distant province. On a high ridge overlooking the city, Ben warns them to be careful, describing it as a "wretched hive of scum and villainy." At the edge of the city, several white-armored Imperial Force stormtroopers detain them and demand their identification. Ben uses the Force's mind-controlling power to avoid questioning about their droids: "You don't need to see his identification." Trance-like, the trooper repeats his words: "We don't need to see his identification...These aren't the droids we're looking for...You can go about your business...Move along." Luke is incredulous and asks: "I can't understand how we got by those troops. I thought we were dead." "The Force can have a strong influence on the weak-minded," Ben casually explains.
They are searching for a space pilot for-hire who will take them to Alderaan. In one of the film's most humorous and memorable scenes, they enter a dark saloon/cantina populated by bizarre space creatures from all corners of the galaxy. An alien jazz band plays in the spacebar, and other cutthroat lifeforms and creatures sit at tables or at the bar, drinking. The droids are refused service and must remain outside: "We don't serve their kind here." At the bar, two brutal bar thugs (a bulb-eyed alien and a burn scarred-faced human) purposely taunt and threaten Luke: "You just watch yourself. We're wanted men. I have the death sentence on twelve systems." Ben appears at young Luke's side to defend him: "This little one's not worth the effort." But when forced to, Ben ignites his lightsaber and swiftly and fluidly slashes the arm off one of the villains. From then on, they are left alone by the remaining cantina customers. Outside the spacebar, the two droids watch a man from inside the bar come out and tell two Imperial troopers what he has just witnessed inside the cantina.
At one of the corner tables, Ben and Luke discuss their need to find passage to Alderaan with a Corellian smuggler named Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Solo, the pilot of a ship named the Millennium Falcon is joined by his first mate, co-pilot partner, a large, seven-foot furry Wookie/anthropoid named Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) (similar in character to the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz). Han brags about the speed of his ship: "You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?...She's fast enough for you, old man." Ben demands that "no questions (are) asked," to "avoid any Imperial entanglements." Han suggests being paid a mercenary price to be their pilot:
Han: Ten thousand, all in advance.Luke: Ten thousand! We can almost buy our own ship for that.Han: But who's going to fly it, kid? You?Luke: You bet I could. I'm not such a bad pilot myself...Ben: We can pay you two thousand now, plus fifteen when we reach Alderaan.Han: Seventeen, mmm. OK. You guys got yourselves a ship. We'll leave as soon as you're ready. Docking Bay Ninety-Four.
Solo is relieved that he will be paid handsomely - 17,000. Soldiers enter the bar and question the bartender about the lasersword fight. Ben and Luke quickly slip out, as Solo sends Chewbacca to the ship to quickly prepare for departure. Out on the street, Ben and Luke sell their landspeeder to provide their first payment installment for their journey to Alderaan.
Just as Solo leaves, he is stopped by a green-skinned, lizardy bounty hunter named Greedo who has finally found his valuable target and points his gun at Solo: "Going somewhere, Solo?" Solo is heavily in debt to Greedo's boss named Jabba and tries to explain: "Yes, Greedo. As a matter of fact, I was just going to see your boss. Tell Jabba that I've got his money." Greedo tells Solo that it's already too late - a high price has been placed on his head and "every bounty hunter in the galaxy" is looking for Solo. During their discussion at a cantina table, Han carefully releases his holstered weapon out of view under the table and then fires at the alien with an explosive flash of light. The green creature falls forward onto the table, dead. Strolling out of the bar, Solo gives the bartender some money to clean up: "Sorry about the mess."
Aboard the Death Star, Princess Leia's resistance to Darth Vader's mind probe is considerable, and he is delayed in extracting any information about the location of the Rebel Forces from her. The Death Star's commander Grand Moff Tarkin suggests: "an alternative form of persuasion...demonstrating the full power of this station." He orders his navigators: "Set your course for Alderaan."
Hurrying on their way to the docking bay, Luke, Ben and the droids are unaware that they are being followed, and that their location is being reported to Imperial soldiers. When they reach Docking Bay 94, Luke reacts to Solo's rattle-trap ship: "What a piece of junk!" Solo boasts of its speed: "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I made a lot of special modifications myself. But we're a little rushed, so if you'll just get on board, we'll get out of here." As they prepare to take off, the tipped-off Imperial Force guards rush into the docking bay where a gunblaster battle is fought. Han holds the forces off while Chewbacca prepares for their launch. At the last moment, Han rushes on board, they buckle up, and then blast off into the blue sky from Mos Eisley.
In the cockpit, Han and the Wookie work on the controls as they are pursued by an Imperial Force cruiser and other ships. To evade them and escape capture, they angle the deflector shields as Solo makes calculations to jump into light speed (faster-than-light hyperspeed). Luke is still unimpressed and doubts the ship's capabilities as the ship is pounded by turbolaser fire from the pursuit of the Star Destroyers:
Luke: Why don't you outrun them? I thought you said this thing was fast.Han: Watch your mouth, kid, or you're going to find yourself floating home. We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace. Besides, I know a few maneuvers. We'll lose them. Here's where the fun begins.Ben: How long before you make the jump to lightspeed?Han: It'll take a few moments to get the coordinates from the navicomputer.Luke: Are you kidding - at the rate they're gaining?Han: Traveling through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops, boy.
In a spectacular special effects sequence when they jump into the safety of hyperspace, the ship's acceleration roars as stars blur and splinter in their view into brilliant streaks of white light.
Moving into the Alderaan system with the Death Star, the Grand Moff Tarkin plans to test the power of the Death Star by destroying Leia's home of Alderaan, a small bluish-green planet in space. In the control room, he explains his revenge to the Princess, because she refuses to reveal the locations of other space rebels.
Princess: Governor Tarkin, I should've expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board.Grand Moff Tarkin: Charming to the last. You don't know how hard I found it signing the order to terminate your life.Princess: I'm surprised to find you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself. Grand Moff Tarkin: Princess Leia. Before your execution, I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational. No star system will dare oppose the emperor now. Princess: The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers. Grand Moff Tarkin: Not after we demonstrate the power of this station. In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that is to be destroyed first. Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the Rebel base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan. Princess: No! Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons. You can't possibly...Grand Moff Tarkin: You would prefer another target, a military target? Then, name the system! I grow tired of asking this so it will be the last time. Where is the Rebel base?
The Princess agonizes and then divulges the location of the Rebel base - it is on Dantooine in a different planetary system. Thinking that she has told the truth, the ruthless, untrustworthy Grand Moff Tarkin double-crosses her and orders the operation against Alderaan to proceed anyway, since he still needs to test the Death Star. "You're far too trusting," he tells the Princess. In her horrified and pained view, the blue planet Alderaan is blown to pieces by a powerful superlaser. The Rebel base at Dantooine is the next target to be destroyed.
On board the Millenium Falcon, Luke practices with his Jedi lightsaber, guarding himself against a hovering remote. Mystically connected with the Force, Ben's body weakens at the moment of Alderaan's destruction: "I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."
While Luke continues his exercises, the Wookie plays a game of chess (with miniature, holographic, animated chess pieces / fantastic creatures) against opponent R2-D2. Han Solo warns that Wookies are sore-losers:
Han: Let him have it. It's not wise to upset a wookie.C-3PO: But sir. Nobody worries about upsetting a droid.Han: That's cause a droid don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose. Wookies are known to do that.C-3PO: I see your point, sir. I suggest a new strategy, R2. Let the Wookie win.
Luke practices with the lightsaber, deflecting pulses from the small, remote moving sphere, but missing. Ben mentors Luke, reminding him during his exercises to rely on the instinctual responsiveness of the Force rather than his conscious self:
Ben: Remember a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through him.Luke: You mean it controls your actions?Ben: Partially, but it also obeys your commands. Han (after laughing): Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.Luke (to Han): You don't believe in the Force, do you?Han: Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field controls my destiny! It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense. Ben: I suggest you try it again Luke. This time, let go your conscious self and act on instinct.
Ben places a helmet on Luke's head with the blast-shield down to blind him, telling him: "Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them. Stretch out with your feelings." Luke calmly evades and deflects three pulses from the remote, successfully using the Force. Skeptically, Han calls it luck. Ben believes otherwise: "In my experience, there's no such thing as luck." But Han disagrees: "Look. Good against remotes is one thing. Good against the living...that's something else." Ben congratulates Luke: "You've taken your first step into a larger world." Solo announces that they are approaching Alderaan.
med special effects. It ultimately helped to resurrect the financial viability of the science-fiction genre, a category of films that was considered frivolous and unprofitable, and brought the phrase "May the Force be with you" into common usage.
Pre-Star Wars director, USC graduate, and writer George Lucas had begun his career as director of the science-fiction film THX 1138 (1971), an expanded version of a prize-winning feature film he made while studying film at USC. It was produced by American Zoetrope and executive-produced by Francis Ford Coppola. He went on to direct and co-write the immensely popular American Graffiti (1973), a nostalgic story about California teenagers in the early 60s. It took four years for Lucas to develop his next film - this astounding cult film about "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." from 20th Century Fox.
The modestly-budgeted production (of about $11 million) from the TCF/LucasFilm production company, made in Britain, was based upon Lucas' recollections of Saturday afternoon matinees, serials, and comic strips, usually with cliff-hanging endings.
The archetypal plot was influenced by a varied anthology of sources and eclectic references:
legendary Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon comic-book heroes and films [Lucas had originally wanted to remake the 1930's Flash Gordon movie serials, but the rights to the comic book character were snapped up first by Dino Di Laurentiis]; the works of cartoonist Alex Raymond included Flash Gordon and Jungle Jim; Lucas cited the classic movie serial Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940) as the direct inspiration for his own space opera
previous science fiction films (such as Forbidden Planet (1956) and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968))
the saloon setting of westerns (as a model for the inter-galactic watering hole)
the James Bond films
Joseph Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Carlos Castaneda's Tales of Power
medieval knights (King Arthur and Camelot) [Camelot's story also told of a young Prince, who with the help of a sorcerer/Merlin, a Sword and 'the Force' saves a Queen and defeats the Black Knight with the help of his Roundtable aides.]
sorcerers' tales and stories about magic (Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and Carlos Castaneda tales)
warrior legends, myths, fairy tales
Western good-guy vs. bad-guy stories
elements of other classic films or tales (e.g., The Wizard of Oz (1939), John Ford's The Searchers (1956), TV's Star Trek, Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1926), Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will (1936), and Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress (1958) and Yojimbo (1961))
Errol Flynn swashbucklers
dogfight-filled WWII war films, such as 633 Squadron (1964)
similar to the Greek tradition of beginning an epic in the middle ("in medias res"), this film (the first in a trilogy) was the fourth film in the entire series
The mythological tale of space-age heroism (fighting Evil for the sake of Good) featured memorable characters - a benevolent ex-Jedi Knight (Guinness), an imprisoned Princess Leia (Fisher) of the peace-loving Rebel Alliance, two comical robotic droids (R2D2, named after a piece of film editor's jargon - Reel 2 Dialog 2, and C3PO), a smuggler/mercenary space-pilot (Ford), a beastly creature named Chewbacca (a Wookie), and an idealistic young boy (Hamill) who becomes trained in the righteous ways of the Force in order to rescue the captured Princess from the evil Empire's Death Star and the dark forces of the Empire, led by evil Darth Vader (voice of James Earl Jones/David Prowse).
Lucas wisely combined three basically-unknown young American actors in the lead roles (Hamill, Fisher, and Ford acting like a screwball comedy threesome) with the acting talents of the great British actor Alec Guinness, and then added a pair of cute robotic droids and a Sesame Street-style creature (Chewbacca) to the mix. [Note that the film's hero, Luke Skywalker or Luke S. (pronounced "Luc-as"), was a way for director Lucas to get his name mentioned, subliminally.]
The blockbuster film left itself open for sequels (and prequels). Lucas announced plans for a second trilogy (and hinted at three more films) ten years after Star Wars' release - in mid 1987. In total, there were really only six films. Two prequels in a second trilogy were released in 1999 and 2002, with a third in mid-2005. The prequels focused on how the father of Luke Skywalker (Anakin Skywalker) succumbed to the dark side of the Force and became the evil Darth Vader:
Star Wars Film Titles (chronological order)
Director
Facts
Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
Original Theatrical Version: 121 minutes
George Lucas
