The Touch of the Master's Hand
Christian poem and song
"The Touch of the Master's Hand", also sometimes called "The Old Violin", is a Christian poem written in 1921 by Myra Brooks Welch.
The poem tells of a battered old violin that is about to be sold as the last item at an auction for a pittance, until a violinist steps out of the audience and plays the instrument, demonstrating its beauty and true value. The violin then sells for $3,000 instead of a mere $3. The poem ends by comparing this instrument touched by the hand of a master musician to the life of a sinner that is touched by the hand of God.
Biblical allusions.
Mess of pottage is used to describe that for which a sinner might sell his or her soul. This term was first coined by John Capgrave in reference to the Biblical story of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for lentil stew, found in .
Legacy.
Welch's famous poem inspired other works. The poem was adapted into song lyrics and set to music by John Kramp in 1974 while a freshman at Baylor University. The song was recorded by Contemporary Christian artist Wayne Watson for his first album "Workin' In The Final Hour" in 1980 and re-recorded 12 years later on his "How Time Flies" compilation project.
A short film also titled "The Touch of the Master's Hand" won the Short Film Jury Award – U.S. Fiction at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
Adaptations.
The poem has been adapted into three films:
About the author.
Myra Brooks Welch was born in 1877 and died in 1959. While she authored many other poems, she is best known for this work.
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Myra Brooks Welch
American poet
Myra Brooks Welch (October 12, 1877 – August 11, 1959 Los Angeles, California) was a poet that is known for her Christian poem "The Touch of the Master's Hand", which was also adapted into a film.
Personal life.
Myra Brooks was born on October 12, 1877, in Farmington Township, Fulton County, Illinois to Mary (née Eshelman) and John W. Brooks. She was the youngest of four other siblings: Charles, David, Frank and Dessie. By 1900, she and her parents had relocated to Independence, Oregon, where she was working as a sales clerk in a store. Around 1901, she married Otis Melvin Welch, who was a clerk in a dry goods store and had two children, Otis and Doris. By 1920, her parents had moved with her and her family and they were all living in La Verne, California.
Welch's most noted poem, "The Touch of the Master's Hand" was written in 1921 and published on February 26, 1921, in the "Gospel Messenger". She published four books of poetry "The Years Between" (1929), "Dorcas" (1930), "High Songs" (1933) and "The Touch of the Master's Hand" (1941).
Welch was disabled in a wheelchair from arthritis. Her arthritis later caused her to not be able to play music, such as the organ which she used to play. Her hands were disabled, but she wrote poems on a typewriter by pressing the keys with pencil erasers, despite the pain that it caused. She was named "the poet with the singing soul".
She was a resident of La Verne, California. As a youngster her special joy was playing the organ but this was denied her in later life as she was severely affected by arthritis and spent much of her time in a wheelchair. She wrote with an inverted pencil in each of her gnarled hands and would pick out the words on a typewriter. She said that the joy of her writing outweighed the pain of her efforts.
References.
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Touch (1997 film)
Touch is a 1997 American black comedy drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader. It is based on a 1987 novel by Elmore Leonard. It stars Christopher Walken, Richard Schiff, Bridget Fonda, Skeet Ulrich, Tom Arnold, Gina Gershon, Lolita Davidovich, Janeane Garofalo, LL Cool J, and Paul Mazursky. It was shot in Fullerton, California.
Plot.
A young man, Juvenal, is apparently able to cure the sick by the laying-on of hands. Mysterious stigmata appear from time to time on his flesh.
The former evangelist Bill Hill, tired of selling mobile homes for a living, persuades his friend Lynn Faulkner to befriend the innocent ex-monk and encourage him to aim for the big-time. But matters become complicated when the young couple falls in love, and even more complicated when fundamentalist August Murray takes exception to their relationship.
Cast.
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>* Skeet Ulrich as Juvenal
Soundtrack.
The soundtrack is composed and recorded by Dave Grohl and released on his Capitol Records imprint, Roswell Records. Nine of the tracks are instrumental. The remaining four tracks feature lyrics. One has Grohl on vocals titled "How Do You Do," another has John Doe on vocals titled "This Loving Thing", and the other two songs titled "Touch" and "Saints in Love" feature vocals from Grohl and Louise Post of Veruca Salt. The release would also mark the first time Grohl used his pseudonym Late, as credited in the liner notes, since the release of "Pocketwatch" in 1992.
Reception.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, of 18 critics' reviews are positive. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the a score of 56 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating .
In a review that awarded 2 and 1/2 stars out of 4, Roger Ebert wrote, "The plot of 'Touch' sounds like a comedy. But the experience of seeing the film is subduing; the movie plays in a muted key. Actors like Tom Arnold, who approach their characters more broadly, sound like they're talking too loudly in church. The dominant tone is set by Skeet Ulrich, as Juvenal: He's sweet, soft-spoken, not sure what it all means. Schrader has said his movie has 'a whole cast of ironic characters, with an existential character in the center.' If the viewer doesn't figure this out, some scenes play very oddly." John Petrakis of the "Chicago Tribune" labelled the film as "cryptic" in his 1997 review, and praised Ulrich's performance, stating that he "proves as gentle here as he was evil in "Scream"." "Touch" was included in "Magill's Cinema Annual 1998: A Survey of the Films of 1997", with the book describing the film as "too unconvincing and confused in tone to be truly satisfying."
References.
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The Master Touch
The Master Touch (Italian: Un uomo da rispettare) is a 1972 crime film directed by Michele Lupo starring Kirk Douglas and Florinda Bolkan.
Plot summary.
Steve Wallace, a safecracker, has just been released from prison. He attempts one last burglary with the help of a circus gymnast in Germany, who later becomes fat.
Release.
"The Master Touch" was distributed theatrically in Germany in 8 December 1972.
References.
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The Master's Touch
The Master's Touch is a jazz album by Lester Young.
References.
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Sources.
Gridley, Mark C. Jazz Styles: History & Analysis. 9th N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2006. Print.

Touch-move rule
Chess rule requiring a player to move or capture a piece deliberately touched
The touch-move rule in chess specifies that a player, having the move, who deliberately touches a piece on the board must move or capture that piece if it is legal to do so. If it is the player's piece that was touched, it must be moved if the piece has a legal move. If the opponent's piece was touched, it must be captured if it can be captured with a legal move. If the touched piece cannot be legally moved or captured, there is no penalty. This is a rule of chess that is enforced in all formal <dfn id="">over-the-board</dfn> competitions.
A player claiming a touch-move violation must do so before themselves touching a piece. A player who wants to adjust a piece on its square without being required to move it can announce the French "j'adoube" ("I adjust") before touching the piece. While "j'adoube" is internationally understood, a local language equivalent such as "adjusting" is usually acceptable. A player may not touch the pieces on the board during the opponent's turn.
