tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86283030103033918592024-02-19T08:47:29.523-08:00Narukami's ThunderboltsNarukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-76669434358265068752021-12-16T08:36:00.001-08:002021-12-16T08:36:50.795-08:00December 16th The Battle of the Bulge<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Today is the 65</b><sup><b>th</b></sup><b> Anniversary of The Battle of the Bulge.</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; ">On this day, 65 years ago, Germany launched their final offensive in an attempt to change the course of the war on the Western Front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Germans had marshaled the best of their remaining forces and on December 16<sup>th</sup> began a massive attack that caught the Allies completely by surprise.</span></p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-isM9goaVnwLt_9BarxbSsCz_O7yjgc-m2vpVO2QgMsDuj2bau__qUnwPfqlfG15ozm5SJa4Vz2unZupZ1kZu6E_jssOXVjF0FXT_vm91jYqvp4dhszpbV8clQATxfB1jJ8uQ9AG88KA/s1600-h/the-battle-of-the-bulge-timeline-2-1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD-isM9goaVnwLt_9BarxbSsCz_O7yjgc-m2vpVO2QgMsDuj2bau__qUnwPfqlfG15ozm5SJa4Vz2unZupZ1kZu6E_jssOXVjF0FXT_vm91jYqvp4dhszpbV8clQATxfB1jJ8uQ9AG88KA/s320/the-battle-of-the-bulge-timeline-2-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415715414696043410" /></a><div><p class="MsoNormal">In the first 48 hours German Army and Waffen-SS formations made impressive thrusts into and through the American lines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The 106<sup>th </sup>and 28<sup>th</sup> Infantry Divisions were both destroyed (the 106<sup>th</sup> losing 7,000 men taken prisoner) though they would both be rebuilt and fight again. In addition the 1<sup>st</sup>, 2<sup>nd</sup>, 4<sup>th</sup>, 30<sup>th</sup>, 78<sup>th</sup>, 80<sup>th</sup> and 99<sup>th</sup> Infantry Divisions were all badly damaged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Their paratrooper brothers in the 82<sup>nd</sup> and 101<sup>st</sup> Airborne Divisions also suffered heavy losses, and while their casualties were less than the infantry, the 2<sup>nd</sup>, 3<sup>rd</sup>, 4<sup>th</sup>, 6<sup>th</sup>, 7<sup>th</sup>, 10<sup>th</sup> and 11<sup>th</sup> Armored divisions sustained heavy losses as well. (733 tanks and tank destroyers were lost.)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However, key American units held their ground and over the next few weeks the Ardennes Offensive developed into the largest battle ever fought by the US Army.</p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPbWx_RkCAntt7MQnGRDnQPQ3H65tCdfCRgtX4efCszMaZkGV3vdcUhz2ZhDXG3S9L14x-4kRdTEcTnoWcXU-Fe4-UV59ubYEsPnBLTFmlZLmM9kbn480abNXycGM4uLsabts_q0updbi/s1600-h/bulge02zb2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWPbWx_RkCAntt7MQnGRDnQPQ3H65tCdfCRgtX4efCszMaZkGV3vdcUhz2ZhDXG3S9L14x-4kRdTEcTnoWcXU-Fe4-UV59ubYEsPnBLTFmlZLmM9kbn480abNXycGM4uLsabts_q0updbi/s320/bulge02zb2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415715065342169778" /></a><div><p class="MsoNormal">Although most of the heavy fighting took place in December, the front was not restored to its original position until the end of January.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>By then the Americans had suffered over 81,000 casualties including 19,000 killed and over 23,000 taken prisoner.</p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UGmNMd43Zy8cdQiMM-daSO3KR-7n7Q6m1yimxOqme4Z8BzkRJH37U5Hxv_M55t27niqwd9NqZHpyZK-ertmUWmNvnPy0LvjqhvLjNNr7yx7f8swweFfwn3OFpVULbFIPWXWuxIHCl0H4/s1600-h/eto_pows.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 208px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-UGmNMd43Zy8cdQiMM-daSO3KR-7n7Q6m1yimxOqme4Z8BzkRJH37U5Hxv_M55t27niqwd9NqZHpyZK-ertmUWmNvnPy0LvjqhvLjNNr7yx7f8swweFfwn3OFpVULbFIPWXWuxIHCl0H4/s320/eto_pows.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415714737636718786" /></a><div><p class="MsoNormal">Losses for the Germans were equally grim, but unlike the Allies, the tanks and soldiers lost could not be replaced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Exact numbers for German losses are unknown and depend upon which units are included.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Numbers range from 81,000 to 100,000 (if Luftwaffe air and ground units are included). Among the losses were nearly 14,000 killed, 39,000 wounded and over 30,000 missing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Again, the actual numbers may be far higher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The 6<sup>th</sup> SS Panzer Army alone reported over 37,000 casualties.</p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvIFi_pdo3dDxMl2mF8-dmqHqnVoy69oGOPvztkz0EKnXqbAWe0P9ZQ3Kzid9ByCiMP9HGvafL4XxrTy6DL-QHmr3FK5Dlncpla_Txyse80LxCmWT_aWiaBep8fkh4hi6cvrH7TEfYbaM/s1600-h/Bulge_282942a.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRvIFi_pdo3dDxMl2mF8-dmqHqnVoy69oGOPvztkz0EKnXqbAWe0P9ZQ3Kzid9ByCiMP9HGvafL4XxrTy6DL-QHmr3FK5Dlncpla_Txyse80LxCmWT_aWiaBep8fkh4hi6cvrH7TEfYbaM/s320/Bulge_282942a.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415714370659443074" /></a><div><p class="MsoNormal">On a tactical level the Germans won several engagements, delayed the planned Allied offensive by some six weeks, and proved beyond any doubt that the German Army and Waffen-SS still had teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>However, on a strategic level, the Ardennes Offensive was a decisive defeat and an unmitigated disaster for the Germans.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Germans brought out their best units for the Ardennes Offensive, and although they made impressive initial gains they were also exposed to Allied firepower. The Americans took full advantage of the opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Germans could not make good their losses and these powerful Army and Waffen-SS tank units would be sorely missed on the Eastern Front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Indeed, there has been much speculation that had the Germans remained on the strategic defensive the war might have gone on into 1946.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That of course is impossible to know, but one can only imagine the additional losses the Allies, particularly the Soviets, would have suffered attacking these powerful German formations in prepared defensive positions.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">As Winston Churchill noted in the House of Commons on January 18<sup>th</sup>: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">“This is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever famous American victory.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>Hollywood Loves A Famous Battle<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:'Times New Roman', serif;">Generally speaking Hollywood and History do not get along well even though many famous and much lauded Hollywood films are based upon well known historical events. Not surprisingly the Battle of the Bulge is no exceptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>That being said, most films about the battle have been only fair at best</span></p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPKXz8THaUPvE6B8MzKhJVjIlaTlZFq9LdM6erg0kT2YFVKVrkodrfkIugdfrbnHuTqCssQIdpA4RnvXJo2f1Or_Nf4PD-76cOljZV-tpj5oYFb_q4AnDt9Mbwf4yOdj0izmyvuktcZpp/s1600-h/shot2_large.jpeg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPKXz8THaUPvE6B8MzKhJVjIlaTlZFq9LdM6erg0kT2YFVKVrkodrfkIugdfrbnHuTqCssQIdpA4RnvXJo2f1Or_Nf4PD-76cOljZV-tpj5oYFb_q4AnDt9Mbwf4yOdj0izmyvuktcZpp/s320/shot2_large.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415713147318141298" /></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJPKXz8THaUPvE6B8MzKhJVjIlaTlZFq9LdM6erg0kT2YFVKVrkodrfkIugdfrbnHuTqCssQIdpA4RnvXJo2f1Or_Nf4PD-76cOljZV-tpj5oYFb_q4AnDt9Mbwf4yOdj0izmyvuktcZpp/s1600-h/shot2_large.jpeg"></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Robert Shaw as Colonel Hessler (supposedly based upon </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Waffen-SS Colonel Peiper) in the 1965 film The Battle of the Bulge</span></span></div><div><div> <p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps the absolutely worst film is also the only film to deal with the entire battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Released on December 16<sup>th</sup> 1965 by Warner Brothers the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Battle Of The Bulge</span> gets very little of the history correct with the notable exception of the uniforms, which are impeccable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Indeed the film plays so fast and lose with history that after watching the film in Munich, the former commander of the 5<sup>th</sup> Panzer Army, Hasso von Manteuffel commented:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">The content of this film is completely fictional and has hardly anything to do</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">with the </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">events of those days… It also presents a distortion of the facts and actual conditions under </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">which the battle took place … The film is an insult not only to the American soldier who </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">fought in the Ardennes, but also a scandal</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">for all soldiers including those on the other </span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#660000;">side.</span> <span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(Battle of the Bulge by Danny S Parker, c1991, p313)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" white-space: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Unfortunately the fiction that is this film has infiltrated the public conscious and become accepted as “fact.”</span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One of the events portrayed in the film, in a highly fictionalized form, is the Malmedy Massacre.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Despite much scholarly research into this incident the IMDB internet bio of Charles Durning, a survivor of that event, describes the Malmedy Massacre as it is presented in the Warner Brothers film, not as it actually happened.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">All in all, with the exception of the uniforms, this film is to be avoided.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Better are the handful of films that deal not with the battle as a whole but with small groups caught up in the events of that December.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As with all films some are better than others and that judgment has more to do with personal taste that historic objectivity.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Some of the better, or at least more noteworthy films:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Battleground</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>1950 MGM<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Band of Brothers</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> Episode Six: Bastogne<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>2001 HBO</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">A Midnight Clear</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>1992 A&M Films</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">The Execution of Private Slovik</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>1974 Universal</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Silent Night</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>2002 Fast Carrier Pictures</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Slaughterhouse Five</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>1972 Universal</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Saints and Soldiers</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>2003 Go Films</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div>
</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikZkrURnmaVcf1mPZ4QBC3wfzpncA8C8q26jRbqZWQdwbpT1-hr31GaELQN2g1ttqI_LpIUouMEGWpqOKPWCeDbULoaFUvy_-wKmghHK37QpDogf4QzuERSleKwmAg64NQQKeykT7bNNk/s1600-h/slaught.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 230px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhikZkrURnmaVcf1mPZ4QBC3wfzpncA8C8q26jRbqZWQdwbpT1-hr31GaELQN2g1ttqI_LpIUouMEGWpqOKPWCeDbULoaFUvy_-wKmghHK37QpDogf4QzuERSleKwmAg64NQQKeykT7bNNk/s320/slaught.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415711092887464274" /></a>
<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>
</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>“What they should have done…”<o:p></o:p></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> With the possible exceptions of Gettysburg and Waterloo, no battle has as many games devoted to it than the Battle of The Bulge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Even though research shows that the Germans had no real chance of winning this battle the Ardennes Offensive has proven to be very popular with gamers and a new take on the battle appears almost every year.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> One of the very first was Avalon Hill’s <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">The Battle Of The Bulge</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Released in 1965, what this game lacked in historical accuracy it more than made up for in playability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Indeed it was a hallmark of the Avalon Hill Company to favor playability over accuracy, just as it was the tendency of their rival, SPI, to favor historical accuracy to the point of rendering some of their games frustratingly unplayable.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Both Avalon Hill and SPI cranked out several games on this battle and these now out of print classics are much sought after by both players and collectors alike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Two in particular, Avalon Hill’s <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Bitter Woods</span> and SPI’s "monster" game <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Wacht Am Rhein</span>, have enjoyed a new life as updated and expanded games produced by L2 Designs and Decision Games respectively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So popular was the update of Wacht Am Rhein that it too is now out of print with copies on E-Bay fetching as much as $400.</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div>
</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nO4rmcvBXH5nEQkwJOReQRERoVnCr0VZUvMyJhuxIMiUtIh-HwwGY-ZBej7-qK4tF2lu5IbhkiEOBGEoXSuSY_dejlV1ciX97bzn_O1nodkGZJdOCe6HBNpxEotIb6ysJ5NgOM3UbwJZ/s1600-h/DGWachtenRhein.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 315px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1nO4rmcvBXH5nEQkwJOReQRERoVnCr0VZUvMyJhuxIMiUtIh-HwwGY-ZBej7-qK4tF2lu5IbhkiEOBGEoXSuSY_dejlV1ciX97bzn_O1nodkGZJdOCe6HBNpxEotIb6ysJ5NgOM3UbwJZ/s320/DGWachtenRhein.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415710664555923010" /></a>
<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">Video games have also dealt with this battle to varying degrees of success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Most are now out of print and those that are available tend to be “First Person Shooters” that happen to have the Battle of the Bulge as one of their many scenarios.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The exception to this is HPS Simulations who continue to publish an excellent operational level game <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Bulge ’44</span>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A Few noteworthy games on the Battle of the Bulge:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Battle of the Bulge<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1965, Avalon Hill</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Bastogne<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1969, SPI</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003333;">Ardennes Offensive</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1974, SPI</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Hitler’s Last Gamble</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1975, 3W (Designed by Danny S Parker an authority on this battle)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Bastogne</span><span style="mso-tab-count:2"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1976, SPI</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Wacht Am Rhein</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1976, SPI</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Dark December</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1979, Operational Studies Group</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Battle of the Bulge</span> (2nd Ed)<span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>1981, Avalon Hill</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Battle of the Bulge</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1985, Epoch</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Wave of Terror</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1987, XTR Corp</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Ardennes</span><span style="mso-tab-count:2"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1994, The Gamers</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">The Last Blitzkrieg</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1994, 3W</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Bastogne or Bust</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>1994 Terran Games Inc</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Bitter Woods</span> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:2"></span>1998, Avalon Hill</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Tigers in the Mist</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>2000, GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Bitter Woods</span><span style="mso-tab-count:2"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>2003, L2 Designs (revised AH game)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Ardennes 44</span><span style="mso-tab-count:2"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>2003, GMT</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Iron Tide</span><span style="mso-tab-count:2"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>2003, Pacific Rim Publishing</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Wacht Am Rhein</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span>2005, Decision Games (revised SPI game)</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulg</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#003300;">e</span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>2006. Avalon Hill/Wizards of he Coast</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div>
</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZApzjtHx2DvqZNcvDas9gUO_LjrF9UYSQLgueIOZjEkRKh1pMHiJn77z9CCgowTLZFKxJ7GpKy3K-h2ifyO_cKZcw6ASSOXXTU_mYIzLrJsq2OnGDO8ttpML86gl1YLEskY2x9z5mfe3/s1600-h/aabofb_150_118.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZApzjtHx2DvqZNcvDas9gUO_LjrF9UYSQLgueIOZjEkRKh1pMHiJn77z9CCgowTLZFKxJ7GpKy3K-h2ifyO_cKZcw6ASSOXXTU_mYIzLrJsq2OnGDO8ttpML86gl1YLEskY2x9z5mfe3/s320/aabofb_150_118.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415709668339082610" /></a>
<div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>
</b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>The Significance of the Battle Today</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Outside of those interested in Military Science or the history of World War Two, the Battle of the Bulge, despite its historic importance, would seem to hold little relevance to our present day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Yet nothing could be further from the truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Malmedy Massacre, and in particular the trial that it spawned, have a direct bearing on our present circumstances.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Although closely studied, the actual events of that day at the Baugnez crossroads south of Malmedy remain somewhat cloudy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There are several competing versions of what happened and the absolute truth will probably never be known with certainty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span>What can be said is that Battery B of the 285<sup>th</sup> Field Artillery Observation Battalion ran into the leading elements of Kampfgruppe Peiper, the armored spearhead of the 1<sup>st</sup> SS panzer Division.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After a brief firefight the surviving GI’s were taken prisoner and moved into an open field next to the crossroads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Several soldiers were detailed to watch the prisoners while the rest of the battle group, urged on by their commander Joachim Peiper, pushed on down the road in the hopes of capturing an American general reported to be in the next town.</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div>
</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZB7AgUlR_EJ9aZgKCiGGU-1fDIVl2ko4gR-3ZJSi5LAMaCe1Zofe-cY59ekj2OFVXg29zP1usGH9RfIdGIrWy_IWzQJjidTxb_E8Jbc0zmU6UjftU8xHxSSM5h6zysdn_OpsOKhb9kLx/s1600-h/Joachim+Peiper.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZB7AgUlR_EJ9aZgKCiGGU-1fDIVl2ko4gR-3ZJSi5LAMaCe1Zofe-cY59ekj2OFVXg29zP1usGH9RfIdGIrWy_IWzQJjidTxb_E8Jbc0zmU6UjftU8xHxSSM5h6zysdn_OpsOKhb9kLx/s320/Joachim+Peiper.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415709031541496914" /></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifZB7AgUlR_EJ9aZgKCiGGU-1fDIVl2ko4gR-3ZJSi5LAMaCe1Zofe-cY59ekj2OFVXg29zP1usGH9RfIdGIrWy_IWzQJjidTxb_E8Jbc0zmU6UjftU8xHxSSM5h6zysdn_OpsOKhb9kLx/s1600-h/Joachim+Peiper.jpg"></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">Waffen-SS Colonel Joachim Peiper</span><div> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">A few minutes later one of the SS tankers, later identified as Private Georg Fleps, fired two shots from his pistol into the group of prisoners, killing an officer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Another US officer yelled for his men to stand fast, but then more shots rang out and there was a mad dash for the woods.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Few made it to safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Any GI’s left in the field who showed any signs of life were shot by SS panzergrenadiers moving among them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>For the next few hours panzergrenadiers on passing tanks and halftracks took potshots at the bodies lying in the field.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Surprisingly, despite all of this, several GI’s did survive, making it safely to American lines.</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div>
</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7oaRK9WTi8_WGxAWmQt2stKE97sq_zE5BVDj5cEsEBbwO2Dxgvfo8OMDqXRdC5u3bPYYVI14j07ml2ArbRf9p15Sy_Fv8EpOXP3GK4N_31o5SN3v369_N5g4SwVIov_lxMhPRmfJhqX82/s1600-h/MalmedyBodies.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7oaRK9WTi8_WGxAWmQt2stKE97sq_zE5BVDj5cEsEBbwO2Dxgvfo8OMDqXRdC5u3bPYYVI14j07ml2ArbRf9p15Sy_Fv8EpOXP3GK4N_31o5SN3v369_N5g4SwVIov_lxMhPRmfJhqX82/s320/MalmedyBodies.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415708603897803634" /></a>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bodies of American GI’s killed at the Baugnez Crossroads</span></span></div><div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">News of the massacre was quickly disseminated throughout the American command and did more to stiffen American resistance and resolve than anything else.</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div>
