kenosull-11372
Joined Oct 2015
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Reviews15
kenosull-11372's rating
Where to start? Oh yes, the casting. In this respect they got it nearly perfect. Blair Brown and Harry Hamlin are both fine actors but the scripting of their characters leaves them little scope to work with. The characters of Penny and John Pope in the book were sugary sweet to begin with but this was made even more saccharine in the TV series. However, in the positive side, David Dukes is immaculate in the role of the roguish Strabismus. Beau Bridges, James Garner, Michael York and Bruce Dern are all inspired choices too and revel in their much better defined roles.
Another point of annoyance for me is the deviation from the staggeringly comprehensive and educational form of the book. The statistics and detail in Michener's book make an educational saga. The basic storyline is more or less faithful to the original but many technical and historical elements were sacrificed for the purposes of drama. Of course, this is a TV show so there has to be a soap opera feel to it but overall, this was an opportunity missed.
Another point of annoyance for me is the deviation from the staggeringly comprehensive and educational form of the book. The statistics and detail in Michener's book make an educational saga. The basic storyline is more or less faithful to the original but many technical and historical elements were sacrificed for the purposes of drama. Of course, this is a TV show so there has to be a soap opera feel to it but overall, this was an opportunity missed.
Watching this again (for the umpteenth time). I have to confess I hated it the first time I saw it. Despised it. Thought it was an abomination and an insult to the work of the Bard. As a young man, I appeared as Tybalt in a local production so I'm deeply invested in this play. But then, I read an interview with Baz Luhrmann in which he made the devastating point that this was written by Shakespeare as a MODERN play and intended to be contemporary and suddenly it all became clear. This is an extraordinary piece of cinema, a work of genius and Will himself would wholeheartedly approve. Leo and Claire are magnificent as is the entire supporting cast (special shout-out to Harold Perrineau as Mercutio). I loved the original play set in the time of Shakespeare but this translates very well into 1990s California. I still well up at the final scene and the dam usually bursts at the final line:
"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
(And the soundtrack album is a piece of perfection too.)
(And the soundtrack album is a piece of perfection too.)