3 March 2023 – “I feel that I have had some adventures with these pieces before recording them,” says Rafał Blechacz, whose latest album is a tribute to his compatriot Chopin. “I’m freer today regarding the use of tempo rubato, dynamic contrasts and emotional extremes, and maybe I’m braver with certain ideas. I didn’t want to wait any longer before going into the studio.”
Blechacz’s devotion to the art of Chopin predates his victory in the 2005 Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition – when he became just the fourth Polish winner in its prestigious history. It has continued to deepen and mature over the years, underpinned by a desire to uncover fresh layers of expression and meaning. Rafał Blechacz – Chopin presents his insightful interpretations of Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3, among the most musically adventurous and technically demanding in the piano repertoire. It also includes two carefully chosen companion pieces: the Nocturne Op.
Blechacz’s devotion to the art of Chopin predates his victory in the 2005 Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition – when he became just the fourth Polish winner in its prestigious history. It has continued to deepen and mature over the years, underpinned by a desire to uncover fresh layers of expression and meaning. Rafał Blechacz – Chopin presents his insightful interpretations of Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3, among the most musically adventurous and technically demanding in the piano repertoire. It also includes two carefully chosen companion pieces: the Nocturne Op.
- 3/5/2023
- by Music Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Music
British actor Julian Sands has been identified as the hiker who went missing in the California mountains last week.
The 65-year-old, known for his role in the Oscar-nominated 1985 film A Room with a View, has been missing in the Mount Baldy area since Friday 13 January, according to authorities.
He was reported missing by his wife, writer Evgenia Citkowitz, on Friday evening and was thought to have been somewhere on the popular Baldy Bowl Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains. Mount Baldy is a 10,000ft peak located northeast of Los Angeles, in the Angeles National Forest.
Sands is a keen hiker and mountain-climber who once described his happiest moment as “close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning”.
Search and rescue crews were on the mountain looking for Sands, but had to suspend the search because of severe weather and avalanche threat, department spokesperson Gloria Huerta told CNN.
Drones...
The 65-year-old, known for his role in the Oscar-nominated 1985 film A Room with a View, has been missing in the Mount Baldy area since Friday 13 January, according to authorities.
He was reported missing by his wife, writer Evgenia Citkowitz, on Friday evening and was thought to have been somewhere on the popular Baldy Bowl Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains. Mount Baldy is a 10,000ft peak located northeast of Los Angeles, in the Angeles National Forest.
Sands is a keen hiker and mountain-climber who once described his happiest moment as “close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning”.
Search and rescue crews were on the mountain looking for Sands, but had to suspend the search because of severe weather and avalanche threat, department spokesperson Gloria Huerta told CNN.
Drones...
- 1/19/2023
- by Graeme Massie and Roisin O'Connor
- The Independent - Film
Middle age rather suits Hugh Grant, who turns 58 on September 9. The Oxford grad has outgrown most of his romantic comedy ticks from his early years – flopsy-mopsy hair, fluttery eyelashes and charming stutter – and has matured into an exceptional and versatile actor. Not that he has lost his sense of humor. Anyone who chuckled over his villainous turn in this year’s “Paddington 2” as a pompous, cravat-wrapped actor who frames his cuddly ursine co-star for a crime he didn’t commit can testify to that Then there was his finely tuned scoundrel turn in this summer’s BBC miniseries, “A Very English Scandal,“ in which his Parliament member Jeremy Thorpe plots the botched murder of his male lover.
Grant began his acting career in the ‘80s as secondary player in both British period pieces — some good (“Maurice”) and others faintly ridiculous (“The Lair of the White Moon”) – and Hollywood comedies...
Grant began his acting career in the ‘80s as secondary player in both British period pieces — some good (“Maurice”) and others faintly ridiculous (“The Lair of the White Moon”) – and Hollywood comedies...
- 9/9/2018
- by Susan Wloszczyna and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Glenn Close as Joan Castleman, listening as her novelist husband gives his acceptance speech at the Nobel Prize ceremony, in The Wife. Photo by Graeme Hunter, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics ©
Glenn Close gives one of the best performances of her career in The Wife, a drama exploring the relationship of a long-married couple as the husband, a famous author, is awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The drama peels back the layers of the relationship and the inner life of the wife, while exploring society’s shifting attitudes towards women’s careers, with both gripping performances and an engrossing and timely story.
There is that old saying “behind every great man is a great woman,” a phrase that seems to praise that woman while also leaving her in his shadow. The relationship between brash famous author husband Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) and his quiet, elegant wife Joan (Glen Close...
Glenn Close gives one of the best performances of her career in The Wife, a drama exploring the relationship of a long-married couple as the husband, a famous author, is awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The drama peels back the layers of the relationship and the inner life of the wife, while exploring society’s shifting attitudes towards women’s careers, with both gripping performances and an engrossing and timely story.
