Bright Young Things discussion
Film & TV (1900-1945)
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The film section can be used to discuss any films relating to the time period
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Can we also discuss films made during the time period?
Terrific.....it gives me a chance to talk about one of my favorite films of all time, silent or talkies. It is "Picadilly" made in England in 1929 and directed by E.A. duPont.Chinese-American actress, Anna May Wong, was not getting the parts in Hollywood that she deserved because of her race. To take a break, she went to England where she was contacted by director E.A. duPont and asked to appear in "Picadilly". She agreed and every film buff that ever lived is happy that she did. She was an extraordinarily beautiful young woman and her acting was head and shoulders above the heart-clutching, eye-rolling technique used by most silent film players. She projected with very little movement and was grace personified. The film is available on DVD from Kino and it is worth watching, even if you do not particularly care for silent film, just to see how Hollywood misused the talents of this actress based solely on race. She did, however, make one American film,co-starring with Marlena Dietrich, in 1932, which does her justice and is not obscure....it is Shanghai Express.
Sorry for boring you to death about Picadilly but I could watch it 100 times and find something new each time.
One more bit of trivia......the classic song "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" was written for Anna May Wong by her lover Eric Maschwitz (Eric Marvel). Great song.
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Maybe the third time is the charm.A while ago I read the excellent biography Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg. He was editor at Scribner's for people Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe and, of course, Hemingway. While looking for information about Wolfe just now I discovered there is an upcoming movie based on the biography called Genius. Expected release date is in 2016. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1703957/?.... I'm looking forward to it.
Jan C wrote: "Maybe the third time is the charm.A while ago I read the excellent biography Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg. He was editor at Scribner's for people [..."
Jan, "Genius" was playing today at my library. It was excellent. Colin Firth played editor Max Perkins, and Jude Law was Thomas Wolfe. After many rejections, Thomas Wolfe had his first book edited by Max Perkins and it was the bestseller [book:Look Homeward, Angel|12448] published in 1929.
I absolutely love Thomas Wolfe, I'll have to hunt this down. I'm finding it difficult to imagine Jude Law as Wolfe though.
I've only just started it, but Genius is available through HBO now. It's about Maxwell Perkins (Colin Firth) and his working with Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law).
Oops, I see it's been mentioned! Still worth mentioning that it's on HBO now. :)
Not sure where to put this. But I just saw a documentary on Netflix: The Mitfords: A Story of Two Sisters, Jessica and Diana (or a similar title). It was fairly interesting. Talking of more than just the two of them but using their division (fascism vs. Communism) and how the family finally met again when Nancy died. Maybe this will drive me to get back to reading one of those books about the Mitfords.
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It was very good, although not really new information to those who've read Hons and Rebels, The Mitford Girls: The Biography of an Extraordinary Family or other biographies of that family...about 10 or so years ago I just couldn't read enough books about this lot!
I just watched that too! :)I agree that it wasn't new stuff if you've read books about them, but still a nice, short documentary.
Amazon has purchased the US streaming rights for films of seven of Agatha Christie's novels, starting with Ordeal by Innocence.
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I'm loving the 'Netflix' & 'Amazon Prime' revolution...such a lot of great programming!
The Sea Speakshttps://vimeo.com/224759610
(about 10 min)
In 1927, filmmaker-theorist Jean Epstein (1897-1953) followed an "impulse toward the exterior", trading the Parisian avant-garde for an encounter with the raw nature and culture of Brittany. Stripping out the plots and male characters, then forming a composite poem (using seven films) from images and sounds of the sea and women, this audiovisual essay echoes James Schneider's insight: 'By using cinema to grant perspective to the non-human – to the oceans, the tides, the tempests – humankind gains a vital perspective on itself.'
Bright Young Things
Books mentioned in this topic
Hons and Rebels (other topics)The Mitford Girls: The Biography of an Extraordinary Family (other topics)
Look Homeward, Angel (other topics)
Max Perkins: Editor of Genius (other topics)
Max Perkins: Editor of Genius (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
A. Scott Berg (other topics)A. Scott Berg (other topics)
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (other topics)
Thomas Wolfe (other topics)
Stefan Zweig (other topics)
It's true.
For example, The Grand Budapest Hotel, a 2014 comedy film written and directed by Wes Anderson and inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig who we read as a group read last month.