|
Post by galacticgirrrl on Jan 28, 2024 21:31:21 GMT
He once said he had been interested in depicting “a tropical sun that sets aglow everything around it.” That was how he understood the beauty of the Tahitian landscape…which he sought to put on canvas.
That is why I am bit puzzled over the move to sepia and then colour instead of visa versa.
I would have thought the Oz of Tahiti would have been colour....
And then we understand the ugliness we would go to middle ground of sepia...
But apparently not.
|
|
|
Post by Fading Fast on Jan 28, 2024 21:33:29 GMT
Andrea, thank you for a great month of Maugham pictures.
|
|
|
Post by topbilled on Jan 28, 2024 21:34:26 GMT
Yes, thank you Andrea...the month flew by...it's been a very enjoyable theme.
We will have to find a way to include THE RAZOR'S EDGE later...
|
|
|
Post by Andrea Doria on Jan 28, 2024 21:37:12 GMT
So like the production code to prohibit any mention of sexually transmitted diseases, but allow a whole lot of pro-spousal abuse talk.
I apologize for this one. I didn't like it half as well as the other Maugham films I've seen. I'm glad to have watched it once though, just to know what it's about.
|
|
|
Post by BunnyWhit on Jan 28, 2024 21:37:35 GMT
I just pressed play on the 1959 made for TV version of The Moon and Sixpence. Laurence Olivier as Strickland. Should be an interesting comparison/contrast.
|
|
|
Post by galacticgirrrl on Jan 28, 2024 21:38:04 GMT
Yes thank you. Loved it - so much fun- not quite the right term for the subject matter but the company was stellar. Even the doe-a-deer.
|
|
|
Post by topbilled on Jan 28, 2024 21:39:12 GMT
I just pressed play on the 1959 made for TV version of The Moon and Sixpence. Laurence Olivier as Strickland. Should be an interesting comparison/contrast. Is it on YouTube? Please tell us your thoughts and if you recommend our watching it.
I believe Olivier earned an Emmy for his portrayal.
|
|
|
Post by Fading Fast on Jan 28, 2024 21:39:47 GMT
I just pressed play on the 1959 made for TV version of The Moon and Sixpence. Laurence Olivier as Strickland. Should be an interesting comparison/contrast. That sounds fun. If you can, please give us your post-vieweing thoughts.
|
|
|
Post by galacticgirrrl on Jan 28, 2024 21:41:17 GMT
So like the production code to prohibit any mention of sexually transmitted diseases, but allow a whole lot of pro-spousal abuse talk.
I apologize for this one. I didn't like it half as well as the other Maugham films I've seen. I'm glad to have watched it once though, just to know what it's about. No apologies necessary here - a very timely (or timeless?) topic....
At what cost art?
What do we do with the flawed? Throw their work on the scrapheap of life? Casablanca? Alice in Wonderland? Dickens....on and on.
It was a bit rough seeing Sanders so blunt but be careful what I wish for: I tend to love truth talkers.
|
|
|
Post by BunnyWhit on Jan 28, 2024 21:49:09 GMT
I just pressed play on the 1959 made for TV version of The Moon and Sixpence. Laurence Olivier as Strickland. Should be an interesting comparison/contrast. Is it on YouTube? Please tell us your thoughts and if you recommend our watching it.
I believe Olivier earned an Emmy for his portrayal. Yes, it's on YouTube. It's a rough copy, but now that I know who's saying what, I can listen more than watch.
Yes, Olivier received an Emmy for the role. The cast also includes:
Denholm Elliott as the Writer and our faithful narrator Geraldine Fitzgerald as Amy Strickland Hume Cronyn as Dirk Stroeve Jessica Tandy as Blanche Stroeve Judith Anderson as Tiare Jean Marsh as Ata
|
|
|
Post by Andrea Doria on Jan 28, 2024 22:40:27 GMT
Is it on YouTube? Please tell us your thoughts and if you recommend our watching it.
