SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (2003)

Dear Cinephiles,

We are now meeting on FACEBOOK in our exclusive group by the same name "Cinephiles".
Therefore, the posts here on the blog will be shorter, and discussions will be carried out in that forum.

Something's Gotta Give (2003) with Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves.

"A swinger on the cusp of being a senior citizen with a taste for young women falls in love with an accomplished woman closer to his age". www.imbd.com

This movie was written and directed by Nancy Meyes. There's a host of famous pictures written and/or directed by her. Click on the link above for her filmography.

Enjoy it!!!

Student's post on some key issues in Anglicanism and Catholicism

Hi, guys! Do you remember I said I'd check the differences between Catholicism and Anglicanism? Well, here´s what I found out:


They are both Christian churches springing from the same ancient source. Both administer Baptism and Confirmation, as well as the 4 other sacramental rites of Penance, Matrimony, Anoiting of the Sick, and Holy ...Orders. There are Roman Catholic and Anglican Shrines to Mary. Some Anglicans pray the rosary. Both churches maintain calendars of saints.

The main differences are:

- Anglicans do not accept the authority of the Pope. To them, the Head of the Church is the Queen (or King);

- Some Anglicans also ordain women as priests;

- In the Anglican Church, clergymen can marry;

- While the Roman Catholic Church takes a hard line against abortion, euthanasia, and birth control, the Anglican Church doesn't;

- Private confession to a priest is optional in th Anglican Church whereas the Roman Catholic Church requires it.


When King Henry VIII declared the Church in England independent of Rome, the differences were more personal than doctrinal. Over time, however, The Anglican Church adopted a revised liturgy and became influenced briefly by Lutheran and then more lastingly by Calvinist doctrine.
 
by Marcia (posted on Facebook - Cinephiles group)
 
 
Protestantism compared to Catholicism:

for Protestants

Mary - the Assumption and Immaculate conception of Mary are both denied. The claim that Mary was sinless is rejected - only Christ was sinless.

Mary was a holy woman who was chosen to bear the Son of God. Her perpetual virginity and intercession are denied.

Purgatory- Purgatory is rejected - Christ's death on the cross is sufficient to remove the penalty for all our sins.

Saints - All Christians are saints, called to imitate Christ. Only Christ may mediate between God and Man.

by Cláudia

Some more on ELIZABETH (1998)

Some comments, texts and videos on specific SCENES.

SCENE 1
Do you remember one of the first scenes of the movie, when Mary I's husband was sitting next to her, sunk in a chair, looking like a no one (a no one?!), apparently bored and disgusted, hating everything around him (including his wife)?

And then later, in another scene, Mary yells, "My husband is gone, they have poisoned my baby...",
...guess where her husband had headed to.
Find out ALL about him.

Phillip II of Spain

http://www.nps.gov/

SCENE 2
Remember the scene in which Elizabeth is rehearsing the address she was supposed to make to rival clergy on the "Act of Uniformity"?
Cate Blanchett's acting was superb!!! WATCH THE VIDEO here. You may also read the transcript to this scene.

SCENE 3
Elizabeth meets Duke d'Anjou.
Factual Mistake: "Elizabeth was nearly twenty years older than the flamboyant, bisexual transvestite Duke of Anjou, and they never met in person. He went on to become King Henry III of France, and his younger brother became Duke of Anjou. It was this Duke that Elizabeth met, and they actually got along very well and even talked about getting married. However, due to unpopular public sentiment towards the match and Elizabeth's own aversion to marriage in general, the plans were called off". See source.

SCENE 4
Anachronisms: Robert Dudley recites Sir Philip Sidney's sonnet "My true love hath my heart" to Elizabeth in a boat. This sonnet was not written until at least 1580, about 20 years after the time the movie is set, and wasn't published until 1593. (source: Imdb)

Whether it's anachronic or not, it's beautiful and veeeeery romantic.
READ and LISTEN to the sonnet here.


Last but not least...

After Elizabeth I's reign the Tudor dynasty was survived only in the female line, with the House of Stuart occupying the English throne for most of the following century. Click on the links to learn more!

ELIZABETH (1998)

                                  "All that I am, it is you"
                                       (Robert Dudley to Elizabeth)

