Roundup: Pop Culture & the Arts ... Movies, Documentaries and Museum Exhibits

Painting by Caravaggio on display in Italy after historian figured out it WAS a Caravaggio

A painting believed to be an early work by Caravaggio goes on public display in the Sicilian town on Trapani, Saturday. A casual glance at an auction catalogue set a British art historian on the path to discovering the true origins of the painting. The painting previously had been attributed to an anonymous follower of the Baroque master. Experts in Italy believe Caravaggio's "The Cardsharps" is an earlier version of the artist's 1594 painting, now on display at the Kimbel

Savoy puts history under the hammer

Art deco lovers, celebrity-addicts and couples who still cherish the memory of their honeymoon night at the Savoy will descend on the Strand over the next three days to outbid one another for a piece of the hotel’s 118-year history. Having closed its doors on Saturday for a 16-month refit, the Savoy is auctioning off more than 3,000 pieces of furniture, fittings and artwork deemed surplus to the renovation but evoking decades of grandeur. Someone will have a new home fo

Secret War in the Skies Over Korea (PBS/TV Documentary)

The Korean War has been called “the forgotten war,” and “Missing in MIG Alley,” on PBS on Tuesday night, illustrates a little-known chapter. It describes the rivalry in the sky between two types of fighter jets then on the cutting edge of military aviation: the Soviet MIG-15, used by the North Koreans, and the F-86 Sabre, flown by the Americans and the British. The bulk of the dogfights took place south of the Yalu River on the border between North Korea and China, in a track of spa

New play about Darwin (NYC)

Given the furor he feared it would unleash, it is not surprising that Charles Darwin sat on his “great idea,” refusing to publish “The Origin of Species” until 1859, more than 20 years after he first devised the theory of evolution. “If I finish the book, I’m a killer,” he said. “I murder God.” At least that’s what Peter Parnell has Darwin say in his new play, “Trumpery,” which opened this month at the Atlantic Theater Company in New York. In the play, as i

Secret War in the Skies Over Korea (PBS/TV Documentary)

The Korean War has been called “the forgotten war,” and “Missing in MIG Alley,” on PBS on Tuesday night, illustrates a little-known chapter. It describes the rivalry in the sky between two types of fighter jets then on the cutting edge of military aviation: the Soviet MIG-15, used by the North Koreans, and the F-86 Sabre, flown by the Americans and the British. The bulk of the dogfights took place south of the Yalu River on the border between North Korea and China, in a track of spa

A Big Gift for the Met: The Arbus Archives

The estate of Diane Arbus has presented an intimate chronicle of the photographer’s life to the Met as a gift, along with hundreds of early and unique photographs.

A Lawsuit Will Determine the Fate of 2 Picassos

You might begin by picturing a spring day in Berlin, two months after the rise of Adolf Hitler. It is late March 1933, and a man has called upon an art transporter, Gustav Knauer, to hire him for a job. His name is Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, a banker and scion of a wealthy Jewish family of philanthropists and financiers and patrons of the arts. At 58, and in failing health, Herr Mendelssohn-Bartholdy is known throughout Berlin — indeed throughout all Europe — for his luminous c

After legal odyssey, homecoming show for looted antiquities

ROME: In Greek, the word nostos means homecoming; the plural is nostoi. Hence the title of an exhibition that Italy has organized to trumpet the return of dozens of ancient artifacts that until recently adorned showcases in American museums and private galleries. "Nostoi: Recovered Masterpieces" does not pull its punches in explaining how those objects made their way abroad: They were looted from Italian archaeological sites. Excavated "from the bowels o

After legal odyssey, homecoming show for looted antiquities

ROME: In Greek, the word nostos means homecoming; the plural is nostoi. Hence the title of an exhibition that Italy has organized to trumpet the return of dozens of ancient artifacts that until recently adorned showcases in American museums and private galleries. "Nostoi: Recovered Masterpieces" does not pull its punches in explaining how those objects made their way abroad: They were looted from Italian archaeological sites. Excavated "from the bowels o

"Sweet Dreams: The Life and Times of Patsy Cline" (Academic conference)

The Virginia Historical Society will present a symposium that surveys the life, times, and influence of Patsy Cline through a day of paper presentations capped with an evening musical performance. [April 4, 2008] 9:30 am – 9:00 pm Please visit the web site:http://www.vahistorical.org/news/patsycline.htm

Pieces of Hollywood history go on sale

The coat worn by Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins went on sale alongside a life-sized robot from the Terminator films at a huge auction of Hollywood memorabilia. Just in time for those seeking an unusual gift for Christmas, the eclectic sale attracted film fans prepared to spend up to six-figure sums on a piece of movie history.

