Originally published in the Observer on 20 March 1960: The western, unlike the thriller series, is very seldom totally unviewable
An eccentric viewer of my acquaintance, a rich, scholarly recluse who looks only at westerns, has asked me to protest for him at the Wednesday clash between Rawhide and Wells Fargo. This for him is as frustrating as one of those nights when the BBC gives Ibsen and ITV Shaw. Even viewed simultaneously on two sets, when there is apt to be a certain amount of merging of horns, hooves, hats, shots and shouts, these two are instructive as illustrating current trends in the reigning dwarf movie form that rides the small screen. Wells Fargo is a traditional thriller western slightly slicked up. In the last instalment I saw, there was a dwarf Dietrich mistress-minding the gold robbery. Rawhide is far out on the neo-Freudo-Marxian wing of the intellectual western, with sociological overtones,...
An eccentric viewer of my acquaintance, a rich, scholarly recluse who looks only at westerns, has asked me to protest for him at the Wednesday clash between Rawhide and Wells Fargo. This for him is as frustrating as one of those nights when the BBC gives Ibsen and ITV Shaw. Even viewed simultaneously on two sets, when there is apt to be a certain amount of merging of horns, hooves, hats, shots and shouts, these two are instructive as illustrating current trends in the reigning dwarf movie form that rides the small screen. Wells Fargo is a traditional thriller western slightly slicked up. In the last instalment I saw, there was a dwarf Dietrich mistress-minding the gold robbery. Rawhide is far out on the neo-Freudo-Marxian wing of the intellectual western, with sociological overtones,...
- 3/19/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
From Twelfth Night to Danny Boyle's new production at the National Theatre, theatre adores twins and doppelgangers. What's really going on?
Danny Boyle's hotly anticipated production of Frankenstein, in a new version by Nick Dear, opens next week at the National theatre. The show's two leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, will be alternating the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature, so, unless they can afford to go twice, audience members are going to have to choose which way round they want to see the casting. But is this doubling up just an astute marketing ploy? Or is it, perhaps, a broader commentary? Can the relationship of Frankenstein and the Creature tell us anything about the symbiotic relationship of stage and audience? Even about the theatre itself?
There is quite a history of doubling parts in the theatre. The renowned 19th-century actors William Macready and Samuel...
Danny Boyle's hotly anticipated production of Frankenstein, in a new version by Nick Dear, opens next week at the National theatre. The show's two leads, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, will be alternating the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature, so, unless they can afford to go twice, audience members are going to have to choose which way round they want to see the casting. But is this doubling up just an astute marketing ploy? Or is it, perhaps, a broader commentary? Can the relationship of Frankenstein and the Creature tell us anything about the symbiotic relationship of stage and audience? Even about the theatre itself?
There is quite a history of doubling parts in the theatre. The renowned 19th-century actors William Macready and Samuel...
- 2/17/2011
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.