Opus – Page 160 – Encyclopædia of the sublime

Beach party movies

Beach party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films created by American International Pictures (AIP) with their surprise 1963 hit, Beach Party, and copied by virtually every other studio. Precursors to the genre were Columbia Pictures 1959 release Gidget, starring Sandra Dee as a teenage surfer girl, and 1961's Gidget Goes Hawaiian. American International's films took the Gidget idea, added more music and far more bikinis, and removed nearly all references to parents. The films helped popularize surfing and surf music, and they often included on-screen performances by well-known pop groups.

A Summer in St. Tropez

A Summer in St. Tropez is a 1983 French film written and directed by photographer David Hamilton. The film was shot at and around David Hamilton's own house in Saint Tropez, which is 800 years old. The film contains no dialogue at all, although the characters occasionally laugh and giggle.

Alain Delon cigarettes

Alain Delon is a French brand of cigarettes, currently owned and manufactured by Altadis. The brand name refers to the French actor Alain Delon. The brand is popular in Asia, especially in Cambodia, due to the fact that the film Zorro was the first foreign movie to be played in China. Alain Delon cigarettes are sold in Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam as well. The brand is, or was also sold in Russia and Hong Kong.

Bitis nasicornis

Bitis nasicornis is a venomous viper species found in the forests of West and Central Africa. It has a striking color pattern and prominent horns on its nose.

Astrid Berges-Frisbey

Astrid Berges-Frisbey is an actress.

The Ashley Book of Knots

The Ashley Book of Knots takes us back to a time when knots saved lives and put dinner on the table. Whether out at sea or in a pioneer cabin, knots were a part of daily life, one that is nearly lost today. But in this attractive, well-organized archive of more than 3,900 different knots the art of knot tying lives on, both as a historical reference and a reservoir of handy knowledge.

Eline Vere

Eline Vere is a novel by Louis Couperus, widely considered one of the greatest Dutch novelists. He gained prominence in 1889 with this psychological novel inspired Émile Zola, Gustave Flaubert, and Leo Tolstoy. Eline, withdrawn and subject to depression, accepts the marriage proposal of a family friend, only to break off the engagement, convinced that her sickly but charismatic cousin Vincent is in love with her. Vincent drifts in other directions. She travels, dreams, and deteriorates. Moving back to the Hague, she lives alone in a hotel, where, during a nervous crisis, she takes what may or may not be an accidental overdose.

Chateau d’Argol

In Julien Gracq's Chateau d'Argol, the gothic setting of a lonely castle in the middle of thick, dense woods contrasts with the contemporaneity of the characters who inhabit it: a dissolute, rich and aimless young man who invites his best friend to stay in his newly-acquired chateau. The friend arrives not alone, but with a beautiful woman whose detached amorality disturbs both men.

Arthur Schnitzler

Though set against the backdrop of the fading Hapsburg Empire, Schnitzler's stories are startlingly contemporary in their outlook, and this collection of new translations is sure to win the Austrian author, who died in 1931, new admirers. In nine short stories and novellas, life's universal themes the craving for erotic fulfillment, the fragility of love, the yearning for wealth and the abruptness of death are psychologically probed in dreams, inner monologues and revealing plots.

Aurora Pyramid of Hope

The Aurora Pyramid of Hope is the most comprehensive natural color diamond collection in the world. Aurora Pyramid of Hope was put together by Alan Bronstein and Harry Rodman over 25 years.