Author:
Susan the Longwinded
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Date Posted: 04:54:48 01/20/06 Fri
Wow, looks like I'm going to get part of my wish ... I just looked on the IMDb to see which movie it was you saw, Lois, and noticed that there are not one but *two* TV movies about Blackbeard currently in the works! There's virtually no information about the one that was supposed to come out in the UK last year (as of November, it was still in production, and there's no cast listed), but the miniseries slated to air in the US this June looks interesting ... It features Richard Chamberlain as Governor Eden, and they've cast a Scottish actor I don't know in the title role: Angus Macfayden. Anybody familiar with his work? The only performance of his I think I've seen is as Robert the Bruce in "Braveheart." (Unfortunately, I can't remember much about it; I saw the movie on TV and was only half paying attention, as usual, but I imagine charisma would be a prerequisite for that sort of role.) He also played Bob's pal Richard Burton in a Liz Taylor biopic! But I see a mistake already: Stacy Keach plays Captain "James" Hornigold (Teach's mentor); his first name should be Benjamin! (At least they got Maynyard's first name right.) I'm not sure about the director, Kevin Connor. He recently directed "In the Beginning," which, if I recall correctly, was dreadfully dull, in spite of a stellar cast. Then again, he also directed "Space: 1999" (a little schlocky, but I used to love it) and (going even farther back, to 1973) "From Beyond the Grave," in which he got a particularly impressive performance from David Warner. (Then again, in the hundreds of film and TV appearances he's made, I've very *rarely* seen David Warner give what I thought was a poor performance, no matter who the director or how awful the material! But I digress ...) Meantime, the writer is a former CNN correspondent. Hope that means he's done his homework! :-) (I know, I'd better not set my expectations too high!)
Anyway, Lois, do you remember the name of the good version of Blackbeard that you saw? The only other one listed on the IMDb with Blackbeard in the title is indeed in B&W, but it's a silent short from 1911. Could that be it?
Sue, that line you quoted ("What faw? Ya hungry?") is the one that made me groan the loudest! (That and "For a man, most like.") But then, I think it's all in the delivery. Maybe it's just me,but William Bendix seems just so unbelievably out of place with that Brooklyn accent and his dumb-as-a-post, monotone delivery, it just completely takes me out of the story every time he opens his mouth. (He sounds like too many stereotypically stoopid cartoon characters I could list.) Maybe if Gilly had been given that line, it would've sounded funnier. (In fact, Skelton Knaggs is a real hoot in the film. Guess I'm partial to actors who'd rather err on the side of overacting than underplaying when it comes to scurvy cutthroats!) But, IMO, there's just *no* chemistry whatsoever between Newton and Bendix--their approaches couldn't be more opposite, with Bob acting his heart out and Bendix reacting to him like he's in some kind of trance!
BTW, I have nothing against a Brooklyn accent--I'm half Brooklynese myself. It just sounds totally out of place in a pirate movie (as it would, say, in a Western ... or as a British accent would sound on the Sopranos)!
Yup, I agree with you about not reading the book before you see the movie. I could cite so many examples. Although, as I've mentioned before, Jamaica Inn is one of those rare exceptions. Have you read it? I know Ilsa and Lois preferred the movie, but I read the book after seeing the movie and totally fell in love with it, to the point where I completely forgot the movie version till I saw it again about twenty years later. (True, it's a romance, but it's a great suspenseful adventure story as well. And Daphne du Maurier will make you fall in love with Cornwall.)
I agree that the problem is books can convey so much detail that would just make the movie too long, unless you made it into a miniseries. Then again, look at the 1985 Jamaica Inn miniseries--it was much more faithful to the book, but it actually seemed a bit too long. (Then again, even that version changed a few things from the book. In fact, I think the additions, like Jem arriving at the inn in a cage (???) were actually what made it drag.) Then again, the scenery is so gorgeous, it's hard to be bored.
On the other hand, I've seriously thought for a while now (especially with the last film!) that the Harry Potter books should be made into a miniseries to do them justice instead of trying to tell an 800-page story in 2 1/2 hours ... but I digress again. At least they're making Blackbeard into a mini--wouldn't it be great if it had the production values of the Horatio Hornblower series?! :-)
I checked my local library for "Man About a Dog," but, alas, they don't have it. :-( I wonder if it's still in print. But in case I manage to find a copy, just warn me of one thing before I read it: Is there any animal cruelty--worse than what almost happens in the movie?
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