Southern Writers

[Lisadulcee]

I was disappointed in John Grisham's guest appearance on this month's Southern Writers series.  I watched last night as he discussed with Robert Osborne two great films - In Cold Blood and Streetcar Named Desire - two classics, to say the least.  I was looking forward to Mr. Grisham's input, but found him lacking in personality, humor, and mostly, intellectual heft.  As usual, Robert Osborne carried the day.  I would have preferred to hear from an "ordinary" cinephile who probably would have contributed significantly more.

[brianNH]

I made similar comments  in another thread; and when nobody responded to them, I figured I must be the only person thinking along these lines.  Guess not! 

 

I really have been disappointed in TCM's handling of some of their "themed" programming lately.  I remember when they did annual series of minorities in film, and even though the array of the hosts were not always of the same caliber, there at lest was a fairly serious attempt to deal with aspects of the topic at hand.  Perhaps this has been more the case with the women in film of late, but since the films scheduled to be aired have not really been of much interest to me, I haven't watched much of this series. 

 

The other themed programming I thought could be much better than it was is the Movie Camp summer schedule for younger viewers-- potentially budding film-makers.  So in my opinion, TCM lately has been a bit of hit and miss when it comes to specific topic-related movies.  I understand they can't provide a complete cinema-seminar in just a couple of  minutes, but I should think that a few comments can be managed on what  precisely constitutes a "Southern" perspective as it relates to a given movie and the book from which it was derived -- aside from a cursory, "Oh, yeah, there are crazy people around there."  I live in the Northeast, and believe you me we've got more than a handful of them here, too!  Just look it up in the last census.

 

Well, here's hoping for  more informative future themes on a wide variety of subjects.

 

Brian    

[FredCDobbs]

"Oh, yeah, there are crazy people around there."  I live in the Northeast, and believe you me we've got more than a handful of them here, too!  Just look it up in the last census.

 

Well, here's hoping for  more informative future themes on a wide variety of subjects.

 

Brian    

 

Yeah, I thought that was a stupid remark of his. I've lived all over the US, and there are crazy people everywhere. The most in any  one state is, I think, California, and also New York has some crazy ones too.

 

I lived in the South for many years, and to me, it was the most "normal" place I've ever lived. It was a little weird and quite racist in the 1950s, but by the early 70s everything had changed a lot. Now there are places you can go in the South that has the most "normal people per square mile" than any other state.

[Arturo]

Speaking of the theme of films based on Southern writers, specifically last week's showing of REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE, I remember about a year or.so ago, in a discussion of this film, it was mentioned that there was a bluray release of it which featured the full color version, as.well as the washed out version. I have the dvd of the film, which features Huston's vision, but I have always found it a little off-putting, which doesn't help the sordid goings-on. With the poor.original reception of the washed out print, and susequent theatrical release of the full-color version, I knew of its existence. Plus the trailer shown on tcm, in full color, whetted my desire for it.

 

Can anyone here shed light on this?

[Swithin]

I was disappointed in John Grisham's guest appearance on this month's Southern Writers series.  

I agree. I caught part of his intro to Wise Blood. I didn't even know who he was at first. I found his comments, about Flannery O'Connor and the film of her novella, to be really shallow.

[film lover 293]

Arturo--I have some information on this--some I hope helpful, some will add to confusion.

 

First, the good.  I looked up TCM "Reflections in a Golden Eye" & it's in a 4 dvd package that includes:

"A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), black and white

"Julius Caesar" (1953), b&w 

I've forgotten the 3rd

Reflections in a Golden Eye, Technicolor**

 

the color choices for the 4 dvds are b&w OR Technicolor--Sepia toned, or "Yellowvision"  was NOT a listed choice.  Please double check this yourself.

 

To add to the confusion--when I first saw this on videocassette, RIAGE was in black and white--I read in one of Elizabeth Taylors' biographies (I think Dick Shepard's 1974 one) that the sepia toned version was so badly received, it was destroyed.

I don't know if I've helped, or added to the confusion.  I Hope I've helped.

[Lisadulcee]

While there have been so many wonderful and informed guest programmers/guests sharing the program with Robert Osborne, it is always disappointing when one of them, despite high expectations and bona fide credentials, fails to contribute.  I have learned more from the responders to my original post than I did from this particular celebrity guest.  

[Arturo]

Arturo--I have some information on this--some I hope helpful, some will add to confusion.

 

First, the good.  I looked up TCM "Reflections in a Golden Eye" & it's in a 4 dvd package that includes:

"A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951), black and white

"Julius Caesar" (1953), b&w 

I've forgotten the 3rd

Reflections in a Golden Eye, Technicolor**

 

the color choices for the 4 dvds are b&w OR Technicolor--Sepia toned, or "Yellowvision"  was NOT a listed choice.  Please double check this yourself.

 

To add to the confusion--when I first saw this on videocassette, RIAGE was in black and white--I read in one of Elizabeth Taylors' biographies (I think Dick Shepard's 1974 one) that the sepia toned version was so badly received, it was destroyed.

I don't know if I've helped, or added to the confusion.  I Hope I've helped.

Thank you for that. However, the dvd I have of RIAGE is psrt of that boxset, and it has the washed out ("yellowvision") version. What I am looking for is the bluray I think may have both versions. Thanks again.