I, too, didn't see "Titanic", but I knew how it ended anyway. :-)
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, April 24, 2006 9:04 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [h-cost] Historical Movies--longish In a message dated 4/24/2006 11:46:43 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: but...If you don't like his stuff there is an option not to go. People have different criteria of what they enjoy. (This is why my husband loves "Hellboy" and I prefer "Pride and Prejudice".) It's theater!! For example, Mel Gibson's tight breeches in "The Patriot" are totally wrong but, as a professional designer friend of mine pointed out, most people these days associate baggy pants with comedy. So you can't put your action hero into them and expect him to be taken seriously. I didn't see "The Patriot," so don't have a personal opinion. One film I can speak to is "The Buccaneer." I do War of 1812 interpretation. This movie has totally made-up characters or people who are shown much older than they were, and plays fast and loose with the actual narrative. Jean Lafitte, for example, was not on the field at the Battle of New Orleans at all. But, all that said, and the costumes not so great either, I think the film was a hoot! Highly entertaining. Charleton Heston's portrayal of Andrew Jackson seems to have become the norm (kind of like Rhett Butler--can you imagine anyone other than Clark Gable playing him? But at least he wasn't a real historical character). And then you have films like "Becket" and "The Lion in Winter," about actual people but adapted from literary works about them, not from the original history. So you have another layer of interpretation added in. Same with "Desiree," based on a historical novel, but I loved Marlon Brando as Napoleon. I DID refuse to see "Titanic"--couldn't take what I had heard on the liberties with the story (a friend of mine who went to see it with her teenaged daughter found the leads so obnoxious that she was rooting for the North Atlantic). I think "A Night to Remember" tried to get the story right, but I haven't seen it in years, so I might hate it now. I guess the issue of whether people get their history from movies, though, is one that will always be with us. But how many of these people are going to study "real" history at all? Take classes, read books, etc. Those that do, can be re-taught. Those that don't will wander around in happy ignorance, but wouldn't they be even more ignorant if they hadn't seen the film(s)? You can argue that it is better for them to know nothing at all than to know it wrong, I guess. But if it DOES spark a real interest, well, isn't that worthwhile? Ann Wass _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
