The Browning Version (Criterion #294).
1951 The Rank Organisation & Janus Films.
Starring: Michael Redgrave, Jean Kent, Nigel Patrick, Brian Smith
Director: Anthony Asquith
Available from Amazon.
A film adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play of the same name, which was first performed in 1948.
Michael Redgrave is Andrew Crocker-Harris is an aging Classics teacher at a private school in Britain, who is forced to retire by his increasing ill health. As his career winds down, Crocker-Harris has to come to terms with his feelings that his entire life may be a failure, after years of scorn from students and colleagues alike, and no kind of thanks of any kind for all of the years he has taught. Not only is his job ending, so is his marriage to Millie (Kent), who is openly having an affair with Frank Hunter (Patrick), the school's chemistry teacher.
One student, though, actually doesn't openly despise Crocker-Harris. Taplow (Smith) gives the teacher a parting gift: Robert Browning's translation of the Agamemnon, with a Greek phrase he inscribed the gift with that translates as "God for afar looks graciously upon a gentle master". The teacher still maintains his stoic image, despite all that's going wrong for him, but he still grapples with remorse. This changes after Millie leaves him for good right before the graduation ceremonies. Crocker-Harris ultimately discards his prepared speech, and delivers a lengthy and emotional apology for having failed them as their teacher.
Recommended movie. This could very well change into a highly recommendation upon repeated viewings, though!
Showing posts with label anthony asquith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anthony asquith. Show all posts
Friday, April 17, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Importance of Being Earnest
The Importance of Being Earnest (Criterion #158).
1952 The Rank Organisation & Janus Films.
Starring: Michael Redgrave, Michael Denison, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Margaret Rutherford, Miles Malleson, Dorothy Tutin
Director: Anthony Asquith
Available from Amazon.
Obviously, this is not the 2002 version with Reese Witherspoon. Sorry to disappoint.
Anthony Asquith directed this largely faithful adaptation of Oscar Wilde's stage play starring Michael Redgrave as the rich bachelor Jack Worthing. He has a friend, Algernon Moncrieff (Denison), who is broke and living on credit. Jack has a country getaway where he goes on weekends, leaving Algernon so curious that he tries to figure out where this retreat is, exactly.
Jack is also in love with Gwendolen (Greenwood), Al's cousin, and he also has a ward, Cecily Cardew (Tutin), who lives at the country estate and studies with Miss Prism (Rutherford). Algernon finds out about Cecily, so he arrives at Jack's weekend place claiming to be Jack's brother Ernest. Jack has been leading a double life, at the country home with Cecily, and another one in London, passing himself off as his non-existant brother Ernest, and that's who Gwendolen has just gotten engaged to, as she's always wamted to marry an Ernest.
Whenever he wanted to sneak off to the city to be with Gwendolen, Jack told Cecily that his brother Ernest was in trouble in the city. Unfortunately for Jack, Cecily has been intrigued from the very start since she's always wanted to wed a man named Ernest. She and Algernon quickly fall in love.
The major problem is, of course, neither man is actually named Ernest, and it could lead to great disappointment for the ladies...until Lady Bracknell (Evans) and Miss Prism realize that there's a solution that will make everyone happy.
Recommended movie.
Oh yes, we can't forget the movie's signature line..."A handbag?!"
1952 The Rank Organisation & Janus Films.
Starring: Michael Redgrave, Michael Denison, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Margaret Rutherford, Miles Malleson, Dorothy Tutin
Director: Anthony Asquith
Available from Amazon.
Obviously, this is not the 2002 version with Reese Witherspoon. Sorry to disappoint.
Anthony Asquith directed this largely faithful adaptation of Oscar Wilde's stage play starring Michael Redgrave as the rich bachelor Jack Worthing. He has a friend, Algernon Moncrieff (Denison), who is broke and living on credit. Jack has a country getaway where he goes on weekends, leaving Algernon so curious that he tries to figure out where this retreat is, exactly.
Jack is also in love with Gwendolen (Greenwood), Al's cousin, and he also has a ward, Cecily Cardew (Tutin), who lives at the country estate and studies with Miss Prism (Rutherford). Algernon finds out about Cecily, so he arrives at Jack's weekend place claiming to be Jack's brother Ernest. Jack has been leading a double life, at the country home with Cecily, and another one in London, passing himself off as his non-existant brother Ernest, and that's who Gwendolen has just gotten engaged to, as she's always wamted to marry an Ernest.