Cate Blanchett ... Elizabeth I

Geoffrey Rush ... Sir Francis Walsingham

Christopher Eccleston ... Duke of Norfolk

Joseph Fiennes ... Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

Richard Attenborough ... Sir William Cecil

Fanny Ardant ... Mary of Guise

Eric Cantona ... Monsieur de Foix

Vincent Cassel ... Duc d'Anjou

Kathy Burke ... Queen Mary Tudor

Watch the video !!!
Storyline
It's 1553 and King Henry VIII has died. His sickly son Edward VI reigns for a short while before dying so his eldest daughter, Mary, a childless Catholic, has ascended to the throne. Under Mary's reign, Protestants, known as heretics, are being burned to death. Mary is ill and her half sister, Protestant Elizabeth, is next in line to the throne. Regardless of Mary being queen, she would never allow a Protestant to rule England. Although there is rumor of a Protestant uprising, Mary knows that Elizabeth is not behind this maneuver, yet Mary brings Elizabeth in under possible charges of treason. Elizabeth denies all and denies Mary's wish to uphold the Catholic faith once on the throne. Upon Mary's death in 1558 and Elizabeth's ascension to the throne, England is weak and in disarray. Many are out to unseat Elizabeth, 'a heretic'. To ensure her security on the throne, Elizabeth has to show some leadership, which includes, according to some of her many advisors, establishment of a single Protestant based Church of England, marriage to a suitable husband and the production of an heir. That husband however is not to be Lord Robert Dudley, Elizabeth's lover. Elizabeth needs to learn which of her advisors to listen to as some are not out for her best interest. Written by Huggo

Understanding the English Monarchs' Line is not an easy task.
Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_monarchs
and find a comprehensive list of names of kings and queens and more, much more!

HAPPY EASTER, CINEPHILES!!!

Facts and Myths about Henry VIII - THE CHALENGE

Fictional books and movies are allowed to manipulate the truth in order to attract readers/viewers, and this is what "The Other Boleyn Girl", movie based on the novel of the same name by Philippa Gregory does.
In The Tudors: Separating Fact from Fiction(August 9, 2010 by mickisuzanne) , while comparing the film "The Other Boleyn Girl" with the non-fictional book ”The Other Tudors – Henry VIII’s Mistresses and Bastards” by Philippa Jones, the author affirms:

I quickly learned that Anne did not lure Henry VIII away from Mary as shown in the movie. In fact, the movie has Mary in seclusion in the late stages of her pregnancy as Anne and Henry begin their relationship. I remember one scene where she’s holding her newborn baby – the king’s child – as he turns his back and walks away with Anne. It makes for good drama, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

According to this book Mary’s affair had been over for three years before Anne caught his eye.

"The affair between Henry and Mary Boleyn ended some time in 1525. It was not until 1528 that Mary’s sister, Anne, is mentioned as having taken the King’s fancy. He did not abandon one sister for another".


HERE'S A CHALLENGE FOR YOU: go to the Internet and find out more about facts and fiction on Henry VIII's life.

Paste your contributions here or send it to your classmates by email.

Read a review on "The Six Wives of Henry VIII" , another book by Alison Weir at Man of la Book posted by Zohar.

This week's movie - THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL (2008)

I HAVE TORN THIS COUNTRY APART FOR YOU!!!
(King Henry VIII to Ann Boleyn)

Storyline
A sumptuous and sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history: two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family's blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII. Written by Marisa_Gabriella


Directed by Justin Chadwick
Screenplay by Peter Morgan


Natalie Portman - Ann Boleyn
Scarlett Johansson - Mary Boleyn
Eric Bana - Henry VIII
Jim Sturgess - George Boleyn
Mark Rylance - Thomas Boleyn
Kristin Scott Thomas - Elizabeth Boleyn
David Morrissey - Thomas Howard, Duque de Norfolk

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TRAILER

After watching the film, go to Rotten Tomatoes and read the reviews.
Copy and paste the review that best translates your opinion on the film. Use the "comments" slot below or send it to the group by email.
Add a few lines of your own.

THE TOWN (2010) by Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck as Dough MacRay
Rebecca Hall as Claire Keesey
Jeremy Renner as James Coughlin

and more
StorylineThe Charlestown neighborhood of Boston is renowned for churning out a high number of armed robbers, generation after generation. These robbers never leave their Charlestown life on their own volition, the neighborhood where there is an unwritten code to protect that lifestyle. Such robbers include friends Doug MacRay, James Coughlin, Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan and Desmond Elden. Doug and James in particular treat each other like family, as the Coughlins have realistically been as such to Doug since Doug's mother ran off and Doug's father, Stephen MacRay, was sent to prison. James' single mother sister, the drugged out Krista Coughlin, and Doug have a casual sexual relationship. The foursome carry out a mostly successful bank robbery, but due to circumstances take the bank manager, Claire Keesey, hostage for a short period before releasing her physically unharmed. They find out that Claire lives in Charlestown... Written by Huggo http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840361/



GO TO A MOVIE SITE (IMDB, ROTTEN TOMATOES, MOVIE.COM, ETC) AND SEARCH FOR SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION TO ADD TO OUR BLOG.
USE THE COMMENTS SLOT BELOW OR SEND IT TO OUR GROUP BY EMAIL.

One blue-collar Boston neighborhood has produced more bank robbers and armored car thieves than anywhere in the world.

2011 - New Year; New Look; and Many...many more movies

Dear Cinephiles,

I'm very glad we are together again for one more flight through the realm of motion pictures.

For the new members of the "Cinephiles" group...

WELCOME ABOARD!!!

Our blog has a new look!
A list of the films viewed in the last 2 years (2009-2010), and a list of suggested titles to be watched in 2011 have been posted.
Please pick the ones you'd like to see, copy them in the "comments" slot below (you should become a "follower" to the blog first) or send your list by email.