There is that old saying “behind every great man is a great woman,” a phrase that seems to praise that woman while also leaving her in his shadow. The relationship between brash famous author husband Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) and his quiet, elegant wife Joan (Glen Close...
- 9/7/2018
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The writer-director of the legal drama “Custody,” James Lapine, is best known for his work in the theater, particularly for his direction of Stephen Sondheim musicals like “Sunday in the Park with George” and “Into the Woods.” He has worked sparingly for the movies, though he did direct the charming 1991 film “Impromptu,” where Judy Davis gave a memorably stylized performance as free-spirited novelist George Sand. Lapine works well with actors, and he has placed at the center of “Custody” one of the finest we have, Viola Davis, who plays Martha Schulman, a judge navigating a difficult court case and...
- 4/18/2016
- by Dan Callahan
- The Wrap
Merle Oberon movies: Mysterious star of British and American cinema. Merle Oberon on TCM: Donning men's clothes in 'A Song to Remember,' fighting hiccups in 'That Uncertain Feeling' Merle Oberon is Turner Classic Movies' Star of the Month of March 2016. The good news: the exquisite (and mysterious) Oberon, whose ancestry has been a matter of conjecture for decades, makes any movie worth a look. The bad news: TCM isn't offering any Oberon premieres despite the fact that a number of the actress' films – e.g., Temptation, Night in Paradise, Pardon My French, Interval – can be tough to find. This evening, March 18, TCM will be showing six Merle Oberon movies released during the first half of the 1940s. Never a top box office draw in the United States, Oberon was an important international star all the same, having worked with many of the top actors and filmmakers of the studio era.
- 3/19/2016
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
(from Macklemore‘s Instagram)
It’s hard to believe in the sanctity of the Grammys when it’s possible to have, like, 17 of them. (Ahoy, Beyonce.) Katharine Hepburn didn’t have 17 Oscars. Hell, we’re on the fence about giving Meryl a fourth. But if you stick around long enough and maintain a baseline level of radio palatability, you’re likely to pick up a trophy every couple of years. Sheryl Crow has nine, you know what I mean?
But even if you’re a major skeptic, you couldn’t have hated too many of the chosen winners from the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night. I, for one, relished in Kathy Griffin‘s first win for Best Comedy Album. The woman is an unstoppable force of neurotic, popcult nerd flavor, and she remains as audacious now as she was when she outlasted Stephen Baldwin on Celebrity Mole: Hawaii.
It’s hard to believe in the sanctity of the Grammys when it’s possible to have, like, 17 of them. (Ahoy, Beyonce.) Katharine Hepburn didn’t have 17 Oscars. Hell, we’re on the fence about giving Meryl a fourth. But if you stick around long enough and maintain a baseline level of radio palatability, you’re likely to pick up a trophy every couple of years. Sheryl Crow has nine, you know what I mean?
But even if you’re a major skeptic, you couldn’t have hated too many of the chosen winners from the 56th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night. I, for one, relished in Kathy Griffin‘s first win for Best Comedy Album. The woman is an unstoppable force of neurotic, popcult nerd flavor, and she remains as audacious now as she was when she outlasted Stephen Baldwin on Celebrity Mole: Hawaii.
- 1/27/2014
- by Louis Virtel
- The Backlot
Emma Thompson stars in the new (and very favorably reviewed) Saving Mr. Banks, in which she plays Mary Poppins‘ protective author P.L. Travers. And thank God, because she nails the damn role. In fact, Thompson is so consistent onscreen and such a legend of cinema that it’s hard to believe we’ve only been watching her for 25 years. Hell, unless you saw Henry V, you were almost certainly introduced to her in the ’90s. For a legend, she’s moved quickly.
And today, I suggest another layer to her legacy: Gay Icon. Here are five reasons the marvelous double Oscar-winner should be sanctified in the name of gay adoration.
1. Every gay man has a favorite Emma Thompson role.
As was the case with Julianne Moore, I cannot think of a gay movie fan who doesn’t love Emma Thompson. There are so many justifiable choices for her best role:...
And today, I suggest another layer to her legacy: Gay Icon. Here are five reasons the marvelous double Oscar-winner should be sanctified in the name of gay adoration.
1. Every gay man has a favorite Emma Thompson role.
As was the case with Julianne Moore, I cannot think of a gay movie fan who doesn’t love Emma Thompson. There are so many justifiable choices for her best role:...
- 11/20/2013
- by Louis Virtel
- The Backlot
What do Beethoven, Capote and Auden have in common? Seb Emina discovers the strange daily rituals of our artistic heroes
During the late 1940s, John Cheever worked to an unconventional routine. In the morning he would put on his business suit, leave his apartment, and catch the lift downstairs with any commuters. Then, when they reached the ground floor, he would keep going, down to the basement, where he'd walk to his favourite storage room, strip down to his boxer shorts and spend the morning writing. At noon he put his suit back on and headed back upstairs. Lunch followed, then a leisurely afternoon.