Grossed $1.5 million in its opening weekend, and overall grossed $780 million; nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning six (in technical categories); and winner of a Special Achievement award; Star Wars: Special Edition (1997) earned almost $36 million in its opening weekend, and soon topped E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) as the all-time domestic box-office champ
Star Wars, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Original Theatrical Version: 124 minutes
Irvin Kershner, George Lucas (exec-producer)
Grossed $6.4 million in its opening weekend and overall grossed $290 million; nominated for 3 Academy Awards, winning one (Best Sound); winner of Special Achievement award; famous for Darth Vader's line: "I am your father" and the severing of Luke's hand; set 4 years after the events in the 1977 film and considered by many to be a superior sequel to Episode IV
Star Wars, Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)(originally titled Revenge of the Jedi)
Original Theatrical Version: 134 minutes
Richard Marquand
Nominated for 4 Academy Awards, winning none; winner of Special Achievement Oscar; grossed $309 million; set single and opening-day box office records; the most under-rated of the segments of the Star Wars saga; the best scene = the speeder bike chase
Prequels
Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
133 minutes
George Lucas (22 years after his original directorial effort)
Grossed $28.5 million in its first day of showings, and reached the $100 million level in a record five days; nominated for 3 Academy Awards, winning none; set 32 years before the original Star Wars films; introduced the young Darth Vader as a 9 year old boy named Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd), and his future love interest - slightly older Queen Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman); also introduced CGI sidekick Jar Jar Binks; best scenes = the epic lightsaber duel, and the pod race through the Tatooine desert
Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
142 minutes
George Lucas
Grossed $80 million in its first weekend (May, 2002); opened six months later in about 60 IMAX theatres; nominated for 1 Academy Award, without a win; shot on Digital Video using a new 24-frame, High-Definition, Progressive scan camera; the title Attack of the Clones is a misnomer - the clones don't attack, but come to the defense of the Jedi; set 10 years after Episode 1, with Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) now a 19 year old Padawan (apprentice Jedi) to Obi Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor); the best scenes = the breathtaking aerial chase through the asteroid field, and the light-saber duel between the good Yoda and the evil Count Dooku (Christopher Lee)
Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
140 minutes
George Lucas
Released in May 2005, the 28th anniversary of the release of Star Wars, and the first of the films to receive a PG-13 rating; showed how Luke Skywalker's father, Anakin (Christensen), went from a sweet-natured slave boy to the galaxy-crushing villain Darth Vader. The Sith was the evil sect that corrupted Anakin by drawing him into the dark side of the Force - the cosmic power and living energy field that balances the universe; the best scene = the opening space battle
Conversions
All six Star Wars episodes will be converted to 3-D
Expected releases are one per year, starting in 2007
Other
The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
Steve Binder, David Acomba (uncredited)
A notoriously bad, two-hour variety TV special for Thanksgiving season that aired on CBS-TV on November 17, 1978 - it featured the original cast members (Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, C-3PO - Anthony Daniels, Chewbacca - Peter Mayhew) and guest stars including Bea Arthur, Art Carney, Harvey Korman, Diahann Carroll, and the rock group Jefferson Starship. The incomprehensible plot involved Han Solo with his Millennium Falcon getting Chewbacca home to his family for celebration of the Wookiee holiday - called "Life Day." The first 15 minutes of the special were entirely in Wookieese without subtitles! The rest of the film involved long musical numbers and variety performances, including an animated cartoon that introduced bounty hunter Boba Fett of The Empire Strikes Back, and the end song - Fisher hideously singing the "Life Day" song. Lucas reportedly ordered no further airings and destruction of the master videos (so there would be no video/DVD release), while the bootlegged, poorly-dubbed video was circulated among fans for years
Family Guy: Blue Harvest (2007)
Seth MacFarlane
This was the (6th) season premiere show of the TV show Family Guy which first aired on September 23, 2007; it was an hour-long spoof authorized by Lucas (to celebrate Star Wars' 30th anniversary), using rotoscoped images of the show's characters appearing in Star Wars roles, and use of the musical score from the film
The impact of the first film in the series was enormous - tremendous profits helped to generate funding for Lucas' state-of-the-art special effects factory known as Industrial Light and Magic (built in Marin County north of San Francisco), and merchandising associated with the film encouraged an entire marketing industry of Star Wars-related items (i.e., toys, video games, novelty items at fast food restaurants, etc.). In a revolutionary approach to Hollywood film-making and merchandising, Lucas had wisely accepted only $175,000 as his writer's/director's fee in return for the much more lucrative forty percent of merchandising rights for his Star Wars Corporation. Since then, the first five "Star Wars" films grossed over $3.4 billion worldwide at the box office, compared to $9 billion from merchandise sales.
The 20th Century Fox film set box-office records and was a critical success. However, this appealing film was criticized for encouraging a boom in spectacular (but sometimes drab) special-effects laden blockbusters (with thin plot lines) for decades after. It soon became the most commercially-successful film ever made (and held the record for many years). Prophetically, a few years later, the Soviet Union became the 'Evil Empire' during the Presidency of Ronald Reagan, and Reagan proposed a strategic space-defense program (or SDI - Strategic Defense Initiative), dubbed "Star Wars" in November 1985 by the media. Although Lucas went to court to protect his title, he lost the case.
It was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and won in six (mostly technical) categories: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Best Sound, Best Original Score (John Williams), Best Film Editing, Best Costume Design, and Best Visual Effects. Its other four nominations were for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Alec Guinness), Best Director, and Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. The film was also awarded with a Special Achievement Award for Sound Effects for the creation of the alien, creature, and robot voices (Benjamin Burtt, Jr.). It was the first feature film to be screened in Dolby Stereo.
The memorable, adventure film saga begins with an opening title card, setting the film's time frame in the distant past:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Then, an inventive scrolling of text crawls (or "rolls up") into the black background of space to describe the war, in a "far away" galaxy, between good and evil archetypal forces:
Episode IV, A NEW HOPE It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy....
The Rebel Alliance has attacked the tyrannical evil Galactic Empire, daringly stealing secret plans to the Empire's new battle station, the Death Star. In the opening view, the small Rebel ship belonging to Princess Leia, who possesses the secret plans, is chased across the screen by a large, wedge-shaped Imperial Star Destroyer cruiser of the evil Galactic Empire. Turbolasers strike the Rebel ship's shields and cause its passengers to be buffeted around in a corridor, including two robot droids, a tiny, round barrel-shaped, whistling and bleeping computer robot named R2-D2 (Artoo) (Kenny Baker), and its robotic pal, the constantly talking, tall gold-plated C-3PO (See Threepio) (Anthony Daniels). [C-3PO is clearly modeled after the female robot in Lang's Metropolis (1927).] Armed soldiers run down the hallway. Nervous as explosions rock the ship, C-3PO is pessimistic about their escape from the Imperialistic Forces, because their main reactor has been shut down: "We're doomed. There'll be no escape for the Princess this time." R2-D2 whistles a response. Their ship is sucked into the underbelly of the huge, armored space vehicle by a tractor beam.
Rebel soldiers take their positions at the end of the corridor, preparing to defend the door from an assault. The crippled transport Rebel ship is boarded by an advance guard of white, ceramic-like, space-armored stormtroopers, the Emperor's elite soldiers. A fierce laser-gun battle is fought in the hallway, quickly lost by the Rebel defenders as more and more Imperials charge into the smoking corridor. When control is secured, the leader of the cruel and villainous forces appears - black-garbed, helmeted and faceless Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader (David Prowse, with a deep, breathy voice supplied by James Earl Jones). The two robots escape the crossfire by running across the hallway.
Fighting back against the Evil Empire is slim, white-robed Princess Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), the leader of galactic Rebel Alliance forces. C-3PO hides from the invading troopers and loses sight of R2-D2. Turning a corner, the golden droid notices a young woman dressed in white - Princess Leia - transmitting the blueprints or plans for the Death Star battleship along with an S.O.S. plea, into the data system face plate of her computer robot R2-D2. When R2-D2 is located, C-3PO worries that they will be sent to "the spice mines of Kessel or smashed into who-knows-what!"
After a valiant and brave fight, the Rebel ship is brought under Imperial control. On the bridge of the captured ship, Darth Vader confronts the Rebel officers, searching for the intercepted transmissions of the Death Star's plans, but he fails to find them in the transport ship's main computer system. He ruthlessly holds one of the unresponsive Rebel officers by the throat and lifts him with one hand, crushing his throat and tossing him to the side. Vader orders his troops to find the plans and bring him the passengers: "I want them alive." Soon after, the Princess is confronted and refuses to surrender. She fires her blaster at the stormtroopers, but is apprehended and taken captive prisoner by Vader's forces.
R2-D2 insists that the two robots enter a restricted area and escape in a lifepod from the ship, bleeping about a "secret mission" and "plans." Threepio refuses to join his droid pal in the cramped spaceship pod, worrying about deactivation for disobedience until an explosion changes his mind. Regretting his decision to follow R2-D2 into the escape module, the two are permitted to jettison away from the stricken Imperial cruiser by Imperial navigators because no "life-forms" are scanned aboard. The two robots escape without harm.
Darth Vader, the Dark Lord, confronts the Princess and demands the plans. The Princess denies knowledge of the blueprints (transmissions beamed by Rebel spies to her ship) and refuses to cooperate, insisting that they have attacked a diplomatic consular ship:
Princess: I'm a member of the Imperial Senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan.Darth Vader: You are part of the Rebel Alliance and a traitor. Take her away!Vader's Assistant: Holding her is dangerous. If word of this gets out, it could generate sympathy for the rebellion in the Senate.Vader: I have traced the Rebel spies to her. Now she is my only link to finding their secret base. Assistant: She'll die before she'll tell you anything.Vader: Leave that to me.
Lord Vader orders one of his troops to generate a fake distress signal from the Rebel ship, and then broadcast to the Senate that all the Rebels aboard were killed. Vader is informed that the stolen battle station plans are not aboard the Rebel ship, and that no transmissions were made from the ship. Vader deduces that the plans were hidden somehow by the Princess aboard the jettisoned pod during the battle. He sends a detachment to retrieve the escaped pod and recover the plans: "There'll be no one to stop us this time!"
The two robots crash land their lifepod on Tatooine, a backwater, arid, desert-like planet. There, they wander away from the space pod, lost on the planet's rolling sand dune surface. With a comical "Laurel-and-Hardy" type friendship, C-3PO tells his pal, "We seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life." Then he mutters: "What a desolate place this is." C-3PO stubbornly decides to split off from his partner after admonishing his pal's beeps: "Don't get technical with me." They go off in different directions, R2-D2 toward a low lying range of rocky mountains in the distance, and C-3PO across miles of hot desert toward the horizon in the opposite direction.
C-3PO blames his misfortune and being lost on his partner: "That malfunctioning little twerp. He tricked me into going this way, but he'll do no better." He spies a reflective piece of metal, a transport, and he summons it, believing it will save him. Meanwhile, traversing through the desolate, hilly terrain, R2-D2 is spied upon by pairs of eyes from the inner darkness of a cave. When a minor rock slide is noticed, R2-D2 whimpers with a child-like sound. Then, the robot is stunned by the blue magnetic rays of a gun, fired by some "Jawas," small, short, yellow-eyed, brown-cloaked, gremlin-like scavengers and scrap/junk collectors of the planet. With a groan, R2-D2 topples over onto the ground, short-circuited by the electrical bolt.
Immobilized, R2-D2 is deactivated and deposited at a tank-sized vehicle called a sandcrawler, a gigantic rolling factory. A restraining bolt is attached to his outer shell to keep him from escaping. An enormous suction device swallows him up, magnetically lifts him up and dumps him in the holding area in the interior of the sandcrawler. There, as he recovers from the paralyzing effects of the beam, he is reunited with C-3PO in the large junkpile. Stormtroopers quickly track the lifepod and find tracks going off in different directions. They discover a fragment of metal plating in the sand: "Look sir, droids."
The traveling, hooded auctioneers stop at a lonely homestead in the desert. They line up the most suitable robots at their sale - a motley collection of droids. A local moisture farmer Owen Lars (Phil Brown) and his young nephew Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) survey the droids and barter with the Jawas. Owen asks C-3PO if he understands the binary language of moisture evaporators:
Owen: Can you speak Bocce?C-3PO: Of course I can, sir..It's like a second language to me. I'm as fluent in...
Having heard enough, Owen shouts: "All right, shut up!" and he agrees to buy C-3PO. A whining R2-D2 is abandoned when Uncle Owen chooses a different, smaller red droid along with C-3PO. To R2's delight, the droid short-circuits as it is led away, a faulty unit with a "bad motivator." C-3PO recommends the "prime condition" of the blue R2 unit, a "real bargain." And so, the two droids are bought together. Humorously, C-3PO tells his pal: "Now, don't you forget this! Why I should stick my neck out for you is quite beyond my capacity."