My first proposition to you is that we start a collection of favorite movie quotes, i.e., those sentences/dialogues said by the characters you specially like.

I've chosen one said by Professor Keating (Robin Williams) in 'Dead Poet's Society':

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for".


You may start collecting yours from now on or search for your favorite ones on the Web.
Post your contributions here in our blog (comments)or send them by e-mail.

***

Pick of the week:

The film we'll be watching in the next 2 weeks is "The Children Are All Right".

Storyline
Nic (Annette Bening)and Jules (Julianne Moore) are in a long term, committed, loving but by no means perfect relationship. Nic, a physician, needs to wield what she believes is control, whereas Jules, under that control, is less self-assured. During their relationship, Jules has floundered in her "nine to five" life, sometimes trying to start a business - always unsuccessfully - or being the stay at home mom. She is currently trying to start a landscape design business. They have two teen-aged children, Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson), Nic who is Joni's biological mother, and Jules who is Laser's biological mother. Although not exact replicas, each offspring does more closely resemble his/her biological mother in temperament. Joni and Laser are also half-siblings, having the same unknown sperm donor father. Shortly after Joni's eighteenth birthday and shortly before she plans to leave the house and head off to college, Laser, only fifteen and underage to do so...
Written by Huggo

Read more about this movie at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0842926/

HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!!!

STAND BY ME (1986) by Rob Reiner

Stand by Me is a 1986 American coming of age adventure-drama film directed by Rob Reiner. Based on the novella The Body by Stephen King, the film takes its title from the song of the same name by Ben E. King (which plays during the closing credits).


Actor - Character
Wil Wheaton - Gordie Lachance
River Phoenix - Chris Chambers
Corey Feldman - Teddy Duchamp
Jerry O'Connell - Vern Tessio
Richard Dreyfuss - The Writer (Adult Gordie Lachance)
Kiefer Sutherland - John "Ace" Merrill

Stand by Me has extremely positive reviews, receiving a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

-Click on the link above and read some reviews.

-Choose one or two among the actors listed above and name one or two other films you've seen in which they acted.

CHOCOLAT (2000)

Chocolat (French pronunciation: [ʃɔkɔla]) is a 2000 British/American romance film based on the novel of the same name by Joanne Harris, and was directed by Lasse Hallström*. Adapted by screenwriter Robert Nelson Jacobs, Chocolat tells the story of a young mother, played by Juliette Binoche, who arrives at the fictional, repressed French village of Lansquenet-sous-Tannes with her six-year-old daughter and opens La Chocolaterie Maya, a small chocolaterie. Her chocolate quickly begins to change the lives of the townspeople.

The film was shot in the village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in Burgundy, France, and on the Rue De L'ancienne Poste in Beynac-et-Cazenac on the Dordogne River in Dordogne, France. The river scenes were filmed at Fonthill Lake at Fonthill Bishop in Wiltshire, England and interior scenes at Shepperton Studios, Surrey, England.

Chocolat was nominated for 5 Academy Awards, 8 BAFTAs, and 4 Golden Globes. It won a Screen Actors Guild Award.



CAST
Juliette Binoche as Vianne Rocher
Johnny Depp as Roux
Judi Dench as Armande Voizin
Alfred Molina as Comte de Reynaud
more

-NAME AT LEAST ONE FILM YOU'VE SEEN WHICH FEATURED EACH OF THE ACTORS/ACTRESSES ABOVE.

NOMINATED
Academy Awards:
Best Actress (Juliette Binoche)
Best Picture
Best Original Music (Rachel Portman)
Best Screenplay - Adapted (Robert Nelson Jacobs)
Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench)

Click for AWARDS

* Films directed by Lasse Hallström

1970s A Guy and a Gal (1975) · ABBA: The Movie (1977) · Father to Be (1979)

1980s Tuppen (1981) · Happy We (1983) · My Life as a Dog (1985) · The Children of Noisy Village (1986) · More About the Children of Noisy Village (1987)

1990s Once Around (1991) · What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) · Something to Talk About (1995) · The Cider House Rules (1999)

2000s Chocolat (2000) · The Shipping News (2001) · An Unfinished Life (2005) · Casanova (2005) · The Hoax (2007) · Hachiko: A Dog's Story (2009)

2010s Dear John (2010)

-HAVE YOU SEEN ANY OF THE MOVIES ABOVE? WHICH?

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE - Week 3

Shakespeare contributed more phrases and sayings to the English language than any other individual - and most of them are still in daily use.

Here's a collection of well-known quotations that are associated with Shakespeare. Most of these were the Bard's own work, but he wasn't averse to stealing a good line occasionally and a few of these were 'popularised by' rather than 'coined by' Shakespeare.

A countenance more in sorrow than in anger
A dish fit for the gods
A fool's paradise
A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse
A plague on both your houses
A rose by any other name would smell as sweet
A sea change
A sorry sight
Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio
All corners of the world
All that glitters is not gold / All that glisters is not gold
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players
All's well that ends well

CLICK HERE to learn the meaning and origin of these and many other Shakespeare's quotes.

