From Stage to Screen

Several plays have been made into movies. Many of Shakespeare's plays have been turned into movies, as have many modern and contemporary plays. It is rare, however, to find movies that are based on the ancient Greek tragedies. There are a few of these movies, though, and many of them were made in the 60s or 70s. As I was looking through the movies on Netflix, I stumble across a few of them. Being the Classics geek that I am, I was happy to find them and quickly added them to my queue. I also found some amusement in some of the reviews that people posted. Several people didn't like The Trojan Women. With stars like Katharine Hepburn, Vanessa Redgrave, and Irene Papas, I was somewhat surprised. But the big complaint was that there was too much weeping and wailing and too much talking. Too much talking? Um, have you ever been to an actual play? There is usually a lot of talking in those. And the weeping and wailing are a big part of ancient Greek art in general. Whether you are reading an epic or a tragedy, people often express their fear, anger, or anguish with weeping and wailing. They weep, they wail, they beat their chests, they pull their hair. It's an expression of emotion, and it is intensified for the stage. But I suppose people who saw this thought that it was overdramatic.

Another person reviewed Electra. That's Electra, the daughter of Agamemnon, not Elektra the action hero! The reviewer said that Electra was just like Hamlet but in an ancient Greek way. Umm...forget it, I won't go into this. Although I will say that I'm none too pleased with the Electra cover.

Those are sigmas, NOT the letter E!!

Naturally I can't say for sure whether these movies are good or bad until I see them. And, I think that it is obvious that I have a pretty critical and judgmental eye and very high standards. Why else would I be so disappointed with the movie Troy?

And, yes, when it comes to Classics, I am somewhat of an egotistical snob. But at least I admit it.

Current mood: tired. It was an exhausting day at work.
Current music: songs on shuffle. Currently Tori Amos "Taxi Ride"
Current drink: what do you think?