In his uncle's garage, Luke cleans up his two new droids by giving them a decontamination bath, although he dreams and longs to be in other distant worlds: "It just isn't fair...I'm never gonna get out of here!" C-3PO asks if he may offer assistance to his new owner. Luke replies: "Not unless you can alter time, speed up the harvest, or teleport me off this rock!" The young boy describes how far they are from the center of everything: "Well, if there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet that it's farthest from." While cleaning R2-D2, Luke notices the droid's carbon scoring: "It looks like you boys have seen a lot of action." C-3PO agrees: "With all we've been through, sometimes I'm amazed we're in as good condition as we are, what with the Rebellion and all."
Luke is intrigued by the droid's knowledge and experiences in the Rebellion: "You know of the Rebellion against the Empire?" While Luke is cleaning, polishing and repairing R2-D2, he accidentally trips one of his switches, and the mechanical robot projects a three-dimensional hologram into the middle of the room - a miniature image of a beautiful girl, the Princess. In a recording that plays over and over, Princess Leia pleads for help from wise and noble Jedi warrior/mentor Ben "Obi-Wan" Kenobi (Sir Alec Guinness):
Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.
R2-D2 bleeps and squeaks, trying to mislead Luke into thinking the image is nothing but a malfunction and a display of old data. Luke wonders about the miniature lady and her message: "Who is she? She's beautiful." C-3PO translates the beeps and blips of R2-D2 for Luke when the droids decide that they can trust their new master: "He says that he's the property of Obi-Wan Kenobi, a resident of these parts. And it's a private message for him." Luke has actually heard of a strange hermit with a similar name, Old Ben Kenobi who lives out beyond the Dune Sea. Luke considers listening to the entire message: "It sounds like she's in trouble. I'd better play back the whole thing." But the message cannot be played in its entirety, as C-3PO interprets: "...the restraining bolt has short-circuited his recording system. He suggests that if you remove the bolt, he might be able to play back the entire recording."
Deciding that the droid is too small to run away, the restraining bolt placed on R2-D2 by the Jawas is removed. Instantly, the message and the lady disappear. R2-D2 stubbornly refuses to play it again - the message will only be played for Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke is interrupted, called to dinner by his aunt. C-3PO scolds his companion: "Just you reconsider playing that message for him." During the dinner conversation, Luke tells his uncle: "I think that R2 unit we bought might have been stolen...I stumbled across a recording while I was cleaning it. He says he belongs to someone called Obi-Wan Kenobi. I thought he might have meant Old Ben." Both of Luke's relatives turn silent. Luke's uncle, believing "that wizard's just a crazy old man," instructs Luke to erase the memory of the robot the next day because the droid now belongs to them. Luke worries that Obi-Wan may come looking for his robot, but his father answers: "He won't. I don't think he exists anymore. He died about the same time as your father." [Luke is an orphan, cared for by his aunt and uncle.] Luke excitedly asks: "He knew my father?" Owen refuses to answer and wishes the subject dropped: "I told you to forget it."
Luke wisely changes the subject, mentioning his intention to transmit his application to the Academy in the present year if the droids work out satisfactorily. Owen objects, wishing him to apply the next year after another harvest season: "Harvest is when I need you the most. It's only one season more." After Luke stalks out frustrated, his Aunt Beru (Shelagh Fraser) shows some understanding of the boy: "Luke's just not a farmer, Owen. He has too much of his father in him." Owen agrees: "That's what I'm afraid of."
Outside, white-robed Luke stands on a small rise, watching Tatooine's twin suns setting near the horizon. [Tatooine has a binary star system - therefore, he can watch two sunsets every night.] He believes he may never fulfill his dream of piloting a starship to distant worlds, never escaping from the dry arid desert of Tatooine. Returning to the robots in the garage, Luke finds C-3PO hiding and scared: "It wasn't my fault, sir! Please don't de-activate me!" According to C-3PO, R2-D2 is "faulty, malfunctioning. He kept babbling on about his mission" and then wandered off into the desert night. Luke scans the horizon with a pair of electro-binoculars equipped with night-vision, but R2-D2 is nowhere to be seen. Luke decides they must wait until morning to search for him: "It's too dangerous with all the Sand People around...That little droid's gonna cause me a lot of trouble." C-3PO concurs: "Oh, he excels at that, sir."
The next morning, without telling his uncle, Luke and C-3PO give chase into the desert after runaway R2-D2 in a jet-propelled landspeeder, a vehicle which skims a foot off the ground. They are watched from high on a ridge by two dangerous, nomadic warriors called Tusken Raiders (Sand People), riding on shaggy, elephant-like creatures. The landspeeder quickly catches up to R2-D2, who immediately senses and urgently warns them that there are "several creatures approaching from the southeast." Luke guesses Sand People are attacking. He grabs his laser rifle and binoculars and runs to a nearby hill to look for them. As he scans the land, one of the Sand People rises up in front of him with a battle-axe. Luke blocks some of the blows, but is knocked to the ground as the Raider shrieks and raises his axe. Luke faints and is dragged down to the landspeeder where a group of Sand People plan to ransack his vehicle. R2-D2 hides in a small crevice in the rocks.
A terrifying howling is heard from up in the canyon as a mysterious stranger in a brown-hooded cloak approaches. The Sand People immediately scatter and flee in fear. The figure removes the hood from his face to reveal an older man with white hair, a gray beard and kindly face. He greets R2-D2 who peers out of his hiding place: "Hello there. Come here my little friend. Don't be afraid." Luke slowly regains consciousness and recognizes the old hermit: "Ben? Ben Kenobi? Boy, am I glad to see you." Ben is told that the droid was searching for his former master, the property of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke asks Ben: "Is he a relative of yours?" This news brings back memories for him, because Ben's alias is Obi-Wan:
Ben: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Obi-Wan. Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time.Luke: I think my uncle knows him. He said he was dead.Ben (smiling): Oh, he's not dead. Not yet.Luke: You know him?Ben: Well, of course I know him. He's me. I haven't gone by the name of Obi-Wan since, oh, before you were born. Luke: Well then, the droid does belong to you.Ben: I don't seem to remember ever owning a droid. Very interesting.
Meanwhile, on the Death Star, the Grand Moff Tarkin is told that Princess Leia lied about the location of the Rebel forces' base. Vader suspected that the Princess would be deceitful: "I told you she would never consciously betray the Rebellion." Surprised and angered, Tarkin orders: "Terminate her immediately!"
To de-accelerate and resume normal speed when approaching Alderaan's location, the Millennium Falcon comes out of hyperspace. The ship enters into an unchartered meteor shower or asteroid collision: "It's not on any of the charts." Han is startled that Alderaan no longer exists while they dodge asteroids: "Our position's correct except no Alderaan...It ain't there. It's been totally blown away." Ben knows the cause of Alderaan's fate, realizing that the meteor shower is all that is left of Alderaan: "Destroyed...by the Empire." When a short-range Imperial fighter roars past and away from them toward a distant planet/moon, the Falcon pursues after it. As both ships near the planetoid, Ben gasps at the sight of the "moon": "That's no moon...It's a space station." Han disagrees: "It's too big to be a space station."
When Luke views it for the first time, he is dismayed: "I have a very bad feeling about this." The "moon" is a space station - the giant Death Star battle station, the size of a small planet. Although Han attempts to turn them around with auxiliary power, they are drawn, pulled, and helplessly sucked into the huge Death Star by its tractor beam, as Han persists: "They're not going to get me without a fight." Wise Ben suggests another way: "Can't win, but there are alternatives to fighting."
Tarkin is notified that the markings of the freighter match the ship that had escaped from Mos Eisley toward the remains of the Alderaan system. Vader guesses what their motives were: "They must be trying to return the stolen plans to the Princess. She may yet be of some use to us." Imperial troopers who have boarded the Millennium Falcon cannot locate any crew on board. (Han recorded in the log that they had jettisoned in escape pods shortly after takeoff from Mos Eisely.) Vader orders a scan to check the entire ship. He is suspicious when he perceives the presence of his old master and the Force, thinking to himself: "I sense something, a presence I've not felt since..." Darth Vader turns and walks away.
Inside the ship, Han has cleverly avoided detection by hiding everyone in the secret smuggling holds. The door of the hold is lifted up and out pops Han: "I never thought I'd be smuggling myself in them. This is ridiculous. Even if I could take off, I'd never get past the tractor beam." Ben promises that he has a plan to disengage the beam: "Leave that to me." Two stormtrooper guards and a scanning crew who enter the ship with scanning equipment are ambushed and overpowered (off-screen). Han and Luke disguise themselves by wearing the uniforms of the Imperial troopers. In the command station's control room, an Imperial security officer receives no answer when he summons the soldiers guarding the spaceship. While looking down from the control room's window toward the craft, he sees one of the white-armored Imperial guards (Han in disguise) exiting down the craft's ramp, complaining about a malfunctioning helmet. The officer opens the door of the command area to investigate what he believes is one stormtrooper's bad transmitter and is knocked cold by Chewbacca's fist.
After taking charge of the command station control room, R2-D2 plugs into the Death Star's computer terminal to gain access to the entire Imperial network. When the schematics of the main controls to the power beam that holds their ship are located, Ben knows that he must deactivate them: "I don't think you boys can help. I must go alone." Although Luke wants to join him, Ben wants to seek out his former protege, now arch-enemy Darth Vader, leaving Luke to look after the safe delivery of the droids who have the Death Star design plans, instructing: "Your destiny lies along a different path from mine. The Force will be with you, always."
Still plugged into the Death Star's main computer system, R2-D2 locates the precise area of the Princess' detention block. Luke uses a monetary incentive to encourage the mercenary Solo to join him in rescuing the Princess from termination: "She's rich...rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her, the reward would be...more than you can imagine." Han smirks: "I don't know. I can imagine quite a bit." Although Chewbacca objects, Luke has a plan: they will pretend to be stormtroopers who are taking Chewbacca as a bound prisoner on a prisoner transfer through the halls of the Death Star to the incarceration levels. The droids are left behind in the control room.
The two, dressed in Imperial white-armor with Chewbacca in between as their prisoner, walk down a number of hallways, along the way confronting a small, rodent-like robot on the floor. Chewbacca roars gently, causing it to scurry away. When they reach the cell block detention center by elevator, the Imperial jailer insults their captive: "Where are you taking this thing?" When one of the other guards approaches, an angry and insulted Chewbacca snaps the binders on his wrists and grabs a laser rifle, and they all blast the jailers in a fierce gun battle at the detention block entrance. The monitors and controls of the guard desk are also blown away.
After gaining entrance to the cells, Luke rushes down a corridor to the Princess' cell. Han fails to deceive other security offers over the intercom system, frustratingly blowing apart the entire system. When Princess Leia sees Luke in her cell disguised as an imperial stormtrooper, she asks: "Aren't you a little short for a storm trooper?" He removes his helmet to identify and introduce himself: "I'm Luke Skywalker. I'm here to rescue you." She believes his story when he tells her he has come with her R2 unit and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
In the Death Star's command center, Darth Vader, with his superior powers of ESP, now senses and understands the sensation he had felt earlier - the presence of Kenobi: "He (Obi-Wan Kenobi) is here...A tremor in the Force. The last time I felt it was in the presence of my old master...Don't underestimate the Force..." Vader and Tarkin are informed of the cell block disturbance involving the Princess's escape. Tarkin orders his officers to: "Put all sections on alert!" Vader's sensations are confirmed: "Obi-Wan is here. The Force is with him." When Tarkin assures him that Kenobi will never be able to escape, Vader replies: "Escape is not his plan. I must face him. Alone."
Squads of Imperial stormtrooper forces pursue Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewie down a smoke-filled corridor filled with laser fire. The Princess isn't impressed by her saviors, disgusted that they didn't have a clear escape plan or route: "This is some rescue!...You came in here. Do you have a plan for getting out?" During their escape, Han snaps back: "These are the breaks, sweetheart!" Princess Leia blasts a hole with Luke's blaster in the ventilation shaft and suggests an escape route: "Into the garbage chute, flyboy!" After holding off the troops as long as possible, they all dive into the hole, landing in a locked room filled with garbage and slimy water. A laser blast directed at the door dangerously richocets off all the walls, nearly killing them.
Suddenly, a loud, low roar is heard under the water beneath them. Fearing that something is alive in there, they see a snake-like creature swimming through the water. It pops its single eye out of the water like a periscope. Luke finds a thick tentacle wrapping itself around his legs before he is pulled under the muck, and then threatened by the jaws of an all-consuming monster. Luke splashes to the surface, narrowly avoiding drowning and then is pulled under a second time. After being released, Luke surfaces again just as the compressing walls of the garbage crusher move threateningly closer. Han paraphrases Luke's earlier words: "I got a bad feeling about this." They prop metal pipes and beams between the walls to prevent them from moving toward them, but they snap and fail. Han light-heartedly jokes: "One thing's for sure. We're all going to be a lot thinner."
