I found out he died in the “CT Insider,” which Apple News+ suggested to me probably because my sister Wendy sent me so many articles from the publication. And I wondered whether I was getting the full flavor of the Nutmeg State news when I noticed in the upper left-hand corner a button entitled “Sections,” which when clicked upon rendered a menu and one of the choices was “Entertainment.” Wondering what was going on in the old nabe, I clicked on it. I saw that Matteo Bocelli, the son of Andrea Bocelli, was booked to play in Westport. And there was a podcast about the Martha Moxley murder whose host said Michael Skakel wasn’t near the top of his suspects list. And then further down the page, I saw that Bud Cort died. In Norwalk. At an assisted living facility. I think of those places as being for the truly aged, in their late eighties and nineties. But Bud was 77, and recovering from pneumonia, and the grim reaper got him.

We don’t have cult movies anymore. Nothing that comes out to little effect but then spreads through the culture and becomes a phenomenon, like “Harold and Maude,” which I found out about from my mother, the culture vulture.

Now my mother grew up with the movies, all of our parents did. But when the renaissance happened in ’67, with “Bonnie and Clyde” and “The Graduate,” she became addicted, reading Pauline Kael in “The New Yorker” and going to Judith Crist weekends. It might be hard for younger generations to learn that up until this turning point, films were not seen as art. But then universities started offering film courses and right along with rock and roll, movies drove the culture.

And music was a big part of “Harold and Maude,” it was the first major exposure of Cat Stevens. It featured the song “Trouble,” from “Mona Bone Jakon,” which most people never heard, their fandom beginning with its successor, “Tea for the Tillerman.”

Everybody didn’t see “Harold and Maude” at the same time. Today there’s focus on an event, a meme, something, and everybody checks it out immediately and then it’s forgotten. But back then… There were revival houses, playing different flicks every night. You’d get the schedule at the record store, along with the rest of the throwaway press. And you went to the theatre to fill the holes in your viewing history. Stuff from the thirties and forties, but even more foreign flicks, and then those movies that had been overlooked and gained momentum over time, like “Harold and Maude.”

Bud Cort is really not famous for much else. He complained that he was typecast, but his obits also said he was difficult to work with. And for a while there he was out of sight, but then I went to some benefit at the Universal Amphitheatre and he came out as an old man, overweight with facial hair, it was cognitive dissonance, it didn’t compute, it was like running into an old girlfriend or classmate decades later, their image is frozen in your brain, but the truth is time has gone by, and just like you, they’ve aged.

I’m not saying Bud wasn’t talented, or that I’m unfamiliar with his filmography. I saw “Brewster McCloud,” it was a requirement if you were an Altman fan…at a revival house, it played for about a minute in theatres upon release. And yes, he was in “M*A*S*H” and so much more, but his performance in “Harold and Maude” was transcendent, a perfect encapsulation of the early seventies ethos, when the protests against the Vietnam War died down with disillusionment and we were looking inward.

So…

I’m reading the “CT Insider” article and there’s a hyperlink to the “Times” obit, from two days ago? How did I miss this?

Yes, I read the obits. My father was a fan. Getting older, I have become one too.

Shouldn’t a death of this proportion have risen up, superseded the dross of information they call news which is really anything but? Shouldn’t the public at large feel this cultural moment? Shouldn’t boomers be e-mailing and texting each other about it?

Well it seems like no. I had to stumble upon Bud Cort’s death in a vacuum.

And I knew about the car accident and the facial surgeries, that was the excuse for his absence from the screen… But I did not know that he was from Rye, nor that his parents were in show biz, his father on stage, his mother behind the curtain. Bud was not much older than me, but I didn’t grow up with anybody from this background.

Now in a world focused on the young, where oldsters imitate youngsters and lie about their age, consciousness of the march of time, towards the end, is a singular journey. No one wants to talk about it. But there are these markers…when friends become ill, when friends die, and when our heroes pass.

Yes, Bud as Harold was a hero, because he was a nonconformist. You were supposed to let your freak flag fly, question authority, stand up for your truth, being a quiet member of the group to get along was anathema. Those were our values, a lot of boomers jumped the ship in the dash for cash in the Reagan eighties, but underneath the trappings, they still remember bell bottoms and long hair and love each other and individualism…

I’ve never heard a young person reference “Harold and Maude.” Then again, you ask them about their favorite film comedy and they’ll say something like “Old School,” which was released in 2003. Not a bad picture, but not in the league of the Marx Brothers, who’ve been completely forgotten, turns out Bud lived in Groucho’s house for a while…

If it’s old, if it’s in black and white…

But that was no hindrance to us. We were filling in the gaps. When video shops came along in the eighties this process was on steroids…you picked up all the films you always wanted to see and then even more which starred certain actors or were done by certain directors and…

I was just really weirded-out when I learned Bud Cort died. Like I said, no one contacted me about it and I found out days later…

But maybe this is how it ends. Alone with your thoughts and experiences. No one else knows, never mind cares. But for my cadre, the boomers, “Harold and Maude” was bedrock, and as good as Ruth Gordon was, and she was phenomenal, it’s But Cort’s Harold that is the center of the picture, because he was so different. And we understood where he was coming from, and we could relate.

