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Post by Prettyredhead on Aug 9, 2010 16:22:25 GMT
I watched this movie on Saturday evening, alone while sipping Zinfandel, and I agree with the critics who basically said that the production was excellent, selection of characters and acting was right on, but too much was left out from the novel.
I felt like it didn't move me much. It was indeed a sad story, but I did not feel as if I had the opportunity to get emotionally involved with the characters.
However, Rufus did look quite stunning, as always, and I never cease to be amazing at how the camera loves him, but soo much more could have been done with this classic work to make it much more interesting, to amaze and entrance the audience.
My opinion? Fun to watch, but Kleenex box went untouched.
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Post by numbat on Aug 10, 2010 2:35:35 GMT
Ooooh, that's putting the cat amongst the pigeons Red!!!
Many of us (who, me???), can't even think about Giles without having a stray tear, so it's a shame (or maybe a blessing in disguise) that you didn't make that emotional connection.
I was completely bereft after i watched it for the first time (and the second and the third....), and when my husband came home he thought that someone had died (well they did as far as i was concerned!!!).
I agree that there could have been so much more, and it would have most definitely benefited from being a two or three parter rather than a single film. But i hadn't read the book before i watched it and so didn't have that feeling of parts being left out. I still haven't read it but i do listen to Rufus read it to me every now and then.
If you have a spare box of kleenex going spare, you might like to send it to me - i never have enough!!!
;D
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Post by walt on Aug 10, 2010 7:22:03 GMT
I saw the film about the Woodlanders some time ago on you tube, well it was moving. But to listen to Rufus' voice on the audio tape makes me cry at the end. And I just finished reading the book - also moving. Hopefully the used DVD I've ordered will soon arrive....
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Post by dippyponge on Aug 10, 2010 21:51:56 GMT
Hearing Rufus read Woodlanders always makes me cry at the end of the book, even more than the movie (and I cried a lot then). He reads so beautifully.
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Post by walt on Aug 11, 2010 6:33:34 GMT
Now that I've seen the film again (I needed a tissue this time) I realized why for me the audio tape is more moving: the end is different from the film with that sad remembrance, and beautifully and high emotional read by Rufus.
And I agree with numbat that from the novel by Thomas Hardy there could have been definitely more than just a single film - but we should be glad that this film exists.
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mo
Roo-kie
Posts: 26
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Post by mo on Sept 30, 2010 19:59:37 GMT
Copy of dvd arrived few days ago to my door. I did not read the novel, I've seen no previews, I read no single post here on the subject. In some reason I expected a lot and I was disappointed as much... First of all I didn't like Grace character at all, than I was mad at Marty for her silent love (she should have done something about it) and at the end I was not even slightly sorry for the fact that Giles died. I was left wonder, where the hell it did go wrong.... So I'll get the novel now somewhere, and watch the movie all over again after...  |
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Post by GreenEyesToo on Sept 30, 2010 20:16:21 GMT
Mo, try and get the audiobook version, read by Rufus. That could make all the difference!
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Post by numbat on Oct 1, 2010 4:37:51 GMT
and at the end I was not even slightly sorry for the fact that Giles died. Giles died? ??  I think i must have blanked this out as a result of my WIPTSS (Woodlanders Induced Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome) Now I'm going to have to go through the crying thing again  |
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Post by nell on Oct 1, 2010 21:00:18 GMT
Oh no I just bought the book. I already have the dvd - now I'm going to have to get the audio.
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Post by francesca on Oct 1, 2010 21:03:44 GMT
Put it on your I-pod Nell or play it through head phones , don't forget the tissues!
Another thought ...
I wonder if somrone could get him to read the "Zen" books
wouldn't that be a treat?
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Post by kissmekate on Jan 2, 2011 15:08:58 GMT
Mr. Kate gave me the Woodlanders DVD as a little New Year present and as he's again at his office with his paperwork, I curled up on the sofa to watch ...
I was prepared I might need some tissues and was strangely quiet at the time IT happened, but when Grace arranged her little bunches of flowers, tears were streaming down my face finally (and I fear it might be worse when I watch it again some time ...)