Whenever he wanted to sneak off to the city to be with Gwendolen, Jack told Cecily that his brother Ernest was in trouble in the city. Unfortunately for Jack, Cecily has been intrigued from the very start since she's always wanted to wed a man named Ernest. She and Algernon quickly fall in love.
The major problem is, of course, neither man is actually named Ernest, and it could lead to great disappointment for the ladies...until Lady Bracknell (Evans) and Miss Prism realize that there's a solution that will make everyone happy.
Recommended movie.
Oh yes, we can't forget the movie's signature line..."A handbag?!"
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Pygmalion
Pygmalion (Criterion #85).
1938 General Film Distributors & Janus Films.
Starring: Leslie Howard, Wendy Hiller, Wilfrid Lawson, Leueen MacGrath, Marie Lohr, David Tree, Scott Sunderland
Editor: David Lean
Directors: Anthony Asquith & Leslie Howard
Amazon.com listings: Criterion DVD, or the Essential Art House edition, also from Criterion.
A 1938 British film based on George Bernard Shaw's play of the same name. The screenplay for this one was also adapted later on into My Fair Lady.
After meeting a flower girl named Eliza Doolittle (Hiller), speech coach Henry Higgins (Howard) makes a bet with the Sanskrit scholar Colonel Pickering (Sunderland) that he can teach Eliza to behave and speak like a duchess in six months, which would allow her to gain employment at a florist instead of just selling flowers on street corners. The next morning, Eliza shows up at Higgins' residence asking for elocution lessons. Mr. Doolittle (Lawson) pays Higgins a visit, "selling" Eliza for five pounds. After some work, Higgins takes Eliza to a gathering at his mother's Chelsea home, where Eliza can't seem to shake her Cockney dialect while describing the events surrounding a relative's death. Eliza also meets Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Tree) at the party, and he becomes quite enamored with her, despite the two of them being in two different social and economic classes.
The next social event is a reception at the Transylvanian embassy, where Eliza runs across a former student of Higgins, Count Aristid Karpathy (Esme Percy), who has become a speech coach in his own right. Thankfully, Eliza manages to fool everyone at the party, but neither Higgins nor Pickering acknowledge her accomplishments. Eliza and Higgins later argue, where she threatens to leave his house, marry Freddy, and go to work for Karpathy. She does leave, but returns, and the two of them bury the hatchet.
Recommended film.
1938 General Film Distributors & Janus Films.
Starring: Leslie Howard, Wendy Hiller, Wilfrid Lawson, Leueen MacGrath, Marie Lohr, David Tree, Scott Sunderland
Editor: David Lean
Directors: Anthony Asquith & Leslie Howard
Amazon.com listings: Criterion DVD, or the Essential Art House edition, also from Criterion.
A 1938 British film based on George Bernard Shaw's play of the same name. The screenplay for this one was also adapted later on into My Fair Lady.
After meeting a flower girl named Eliza Doolittle (Hiller), speech coach Henry Higgins (Howard) makes a bet with the Sanskrit scholar Colonel Pickering (Sunderland) that he can teach Eliza to behave and speak like a duchess in six months, which would allow her to gain employment at a florist instead of just selling flowers on street corners. The next morning, Eliza shows up at Higgins' residence asking for elocution lessons. Mr. Doolittle (Lawson) pays Higgins a visit, "selling" Eliza for five pounds. After some work, Higgins takes Eliza to a gathering at his mother's Chelsea home, where Eliza can't seem to shake her Cockney dialect while describing the events surrounding a relative's death. Eliza also meets Freddy Eynsford-Hill (Tree) at the party, and he becomes quite enamored with her, despite the two of them being in two different social and economic classes.
The next social event is a reception at the Transylvanian embassy, where Eliza runs across a former student of Higgins, Count Aristid Karpathy (Esme Percy), who has become a speech coach in his own right. Thankfully, Eliza manages to fool everyone at the party, but neither Higgins nor Pickering acknowledge her accomplishments. Eliza and Higgins later argue, where she threatens to leave his house, marry Freddy, and go to work for Karpathy. She does leave, but returns, and the two of them bury the hatchet.
Recommended film.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)