Welcome to the Historical Fiction Online forums: a friendly place to discuss, review and discover historical fiction.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
If this is your first visit, please be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above.
You will have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed.
To start viewing posts, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
What Movies Have You Seen Lately?
- Alisha Marie Klapheke
- Avid Reader
- Posts: 376
- Joined: November 2010
- Location: Franklin, TN
- Contact:
- LoveHistory
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 3751
- Joined: September 2008
- Location: Wisconsin, USA
- Contact:
- DianeL
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: May 2011
- Location: Midatlantic east coast, United States
- Contact:
A 1932 Cary Grant called "Hot Saturday" - one of those pre-code teasers with all sorts of adorable cloche hats, silk undies, copious drinking by young and lovely people - all ending in a nice, wholesome marriage. Because: of course! And I'm having a bit of a pre-code party on Netflix these days.
For those unfamiliar with the term, "pre-code" refers to films produced before the Hays Code, a repressive and moralistic set of rules constraining Hollywood from the 1930s and through several decades, which has convinced many people that "early" Hollywood movies were themselves repressed and moralistic. Pre-code films, though, feature some rather eye-opening content, often simply for the sake of titillation; and usually go a long way to make those discovering them come to the understanding that "our generation" (whichever one that may be) didn't invent sex, physical highs, nor the concept of illicit.
For those unfamiliar with the term, "pre-code" refers to films produced before the Hays Code, a repressive and moralistic set of rules constraining Hollywood from the 1930s and through several decades, which has convinced many people that "early" Hollywood movies were themselves repressed and moralistic. Pre-code films, though, feature some rather eye-opening content, often simply for the sake of titillation; and usually go a long way to make those discovering them come to the understanding that "our generation" (whichever one that may be) didn't invent sex, physical highs, nor the concept of illicit.
"To be the queen, she agreed to be the widow!"
***
The pre-modern world was willing to attribute charisma to women well before it was willing to attribute sustained rationality to them.
---Medieval Kingship, Henry A. Myers
***
http://dianelmajor.blogspot.com/
I'm a Twit: @DianeLMajor
***
The pre-modern world was willing to attribute charisma to women well before it was willing to attribute sustained rationality to them.
---Medieval Kingship, Henry A. Myers
***
http://dianelmajor.blogspot.com/
I'm a Twit: @DianeLMajor
- LoveHistory
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 3751
- Joined: September 2008
- Location: Wisconsin, USA
- Contact:
Watched Mary and Max while waiting for Irene to blow in. A strange but moving claymation story about a young girl in Australia who becomes a penpal with an obese man in New York in the seventies. Philip Seymour Hoffman does the voice of Max.
Faith L. Justice, Author Website
- Nefret
- Bibliomaniac
- Posts: 2994
- Joined: February 2009
- Favourite HF book: Welsh Princes trilogy
- Preferred HF: The Middle Ages (England), New Kingdom Egypt, Medieval France
- Location: Temple of Isis
[quote=""LoveHistory""]Night at the Museum. Cute movie.[/quote]
Those are amusing movies... I like the second one.
Those are amusing movies... I like the second one.
Into battle we ride with Gods by our side
We are strong and not afraid to die
We have an urge to kill and our lust for blood has to be fulfilled
WE´LL FIGHT TILL THE END! And send our enemies straight to Hell!
- "Into Battle"
{Ensiferum}
We are strong and not afraid to die
We have an urge to kill and our lust for blood has to be fulfilled
WE´LL FIGHT TILL THE END! And send our enemies straight to Hell!
- "Into Battle"
{Ensiferum}
- DianeL
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1029
- Joined: May 2011
- Location: Midatlantic east coast, United States
- Contact:
The second pre-code on this disc was "Torch Singer" which was a LOT more scandalous (Claudette Colbert opens the film at the free clinic!) but definitely fun. She gets a workout in this one - and so does the wardrobe department. Ahh, glorious 1930s fashion. Love it.
"To be the queen, she agreed to be the widow!"
***
The pre-modern world was willing to attribute charisma to women well before it was willing to attribute sustained rationality to them.
---Medieval Kingship, Henry A. Myers
***
http://dianelmajor.blogspot.com/
I'm a Twit: @DianeLMajor
***
The pre-modern world was willing to attribute charisma to women well before it was willing to attribute sustained rationality to them.
---Medieval Kingship, Henry A. Myers
***
http://dianelmajor.blogspot.com/
I'm a Twit: @DianeLMajor
I must be the last Rosemary Sutcliff fan in the country to watch The Eagle, partly because I was nervous about what it would do to a much loved book.
Last night I finally got round to it - and found that the story had been pared right down to the bone. The whole emphasis is on the relationship between Marcus and Esca, (and the quest for the Eagle, of course) with no room for anything else.*
Uncle Aquila, played by Donald Sutherland, though, is just perfect, and at least they kept Marcus's wooden bird, though they changed the significance of it somewhat to fit the theme. For the film, it was all about honour - Marcus working to restore the honour of his family name, Esca sticking to his vow to serve Marcus through thick and thin, and the remnant of the Ninth Legion keeping faith with their Eagle at the last.
So, all in all, the film loses a lot of the subtlety (and characters!) of the book, and gains a few fight scenes, but it's still a pretty good film, with gorgeous landscapes, and good period detail (okay, the Seal People look a bit outlandish, but the scene where they're dancing round the eagle standard looked to me as if it had come straight out of the book!).
It was interesting, too, to see what a very devout young man Marcus was in the film, with a lot of serious prayer to Mithras going on.
Last night I finally got round to it - and found that the story had been pared right down to the bone. The whole emphasis is on the relationship between Marcus and Esca, (and the quest for the Eagle, of course) with no room for anything else.*
Uncle Aquila, played by Donald Sutherland, though, is just perfect, and at least they kept Marcus's wooden bird, though they changed the significance of it somewhat to fit the theme. For the film, it was all about honour - Marcus working to restore the honour of his family name, Esca sticking to his vow to serve Marcus through thick and thin, and the remnant of the Ninth Legion keeping faith with their Eagle at the last.
So, all in all, the film loses a lot of the subtlety (and characters!) of the book, and gains a few fight scenes, but it's still a pretty good film, with gorgeous landscapes, and good period detail (okay, the Seal People look a bit outlandish, but the scene where they're dancing round the eagle standard looked to me as if it had come straight out of the book!).
It was interesting, too, to see what a very devout young man Marcus was in the film, with a lot of serious prayer to Mithras going on.
"There were no full time Vikings back then. Everybody had another job."
Neil Gaiman, from Odd and the Frost Giants.
Neil Gaiman, from Odd and the Frost Giants.
- wendy
- Compulsive Reader
- Posts: 592
- Joined: September 2010
- Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
- Contact:
[quote=""MLE""]I went to see The Help. Great job, it caught the book's tension, the fear in all those maids.[/quote]
I agree. They really managed to bring the characters to life.
I agree. They really managed to bring the characters to life.
Wendy K. Perriman
Fire on Dark Water (Penguin, 2011)
http://www.wendyperriman.com
http://www.FireOnDarkWater.com
Fire on Dark Water (Penguin, 2011)
http://www.wendyperriman.com
http://www.FireOnDarkWater.com