I do it all because I'm evil

[sovay]

Hey, friendlist.

1. Pursuant to nineweaving's recent post on Evelyn Nesbit, I've noticed more than one review of Claude Chabrol's La fille coupée en deux (2007) mention that the film is an update-retelling of l'affaire Stanford White et Harry Thaw. It is not a historical film. I find this fascinating. What other real-life events have become cultural mythology, infinitely reworkable as such? Kim Philby comes to mind, because of John le Carré's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974) and the last ten minutes of The Good Shepherd (2006) I caught on television last night, but I know there must be other, really obvious examples that I'm missing.

2. Recommend me some Dennis Potter. I have so far seen Dreamchild (1985), which I think is the best take on Alice Liddell I have encountered so far, and the original television play of Brimstone and Treacle (1976), which I just discovered and really, really loved. Pennies from Heaven (1978) is up next, because by this point I have no excuse for not having seen it, but what else of his should I know about?

3. Does anyone know if there exist recordings of Lloyd Alexander reading his own work?

Comments

[thistleingrey.livejournal.com]

Re: Philby: also in Tim Powers's Declare, which though less read than le Carré's book is certainly worth reading, IMO.

(I haven't replied to your other comment-reply yet, I know--it's in a tab, and this is quicker and it's time to attempt going to sleep....)

[ap-aelfwine.livejournal.com]

Nothing useful to say, but I have to question your header. You don't strike me as being evil. Of course, this may be because I amn't one to judge. ;-)

[joshwriting.livejournal.com]

The only direct recording of him reading his own fiction, though is in
"Children's Program of Poetry and Literature" - This was a Library of Congress event in 1993 with Prosser Gifford and Lloyd Alexander. "Lloyd Alexander reads a chapter from his novel for young people entitled The remarkable journey of Prince Jen. The chapter he reads is Tale of the bronze bowl." I suspect nobody else has this recording.

Other than that, there are related recordings.

In 1973, Edna Edwards interviewed him and the Center for Cassette Studies recorded it - "Lloyd Alexander, born story teller."

There's a cassette recording of his "Fantasy and the human condition," from 1976. (He presented a paper with that name in 1988 - but I don't know if they were the same.)

In 1994, a video was done, "A Visit With Lloyd Alexander" which has been uploaded to youtube in 3 parts, the first of which is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jln9VPoP3Tw

Again, though, this is not quite what you were asking for. If I trip across anything else in my wanderings, I'll pass it along.

[blubeagle.livejournal.com]

If you want to view "Pennies from Heaven," I'd recommend the original. I don't remember offhand, when it was made, but it was in the 1930's, I believe.

[wyldemusick.livejournal.com]

Kim Philby is also a central element of The Company by Robert Littell, who suggests Philby as being essentially the cause of breakdown within the CIA, affecting the organization for years afterwards.

Other events? The Earp brothers and the O.K. Corral are a good example, I think, as the events surrounding the Tombstone period have been cultural mythology for decades, told and retold and examined from multiple angles. The life of the Earps prior to and subsequent to Tombstone have had their share of going over too, though not to near the extent.

Dennis Potter...hmmm. Cold Lazarus and Karaoke (which go together), The Stone Tape, and most certainly The Singing Detective, which is quite autobiographical in many respects, even more so than the original Pennies From Heaven.

[wyldemusick.livejournal.com]

Oh, another one who's gradually been folded into fictional works: Alan Turing. He's been incorporated into everything from a Doctor Who novel to various productions about Bletchley Park and the Enigma Machine.

[desperance.livejournal.com]

2. You should absolutely utterly watch "The Singing Detective", which was iconic, pivotal TV. (Also the scripts were published in book form, and for once make really interesting reading, for the matter between the dialogue...)

Also also, "Blue Remembered Hills" is really interesting.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Blue Remembered Hills, the Singing Detective...

But also his take on Jesus as an angry young socialist- Son of Man. It caused huge controversy at the time.

Oh, and I'm rather fond of his Casanova (1971)

[xterminal.livejournal.com]

I know there must be other, really obvious examples that I'm missing.

Weaving historical figures into modern cultural mythology has been having something of a renaissance recently. Teddy Roosevelt and a number of other chaps turn up in Caleb Carr's books (The Alienist is phenomenal). Conan Doyle is a rather popular one, too. Mark Frost did him right in The List of Seven. And I swear I've seen Harry Houdini somewhere in the past couple of years, but I can't remember the book. I remember an opening scene where he was having a fight with his brother in a hotel room in New York City (possibly over a woman)...

And, of course, there's all that alternate-history stuff. I'm not a huge fan-- when I want martial fantasy, I know I can turn to Steve Erikson and Elizabeth Moon and be competently entertained-- but Harry Turtledove is the really big name in the subgenre, I think. I read Guns of the South seven, eight years ago. Meh.

[tithenai.livejournal.com]

I have no answers, but I wish to applaud your choice in earworms. ; )

[ookpik.livejournal.com]

re: other mythologized historical events--the JFK assassination?

It wouldn't surprise me if some part of the Diana Spencer drama took on that character, but I don't know of any actual examples.

[thehornedgod.livejournal.com]

With Pennies from Heaven taken for granted, I second the recommendations of Blue Remembered Hills and The Singing Detective. They might be interesting to watch together (albeit the latter's quite long, so probably not on the same day), as they both seem to draw on Potter's childhood.