tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post4549258407588107674..comments2024-03-29T01:46:41.340-07:00Comments on DREAMS ARE WHAT LE CINEMA IS FOR...: THE MAIDS 1975Ken Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-29509621031823809922015-10-20T17:18:49.628-07:002015-10-20T17:18:49.628-07:00Wonderful if these posts in some way inspires you ...Wonderful if these posts in some way inspires you to think of a time you look back on fondly. And I know what you mean by therapeutic. Starting this blog has been like retracing the steps of where all my aesthetics were formulated.<br />I' glad you've opted to share so many of your insights with the readers here.<br />Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-84732336463821363712015-10-19T06:54:35.925-07:002015-10-19T06:54:35.925-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04072841840657518591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-20169939427116013502015-10-18T06:21:14.585-07:002015-10-18T06:21:14.585-07:00Hi Gregory
This is a film so few seem to have seen...Hi Gregory<br />This is a film so few seem to have seen, I'm glad to know you're familiar with it (and its history, only when I was gifted with a copy of the play had I ever heard of Genet's desire to have the roles played by boys).<br />Best of all, you actually "know" about this series of Landau films from experience. How wonderful it must have been. I have "The Iceman Cometh" in my Netflix list. Looking forward to it!<br /><br />I like your description of Jackson's screen presence. So apt! Did you ever see her in The House of Bernarda Alba? <br />Thanks, Gregory. You DO have a broad scope of film tastes!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-47087394994650095082015-10-16T08:13:01.058-07:002015-10-16T08:13:01.058-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04072841840657518591noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-72238302552536258982013-12-14T16:37:29.315-08:002013-12-14T16:37:29.315-08:00Glad you liked those articles. Such good points ma...Glad you liked those articles. Such good points made.<br />Although I am completely in your camp, I think I have to plead the 5th when commenting on Paltrow because I worked with her for a time and she was a real sweetheart. Let's just have your words do the talking there.<br /><br />As for Danner (name dropper that I am, I also met and like her a great deal) I fully agree that her talent always made me feel she should have had a bigger career than she did. Such a smart and individual screen presence among so many in the 70s. Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-42886764370751832882013-12-08T13:29:59.145-08:002013-12-08T13:29:59.145-08:00Thanks for pointing me to those articles Ken. It&#...Thanks for pointing me to those articles Ken. It's so true that not just actresses such as Helena Bonham Carter, Emma Thompson (although she seems to have a good role coming in Saving Mr. Banks), Rachel Weisz (a personal fav) and Toni Collette aren't being offered parts worthy of them but even many of the younger actresses only have thin girlfriend parts available to them. A sad state of affairs.<br /><br />I have to say that playing a nothing character like Pepper Potts is just where Gwyneth Paltrow belongs and matches her talent level. I have seen precisely one film where I thought she was more than adequate, Emma, and will never understand how she is a successful, well regarded actress. <br /><br />Her mother Blythe Danner however is one of those actresses of almost limitless skill who Hollywood was never able to figure out how to spotlight properly and make the major star she deserved. Perhaps with her whiskey voice and unique style she was too individual and the more ordinary and common Paltrow is easier to slot into any average part.joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-29233669677566721942013-12-05T13:23:32.629-08:002013-12-05T13:23:32.629-08:00Hi Joel
So wonderful that you gave this forgotten ...Hi Joel<br />So wonderful that you gave this forgotten film a look! Even if it was not a wholly fulfilling movie experience for you, I'm glad you got to see two of cinema's top actors paired during a peak period in their careers. <br /><br />I think my fondness for this movie is firmly rooted in it being yet another narrative involving role playing, identity and the like. As I wrote about "Secret Ceremony" those topics engage me in films in ways I can't always describe.<br /><br />And I agree with you about the under-utilization of actresses today. Diane Lane being a perfect case in point. It took television to give the Jessica Lange the kind of meaty role movies seemed unable to unearth for her. <br /><br />One of my favorite film bloggers, Joe Meyers, wrote two terrific pieces on the dearth of good roles available to seasoned actresses today, and why playing support to a super hero or James Bond is about as good as it gets these days.<br /><br />http://blog.ctnews.com/meyers/2013/04/29/would-meryl-streep-play-pepper-potts-if-she-came-along-now/<br /><br />http://blog.ctnews.com/meyers/2013/08/13/what-is-jodie-foster-doing-in-a-movie-like-elysium/<br />Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-46792832558738864822013-12-03T20:10:57.310-08:002013-12-03T20:10:57.310-08:00Hi Ken,
