I was recently ordered (ordered!) by faithful reader Pat to watch the 1995 BBC version of Persuasion, starring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds.(Naturally, I went and checked it out from the library tout de suite!)
I admit, I had neither read nor seen any edition of Persuasion before checking this one out *hangs head*, and I missed the first run of the new version on PBS, so I have thrown that into my Netflix queue for the future.
Anyway, 1995's Persuasion.
Lovely. :-)
As Pat pointed out, at the beginning you don't really find Anne or Frederick particularly engaging or attractive, but by the end, you are rooting for them to find each other, and find that you have fallen for both through the story.
This was Austen's last written novel before her death, and is markedly shorter than Emma or Mansfield Park, which I felt as I watched this adaptation - it was still lovely, but seemed to be missing the slow build of other Austen novels to me, or the depth and detail that she always built into both her main characters and her secondary characters.
And I really did NOT expect to fall in love with Ciaran Hinds' Frederick - I mean, yes, the man was rad as Caesar on Rome, but a romantic lead? Now, I'm a believer...
Yep. Add this to the canon of BBC period pieces already crowding my house. And now, I just have to wait to compare it to the new version...
Labels: bbc, movies, persuasion
So they've begun casting the movie version of Twilight, the first in the YA vampire trilogy that I have completely fallen in love with.
Turns out, the bloke who played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is going to play Edward.
I'm kinda on the fence about it, myself.
Thoughts? Is he Edward-esque?
Turns out, the bloke who played Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is going to play Edward.
I'm kinda on the fence about it, myself.
Thoughts? Is he Edward-esque?
The BBC is adapting Ballet Shoes into a television production, starring Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame.I absolutely adored Ballet Shoes as a child (I had that very edition right there), and can still vividly remember reading about the trials and tribulations of Pauline, Petrova and Posy. Pauline was always my favorite, but I loved all three girls.
Noel Streatfeild was from Sussex (where my grandmother lives), so I always felt as though we had a connection, though tenuous at best. :-)
Thinking about Ballet Shoes got me thinking about other childhood favorites, and my most vivid memories are of Enid Blyton books (Mallory Towers and The Faraway Tree, anyone?), Anastasia Krupnik books, Beverly Cleary (Henry and Ribsy, y'all?), Boxcar Children, The Worst Witch, The Chicken Pox Papers, and the Victoria Plum books.
(That's a pretty good Anglo and American split, actually...)
Makes me want to curl up with all of them and reread (yes, they are still on my bookshelves even today) to try and capture a bit of childhood back again…
There are certain movies that I watch every year to get into the holiday spirit.
I'm telling you this, because I've been told for years that I have a glaring hole in my Christmas movie repertoire.*
Until this morning, I had never, in my 31 years, seen It's a Wonderful Life.
(My mother, when I would mention the film, would always squinch up her face, and say "Oh, that's sad. You wouldn't like that." So I never watched it. Even though it is reputedly played on cable about 4000 times in December.)
It is sad, but not horribly. I sniffled and teared up the end, predictably. I finally understand some of the in-jokes or quotes from it that I've missed for 31 years.
But my own Christmas movies are a different list altogether:
Love Actually: Hugh Grant dancing around as Prime Minister. And Alan Rickman. I wouldn't care if Alan Rickman sat on a stool in the middle of an empty stage and read the back of a shampoo bottle, I'd show up and buy a ticket.
Holiday Inn: My parents bust this one out every year. It's okay, but I actually like...
White Christmas: ...this one better. I always thought Vera Ellen was lovely. Better costumes for the girls. :-)
Sound of Music: Though it has nothing to do with Christmas, somehow this was shown on TV around the holidays every year, so I associate it with doing a Christmas puzzle, food cooking, and a fire roaring. It makes me happy. :-)
Bridget Jones's Diary: It starts off with the holiday Turkey Curry Buffet. Mostly, this is just an excuse to watch Colin Firth for a couple of hours. ;-)
*I should probably mention that I've never seen A Christmas Story either. Maybe next year...
What are your holiday movies?
I'm telling you this, because I've been told for years that I have a glaring hole in my Christmas movie repertoire.*
Until this morning, I had never, in my 31 years, seen It's a Wonderful Life.
(My mother, when I would mention the film, would always squinch up her face, and say "Oh, that's sad. You wouldn't like that." So I never watched it. Even though it is reputedly played on cable about 4000 times in December.)
It is sad, but not horribly. I sniffled and teared up the end, predictably. I finally understand some of the in-jokes or quotes from it that I've missed for 31 years.
But my own Christmas movies are a different list altogether:
Love Actually: Hugh Grant dancing around as Prime Minister. And Alan Rickman. I wouldn't care if Alan Rickman sat on a stool in the middle of an empty stage and read the back of a shampoo bottle, I'd show up and buy a ticket.
Holiday Inn: My parents bust this one out every year. It's okay, but I actually like...
White Christmas: ...this one better. I always thought Vera Ellen was lovely. Better costumes for the girls. :-)
Sound of Music: Though it has nothing to do with Christmas, somehow this was shown on TV around the holidays every year, so I associate it with doing a Christmas puzzle, food cooking, and a fire roaring. It makes me happy. :-)
Bridget Jones's Diary: It starts off with the holiday Turkey Curry Buffet. Mostly, this is just an excuse to watch Colin Firth for a couple of hours. ;-)
*I should probably mention that I've never seen A Christmas Story either. Maybe next year...
What are your holiday movies?
Labels: movies
