The Seventh Art (A paraprosdokian)
It was the Italian thinker Ricciotto Canudo who coined the phrase Seventh Art. The five traditional arts were painting, music, architecture, poetry and sculpture. Canudo proposed that dancing be included in the list and declared it to be the sixth art, and so when the cinema began to make an impact, it slotted in the obvious appellation of the seventh art. It must be a fact that more people are adepts of the seventh art that all the others put together. Multiplied by one hundred!
Edinburgh is believed (by Edinburghers) to be the Art Capital of the United Kingdom. Some Scottish Nationalist supporters will go as far as to substitute the “United Kingdom” of the previous sentence by “the universe”. True or false, I can vouch for the accessibility in the city of a number of first class art galleries, theatres, concert halls, impressive architecture, and of course picture houses. The Filmhouse on Lothian Road (opposite the Ambassador’s Sauna) is a venerated shrine for filmgoers. The average British filmgoer does not readily go see a foreign film which demands reading subtitles, but the Filmhouse usually has at least one film every week from outlandish places like Thailand, Sweden, France or Italy. It is my experience that the more outlandish the country of origin, the more are bums on the seat. It is a non-profit making concern, and charging no more than other venues, it supports teaching schemes for youngsters, offers home to experimental film-makers etc…
It offers membership to the citizens, whereby, for a modest fee, one becomes entitled to a reasonable discount on the price of the tickets, making the films available to (almost) everybody. The other advantages are, among others, an invitation to a gala film show at the opening of the yearly Film Festival of Edinburgh, which it organises. This is a truly international event where one can listen to great directors talking about their film before its projection, and question them later, or talk to them in the coffee bar later. The other greatly appreciated event is a the Christmas cinema show for members. This includes a generous reception with wines and mince pies, followed by the film. Usually something quite special.
This year’s offering is the Greta Garbo film Ninotchka, in which the lugubrious Swede actually laughs! I saw it in Mauritius 50 years ago, and am looking forward to it next Sunday.
The paraprosdokian promised above is in a review of the film :
“The funniest film of the year. My girl friend laughed so much she pissed on my finger.”
