Perhaps Pressburger was influenced by Compton Mackenzie's 1943
bestseller Keep the Home Guard Turning, the central character of which
is an Englishman who lives on a remote Scottish island for the
shooting. (Bits of this novel turn up in the film of the sequel,
Whisky Galore which, of course, shares a couple of cast members with
IKWIG)

Nicky

On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 9:52 AM, Steve Crook <steve@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> Capt. Knight (Esmond Knight's uncle) is playing it for laughs, and
> remember that he wasn't a professional actor, much less a comic.
>
> I've done some falconry and can tell you that no real falconer would try
> to swing a lure while they're standing close to a bush - you can even
> see him edge towards it slightly until the lure becomes entangled. Also,
> a real falconer would never loose a bird in a wind so high that the bird
> hardly moves as he leaves the gloved fist. And a real falconer wouldn't
> go to his birds with a rabbit hanging out of his bag so that a bird can
> jump on it. All of these things, and more, is done for the deliberate
> comic effect.
>
> Steve
>
>

This may be of interest this Saturday evening. BBC Radio 4 14/11/09
20:00 - 21:00, though there is a shortened repeat on Wednesday
afternoon at 15:00.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00nrxkp

Sponsored by a well-known 'toilet soap', the Lux Theater brought the
silver screen to the airwaves, with specially adapted versions of new
Hollywood products including The Philadelphia Story, The African Queen
and The Wizard of Oz. Professor Jeffrey Richards takes us back to the
place where cinema and radio united and produced an unlikely lovechild.
  From its first production in 1935, The Legionnaire and The Lady with
Clark Gable and Marlene Dietrich, The Lux Radio Theater strove to have
the same stars as the films. Over its 19-year history, it boasted the
biggest names in Hollywood - Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Joan
Crawford, Bette Davis, Frank Sinatra, Spencer Tracy and many more.
Sometimes the original players were not available, so the Theater
offered audiences a glimpse of an alternative universe, as listeners
discovered what these films would have been like with different
actors. On a few occasions the radio version boasted a more stellar
cast, for instance when Cary Grant stood in for Montgomery Clift in I
Confess.
At the start of each show Cecil B De Mille offered 'greetings from
Hollywood', gave a short introduction to the film and told listeners a
little about the stars. Twenty-five minutes later, he would turn up in
the interval for some 'movie news', which was a barely-concealed
advertisement for Lux and its frothy lather, and would return at the
end for an informal and, of course, unscripted chat with the actors,
in which they would invariably reveal their preference for a well-
known toilet soap.
These productions were performed live with full orchestra, and the
audience's reaction was often audible, which occasionally put the
actors off their lines. They also had to be half an hour shorter, and
were therefore much pacier than the originals, while retaining key
dialogue - so phrases like 'this is the beginning of a beautiful
friendship' and 'round up the usual suspects' are still present and
correct in Casablanca. But being live presented its own problems, with
stars sometimes falling ill the day before, or, on one occasion,
arriving at the studio 10 minutes after transmission had begun.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Capt. Knight (Esmond Knight's uncle) is playing it for laughs, and
remember that he wasn't a professional actor, much less a comic.

I've done some falconry and can tell you that no real falconer would try
to swing a lure while they're standing close to a bush - you can even
see him edge towards it slightly until the lure becomes entangled. Also,
a real falconer would never loose a bird in a wind so high that the bird
hardly moves as he leaves the gloved fist. And a real falconer wouldn't
go to his birds with a rabbit hanging out of his bag so that a bird can
jump on it. All of these things, and more, is done for the deliberate
comic effect.

