branagh pretty OK shoXoR

I enjoyed it. Mmm... icy!

kennif had my floppy hair ov 83

As Mark said - despite Chippy McNeish's fantastic efforts he was one of two crew who were not awarded a Polar exploration medal after the expedition. The other was Vincent, whose only 'crime' was to speak up in sullen agreement of Chippy's grievances.

What I loved about the Sturridge film: (like mark s) the ice scapes, and the way it was shot to inhabit and expand Hurley's photographs and the film 'South'. The crossing to Sth Georgia, which I'd read about, but didn't get viscerally till I saw the tiny ship on the huge wave. Wild's grumpiness, Blackborow's movement from callow youth to touching stoicism, the Shackleton-Hurley relationship.

What irked me: too much on the preparation for the journey - inclusion of clunky visual parallels (betw/ king and Shack, and then contrast between the gov't committee and march across Sth Georgia - yeah yeah, we *see*); also thought mistress stuff included largely because it has only recently come to light and was tejus (the women's parts in this were hopeless in substance; pointless expanding them quantitatively to try add the 'weight' of home). I think this stuff spoilt the film, because it dilutes what's both central material and symbolic point: isolation and distance from the rest of the 'civilized' world.

My feeling abt Shackleton now (exacerbated by the film) is that the 'hero who got them home' story is nothing without including the real contradictions and tensions arising from why they were there in the first place. That is, Shackleton's achievement isn't more compelling if you gloss or forget what it was about him/his culture that lead him to risk self and others for - what? science? adventure? (I would've like to see more on how the 'invention' of the continental crossing was necessary not just to get investors/public on board, but how Shackleton presumably had to convince *himself* it was worthwhile, post-Amundsen/Scott). It's rich not despite that, but because of it. Also, am sceptical of the teleology, the idea that he got all souls home because he was bloody determined to - surely the relationship between what happened and his attitude is less straightforwardly causal than that? Wouldn't his commitment to life be equally admirable if half the expedition had been lost on the floes?

this makes psychological sense — but huntford's deep agenda is complicated, and i don't know how much to trust him: ellie did you read the recent revisionist *pro*-scott book yet?

It was a painful watch tho, no? agonisingly slow, then agonisingly painful, then the credits. where were the exploding fireballs with branagh screaming "nooooooooooooo" in slow motion.

Will: young Sherlock was Orde-Lees, I think? LIke mark s sez: excellent ear-flaps. I also liked the bobbly bits on Tom Crean's hat (what *was* that McGann accent?) and the hyooge fur mittens on strings. All better than the disaster that was Branagh-as-Shackleton's terrible hair-dye job.

Name Bosko Balaban
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i din't think ellie posts any more :( but david crane's more-or-less pro-scott "scott of the antarctic" is very readable and self-consciously fair -- he is clearly intent on refuting every one of huntford's negative argts even tho he never says so out loud (and only mentions huntford once)

The best thing I can say about those sequences is Keanu was even worse in Much Ado About Nothing.

― Alex in SF, Thursday, March 19, 2009 10:07 PM (35 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Denzel, Branagh and Keanu are all way above avg in Much Ado.

so dere!

Branagh is as hammy as ever!

Haha you had to revieve a whole new thread to respond to that?

Wow Ellie was good

yeah i like to discuss things on relevant threads, bear w/ my eccentricity

He's the bad guy in the new bitish film "OMG, Pirate Radio was such fun in the Sixties"