</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZsiE7WyiV1NuU5zUv64A8RHCInaUDKGDRcYcntRs9w387J1MA95m2hql65UQ0v3jimRm2LoA1e2zHEIC8IGoYCMz_6SvTVCJe8p3OpsfQNgV8xI4GXlF5l_esSL3q8AWFtbnloGf8GIH/s1600-h/MalmedyTrial.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZsiE7WyiV1NuU5zUv64A8RHCInaUDKGDRcYcntRs9w387J1MA95m2hql65UQ0v3jimRm2LoA1e2zHEIC8IGoYCMz_6SvTVCJe8p3OpsfQNgV8xI4GXlF5l_esSL3q8AWFtbnloGf8GIH/s320/MalmedyTrial.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415708226865615634" /></a><p class="MsoNormal">After the war a trial was held at Dachau in which 74 members of the Waffen-SS were tried, convicted and sentenced, in many cases to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However, because the prosecution had used “enhanced interrogation” on the prisoners, and the tribunal had knowingly admitted the evidence so obtained, the convections were instantly called into question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>After several reviews of the trial, including one by the US Senate, several of the convictions were over turned and all death sentences were commuted to life in prison. These sentences were themselves reduced upon subsequent review.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The last defendant to be released, Joachim Peiper himself, was set free in 1956.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Even though it is clear that a war crime was committed against American GI’s by members of the Waffen-SS, because of the use of evidence obtained by “enhanced interrogation” those defendants, many of whom were guilty, walked free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It seems clear that the use of “enhanced interrogation” serves no useful purpose. It is not only counter productive but undermines the very foundations upon which our judicial freedoms and rights are built.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Our failure to follow our own laws serves only to allow those who have wronged us to walk free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>What was true in 1946 is still true today.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div></div>Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-8579722040750423752021-08-01T15:32:00.000-07:002021-08-01T15:32:07.053-07:00<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hollywood Romans #6 Mark Antony</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">AHM #19</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 24pt;">Mark Antony – The Third Wheel<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">“Antony’s rise owed little to conspicuous talent and far more to good connections, luck and the ardent desire for power, position and wealth. He showed some skill as a politician and administrator, but had only limited ability as a soldier. Cleopatra was more intelligent, and certainly better educated than Antony. Neither Antony nor Cleopatra lived a quiet life. They will continue to fascinate, their story being retold and reinvented by each new generation. Nothing any historian could say will ever stop this process, nor should it.” -- Adrian Goldsworthy, Antony And Cleopatra, ©2010<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Having looked at Hollywood’s treatment of Julius Caesar and of Cleopatra, it is only fitting that we now consider the third wheel of this legendary triumvirate, Mark Antony. Indeed, it is nearly impossible to make a film about one that does not involve the other two, even if only as an off stage presence, so closely bound are these three. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5x6XhxCP8SLmr-HaK9gKao6_Qofn8hxPUzmxQqCkShYkNA79EIHCDFWSc_0OqmRUruEJ6sw9VCFyhsByE8k7Z6vLWFE2FUPWwqRg2aEoHzs2fnWlHnuAg1dvjt-M9eV13RGbfD3GaSQx1/s620/02204a51e795aad33821ebb7ab050751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="620" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5x6XhxCP8SLmr-HaK9gKao6_Qofn8hxPUzmxQqCkShYkNA79EIHCDFWSc_0OqmRUruEJ6sw9VCFyhsByE8k7Z6vLWFE2FUPWwqRg2aEoHzs2fnWlHnuAg1dvjt-M9eV13RGbfD3GaSQx1/w640-h480/02204a51e795aad33821ebb7ab050751.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As with Caesar and Cleopatra, the part of Antony has been played by an array of notable actors, with performances ranging from the merely adequate to the truly amazing. That none of these performances has truly captured the historic Antony is not surprising. Even though oceans of ink have been spent writing about this period in History the gaps in our knowledge remain substantial. While frustrating to historians and scholars, playwrights and filmmakers welcome this opportunity to ‘fill in the gaps’ with their imagination. Sometimes the fiction is well founded, but even when it is not, that fiction shapes the popular image we have of the people and events depicted. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">So it is then that Mark Antony would likely not recognize his Hollywood Roman persona, however, like Cleopatra, Antony would probably still be pleased with at least some of the portrayals. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of the many on screen portrayals of Mark Antony, there are three worth seeking out:<br /><br />Marlon Brando in <i>Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar</i> (1953)<br />Richard Burton in <i>Cleopatra</i> (1963)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">James Purefoy in HBO’s <i>Rome</i> (2011)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfY2M46lNUCr-ybsly4vbMPk69IrNceAsMNJik_1cq4zKJa4Jzz1YhKTh8-KXUR9CZpkCvvaHdA_qPkKT8yq9dGfkr-Jui257yFa263TQXsK9FiF5qF1d7zB3o4JTWq7CJ3bW7KCRK5691/s720/Antony+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="720" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfY2M46lNUCr-ybsly4vbMPk69IrNceAsMNJik_1cq4zKJa4Jzz1YhKTh8-KXUR9CZpkCvvaHdA_qPkKT8yq9dGfkr-Jui257yFa263TQXsK9FiF5qF1d7zB3o4JTWq7CJ3bW7KCRK5691/w640-h480/Antony+7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">A Streetcar Named Antony<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of the three performances in question, Brando has the least amount of screen time. His Antony does appear in several scenes, but is seldom the center of attention, almost a minor character. That is with one exception, and what an exception it is. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The key to Shakespeare’s <i>Julius Caesar</i> is the triumvirate of Brutus-Cassius-Antony. The balance among these three characters is both critical and delicate – the play rises or falls on this, and the acting triumvirate at the center of the 1953 film, Mason-Gielguid-Brando is perfect. In this regard director Joseph Mankiewicz and producer John Houseman have cast well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">As Brutus, James Mason displays the brooding intelligence of a man clearly swimming in political waters far deeper than he is qualified for, either by training or temperament. Likewise Gielgud, as Cassius, is appropriately manipulative. Cassius has his own agenda and is happy to use Brutus to reach that end.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">All of this is to the good and serves the production well, but it is in the casting of Marlon Brando as Mark Antony that Mankiewicz and Houseman show true genius. Originally the director had sought Paul Schofield (<i>A Man For All Seasons</i>, <i>Quiz Show</i>) for the role of Antony, but changed his mind when Brando’s screen test came in better than expected. Brando was an actor of immense talent and is not only comfortable with the language but more than holds his own with the classically trained actors in the cast who have far more experience with the Bard. Brando’s timing and dramatic sense are impeccable. What’s more, Brando infuses Antony with a pugnacious air that seems completely appropriate to Antony both dramatically and historically, or at least, as we have come to understand the historical Antony.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Now History tells us that Antony delivered a speech which turned the crowd in the Forum from celebrating the just end of a tyrant to mourning the untimely death of a father, yet it is unlikely that Antony’s speech was as well written as Shakespeare’s nor, perhaps as well delivered as Brando’s. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Much has been written about Brando as the premier American Actor of his generation, but most viewers, who are familiar only with his later films, may wonder what all the hoopla is about. Watching his performance as Antony leaves no doubt as to his talent. It is a performance for the ages. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOo1iuAlumIW4DFvcefbktjSgTZGLBlN38Cw9s7UtV7FxbyBT4_WbybZFcWlnuOr2ym-GcrHs_SmTsMdXDR53Ge1L8AjTC1rIkZYzI_q3yJ3SODTXwcEZOZLfDtlyJq8fhnWJbuom4OH7d/s600/Cleopatra+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="436" data-original-width="600" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOo1iuAlumIW4DFvcefbktjSgTZGLBlN38Cw9s7UtV7FxbyBT4_WbybZFcWlnuOr2ym-GcrHs_SmTsMdXDR53Ge1L8AjTC1rIkZYzI_q3yJ3SODTXwcEZOZLfDtlyJq8fhnWJbuom4OH7d/w640-h466/Cleopatra+8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Slouching Towards Alexandria<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">To call the 1963 <i>Cleopatra</i> a ‘troubled production’ would be an understatement worthy of Hollywood. Indeed, it is a miracle that any film at all emerged from this maelstrom of production chaos caused, in no small part by the titanic personalities.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Originally intended as a modestly budgeted remake of the 1917 Theda Bara hit, it was anything but modest and extravagant hardly describes the excesses both on and off the set. After an aborted first attempt (which resulted in $7 million spent for 10 minutes of unusable footage) 20<sup>th</sup> Century Fox began again, moving production from London to Rome under a new director approved by Elizabeth Taylor. So it was that Joseph L Mankiewicz found himself once again in Ancient Rome with familiar characters. <br /><br />Unlike his previous encounter with Caesar and Antony, Mankiewicz was now working from his own screenplay with the intention of telling the story of Cleopatra in two 3-hour films: <i>Caesar And Cleopatra</i> followed by <i>Antony And Cleopatra</i>. This time Antony would have plenty of on screen time for in-depth character development. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Elizabeth Taylor stayed on as Cleopatra, but Mankiewicz recast most of the other parts. For the role of Mark Antony, Mankiewicz wanted Marlon Brando, but he was unavailable so Mankiewicz set his sights on Richard Burton. The Studio objected, claiming Burton was an outstanding stage actor but not a bankable film star. Mankiewicz insisted and Fox finally relented, paying $50,000 to buyout Burton’s Broadway contract where he was performing in Camelot. <br /><br />Once Taylor and Burton were on set together, it quickly became impossible to tell if their performance was acting of the first order or simply life imitating art. It may have been both, but in the end life overcame art. As Mankiewicz told producer Walter Wagner, </span><span style="color: #231f20; font-family: georgia; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I have been sitting on a volcano all alone for too long... Liz and Burton are not just playing Antony and Cleopatra.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In yet another case of ‘life imitating art’ the critic Barry Norman observed, “…Burton’s acting prowess was stunted by his relationship with the Hollywood darling through no fault of her own.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">At one point, as the production sank deeper into chaos and debt, Fox considered cutting their loses by ending the film with Caesar’s assassination. This would, of course, essentially eliminate Antony from the story, relegating him once again to the position of a minor character. When Studio executives approached Burton with their plan, he replied with succinct menace: “I’ll sue you until you’re puce.” <br /><br />Fox did not end the story early and Burton did not sue, however Fox chairman Zanuck insisted on the release of a single film, and so the cutting began, deep and severe. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">According to scholar Jon Solomon the more historically accurate Antony was left on the cutting room floor. As Mankiewicz noted, “The person who suffered most in the cutting of the film was Dick Burton.” What remained was no longer the hero who suffers a tragic fall, but rather as Solomon observed, “This cinematic Antony starts at the bottom and falls sideways.” And yet…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br />Keeping in mind the Antony illuminated by Goldsworthy’s 2010 biography, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Burton’s heavily edited performance may in fact be closer to the history than it has heretofore been given credit. Occasionally, the Hollywood Romans get it right, even when they seem to be working hard not to.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GubH1Nl-8LxeH6RSPxAHB5oQ-dBP8K1TN1OtsCD5ez9hvA-FM7U1P8HFwpMsgGkb7uvSMeEJmVYsWEOOGjbkIDj0JW_W9JWkaI2scBDo1NfluIPSleZCZgyoxhR5G9jo10TMwDL2JYqj/s704/marcus-antonius-or-mark-antony-as-portrayed-by-james-purefoy-in-the-2005-2007-hbo-miniseries-rome-704x528.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="704" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_GubH1Nl-8LxeH6RSPxAHB5oQ-dBP8K1TN1OtsCD5ez9hvA-FM7U1P8HFwpMsgGkb7uvSMeEJmVYsWEOOGjbkIDj0JW_W9JWkaI2scBDo1NfluIPSleZCZgyoxhR5G9jo10TMwDL2JYqj/w640-h480/marcus-antonius-or-mark-antony-as-portrayed-by-james-purefoy-in-the-2005-2007-hbo-miniseries-rome-704x528.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">The Ram Has Touched The Wall<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">James Purefoy, who played Antony in the HBO/BBC series <i>Rome</i>, had one major advantage over Brando and Burton – time. Because <i>Rome</i> was an episodic series focused on the events leading to the end of the Republic and the rise of the Principate, the writers had the time for character development that a feature film, even an epic one, often lacks. This is a boon for both writers and actors alike as they work to bring their characters fully to life. Even though both <i>Cleopatra</i> and <i>Rome</i> essentially cover the same time period, we see much more of Antony in the latter, interacting with a wider variety of characters and situations beyond those involving Caesar or Cleopatra.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Additionally, even in this age of giant HD monitors in every home, television cannot rely on visual spectacle to carry the day in the same way a feature film can and often does. No matter how big their budget, <i>Rome</i> could never stage scenes like Cleopatra’s entry into Rome, or the naval battle at Actium. Television’s stock in trade is character driven stories propelled by intimate, dialog heavy, scenes. In this <i>Rome</i> excels. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">That is not to say there is no spectacle in <i>Rome</i> -- there is, but of a more intimate sort.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In her insightful article, Spectacle of Sex: Bodies on Display in <i>Rome</i>, Stacie Raucci notes that we never see Antony in actual battle (he does lead a cavalry charge at the battle of Philippi but all the action takes place off camera) however we do see a lot of Antony’s body in shots that, “establish him as the primary sex symbol of the series. Even when fully clothed, his body more than those of all the other elite male characters is clearly signaled as a spectacle.” <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Purefoy himself saw Antony as a tragic character. As he told journalist Hannah Pool, "He's flawed but he's human. I think the audience can tell that there's hot blood running through those veins. </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #121212; font-size: 14pt;">The more I read about [Mark Antony], the more I looked into him in history, he's just unbelievably tragic. Those scenes, especially him and Cleopatra at the end, there's clearly something very tragic about it.”</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Indeed, in Purefoy’s Antony we see the pugnaciousness (Brando) and the hubris (Burton) as well as the sexuality. In this latter aspect, time is, once again, on Purefoy’s side as his Antony is given ample opportunities to display his sexual prowess. When asked about the scenes involving not only sex, but also full frontal male nudity (a rarity even on cable TV) Purefoy averred that ‘there is no point playing someone like Antony and doing it half-heartedly.’ <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Interestingly, <i>Rome</i> avoids competing with Shakespeare by not having Antony deliver his funeral oration on screen. We hear about it, after the fact, from other characters. What we are given instead is a wonderful scene of Antony, at the home of Servillia, confronting and out maneuvering the assassins. This is Antony at his best – coldly ruthless but with his signature charm that disarms and paralyzes his opponents even as they realize they are being politically eviscerated. This is one of Antony’s best scenes in the entire series.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><b><span style="font-size: 16pt;">Et tu Hollywood…<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Hollywood Romans are not finished with Antony. So enduring are Caesar, Cleopatra and Antony that, as Goldsworthy noted, each generation will retell their stories anew, reinventing them to suit the dramatic needs of the time. Now some will demur, lamenting the loss of the historical Antony, but in fact that Antony was lost the moment Octavian declared victory at Actium. The reimagining of Antony, and of Cleopatra, to suite the needs of the “new” present began then, and has never stopped. They quickly slid from history into legend; eventually becoming the pop culture icons we know them as today. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHOgECvtGpSwHyW21HJ_7t_hx_S-ZIZFIlxc1K9hFD281FV8pLuxrtyJ2XO2FJIvrdV1yiBhxCeCG9TBi_8W7DDJ2yTBdOSMOweghjdDw1oqvBSqRFeWfNMzI4c7hyTZ728oTDUZaetnB/s2048/Antony+and+Cleopatra+1934.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1466" data-original-width="2048" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGHOgECvtGpSwHyW21HJ_7t_hx_S-ZIZFIlxc1K9hFD281FV8pLuxrtyJ2XO2FJIvrdV1yiBhxCeCG9TBi_8W7DDJ2yTBdOSMOweghjdDw1oqvBSqRFeWfNMzI4c7hyTZ728oTDUZaetnB/w640-h458/Antony+and+Cleopatra+1934.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 8pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Of the three performances on display here, each has elements that recommend it to the viewer. The characterizations all share certain elements, while each emphasizes different aspects that we have come to associate with Antony. No doubt viewers will have their favorite, though Purefoy’s performance will be tough to beat. Even so, given the shear number of projects currently in development, we will be seeing a lot more of these characters. Perhaps that definitive Antony is out there still, waiting for his cue. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The author wishes to thank Graham Sumner and Jennifer DeCosta for their insights and assistance.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><u><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Further Reading:<o:p></o:p></span></u></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Antony And Cleopatra by Adrian Goldsworthy, ©2010<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Rome – History Makes Television edited by Monica S Cyrino ©2008<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">The Ancient World In The Cinema by Jon Solomon, ©2001<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When Liz Met Dick by David Kamp ©2011 Vanity Fair <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">When In Rome by Hannah Pool ©2007 The Guardian<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK6s7QWtvtuzmm41FbwpW4c4NzRZNp1nxGDJvbVdt59J_H9cDGVR8C_KWwHKn4cgVQvpIb0c3DsZKRDgyhUk9pUNTPType0OfN87Fd3JoozC9k4MrQGY2cU6qWzDuCIPLlVw3HuIOzflY/s940/hwn4d-PER5NQ51C15-Full-Image_GalleryBackground-en-US-1525192430039._RI_SX940_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="940" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtK6s7QWtvtuzmm41FbwpW4c4NzRZNp1nxGDJvbVdt59J_H9cDGVR8C_KWwHKn4cgVQvpIb0c3DsZKRDgyhUk9pUNTPType0OfN87Fd3JoozC9k4MrQGY2cU6qWzDuCIPLlVw3HuIOzflY/w640-h360/hwn4d-PER5NQ51C15-Full-Image_GalleryBackground-en-US-1525192430039._RI_SX940_.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">A few of the actors who played Mark Antony<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Maurice Costello 1908<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Thurston Hall 1917<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Henry Wilcoxon 1934<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Luis Sandrini 1947<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Raymond Burr 1953<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Toto 1963<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Sid James 1964<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Richard Johnson 1974<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Osami Nabe 1970<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Billy Zane 1999<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Charlton Heston 1950, 1970, 1972<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: 14pt;">This article first appeared in Ancient History Magazine #19 Jan 2019 Hollywood Romans</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14pt;"> (c)2019 David L </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;">Reinke</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsr5cNEcRaZNJZaPNq-qOKrZQ4qWyPn42LcKkk-JPTlpxBe-OJ_wHT_0yOc2ANcSWG-mWk81TYzWoswWyM5xHuVw2ODDC144-4ppfngiTHEIo0pLPjVK0dgvuw_7moiNu97nP53-DaCWD/s634/Antony+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="474" data-original-width="634" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqsr5cNEcRaZNJZaPNq-qOKrZQ4qWyPn42LcKkk-JPTlpxBe-OJ_wHT_0yOc2ANcSWG-mWk81TYzWoswWyM5xHuVw2ODDC144-4ppfngiTHEIo0pLPjVK0dgvuw_7moiNu97nP53-DaCWD/w640-h478/Antony+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-44946866165692347582016-04-07T12:39:00.000-07:002016-04-07T23:06:44.061-07:00Bell-Jeff 10th Grade History Lecture Notes 4/8/16<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 24.0pt;">Clash of Armor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Kursk and the Battle of the
Bulge<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“War is the locomotive of History.”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> – </span>Leo Tolstoy<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">I. Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"> <b>A</b>.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The tank was not
a new concept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Leonardo Da Vinci
presented his design for an “armored car”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(tank) in 1487, however it was not until the First World War that a
practical vehicle, code named ‘Tank’ would enter the battlefield as a viable
weapon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> <b>B.</b> After the war,
many military theorists saw the potential for the tank to change the nature of
the battlefield. (Liddell Hart, Anon Chaffe, George Patton)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>C.</b></span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">During the Battle
of France, 1940, the French & British had bigger tanks, better tanks and
more tanks than did the Germans, however…</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Unlike the Allies, the Germans knew how to use the tank to best effect.</span></div>
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That said, the Germans realized they too needed a heavy tank and began a design
program that resulted in the Mark VI Tiger I.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Tiger entered active service in late 1942.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>D.</b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">German invasion of the Soviet Union (June 22, 1941)
did not proceed as planned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Soviets
had twice as many tanks as the Germans had estimated and, more importantly in
the T34, a tank design far more advanced than anything the Germans possessed.<br />
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The nasty surprise presented by the T34 spurred the Germans to reevaluate their
own design concepts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Army wanted an
exact copy of the T34, but German engineers thought they could improve on the
Soviet design.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result was the Mark V
Panther.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Soviet T34/76 – a nasty surprise for the Germans in 1941.<o:p></o:p></div>
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German Mark V ausf.G Panther, December 1944 – Arguably the
best tank of WWII.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZgPEvhnog5-7JuxBrvheE0mSjbFMsNKww0gJf67zSi-x7q_dfL42mYHxgH3Y6cTPKZO-kfsSzZTT1layiSxKfDoaJpMQETgtHjMjkB0mlRsU-Pyd1ENOtOTfxFkAHkt4tsSz-sXdHmLHk/s1600/Tiger-I_Ausf-A_8KpnSSPzdDasReic.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZgPEvhnog5-7JuxBrvheE0mSjbFMsNKww0gJf67zSi-x7q_dfL42mYHxgH3Y6cTPKZO-kfsSzZTT1layiSxKfDoaJpMQETgtHjMjkB0mlRsU-Pyd1ENOtOTfxFkAHkt4tsSz-sXdHmLHk/s640/Tiger-I_Ausf-A_8KpnSSPzdDasReic.png" width="640" /></a> </o:p></div>
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German Mark VI Tiger I, armed with the 88mm main gun, it was
the most feared tank on the battlefield, inspiring ‘Tiger Terror’ on both the
Eastern and Western Fronts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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II. Kursk -- July 1943<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“Is it really
necessary to attack Kursk, and indeed in the east this year at all? Do you
think anyone even knows where Kursk is? The entire world doesn't care if we
capture Kursk or not. What is the reason that is forcing us to attack this year
on Kursk, or even more, on the Eastern Front?”</span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 14.0pt;"> </span><span style="color: #1c1c1c; font-family: "helvetica"; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-language: JA;">-- General Heinz Guderian,
Panzer Leader ©1950</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p><b>A.</b></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Objectives – Why
Attack Kursk?</span></div>
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1. Destroy (kill or capture) large concentration of Soviet Forces in and around
the town of Kursk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The Kursk Bulge)<br />
2. Regain control of the war in the East.<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>a. Shorter defensive lines thus freeing
up troops for redeployment to Italy<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>b. Follow on attacks were planed to finally capture Leningrad
and then Moscow<br />
3. Restore the faith of Germany’s allies who were now considering the
possibility that Germany would lose the war.<br />
4. Persuade Turkey to join the war on the side of Germany.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 14.0pt;">One distinguished
American Historian has called the Germans, “…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the most professionally skillful army of modern times</i>.”</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> – </span>Max Hastings, Overlord ©1984<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <b>B.</b><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Forces Available<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Soviet:</b><br />
Men: 1.9 million<br />
Tanks: 5000<br />
Artillery: 31,000<br />
Aircraft: 3000<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">German:</b><br />
Men: 780,000<br />
Tanks: 3000<br />
Artillery: 7400<br />
Aircraft: 2100<br />
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</span>NOTE: These numbers are for the German offensive, July 5-17. If one adds in the Soviet counter-offensive,
these total numbers increase significantly<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>C.</b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Tiger Terror and
the “Myth” of Prokhorovka<br />
<br />
1. “Death Ride” of the Panzers? <br />
2. Every Tank a Tiger? (only 15 available at height of the battle)<br />
3. The 5-to-1 Rule<br />
4. The “Biggest” Tank Battle in History?<br />
5. The Michael Licari Essay<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140912164146/http://www.uni.edu/~licari/citadel.htm">https://web.archive.org/web/20140912164146/http://www.uni.edu/~licari/citadel.htm</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-size: 15.0pt;">“When we was in the bocage we were assaulted by them Tigers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know what I mean by assaulted?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean assaulted!”</span></i><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> – </span>Moriarty, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Kelly’s Heroes<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><b><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; line-height: normal;">D.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></b><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Personalities of Note</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K44gDlNgFcYikNGl_X5NwLHCc3MLBp62SVUYMWvNOS2LC5L_J1T36WEt2BcDsik153XzCZD6XhhXTBiCMvCRfj2ku3T0bCGzmlUwbLUwhCHRKGx4U8eJrK4pBVay1xyu977qVWAVL_En/s1600/Wittmann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1K44gDlNgFcYikNGl_X5NwLHCc3MLBp62SVUYMWvNOS2LC5L_J1T36WEt2BcDsik153XzCZD6XhhXTBiCMvCRfj2ku3T0bCGzmlUwbLUwhCHRKGx4U8eJrK4pBVay1xyu977qVWAVL_En/s400/Wittmann.jpg" width="380" /></a></div>
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1. Lt. Michael Wittmann</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Tiger Tank Platoon Leader in the 1</span><sup>st</sup><span style="font-size: 14pt;">
SS Panzergrenadier Division</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">He is
credited with destroying over 37 T34 Tanks and 47 anti-tank guns at Kursk.</span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">By the time of his death, in August of 1944,
his “kills” will total 138 tanks.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t4l0akElQ2pwk250wfMqzx6LxY10tI_L8YIiCDtRQCi4rnQmfbOqHMVGx8awNBl5vVI1TzeLzy9H9IYeJrgfjtIpAynlyP_v1grRZKeWg8NQeW_1XR4kYBQED-m-pIrSP8qtP3BfEpez/s1600/Lt+Aleksandra+Samusenko+destroyed+3+Tigers+at+Kursk.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4t4l0akElQ2pwk250wfMqzx6LxY10tI_L8YIiCDtRQCi4rnQmfbOqHMVGx8awNBl5vVI1TzeLzy9H9IYeJrgfjtIpAynlyP_v1grRZKeWg8NQeW_1XR4kYBQED-m-pIrSP8qtP3BfEpez/s640/Lt+Aleksandra+Samusenko+destroyed+3+Tigers+at+Kursk.png" width="424" /></a><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">2. Lt. Aleksandra Samuenko<br />T34 Tank Platoon Leader
in the 1<sup>st</sup> Guards Tank Army<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She is credited with destroying 3 Tiger tanks
during the Kursk battles <span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>and
is awarded the Order of the Red Star.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She died on March 3, 1945
from wounds received in battle 70 Km east of Berlin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was
23 years old.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJ5BFff0UjsNPIP2RAqEM5wBLyLBZ0xm7lFZNsItahi3ESHsauqHQGRrvDlPdLUYUyV_iqjsOUjJofAmqfPJmB6_uFlWRknAWRJrot7Sr2aB-BSdzAy3vdyM547t4alz5VOSmpcOXYzIa/s1600/Rudel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJ5BFff0UjsNPIP2RAqEM5wBLyLBZ0xm7lFZNsItahi3ESHsauqHQGRrvDlPdLUYUyV_iqjsOUjJofAmqfPJmB6_uFlWRknAWRJrot7Sr2aB-BSdzAy3vdyM547t4alz5VOSmpcOXYzIa/s640/Rudel.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">3. Cpt.