There is a separate rule that a player who lets go of a piece after making a legal move cannot retract the move. Thus, touching a piece that can be legally moved or captured commits the player to moving or capturing that piece.
Online chess often does not use the touch rule, letting players "pick up" a piece and then bring it back to the original square before selecting a different piece, and also allowing players to premove pieces while waiting for the opponent to move. A few sites such as the USCF and FIDE online chess websites enforce touch-move by disallowing any other pieces to be played after picking up one. In the case that the piece cannot move, the player is free to choose another piece.
Details.
A player having the move who deliberately touches one or more of that player's pieces must move the first touched piece that can be legally moved. So long as the hand has not left the piece on a new square, the piece can be placed on any accessible square. Accidentally touching a piece (e.g., brushing against it while reaching for another piece) or adjusting a piece does not count as a deliberate touch.
A player who touches an opposing piece must capture it if the piece can be captured. A player who touches one of the player's own pieces and an opponent's piece must make that capture if it is a legal move. Otherwise, the first of the touched pieces must be moved or captured. If it cannot be determined whether the player's piece or the opponent's piece was touched first, it is assumed that the player's piece was touched first. If a player touches more than one piece, the player must move or capture the first piece that can be legally moved or captured.
Castling is a king move, so the king must be touched first. If the rook is touched first instead, a rook move must be made. If the player touches a rook at the same time as touching the king, the player must castle with that rook if it is legal to do so. If the player completes a two-square king move without touching a rook, the player must move the correct rook accordingly if castling on that side is legal. Otherwise, the move must be withdrawn and another king move made. This may include castling on the other side. If the player touches both pieces in attempting to castle illegally, the king must be moved if possible, but even if there is no legal king move, there is no requirement to move the rook.
When a pawn is moved to its <dfn id="">eighth rank</dfn>, once the player releases the pawn, a different move of the pawn can no longer be substituted. The move is not complete, however, until the promoted piece is released on that square.
Examples.
In the diagram, from a game between future world champion Bobby Fischer and Jan Hein Donner, White had a probably winning advantage; Black had just moved 29...Qg5–f5 and White fell for a swindle. Fischer touched his bishop, intending to move 30.Bd3, which seems like a natural move, but then realized that Black could play 30...Rxc2, and after 31.Bxf5 Rc1 32.Qxc1 Bxc1, the game would be a draw, because of the opposite-coloured bishops endgame. After touching the bishop, he realized that 30.Bd3 was a bad move, but since he was obligated to move the bishop, and other bishop moves were even worse, after several seconds he played 30.Bd3. The queens and rooks were exchanged (as above) and a draw by agreement was reached after the 34th move. Had Fischer won the game, he would have tied with Boris Spassky for first place in the 1966 Piatigorsky Cup tournament.
The touch-move rule produced an even more disastrous result for Fischer in his game as Black against Wolfgang Unzicker at Buenos Aires 1960. In the position diagrammed, Fischer touched his h-pawn, intending to play 12...h6. He then realized that White could simply play 13.Bxh6, since 13...gxh6 would be illegal due to the pin on the g-<dfn id="">file</dfn> by White's queen. Having touched his h-pawn, the touch-move rule required Fischer to play either 12...h6?? or 12...h5??, an almost equally bad move that fatally weakens Black's <dfn id="">kingside</dfn>. Fischer accordingly played 12...h5?? and resigned just ten moves later—his shortest loss ever in a serious game.
In this position in a rapid game between former world champion Anatoly Karpov and Alexander Chernin in Tilburg in 1992, White had just promoted a pawn to a queen on the e8-square. Black made the discovered check 53...Kd6+. Karpov, with very little time remaining, did not see that he was in check and played the illegal move 54.Qe6+. The arbiter required Karpov to play a legal move with his queen instead (since he touched it), and he selected 54.Qe7+?? (54.Qd7+ Rxd7+ 55.Kg6 would still have drawn.) After 54...Rxe7+, Karpov lost the game.
In the 1889 game between Siegbert Tarrasch and Semyon Alapin at Breslau, Alapin was expecting 5.d4, the normal move after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nxe5 d6 4.Nf3 Nxe4 in Petrov's Defence. But by the time he looked at the position he had already touched his <dfn id="">king's bishop</dfn>, intending 5...Be7 in reply to 5.d4, not noticing that White actually played 5.d3 attacking his knight. Now compelled to move the bishop, he would lose the knight without compensation, so he resigned immediately.
Adjusting pieces.
If a player wishes to adjust one or more pieces on their squares without being required to move them, the player can announce "j'adoube" (, "I adjust"), or words to that effect in other languages. If a player does not announce an adjustment in advance, the player may be penalized accordingly. "J'adoube" is internationally recognized by chess players as announcing the intent to make incidental contact with their pieces.
The phrase is used to give warning from a player to the opponent that the player is about to touch a piece on the board, typically to centralize it on its square, without the intent of making a move with it. Although this French term is customary, it is not obligatory; other similar indications may be used. Only a player having the move may adjust pieces, and the opponent must be present.
Example of misuse.
There have been occasions in chess history when a player has uttered "j'adoube" suspiciously late. It is possible a late announcement of an adjustment can be used after starting to make a losing move in order to retract it, thus avoiding the touch-move rule. Such behaviour, when intentionally used for a retraction, is regarded as cheating. The Yugoslav grandmaster Milan Matulović was nicknamed "J'adoubovic" after such an incident.
History.
The touch-move rule has existed for centuries. In the Middle Ages, strict rules were considered necessary because chess was played for stakes. Luis Ramirez de Lucena gave the rule in his 1497 book "Repetición de amores y arte de ajedrez". Benjamin Franklin referred to it in his 1786 essay "The Morals of Chess". At one time, the rule also required the player who played an illegal move to move the king. In the first half of the nineteenth century, rule XIII of the London Chess Club provided: If a player make a false move, i.e., play a Piece or Pawn to any square to which it cannot legally be moved, his adversary has the choice of three penalties; viz., 1st, of compelling him to let the Piece or Pawn remain on the square to which he played it; 2nd, to move correctly to another square; 3rd, to replace the Piece or Pawn and move his King. While this rule existed, it occasionally led to tragicomedies such as in the 1893 game between Lindemann and Echtermeyer, at Kiel. In that game, after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 White, probably intending the usual 3.Nc3, instead placed his <dfn id="">queen's bishop</dfn> on c3. Since that move was illegal, White was compelled to instead move his king. After the forced 3.Ke2??, Black gave checkmate with 3...Qe4#.
In England, the 1862 laws of the British Chess Association rejected the above rule. The association's law VII provided instead that if a player made an illegal move, "he must, at the choice of the opponent, and according to the case, either move his own man legally, capture the man legally, or move any other man legally moveable." The German chess master Siegbert Tarrasch wrote in "The Game of Chess" (originally published in 1931 as "Das Schachspiel") that the former rule requiring a player who made an illegal move to move the king had only been changed a few years earlier.