I've had this in my Netflix queue for...Hi Ken,<br /><br />I've had this in my Netflix queue for months but was letting it just gradually work it's way to the top until I saw that you had written a piece on it. I was curious to read your take but wanted to view the film independent of it first so zipped it to the top and had a chance to watch it today.<br /><br />Despite absolutely titanic performances from both actresses I found the film something more to appreciate than enjoy. I also liked Vivien Merchant's work although I thought it was a bit fussy. I had heard of the movie years ago and my main interest in it was the same as yours, the pairing of two such great actresses and on that score the picture delivers in spades but they are so sadly nuts and bitter it became wearing after a while.<br /><br />It helped me get more from the film being able to read your impressions. You certainly revealed more levels than I had found in the picture plus I was unaware of the background of both the production of the film as well as the basis for the characters, which I quickly googled and read their sad twisted tale. <br /><br />I agree with you about the dearth of distinctive actresses today. I wouldn't say there are none but often when they reach the years when they should be doing some of their most interesting work the really gifted ones are sidelined into supporting or mother roles. If this was the 70's a great actress like Diane Lane would be headlining major films as Glenda, Jane Fonda and Ellen Burstyn did at the time, not stuck in junk playing Superman's mom. The real irony is that she has always been a beauty and still is but because she has chosen to age gracefully she apparently is no longer being offered leads.joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-29736429946173402882012-04-01T23:38:02.942-07:002012-04-01T23:38:02.942-07:00Ah, sounds like you pick your heroes well! He was ...Ah, sounds like you pick your heroes well! He was such an amazing man. His real life rivals his plays for absurdist twists and unexpected outcomes. I think you would love this film. It really does his play proud.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-84490210360314711282012-03-25T08:11:44.617-07:002012-03-25T08:11:44.617-07:00Sounds great. Jean Genet is my hero!Sounds great. Jean Genet is my hero!bitter69ukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10182913922421674178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-16618744833149230462012-03-23T13:16:55.075-07:002012-03-23T13:16:55.075-07:00Thanks, Poseidon. These AFT films are really somet...Thanks, Poseidon. These AFT films are really something else. So daring to film these far-from-easy plays, but what a record to have preserved! I would recommend "Rhinoceros"...with Gene Wilder, Zero Mostel, and Karen Black. That cast alone makes it priceless.<br />I read the story of the link you provided. Yikes! Whata fantastic tale never to have been dramatized! I'd never heard of it, but there does seem to be a long history, even in film,of the allegorical "revolution of the servants" Genet dramatizes here. It's almost a subgenre of film. Claude Chabrol did a wonderful film with Jackie Bisset and Isabelle Huppert along those lines (Le Ceremonie), and two films I have yet to see: "Murderous Maids" and "Sister, My Sister" are more literal film adaptations of the Papin Sisters crimes of the 1930s that is said to have influenced Genet. Pretty chilling stuff!<br />Thanks, so much for the link and for your comments!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-53974293931809246942012-03-23T05:54:47.899-07:002012-03-23T05:54:47.899-07:00Very interesting reading, as always. These filmed...Very interesting reading, as always. These filmed plays (none of which I have actually seen yet!) seem like preserved gold nuggets from a time gone by that we'll never experience again. How wonderful that they are seeing the light of day again on DVD. Britain has a long, storied history of servants deciding to bump off their employers. Not long ago, I was reading up on the grisly story I'm about to provide a link to (just to Wikipedia, nothing potentially dangerous or off the beaten path.) Your article today reminded me of it. Amazing that no one ever made a movie out of it, especially now that there is a contemporary bookend to the tale!<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Julia_Martha_Thomas<br /><br />Thanks!Poseidon3https://www.blogger.com/profile/10465785002285422594noreply@blogger.com