Archive for June, 2009

“Life and Nothing But” - Where death and joie de vivre intersect - (No Comments)

By Richard Murphy, posted on Thursday, June 25th, 2009

For all the characters in the movie, Life and Nothing But (La Vie et rien d’autre), the baggage of war is carried years after. Life and Nothing But is the story of a French Major assigned the happy task of retrieving and identifying the dead in a tunnel that had been mined by the retreating “Huns.” They blew it up as a train had been passing through.

Fairly straightforward plot lines. Major Dellaplane not only has to deal with the bodies, but with the military bureaucracy above him. He is competent in his work of matching names to corpses. The brass wants him to find one that can be the French “Unknown Soldier” to fulfill a patriotic ritual.

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How to Compete with Free: Debunking the Digital Rights Management Myth - (1 Comment)

By Jim Flynn, posted on Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

After more than a decade of false promises, Digital Rights Management (DRM), which is technology designed to dictate what you can do with legally-purchased content on hardware you own, has done nothing to stop piracy. This article discusses how companies like Apple have exploited DRM to lock in customers and content companies, while locking our competition. I thought it would be OK to re-print this post, give that there’s new information indicated that DRM actually does the opposite of “keeping honest people honest.” A recent study by a Cambridge professor gives strong evidence that DRM actually induces honest people to get content illegally.

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“The Black Book” and “The White Orchid” - Sire, the Peasants are Revolting - (No Comments)

By Richard Murphy, posted on Monday, June 1st, 2009

Okay, the French Revolution has its problems on film. The White Orchid wants to give us the lost civilization. Don’t get me wrong. The genre, a B movie staple is absurd, but one of my favorites. In the White Orchid, a Pre Columbian Civilization has retreated to the Jungle and survived.

William Lundigan stars as archaeologist Robert Burton. Lundigan is one of those actors you’ve seen but probably don’t remember his name. He never got the big break but he did have a long career in B movies.

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