Unusual scenarios.
The Fischer random chess variant (also known as Chess960) has custom castling rules wherein the king and the rook end up where they would be in a normal chess game even if they start on different squares because of the randomized start positions. It is thus possible for the king or rook to not move while castling, or for the destination square for the king to already be occupied by the rook, yet by convention touch-move requires that the king be touched and moved first. Players are expected to use only a single hand, so picking up both simultaneously is not an option. A dispute arose at the FIDE World Fischer Random Chess Championship 2019 in a speed chess game between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Wesley So. Nepomniachtchi attempted to castle, but he first moved the rook out of the way for his king to take the rook's former square. The arbiter initially required Nepomniachtchi to make a rook move as a result of touching the rook first rather than castling. This was appealed, and the appeals committee overturned the original ruling; the game was replayed.
References.
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Further reading.
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Akshay Kumar Sen
19th century Bengali mystic and saint
Akshay Kumar Sen was one of the lay disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, the 19th century Bengali mystic and saint. He was the author of the book "Sri Ramkrishna Punthi", a long narrative poem on the life and teachings of one of the most illustrious figures of 19th-century India. After reading the work, Swami Vivekananda wrote from the United States to a brother monk in India, "Give Akshaya a hundred thousand hearty embraces from me. Through his pen Sri Ramakrishna is manifesting himself. Blessed is Akshaya."
Biography.
Early days.
Akshay Kumar Sen was born in 1854 in a village called Maynapur in the Bankura district of Bengal to Haladhar Sen and Bidhumukhi Devi. He belonged to a very poor family and did not have means to get a good education. He was married and had two sons and a daughter. Sen moved to Calcutta, where he was employed as a private tutor of the children of the Tagore family. In 1885, he had a chance encounter of Sri Ramakrishna when the later came down to visit one of his devotees, Mahimacharan in Calcutta. Akshaya accompanied another devotee, Devendranath Majumdar, to Mahimacharan's house.
Subsequent meetings with Sri Ramakrishna.
After the first meeting, Akshay had several other meetings with Sri Ramakrishna. He went to Dakshineswar temple with one of his friends. Although he himself did not have much interaction with Ramakrishna, he listened to his discourses keenly, which subsequently formed the subject of his writings on Sri Ramakrishna. In April 1885 Devendra arranged a festival at his house in Sri Ramakrishna's honour and Akshay was invited. He often had experiences by which he felt that the master was deliberately ignoring him. But he kept coming back to Sri Ramakrishna with patience and devotion.
Kalpataru (the wish fulfilling tree) day.
In December 1885, the condition of Sri Ramakrishna, who was suffering from throat cancer, worsened, and he had to be transferred to a spacious rented garden house in Cossipore, near Calcutta. On 1 January 1886, Sri Ramakrishna came out for a walk and showered blessings on all his disciples. The day is known as "Kalpataru Day" in the circle of Sri Ramakrishna devotees. Kalpataru is a mythical wish fulfilling tree.
Akshay recalls what happened to him in his own narrative: "When it was about 3 o'clock, the Master came downstairs and walked towards the garden path. The devotees followed him. All others, who were elsewhere, hearing that the Master was walking in the garden, rushed there. We came down at once and quickly went to the place where the Master was walking with the other devotees. I stood on one side behind the Master. Two beautiful champa flowers were in my hands. The great devotee Girish (Chandra Ghosh) was near the Master and talking with him. The Master was charmingly dressed that day. Looking at him once, the form cannot be forgotten. He wore a red bordered cotton cloth. A green coloured coat was on his body. He had a cotton cap which covered his head and also his ears. On his feet there were socks and slippers which had decorations of creepers and leaves on them. His face was shining and luminous. Though the body was emaciated by his terrible illness, his face was charming and rays of light were always playing on it... A little afterwards, the Master blessed the devotees and raising his right hand said, 'May you have (God)consciousness. What else can I say?' Then the Master returned to the path leading towards the house. I was standing some distance away. From there he addressed me, 'Hello, my boy, what are you doing?' He then came near, touched my chest with his hand and recited something in my ear which, being a Maha-mantra, I shall keep secret. What did I see and what did I hear? I shall only say that my heart's desire was fulfilled that day and I only wish to pass the rest of my days in singing the glory of Sri Ramakrishna."
Literary pursuits.
After Sri Ramakrishna's death in August 1886, Akshay decided to pen down some of his teachings in the form of a long narrative poem. He was encouraged in this effort by Swami Vivekananda. In 1887, he started writing the verses and after finishing a part of it he got it reviewed by Swami Vivekananda who was impressed by his writings and took him to holy mother Sri Sarada Devi. He wrote the work in the form of a panchali or long narrative poem in a local style prevalent in Bengal between 1884 and 1901. He sent a copy of his work to Swami Vivekananda, who was ecstatic by the depiction. The book was initially named as Charitamrita and then later came to be known as Sri Sri Ramakrishna Punthi. The book has been translated into English prose under the title A Portrait of Sri Ramakrishna. Apart from the Punthi, Akshay also wrote The Teachings of Sri Ramakrishna in 1896 and The Glory of Sri Ramakrishna (Srî Srî Râmakrishna
Mahimâ) in 1910, both in Bengali. Critics say the Punthi is a complementary work to two other authoritative volumes on Sri Ramakrishna, the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by 'M' and Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master by Swami Saradananda.
Later life.
Afterwards Akshaya returned to his native village and despite moderate success of his books he remained poor. He travelled to the birthplace of Sri Ramakrishna, Kamarpukur and met the holy mother Sarada Devi. He died of bloody dysentery on 7 December 1923.
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Touch of Death
Fatal martial arts technique using little force
The touch of death (or death-point striking) is any martial arts technique reputed to kill using seemingly less than lethal force targeted at specific areas of the body.
The concept known as dim mak (), alternatively () traces its history to traditional Chinese medicine acupuncture. Tales of its use are often found in the Wuxia genre of Chinese martial arts fiction. "Dim mak "is depicted as a secret body of knowledge with techniques that attack pressure points and meridians, said to incapacitate or sometimes cause immediate or even delayed death to an opponent. Little scientific or historical evidence exists for a martial arts "touch of death"; however, in rare cases, death can occur in response to trauma such as commotio cordis, an often lethal disruption of heart rhythm that occurs as a result of a blow to the area directly over the heart.
The concept known as vibrating palm originates with the Chinese martial arts "Neijin" ("internal") energy techniques that deal with the "qi" energy and the type of force ("jin") used: "a technique that is part psychic and part vibratory, this energy is then focused into a wave".
Claims of practicability.
