Category: Films

Pirates of the Caribbean – On Stranger Tides

Prepare yerselves – On Stranger Tides premiers in just two days, when all things piratical will be let loose upon a waiting populace. (Holy Captain Morgan! I just looked it up – piratical is a word) As if a drunken, debauched, slurring, kohl wearing Johnny Depp weren’t enough to make a matey sit up and take notice, OST guest stars Ian McShane as Blackbeard. Yesssss!



Okay, NOT from the film, but who could resist?
Speaking of his role, McShane recenly said, “It was a pleasure to shoot [On Stranger Tides]. I was only glad it finished so I could get rid of the beard! It was the heaviest thing — it was like having a dead cat around my face! It was made in three or four pieces and held on by magnets and God knows what else. It took an hour and a half to put on every day. It was sort of spectacular. He was a real biker pirate — it’s all black leather.” Aaaarrrggghhhh.

Blackbeard’s (Edward Teach’s) exploits were notorious around Nassau, in the Bahamas, which was founded around 1650 by the British as Charles Town. The town was renamed in 1695 after Fort Nassau. Due to the Bahamas’ strategic location near trade routes and its multitude of islands, Nassau soon became a popular pirates’ den, and British rule was soon challenged by the self-proclaimed “Privateers Republic” under the leadership of the infamous Blackbeard. However, the alarmed British soon tightened their grip, and by 1720 the pirates had been killed or driven out. Bah! I don’t believe it. In fact, I’m going to Nassau in three weeks time in the hopes of finding a spare pirate or two and, with luck, buried treasure.
I’ll be diving the Ruins of Atlantis and exploring the Lost City alongside sharks, spotted rays and brilliantly colored tropical fish. My daughter, Brooke, and I will also take a turn swimming with the dolphins.
When not involved in aquatic activities, I hope to revisit a favorite antiques store in Nassau, run by an Englishman. Don’t laugh – last time I was there I found the edition of The London Illustrated News covering Wellington’s funeral. See? There are treasures yet to be found in Nassau.

Not to mention rum.

And let us not forget that OST also stars Geoffrey Rush, who reprises his role as pirate lord Barbossa who, along with Captain Jack Sparrow, searches for the Fountain of Youth. You can watch a clip of him in action here.

Another reason to see On Stranger Tides? With some bits filmed on location in London, this installment of POTC actually has scenes set in the City and features a carriage chase through London streets.

 
 

 

 

For a refresher course on past
POC flicks, visit the Wikipedia page here
100 bottles of rum in the hold, 100 bottles of rum,

You take one out and pass it about, 99 bottles of rum in the hold!
99 bottles of rum in the hold, 99 bottles of rum . . . .

The Lady Who Went Too Far

A new film has been announced – The Lady Who Went Too Far. From the writer and producer of The King’s Speech comes the story of Lady Hester Stanhope, based on the biography “Star of the Morning,” by Kirsten Ellis. Set during the Napoleonic Wars, the story follows the life of world traveler Stanhope and contains elements of a political thriller as Hester moves through Europe and the Middle East.

“She was a female Lawrence of Arabia, a hundred years before Lawrence,” said screenwriter David Seidler, whose credits also include Tucker: The Man And His Dream.

“It wasn’t that she was trying to change the world, she was just living the life that she thought she should have been afforded, to go on these great adventures, she did have a voice that should be heard,” producer Gareth Unwin told Screen. “If you ever want to find great stories, you only have to look to our past.”



Lady Hester Stanhope

 “Hers is a very powerful story that’s never been told cinematically before,” added biographer Kirsten Ellis. “She’s an undiscovered iconic emblem and the film will lift the lid on what made Hester spend half her life in the Middle East and what she tried to achieve there.”

In reviewing the book for The Independent, Robert Irwin swipes at Hester by closing with, “Though she (Ellis) writes well, it is not clear that her subject deserves so much devotion. During communal strife, Hester sheltered refugees and could be generous, but more often she was mean. She was also histrionic, superstitious, malicious and vainglorious. One has to rid oneself of the romantic trappings in order to see Hester Stanhope as what she became before her death in 1839 – a batty and embittered old English expat living on tick. There are thousands like her all over the world today.”

