I have always felt that Bolt's screenplay in "Lawrence" is not just
good, but spectacular. There's a reason why it remains in the top
ten lists of the greatest films ever made. It is so far ahead of
its time with its ambiguous portrait of Lawrence that it feels
timeless and undated. In fact, the parts that linger on the visual
majesty of the desert or the battle scenes sometimes drags down the
pacing. I've always felt (and I know there is debate about this),
that despite my love for Gregory Peck, who won Best Actor that year,
that Peter O'Toole's performance in Lawrence is simply electric and
drop-dead perfect. And what an ending! It disappoints many, but it
is an anti-climax that is faithful to the integrity of where
Lawrence's story HAD to go. Can you imagine some corn-ball
U.S.-tinkering happy ending tacked on to make Lawrence's efforts
uplifting and redemptive?
A generalization, but I think the Brits have a knack for making
wonderfully written films that - as I wrote last year - are masked
when they're budgeted by American dollars and cast (e.g., Anthony
Quinn, who was a major star here in 1962) to draw an American
audience. Astoundingly, the country-of-origin and first printing of
"Lawrence" is the U.S.A. like "Bridge over the River Kwai" (which
was cast budgeted to include William Holden) - despite being
thoroughly British in tone and sensibility. Hence my obsession with
"country-of-origin" posters which I treat like first edition books
regardless of less than attractive art. I'm bitter that the
beginning of Carol Reed's "The Third Man" was butchered by Selznick
when it was released in the U.S.; the British version is superior.
But at least in the case of the wonderfully written "Third Man" --
the country-of-origin is rightfully the U.K.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 2010 11:57:20 -0500
From: brucehershen...@gmail.com <mailto:brucehershen...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: OT; BLIGH ME, GUVNOR
To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU <mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>
I think Bolt started the screenplay for The Bounty, but had a stroke
and the eventual film contains little of his original writing.
I imagine the movie with a screenplay by the Bolt of the early
1960s, and it would have been wonderful.
I first read the three novels by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman
Hall (Mutiny on the Bounty, Men Against the Sea, and Pitcairn's
Island) as a teen, and I know there is still a great series of
movies (or an epic TV mini-series) waiting to be made of the entire
story (only parts of which were addressed in the earlier versions).
Bruce
On Sat, Jun 12, 2010 at 8:50 AM, Kirby McDaniel <ki...@movieart.net
<mailto:ki...@movieart.net>> wrote:
He also co-wrote the script for THE BOUNTY (1984), the mutiny on
the HMS Bounty story, which David Lean had always wantedto film,
but was never able to get financed.
This film takes a fuller look at the BOUNTY epic, and is
enjoyable enough, directed by Roger Donaldson. But one can only
imagine that tale with the Lean camera and editing synergy and
perfectionist sensibility. Maybe the
financiers remembered all too well the MGM experience with the
Brando version. I have always liked that version.
LEAN went on to make A PASSAGE TO INDIA, a thoroughly wonderful
film, in my opinion. I think that'sout on BLU - RAY now.
K.
On Jun 12, 2010, at 7:49 AM, Bruce Hershenson wrote:
Robert Bolt, who wrote Lawrence, quickly followed with
Doctor Zhivago <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059113/>, A Man
for All Seasons <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374856/> (from
his earlier play), and Ryan's Daughter
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066319/>, a pretty amazing
string of wonderful screenplays.
Of course he didn't manage to include a tagline as great as
"Get off my lawn!" in any of them, but he did his best.
Bruce
On Sat, Jun 12, 2010 at 1:06 AM, Phil Edwards
<p...@cinemarts.com <mailto:p...@cinemarts.com>> wrote:
Odd, we nearly always think of LAWRENCE in terms of its
epic scope and spectacular visuals, but it has one of
the most literate andprecise screenplays of almost any
film I can think of.
----- Original Message -----
From: Kirby McDaniel <mailto:ki...@movieart.net>
To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
<mailto:MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>
Sent: Saturday, June 12, 2010 2:06 PM
Subject: [MOPO] OT; BLIGH ME, GUVNOR
Tony Hayward: I am reminded of the wonderful line
Claude Rains (Dryden) gets in LAWRENCE:
Prince Feisal <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000027/>:
You, I suspect, are chief architect of this
compromise. What do you think?
Mr. Dryden <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001647/>:
Me, your Highness? On the whole, I wish I'd stayed
in Tunbridge Wells.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/massive-flow-of-bullshit-continues-to-gush-from-bp,17564/
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