In 1985, an article in "Black Belt" magazine speculated that the death of Bruce Lee in 1973 might have been caused by "a delayed reaction to a Dim-Mak strike he received several weeks prior to his collapse". Other authors have also said Lee's death may have been due to a "quivering palm technique" (alongside an article about Choy Li Fut instructor Wong Doc-Fai) to the effect that "dim mak does actually exist and is still taught to a few select kung fu practitioners." A 1986 book on "qi" identifies "dim mak" as "one of the secret specialities" of "wing chun".
During the late 1980s, Erle Montaigue (1949–2011) published a number of books and instruction videos on "dim mak" with Paladin Press. Montaigue claims to be "the first Westerner to be granted the degree of 'Master' in "taijiquan", awarded by Master Wang Xin-Wu in 1985. According to Montaigue's own account, "dim mak" is an aspect of traditional old Yang style "taji quan" which he claims he began learning in 1978 from a master called Chiang Yiu-chun who died in the month of May. Montaigue stated this man was an illegal immigrant, making his existence difficult to verify. Erle subsequently learned the remaining "qi"-disruptive" forms of "wudang shan" from Liang Shih-kan in 1995. Paladin Press has other titles on the topic of "dim mak", including Kelly (2001) and Walker and Bauer (2002), both with a foreword by Montaigue.
Around 1990, Taika Seiyu Oyata founded the style of Ryū-te which involves "pressure point fighting" (""). In the 1990s, karate instructor George Dillman developed a style that involves "kyūshojutsu", a term that he identifies with "dim mak". Dillman eventually went as far as claiming to have developed "qi"-based attacks that work without physical contact ("no-touch knockout" techniques), a claim that did not stand up to third-party investigation and was consequently denounced as fraudulent.
In East Asian popular culture.
A "Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique" appears in both the Shaw Brothers films "Clan of the White Lotus" (1980) and "Executioners of Shaolin" (1977). It is used by the protagonist in the climax of "". The "delayed action" of "dim mak" is depicted in "Executioners of Shaolin" (1977), where a "100-step Soul Catching" move allows the victim to take a certain number of steps before dying. A "dim mak" attack is used to paralyze a character in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000).
The manga "Fist of the North Star" centers around the fictional martial art school "Hokuto Shinken", whose practitioners are trained to kill or incapacitate opponents by striking the specific pressure points on an opponent's body. The protagonist of the story, Kenshiro, is the successor of this style and will often end a battle stating how much time the opponent has left to live after delivering a finishing move, or follow up with his famous catchphrase, "You are already dead", before his opponent dies, usually from violently exploding.
In the "Naruto" series, and its sequel "", Dim Mak is a basis for the fictional Gentle Fist fighting style used by the Hyuga Clan.
In contemporary western pop culture.
"Dim mak" has become a kind of camp pop culture item which is recognized also outside the genre of martial arts films. In Thomas Pynchon's novel "Vineland", one of the protagonists uses the "Quivering Palm Death Touch", which kills the opponent one year after it is used. In the TV series "Quincy, M.E.", a 1977 episode entitled "Touch of Death" features a martial-arts movie star whose mysterious death is found to be a result of a "dim mak" attack against him ten days earlier. The lead character of the British TV series "Gangsters" (1978) is murdered by hired assassin "The White Devil" using a similar attack, with death occurring four days after he is touched. Dan Brown's novel "Inferno" depicts a character incapacitating a guard by putting pressure on his wrist, explaining the technique as "Dim Mak". In the comedy film "The Men Who Stare at Goats", George Clooney's character claims to have been hit with the Touch of Death, a "light tap" that causes death at an unknown point in the future, in one case "about eighteen years later".
"Dim mak" is referenced in "Bloodsport" (1988). In the film, Dux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) proves that he has been trained by Senzo Tanaka (who is also well-respected within the fighting world) by demonstrating a variation of "dim mak" to the judges to back his claim. He proceeds to strike at a stack of bricks with his hand very carefully positioned before he aims downward at a specific force of speed and angle, breaking only the bottom brick. His invitation ends up being honored. Chong Li also uses the "dim mak" technique on Pumola during the Kumite before ending the match.
In the "Star Trek" universe, the Vulcan nerve pinch is frequently used as a non-lethal method of applying pressure to a pressure point in order to render the target unconscious.
In "Doctor Who", the Third Doctor describes himself as a master of Venusian aikido on various occasions, accounting for his unique form of hand-to-hand combat, which allows him to immobilize opponents in a manner similar to the Vulcan nerve pinch. Later incarnations of the Doctor have shown varying degrees of expertise in hand-to-hand combat, although only some spin-off material explicitly identifies the later Doctors' combat skills as originating from Venusian aikido.
In the "Kung Fu Panda" movie series, the Wuxi Finger Hold technique used by Po is a form of Dim Mak. Likewise, the villain Tai Lung and the mentor Oogway both use a nerve-strike attack to paralyze the opponent.
In the "" series, the character Ty Lee uses a form of Dim Mak called chi-blocking to cripple or immobilize opponents and leave them unable to "bend" (control the elements). The fighting style is reintroduced in "The Legend of Korra" as the primary fighting style of the Equalists, who specifically target those able to bend elements.
In the "" episode "Day of the Samurai", Kyodai Ken, Bruce Wayne's rival from his days training in Japan, forces Master Yoru to reveal his secret death touch. Wayne survives the technique by wearing a protective pad to absorb the force of the blow.
In "", a 2004 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, a martial arts teacher named Pai Mei uses his Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique to kill opponents after they have taken five steps.
In the 2012 video game "Sleeping Dogs" it is the final and most powerful move that can be learned.
In "The Suicide Squad" 2021 film, Bloodsport, Peacemaker and Rick Flag use dim mak to kill their captors.
In "Mortal Kombat 1", the Kameo character Shujinko uses a fatality that imitates a scene where the Bride kills Bill.
Steve Aoki's independent label Dim Mak Records is a reference to Bruce Lee's Death Touch martial art.
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John Linde
American music producer
John Linde is an American music producer. Musically, he has been involved in genres which include, doo-wop, r&b, soul, pop, and heavy rock. As a producer, his work includes the albums "The Beat Goes On" for Vanilla Fudge, "Sir Lord Baltimore" by Sir Lord Baltimore, and "A Mouth in The Clouds" for The Group Image. He produced the singles, "Where Are We Going" by Bobby Bloom, "A Touch of Baby" for The Tymes, "The Letter" for The Outrage and others. He has also composed hits for Peter Antell, The Percells and Bobby Bloom.
Background.
John Linde was born in Oceanside, New York. He also grew up there. While attending high school, he was a percussionist in the school's band.
