The Greatness of British Actors/Actresses.

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Over the weekend, someone reminded me of the quote below from Katharine Hepburn. Had to share:

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.

Kate wasn't British but in my mind she belongs right up there with Dame Maggie and all the rest!

 

[Olympia]

Over the weekend, someone reminded me of the quote below from Katharine Hepburn. Had to share:




Kate wasn't British but in my mind she belongs right up there with Dame Maggie and all the rest!

I agree! In the days when she began, she probably hobnobbed with a lot of British theater and film folk and absorbed a lot of their expertise. One thing I saw again recently that showed her strength was The Lion in Winter, in which she had to contend with rapid-fire responses and very complex dialogue, and she was splendid. I think that just about everyone else in the cast was not only British but marvelous, including of course Peter O'Toole but also a young Anthony Hopkins as Richard and an even younger Timothy Dalton as the French king. I'd also give a lot to see her in the film The Trojan Woman, in which she plays Hecuba in the exalted company of Irene Pappas, Vanessa Redgrave, and Genevieve Bujold.

 

[Alba]

One thing I saw again recently that showed her strength was The Lion in Winter, in which she had to contend with rapid-fire responses and very complex dialogue, and she was splendid. I think that just about everyone else in the cast was not only British but marvelous, including of course Peter O'Toole but also a young Anthony Hopkins as Richard and an even younger Timothy Dalton as the French king. I'd also give a lot to see her in the film The Trojan Woman, in which she plays Hecuba in the exalted company of Irene Pappas, Vanessa Redgrave, and Genevieve Bujold.

:yes:

She was great in both movies, as usual. :agree:


Is someone watching the new BBC tv series The Honorable Woman? I watch the first two episode and I like it very much so far.

Maggie Gyllenhaal is doing a great job, as an Anglo-Israeli businesswoman. I'm not an expert of course but her english accent looks very good to me.
There are also Stephen Rea the head of MI6's Middle East desk, and Janet McTeer as the head of MI6.
Tonight it's the third episode on BBC Two, there are 8 in total. It's loooking really good.

 

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Is someone watching the new BBC tv series The Honorable Woman? I watch the first two episode and I like it very much so far.

That sounds like a good one! It's too soon for it to be available in the US since we generally get BBC shows about a year after they air in the UK, sometimes longer. :disapp: I'll watch for it on PBS (Channel 13); it may turn up next year.

When the local cable TV company started carrying BBC America I got all excited thinking that we'd get to see the same programs as UK audiences. Sadly, that didn't happen. All they show here is mostly stuff that's geared toward dumbed-down US tastes.

Haven't seen much of Stephen Rea lately; he was truly memorable in The Crying Game.

 

[Alba]

That sounds like a good one! It's too soon for it to be available in the US since we generally get BBC shows about a year after they air in the UK, sometimes longer. :disapp: I'll watch for it on PBS (Channel 13); it may turn up next year.

When the local cable TV company started carrying BBC America I got all excited thinking that we'd get to see the same programs as UK audiences. Sadly, that didn't happen. All they show here is mostly stuff that's geared toward dumbed-down US tastes.

This one is in co-production with Sundance, so it will start in USA on SundanceTV on 31 July.
Don't miss it.

Haven't seen much of Stephen Rea lately; he was truly memorable in The Crying Game.

I like him very much. Have you seen The Shadow Line, a BBC series of 2011 with him? If not, I strongly recommend that too.
Rea is absolutely magnificent there. A true evil with full of charm.

 

[BusyMom]

Ben Whishaw, who played Q in Skyfall, is the replacement of Colin Flirth's Paddington. http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/18/ben-whishaw-paddington-bear-colin-firth

Apart from Skyfall, I've only seen Perfume in which he was very captivated. Amazing talented for a young actor. For some reasons, I've never got around to see Cloud Atlas. Might be a good time to watch it one of these days.

 

[Meoima]

Ben Whishaw, who played Q in Skyfall, is the replacement of Colin Flirth's Paddington. http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/18/ben-whishaw-paddington-bear-colin-firth

Apart from Skyfall, I've only seen Perfume in which he was very captivated. Amazing talented for a young actor. For some reasons, I've never got around to see Cloud Atlas. Might be a good time to watch it one of these days.

I LOVE Ben Whishaw! Have you seen a shortcut of his Hamlet? Absolutely talented!

 

[TMC]

Ben Whishaw, who played Q in Skyfall, is the replacement of Colin Flirth's Paddington. http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jul/18/ben-whishaw-paddington-bear-colin-firth

Apart from Skyfall, I've only seen Perfume in which he was very captivated. Amazing talented for a young actor. For some reasons, I've never got around to see Cloud Atlas. Might be a good time to watch it one of these days.

Ahh then you simply have to watch The Hour! He is spectacular in that, as is Romola Garai (although I'm not a huge fan of hers otherwise)

 

[LRK]

She was good in Daniel Deronda, I thought:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0321897/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_22

As was the rest of the cast - Hugh Dancy, Jodhi May and Hugh Bonnneville among them.

 

[Olympia]

She was good in Daniel Deronda, I thought:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0321897/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_22

As was the rest of the cast - Hugh Dancy, Jodhi May and Hugh Bonnneville among them.

I agree that this was a wonderful production! In addition to the great performances (oh, Hugh Dancy is yummy), the story is so powerful. I had been unfamiliar with the George Eliot book, and I was astonished to find that a "mainstream" person of that era could write with such sympathy for and admiration of Jews. It was the same reaction I had when I read the Conan Doyle story "The Adventure of the Yellow Face," which showed in a very favorable light a marriage between a white Englishwoman and a black American, and the daughter they had. Always heartening when someone is able to transcend the prejudices of his or her time and place.