1- CHOOSE ONE QUOTE, COPY AND PASTE IT BELOW AND SAY WHY IT IS YOUR FAVORITE.

2- DO YOU REMEMBER WHICH OF THESE QUOTES WERE MENTIONED IN SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE?

SKAKESPEARE IN LOVE - Week 2

For your delight...



References to Shakespeare's work
The main source for much of the action in the film is Romeo and Juliet. Will and Viola play out the famous balcony and bedroom scenes; like Juliet, Viola has a witty nurse, and is separated from Will by a gulf of duty (although not the family enmity of the play: the "two households" of Romeo and Juliet are supposedly inspired by the two rival playhouses). In addition, the two lovers are equally "star-crossed" — they are not ultimately destined to be together (since Viola is of rich and socially ambitious merchant stock and is promised to marry Lord Wessex, while Shakespeare himself is poor and already married). There is also a Rosaline, with whom Will is in love at the beginning of the film.

Many other plot devices used in the film are common in various Shakespearean comedies and in the works of the other playwrights of the Elizabethan era: the Queen disguised as a commoner, the cross-dressing disguises, mistaken identities, the sword fight, the suspicion of adultery (or, at least, cheating), the appearance of a "ghost" (cf. Macbeth), and the "play within a play".

The film also has sequences in which Shakespeare and the other characters utter words that will later appear in his plays:

On the street, Shakespeare hears a Puritan preaching against the two London stages: "The Rose smells thusly rank, by any name! I say, a plague on both their houses!" Two references in one, both to Romeo and Juliet; first, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (Act II, scene ii, lines 1 and 2); second, "a plague on both your houses" (Act III, scene i, line 94).
Backstage of a performance of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Shakespeare sees William Kempe in full make-up, silently contemplating a skull (a reference to Hamlet).
Shakespeare utters the lines "Doubt thou the stars are fire, / Doubt that the sun doth move" (from Hamlet) to Philip Henslowe.
As Shakespeare's writer's block is introduced, he is seen crumpling balls of paper and throwing them around his room. They land near props which represent scenes in his several plays: a skull (Hamlet), and an open chest (The Merchant of Venice).
Viola, as well as being Paltrow's name in the film, is the lead character in Twelfth Night who dresses as a man after the supposed death of her brother.
At the end of the film, Shakespeare imagines a shipwreck overtaking Viola on her way to America, inspiring the second scene of his next play, Twelfth Night, and perhaps also The Tempest.
Shakespeare writes a sonnet to Viola which begins: "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (from Sonnet 18).
Shakespeare tells Henslowe that he still owes him for "one gentleman of Verona", a reference to Two Gentlemen of Verona, part of which we also see being acted before the Queen later in the film.
Christopher Marlowe appears in the film as the master playwright whom the characters within the film consider the greatest English dramatist of that time — this is accurate, yet also humorous, since everyone in the film's audience knows what will eventually happen to Shakespeare. Marlowe gives Shakespeare a plot for his next play, "Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter" ("Romeo is Italian...always in and out of love...until he meets...Ethel. The daughter of his enemy! His best friend is killed in a duel by Ethel's brother or something. His name is Mercutio.") Marlowe's Doctor Faustus is quoted repeatedly: "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships/ And burned the topless towers of Ilium?"

The child John Webster who plays with mice is a reference to the leading figure in the Jacobean generation of playwrights. His plays (The Duchess of Malfi, The White Devil) are known for their blood and gore, which is why he says that he enjoys Titus Andronicus, and why he says of Romeo and Juliet when asked by the Queen "I liked it when she stabbed herself."

When the clown Will Kempe (Patrick Barlow) says to Shakespeare that he would like to play in a drama, he is told that "they would laugh at Seneca if you played it," a reference to the Roman tragedian renowned for his sombre and bloody plot lines which were a major influence on the development of English tragedy.

Will is shown signing a paper repeatedly, with many relatively illegible signatures visible. This is a reference to the fact that several versions of Shakespeare's signature exist, and in each one he spelled his name differently.

ControversyThe writers of Shakespeare in Love were sued in 1999 by Faye Kellerman, author of the book The Quality of Mercy. Kellerman claimed that the story was lifted from her book, a detective novel in which Shakespeare and a cross-dressing Jewish woman attempt to solve a murder. Miramax derided the claim of similarity as "[an] absurd...publicity stunt".[5][6] After the film's release, certain publications, including Private Eye, noted strong similarities between the film and the 1941 novel No Bed for Bacon, by Caryl Brahms and S J Simon, which also features Shakespeare falling in love and finding inspiration for his later plays. In a foreword to a subsequent edition of No Bed for Bacon (which traded on the association by declaring itself "A Story of Shakespeare and Lady Viola in Love") Ned Sherrin, Private Eye insider and former writing partner of Brahms', confirmed that he had lent a copy of the novel to Stoppard after he joined the writing team,[7] but that the basic plot of the film had been independently developed by Marc Norman, who was unaware of the earlier work.