     Steve


Simon Turner wrote:
> Hi all,
> I've just watched IKWIG! again and found the 2nd half more impressive than
ever; the look Torquil flashes at Joan as he has her trapped on the ladder
giving a clue why the other Torquil is named after him, is as show-stopping as
Vicky's when the red shoes refuse to move as she bids them. But I don't like
much else relating to Colonel Barnstaple the falconer's inclusion as a
character. Great dialogue when talking of the mystified lack of understanding of
woman, but that was the writing of Pressburger and the playing of Livesey,
rather than the overplaying of Captain Knight. He seems to be totally
unnecessary comic support throughout, or perhaps a misguided poke at how
ridiculous the English can get. I know that there are members of this group who
have IKWIG as their PnP favourite, as TRS and ACT are mine, so could anyone tell
me why they like the character as they like the rest of the film, such as the
mock-docu beginning, the dark magic, magical photography, lovely writing, every
other character, whirlpool, and curse resolution? ! I'd like an angle to come in
at him that I'm obviously missing if there is more to appreciate about the
character than I can see.
> After watching Edge of the World and enjoying it just as much (it seems to me
to be far more even), I'm reading Powell's wonderful book that accompanied the
film, which I actually like even better than either!
> The Amsterdam Film Museum had their big PnP retrospective last year. Now I'm
living in Stockholm and will start lobbying here!! Is anyone else on the list
living in Sweden?
> All the best,Simon
>
>
>

I love IKWIG, but I share your feelings about the Colonel's role.
Sally




________________________________
From: Simon Turner <westerbergsimon@...>
To: pnp@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thu, November 12, 2009 5:37:41 PM
Subject: [PnP] PnP and Scotland



Hi all,
I've just watched IKWIG! again and found the 2nd half more impressive than ever;
the look Torquil flashes at Joan as he has her trapped on the ladder giving a
clue why the other Torquil is named after him, is as show-stopping as Vicky's
when the red shoes refuse to move as she bids them. But I don't like much else
relating to Colonel Barnstaple the falconer's inclusion as a character. Great
dialogue when talking of the mystified lack of understanding of woman, but that
was the writing of Pressburger and the playing of Livesey, rather than the
overplaying of Captain Knight. He seems to be totally unnecessary comic support
throughout, or perhaps a misguided poke at how ridiculous the English can get. I
know that there are members of this group who have IKWIG as their PnP favourite,
as TRS and ACT are mine, so could anyone tell me why they like the character as
they like the rest of the film, such as the mock-docu beginning, the dark magic,
magical
  photography, lovely writing, every other character, whirlpool, and curse
resolution? ! I'd like an angle to come in at him that I'm obviously missing if
there is more to appreciate about the character than I can see.
After watching Edge of the World and enjoying it just as much (it seems to me to
be far more even), I'm reading Powell's wonderful book that accompanied the
film, which I actually like even better than either!
The Amsterdam Film Museum had their big PnP retrospective last year. Now I'm
living in Stockholm and will start lobbying here!! Is anyone else on the list
living in Sweden?
All the best,Simon


____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
Wil jij ook onbeperkte opslagruimte? Gebruik Hotmail
http://mail. live.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi all,
I've just watched IKWIG! again and found the 2nd half more impressive than ever;
the look Torquil flashes at Joan as he has her trapped on the ladder giving a
clue why the other Torquil is named after him, is as show-stopping as Vicky's
when the red shoes refuse to move as she bids them. But I don't like much else
relating to Colonel Barnstaple the falconer's inclusion as a character. Great
dialogue when talking of the mystified lack of understanding of woman, but that
was the writing of Pressburger and the playing of Livesey, rather than the
overplaying of Captain Knight. He seems to be totally unnecessary comic support
throughout, or perhaps a misguided poke at how ridiculous the English can get. I
know that there are members of this group who have IKWIG as their PnP favourite,
as TRS and ACT are mine, so could anyone tell me why they like the character as
they like the rest of the film, such as the mock-docu beginning, the dark magic,
magical photography, lovely writing, every other character, whirlpool, and curse
resolution? ! I'd like an angle to come in at him that I'm obviously missing if
there is more to appreciate about the character than I can see.
After watching Edge of the World and enjoying it just as much (it seems to me to
be far more even), I'm reading Powell's wonderful book that accompanied the
film, which I actually like even better than either!
The Amsterdam Film Museum had their big PnP retrospective last year. Now I'm
living in Stockholm and will start lobbying here!! Is anyone else on the list
living in Sweden?
All the best,Simon







_________________________________________________________________
Wil jij ook onbeperkte opslagruimte? Gebruik Hotmail
http://mail.live.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi, Steve:

Blimp gets shown fairly frequently on late night ABC TV -- I'm not sure if it's
the most recent upgrading of the print, but I'm pretty sure it's the entire
film. When it was first shown in the eighties on TV, it was still the old
mangled print.

