my place by David Gale
Posted in 'Ghostbusters', 'Synecdoche New York', 'The Truman Show', paranoia, simulation, theatre, war on Jun 14th, 2009
This is the final post in a series that begins below with ‘Stage & Screen 1′
In ‘The Truman Show’ (1998) Truman Burbank is the unwitting star of a hugely successful documentary TV show based on his life. The show runs continuously, following Truman from the moment of his birth into adulthood. Truman is completely unaware [...]
Posted in Atonement, Keira Knightley, tuberculosis, war on Sep 15th, 2007
Keira, as we all know, should eat more pies. In ‘Atonement’, however, she reciprocates very well, in her lo-fat frame, the torrents of yearning addressed in my previous post. The film, initially, is set in the late 30s but such is its costumer style (Joe Wright previously directed ‘Pride and Prejudice’ (2005)) that it’s easy [...]
Posted in Atonement, Keira Knightley, Meaulnes, war, yearning on Sep 13th, 2007
The over-rated ‘Atonement’ features a cumbersome episode on the beaches of Dunkirk. Had the episode been excised before shooting then the movie would immediately have become a low-budget costumer. As it was, a large proportion of the inhabitants of Redcar got to stand on the beach dressed as Tommies waiting for boats and Joe Wright, [...]
Newsnight: the closing credits: Pavarotti sings from ‘Tosca’ as images unfold of British soldiers in Iraq. Suddenly all is beautiful. Bare-chested, muscular, tattooed young soldiers against sand. Grunts dash thru storm of sand. Tanks bang in plumes of sand. How blind we were! All that was needed was the voice of the late Pav and [...]