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< Television ~ It's Not TV -- It's HBO! |
| billyweeds |
 Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 11:40 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| One more thing: how great is Brian F. O'Byrne? |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2011 5:27 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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billyweeds wrote: Just watched Episodes 3, 4, and 5 in a row, and am in awe. Frankly, I had been just a tad skeptical of Winslet's ability to carry the story forward--partially because of the "dumpy" look she affected. But this is an instance of a miniseries that just kept getting better and better and better, until the last episode just exploded off the screen. The sequence in the mansion. The concert. The scene by the car. The final duologue. Everything. Not to mention the performances by Wood, Pearce, and Winslet. Todd Haynes is some kind of a genius.
Oh, and just for the record, two things:
Winslet wound up being just sexy enough to make that part of the story work.
Though I still love the Joan Crawford movie, and Crawford's performance in it, there's no question that the miniseries is better, and ultimately more entertaining.
To add: When Mildred looked through her opera glasses and saw the real monster that is Veda. Not that she recognized her as such. I mentioned earlier our seeing Mildred's life though glass, now it becomes Mildred's turn.
Veda as a snake slithering across Monty's room in the nude, flying down the stairs reptilian like, never once losing either her grace or flow. Never was a role so beautifully cast or perfectly played. For those who said Wood was over the top, I agree. Just over the top enough to make her the perfect Veda. Now I know where the expression Soap Opera originates, minus the soap.
More later ... |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Wed Apr 13, 2011 6:34 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| Agree with Billy and Marj. This was one of the better HBO mini-series. Riveting! |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 11:20 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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| Riveting is a perfect word for it, Ghulam. I find myself going back to watch certain scenes over and over again. |
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| inlareviewer |
| Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2011 3:18 pm |
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Joined: 05 Jul 2004
Posts: 1949
Location: Lawrence, KS
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| Can only second everyone else's encomiums -- it went the distance and then some. When the worst thing to be said as a devotee of the source is that some trivialities of adaptation -- Veda's repertory items, the specificity with which Mildred addresses Veda's calculations at the end -- are more deliberate and deadpan sardonic in Cain, that's hardly a quibble, let alone criticism. Top-drawer mini-series, indelible work all around. Bravi a tutti. |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 2:21 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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Game of Thrones - two episodes so far and its gotten me very intrigued. Good suspense, acting
Cinema Verite was a huge disappointment. I did catch the PBS series "An American Family" (although most definitely a re-run of it) when I was young. I just thought this film seemed to lack relevance (though I know the actual story isn't irrelevant - early beginning of reality-family TV that is so rampant today). It was extremely dull, beyond Pat Loud - we really didn't get more than the surface impressions of the family members. Its was pretty limp. Perhaps it would have worked (like Mildred Pierce) as a Mini-Miniseries. |
Last edited by Trish on Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:17 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:02 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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Did you know that the original was on PBS last night? I watched perhaps fifteen minutes of it and turned it off.
I expect it was a major event during the seventies. I didn't see it then. Today it just doesn't hold up. |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 3:19 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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| Really - Last night I watched stuff I had DVR'd (which included Cinema Verite). |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 10:33 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: New York City
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Cinema Verite started deadly dull but got better as it went along IMO. The problem for me was that Diane Lane and Tim Robbins were so eerily accurate at recreating Pat and Bill Loud that they emerged just as boring as the originals. James Gandolfini, on the other hand, was excellent as the ingenious but infinitely sleazy producer of the series.
The best moment in the entire (surprisingly short) movie was the very last item on the final crawl. It brought me to instant tears. The rest was well acted at best, yawnable at worst. Directed by the married team that helmed American Splendor, which was much better. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 2:58 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 4742
Location: Upstate NY
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| I agree about Game of Thrones. Very well dramatized. Even gripping. |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 11:11 am |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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Some critic was saying snarky things about GOT due to the bloodiness, lots of beheadings and such - comparing it to a video game in that respect. I have to wait for DVD with HBO stuff, but will be interested what reaction here is.
CV: I remember seeing the Loud family series as a teenager and not much liking the style, or the Louds themselves. Struck me, then, as a clear case of how the camera warps behavior and far removed from any "reality" I knew of. Would be interested in CV if it gave some sense of how the family got roped into it, and the aftermath in their lives. Didn't one of them commit suicide? (or maybe I'm thinking of Dave Rappaport in Time Bandits...) |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:27 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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| Anyone watching this series? I've been enjoying it. Peter Dinklage is excellent |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 2:43 pm |
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| I don't get HBO so I don't see it, but what series are you talking about? |
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| bartist |
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 6:05 pm |
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Joined: 27 Apr 2010
Posts: 6958
Location: Black Hills
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Game of Thrones?
No HBO, either. I do plan to rent Mildred Pierce when it comes available. |
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He was wise beyond his years, but only by a few days. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Mon Jun 06, 2011 9:49 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12921
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| Don't get HBO, though I read all the books. I'm rooting for Daenerys. |
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