*wipes away tears*

If you have read Pride and Prejudice and have never seen the 1940 version with Lawrence Olivier and Greer Garson go rent it NOW. We just finished watching it and it was possibly the most hilarious thing I have ever seen. I won't reveal all of the plot twists, but suffice it to say that Lady Catherine is quite a character, Mr. Darcy is sweet and shy, and the ladies all wear dresses at least forty years too late.

See the trailer:




And the first proposal scene:




If that doesn't convince you, nothing will.

This is terrible, but I kind of want to own this version. When I am sick and unhappy it would cheer me up and restore my faith in the unintentional hilarity of humanity.

By the way, this is my 401st post on this blog. Pity I didn't notice the numbers earlier. We could have had a party.

Tired

I am uncommonly tired at the moment, but my family is watching Star Wars V, which gives me the opportunity to recap a few remarks I made on my livejournal when I last watched the original trilogy.

So I'm watching the original Star Wars trilogy because it's been several years since I last saw them. Dudettes, I totally love Han Solo. He's the best character in the whole thing! I like Luke as well but to be honest, he's a little dweeby, at least in the first two movies. I seem to remember him perking up a bit in the third. But Han--he starts out as this totally mercenary guy, granted absolutely hilarious, but still mercenary, and ends up as a hero. Without losing any of the hilariousness.

Honestly though, I think I like heroes with questionable motivations and/or major secrets. I mean, we've got Eugenides from The Thief, Han, Shevraeth from Crown Duel and Court Duel, Thomas from Sorcery and Cecelia. Even Darcy and Wentworth, if looked at in a certain light, fall into that category.

A friend replied, saying that she liked Luke better--he's more of a developed character and isn't quite so annoyingly cocky. Here's my response:

See here's the thing with me. I love Luke (especially in the third movie) but you know he's going to be the hero from the first time you meet him. He's got "Hero" written all over him in shiny gold letters. Han, on the other hand, you think, "Oh, he'll be the crazy side-kick friend." Which he is. But then by the end of the second movie when he goes to what could well be his death with grace and dignity--that blows me out of the water. And at the end of the third movie, when he is ready to give up Leia if she loves Luke--that speaks volumes about his character change. He also says to me that you can be good without giving up your zany side, which I definitely like.

And now I think I'll go take a shower and try to loosen up my back.

Elizabeth's poetry

I've been delving into the Elizabethan period recently, mostly by watching three movies about her life (about which more as soon as I finish the third one). The soundtrack to one of the movies I saw, The Virgin Queen, had a song based on a poem she wrote, which I found I quite enjoyed.

I grieve and dare not show my discontent,
I love and yet am forced to seem to hate,
I do, yet dare not say I ever meant,
I seem stark mute but inwardly do prate.
I am and not, I freeze and yet am burned,
Since from myself another self I turned.

My care is like my shadow in the sun,
Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it,
Stands and lies by me, doth what I have done.
His too familiar care doth make me rue it.
No means I find to rid him from my breast,
Till by the end of things it be supprest.

Some gentler passion slide into my mind,
For I am soft and made of melting snow;
Or be more cruel, love, and so be kind.
Let me or float or sink, be high or low.
Or let me live with some more sweet content,
Or die and so forget what love ere meant.

Beowulf and Tolkien

Given my track record with films made out of movies that I enjoy, it's perhaps not surprising that I am very, very dubious about this new "Beowulf" film. I mean, they cast Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother. And apparently she has no clothes on. Something tells me they're not too worried about staying true to the text, or even the spirit of the text. And I wonder if they'll even include the later parts of the story, you know when Beowulf fights the dragon. This is a pity because I, along with some other important people like J.R.R. Tolkien, see that part as pretty central to the story as a whole.

There's also this strange mis-conception going around the internet that Beowulf inspired The Lord of the Rings. Well, of course it did, there's no getting around it. It's part of the "leaf-mould" that Tolkien talks about in a few places. But the whole point of the leaf-mould is that it cannot be reduced to any one tree. It combines and disintegrates and becomes something different, a rich compost. So to say baldly that Beowulf was the inspiration for LotR is ignoring the complexities of any author's inspirational process and especially Tolkien's.

Read the poem, ignore the movie.

Thoughts on blogging

I wrote a post awhile ago while thinking about why I sometimes find it difficult to find things to blog about. I'm still thinking about that topic because it's interesting to me and I think I've found a few more reasons.

I don't have the life experience. I know that's not entirely true. I could have blogged a lot more about our cross-country move and its effects on me than I have, and there is a post about that floating around in the back of my mind. I could actually blog a lot more about college and being Christian on a non-Christian campus. In some ways it's not a good reason. But I think that there is some truth to it. I've never been married or had my own house or apartment. I'm just starting.

The other big one is that I'm afraid. Oh, I know it sounds silly! But, unlike some other bloggers (can't think exactly who at the moment) I had already been part of different online things and so I had seen how quickly a seemingly innocuous topic could turn into an all-out flame war. I don't want that to happen here and I'm afraid that if it started I would shrivel up in a little ball and die. I tend to over-react. So I've carefully avoided most controversial statements and, in some ways, most of the interesting topics. I think this is going to change, but it will definitely take some time. Little baby steps here people!

On an entirely different note, I was looking for that earlier post and came across my review of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice. I hope this doesn't sound completely conceited, but I crack myself up sometimes.

Linkage

It's a cold, grey Saturday here, and I've been out of it all day. Perfect time to link to some other pages!

Blogging Friends
Krista writes about Beauty in the Mistakes.
Mrs. Wilt examines the ideals of Christian art.

Orthodox Christianity
On Giving Children the Sense of the Beautiful.
The feeling of loneliness is in our nature.
Beautiful pictures from St. Seraphim's 25th anniversary.

Tolkien
Tolkien lectures at University of Washington--January and February 2008
Tolkien quote.
Terry Jones will talk about Tolkien.
Why the new "Dark is Rising" movie is awful. I agree.
This is funny and sad at the same time.
Tolkien lecture in Perrysburg, OH, Oct. 11.
Peter Jackson "Hobbit" may be a possibility.

Other
Jeeves and Wooster fun.

They've killed it. They've killed it dead.

So. This will be greatly distressing for all fans of The Dark is Rising Sequence. They're making a movie. And the trailer looks beyond horrible. It'll automatically come up if you click on the link above. Go look at it and then discuss with me how awful it is.

Okay, you're back.

~The setting is no longer England? What? The only people with British accents are Merriman and the Rider.
~What's up with the Lady? Why does she look kind of "Wicked-Witch of the West" like?
~He needs help talking to GIRLS????
~He's interested in MAGGIE???? That's definitely....which brother is it....Max?
~HE'S STEALING SOMETHING??? Unless that's a sign, they're definitely nuts.
~Again, the setting is no longer England. That just kills it. You can't have that lovely sense of agelessness the book gives in America. Sorry. Just not possible.
~He has issues with his family? One of my favorite parts of the book is the way he and his family are really loving. Yes, there are a few minor quibbles, but overall they get along well, and when it comes down to it, they're united.
~Merriman is just wrong all over. What happened to old and craggy? We are talking Merlin here.
~Oh, so the Seeker is a warrior now? Not quite so sure about that.
~What happened to all the birthday and Christmas/dark/light symbolism.
~His "powers" are "awesome."

Just for the record, I have deep problems with some aspects of the "Dark is Rising," namely the specific rejection of Christianity. But they're still well written books that deserve so much better than this.

On a happier note, this is my 200th Blogger post. Yay!