I think Dickens' books are difficult to adapt due to the sheer density of them, they'd do well as mini-series, or as "Masterpiece Theatre," as my boss said when I mentioned it to her. He (Cukor) hit all the highpoints (and important dialogue), but with the exceptions of Peggotty (Jessie Ralph), Mr. Micawber (W.C. Fields), and the Murdstones (Basil Rathbone and Violet Kemble Cooper) and to an extent, Steerforth (Hugh Williams, though the complexity of that relationship was missing; and the conflicting influence of both he and Agnes shaping David's life was completely missing), and Barkis (Herbert Mundin), the characters didn't have a chance to develop enough to have the trajectory make sense, they were only lookout points one passes by on a journey. I'm not sure what the overall point or message being told was, the reason for making the film, the point-of-view.
I guess that's the challenge with editing down so much material, and also a story most people would've known at the time, with doing any type of book adaptation; figuring out what story you want to tell in the time you have and casting a line through that, pulling in what supports it, and leaving out the rest (which will always have its critics, because we all have our opinions about what we think the story was about.) I think I heard something to the effect that Chekhov was very terse in his writing, and so the opposite of Dickens...oh, and now I've lost my train of thought. And then I guess I'll have to ask myself, "Does every story have to have a point?" Maybe not when read, but it helps when viewed. It's early, and I've been awake for a while. I'll lastly say, is that a strong story line, point-of-view, helps keep me invested and awake during a performance. It was why I enjoyed Seattle Shakespeare's most recent version of "Othello" so much, a story I don't generally find all that interesting. I mention Shakespeare and Chekhov because those are works that always get edited down for length and (hopefully) story, and so to do well, the director/adapter should have a point-of-view (that would seem to be why you would choose one director over another, a difference of vision, not better or worse, but each one will give you a different production.) It's also why I preferred the Cornish version of "The Three Sisters" over the Seagull Project's (not the acting, I preferred the latter, I think Chekhov needs actors with more life behind them, for one, plus they seemed more invested in the project), there was a definite focus, a point where everything led, and was then resolved, and the story, directing, set, lighting, sound, all led to that one diminished moment. I strongly felt the story the director was telling. (The Seagull Projects' production was beautiful, I'm only referring to the tightness of the story-telling above.)
Ah...I'm rambling. I've more or less finished the book, so, around 200 pages of catch-up, not sure how to do that, so I haven't yet. Perhaps character by character.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Watched the film version
Well, the film version is also a George Cukor film. It's a little hokey, and cuts out David's early schooling (so he meets Steerfield in Canterbury), and his job in London, he goes straight to being a writer. I don't know how I would have cut it to two hours, they keep most of the important dialogue, with one big exception being the Annie Strong comments I wrote about in my last post, but she wasn't a character in the movie. I have a little over 100 pages left to read, and I watched the whole movie, because I didn't feel like what was left was any surprise (I already knew how it ended.)
Going for a walk, will catch up on the book later. (Took the day off.)
Going for a walk, will catch up on the book later. (Took the day off.)
Monday, October 19, 2015
It has been a few months
Okay, so I was at the video store, yes, we still have a few, and randomly stood in the C and D director's section, and along with a Cukor film (Philidelphia, great performances by both Katherine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart, by the way) found a film version of David Copperfield, which I rented, but have yet to watch. I was somewhere in the 500's (page-wise), and used it as motivation to keep reading. I am somewhere in the 700's, it has 913, or something, pages in this version. Told myself I had to read it before watching it. Not sure if I will finish the book before I have to return it, but maybe I will watch it up to the point where David and Dora get married, but I'm ahead of myself. So, a lot of update. (And this could be a 10-hour mini-series, curious how it was cut down to two.)
There was a moment I should've mentioned earlier, when Agnes comes to town and makes the suggestion for David to work for Dr. Strong, he walks she and her father to their lodgings and stays late talking with Agnes. As he departs into the night, he looks back up at her in the window and encounters a beggar on the street who mutters to him, "Blind! Blind! Blind!"
David head over to check on his aunt's house, that done to his satisfaction, he makes his way to Canterbury to visit Agnes and Mr. Wickfield. He encounters Micawber in his new post (formerly the post of Uriah Heep.) He feels there is a distance between them now as they talk (due to the influence of Heep, no doubt.) David lets himself into the house. He can scarcely have time alone with Agnes, Uriah's mother is always around on some pretense. Later we find out this is on purpose, to keep Agnes and David from being alone, as he sees David as his rival for Agnes. (Also, Micawber says earlier that he was surprised to hear about Dora, always thinking that the woman of David's affection would have been Agnes. Everyone sees it except David.) Going out on a walk to get away from the Heeps, David finds that Uriah has followed him out. He makes his intentions known, and finds out that David is engaged to Dora. He admits his mother was there to keep David and A apart, but then calls her off when he finds that David is no longer a threat (due to Dora.)
