National Lampoon's Vacation is an '80s comedy that I must have watched at least a dozen times on a VHS recording of a TV broadcast. With all due respect to Fletch, this was Chevy Chase's best movie performance, and the only one to generate multiple sequels. It featured memorable appearances from Randy Quaid, Christie Brinkley, John Candy, and Eugene Levy among others.
As a kid whose family made a cross-country trip by station wagon in '81 just before the film was released and another in '87 afterwards, I found the story to be totally relatable especially since both of our trips included a visit to Disneyland/Wally World. I've never seen my dad laugh as hard as he did during the scene where Rusty suggests that their cousin find Aunt Edna by looking for the buzzards and then Clark attaches her to the roof of their station wagon.
I highly recommend this movie as a great way to see the country and get to know the Griswold family.
This is a movie of contrasts: the sights that are seen vs. the background sounds that are heard, petty daily concerns vs. matters of life and death, innocence vs. complicity, beauty vs. unthinkable evil. Also watch for parallels such as the crematorium smokestacks rising behind German children bullying each other.
The first half of the film is dominated by the daily life of the Rudolf and Hedwig Hoss family who are living comfortably in housing next to the concentration camp, while the second half mostly shows Hoss feeling isolated at Nazi officer functions. The pacing is slow throughout which allows the film to establish what the ambience must have been like while functioning in this kind of an environment.
Having visited Auschwitz-Birkenau last summer, the emotions I felt during the film were consistent with recently being in the concentration camp and viewing the same displays that are shown in a flash forward near the end of the film. It's important to contemplate that something like this actually happened to hopefully prevent history from repeating itself.
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Movie comment on National Lampoon's Vacation
Ted B
National Lampoon's Vacation is an '80s comedy that I must have watched at least a dozen times on a VHS recording of a TV broadcast. With all due respect to Fletch, this was Chevy Chase's best movie performance, and the only one to generate multiple sequels. It featured memorable appearances from Randy Quaid, Christie Brinkley, John Candy, and Eugene Levy among others.As a kid whose family made a cross-country trip by station wagon in '81 just before the film was released and another in '87 afterwards, I found the story to be totally relatable especially since both of our trips included a visit to Disneyland/Wally World. I've never seen my dad laugh as hard as he did during the scene where Rusty suggests that their cousin find Aunt Edna by looking for the buzzards and then Clark attaches her to the roof of their station wagon.
I highly recommend this movie as a great way to see the country and get to know the Griswold family.
Movie comment on The Zone of Interest
Ted B
This is a movie of contrasts: the sights that are seen vs. the background sounds that are heard, petty daily concerns vs. matters of life and death, innocence vs. complicity, beauty vs. unthinkable evil. Also watch for parallels such as the crematorium smokestacks rising behind German children bullying each other.The first half of the film is dominated by the daily life of the Rudolf and Hedwig Hoss family who are living comfortably in housing next to the concentration camp, while the second half mostly shows Hoss feeling isolated at Nazi officer functions. The pacing is slow throughout which allows the film to establish what the ambience must have been like while functioning in this kind of an environment.
Having visited Auschwitz-Birkenau last summer, the emotions I felt during the film were consistent with recently being in the concentration camp and viewing the same displays that are shown in a flash forward near the end of the film. It's important to contemplate that something like this actually happened to hopefully prevent history from repeating itself.