It worked for him. Or rather, it worked for his work. Despite their drudging reputation, fixed routines have proved an indispensable tool to artists of all kinds, from George Sand (who wrote through the night supported by chocolate and tobacco) to David Lynch (who no longer...
During the late 1940s, John Cheever worked to an unconventional routine. In the morning he would put on his business suit, leave his apartment, and catch the lift downstairs with any commuters. Then, when they reached the ground floor, he would keep going, down to the basement, where he'd walk to his favourite storage room, strip down to his boxer shorts and spend the morning writing. At noon he put his suit back on and headed back upstairs. Lunch followed, then a leisurely afternoon.
It worked for him. Or rather, it worked for his work. Despite their drudging reputation, fixed routines have proved an indispensable tool to artists of all kinds, from George Sand (who wrote through the night supported by chocolate and tobacco) to David Lynch (who no longer...
- 10/8/2013
- The Guardian - Film News
Luke Perry and Terrence Malick, together at last. The upcoming Red Wing brings the two together, with Perry in a lead role and Malick playing executive producer. The film is directed by Will Wallace, the stepson of the acclaimed auteur filmmaker (and the missing link between Malick and Perry). An adaptation of François le Champi, the novel by 18th century French author George Sand, Red Wing tells of an orphan boy who grows up to drive a wedge between his foster parents. The trailer does capture a little of the Midwestern natural beauty that Malick is known for, and the young boy we see early on can’t help but harken back to The Tree of Life, but the whole thing resembles a direct-to-dvd release far too much for its own good. The performances, the music, the title cards, the presence of Luke Perry – they all make Red Wing look like a piece of country-fried melodrama rather...
- 7/17/2013
- by Adam Bellotto
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Fans of Terrence Malick know that his career has seen him put on his producer's hat every now and again, putting him name to David Gordon Green's "Undertow," Michael Apted's "Amazing Grace," Zhang Yimou's "Happy Time" and a handful more. They've mostly all resulted in respectable, even acclaimed films, but it appears that the Malick touch doesn't always work. You may have forgotten but last year it quietly cropped up he'd be producing "Red Wing," with this stepson/actor Will Wallace directing. And the result? Well, Wallace isn't exactly Malick... Luke Perry (yes, really) leads the cast in the story which looks mix romance, farming and uh, banking. Here's the official synopsis: "Red Wing" is a socially thought-provoking and stirring love story based on the French novella, "François le Champi" by George Sand. It is set in a small Texas town in present day. It reminds us of...
- 7/17/2013
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
A brilliant performance by Michael Douglas illuminates an affectionate and funny portrait of the flamboyant entertainer
Liberace was a fabulously rich, self-created midwesterner, the child of humble immigrant parents known for his extravagant lifestyle and vulgar tastes, as well as his worship of the American dream and the mystery in which he was wrapped. He was in effect a gay Jay Gatsby. His life was not, however, tragic, that is until his death of an Aids-related illness at 67, and he can be considered a success in that he achieved the acclaim and celebrity he had always dreamed of, and he died believing that he had taken the secret of his homosexuality to the grave.
Steven Soderbergh's cinebiography of Liberace, Behind the Candelabra, is (so he claims) his final movie, and it had to be made for America's HBO network because no Hollywood studio would finance a film for the...
Liberace was a fabulously rich, self-created midwesterner, the child of humble immigrant parents known for his extravagant lifestyle and vulgar tastes, as well as his worship of the American dream and the mystery in which he was wrapped. He was in effect a gay Jay Gatsby. His life was not, however, tragic, that is until his death of an Aids-related illness at 67, and he can be considered a success in that he achieved the acclaim and celebrity he had always dreamed of, and he died believing that he had taken the secret of his homosexuality to the grave.
Steven Soderbergh's cinebiography of Liberace, Behind the Candelabra, is (so he claims) his final movie, and it had to be made for America's HBO network because no Hollywood studio would finance a film for the...
- 6/8/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Red Wing directed by Will Wallace has added a new poster, with a starring cast including Breann Johnson, Glen Powell, Bill Paxton, Luke Perry, Frances Fisher and Joell Carter. The film which is screenwritten by Kathleeen Orillion from the French novella by George Sand. is produced by Patricia L. Carpenter, Mark Rickard and Wallace. Red Wing from Integrity Film Productions is a simple love story adapted to present-day life in a small Texas town.
- 4/21/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Red Wing directed by Will Wallace has added a new poster, with a starring cast including Breann Johnson, Glen Powell, Bill Paxton, Luke Perry, Frances Fisher and Joell Carter. The film which is screenwritten by Kathleeen Orillion from the French novella by George Sand. is produced by Patricia L. Carpenter, Mark Rickard and Wallace. Red Wing from Integrity Film Productions is a simple love story adapted to present-day life in a small Texas town.