Best wishes
Bruce Gillespie

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

There's an article in the Courier Mail at
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26343161-5003422,00.html
It's really about "False Witness" being on TV but they also say...
Technically it should be shown in two parts, that's how it ran on UK-TV,
but Nine's giving it to us all in one hit, basically all of Sunday
night. And since you're up anyway, you'll be able to then flick over to
ABC1 for the 1943 Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger movie The Life and
Death of Colonel Blimp. Can't ask for more than that.

     Steve

... The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.

(Today is Veteran's Day in the U.S.)

Lovely still from the movie to illustrate. :)

http://somecamerunning.typepad.com/

   -- Paula (who had lunch with two veterans)

Hi Everyone,



Just picked up the new brochure for the Dukes of Yorks Cinema here in Brighton
and they're showing the new digital re-issue of TRS in December.



Duke Of Yorks

Preston Circus

Brighton BN1 4NA



Friday 18th - Thursday 24th December



Fri 18th - tbc

Sat 19th - 3.00pm

Sun 20th - 6.00pm

Mon 21st - tbc

Tue 22nd - tbc

Wed 23rd - tbc

Thu 24th - tbc



TRS is the featured artwork on the cover of the brochure.



http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema_home_date.aspx?venueId=doyb





I assume as it's part of the Picturehouse chain they'll be showing it at all
their venues.



http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/





Michael







_________________________________________________________________
Use Hotmail to send and receive mail from your different email accounts
http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/186394592/direct/01/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

That's part of The Archers' Manifesto that Emeric laid out in a letter
to Deborah to explain why she should join them for Blimp

One, we owe allegiance to nobody except the financial interests which
provide our money; and, to them, the sole responsibility of ensuring
them a profit, not a loss.

Two, every single foot in our films is our own responsibility and nobody
else's. We refuse to be guided or coerced by any influence but our own
judgement.

Three, when we start work on a new idea we must be a year ahead, not
only of our competitors, but also of the times. A real film, from idea
to universal release, takes a year. Or more.

Four, no artist believes in escapism. And we secretly believe that no
audience does. We have proved, at any rate, that they will pay to see
the truth, for other reasons than her nakedness.

Five, at any time, and particularly at the present, the self respect of
all collaborators, from star to prop-man, is sustained, or diminished,
by the theme and purpose of the film they are working on. They will
fight or intrigue to work on a subject they feel is urgent or
contemporary, and fight equally hard to avoid working on a trivial or
pointless subject. And we agree with them and want the best workmen with
us; and get them. These are the main things we believe in. They have
brought us an unbroken record of success and a unique position. Without
the one, of course, we should not enjoy the other very long. We are
under no illusions. We know we are surrounded by hungry sharks. But you
have no idea what fun it is surf-bathing, if you have only paddled, with
a nurse holding on to the back of your rompers.

We hope you will come on in, the water's fine.

     Steve


ranbir sidhu wrote:
> Yes, I also found it surprising for Dowd, who I generally find funny but
> often flippant. It's heady to think of all the people who'll now be talking
> about P & P in this city. What I really liked was her quote from Emeric.
> Dowd writes:
>
> In a letter to Kerr in the early ¹40s, Pressburger laid out their manifesto,
> including: ³No artist believes in escapism. And we secretly believe that no
> audience does. We have proved, at any rate, that they will pay to see the
> truth, for no other reason than her nakedness.²
>
> I'm glad she focused in on that aspect, which is so central, and it's rare
> to see a major columnist come out so strongly for seriousness in art
> (especially when there's so much surface beauty to admire in the movie, all
> of which could make easy copy).
>
> -Ranbir
>
>

Yes, I also found it surprising for Dowd, who I generally find funny but
often flippant. It's heady to think of all the people who'll now be talking
about P & P in this city. What I really liked was her quote from Emeric.
Dowd writes:

In a letter to Kerr in the early ¹40s, Pressburger laid out their manifesto,
including: ³No artist believes in escapism. And we secretly believe that no
audience does. We have proved, at any rate, that they will pay to see the
truth, for no other reason than her nakedness.²

I'm glad she focused in on that aspect, which is so central, and it's rare
to see a major columnist come out so strongly for seriousness in art
(especially when there's so much surface beauty to admire in the movie, all
of which could make easy copy).

