WD:
My heart is warmed as if by an electric blanket to hear you say this, Eric.
You beat me to it. I loved that film as well. Was blown away by it. Don't know that I could tell you much about the movie today, two men talk interminably about their lives, hell, everybody I know does that. But it blew me away back them. The last time I saw it was in 1986 when I made my 12th grade Speech Class in Covington, TN (about 30 miles north of Memphis) watch it -- it took up 2 classes : ) -- I can only remember how fascinated I was by it. Was it the voyeuristic quality of it? But I usually associate voyeurism with sexual titillation, not the intellectual-emotional-philosophical undressing that goes on in that film. I can't remember the students' reactions -- I'm sure I didn't care what they thought, I was determined to break some moulds -- but I'm willing to bet bunches that theirs was not favorable review, but a few of the kids were very bright, so who knows, maybe I lit a candle or two.
I also saw "Vanya on 42nd Street" -- with Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn. That was '94 or '95. It was amazing too. I am so grateful for any culture that gets sidetracked and ends up in Memphis that I genuflect and kiss the hands of those poor, lost souls.
Back in the 70's there was a series produced by Ely Landau called the American Film Theatre. That was the greatest "artistic" thing cinema has ever done. I saw "Three Sisters", "The Iceman Cometh", "The Homecoming", "A Delicate Balance", "The Maids", "Butley" and "Rhinoceros" starring some of the best actors in the world. It was like dying and going to Broadway.
Does anyone else remember that series? When I try to find something on TV only to have my desire for entertainment turned into suicidal despair, I think of that series and wonder why in God's name with all the incredible literature out there we as a species prefer shit? Where's my gun?
Mike Geary Memphis----- Original Message ----- From: "William Dolphin" <dolphinw@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 9:33 PM Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: My Dinner with Andre
My heart is warmed as if by an electric blanket to hear you say this, Eric.You are the first of my circle of even attenuated acquaintance who actuallyenjoy this odd movie, though I suppose "interesting" is not the same as "enjoyable".Personally, I was captivated by it on first viewing as an earnest undergrad. I so wanted to know people like Andre Gregory myself, and there were none ofthat genus on the desolate plains of front range Colorado that I then inhabited. Or at least insofar as I could find. I say "Andre Gregory" but he and Wallace Shawn insist neither is playinghimself and promised to switch roles in a remake. Shawn as "Andre" would beamazing, don't you think? Certainly more comic. I've forced a few others to watch the film over the years, but it's always been less satisfying, mostly because I absorbed some of their bewilderment and boredom, I think. An interesting note about the movie: I've heard that it was shot in anunheated space on a cold day; apparently there are moments when you can see the breath of Gregory and Shawn, though I can't confirm that, since I've notseen it since learning that. But tell me, when it's cold in New York, do you use the blanket? Wm. Dolphin Memphis-----Original Message----- From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Eric Yost Sent: Tuesday, November 18, 2008 10:50 AM To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [lit-ideas] My Dinner with Andre On a whim, I ordered _My Dinner with Andre_ on interlibrary loan. Haven't seen it since it was first released. It's just as interesting now as it was then. ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.549 / Virus Database: 270.9.4/1792 - Release Date: 11/16/2008 10:04 AMNo virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.549 / Virus Database: 270.9.4/1792 - Release Date: 11/16/2008 10:04 AM ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off,digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
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