I believe Olivier earned an Emmy for his portrayal. Yes, it's on YouTube. It's a rough copy, but now that I know who's saying what, I can listen more than watch.
Yes, Olivier received an Emmy for the role. The cast also includes:
Denholm Elliott as the Writer and our faithful narrator Geraldine Fitzgerald as Amy Strickland Hume Cronyn as Dirk Stroeve Jessica Tandy as Blanche Stroeve Judith Anderson as Tiare Jean Marsh as Ata
Wow, what a cast. Now I'm intrigued and may have to give it a look.
|
|
|
Post by BunnyWhit on Jan 29, 2024 0:11:50 GMT
The Moon and Sixpence (1959)
Director: Robert Mulligan Writer: W. Somerset Maugham, S. Lee Pogostin
Awards*: 1960 Nominee, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama 1960 Winner, Primetime Emmy Award for Single Performance by an Actor (Lead or Support) -- Laurence Olivier 1960 Winner, Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama -- Robert Mulligan 1959 Sylvania Award for Outstanding Dramatic Program 1959 Sylvania Award for Outstanding Telecast of the Year 1959 Sylvania Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Starring Role -- Laurence Olivier 1959 Sylvania Award for Outstanding Television Adaptation -- S. Lee Pogostin
Cast: Laurence Olivier as Charles Strickland Judith Anderson as Tiare Hume Cronyn as Dirk Stroeve Jessica Tandy as Blanche Stroeve Geraldine Fitzgerald as Amy Strickland Denholm Elliott as Writer Cyril Cusack as Doctor Coutras Murray Matheson as MacAndrew Jean Marsh as Ata
It seems obvious from the beginning that this is a much more faithful adaptation of Maugham's book than is the 1942 film version. The situations and dialogue are much more meaningful, the characters much more fleshed.
This adaptation includes much less interaction between Writer and Strickland. Much of the exposition that occurs between these two characters in the 1942 film is instead dialogue between the other characters, which much more effectively provides context for the characters' emotions. For example, when Strickland wants to leave Amy, we learn all of what transpires between the two of them directly from their encounters with each other. Instead of Strickland telling Writer that Amy can make it on her own after he's supported her for seventeen years, Strickland tells Amy the same. It is much more realistic to see Amy come to hate him because of the way he treats her rather then to simply turn on a dime.
When Dirk wants to bring Strickland home to nurse him back to health, Blanche refuses, telling Dirk that something terrible will happen. We have already seen interaction between Blanche and Strickland, and we can see that though she does not say it, Blanche is moved by Strickland, or the idea of him. She foreshadows that the "bad thing" that will happen is she will leave with him.
It is much easier to be supportive of Dirk in this version of the film. He is kind even to the detriment of himself, but it is clear that he only acts from love. He loves Blanche and will do anything for her. He loves Strickland because he can see the genius in him. It is not the man he loves, it is the artist. He tells Blanche that they must be "tolerant and patient" and save Strickland, and we know he does this to save Strickland's art for the world.
At one point Strickland says, "I don't want love, I haven't time for it, it's weakness." Still, it becomes clear that Strickland truly does love Ata. He teaches her and is gentle with her. She is hopelessly in love with him. There is a lovely scene in which Strickland tells Ata she must speak in sentences. He helps her understand by taking her hand, which is connected to her arm, which is connected to her body, which is connected to the ground, which is connected to the sky. Strickland says that when she can put things together, when she can complete them, she will be an artist. In this, we learn his philosophy for himself and his work.
Strickland fills his home with murals. He explains to Ata that life is beautiful, and obscene, and beautiful. After Strickland dies, the doctor comes to the home and sees the murals. He is awestruck and proclaims them "so ugly, and so....." before he smells the smoke. Ata promised to Strickland she would destroy the home, and she does so. I find this much more moving than paintings on individual canvases. It allows us to believe that Strickland has built himself a home within art, that art surrounds and protects and nourishes him.