- 4/21/2013
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Emergency: We're less than two weeks from the Oscars, and I still have an entire Academy history to lament. Let's give props to the ten actors who've deserved an Academy Award most, yet have found themselves empty-handed. I've ranked them according to how much I've wept rethinking each slight.
10. Alec Baldwin
Yes, I'm trying to fix the gaping hole in my heart where 30 Rock once lived, but I also bring up the name of Jack Donaghy's maker for a pertinent reason -- he is a dynamite screen presence. If his chilling "Always be closing" monologue in Glengarry Glen Ross weren't scary and bad-ass enough, he's proved himself capable And cuddly in Working Girl, The Aviator, The Departed, and The Cooler, where he notched his first and only Oscar nomination. Surely the man who racked up six straight Emmy nominations for lovingly patronizing Liz Lemon should win one damn Oscar for bringing the heat onscreen.
10. Alec Baldwin
Yes, I'm trying to fix the gaping hole in my heart where 30 Rock once lived, but I also bring up the name of Jack Donaghy's maker for a pertinent reason -- he is a dynamite screen presence. If his chilling "Always be closing" monologue in Glengarry Glen Ross weren't scary and bad-ass enough, he's proved himself capable And cuddly in Working Girl, The Aviator, The Departed, and The Cooler, where he notched his first and only Oscar nomination. Surely the man who racked up six straight Emmy nominations for lovingly patronizing Liz Lemon should win one damn Oscar for bringing the heat onscreen.
- 2/12/2013
- by virtel
- The Backlot
I am a militant Kathy Griffin fan. No comedian of the past 20 years has better skewered pop culture or better represented the liberating power of snark than Kathy. (One of my favorite Griffin lines: "The problem with Chasing Farrah [Farrah Fawcett's short-lived reality show] is that you catch her and reaiize she's just a dumb drug addict.") We need funny ladies who exercise snapdragon instincts. We need provocateurs. We need the aggressively, snidely bold. She's a perfect successor to the ranks of George Sand, Dorothy Parker, and Madonna. Perfect.
Which brings me to Kathy's latest pot-stirring antic -- on New Year's Eve, Griffin once again harassed her CNN co-host Anderson Cooper into a fit of giggles and squirms as she knelt down and kissed his crotch. This is a woman with saintly intentions, no? This brings me to a tough question: What's her greatest moment of "shocking" behavior?
My vote goes to an unexpected...
Which brings me to Kathy's latest pot-stirring antic -- on New Year's Eve, Griffin once again harassed her CNN co-host Anderson Cooper into a fit of giggles and squirms as she knelt down and kissed his crotch. This is a woman with saintly intentions, no? This brings me to a tough question: What's her greatest moment of "shocking" behavior?
My vote goes to an unexpected...
- 1/2/2013
- by virtel
- The Backlot
The rock star Peter Doherty makes an inauspicious debut in this English-speaking French movie based on Alfred de Musset's semi-autobiographical novel of 1836 that was partly inspired by his affair with George Sand. He plays Octave, an aristocratic product of the Romantic era who turns from devoted lover to libertine on discovering his mistress's infidelity. But after agreeing with a cynical friend that love is an illusion, he embarks on a lengthy attempted seduction of the widowed Brigitte (Charlotte Gainsbourg) in the misty, melancholic countryside. His demeanour is more languorous than lecherous, and after much tedious talk they eventually become lovers, though no sparks of passion fly to ignite the hot air. Under the direction of a film-maker who speaks little English, Doherty and Gainsbourg give flat performances, their speech uninflected, their line readings uncertain.
DramaPete DohertyCharlotte GainsbourgPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.
DramaPete DohertyCharlotte GainsbourgPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies.
- 12/9/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Every year, a select batch of films are chosen for the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, and they all come with wide-eyed hopes and dreams. But once the red carpet is rolled up, there are always a few pictures that disappear, left to the arthouse dustbin of time. "Confession Of A Child Of Century," an autobiographical tale by Alfred de Musset that tells of his affair with George Sand (the pseudonym of Baroness Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin), appears to fall into the latter category. The film stars U.K.'s favourite drug addicted, once kinda-famous, now-washed-out musician Pete Doherty, who makes his acting debut alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg. Doherty takes the lead of Octavian, who narrates the story, while Gainsbourg takes the role of Brigitte, a young widow with whom he also has a dalliance. The film is directed by Sylvie Verheyde, a name not so well known on this side of the pond,...
- 12/7/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Here's the latest in Austin and Texas film news.