At some later point, Uriah makes his intentions known to Mr. Wickfield, who gets upset. Later still, back in London, David comes by the Strong's house, and seeing a light on, decides to enter Dr. Strong's study. Here he finds, Uriah, Strong, and Wickfield in some scene. Uriah has played his hand (in an attempt to keep Agnes and Annie strong apart) by insinuating a relationship between Annie and her cousin, Jack Maldon, behind Dr. Strong's back. (It isn't true, but that doesn't matter.) He uses both Wickfield and David as evidence, for doubts they may have had, and it doesn't seem to matter how much Wickfield apologizes and says he no longer feels that way, and had thought he'd kept that to himself all this time, but both David and he must admit they had doubts. It doesn't work in Uriah's favor, he miscalculated, thinking he could use this to create a wedge between the men. Their affection for one another is strong, and they cannot lie or deny anything, instead they admit everything, put it all out on the table. David's love for the doctor grows, in witness to his vulnerability and his unwavering devotion to his wife, whatever doubts he may have now to his suitability as a husband to her, he loves her no less. Though it will create a wedge in the marriage, he because he believes himself to be too old and boring for her, and she because she feels the distance this causes and withdraws to try to please him...and their reactions to one another, without communication pulls them further and further apart. After Mr. Wickfield leads the doctor out of the study and Uriah and David are alone, David's anger at being used by Uriah to hurt the doctor causes him to smack Uriah hard, hard enough to redden his cheek, and to later have a tooth removed. And still, Uriah gets the better of him by saying he will not be a party to the fight, and it takes two to fight.
David runs into Mr. Peggotty on the streets of London, and follows him to a public house where he hears of the latter's search across the continent, for Em'ly. Someone follows and waits outside the door in the snow; it is Martha (whom Em'ly had once given money to.) She doesn't come in, Mr. Peggotty does not like her, and she knows it. He has three letters with money inside received at the boat house in Yarmouth, presumably sent by Steerforth. He intends to return the money. He will continue his search. David walks him to his lodgings and then retraces his steps in hopes of finding Martha, but she has gone.
Also, in this section, David writes a letter to Dora's aunts introducing himself, explaining his situation, and asking to visit Dora. (Miss Mills has since moved to India with her father.) He receives a reply that says he can come by, and to bring a trusted confidant. He brings Traddles. David is so comically un-composed on the occasion, that the aunts mistake Traddles for the suitor. Eventually, David is allowed an audience with Dora. And as time goes on, they are allowed more and more time together. On one visit, he brings along Agnes to meet Dora. Dora is afraid of her, but A soon wins her over and they become friends. It is a happy day. It is on the return from the visit that David steps into the confrontation with Uriah, Strong, and Wickfield.
Dora and David are married and set up house. They are young and naive and everyone, from a series of servants, to the shopkeepers and butchers, takes advantage of them, steals from them. Dora asks to be called "child-wife," or rather to be thought of that way, for that's what she is. She cannot make sense of the accounts or cookery book (and both his aunt and Agnes, advise not to force the issue), and is easily distracted when she tries. She does love David and wants to be admired by him, but also useful. At one point, she says she wished that she had been able to live with Agnes for a while in order to learn how to do practical things.
There is a day, when Mr. Dick makes his move to reconcile Annie and Dr. Strong, for they have grown apart and are both aching, for feelings of rejection, Dr. Strong due to Uriah's meddling, and Annie, because she feels the distance. Mr. Dick, sensing something was wrong from the get-go, became an affectionate and constant companion to both, and finally decides to bring them back together. David, his Aunt, and Annie's mother, are also present to witness the reconciliation. Annie had felt a connection to Jack Maldon when she was younger, but never has regretted her marriage to the doctor. She is completely devoted to him. She says, "There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose." "The first mistaken impulse of an undisciplined heart." "My love was founded on a rock." And these phrases stay with and haunt David. He has a "child-wife" whom he adores, and who adores him, and yet he longs for an equal partner and confidant, and he does not have that in Dora. (It does describe his relationship with Agnes.)