Of course, Reader, we are not concerned with those living today. We are, however, always interested in a true 19th century character, and as such Hester qualifies. As does Brummell if one is going to speak of being “histrionic, superstitious, malicious and vainglorious,” not to mention living on the tick. If authors were to stick only to those subjects who were worthy of praise or plaudits, the non-fiction shelves would be bare, indeed. Brava to Ellis for taking Hester on. We wait to hear who will play her in the film.

You can find Ellis’s book at Amazon here and visit the author’s website here

And the Winner is….Pride and Prejudice!

Colin Firth is a favorite for the best actor Oscar to match his Golden Globe and BAFTA awards — for his role in The King’s Speech.  But apparently he has already won our hearts, in 1995, in the BBC’s miniseries of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.  Who can forget his memorable Fitzwilliam Darcy?

Victoria here; the January issue of the BBC History Magazine caught up with me and I was amused to see their list of favorite “Best Television Costume Dramas.”  None of us will be surprised, I am sure, to find this 1995 production in first place.  The magazine reports that 14.1% of their 3,229 respondents  voted for P and P. 

The conclusion of Pride and Prejudice, the miniseries
Watch the “Colin in lake with wet shirt” video here (1,605,694 views so far).


In second place, and this was a bit of a surprise to me, was I, Claudius from 1976.  How young Derek Jacobi looks in this DVD cover picture of him in the title role. 

I remember this wonderful series about the supposedly mad Claudius and the wild history of the Rome of which he eventually became the Emperor.  I particularly remember the role of Livia, wife Augustus, played by Sian Phillips. She was the  personification of malevolence.  The series was based on the novel by Robert Graves and ran for several seasons.  It might have been high in the memory of viewers because the BBC has recently done a radio drama of the novel.

Upstairs, Downstairs, which began in 1971, took third place.  Again, it is familiar to viewers because it has recently returned in a new version, yet to be seen on this side of the pond.  The adventures of the Bellamy family and their servants was required watching for me for many years, and I have enjoyed the  dvds too.  Kristine saw a couple of the new episodes when she was in London at New Year’s and says we will all love them when they arrive here.

In fourth place was Downton Abbey, which was a distinct disappointment to me. It sounded like it had everything I would adore — script by Julian Fellowes, actors such as Hugh Bonneville and Maggie Smith, a huge pile of a country house that made Wretched Excess look tasteful…what could possibly be  unsatisfactory?  Cliche-ridden story, unconvincing characters, silly disagreements masquerading as substantial — I can only think that people voted for it because they remembered it so well, not because it was GOOD.  I just felt I’d seen it all before, and Fellowes packed so many “tried-and-true” situations into it that I wanted to scream.  Of course, I have to say it is much better than almost anything else on tv. Damned with faint praise???  I do look forward to improvements next season. Never say die.

Cranford, from 2007, won fifth place.  And this one I really enjoyed. Taken from several novels by Elisabeth Gaskell, the story revolves around life in an 1840’s English Village. The coming of the railroad challenges a number of traditions but life — birth, courtship, marriage, and death — continues to absorb the villagers.  Of course, anything with Judi  Dench will by on my ‘must” list — but I used to feel that way about Maggie Smith too.

The  BBC History Magazine (in an article by David Musgrove) expressed some surprise that The Tudors only ended up in 14th place. Given the current fascination with all things Tudor and Elizabethan, perhaps that was unexpected by many. But, though I enjoyed every episode and never had the irritation I felt at Downton Abby’s trite story, I really didn’t think The Tudors was all that great. Costumes were wonderful; and the cast was good. But how many  of us could really see Jonathan Rhys-Meyers as Henry VIII.  Even when they padded him up at the end, he looked like a hunky stud with pillows tied around his waist.  Give me Charles Laughton as Henry any time!

Sixth place went to another of my favorites, Brideshead Revisited (1981) and seventh went to The Forsyte Saga from 1967, which I watch every 3 or 4 years,whether I need to or not!.

