Classics Considered

by Marian H

movie review

  • Lawrence of Arabia

    I grew up watching two of those long, epic-historical pictures…Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandments.  My attention span was pretty good back then.  I wonder what the younger me would have thought of Lawrence of Arabia.  For sure, I would have sat down and watched it straight through, unlike the me of today, who watched it… Continue reading

  • Earthly Angels: Iolanta and Billy Budd

    Last month, I saw two excellent productions which I’ve been meaning (ever since) to talk about.  One was an opera – the Met’s new/first production of Iolanta, by Tchaikovsky, starring Anna Netrebko and Piotr Beczala.  The second was Billy Budd, a 1962 adaptation of Melville’s novella, with Peter Ustinov playing Captain Vere. Iolanta is about… Continue reading

    ,

  • Kafka (1991)

    “That’s what you’re trying to eliminate, isn’t it?  Everything that makes one human being different from another.”  Perhaps it says the most to admit that, even so soon, I wouldn’t mind watching this again. Hollywood and great authors rarely go together.  If that great author is Franz Kafka, one of my favorites, then the very… Continue reading

    ,

  • The Men Who Knew Too Much (and Not Enough)

    You invariably have some expectations when watching a thriller.  Though I haven’t seen a lot of this genre, it’s similar enough to mystery that I expect something.  I expect to be scared, and I expect to care about someone in the film.  To a degree, all three of these accomplished that.  Some more than others.… Continue reading

    ,

About Me

Hi, I’m Marian—I talk about classics, history, and other books on this blog, as well as on YouTube.

Currently Reading

Recent Posts

ARCHIVES

Newsletter