I fully intended to write a stirring piece on my thoughts about Memorial Day, however my thesis, once again, took most of my time today. Instead, I would like to offer a tribute to one of cinema's finest directors: Sydney Pollack. Like Robert Altman's untimely death, I am still in shock that we have lost of one our greatest. Pollack's myriad of credits will carry his legacy forward for generations to come.
Personally, he was one of my favorite directors. His films were quality, and you knew you were watching a masterpiece. My personal favorite is Out of Africa, and it represents some of his finest work. To quote from the film, "If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me? "
We know a song of you, Sydney. Farewell.