One other important event. David finds himself walking past the Steerforth home in Highgate one gloomy evening, when he is accosted by a parlor maid, and brought inside to see Miss Dartle. She has news. She brings Littimer out to tell it. It seems that Em'ly and James stayed together longer than could be expected, she picked up languages well, and fit in with the locals, making friends, angering James (Steerforth) when she admitted her "father" was a boatman, and that she also was once like the children playing on the beach. They eventually could no longer get along, and Steerforth left, saying he'd be back in a few days, but with no intention of returning. He sent Littimer to tell her he wasn't coming back, and also that Littimer should marry her, which he was willing to do for this "master." She flipped out and would've killed herself, but he restrained her, locked her up. She turns out to be fairly cunning, and escapes by breaking open the sealed window, and climbing down a vine and disappearing. No one know if she is alive or dead.
Of Miss Dartle, who says to David, "If she is not found, perhaps she never will be found. She may be dead!" David says, "The vaunting cruelty with which she met my glance, I never saw expressed in any other face that ever I have seen." And that's saying something, considering all his encounters with the Murdstones, the schools, and Uriah Heep. (Speaking of the Murdstones, they are the only story line not to turn up in this section.)
After Littimer is finished with his information (for which Miss Dartle paid him), he is dismissed. Mrs. Steerforth enters, looking much older. She speaks to David of his life, briefly, finally saying, "You have no mother?...It is a pity...She would have been proud of you. Good-night."
And lastly, David goes to find Mr. Peggotty, whom he believes to still be in London. He finds him, tells him what he heard. Mr. Peggotty believes Em'ly to still be alive. David mentions Martha, Mr. Peggotty says he has seen her. So they go out into the night in search of her.
And they have spied her and have followed her to a river. That's where I've left off.
Oh, and around the time of the marriage, David has become a stenographer, and so does court reporting, and also a writer, beginning to gain some recognition by the time he encounters Mrs. Steerforth, hence, her comments have to do with both his marriage to Dora, and his writing career.
There was a moment I should've mentioned earlier, when Agnes comes to town and makes the suggestion for David to work for Dr. Strong, he walks she and her father to their lodgings and stays late talking with Agnes. As he departs into the night, he looks back up at her in the window and encounters a beggar on the street who mutters to him, "Blind! Blind! Blind!"
David head over to check on his aunt's house, that done to his satisfaction, he makes his way to Canterbury to visit Agnes and Mr. Wickfield. He encounters Micawber in his new post (formerly the post of Uriah Heep.) He feels there is a distance between them now as they talk (due to the influence of Heep, no doubt.) David lets himself into the house. He can scarcely have time alone with Agnes, Uriah's mother is always around on some pretense. Later we find out this is on purpose, to keep Agnes and David from being alone, as he sees David as his rival for Agnes. (Also, Micawber says earlier that he was surprised to hear about Dora, always thinking that the woman of David's affection would have been Agnes. Everyone sees it except David.) Going out on a walk to get away from the Heeps, David finds that Uriah has followed him out. He makes his intentions known, and finds out that David is engaged to Dora. He admits his mother was there to keep David and A apart, but then calls her off when he finds that David is no longer a threat (due to Dora.)
At some later point, Uriah makes his intentions known to Mr. Wickfield, who gets upset. Later still, back in London, David comes by the Strong's house, and seeing a light on, decides to enter Dr. Strong's study. Here he finds, Uriah, Strong, and Wickfield in some scene. Uriah has played his hand (in an attempt to keep Agnes and Annie strong apart) by insinuating a relationship between Annie and her cousin, Jack Maldon, behind Dr. Strong's back. (It isn't true, but that doesn't matter.) He uses both Wickfield and David as evidence, for doubts they may have had, and it doesn't seem to matter how much Wickfield apologizes and says he no longer feels that way, and had thought he'd kept that to himself all this time, but both David and he must admit they had doubts. It doesn't work in Uriah's favor, he miscalculated, thinking he could use this to create a wedge between the men. Their affection for one another is strong, and they cannot lie or deny anything, instead they admit everything, put it all out on the table. David's love for the doctor grows, in witness to his vulnerability and his unwavering devotion to his wife, whatever doubts he may have now to his suitability as a husband to her, he loves her no less. Though it will create a wedge in the marriage, he because he believes himself to be too old and boring for her, and she because she feels the distance this causes and withdraws to try to please him...and their reactions to one another, without communication pulls them further and further apart. After Mr. Wickfield leads the doctor out of the study and Uriah and David are alone, David's anger at being used by Uriah to hurt the doctor causes him to smack Uriah hard, hard enough to redden his cheek, and to later have a tooth removed. And still, Uriah gets the better of him by saying he will not be a party to the fight, and it takes two to fight.
