dirac

Thanks for your posts on Iguana, kfw. Interesting. I was indulging in hyperbole, bart. Sorry if it sounded like anything else. I tend not to feel terribly sorry for the writer in such circumstances. You cash the check and take your chances. It is a tricky business transferring from stage to screen, though.

I wouldn't say "imposed" in the sense that sacral text was violated by Hollywood goons, although censorship did hurt Streetcar and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. (And frankly I don't think it was a bad idea to tidy up Sweet Bird of Youth.) The film's great, but it sure differs a lot from the text. I suppose that's not unusual. Tell us more about that, kfw, please. I've never compared and contrasted.

I'm not so sure, Farrell Fan. In the words of Miss Farrell, while she was still dancing, "I am not a spectator." I'm sure dancers do feel that doing is distinct from watching, and I would understand that. That's probably true, to some extent, of almost any form of endeavor, and I would not agree that understanding is not possible without direct experience of dancing and performing, although such experience can enrich the perspective.

Thanks, cubanmiamiboy. I think Beyonce jumped the shark, though. It reminded me of "Springtime for Hitler."

I doubt she would have been a great actress in any medium, although she did improve. It is hard to understand why nobody at MGM in her early years thought to do anything about the voice. Later on I suppose she was too big a star to stoop to voice lessons and I imagine Burton was tactful enough never to bring up the subject. “The Venus Flytrap, aptly named after the goddess of love.”

Thank you for telling us about it, cubanmiamiboy. Sounds like a robust evening.

Which translation, Rosa? I bought the latest but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. Thanks for starting the thread, miliosr. I am currently reading The Last Coach by Allen Barra and dipping into Le Morte d'Arthur again.

Thanks for posting about the movie, miliosr. I haven't seen it because I like the novel and was reluctant to see it get Ford-ized. There's nothing especially glamorous about the original story. I do plan to see it eventually, though. (I don't recall anything in the book about George getting banned from Jim's funeral by the family and will have to look that up.)

Thanks for reporting, cubanmiamiboy. I am unable to take Suddenly Last Summer seriously but I do enjoy it as camp. But a lot of Williams' later work is good theater, as they say, but doesn't necessarily go much deeper. Taylor is indeed beautiful and her acting is pretty good, a step forward from much of her previous work to that date. Clift is so wrecked here that it's hard for me to watch him and he is not aided by the fact that the endless tapdancing (aboout two and a half hours, from a one-acter) around Sebastian's homosexuality means that Clift's allegedly brilliant surgeon has to be awfully clueless to maintain any kind of suspense and keep the story going. Hepburn sweeps in and cleans everybody's clock. Still, it's entertaining. It shows up regularly on cable and I generally wind up watching. Baby Doll is a charmer, maybe my favorite adaptation of Williams to film.

Nice post, bart. Thanks.

Thank you for posting those links, leonid. I thought Catcher in the Rye held up very well when I read it again some years ago, Farrell Fan. (It was one of those books that I liked but didn't feel any impulse to search out anything else by the writer, so I never got around to his other work.)

Thank you for posting, papeetepatrick. At least both men enjoyed a full life span, lived their lives as they wanted, and left lasting work behind them. Many can't say as much. I like The Embezzler, too, in addition to the titles you mentioned, but Auchincloss' short stories tend to be stronger than his novels in general, I think. I rather doubt Auchincloss would have been churlish about the Clintons coming to New York, but there are some choice remarks in this Financial Times interview from a couple of years ago.

Thanks for posting, sandik. I'm currently reading A People's History of the Civil War, inspired by Zinn's work and example. R.I.P.

Thanks for the tip, volcanohunter. Can't take advantage myself but I hope others will!

Thanks so much for posting this, papeetepatrick. Bad news, but at least he enjoyed a long life.

Thanks for keeping this thread going, all, even after the holiday. Sounds like great reading!

Thanks for posting, miliosr. More sad news this week. He had style.

I think in 1946 she may well have been the most beautiful young girl in the world. You can see why young Pip is dazzled by her. I can't think offhand of a bad Simmons performance, but I remember with special pleasure her natural, tender and very affecting Ophelia in Olivier's Hamlet, Angel Face, The Actress with Spencer Tracy, and Elmer Gantry. She was up for Roman Holiday, as is noted in the obit Marga helpfully linked to, but as Simmons herself pointed out it probably wouldn't have done for her what it did for Hepburn, although you never know.But if it was any comfort to her, she turned out a much better actor. Thanks for posting, MakarovaFan. RIP.

Opinions will always differ, I fear. I'm sure many of the voices sounded different live on stage.

I wouldn’t pass any significant judgments on these singers by how their instruments come across in this film, although based on that I was most impressed with Amber Wagner. I expect some of them sounded quite different live. The late Ryan Smith had a nice big voice with some promise but I’d not venture further based on what I heard in the broadcast. Larusdottir’s high notes seemed on the querulous side to me. I’d have liked to hear more from Pallesen. But this seemed like a very strong field of contenders overall. I also liked the film generally. I would quibble with some editing choices and it does tend to flit about, but I prefer that to overbearing and possibly artificial attempts to create dramatic tension (there’s not that much tension to generate, really, since it’s still possible for all of these singers to do well professionally even if they aren’t winners here). I agree, dufay. Thanks for reviving this thread, Helene.

Thanks for reporting, all.

Interesting idea, Joseph, although I foresee some problems with exposition - there's an awful lot of backstory in Dickens' plot. Thanks for reviving this thread, Rosa.

James Cameron got Best Director, after all, and Mel Gibson is back. Nice speeches from Christoph Waltz, Mo'Nique, and Robert Downey, Jr. The Gosh-I-didn't-expect-to-win-so-I-didn't-prepare-anything-and-so-I'll-just-burble-on-endlessly trope perfected by Kate Winslet last year is getting more than a little old. Waltz had a speech prepared and it was gracious and apparently sincere. Very pleased for him.

Hello, Mashinka, and thanks for posting yet another interesting article. Whatever works, I guess, although I'd not have considered World's Strictest Parents an "educational" show per se.

Oh, dear: Take that, Alastair. Asantewaa may have a point about that particular article - some of Macaulay's dismissals seem a trifle airy - but then she goes overboard. It's pretty silly to say that the NYT doesn't care about dance, especially in a time when all newspapers are cutting back and few of them have one dance critic, let alone four. I'm also suspicious of someone who takes lines such as "Dance is the art with no history" and "When a step has happened, it leaves no trace" and presents them as something meant literally when in context it is perfectly clear what Macaulay means. Every critic has his areas of strength and weakness. No shame in that, especially when your beat is New York. But if Macaulay really does think the field of contemporary dance is too large for him to keep up, then I agree he shouldn't have written the end-of-the-decade piece - or any season wrap-ups, for that matter. (Off topic -- I'm still puzzling over what "psychic counselor specializing in Tarot as a transformative modality" means. Is that like an ordinary Tarot card reading? Is something else involved? I'm genuinely curious.)