-Ranbir

> Maureen Dowd appears on the editorial page of The New York Times each week.
> Usually, she writes political pieces that can be humorous but also sarcastic.
> Her column on TRS was a pleasant surprise.  I saved the column.
>
> Phyllis
>
>

Maureen Dowd appears on the editorial page of The New York Times each week. 
Usually, she writes political pieces that can be humorous but also sarcastic. 
Her column on TRS was a pleasant surprise.  I saved the column.

Phyllis



________________________________
From: Steve Crook <steve@...>
To: PnP@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, November 8, 2009 2:44:19 PM
Subject: Re: [PnP] Maureen Dowd on TRS


An official "What ho" and welcome to you Ranbir.

There have been so many reports in the American press, especially since
the DGA event where Woody Allen was so full of praise for the restored
print, that I haven't reported them all. I've actually just heard from
Thelma Schoonmaker and she refers us to the Maureen Dowd piece as well.
I saw it earlier today but didn't know who the lady was.

Thelma says that both Woody and Alec Baldwin are huge converts to P&P
and are both raving about the film.

As for Maureen Dowd's mention of Moira Shearer, yes, she's right. Moira
did describe herself as a writer rather than as a dancer later in her
life. It's a fairly complicated and a not very happy story.

Moira never really wanted to do The Red Shoes, she was somewhat bullied
into it. Partly by P&P themselves but also by Ninette de Valois, the
head of what was soon to become the Royal Ballet. They were gearing up
for their first world tour and Dame (as she was to become) Ninette
realised that a film about ballet starring one of her dancers would be
very good publicity, especially in America.

Moira was always concerned that the film would interfere with her career
in the ballet. She just wanted to be a dancer, not a film star. But
Ninette assured her that she would be taken back into the company after
the film and everything would continue as normal. Was Ninette naive for
saying that or was Moira naive for believing it?

Moira said many times afterwards (primarily in the interviews in the
commentary track on the Criterion DVD) that her experiences of
film-making weren't happy ones. Although Jack Cardiff said that she
seemed happy enough. She would chat to the crew and often bring them
cups of tea.

But Moira complained about many things:
She complained about the unsprung floors that they had to dance on -
although another member of the Royal Ballet that I've spoken to said
that if she had danced in as many village halls as the rest of them then
she would have been more used to it.
Moira complained about the stop-start method of film-making because it
didn't let her get into the flow of the dancing. Although other dancers
like Helpmann & Massine said they liked that because it let them really
focus onto a single movement, and isn't that what dancers do in front of
the mirror in rehearsal rooms? Constantly repeat a single movement.
She swore she'd never do another film, especially for Powell, although
she did go back and make The Tales of Hoffmann, and then Peeping Tom -
and Powell killed her off in every one of them :)

When she did go back to the ballet Moira found that things weren't
exactly as they had been before. When they did the American tour a lot
of people were asking to see her dance and that led to some ill will
from other members of the company who thought she was getting a bit
big-headed.

When she did TRS Moira was a leading dancer in the ballet company, but
she wasn't the number one leading dancer. That position was held by
Margot Fonteyn. Moira quite reasonably expected to inherit the top
position when Margot retired. But then Margot married a central American
politician who was shot in a coup attempt. He lived but was severely
disabled and needed expensive hospital treatment. So Margo carried on
dancing long after she was expected to retire, and Moira never did get
the top job.

So there are lots of factors and it's not clear exactly whose version is
the most accurate. But Moira did a few other films and then retired from
dancing. She wrote a few books about dancing and then she started
writing arts reviews in newspapers. That's why she described herself as
a writer rather than as a dancer later in life.

Steve

ranbir sidhu wrote:
> I haven't seen this sent around yet.
>
> http://www.nytimes. com/2009/ 11/08/opinion/ 08dowd.html? ref=opinion
>
> Non-NYers may not know Maureen Dowd, but she's a prominent and difficult to
> catergorize political columnist at the NYT. She raves about TRS at the Film
> Forum. I'm curious how accurate her stories about Moira Shearer are at the
> end of the column.
>
> cheers, R
>
>
>
> ____________ ____
> ranbir sidhu
> www.ranbirsidhu. com
>
>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I read Maureen Dowd's column yesterday and I enjoyed her descriptions of M.
Shearer, the film, and Michael.