Communicating remotely with C-3PO and R2-D2 through a communications device, Luke is able to command R2-D2 to plug into the main computer through a socket located on the landing near the Millenium. Luke commands them to shut down all the garbage smashers on the detention level. Hearing shouts and shrieks of joy when the garbage compactors are turned off, C-3PO mistakenly thinks they have been crushed to death: "Listen to them! They're dying R2. Curse my metal body. I wasn't fast enough. It's all my fault. My poor master." Then, when told they are safe, the garbage maintenance hatchs on their level are opened to release them.
Calmly moving through the corridors of the Death Star, Ben silently reaches the tractor beam controls, situated over a deep trench. He sabotages the controls by shutting down the power beam and deactivating the tractor beam which holds their ship. Luke and Han remove their stormtrooper disguises. A chauvinistic Han is unhappy with the Princess's assertion of control and advice:
Han: If we just avoid any more female advice, we ought to be able to get out of here.Princess: ...I don't know who you are or where you came from, but from now on, you do as I tell you. OK?Han: Look! Your Worshipfulness! Let's get one thing straight. I take orders from just one person. Me.Princess: It's a wonder you're still alive. Will somebody get this big walking carpet (Chewbacca) out of my way?Han: No reward is worth this.
When the Princess first views the Falcon spaceship, she marvels at the contraption: "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought." When they turn a corner, they confront another squad of stormtroopers. Han charges into them with Chewbacca behind him, blasting away with their laser guns. Luke and the Princess go in a different direction, fleeing down another hallway where Luke nearly falls off the dead-end ledge of the floor down into a deep shaft, exclaiming: "I think we took a wrong turn." They are trapped at the dead end, pursued from behind by troopers. Luke blasts the door's controls so that the door is stuck in a shut position. With a grappling hook and a cable from his belt, he secures the line on a metal beam high above. As she wraps her arms around his waist and kisses him "for luck" on the cheek, they both successfully swing across the void.
In one of the Death Star's abandoned hallways, Vader steps from the dark shadows to confront Obi-Wan, his former master. The two mortal enemies face each other with laser lightsabers/swords after Vader has greeted his foe. During a fantastic dueling scene with Kenobi's blue and Vader's red laser beams humming and hissing as they strike, the opponents taunt each other:
Vader: I've been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner. Now I am the master.Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth. Vader: Your powers are weak, old man.Obi-Wan: You can't win, Darth. If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine...Vader: You should not have come back.
During their confrontational laser duel to the death, Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie, and the droids all reach the Millennium Falcon. Luke notices Ben locked in a dueling combat and cries out: "Ben." A smile crosses the wise old Jedi's face, he lowers his sword, holds it straight up as if in prayer, while Vader is allowed to strike him in half. His brown robe crumples onto the floor as his body vanishes from inside. Luke cries out in anguish when the death blow is struck. Sacrificing himself for his escaping comrades, Ben diverts attention from the rest of the Falcon group and everyone (except Luke) successfully reaches the safety of the ship. Ben's death also releases the Force from his body and it travels to his companions. Moments later, Luke hears Ben's voice, telling him to leave the fight and join his comrades on the ship: "Run Luke, run."
Solo pilots their ship, starts the engines, and makes their escape from the Death Star in his beat-up space ship, unlocked from the tractor beam. Luke is deeply saddened and grieved by Ben's death: "Can't believe he's gone." The droids and Princess Leia comfort him: "There wasn't anything you could have done." But they have no time to mourn - they must defend themselves, engaging in a vicious dogfight with pursuing Imperial spacefighters. Han alerts everyone: "We're not out of this yet." Han and Luke take the freighter's turret guns to prepare to fight. During the vicious battle scene, R2-D2 extinguishes a fire which has started on board. Solo congratulates but cautions Luke after he successfully shoots down the first Imperial fighter: "Great kid. Don't get cocky." Han then hits a second fighter, and finally, they evade and shoot down two other fighters, causing them to burst into balls of white flames.
As Tarkin and Vader watch the Millennium Falcon escape into hyperspace, they divulge their plan. Tarkin asks Vader: "You're sure the homing beacon is secure aboard their ship? I'm taking an awful risk, Vader. This had better work." Han boasts about their escape by congratulating himself. Princess Leia senses their escape was easy because they were deliberately let go. She thinks they are being tracked, but Han doesn't believe her. Princess Leia hopes that R2's technical readouts of the Death Star battle station will provide them with key information about its flaws. The mercenary-minded Han announces to the Princess that his job is finished. Jokingly, Han asks Luke if there is any chance that the Princess would fall for someone like him:
Han: Not a bad bit of rescuing, huh? You know, sometimes I amaze even myself.Leia: That doesn't sound too hard. They let us go. It's the only explanation for the ease of our escape.Han: Easy, you call that easy?! Leia: They're tracking us.Han: Not this ship, sister.Leia: At least the information in R2 is still intact.Han: What's so important? What's he carrying?Leia: The technical read-outs of that battle station. I only hope that when the data's analyzed, a weakness can be found. It's not over yet.Han: It is (over) for me, sister. Look, I ain't in this for your revolution and I'm not in it for you, Princess. I expect to be well paid. I'm in it for the money.Princess: You needn't worry about your reward. If money is all that you love, then that's what you'll receive. (To Luke) Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything - or anybody. (She turns and leaves.)Luke: I care. (To Han, as he slips in the seat next to him.) So, what do you think of her, Han?Han: I'm tryin' not to, kid.Luke: Good.Han: Still, she's got a lot of spirit. Whaddya think? Do you think a Princess and a guy like me...Luke: (interrupting with a quick response) NO!
They are guided to land on the secret Rebel base on the far side of the 4th moon of a small planet named Yavin. There, the base is hidden in an ancient temple protected by a thick green jungle. Inside the Rebel base after they land, the Alliance leaders extract and study the Death Star technical readouts and blueprint data from R2-D2's computer data banks, discovering all the inner workings of the battle station. In their plan of attack explained by the Rebel commander to a small group of Rebel fighters which includes Luke, the pilots are briefed on the one vulnerable Achilles' heel "weakness" - a long, narrow shaft at the center. If penetrated, entered by a small one-man fighter after a difficult approach, and struck in a direct hit with a proton torpedo, it will explode the entire leviathan in a lethal chain reaction. The squadron fliers are told:
The approach will not be easy. You're required to maneuver straight down this trench and skim the surface to this point. The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small thermal exhaust port right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the station. Only a precise hit will set off a chain reaction.
Although most of the pilots look at each other in disbelief, Luke is confident that it is not impossible: "I used to bullseye womp rats in my T16 back home. They're not much bigger than two meters." The squad of fighter pilots is told: "Man your ships, and may the Force be with you." Meanwhile, the Death Star approaches and soon will be within firing range of the planet - Vader contemplates the final end to the Rebels: "It'll be a day long remembered. It's seen the end of Ben Kenobi. It'll soon see the end of the rebellion."
In the hangar after collecting rewards, Han and Chewie load crates onto the Falcon to prepare to leave. Han refuses to be a part of what he considers a foolish and suicidal mission: "What good is a reward if you ain't around to use it? Besides, attacking that battle station ain't my idea of courage. It's more like suicide." But as he departs, Han Solo says goodbye to Luke with: "May the Force be with you." Chewie growls softly at Han as Luke walks away. Han talks back: "What're you lookin' at? I know what I'm doing."
Now that Han has decided to desert him and Ben is dead, Luke, who is willing to sacrifice his life to save the Rebels, is upset about his chances of success. Princess Leia tenderly kisses him on the cheek to encourage him. Luke slips into his X-wing fighter's cockpit as part of the Red Group squadron, refusing a replacement droid for R2: "Not on your life. That little droid and I have been through a lot together." C-3PO expresses his concern for his pal as well: "Hang in tight. You've got to come back. You wouldn't want my life to be boring, would you?"
When the fighter planes and pilots are ready for take off, Luke hears Ben's spirit speaking to him: "Luke, the Force will be with you." The Death Star approaches within 15 minutes range of the Rebel base after the rebel squadron has left.
Pilots in the Red and Gold Groups report in to their wing commanders, who then guide their fighters into attack formation at attack speed against the Death Star. Luke signals his approach: "This is Red Five. I'm going in." As he attacks a target, a large plume of explosive gas almost envelopes his fighter, but he escapes a fiery death and reports back: "I got a little cooked, but I'm ok." Because the fighters are small and quick-moving, they are difficult and evasive targets for the Imperial turbolaser defenses and blaster cannons. Vader orders Imperial crews to their enemy fighters: "We'll have to destroy them ship to ship. Get the crews to their fighters."
Now there are only seven minutes until the Rebel ships are within firing range of the Death Star, and time is running out before the rebel planet is destroyed by Vader's Death Ray. As the Rebel fighters plunge toward the Death Star's surface to enter the trench and reach the target area, Luke hears Ben's advice inside his helmet: "Luke, trust your feeling." The engines of the Imperial fighters screech into range as they enter into the impressively choreographed space battle/attack. Most of the Rebel fighters are shot out of the sky by Imperial fighters, but Vader is concerned about a few of the most daring fighters who appear to be attacking into the trench.
Vader takes two soldiers away with him and personally joins the fight in his own fighter: "Several fighters have broken off from the main group. Come with me." Luke is attacked from behind, but saved when another Rebel fighter comes to his aid. The Rebel fighters of the Gold Group attack down the open trench corridor, the canyon-like, sub-level entrance way to their vulnerable target. But one by one, as they rely on their computerized targeting units, Darth Vader and his Imperial fighters drop in behind them and destroy them. There are only five minutes until the Death Star will be in range of the Rebel base.
During the heated battle, Tarkin is warned by one of his officers of the potential danger of the Rebel attack pattern: "We've analyzed their attack, sir, and there is a danger. Should I have your ship standing by?" Tarkin believes an escape plan is unnecessary: "Evacuate? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances!" "Three minutes and closing" is heard from the computer graphic showing the emergence of the planet. More of the Rebel fighters of the Red Group (Luke's group) enter the Dogfight Alley trench, but two fighters are blown up like the others before them. When the third commander views the target in his computer, he reports: "Almost there." But when he fires his torpedos at the target, they explode harmlessly on the surface, not entering into the exhaust port to do the ultimate damage. Vader destroys the courageous commander's fighter as it pulls away.
After two unsuccessful attempts to reach their objective, Luke is the last hope of the Rebels. With only one minute remaining, Darth Vader has eliminated his other two wingmen in their trench approaches. Luke "the leader" is the only hope left. He enters the deadly trench guiding the last of the Rebel ships in an attack run, telling his support: "It's just like Beggar's Canyon back home." Just as he too is about to be eliminated by Vader while speeding down the narrow corridor, he hears Ben's familiar voice re-assuring him:
Use the Force, Luke. Let go, Luke. Luke, trust me.
Vader senses the strength of Luke's Force: "The Force is strong with this one." Relying on the Force, Luke switches off his targeting computer, using his own intuition instead. Vader approaches closer and shoots a blast, hitting R2-D2 and knocking him out of commission. At that same moment, the Death Star views the Rebel planet within striking distance and commences firing ignition. Darth Vader eagerly views his target, with Luke's fighter in his sights: "I have you now!"
Providing surprise backup support in their battered freighter, roguish Han Solo and Chewbacca unexpectedly reappear to defend Luke just as Darth Vader is preparing to destroy his Rebel fighter. Solo screams: "Yahoo!" and blasts away at the Imperial fighters from behind. Vader's fighter craft is clipped by one of his own fighters, causing him to hurtle wildly out of control into deep space. Han assures him to continue: "You're all clear, kid. Now let's blow this thing and go home."
In the exciting conclusion, Luke moves toward the target area and fires his two proton torpedoes at exactly the right instant with a well-placed shot into the shaft. Han, Luke, and the remaining Rebel fighters swiftly fly away from the Death Star. Instead of the Rebel planet exploding, the Death Star flashes and explodes in a destructive shower of white, killing the evil forces. Han praises him over his speaker: "Great shot, kid. That was one in a million." Ben makes a final spiritual appearance to Luke, telling him:
Remember, the Force will be with you, always.
Luke in his Red Five and Han and Chewie in their Falcon, among the few remaining Rebel fighters to survive, return to the safety of the Rebel base. There in front of a cheering crowd, Luke hugs the Princess and spins her around. Han arrives and explains his turnabout: "Well, I wasn't gonna let you get all the credit and take all the rewards." She acknowledges his good deed: "I knew it was more to you than money." R2-D2, damaged during the final trench assault, is badly in need of repair and C-3PO is desperately concerned to help: "If any of my circuits or gears would help, I'd gladly donate them."
During an elaborate and triumphant celebration held later in the main temple, hundreds of Rebel troops are lined up to mark the victory. [This final sequence recalls both The Wizard of Oz (1939) and Triumph of the Will (1934).] At the far end is the white-robed beautiful Princess Leia on a stage. The heroes march down the aisle and are each decorated and honored with golden medallions for their bravery by the Princess, for the triumph of good over evil - and the birth of New Hope. Then, the heroes turn and face the assembled troops who bow before them.

