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Post by smith on Feb 15, 2006 6:17:53 GMT -5
Summertime - the entire movie
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Post by HollywoodHepcat on Feb 15, 2006 9:47:14 GMT -5
*sigh* Tell me about it. Shaun, have you seen this movie yet? *rib rib* I'd imagine the part of Jane Hudson to be typically played by someone like Olivia de Havilland, where you can already portray her as a vulnerable, lonely, hungry-for-love woman. Think The Light In The Piazza. But Kate? Must've been even more of a shock to audiences when it first was released just because they hadn't had that type of performance from her just yet (besides TAQ). So yeah, Hudson's my homegirl. I mean, is there anything more heartbreaking than Kate sitting on the edge of a canal with her head propped in her knees and thinking of how alone she is? I don't think so. Poor Katie in real-life, too.. similar experience but with a French plumber. Maybe all of those emotions onscreen were because of whatever was going on offscreen? Yep. The other Summer movie, too - Suddenly Last Summer. *runs away* She's scary.
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Post by karina on Feb 15, 2006 12:49:34 GMT -5
Yeah Smith, spill the beans. I love this movie and adore Kate in it, but can't see why her acting in this film surprises you? Would have been nice to see her in another David Lean collaboration though......
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Post by Sherry on Feb 15, 2006 15:15:20 GMT -5
Have to say that I was never surprised by any performance of Kate's because I think she was a consummate artist capable of portraying any emotion and any role that she CHOSE to do. Even in a film like "Spitfire" where she was the only mountain girl to ever have a patrician twang in her voice, she was able to wring the best from the role. She was tough and tender, feisty and sweet. You felt her pain at being used by the Robert Young character and you saw her indomitable spirit of hoping for a better future at the conclusion. And SUMMERTIME -- well, one of my all time favorite KH films and also the first Kate film I saw. I was 12 and she captivated me with that performance. Seeing her thrill to the overwhelming beauty of Venice and watching her convey the intense longing and loneliness that she felt at being in the most romantic city in the world. ( I know, for most people, Paris is the romance capital. I've been to both, and for me, it will always be Venice.) Kate's performance in the film is flawless. If an actor can touch the heart of a 12 year old, well, nothing I saw her in after that ever surprised me about Katharine Hepburn's acting.
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Post by Shaun on Feb 15, 2006 16:00:06 GMT -5
Amber, I still haven't seen Summertime. I should give up hope of seeing it on tv and go out and buy the dvd.
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Post by smith on Feb 15, 2006 18:07:13 GMT -5
I think in Summertime Katharine conveys so well the idea that Jane Hudson wants to have a relationship but at the same time she is frightened of being hurt as well . And then of course when she meets the guy - its a bit different to her expectations . And I think that Katharine is quite sexual in this movie - I am not saying that she wasn't that way in some of her other roles but I think this role stands out - especially in the 1950's
David Lean said the movie was about being lonely - I think the ending is pretty unusual
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Post by Sherry on Feb 16, 2006 0:15:20 GMT -5
Amber, I still haven't seen Summertime. I should give up hope of seeing it on tv and go out and buy the dvd. Shaun -- Buy the DVD -- you will NEVER be sorry. Wonderful story, flawless performance by Kate and the rest of the cast is very good also, and the photography is SPECTACULAR. The love that David Lean felt for the city of Venice is on the screen via the work of Jack Hildyard. When Kate passed away, the Venice Film festival honored her by showing the re-master of the film on the final day in 2003. Back in 1955, Lean was given awards by the city because of the wonderful advertisement this film is for the city. The wonderful thing about this film is that Venice is a timeless city so what you see in this film, what Kate's character sees, you would see if you visited today. David Lean said that Kate was his favorite actor after you've seen her performance in his film, you will know why he felt that way.
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Post by karina on Feb 16, 2006 11:12:09 GMT -5
Smith: of course Kate had shown her ability to play "sexy roles" in WOTY and TAQ before this. And while the ending in Summertime might have been unusual in that it wasn't the usual happily-ever-after Hollywood one, it was the only one to have made any sense for her independent character. It would have been demeaning if she'd stayed behind as some sort of mistress-in-waiting and as for the other possible scenario, Renato wouldn't have divorced his wife any more than Jane would have asked this from him.