After leaving school he formed The Chants in 1959. He had a dual role as the band's drummer as well as their manager. The group was made up of Pete Antell on guitar and vocals, Bobby Butts on sax and vocals, Mike DeVivo on lead vocals, John Linde on drums and Mickey Lee Lane on bass. Between 1961 and 1962, the group recorded three singles. The first, "Respectable" bw "Kiss Me Goodbye" was released on Tru Eko 3567 in 1961. It was also released on MGM 13008 the same year. And in the same year, "Dick Tracy" bw "Choo Choo" was released. The following year, "Respectable" was released on U.W.R. 4243.
He would go on to produce recordings for the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble, Mickey Lee Lane,


The Godfather Part II
1974 epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola
The Godfather Part II is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel "The Godfather" by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. It is both a sequel and a prequel to the 1972 film "The Godfather", presenting parallel dramas: one picks up the 1958 story of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), the new Don of the Corleone family, protecting the family business in the aftermath of an attempt on his life; the other covers the journey of his father, Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro), from his Sicilian childhood to the founding of his family enterprise in New York City. The ensemble cast also features Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Morgana King, John Cazale, Marianna Hill and Lee Strasberg.
Following the first film's success, Paramount Pictures began developing a follow-up, with many of the cast and crew returning. Coppola, who was given more creative control, had wanted to make both a sequel and a prequel to "The Godfather" that would tell the story of Vito's rise and Michael's fall. Principal photography began in October 1973 and wrapped up in June 1974. "The Godfather Part II" premiered in New York City on December 12, 1974, and was released in the United States on December 20, 1974. It grossed $48 million in the United States and Canada and up to $93 million worldwide on a $13 million budget. The film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, and became the first sequel to win Best Picture. Its six Oscar wins also included Best Director for Coppola, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro and Best Adapted Screenplay for Coppola and Puzo. Pacino won Best Actor at the BAFTAs and was nominated at the Oscars.
"The Godfather Part II" is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time, as well as a rare example of a sequel that rivals its predecessor. Like its predecessor, "Part II" remains a highly influential film, especially in the gangster genre. In 1997, the American Film Institute ranked it as the 32nd-greatest film in American film history and it retained this position 10 years later. It was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1993, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Pauline Kael wrote: ""The Godfather" was the greatest gangster picture ever made, and had metaphorical overtones that took it far beyond the gangster genre. In Part II, the wider themes are no longer merely implied. The second film shows the consequences of the actions in the first; it’s all one movie, in two great big pieces, and it comes together in your head while you watch."
"The Godfather Part III", the final installment in the trilogy, was released 16 years later in 1990.
Plot.
The film interweaves events some time after "The Godfather" and the early life of Vito Corleone.
Vito.
In 1901, nine-year-old Vito Andolini escapes from Corleone, Sicily in the Kingdom of Italy to New York City after mafia chieftain Don Ciccio kills the rest of his family. An immigration officer registers him as Vito Corleone. By 1917 Vito is married in Little Italy and has an infant son, Sonny. Black Hand extortionist Don Fanucci preys on the neighborhood, costing Vito his grocery store job. He begins stealing for a living with his neighbor Peter Clemenza and has two more children: Fredo and Michael.
Vito, Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio sell stolen dresses door-to-door. Fanucci demands payoffs of $200 from Vito and his partners. Vito doubts Fanucci's muscle and decides to offer less. He meets Fanucci and offers $100, which Fanucci grudgingly accepts. Emboldened, Vito tracks Fanucci back to his apartment and kills him. Vito's reputation spreads, and neighbors ask him to defend them from other predatory figures.
In 1922, Vito and his family travel to Sicily to start an olive oil importing business. He and business partner Don Tommasino visit an elderly Don Ciccio. He obtains Ciccio's blessing for their business, then reveals his identity and slices Ciccio's stomach, avenging the Andolini family.
Michael.
In 1958, Don Michael Corleone has several meetings at his Lake Tahoe compound during the First Communion of his son Anthony. Johnny Ola, representing Jewish Mob boss Hyman Roth, promises support in taking over a Las Vegas casino. Corleone "capo" Frank Pentangeli asks for help defending Bronx territory from Roth affiliates, the Rosato brothers. Michael refuses, frustrating Pentangeli. Senator Pat Geary demands a bribe to secure the casino license and insults Michael's Italian heritage. That night, Michael narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. Suspecting a traitor in the family, he leaves "consigliere" Tom Hagen in charge and leaves the compound.
Michael separately tells Pentangeli and Roth that he suspects the other of planning the hit, and arranges a peace meeting between Pentangeli and the Rosatos. At the meeting the brothers attempt to strangle Pentangeli. A police officer drops in, forcing the brothers to flee. Hagen blackmails Geary into cooperating with the Corleones by having him framed for the death of a prostitute.
Roth invites Michael to Havana to invest in his activities under the Batista government. Michael expresses reservations, given the growing Cuban Revolution. Later Roth becomes angry when Michael asks who ordered the Rosatos to kill Pentangeli. Michael and Ola attend a New Year's Eve party where Fredo pretends not to know Ola but later slips. Michael realizes that Fredo is a traitor and orders both Roth and Ola killed. Batista resigns and flees amid rebel advances, and Michael, Fredo and Roth separately escape Cuba. Ola is murdered by hitman Bussetta, who is himself killed by a soldier while attempting to murder Roth at a Havana hospital after Roth was taken there after falling ill. Back home, Hagen tells Michael that his wife Kay miscarried.
A Senate committee on organized crime investigates the Corleone family. Pentangeli agrees to testify against Michael and is placed under witness protection. On returning to Nevada, Fredo tells Michael that he did not realize that Roth was planning an assassination. Michael disowns Fredo but orders that he should not be harmed while their mother Carmela is alive. Michael attends the committee hearing with Hagen and Pentangeli's brother Vincenzo. Pentangeli, upon seeing Vincenzo, retracts his statement implicating Michael in organized crime, and the hearing dissolves in an uproar. Kay tells Michael that she had an abortion and intends to leave him and take their children. Michael strikes her in rage and banishes her alone.
At Carmela's funeral, Fredo hugs a reluctant Michael and befriends Anthony over fishing. Roth returns to the United States after being refused entry to Israel. Corleone "capo" Rocco Lampone assassinates him at the airport and is shot dead trying to escape. Hagen visits Pentangeli at the army barracks where he is held and they discuss how failed conspirators against a Roman emperor could commit suicide to save their families. Pentangeli is later found dead in his bathtub, having slit his wrists. Enforcer Al Neri takes Fredo fishing and shoots him as Michael watches from the compound.
Michael recalls Vito's 50th birthday party on December 7, 1941. While the family waits for Vito, Michael announces that he has dropped out of college and joined the Marines, angering Sonny and surprising Hagen. Only Fredo supports his decision. When Vito is heard arriving, Michael sits alone at the table while the others welcome him in surprise. After Fredo's death, Michael sits pensively, alone, by the lake.