David runs into Mr. Peggotty on the streets of London, and follows him to a public house where he hears of the latter's search across the continent, for Em'ly. Someone follows and waits outside the door in the snow; it is Martha (whom Em'ly had once given money to.) She doesn't come in, Mr. Peggotty does not like her, and she knows it. He has three letters with money inside received at the boat house in Yarmouth, presumably sent by Steerforth. He intends to return the money. He will continue his search. David walks him to his lodgings and then retraces his steps in hopes of finding Martha, but she has gone.
Also, in this section, David writes a letter to Dora's aunts introducing himself, explaining his situation, and asking to visit Dora. (Miss Mills has since moved to India with her father.) He receives a reply that says he can come by, and to bring a trusted confidant. He brings Traddles. David is so comically un-composed on the occasion, that the aunts mistake Traddles for the suitor. Eventually, David is allowed an audience with Dora. And as time goes on, they are allowed more and more time together. On one visit, he brings along Agnes to meet Dora. Dora is afraid of her, but A soon wins her over and they become friends. It is a happy day. It is on the return from the visit that David steps into the confrontation with Uriah, Strong, and Wickfield.
Dora and David are married and set up house. They are young and naive and everyone, from a series of servants, to the shopkeepers and butchers, takes advantage of them, steals from them. Dora asks to be called "child-wife," or rather to be thought of that way, for that's what she is. She cannot make sense of the accounts or cookery book (and both his aunt and Agnes, advise not to force the issue), and is easily distracted when she tries. She does love David and wants to be admired by him, but also useful. At one point, she says she wished that she had been able to live with Agnes for a while in order to learn how to do practical things.
There is a day, when Mr. Dick makes his move to reconcile Annie and Dr. Strong, for they have grown apart and are both aching, for feelings of rejection, Dr. Strong due to Uriah's meddling, and Annie, because she feels the distance. Mr. Dick, sensing something was wrong from the get-go, became an affectionate and constant companion to both, and finally decides to bring them back together. David, his Aunt, and Annie's mother, are also present to witness the reconciliation. Annie had felt a connection to Jack Maldon when she was younger, but never has regretted her marriage to the doctor. She is completely devoted to him. She says, "There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose." "The first mistaken impulse of an undisciplined heart." "My love was founded on a rock." And these phrases stay with and haunt David. He has a "child-wife" whom he adores, and who adores him, and yet he longs for an equal partner and confidant, and he does not have that in Dora. (It does describe his relationship with Agnes.)
One other important event. David finds himself walking past the Steerforth home in Highgate one gloomy evening, when he is accosted by a parlor maid, and brought inside to see Miss Dartle. She has news. She brings Littimer out to tell it. It seems that Em'ly and James stayed together longer than could be expected, she picked up languages well, and fit in with the locals, making friends, angering James (Steerforth) when she admitted her "father" was a boatman, and that she also was once like the children playing on the beach. They eventually could no longer get along, and Steerforth left, saying he'd be back in a few days, but with no intention of returning. He sent Littimer to tell her he wasn't coming back, and also that Littimer should marry her, which he was willing to do for this "master." She flipped out and would've killed herself, but he restrained her, locked her up. She turns out to be fairly cunning, and escapes by breaking open the sealed window, and climbing down a vine and disappearing. No one know if she is alive or dead.
Of Miss Dartle, who says to David, "If she is not found, perhaps she never will be found. She may be dead!" David says, "The vaunting cruelty with which she met my glance, I never saw expressed in any other face that ever I have seen." And that's saying something, considering all his encounters with the Murdstones, the schools, and Uriah Heep. (Speaking of the Murdstones, they are the only story line not to turn up in this section.)
After Littimer is finished with his information (for which Miss Dartle paid him), he is dismissed. Mrs. Steerforth enters, looking much older. She speaks to David of his life, briefly, finally saying, "You have no mother?...It is a pity...She would have been proud of you. Good-night."
And lastly, David goes to find Mr. Peggotty, whom he believes to still be in London. He finds him, tells him what he heard. Mr. Peggotty believes Em'ly to still be alive. David mentions Martha, Mr. Peggotty says he has seen her. So they go out into the night in search of her.
And they have spied her and have followed her to a river. That's where I've left off.
Oh, and around the time of the marriage, David has become a stenographer, and so does court reporting, and also a writer, beginning to gain some recognition by the time he encounters Mrs. Steerforth, hence, her comments have to do with both his marriage to Dora, and his writing career.
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