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Thanks for this, miliosr. I had forgotten about her General Hospital gig.

A belated thank you to you for posting this link, volcanohunter, and my apologies for overlooking it!

I didn't. I thought her midcentury American whine put the kibosh on any attempt to evoke an ancient time and place. Her chubby figure, extremely heavy eye makeup, and rather ugly Irene Sharaff ensembles actually make her look unappealing. In the second half of the movie all of these problems are somewhat ameliorated, at least as far as her performance is concerned - although it does seem a bit odd that Cleopatra looks younger and fresher with the years. (I agree that the first half of the movie is better, but for different reasons.)

"Reflections in a Golden Eye" has a remarkable performance by Brando. In "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" Taylor and Newman are more evenly matched - both of them are really pretty and not up to the larger challenges of their roles. But they certainly look gorgeous together.

People remember different events in different ways in all sincerity, and there's not always a record to check. A good story isn't necessarily a false one, and it can be true in spirit even if the details are off.

Burton is so fine in "Virginia Woolf," and it's all the more remarkable when you can see he's doing everything he can to help out Taylor and make her look good. One of his best performances.

And as you also noted, cubanmiamiboy, in the 80s it was far from a conventional form of advocacy. She was courageous in leading the way.

I'm not discounting or denigrating Taylor's AIDS advocacy and charitable work. But without her famous-for-being-famous status it would have attracted that much less attention, given that her career was more or less over and had been for some time.

You sure are. I think she does improve as the movie goes along, dropping a bit of weight, toning down the screeching, and managing some quiet dignity at the end, but that’s about all I can say. I thought she was pretty good in Virginia Woolf, although not batting in the same league with her husband, and she handled her final speech in Taming of the Shrew well. She isn’t too bad, apart from the usual annoyances, even in Reflections in a Golden Eye - even if she is outclassed by Brando she can still hold the screen with him. Odd to think that her career as a major star was for all intents and purposes over when she reached 35, not unusual for female stars in that era but one thinks of her as lasting a bit longer. I would say her best performances are in “National Velvet” and “Suddenly, Last Summer.” “A Place in the Sun,” also, even if Clift did coach her performance virtually line by line. A long time ago I think we had a thread on Most Beautiful Movie Couples and they were high up on the list. Without the tabloid aspects of her career she would have faded from view a very long time ago. For a star of her stature she made very few films that have really stood the test of time, which might not help her reputation as the years pass.

Thanks to all who are contributing to this discussion. I have little to add myself but I'm following with interest.

That's true of most memoirs. I'm very much looking forward to this one. It's not always a cost-cutting measure. Sometimes it's chosen deliberately so that photographs of people and places are seen in context as they're being discussed, not cordoned off into a stand alone section. It can work well.

That's very well put, Bonnette, thank you. Photo gallery from LIFE magazine.

Yes, indeed, Bonnette. And this: "Yes, Jason, it's an operation. A simple operation."

I have to agree with Mel, I can't quite see why everyone's getting their knickers in a twist here. Alberda's comments have nothing to do with the imposed restrictions. In fact a lot of his tweets don't actually make that much sense, he's not quite as clever as the wit he's straining after and he relys too much on big words to give weight to very little meaning. The Koch/soap dish tweet being a case in point. I think this is more to do with NYCB protecting its wealthy sponsors than fear of the media and public at large who, let's face it, don't really care about ballet or the internecine politics of ballet companies. (Unless it's Natalie Portman stabbing herself in the abdomen before going out into Swan Lake Act 3. But then again now that she's won her Oscar it's old news.) Agree with both of these posts. We'll see.

RIP, Michael Gough. As the obit notes, Gough could range from subtle underplaying to calculated displays of juicy smoked ham. Horror fans will recall his memorable uncredited appearance in “Legend of Hell House.” Thanks for the memories.

True, but it's not questioning anyone's professionalism, necessarily. If a corps looks sloppy and uninvolved to one viewer, it looks, well, sloppy and uninvolved, no matter the good intentions behind the performance. I had the same thought, avesraggiana. I would not have thought the troupe up to it, but I haven't seen them for awhile. It will be a good experience for them in any case. (And welcome to the board!)

Thanks for the review, Mashinka, and for reviving this thread. I'm glad to hear Alagna is sounding better, especially in a role like Radames.

Hugh Martin, composer, lyricist, and vocal arranger, not always or necessarily in that order, has died at age ninety six. I hope he's passing that peace pipe in the Great Beyond with Judy and all the rest of the talents he knew. RIP. Obituary.

Hi, glebb, good to hear from you. That's what the article I posted yesterday says - Laurents changed his mind.

According to reports, Tom Hooper, for one...

Arthur Laurents changes his mind. I had mixed feelings about this project, but what a silly reason for not doing a remake – as if a better film of the show would somehow obviate future revivals. Laurents is either a)losing it; b) has another reason he doesn’t want to divulge publicly; c) has no particular reason and is just having a bit of fun with Streisand and the rest of us, especially since he was the one who told the press in the first place; or d) a bit of all three.

I think you will enjoy it, Stecyk. “Serenade” is on my shortlist of ballets to recommend to people just discovering the art form. Well, yes….. Here’s an old “Serenade” topic, with a few comments.

As one who doesn't know the difference, myself, I appreciate the clarification. I didn't know you took flamenco lessons; sorry if you mentioned it before and I missed it. It's off the topic of Don Q, but I would love to know more about the differences between Spanish classical and flamenco if you have the time and inclination to write on the topic. I guess Other Dance would be the better forum, though. Just a thought.

Thanks, Helene. I enjoyed reading this.

As far as I can make out, Propeller doesn’t aspire to be originalist in intent – the company casts mature men in women’s clothes. Nothing wrong with that, if it’s your cup of tea. Not having seen them, I can’t judge. The plays were originally cast with boys and very young men. The plays are generally the better for having actual women in them, IMO, even if they were written under the constraint of the knowledge that women could not be cast. (I think the practice probably hurt plays like Antony and Cleopatra, although it gave us some fine poetry as Shakespeare had to have other characters tell us about Cleopatra’s attractions rather than rely on a charismatic actress to help him show them to us.)