Glorious 39

I just saw another excellent film by Stephen Poliakoff (see my other reviews of Poliakoff films). It is called Glorious 39 and takes place in England, in the summer of '39. The film follows the Keyes family. The eldest sibling's name is Anne and her life begins to unravel as she stumbles upon a secret involving a movement in favor of making a deal with Hitler.

As with all Poliakoff films, it was very character driven, but this film was more than simply characters. In addition to wonderful performances, the film itself was absolutely stunning. Jeremy Northam, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple, David Tennant, and Julie Christie all gave really good performances, but I was extemely impressed with Bill Nighy and especially Romola Garai. This was probably my absolute favorite performance of Garai's.

This film is DEFINITELY a must-see! I have already added it to my amazon wishlist, posted the trailer to facebook and recommended it to nearly everyone the I know!

Dream Cast Thursday! Wuthering Heights

Today's Dream Cast Thursday is Wuthering Heights. It was originally published by Emily Bronte in 1847 under the pseudonym of Ellis Bell. Since it's original publication, there have been many film adaptations. I have focused only on the earliest adaptation of Wuthering Heights and the three other adaptations that I have seen. One version of Wuthering Heights (1939) was directed by William Wyler. Another version of Wuthering Heights (1992) was directed by Peter Kosminsky. A third adaptation of Wutehring Heights (2003) was directed by Suri Krishnamma. The last adaptation of Wuthering Heights (2009) that I will be looking at was directed by Coky Giedroyc.

The characters of Cathy and Heathcliff are the two most important characters in the films. Cathy has been played by Merle Oberon (1939), Juliette Binoche (1992), Erika Christensen (2003 - in this updated version, she is known as Cate), and Charlotte Riley (2009). In my recast I would cast Ruth Wilson. She is a young and relatively unknown actress. I have loved her since I saw her in the most recent adaptation of Jane Eyre with Toby Stephens.

Heathcliff has been played by Laurence Olivier (1029), Ralph Fiennes (1992), Mike Vogel (2003 - in this updated version, he is known as Heath), and Tom Hardy (2009). In my remake, I would cast Dominic Cooper.

In the past, Edgar has been played by David Niven (1039), Simon Shepherd (1992), Christopher Masterson (2003 -In this updated version, he is known as Edward), and Andrew Lincoln (2009). In my remake, I recast Matthew Goode.

In the past, Isabella has been played by Geraldine Fitzgerald (1939), Sophie Ward (1992), Katherine Heigl (2003- in this updated version she is known as Isabel), and Rosalind Halstead (2009). In my remake, I cast Romola Garai.

In past adaptations, Hindley has been played by Hugh Williams (1939), Jeremy Northam (1992), Johnny Whitworth (2003- in this updated version, he is known as Hendrix), and Burn Gorman (2009). In my remake, I recast Sean Biggerstaff.

So what do you all think? Who would you recast in your adaptation? Have you seen any really good adaptations that have not been mentioned?

Emma Adaptation Review

Some of you may remember that for Dream Cast Thursday a little while ago, I recast an Emma Adaptation (click here to see the post). I recently saw the latest in the long line of adaptations. Emma was a miniseries in the UK this past October. It aired in four parts. I was really interested to see some of the casting choices given my past recasting.

Romola Garai and Jonny Lee Miller were cast as Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley.

Blake Ritson and Christina Cole were cast and Mr. and Mrs. Elton.

Louise Dylan, Tamsin Greig and Rupert Evans were cast as Harriet Smith, Miss Bates and Frank Churchill.

There were things about this particular adaptation that I enjoyed. I really liked the way in which Frank Churchill, Emma and Jane Fairfax (played by Laura Pyper) were connected through the loss of their mothers at such a young age and the way in which Frank and Jane were connected once again by the fact that they had to leave home at such young ages.

I also really liked some of the casting choices. Christina Cole and Tamsin Greig were especially good in their parts. That said, I really didn't like this adaptation. I did not feel any real chemistry between Emma and Mr. Knightly. Although I knew the ending, I found myself feeling actual surprise that they would end up together. The notion seemed ridiculous. I found Romola Garai to be especially annoying. I spent the entire film being really annoyed with Emma. If you are a big fan of the novel, I would recommend this film, but if there is already an adaptation that you enjoy, stick with it. My personal favorite is the 1996 adaptation. If you don't have a chance to catch this film (I believe that it is currently only available for sale in the UK), do not worry. This film is NOT a must-see.