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So every year on (or near to) my birthday, I "force" my mom sit through a marathon of Shakespeare movies and plays. This year I called it "Bloody Shakespeare" because we watched King Lear, Titus (Andronicus), Measure for Measure, and Julius Caesar.
The King Lear we watched was the BBC Production featuring Ian Holm in the title role. We thought it was pretty good, though, I, for one, don't think it is as great a play as I have heard others proclaim.
Titus, the Julie Taymor film, was very visually artistic. My mom made the point that many individual frames of the film were almost worthy of being hung in a gallery. We both got kind of annoyed at the antics of Tamora's sons, who, for the most part, were the very definitions of "wild child". I also didn't find Jessica Lange to be completely appropriate for the role, but that was mainly because I didn't care for the sound of her voice.
Measure for Measure was the BBC production that aired in 1978 as part of the effort to commit all of Shakespeare's plays to film. It was a good production that I enjoyed, and one of the Comedies that I feel has modern applications, especially with the second conversation between Angelo and Isabell. It is not a very funny "Comedy" unlike Much Ado About Nothing or Taming of the Shrew. It feels a lot more like Merchant of Venice in that regard.
Julius Caesar was the 2012 RSC production set in an African state. It was and excellent production with the actors playing the 3 key roles being phenomenal IMO. Seriously, if you like Shakespeare in any way, find a way to see this production!
We also watched 2 different productions of Taming of the Shrew. The Burton/Taylor version and the one with John Cleese as Petruchio. My mom had seen (and enjoyed) the Taylor/Burton one as a child, and still enjoyed it the second time around. But when I told her I prefer the more subtle performance made by John Cleese, she agreed to watch that one as well, and agreed with me on that Cleese's portrayal was better (not to mention it had a lot more of the play in that production
). (My sister still thinks Burton is better).
Well, that's all for now.
SC
PS: I don't think I've mentioned it before, but there is a production of Much Ado About Nothing featuring David Tennant and Catherin Tate. IMO it is the best version I have seen. Check it out, if you can find it. (Tennant's costume at the masque is not to be missed
)
The King Lear we watched was the BBC Production featuring Ian Holm in the title role. We thought it was pretty good, though, I, for one, don't think it is as great a play as I have heard others proclaim.
Titus, the Julie Taymor film, was very visually artistic. My mom made the point that many individual frames of the film were almost worthy of being hung in a gallery. We both got kind of annoyed at the antics of Tamora's sons, who, for the most part, were the very definitions of "wild child". I also didn't find Jessica Lange to be completely appropriate for the role, but that was mainly because I didn't care for the sound of her voice.
Measure for Measure was the BBC production that aired in 1978 as part of the effort to commit all of Shakespeare's plays to film. It was a good production that I enjoyed, and one of the Comedies that I feel has modern applications, especially with the second conversation between Angelo and Isabell. It is not a very funny "Comedy" unlike Much Ado About Nothing or Taming of the Shrew. It feels a lot more like Merchant of Venice in that regard.
Julius Caesar was the 2012 RSC production set in an African state. It was and excellent production with the actors playing the 3 key roles being phenomenal IMO. Seriously, if you like Shakespeare in any way, find a way to see this production!
We also watched 2 different productions of Taming of the Shrew. The Burton/Taylor version and the one with John Cleese as Petruchio. My mom had seen (and enjoyed) the Taylor/Burton one as a child, and still enjoyed it the second time around. But when I told her I prefer the more subtle performance made by John Cleese, she agreed to watch that one as well, and agreed with me on that Cleese's portrayal was better (not to mention it had a lot more of the play in that production
). (My sister still thinks Burton is better).Well, that's all for now.
SC
PS: I don't think I've mentioned it before, but there is a production of Much Ado About Nothing featuring David Tennant and Catherin Tate. IMO it is the best version I have seen. Check it out, if you can find it. (Tennant's costume at the masque is not to be missed
)
q.v. the book Filthy Shakespeare for a bunch of specific examples on such *ahem* country matters. People die in his "Tragedies" (it's a crucial part of them), which IS much closer to the modern usage, and his "Histories" are basically what we'd call "historical fiction."
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