As I have already written, we went to some trouble to see The Secret of Kells last week, but we were amply rewarded. It's a visual feast
( Read more... )
Thank you for the pointers to the movie! I find there's a Seattle screening planned, but it is the Friday immediately before my wedding, so... the stars may or may not align.
I've been fascinated by the Book of Kells itself since the early 1980s (in my pre-Jesuit days, when I was dating a calligrapher...) I even took a course (from a calligrapher named Pat Musick -- http://musickstudio.com/index.htm) on how to scribe in Irish Half-Uncial, one of the names given to the alphabet used in the book). It is a subtly beautiful, but very tricky, alphabet -- It is beautiful without being pretty... and you have to break half the "rules" of calligraphy to get it right.
My first visit to Dublin, in 1985, I made a beeline to the Trinity College library where the book is held; at that time it was merely in a couple of glass cases in the library itself. They have since built a wonderful museum for the book itself. Well worth the visit; to my mind, the best thing to see in Dublin.
We went on an unexpected trip to Ireland last fall (long story), and in an attempt to organize quickly, each of us named two things we wanted to be sure to see. Mine were sheep (hard to miss!) and the Book of Kells. (In the event, we were also able to see several ancient abbeys-- I got some great photographs at Clonmacnoise-- and the Leviathantelescope.)
The Book of Kells museum is indeed very informative, but the gift shop totally let me down. I mean, I *know* why I can't photograph the book. Wouldn't dream of it. But darnit, somebody with more skill than I has *already* photographed it, and I want the pictures! They could've sold me a giant, expensive, coffee-table-sized thing with reams of pictures and exhaustive commentary, and all I could get was a little hundred-page paperback.
Oh, they probably will, after it comes out on (Region 1) DVD.
I'm hoping a strong showing at art houses will trigger a wider release at some point, so more people can go see it in more theaters... and not just in big cities. I'm sure the film's people have been trying to arrange such a deal; see for example this.
The "windows" of movie distribution may be working against it. First film festivals, then theaters, then cheap theaters, then pay-per-view, then DVD, then broadcast & cable channels... sooner or later, you've got to accept the deal you can and get your movie into the next window.
According to this list on the filmmakers' Facebook site, it opens 23 April at the Landmark Echidna, excuse me, Edina Cinemas. So you can go see it, if you are in town. Drag everyone.
(I'm now trying to count up the number of books about Celtic fairy-folk that have been written by authors in the Greater Minneapolis area. It's large, I think.)
Historiated Initials seem like an excellent way to combine text and pictures. It's a shame books don't do this any more. Maybe the practice will come back someday.
Comments 9
Reply
Reply
Reply
My first visit to Dublin, in 1985, I made a beeline to the Trinity College library where the book is held; at that time it was merely in a couple of glass cases in the library itself. They have since built a wonderful museum for the book itself. Well worth the visit; to my mind, the best thing to see in Dublin.
Reply
The Book of Kells museum is indeed very informative, but the gift shop totally let me down. I mean, I *know* why I can't photograph the book. Wouldn't dream of it. But darnit, somebody with more skill than I has *already* photographed it, and I want the pictures! They could've sold me a giant, expensive, coffee-table-sized thing with reams of pictures and exhaustive commentary, and all I could get was a little hundred-page paperback.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
Oh, they probably will, after it comes out on (Region 1) DVD.
I'm hoping a strong showing at art houses will trigger a wider release at some point, so more people can go see it in more theaters... and not just in big cities. I'm sure the film's people have been trying to arrange such a deal; see for example this.
The "windows" of movie distribution may be working against it. First film festivals, then theaters, then cheap theaters, then pay-per-view, then DVD, then broadcast & cable channels... sooner or later, you've got to accept the deal you can and get your movie into the next window.
Reply
(I'm now trying to count up the number of books about Celtic fairy-folk that have been written by authors in the Greater Minneapolis area. It's large, I think.)
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment