dirac

John Rockwell's review, from the Times.

Thanks for starting the topic, PetipaFan. I've often found that it's very hard to figure out What Really Happened from early news accounts. It will be interesting to see how this develops. From all that I have read about sexual politics in orchestras, however, I'm inclined to be skeptical of reverse discrimination charges. We'll see!

The story of Spartacus' rebellion has held appeal for generations of revolutionaries and leftists, for obvious reasons. Spartacus was a hero in revolutionary France, for example, and Germany's Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg called their party the Spartacists. Lenin also mentions Spartacus in his writings, and I'm sure he pops up elsewhere in literature I can't think of offhand. Marx and Engels mention him too, somewhere. Fast's Communism doubtless attracted him to the subject, and I wouldn't be surprised if similar factors were at play in the Soviet Union as well. As Paul notes, the picture was derived from Fast's book (and another Communist, former Communist at that point, Dalton Trumbo of the Hollywood Ten, wrote the screenplay; it was the second big picture to appear with Trumbo's name on it, and was another nail in the coffin of the blacklist).

The situation does look grim. It's nice that you can see a bright side, vagansmom.

Well.....it wouldn’t be an exaggeration, so much as ahistorical and imprecise and therefore misleading -- depending, of course, on how it’s worked out and explained in the exhibition. The contrast between Hamilton’s view of America’s future and Jefferson’s more pastoral one has been much discussed and has relevance to us today, but not that literally. If the exhibition does declare flatly that Hamilton created the "system we now have" -- that is certainly debatable, to put it mildly...... Good luck. I don't think you'll be sorry, but you never know. The thing with Stephenson is that you have to enjoy the digressions and the exposition as much as the plot. It's okay to skip a bit, but there are risks involved in that you might miss something crucial. Please report back!

It’s off topic, but I think it unlikely that Burr would have tried again in New York. His defeat in the gubernatorial race was conclusive, and he was under attack from all sides. I suspect it was depression and anger over his circumstances that caused Burr to take greater umbrage at Hamilton than was usual for him. He could have gone West and returned as a senator from one of the new states, but he had bigger fish to fry, or so he thought. ‘A man of much wit, and very little judgment.’ I don’t know if that statement applied truly to Thomas Seymour, but it was certainly true of Burr. I’m glad to hear the Historical Society’s exhibition is a good one. Its subtitle, “The Man Who Made Modern America,” seemed ahistorical and inflated to me, and not a good omen.

That's too bad. I read the first Harry Potter, mainly because there was so much being written, as the series became a phenomenon, about how much adults were enjoying them, etc., and my own feeling was – fine, but a kid’s book. Which is great – I like children’s movies and books that are intended just for them, rather than pitching lots of things over their heads in order to appeal to adults, as is frequently the case these days. But it wasn’t for me.

Yes, exactly. I can remember how refreshing it was to read about the period in an account that wasn't cloaked in reverence. It is his best historical novel, although I am partial to "Julian" out of an attachment to the subject matter. Our times are unsympathetic to Jefferson. (Further developments in the Sally Hemings matter didn't help, either.) But he'll be back.

I look forward to seeing this. All these terrific actors! Jeffrey Wright is a favorite of mine. (He had one extraordinary scene in “The Manchurian Candidate” that was worth the price of admission; he played a mentally damaged veteran and he appeared in front of Denzel Washington like a revenant, a man who was already a ghost.) It's nice that Jarmusch is giving these opportunities to middle aged actresses. (It's amazing -- they hit forty or so, and suddenly they drop from sight.....)

Sorry to hear it. However, judging by his illnesses, it may have been something of a release.

Thanks for the explanation, carbro.