Cast.
<templatestyles src="Div col/styles.css"/>* Al Pacino as Michael Corleone
Production.
Development.
Mario Puzo started writing a script for a sequel in December 1971, before "The Godfather" was even released; its initial title was "The Death of Michael Corleone". Francis Ford Coppola's idea for the sequel would be to "juxtapose the ascension of the family under Vito Corleone with the decline of the family under his son Michael... I had always wanted to write a screenplay that told the story of a father and a son at the same age. They were both in their thirties and I would integrate the two stories... In order not to merely make "Godfather I" over again, I gave "Godfather II" this double structure by extending the story in both the past and in the present". Coppola met with Martin Scorsese about directing the film, but Paramount refused. Coppola also, in his director's commentary on "The Godfather Part II", mentioned that the scenes depicting the Senate committee interrogation of Michael Corleone and Frank Pentangeli are based on the Joseph Valachi federal hearings and that Pentangeli is a Valachi-like figure.
Production, however, nearly ended before it began when Pacino's lawyers told Coppola that he had grave misgivings with the script and was not coming. Coppola spent an entire night rewriting it before giving it to Pacino for his review. Pacino approved it and the production went forward.
The film's original budget was $6 million but costs increased to over $11 million, with "Variety"'s review claiming it was over $15 million.
Casting.
Several actors from the first film did not return for the sequel. Marlon Brando initially agreed to return for the birthday flashback sequence, but the actor, feeling mistreated by the board at Paramount, failed to show up for the single day's shooting. Coppola then rewrote the scene that same day. Richard S. Castellano, who portrayed Peter Clemenza in the first film, also declined to return, as he and the producers could not reach an agreement on his demands that he be allowed to write the character's dialogue in the film, though this claim was disputed by Castellano's widow in a 1991 letter to "People" magazine. The part in the plot originally intended for the latter-day Clemenza was then filled by the character of Frank Pentangeli, played by Michael V. Gazzo.
Coppola offered James Cagney a part in the film, but he refused. James Caan agreed to reprise the role of Sonny in the birthday flashback sequence, demanding he be paid the same amount he received for the entire previous film for the single scene in "Part II", which he received. Among the actors depicting Senators in the hearing committee are film producer/director Roger Corman, writer/producer William Bowers, producer Phil Feldman, and actor Peter Donat.
Filming.
"The Godfather Part II" was shot between October 1, 1973, and June 19, 1974. The scenes that took place in Cuba were shot in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Charles Bluhdorn, whose Gulf+Western conglomerate owned Paramount, felt strongly about developing the Dominican Republic as a movie-making site. Forza d'Agrò was the Sicilian town featured in the film.
Unlike with the first film, Coppola was given near-complete control over production. In his commentary, he said this resulted in a shoot that ran very smoothly despite multiple locations and two narratives running parallel within one film. Coppola discusses his decision to make this the first major U.S. motion picture to use "Part II" in its title in the director's commentary on the DVD edition of the film released in 2002. Paramount was initially opposed because they believed the audience would not be interested in an addition to a story they had already seen. But the director prevailed, and the film's success began the common practice of numbered sequels.
Only three weeks prior to the release, film critics and journalists pronounced "Part II" a disaster. The cross-cutting between Vito and Michael's parallel stories were judged too frequent, not allowing enough time to leave a lasting impression on the audience. Coppola and the editors returned to the cutting room to change the film's narrative structure, but could not complete the work in time, leaving the final scenes poorly timed at the opening.
It was the last major American motion picture to have release prints made with Technicolor's dye imbibition process until the late 1990s.
Music.
The score is by Nino Rota with additions by Carmine Coppola. It won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Original Score.
Release.
Theatrical.
"The Godfather Part II" premiered in New York City on December 12, 1974, and was released in the United States on December 20, 1974.
Home media.
Coppola created "The Godfather Saga" expressly for American television in a 1975 release that combined "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" with unused footage from those two films in a chronological telling that toned down the violent, sexual, and profane material for its NBC debut on November 18, 1977. In 1981, Paramount released the "Godfather Epic" VHS box set, which also told the story of the first two films in chronological order, again with additional scenes, but not redacted for broadcast sensibilities. Coppola returned to the film again in 1992 when he updated that release with footage from "The Godfather Part III" and more unreleased material. This home viewing release, under the title "The Godfather Trilogy 1901–1980", had a total run time of 583 minutes (9 hours, 43 minutes), not including the set's bonus documentary by Jeff Werner on the making of the films, "The Godfather Family: A Look Inside".
"The Godfather DVD Collection" was released on October 9, 2001, in a package that contained all three films—each with a commentary track by Coppola—and a bonus disc that featured a 73-minute documentary from 1991 entitled "The Godfather Family: A Look Inside" and other miscellany about the film: the additional scenes originally contained in "The Godfather Saga"; "Francis Coppola's Notebook" (a look inside a notebook the director kept with him at all times during the production of the film); rehearsal footage; a promotional featurette from 1971; and video segments on Gordon Willis's cinematography, Nino Rota's and Carmine Coppola's music, the director, the locations and Mario Puzo's screenplays. The DVD also held a Corleone family tree, a "Godfather" timeline, and footage of the Academy Award acceptance speeches.
The restoration was confirmed by Francis Ford Coppola during a question-and-answer session for "The Godfather Part III", when he said that he had just seen the new transfer and it was "terrific".
Restoration.
After a careful restoration by Robert A. Harris of Film Preserve, the first two "Godfather" films were released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 23, 2008, under the title "The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration". The Blu-ray Disc box set (four discs) includes high-definition extra features on the restoration and film. They are included on Disc 5 of the DVD box set (five discs).
Other extras are ported over from Paramount's 2001 DVD release. There are slight differences between the repurposed extras on the DVD and Blu-ray Disc sets, with the HD box having more content.
Paramount Pictures restored and remastered "The Godfather", "The Godfather Part II", and "" (a re-edited cut of the third film) for a limited theatrical run and home media release on Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the premiere of "The Godfather". The disc editions were released on March 22, 2022.
Video game.
A video game based on the film was released for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in April 2009 by Electronic Arts. It received mixed or average reviews and sold poorly, leading Electronic Arts to cancel plans for a game based on "The Godfather Part III."
Reception.
Box office.
Although "The Godfather Part II" did not surpass the original film commercially, it grossed $47.5 million in the United States and Canada. and was Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film of 1974, and the seventh-highest-grossing picture in the United States. According to its international distributor, the film had grossed $45.3 million internationally by 1994, for a worldwide total of $93 million.
Critical response.
