21.8.12

all work and no play makes jack a dull boy.























Yay me, I finally went to EYE today for the Kubrick thing, a day well spent. For non-Amsterdammers, the EYE is that white spaceship building in the photos above (next to Malcolm McDowell's giant face) and below (looming futuristically), it's where our old Filmmuseum was relocated to, a forced relocation that I used to regard as completely boneheaded and emblematic of Amsterdam's increasing disregard for historic cultural institutions...but after today I think I might be a convert in this one specific instance.

The exhibit itself was, tja, well done, though I could've stood a few more prop kind of things. There were plenty of great relics nonetheless: note below, the axes on the wall behind the model hedge maze (unique sentence alert?). Also note that the Dr. Strangelove round table is actually a plastic model the size of a dinner plate.

Seeing The Shining itself on the big screen (and more importantly, with excellent, appropriately loud sound) was like watching it for the first time: it was a truly visceral, mildly terrifying experience in the theater, much more so than it ever was on a TV set (where I've probably seen it three or four times), and I mean that in the best way.

After a wintry and mountainous three hours with Jack and the gang, it was disorienting to walk out into a muggy but beautiful afternoon on the water, and the EYE building itself was a surprisingly nice place to hang, especially the rocky little "beach" just outside. There's a grassy patch as well, might even be a smart little picnic spot if you're visiting the EYE around a mealtime.







3 comments:

Klary said...

well, it does not happen often, but I disagree with you here... I kind of hate the new EYE.

MEM said...

I thought it might be a controversial position...admittedly I only went to the old Filmmuseum once, but I think there was a reason for that...it somehow didn't connect with me.

It was a beautiful day, I laid down on the flat slab of rock next to the water...it was relaxing. Not that the Vondelpark isn't relaxing, but...I don't really like Cafe Vertigo...etc

Regardless, I know your deep history with Vondelpark mainstays, so we may have to just disagree here...

MEM said...

also....i fully expected to hate it, so my not hating it was a pleasant surprise, thus falsely inflating its overall rating. ;->