tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post6919296955139188085..comments2023-12-09T15:38:44.490-08:00Comments on Jim Lane's Cinedrome: Minority Opinion: The Magnificent Ambersons, Part 4Jim Lanehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00981196894914646656noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post-69548781699192094492012-03-17T19:14:56.370-07:002012-03-17T19:14:56.370-07:00Jim, as always, I'm truly wowed by all the wor...Jim, as always, I'm truly wowed by all the work you did in whipping your stunning series "Minority Opinion: The Magnificent Ambersons, Part 4" into shape. Too bad Orson Welles didn't have as much focus and clarity in the making of his film as you've had in the writing of this series! As I've said in earlier parts of this series, the story-behind-the-story is as riveting as the story itself. Great job, Jim, as always!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post-86321789585291411962012-03-09T13:43:38.527-08:002012-03-09T13:43:38.527-08:00Elisabeth, by a remarkable coincidence I first saw...Elisabeth, by a remarkable coincidence I first saw <i>Ambersons</i> in the summer of 1962, shortly after first reading <i>Gone With the Wind</i>. The comparison between George and Scarlett struck me, too -- but when I mentioned it to an actress in the show I was doing, she refuted it rather forcefully and (to me) convincingly. Yes, she said, they're both the selfish, willful focus of wealthy families brought low by changing times. But the crucial difference is that Scarlett never gets her come-uppance. She ends as she began, airly dismissing an unpleasant thought: "I'll think about that tomorrow." She hasn't learned -- implicitly, will never learn -- that she can't always get her own way. "Those," my friend said, "are not the words of someone who's gotten her come-uppance." I couldn't answer her at the time, and now I think she was right. <br /><br />Of course, it's important to remember that the ending of <i>GWTW</i> the novel is quite different from that of the movie -- not in substance, but in tone. The movie ending stresses Scarlett's iron will and inner strength, while the novel underlines her fiddle-de-dee-ness and self-delusion.Jim Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00981196894914646656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post-21190471117314853312012-03-09T07:55:39.830-08:002012-03-09T07:55:39.830-08:00I made the same comparison between George Minafer ...I made the same comparison between George Minafer and Scarlett O'Hara when I read the book. They're protagonist and villain simultaneously, and it's something of a conjuring trick on the author's part to keep the reader interested in them. (And then, too, as I mentioned when I wrote a review of the book a year ago, perhaps it's partly the reader hanging on to see them "get their come-uppance", as Tarkington was so fond of saying.)<br /><br />I think <i>Ambersons</i> is a tricky book to adapt in the first place, because some of the character motivations are rather hard to get across. George's primary motivation is his insane pride in "the family name," (arguably something he doesn't even really understand himself), and it's the idea that Isabel's remarriage would somehow reflect on "the family name" that prompts him to break it up. But isn't that rather hard to get across on the screen? Even some of the supporting characters, like Fanny and Lucy, seem like they would be harder to understand simply through their dialogue and actions. I haven't seen the movie yet, of course, so I can't judge how good a job it did with this.<br /><br />On the other hand, some of the sequences in the book do seem very cinematic. The two vividly contrasting porch scenes, for example, showing how much has changed in the space of years between them, and the montage-like section after George and Isabel go abroad, where Tarkington describes the changes in the city.<br /><br />Incidentally, in the book Fanny's companion in the second porch scene was Uncle George/Fred/Jack, not Major Amberson. I wonder why Welles didn't just go back to that when Richard Bennet wasn't up to the task?Elisabeth Grace Foleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02073159989691222645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post-37382104239125024022012-03-05T14:11:39.694-08:002012-03-05T14:11:39.694-08:00Really interesting material here. I knew about the...Really interesting material here. I knew about the disastrous preview, but didn't know what it played with or the later previews. <br /><br />I guess it's not called show business for nothing. I still think all the technicians working at RKO during this time must have gone home during these years just agog at what they were doing at work - "Citizen Kane", "All that Money Can Buy", "Magnificent Ambersons". Really something. <br /><br />And did they think the work the Lewton unit was doing would be revered discussed sixty and seventy years later?<br /><br />I eagerly await Part 5.Kevin Deanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07697597405552599370noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post-65534166728681868072012-03-04T09:11:59.344-08:002012-03-04T09:11:59.344-08:00Jim,
Thanks so much for the recommendations. I...Jim, <br />Thanks so much for the recommendations. I'll see if I can find a couple on Amazon. I've been reading a lot of books via Kindle but now and then I'll pick up a paperback which I have a backlog of. <br /><br />Your 'grain of salt' comment reminded me of Errol Flynn and his official bio My Wicked Wicked Ways. I read another bio on him that followed which disputed most of Errol's recollections, life adventures if you will. Boy, could he exaggerate! Ha Ha<br />PagePagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post-89742199873662223082012-03-03T10:58:52.868-08:002012-03-03T10:58:52.868-08:00Thanks, R.A., and welcome!