Hans-Ulrich Rudel<br />Flying a Ju87 Stuka Dive Bomber
equipped with twin 37mm <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>anti-tank
guns, Rudel is credited with killing 12 T34 tanks on his first day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By war’s
end his total will include 519 Soviet tanks,
1 Battleship, 1 Cruiser, 1 Destroyer, and nearly 1000 <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>other vehicles of various types.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Rudel died in 1982.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_7aEhZnnGCNPpXChmVcWxNcpB3P0Q3HT11t42g7KWkOrIITV45dlH8-TZ1BBztcbdERGiuzQ4M4ET5-vquA3YrsIbX1ujoFoDu_zmryzVwDLqZQFVmOiIgftJ5XX-m5wA0mmSWrNNl-q/s1600/Lt+Antonina+Lebedeva+shot+down+Kursk+July+17+1943.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt_7aEhZnnGCNPpXChmVcWxNcpB3P0Q3HT11t42g7KWkOrIITV45dlH8-TZ1BBztcbdERGiuzQ4M4ET5-vquA3YrsIbX1ujoFoDu_zmryzVwDLqZQFVmOiIgftJ5XX-m5wA0mmSWrNNl-q/s640/Lt+Antonina+Lebedeva+shot+down+Kursk+July+17+1943.jpg" width="467" /></a></o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">4. Lt.
Antonina Lebedeva<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Credited with over 1500 flying hours, 3
air battles and 12 combat missions, Lebedeva was shot down twice and destroyed one German Me-109 fighter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On July 17, during an evening combat
mission her plane went missing and she was listed as KIA.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her body was discovered in 1982 by school
children.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJJTnnaT1L9Cee-TZwRCe_WdZS4nHLeMLxysoUWWaT7caIOO6Op6Ysa7xpkVeic-SEGD-BAK-6W6jJzI8pNznUhKYlSYFb67Ef_gBY4iYInIrrNo5REbPycI6t7_TQavzMz7yRTkYJ3h3/s1600/Hartmann.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikJJTnnaT1L9Cee-TZwRCe_WdZS4nHLeMLxysoUWWaT7caIOO6Op6Ysa7xpkVeic-SEGD-BAK-6W6jJzI8pNznUhKYlSYFb67Ef_gBY4iYInIrrNo5REbPycI6t7_TQavzMz7yRTkYJ3h3/s640/Hartmann.jpg" width="496" /></a></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">5. Lt. Eric
Hartmann<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">On July 7, during the fierce areal
battles above Kursk, Hartman destroyed
seven Soviet fighters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the war’s end
Hartmann would be the most
successful fighter pilot in history with over <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>352
Allied aircraft shot down while having never been shot down himself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: normal;"><b>E.</b> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">The Results – By
the Numbers</span></div>
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<br />
1. Losses - Manpower<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Soviet:<br />
</b>KIA: 70,330<br />
WIA: 107,517<br />
MIA: 34,000<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">German:</b><br />
KIA: 9,036<br />
WIA: 43,159<br />
MIA: 1,960 <br />
<br />
2. Losses – Material<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Soviet:<br />
</b>Tanks:1,900<br />
Aircraft: 459<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">German:</b><br />
Tanks: 323<br />
Aircraft: 159<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 19px; line-height: normal;"> <b>F.</b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Outcome –
Political & Military</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> 1. Could the Germans have won at Kursk?<br /> 2. Who lost the battle – Hitler or his Generals?<br /> 3. Was Kursk the “Turning Point” of the War?<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYg_AHTYTQ1Yt-cQ-1LJbH6nLTTM_mZpi08b67B4tLwIX9KoY_NqGSNCs3P2py6l2a0PqHyZ0lsGO8MVWJ0ca6uTzAepdHlyzJVW2NoNFbPzuYseo_hFY0BhMNnpFnuey3T42m5CI3Rj8/s1600/No+Simple+Answers.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmYg_AHTYTQ1Yt-cQ-1LJbH6nLTTM_mZpi08b67B4tLwIX9KoY_NqGSNCs3P2py6l2a0PqHyZ0lsGO8MVWJ0ca6uTzAepdHlyzJVW2NoNFbPzuYseo_hFY0BhMNnpFnuey3T42m5CI3Rj8/s320/No+Simple+Answers.jpg" width="320" /></a></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: 15.0pt;">“I have done my
utmost to let the events speak for themselves, and if any conclusion was
reached, it was that there are no simple lessons in history, that it is human
nature that repeats itself, not history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We often learn more about the past from the present, in fact, than the
reverse.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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-- John Toland from the introduction to his book The Rising
Sun-The Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire 1936-45<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFufWiL8kawdQo5i0sA0pAa8v4WWPBx5WAXzDAKuKG7ZuMuUDPpKzsFaqSL9SQoSpv6k6Uozox4TnEsYDZUdRA0x2aTxydI6f9f3TVtiOUw8AE0Ec5mUbBe1cEWgAnihiGVhtpRTSr9mEt/s1600/battle-of-the-bulge-the-airborne-fallschirmjc3a4ger-4.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFufWiL8kawdQo5i0sA0pAa8v4WWPBx5WAXzDAKuKG7ZuMuUDPpKzsFaqSL9SQoSpv6k6Uozox4TnEsYDZUdRA0x2aTxydI6f9f3TVtiOUw8AE0Ec5mUbBe1cEWgAnihiGVhtpRTSr9mEt/s640/battle-of-the-bulge-the-airborne-fallschirmjc3a4ger-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">III. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Wacht am Rhein – The Battle of the Bulge</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A. Objectives – Why Attack Here & Now?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>1. The element of Surprise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2. The “Quiet Sector”<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>3. Split the Allies<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>4. Take the port of
Antwerp<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>5. Force a Truce in the
West<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>6. Free up units for the Eastern Front<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>B. Forces Available<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>1. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Germans</b><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Manpower: 450,000<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Tanks & Assault Guns:
1224<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>AFV: 1500<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>2. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">United States</b><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Manpower: 700,000<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Tanks & Assault Guns: 4,380<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>AFV: 7,800<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Note:</b> Time was
the real enemy of the Germans and as each day passed Allied strength increased
while German strength decreased.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
numbers represent totals at the height of unit commitment to the
battlefield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, at the time of
the initial German assault on December 16<sup>th</sup>: <o:p></o:p></div>
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German forces available:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Men: 406,000 <o:p></o:p></div>
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Tanks & Assault Guns: 1,224<o:p></o:p></div>
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Allied forces available:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Men: 228,741<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tanks & Assault Guns: 3,329<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ZtNhRcQhAGYR2if8c5XlwOFdKeVCOWBs01IIF18t9MQqVtBq6dFHGEokaXv-9KKz_2MWYiua3oRwxbVmUCmPVs8fJSOct0vmbFLTRf_wIA63n2rHEV2qt3NjG-8bJ77feuJ-yE1jYX-R/s1600/battle3l.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ZtNhRcQhAGYR2if8c5XlwOFdKeVCOWBs01IIF18t9MQqVtBq6dFHGEokaXv-9KKz_2MWYiua3oRwxbVmUCmPVs8fJSOct0vmbFLTRf_wIA63n2rHEV2qt3NjG-8bJ77feuJ-yE1jYX-R/s640/battle3l.jpg" width="596" /></a></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>C. Caught by Surprise<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Initial German
Success<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Those Damned Engineers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Nuts!” --
Bastogne and the 101<sup>st</sup> Airborne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.25in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Kampfgruppe
Peiper and the Crossroads of Death<br />
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<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>D. Personalities of Note<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl96Gd2KJ6cgdcYnproKZotduwXOfdzENUKGW7-5klLSg7JKH-nuc8subqEMs2ngASXEGDAwE5Za7DzmQnm5gwm-AxAVaw2eZk5cfUwcaTzC9MD5pCmVKyfRca0EzWp1-0r4ypCIy9gS_E/s1600/SS-Colonel-Otto-Skorzeny.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl96Gd2KJ6cgdcYnproKZotduwXOfdzENUKGW7-5klLSg7JKH-nuc8subqEMs2ngASXEGDAwE5Za7DzmQnm5gwm-AxAVaw2eZk5cfUwcaTzC9MD5pCmVKyfRca0EzWp1-0r4ypCIy9gS_E/s640/SS-Colonel-Otto-Skorzeny.jpg" width="442" /></a><br />1. LTC. Otto Skorzeny <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Known as “Hitler’s Commando” Skorzeny carried out
several special
operations, most notably the rescue of Mussolini in July 1943.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the Ardennes Offensive he was in charge
of Operation Greif.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the war he lived in Spain and actually worked as a Mossad agent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU10sg2SX2uU1cIOzgGgLNl9wSdjDmY2sv7EuQhWkFZQ_uwYslDMiijDL0Q6iuHZdEHhRYuNHNn95e_g6tm2bdEkNB5eC9mh3RyjXPI3p6Rt3pZgLyRS_WOUtQ1GD_2jYMlFSNFQZHexH7/s1600/joachim+jochen+peiper+color+colour+panzer+uniform+ritterkreuz+eichenlaub+obersturmbannfuhrer.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU10sg2SX2uU1cIOzgGgLNl9wSdjDmY2sv7EuQhWkFZQ_uwYslDMiijDL0Q6iuHZdEHhRYuNHNn95e_g6tm2bdEkNB5eC9mh3RyjXPI3p6Rt3pZgLyRS_WOUtQ1GD_2jYMlFSNFQZHexH7/s400/joachim+jochen+peiper+color+colour+panzer+uniform+ritterkreuz+eichenlaub+obersturmbannfuhrer.jpg" width="385" /></a></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;">2. LTC Joachim Peiper</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>Fluent in several languages (including French and English) he served as Himmler’s aide before
becoming a panzer commander
of some renowned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the Bulge his unit, Kampfgruppe
Peiper, committed some of the worst battlefield atrocities of the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sentenced to death, Peiper was released in
1956.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the war Peiper lived in
France, translating books on
military history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was murdered, on
July 14, 1976.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygEnxGz3coswH9_xWORkqb4K46Do57AgDj1qo_TbHbfokqXE3MdlrQMfiOSKBnD5GJG4C4tcG9icLT4qaB0QXjqFa78vS69BhigRRKdgwaxYkKwqarZqdlxWzajEz_4iHIT1qZK7Idg6L/s1600/10270518_10152487291355209_1222888635417923742_n.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygEnxGz3coswH9_xWORkqb4K46Do57AgDj1qo_TbHbfokqXE3MdlrQMfiOSKBnD5GJG4C4tcG9icLT4qaB0QXjqFa78vS69BhigRRKdgwaxYkKwqarZqdlxWzajEz_4iHIT1qZK7Idg6L/s640/10270518_10152487291355209_1222888635417923742_n.jpg" width="496" /></a></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">3.
PFC Kurt Vonnegut</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Serving as an Infantry Scout with the 106<sup>th</sup>
Infantry Division, <span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>Vonnegut
was captured on December 22 and sent to a POW camp
in Dresden, Germany.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He survived the
firebombing of the
city (February 13--15, 1945).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
experiences formed the basis
for his book, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Slaughter House Five</i>,
considered by many to
be one of the great American novels.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1aiEmTS9foy8_Afmzq7zSc5SWoZHA4wmkVdO-6yJpIukD7Qb1FPjO0Y2UH7KNGEc4xgBRcS4zklJwuRTbYJdVvItlhIOIHOYk49gW9chdWOa713Iz2H2UytPSatkRryp4swTSGlM7ZHQK/s1600/list-wwii-vets-mel-brooks.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1aiEmTS9foy8_Afmzq7zSc5SWoZHA4wmkVdO-6yJpIukD7Qb1FPjO0Y2UH7KNGEc4xgBRcS4zklJwuRTbYJdVvItlhIOIHOYk49gW9chdWOa713Iz2H2UytPSatkRryp4swTSGlM7ZHQK/s640/list-wwii-vets-mel-brooks.png" width="640" /></a> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14pt;">4. Cpl. Mel Brooks</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Served as a Combat Engineer with the 78<sup>th</sup>
Infantry Division. The
Combat Engineers were vital in slowing the German advance in the first week of the
battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the war Brooks became a successful
comedian and film director.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 14.0pt;">“This is
undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war and will, I believe, be
regarded as an ever famous American victory.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #520001; font-family: "trebuchet ms"; font-size: 13.0pt;">--
Winston Churchill, House of Commons, January 22, 1945</span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChY4F7w52bSR2XU-jHtxBlxXkQUbHcLE06oIH_E_WJN8Sw9N2_JjcRj99sxfIXEAgTnAfVOKBfQZIia31-zcxlWctBeNFlVPQ1pW3mIfwUY4-1XANDGT_Ip5fy1NVXEY-jztoW8dbOJO7/s1600/slider1.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgChY4F7w52bSR2XU-jHtxBlxXkQUbHcLE06oIH_E_WJN8Sw9N2_JjcRj99sxfIXEAgTnAfVOKBfQZIia31-zcxlWctBeNFlVPQ1pW3mIfwUY4-1XANDGT_Ip5fy1NVXEY-jztoW8dbOJO7/s640/slider1.png" width="640" /></a> </o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>E.</b></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The Results – By
the Numbers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1. Losses -- Manpower<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">German:<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>KIA: 15,652<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>WIA: 41,600<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>MIA: 29.183<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Allied:<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>KIA: 20,876<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>WIA: 42,893<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>MIA: 23,662<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2. Losses – Material<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">German:<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tanks & Assault Guns: 600<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Aircraft: 800<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Allied:<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tanks & Assault Guns: 800<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Aircraft: 647<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>F.</b></span><span style="font-size: 19px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Outcome –
Political & Military<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1. Could the Germans have won?<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2. Who lost the battle – Hitler
or his Generals?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>3. What if…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>a. The Germans had launched this attack on the
Eastern Front?<br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>b. The Germans had used
these forces for defense only?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_25" o:spid="_x0000_i1029" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Description: Godzilla:Users:davidlreinke:Desktop:SS Tank Commanders.jpeg"
style='width:217pt;height:4in;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file://localhost/Users/davidlreinke/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_image041.jpg"
o:title="SS Tank Commanders.jpeg"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxwqXR7ACrsyYjNmsynaNb54C1HcIi9L3lvMz8Rg6j43oJKmbJrAEMIGfCxlFtPYXts6-8InddnbbpGFVCjFLS0Sug9IqOC_gz1_4VEEeDfqPfcUOE2HUTNBvkLRACxQBKbApsNSB8_v8/s1600/SS+Tank+Commanders.jpeg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPxwqXR7ACrsyYjNmsynaNb54C1HcIi9L3lvMz8Rg6j43oJKmbJrAEMIGfCxlFtPYXts6-8InddnbbpGFVCjFLS0Sug9IqOC_gz1_4VEEeDfqPfcUOE2HUTNBvkLRACxQBKbApsNSB8_v8/s640/SS+Tank+Commanders.jpeg" width="481" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>IV. Sources / Further Reading</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Kursk<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>The Battle Of Kursk</b> by David
M Glantz & Jonathon M House, ©1999<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;">Exhaustively researched and well written, this is the very
best book on the battle.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Citadel – The Battle Of Kursk</b>
by Robin Cross, ©1993<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Operation Citadel</b> by Janusz
Piekalkiewics, ©1987<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Kursk-- The Greatest Tank
Battle </b>by M.K. Barbier, ©2002<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Kursk 1943 – The Tide Turns
In The East</b> by Mark Healy, ©1993<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Waffen-SS Kursk 1943</b> Volumes
1-6 by Remy Spezzano, ©2002<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;">Incredible collection of photographs covering Waffen-SS
operations at Kursk.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Tiger I On The Eastern Front</b>
by Jean Restayn, ©1999<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Tigers At The Front – A Photo
Study</b> by Thomas L Jentz, ©2001<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Tiger Tanks</b> by Michael Green,
©1995<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Tiger Ace – The Story of
Michael Wittmann</b> by Gary L Simpson, ©1994<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Battle of the Bulge<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>A Time For Trumpets – The
Untold Story of The Bulge</b> by Charles MacDonald, ©1985<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Ardennes 1944 – The Battle Of
The Bulge</b> by Antony Beevor, ©2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Snow & Steel – The Battle
Of The Bulge</b> by Peter Caddwick-Adams, ©2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Battle Of The Bulge<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- Hitler’s Ardennes Offensive 1944-1945</b> by
Danny S Parker, ©1991<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Hitler’s Last Gamble – The
Battle Of The Bulge</b> by Trevor N Dupuy, David L Bongard and Richard C Anderson,
©1994<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Engineering The Victory – The
Battle Of The Bulge</b> by Colonel David Pergrin, ©1996<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>The Bitter Woods</b> by John S.D.