Michael Jackson-Thriller

2008-02-03T02:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtyJbIOZjS8

RIEVEW OF FIGHT CLUB

2008-01-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

FIGHT CLUB

A RIEVEW

Director:- David Fincher
Lead role - Edward Norton, Brad Pitt

This is a story of a man who met a man on a plane who told him something interesting, He goes to his fla t but and seees that his flat has been blasted. He makes a call some where and he meets that man again to whom he talked in the plane. They met and started to fight and planned to make a club named Fight Club. Fight club starts and healong with his friend makes such a plan what he does not know also. After running his plan successfuly for some days, he feels these are not as he wants and one morning he finds his friend disappeared. He searches him but unable to get him. He returns to his operating place, when he sees that something id going wrong with him and he tries to avoid that, what was terrible. In the last he comes to know that there was no body who was his friend but he was playing of the second man’s role himself. So he shoots himself and gets rid off everything but before that a serial blast in the besides buildings have been occurred.

This is a very good movie and good work of direction based on such a mental disorder that a man plays two persons role and does such works that his real identity does not know.

Edward Norton have played his role very beautifully and naturally and Brad Pitt also. They both looks very close to the reality with their living acting.

The scenes of fight club looks full of excitement with its fight scenes. Sound effects are good as it puts a good combinations with the scenes.

2008-01-25T07:12:00.000-08:00

MY FAVORITE

2008-01-25T07:06:00.000-08:00

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:48:00.003-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVcu9v3Xa3o

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:48:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-TQIyNb4sY

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:47:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YPigy3vMII

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:46:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o-r3aDjIYI

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:45:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0U7fxTMnBs

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:44:00.002-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfy-qtapcrk

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:44:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tzd6hCV728

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:43:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0U7fxTMnBs

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:42:00.002-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93ctjylYczI

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:42:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IA2riGRCX1c

SAXOPHONE

2008-01-24T06:40:00.002-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtG0bfLxFjU

saxophone

2008-01-24T06:40:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMcQZqOcaCw

2008-01-24T06:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtG0bfLxFjU

U TUBE

2008-01-24T06:10:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-fxs_ZWXH4

FILM MAKING

2008-01-24T06:07:00.000-08:00

Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story idea or commission through scriptwriting, shooting, editing and finally distribution to an audience. Typically it involves a large number of people and can take anywhere between a few months and several years to complete. Filmmaking takes place all over the world in a huge range of economic, social and poStages of filmmaking
Filmmaking consists of five main stages:
Development. The script is written and drafted into a workable blueprint for a film.
Pre-production. Preparations are made for the shoot, in which cast and crew are hired, locations are selected, and sets are built.
Production. The raw elements for the finished film are recorded.
Post-production. The film is edited, sound effects, music and any computer effects are added, and the film is completed.
Sales and distribution. The film is picked up by a distributor and reaches its audience.

[edit] Development
This is the stage where an idea is fleshed out into a viable script. The producer of the movie will find a story, which may come from books, plays, other films, true stories, original ideas, etc. Once the theme, or underlying message, has been identified, a synopsis will be prepared. This is followed by a step outline, which breaks the story down into one-paragraph scenes, concentrating on the dramatic structure. Next, a treatment is prepared. This is a 25 to 30 page description of the story, its mood and characters, with little dialog and stage direction, often containing drawings to help visualize the key points.
The screenplay is then written over a period of several months, and may be rewritten several times to improve the dramatization, clarity, structure, characters, dialogue, and overall style. However, producers often skip the previous steps and develop submitted screenplays which are assessed through a process called script coverage. A film distributor should be contacted at an early stage to assess the likely market and potential financial success of the film. Hollywood distributors will adopt a hard-headed business approach and consider factors such as the film genre, the target audience, the historical success of similar films, the actors who might appear in the film and the potential directors of the film. All these factors imply a certain appeal of the film to a possible audience and hence the number of "bums on seats" during the theatrical release. Not all films make a profit from the theatrical release alone, therefore DVD sales and worldwide distribution rights need to be taken into account.
The movie pitch is then prepared and presented to potential financiers. If the pitch is successful and the movie is given the "green light", then financial backing is offered, typically from a major film studio, film council or independent investors. A deal is negotiated and contracts are signed.

[edit] Pre-production
In pre-production, the movie is designed and planned. The production company is created and a production office established. The production is storyboarded and visualized with the help of illustrators and concept artists. A production budget will also be drawn up to cost the film.
The producer will hire a crew. The nature of the film, and the budget, determine the size and type of crew used during filmmaking. Many Hollywood blockbusters employ a cast and crew of thousands while a low-budget, independent film may be made by a skeleton crew of eight or nine. Typical crew positions include
The director is primarily responsible for the acting in the movie and managing the creative elements.
The assistant director (AD) manages the shooting schedule and logistics of the production, among other tasks.
The casting director finds actors for the parts in the script. This normally requires an audition by the actor. Lead actors are carefully chosen and are often based on the actor's reputation or "star power."
The location manager finds and manages the film locations. Most pictures are shot in the predictable environment of a studio sound stage but occasionally outdoor sequences will call for filming on location.
The production manager manages the production budget and production schedule. He or she also reports on behalf of the production office to the studio executives or financiers of the film.
The director of photography (DP or DOP) or cinematographer creates the photography of the film. He or she cooperates with the director, director of audiography (DOA) and AD.
The art director manages the art department, which makes production sets, costumes and provides makeup & hair styling services.
The production designer creates the look and feel of the production sets and props, working with the art director to create these elements.
The storyboard artist creates visual images to help the director and production designer communicate their ideas to the production team.
The production sound mixer manages the audio experience during the production stage of a film. He or she cooperates with the director, DOP, and AD.
The sound designer creates new sounds and enhances the aural feel of the film with the help of foley artists.
The composer creates new music for the film.
The choreographer creates and coordinates the movement and dance - typically for musicals. Some films also credit a fight choreographer.

[edit] Production

Sesame Workshop crews film an improvised segment of Sesame Street, a children's series, on location in Washington Square Park in New York City.
In production the movie is created and shot. More crew will be recruited at this stage, such as the property master, script supervisor, assistant directors, stills photographer, picture editor, and sound editors. These are just the most common roles in filmmaking; the production office will be free to create any unique blend of roles to suit a particular film.
A typical day's shooting begins with an assistant director following the shooting schedule for the day. The film set is constructed and the props made ready. The lighting is rigged and the camera and sound recording equipment are set up. At the same time, the actors are wardrobed in their costumes and attend the hair and make-up departments.
The actors rehearse their scripts and blocking with the director. The picture and sound crews then rehearse with the actors. Finally, the action is shot in as many takes as the director wishes.
Each take of a shot follows a slating procedure and is marked on a clapperboard, which helps the editor keep track of the takes in post-production. The clapperboard records the scene, take, director, director of photography, date, and name of the film written on the front, and is displayed for the camera. The clapperboard also serves the necessary function of providing a marker to sync up the film and the sound take. Sound is recorded on a separate apparatus from the film and they must be synched up in post-production.
The director will then decide if the take was acceptable or not. The script supervisor and the sound and camera teams log the take on their respective report sheets. Every report sheet records important technical notes on each take.
When shooting is finished for the scene, the director declares a "wrap." The crew will "strike," or dismantle, the set for that scene. The director approves the next day's shooting schedule and a daily progress report is sent to the production office. This includes the report sheets from continuity, sound, and camera teams. Call sheets are distributed to the cast and crew to tell them when and where to turn up the next shooting day.
For productions using traditional photographic film, the unprocessed negative of the day's takes are sent to the film laboratory for processing overnight. Once processed, they return from the laboratory as dailies or rushes (film positives) and are viewed in the evening by the director, above the line crew, and, sometimes, the cast. For productions using digital technologies, shots are downloaded and organized on a computer for display as dailies.
When the entire film is in the can, or in the completion of the production phase, the production office normally arranges a wrap party to thank all the cast and crew for their efforts.

[edit] Post-production
Here the film is assembled by the film editor. The modern use of video in the filmmaking process has resulted in two workflow variants: one using entirely film, and the other using a mixture of film and video.
In the film workflow, the original camera film (negative) is developed and copied to a one-light workprint (positive) for editing with a mechanical editing machine. An edge code is recorded onto film to locate the position of picture frames. Since the development of non-linear editing systems such as Avid, Quantel or Final Cut Pro, the film workflow is used by very few productions.
In the video workflow, the original camera negative is developed and telecined to video for editing with computer editing software. A timecode is recorded onto video tape to locate the position of picture frames. Production sound is also synced up to the video picture frames during this process.
The first job of the film editor is to build a rough cut taken from sequences (or scenes) based on individual "takes" (shots). The purpose of the rough cut is to select and order the best shots. The next step is to create a fine cut by getting all the shots to flow smoothly in a seamless story. Trimming, the process of shortening scenes by a few minutes, seconds, or even frames, is done during this phase. After the fine cut has been screened and approved by the director and producer, the picture is "locked," meaning no further changes are made. Next, the editor creates a negative cut list (using edge code) or an edit decision list (using timecode) either manually or automatically. These edit lists identify the source and the picture frame of each shot in the fine cut.
Once the picture is locked, the film passes out of the hands of the editor to the sound department to build up the sound track. The voice recordings are synchronised and the final sound mix is created. The sound mix combines sound effects, background sounds, ADR, dialogue, walla, and music.
The sound track and picture are combined together, resulting in a low quality answer print of the movie. There are now two possible workflows to create the high quality release print depending on the recording medium:
In the film workflow, the cut list that describes the film-based answer print is used to cut the original colour negative (OCN) and create a colour timed copy called the colour master positive or interpositive print. For all subsequent steps this effectively becomes the master copy. The next step is to create a one-light copy called the colour duplicate negative or internegative. It is from this that many copies of the final theatrical release print are made. Copying from the internegative is much simpler than copying from the interpositive directly because it is a one-light process; it also reduces wear-and-tear on the interpositive print.
In the video workflow, the edit decision list that describes the video-based answer print is used to edit the original colour tape (OCT) and create a high quality colour master tape. For all subsequent steps this effectively becomes the master copy. The next step uses a film recorder to read the colour master tape and copy each video frame directly to film to create the final theatrical release print.
Finally the film is previewed, normally by the target audience, and any feedback may result in further shooting or edits to the film.

[edit] Distribution
This is the final stage, where the movie is released to cinemas or, occasionally, to DVD, VCD or VHS (though VHS tapes are less common now that more people own DVD players). The movie is duplicated as required for theatrical distribution. Press kits, posters, and other advertising materials are published and the movie is advertised.
The movie will usually be launched with a launch party, press releases, interviews with the press, showings of the film at a press preview, and/or at film festivals. It is also common to create a website to accompany the movie. The movie will play at selected cinemas and the DVD is typically released a few months later. The distribution rights for the film and DVD are also usually sold for worldwide distribution. Any profits are divided between the distributor and the production company.

[edit] Independent Filmmaking
Main article: Independent film
Filmmaking also takes place outside of the studio system and is commonly called independent filmmaking. Since the introduction of DV technology, the means of production have become more democratized. Filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit a movie, create and edit the sound and music, and mix the final cut on a home computer. However, while the means of production may be democratized, financing, distribution, and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the traditional system. Most independent filmmakers rely on film festivals to get their films noticed and sold for distribution. However, the Internet has allowed for relatively inexpensive distribution of independent films; many filmmakers post their films online for critique and recognition. Although there is little profitability in this, a filmmaker can still gain exposure via the web.

[edit] Noteslitical contexts, using a variety of technologies and techniques

NIKITA

2008-01-24T05:54:00.000-08:00

NIKITA
A RIEVIEW

Story:-
This is a good piece of story that a girl who has been in criminal type surrounding and is a criminal also due to the condition of life, turned into a agent and try to avoiding violence, where she was one of them.
This story indicates towards the typology of agents work, who has to obey the orders of control room, whether it is right or wrong.
Nikita is punished for 30 years of prison but she has been shown in papers as dead, and then Bob comes to her and says, to be a agent or death.
The beauty of this film is that love turns any body into a good human, even a man like Victor.

Direction:-
Every character of this film has been looked as usual as true, especially Nikita. Anne plays her role very sensibly with natural expressions. If this film would be made by a typical director the character of Nikita would be full of extra ordinary works, but in this film she looks as a natural human with all the real expressions and works.

