1970 Caesar - the longer review.
Okay, now that it's not 2 in the morning (it's near close, though - damn, where did the day go?) I think I'll write up a more thorough summary of what I thought of That Movie. Basically, it separates into Good Things and Bad Things. I think I'll get the Bad Things over with first...
BAD THINGS
-brutusbrutusbrutusbrutusbrutus. OH MY GOD. He made 79 Brutus look like an emotional wreck. Like, dear god, would it have KILLED you to put a little feeling into your lines?
-Cassius' beard. I mean, the guy could have been an okay Cassius if he was clean-shaven. Instead, it was all I could do not to start singing "Be Prepared" every time he was on (I blame elviaprose)...
-In a "Which Antony Can Do The Creepiest Things With Dead Bodies" contest, this Antony would win. OH MY GOD, BY A LANDSLIDE. Ick.
-Costumes. They started out... period-accurate enough, I suppose, and then it all went downhill from there (pants, whygodwhyyyyy?).
-The terrible editing. I mean, they just... took random phrases and lines and mixed them around, like, for the hell of it or something.
Those were all the things that stuck out as being Truly Atrocious. Now for the
GOOD THINGS
-Hm, what am I going to talk about first, certainly not JOHN GIELGUD. Despite the fact that visually I don't see him as a Caesar (way too cute!), he's still, y'know, my very favorite actor in all the world, so I'm obliged to love him in anything. First time I have been sad to see Caesar kick it! And on that note, omg, DID HE GO OUT WITH A BANG OR WHAT? Seriously, all the suicides at the end get stabbed like... once, and it's over. He had like 20 wounds, IN THE TORSO, and he's still WALKING AROUND. WHAT A DAMN BADASS. <3
-Casca. IDK, he was just cute. Kind of like a stupider, fatter, not-quite-as-but-still-pretty-good version of 79 Casca. And I actually really liked the part he played in the stabbing scene: the first blow, then hanging back watching until he finally steps in and finishes it. Very cool. And he had a kind of dreaminess that I really loved (because I can identify with it?).
-OCTAVIUS AND ANTONY. OH LOOOOORD. Seriously, they weren't even SUBTLE about ANYTHING. 4.1, OH MY GOD. OIL AND MASSAGES AND TOWELS AND JUST. WHAT. AND THEY ENDED IT WITH "SO IS MY HORSE" WITHOUT EVEN EXPLAINING WHAT THAT MEANS. SO MUCH IS SUGGESTED IN THAT LINE IF YOU DON'T EXPLAIN IT. (YEAH MY "HORSE". UH-HUH.)
-Er, moving to a new bullet point so I can cool off from the CAPSLOCK. Still talking about Antony and Octavius, though. lol FOREVER at Octavius' fabulous yellow cape. Also, WHAT ABOUT THIS IS NOT SUGGESTIVE:
OMG SERIOUSLY. BEATS 53'S STRANGELY PHALLIC BRANCH FOR MOST SUGGESTIVE IMAGERY. HANDS. DOWN. Aaaand now it's got me capslocking again.
EDIT: Damn, forgot another Good Thing. I thought Cassius writing BRVTVS on the wall below CAESAR during "as fair a name" was quite clever. (Although, wth, were they just like... in some random pleb's house eating his food? XD)
BAD THINGS
-brutusbrutusbrutusbrutusbrutus. OH MY GOD. He made 79 Brutus look like an emotional wreck. Like, dear god, would it have KILLED you to put a little feeling into your lines?
-Cassius' beard. I mean, the guy could have been an okay Cassius if he was clean-shaven. Instead, it was all I could do not to start singing "Be Prepared" every time he was on (I blame elviaprose)...
-In a "Which Antony Can Do The Creepiest Things With Dead Bodies" contest, this Antony would win. OH MY GOD, BY A LANDSLIDE. Ick.
-Costumes. They started out... period-accurate enough, I suppose, and then it all went downhill from there (pants, whygodwhyyyyy?).
-The terrible editing. I mean, they just... took random phrases and lines and mixed them around, like, for the hell of it or something.
Those were all the things that stuck out as being Truly Atrocious. Now for the
GOOD THINGS
-Hm, what am I going to talk about first, certainly not JOHN GIELGUD. Despite the fact that visually I don't see him as a Caesar (way too cute!), he's still, y'know, my very favorite actor in all the world, so I'm obliged to love him in anything. First time I have been sad to see Caesar kick it! And on that note, omg, DID HE GO OUT WITH A BANG OR WHAT? Seriously, all the suicides at the end get stabbed like... once, and it's over. He had like 20 wounds, IN THE TORSO, and he's still WALKING AROUND. WHAT A DAMN BADASS. <3
-Casca. IDK, he was just cute. Kind of like a stupider, fatter, not-quite-as-but-still-pretty-good version of 79 Casca. And I actually really liked the part he played in the stabbing scene: the first blow, then hanging back watching until he finally steps in and finishes it. Very cool. And he had a kind of dreaminess that I really loved (because I can identify with it?).
-OCTAVIUS AND ANTONY. OH LOOOOORD. Seriously, they weren't even SUBTLE about ANYTHING. 4.1, OH MY GOD. OIL AND MASSAGES AND TOWELS AND JUST. WHAT. AND THEY ENDED IT WITH "SO IS MY HORSE" WITHOUT EVEN EXPLAINING WHAT THAT MEANS. SO MUCH IS SUGGESTED IN THAT LINE IF YOU DON'T EXPLAIN IT. (YEAH MY "HORSE". UH-HUH.)
-Er, moving to a new bullet point so I can cool off from the CAPSLOCK. Still talking about Antony and Octavius, though. lol FOREVER at Octavius' fabulous yellow cape. Also, WHAT ABOUT THIS IS NOT SUGGESTIVE:
OMG SERIOUSLY. BEATS 53'S STRANGELY PHALLIC BRANCH FOR MOST SUGGESTIVE IMAGERY. HANDS. DOWN. Aaaand now it's got me capslocking again.
EDIT: Damn, forgot another Good Thing. I thought Cassius writing BRVTVS on the wall below CAESAR during "as fair a name" was quite clever. (Although, wth, were they just like... in some random pleb's house eating his food? XD)