Eisenhower, ©1969<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Battle Of The Bulge – The
First 24 Hours</b> by David Jordon, ©2003<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Nuts! – The Battle Of The
Bulge</b> by Donald M Goldstein, Katherine V Dillon and J Michael Wenger, ©1994<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Ardennes – The Secret War</b> by
Charles Whiting, ©1984<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Armageddon – The Battle For Germany
1944 –1945</b> by Max Hastings, ©2004<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>The Battle Of The Bulge –
Hitler’s Last Hope</b> by Robin Cross, ©2002<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Ardennes 1944: Peiper &
Skorzeny</b> by Jean-Paul Pallud, ©1987<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Ardennes 1944 - Hitler’s Last
Gamble In The West</b> by James R Arnold, ©1990<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>The Malmedy Massacre</b> by John
M Bauserman, ©1995<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Massacre At Malmedy</b> by
Charles Whiting, ©1973<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>A Peculiar Crusade – Willis M
Everett and the Malmedy Massacre</b> by James J Weingartner, ©2000<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ma5-K75AKjmW9Gy70RS2PMS7jkpSwC9rXxh5jh3-KBUJKP76EnrlqR20ftlSo8oLoprylFt8R43F7f5P5yiuP_9Wum4vggtUoZhBIhoGVAgD90qeESREIsJZprEvVevBGxUxqKBGgmcX/s1600/the-battle-of-the-bulge-timeline-2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ma5-K75AKjmW9Gy70RS2PMS7jkpSwC9rXxh5jh3-KBUJKP76EnrlqR20ftlSo8oLoprylFt8R43F7f5P5yiuP_9Wum4vggtUoZhBIhoGVAgD90qeESREIsJZprEvVevBGxUxqKBGgmcX/s400/the-battle-of-the-bulge-timeline-2-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">On-Line Resources / Videos of Interest<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Book review of Armor &
Blood by Dennis E Showwalter,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Daily
Beast<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/31/wwii-s-greatest-battle-how-kursk-changed-the-war.html"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/31/wwii-s-greatest-battle-how-kursk-changed-the-war.html</span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Tank Encyclopedia On-Line
resource about Tanks and AFV’s<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Web site for the Tank Museum
at Bovington, UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They have a working
Tiger tank, among other AFV’s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.tankmuseum.org/home"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">http://www.tankmuseum.org/home</span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">War History On-Line web site<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.warhistoryonline.com/"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">https://www.warhistoryonline.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Essays on the Ardennes
Offensive and on the Malmaedy Massacre Trial<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://narukamisthunderbolts.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html">http://narukamisthunderbolts.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://narukamisthunderbolts.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-history-matters-news-of-late-has.html">http://narukamisthunderbolts.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-history-matters-news-of-late-has.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Survey & Review of books
about the Battle of Kursk<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20140911152407/http://www.uni.edu/~licari/review15.html">https://web.archive.org/web/20140911152407/http://www.uni.edu/~licari/review15.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Videos of Interest on YouTube<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Tiger Vs. Sherman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3slnEXOoSo"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3slnEXOoSo</span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Tiger Day at Bovington Tank
Museum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb1b5i7_TZk"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb1b5i7_TZk</span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">US Army 1943 Training Film,
“Crack That Tank”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taHFUKKKmJM&index=12&list=PL981xpdCAKQh6SPuX0-yhE9cnX6RrRql1">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taHFUKKKmJM&index=12&list=PL981xpdCAKQh6SPuX0-yhE9cnX6RrRql1</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Documentary on the Tiger Tank<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1_hifqjmP4&list=PL981xpdCAKQh6SPuX0-yhE9cnX6RrRql1&index=14&nohtml5=False"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1_hifqjmP4&list=PL981xpdCAKQh6SPuX0-yhE9cnX6RrRql1&index=14&nohtml5=False</span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Documentary on the Panther
Tank<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-I239livXc"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-I239livXc</span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">US Army Signal Corps 1945
Newsreel on The Battle of the Bulge using captured German film footage</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev6FIlexpsE"><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev6FIlexpsE</span></a><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt; mso-no-proof: yes;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="Picture_x0020_26" o:spid="_x0000_i1028" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Description: Godzilla:Users:davidlreinke:Desktop:the-battle-of-the-bulge-timeline-2-1.jpg"
style='width:353pt;height:342pt;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square'>
<v:imagedata src="file://localhost/Users/davidlreinke/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0clip_image043.jpg"
o:title="the-battle-of-the-bulge-timeline-2-1.jpg"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--></span><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijG6zBdxKBHWXqYWRVtIAmE1ERodhldQakxSKJLafURk3tgHDYKkrsS3ajcfe5CdY6PTz0NJuFxiRn3uKo4oDqFWClrXQu862GXG30TND-IyM20YO50IJV6yxSUjkG1DTSJ1pdwF0PSoPg/s1600/Tiger-II_222-2sPzAbt501_Ardennes-44.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijG6zBdxKBHWXqYWRVtIAmE1ERodhldQakxSKJLafURk3tgHDYKkrsS3ajcfe5CdY6PTz0NJuFxiRn3uKo4oDqFWClrXQu862GXG30TND-IyM20YO50IJV6yxSUjkG1DTSJ1pdwF0PSoPg/s640/Tiger-II_222-2sPzAbt501_Ardennes-44.png" width="640" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">The Tiger II (King Tiger)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"> M4E8 Sherman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Final Thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #c0504d; font-family: "times-roman" , "serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The military
makes demands which few if any other callings do, and of course emotionally
disturbed people talk about being trained to kill… The whole essence of being a
soldier is not to slay but to be slain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You offer yourself up to be slain, rather than setting yourself up as a
slayer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now one can get into very deep
water here, but there’s food for thought in it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times-roman" , "serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman; mso-bidi-font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-language: EN-US;">-<b>- General Sir John
Hackett, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">War The Lethal Custom</i>, ©1985
& 2004, p129.</b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><o:p> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3edD9XhO22D4HF_EAW8suH5HF9oYkTF4uXpTUhKym9lY0jyxzKlUDOVd2IUedwf6L2hYM-BWdFLismFexGiOnbk62N-ZgmbOBVMxO3X5UAbCQfrEwWJsInaR1roLMEAdt2n_ht6vnL2Z/s1600/047fd067ca584cc1445dd8ca3b3fe92b.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhD3edD9XhO22D4HF_EAW8suH5HF9oYkTF4uXpTUhKym9lY0jyxzKlUDOVd2IUedwf6L2hYM-BWdFLismFexGiOnbk62N-ZgmbOBVMxO3X5UAbCQfrEwWJsInaR1roLMEAdt2n_ht6vnL2Z/s640/047fd067ca584cc1445dd8ca3b3fe92b.jpg" width="640" /></a></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Politicians may … pretend
that the soldier is ethically in no different position than any other
professional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He serves under an unlimited liability, and
it is the unlimited liability which lends dignity to the military profession …
There’s also the fact that military action is group action, particularly in
armies … The success of armies depends to a very high degree on the coherence
of the group, and the coherence of the group depends on the degree of trust and
confidence of its members in each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">Now what Arnold Toynbee used
to call the military virtues – fortitude, endurance, loyalty, courage, and so
on – these are good qualities in any collection of men and enrich the society
in which they are prominent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in the
military society, they are functional necessities, which is something quite,
quite different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean a man can be
false, fleeting, perjured, in every way corrupt, and be a brilliant
mathematician, or one of the world’s greatest painters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there’s one thing he can’t be, and that
is a good soldier, sailor, or airman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now it’s this group coherence and the unlimited liability which, between
them, set the military professional apart, and I think will continue to do so.”</span></div>
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<b>--General Sir John Hackett, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">War</i> ©1985, p140</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-83432273549387017352015-07-22T17:19:00.000-07:002019-04-02T16:13:33.553-07:00Hollywood Time Machine -- The Outer Limits<!--[if !mso]>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Hollywood Time
Machine – The Outer Limits</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Time travel has been a staple of Science Fiction from the
very beginning, and indeed from even before there was Science Fiction (Mark
Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur’s Court). As with many other themes in Science Fiction,
it was H.G. Wells who first set the pattern that has been followed by writers
and filmmakers alike ever since. (<i>War Of The Worlds </i>for alien invasions, <i>The Time Machine</i> for time travel, and <i>The Island Of Dr. Moreau</i> for science
gone horribly wrong.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRum9KsN2CY_LSVm8n6IEPXTmYW9GcQnvwZCn1oEz2ewdGPkhI8sHMK4jHe3gmuJKn3lfZCpNLrBcbp56WcRO41Fzz6T71S3a0DAQLvPekkQStvIabSXq-ApvhZdc5nN4Fvsy-xdIwGmJO/s1600/%25231+The+Time+Machine+1960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRum9KsN2CY_LSVm8n6IEPXTmYW9GcQnvwZCn1oEz2ewdGPkhI8sHMK4jHe3gmuJKn3lfZCpNLrBcbp56WcRO41Fzz6T71S3a0DAQLvPekkQStvIabSXq-ApvhZdc5nN4Fvsy-xdIwGmJO/s640/%25231+The+Time+Machine+1960.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">Rod Taylor as H.G. Wells in the 1960 film </span><b style="text-align: start;"><i>The Time Machine</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hollywood has embraced time travel with gusto and even a
cursory examination of IMDB reveals several hundred feature films and TV
series, or episodes, that deal in some way with time travel or time
manipulation. Sometimes time travel
takes center stage and is the focus of the story, while in other films it is
simply a plot device to get “the fish out of water” and set the plot into
motion. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Often, the struggle in a time travel story is to avoid
changing the time line or, having done so inadvertently, trying to put time
back onto the original trajectory. H.G.
Wells avoided this issue by sending his protagonist far into the future,
however most films delight in going back in time and upsetting the time
line. In some films the hero is trying
to stop the villain who is attempting to change the past for his own nefarious
ends, though more often than not the hero has taken a seemingly innocuous action
that has significant, even disastrous, ramifications. The most famous of this latter story arc is
the <i>Back To The Future</i> film
trilogy. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<br />
Marty McFly, in an act of understandable human nature, saves his future father
from being hit by an automobile. However,
in saving his father he altered the time line.
That alteration becomes worse in the sequel when the villain, Biff
Tannen, discovers the time machine and decides to improve his unhappy lot in
life by altering his past. Once again
Marty and Doc Brown work to correct the time line, but it is not until they go
even further back in time that they can finally set things to right, almost…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmCVmpGGJBUbAvFTP-6uXtFyVhZe545CLjNixSETWr56MxegEBEBItn68eKO6c4vjGcr10_Afe5L3BQE-k3yjRcQbm7aigGWAjvbIztmGDoVokcQdeLJEyCwWruPhCpLiBBUlDGg9Y75G/s1600/%25232+Back+To+The+Future+Doc+%2526+Marty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmCVmpGGJBUbAvFTP-6uXtFyVhZe545CLjNixSETWr56MxegEBEBItn68eKO6c4vjGcr10_Afe5L3BQE-k3yjRcQbm7aigGWAjvbIztmGDoVokcQdeLJEyCwWruPhCpLiBBUlDGg9Y75G/s640/%25232+Back+To+The+Future+Doc+%2526+Marty.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: start;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Although Doc Brown and Marty try their best to restore the time line to its original course, their corrections carry with them more distortions. <b><i>Back To The Future I-III</i></b></span></div>
<div>
<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
There is a theory that views time as a river, and while you might, through your
time travel adventures or misadventures, cause ripples in the flow of time,
like tossing pebbles or even large rocks into the river, the time current is so
strong that it will correct itself and continue to flow on the path it has
always followed. You cannot, in fact,
change the time line. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the most humorous take on changing the time line,
both by accident and on purpose, was the Simpsons episode, <i>Time And Punishment</i>. After
trying desperately, and failing miserably, to avoid changing the time line, Homer
begins changing it with abandon until he returns to a future, much like Marty
McFly, that while not exactly the one he left, is close enough for him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1IKioDLEh8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1IKioDLEh8</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another theme, sometimes coupled with time travel, is the
teleportation of matter. This concept is
perhaps best know from the Star Trek TV series where the Transporter was used
because the producers needed to get their characters to/from a planet but did
not have the special effects budget necessary for landing the ship every
episode. Occasionally, having a limited
budget can result in very imaginative solutions. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Although the new 3D scanners/printers are demonstrating a
very simple and rudimentary form of matter transmission, they are a far cry
from the transporters used on Star Trek.
These printers are actually more akin to the Tesla transporter, used to great
effect, in the film <i>The Prestige</i>,
where the original was not transported at all, but an exact duplicate was
created at another location. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2gEuAjy6u_focMlNdptBhKp38RZqngUKI4dtui_Xcaw0c6lWNbqPS4NyI44BltzHqdGLW68vZdssrHZslb9REAXsrnSgBdV891VE8hyphenhyphenDBWj87tQjadyYvbJ11pqOzMTnM6KDK4mnmk-5/s1600/%25233+The+Prestige+Tesla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX2gEuAjy6u_focMlNdptBhKp38RZqngUKI4dtui_Xcaw0c6lWNbqPS4NyI44BltzHqdGLW68vZdssrHZslb9REAXsrnSgBdV891VE8hyphenhyphenDBWj87tQjadyYvbJ11pqOzMTnM6KDK4mnmk-5/s640/%25233+The+Prestige+Tesla.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-align: start;">David Bowie, as Nikola Tesla, invents a device which can teleport matter to any location, but at a cost, in </span><b style="text-align: start;"><i>The Prestige</i></b><span style="text-align: start;">.</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not surprisingly, both time travel and matter teleportation
are themes that were explored on the seminal TV series, The Outer Limits.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Outer Limits</b>
– 1963 – 1965 Two Seasons, 49 Episodes<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seven episodes deal either with Time Travel or Time
Manipulation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Season 1</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ep5 <i>The Sixth Finger</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ep6 <i>The Man Who Was Never Born</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ep16 <i>Controlled Experiment</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ep32 <i>The Form Of Things Unknown</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Season 2</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ep1 <i>Soldier</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ep5 <i>Demon With A Glass Hand</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ep16 <i>The Premonition</i> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One episode from Season 1 (Ep15 <i>The Mice</i>) deals with the teleportation of matter, the original goal
of the students in <i>Geeks In Time</i>,
while another (Season 2 Ep3 <i>Behold Eck!</i>)
features a tear in the space-time continuum. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is indicative of
Hollywood’s love affair with time travel that of the 49 episodes of this very
influential series, more than 10% of them involve time travel in one form or
another. Two of the episodes star David
McCallum as the time traveler while another two were written by Harlan Ellison.
These two episodes in particular, <i>Soldier</i>
and <i>Demon With A Glass Hand</i> directly
inspired the film <i>Terminator</i>, so much
so in fact that when Ellison pointed out these similarities he received a
monetary settlement from the filmmakers and a title card, giving Ellison story
credit, was added to the film.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwyyJ3D3g1E">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwyyJ3D3g1E</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzw-iNeKNCWDkL-_w-wtOzoT9G1qlNR-8GBRvsK401DXUUeKtsc_u_1AgS7EoksKLMqcuiOQcnqjTzo8oipTr-80xsk3EVKOpfqdEmDGF9GIggpkYJwp0QIMR7tRRI5MY7QcuUH0QbB4RZ/s1600/%25234+OL+The+Sixth+Finger.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzw-iNeKNCWDkL-_w-wtOzoT9G1qlNR-8GBRvsK401DXUUeKtsc_u_1AgS7EoksKLMqcuiOQcnqjTzo8oipTr-80xsk3EVKOpfqdEmDGF9GIggpkYJwp0QIMR7tRRI5MY7QcuUH0QbB4RZ/s640/%25234+OL+The+Sixth+Finger.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Sixth Finger</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Starring David McCallum, sporting make-up by Stan Chambers, <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
who would go on to receive an Academy Award for his work on <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Planet Of The Apes</i>.
McCallum travels forward in time
genetically <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
while remaining physically in the present.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVf9d6F5eSBjFGA0QteElrDdbkORmiuZHyUVrqLJTKw7-NcaqtXBO-eeYqjAuDmFBB00pEx1Sn5kaE9S6jEAOY3dY5kq3nrE7pRc8rJSKXY7ZVU4vhp58KLT6tVWFK6E9bLegmIOoxywdb/s1600/%25235+OL+The+Man+Who+Was+Never+Born.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVf9d6F5eSBjFGA0QteElrDdbkORmiuZHyUVrqLJTKw7-NcaqtXBO-eeYqjAuDmFBB00pEx1Sn5kaE9S6jEAOY3dY5kq3nrE7pRc8rJSKXY7ZVU4vhp58KLT6tVWFK6E9bLegmIOoxywdb/s640/%25235+OL+The+Man+Who+Was+Never+Born.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Man Who Was Never Born</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Featuring Martin Landau trying to change his bleak present <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
by altering the past.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPxWMlfMA-_Sny1IbY6grL4tAKF2Vrmh2iKrX5JGxQ6i-1EYoG76Ugt67dfHshIaUviXOvijm8DAJwsRNzfYVuQjT-q2qNzMZXWdnHJwBdM-mHhpYfuHmhuvYvZfw2DCP6NMmKW7Sf6l6/s1600/%25236+OL+Controlled+Experiment.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPxWMlfMA-_Sny1IbY6grL4tAKF2Vrmh2iKrX5JGxQ6i-1EYoG76Ugt67dfHshIaUviXOvijm8DAJwsRNzfYVuQjT-q2qNzMZXWdnHJwBdM-mHhpYfuHmhuvYvZfw2DCP6NMmKW7Sf6l6/s640/%25236+OL+Controlled+Experiment.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Controlled Experiment</span></i></b> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Written as a pilot for a proposed Sci-Fi comedy series, a
pair of alien <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
anthropologists use their technology to manipulate time
allowing <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
them to study more closely the human act of murder.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrh8HbT3qwHHDGDNGN2oRIRf0qoAH9PllSNbuw-AQzT82rXIJopFr_iiTJ5A7G8uKLNobcg4hv2p8FIaHGeed7AObSDst5nHQ0T4YfkBivBFH5FhLA2oc2IyXd1nRlyKzIkPXVQSs90m_/s1600/%25237+OL+The+Form+of+Things+Unknown+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqrh8HbT3qwHHDGDNGN2oRIRf0qoAH9PllSNbuw-AQzT82rXIJopFr_iiTJ5A7G8uKLNobcg4hv2p8FIaHGeed7AObSDst5nHQ0T4YfkBivBFH5FhLA2oc2IyXd1nRlyKzIkPXVQSs90m_/s640/%25237+OL+The+Form+of+Things+Unknown+4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Form Of Things Unknown</span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
David McCallum, once again a time traveler, uses his
discovery <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
to bring the dead back to life. The results are not always as intended.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsW1phnDPStvH9We2EbcaiBaCoktr4sRC5Bvi3JTXhHHfZD9u2533xPM-UpBCFyFkwhTjkwR1Z2cGhy03ISL1MDyEE3emeF9v3z59qJKXr-0FSzYtZ4fzHCENNLstr6hZjtiYY1YrAs9fI/s1600/%25238+OLSoldier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsW1phnDPStvH9We2EbcaiBaCoktr4sRC5Bvi3JTXhHHfZD9u2533xPM-UpBCFyFkwhTjkwR1Z2cGhy03ISL1MDyEE3emeF9v3z59qJKXr-0FSzYtZ4fzHCENNLstr6hZjtiYY1YrAs9fI/s640/%25238+OLSoldier.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Soldier</i></b> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Written by Harlan Ellison, two soldiers from the distant
future <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
are caught in a time warp and whisked back to 1960’s America
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
where they continue their battle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFkk5iY9vb-s603OXxbfLQffAXO1tZvi2L0Wgdowl-EFKUPhrnojxNwhUlXlmCYt68hYkrEiFmC-ByDbABVdBEz8bII83u9_zNcEJ_drXCzZdnCFfk5MA93CbHK3v6npgkjqPQyvyYUl-/s1600/%25239+OL+Demon+With+A+Glass+Hand.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisFkk5iY9vb-s603OXxbfLQffAXO1tZvi2L0Wgdowl-EFKUPhrnojxNwhUlXlmCYt68hYkrEiFmC-ByDbABVdBEz8bII83u9_zNcEJ_drXCzZdnCFfk5MA93CbHK3v6npgkjqPQyvyYUl-/s640/%25239+OL+Demon+With+A+Glass+Hand.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Demon With A Glass Hand</i></b> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also written by Harlan Ellison, alien invaders, seeking to
complete <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
their conquest of Earth, travel into the past to capture the
one man <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
who knows where the entire population of Earth is
hiding. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil94nU05v583JmoqRYSrLRq9Z6tdHqVcDxWJ9UZ9oTrexNy1LFAathMH3N_KLee_DiVEo3SO0Ih1zNN9sSPhv2f4buPUlRlYg3IKDak7vU49eFsNl4LXCynGTnzSV-CrYRU_PPPj0beO4N/s1600/%252310+OL+The+Premonition+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil94nU05v583JmoqRYSrLRq9Z6tdHqVcDxWJ9UZ9oTrexNy1LFAathMH3N_KLee_DiVEo3SO0Ih1zNN9sSPhv2f4buPUlRlYg3IKDak7vU49eFsNl4LXCynGTnzSV-CrYRU_PPPj0beO4N/s640/%252310+OL+The+Premonition+2.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>The Premonition</i></b> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An Air Force test pilot and his wife become ‘unstuck in
time’ and must <o:p></o:p></div>
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find a way to not only rejoin the time line but also save
the life of their daughter <o:p></o:p></div>
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who is destined to die unless the parents can alter the time
line.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<b>The Outer Limits</b> is still considered one of the most
influential television series ever broadcast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<br />
<br />Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-31348406799628496452014-06-27T11:09:00.000-07:002014-06-27T11:09:27.626-07:00Hollywood Romans #13 The Immortals<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: maroon; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SEE: Titans In
A Box!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Immortals</i></b> (2011) 110 minutes<o:p></o:p></div>
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Directed by Tarsem Singh<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Screenplay by Charles and Vlas Parlapanides<o:p></o:p></div>
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Staring: Henry Cavill, Mickey Rourke, Freida Pinto, Luke
Evans and John Hurt<o:p></o:p></div>
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This film's poster should have a banner headline screaming: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>SEE: Titans In A Box!</b></span></i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The story, in brief: <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The Heraklion king, Hyperion, has declared war on the
Olympian Gods and all mankind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To this
end he is searching for the Epirus Bow, a divine weapon that will allow him to
release the imprisoned Titans and with their help defeat the Olympians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, it seems that when his wife was stricken with a fatal disease
Hyperion called on the gods for help but his pleas<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>went unanswered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So now he has decided to destroy the Olympians
and punish<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>them
for ignoring his prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gods are
listening now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Mickey Rouke as King Hyperion</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Not surprisingly the Olympians are disgusted by Hyperion’s
cruelty and disregard for the “accepted rules of engagement.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are eager to teach Hyperion a lesson or
two but Zeus, in his infinite and unfathomable wisdom, has forbidden the gods
from intervening directly in the affairs of man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zeus has instead selected Theseus as his
instrument for the salvation of mankind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In this it would seem Zeus has chosen wisely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">The Olympian Gods, roused at last, prepare to battle the
Titans</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Though of humble birth, whose mother is treated as an
outcast and father is unknown (it is said his mother was raped by other
villagers but there is every indication that Zeus is the actual father) Theseus
has grown into a mighty warrior strong of limb and stout of heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is that Theseus is badly out
numbered in every fight and is constantly in danger of being killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: purple;">Zeus unleashes his anger on Apollo for intervening directly
to save Theseus</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Luckily for him the gods are constantly breaking Zeus’
commandment (with and without his knowledge) and intervening in miraculous ways
to save Theseus from certain death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
real question is: Can the Olympians save themselves from almost certain
destruction?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That will be answered in
the all too obviously set up sequel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Titans in
a box!</span></span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Titans endure
their strange imprisonment </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Re-working myths is fine and it often serves to avoid all of
the carping about historical accuracy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Certainly we have been treated to numerous versions of Homer's Odyssey
(including the rather imaginative version by the Coen Brothers with George
Clooney as Ulysses) or the Jason myth (the seminal 1962 film showcasing the
stop motion work of Ray Harryhausen being the noteworthy entry here).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However ...<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is little here to recommend this latest re-working of
Greek mythology, and the level of violence is not so much gratuitous as it is
pornographic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As director Val Lewton so ably
demonstrated, less is often more, but here the director, Tarsem Singh, clearly
believes more is not enough.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Poseidon
considers the fate of Apollo for aiding Theseus</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Costumes are by the famed Japanese costume designer and
fashion artist Eiko Ishioka, whose signature headgear is on display here from
the fanciful helmets worn by the Olympian Gods to the seemingly Time Bandits
inspired travel hats worn by the Sibylline Oracles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ishioka-san won an Academy award for her work
on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bram Stoker's Dracula</i>, and while
her designs for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Immortals</i> are
imaginative, and one of the film's better aspects, they are not served well by
the film itself. (For a better example of a fashion designer's costume work in
a feature film see <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Fifth Element</i>
with costumes by Jean-Paul Gaultier.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">One of the Sibylline Oracles in her “travel” attire</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Likewise the acting and fight choreography are, at best,
ho-hum, though not from lack of trying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The film is going for the look of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">300</i>
but unlike that earlier film (noteworthy for its faithful rendition of Frank
Miller’s comic book stylization) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Immortals</i>
is<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>a
very pale imitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The production team for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Immortals</i>
appears not to have understood the parameters of that style unlike, for
example, the production team behind the Starz cable series <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Spartacus</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The violence and
sex are so stylized in that cable series as to be almost cartoonish and thus
more easily dealt with by the viewer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Immortals</i>, on the other hand, seems
caught somewhere between this highly stylized look and a gritty realism
(particularly with the violence) that leaves one confused, and not a little bit
disgusted by the cruelty that seems plainly out of place in a fantasy film.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Theseus fights with the Minotaur </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The idea that Theseus fights not a literal Minotaur but a
man in a bull shaped helmet is not new but certainly works within the context
of this story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise, I give the
actors credit for working hard with the material they are saddled with, but
therein lies the problem -- the story.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The story here, such as it is, does not engage the viewer on
any level deeper than the most superficial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The film's director, Tarsem Singh, has said that what he is attempting
is: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">"Basically, Caravaggio meets <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Fight Club</i>. It's a really hardcore
action film done in Renaissance painting style. I want to see how that goes;