Sherry: have you seen the remastered copy? Just wondering if it's notably different from the original. I simply can't imagine any improvement on the already excellent cinematophotography, but if there is, then I'd love to see it! Unfortunately I've never been to Venice, but between them, Summertime and Don't Look Now make me feel as though I know the place intimately.
And great to hear Kate was David Lean's favourite actor (he's definitely one of my favourite directors). Which other directors voted her number one - Cukor?
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Post by Sherry on Feb 16, 2006 12:29:04 GMT -5
Karina: As far as I know the best version of the film currently available is the The Criterion Collection release which was done in 1998 as a DVD. I also have a 1987 Janus Collection version on VHS. Definite difference between the two. The colors are muddier on the VHS which may just be from age -- it's 19 years old now. But defiitely the 1998 is very sharp and the colors are brilliant.
Not only was Kate David Lean's favorite actor, Summertime was his favorite film.
This is a quote from Lean. "What appealed to me in the idea of Summertime? Loneliness. Why? Because I think that loneliness is in all of us, it is a more common emotion than love, but we speak less about it. We are ashamed of it. We think perhaps that it shows a deficiency in ourselves. That if we were more attractive, more entertaining and less ordinary, we would not be lonely. The film is about a lonely woman who falls in love, and as I know no better remedy for the complaint, I hope you will find it sympathetic."
I think we agree that the film captured all of the emotion of the loneliness and the love and Kate's ability to convey his vision for the film must have been very satisfying -- the best possible example of collaboration in the creative process.
I love Venice and when I saw the film when I was 12, I vowed that before I died, I would go to Venice and try to see everything that Jane Hudson saw. I am very fortunate to have visited the city two times. The first time I went, I specifically stayed the Hotel des Bains on the Lido because Thomas Mann stayed there when he wrote "Death in Venice" and I wanted to be able to feel some of what he felt in that setting. The second time, I stayed on the Grand Canal in the Bauer Grunwald, the same hotel that David Lean stayed in when he went to Venice to prepare for the filming of the movie. The city is magical. The light on the water and the reflections of the buildings in the water -- impossible to describe. I have visited a number of places where I was on sensory overload at times, but Venice is the only place where I experienced that feeling the entire time. Think of Kate's face when she looks out of the window of her pensione and is just overwhelmed by the view -- well that's Venice at every turn.
Sorry for the long post but it's about my two favorite topics: Kate and Venice. :-)
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kathfan88
Full Member
Kate Hepburn... nuff said.
Posts: 238
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Post by kathfan88 on Mar 20, 2006 18:58:38 GMT -5
Okay question: I haven't seen Summertime yet, and I was wondering if I should rent it first, or will I love it enough to just I go ahead and buy it now?
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Post by HollywoodHepcat on Mar 20, 2006 19:17:48 GMT -5
BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Does that answer your question? Hehe.
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Post by Judy on Mar 20, 2006 22:09:47 GMT -5
Okay question: I haven't seen Summertime yet, and I was wondering if I should rent it first, or will I love it enough to just I go ahead and buy it now? Kathfan: You will love it enough. Buy it now. :-) Judy
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Post by gypsygem81 on Mar 21, 2006 2:32:40 GMT -5
Absolutely buy it!!
Love Gem
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Post by isis on Mar 26, 2006 15:15:49 GMT -5
I'd like to have too Summertime but there's no yet french subtitles. Perhaps i couldn't wait and i will buy it despite. About the subject, i'm sure that katharine would be a great joan of Arc, it's a pity, the project of the movie aborted.
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kathfan88
Full Member
Kate Hepburn... nuff said.
Posts: 238
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Post by kathfan88 on Mar 27, 2006 10:43:47 GMT -5
Hey thanx for answering my question people! I'm gonna trust your judgement and buy it.
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