Friday, January 04, 2008
BARD LITE
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was Orson Welles'
You know how I am about Shakespeare.
I can't stand him/it.
But this is something else again.
I still didn't get the words but I sure got the drama and the plot.
This is visually stunning. Welles didn't make a lot of pictures and he was at the end of his tether with this one but he did get it down.
The theatricality of the camera work, the sets, and the pace all help this become more accessible than the stagey Olivier films or other so called 'modern' productions which dress down but still confuse.
Be sure to read the story of how this film was made, or nearly unmade, at the link.
There were definitely cliff hanging moments, a real rush at the sight of it.
He was a genius who was bent on undermining himself. This film was retrieved from the jaws of disaster.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: best films