I found this production to be much more enjoyable than the 1942 film. The acting is very good and the adaptation certainly much more fidelitous. With rounder characters, we have an opportunity to learn what motivates their actions. We can empathize with the good and the bad in each character rather than being presented with only one attribute which we must either like or dislike because it's all we know of the character.
The copy I looked at on YouTube is pretty terrible, but HERE it is just in case you want to judge for yourself.
*The Sylvania Awards were presented from 1951 to 1959. Their prestige rivaled, and some would say eclipsed, the Emmys.
|
|
|
Post by Fading Fast on Jan 29, 2024 0:20:51 GMT
The Moon and Sixpence (1959)
Director: Robert Mulligan Writer: W. Somerset Maugham, S. Lee Pogostin
Awards*: 1960 Nominee, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Drama 1960 Winner, Primetime Emmy Award for Single Performance by an Actor (Lead or Support) -- Laurence Olivier 1960 Winner, Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama -- Robert Mulligan 1959 Sylvania Award for Outstanding Dramatic Program 1959 Sylvania Award for Outstanding Telecast of the Year 1959 Sylvania Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Starring Role -- Laurence Olivier 1959 Sylvania Award for Outstanding Television Adaptation -- S. Lee Pogostin
Cast: Laurence Olivier as Charles Strickland Judith Anderson as Tiare Hume Cronyn as Dirk Stroeve Jessica Tandy as Blanche Stroeve Geraldine Fitzgerald as Amy Strickland Denholm Elliott as Writer Cyril Cusack as Doctor Coutras Murray Matheson as MacAndrew Jean Marsh as Ata
It seems obvious from the beginning that this is a much more faithful adaptation of Maugham's book than is the 1942 film version. The situations and dialogue are much more meaningful, the characters much more fleshed.
This adaptation includes much less interaction between Writer and Strickland. Much of the exposition that occurs between these two characters in the 1942 film is instead dialogue between the other characters, which much more effectively provides context for the characters' emotions. For example, when Strickland wants to leave Amy, we learn all of what transpires between the two of them directly from their encounters with each other. Instead of Strickland telling Writer that Amy can make it on her own after he's supported her for seventeen years, Strickland tells Amy the same. It is much more realistic to see Amy come to hate him because of the way he treats her rather then to simply turn on a dime.
When Dirk wants to bring Strickland home to nurse him back to health, Blanche refuses, telling Dirk that something terrible will happen. We have already seen interaction between Blanche and Strickland, and we can see that though she does not say it, Blanche is moved by Strickland, or the idea of him. She foreshadows that the "bad thing" that will happen is she will leave with him.
It is much easier to be supportive of Dirk in this version of the film. He is kind even to the detriment of himself, but it is clear that he only acts from love. He loves Blanche and will do anything for her. He loves Strickland because he can see the genius in him. It is not the man he loves, it is the artist. He tells Blanche that they must be "tolerant and patient" and save Strickland, and we know he does this to save Strickland's art for the world.
At one point Strickland says, "I don't want love, I haven't time for it, it's weakness." Still, it becomes clear that Strickland truly does love Ata. He teaches her and is gentle with her. She is hopelessly in love with him. There is a lovely scene in which Strickland tells Ata she must speak in sentences. He helps her understand by taking her hand, which is connected to her arm, which is connected to her body, which is connected to the ground, which is connected to the sky. Strickland says that when she can put things together, when she can complete them, she will be an artist. In this, we learn his philosophy for himself and his work.
Strickland fills his home with murals. He explains to Ata that life is beautiful, and obscene, and beautiful. After Strickland dies, the doctor comes to the home and sees the murals. He is awestruck and proclaims them "so ugly, and so....." before he smells the smoke. Ata promised to Strickland she would destroy the home, and she does so. I find this much more moving than paintings on individual canvases. It allows us to believe that Strickland has built himself a home within art, that art surrounds and protects and nourishes him.
I found this production to be much more enjoyable than the 1942 film. The acting is very good and the adaptation certainly much more fidelitous. With rounder characters, we have an opportunity to learn what motivates their actions. We can empathize with the good and the bad in each character rather than being presented with only one attribute which we must either like or dislike because it's all we know of the character.
