Was that the one with Diana Rigg as Regan and Leo McKern as Gloucester? Or was that a later version Olivier did for the Beeb?
Rigg, McKern, Tuten at all. That's the one.
Can't any one of your damn little Scooby club at least try to remember that I hate you all?
Spike ,'Get It Done'
We're Literary 2: To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good
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."
deborah grabien - Jun 17, 2004 9:24:20 am PDT #3438 of 10002
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
juliana - Jun 17, 2004 9:25:07 am PDT #3439 of 10002
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss them all tonight…
There is one extremely well-done Hamlet version that I nearly forgot about entirely: Kevin Kline, on Broadway, filmed for PBS. Judith Ivey as Gertrude, and (swooning here) Diane Venora as Ophelia.
Oh, yes. That is fantastic.
The best Shrew I've ever seen was the tape of the American Conservatory Theatre's production. The BeastMaster himself, Marc Singer, was Petruchio, and he was quite good. The entire thing was done as a commedia dell'arte, with a latticework on each side and arching over that the actors not on stage hung out on (literally), and a very springy floor. It was amazing.
Nutty - Jun 17, 2004 9:25:52 am PDT #3440 of 10002
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
Well, and of course the conceit of 12th Night is that the protagonist is a girl who dresses as a boy and falls in love with her male coworker. (And also, there's the whole theme about the the responsibilities of nobles to their lesser kin/hangers-on, which resonates nicely with Judi Dench and her irritating court.) Except the play's Viola is actually happy to put the dress back on at the end.
(I read an article, when that movie originally came out, that described some of the more common "Shakespeare has an annus mirabilis right before writing R & J" speculations, and decried the film for not going a more complex or surprising route. The author suggested that Shakespeare and Marlowe should have fallen in love, and Marlowe's death to have been the kick in the butt Shakespeare needed to improve his writing. Anyway, it would explain some of the gender trouble of the plays.)
(I also read a short story where Shakespeare and Marlowe switched identities, and it was Will-as-Marlowe who was murdered, and Kit-as-Shakespeare stayed away from Stratford for the next 20 years so "his" wife wouldn't know of the switch. I don't think this would explain why everyone today seems to esteem Marlowe higher than even later Shakespeare, but it was a cute idea.)
Jessica - Jun 17, 2004 9:26:10 am PDT #3441 of 10002
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
I have yet to see an Ophelia I really like. Playing "crazy" is such a difficult thing to pull off -- the only actor (male or female) I can think of off the top of my head who does it well is Ben Browder.
deborah grabien - Jun 17, 2004 9:28:15 am PDT #3442 of 10002
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
a lover, not a fighter--a kind of overgrown teenager not quite knowing what to do with the pressure of violence
See, that's precisely how I've always seen him: a teenager with a really severe Oedipal thing going on, sulky, self-absorbed, not remotely heroic, and extremely physical because he's uncomfortable in his body.
The one version I will always regret that no one got on film for posterity was Daniel Day-Lewis at the Old Vic. MAN oh man. Because his father died when he was a teenager, and he still has father issues. And apparently, he brought some incredible pain and fire to the part.
Vortex - Jun 17, 2004 9:31:06 am PDT #3443 of 10002
"Cry havoc and let slip the boobs of war!" -- Miracleman
See, that's precisely how I've always seen him: a teenager with a really severe Oedipal thing going on, sulky, self-absorbed, not remotely heroic, and extremely physical because he's uncomfortable in his body.
oh, i agree. I've always been slightly irritated at older actors in the role, but then I don't know that a younger actor could make it work.
beth b - Jun 17, 2004 9:31:29 am PDT #3444 of 10002
oh joy! Oh Rapture ! I have a brain!
I think that i saw the version of the Shrew that Julianna saw. I really liked it - really broadly done - so the things that make it so disturbing to the modern viewer , aren't a problem.
deborah grabien - Jun 17, 2004 9:34:25 am PDT #3445 of 10002
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
The author suggested that Shakespeare and Marlowe should have fallen in love, and Marlowe's death to have been the kick in the butt Shakespeare needed to improve his writing.
Nutty, have you read Martha Grimes' The Dirty Duck? She uses the Marlowe/Shakespeare connection as a sort of subtheme, a thread running through the mystery. And she sets it mostly in Stratford.
Frankenbuddha - Jun 17, 2004 9:37:26 am PDT #3446 of 10002
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
Rigg, McKern, Tuten at all. That's the one.
Oh! And John Hurt as the Fool, right? That was an AMAZING cast.
deborah grabien - Jun 17, 2004 9:39:43 am PDT #3447 of 10002
It really doesn't matter. It's just an opinion. Don't worry about it. Not worth the hassle.
Oh! And John Hurt as the Fool, right? That was an AMAZING cast.
Yes, indeed. And let us not forget Jeremy Kemp as Cornwall. And lovely lovely David Threlfall as Edgar.
And Anna Calder Marshall taking the thankless task of interpreting Cordelia without making her saintly, and doing it beautifully.