it's turned into something really cool. I'm going for a very contemporary look
on top of that so I'm kind of going with, you know, Renaissance time with
electricity."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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All that being said, my disappointment with the film is not
that it plays fast and loose with the Greek myths or mixes together art and
artifacts from a dozen different eras/countries/cultures or even that the arms
and armor have little to do with ancient or even mythic Greece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This happens all the time in Science Fiction
and Fantasy and often to good effect (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The
Lord Of The Rings</i> comes to mind).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>No, the problem here is that at its most basic level, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Immortals</i> is boring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It fails to engage us and indeed actually repels
us with its needlessly graphic splatter porn violence. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: purple;">Theseus and his fellow Greeks prepare for the final battle</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Immortals</i> does
achieve the impossible by making Zack Snyder's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">300</i> seem Oscar worthy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My humble recommendation: Save your money - Wait for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Immortals</i> to play on cable TV, and then
watch something else.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Immortals</i> is
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<br /></div>
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This review was first published on the Ancient Warfare Magazine website in November of 2011.</div>
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(c)2011 by David L Reinke</div>
Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-91809365771869219232014-03-31T23:47:00.000-07:002017-02-25T00:22:25.232-08:00Hollywood Romans #10 The Silver Chalice <br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>"I need no wings to fly"</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>The Silver Chalice <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Warner Brothers 1954<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">142 minutes<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Directed by: Victor Saville</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Written by: Thomas B. Costain and Lesser Samuels</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Starring: Paul Newman,
Virginia Mayo, Lorene Green, Jack Palance, Pier Angeli, and Natalie Wood<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Based upon
the best selling novel by Thomas Costain, <i>The Silver Chalice</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> was Warner Brothers’ attempt to
cash in on the popularity of Sword & Sandal films kicked off by the success
of MGM’s 1951 box office hit, <i>Quo Vadis</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, almost from the opening frame it is clear that Warner Brothers
and their director, Victor Saville, had no idea what they were doing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Made for
about half what <i>Quo Vadis</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> cost and without Peter Ustinov as Nero, <i>The Silver
Chalice</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">
nevertheless boasts a roster of talent that should have insured a good return
on WB’s investment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of the
actors were already well established (Natile Wood, Virginia Mayo, Jack Palance)
but the cast also included a couple of noteworthy debuts among them Lorne
Greene and Paul Newman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet even
these talented actors can do little to improve a script that is both too
earnest and too unfocused at the same time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> Loren Greene as
Peter and Paul Newman as Basil<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">There are
several competing subplots, but essentially the story concerns a Greek sculptor
(Paul Newman), sold into slavery, who is set free, both physically and
emotionally, by the commission given him, from Joseph of Arimathea, to create a
silver chalice to hold the Holy Grail</span><span style="font-family: "arial";">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">This
commission takes Newman’s character, Basil, from Antioch to Jerusalem and then
on to Rome where he finds Peter (Lorne Greene) running a small tavern, and
Simon (Jack Palance) performing at Nero’s palace as the ancient world
equivalent of Penn & Teller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Newman also enjoys romantic interludes with Helena (Virginia Mayo) and
Deborra (Pier Angeli).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond that
the story is imminently forgettable and easily interchangeable with any number
of other films dealing with Romans and Christians including <i>The Robe</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> and its sequel, <i>Demetrius And
the Gladiators</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Generally, the Romans are corrupt
pagans, and the Christians virtuous martyrs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, and as the climax is set in Rome, there is the
obligatory riot by the Mob because, as Hollywood has taught us, that’s what the
Roman Mob does – it riots.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">What makes
this film noteworthy are neither the story nor the acting, but the costumes and
sets, though not for their historical accuracy, but rather just the opposite.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> Helena led away
by the Praetorians</b></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">While the
Roman legionaries and Praetorian Guards wear standard Hollywood Roman armor and
the Roman citizens wear non descript tunics, the costumes worn by Jack Palance
are straight out of a B-grade Science Fiction film and indeed the makeup poor
Virginia Mayo is saddled with makes her look like ZaaZaa Gabor from the 1950’s
Sci-Fi classic, <i>The Queen Of Outer Space</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> Jack Palance as
Simone the Magician and Virginia Mayo as Helena.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> As for the
design on Simone’s costume, they might be snakes or perhaps …<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Interestingly,
although the legionaries and Praetorians have round metal shields, wear red
tunics & capes, greaves, and carry spears, their helmets are not
outrageously bad (like those in <i>Gladiator</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">) and even more remarkable – some of the soldiers are
not wearing bracers!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How the
costume designer got this right, and so much else wrong, is baffling
particularly given the outrageous nature of the other costumes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also worth noting that in this
film (like so many others) the legionaries seem to enjoy lounging about at
dinner while still wearing their armor!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That could not have been very comfortable, for actor or for soldier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Better
still are the sets, which display a fine example of Abstract Minimalist
Art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nero’s Palace looks like Las
Vegas, except even Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas displays more affinity for
ancient Rome that these sets do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The sets are more reminiscent of the original Star Trek TV series, and
one expects Kirk and Spock to walk in at any moment and complain that someone
has violated the Prime Directive, which, come to think of it, actually seemed
to happen a lot on that series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> Simone and
Helena at Simone’s home in Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Judging from </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> the wall décor is it any wonder that Simone was crazed?</b></span><span style="color: navy; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">This is not
to say the sets are either cheap or un-artistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Far from it, and in fact the Art Director, Boris Levin and
the Set Decorator, Howard Bristol, both have several great films to their
credits including <i>West Side Story, The Sound Of Music, The Andromeda Strain</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> and <i>Rope</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">, to name a few.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Likewise,
the story <u>of</u> the film is more interesting than the story told by the
film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">The part of
Basil, the Greek Sculptor, was first offered to James Dean, but he passed on
the advice of his agent who thought the script poor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The part was then offered to Paul Newman who had lost out to
Dean for the starring role in <i>East of Eden</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
film made Dean a star, while <i>The Silver Chalice</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">, nearly sank Newman’s career before
it had even set sail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
contemporary critic said of Newman’s acting, he <i>“<span style="color: navy;">delivers
his lines with the emotional fervor of a Putnam Division conductor announcing
local stops</span>.”</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">
In fact, when the film was first shown on television in 1961, Newman took out a
full-page ad in the Hollywood trade papers apologizing for his performance and
asking the public not to watch the broadcast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Predictably, the ad had the opposite effect and the film
enjoyed a robust TV audience share.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> Paul Newman and
Pier Angeli – Newman’s protests <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> not
withstanding, his performance is not <u>that</u> bad.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Filming
another movie on the same lot, Dean actually came to watch Newman work and see
what he had passed up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was on
the set of <i>The Silver Chalice</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> that Dean met the love of his life, Pier Angeli.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Years later, upon Dean’s untimely
death, Newman would replace him in the boxing film <i>Somebody Up There Likes
Me</i></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">, working once
again with Pier Angeli.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That film
reignited Newman’s career, and he remained a top star for the rest of his life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> “<i>I need no
wings to fly!</i></b></span><span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b>” Jack
Palance as Simone the Magician.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Beyond the
sets and the unintentional humor, there is little to recommend this film, other
than perhaps Jack Palance’s scenery chewing performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although he is playing the character as
crazed, Palance is clearly in control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His talent is both obvious and remarkable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The director no doubt meant this as a serious performance,
but it is now a stand out example of High Camp at its best.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact it now seems clear, given
recent performances by Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and Nicholas Cage, that Jack
Palance had as great an influence on American actors as did Brando, Olivier, or
Wells.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 17px;">Sometimes even the most earnest of intentions bring
about unintended results, so perhaps it is incorrect to say this film has no
merit.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 17px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 17px;">On the contrary, there is
enough ridiculousness here to recommend this film for a hot summer night when
there is nothing else on.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 17px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 17px;">So pop
some corn and enjoy.</span> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0WoENRL0x9j7ZUC6O46AkWUid7_sh31t_deu45yA3Oc0mwDs6jPYnBV1d7Vs6BT-jv-QndwfYPNvX_taL24XA34iaxNTlX7IsKnyTh4Zi2rniMbs-Lu39Q9hGW_YsnB6JxaR420TzVBmw/s1600/9+Silver+Chalice.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0WoENRL0x9j7ZUC6O46AkWUid7_sh31t_deu45yA3Oc0mwDs6jPYnBV1d7Vs6BT-jv-QndwfYPNvX_taL24XA34iaxNTlX7IsKnyTh4Zi2rniMbs-Lu39Q9hGW_YsnB6JxaR420TzVBmw/s1600/9+Silver+Chalice.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 11.0pt;"><b> Jacques
Aubuchon as Emperor Nero<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 13.0pt;">These short
scenes from the Turner Classic Movies web site should give you a good feel for
the film and the remarkably strange sets:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><a href="http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/396259/Silver-Chalice-The-Movie-Clip-I-Bind-You-To-Silence.html">http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/396259/Silver-Chalice-The-Movie-Clip-I-Bind-You-To-Silence.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The DVD is currently
available from Amazon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This Review first appeared on the Ancient Warfare Magazine website in July, 2011 <br />
(c)2011 David L Reinke
<!--EndFragment-->Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-81586580014056646002014-02-26T14:32:00.000-08:002014-02-26T14:32:13.741-08:00SRB School 6th Grade History Class Notes - Ancient Greek Hoplites (2/27/14<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><b>Ancient Greek Hoplite
Shields</b></span></div>
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6<sup>th</sup> Grade History Class – 2/27/14</div>
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Each City-State maintained an army of citizen soldiers who
served in the army only when called upon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After basic training (usually between the ages of 18-20) these citizens
worked as farmers, merchants, and craftsmen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were not professional soldiers, however, because the
Greek City-States were constantly fighting with each other, many of these
citizen soldiers served with the army for a few months every year.</div>
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Each citizen was expected to provide his own armor and
weapons, which could be quite expensive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The cost of the full <b><i>panoply</i></b><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> for a foot soldier was about the same as the price of a
modern automobile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus the very
rich would serve as cavalry (because they could afford the cost of a horse)
while poor citizens would serve as light infantry (with simple weapons and
little or no armor).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the
middle class, citizens just like your parents, who formed the backbone of the
army – the heavy infantry called </span><b><i>Hoplites.<o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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The word <b><i>hoplite</i></b><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"> comes from the word </span><b><i>hoplon</i></b><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">, which is the name for the
soldier’s distinctive shield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The
word hoplon also refers to the hoplite’s complete panoply of armor &
weapons).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Hoplite’s shield was 3 feet in diameter and weighed from
15 to 20 pounds! </div>
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<br /></div>
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It was made of wood covered in bronze with the inner side
covered in leather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The arm and
handgrips were made of leather reinforced with bronze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shield was carried on the left arm
and protected the hoplite’s left side as well as the right side of his
neighbor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it was then that each
hoplite depended upon his fellow soldiers for protection.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Hoplite also wore a bronze helmet, often with a
horsehair crest to make the Hoplite appear taller, and <b>greaves</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> made of bronze to protect his legs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over his body he wore a </span><b>cuirass</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> made of linen or leather sometimes reinforced with
bronze scales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The very rich could
afford armor made of bronze or brass, but the linen cuirass (called a </span><b><i>linothorax</i></b><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">) was favored by the hoplites
because of its lightweight and easy maneuverability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNfd4pPnpseOAYmNX4tKKwmIvdvdsOZZHDJg0kOvKg0o6WidCz5lJn_bkcrrF7Sua5tlqjgHEp9t8XjO-unga87eyY2JBZPZISv32Cle7Y7Z2ouby-oonAGlvGG2wOj_UIEEvpiO21rya/s1600/Photo+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmNfd4pPnpseOAYmNX4tKKwmIvdvdsOZZHDJg0kOvKg0o6WidCz5lJn_bkcrrF7Sua5tlqjgHEp9t8XjO-unga87eyY2JBZPZISv32Cle7Y7Z2ouby-oonAGlvGG2wOj_UIEEvpiO21rya/s1600/Photo+3.jpg" height="306" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Although the Hoplite was well armed with a thrusting spear
(6-8 feet long) and a sword (about 2’ long) there was a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These weapons were, generally speaking,
not strong enough to penetrate a Hoplite’s shield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus most battles between hoplites became a shoving match,
much like a modern day rugby scrum – the first formation to fall apart or to be
knocked over lost the battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
soldiers did not die in the battle itself, but were killed when they broke
ranks and retreated.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9Dc3RAj_w5Np-sXYMLIaMS62Nh4CAzcL8pp_1WAK0OgUhebkutTa9s-Cw-lcfeAEIGzebCUWxg2SrboTIAjoFhx_HPMvRutHmvXoc5lSMlllPl5lNdp2Vybc9HpTUZALiAnKFVJqPpAi/s1600/Photo+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX9Dc3RAj_w5Np-sXYMLIaMS62Nh4CAzcL8pp_1WAK0OgUhebkutTa9s-Cw-lcfeAEIGzebCUWxg2SrboTIAjoFhx_HPMvRutHmvXoc5lSMlllPl5lNdp2Vybc9HpTUZALiAnKFVJqPpAi/s1600/Photo+4.jpg" height="290" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; clear: left; color: black; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHHN6ysqRkHJSjKdfqIGn7p1D351h9Bzy3D1YLp30jMJK-WHcjkFdSeyFXeAGD7ZFdWHFG-IK01x3idnccUUWvSfZUHkwhMhunaBTtlb_zTec2zCOIfQg7uNjRfnpm9z37z9pMRlc-RPr/s1600/Photo+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">A typical Greek Hoplite who might be from almost any City
State in Greece, except for Sparta.</a></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHHN6ysqRkHJSjKdfqIGn7p1D351h9Bzy3D1YLp30jMJK-WHcjkFdSeyFXeAGD7ZFdWHFG-IK01x3idnccUUWvSfZUHkwhMhunaBTtlb_zTec2zCOIfQg7uNjRfnpm9z37z9pMRlc-RPr/s1600/Photo+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrHHN6ysqRkHJSjKdfqIGn7p1D351h9Bzy3D1YLp30jMJK-WHcjkFdSeyFXeAGD7ZFdWHFG-IK01x3idnccUUWvSfZUHkwhMhunaBTtlb_zTec2zCOIfQg7uNjRfnpm9z37z9pMRlc-RPr/s1600/Photo+5.jpg" height="640" width="444" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Sparta</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Unlike his fellow Greeks, the Spartan Hoplite was a
professional soldier – all he ever did, throughout his entire life from the age
of 7 until he was 60, was train for war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although armed like other Hoplites, the Spartan did have two very
distinctive items: his red tunic and cape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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What set the Spartan Hoplite apart from those of the other
City States was his superior training and discipline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Spartans did sometimes lose a battle and on very rare
occasions they did retreat, but their reputation as formidable soldiers was
well earned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At <b>Thermopylae</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">, the Spartans did hold their ground and fought to
the death.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgXZFtMCok66BevkuEy6F81jIQN0sB2COwnIOU7avY0TcoRmUy2FF8MkFUbuBo73_d6tw343uZSYoSGu63wpt6izC6-9AumEq0c7TN12h5zLOauh3AUJ89Fbxdfg8ekPy9AlFf2UNMfVQ/s1600/Photo+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHgXZFtMCok66BevkuEy6F81jIQN0sB2COwnIOU7avY0TcoRmUy2FF8MkFUbuBo73_d6tw343uZSYoSGu63wpt6izC6-9AumEq0c7TN12h5zLOauh3AUJ89Fbxdfg8ekPy9AlFf2UNMfVQ/s1600/Photo+6.jpg" height="640" width="286" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>The Persian Immortals<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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By contrast, consider the Persian Immortals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the Spartan Hoplites, the
Immortals were professional soldiers who spent their days training for
war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During times of peace the Immortals
were the King’s bodyguard, while on campaign they were the elite backbone of
the entire Persian army.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh302FGHYPVY9XNgER0rfF0gOC_t8mcla_DG67aVVduQSDrsT7SX-SO3-FQFCqUCNRQRO1rwIlVTgzSDf1C1tIsk6VYHrO95mY-3lG-2qjM5X8zKzLc35HxHRLQGSejLN_bAOngaAaBsftF/s1600/Photo+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh302FGHYPVY9XNgER0rfF0gOC_t8mcla_DG67aVVduQSDrsT7SX-SO3-FQFCqUCNRQRO1rwIlVTgzSDf1C1tIsk6VYHrO95mY-3lG-2qjM5X8zKzLc35HxHRLQGSejLN_bAOngaAaBsftF/s1600/Photo+7.jpg" height="488" width="640" /></a></div>
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This sculptural freeze from the royal palace at <b>Susa</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> shows the Immortals in their parade uniforms richly
adorned with silver, gold and precious stones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each Immortal was armed with a bow & arrows, a short
sword and a thrusting spear with a counter weight of sliver (gold for
officers).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no doubt that
the Immortals looked impressive on parade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Were they really immortal?</div>
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<br /></div>
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No, not exactly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were called ‘The Immortals’ because whenever they suffered
casualties those soldiers were immediately replaced so that there were always
10,000 soldiers on duty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Greek
historian <b>Herodotus</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> was the first to
use the title ‘Immortals’ but it is possible he confused the Persian word for
Companions with that for Immortals.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">(See Jona Lendering’s
excellent website for details</span> <span style="font-size: 9.0pt;"><a href="http://www.livius.org/ia-in/immortals/immortals.html">http://www.livius.org/ia-in/immortals/immortals.html</a></span><span style="font-size: 8.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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How did they compare to the Hoplites in battle?</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Immortals were professional soldiers, well trained and
highly motivated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They always
displayed great courage and steadfast discipline as did their officers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were good soldiers, however …</div>
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<br /></div>
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The Immortals were ill equipped for fighting against the
Hoplites.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Their arrows were ineffective against the Hoplite’s armor
and although their spear points were made of iron, they could not penetrate the
bronze shields of the Hoplites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Immortals did wear scale armor underneath their tunic, but unlike
the Hoplites they had no protection for their legs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of bronze helmets the Immortals wore a cloth cap.</div>
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<br /></div>
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As for their shields, the Immortals carried shields made of
wicker and covered in animal hide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These were lightweight and easy to handle but offered little protection
against the heavy weapons of the Greeks. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeVbPm98RkiPhb6UmRcSwzcgQFcKyVtILVPa9KVb5bdcUFMSIpb-a-X1QAy60riCXuER5_0cDzP7dRT8DyzehDaJvF6_OU0ScyUgNcINOLB7YvbZIgTHJsr8x-o_tsvglbP79wzS52KoZ/s1600/Photo+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoeVbPm98RkiPhb6UmRcSwzcgQFcKyVtILVPa9KVb5bdcUFMSIpb-a-X1QAy60riCXuER5_0cDzP7dRT8DyzehDaJvF6_OU0ScyUgNcINOLB7YvbZIgTHJsr8x-o_tsvglbP79wzS52KoZ/s1600/Photo+9.jpg" height="170" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Now About Those Hoplite Shields …</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Hoplites often decorated their shields with images and
symbols that held a special meaning to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some cities, like Sparta, used the same symbol on all their
shields, while others displayed a wide range of images taken from mythology or
nature.</div>
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<br /></div>
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As you can see from these examples mythical creatures like
the Cyclopes, Medusa and Pegasus were very popular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So too were animals like the dolphin, octopus, horse and
bull.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some hoplites favored
geometric patterns while others used the image of a ship or a soldier.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8q3SfCrb1rgLesgoDyg9qLnsNKt5czchjrak4EY_Aj7vGf8wQPPT9iPDj1DLGz6lhdfYZQ8iD8CJTPHY07D1S3ZaTYjQj2MiRcRNidpS3Lpv-rcr5EKqUk4zC5dY1tF4vd7pCPJajICfc/s1600/Photo+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8q3SfCrb1rgLesgoDyg9qLnsNKt5czchjrak4EY_Aj7vGf8wQPPT9iPDj1DLGz6lhdfYZQ8iD8CJTPHY07D1S3ZaTYjQj2MiRcRNidpS3Lpv-rcr5EKqUk4zC5dY1tF4vd7pCPJajICfc/s1600/Photo+10.jpg" height="515" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>Today’s Exercise<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Design your own Hoplite shield.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You may use a classical image from mythology or something
more modern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The choice is your,
but it should be an image that has a special meaning to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps something from your family
history (where you were born) or an item you really like (a family pet or your
favorite hero).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The design and
colors are totally up to you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However …</div>
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Be prepared to explain your shield and its meaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>This assignment is due at the
beginning of the next class and you may be called upon to explain your shield’s
meaning to the rest of the class.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sources, Further Reading and Links of Interest</span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b>Books<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<u><b>Warfare In The Classical World</b></u> by John Warry,
©1980<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ISBN: 0-312-85614-8</div>
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<u><b>Greece And Rome At War</b></u> by Peter Connolly, ©1981
ISBN:0-13-364976-8</div>
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<u><b>The Spartans</b></u> by Nicholas V Sekunda, ©1998
ISBN:1-85532-948-4</div>
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<u><b>Ancient Greece</b></u> by Anne Pearson, ©1992 ISBN:
0-7894-5724-4</div>
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<u><b>The Greeks</b></u> by Susan Peach & Anne Millard, ©1990
ISBN: 0-7460-0342-0</div>
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<u><b>Thermopylae The Battle For The Wes</b>t</u> by Ernle
Bradford, ©1980 ISBN: 0-306-80531-6</div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Hoplite Shield Construction<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="http://larp.com/hoplite/hoplon.html">http://larp.com/hoplite/hoplon.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The Hoplite / Hoplon
Controversy<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/greekweapons/g/Hoplite.htm">http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/greekweapons/g/Hoplite.htm</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Hoplite in the Ancient
History Encyclopedia<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>
<a href="http://www.ancient.eu.com/hoplite/">http://www.ancient.eu.com/hoplite/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The Immortals & Spartans<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="http://www.300spartanwarriors.com/battleofthermopylae/theimmortals.html">http://www.300spartanwarriors.com/battleofthermopylae/theimmortals.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">The Immortals or The
Companions<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> <a href="http://www.livius.org/ia-in/immortals/immortals.html">http://www.livius.org/ia-in/immortals/immortals.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">One of the very best websites for Ancient history and in
particular Ancient Persia is <b>Livius</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
created by Dutch Historian Jona Lendering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His command of the ancient sources is remarkable and his
analysis always insightful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
web site should be your </span><b><i>‘go to’ </i></b></span></span><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">source on the internet. </span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-18179256071605983762013-08-06T15:14:00.000-07:002013-08-06T15:14:17.684-07:00Hollywood Romans #4 Box Office Gladiators
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<h3>
Of Charioteers, Gladiators and George Lucas</h3>
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By David L Reinke</div>
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<b>George Lucas’s Blockbusting <o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Edited by Alex Block & Lucy Wilson</div>
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(c)2010 ISBN: 978-0-06-177889-6</div>
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Noted scholar Adrian Goldsworthy recently remarked that
gladiators are one aspect of ancient Rome everyone knows about. “Hollywood has
this strange obsession, with virtually every epic or drama set in the Roman
period there will be a gladiator or two, hanging about somewhere.”<span style="color: red;"><b>1</b></span></div>
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Indeed, Hollywood has fed us such a steady stream of Roman
gladiator movies that it is now impossible to conceive of one without the
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it any wonder that the
Colosseum, the premiere venue for gladiatorial combat, is the iconic symbol for
the city of Rome?</div>
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<br /></div>
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More properly known as the Flavian Amphitheatre, it is truly
a marvel of engineering, able to seat over 50,000 spectators and housing a
sophisticated system of trap doors and mechanical lifts in the theatre’s floor.