Not really, IMO, if you're looking for a thorough biography in one volume. I do like Richard Brookhiser's "Alexander Hamilton, American" a cogent appreciation and introduction that you can't use as a doorstop. Kathleen, I love Burr. It’s one of my all time favorites. And it sticks very close to the facts, although you can disagree about interpretation. I agree with you about Chernow’s partisanship. He’s not alone in that --many biographers of the FFs seem to be engaged in a kind of My Founding Father Is Better Than Your Founding Father debate. But that may come with the territory, it was a highly partisan era, after all. (I also agree about Chernow’s habit of explaining away unpleasantness. I recall offhand that, after a recital of the difficulties in the Hamiltons’ marriage, he says something like, “it was an ideal union.” Uh, let’s see – chronic infidelity, what looks very like an affair with his sister in law, money problems, apparent intellectual incompatibility.....truly, a marriage to be envied! The Library of America books are handy if you want to go right to the source. My big beef with LofA is the lack of notes and context for much of the material.

b1, we actually had a discussion about Eats, Shoots and Leaves awhile back (started by the invaluable vagansmom). The link is below if you'd like to take a look. Quite a few people agreed with you! http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=17150

balletbooster, a belated thank you for Crossing Over to this board and posting this nice long detailed item. This definitely looks as if it's worth checking out. Hope to see you again over here!

Vagansmom, I must respectfully disagree. Kelly isn’t unmusical by any means, but his relation to the music is less complex than Astaire’s (the latter loves syncopation, for example, while Kelly tends to stay right on the beat). Rogers wasn’t as good a dancer as Astaire, but then she didn’t really want to be, and her dancing improved greatly over the course of the series. (You are right, bart, there are places where she’s clearly working hard.) It may also be worth remembering that the dances were worked out with Hermes Pan and Astaire while Rogers, an increasingly valuable asset to her studio in drama and comedy, was doing other things. Although I’m sure the two men worked with her in mind, the dances might very well have been shaped differently, and in ways more flattering to Ginger, if they had been made directly on her.

I liked John Ferling’s biography of Adams, which came out a few years ago and isn’t quite as long as McCullough’s. (I don’t much care for McCullough’s approach in general, although I have great respect for him – he’s a popular historian, but he’s done his homework and produces work with integrity. My feeling that his book on Adams was too long and yet oddly incomplete. He went on and on and on about John ‘n’ Abigail, and the evolution of Adams’ political thinking went almost unmentioned.) There’s another older book, The Character of John Adams, by Peter Shaw, which isn’t a formal biography so much as a series of essays on various aspects of Adams’ life and personality. I enjoyed that very much. It’s wonderfully written. Parenthetically, I wouldn’t call Adams a whiner, or let's say I wouldn't call him only a whiner. He had a tendency to hold grudges and feel insufficiently appreciated, but he was also extraordinarily hard on himself, hence his reluctance to go easy on others. More recently, I liked Henry Wiencek’s book about George Washington and slavery, called “An Imperfect God.” (Joseph Ellis’ new Washington bio is redundant. Skip it.) I had mixed feelings about Chernow’s Hamilton book. it’s a good place to start, but I had a number of problems with it. Kathleen, I also look at several books at once, but those don’t really qualify for my “dust bunny” category. The latter, for me, are those books that NEVER get opened no matter how stern my resolve. Regarding Neal Stephenson, the best way to approach one of his books, along with the forklift, is to pick it up and focus on it. Once you really get into it, you won’t want to stop (and it’s bad to stop, because then you lose track, and thus interest). Cryptonomicon is definitely the best, although I like Snow Crash, too.....

This is from memory, but Arlene Croce says in “Afterimages” something to the effect that the passages for the ballet’s principals -- Jonas Kage partnered Kirkland, if I recollect rightly -- are the sections that would be remembered from “The Leaves Are Fading” and “it has been a quarter century since Tudor composed like this,” etc. So part of the ballet’s effect seems to have been the revival of Tudor’s powers at near full strength (and for Kirkland, the golden girl of the time) after a long period of work that, however interesting, was not quite up to his standard. I’ve only seen the pas de deux in the video performances mentioned above, and although I didn’t really think it was an ideal gala piece, I thought it was beautiful and was glad to have seen it.

We have a similar local initiative in the works, but it would be of little help, unfortunately. Savvy moviegoers know that they can expect lots of commercials and plan accordingly, but when you factor in parking time, ticket line time, concessions time, and walking to the room showing your picture (inside the giant multiplexes are a series of rabbit warren like hallways; it can be quite a little distance) – you still have to arrive early.