Mike Nichols takes on Charlie Wilson's War (Re: Afghanistan)

Any hack can film a sex scene, but director Mike Nichols is a connoisseur of pre- and postcoital moments. He was the guy, don't forget, behind that indelible image of Anne Bancroft slipping off her nylon stocking in "The Graduate," as Dustin Hoffman hovered near the hotel-room door. Now, in "Charlie Wilson's War," he stages an après-sex scene between Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in which he avoids the cliché of "sheets tangled just so, and the man getting out of bed in hi

'The Great Debaters': Denzel Washington stars in 'The Great Debaters,' a fictionalized account of a true story

Oprah Winfrey has had her sights on Denzel Washington for a while, but then again, who hasn't? The difference is that Washington actually turned her down. Nearly 10 years ago, when Winfrey was producing her first feature film, "Beloved," she thought that Washington would be perfect as her mild-mannered love interest. (Again: who hasn't?) Besides, Washington had already won an Oscar for portraying a defiant slave in "Glory," so he could only get better in Toni Morrison's slave

Even Tom Hanks isn't sure his movie about Charlie Wilson will draw crowds

IT sounds like a surefire hit for the Christmas movie season: bosomy showgirls snorting cocaine in a Las Vegas hot tub. A rowdy, Scotch-guzzling hedonist splashing in there with them. Oh, he’s also a congressman. Then there’s a rogue C.I.A. operative. Big names on the marquee: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman. All this, and the story is true. But Mr. Hanks said he and executives at Universal Pictures fear that “Charlie Wilson’s War,” which opens on Friday, could be a

China Threatens to Sue over Fake Terracotta Warriors

What does it mean to be "authentic"? How is that different from "original"? And can a fake also be authentic? Such semantic hair-splitting is at the heart of a museum scandal about fake Chinese terracotta warrior statues that is causing friction between Germany and China. The tone of the dispute has taken a sharper turn as Chinese cultural officials threaten legal action against the German exhibitors of the fake terracotta statues. "It is a seri

Learning From the Grateful Dead

Even Grateful Dead tours — those months of escapes into the sweet land of peace, love, and understanding — had moments when the real world intruded. The band's 2,333 live shows brought countless golden moments spent pondering the mystical beauty of Robert Hunter's poetry spun through Jerry Garcia's guitar. They also brought the occasional lost ticket or mud-filled pit outside the portable toilets. The "Unbroken Chain" conference, which pulled dozens of authors

Brooklyn Historical Society exhibit: "In Our Own Words: Portraits of Brooklyn Vietnam Veterans"

Cliopatria readers from the New York City area should put on their calendar a new Brooklyn Historical Society exhibit,"In Our Own Words: Portraits of Brooklyn Vietnam Veterans." The exhibit, which opens Saturday, was overseen by Phil Napoli, a colleague of mine from Brooklyn College, who has conducted dozens of oral histories with Vietnam-era veterans. As Dennis Hamill of the Daily News

Golden Globe nominations include historical romance, "Atonement" and history drama, "The Great Debaters"

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave foreign-fisted pumps in the air for British prestige picture "Atonement" this morning. The tony production took seven nominations for the association's Golden Globes, including for Best Picture and three out of the four acting categories. The association also showed its appreciation for Denzel Washington, nominating both "American Gangster," which stars Washington, and "The Great Debaters," which he directed

Damon, Vedder to teach Howard Zinn's "People's History"

Matt Damon, Marisa Tomei and Eddie Vedder will contribute their talents to a documentary miniseries based on historian-author Howard Zinn's 1980 book "A People's History of the United States." Titled "The People Speak," the project will feature music and readings based on America's struggles with war, class, race and the rights of women. No network is attached yet. Damon and Tomei, along with Viggo Mortensen, Josh Brolin, Danny Glover, David Stratha

Facelift for ancient Roman frescoes

The fresco-covered palace of Emperor Augustus on the Palatine Hill in Rome will partially reopen to the public on March 2 next year after decades of restoration work, officials said yesterday. Since the palace closed in the 1980s, experts have spent more than €12 million (£8.63 million) to restore the porticoed garden of Rome's first emperor and to piece together precious frescoes reduced to fragments over the centuries. The palace was built in the 1st century BC. Group