Tribeca Film recently acquired all North American rights to Austin-based director Bob Byington's offbeat indie comedy Somebody Up There Likes Me (Don's review), Indiewire reported. Byington's follow-up to his 2009 film Harmony and Me stars Keith Poulson and Nick Offerman as best friends who are aided through life by a magic suitcase (Jette's interview with Byington and Offerman). The movie, which premiered at SXSW 2012, is scheduled to have a Spring 2013 theatrical release and will be available for rent on various video-on-demand platforms and iTunes. Austin independent film has another reason to rejoice with the recent announcement of part-time Austinite Treva Wurmfeld's appearance as one of 25 new faces of independent film by Filmmaker Magazine, Austin Movie Blog reported. Wurmfeld was chosen to be a part of the 15th annual list, which has included other local filmmakers such as Joe Nicolosi and Andrew Bujalski,...
Tribeca Film recently acquired all North American rights to Austin-based director Bob Byington's offbeat indie comedy Somebody Up There Likes Me (Don's review), Indiewire reported. Byington's follow-up to his 2009 film Harmony and Me stars Keith Poulson and Nick Offerman as best friends who are aided through life by a magic suitcase (Jette's interview with Byington and Offerman). The movie, which premiered at SXSW 2012, is scheduled to have a Spring 2013 theatrical release and will be available for rent on various video-on-demand platforms and iTunes. Austin independent film has another reason to rejoice with the recent announcement of part-time Austinite Treva Wurmfeld's appearance as one of 25 new faces of independent film by Filmmaker Magazine, Austin Movie Blog reported. Wurmfeld was chosen to be a part of the 15th annual list, which has included other local filmmakers such as Joe Nicolosi and Andrew Bujalski,...
- 7/30/2012
- by Jordan Gass-Poore'
- Slackerwood
Andrzej Żuławski does not like the title of the first retrospective of his work in the Us. Hysterical Excess: Discovering Andrzej Żuławski opens tommorrow and runs through March 20 at New York's BAMcinématek. At the top of his piece for the New York Times, J Hoberman allows the director to explain his objection and then suggests himself that the "word to best describe the Żuławski oeuvre might be 'awful' in its root sense of inspiring dread. Exuding charm and urbanity on the phone, Mr Żuławski is nonetheless an auteur to be approached with trepidation. His movies are seldom more than a step from some flaming abyss, with his actors (and audience) trembling on the edge. Typically shot with a frenzied, often subjective moving camera in saturated colors that have the over-bright feel of a chemically induced hallucination, these can be hard to watch and harder to forget."
Bam's presenting all 12 features...
Bam's presenting all 12 features...
- 3/9/2012
- MUBI
Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to worthwhile titles currently streaming on Netflix Instant Watch. This week we offer alternatives to Woman in Black, Chronicle and W.E.
In theaters Friday Harry Potter goes ghostbusting, while teen boys with superpowers test the bonds friendship and the Material Girl tempts with her directorial debut that boasts true-to-life romance. If you’re desperately seeking more Gothic horror, superhero tales, and love-filled biopics, we’ve got you covered with the best what’s now streaming.
Danielle Radcliffe leaves magic behind to tackle the role of a young father and lawyer whose skeptical worldview is shaken when he comes face to face with a vengeance-seeking ghost in James Watkins’ gothic thriller. [Teaser]
Looking for more Gothic horror?
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) Silent film icon Lon Chaney secured his legacy with his gut-wrenching performance as the eponymous composer...
In theaters Friday Harry Potter goes ghostbusting, while teen boys with superpowers test the bonds friendship and the Material Girl tempts with her directorial debut that boasts true-to-life romance. If you’re desperately seeking more Gothic horror, superhero tales, and love-filled biopics, we’ve got you covered with the best what’s now streaming.
Danielle Radcliffe leaves magic behind to tackle the role of a young father and lawyer whose skeptical worldview is shaken when he comes face to face with a vengeance-seeking ghost in James Watkins’ gothic thriller. [Teaser]
Looking for more Gothic horror?
The Phantom of the Opera (1925) Silent film icon Lon Chaney secured his legacy with his gut-wrenching performance as the eponymous composer...
- 2/2/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
What's in a name? It does seem a little strange that Jean Epstein, father of photogenics, should co-write with his sister Marie (herself a fascinating filmmaker) a love story, Cœur fidèle, in which the central lovers are called Jean and Marie. But it's a mistake to judge the inhabitants of bygone eras by our own ideas of what's kind of weird.
Incestuous sublimation aside (and it's strictly something you get from the credits, not something present in the story), this is love story menaced by poverty and evil, a simple fable extended by atmospherics rather than plot elaboration: Epstein as director has a love of lingering lap dissolves and double exposures, endlessly fading his protagonists in and out over and under shots of glittering waves... The hallucinatory, sunstruck quality has a foretaste of Lynch, while the scenes of dockside poverty might have influenced Sternberg's The Salvation Hunters, made two years later.
