"COME, ALL YOU YOUNG MEN... TAKE WARNING BY ME... DON'T GO FOR A SOLDIER... DON'T JOIN NO ARMY... FOR THE DOVE SHE WILL LEAVE YOU... AND, THE RAVEN WILL COME... AND, DEATH WILL COME MARCHING, BY THE BEAT OF THE DRUM....
COME, ALL YOU PRETTY, FAIR MAIDENS, COME WALK IN THE SUN... AND, DON'T LET YOUR YOUNG MAN EVER CARRY A GUN... FOR THE DOVE SHE WILL LEAVE YOU... AND, THE RAVEN WILL COME... AND, DEATH WILL COME MARCHING, BY THE BEAT OF THE DRUM."
************************************************************
Forget the remake of this artistic, unusual, --- and, yes, of course, very erotic film, the 2017 version with Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman;
it doesn't have even half the sinister, sensual aura of this one...
Okay, --- I think Clint Eastwood, in his prime, as the Yankee soldier, John Mc Burney, is a lot more tempting than Colin Farrell, who does absolutely nothing for me.
I remember, one author, I don't recall who, saying that all her romantic heroes look like Clint Eastwood. Ummm, yes, I can definitely see why... Well, then, there's Nicole Kidman who's very good, but she can't compete with the subtle, dynamic performance of the brilliant, unique Geraldine Page, as tough, classy, passionate Miss Martha. Also, Kirsten Dunst isn't as good as Elizabeth Hartman, as sweet, naieve Edwina.
And, in the 2017 opening scene Amy says, "Most of the students of the school went home, but some decided to stay here, farther up north.." Come on, --- with those enormous, snaky looking trees and the Spanish moss hanging from them? I could tell that was deepest Louisiana, not a more northern state of the South! And, I was right. The movie's exteriors were shot in the bayou country of Louisiana.
1971...
This is one hell of an exciting, intriguing story, as a very handsome wounded manipulative liar cunningly works his way into the guarded confidences and tender affections of the secluded women at a deep South Civil War era upper class girl's boarding school. However, he's no match for them, as the story cleverly and violently unfolds, and the women's socially repressed hidden motives, lusts and their bitterness and, then, revenge finally surface.
Mmmm... A cozy chicken dinner with a side dish of mushrooms, fresh picked from the woods...
It's not known if some obscure mushrooms are poisonous because nobody has been brave enough, or stupid enough, to try them. Other hurts from consuming toadstools are, after the hallucinations and convulsions: possible spinal and brain damage and kidney and liver failure. But, some people might survive with kidney and liver transplants.
After Mc B collapses Miss Martha is shown picking marigolds out of the flower arrangement on the dinner table, holding them to her face, as her eyes shift, evilly. Marigolds are among the flowers of the dead, along with lilies and amaranth.
I especially liked that in the 1971 version the ladies really don't poison Mc B; he just thinks they did. So, in his mind, he's dying, --- and so, he does. Afterwards, Miss Martha says, "He was in very poor condition." And, then we see the ladies harsh, cold faces outside the school gates, as they stitch the stone-cold dead and slightly pale blue faced Mc B into his shroud in preparation for burying him. And, Edwina thinks, --- I love you, as she covers Mc B's pale face with a delicate handkerchief.. Yes, I like that they bury him; chillingly, no one will ever know he was even there. Whereas, in the the 2017 version they also drag his body out past the gates of the school, but for the Yankees to find, a much, much weaker ending.
Clint Eastwood read the novel of the same name by Thomas Cullinan, on which the movie is based, in one night, saying he couldn't put it down. (I'm reading the novel, and believe me, it's GOOD.)
He does a delightful bit of soft creepy singing at the opening and ending of the film. I could tell it's him. I remember his voice singing, "I Talk To The Trees," in the musical, "Paint Your Wagon". Interesting that his special, gentle singing voice, which I love, seems to be in the tenor-to-baritone range, but his speaking voice is quite deep.
Uh, --- Jo Ann Harris, who plays the conniving, slutty Carol, had a long affair with Clint Eastwood. Their chemistry is obvious. He was in his early forties; she was barely twenty. But, I say if you're almost middle aged and you can get a young woman, --- go for it. We only pass this way once.
The film was shot at a huge, fabulous Southern mansion that was especially restored at tremendous cost just for the 1971 "The Beguiled".
(This is practically my favorite movie, --- 5 stars ***** Two more outstanding thrillers set in the South are "Eve's Bayou"
and "Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil".)
No comments:
Post a Comment