Read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_in_love

SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998) by John Madden

13 OSCAR NOMINATIONS

7 OSCAR AWARDS

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0138097/awards



Written by...
Marc Norman and
Tom Stoppard

Starring...
Gwyneth Paltrow,
Joseph Fiennes,
Geoffrey Rush,
Colin Firth,
Ben Affleck and
Judy Dench



Queen Elizabeth: Playwrights teach us nothing about love. They make it pretty, they make it comical, or they make it lust, but they cannot make it true.


WRITE
Use some of the words provided below and write a summary for the film (about 120 words).

Shakespeare - young writer - short of cash - inspiration - woman - forbidden - wealthy - playwright - nobel - block(ed) - stage - 16th C - struggle - marriage - romance - plays - queen - actors - debts - nobility - comedy - obstacles - rehearsal - love - audition - dressed up - backstage - disguise - muse

WATCH
Jack Nicholson presenting Gwyneth Paltrow with the Best Actress Oscar® for her performance in "Shakespeare in Love" at the 71st Academy Awards® in 1999.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG9p1FFwxb0&feature=channel

Harrison Ford announcing Best Picture Winner "Shakespeare in Love" (producers Donna Gigliotti, Marc Norman, David Parfit, Harvey Weinstein, Ed Zwick) - 71st Annual Academy Awards® in 1999
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IP9a10PK54g

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES - Week 2

Quote...
Ninny Threadgoode: Oh, what I wouldn't give for a plate of fried green tomatoes like we used to have at the cafe. Ooh!



So if you, like Ninny, would give anything for a plate of fried green tomatoes,
here goes a recipe for you to fix some for yourself.
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/fried_green_tomatoes/

Read some more quotes at
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101921/quotes

Choose one you have particularly liked, paste it ("comments" slot below or e-mail) and say why you have chosen it.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1991) by Jon Avnet

Written by Fannie Flagg (Novel and Screenplay)
Starring:
Jessica Tandy as Ninny
Kathy Bates as Evelyn
Mary Stuart Masterson as Idgie
Mary-Louise Parker as Ruth

USER REVIEWS at IMDb (www.imdb.com)
A Beautiful Film, 28 October 2004

Author: John Pearce (johnpearce48@aol.com) from England

This is truly a beautiful film.

Well written and superbly acted it tugs at the heartstrings harder than almost any other movie. The way it sets up an obvious story line and then like a gentle roller-coaster suddenly takes you in another direction is unequalled in this type of film.

There are so many points of genuine sadness and whenever you think you have guessed the story you suddenly turn to find an outcome more surprising than you thought.

Major characters die, major characters do not "fall in love" and major characters are not allowed to cop-out; it is as a film should be.

Remarkably well written, produced with care and acted with understatement and love - it is a beautiful film.

Watch it.
John Pearce

For more reviews go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101921/#comment



WATCH THE FILM AND ANSWER THE POLL ON THE LEFT.
COMMENT YOUR VOTE IN THE COMMENT SLOT BELOW.

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY; UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN; SHIRLEY VALENTINE; EDUCATING RITA

WEEK 3

These pictures share more than the same female leading roles' names: FRANCESCA (The Bridges of Madison County), FRANCES (Under the Tuscan Sun)

There are several sentences/dialogues that could have been uttered in any of the movies above. Although they have different backdrops, they all deal with the subjects of love, marriage, changes, loneliness, freedom, conflict, to name a few.

The sentences/dialogues below have been extracted from the four film scripts in question.
Where you find "...:" there should be characters' names, which have been omitted.
You are not required to mention which character said what, but you are expected to suggest in which film this sentence/dialogue too place.

Write 1, if you think it was said in "The Bridges of Madison County";
2, if you think it was said in "Under the Tuscan Sun";
3, in "Shirley Valentine"; or
4, in "Educating Rita".

Example:

...: I realized love won't obey our expectations, it's mystery is pure and absolute.
Your opinion: 1
("The Bridges of Madison County" said by FRANCESCA - you may write only the number).

Enjoy it!

xxx
...: And in that moment, everything I knew to be true about myself up until then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before.

xxx

...: I enjoy a glass of wine while I'm preparing the evening meal... Chips and Egg

xxx

...: So, do you want more eggs or should we just fuck on the linoleum one last time?

xxx

...: And in that moment, everything I knew to be true about myself up until then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before.

xxx

...: Between Austria and Italy, there is a section of the Alps called the Semmering. It is an impossibly steep, very high part of the mountains. They built a train track over these Alps to connect Vienna and Venice. They built these tracks even before there was a train in existence that could make the trip. They built it because they knew some day, the train would come.

xxx

...:This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime.

xxx

...: If you smash into something good, you should hold on until it's time to let go.

xxx

...:Things change. They always do, it's one of the things of nature. Most people are afraid of change, but if you look at it as something you can always count on, then it can be a comfort.

xxx

...: Regrets are a waste of time. They're the past crippling you in the present.