Incestuous sublimation aside (and it's strictly something you get from the credits, not something present in the story), this is love story menaced by poverty and evil, a simple fable extended by atmospherics rather than plot elaboration: Epstein as director has a love of lingering lap dissolves and double exposures, endlessly fading his protagonists in and out over and under shots of glittering waves... The hallucinatory, sunstruck quality has a foretaste of Lynch, while the scenes of dockside poverty might have influenced Sternberg's The Salvation Hunters, made two years later.
- 10/13/2011
- MUBI
Craig here, from Dark Eye Socket, with Take Three. Today: Judy Davis
Judy Davis as "Joan Lee" and Judy Davis as "Joan Frost" in Naked Lunch
Take One: Naked Lunch (1991)
The early nineties were extra literary times for Davis. She appeared in an adaptation of E.M. Forster’s Where Angels Fear to Tread, played novelist George Sand in Impromptu, supported John Mahoney’s Faulkner-esque Southern writer in Barton Fink and performed dual role duties in David Cronenberg’s controversial adaptation of William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. Initially, as Joan Lee, she instigates a curious urgency within Peter Weller’s Burroughs avatar William Lee. She gets a “very literary high – a Kafka high” in a 1950s NY flophouse by injecting bug powder into her right boob. As you do. Then, as Joan Frost, the wife of eloping novelist Ian Holm, she flits and flirts around a North African port town, futilely arousing...
Judy Davis as "Joan Lee" and Judy Davis as "Joan Frost" in Naked Lunch
Take One: Naked Lunch (1991)
The early nineties were extra literary times for Davis. She appeared in an adaptation of E.M. Forster’s Where Angels Fear to Tread, played novelist George Sand in Impromptu, supported John Mahoney’s Faulkner-esque Southern writer in Barton Fink and performed dual role duties in David Cronenberg’s controversial adaptation of William Burroughs’ Naked Lunch. Initially, as Joan Lee, she instigates a curious urgency within Peter Weller’s Burroughs avatar William Lee. She gets a “very literary high – a Kafka high” in a 1950s NY flophouse by injecting bug powder into her right boob. As you do. Then, as Joan Frost, the wife of eloping novelist Ian Holm, she flits and flirts around a North African port town, futilely arousing...
- 8/7/2011
- by Craig Bloomfield
- FilmExperience
Musician Pete Doherty will make his acting debut opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg in "The Confession of a Child of the Century" reports Allocine via The Playlist.
An adaptation of Alfred de Musset's autobiographical 1836 work, the story follows Musset's affair with Baroness Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin who used the alias George Sand. Doherty plays the narrator Octavian, Gainsbourg stars a young widow named Brigitte.
Sylvie Verheyde ("Stella") directs and shooting kicks off in Paris, the Alps and Germany staring December 27th.
An adaptation of Alfred de Musset's autobiographical 1836 work, the story follows Musset's affair with Baroness Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin who used the alias George Sand. Doherty plays the narrator Octavian, Gainsbourg stars a young widow named Brigitte.
Sylvie Verheyde ("Stella") directs and shooting kicks off in Paris, the Alps and Germany staring December 27th.
- 12/13/2010
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Pete Doherty a.k.a the frontman for the rock band The Libertines, is set to star in his first feature film opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg in an adaptation of the 1836 work The Confession of a Child of the Century by Alfred de Musset. Anyone not familiar with the indie rock band may know Pete Doherty has the ex-lover of Kate Moss, a fashion model and/or a drug addict who’s found every way possible to make headlines for his misbehaviour.
The autobiographical tale by Musset tells the tale of his celebrated love affair with George Sand (the pseudonym of Baroness Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin), which lasted from 1833 to 1835. The story which is told from his point of view has already been made into a feature film titled La Confession d’un Enfant du Siècle (Children of the Century) by director Diane Kurys.
Here is a summary of the actual...
The autobiographical tale by Musset tells the tale of his celebrated love affair with George Sand (the pseudonym of Baroness Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin), which lasted from 1833 to 1835. The story which is told from his point of view has already been made into a feature film titled La Confession d’un Enfant du Siècle (Children of the Century) by director Diane Kurys.
Here is a summary of the actual...
- 12/12/2010
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
The NME is gonna love this. Libertines rocker, Kate Moss ex-lover, fashion model, drug addict and a total mess Pete Doherty is set to make his acting debut opposite Charlotte Gainsbourg in an adaptation of the 1836 work "The Confession of a Child of the Century" by Alfred de Musset. The autobiographical tale by Musset tells the story of his affair with George Sand (the pseudonym of Baroness Amandine Aurore Lucile Dupin). Doherty will take the the lead of Octavian, who narrates the story, while Gainsbourg will play Brigitte, a young widow with whom he also has a dalliance. The…...
- 12/10/2010
- The Playlist
Opening with the funeral of Chicago crime lord Big Jim Colosimo, this week’s episode of Boardwalk Empire was all about the fallout.