Pauline Kael in "The New Yorker" was an early champion of the film, writing that it was visually "far more complexly beautiful than the first, just as it's thematically richer, more shadowed, more full." She writes: "Twice I almost cried out at the acts of violence that De Niro's Vito committed. I didn't look away from the images, as I sometimes do in routine action pictures. I wanted to see the worst; there is a powerful need to see it. You need these moments as you need the terrible climaxes in a Tolstoy novel. A great novelist does not spare our feelings (as the historical romancer does); he intensifies them, and so does Coppola." However, while the film's cinematography and acting were immediately acclaimed, many criticized it as overly slow-paced and convoluted. Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" viewed the film unfavorably, describing it as "stitched together from leftover parts. It talks. It moves in fits and starts but it has no mind of its own... The plot defies any rational synopsis." "Variety" noted that Canby had been downbeat on the original too and claimed that he was in a minority of one and reported that the film had drawn mostly strongly admiring reviews. In A.D. Murphy's review in "Variety" he described it as a "masterful sequel" and "outstanding in all respects".
William Pechter of "Commentary", while admiring the movie, regretted what he saw as its archness and self-importance, calling it an "overly deliberate and self-conscious attempt to make a film that's unmistakably a serious work of art," and professing to "know of no one except movie critics who likes "Part II" as much as part one." Stanley Kauffmann of "The New Republic" cited what he called "gaps and distentions" in the story.
Roger Ebert awarded three out of four and wrote that the flashbacks "give Coppola the greatest difficulty in maintaining his pace and narrative force. The story of Michael, told chronologically and without the other material, would have had really substantial impact, but Coppola prevents our complete involvement by breaking the tension." Though praising Pacino's performance and lauding Coppola as "a master of mood, atmosphere, and period", Ebert considered the chronological shifts of its narrative "a structural weakness from which the film never recovers". Gene Siskel gave the film three-and-a-half out of four, writing that it was at times "as beautiful, as harrowing, and as exciting as the original. In fact, "The Godfather, Part II" may be the "second" best gangster movie ever made. But it's not the same. Sequels can never be the same. It's like being forced to go to a funeral the second time—the tears just don't flow as easily."
Critical re-assessment.
The film quickly became the subject of a critical re-evaluation. Whether considered separately or with its predecessor as one work, "The Godfather Part II" is now widely regarded as one of the greatest films in world cinema. Many critics compare it favorably with the original – although it is rarely ranked higher on lists of "greatest" films. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 96% approval rating based on 126 reviews, with an average rating of 9.7/10. The consensus reads, "Drawing on strong performances by Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, Francis Ford Coppola's continuation of Mario Puzo's Mafia saga set new standards for sequels that have yet to be matched or broken." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 90 out of 100 based on 18 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Michael Sragow's conclusion in his 2002 essay, selected for the National Film Registry website, is that "[a]lthough "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" depict an American family's moral defeat, as a mammoth, pioneering work of art it remains a national creative triumph." In his 2014 review of the film, Peter Bradshaw of "The Guardian" wrote "Francis Coppola's breathtakingly ambitious prequel-sequel to his first "Godfather" movie is as gripping as ever. It is even better than the first film, and has the greatest single final scene in Hollywood history, a real coup de cinéma."
"The Godfather Part II" was featured on "Sight & Sound"'s Director's list of the ten greatest films of all time in 1992 (ranked at No. 9) and 2002 (where it was ranked at No. 2. The critics ranked it at No. 4) On the 2012 list by the same magazine the film was ranked at No. 31 by critics and at No. 30 by directors. In 2006, Writers Guild of America ranked the film's screenplay (Written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola) the 10th greatest ever. It ranked No. 7 on "Entertainment Weekly"'s list of the "100 Greatest Movies of All Time", and #1 on "TV Guide"'s 1999 list of the "50 Greatest Movies of All Time on TV and Video". "The Village Voice" ranked "The Godfather Part II" at No. 31 in its Top 250 "Best Films of the Century" list in 1999, based on a poll of critics. In January 2002, the film (along with "The Godfather") made the list of the "Top 100 Essential Films of All Time" by the National Society of Film Critics. In 2017, it ranked No. 12 on Empire magazine's reader's poll of "The 100 Greatest Movies". In an earlier poll held by the same magazine in 2008, it was voted 19th on the list of 'The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time'. In 2015, it was tenth in the BBC's list of the 100 greatest American films.
Many believe Pacino's performance in "The Godfather Part II" is his finest acting work. It is now regarded as one of the greatest performances in film history. In 2006, "Premiere" issued its list of "The 100 Greatest Performances of all Time", putting Pacino's performance at #20. Later in 2009, "Total Film" issued "The 150 Greatest Performances of All Time", ranking Pacino's performance fourth place.
The Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa cited it as one of his 100 favorite films.
Ebert added the film to his Great Movies canon, noting he "would not change a word" of his original review but praising the work as "grippingly written, directed with confidence and artistry, photographed by Gordon Willis... in rich, warm tones." He praises the score: "More than ever, I am convinced it is instrumental to the power and emotional effect of the films. I cannot imagine them without their Nino Rota scores. Against all our objective reason, they instruct us how to feel about the films. Now listen very carefully to the first notes as the big car drives into Miami. You will hear an evocative echo of Bernard Hermann’s score for "Citizen Kane", another film about a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it."
Accolades.
This film is the first sequel to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. "The Godfather" and "The Godfather Part II" remain the only original/sequel combination both to win Best Picture. Along with "The Lord of the Rings", "The Godfather Trilogy" shares the distinction that all of its installments were nominated for Best Picture; additionally, "The Godfather Part II" and "" are so far the only sequels to win Best Picture. Al Pacino became the third actor to be Oscar-nominated twice for playing the same character.
Notes.
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References.
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Robert De Niro
American actor (born 1943)
Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for eight BAFTA Awards and four Emmy Awards. He was honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2003, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2009, the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2011, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2019. De Niro was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. president Barack Obama in 2016.
De Niro studied acting at HB Studio, Stella Adler Conservatory, and Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. His first credited screen role was in Brian de Palma's "Greetings" (1968). De Niro's first collaboration with Martin Scorsese was with the crime drama film "Mean Streets" (1973). De Niro has earned two Academy Awards: one for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather Part II" (1974) and the other for Best Actor portraying Jake LaMotta in Scorsese's drama "Raging Bull" (1980). De Niro was also Oscar-nominated for "Taxi Driver" (1976), "The Deer Hunter" (1978), "Awakenings" (1990), "Cape Fear" (1991), "Silver Linings Playbook" (2012), and "Killers of the Flower Moon" (2023).