What does anyone who has read the column think about what she wrote?

Phyllis



________________________________
From: ranbir sidhu <ranbirny@...>
To: PnP@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sun, November 8, 2009 12:38:29 PM
Subject: [PnP] Maureen Dowd on TRS


I haven't seen this sent around yet.

http://www.nytimes. com/2009/ 11/08/opinion/ 08dowd.html? ref=opinion

Non-NYers may not know Maureen Dowd, but she's a prominent and difficult to
catergorize political columnist at the NYT. She raves about TRS at the Film
Forum. I'm curious how accurate her stories about Moira Shearer are at the
end of the column.

cheers, R

____________ ____
ranbir sidhu
www.ranbirsidhu. com




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Has anyone else  read Telling Tales - a history of literary hoaxes by
Melissa Katsoulis.

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Telling-Tales-History-Literary-Hoaxes/dp/1849010803/ref\
=tag_tdp_sv_edpp_i
Very readable and containing all the usual suspects - Thomas
Chatterton, Grey Owl, the Hitler Diaries etc plus Nino Culotta and
They're a Weird Mob (though this is about the only hoax where the
author both owned up, almost immediately, and carried on as if nothing
had happened!)

Nicky

You mean OOOAIM wasn't really a documentary?

Nicky

On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 7:29 PM, Steve Crook <steve@...> wrote:

>
>
> It was something to do with airmen :)
> Maybe it was An Airman's Letter
>
> Steve
>
>
> Nicky Smith wrote:
> > OOOAIM?
> >
> > Nicky
> >
> > On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 5:15 PM, Steve Crook
<steve@...<steve%40brainstorm.co.uk>>
> wrote:
> >
> >>
> >> I often wonder how much I should add in situations like this :)
> >>
> >> The main piece says that the text of OOOAIM "comes from a genuine
> >> letter, we are told,"
> >> Yes, we are told that, and yes it did. It's been researched by a few
> >> people and there's no indication that it wasn't 100% genuine
> >>
> >>
> >>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It was something to do with airmen :)
Maybe it was An Airman's Letter

     Steve


Nicky Smith wrote:
> OOOAIM?
>
> Nicky
>
> On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 5:15 PM, Steve Crook <steve@...> wrote:
>
>>
>> I often wonder how much I should add in situations like this :)
>>
>> The main piece says that the text of OOOAIM "comes from a genuine
>> letter, we are told,"
>> Yes, we are told that, and yes it did. It's been researched by a few
>> people and there's no indication that it wasn't 100% genuine
>>
>>
>>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

OOOAIM?

Nicky

On Mon, Nov 9, 2009 at 5:15 PM, Steve Crook <steve@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> I often wonder how much I should add in situations like this :)
>
> The main piece says that the text of OOOAIM "comes from a genuine
> letter, we are told,"
> Yes, we are told that, and yes it did. It's been researched by a few
> people and there's no indication that it wasn't 100% genuine
>
>

It's not only the NY Times, my media alerts have been bombarding me with
references to articles in the American (mainly NY) press.

It's in Houston on 15 November, presented by Tilda Swinton. Although I'm
not 100% sure that's the digitally restored print. I haven't seen
anything saying that it is.

It's been shown in LA, SF as well as in lots of other countries like
Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and here in the UK. There are
actually a few prints that were made and they're all touring around.

Maybe you should get people from your local cinemas to see if they can
book it?

     Steve


Paula Vitaris wrote:
> Thankfully leaving the politics aside, let's just be thrilled that the
> NY Times published TWO articles about The Red Shoes in three days time!
>
> Is there any indication of a wider release in the U.S.?  I'd LOVE to
> see the restored print on the big screen.
>
>   -- Paula
>
>

Thankfully leaving the politics aside, let's just be thrilled that the
NY Times published TWO articles about The Red Shoes in three days time!

Is there any indication of a wider release in the U.S.?  I'd LOVE to
see the restored print on the big screen.

   -- Paula

On Nov 9, 2009, at 1:21 PM, Steve Crook wrote:

Leaving their politics aside (please), Dowd does seem to at least
include more that was in the press pack. The Dargis article says the
same as quite a few other articles, big chunks of it are word-for-word
so I expect are straight from the press pack (or maybe these journalists
just plagiarise each other :) )

But the Dowd article was an op-ed piece whereas the Dargis article was a
film review.

