And, it is just in time for the Alberto Gonzalez nomination. btw if I promise to be good from now on, does the fact I killed people and such no longer matter? Let's remember that basic idea, the "you are responsible for what you did," especially since the new policies are not exactly without problems, including detaining citizens like Padilla, still without his true day in court.
New Years Day is known for its college bowl games, but there also was some good movies on television as well. For instance, I saw Brian's Song for the first time -- a based on true story of an unlikely friendship between black and white Chicago Bears players that ended in tragedy when one died of cancer. It was made for television in the early 1970s, and still holds up as a very good tearjerker.
An amusing scene involved Brian Piccolo helping injured Gale Sayers to regain his strength and playfully called him a nigger to push him on ... seriously ... and the fact Sayers broke out laughing suggests how ridiculous it was given their relationship. It really was a striking scene, and the film does mention the racial implications of their relationship (mid-1960s), but there was humor too. I wonder if a playful use of that word could be handed today; in fact, I wonder if the scene was played the same way in the 2001 remake.
A movie that I did see many times was also on, Same Time Next Year, a late 1970s promotion of adultery. Alan Alda (who was quite busy that year, in three films as well as M*A*S*H) and Ellen Burstyn star as very different people (WASP CPA and Catholic housewife) who meet in 1951, have one night stand, and then meet again every year until 1977 (and beyond).
The movie shows us their changing relationship (and the changing times) in five year (or so) increments from 1951-1977 as their bond together grows, while they still love and honor their spouses the rest of the year. Like the other films discussed, the movie definitely has a feel of the time it was made, and has a lot to offer. A bit simplistic at times, but the two stars are quite good, and it's a great movie to watch on cable or rent some time. I know I have done so repeatedly over the years.
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness was the late movie on the local PBS station, the Ingrid Bergman take on the experiences of an English missionary in China during the 1930s, who took it upon herself to fulfill her calling though deemed unqualified for the task. Robert Donat (Mr. Chips) plays a local Chinese official, quite well, and his last line in the movie (his final role) was quite fitting: "We shall not see each other again, I think."
The movie is actually based on real events, though the love story was not, and does a good job albeit with an old movie gloss. For instance, some comments from those who watched the film noted that we do not truly understand how the missionary was accepted by the locals of a different culture. The reason shown is the inner goodness of the missionary, including her concern and efforts in support of orphans. It all might even touch those who think missionaries, even those who fully believed in their calling, often did a lot more bad than good.
I'd add a couple Book TV tidbits. Joseph Ellis* talked about his book on George Washington, and noted that our first president was a realist. He opposed sentiment, thinking (unlike Thomas Jefferson) that people were not really naturally good and all we needed to do was remove old feudal restraints to the success of the average citizen. You need a combination of realism and idealism, and it turns out that they are interconnected -- after all, idealism guided our society in many ways, and it had some productive results.
Abraham Lincoln probably would agree, and I got to tape Sam Waterson's re-enactment of his Cooper Union Address. Quite a speech, and it was wonderful to hear a seasoned actor recite it.
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* The link is to an Ellis article entitled A Historian's View of What the Founder Would Make of Our Time. A choice sentiment: "Rather than rally public support around fear, he reassured the citizenry that the liberal values created by the American Revolution—popular sovereignty, representative government and individual rights—would eventually triumph."