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Someone snuck a bunch of Cadfael onto Youtube:
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Great show. Great books too.
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I swear the narrator is Miss Velma Jaggers.
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Zira was definitely a role model for me when I first saw this on the WXYZ-TV Detroit âFour OâClock Movieâ when it was âPlanet of the Apesâ week! And portrayed by the same woman who played Stella Kowalski in âA Streetcar Named Desireâ! Wow!
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Compare Julie Kavnerâs âWowâ vs. that of Owen Wilson.
Brenda did it FIRST. And better, IMNSHO. (btw, it is worth watching the full episode, if for no other reason than to learn how to decorate like itâs 1974).
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Devilâs backbone. (Criterion Bluray) Gorgeous film, and in a weird way, somehow appropriate.
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I love the colorization because it looks like how it would be painted in during the era of the silents. And I adore Charles Winninger, Harry Carey and C. Aubrey Smith!
However, sometimes an ad popping up in the middle of a sentence can be a tad jarring. But hey, itâs free, sooooâŚ
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The only realistic climate scenario I know about that would literally kill every single person in the world is the Venus transition, where the greenhouse effect doesnât ever stop and the oceans boil away
but that one wouldnât lend itself to the epistemological games described for that film
Itâs easy to make something up thatâs revealed to be wrong at the last minute if it never made any sense in the first place
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First, a confession. I have always liked the idea of Cyrano de Bergerac, but Iâve only ever seen one adaptation, which admittedly takes some liberties:
I have fond memories of this movie, but I havenât seen it in years, so it may have some elements that have not aged well. I intend to revisit it soon.
When I saw that there was a new adaptation starring Peter Dinklage, I thought this might be my chance to see a faithful, straightforward adaptation. I was very wrong, and I couldnât be happier about it.
I knew exactly two things going into this movie:
- Itâs based on Cyrano De Bergerac
- Itâs starring Peter Dinklage
There are several things I did not know:
- Itâs a musical, I guess?
- There are certainly songs that the characters sing, and the world enters a sort of dream-like state where otherwise impossible things happen. But itâs not what I would call a traditional musical, because thereâs long enough stretches between songs where you can kind of forget that they were just singing. Itâs kind of hard to describe.
- It is dense. There is a surprising amount of plot in this. If Roxanne is light and airy like angel food cake, Cyrano is deep and rich like devilâs food cake.
- It is dark. I donât recall Steve Martin killing 10 people in the first 20 minutes of Roxanne.
None of the above are criticisms in the slightest. This might be my new favorite movie. It is absolutely luxurious. The costumes are exquisite, while not seeming garish. The way that they seem to intentionally complement the dancing is remarkable. There is so much dancing. It is so well choreographed, but it never seems to be the focus, content to take place in the background. Iâm not sure any of the leads are ever doing anything that could be considered dancing, either. The songs are similar. They are full without being grandiose, and seem to be there to supplement the story rather than displace it. The sets are also lavish, without ever seeming ostentatious. There is one scene in bakery, and it feels like a maze of rooms, but somehow doesnât feel absurd.
The cast is also brilliant. Dinklage is fantastic. The role was clearly written for him (by his spouse, no less), but in addition to the wit and eloquence of his character, his emotional range is just as impressive. His face is doing as much, or more, acting as his words. Haley Bennet is also well cast as Roxanne. She is easy to believe as the one who is so desired by many, but there is some nuance and depth to her performance, at least within the confines of the story about a woman in the 1600s. Kelvin Harrison Jr. is also worth mentioning. His character, Christian, is by definition pretty one-dimensional, but Harrison manages to make him more complex while also being sincere. He feels more like a fleshed-out character than an otherwise simple plot device. Ben Mendelsohn is good as De Guiche, but the character is more or less a mustache-twirling cartoon villain, so heâs not exactly having to work against type.
I genuinely cannot recommend this movie enogh. I look forward to seeing whatever I end up liking more, because this has set the bar so high that the next one will be amazing.
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Thereâs these, as well:
Itâs odd that you mention âRoxaneâ, because yesterday when my brother and I were tooling around, we somehow got talking about Steve Martin and how he really liked that movie.
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i desperately want to set aside time to watch this. Peter Dinklage is so amazing, and to see him in a role like this has got to be time well spent.
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My wife tells me that this will be my next favorite movie:
Itâs a strong contender, for very different reasons.
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