The copy I looked at on YouTube is pretty terrible, but HERE it is just in case you want to judge for yourself.
*The Sylvania Awards were presented from 1951 to 1959. Their prestige rivaled, and some would say eclipsed, the Emmys. Thank you so much for this wonderful write up and comparison to the '42 version. Reading this, you made clear something that I only had a vague feeling of - the contrivance of the Marshall character as a narrator in the '42 version was overused to the detriment of the story and character development.
|
|
|
Post by topbilled on Jan 29, 2024 0:55:16 GMT
Yes, I also felt Herbert Marshall's character was overused in the 1942 version...too much conversation, too many scenes of him and Sanders sitting around and talking...talk-talk-talk.
I found the scriptwriters went out of their way to please the production code censors, by having every other character denounce Strickland for leaving his first wife ad nauseum, without showing the real reasons why he is leaving.
As for Dirk and Blanche, personally I thought it would have played better if Blanche's antipathy towards Strickland was a projection of her anger at herself, at her own inner weakness. That she was already fantasizing about Strickland, sexually, and she knew that she could not remain faithful to her husband if she was given more time exposed to Strickland.
As for Ata, she is based on Gaugin's second wife...but she is largely stereotypical in this story. In real life, she bore him a son and a daughter. The daughter died shortly after birth. The son became an artist, but he remained illiterate. So obviously Gaugin did not provide a formal education to his young Tahitian wife or their son, though his love for painting and art transferred on to them.
It was a son born to the first wife who objected to the use of Gaugin's paintings in the film and threatened legal action against the producers.
Incidentally, Gaugin fathered offspring with other young Tahitian women he married. Ata was not the only one. But none of those other relationships are depicted in the film...probably because the filmmakers had to avoid controversy. It was easier to please the production code office by saying he left and divorced the first wife, then married one young Tahitian gal later.
|
|
|
Post by BunnyWhit on Jan 29, 2024 3:27:04 GMT
Yes, I also felt Herbert Marshall's character was overused in the 1942 version...too much conversation, too many scenes of him and Sanders sitting around and talking...talk-talk-talk.
I found the scriptwriters went out of their way to please the production code censors, by having every other character denounce Strickland for leaving his first wife ad nauseum, without showing the real reasons why he is leaving.
As for Dirk and Blanche, personally I thought it would have played better if Blanche's antipathy towards Strickland was a projection of her anger at herself, at her own inner weakness. That she was already fantasizing about Strickland, sexually, and she knew that she could not remain faithful to her husband if she was given more time exposed to Strickland.
As for Ata, she is based on Gaugin's second wife...but she is largely stereotypical in this story. In real life, she bore him a son and a daughter. The daughter died shortly after birth. The son became an artist, but he remained illiterate. So obviously Gaugin did not provide a formal education to his young Tahitian wife or their son, though his love for painting and art transferred on to them.
It was a son born to the first wife who objected to the use of Gaugin's paintings in the film and threatened legal action against the producers.
Incidentally, Gaugin fathered offspring with other young Tahitian women he married. Ata was not the only one. But none of those other relationships are depicted in the film...probably because the filmmakers had to avoid controversy. It was easier to please the production code office by saying he left and divorced the first wife, then married one young Tahitian gal later. You've reminded me of a couple things.
Regarding Blanche and Dirk -- I might mention that at one point in the 1959 version, someone (sorry, don't remember who it was) mentioned that Dirk married Blanche because she came to him when she was "in trouble", and he took her in. An "ah ha" moment, for sure.
Regarding Strickland's time in Tahiti -- at one point, Strickland and the doctor were talking, and Strickland said something about a woman and a boy just showing up. He said, "they weren't there, then they were," or something very nearly that. By this time, I confess, I was a bit dazed at having watched this "comedy" twice in a row, and I think my attention may have waned.
After twice through it theatrically, I've ordered the book.
|
|