June 20, 2013
Dear Readers,
With the untimely death of the wonderful
actor James Gandolfini, I am going to put off my remarks about Black Caviar
until tomorrow.
I never watched the “Sopranos” TV series,
I did however appreciate the acting talent of James Gandolfini in other roles
he undertook.
In researching the information about Tony
Soprano and the racehorse “Pie-O-My,” I watched the scenes from episodes which
featured the horse, and was struck by the quality of the production. I suspect
Mr. Gandolfini has hooked me, and I will now have to spend untold hours
watching the series from its beginning.
I must say I am always amused by the fact
directors in movies which use a horse as a distinctive character, seldom notice
the inconsistencies of the markings on the horses. When they use more than one
horse to portray the one featured, they often overlook inconsistent color, markings
or even gender. Every time I see Woodrow Call in “Lonesome Dove” racing down
the street, astride his grey mare “Hell Bitch,” intent on saving his son from a
beating, I am struck by the fact that “Hell Bitch” is very obviously a gelding.
When we see “Pie-O-My” winning a race, in
the episode by that name, the horse running around the turn into the stretch is
a chestnut with a large and distinctive star and the only marking on its face.
When we see “Pie-O-My” hanging her head out into the shedrow at the barn, while
Tony and his buddies stand in front of her, this horse has a star, irregular
stripe and even a snip. The scene with the horse, down in the straw with Tony
comforting her, has a star and a stripe that ends well above the nostrils.
I say to any director who is interested, we
horsemen and horsewomen, and there are a lot of us, notice these things. These
inconsistencies serve to pull us right out of the scenes, and become that “wait
a minute moment.” They wouldn’t fail to note a Coke can turn into a Pepsi can,
so why don’t they get someone hired to notice these things.
All that aside, the scene
where Tony tentatively pats the horse he has come to care for, is quite
touching. The tough man, is unsure of himself
around this large animal, who is helpless and alone in the straw. We hear the music
start up when the goat comes into the stall. The song is “My Rifle, My Pony and
Me,” sung by Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson from the movie Rio Bravo. I did find myself
laughing at this choice. We see and hear the rain pouring down outside the
stall. A cold and brutal killer, is seated on an overturned feed tub, he seems
almost nonplussed at the feelings he is experiencing in that moment alone with the innocence of the goat and the horse. “My Goat, My Pony and Me,” fade to black.
Like so many others around the world, I
feel sorry not only for James Gandolfini, whose life was way too short. I have
lost so many in my life and I know the pain, and the feeling of being cheated,
especially when someone who was so young is gone, that his family is now experiencing. But I also feel sorry for
myself, because I will not get to see Mr. Gandolfini spread his wings and
dazzle us with is talent in the new projects he was scheduled to take on.
He had one of those smiles that make you
feel good when you see it. I join the multitudes who are saddened this day and will be
for many years to come.
Sincerely,
Shelley Riley
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