xxx

...: I'm sorry for you, lad. If she was a wife of mine I'd drown her.
...: If I was a wife of yours I'd drown meself.

xxx

...: I know. I used to be The Mother. I used to be The Wife. But now I'm ..**.. again. Would you like to join me for a drink?

xxx

...: I don't often get the chance to talk to someone like you.
...: I'm honored you chose me.

xxx

...: Unthinkably good things can happen even late in the game. It's such a surprise.

xxx

...: I'm beginning to find me. It's great.

xxx

...: Oh, I hope he stays for a while. He needs a holiday. He needs to feel the sun on his skin and to be in water that's as deep as forever.

xxx

...: If you want me to stop, tell me now.
...: No one's asking you to.

xxx

...:I was just going to have some iced tea and split the atom, but that can wait.

xxx

...: We split up because of poetry.
...: You what?
...: One day, my wife explained to me that, for the past fifteen years, my output as a poet had dealt entirely with the part of our lives in which we discovered each other.
...: Are you a poet?
...: Was. And so, to give me something new to write about, she left me. A very noble woman, my wife - she left me for the good of literature. And remarkably it worked.
...:What, you wrote a lot of good stuff, did ya?
...: No. I stopped writing altogether.

xxx

...:The old dreams were good dreams; they didn't work out, but I'm glad I had them.

xxx

...: I think that marriage is like the Middle East - there's no solution.

xxx

...: I mean, most fellas ya know, they've got no idea how to talk to a woman.
...: No?
...: No. They feel they have to take over the conversation. I mean, I mean with most fellas if you say something like, like my favorite season's autumn, they go oh, oh, my favorite season's spring and then you've got 10 minutes of them talkin' about why they like spring and you weren't talkin' about spring, you were talkin' about autumn. So what do you do? You talk about what they want to talk about. Or you don't talk at all. Or you wind up talking to yourself.

xxx

...: Don't kid yourself: you are anything but a simple woman.

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY - Week 2

Francesca: Robert, please. You don't understand, no-one does. When a woman makes the choice to marry, to have children; in one way her life begins but in another way it stops. You build a life of details. You become a mother, a wife and you stop and stay steady so that your children can move. And when they leave they take your life of details with them. And then you're expected move again only you don't remember what moves you because no-one has asked in so long. Not even yourself. You never in your life think that love like this can happen to you.
Robert Kincaid: But now that you have it...
Francesca: I want to keep it forever. I want to love you the way I do now the rest of my life. Don't you understand... we'll lose it if we leave. I can't make an entire life disappear to start a new one. All I can do is try to hold onto to both. Help me. Help me not lose loving you.

Write your view on the subject above. Use the space under "comments" (about 100 words).

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY (1995)

Women (and Marriage) in Movies

In the coming three weeks we'll be comparing THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY with other films which have something in common in their plots: Women, Marriage, Love, Freedom.
Some of the suggested titles were:
Educating Rita; Shirley Valentine; Under the Tuscan Sun.

THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY


Cast & Credits
Robert Kincaid: Clint Eastwood
Francesca Johnson: Meryl Streep
Caroline: Annie Corley
Michael: Victor Slezak

Directed by Clint Eastwood. Written by Richard Lagravenese, Based On The Novel by Robert James Waller.

"This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime."

-- Robert to Francesca

By Roger Ebert Jun 2, 1995 (Chicago Sun-Times)

Clint Eastwood's "The Bridges of Madison County" is not about love and not about sex, but about an idea. The film opens with the information that two people once met and fell in love, but decided not to spend the rest of their lives together. The implication is: If they had acted on their desire, they would not have deserved such a love. (read more)

Read all the review and then write a comment on the statement above.

Billy Elliot - Week 2

On Billy Elliot's official site (see address Julio posted in his comment) we can watch some short interviews with the actors and director and...much more!!!

Here are some excerpts of very interesting articles:

THE BIRTH OF BILLY ELLIOT
The inspiration to write the story for Billy Elliot came in a flash to screenwriter Lee Hall while living in America and writing about his own childhood. The story gestated for about a year, mostly because Hall was working on other projects, then in a flurry of inspiration, he completed the first draft in three weeks.
After further researching the art of ballet by visiting the Royal Ballet School to interview dancers hailing from small villages like Billy's, Hall showed the screenplay to Greg Brenman, head of Tiger Aspect's drama department, who was immediately taken by the story.
"The idea of a young boy growing up in a tough mining village who wants to become a ballet dancer was fantastically engaging," says Brenman... Read more

BRINGING BILLY ELLIOT TO LIFE
Now that the script was to everyone's liking, the search for the title character began. And everyone involved realized that the film's ultimate success lay in the part of Billy. For this role, the filmmakers auditioned over 2,000 boys.
"It was a nightmare at first seeing so many boys, and we started to think the film might be uncastable," says producer Finn.
Daldry agreed, and says, "It was a tall order to find a child who could dance as well as act, who came from the North East and had the right accent, and was also the right age. But eventually we found Jamie, who completely understood all the elements of the story, and he had that elusive thing that allows you to fall in love with a child and be terribly concerned about what happens to him. We found our needle in the haystack."
Jamie Bell, a 13-year-old from the northeastern town of Billingham, still can't believe his luck. It was through a friend of his that he was able to secure an audition, and after quite a few call-backs he was eventually chosen." ... read more

