In this week's guide to pronunciation, we offer help with a word that's been bandied about recently. It's pronounced SHAH-den-froy-duh. So if you're at a cocktail party and want to impress your friends, feel free to drop a line like, "The Dick Fuld hearing was an especially empty example of political theater, but at least it provided a good jolt of schadenfreude." Watch everyone's eyebrows rise in admiration or envy at your fine cultured self.
We here at Daily Plastic don't spend a lot of time listening to DVD commentaries, so we're always happy when someone else does the hard work for us. Doug Cummings offers a particularly nice write-up (nice because it earns its length) of the new Touch of Evil 50th Anniversary Edition that's just been released. Given our discussion of the Coen brothers last week, our ears perked up when we came across this line:
I’ve always considered Touch of Evil the best Coen movie not directed by a Coen brother, and the film’s sense of irony was easily thirty years ahead of its time; it also highlights the facile nature of today’s winking detachment in which nothing is taken seriously enough.
Hmmm yes.
Are you aware of this neat blog: ScreenLex? I thought it was cool. ;)
Ha! Very neat.
Thanks for the shout out, Rob. And for the correct pronunciation of schadenfreude, which I will be sure to use at the next opportunity.
Actually, J. Robert wrote the "Elsewhere" for this week, picking up my silly pronunciation guide from the last couple of weeks. But I was intrigued by your write-up, too. I haven't heard a good DVD commentary in a while; in fact I've all but stopped listening to them. But I may have to try this one. And that Coen bros comment -- I'd never have thought of that, but now I'd like to see Touch of Evil again with that in mind.
BTW, are you going to catch anything at AFI Fest?
Well then, thanks J. Robert!
Yes, I've actually been talking with the Artistic Director of AFI FEST this year and wrote a few film descriptions for their catalogue. It looks to be a very impressive line-up but it hasn't been announced in full yet.