The film is beautifully set and beautifully shot, with wonderful landscapes creating so much atmosphere. Although I would have wished for Grace to stand up against her father's plans much more firmly, I couldn't help feel sorry for her too because she's just caught in her time's conventions and somehow makes herself believe that she deserves to move up the social ladder more than would have been possible with Giles. And she realizes very soon that it was a bad decision to tie the knot with the doctor who doesn't understand her roots, her friends, her life and has his head full of ambition and social aspiration.
And now to Giles. He may not be a highly educated man, but he is honest, hard-working and passionate in his silent way. And although he doesn't have the means or the power to really transcend social boundaries, he doesn't put up with arrogance and condescending behaviour easily, as in the scene with Mrs. C's carriage. He stands his ground because he is sure about what's right and wrong, even if it is to his disadvantage in the end. (And what a disadvantage that turns out to be. Hadn't he refused to let the lady's carriage pass, she probably wouldn't have taken away his home and he wouldn't have to live in that shack in the woods.)
Again, Rufus fully turns into his character, portraying him as a three-dimensional person, not falling into the trap of reducing him into a passionate, pretty, but rather backward country boy. He doesn't speak much but shows the slightest emotion in his eyes and face, like when it slowly sinks in that Grace has just told him that there is no future for them.
The church scene is one of the best - the "hand sex" as well as his confession that he is afraid that his deepest wish may never come true. When he says "I could lie dying" with that seemingly easy smile and the tender look in his green eyes, I would have had a premonition even if I hadn't known any hints at the end.
The kiss under the apple tree is another of my favourite scenes. Spring with its blossoming trees and awakening nature is my favourite season, so the magnificent shots of trees in full bloom went right to my heart, and then the tender, hopeful kiss that seems to promise so much ...
... which cannot be kept in the end. That actually went a little too fast for me, hardly any time to bide goodbye to Giles. (I did have to smile though for a moment when I remembered that interview when Rufus said the guy with the cough is always the one who dies in the end.) I didn't quite understand why he stayed out in the forest in the rain and cold for so long - didn't he want to make Grace sick? Or was it his pride, not wanting her to see him in such bad shape, trying to hide how bad he was?
I was also wondering if there was really nothing left for the doctor to do for him or if he just said so out of spite because Grace had left him ...
When reading through this thread, the mention of the John Denver song brought tears back to my eyes with the line "let me die in your arms" ... at least this much was possible, he wasn't alone in his last minutes. But still, tragic how unkind life can be sometimes, how bad decisions (that you often make yourself believe to be the only reasonable way at the time) can alter your life forever, often sadly ...
I also liked the scene with Marty and Grace in the churchyard, sad as it was. Yes, maybe Giles should have forgotten about Grace and teamed up with Marty, but he loved her more like a sister or platonic friend ... passionate love doesn't always have to do much with reason ...
I'll have to find the audiobook now (thanks for the warning not to listen while driving, it'll be better and safer to cry quietly into my laundry when ironing ...)
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Post by anyother on Jan 2, 2011 15:55:23 GMT
Kissmekate, I really enjoy your reviews. Very impressive!
Giles staying out in the rain puzzled me as well, but I think he considered and protected her reputation - it would not do to spend the night in the same house in those days, I guess.
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Post by kissmekate on Jan 2, 2011 16:22:43 GMT
Oh, thank you *blush again*
You've got a point about her reputation, I didn't really consider that (21st century girl that I am ...) Of course Giles would have been careful about this.
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Post by anyother on Jan 2, 2011 20:21:42 GMT
Yes, but to die for it (sighs)...
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Post by rufluvr on Jan 3, 2011 21:48:01 GMT
Rufus has had many moving moments on film--but his final scene in Woodlanders is so incredibly heartbreaking it is not something I can watch very often. What is interesting though, is that Woodlanders also contains the achingly romantic church scene and one of his most (subtley) sexy screen kisses.
And I am always really mad at that girl for following convention and her parents wishes, not her heart. You are much more charitable to her in your posts than I have been, hee hee. ;D
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