Cinematography:-
Looks good especially in the opening scene and close ups to show the expressions.

Sound:-
Somewhere is loud, but generally good.

In the last:-
This film would be remembered for the acting of Anne.

WHAT IS SENSEX

2008-01-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

The BSE Sensex or Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index is a value-weighted index composed of 30 stocks with the base April 1979 = 100. It consists of the 30 largest and most actively traded stocks, representative of various sectors, on the Bombay Stock Exchange. These companies account for around one-fifth of the market capitalization of the BSE.
The base value of the Sensex is 100 on April 1, 1979 and the base year of BSE-SENSEX is 1978-79.
At irregular intervals, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) authorities review and modify its composition to make sure it reflects current market conditions.
The index has increased by over ten times from June 1990 to today. Using information from April 1979 onwards, the long-run rate of return on the BSE Sensex works out to be 18.6% per annum, which translates toHere is a timeline on the rise and rise of the Sensex through Indian stock market history.
1000, July 25, 1990 - On July 25, 1990, the Sensex touched the four-digit figure for the first time and closed at 1,001 in the wake of a good monsoon and excellent corporate results.
2000, January 15, 1992 - On January 15, 1992, the Sensex crossed the 2,000-mark and closed at 2,020 followed by the liberal economic policy initiatives undertaken by the then finance minister and current Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh.
3000, February 29, 1992 - On February 29, 1992, the Sensex surged past the 3000 mark in the wake of the market-friendly Budget announced by the then Finance Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.
4000, March 30, 1992 - On March 30, 1992, the Sensex crossed the 4,000-mark and closed at 4,091 on the expectations of a liberal export-import policy. It was then that the Harshad Mehta scam hit the markets and Sensex witnessed unabated selling.
5000, October 11, 1999 - On October 8, 1999, the Sensex crossed the 5,000-mark as the BJP-led coalition won the majority in the 13th Lok Sabha election.
6000, February 11, 2000 - On February 11, 2000, the infotech boom helped the Sensex to cross the 6,000-mark and hit and all time high of 6,006.
7000, June 21, 2005 - On June 20, 2005, the news of the settlement between the Ambani brothers boosted investor sentiments and the scrips of RIL, Reliance Energy, Reliance Capital and IPCL made huge gains. This helped the Sensex crossed 7,000 points for the first time.
8000, September 8, 2005 - On September 8, 2005, the Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark 30-share index -- the Sensex -- crossed the 8000 level following brisk buying by foreign and domestic funds in early trading.
9000, December 09, 2005 - The Sensex on November 28, 2005 crossed 9000 to touch 9000.32 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock Exchange on the back of frantic buying spree by foreign institutional investors and well supported by local operators as well as retail investors.
10,000, February 7, 2006 - The Sensex on February 6, 2006 touched 10,003 points during mid-session. The Sensex finally closed above the 10K-mark on February 7, 2006.
11,000, March 27, 2006 - The Sensex on March 21, 2006 crossed 11,000 and touched a peak of 11,001 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock Exchange for the first time. However, it was on March 27, 2006 that the Sensex first closed at over 11,000 points.
12,000, April 20, 2006 - The Sensex on April 20, 2006 crossed 12,000 and touched a peak of 12,004 points during mid-session at the Bombay Stock Exchange for the first time.
13,000, October 30, 2006 - The Sensex on October 30, 2006 crossed 13,000 and still riding high at the Bombay Stock Exchange for the first time. It took 135 days to reach 13,000 from 12,000. And 124 days to reach 13,000 from 12,500. On 30th October 2006 it touched a peak of 13,039.36 & closed at 13,024.26.
14,000, December 5, 2006 - The Sensex on December 5, 2006 crossed 14,000 and touched a peak of 14028 at 9.58AM(IST) while opening for the day December 5, 2006.
15,000, July 6, 2007- The Sensex on July 6, 2007 crossed another milestone and reached a magic figure of 15,000. it took almost 7 month and 1 day to touch such a historic milestone.
16,000, September 19, 2007- The Sensex on September 19, 2007 crossed the 16,000 mark and reached a historic peak of 16322 while closing. The bull hits because of the rate cut of 50 bps in the discount rate by the Fed chief Ben Bernanke in US.
17,000, September 26, 2007- The Sensex on September 26, 2007 crossed the 17,000 mark for the first time, creating a record for the second fastest 1000 point gain in just 5 trading sessions. It failed however to sustain the momentum and closed below 17000. The Sensex closed above 17000 for the first time on the following day. Reliance group has been the main contributor in this bull run, contributing 256 points. This also helped Mukesh Ambani's net worth to grow to over $50 billion or Rs.2 trillion. It was also during this record bull run that the Sensex for the first time zoomed ahead of the Nikkei of Japan.
18,000, October 9, 2007- The Sensex crossed the 18k mark for the first time on October 9, 2007. The journey from 17k to 18k took just 8 trading sessions which is the third fastest 1000 point rise in the history of the sensex. The sensex closed at 18,280 at the end of day. This 788 point gain on 9th October was the second biggest single day absolute gains. Sensex also saw intra-day gains of 1000 points from the day's lows in the backdrop of political uncertainty between the UPA and Left parties on the Nuke deal. The markets started coming off the day's lows on news that the immediate threat to the government had receded after the warring factions agreed to talk further. Reliance Industries was again the biggest contributor in this 1000 point gain. The Reliance-pack along with Infosys and L&T lead the bull run.
19,000, October 15, 2007- The Sensex crossed the 19k mark for the first time on October 15th 2007.It took just 4 days to reach from 18k to 19k. This is the fastest 1000 points rally ever and also the 640 point rally was the second highest single day rally in absolute terms. RIL contributed 153 pts, ICICI Bk 120 pts, ONGC 119 pts, L&T 108 pts and Bharti Airtel 96 pts. Top 5 stocks contributed 60% of rally from 18k to 19k. That means a record 3000 point rally in 17 trading sessions.
20,000, October 29, 2007- The Sensex crossed the 20k mark for the first time with a massive 734.5 point gain but closed below the 20k mark. It took 11 days to reach from 19k to 20k. The journey of the last 10,000 points was covered in just 869 sessions as against 7,297 sessions taken to touch the 10,000 mark from 1,000 levels. In 2007 alone, there have been six 1,000-point rallies for the Sensex. L&T and ICICI Bank top contributors with 50% contribution of last 1000 points rally. However these 11 days between 19k and 20k have also been the most volatile in the history of India's stock markets on account of the P-Notes (Participatory notes) crisis which involved the biggest intra-day crash as well as the biggest single day gain.
21,000, January 8, 2008 Business Standard
On May 22, 2006, the Sensex plunged by a whopping 1100 points during intra-day trading, leading to the suspension of trading for the first time since May 17, 2004. The volatility of the Sensex had caused investors to lose Rs 6 lakh crore ($131 billion) within seven trading sessions. The Finance Minister of India, P. Chidambaram, made an unscheduled press statement when trading was suspended to assure investors that nothing was wrong with the fundamentals of the economy, and advised retail investors to stay invested. When trading resumed after the reassurances of the Reserve Bank of India and the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Sensex managed to move up 700 points, still 450 points in the red. This is the largest ever intra-day crash (in points terms) in the history of the Sensex.
The Sensex eventually recovered from the volatility, and on October 16, 2006, the Sensex closed at an all-time high of 12,928.18 with an intra-day high of 12,953.76. This was a result of increased confidence in the economy and reports that India's manufacturing sector grew by 11.1% in August 2006.
The US Sub-prime crisis of 2007
On July 23, 2007, the Sensex touched a new high of 15,733 points. On July 27, 2007 the Sensex witnessed a huge correction because of selling by Foreign Institutional Investors and global cues to come back to 15,160 points by noon. Following global cues and heavy selling in the International markets, the BSE Sensex fell by 615 points in a single day on August 1, 2007, the third such biggest fall in its history. Following the same trend, the BSE Sensex fell by 643 points in a single day on August 16, 2007, which is the biggest fall since April, 2007 and the second biggest ever (absloute terms) in history.
Participatory Notes Crisis of 2007
On the 16th of October, 2007, SEBI (Securities & Exchange Board of India) proposed curbs on participatory notes which accounted for roughly 50% of FII investment in 2007. SEBI was not happy with P-Notes because it is not possible to know who owns the underlying securities and hedge funds acting through PNs might therefore cause volatility in the Indian markets.
However the proposals of SEBI were not clear and this led to a knee-jerk crash when the markets opened on the following day (October 17, 2007). Within a minute of opening trade, the Sensex crashed by 1744 points or about 9% of its value - the biggest intra-day fall in Indian stock-markets in absolute terms. This led to automatic suspension of trade for 1 hour. Finance Minister P.Chidambaram issued clarifications, in the meantime, that the government was not against FIIs and was not immediately banning PNs. After the markets opened at 10:55 am, they staged a remarkable comeback and ended the day at 18715.82, down just 336.04 from Tuesday’s close after tumbling to a day’s low of 17307.90.
This was, however not the end of the volatility. The next day (October 18, 2007), the Sensex tumbled by 717.43 points — 3.83 per cent — to 17998.39, its second biggest fall. The slide continued the next day when the Sensex fell 438.41 points to settle at 17559.98 at the end of the week, after touching the lowest level of that week at 17226.18 during the day.
The SEBI chief, M.Damodaran held an hour long conference on the 22nd of October to clear the air on the proposals to curb PNs where he announced that funds investing through PNs were most welcome to register as FIIs, whose registration process would me made faster and more steamlined. The markets welcomed the clarifications with an 879-point gain — its biggest single-day surge — on October23, thus signalling the end of the PN crisis. SEBI issued the fresh rules regarding PNs on the 25th of October, 2007 which said that FIIs cannot issue fresh P-Notes and existing exposures were to be wound up within 18 months. The Sensex gave a thumbs up the next day - Friday, 26th October by re-crossing the 19,000 barrier with a 428 point surge. The coming Monday (October 29, 2007) history was created when the Sensex leaped 734.5 points to cross the hallowed 20,000 mark for the first time.

[edit] Companies in the Sensex
List of BSE Sensex companies provides the full list of companies that have been part of the BSE Sensex since its inception in 1986 (baselined to 1979).
(as of October 31, 2007) [2]
Code
Name
Sector
Adj. Factor
500410
ACC
Housing Related
0.60
500425
Ambuja Cements Ltd
Housing Related
0.65
500490
Bajaj Auto
Transport Equipments
0.65
500103
BHEL
Capital Goods
0.35
532454
Bharti Airtel
Telecom
0.35
500087
Cipla
Healthcare
0.65
500124
DLF Ltd**
Construction
0.75
532868
Grasim Industries
Diversified
0.75
500010
HDFC
Finance
0.90
500180
HDFC Bank
Finance
0.80
500440
Hindalco Industries
Metal, Metal Products & Mining
0.70
500696
Hindustan Lever Limited
FMCG
0.70
532174
ICICI Bank
Finance
1.00
500209
Infosys
Information Technology
0.85
500875
ITC Limited
FMCG
0.70
500510
Larsen & Toubro
Capital Goods & Construction.
0.90
500520
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
Transport Equipments
0.80
532500
Maruti Udyog
Transport Equipments
0.45
532555
NTPC
Power
0.15
500312
ONGC
Oil & Gas
0.20
500359
Ranbaxy Laboratories
Healthcare
0.70
532712
Reliance Communications
Telecom
0.35
500390
Reliance Energy
Power
0.70
500325
Reliance Industries
Oil & Gas
0.50
500376
Satyam Computer Services
Information Technology
0.95
500112
State Bank of India
Banking & Finance
0.45
532540
Tata Consultancy Services
Information Technology
0.20
500570
Tata Motors
Transport Equipments
0.60
500470
Tata Steel
Metal, Metal Products & Mining
0.70
507685
Wipro
Information Technology
0.20
.**DLF replaced Dr. Reddy's Lab on 19th November, 2007 roughly 9% per annum after compensating for inflation. [1]

SENSEX RISES

2008-01-23T05:25:00.000-08:00

Sensex rises 864 points after US Fed rate cut
Mumbai (PTI): Stock market benchmark Sensex ended a seven-day losing streak on wednesday, gaining 864 points after the US Federal Reserve cut interest rates in an emergency move to prevent the world's biggest economy from slipping into a recession.
The 30-share index rose 864.13 points to 17,594.07, led by index-heaviest Reliance Industries Ltd, which rose by Rs 196.80 to settle at Rs 2,554.85. The Sensex rose to a high of 17,997.11 and fell to a low of 16,951.03 points in volatile intra-day trading.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty surged by 404.10 points at 5203.40, after touching the day's high of 5328.05 and a low of 4891.60 points.
The US central bank cut short-term benchmark rate by a steep 75 basis points on Tuesday, in a surprise move that is aimed at checking the nation's economy from slowing down and soothing the investor community.

