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Post by numbat on Jun 29, 2010 11:22:26 GMT
 , what a fantastic set of reviews. I'm just so pleased that everyone has taken the movie of the week concept on board the way they have, watched, and thought about it and reviewed it. I've never been able to review Charles II because it's simply too much, too much brilliance, too much perfection, too much Rufus. So i shall adopt bluehorses fantastic review and everyone else's. You've all said what i struggle to. And you know i don't struggle to string words together very often. He is simply  |
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Post by VictoryGirl on Nov 3, 2010 11:35:43 GMT
Have you seen this pic? I love this look.  "Can I go now?" |
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Post by GreenEyesToo on Nov 3, 2010 11:53:45 GMT
Yes, it's buried somewhere in the forum, Sam, but thanks for posting it again - love that expression!
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Post by sewellme on Nov 3, 2010 18:53:57 GMT
I love the scene where Shirley approached him in his study/chamber trying to have a warm conversation about her improved English ...that defies what awkwardness is about.
This one is the cat on a hot tin roof!
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Post by sewellme on Jan 4, 2011 17:41:44 GMT
Finished watching Charlie II....love the Rufus & Shirley Duo, they should do it again sometime! Something about them being together on screen....just magnetic to watch. Some scenes; I sobbed shamelessly, my cat - Ramsey purred, rubbed and licked me to offer comfort....really!! Noticed both C2 and TOTS got the line of Ruf's demand of "No more talk of Divorce and/or annulment", well... no more then. Hope to see them together again someday. GE2: This might be my other Lordy fav for me besides Marke  |
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Post by GreenEyesToo on Jan 5, 2011 11:23:21 GMT
GE2: This might be my other Lordy fav for me besides Marke  Lord? LORD?? I am a KING!!! ;D I'm glad you liked it so much, sewellme - that has the whole Rufus package as far as I'm concerned. I love it and always see something new, each time I watch it. But he really does have seniority over Marke, you know.  |
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Post by rueful on Jan 5, 2011 19:00:49 GMT
that has the whole Rufus package as far as I'm concerned. Must...behave....  On a more mature note, I now have the BBC version to watch and I am very, very happy.  I've seen the youtube version, but I think this will have so much more impact. I just watched the "making of" documentary, since I can't take the time to watch the whole film yet. It had so much great information and a lot of Rufus, as you know. I think when I can I'll also watch the Charles doc before the movie, so I have a better understanding. Then, I have 4 hours of Rufus magnificence coming my way!!  Has anyone listened to the commentary (on eps 3 and 4)? Is it worth listening to? |
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Post by judypatooty on Jan 5, 2011 19:15:02 GMT
Yaaay!!! You got your DVD player to work!!!  |
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Post by sewellme on Jan 5, 2011 19:59:59 GMT
GE2: This might be my other Lordy fav for me besides Marke But he really does have seniority over Marke, you know. (Pssst GE2, I'm keeping Charlie on low key from Marke...... ;D) |
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Post by GreenEyesToo on Jan 5, 2011 21:07:22 GMT
that has the whole Rufus package as far as I'm concerned. Must...behave.... You've been hanging around with Numbat too long!  However, your interpretation might have been fairly accurate, anyway! ;D BTW, the Antonia Fraser bio is very good - it was the one Rufus read to help him prepare for the role. |
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Post by roseofkilgannon on Jan 5, 2011 21:28:15 GMT
BTW, the Antonia Fraser bio is very good - it was the one Rufus read to help him prepare for the role. ... hope I will receive it with tomorrow's post |
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Post by rueful on Jan 6, 2011 0:28:09 GMT
Yaaay!!! You got your DVD player to work!!! Yes, with the assistance of the wonderful people here at The Rooftop! You've been hanging around with Numbat too long! No doubt!! ;D However, your interpretation might have been fairly accurate, anyway! ;D I surely hope so! ;D BTW, the Antonia Fraser bio is very good - it was the one Rufus read to help him prepare for the role. Thanks, it sounds great! I'll look for it this weekend. All this important stuff to watch and read, and real life responsibilities getting in the way....Where are those evil cloning scientists from Eleventh Hour when we really need them? |
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Post by rufluvr on Jan 7, 2011 0:12:37 GMT
