Category Archives: HISTORICAL DRAMA

*** MONDAY August 26th, 2019 *** Richard III *** DIRECTED BY Laurence Olivier *** INTERPRETED BY Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud, Sir CedricHardwicke, Sir R. Richardson, Laurence Naismith, Claire Bloom and Stanley Baker

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Note New Time & Format

6:35 arrive

7:00 Film

• No Food •

Please car pool if possible

Richard III = William Shakespeare’s powerful tale of the wicked deformed King and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir..

King Edward IV of England (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) has been placed on the throne with the help of his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Sir Laurence Olivier)…

After Edward’s coronation in the Great Hall, attended by  his brothers George and Richard watching, he leaves with his wife and sons…

Richard contemplates the throne advancing towards the audience and then addressing them, delivering a speech that outlines his physical deformities, including a hunched back and a withered arm…

He  plans to frame his brother, George, Duke of Clarence (Sir John Gielgud), for conspiring to kill the King, and to have George sent to the Tower of London, by claiming George will murder Edward’s heirs…

Eventually Richard raises an army to defend his throne and the House of York against the House of Lancaster, led by Henry Tudor (Stanley Baker), the Earl of Richmond and later Henry VII of England, at Bosworth Field…

Olivier cast only British actors and that cast included four knights; Olivier, Richardson, Gielgud and Hardwicke  who were all listed as “Sir….” in the film credits.

*** MONDAY January 21st, 2019 *** Vice *** DIRECTED BY Adam McKay INTERPRETED BY Christian Bale, Sam Rockwell, Amy Adams, Alison Pill, Tyler Perry, and Steve Carell

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The story of Dick Cheney, an unassuming bureaucratic Washington insider, who quietly wielded immense power as Vice President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today. What makes this film even more interesting is the fact that it was directed by Adam McKay and interpreted by Christian(not just a pretty face) Bale as Dick Cheney  and Sam Rockwell as George W…

 

Monday MAY 23RD, 2016 ***** ” THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT’S WOMAN ” ***** directed by KAREL REISZ, starring MERYL STREEP, JEREMY IRONS, HILTON MCRAE

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The French Lieutenant’s Woman is a 1969 postmodern historical fiction novel by John Fowles. It was his third published novel, after The Collector (1963) and The Magus (1965). The novel explores the fraught relationship of gentleman and amateur naturalist Charles Smithson and Sarah Woodruff, the former governess and independent woman with whom he falls in love. The novel builds on Fowles’ authority in Victorian literature, both following and critiquing many of the conventions of period novels.[1]Following popular success, the novel created a larger legacy: the novel has had numerous responses by academics and other writers, such as A.S. Byatt, and through adaptation as film and dramatic play. In 1981, the novel was adapted as a film of the same name with script by the playwright Harold Pinter, directed by Karel Reisz and starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. The film received considerable critical acclaim and awards, including several BAFTAs and Golden Globes. The novel was also adapted and produced as a British play in 2006.

A film is being made of a story, set in 19th century England, about Charles, a biologist who’s engaged to be married, but who falls in love with outcast Sarah, whose melancholy makes her leave him after a short, but passionate affair. Anna and Mike, who play the characters of Sarah and Charles, go, during the shooting of the film, through a relationship that runs parallel to that of their characters.

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Monday MAY 9TH, 2016 ***** ” MAX ” directed by MENNO MEYJES interpreted by JOHN CUSACK, NOAH TAYLOR, MOLLY PARKER

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Who would have thought that a dysfunctional, deranged, down-and-out homeless person in pre-First World War Vienna become, 20 years later, Chancellor of Germany?  This peculiar and intriguing film simply named “Max” argues that he succeeded because he had such a burning need to be recognized (sounds familiar ?)–and also, of course, because of luck= good for him, bad for us.

If Hitler had won fame as an artist, the century’s history might have been different.

“Max” imagines a fictional scenario in which the young Adolf Hitler (Noah Taylor) is befriended by a one-armed Jewish art dealer named Max Rothman (John Cusack) in Munich in the years following World War I.

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MONDAY MARCH 28, 2016 ***** VIVA ZAPATA ***** directed by ELIA KAZAN ***** interpreted by MARLON BRANDO, JEAN PETERS, ANTHONY QUINN

MONDAY MARCH 14, 2016 ***** “THE NAME OF THE ROSE” directed by JEAN-JACQUES ANNAUD interpreted by SEAN CONNERY, CHRISTIAN SLATER

WHAT’S IN A NAME ?
The name of the Rose
Umberto Eco’s novel
Did you read the novel ?
Have you seen the film ?
The film was directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud , starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater…
Which one did you prefer ? The novel or the film ?
Who committed the murders ?
Where there any murders ?
Is this what the pundits were saying back then ?
“If The Name of the Rose seems an odd choice for such critical and popular acclaim, Eco’s elevation into literary superstardom seems just as surprising. A scholarly university professor, Eco’s main fields of interest included semiotics, aesthetics, and medieval philosophy. No one could have predicted the furor caused by his debut novel and the subsequent film; yet the well-drawn characters, the mysterious setting, and the detective-fiction plot continue to attract a diverse audience that gathers every Monday evening @ the Cinematiki to discuss films like this”

MONDAY MARCH 23,2015 **** “THE MISSION” ***** directed by ROLAND JOFFE **** with JEREMY IRONS, ROBERT DE NIRO, LIAM NEESON

MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014 **** DANGEROUS LIAISONS **** directed by STEPHEN FREARS with GLENN CLOSE, JOHN MALKOVICH, MICHELLE PFEIFFER, UMA THURMAN, KEANU REEVES…

MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2014**** ” IL POSTINO” **** directed by MICHAEL RADFORD with MASSIMO TROISI, MARIA GRAZIA CUCINOTTA, PHILIPPE NOIRET, RENATO SCARPA and ANNA BONAUTO***

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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013*** “CLEOPATRA” … directed by JOSEPH L. MANKIEVICZ… with ELIZABETH TAYLOR, RICHARD BURTON AND REX HARRISON***

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