Songwriter/producer/player Kenny Greenberg is lead guitarist in Kenny Chesney’s band.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kenny-greenberg/id1316200737?i=1000749420394

https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9ff4fb19-54d4-41ae-ae7a-8a6f8d3dafa8/episodes/7dc13686-cab3-40a5-b8b4-fd65f597a13b/the-bob-lefsetz-podcast-kenny-greenberg

As you may remember, we purchased an LG OLED TV back in 2020, a 65 incher.

Now I’m not going to get into a technological discussion with you about what is the best TV… When it comes to TVs, many high ticket items, it’s like skis. There are many brands, but if you ask someone on the lift how they like their boards they’ll always say they love them, BECAUSE THEY PAID FOR THEM! Oftentimes they’ve never even skied on anything else, but they’re convinced their skis are the best.

Now there are two kinds of TV buyers, those who do the research and those who do not. And it’s really those who do the research who are the most opinionated. Is OLED still the best format? Is it really only good in the dark? Has it been superseded?

Like I said, I’m not going to get into all this. All I will say is LG OLED TVs are considered the absolute best by many, especially those in Hollywood. And the reason I’m getting so detailed is because the picture is astounding. Revelatory. You can’t believe it’s that good. Truly. You may think your cheap TV is adequate, and you get more for your buck than ever before, but for a little bit more you can get image quality that truly rivals the movies, which are usually shot digitally today anyway.

So loving the LG so much, we decided to buy another for the condo in Vail. Only in this case there’s a defined space and only a 55 incher will fit. And believe me, you can tell the difference, that extra ten inches adds to the viewing experience. (And for the uninitiated, TV size is measured diagonally.)

So I figured the LG was not as good in Vail because it was smaller. But I got home after the holidays and I was blown away by how good the image was on the 65″ set. And the set in Vail is four generations newer! It doesn’t make any sense that the image would be worse, they’re both C models, if you know your LGs.

But reading voraciously I stumbled upon another article about TV calibration. Now the set at home was adjusted by the installer. The one in Vail…we’re just using the settings as shipped. Used to be they were set too bright, to impress buyers in stores, but that’s not always the case anymore, but…

This article reminded me that we’ve come to the point where you can calibrate your TV yourself. Because sites have listings for your specific set.

And I’m sitting in L.A when I’m reading about this and I decide I’m going to dive in when I get to Vail.

Now the site the article referred to was from “Consumer Reports,” and we’re subscribers, to both print and digital.

So, you go to:

https://www.consumerreports.org/mycr/benefits/tv-screen-optimizer/

If you’re a digital CR subscriber.

Is there a similar site elsewhere on the web? Probably, I leave it to you to Google.

But with CR, you enter the brand and the model number of your TV set and then you’re given a list of settings, what values to make them for your particular TV. If you can follow instructions, and can find where the settings are on your TV, it’s a no-brainer, anybody can do it.

Not that I expected that much.

But HOLY SH*T! It was a completely different TV set, I was completely blown away.

Now the set looked just as good if not better than the one at home. Really, with only ten minutes of aligning the numbers on the set with those in “Consumer Reports.” It should not be that easy, I shouldn’t be able to tweak my TV to perfection all by myself, but I did!

And I’ve been thinking of writing about this, but I finally am because of the images in “Train Dreams” last night.

Now “Train Dreams” is streamed in 4k, which you have to pay extra to see. I didn’t used to think it was worth it, but having done A/B comparisons, I now know it is. Almost everybody has a 4k capable set today, so I recommend you pay Netflix the extra bucks. Try it for a month, you can always cancel.

But watching “Train Dreams” last night on the calibrated LG OLED TV it was clear to me that this image was as good as the one you can get in a theatre, positively jaw-dropping.

Oh, people will argue with me. Sure, the bigger the image the better the experience. But that experience also comes with people talking, texting on their phones, it’s anything but a religious experience.

Now some opinionated person will weigh in and try to convince me that the image in a theatre is a bit better. That could be true. But that is missing the point. This is the exact same situation we had in music. Everybody bitched that the MP3 had inferior sound to the CD. But for the average consumer, the MP3 was good enough. And the funny thing is now that multiple outlets stream in hi-def, oftentimes in better than CD quality, almost no one buys the DAC to hear it. And you can hear it if you have the service and equipment, and I’d like to tell you the difference is night and day, but it’s not.

So what is the lesson here?

Calibrate your TV. You can do it, it’s easy, like taking candy, from a baby! You will see the difference.

Also, you get what you pay for. Sure, you can get a set for under a grand and it’s pretty good. But it’s kind of like stereo, there’s extra to be gotten, and you don’t have to pay an exorbitant amount to get it.

If you saw “Train Dreams” on my TV…

I’m not inviting you over. To tell you the truth, I find the fewer people watching, the more I can get engrossed in the picture.

But I’m nudging you…calibrate your set. And if you’ve got an old crummy one that you think is good enough, I recommend ponying up for a new one, and subscribing to Netflix 4k.