Even the ruins themselves are impressive and one can easily understand why the
Colosseum was selected to represent Rome.</div>
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<b>And yet …</b></div>
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If you were to ask a citizen of ancient Rome what their
favorite sports venue was, they would most likely answer the Circus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rome contained several, the most famous
being the Circus Maximus.</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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Known
throughout the empire, the Circus Maximus could seat over 380,000 spectators
who watched Wild Beast Hunts, gladiatorial combats, and, most importantly,
Chariot Races.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was perhaps
no more popular entertainment in ancient Rome than the chariot races.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact the fans were so devoted to the
various teams (or <i>factiomnes</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) that it
was not usual for fights to break out, sometimes requiring the intervention of
the Guard to restore order, often at considerable loss of life among the
civilian populace. (Imagine dispatching the Grenadier Guards in full battle kit
to quell the crowds at a soccer game.) <span style="color: red;"><b>2<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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It is interesting to note that modern stadiums, like that in
Michigan, seat a mere 110,000 and even the largest in the world, in North
Korea, tops out at 150, 000.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So it should come as no surprise that with modern movie
audiences too, chariot racing is more popular than gladiator fights.</div>
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What?</span><o:p></o:p></i></b></div>
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How can that be true?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wasn’t the film <i>Gladiator</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> a big
hit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn’t Peter Graves ask Billy
if he liked Gladiator movies?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And
what about </span><i>Spartacus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> – both the
film and the current series on the Starz Network?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, Professor Goldsworthy just said that Hollywood is
obsessed with gladiators …</span></div>
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Yes, but the numbers tell a different tale.</div>
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In his new book, <b>Blockbusting</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">, George Lucas and his editors, Alex Block and Lucy Wilson, have put
together a compendium of statistics, facts, figures and some behind the scenes
trivia, about 300 of the biggest films in Hollywood history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although the list is limited to US made
films, ranked by their US Box Office receipts, it is none the less an
impressive assembly, one in which films about the ancient world are well
represented.</span></div>
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The book is divided into decades with each chapter examining
different aspects of the film business as well as taking an in-depth look as
representative films from that decade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These in-depth examinations include all the vital information about the
film (costs, domestic box office, cast & crew, award nominations, etc.) as
well as a short essay dealing with the struggle to bring that film to the
screen.</div>
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Hollywood thinks of the ancient world as two film genres:
Biblical Extravaganzas and Sword & Sandal Epics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, not all such films are set in Rome, however the
Roman Empire has been the most often used backdrop for these epics and it is
well represented in this book.</div>
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A few of the films given the “in depth” treatment in <b>Blockbusting</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">:</span></div>
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<i>Intolerance</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1916</span></div>
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<i>Cleopatra</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1917</span></div>
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<i>The Ten Commandments</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
1923</span></div>
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<i>Ben-Hur</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1925</span></div>
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<i>Cleopatra</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1934</span></div>
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<i>Samson and Delilah</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
1949</span></div>
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<i>Quo Vadis</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1951</span></div>
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<i>The Robe</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1953</span></div>
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<i>The Ten Commandments</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
1956</span></div>
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<i>Ben-Hur</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1959</span></div>
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<i>Spartacus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1960</span></div>
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<i>Cleopatra</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1963</span></div>
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<i>Gladiator</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 2000</span></div>
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<i>Passion of the Christ</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
2004<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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The associated essays are lively and informative, brimming
over with interesting trivia such as:</div>
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Kirk Douglas wanted <i>Spartacus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> to have its premiere in Rome, at the Baths of Caracalla, after the
Olympics finished. However, Paramount’s publicity department needed additional
time so the film had a more traditional opening in New York on October 6<sup>th</sup>.
(Page 443)</span></div>
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<i>Quo Vadis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, MGM’s
extravagant answer to the threat posed by television, was first considered for
film back in 1935 with Marlene Dietrich as Poppaea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the aborted 1942 attempt both Orson Wells and Charles
Laughton were considered for the role of Nero.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even Gregory Peck was briefly cast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the cameras finally did roll, in
1951, there were 200 speaking parts, 30,000 extras and 120 lions. (Page 349)</span></div>
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For his 1934 production of <i>Cleopatra</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Cecil B. DeMille did extensive research that
included ordering a copy of the sixteen-volume French Military Survey of
Egypt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A stickler for
authenticity, when he learned that the Romans used snow to cool their wine,
DeMille decided to use real frost scraped from the studio’s refrigeration
pipes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise, he insisted that
real grapes be used on set and had them flown in from Argentina where they were
still in season. Even the Asp was real. (Page 185)</span></div>
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For the 1963 Fox remake, director Joseph L. Mankewicz,
having shot over 120 miles of film, wanted to release two 3-Hour movies: <i>Caesar
and Cleopatra</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and </span><i>Antony and
Cleopatra</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Fox’s new leader, Darryl Zanuck insisted on a
single 4-hour epic. (Page 461)</span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Given the list
above, Cleopatra would seem to be the most popular ancient history topic and
even now Hollywood has two more biopics about that fabled queen in
development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, modern
audiences, like their ancient counterparts, prefer their entertainment fast and
bloody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the battle for box
office laurels, according to Lucas, charioteers not only beat the Queen, but the
gladiators as well. (<i>Ben-Hur</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> ranks at
#9, while </span><i>Cleopatra</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> comes in at
#34 and </span><i>Gladiator</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> a distant
#202.)</span></div>
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<b>Blockbusting</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> takes a
detailed look at the production costs and box office revenues of several films,
two of which just happen to be <i>Ben-Hur</i></span> and <i>Gladiator</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
fact the book directly compares the two, and the numbers are fascinating.<span style="color: red;"><b>3</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><b><u>Ben-Hur</u></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span></span><b><u>Gladiator</u></b></div>
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US Box Office<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$704.2<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$223.2</div>
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Foreign Box Office<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$608.6<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$321.0</div>
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Total Box Office<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$1,312.8<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$544.2</div>
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Production Cost<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$106.7<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$116.8</div>
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Print & Ads<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$98.4<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$59.5</div>
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Distribution<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$155.7<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$94.6</div>
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P&L<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$230.0<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>-$20.6</div>
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Length<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>217
minutes<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>154
minutes</div>
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Principal Photo<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>200
days<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>89
days</div>
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Oscar Nominations<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>12<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>12</div>
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Oscar Wins<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>11<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>5</div>
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It would appear from the chart above that <i>Ben-Hur</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> was bigger than </span><i>Gladiator</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> in everyway, and in fact there was much more riding
on the success of the former than the latter.</span></div>
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As the 1950’s drew to a close MGM, as a working studio, was
in serious trouble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, their
library of past films was impressive, but unless they could turn out a new hit
the Studio faced bankruptcy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Noticing the success Paramount was enjoying with their remake of <i>The
Ten Commandments</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> (still the box office
champ of Ancient Epics) MGM also turned to history, and, staking their future
on a single throw of the dice, bankrolled a “go for broke” remake of their own </span><i>Ben-Hur</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></div>
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Despite Paramount’s success, MGM was still taking a huge
risk given that their original production of <i>Ben-Hur</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> had been fraught with problems and had garnered only
modest box office returns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed
the new production, besides being expensive, had its own challenges and set
backs, not least of which was the death of the film’s producer, Sam Zimblest,
who left the set with chest pains and died forty minutes later.<span style="color: red;"><b>4</b></span></span></div>
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However, the gamble paid off and paid off big.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Ben-Hur</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> received 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, and is still ranked in the
top ten of All Time US Box Office Champs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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By comparison, <i>Gladiator</i><span style="font-style: normal;">,
though credited with reviving the Sword & Sandal genre in post </span><i>Star
Wars</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> Hollywood and despite receiving five
Oscars out of 11 nominations, has yet to turn a profit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its US Box Office ranking is 202, well
below </span><i>Ben-Hur</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> at #9 or even </span><i>Spartacus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> at #158.</span></div>
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It seems that, when it comes to putting down one’s own
money, audiences would rather watch the slave turned charioteer than the slave
turned gladiator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No doubt it is a
matter of personal taste, but in Hollywood taste doesn’t matter, only Box
Office does.</div>
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If there are failings with this book they are acts of
omission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>Blockbusting</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> focuses exclusively on US made films, and only
covers films released prior to 2006.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We can hope that future volumes will take a look at films made outside
of the US and those made after 2005.</span></div>
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George Lucas’s <b>Blockbusting</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> is a fascinating book and recommended for anyone who views film not as
a simple entertainment, but as an art form where money often trumps both
artistic merit and critical acclaim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<b><u>Notes:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b>1.</b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><b> </b> </span>Lecture
by Adrian Goldsworthy at the Kansas City public Library 2009</div>
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A link to the lecture may be found here:</div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.kclibrary.org/event/adrian-goldsworthy-how-rome-fell">http://www.kclibrary.org/event/adrian-goldsworthy-how-rome-fell</a></div>
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<b>2.</b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Seating
capacity for the Flavian Amphitheatre and the Circus Maximus are found in
Connolly’s superb book, The Ancient City – Life in Classical Athens & Rome,
c1998 ISBN: 0-19-917242-0.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See
pages 176 and 197. </div>
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Perhaps the largest and most spectacular fan riots were the
Nika Riots of 532 at the Hippodrome in Constantinople.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once the racing fans moved from hurling
insults to hurling stones at the Emperor Justinian, the Imperial Army was
called in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had to take the
Hippodrome by storm resulting in 30,000 dead and nearly half the city burned to
the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See: <a href="http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/nika.html">http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/circusmaximus/nika.html</a></div>
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<b>3</b>.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>George
Lucas’s Blockbusting, c2010, p.324<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>4.</b><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"><b> </b> </span>Blockbusting,
p.411<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>This Review was first posted on the Ancient Warfare Magazine website in September, 2010</i></div>
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(c) 2010 David L Reinke</div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-72379384046882473132013-08-03T17:09:00.000-07:002013-08-03T17:09:07.219-07:0010th Imperial Regiment - The Soul Eaters<br />
<h3 style="color: #777777; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
Friday, February 17, 2006</h3>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="" name="114021065733616433" style="color: #de7008;"> </a></span><h2 style="color: #9e5205; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
The Soul Eaters</h2>
<div class="blogPost" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
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<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2828/2243/1600/10th%20Legion%20Soul%20Eaters.jpg" style="color: #de7008;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/2828/2243/320/10th%20Legion%20Soul%20Eaters.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 0px;" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The Soul Eaters<br /><br />In the black of night<br />Through a starless sky<br />Under the blood red moon<br />We fly.<br /><br />Abandon all hope.<br />Your time is neigh.<br />Now like the Furies<br />We come.<br /><br />To dine upon your flesh<br />And feast upon your soul.<br />Ask us for mercy,<br />We answer.<br /><br />Betray us.<br />Resist us.<br />Deny us.<br />We kill.<br /><br />Throughout the empire<br />Until the end of time<br />His will alone<br />We serve.<br /><br />No enemy too far<br />Nor friend so dear<br />Will stay the sword<br />We hold.<br /><br />In oceans of blood,<br />Our thirst never quenched<br />Until victory is ours<br />We fight.<br /><br />Worlds beyond number,<br />Time without end,<br />As the Emperor commands<br />We obey.<br /><br />No questions asked.<br />No reasons given.<br />In victory or death<br />We believe.<br /><br />In the black of night,<br />No sound do we make.<br />Upon the Wings of Death<br />We fly.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: 14px;"><em>Text c2006 All Rights Reserved</em></span><br /><span style="font-size: 14px;"><em>Image Hasbro Toys / LFL</em></span></div>
Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-64203149970731141752013-05-19T01:02:00.000-07:002015-07-08T12:47:25.995-07:00Hollywood Romans #14 Coriolanus<!--[if !mso]>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;">“Coriolanus has grown from
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Coriolanus</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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(2011) 123 minutes</div>
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Directed by Ralph Fiennes</div>
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Screenplay by John Logan based upon the play by William
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Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Gerard Butler, Brian Cox and
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #660000;">“Oh mother what have you done to me? You have saved Rome, but you have
ruined your son.”</span> </b>– Caius Marcius Coriolanus </div>
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Caius Marcius (527—490 BCE), later given the name Coriolanus
in honor of his heroism at the Battle of Corioli, was a patrician general from
the earliest days of the Roman Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Indeed, his first heroic exploits, for which he won the Civic Crown,
were at the Battle of Lake Regillus, where the victorious Romans ended once and
for all the efforts of their former king, Tarquin the Proud, to regain his
throne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Hailed as a hero, Coriolanus embodied those martial virtues
that all Romans aspired to while at the same time he exuded the particularly
Patrician arrogance that the Roman people despised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Scipio Africanus, who outfought every opponent in
battle but was constantly out maneuvered by his political enemies in the
Senate, so too Coriolanus had no skill for politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To say he lacked ‘the common touch’ is an understatement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His disdain for the people coupled with
his rigid inflexibility allowed Coriolanus to be easily ambushed by his
opponents, the newly created Tribunes of the People, who contrived to have him
exiled from the city. </div>
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Unlike Scipio, also forced into exile by his political foes,
Coriolanus did not “go quietly into this good night.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead he joined with Rome’s enemies, the Volscian tribes,
leading them from victory to victory until they stood before the very gates of
Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Romans sent numerous
embassies to treat with Coriolanus, but he rebuffed them all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was not until the women of Rome,
lead by his mother and his wife, came to the Volscian Camp and prostrated
themselves before him, that Coriolanus relented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Moved by this show of humility and sacrifice, Coriolanus
withdrew his army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Some stories say the Volscians assassinated Coriolanus for this change of
heart, while others tell us that he lived out his life in solitary exile, a
broken man.</div>
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From this story Shakespeare shaped his play, and although
Coriolanus may be more fiction than fact, he was accepted as real by the Romans
and considered an integral part of their history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His story speaks to the early struggles between the
Patricians and the plebs to find the balance that would allow the Roman
Republic to not only survive but to thrive, and indeed flourish into the Empire
so well known today.</div>
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In an earlier review I commented that, sometimes, dramatic
writing trumps historical accuracy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was never truer than with the plays of William Shakespeare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A poet who often plumbed the depths of
history for his plots, Shakespeare was never one to let history get in the way
of drama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this he is very much
like the film producer Darryl Zanuck who once opined, “There is nothing duller
on the screen than being accurate but not dramatic.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, Shakespeare has proven to be so dramatic and durable
a playwright that his works have endured an endless parade of adaptations,
re-interpretations and translations into new languages, cultures and
media.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of these have worked
better than others.<span style="color: red;"><b>1</b></span></div>
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Hollywood has always approached Shakespeare with some
trepidation, for despite their critical acclaim, these films rarely make any
money.<span style="color: red;"><b>2</b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(The one noteworthy exception being <i>Shakespeare In Love</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> which won the Oscar for Best Film against very stiff
competition.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it is a testament
to the persuasive powers of Ralph Fiennes that he was able to find funding for
his film of Shakespeare’s </span><i>Coriolanus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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Written late in Shakespeare’s career, long after his more
famous plays, <i>Coriolanus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> shares some of
the same themes found in those earlier works: ambition, hubris, betrayal and
manipulation by loved ones both subtle or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where it differs, and significantly so, is in the conception
of Coriolanus himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike say Hamlet,
or Richard III, Coriolanus is not given any long soliloquy in which he reveals
his musings and motivations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
have no ‘window into his soul’ and so Coriolanus remains something of an
enigma. </span></div>
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T.S. Elliot thought Coriolanus superior to Hamlet or Macbeth
for the very reason that he is not dissected and laid out for us, but rather
remains opaque and difficult to pin down with any certainty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coriolanus is a slippery customer, in
more ways than one, so it comes as no surprise that so many actors have sought
to play this character on stage.<span style="color: red;"><b>3</b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, Ralph Fiennes is
one of the first to attempt a feature film of this particular play.</div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">Lawrence Olivier as
Coriolanus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">1937 performance, and 1956
reprise are <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">still considered by many
critics to be the <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">definitive portrayal of this
character.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In deciding to both direct and star in this film, Ralph
Fiennes has taken on a momentous challenge, that, I am happy to say, he meets
with great success, for the most part.</div>
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One of the first challenges that confronts any artist
approaching Shakespeare is the language. How do you make the play accessible,
understandable and dramatic to a modern audience?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you keep the setting and language intact (ala Joseph
Manckiewicz’s <i>Julius Caesar</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) or drop
both while retaining the basic plot (Robert Wise’s </span><i>Westside Story</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) or some combination there of?</span></div>
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For Fiennes, the language was key.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an interview with Jon Stewart on <i>The Daily Show</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, Fiennes noted that he was first attracted to acting
by the beauty and rhythm in Shakespeare’s language, so for him there was no
question but that it would remain intact.<span style="color: red;"><b>4</b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, the text has been
edited, Coriolanus being one of Shakespeare’s longest plays, but on the whole
the language is as Shakespeare wrote it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
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The other major challenge is setting, and here Fiennes has
shown a deft imagination. </div>
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A subtitle early in the film tells us that we are in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;">“<b>A
place that calls itself Rome</b></span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;">.”</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one simple sentence is the perfect
preamble and makes the meshing of ancient and modern much less jarring than it
otherwise might be.</span></div>
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Fiennes has opted for a contemporary setting and in doing so
he has eliminated many problems that plague films set in Ancient Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of armor and shields,
Coriolanus and his legionaries wear 21<sup>st</sup> Century ‘digital’
camouflage, ride armored IFV’s and wield assault rifles and RPG’s rather than
gladius and pilum.</div>
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This design sensibility extends to the civilian characters
as well, with tribunes and senators in business suits rather than togas, and
the plebs in standard work-a-day clothing. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the Romans, dress uniforms are the order of the day for
soldiers not on the battlefield while the Volscians favor a potpourri of