Jimmy had to deal with the repercussions of his actions and the toll they were taking on Nucky. Nucky’s complacency with Jimmy’s crime had consequences for him in both the legal and criminal world. The only people not dealing with some of the effects of their crimes were the Chicago gangsters, but that probably will be changing very shortly.
Chicago reporters were buzzing around Torrio and his men, looking for any indication that the city’s rival mobster was somehow involved. In the most amusing/disturbing moment of "The Ivory Tower," a Chicago Tribune reporter unknowingly told one of Torrio’s men, Capone, that he plans to run with a story connecting his boss to the crime and asks for a statement.
While beating and kicking the reporter,...
Jimmy had to deal with the repercussions of his actions and the toll they were taking on Nucky. Nucky’s complacency with Jimmy’s crime had consequences for him in both the legal and criminal world. The only people not dealing with some of the effects of their crimes were the Chicago gangsters, but that probably will be changing very shortly.
Chicago reporters were buzzing around Torrio and his men, looking for any indication that the city’s rival mobster was somehow involved. In the most amusing/disturbing moment of "The Ivory Tower," a Chicago Tribune reporter unknowingly told one of Torrio’s men, Capone, that he plans to run with a story connecting his boss to the crime and asks for a statement.
While beating and kicking the reporter,...
- 9/27/2010
- by tlopez@utk.edu (T-Lo)
- TVfanatic
Bright Star, the new movie about Keats, has ruined him for me. It's not the first time and it certainly won't be the last
On Sunday I did the bad thing again. I bought a ticket to Bright Star, the biopic about John Keats. I have always liked Keats, despite the line, "Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!" But I had forgotten what I call the Impromptu Law – after the George Sand biopic, Impromptu (1991), which stars Judy Davis as Sand and Hugh Grant and a handkerchief as Chopin.
My "Impromptu law" states: don't watch films about writers. Die of tuberculosis. Stick your head in the oven. If you are a writer, stick your life's work in the oven as well – then maybe they won't get you.
As soon as Keats appeared with his quill, I knew it was bad. Ignore the applauding critics; they have been blinded by the Shrek franchise.
On Sunday I did the bad thing again. I bought a ticket to Bright Star, the biopic about John Keats. I have always liked Keats, despite the line, "Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!" But I had forgotten what I call the Impromptu Law – after the George Sand biopic, Impromptu (1991), which stars Judy Davis as Sand and Hugh Grant and a handkerchief as Chopin.
My "Impromptu law" states: don't watch films about writers. Die of tuberculosis. Stick your head in the oven. If you are a writer, stick your life's work in the oven as well – then maybe they won't get you.
As soon as Keats appeared with his quill, I knew it was bad. Ignore the applauding critics; they have been blinded by the Shrek franchise.
- 11/11/2009
- by Tanya Gold
- The Guardian - Film News
Novelist George Sand said, ?No one makes a revolution by himself; and there are some revolutions which humanity accomplishes without quite knowing how, because it is everybody who takes them in hand.? From August 13 ? 23, 2009, more than 550,000 local, national, and international visitors came together in Edmonton and brought about a revolution like no other at the 28th annual Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival.
- 8/25/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
Screened at the Venice International Film Festival
VENICE, Italy -- There are a lot of fine literary quotes in "A Love Song for Bobby Long", from Dylan Thomas to George Sand to T.S. Eliot, but it's one from Robert Frost that best sums up the film's appeal: "Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length." This may not be a big picture, but its pleasures will linger long.
The film will benefit from smart promotion and the loyalty of Travolta fans, and should gain support from audiences who wish to see the latest in a growing list of astonishing performances by the hot young actress Scarlett Johansson ("Lost in Translation", "Girl With a Pearl Earring").
First-time director Shainee Gabel, working from her own script inspired by the novel "Off East Magazine St". by R.E. Capps, has pulled off a remarkable feat in creating a community of characters reminiscent of an early Steinbeck novel. These are people who travel through life like bruised fruit but who always cling to the promise of a fresh harvest.
Travolta takes on a genuine character role in Bobby Long, a dissolute former professor of literature who shares a run-down New Orleans home with a clever but self-doubting young writer named Lawson, played with bright intelligence by Gabriel Macht. In their household, any liquid found in a jar that doesn't smell is a good enough mixer for vodka, while beer and tomato juice is the breakfast of champions.
The film opens following the death of a singer named Lorraine Will, who was adored by even those she abandoned, which was pretty much everybody including a daughter, Purslane (Johansson). When Pursy shows up two days late for her mother's funeral, she discovers that she owns one-third of the house Bobby and Lawson reside in, left to them by Lorraine. Perversely, she moves in.
It's obvious to Purslane, and the audience, that there is more to the story of Bobby and Lawson than meets the eye, but her interest is in finding out about a mother who abandoned her but whom everyone speaks of with affection. As she begins to have a cleansing effect on the misbehavior of the two men, a sense of family develops. While the plot doesn't hold too many surprises, it does play out satisfyingly as mysteries are revealed.
Travolta is gray-haired, unshaven and a bit stooped, but his grizzled and booze-soaked intellect can bring the poets readily to mind and he can still charm the local waitresses with a smiling "Cheese on our grits, darlin', please." Although Bobby has a damaged toe, Travolta even gets to dance a sedate Alabama shuffle.
Johansson is a study in naturalistic acting with her Florida panhandle accent pitch perfect and her ability to convey tough-mindedness and vulnerability, not to mention that the camera adores her.
The film benefits hugely from atmospheric production design by Sharon Lomofsky, which cinematographer Elliot Davis has shot beautifully. There is also a masterful soundtrack with an insightful score by Nathan Larson and a killer set of tracks from music supervisor Jim Black.
A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG
Presented by Columbia TriStar and El Camino Pictures
Credits:
Director and screenwriter: Shainee Gabel
Producers: Paul Miller, David Lancaster, Bob Yari
Director of photography: Elliot Davis
Production supervisor: Sharon Lomofsky
Costume designer: Jill Ohanneson (cq)
Editors: Lee Percy, Lisa Fruchtman
Composer: Nathan Larson
Cast:
Bobby Long: John Travolta
Purslane: Scarlett Johansson
Lawson: Gabriel Macht
Georgianna: Deborah Kara Unger
Cecil: Dane Rhodes
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 119 mins...
VENICE, Italy -- There are a lot of fine literary quotes in "A Love Song for Bobby Long", from Dylan Thomas to George Sand to T.S. Eliot, but it's one from Robert Frost that best sums up the film's appeal: "Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length." This may not be a big picture, but its pleasures will linger long.
The film will benefit from smart promotion and the loyalty of Travolta fans, and should gain support from audiences who wish to see the latest in a growing list of astonishing performances by the hot young actress Scarlett Johansson ("Lost in Translation", "Girl With a Pearl Earring").
First-time director Shainee Gabel, working from her own script inspired by the novel "Off East Magazine St". by R.E. Capps, has pulled off a remarkable feat in creating a community of characters reminiscent of an early Steinbeck novel. These are people who travel through life like bruised fruit but who always cling to the promise of a fresh harvest.
Travolta takes on a genuine character role in Bobby Long, a dissolute former professor of literature who shares a run-down New Orleans home with a clever but self-doubting young writer named Lawson, played with bright intelligence by Gabriel Macht. In their household, any liquid found in a jar that doesn't smell is a good enough mixer for vodka, while beer and tomato juice is the breakfast of champions.
The film opens following the death of a singer named Lorraine Will, who was adored by even those she abandoned, which was pretty much everybody including a daughter, Purslane (Johansson). When Pursy shows up two days late for her mother's funeral, she discovers that she owns one-third of the house Bobby and Lawson reside in, left to them by Lorraine. Perversely, she moves in.
It's obvious to Purslane, and the audience, that there is more to the story of Bobby and Lawson than meets the eye, but her interest is in finding out about a mother who abandoned her but whom everyone speaks of with affection. As she begins to have a cleansing effect on the misbehavior of the two men, a sense of family develops. While the plot doesn't hold too many surprises, it does play out satisfyingly as mysteries are revealed.
Travolta is gray-haired, unshaven and a bit stooped, but his grizzled and booze-soaked intellect can bring the poets readily to mind and he can still charm the local waitresses with a smiling "Cheese on our grits, darlin', please." Although Bobby has a damaged toe, Travolta even gets to dance a sedate Alabama shuffle.
Johansson is a study in naturalistic acting with her Florida panhandle accent pitch perfect and her ability to convey tough-mindedness and vulnerability, not to mention that the camera adores her.
The film benefits hugely from atmospheric production design by Sharon Lomofsky, which cinematographer Elliot Davis has shot beautifully. There is also a masterful soundtrack with an insightful score by Nathan Larson and a killer set of tracks from music supervisor Jim Black.
A LOVE SONG FOR BOBBY LONG
Presented by Columbia TriStar and El Camino Pictures
Credits:
Director and screenwriter: Shainee Gabel
Producers: Paul Miller, David Lancaster, Bob Yari
Director of photography: Elliot Davis
Production supervisor: Sharon Lomofsky
Costume designer: Jill Ohanneson (cq)
Editors: Lee Percy, Lisa Fruchtman
Composer: Nathan Larson
Cast:
Bobby Long: John Travolta
Purslane: Scarlett Johansson
Lawson: Gabriel Macht
Georgianna: Deborah Kara Unger
Cecil: Dane Rhodes
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 119 mins...
- 1/13/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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