Reading lists and films galore

I haven't blogged in AGES. But the truth of the matter is, i haven't felt like it had the time. I'm not a very good blogger I'm afraid. I have loads and loads of thoughts and ideas and things, but writing them down and posting is the part I have trouble with. Puffaphlooie. But I do have an excuse of sorts: I have been very busy preparing for auditions. In fact, my first one was the Sunday before last! But I won't talk about it here since this is my non-ballet blog (I'll post about it on my other one). But anyway, I have spent the last, oh, three weeks or so working very hard and stressing OUT preparing busily. To keep my mind off of ballet and such, I have watched movies. Errol Flynn movies. *grins and drools slightly in a dazed sort of way*

  I've been re-reading lots as well. I've read:

*Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
*To Have and To Hold by Mary Johnston
*In Search of Wales by H.V. Morton
*Three for Lord Peter Wimsey (a book containing Whose Body, Clouds of Witness and Unnatural Death) by Dorothy Sayers
*A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
 *The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and
*The Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis, which I am reading now (I finished Out of the Silent Planet and am halfway into Perelandra). All of these books I have read before (sometimes many, many times), and I love them all. I have had quite a nice reunion with members of my library.

And now for the movies, with which I will include small statements describing what I thought of them.

*Cinderella, the made for TV musical version by R&H with Julie Andrews (Which I enjoyed very much.)

*H.M.S. Pinafore, sung by Opera Australia (Quite disappointing; they weren't funny at all, just over the top and annoying.)
* Cranford (Whaaa. The acting was superb, but the story line dreadful! They tried to do the Austen thing, but failed. Everything that could go wrong did: most characters either lost their true love or got sliced up or DIED!! And then they crammed a bunch of happy endings in at the end. But all those slicings and deaths... most distressing, don't you know. I don't like to cry five times and then have to leave the room twice during a movie. I'm sticking to Austen. The most violent thing that happens is a girl hits her head on a rock and never giggles as much again.)
*Robin Hood with Errol Flynn (YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!)
*The Sea Hawk with Errol Flynn (DOUBLE YAY!!!!!!!!!! Though I don't like the South America part. Creepy. But the Korngold score and absolutely fantastic ship-and-sword fights more than make up for it)
*Captain Blood with Errol Flynn (An old favorite)
*The Prince and the Pauper with Errol Flynn (can you tell I'm in love yet?)
*Pride and Prejudice with Sir Laurence Olivier (Not Austen, but a charming movie anyway (if you let yourself enjoy it and not be too bothered by the Hollywoodedness))
*I was a Male War Bride with Cary Grant (a friend-recommended movie, which I found to be quite funny)

Now you must understand that though that doesn't look like a whole lot of movies, I watched Male War Bride twice, and Captain Blood and Robin Hood and Sea Hawk at least five times each, and that adds up. Heh. I've so enjoyed watching Errol Flynn. He is so handsome and dashing and courageous and masculine and just so adorable (well, at least in his movies). They don't make men like that anymore. Or like Cary Grant and Sir Laurence Olivier, who are my other loves. Grant is so handsome and funny! His comedic timing is wonderful, and he is just hilarious in comic roles (watch Bringing up Baby, Arsenic and Old Lace and I was a Male War Bride to see for yourself). And of course, no one can beat Olivier in the acting department (or in the looks department either for that matter).


So, despite many stresses and concerns and strained muscles and pointe shoe-induced blisters, I have been keeping myself happy with many movies, chocolate, and books. But the problem is getting myself to sit down at the computer and blog about it! This post has been sitting unfinished for a week. *sigh* Someday I will be a good blogger! Well, maybe.

They seek him here, they seek him there...

I must confess that I have had a bit of a Scarlet Pimpernel obsession lately. I reread it, and so reminded myself how much I love it. My Mother went to the library and checked out the 1982 tv version of the tale with Anthony Andrews, Jane Seymour, and Ian Mckellen as Sir Percy Blakeney, Lady Marguerite Blakeney, and Chauvelin, respectively.

Anthony Andrews was good, but a little over the top as Sir Percy. But he was funny, and did well with the material he was given. Jane Seymour was pretty, but too made up and the wigs were dreadful (it was the 80s after all). She couldn't act either. Ian Mckellen was good and creepy. So overall it was a nice movie, but it definitely wasn't the Scarlet Pimpernel. Definitely not.
So then Father insists that we watch the 1934 version with Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon. Five minutes into it I am in love.
Leslie Howard is THE Scarlet Pimpernel. He is Sir Percy Blakeney. The movie overall is wonderful, and while it doesn't follow the book completely (though it does a good bit), it gets the spirit and soul of it, which is most important. Film adaptations, in my mind, rarely do this. Though I do wish they had put a little bit more danger into the movie, because the end of the book is so exciting. Merle Oberon as Lady Blakeney was good, but didn't quite capture the role. I don't think she displayed enough emotion and love at the end, and she didn't seem nearly tortured enough when Chauvelin made her choose between her brother and the Scarlet Pimpernel. Chauvelin, played by Raymond Massey, was excellent. Quite creepy. The whole movie was superb, and there wasn't that element of ridiculousness and the playtime feel in it, as in the other version. Movies aren't good in that way anymore. And there aren't actors like that anymore. There just simply aren't. Unless they are older, and from a different generation.

Since I was so enamored of Leslie Howard, I went and watched Pygmalion (1938). Ah the acting. So very, very good. He is delightful as Henry Higgins. I am now officially in love with him. It's too bad he's dead. If he wasn't I'd marry him. I would marry Sir Laurence Olivier too if he were alive. I've been in love with him for simply years.

Both of them were amazing actors, incredibly handsome men, and, dare I say it? Absolutely adorable.

And I do love it when Sir Percy says, "odds fish" or "sink me".



For fellow fans: www.blakeneymanor.com/