JULIO, HERE'S A CHALLENGE FOR YOU:

Further in this article, we can read

Director of Photography Brian Tufano, who has shot such edgy films as Trainspotting and Shallow Grave, was instrumental in setting the tone of the film. "Framing, composition, colors and texture are the elements you need to convey a story," he says. "Stephen knew exactly what he wanted and was happy for me to show him how he could achieve his vision on film."
Together, they decided to frame the mining village in a claustrophobic way to reflect the tight knit community. "The buildings were part of the narrative, so we framed them tight and had them spilling outside of the framework," explains Tufano. "When we shot the picket lines, we got right in there, making the camera a participant in the strike."
As for the dance scenes, Tufano shifted perspective to encompass a wider, more open frame, which was to enhance the feeling that Billy was breaking free of his surrounding constraints.
"We shot in the way they did in the 1930s for Fred Astaire's movies," says Tufano. "When Billy ventures out of his town to the audition, we wanted full emotional impact so we shot much more sky to show that his world was opening up."

Using your expertise in photography, what if you selected some of these scenes to illustrate what Director of Photography Brian Tufano points out above?
:-)
I bet everyone in class will love it!

BILLY ELLIOT (2000) - Week 1

BILLY ELLIOT


Director: Stephen Daldry
Producers: Greg Brenman, Jonathan Finn
Screenwriter: Lee Hall
Cast: Julie Walters, Jamie Bell, Jamie Draven, Gary Lewis, Jean Heywood, Stuart Wells, Nicola Blackwell

An Irish boy pursues his dream of learning to dance the ballet despite fierce opposition from his macho father and brother, who insist he learn to box and work in the local mine. Billy does not give up dancing. The buried pain in the father/son relationship is healed when the boy wins a chance to audition for the national ballet.

Go to
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249462/
and read some more about it!

Julio has sent us the lyrics to Cosmic Dancer (posted below)- Billy Elliot's theme song. Go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6W8ZspPjj4&feature=PlayList&p=404562CD704A4451&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=56 and watch a beautiful video with Billy's dances and the song in the background.

Cosmic Dancer

T Rex

I was dancing when I was twelve
I was dancing when I was aaah
I danced myself right out the womb
Is it strange to dance so soon
I danced myself right out the womb

I was dancing when I was eight
Is it strange to dance so late
I danced myself into the tomb
Is it strange to dance so soon
I danced myself into the tomb

Is it wrong to understand
The fear that dwells inside a man
What's it like to be a loon
I liken it to a balloon

I danced myself out of the womb
Is it strange to dance so soon
I danced myself into the tomb
But when again once more

I danced myself out of the womb
Is it strange to dance so soon
I danced myself out of the womb.

THANKS, JULIO!

And...
Our near-future project stands...
Shirley Valentine; Under the Tuscan Sun; Educating Rita...

What do these pictures have in common?
How do they differ?

We will be watching these films in the coming months and will then schedule a special class to discuss the questions brought up above.

SHIRLEY VALENTINE (1989)- Week 1

No one thought she had the courage. The nerve. Or the lingerie.

Directed by Lewis Gilbert;
Based on play by Willy Russell;
Screenplay by Willy Russell.

The leading role is performed by actress Pauline Colins who also played Shirley Valentine's part on the play.

This is an excerpt of the review posted at IMDb site titled "We always have steak on a Thursday", 16 February 2009 by author James Hitchcock from Tunbridge Wells, England
Go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098319/usercomments?start=10 and read all the review.

...Shirley's main concern is that life is passing her by. We learn from flashbacks that the young Shirley was a wild, rebellious, free-spirited girl and in the early days of her marriage was still fun-loving and unconventional, devotedly in love with her husband. The older Shirley is bored and frustrated, trapped in a marriage which seems to have died. She has fallen out of love with Joe, who has become cold, stingy and bad-tempered. Whereas Shirley hates routine and predictability, Joe thrives on them; in one memorable scene he loses his temper because she has served him egg and chips rather than steak for his tea. ("We always have steak on a Thursday. We have chips and egg on a Tuesday").

Shirley sees a chance of escape from her routine when her friend Jane wins a holiday for two to Greece in a competition and asks Shirley to come with her. Shirley has never been abroad before (Joe being too mean to pay for foreign holidays), and, after some hesitation, accepts and sets off for Greece without telling her husband. While on holiday she meets, falls for, and has a brief affair with, Costas, a Greek bar owner. At first, he appears to be everything Joe is not- handsome, charming, generous and attentive- but Shirley soon discovers that he is a practised seducer, which is why their affair is only a brief one...

MEET JOE BLACK - Week 2

You've been asked to select the scenes (at least 3) you'd like to see at our next meeting .

