I Will Go Most Anywhere To Feel Like I Belong

[sciathan_file]

Okay - at long last saw Tristan + Isolde, which has the tag line of "Before Romeo and Juliet there was Tristan and Isolde." The rant that follows maybe one person will get.

Well, someone was way too infatuated with dear old R&J to like...research the social and political contexts of Medieval Ireland and Britain. So, in summation it was

Comments

[meritjubet]

But when Tristan and Isolde read John Donne to each other

*boggles* seriously?

But which Romeo and Juliet do you recommend?

[sciathan_file]

Yep - John Donne's "The Good Morrow" became a massively bloated anachronism amidst everything else. :0

Uh, as to R&J's, if you want the real flavor of it (as in Juliet is her proper 14 years old, etc), go for the Franco Zeffirelli version. However, I actually really like Baz Lurhmann's Romeo + Juliet, because I think its pretty damned creative in its adaptation. Also Mercutio is a tranny, which for some reason really works for me.

[meritjubet]

Thankfully they didn't do the Fly. That one was always... interesting. And a little too metaphysical for me, his language always had to be over the top.

I loved Baz Lurhmann's adaption as well, but I tend to fond about modern readpations done well :) have you ever seen R&J performed live? I saw it a couple years ago and it interesting how versions differ (this happened after some ethnic discontent in Australia so had modern influences).

[sciathan_file]

You mean "The Flea"? I love that one - because its metaphysics meets "Hey, our fluids have already mixed - what do you say we do it?" (I think John Donne Just Rolled over in his grave). I personally like "Song," especially since it made it into the novel Howl's Moving Castle.

I love how Shakespeare is so adaptable. I'm not sure I liked Ethan Hawke's Hamlet (To Be or Not to Be in a Blockbuster Video action section....? Cute, but no dice.). I'm not actually sure if I've ever seen R&J live - I see weird ones like Measure for Measure live. ~_^

[norisis]

I don't know as much about the Middle Ages as I would like to, but this still popped up at me:

But when Tristan and Isolde read John Donne to each other, I suppose you really shouldn't ask.

WTF! And LOL, kinda!

[sciathan_file]

Pretty much - if it was before the Vikings, it was definitely, definitely before John Donne.

I totally agree on the WTF factor.

[norisis]

It looks like these writers didn't do much in the way of research - that's the problem with so many films these days, that just adapt a story without any consideration of the surrounding context. Hmmph.

Also, would like to echo the love of modern-day re-tellings. Have you seen the BBC's "Shakespeare Re-Told" series?

[aeternitasbeach]

this was entertaining!

I agree about the awful Irish accents so much! and I totally thought the Irish king was a Viking at first

man, I miss my Celtic folklore course now D: