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Post by Vittoria on Mar 3, 2009 1:18:24 GMT
Finally! Well, that was long and a tad boring in spots, but I did find the characters interesting. I think the whole thing was too long. Seeing more of Mr. Sewell would have been nice and I loved his character. Of course, the fact that he looked absolutely smashing helped the picture too.
Dorothea was naive I think. I do believe that her intentions for others were far higher than her intentions for herself. I kept wanting to say- "Go on, for heaven's sake! Your husband has verbally given you an open door." But marriage was such a high estate and her loyalty was admirable. Even my parents have been married for over 60 years. These days, marriage is far more disposable, it seems. Will there ever be a happy balance in society between the two extremes? Marriage on one hand should not be a prison. On the other hand, vows have deep meaning if both partners truly mean what they are saying.
Rosie was a manipulative and ungrateful spoiled brat and that's no good in my books either. The good doctor married her out of pity, I think. He had made it clear that he was not interested in marriage until he established himself better, but when he saw her crying, his heart reached out to her... and for what? She didn't support him in his career- wanted him to leave medicine- he gave her all her heart desired only to find himself in great debt and she appreciated nothing he did for her.
Tip and Lizap, I love your descriptions.
Quoll, that music vid was lovely.
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Post by Famke on May 3, 2009 1:22:30 GMT
I loved reading what people thought about this one! The video Quoll posted-  ...perfect. Here is my two cents: [glow=green,2,300]REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS[/glow] MIDDLEMARCHRufus Hair Cuteness Level: 10/10 Rufus Gets The Girl Level: 10/10 (OMG can it be true!?) Well... I did it. I watched the whole entire thing without even once fast-forwarding to the next Rufus scene. I am truly proud of myself for that. It is really really really...... really long. Takes about an hour for Will Ladislaw (Rufus) to show up the first time...them BAM! Just like other movies...once he shows those mysterious green eyes shadowed behind dark tousled curls... I'm hooked. Great fun to see those recognizable mannerisms budding on his angel baby face.... oh right the plot...ahem... I ended up thoroughly engrossed in the three separate interwoven tales. Dorthea the selfless, bookish beauty with her head in the clouds- dreaming of making the harsh world a kinder, better place for her fellow “creatures”. She really did have her head in the clouds...it took her quite a long time to realize she was in love with Will. I cheered out loud when her spineless, insecure husband finally croaked... sorry I just could not summon pity for him. Rufus (like always) MAKES this movie. He makes Will's forced suppression of his desire for Dorthea...tangible. Rufus never needs to speak actual words in his scenes; such a master of human expression he is. I enjoyed as well, Dr. Lydgate's story...well...I liked his character – his wife was shallow shrew, I couldn't stand Rosamond until she fessed up to Dorthea what had actually taken place in the parlor with Will. I got a little twang of respect for her there. The third story...Fred Vincy's...it was ok, but the least engaging of the three for me. Though I did have fun watching Jonathan Firth knowing he and Rufus were old pals and roommates back in acting school...actually Juliet Aubrey was a good friend (and ex-girlfriend) of Rufus too right? How fun that must have been for them to do such an epic movie together! Going to work and hanging out with pals! ...and HAHA I can't seem to shake this English accent I seemed to have picked up. I wonder if I will ever talk normally again? The film is certainly long and a tad slow in parts, but over-all I enjoyed it...and THIS:  "My religion is to love what is good and beautiful when I see it." |
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Post by bandicoot on Jul 16, 2009 2:47:33 GMT
I have to comment on Middlemarch. This was my introduction to Rufus and when I first saw it I thought he was utterly georgeous and the whole production excellent. Middlemarch became my favourite book and added George Eliot as my favourite historical writer.
I had a chance recently to re-watch Middlemarch and was again blown away by how good all of the characters are. But I do get frustrated by Andrew Davies as a scriptwriter. I think he is very clever, but he does love to add his own variations to the plot (most famously getting Colin Firth to dive into the lake in Pride & Prejudice - a scene which most people loved but just annoyed me!).
In Middlemarch, Davies alllow the relationship between Will and Dorothea to accurately flourish, but then he totally screws up the scene when they get together and kiss. While I enjoyed watching Rufus stroll up her lawn in his fabulous coat, the book delivers a stunningly passionate and desperate scene while they struggle to believe they will ever overcome the obstacles to their love for each other. When Will goes to leave and Dorothea blurts out to him that "my heart will break" it is so powerful, gripping and romantic - something totally lost in the BBC production.
My only gripe. Other than that, I just love it. Especially the eye candy.
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Post by kiwidi on Sept 14, 2009 3:25:14 GMT
I've got this on video tape and watched part 3 last night. I've had this for a while and have always enjoyed the Middlemarch story. Now I love it more because of my admiration of Rufus has grown. That was very evident last night as I saw a scene where Rufus turned around towards the camera and I made a sound much like one of pleasure. My cat turned to look at me as if thinking there was something wrong. She was looking at me in this fashion for quite a while and I had to explain . . . "it's Rufus and he is so good to look at." ;D
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Post by judypatooty on Sept 15, 2009 18:09:15 GMT
LOL!  I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who has to explain things like that to her cat.  |
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Post by kiwidi on Sept 16, 2009 20:42:48 GMT
I'm pleased someone understands Judy. ;D
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Post by jemmima on Nov 2, 2009 23:21:53 GMT
Kiwidi! You have Middlemarch on video! I am soooo jealous! I recently bought the Middlemarch DVD's off TradeMe - but forgot to check the region. Duhh! It was a region 2, and mine only plays region 4. Am dying to see it, but I just bought the book off TradeMe instead. Slight compenstation!
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Post by nell on Aug 28, 2010 11:00:58 GMT
Amen to that ! I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Middlemarch. A great character study. In MM as in life I think there is some good in most people. Dorothea must have been standing at the front of the queue when it was handed out. Of course the story would have been a bit dull if they'd all made the best choices first time around also in ife how many of us are lucky enough to be quite that perfect ? I thought the performances were great - those that were supposed to be annoying were. That Kitty annoyed me quite alot.  Rufus was excellent yet again. Expressing so much with his facial expressions, mannerisms, body language. The ear pulling when he spoke of losing his Dad at a young age left me with a bit of a lump in my throat. The longing and tenderness he conveyed in his gaze. Not forgetting the frustration that Dorothea couldn't open up and admit what was in her heart. I think she had strong feelings for Will for far longer than she admitted. In the end she realised that Will felt as strongly for her and couldn't bear to see his heart broken. Judging from the comments on the book and the change of ending it looks like I'll be adding Middlemarch to my ever increasing list of books to read. But back to basics.... Rufus was obviously born to wear that nifty little number - tight breeches, long red coat and the curls, eyes and cheekbones just to drive us all wild. I'm sorry Rufus but any woman who can't see that clearly has no pulse IMHO !  Edited to add. I watched this before I watched Woodlanders and didn't realise Emily Woof was Lydgates maid. Did anyone figure out which other actor was in MM and John Adams ? |
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Post by tipou on Aug 28, 2010 21:36:54 GMT
nell: well i have not. i had not even noticed emily woof.
i have to watch it again, really.
there seems to be this pack of british actors who you find in most historic pieces. always nice to see them, because they are all good.
and i love historic pieces. i am like you, rufus in antique clothing makes me faint. in modern clothing he makes me faint too. without clothing...
change topics, tipou!
mm is great imho. never could bear to read the book, got my share of 19th century novels, and, frankly, apart from the brontes, not a lot would i read again. good that they are often well adapted to the screen, big or small.
but as you say the social depiction is always so enlightening and, to me, entertaining. love to see the sets too. the costumes. and hear the language, with so much hidden meaning and torturing conventions.
yep. might watch it all overagain one more time.
after tpote ep.6.
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Post by kissmekate on Nov 29, 2010 12:37:17 GMT
I've now watched the first two episodes on DVD. The first one with no Rufus at all in it was a tiny bit tedious (and I was confused by all the people), but when I first laid my eyes on Will Ladislaw sitting by that pond and drawing, my ironing board witnessed a heartfelt sigh at this beauty. Like a painting!
I hadn't expected to be so smitten with the young Rufus as I love his touches of maturity now, but he's such a purrrr-fect romantic hero complete with wild black hair and shiny eyes that I can hardly expect to go on watching.
I must also admit that I like Dorothea. Juliet Aubrey suits the role just fine.
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Post by nicole on Nov 29, 2010 22:09:45 GMT
KMK, if you just want a short look of Middlemarch (with the best Rufus scenes in) then take a look on my video. Posted it some month ago so the other girls did know it already. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY8sfXTHQp4 |
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Post by VictoryGirl on Nov 29, 2010 22:58:11 GMT
By the way, on March 2011 Middlemarch will be on the German TV. I don't know on which channel.
Sadly I'm in Thailand so I will maybe miss it.
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Post by kissmekate on Nov 30, 2010 8:43:25 GMT
Nicole, thanks for the link, I'll certainly enjoy that later. For now, I'll go on with the remaining four episodes on the DVD as I want to know how things play out in Middlemarch  |
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Post by nicole on Nov 30, 2010 17:51:25 GMT
By the way, on March 2011 Middlemarch will be on the German TV. I don't know on which channel. Where have you heard/read about this? Want to find out more. |
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Post by VictoryGirl on Nov 30, 2010 18:06:05 GMT
I found it in a TV-magazine, but after reading it for the second time I think I misunderstood it. I think they just wrote about movies and theire names. Take a look:  |
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Rufus was excellent yet again. Expressing so much with his facial expressions, mannerisms, body language. The ear pulling when he spoke of losing his Dad at a young age left me with a bit of a lump in my throat. The longing and tenderness he conveyed in his gaze. Not forgetting the frustration that Dorothea couldn't open up and admit what was in her heart. I think she had strong feelings for Will for far longer than she admitted. In the end she realised that Will felt as strongly for her and couldn't bear to see his heart broken.
