Dare I Say This??

Leo62 · Post by **Leo62** » Mon December 8th, 2008, 3:12 pm

[quote=""Telynor""] My favourite, weirdly enough, is Ian McKellen as Richard III -- he plays it to the hilt, and the setting of a neo-fascist Britain is chilling. [/quote]
yep that's my favourite Shakespeare adaptation too

Gotta love Shakespeare.

He was the business. I'm surprised that a bunch of fans of historical fiction dismiss him cos they can't "understand" him (presumably cos of the funny archaic language). A lot of people, I know, get turned off by being force-fed him at school. I was a weird kid - I remember reading Shakespeare plays for fun as a 13-year-old.

Full fathom five thy father lies
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes;
Nothing of him that does fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.

How cool is that?

I like Jane Austen too, but we have been Austened to death these last few years with adaptations. That Keira Knightly P&P made me want to kick the cat...enough already!

MLE (Emily Cotton) · Post by **MLE (Emily Cotton)** » Mon December 8th, 2008, 4:29 pm

Telynor, I'm with you on Love's Labors Lost. Could not believe Branaugh made that turkey.

Margaret · Post by **Margaret** » Mon December 8th, 2008, 8:03 pm

I've read and reread Jane Eyre many times since I first discovered it. I always liked her quiet determination and ability to persevere. Yes, the Brontes are much darker; Austen is so refined it tends to skim over some of the worst things human beings are capable of - the cruelties are mostly verbal and indirect.

Christina · Post by **Christina** » Tue December 9th, 2008, 12:00 am

I read the books after watching the series, and realized not only how wonderful Jacobi was, but how really well done the adaptations were to the books. It was funny, as I read I could see and hear Jacobi on every page! There is also a production of him as Cyrano de Begerac that is just magnificent. I cannot find it for love or money, I know it was on the Bravo channel about 8 years back, and I still remember how wonderful it was.

Oh wow! I hadn't heard of that! Am sure it must be wonderful and I would love to find it!! Strangely conincidentally, I saw a trailer for "The Old Curiousity Shop" this evening showing D.J. in one of those slightly bemused, slightly wise, slightly absent-minded roles

SonjaMarie · Post by **SonjaMarie** » Tue December 23rd, 2008, 5:30 am

I just remembered more books I read in school "Of Mice and Men", "The Catcher in the Rye", and "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson.

SM

LoveHistory · Post by **LoveHistory** » Tue January 13th, 2009, 1:09 am

Darn I missed the whole debate!

A lot of people think of Jane Austen as very light. And compared to the Brontes she was. She was also damn funny. If you can get past the language used, you recognize the characters because we've all met these people in various modern incarnations.

In answer to the question about how many times you can film Pride & Prejudice...the answer is as many times as it takes to get it right! Each adaptation highlights some parts and cuts others out. The best overall Elizabeth Bennet was Elizabeth Garvie in 1980. But that version really messed up Mr. Bennet. I actually enjoy the 2005 film, but I also consider it proof that rookie directors should not be allowed to film classic novels.

Of course I'm an oddity. I enjoy Austen, Bronte (Charlotte and Emily), Twain (who said a library without Austen would be a great one even if it had no other books), Dickens, Verne, and Nora Roberts. Granted there are more, but those are the ones I can think of at the moment. I even like Shakespeare in moderation.