In addition to mixing drinks, and drinking drinks, and writing about drinks, I also like to explore the ways drinks have affected our culture, and the ways they’re portrayed in art, literature and film from generations past. I wanted to pause a moment from the ongoing rye festivities to plug a new blog that’s the newest on my feed subscription list and my blogroll, and one that’s long overdue–
Booze Movies: The 100 Proof Film Guide takes on the topic of drinking, celluloid-style. As the subhead puts it: “Alcohol–the fabric of film history is soggy with the stuff. Still, film historians have rarely given booze its due. This site is dedicated to setting the record straight.”
The site’s host, Garv, is currently posting on the great souse of cinema, W.C. Fields, but in the short time his blog has been up he’s also covered booze-related films and scenes including The Thin Man, Withnail & I, and the pink elephants scene from Dumbo.
Be sure to check out the site here.
This looks like a really interesting blog. I’ve been thinking about drinking in the movies recently, since this was my first introduction to the subject. It’s kind of a double-edged sword, where you have drinking portrayed as elegant (Casablanca) on the one hand, but then you have terribly myths being perpetrated like shaken martinis (every Bond, save one), all whiskey is rotgut (every Western), and all wine people are jerks (Sideways).
Wow! I just stopped by to see if you’d posted any more information on my favorite American whiskey, and instead I find a plug for my blog. All I can say is thanks, for both the mention and the encouragement. I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the site.
I have a lot of film reviews planned, from the obvious (THE LOST WEEKEND and BAD SANTA) to the more obscure (THE SIN OF HAROLD DIDDLEBOCK and THE BIG HANGOVER) to the unexpected (THE NUTTY PROFESSOR and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK). I hope to eventually have enough material to publish a “Booze Movies” film guide in book form. In the meantime, the blog will provide the incentive to keep writing.
Funny, we were actually talking about Silver Screen being a good MxMo topic 🙂
A mini of Johnny Walker Black goes well with most movie theater popcorn.
Oh yeah, you can’t discuss drinking in the movies without spending some time on /The Thin Man/. What a fun film that still is!