I've enjoyed Lady Antonia Fraser's books too. I read her Marie Antoinette and Mary Queen of Scots books--I've read a biography of Charles II too but can't remember if it was hers or a different one (sad my memory's going and i'm only in my 40's  ) Fraser's autobiography "Must You Go?" just came out a little while ago. She details (among other things) how she, a mother of six, came to leave her husband Sir Hugh Fraser after falling in love with the playwright Harold Pinter. Also, for those who love all things Charles II--there's a new biography out there about Charles' mistress Nell Gwynn written by Gillian Bagwell called "The Darling Strumpet" avail on Amazon, Barnes & Noble. I'm thinking that will be a really interesting and fun read if it's even half as colorful as it's subject! |
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Post by kissmekate on Jan 7, 2011 17:57:57 GMT
Before concluding my holiday Ruf-athon with AKT tonight (Mr. Kate finally promised to watch it with me, in turn he will get homemade mousse au chocolat after dinner ...), I took the time to get acquainted with Charles II. And I must agree with all of you who said it was one of Ruf's best pieces of work. Not just because he's got so much screen time, but also because he's so fully immersed in this character with his many conflicting facets. The regal king in his power and glory, the contested monarch trying to get along with a very unruly parliament, the womanizer who seems to need his regular fix of bed athletics and is rendered utterly powerless as soon as tears start to flow, the husband who married out of duty and then develops a deep companionship with his wife over the years. And until the end there is still the boy who wants to please his father whom he was forced to see executed. A very complex personality which is shown in all its respects without concentrating too much on a single one of them. And who would be better to portray him than lovely Rufus?! Although I don't care much for promiscuous figures nor political scheming, Charles remains a human being to me, first and foremost. A person with conflicts and grievances and sorrows. The rest of the cast is brilliant as well, particularly the two most important woman, Helen McCrory on the one hand and Shirley Henderson on the other. (The latter looked so sweet in that scene when he watches her dancing through the gardens, thinking no one can see her.) It is real life shown here, everyday life, with joy and pain close to each other, just as life goes, e.g. when the king is called from a merry night of entertainment into the queen's bedchamber to hear that she has miscarried. This was such a beautiful scene, so much tenderness in his eyes ... I also agree that the make-up artists did a very fine job with Charles aging gradually. Maybe 20 minutes before the end I actually wondered if Rufus had somehow been unwell with those shadows under his eyes because they looked so real! But of course that wouldn't have been enough if Rufus hadn't played the aging man so well, walking slowly and somehow painfully - it sufficed to almost break my heart when he rested his head on Louise's lap by the lake. The end was really heartbreaking then. The old king turning to his father for approval, the shock of seeing him collapse, and then faithful Catherine resting by his side until the very end, and him looking shockingly old and weary. What a sorry sight  I didn't watch all of the making of (but I'll do that some time later). However I watched all the Rufus parts. What a treat after seeing the dying king! Gorgeous looks (King Marke-style  ) and interesting comments. I also loved the part when he and Shirley commented together. They must get together again for some project one day, they just match so darn well. While Charles doesn't make it to the top of my list in the looks department - although he looks great when not wearing one of those silly wigs, and I absolutely loved the beautifully elegant fencing scene with Rupert Graves - the film definitely deserves a place in the highest ranks for its superb acting. |
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Post by anyother on Jan 7, 2011 18:54:28 GMT
What a description in one single sentence! Nice review KMK, and I recognized a lot of my own experience of watching Charles. I didn't really like Louise to be the one to have old Charles lie on the pillow on her lap. The way Catherine told her Charles needed the woman around him to smile, not sulk, was priceless though. |
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I've seen the youtube version, but I think this will have so much more impact. I just watched the "making of" documentary, since I can't take the time to watch the whole film yet. It had so much great information and a lot of Rufus, as you know. I think when I can I'll also watch the Charles doc before the movie, so I have a better understanding. Then, I have 4 hours of Rufus magnificence coming my way!! 
)
) and interesting comments. I also loved the part when he and Shirley commented together. They must get together again for some project one day, they just match so darn well.
