Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Last night, as I was trying to decide what movie to watch, I saw that Sonya had expressed random approval of Jeremy Brett. So in honour of her, I guess, because she'd mentioned recently enjoying a production of An Ideal Husband, I decided to watch an old BBC production I had on DVD that I hadn't managed to watch yet.

And the first thing on screen--a complete surprise to me--was a very young Jeremy Brett playing Arthur Goring. Life's weird sometimes.

He did a perfect job, too. And the production was nice, being a bare-bones adaptation with very good actors. The only other filmed version of the play I've seen was the extensively monkeyed-with Oliver Parker version. As much as I like most of the actors in that movie, nearly every character was better cast in the production with Jeremy Brett. It was nice to see Lady Chiltern and Mrs. Cheveley being played by women who looked to be in their early fifties. It's so rare now to see women who really look that age to be cast in leading, dramatic roles. It was very refreshing. And the fellow playing Robert Chiltern had the proper self-assurance at the beginning to be plucked down from later. A good production all around.

I haven't too much else to say to-day, so I'll leave you with some videos I've been wanting to share for a long time, and now my recent discover of YouTube has finally afforded me the opportunity:

If there be any part of your soul what can be called geek, your heart will thrill at the sight of the famous Daicon videos.

In the first chapter, our child heroine's goal of legume planting cannot be foiled by U.S.S. Enterprise or Gamera.

And in the second chapter, our heroine, grown up and sexy, must face Darth Vader and snub Spider-Man.

Keep in mind those videos were made by GAINAX before they were even a real studio--they were just a few Sci-Fi/Fantasy fans.

Oh, to be a Japanese geek in the 80s.

Lastly, you ought also to watch the ultimate Azumanga Daio Lord of the Rings parody.

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