To see the complete list of also-rans, click here.

Soames, Irene and Young Jolyon
The Forsyte Saga

Sherlock Holmes Returns – Thrice

(1) Robert Downey Jr. will once again play the British detective in Sherlock Holmes 2, (2) a new, authorized Sherlock Holmes mystery novel will hit the stands in September of this year (3) Benedict Cumberbatch returns as Masterpiece Mystery’s 21st century incarnation of the detective. 
Sherlock Holmes II (the film) is set in the year 1891, a year after the events in the first film, and will have Holmes chasing Moriarity and Dr. Watson pursuing his love life whilst assisting the detective. Downey says: “Unlike last time, where Holmes kept getting Watson into trouble, this time Watson is getting Holmes out of trouble, and they’re both in deeper trouble than I think the audience could have imagined we could go…. All manner of nastiness has just occurred.”

This time out, the duo are joined by the feisty Sim, played by actress Noomi Rapace. Also making an appearance is Sherlock’s brother Mycroft Holmes, played by actor Stephen Fry, a character who producer Susan Downey (Robert’s wife) describes as “stranger and perhaps even more brilliant” than the English detective. Fry recently said, “I play Mycroft, Sherlock Holmes’ brother – the smarter brother, I hasten to add. He’s so lazy that he never gets the reputation that Sherlock does. Historically it’s a very interesting character, and as a lover of Sherlock Holmes since I was a boy I’ve always enjoyed that character myself. I hope that people enjoy it. It’s certainly been fun making the picture.” And how does Fry feel about a Yank playing the iconically British Holmes? “To some extent, but he’s such a charismatic and likeable screen presence, Robert, that you very soon forget it. More than most, he owns every second of screen time. He’s just wonderfully likeable. He’s the real thing.”
The film opens in October in the UK and in December in the US.
Meanwhile, author and screenwriter Anthony Horowitz has been tapped by the Arthur Conan Doyle Estate to write a brand new Sherlock Holmes mystery novel. Horowitz said he’s writing “a first-rate mystery for a modern audience while remaining absolutely true to the spirit of the original.” Orion publisher Jon Wood promised the author’s “passion for Holmes and his consummate narrative trickery will ensure that this new story will not only blow away Conan Doyle aficionados but also bring the sleuth to a whole new audience.”
This is the first time that the Estate has tapped anyone to continue the Holmes tradition and it’s no wonder they chose Horowitz, who has proven his story telling abilities by creating Foyle’s War and contributing to several other crime drama series, including Midsomer Murders and adaptations of Agatha Christie’s Poirot novels.

And finally, we can all look forward to Benedict Cumberbatch’s return as Holmes in three new Masterpiece Mystery episodes this Autumn. The game is certainly afoot.

Meet Albert Nobbs

Glenn Close is set to appear on the big screen as the gendre switching title character Albert Nobbs in a new film currently in production. Close starred in an off-Broadway adaptation of George Moore’s short story in 1982 as the title character, a woman who lives as a man in the Victorian era in order to take advantage of the luxuries and opportunities not otherwise afforded to women at that time. Close is starring as Albert Nobbs this time around too; she also co-wrote the screenplay and is producing the Rodrigo García-directed film.

Set around a luxury hotel in Dublin in the 19th century, this is the story of a woman must pretend to be a man in order to survive in 19th century Ireland. The film began shooting in June in Dublin with a cast that includes Michael Gambon, Janet McTeer, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Orlando Bloom. The story finds Close’s heroine trapped in a prison of her own making after spending 20 years dressing and working as a man. Close won an Obie Award in 1983 playing the same character in Simone Benmussa’s Off Broadway interpretation of “The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs.”

Actress Amanda Seyfried has come on board to play Close’s love interest and recently told and interviewer, “[Close] cast me in it to play her love interest … and it’s f*cking amazing. It’s a really amazing script! It’s crazy. It’s a version of myself, but with an accent, so it’s going to be really challenging in a very technical way, but I’m so excited to talk about that. That’s confirmed!”