     Steve


randolph man wrote:
> Of these two I would recomend saving the one by Manhola Dargis over that by
Maureen Dowd. The latter is nothing more than a rehash of material better
written previously and elsewhere. (For the record, and for non-US members, Dowd
is a political columnist of a fairly radical-left persuasion for the New York
Times. She is not known for her commentary on aritistic matters.)
>
> Randy
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> From: Paula Vitaris <pvitaris@...>
> To: PnP@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Mon, November 9, 2009 5:18:47 AM
> Subject: Re: [PnP] TRS article
>
>
> In addition to the Maureen Dowd op-ed on Sunday, there was a review by
> Manohla Dargis in the Friday (Nov. 6) edition of the NY Times:
>
> http://www.nytimes. com/2009/ 11/06/movies/ 06redshoes. html?_r=1& scp=1&sq=
Red%20Shoes% 20Manohla% 20Dargis& st=cse
>
> -- Paula
>
>
>

Of these two I would recomend saving the one by Manhola Dargis over that by
Maureen Dowd. The latter is nothing more than a rehash of material better
written previously and elsewhere. (For the record, and for non-US members, Dowd
is a political columnist of a fairly radical-left persuasion for the New York
Times. She is not known for her commentary on aritistic matters.)

Randy




________________________________
From: Paula Vitaris <pvitaris@...>
To: PnP@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Mon, November 9, 2009 5:18:47 AM
Subject: Re: [PnP] TRS article

 
In addition to the Maureen Dowd op-ed on Sunday, there was a review by
Manohla Dargis in the Friday (Nov. 6) edition of the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes. com/2009/ 11/06/movies/ 06redshoes. html?_r=1& scp=1&sq=
Red%20Shoes% 20Manohla% 20Dargis& st=cse

-- Paula






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On Nov 9, 2009, at 12:15 PM, Steve Crook wrote:

>  Are cocker spaniels "a more athletic breed, suitable
> for the long walks he loved so much" ?
>

Compared to Charlie, my English bulldog, the answer would have to be
yes. :)

   -- Paula

I often wonder how much I should add in situations like this :)

The main piece says that the text of OOOAIM "comes from a genuine
letter, we are told,"
Yes, we are told that, and yes it did. It's been researched by a few
people and there's no indication that it wasn't 100% genuine

The first response then refers to Powell's dogs in IKWIG and David's
comment on that then mentions that Powell liked dogs that were more
suitable to the walking that he liked to do. But those deer hounds
weren't Powell's dogs, it was the cocker spaniels at the Robinson's that
were Powell's dogs. Are cocker spaniels "a more athletic breed, suitable
for the long walks he loved so much" ?

     Steve


Paula Vitaris wrote:
> David Cairns features today a youtube video of a wartime short, "Have
> You Written to Mother?," directed by Michael Powell.
>
> http://dcairns.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/have-you-written-to-mother/#comments
>
>   -- Paula
>
>

David Cairns features today a youtube video of a wartime short, "Have
You Written to Mother?," directed by Michael Powell.

http://dcairns.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/have-you-written-to-mother/#comments

   -- Paula

In addition to the Maureen Dowd op-ed on Sunday, there was a review by
Manohla Dargis in the Friday (Nov. 6) edition of the NY Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/movies/06redshoes.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Red%20Sho\
es%20Manohla%20Dargis&st=cse

   -- Paula

britmusical wrote:
> Quote from NY Times article:
>
>
>>> The original backers of the movie had so little confidence that a stylized
tragic ballet film could do well that they didn't even give it an official
London premiere.
>>>
>
> Is this myth or reality ?
> Doesn't MP mention the West End Premiere in his autobiography? And London West
End audiences are surely more 'sophisticated' than those in the provinces
......?
>
> Julian
>
>

It's reality.

The Red Shoes didn't have a big West End premiere in the UK because Rank
didn't want to give it the big launch. All of the Archers' previous
films for Rank had had a big launch at the Odeon Leicester Square, the
flagship cinema in the Rank organisation. TRS was first shown at the
Odeon, Haymarket at midnight for an invited audience. Then it was shown
there for the next 10 days before being put on general release, to try
to get back some of the money it had cost Rank. Because of this quick
general release there was very little publicity and it didn't do all
that well on it's first release. But subsequent showings (in the same
year) proved more popular as word of mouth had spread.

