A couple of weeks ago, I wanted to watch the 007 movie, Spectre. I couldn’t find it on any of my streaming services, and I watched Skyfall instead. Skyfall is a good movie, but it didn’t actually scratch the particular itch that I was having that evening. So it goes.
A few nights ago, I saw that Amazon had most, if not all, of the Bond movies available – probably for Bond nerds waiting to binge on the genre. Because we are Prime members, they are all free to us. So, tonight I watched Spectre. In the opening of the movie, I realized why I was drawn to it at this time of year. The movie opens in Mexico City during the celebration of the Day of the Dead (known here as Halloween). Everyone is dressed up as a skeleton or some other deceased entity, and the streets are full of revelers and people in parades.
007 is a professional spy/assassin – License to kill kind of guy. The movie’s rating observes that this particular film is rated based on violence (a given for Bond flicks), smoking and use of alcohol (Vodka Martinis shaken not stirred.) Sigh, we are such a constipated society.
I enjoyed watching this movie again; I’ve probably seen it four times, give or take. The central bad guy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, goes back to the Bond movie Thunderball. He always appears with a white Chinchilla Persian cat and a vertical scar over his right eye. He’s an imposing figure of malice to be sure. For the record, Blofeld’s cat made its debut in the movie From Russia with Love before we ever saw Blofeld’s face. Enough of Bond.
The Day of the Dead and Halloween reminded me of the Gregorian Chant for the Dead – Dies Irae. It is plainsong dating to the 9th Century. Plainsong is monophonic; it has no harmony and rarely has instrumental accompaniment. Franz Liszt incorporated the Chant for the Dead in his Totentanz (Death Dance). Hector Berlioz also used the chant in his Symphonie Fantastique. There’s lots of Halloween imagery in these pieces.
Spectre, in case you are not a James Bond nerd, is an acronym for Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. They’re not the sort of people that you want your son or daughter to date.