Having recently looked at the the silent Marion Davies extravaganza based on its source material, WHEN KNIGHTHOOD WAS IN FLOWER, I was interested in how the film makers would balance the grandeur of the production with the wish we have to look at human beings dealing with situations and making a story out of their lives.
Well, they made a story out of it, but alas, the magnificence of the settings and sumptuousness of the costumes overwhelms the actors. Glynis Johns, one of my favorite performers, looks mousy in her arrays, and while John Robertson Justice's voice still booms out, to make him look regal, they have to cut to tight close-ups of his face.
Does this mean that I think this a poor movie?> By no means! visually it's magnificent. Geoffrey Unsworth's Technicolor camerawork is as good as any of his work, and the glass shots by Peter Ellenshaw and Albert Whitlock are beautiful and flawless -- a lot easier on the eyes and harder to spot than modern CGI work.
I'm not sure if a story like this can be transferred to the intimacy of the screen; the grandeur of the settings would likely overwhelm just about any modern actor. However, it's a gorgeous attempt.
Well, they made a story out of it, but alas, the magnificence of the settings and sumptuousness of the costumes overwhelms the actors. Glynis Johns, one of my favorite performers, looks mousy in her arrays, and while John Robertson Justice's voice still booms out, to make him look regal, they have to cut to tight close-ups of his face.
Does this mean that I think this a poor movie?> By no means! visually it's magnificent. Geoffrey Unsworth's Technicolor camerawork is as good as any of his work, and the glass shots by Peter Ellenshaw and Albert Whitlock are beautiful and flawless -- a lot easier on the eyes and harder to spot than modern CGI work.
I'm not sure if a story like this can be transferred to the intimacy of the screen; the grandeur of the settings would likely overwhelm just about any modern actor. However, it's a gorgeous attempt.