Page, there are any nu...Thanks, R.A., and welcome!<br /><br />Page, there are any number of good books on Orson Welles, but if you pinned me down to recommend a single one, I'd vote for Simon Callow's work in progress: <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Orson-Welles-Volume-Road-Xanadu/dp/0140254560/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330799857&sr=1-1" rel="nofollow">The Road to Xanadu</a></i>, as you might expect, takes Welles from birth through the making of <i>Citizen Kane</i>, while <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Orson-Welles-Volume-Hello-Americans/dp/0140275177/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330799857&sr=1-2" rel="nofollow">Hello Americans</a></i> takes him from there through 1948. A third volume covering the rest of Welles's life is promised to come. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Orson-Welles-Biography-Barbara-Leaming/dp/0879101997/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330800669&sr=1-7" rel="nofollow">Barbara Leaming's biography</a>, published the year Welles died, is also valuable because of the extensive cooperation she got from Welles himself; you have to take Welles's recollections with a grain of salt, but Leaming captured pretty much his last word on every subject.<br /><br />Kim, as always, I appreciate your patience and hope to reward it!Jim Lanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00981196894914646656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post-89111223000967389382012-03-03T10:12:38.620-08:002012-03-03T10:12:38.620-08:00We agree with Page - we would love to fill out com...We agree with Page - we would love to fill out comment cards too.<br /><br />You have wonderful behind-the-scenes info here.R.A. Kerrhttp://silverscreenings.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post-14902466525005415782012-03-03T08:31:18.477-08:002012-03-03T08:31:18.477-08:00Jim,
I'm not sure how I missed the first part ...Jim,<br />I'm not sure how I missed the first part of this look back at TMA but I'll go back and read Part 1-3. <br /><br />I love behind the scenes info, the goings on behind the camera, both good and bad. <br /><br />I've never been a fan of Joseph Cotton (in the minority) but I wonder what Orson's honest opinion was of him. <br /><br />I've always been fascinated with Welles and I'd love to read a good bio on him. Is there one in particular you would suggest?<br /><br />Boy, how many times have I gone to the theater then wished I could turn in an opinion card afterwards. Instead we give our $10 then walk away afterwards only to share our experience, likes and suggestions with friends. The studios don't care about what we think as long as they promote it enough to fill the seats!<br /><br />This was a great post with very interesting details. Like Kim, I'll be looking forward to your next installment. Your work, research here on a film I can see audiences of the day having mixed opinions of is greatly appreciated.<br />Have a great weekend!<br />PagePagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063277863578004836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4779097004556285780.post-16776126004020034662012-03-02T11:04:16.922-08:002012-03-02T11:04:16.922-08:00Yep, it's official now, this series is longer ...Yep, it's official now, this series is longer than not only the film but even the book as well. Still, I'm enjoying reading it.Kimberly J.M. Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09078951928157843937noreply@blogger.com