 

[LRK]

I agree that this was a wonderful production! In addition to the great performances (oh, Hugh Dancy is yummy), the story is so powerful. I had been unfamiliar with the George Eliot book, and I was astonished to find that a "mainstream" person of that era could write with such sympathy for and admiration of Jews. It was the same reaction I had when I read the Conan Doyle story "The Adventure of the Yellow Face," which showed in a very favorable light a marriage between a white Englishwoman and a black American, and the daughter they had. Always heartening when someone is able to transcend the prejudices of his or her time and place.

Indeed! Instead of being amazed when it turns out that books reflect the prejudices and norms of the era - which I rather exepect - I am far more affected when they do not. It gives one hope, does it not? One of the reasons - though not, I confess, the strongest reason, as I must admit that the greatest reason is that... well, this just looks like my cup of tea - I'm really looking forward to watching Belle:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94LgIVL-UlQ

Based on a true story too... so it is even more affecting in that aspect:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_Elizabeth_Belle

If I had come across a fiction story with this plot.. I would not have believed in it.

 

[Olympia]

@ LRK:

Yes, Belle does seem to be unbelievable, except for the fact that it apparently happened. Whenever some version of a Montague and some version of a Capulet fall for each other, each seeing the other's humanity rather than an unbridgeable gap, it's pretty astonishing. Even today there are still occasions when this seems an amazing outcome. (And one that can be very dangerous for the participants, unfortunately.)

 

[TMC]

I agree that this was a wonderful production! In addition to the great performances (oh, Hugh Dancy is yummy), the story is so powerful. I had been unfamiliar with the George Eliot book, and I was astonished to find that a "mainstream" person of that era could write with such sympathy for and admiration of Jews. It was the same reaction I had when I read the Conan Doyle story "The Adventure of the Yellow Face," which showed in a very favorable light a marriage between a white Englishwoman and a black American, and the daughter they had. Always heartening when someone is able to transcend the prejudices of his or her time and place.

I love books & writers like that, too! I'm a big 19th century English lit buff.

I think you'd appreciate Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - both the book and the tv productions. There are two pretty recent ones, London Weekend Television's 3-hour mini-series directed by Ian Sharp and starring Justine Waddell and Oliver Milburn as Angel from 1998 & a four-hour BBC adaptation from 2008 starring Gemma Arterton and Eddie Redmayne as Angel. Sidenote: How HOT is Eddie Redmayne ? I've always had a thing for gingers so was very lucky I got to study & work in Britain in my single years

I can't remember if I've seen the BBC version, but I can heartily recommend the 1998 adaptation. Justine Waddell is simply breathtaking as Tess, so vulnerable and at the same time so strong and determined. And Oliver Milburn is exactly how I imagined Angel when I read the book. I still read it about once a year, there's just something new to be found every time.

 

[Alba]

Ahh then you simply have to watch The Hour! He is spectacular in that, as is Romola Garai (although I'm not a huge fan of hers otherwise)

Yes he was really good in The Hour, but I thought that series was a lost opportunity. The subject and the idea behind was very good.
Didn't like the script and how it developed though.

 

[skatedreamer]

I've started watching The Hour on Netflix. Not completely convinced yet but like the basic premise a lot so am trying to give it a chance.

 

[TMC]

I've started watching The Hour on Netflix. Not completely convinced yet but like the basic premise a lot so am trying to give it a chance.

Hope you can see it through - the 2nd season is especially good when they get into the anti-homosexual laws of the time in Britain

 

[Alba]

I've started watching The Hour on Netflix. Not completely convinced yet but like the basic premise a lot so am trying to give it a chance.

The main problem I had with this series was some of the characters and the writing. Romola Garai's character was suppose to be a brilliant young producer and a pioneer really. The problem is that you don't see that at all. You know that she is brilliant and intelligent because this is what is told to you, as a viewer, but I failed to see all that.
On the contrary, all I could see was a woman using her lipstick 100 times per day. Wearing good clothes and yearning for a man.
You could see glimse of brilliance in Anna Chancellor's character, as the journalist of the foreign desk, mainly because she is a very good actress, but she was ill-used. Same goes for Anton Lesser's character in series 1 and Peter Capaldi's character, as head of the news in series 2.
I also think the direction was very weak.

The only two well-defined character are Dominic West (although pretty dull character) and Ben Whishaw. Too little to save the series.
As I said, good ideas and good settings. Poor implementation in the end and a lost opportunity.

 

[BusyMom]

Ahh then you simply have to watch The Hour! He is spectacular in that, as is Romola Garai (although I'm not a huge fan of hers otherwise)

Thank you. I think I will watch it one of these days. I heard a lot of negative review last year and after the show got cancel I lost my interest. But you make me a bit curious so I might watch it.

 

[Olympia]

On the movie cable channel they're showing a film from 1937 called Fire Over England. It features both Laurence Olivier (devastatingly handsome as a young man) and Vivien Leigh, but the true star is Flora Robson as Elizabeth I. She is so impressive in this film, bringing out both the humanity and the majesty of this most legendary of British rulers. She also played the Queen in the better-known and more lavishly produced The Sea Hawk, an Errol Flynn movie. I looked her up, and she was only about 35 as she played the aging Queen in the earlier movie. Apparently she couldn't even get hired by a theatrical company as a young drama school graduate because she was too plain-looking. She went to work in an office for several years until a more perceptive producer cast her in something. She eventually became one of Britain's most revered theatrical actresses. I have always loved her as the Queen in these two movies, and I highly recommend them, and her.

 

[BusyMom]

Can we include Sting in this genre? His character in "Dune" is so lovable for an antagonist. In "Lock, Stock and Two smoking Barrels", his J.D is the coolest from the movie and he appeared only in a few scenes.