THE CLOUR OF THE PARADISE

2008-01-23T04:16:00.000-08:00

The colour of the paradise.
( A review)
Cinema is a language of emotions, passions and humanities. Therefore the films which are able to touch the heart of human ( I am not talking about the film which represents the commercial aspect by anyway, but about Cinema.), is a good film.
If we talk about the film the colour of the paradise, this film is a good one in every aspect of cinematic quality. We can divide its characteristics into the following points:-

Merits:-
1:- A very sensible subject:-
There are very rare films on such subject that are so close to the heart of human beings. We know about the love of the father to his child only and feel ourselves unease to think about a father who wants to get rid of his abnormal child. This Is true that in some cases abnormal children do not get the proper love their parents what they deserve most, but this case is some different.

2:-Direction:-
Getting the natural expressions and emotions of an abnormal child by a little actor with reality and beautifully is a piece of unique direction. Every character off the film represents the hard work of director. With direction all the character had judged with their roles properly.

3:- Cinematography:-
This is a good aspect of the film which make closer to the naturalist. Locations were as well as they should and light plan increases this beauty.

4:-Sound:-
In the satarting of the film the chirping of the little bird felled down the earth from his nest and like this there were good use of sound in this film e.g. water falls, classroom, rain etc.

5:-Message by the child and the abnormal carpenter:-
Moh. and the car painter are the representative of the abnormal community who proves that they are not for looking after only if they get the chance they can prove themselves. This is a good part of the film also.

6:-A good representation of emotions:-
Human emotions are beautifully expressed by Moh., his father, grandmother and the sister. When his father comes to take him and sees him from outside of the pathway of the centre with undesired eyes, that was unique.
When moh. comes home and goes outside in the fields with his sisters and gives them some articles, expressions makes different it to others.

Demerits:-
To find out demerits in such a unique film is a foolish dare by mine, but what I saw in that is following:-
1:-Climbing of Moh. on the tree with the little bird in his pocket:-
This scene should be pasteurized by other way because the bird in his pocket would not be alive such a way he was climbing on the tree.

2:-Loud acting by his father when his grand mother was going out of the home:-
In this scene his father acts some loudly with useless a lot of expressions. This would be better if that would deeper in expressions and dialogues.

3:-Disappearence of the sisters:-
When Moh’s father leaves him to carpenter and after the death of the grandmother, the disappearance of girls make some lack.

In the last:-
As a critical viewer I should like to give this film 4.5 marks in 5.

Surendra Patel

THE MURDER OF BENJEER BHUTTO

2008-01-13T21:51:00.000-08:00

This is very unfortunate that the former prime minister of Pakistan, Mrs. Benjeer Bhutto had been killed in a terrorist attack in karanchi. This is shameful for Pak that the supreme officers of the country were trying to hide the way of killing and they were not eager to postmortem of the dead body of Bhutto. This killing would affect the politics of Pakistan terribly, because after the death of her no powerful leader is remaining in the country.
Mr. Musharraff reacted very sorrow on the incident but the word knows that the path of his ruling in Pak.
Pakistan has been stand up on the explosives and this is very dangerous for the world, people should wait for the blast only.

my favourite actor

2007-11-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

i love to watch the movies of jet li, he is my favouie acte, i have watched a lot of movies of him.

2007-10-30T00:50:00.000-07:00

PRATIBHA PATIL: THE FIRST WOMAN PRESIDENT OF INDIA......A DARK SIDE
Oct 5, 2007 3:02 am202 Views
Pratibha Ddevisingh Patil had make a history when she became the first woman president of the largest democratic country of the world. She defeated her competitor with 3 lacs 6 thousand and 8 hundred 10 votes.Before some days when i did not know much about her, I felt very strange that such a woman had been nomitated as the conditate by U.P.A. whom no body knows. Actually this was not the fact, untill I did not come to know about her. I knew yesterday that she had been M.L.A. in Maharashtra for five times continuously, M.P. for single and besides of these she had been the governer of Rajasthan in 2004. The biggest fact about her is that he never lose any ellection and this was carry on for her president ellection.Come to the main point that the chair of the pesident in India is one of the most tragedious post, who has all the power but is helpless and can do nothing besides of lying only as a useless thing in a showcase, which is not baught by any one and remain their only for showing.He is the lion of circuss who moves according to the ring master( Prime minister).May this lion come out from his cage in the future and treat once again as the king to be careful.( This note was written by myself in my diary on 22 july.)THE DARK SIDE........Pratibha patil was elected as the president with the help of a quatation that she might be first woman president, where Najam Heptullah, condidate for Vice-President, a woman also was defeated by the politicians.ANOTHER SIDE.........The woman of india.......oops! .... progressive woman of india cries foe the simililarity in every stage but when we talk about the facilities, they started once agiain of being women and tries to get the advantage because they are women.I went to state bank of india yesterday to withdraw some money. There was a long line of pwople, who were there with thier withdrawl form also. I went in the line also. After standing in the line for two hours I was some feet ahead, where a woman came suddenly and reached to the window straightly and returned after few minutes with the money.Do not understand me as a prostester of similarity of men and women because I believe men and women can not be simlar because they are men and women, a compliment of each other, so there is no need of crying to be simimilar.I accept that that there are some big problems in our society for women but problems are everywhere in our country. We can noy solute them of being a part as men and women but to become a whole humen and fight against all the problems which is against the "HUMANITY."
2nd OCTOBER......

1st international non-violence day was celabrated on the behalf of U.N.O. on last 2nd october. It may be that some people of the world do not know about the day before 2007, so they must study the history o f Indian Freedom Fight.2nd October is the birth date of Mhatma Gandhi, who is called as the father of the nation of India. Mahatma Gandhi had been appeared on the stage of Indian National movement since 1920, but his thought and working style had spreaded through the hole country as fire. He played a pioneer role in the independence of India.The time where many country had gotten thier freedom through the help of traditional weapones and violence Gandhi Ji produced a weapon which was already existed in ancient India, That was " SATYA AND AHINSA". gandhi Ji did not present any new type of thought but he he gave a new shape to the old thoughts, which was practicled by him in South Africa already, so it not should not be said that he might be failed.I do not want to discuss about the history, so come to the point. Gandhi Ji does not need any type of reward becsause he had gotten it already that was the independence of India, but this is very unfortunate and shameful for the whole world specially for the noble prize foundation that it has not too much dare to give him noble prize after his death also. When he was alive, was nominated for three times for the prize but being afraid to the British Empire, founadation could not give him the prize. But in preasent time where "Terrorists" had gotten this prize and even simple politicians of europe and other countries, this is shameful.Mahatma Gandhi had not gotten this prize, this is not the problem of Mahatma Gandhi, but of this world that shows the " Caste,race, country and poor thinking" of the that foundation and the world also.IN THE END....We all the Indian do not need any type of the prize for Gandhi Ji because after recieving, that prize would be honoured that it is coming for Mahatma Gandhi in India. I request to the Indian government also, if this would happen in the future and noble prize founadation tries to mend his fault, we must not give them the chance, and says we do not want to honour you.
ONE DAY.......................

Some times we face a lot of problems and different conditions that we have to believe on our destiny and almighty. But this does not mean that tour fate or destiny operate us, our destiny is operated by our actions.I asked to Amit(my best friend) would he go to Gorakhpur with me on 17.9.2007 at 14.50 hours, he permitted but hte problem was related to bike because I could not afford to go in the bus because of the dengerous conditions of the road. I said him to ask to uncle about the bike. I went to ashram at the evening same day, where papa had talked about the bike, and I confused that he had permitted us to take our bike. There was a problem with our bike because that was over to service and had a problem in its chain system, but I understood about its confirmation. At the evening after that I met ti Amit and inform him about getting of the bike. He was pleased because he had a problem also about his bike, not the technical, but from his dad.18.09.2007At morning when my mother asked about the way how I was going. When I said by our bike, she asked about the condition and disallowment of papa. When I told that papa had pemitted himself, papa said that he knew that i was using Amit's bike. A great problem was about to come because Amit's mummy had cooked some food for Annu(Amit's sister who lives at gorakhpur). I went to Amit and told about the situation. After that auntie had become very angry and started to prop to amit. Amit is very sensetive guy so he wetted his eyes at aunt's behaviour. This is right that our pla had failed but we have not our own base to to make a plan and depended on our parents, when they not support our plans that failes. So i think, that is not our mistake but our parents, in failuring of our palanings.I told to amit to go to my home and asked himself to papa to give the bike. He came but could not succeed. I called to Kamaluddin, because he goe to gorakhpur everyday bu his bike, to take Amit with him. Auntie and uncle refused to go with him and ordered t go by bus. We decided ourselves to go by bus also but after some time when we were waiting for busuncle forced to Amit to take the bike. Amit agreed after some deny. We went to his despencery to take the papers of the bike. When we reached before 10 km to Gorakhpur the bike had been punctured. to pull that a few hundred meters we got a shop but the machenic was unavailable. There was a boy who unbolt the wheel and opened the tube and saw ther ewas a great problem beyond his ability I said him to search the machenic, he came after one hour without him. I send him back with the wheel so that he might make that repaired.After his departure, Amit came to know that the keys of the despencery were in his pocket, this was a big mistake whae he called at home, the lock was demolished forcely.The boy returned after more than half hour. and after that the master had also come, and set the tyre.When we returnedfrom gorakhpur the bike had been punctured again at 21.30 hours. Amit was shocked because uncle had warned him before some time to stay at Bhathat, a squre and a market, at his relative's home. That was a terrible situation but i was not too much comlicated. i said him to find out such a shop that included shopkeepr's home also. Once again I started to pull the bike, after coming at the main market, I asked to a man about such a shop. He told us fortunately about the shop next to there. A man went went there and awaked the master. Our good heaven, he awaked with his son, to mend the tyre. When his son opened the tyre the tube was badly tore as cut by hand. He had no new tube but found out a used tube with a puncture and asked to pay 100 rupees. We agreed and he set the wheel. We thanked him and come to maharajganj at 22.00 hours.I told about this incident in a reference. In our traditions, people told a lot of about "Shagun" or " at the "Apshagun" at the starting of the journey. In that view, ther ewas a lot of apshagun at the starting of our journey so that the result was that. But I don not think so when the peoblems come, we learn, how to defeat them, because there is nothing unable to defeat, destiny helps men of actions.

WE, THE PART OF CURRUPTION
We often say that curruption has been spreaded through all the country, every where and in every body, but when we blame others, there are rare people who can dare to say that they are the part of currption alao. This is a truth but no one would like to accept it.Why!I have seen several times in the private buses, rikshaws, on the shop of tea and many others places where peope do not want to pay the proper prices of the services. Some months ago, in Uttar Pradesh, there was a proclamation to give the scholarship to the student of primary, junior and secondry school, to get the sum of scholarship, every student has to submit some document releted to the collectry office. After this proclamation, people ran towards the collectry office, and the result was funny, the stamp paper which price is 10 rupees was at the moment of 15 rupees, and was sold by the stamp paper sellers on their homes. The sum of the scholarship was 450 rupees and people were spending to get the documents 410 rupees.This is terrible in itself that to get the money without work is a being understood as a right in our society. Every where we see that the officer who is sitting on the chair where we have to go to complete our work wants money to do that work,even that work belongs to a sign only . He takes it as the right also. My brother has a shop, he needs some money to invest in this, when we go to the office of Jila udyog Kendra, he asked 1000 rupees to sign on the quotation. This is not the fact in banks only but every where in the government oiffices. They not demanding only but we are always ready to give them to complete our work fast.Every man is the part of curruption in his stage, when we talk by the lower stage a rikshaw puller always try to get more money of his work, the man who uses that rikshaw always try to give less money of his work, both tries to cheat each others. So why we cry on the issue of curruption when we are responsible to spread that.