Please list them here under "comments" or bring your notes next class.

Watch this video to help you decide.



Celebrating Valentine's Day...

If you really want to indulge your soul with love scenes and beautiful music(Andrew Lloyd Webber's "All I Ask of You"), go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55ke_-zB2SU and watch this video which depicts the deep love shared by the Angel of Death and his Soul Mate*.

*Soulmate

Soulmate (or soul mate) is a term sometimes used to designate someone with whom one has a feeling of deep and natural affinity, friendship, love, intimacy, sexuality, and/or compatibility.
A related concept is that of the twin flame or twin soul – thought to be the ultimate soulmate, the one and only other half of one's soul, for which all souls are driven to find and join. (Babylon)

MEET JOE BLACK (1998) by Martin Brest

the director of Scent of a Woman;
featuring Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Claire Forlani.

Week 1

Read the transcript of the introductory scenes.

MEET JOE BLACK
(source http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Meet-Joe-Black.html)

--------------------------------------------------------------

EXT. ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. - 4:00 AM

A patch of water. PULL BACK TO REVEAL more water. BACK
FARTHER TO REVEAL an expanse of river, up the bank to
massive lawn running up to a great, classic Hudson River
manor house; the country estate of William Parrish.

INT. PARRISH COUNTRY ESTATE - 4:00 AM

MOVE THROUGH French doors that lead from a wide terrace into
an expansive living room, DOWN wide corridors lined with
Bierstadt and Cole paintings, the Hudson River School, mists
and trees and small boats and distant humans.

INT. PARRISH BEDROOM - 4:00 AM

MOVE THROUGH the doorway to reveal a master bedroom furnish-
ed with exquisite simplicity, revelatory of its sleeping
occupant, WILLIAM PARRISH, 64, a warm but commanding face, a
man of maturity yet who exudes a glow of enthusiasm.

Although asleep, there is an uncommon restlessness to him.
Parrish grips his upper arm as if in pain. Now the severity
of the pain wakes him, he squeezes his arm. The wind comes
up, through the wind a VOICE is heard distantly, or is it the
wind itself:

VOICE (V.O.)
... Yes.

Parrish blinks, has he heard something, has he not, he is
not sure, he releases his arm, his grimace of pain fades,
the discomfort seems momentarily to have subsided.

He rises now, crosses to the bathroom. As he pees, a breeze
outside the window, the wind again, but then the Voice comes
up:

VOICE (V.O.)
Yes...

It is unmistakably a Voice, it is not the wind, Parrish has
heard something, he looks around, but no one is there. He
can't finish peeing, turns back to his bedroom. All bewild-
ered, Parrish looks around once more, climbs back into bed,
trying to trace the source of what he has heard or hasn't
heard; he is not sure.

He pulls the covers up now, not a SOUND, tries to close his
eyes.

VOICE (V.O.)
Yes.

Parrish sits up again, frightened, but still there is no one
there, he seems fraught with indecision, should he get up,
should he not, what is happening? He looks out: absolute
stillness and silence, CRICKETS chirp down by the river, a
light FLICKERS from a shadboat, Parrish closes his eyes but
then they flutter open, he glances up at the ceiling and
finally, exhausted, falls back asleep.

EXT. REAR TERRACE, PARRISH COUNTRY ESTATE - NEXT MORNING

The great lawn infested with workmen, planting stakes, un-
rolling a huge canvas tent, gardeners fashioning topiary and
adding landscaping of their own, crews setting up platforms,
speakers, lights. Ubiquitous is ALLISON, 35, Parrish's
older daughter, foremen competing for her attention and she
relishing every moment.


Print the script above and bring it to class. We'll analyze it while watching the introductory scenes.

-Is the film set well portrayed in the script?
-Are the emotions experimented by the character conveyed?
-Does the script depict details you hadn't observed in the film?

Watch the trailer.

-Which scene was the most stirring to you?

Meet Joe Black Trailer | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

The impressive opulence of the set, the beauty of the art exhibited is described in "Behind the Scenes".

Click on the link above and read the most interesting information on Production Designer Dante Ferreti who created the Parrish mansion and offices.

MICKYBO & ME - Week 2

WARNING – This film does feature scenes of a Ginger child, with freckles, who is ultimately the victim of abuse. Some of the images can be particularly distressing if you or anyone around you happens to be Ginger (but never fear, he does get one up on the bullies that interminably pursue him).

Thanks, Julio!, thanks, Laura!, for your posts on Mickybo & Me.
Julio's, two interesting articles on the movie itself (10 Irish Movies to watch on St. Patrick’s Day and Mickybo & Me - Culture Northern Ireland)...
and Laura's, a text on the backdrop of the story (The Northern Irish Conflict - A Chronology).

Great contributions!

This week's assignment is:
1)choose one of the excerpts selected by Julio (he has posted four of them in the "comments" slot) and comment on it;
2)select 3 new words in Laura's text that you find important to learn and write a synonym or definition.
Post your answers under "comments" or send us an email.