Excellent topic, vagansmom. Here are a few, for a start. Guns, Germs, and Steel. I got it as a gift and it’s still sitting in a pile, gazing at me accusingly. The Way of All Flesh. I almost read it, back in high school, but there was Marjorie Morningstar, clearly in need of a fourth reading. Saturday. The System of the World. By Neal Stephenson. I made it through the first two volumes (it’s a trilogy) and even though this is the briefest volume I still can’t drag myself over the finish line. I never get rid of them unless I’m absolutely 100% certain that I’ll never make it.....

Joan Acocella's article in The New Yorker of this week contained some interesting remarks about Angel Corella. Apropos of his appearance as Aminta in "Sylvia" she wrote: Complete article: http://www.newyorker.com/critics/dancing/a...725crda_dancing Comments?

I actually miss the movie house atmosphere when watching at home. There is something about that communal experience, watching in the dark in a big room with others, and sharing (or not sharing) reactions. When I was a kid, for example, seeing Jaws for the first time – people around me screaming – it was fun, and part of the enjoyment was being with the crowd. (When I saw it, they were sitting on the floor, the place was so crowded.) You don’t get that at home. So I do like going out to the pictures, and I’ll miss it if this turns out to be the Wave of the Future. Fortunately, I do live in an area where there are still art houses and repertory theatres. I feel very bad for people who live in locations where the Cineplex That Ate Chicago is the only option. I’m afraid I disagree, bart. I’ll take a good movie over an average stage performance any time. It’s a special experience, and the stage can do things the cinema can’t, but the reverse is also true.

Hans writes: The difference could be in the approach of the two companies. I remember when ABT’s “Le Corsaire” was broadcast, there were interviews with Kevin McKenzie and company members included, and everyone seemed to be trying to convey the impression that the plot was confusing and laughable and not worth bothering with. It is possible to create drama and characters within a fantasy plot. I don’t know for certain, but I feel sure that the original conception of Medora was closer to Asylmuratova than Kent. Thanks, Hans, very interesting comments!

In a changing economic environment, Chinese arts organizations turn to the Kennedy Center and Michael Kaiser for advice. Article in the NY Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/18/arts/design/18chiart.html

Mick LaSalle outlines some reasons why people aren't going to the movies, for the San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...DG15DM3CN18.DTL This is something I just feel like getting off my chest. Regarding LaSalle’s Reason #6, everything he says is true. He is not exaggerating for flippant effect. The experience is exactly this awful. I wonder if the theatre chains and the studios realize exactly how unappetizing the advent of the supercolossal multiplex has made moviegoing for civilized adults, or if they care. I speak with some feeling about this as the smaller, human-sized theatres in my suburban area will closed down early next year because a gigantic new theatre is going up. We have another huge multiplex in our area, and I have had occasion to go there when no other options were available. It is located in one of the enormous shopping areas that have sprung up like kudzu across the landscape (box stores encircling a mammoth parking lot). You have to arrive at least a half hour early – more than that at peak attendance times – just to find a parking space. You walk what seems to be several miles to the theatre. (In some areas,on a nice evening, you’ll get to enjoy the occasional gang fracas breaking out.) You stand in a long line for your tickets. You walk another several miles to get to your movie. If you haven’t arrived early enough, you will have to sit very close to the screen, because the smaller sized room equipped with stadium seating doesn’t have that many seats at a suitable distance. Also, with the stadium seating, you have to go up steps, which is especially nice for older people and anyone else tired out from the hike to the theatre. Then you must sit through about six or seven previews, a Fandango commercial, etc. Even as it is, the screen is too big and the sounds are too loud, because they’re out of proportion to the room. At our little multiplex, if the screen isn’t balanced right or the sound is too loud or too soft, you come out to the nearest employee and say so, and the problem is corrected within minutes. At a big multiplex, the problem takes forever to be corrected if it is corrected at all. Truly hideous.

Yes, but Barry was often funny. I mean no offense, Hans, we can't all agree on what makes us laugh-- it would be a much more peaceable world if we could, I'm sure.