different camouflage patterns, on and off the battlefield, as seen in many newly
formed armies and militias in the world today.</div>
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Consistent with this concept, Fiennes has assembled a first
rate cast that is as racially and ethnically diverse as the population one
might find in almost any city today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Many of the actors are well known and, generally speaking, they all acquit
themselves admirably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Of special note is Vanessa Redgrave as Volumnia, the mother
of Coriolanus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either in her be-medaled uniform, or simple civilian attire, it is clear Volumnia is a women to
be reckoned with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she
physically assaults the Tribunes on the steps of the Senate, even though their
persons are inviolate, no one dares to stop her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the Tribunes themselves seem feeble next to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is no wonder then that Coriolanus is
no match for his mother’s manipulations of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is in fact as driven by Patrician pride as is
Coriolanus, and it is only at the end, when Coriolanus tells her, “O my mother,
You have won a happy victory to Rome; But for your son …” that she realizes the
true cost of her ambition.</div>
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Throughout the film Fiennes uses several styles of
cinematography, including hand-held ‘you are there’ shaky-cam (thankfully kept
to a minimum), faux news footage, and more traditional shots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To his credit, Fiennes eschews the
rapid fire quick cut editing found in so many films today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, he allows scenes to build and
develop over time, and while some might find this pacing to be too slow, I
found it a refreshing and welcome change.</div>
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Not surprisingly, the color palate is subdued, with the only
really bright colors being those of the Roman dress uniforms festooned with
ribbons and medals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Of course, as Shakespeare tells us, ‘the play’s the thing’
and here we have a mixed result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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At its best, the film is riveting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not surprising in the combat scenes, all of which are
well choreographed and expertly shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Clearly Fiennes and his cinematographer, Barry Ackroyd, have been paying
attention to current events.</div>
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At its worst, character motivations are unclear and
confusing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may be due in part
to the editorial decisions Fiennes made with the original text.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, in this case the problem is
often due, most annoyingly, to lines being lost either in the hurly-burly of
the scene or simply delivered too naturalistically, resulting in their being
neither distinct or, in some cases, even heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In their film adaptations Oliver, McKellen and Branagh took
care to insure that all lines were delivered and heard clearly and crisply.<span style="color: red;"><b>5</b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is not always so in Coriolanus, and while this may be more of a
technical issue than one of acting, clearly the issue rests at the feet of the
director.</div>
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However, in all other aspects Fiennes does an excellent job
as both actor and director.</div>
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One scene merits special attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a scene not found in the play,
but rather one devised by Fiennes and his screenwriter John Logan, and it
serves to tell us much about Coriolanus the man.<span style="color: red;"><b>6</b></span></div>
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Now exiled, sporting shoulder length hair and unkempt beard,
Coriolanus has traveled to the Volscain capital, looking for his rival,
Aufidius (Gerard Butler).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He spies
the enemy general walking down the street with a few bodyguards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he strolls with casual ease the
people greet Aufidius warmly and though clearly on his way somewhere, he takes
time to return their greetings and to make small talk with diners at an outdoor
café.</div>
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As he watches this transpire, we see Coriolanus hit bottom
as he realizes how truly miserable his fate is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is Aufidius, loved by the people even though he has
lost many battles, while he, Coriolanus, who has brought the Romans victory
after victory is hated and despised by his fellow Romans. It is then that
Coriolanus resolves to join with Aufidius, and avenge himself on the Romans, or
to let Aufidius take his life and so end this wretched exile.</div>
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The scene works perfectly because Fiennes has the confidence
to let the images speak for themselves, and they speak volumes.</div>
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In contrast, the final scene, when Aufidius kills
Coriolanus, does not work as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although this scene is in the play, in the film the motivations of the
various characters do not seem clear, particularly Aufidius’s several changes
of heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again I think this more
a problem with Fiennes’ concept of the scene rather than Butler’s performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, I wish Fiennes had, once
again, strayed a little more from the text and instead given us a final shot of
Coriolanus, sitting by himself, staring into space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much like Michael Corleone at the end of the <i>Godfather</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, we would see Coriolanus as a victim of his own
success – victorious and defeated all at the same time.</span></div>
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All in all, <i>Coriolanus</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
is well worth making the effort to see and in fact may work even better on
television, giving it a more visceral reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<i>Coriolanus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is now
available on Blu-ray and DVD.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b><u>Notes:<o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>1 </b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In several interviews Fiennes has
related how he was inspired to take on the challenge of <i>Coriolanus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> by Baz Luhrman’s film adaptation of </span><i>Romeo
And Juliet</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise, working with directors like Anthony Mingehlla (</span><i>The
English Patient</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) and Steven Spielberg (</span><i>Schindler’s
List</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) built in him a desire to direct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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Of course there have been many feature films adapted from
Shakespeare and everyone has their favorites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wikipedia has a long, but by no means complete, list of
screen adaptations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, the
best are those by Olivier, Branagh, McKellen and Kurosawa, to which I would
also add <i>Forbidden Planet</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, a Sci-Fi
reworking of </span><i>The Tempest</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, and </span><i>Shakespeare
In Love</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>2<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></span>The production budget for Coriolanus was
reported to be $10 million. To date, the worldwide box office is just over $1
million.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sales of Blu-ray and DVD
as well as to Broadcast and Cable Television might bring in another million or
so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Clearly this is a case of a
film made for the sake of art, not profit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One side note: With a production cost of $40 million (on an
original budget of $25 million) <i>Shakespeare In Love</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> has grossed over $300 million (including both box
office and ancillary markets like DVD and Cable TV).<span style="color: red;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>3</b></span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The most famous Coriolanus in history
is <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Olivier"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Laurence
Olivier</span></a></span>, who first played the part triumphantly at the <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Vic_Theatre"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Old
Vic Theatre</span></a></span> in 1937 and returned to it to even greater
acclaim at the <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_Memorial_Theatre"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Shakespeare Memorial Theatre</span></a></span> in 1959. In
that production, he famously performed Coriolanus' death scene by dropping
backwards from a high platform and being suspended upside-down (without the aid
of wires), a death reminiscent of Mussolini's. In 1971 the play returned to the
Old Vic in a National Theatre production directed by <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Manfred_Wekwerth&action=edit&redlink=1"><span style="color: #b20000; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Manfred Wekwerth</span></a></span> and Joachim Tenschert
with stage design by <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_von_Appen"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Karl
von Appen</span></a></span>. <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Hopkins"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Anthony
Hopkins</span></a></span> played Coriolanus, with <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Cummings"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Constance Cummings</span></a></span> as Volumnia and <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Carteret"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Anna
Carteret</span></a></span> as Virgilia.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Another notable Coriolanus of the twentieth century
was <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Burton"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Richard
Burton</span></a></span>, who also recorded the complete play for <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caedmon_Records"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Caedmon
Records</span></a></span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Other famous performances of Coriolanus include <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Scofield"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Paul
Scofield</span></a></span>, <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_McKellen"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ian McKellen</span></a></span>,
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toby_Stephens"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Toby
Stephens</span></a></span>, <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Ryan"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Robert Ryan</span></a></span>,
<span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Walken"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Christopher
Walken</span></a></span>, <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Freeman"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Morgan
Freeman</span></a></span>, <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colm_Feore"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Colm Feore</span></a></span>,
and <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Fiennes"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Ralph
Fiennes</span></a></span>. <span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Howard"><span style="color: #00369d; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Alan Howard</span></a></span>
played Coriolanus in the 1984 BBC production.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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--from: Wikipedia <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolanus">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolanus</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>4</b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Jon Stewart interview on
December 7, 2011</div>
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<a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-december-7-2011/ralph-fiennes">http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-december-7-2011/ralph-fiennes</a></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>5</b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reportedly, Olivier purposely
spoke his first few lines slowly and distinctly to give the audience time to
adjust to the rhythm and cadence of the language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fiennes notes too that it takes a few moments to adjust
one’s ear from modern language to the poetry of Shakespeare. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Likewise, with the possible exception of Kenneth Branagh’s <i>Hamlet</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, every director edits Shakespeare’s text, usually to
meet contractual obligations for a film less than two hours in length.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some edit for reasons of focus or
pacing, but generally the main narrative thrust remains intact as it does with </span><i>Coriolanus.</i><span style="font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b>6</b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>John Logan’s screenwriting
credits include: <i>Gladiator, The Last Samurai, Rango, Hugo</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and the new James Bond film </span><i>Skyfall</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13.0pt;"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> </span><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><i>This Review was first posted on the Ancient Warfare Magazine web site June, 2012</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica;">(c) 2012 David L Reinke</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-59969377207259100732013-05-09T02:42:00.000-07:002016-02-25T17:33:14.282-08:00Cinema Caesars -- A Streetcar Named Antony<!--[if !mso]>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Julius Caesar</span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (1953)</span></div>
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120 min.</div>
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Director: Joseph L Mankiewicz</div>
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Writer: William Shakespeare (adapted by Mankiewicz)</div>
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Starring: Marlon Brando, James Mason, John Gielgud, Louis
Calhern, Greer Garrson, and Deborah Kerr</div>
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<b>A</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">fter watching the
1970 film of Shakespeare’s <i>Julius Caesar</i></span> it was suggested that I
look again at the earlier John Houseman production staring Marlon Brando in the
pivotal role of Mark Antony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
fact I had seen the film many years ago, and remembered it as being quite good,
however a “refresher” viewing did seem in order.</div>
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Unlike the 1970 film, which was more of a low budget ‘labor
of love,’ this earlier effort was a prestige production, given a large budget
with the intent of making a first class film of Shakespeare’s play, while also
riding on the coat tails of the recently popular <i>Quo</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><i>Vadis</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
and beating </span><i>The Robe</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> to theatres
by several months.</span></div>
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Although the title is <i>Julius Caesar</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, the play and the film are more concerned with
Brutus and his interplay with Cassius and Antony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this Mankiewicz has cast well.</span></div>
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As Brutus, James Mason displays the brooding intelligence of
a man clearly swimming in political waters far deeper than he is qualified for,
either by training or temperament.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Likewise Gielgud, as Cassius, is appropriately manipulative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cassius has his own agenda and is happy
to use Brutus to reach that end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a similar manner, Mankiewicz has filled the other roles with
excellent actors who are uniformly comfortable with Shakespeare’s language to
the point that they can use it as a means of investing their characters with a
reality that is both honest and entertaining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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All of this is to the good and serves the production well,
but it is in the casting of Marlon Brando as Mark Antony that Mankiewicz and
Houseman show true genius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Originally the director had sought Paul Schofield (<i>A Man For All
Seasons</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, </span><i>Quiz Show</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) for the role of Antony, but changed his mind when
Brando’s screen test came in better than expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brando was an actor of immense talent and is not only
comfortable with the language but more than holds his own with the classically
trained actors in the cast who have far more experience with the Bard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brando’s timing and dramatic sense are
impeccable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s more, <b>Brando
infuses Antony with a pugnacious air that seems completely appropriate to
Antony both dramatically and historically</b></span>.</div>
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In terms of screen time, Antony might be considered a
secondary character, for he really has only one scene to call his own, but
what a scene it is and Brando plays it for all that it's worth!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Antony’s speech alone, as played by
Brando, is worth the price of admission.</div>
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<b>That being said …<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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In all other considerations this production is no better
than the 1970 film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Costumes are
standard “Hollywood Roman” with many of the legionaries wearing armor we will
see again in 1959’s <i>Ben-Hur</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same holds true for the sets
(portrait busts of Hadrian are everywhere present) and once again, as with the
1970 film, the Battle of Philippi bears no resemblance whatsoever to history or
indeed to anything particularly Roman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, one does not watch this film looking for
historical insight, or even fidelity, but rather for excellence in acting and
in this the viewer will not be disappointed.</span></div>
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More to the point, how does the 1953 film compare to one
from 1970? </div>
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The key to Shakespeare’s <i>Julius Caesar</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is the triumvirate of Brutus-Cassius-Antony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The balance among these three
characters is both critical and delicate – the play rises or falls on this and
it is here that we see the big difference between the two films.</span></div>
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I admire the 1970 film for the energy and effort of the cast
and crew working with their limited budget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many respects the film feels like a good community
theatre production and one appreciates the work and commitment on display.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, in that production the
critical triumvirate, as played by Robards-Johnson-Heston, is wildly out of
balance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite the good work
done by many of the actors they cannot restore the balance upset by Robards’
poor performance.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtSVGgwhKMGl-ybo0K2pl86LoHzxIwvNmFRrU2li7tHBrXclswbrz6GlxGNbXIjxtPs88BxSpbE1LGGCphn1JvQtOO-8AmMAckJjPECQIU0ENoso9gMnq3lA8PujUgS1dj0F8e0aUNg_A/s1600/Brutus+Oration.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDtSVGgwhKMGl-ybo0K2pl86LoHzxIwvNmFRrU2li7tHBrXclswbrz6GlxGNbXIjxtPs88BxSpbE1LGGCphn1JvQtOO-8AmMAckJjPECQIU0ENoso9gMnq3lA8PujUgS1dj0F8e0aUNg_A/s400/Brutus+Oration.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
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In contrast, the acting triumvirate at the center of the
1953 film, Mason-Gielguid-Brando is perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strength of the acting talent on display here is so good
that, rather than being impressed with how well the actors recite Shakespeare
we are caught up in the story itself and wonder what the character will do next
(even though we know the play line by line).</div>
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The key scene in both the play and the films is the Forum
oration given by Brutus and Antony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The play turns on this scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Heston, as Antony, works hard to restore the energy sucked out of the
scene by Robards, but despite his best efforts he is not up to the task.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mason’s Brutus, on the other hand gives
a superb speech, setting the stage perfectly for Brando who does not waste his
fellow actor’s efforts. Brando builds upon that well laid foundation, his
smoldering rage barley kept in check as he turns the people of Rome from
rejoicing at the death of a tyrant to mourning the loss of their father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a performance for the ages.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LCG9B5f6Qb5Ua5BICTmRVl5LzgOzQ3LzezR-SSSLhEI1BFMqLqViKSHx8r3yuQRTUHmwaBX0MCyo2Tan32wV4r4C3isOSIewyUJKCfKNg36MB9Qh4H8e-IHeALVD22MG-BgXPzq-Xxmo/s1600/Antony+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0LCG9B5f6Qb5Ua5BICTmRVl5LzgOzQ3LzezR-SSSLhEI1BFMqLqViKSHx8r3yuQRTUHmwaBX0MCyo2Tan32wV4r4C3isOSIewyUJKCfKNg36MB9Qh4H8e-IHeALVD22MG-BgXPzq-Xxmo/s400/Antony+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Much has been written about Brando as <b>the</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> premier American Actor, but most viewers, who are
familiar only with his later films, may wonder what all the hoopla is
about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Watching his performance in
<i>Julius Caesar</i></span> leaves no doubt as to his talent. </div>
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In an earlier posting I gave the 1970 film a favorable
review, and I stand by that – I enjoyed that film with the caveat that Jason
Robards is terribly miscast as Brutus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, I have no such misgiving about the 1953 production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, if you are looking for acting
at its finest you need look no further than the Mason – Brando speeches in the
Forum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The film is currently available on DVD from Amazon</div>
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<i>This review was first posted in January, 2011 on the Ancient Warfare Magazine website</i></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> (c) 2011 David L Reinke<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-7213830028934781042013-04-24T23:50:00.000-07:002015-08-11T17:10:54.844-07:00Hollywood Romans #8 -- Cleopatra<!--[if !mso]>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Cleopatra
– The Eternal Queen<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKuhEs-qlzNVE6O_qYhcIArin0eIT7FGtrAJYXFiub7RZ0S-vAh4_fOM6imR-GMAVZXKvtt-pJ8DqpEEag3oYPIgdMQ0ycZ-XGxBcRNRFpzOyLag0plSGU9UR4fWzANIaa7OhwK3G5FSp0/s1600/cleopatra+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKuhEs-qlzNVE6O_qYhcIArin0eIT7FGtrAJYXFiub7RZ0S-vAh4_fOM6imR-GMAVZXKvtt-pJ8DqpEEag3oYPIgdMQ0ycZ-XGxBcRNRFpzOyLag0plSGU9UR4fWzANIaa7OhwK3G5FSp0/s400/cleopatra+1.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“Whether we like it or not, Cleopatra was not really
that important. Her world was one utterly dominated by Rome, in which her
kingdom had at best a precarious independence.”<span style="color: red;"><b>1</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This may indeed be the case, but given recent events
it would seem the Queen has never been more popular, a fact that would please
her to no end.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Last year saw the publication of two new biographies
on Cleopatra and this year the release of a YA novel about her daughter.<span style="color: red;"><b>2</b></span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Likewise, Hollywood has not been idle on the
Cleopatra front with two new films currently in development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Capitalizing on the publicity of Stacy Schiff’s book
being the first biography of Cleopatra to be written by a woman, and thus
bringing a new perspective to the Queen, <i>Cleopatra A Life</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> was optioned by Sony Studios for a new film starring
Angelina Jolie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This helped to
push Schiff’s book up the NY Times Best Seller list where it has remained for
several months now. Of course Hollywood then proceeded to under cut themselves,
as is usually the case, by hiring <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001338/"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Brian
Helgeland</span></a><span style="color: #333333;"> </span>to write the screenplay
and David Fincher to direct.<span style="color: red;"><b>3<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></b></span>So much for the female
perspective.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Worse still, Sony
plans to film <i>Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> in 3D.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">While Sony’s film might be the first 3D Cleopatra,
Steven Soderbergh’s will be the first musical Cleopatra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Set in 1920’s Chicago and staring Catherine
Zeta-Jones as Cleopatra and Hugh Jackman as Mark Antony, this project too, like
the Sony film, currently sits in Development Hell. However, unlike the Fincher
film, Soderbergh’s project may never make it before the cameras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Last year Zeta-Jones cut back on her
schedule to care for her husband, and this year she is herself undergoing
treatment for a bi-polar disorder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although Soderbergh might recast the parts, he was hoping to capture the
same energy of his hit film Chicago so it seems unlikely he will drop
Zeta-Jones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the Sony project,
Soderbergh’s <i>Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> will also
be filmed in 3D.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">What has attracted Hollywood to Schiff’s book in
particular is her supposed “revisionist” view of the queen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No longer the sex kitten, oriental
temptress or emasculating whore, she is now the shrewd politician, the able
statesman and the steadfast warrior.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The idea that this is a ‘revisionist’ or even enlightened new view of
Cleopatra is patently false. Schiff’s portrait of the Queen is largely the same
as that painted by Goldsworthy or the one presented by Michael Grant in his
excellent 1972 biography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Schiff
adopts a somewhat more romantic view of Cleopatra’s position in a world
dominated by Rome than does Goldsworthy who presents a more realistic, and
historically sound view of the Queen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">What <u>is</u> different here, or so we are lead to
believe, is Hollywood’s view of Cleopatra, with the Sony film being, if not a
repudiation of the 1963 Fox film starring Elizabeth Taylor, then at least a
film with a new emphasis on Cleopatra the astute politician rather than
Cleopatra the <i>femme fetal</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A Hollywood icon with more than 80 films to her
credit, Taylor will always be, for better or for worse, associated with
Cleopatra and with the Fox film that has become legendary for its excess and
its failure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Indeed, never one to miss an opportunity to
capitalize on any event, good or bad, the Fox Movie Channel has taken full
