Music, Film, TV & BooksI Claudius (series, 1976)

 

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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)  
 To:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)      
42864.10 In reply to 42864.9 
The two series were very different in spite of sharing (essentially) the same basic story. My question was disingenuous since they aren't really comparable. I enjoyed both of them. I did think the US version lost its way a bit and was in danger of becoming a soap opera (to go with this thread).

Ian Richardson was brilliant in Gormenghast. That said, I didn't much care for the production in spite of a raft of excellent performances and an amazing ensemble cast. 

On the other hand, I've watched I Claudius five times so far, not counting dipping into various episodes (and no John, not just the rude bits).
 

He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar

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 From:  graphitone  
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)     
42864.11 In reply to 42864.4 
Never liked his acting work. I've watched him in documentaries and interviews, and he's a nice affable chap, but there's something about his acting, a certain pomposity brought to his roles that suits some charactisations, especially in the Shakespearean roles (i.e. when he played the titular Richard II) but permeates into others where it's just not necessary. 

I could have sworn he played Aufidius in Ralph Fiennes' retelling of Coriolanus, which I really enjoyed, but a quick IMDB look up says Derek was nowhere near that film. Could be it's why I liked it...  :-/

 
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 From:  william (WILLIAMA)  
 To:  graphitone     
42864.12 In reply to 42864.11 
I know what you mean, although I think pomposity is a bit unfair. There are times when you can see him being an acTORRRR. It's an old-fashioned style that probably comes from the company he's knocked about with over the years. Gielgud had it, and so do many present day actors like Simon Callow, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen (well, them anyway). It's theatre I suppose where it wouldn't stand out so much as on TV or film.

He May Be Your Dog But He's Wearing My Collar

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 From:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)   
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)     
42864.13 In reply to 42864.12 
This is a good point. In theatre, to effectively play a lead, one must project the character's personality -- that is to say, exaggerate it for those not in the front row seats. Before a camera, this may come across as OTT. But the best film actors I can think of offhand are grounded in theatre, and return to it regularly. This is what you may call charisma.
Thanks for listening to my TED talk, "Anyone who tells you we have any idea how the fuck computers work is a liar"
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 From:  CHYRON (DSMITHHFX)   
 To:  william (WILLIAMA)     
42864.14 In reply to 42864.10 
We got around to the original, Richardson version a couple of weeks ago. Turns out we had watched previously, many moons ago on the old CRT tv set. For whatever reason I hadn't remembered the name so did not connect it to the more recent, USian remake -- apart from bad boy Kev's unplanned intervention, a fairly faithful rendition of the main themes and plot points. Mrs.D tells me some aspects of which are 'loosely based' on Hamlet and Macbeth.
"International student-turned-YouTube star has advice for others coming to Canada"
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