According to Allen Eyles book on Gaumont British Cinemas, TRS had a full
UK circuit release on the Rank owned Gaumont British circuit in 1948
(around 350 cinemas), and was also shown widely in independent cinemas
nationwide. Indeed, Robert Murphy lists TRS as one of the UK top ten box
office attractions of 1948.

     Steve



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Quote from NY Times article:

>>The original backers of the movie had so little confidence that a >>stylized
tragic ballet film could do well that they didn't even give >>it an official
London premiere.

Is this myth or reality ?
Doesn't MP mention the West End Premiere in his autobiography? And London West
End audiences are surely more 'sophisticated' than those in the provinces
......?

Julian

Thanks, Steve, and that's more tragic than I realized. But I suppose Moira
never would have inherited the top spot in the ballet even if she hadn't
done TRS, as it's Margot Fonteyn's money problems that are to blame for her
holding on to it.

cheers, R



> An official "What ho" and welcome to you Ranbir.
>
> There have been so many reports in the American press, especially since
> the DGA event where Woody Allen was so full of praise for the restored
> print, that I haven't reported them all. I've actually just heard from
> Thelma Schoonmaker and she refers us to the Maureen Dowd piece as well.
> I saw it earlier today but didn't know who the lady was.
>
> Thelma says that both Woody and Alec Baldwin are huge converts to P&P
> and are both raving about the film.
>
> As for Maureen Dowd's mention of Moira Shearer, yes, she's right. Moira
> did describe herself as a writer rather than as a dancer later in her
> life. It's a fairly complicated and a not very happy story.
>
> Moira never really wanted to do The Red Shoes, she was somewhat bullied
> into it. Partly by P&P themselves but also by Ninette de Valois, the
> head of what was soon to become the Royal Ballet. They were gearing up
> for their first world tour and Dame (as she was to become) Ninette
> realised that a film about ballet starring one of her dancers would be
> very good publicity, especially in America.
>
> Moira was always concerned that the film would interfere with her career
> in the ballet. She just wanted to be a dancer, not a film star. But
> Ninette assured her that she would be taken back into the company after
> the film and everything would continue as normal. Was Ninette naive for
> saying that or was Moira naive for believing it?
>
> Moira said many times afterwards (primarily in the interviews in the
> commentary track on the Criterion DVD) that her experiences of
> film-making weren't happy ones. Although Jack Cardiff said that she
> seemed happy enough. She would chat to the crew and often bring them
> cups of tea.
>
> But Moira complained about many things:
> She complained about the unsprung floors that they had to dance on -
> although another member of the Royal Ballet that I've spoken to said
> that if she had danced in as many village halls as the rest of them then
> she would have been more used to it.
> Moira complained about the stop-start method of film-making because it
> didn't let her get into the flow of the dancing. Although other dancers
> like Helpmann & Massine said they liked that because it let them really
> focus onto a single movement, and isn't that what dancers do in front of
> the mirror in rehearsal rooms? Constantly repeat a single movement.
> She swore she'd never do another film, especially for Powell, although
> she did go back and make The Tales of Hoffmann, and then Peeping Tom -
> and Powell killed her off in every one of them :)
>
> When she did go back to the ballet Moira found that things weren't
> exactly as they had been before. When they did the American tour a lot
> of people were asking to see her dance and that led to some ill will
> from other members of the company who thought she was getting a bit
> big-headed.
>
> When she did TRS Moira was a leading dancer in the ballet company, but
> she wasn't the number one leading dancer. That position was held by
> Margot Fonteyn. Moira quite reasonably expected to inherit the top
> position when Margot retired. But then Margot married a central American
> politician who was shot in a coup attempt. He lived but was severely
> disabled and needed expensive hospital treatment. So Margo carried on
> dancing long after she was expected to retire, and Moira never did get
> the top job.
>
> So there are lots of factors and it's not clear exactly whose version is
> the most accurate. But Moira did a few other films and then retired from
> dancing. She wrote a few books about dancing and then she started
> writing arts reviews in newspapers. That's why she described herself as
> a writer rather than as a dancer later in life.
>
>   Steve
>