He is also known for his film roles in "Bang the Drum Slowly" (1973), "1900" (1976), "The King of Comedy" (1982), "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984), "Brazil" (1985), "The Mission" (1986), "Angel Heart" (1987), "The Untouchables" (1987), "Goodfellas" (1990), "This Boy's Life" (1993), "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein" (1994), "Heat" (1995), "Casino" (1995), "Jackie Brown" (1997), "Joker" (2019), and "The Irishman" (2019). He directed and acted in both "A Bronx Tale" (1993) and "The Good Shepherd" (2006). His comedic roles include "Hi, Mom!" (1970), "Midnight Run" (1988), "Wag the Dog" (1997), "Analyze This" (1999) and its sequel, "Analyze That" (2002), the "Meet the Parents" films (2000–2010), and "The Intern" (2015).
Also known for his television roles, De Niro portrayed Bernie Madoff in the HBO film "The Wizard of Lies" (2017), earning a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. He received further Emmy Award nominations for producing the Netflix limited series "When They See Us" (2019), and for portraying Robert Mueller on "Saturday Night Live".
De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal founded the film and television production company TriBeCa Productions in 1989, which has produced several films alongside his own. Also with Rosenthal, he founded the Tribeca Film Festival in 2002. Many of De Niro's films are considered classics of American cinema. Six of De Niro's films have been inducted into the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" as of 2023. Five films are featured on the American Film Institute's (AFI) list of the 100 greatest American films of all time. "Timeout" magazine's list of 100 best movies included seven of De Niro's films, as chosen by actors in the industry.
Early life and education.
Robert Anthony De Niro was born in the Manhattan borough of New York City on August 17, 1943, the only child of painters Virginia Admiral and Robert De Niro Sr. His father was of Irish and Italian descent, while his mother had Dutch, English, French, and German ancestry. His parents, who had met at the painting classes of Hans Hofmann in Provincetown, Massachusetts, separated when he was two years old after his father announced that he was gay. De Niro was raised by his mother in the Greenwich Village and Little Italy neighborhoods of Manhattan. His father lived nearby, and remained close with De Niro during his childhood. Nicknamed "Bobby Milk" because of his pale complexion, De Niro befriended many street kids in Little Italy, much to the disapproval of his father. Some, however, have remained his lifelong friends. His mother was raised Presbyterian but became an atheist as an adult, while his father had been a lapsed Catholic since the age of 12. Against his parents' wishes, his grandparents had De Niro secretly baptized into the Catholic Church while he was staying with them during his parents' divorce.
De Niro attended PS 41, a public elementary school in Manhattan, through the sixth grade. He began acting classes at the Dramatic Workshop and made his stage debut in school at age 10, playing the Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz". He later went to Elisabeth Irwin High School, the upper school of the Little Red School House, for the seventh and eighth grades. He was then accepted into the High School of Music & Art for the ninth grade, but attended for only a short time before transferring to a public junior high school: IS 71, Charles Evans Hughes Junior High School. De Niro attended high school at McBurney School and later, Rhodes Preparatory School. He found performing as a way to relieve his shyness, and became fascinated by cinema, so he dropped out of high school at 16 to pursue acting. He later said, "When I was around 18, I was looking at a TV show and I said, 'If these actors are making a living at it, and they're not really that good, I can't do any worse than them.'" He studied acting at HB Studio and Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio. De Niro also studied with Stella Adler, of the Stella Adler Conservatory, where he was exposed to the techniques of the Stanislavski system. As a young actor, De Niro was inspired by the work of Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, James Dean, Greta Garbo, Geraldine Page, and Kim Stanley.
Career.
1963–1973: Early roles and breakthrough.
De Niro had minor film roles in "Encounter, Three Rooms in Manhattan" (both released in 1965) and "Les Jeunes Loups" (1968). Shortly afterwards, De Niro landed a major role in "Greetings" (1968), a satirical film about men avoiding the Vietnam War draft. The film marked the first of a series of early collaborations between De Niro and director Brian De Palma. A year later, De Niro appeared in the drama "Sam's Song" in which he portrays a New York City filmmaker. Also in 1969, he appeared in De Palma's comedy "The Wedding Party"; although it was filmed in 1963, it was kept unreleased for six years. De Niro, who was still unknown at the time, gained a favorable review from "The New York Times"' Howard Thompson: "This farcical comedy, modestly produced by a trio of young people and utilizing some unfamiliar faces, is great fun".
He then appeared in Roger Corman's low-budget crime drama "Bloody Mama" (1970), a loose adaptation of Ma Barker's life, who was the mother of four American criminals, of which De Niro portrayed one: Lloyd Barker. Thompson praised the film and thought the cast gave "fine performances". Next, De Niro starred in De Palma's comedy "Hi, Mom!" (1970), a sequel to "Greetings." Writing for "The New Yorker", Richard Brody opined that De Niro "brings unhinged spontaneity" to his character. He also had a small role in "Jennifer on My Mind" (1971) and in Ivan Passer's "Born to Win" (1971). His last film appearance of 1971 was in "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight", a crime-comedy based on the 1969 novel by Jimmy Breslin.
In 1972, De Niro starred in two performances at The American Place Theatre, directed by Charles Maryan. He then returned to the big screen with "Bang the Drum Slowly" (1973), in which he played the lead role as Bruce Pearson, a Major League Baseball player with Hodgkin disease. His co-stars were Michael Moriarty and Vincent Gardenia. Adapted from the 1956 novel of the same name by Mark Harris, the film received critical acclaim and helped De Niro gain further recognition. "The Hollywood Reporter" wrote, "De Niro proves himself to be one of the best and most likable young character actors in movies with this performance". "Variety" magazine's Alex Belth also took note of De Niro's "touching" portrayal, while Gardenia was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Harris later wrote about De Niro, "He learned only as much baseball as he needed for his role [...] I doubt that he ever cared to touch a baseball again".
In 1973, De Niro began collaborating with Martin Scorsese when he appeared in the crime film "Mean Streets" (1973), co-starring Harvey Keitel. Although De Niro was offered a choice of roles, Scorsese wanted De Niro to play "Johnny Boy" Civello, a small time criminal working his way up into a local mob. While De Niro and Keitel were given freedom to improvise certain scenes, assistant director Ron Satlof recalls De Niro was "extremely serious, extremely involved in his role and preparation", and became isolated from the rest of the cast and crew. "Mean Streets" debuted at the Cannes Film Festival, followed by the New York Film Festival five months later, to a generally warm response. Film critic Roger Ebert thought De Niro gave a "marvelous performance, filled with urgency and restless desperation". Pauline Kael of "The New York Times" was equally impressed by De Niro, writing he is "a bravura actor, and those who have registered him only as the grinning, tobacco-chewing dolt of that hunk of inept whimsey "Bang the Drum Slowly" will be unprepared for his volatile performance. De Niro does something like what Dustin Hoffman was doing in "Midnight Cowboy", but wilder; this kid doesn't just act – he takes off into the vapors". In 1997, "Mean Streets" was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
1974–1980: Scorsese collaboration and acclaim.
De Niro had