Nothing is written
Peter O'Toole has announced his retirement from acting (in very O'Toolian style), to which at his age he's more than entitled. But what with him having acted in two of my favourite films of all times (Lawrence of Arabia and The Lion in Winter), and still being splendid as late as three or so years ago in Venus, I'm a bit sad nonetheless. Also miffed that he never got an Oscar safe for the life time one, since I know he wanted the genuine article. (Sorry, Gregory Peck fans, he was fine as Atticus Finch, but O'Toole's Lawrence would have deserved more.) (And who won the year he was nominated for Venus anyway?)
Now given he's alive and hopefully well, a career retrospective would be a bit spooky, so I won't do it. Then again: back when I watched RTD's Casanova, in which David Tennant plays the young and Peter O'Toole the old Casanova, I came when discussing the miniseries across some younglings who wondered why David Tennant wears blue contact lenses in this film. When, you know, I would have thought it obvious that you do not make a legend of the theatre and screen with two of the most famous blue eyes around wear brown contact lenses, especially since Our David T., being a fanboy extraordinaire, was probably only too happy to do it. But lo and behold, said younglings had no idea who Peter O'Toole was. Why, said I, he's the ex of the Empress Livia and she left him for Ethan Rayne from Buffy! No, but seriously, a highlights of the decades post would be worth it, but right now my superstitious side warns me not to tempt fate. So, instead, something wherein Peter O'Toole is fairly low key, which he rarely was, but then he is talking with Orson Welles (who never was). It's the year 1963 (Annus Mirabilis indeed), O'Toole is playing Hamlet at the National, directed by Laurence Olivier, and Orson & Peter are talking to Huw Wheldon (the host of the program Monitor this conversation is part of) and an older actor named Ernest Milton. My favourite part is when Ernest Milton, being a nice old gentleman, says Hamlet abhorrs murder, and Welles & O'Toole team up to say OH NO HE DOESN'T, pointing to Hamlet's arranging the deaths of Guildenstern & Rosencranz (this being years before Tom Stoppard, mind), and adding Polonius for good measure. "Accident", cries Ernest Milton. Whereupon Peter corners him by pointing out that Hamlet has just left Claudius praying, thus knew the king was elsewhere, and Orson adds for good measure that it could have been anyone behind that curtain, Ophelia, Horatio, etc. Milton raises the insanity defends only to have Orson thundering that Hamlet isn't (earlier on, Welles said that the ultimate proof for Hamlet being rational is that he says "oh what an ass am I", which an insane man would never). So, here they are, young Peter, middle aged Orson, and poor old cornered Ernest Milton:
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/795217.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
Now given he's alive and hopefully well, a career retrospective would be a bit spooky, so I won't do it. Then again: back when I watched RTD's Casanova, in which David Tennant plays the young and Peter O'Toole the old Casanova, I came when discussing the miniseries across some younglings who wondered why David Tennant wears blue contact lenses in this film. When, you know, I would have thought it obvious that you do not make a legend of the theatre and screen with two of the most famous blue eyes around wear brown contact lenses, especially since Our David T., being a fanboy extraordinaire, was probably only too happy to do it. But lo and behold, said younglings had no idea who Peter O'Toole was. Why, said I, he's the ex of the Empress Livia and she left him for Ethan Rayne from Buffy! No, but seriously, a highlights of the decades post would be worth it, but right now my superstitious side warns me not to tempt fate. So, instead, something wherein Peter O'Toole is fairly low key, which he rarely was, but then he is talking with Orson Welles (who never was). It's the year 1963 (Annus Mirabilis indeed), O'Toole is playing Hamlet at the National, directed by Laurence Olivier, and Orson & Peter are talking to Huw Wheldon (the host of the program Monitor this conversation is part of) and an older actor named Ernest Milton. My favourite part is when Ernest Milton, being a nice old gentleman, says Hamlet abhorrs murder, and Welles & O'Toole team up to say OH NO HE DOESN'T, pointing to Hamlet's arranging the deaths of Guildenstern & Rosencranz (this being years before Tom Stoppard, mind), and adding Polonius for good measure. "Accident", cries Ernest Milton. Whereupon Peter corners him by pointing out that Hamlet has just left Claudius praying, thus knew the king was elsewhere, and Orson adds for good measure that it could have been anyone behind that curtain, Ophelia, Horatio, etc. Milton raises the insanity defends only to have Orson thundering that Hamlet isn't (earlier on, Welles said that the ultimate proof for Hamlet being rational is that he says "oh what an ass am I", which an insane man would never). So, here they are, young Peter, middle aged Orson, and poor old cornered Ernest Milton:
Click to viewThis entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/795217.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.