tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post859593625774632824..comments2024-03-16T06:23:29.917-07:00Comments on The Reverberate Hills; or The Apotheosis of the Narwhal: standing by and seeing it donePatrick J. Vazhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-77075488271117579122007-06-28T14:34:00.000-07:002007-06-28T14:34:00.000-07:00V, sorry it's taken me so long to respond, but I'v...V, sorry it's taken me so long to respond, but I've been watching crappy movies you recommended. I think the Times statement is a bit too sweeping -- both the Huston Maltese Falcon and the original novel are outstanding examples of what they're supposed to be (OK, I haven't read the book, though it's waiting on the shelf, but I hear this on reliable authority). It just depends on the care and thought with which the transfer is made (not the love, which doesn't guarantee either care or thought -- quite the opposite). In fact, if you look at the theatrical and world conditions under which Shakespeare wrote his plays, any staging these days is essentially a change from one medium to another. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. That's why I don't pay too much attention to sweeping dismissals of updating or so-called "Eurotrash" productions.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-23080994663866539522007-06-23T07:45:00.000-07:002007-06-23T07:45:00.000-07:00While shopping around on the internet for what pla...While shopping around on the internet for what play or musical to see, I read a NY Times review that mentioned that all art suffers when taken from one form to another. True? I realized that you often make this point, but not is such a general way.vicmarcamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13193094111343990233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-72769983077453422752007-06-21T16:40:00.000-07:002007-06-21T16:40:00.000-07:00Well, it is a dark, sad, and frightening book, wit...Well, it is a dark, sad, and frightening book, with a phantasmagoric edge -- things are always happening when people are half-asleep, or they seem like dreams -- which makes it even more upsetting. I'm curious to hear the results if you do try it again -- sometimes when we're older the narrative conventions protect us from the emotions evoked, and sometimes the emotions are just too overwhelming.Patrick J. Vazhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09279528648512493917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22361479.post-63095061595482092922007-06-20T11:49:00.000-07:002007-06-20T11:49:00.000-07:00Great rant on theatrical novelizations. I tried to...Great rant on theatrical novelizations. I tried to read "Oliver Twist" a couple of times when young but found the story so dark, sad and frightening that I could never get more than halfway through. Your synopsis actually makes me want to go back and try again.<BR/><BR/>I loved the Carol Reed movie version of the awful musical, a major example of alchemy, but found the David Lean movie version as scary, sad and depressing as the unfinished novel.Civic Centerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12362422142667230626noreply@blogger.com