Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Max Kolby - August 14, 1941



Max Kolbe died today on August 14, 1941. While most people are remembered for their life, Max Kolbe is remembered mostly for the heroic nature of his death. He was a Polish Catholic priest sent to Auschwitz by the Nazis for trying to secretly hide several thousand Jews. Back in those dark days, just being a Catholic priest was reason enough to get sent to the camps - so Max's "crime" was even more severe. A Catholic priest trying to harbor Jews made him a huge target.

In late July 1941 Max Kolbe asked to take the place of a man with a family who had been condemned to death. A prisoner had escaped in his cell block and so, people were randomly chosen to die by starvation for this transgression. Max said - take me instead. His story is quite remarkable and I suggest you learn more about Maximilian Kolbe if you are unfamiliar with the man.

In honor of Max Kolbe, we recommend two movies. First - Escape from Sobibor starring Alan Arkin and Rutger Hauer. Sobibor was a concentration camp in Poland and unfortunately, not enough people have ever heard of what transpired there. It is an amazing movie about one of the greatest prisoner escapes in WWII. Just watch it. It's an A+ film of a heroic story, just like Max Kolbe's life. Second - we suggest Roberto Rossellini's Open City, which is another powerful World War II story, this time set in Rome. In this movie, Aldo Fabrizi plays a heroic Catholic priest. It also Anna Magnani.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Alfred Hitchcock's Cameo Appearances

On the anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock's birthday (born August 13,1899), I thought of an interesting exercise for all you film lover's out there in net land. Similar to Where's Waldo... the test is to find Sir Alfred where no man has found him before. Hitchcock was known for his many cameo appearances in his films, and yes indeed - these cameos are explored in some depth on the net. (try here for almost a google of pages on the subject). But to find Alfred where he has already been found, is easy. Fun yes.. but easy. Want something harder? Find him in films where he has not been found. As far as i know... he has not been found in a few dozen of his films. And guess what... you can find a bunch of those films right here at LikeTelevision. The original Man Who Knew Too Much(1936), Sabotage(1936), The Secret Agent(1936) or Number Seventeen(1932). Can you find Sir Alfred where no man has found him before?

Have fun... if you can find Sir Alfred in the films listed above, send us an email and we'll post it in our blog. (the story will get picked up by AP and we'll make you a star - a virtual guarantee of your 15 minutes of fame. (please provide a time and a sceen grab for verification). Or - you can also rediscover Hitch in The Lady Vanishes. Need a hint?