From: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org (JMDL Digest) To: joni-digest@smoe.org Subject: JMDL Digest V2011 #331 Reply-To: joni@smoe.org Sender: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-joni-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk Unsubscribe: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe Website: http://jmdl.com JMDL Digest Monday, October 10 2011 Volume 2011 : Number 331 ========== TOPICS and authors in this Digest: -------- Cleopatra in 70mm njc ["Mark" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 9 Oct 2011 21:35:18 -0700 From: "Mark" Subject: Cleopatra in 70mm njc Seattle can boast that it contains one of only three movie houses in the world that have the equipment and capability of running true three projector Cinerama movies. The Cinerama theatre in downtown Seattle has been running a 70 mm festival. In addition to two of the few films that were made in the original three projector Cinerama format ('How the West Was Won' and 'This Is Cinerama'), the festival is running a list of films that were made in the 70 mm single projector format. If I could, I would probably spend a week going to movies as I love these wide-screen classics. 'West Side Story', 'The Sound of Music', 'My Fair Lady', 'Lawrence of Arabia' and '2001: A Space Odyssey' are all among the films being screened over a three week period. I have been fortunate enough to have seen all of those movies in wide screen theaters at one time or another. But the one film I chose to see was one that I had never seen in a movie theater; 1963's 'Cleopatra'. 'Cleopatra' is probably more infamously known for it's turbulent production history and enormous cost (adjusting for inflation it ranks as one of the most expensive movies ever made) than for being a great screen epic. It has developed a reputation as being a four hour failure that is not worth watching. Well I have watched it. Several times. I own the VHS and the widescreen DVD. I have seen enough great films to know this one is flawed. But I love it. And I had never seen it in a movie theater. It was scheduled for three screenings during the 70 mm festival and yesterday at four o'clock in the afternoon was the only time that was convenient for me to see it. So I went. And I don't regret it for one of those 242 minutes. Earlier this year I wrote a bit about Elizabeth Taylor when she died at age 79. I mentioned 'le scandale', the love affair condemned by the Vatican that began between Elizabeth and Richard Burton during the filming of 'Cleopatra'. This relationship began as an adulterous affair, developed (after shedding spouses) into eventual marriage, divorce and remarriage, encompassed excess of many varieties and, fueled by an insatiably ravenous paparazzi, played itself out in the public eye. While glamorous and romantic in some respects, in truth it was probably messy and painful in its eventual disintegration. Reality is often not pretty. But as I watched Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor portray the doomed Marc Antony and Cleopatra in this grand, overblown romantic epic, I felt like I was seeing a cinematic representation of something that, while not a portrayal of a real relationship, was something like a romanticized foreshadowing of that passionate love affair. It was as if the legend of 'Liz and Dick' was playing itself out on the screen. I know that the reality had to have been something very different. But this felt like a romanticized vision of their grandiose affair with the gloss of the old Hollywood dream machine shimmering all over it. Elizabeth Taylor was a frail old woman when she died of congestive heart failure. I doubt there was anything glamorous or romantic about her death. The end of 'Cleopatra' with the camera panning her body dressed in an elaborate gold dress, ending with a breath-taking shot of the unreal, doll-like beauty of her face was, of course, nothing like the reality of Elizabeth Taylor's passing. But, for me, it was as if I was attending a memorial service, not for a flesh and blood human being, but for the passing of a legend. And in some respects, the passing of an era. All of these feelings made the experience very moving for me. Plus I finally got to see Cleopatra's entrance into Rome in all of it's giant screen glory. I have recently watched the Blu-Ray of the movie 'Troy' and found all of the extras about how it was made using CGI and motion tracking computer technology to be fascinating. These technological innovations would not develop for several decades when 'Cleopatra' was made. But the entrance into Rome still stands, in my opinion, as one of the most spectacular, eye-filling sequences ever put on film. It was one of those rare instances when the reality lived up to expectation. And all of the cheering crowd was made up of real people. The sets, costumes and that facsimile of a huge stone sphinx had to be built and made to look real. While not great, 'Cleopatra' is not deserving of the reputation that has tagged it as an unwatchable stinker. Four hours flew by and I found it to be a very enjoyable, visually and aurally spectacular film. Mark in Seattle ------------------------------ End of JMDL Digest V2011 #331 ***************************** ------- To post messages to the list, send to joni@smoe.org. Unsubscribe by clicking here: mailto:joni-digest-request@smoe.org?body=unsubscribe -------