They don’t make ’em like this anymore, only in this case they did.

Back when the world was smaller, you could track the purchases at Sundance to the ultimate distribution of the pics, usually close to a year later. But now…

I knew about the bidding for “Train Dreams,” I knew Netflix bought it, but I can’t hold that much information in my brain, with the tsunami of music, movies, TV and news coming down the pike. Unlike in the old days, something can be great and still not surface, that’s how hard it is to spread the word. Whatever buzz there was on “Train Dreams” at Sundance, it dissipated and never reignited, at least in my world.

Turns out “Train Dreams” was put out in theatres, to take care of the Oscar qualification issues, but then it appeared on Netflix, in November of this past year. I was not aware of this, and never would be except for the fact that I’m constantly searching for things to stream, and “Train Dreams” came up on some site I was doing research on and it turned out the RottenTomatoes score was 95/90, which is extraordinary, and it was nominated for Best Picture. 

That’s right, a film you’ve probably never heard of and probably won’t in the future is one of the ten nominees. As you will remember, they expanded the slate in order to slip in a popcorn movie or two to satiate those who can no longer relate to the Oscars, to rope them in. This didn’t work, but they still have ten nominees instead of the old five. And if you do the math…you can win the award without even getting twenty percent of the vote, how is this the best? Ditto on the Grammys.

Anyway, we pulled “Train Dreams” up on Netflix after the Olympics last night and I’ve got to tell you, for about twenty minutes I was thinking of turning it off, because it was slow and I didn’t know where it was going. A lot of vaunted films never pan out in the viewing experience, you’re waiting to see what the critics saw…and you never find it, and you’ve lost another two hours of your life.

But since it was nominated for an Oscar, I let “Train Dreams” play on, and it clicked.

What we’ve got here is a seventies movie. About people and their hopes, expectations and inner life. The kind the theatres used to be filled with. But the seventies were fifty years ago, and small films, even if profitable, were superseded by blockbusters and now studios swing for the fences with each and every release, and they don’t release many. Furthermore, people won’t go out to see these “small” films. They’re out of the habit of going. You’ve got to get in your car, find a place to park, maybe even pay for it, lay down twenty or so dollars and endure too many trailers for a film that you ultimately might not like. Meanwhile, for the same amount of money you can get a Netflix subscription with a plethora of content that starts whenever you want it to, which you can stop if you don’t like it, all for the same amount of money it costs to go out to see a film in a theatre. Tell me how this paradigm survives?

It doesn’t.

So “Train Dreams” is based on a story by Denis Johnson that I have not read, even though I’m aware of him.

And what you’ve got here is a rich landscape and the story of Robert Grainier, who has no pedigree, no advantages, doesn’t even know his own parents or birth date, and he’s just trying to survive, day by day. And survival is no different today, even though we’re confronted with “winners” living lives of luxury 24/7. But a hundred years ago, when most of “Train Dreams” takes place, the world was not networked to anywhere near the degree it is today. Grainier never ventured far from his home in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, and only did so for work.

And Grainier’s work is as a sawyer, cutting down the vast forests of the northwest for the war effort, for a burgeoning America. And the work is hard…before machines it took a damn long time to cut down all those trees. And during the season Grainier hooks up with a crew and… There’s a bit of camaraderie amongst some of the men, but the truth is you could work with someone for months and then never see them again.

William H. Macy is nearly unrecognizable as old geezer Arn Peeples. Dropping wisdom from his lengthy experience, even though the youngsters laugh at him. That’s one thing “Train Dreams” gets right, you’re the young buck and you don’t think you’ve changed but then a new generation comes along and has contempt for you.

And how long can you work with your hands anyway?

And another old codger talks a good game, but he’s sacrificed his entire life to cutting down trees. Maybe he just never found the right person to love.

Gladys finds Grainier. They have a love affair, they get married, build a house, have a child and…

The thing about “Train Dreams” is the expected never happens.

You expect everything to work out in the end. Because that’s how it normally works out in Hollywood. By chance you meet someone who will rescue you, who will fall in love with you, and your life will have meaning. But that’s not the way it usually happens.

This film explores loneliness and loss incredibly well. Topics that are rarely explored in today’s world where everybody projects togetherness. How do you cope with loss day by day. Do you ever get over it? Do you have these feelings until you die?

And the older you get do you find out life has meaning or none at all?

And you’re here today, vibrant, but then you live your life and are forgotten, just another cog in the wheel of civilization. Life is supposed to work out, right?

I’m not so sure about that.

“Train Dreams” rings true in a world where so much entertainment does not, especially movies, where name brand stars supersede the story which is flimsy and predictable.

If you’re gonna watch it, commit to the whole thing, that’s what you have to do in order to get it. But it’s under two hours, it’s not a huge commitment.

And that’s a flaw in movies, there’s much more character development in series, never mind more plot/story, but human emotions are explored and nailed in “Train Dreams” and that’s what makes it stick out. I’m not so sure I can recommend it, because so many people are not up for this kind of entertainment. But if you combed the movie listings, went to the theatre multiple times a week, saw the hip foreign flicks back in the day, “Train Dreams” will resonate with you.