I think the King James Bible is something that people should read at least once in their lives, being the antecedent to a number of phrases and traditions that carry through the English language and American culture.
Flames wouldn't be eternal if they actually consumed anything.
Lilah ,'Not Fade Away'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Hayden - Apr 08, 2009 2:22:16 pm PDT #8777 of 28414
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
Barb - Apr 08, 2009 2:58:40 pm PDT #8778 of 28414
“Not dead yet!”
We had it as required reading my sophomore year of high school in honors English.
It was more interesting than Crime & Punishment.
Polter-Cow - Apr 08, 2009 2:59:51 pm PDT #8779 of 28414
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
Hey, I loved Crime and Punishment! It taught me that classic books can be just as exciting and interesting as regular books!
Beverly - Apr 08, 2009 3:20:14 pm PDT #8780 of 28414
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
I am widely disagreed with, and I'm okay with that, but I find Burton's Hamlet to be breathtakingly awesome. Various things rankle and put people off, including the bare stage, the filming of an unmiked stage performance, the lack of sets and the actors in practice clothes. I found it all amazing. The darkened stage and the actors' black clothing throw their faces and hands into the spotlight, and while not all the actors are equally skilled, I don't think I've ever been more impressed with a portrayal of Hamlet. I also love Hume Cronyn as Polonius. It's a stripped-down version, so if you love period locations, sets, and costumes, if you like lush soundtracks and realistic immersion, this probably isn't the production for you.
If you'd like to concentrate on the book and the actors' performances, Netflix has it.
sarameg - Apr 08, 2009 3:27:25 pm PDT #8781 of 28414
Bev, I think the first time I ever saw Hamlet performed, it was like that. But not that version. I think it was the one with Kevin Kline.
Barb - Apr 08, 2009 3:27:53 pm PDT #8782 of 28414
“Not dead yet!”
It taught me that classic books can be just as exciting and interesting as regular books!
Les Miserable and Don Quixote did that for me.
Hayden - Apr 08, 2009 4:32:51 pm PDT #8783 of 28414
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
I loved Crime & Punishment, too. And Don Quixote.
DebetEsse - Apr 08, 2009 4:43:58 pm PDT #8784 of 28414
Woe to the fucking wicked.
The thing I learned most from Branagh's Hamlet is that "damn, Shakespeare really does go over all the major plot points (and his favorites bits of imagery) a half dozen times." (A point which was re-established for me in MacBeth, which goes something like "maybe we should kill the king" "We're going to kill the king" "I'm going to go kill the king right now" "hey! I just killed the king" "OMG, the king is dead." Of course there are a lot of minor plot points that are much less repeated). Also, I don't think anyone over 30 should play Hamlet (maybe up to 35, but it's a push unless they're pretty youthful). It starts playing more like a midlife crisis than the emo prince of Denmark. I have similar opinions, minus about a decade, for Romeo & Juliet.
I read and loved Les Miserables in Jr Hi, but could not get through Don Quixote. It may have been a bad translation, though.
le nubian - Apr 08, 2009 4:52:00 pm PDT #8785 of 28414
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
given the time it was written, wasn't 35 middle age back then? I always thought of Hamlet in his early 20s. Kind of like how Ethan Hawke played him.
DebetEsse - Apr 08, 2009 4:55:41 pm PDT #8786 of 28414
Woe to the fucking wicked.
Yeah. The problem is that it's such a big/prestige part that few young actors have the chops and/or status to get the role.