THE PHILOSPHY OF CHAARWAK
I have recieved a nice comment from a friend. I agree that there are some people stand in this world against the wrong things, but in number, how many they are. We must try to increase in those numbers. It does not mean that we must do great works, we can start to take little issues, as to command our expenses etc.I belong to gorakhpur a wellknown city of Uttar Pradesh. In rainy season, there comes a terrible problem every year named Encephalitis. Per year hundred of children died by this desease, but government does not make any solution for this problem. Current situation is this.. near about 800 children are admitted in the ward, 176 are died.I always remember the quatation of Shiv Kheda "If there is no solution of any problem, then we are the problem"This condition suits India perfectly. We abuse to the government, the politicians and the curruption but no one abuse himself. Why! why no one dare to comment himself, because of our cowardice nature.We have no right to abuse any one becaus we are responsible of the current situation. We live in democracy, which means, the power of govern is given in the hands of the people with the help of constitution. But we do not know how we can use that, finally we can not use that at all because we are the part also of all the curruption.India is the largest country in youth population and we can do any thing. WE CAN USE THE SOCIAL NETWORK SITES LIKE IT TO BE CONNECTED TOGETHER AND SPREAD OUR THAOUGHTS THROUGH ALL THE COUNTRY RAPIDLY.The title of this note is THE PHILOSPHY OF CHAARWAAK, come to this point. Chaarwaak was the man who set a theory of Bhoutik Waad, it means eat, drink and merry, dont think about tomarrow.This theory learn us to live in present only, to forget all the things besides of our joy only. The new generation is following this blindely, they want to earn a heavy money and time to spend that, what a stupidious job first you earn that with your hard work, and after u spend that rapidly without thinking thier importence.We are human beings, there are some responsibilties at our shoulders, and we must not try to get rid of those, either there will no diference between animals and us, and we must find ourselves back in 50000 years becaus animal are true representative of THE PHILOSPHY OF CHAARWAAK.

We must oppose the wrong things
hi friends myself surendra, from gorakhpur.the world is running towards phyisical fulfilment rapidly, leaving all the relations besides of our own love to our wivews or family.probably we are trying to forget that we are responsible a little bit to our country and our society also.we cant live in a world where some people live only.

THE CRISIS OF L.P.G. IN MAHARAJGNJ

2007-10-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

The owner of the agency, mr Chandrajeet Bharati had participated in the last local ellection but defeated. Now the condition is he is giving a lot of trouble to people of maharajgnaj for the gas and perhaps taking it as the revenge weapon.

WHAT A WIN INDEED

2007-09-28T01:16:00.000-07:00

India had won the T 20 world cup to defeat pakistan. This was a great experience to all the indian who were watching tv at that moment. This win is special in itself because india had not played a single match of T20 before world cup and no one was expecting that india would reach in last eight. Team was playing without the three great. This could happen only by team effort.
There is a tragedy beside this also that the hocky team also won the asia cup some days before but they could not get the proper reward like cricket team. This is unfortunate that some hocky players have to sit on hunger strike in opposing the missbehaviour of hocky players. Where cricket palyers have got rewards of crore, hocky players get nothing besides of certificate by president.
This is not fair in the welfare of games in india.

ONE DAY.................

2007-09-19T11:33:00.001-07:00

Some times we face a lot of problems and different situations that we we have to believe on our fate or destiny or almighty. But this does not mean that our fate or destiny operate us but our destiny is operated by our actions.

SOME PICTURES OF FLOOD AT MAHARAJGANJ

2007-09-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

2007-09-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

Aagaz ko hum apane ab,
Anjaam karate hai,
Mit jaaye jiwan ka safar,
Armaan karate hai,
Todane is desh ki,
Janjir ko ek baar fir,
Hum apane- baan ka,
Sandhan karate hai.

2007-09-16T13:13:00.000-07:00

OLD SKELTONS RIDING YOUNG HORSES

2007-09-16T12:24:00.000-07:00

India is a country wheres youth poulation is more than any country in the world.
Population of youth is more than the older so there is a lot of problems related to these extra ordinary population. More of them are jobless as well as hopeless, when they could not get a proper job or earning, they move towards wrong ways.
Lets come to main topic, there are too much old persons in our central government who does not have the hope to live some years, but they are operating our fate, where they do not have some power to walk properely.
These men can not take any hard decision to make our country progressive. manmohan singh, pratibha patil, hamid ansari these are the supreme persons in our country, but they not have the stemina to walk to some away.
I mean to say that this would be a beter option that our senior leaders leave the space for the youth and they rest now.

ABOUT MYSELF

2007-08-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

My name is surendra patel. I am a student of direction in delhi. Before this I was preparing for civil cervices. I have a lot of hobbies and having good hands in all that like painting, poetry, writting articles, playing saxophone and flute and marshal arts.
My father encourage me to come in this field because he is also a man of all crafts.
Now i am working on some projects and prparing two scripts.

WHY SANJU IS SILENT

2007-08-08T05:04:00.000-07:00

The past some days were very complicated for sanjay dutt, it does not mean that those are finished but there are constancy in those for some years, if he has not gotten any relief from supreme court.
People are makinng too much noise for him. i ask why?
Is sanjay dutt is innocent..no!
Did he do anything in the welfare of the country.....no!
Is his punishment against the law....no!
So why people are crying.
We must not forget that he is punioshed for having illegle a.k.56 riffle and mouser in the condition of great unstable surroundings of bombat blast in 1993.
If this might be happened with any one other citizen in india, so what happened with him, he should be declared as terrorist.
He was a druugist and was not present in the funeral of his mother.
This is true that in many cases criminal are given porden by there good manner in jail, but he must remember that he is not a criminal.
To applicate in the supreme court for relief , i think he should be stnd alike man and face all the problems and create an ideal to all the people that every one is equal for the law and respect our constitution this will present him as the real hero and increase his populariity what they really want

THE TAPE OF AL QUIDA TO ATTACK ON DELHI MASCOW AND WASHINGTON

2007-08-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Are the supreme commander of al quida, are going mad. They are talking to attack at india, who is the symbol of democracy and unity in the world.There are no reasons for them to attack o n india. If they do this this would be unfortunate, because india is the country only one to give the shelter to all the comunity in the world.
They must not forget that they are an organisation only, and could not hing more than sucide attacking anywhere, where the innocent people are killed. If they use their power, money and mind to make their country progressive , this would be a better jehad to make see the world, than the killings of innocent people.They must remember that all the people killed in these attackings, are a son,daughter,brother, sister , mother and father and oteher relatives, to some one, who are waitings there at homes.
History proves that voilence is not the proper way to make the peace, we can make only through the love and brotherhood which make the world haappier.
All the people using weapons in this world dare to talk besides of the cowardice killinbgs of weaopnes and innocent people.

62 YERAS OF HIROSIMA CRISIS

2007-08-06T07:25:00.000-07:00

This is well known by every one that a long time has been past since the destroyment of hirosima by the atom bomb used by ameirca to make forced surrender to japan in second world war.The name of the bomb was Little Boy. Withi 43 second since the bomb dropped, 90 percent of the population of hirosima was indedand the area of 13 km2 was destroyed totaly. The people of hiorosima are facing the problem of radition yet. Innocent people why they were killed brutaly. This was not a war but killing of men and, women.girls and boys to see the effect of the atom bomb.
American government is a crimical against th humanity. I do not know, how the supreme people of the government of america, eat,drinl and sleepto carry the burden of the unforgivable crime.
The big boss nature of america is not over yet, he is doing every thing what he wants, and the rest world is watching him doing every thing. We must not forget america is a country as others and not the god. We can stop him, otherwise every country shuld accept his supremecy in future.
I pray to god for the peace of the souls who were killed in that unfortunate attack, and appeal to all the people weak and strong to create a happy and peaceful world.

HUMAN TRAFFICING IS NOT A SERIOUS PROBLEM IN INDIA:SHIVRAJ PATIL

2007-08-05T01:01:00.000-07:00

The above statment of the homeminister of india tells about the mentality of the indian leaders on the country problem. Human trafficing is not a problem according to the minister but if we ask ht epeople victim of this social evil then we come to know about the truth of this every year thosand of girls and women are forced to go to the gulf country foe illigle works, specially sipplied for usin as a thing of sex. the condtion of minor children is not seperate with them. Boys of age 8 to 16 are forced to work in houses, restaurent, dhabas and factories. They work hard but get the food only to carry there lives.
We go to the local hotel and tea stall where these children work as amchines, we call them as those insects, order them alike kings and slapp them sometimes where they are unable to supply the order a little bit late where abusing are general things for them.
I am related to a district belong to the border of nepal where human trafficing is a normal thing. Every month a lot of people girls and women are caught in this act.
This is not clear that acording to the honourable home minister, what is a serious problem for india perhaps nothing.

THEY HAVE NOT TO EAT BUT DRINK

2007-08-03T19:18:00.000-07:00

There are lacks of paople in india who have many children, and worked hard o earn for there living, and get near about 100 rupees in a day( this sum , may be reduced in towns and villages, but earn daily) but they have not proper food to eat while they have enough money to have food.
WHY!
The reason is thers little earning but the hobby of drinking local wine named ''LAILA, MAJANU'' and many like these. They earn and expence there mony in drinking, where there children have not food to eat.
There is an example of this nature....
Last evening,i came out from the home wheen papa came.I have to make ride the bike in varandah up, besause this is little bit up than the raod. When i came out i saw a woman standing on the road having a bottle in her hands, and a child in her lap and one more besides her on the road. I asked why she was standing there, but she not answered. After a while my mother came out also and asked the same question, hten she answered to get some karosin oil.She told when we asked wwwhy she have not the mony to buy that , she answered, her husband expences all the mony in drinking. This is remarkable that she was not a begger and wearing proper clothes and have a quarter to leave. We did not know her and she was not begging but her condition was as well as beggers.
There is a more example of this......
The woman, working in my home some times, named ''BHATHAHI'', have several times not any thing to eat, where her husband earn.She has two dhildren one of them is some months old.
her husband named ''BADAN'' never bring any thing of daily usage.Many times she has to sleep without eating.
The condition is not over here. Some times her husband did not give what he brought from market and ate alone on a corner.

This is unique in itself and terrible.
Why people marry when they can not bear th responsibilities of married life, only for sexual pleasure or to be undebt of there fathers.They have no rights to marry if they do then must bear the responsibilities.

BRIDGE CRISIS IN MINIAPOLIS

2007-08-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

This is a very bad news that the bridge on Mississipi river in Miniapolis has been destroyed due to some avoidable reasons, and many paople were killed in this poor accident. The question is not that why the bridg broke but htis is very important that, that bridge was inspected last year by the officers.This indicates that curruption is not only the problem of any special country, but this is spreaded all over the world.
All the persons who are involved in the curruption do not understand the problems of the people who affected directly by all these accidents.
The system must be changed, for the sake of humanity.

LALU'S COPTR HAD LANDED ON THE HIGHWAY NO 28

2007-08-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

A funny and serious news indeed that the halicopter of lalu prasad had landed on the middle highway when he was trying to find out a safe plac to landing when he was inspecting the situation of flood in Bihar.Due to landing on the highway many people were injured.
''Abhi tak to lalu ki rail hi bihar ke har gaon aur har ghar par rukati thi yadi bhavishya me kabhi lalu uddayan mantri bane to plane bhi har ghar par utarane lagega.''

NO ONE SHOULD GO TO AFGHANISTAN OR IRAQ FOR WELFARE

2007-08-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

This news has been one week old that 21 korean citizens have been kidnapped by the terrorists of taliban to relief there men arrested by afghanistan. Two of them are killed.Who is responsible for these. Those men and women are innocent and they were there to help the afghanistanis.
May be that they will be escapped but this is true that these kidnapping and killing will be not stopped.
All the people of the world must pray for there safty, for the sake of there families, and humanity.
U.S.A. and the joint armies are responsible for this accident, why are they not attacking with full power to destroy hte terrorists, where they have all the authority thereselves to do that. They are missleading the world behind the terrorism.
We appeal to the fighters of taliban to release the innocent Korean citizens, and remember that they are there because you need them.

WHEN WILL WE WAKE UP!

2007-08-03T08:36:00.000-07:00

There is a very dangerous situation of flood in northern india, but we are not taking it seriously, why, the answer is simple, because we are not affected with that problem, as well as the people of villages are not affected by terrorism, or the crimes of metro cities.
Why we are not trying to understand that all the things are inter related in this world and the country also.
We cry and abuising to the government for there deactivity, but we forget that we are victim also more than the government because we give them chance to be an inactive government.
Allthe oriblems in our country are due to our cowarice character.
There was a news in hindustan that two women were killed in a village in ranchi to be blammed as a '' DAYAN'',this is remarkable that the women in tribal and ultra rural areas, those are living there lives alone and have not any personal help are used to killed due to financial point of views or sexuality.These women are helpless and no one try to tell for there help because hte things are not related o those directly.

THE TERRIBLE CONDITION OF FLOOD IN EASTERN U.P. BIHAR AND ASSAM

2007-08-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

Hi guys..
the condition of flood in u.p., bihar and assam is going beyond terrible dream. Near about all the district in assam are facing the crisis of flood. The over flowing water of Brahmaputra is destroying every thing in the regions of assam. the condition of up and bihar is not good also, 28 people of a village named harakhpura in maharajganj, a district of up, were killed in a boat crisis.

2007-08-03T05:46:00.000-07:00

hi guys my name is surendra