advantage of Taylor’s death last February by showing the longer “Premiere”
version of their film on a semi regular basis, several times a day, on
different days of the week (the last being Easter Sunday just past).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So it seems appropriate, given all of
this recent Cleo activity, that we say a few words about Hollywood and
Cleopatra, and in particular, the 1963 <i>Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Cleopatra The Vamp<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Of course, Shakespeare set the tone first, and
influenced heavily by both the Bard and by Shaw, Hollywood has turned out over
50 feature films and TV shows about Cleopatra beginning in 1917 when Fox
released <i>Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> staring Theda
Bara.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The screenplay, by Adrian
Johnson, was based upon the stage play <i>Cleopatre</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> by Victorien Sardou and Emile Moreau.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWN-cFUrlQkBN4OYm8mbYtOHX1ecBiYsY91NeMRfRid5kwon_Qy53Qzw0sb5CrZ9s-C81LqRN2LIqQUXh5ATxMb6iYTYwz5QCa9mwsgSob6Fv9lSrX0LGQp3sffyFd8VWOcY4SlHtqrq05/s1600/Cleopatra+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWN-cFUrlQkBN4OYm8mbYtOHX1ecBiYsY91NeMRfRid5kwon_Qy53Qzw0sb5CrZ9s-C81LqRN2LIqQUXh5ATxMb6iYTYwz5QCa9mwsgSob6Fv9lSrX0LGQp3sffyFd8VWOcY4SlHtqrq05/s320/Cleopatra+2.jpg" width="249" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At the time Ms. Bara told the press, “I felt the
blood of the Ptolemys coursing through my veins.” And Fox for their part
capitalized on Bara’s reputation (manufactured by the studio of course) calling
Cleopatra the “greatest vamp of all time” to which Bara added obligingly, “I
Live Cleopatra, I breathe Cleopatra, I am Cleopatra!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><b>4<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">With that kind of endorsement you would expect the
film to be a major success and while it did turn a profit, it was not the
blockbuster Fox had hopped for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Filmed in Southern California, with pyramids built in
Ventura County, the city of Alexandria in the beach community of Venice, and
the Battle of Actium staged at Balboa Beach, it is rumored that the “lengthy
script was solid and historically accurate.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, we will never know for ironically, the last person
to ever watch this film was Cecil B. DeMille who screened it in 1934 while
preparing for his own film about Cleopatra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 1917 film was then returned to the Fox film vault in New
Jersey where a nitrate fire destroyed the majority of Fox’s pre-1935 film
collection.<span style="color: red;"><b>5</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>The DeMille Treatment<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Perhaps we see echoes of that earlier film in
DeMille’s 1934 production for Paramount Studios.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly, DeMille was a known stickler for historical
accuracy and, like many productions before and since, he spared no expense to
bring Egypt to life in Southern California.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">His quest began with the purchase of the 16 volume
French Military Survey of Egypt commissioned by Napoleon and ended with the use
of a live asp to bite the actress playing Cleopatra (the venom having already
been removed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In between DeMille
went to great lengths to get the “look right” including having the crew scrape
the frost off of the studio’s refrigeration pipes because the Romans used snow
to cool their wine, or flying grapes up from Argentina, where they were still
in season, after the ten crates already on hand had gone bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, DeMille could be a tyrant about
details:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">At one point he saw that
an extra was wearing a belt that was not historically accurate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using his trademark megaphone, he
demanded<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">before the entire company that
his secretary send a memo to the<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">production department
complaining about the error. <span style="color: red;"><b>6<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For the part of Cleopatra DeMille cast Claudette
Colbert, an actress he had worked with before on <i>The Sing Of The Cross</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
felt that her sophistication, beauty and sense of humor were attributes that
made her perfect for the role of <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Cleopatra. <span style="color: red;"><b>7</b></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, Colbert brought those
strengths to bear in her performance but, in a foreshadowing of Cleopatra films
as yet unmade, Colbert was in “fragile” health, having suffered appendicitis,
and she missed most rehearsals, being replaced by her stand-in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">As Julius Caesar, DeMille cast Warren William who
gives a marvelous performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
invests Caesar with humor, intelligence and a certain ‘world-weariness that
seems in keeping with the historic Gaius Julius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Henry Wilcox, in his first leading role, plays Mark Antony
and although he brings a good deal of energy and bravado to the role, he does
not impress in quite the same way as does William or Colbert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The film was a box office hit here in the US,
bringing in $120 million against a production cost of just over $12 million (in
2005 dollars).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>American audiences
enjoyed the lavish spectacle and appreciated the historical detail, but Europe
was not impressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the 1935
premier in Rome, Daily Variety reports the film was met with “boos, catcalls
and derisive laughter.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Cleopatra as Comedy<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">It would be almost ten years before Cleopatra again
appeared in a major feature film, an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s play <i>Caesar
And Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> starring Vivian Leigh
as Cleopatra. True to its theatrical source (the screenplay was written by Shaw
himself) the film is played for laughs and though the cast is a capable one it
is Claude Rains, as Caesar, and Flora Robson, as Fatateeta (Cleopatra’s major
domo), who show the best comic timing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is no attempt at realism and the film looks very theatrical both
in production design and cinematography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Although one can appreciate Shaw’s wry sense of
humor, and at first glance his play would seem to reinforce the stereotype of
Cleopatra as sex kitten, Shaw has written the Queen as a young woman much
smarter than her friends and enemies give her credit for. Aided by Fatateeta,
the Queen uses that underestimation to advantage, and is able, in the end, to
secure her position and her future, for the moment at least.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">As with all films about Cleopatra, this production
too spared no expense on costumes and sets in an attempt to “get the look
right.” The resulting look, while obviously expensive is typically “Hollywood
Roman” and not historically accurate by any stretch of the imagination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reportedly the most expensive film ever
made in the UK (to that date) it was a box office failure and nearly ended the
director’s career.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s more, in
yet another ominous foreshadowing, Vivian Leigh suffered a miscarriage during
the shoot that delayed production for several weeks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvzBM7E7YlfHcK12FVLfG8jqRFwGSukiskDhAA1aFvaVf4nDxYrLknaJpsBtAroC-QL7XMxBuJzxhUCd1jI-YksBJZjvtJpGM3WB8Vw56iT3dDp170BRzA3EXv1XfeFKI59E-66ZNY1Gj/s1600/Cleopatra+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsvzBM7E7YlfHcK12FVLfG8jqRFwGSukiskDhAA1aFvaVf4nDxYrLknaJpsBtAroC-QL7XMxBuJzxhUCd1jI-YksBJZjvtJpGM3WB8Vw56iT3dDp170BRzA3EXv1XfeFKI59E-66ZNY1Gj/s320/Cleopatra+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flora Robson, Stewart Granger and Vivian Leigh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">If for no other reason, this film is worth watching
for the ample display of George Bernard Shaw’s prodigious wit, and while I am
personally not enamored of Vivian Leigh’s performance, there are many who find
it to be not just enjoyable, but actually better than her turn as Scarlet in <i>Gone
With The Wind</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, in terms of historical
fidelity, there is no need to look here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Enjoy the humor – ignore the lack of history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">With the box office failure of <i>Caesar And
Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, the Queen took a hiatus
from Hollywood until 1963 when she returned in a big way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Cleopatra the Extravagant<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVC3ZJUf0vy4fGPSob1Bjt9tNi-YjEVtjMPgN-NeRLnAk5e_iwJ66KUW9RIKYYQ-addW58Sib8OMwmL4GCMJ-rHSwIfmP0R1AlVhs1x5jIR2wZ673gDjbGUm-O6zlfHzNaX8fQZ3dEBce/s1600/Cleopatra+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWVC3ZJUf0vy4fGPSob1Bjt9tNi-YjEVtjMPgN-NeRLnAk5e_iwJ66KUW9RIKYYQ-addW58Sib8OMwmL4GCMJ-rHSwIfmP0R1AlVhs1x5jIR2wZ673gDjbGUm-O6zlfHzNaX8fQZ3dEBce/s320/Cleopatra+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Much has been written about the now legendary and
infamous 1963 Fox production, and reading through the list of woes it is a
wonder any film emerged at all, good, bad or indifferent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">A Few highlights:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Cost</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">:
Originally conceived of as a “B” film, a modest re-make of the 1917 <i>Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, starring Theda Bara, with a budget of $1- 2 million,
the production quickly grew, the budget ballooning to a then astronomical $44
million. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Cast</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">:
Although the first director originally wanted Dorothy Dandridge for the part of
Cleopatra, Taylor was cast early on and for a very handsome salary including
profit participation and overtime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first cast also included Peter Finch as Julius Caesar and Stephen
Boyd as Mark Antony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I must say
that this casting seems far more interesting and I would love to have seen that
production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, delays caused
by Elizabeth Taylor’s ill health, including an erroneous announcement of her
death, and weeks in the hospital, compelled both Finney and Boyd to withdraw
from the production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weeks of
footage already shot with those actors was now useless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As with the health related delays on
the 1917, 1934 and 1945 <i>Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">
productions, so too did 1963 suffer from bad luck, or Cleopatra’s curse,
depending upon how romantic you are. <span style="color: red;"><b>8</b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseRJs6kyl6957NLXVcCwdoXMweXksavz2V3Y7vetMDd3z7s_6_bJQYy9QEHANF5QWpPAmvF_VzCNDoJurefEK4xf7oM1ZFnJvarDsbHI66mI2jgZohYDTwptbmz6MvAMMP-c1NgCDOCK6/s1600/Cleopatra+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseRJs6kyl6957NLXVcCwdoXMweXksavz2V3Y7vetMDd3z7s_6_bJQYy9QEHANF5QWpPAmvF_VzCNDoJurefEK4xf7oM1ZFnJvarDsbHI66mI2jgZohYDTwptbmz6MvAMMP-c1NgCDOCK6/s1600/Cleopatra+7.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dorothy Dandridge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Directors</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the production shut down due to
Taylor’s hospitalization, Fox fired the first director, Rouben Mamoulian
(almost as if this bad luck was his fault) and started casting about for a new
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They first approached George
Stevens but he declined and so they settled on Joseph L Mankiewicz who already
had several Academy Awards to his credit and had actually directed a previous
film about Caesar and Antony, the 1953 film of Shakespeare’s Julius
Caesar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mankiewicz quickly re-cast
the parts of Caesar and Antony with Rex Harrison and Richard Burton respectively.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Location</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">:
The Mamoulian production was working on lavish sets in England despite warnings
about the weather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mankiewicz
heeded the warnings, moving the entire operation to Rome and using locations
throughout the world including Spain, Italy, Egypt and even Malibu in Southern
California.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This ran production
costs up considerably.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Writers</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">:
After the change in directors the first screenplay was scrapped and Mankiewicz
set about rewriting the entire film, shooting during the day and writing
through the night Although giving story credit to Plutarch, Suetonius, Appian
and “other” ancient sources it is difficult to believe that Mankiewicz actually
read any of their works, so at variance with history is his screenplay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His take on Caesar’s final days in Rome
is, to be kind, fanciful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Lovers</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">:
That Antony and Cleopatra were lovers is well known, and it quickly became well
known that Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, unlike Cleopatra who was not
married when she and Antony “joined forces” Taylor was married.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact the spouses of both Taylor and
Burton were on location and this resulted in all sorts of fire works including
a bout of fisticuffs between Taylor’s then husband, Eddie Fisher, and Burton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course like Octavian, who used the
Cleopatra – Antony affair to boost his fortunes, so too did Fox use the fire
works, on screen and off, to promote the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Hollywood all publicity is good publicity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The Final Cut</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After throwing out the
several weeks of film shot by Mamoulian, Mankiewicz and his team still shot
633,000 feet of film over a 200 day shooing schedule.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even then, Darryl F Zanuck, who was once again running the
studio, sent Mankiewicz out to re-shoot the opening battle sequence, which
looked too cheap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was after
Zanuck had fired and then re-hired Mankiewicz to finish editing the film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seems that no one else could make
anything out of the 120 miles worth of footage. <span style="color: red;"><b>9<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The rough cut that Mankiewicz screened for Zanuck and
Fox executives was just under 6 hours in length.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mankiewicz wanted to release two films of about 3 hours in
length each: <i>Caesar And Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">
followed a year or so later by <i>Antony And Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
Zanuck was having none of that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Besides, the Fox publicity department wanted to cash in on the Taylor –
Burton affair while it was still hot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They could not wait a year or more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So Mankiewicz cut his film again to a still epic 243
minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the version that
premiered in New York on June 12, 1963.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was subsequently re-cut several times but has, thankfully been
restored to the full 243-minute length.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is the version currently showing on the Fox Movie Channel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, there is talk of finding the
missing elements and restoring the film to Mankiewicz’s original 6-hour
cut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far a few minutes have
been found, but this is a task that will take Fox many years to complete.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Contrary to popular belief, the film did not bankrupt
Fox, or even come close to doing so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although the film did cost $44 million, Fox had taken out insurance on
the production and received payments of over $13 million bringing net
production costs down to $31 million.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Still, despite being Fox’s highest grossing film of 1963 the studio did
not make a profit on <i>Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">
until 1966 when ABC paid the then hefty price of $5 million for the broadcast
TV rights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As of 2005, Cleopatra
has enjoyed a US Box Office take of $435 million (in 2005 adjusted dollars).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The film received nine Academy Award nomination and
won four, including Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design and Special
Effects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>However … What about the film itself</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I wish I could say that this is a great film, an epic
that will stand the test of time, a DVD that belongs in every home video
collection -- but I cannot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Frankly, this film is a mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, it is a feast for the eyes, and as
spectacles go it might be worth sitting through at least once for the sheer
experience of it, but films are nothing more than another medium for story
telling and this film of Cleopatra manages to take a great story and render it
not only barely comprehensible, but frankly rather boring.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The epic film, in the hands of a master, can be a
truly great work of cinematic art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A number of Kurosawa films come to mind, as do the works of Stanley
Kubrick, David Lean, and Francis Ford Coppola.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No doubt each viewer would add his own favorites to the list
and given the subjective nature of art personal likes and dislikes defy
scholarly criticism or popular tastes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">For me, having watched the 1963 Cleopatra several times,
I would, if given a choice, not sit through it again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Since 1963, Cleopatra has appeared in several TV
series, most notably in the 1999 mini-series, <i>Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, starring Leonor Varela as the Queen paired with
Timothy Dalton and Billy Zane as Caesar and Antony respectively, and in the
HBO-BBC series <i>Rome</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">, where
Lyndsey Marshal played Cleopatra opposite Ciaran Hinds as Caesar and James
Purefoy as Antony.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">In both of these TV productions the actors playing
Cleopatra do a reasonably good job, in particular Ms. Marshal, though once
again history took a back seat to drama and neither character, as written,
garnered much praise for accuracy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">So, given the somewhat checkered results, both box
office and critical, for Cleopatra films, why would Hollywood want to embark on
yet another trip down the Nile?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Cleopatra is such a compelling character, and her
life and times filled with such momentous events that it is wonder more films
about her are not in the works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
may well be that, like Alexander the Great, Cleopatra is simply too big for the
screen and no film is up to the task of capturing her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One might as well attempt to capture
lightning in a bottle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet
Hollywood will continue to try and we will continue to watch those attempts in
the hope that maybe, just maybe, this next film will get it just right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><u>The “Evolution" of Cleopatra’s
appearance:<o:p></o:p></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">As Goldsworthy points out in a recent article from
the Guardian, Cleopatra would be dressed not in the Egyptian style of a thousand
years earlier, but rather</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;">"She
would have dressed more in the Greek style and the problem for Hollywood is
that Greek dress looks pretty much like Roman – lots of people in sheets."
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: red;"><b>10</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Indeed, when shown the photo of Ms. Marshal (above)
and asked “Who is this?” my ten year old grandson answered without hesitation,
“Cleopatra!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“How do you know it’s Cleopatra?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">“By her headdress,” he replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">And so it is, like the Hollywood Romans, whose
costumes continually drive the historians crazy, so too Cleopatra will continue
to be costumed in ancient style otherwise we might not recognize her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;"><b><u>End Notes</u></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-autospace: none;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Antony And Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">
by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2010 pp. 10-11.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">This is by far the best
biography of this famous pair to be published to date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, the thirteen page introduction
alone is worth the price of admission.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Goldsworthy writes in a lively and fluid style that, coupled with his
solid researcher and command of the source material, makes for an entertaining
and informative read.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>2</b></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial;">
Those books are:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Antony And Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2010<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Cleopatra – A Life</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> by Stacy Schiff, c2010<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Cleopatra’s Moon</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> by Vicky Alvear Schecter, c2011<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>3.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> David Fincher is only the latest director selected
to helm this project.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also on
board at one point or another were James Cameron and Paul Greengrass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a rumor that Jane Campion was
under consideration and though intriguing, it remains unconfirmed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point the only female still
involved with the project, besides Jolie, is Amy Pascal, the Sony Studio chief
in charge of production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for
Fincher as director, this too could change but the film’s producer, Scott
Rudin, worked with Fincher on <i>The Social Network</i> so this could be the team that
sees this project through to completion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/paul-greengrass-direct-cleopatra/">http://www.slashfilm.com/paul-greengrass-direct-cleopatra/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/david-fincher-direct-sonys-cleopatra/">http://www.slashfilm.com/david-fincher-direct-sonys-cleopatra/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>**</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> It should be noted
that Jolie has asked Ang Lee to direct the film and, fresh from his Oscar win
for <i>Life Of Pi</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> at the 2013
Academy Awards , it seems that Lee will accept the offer and direct the new
Cleopatra film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Considering how
many directors this project has seen, it might be best to wait until the
premier to see who the actual director is. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>4.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> George Lucas’s Blockbusting edited by Alex Block
& Lucy Wilson, c2010 p47.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>5</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">
George Lucas’s Blockbusting, p47. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">To misquote Austin Powers,
“It is amazing how much southern California looks just like ancient Egypt.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>6.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> George Lucas’s Blockbusting, p185<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>7</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">. George Lucas’s Blockbusting, p185.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>8.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> <i>Antony And Cleopatra</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2010 p<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Paired with the broadcast
of the 1963 Cleopatra on the Fox Movie Channel is an episode of their in-house
movie news magazine, Fox Legacy, hosted by Philip Roth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Roth is a former Fox studio executive
whose credits include <i>Titanic</i></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point during this half hour show
Roth mentions that Dorothy Dandridge was considered for the role of Cleopatra
and comments that this might have been a more historically accurate casting,
thus raising yet again the bogus question of Cleopatra’s ethnicity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">There is no question about
her ethnicity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The issue was dealt
with by Michael Grant in his 1972 bio of the Queen, and once again by both
Goldsworthy and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Schiff in their respective
books published last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .25in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">The announcement of
Jolie’s casting in the role of Cleopatra occasioned a new round of chest
thumping and pontification about Cleopatra’s ethnicity that generated a lot of
heat but very little light.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">See: <a href="http://narukamisthunderbolts.blogspot.com/2010/11/cleopatra-obsession-with-beauty-antony.html">http://narukamisthunderbolts.blogspot.com/2010/11/cleopatra-obsession-with-beauty-antony.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">As for the
coins that Antony & Cleopatra issued to pay Antony’s army, Goldsworthy
notes: </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">"A
coin image was a statement of power intended to prove you were the rightful
ruler, which meant you wanted to look like a Ptolemy,"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWWWjGhIDryOwjpgRmgQEhf4adZALfGMqaOGP1hRVjDQ0zGJxcimiTJ_AA9RP6mCrode5wJwZrnF2bkoUGQy4B0qWshAFZ8SGgzxWHAUTeT5glLaNF-5y3Z15F6-PPaO65jVTLh50YnC_/s1600/Cleo+H.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWWWjGhIDryOwjpgRmgQEhf4adZALfGMqaOGP1hRVjDQ0zGJxcimiTJ_AA9RP6mCrode5wJwZrnF2bkoUGQy4B0qWshAFZ8SGgzxWHAUTeT5glLaNF-5y3Z15F6-PPaO65jVTLh50YnC_/s1600/Cleo+H.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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See: <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/09/cleopatra-paul-greengrass-angelina-jolie">http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2011/jan/09/cleopatra-paul-greengrass-angelina-jolie</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>9</b></span></span><span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> George Lucas’s Blockbusting, p184<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Arial;"><b>10.</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Jolie's Cleopatra will show Egypt's
queen as more than a sex kitten” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">By Vanessa Thorpe, The Guardian, January 9, 2011<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See: Link above in Note #7<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b><u>Books & Links Of Interest<o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Cleopatra</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;">
by Michael Grant, c1972, ISBN: 0785818286<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Antony And Cleopatra</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2010, ISBN: 9780300165340<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>George Lucas’s Blockbusting</b></span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> edited by Alex Ben Block & Lucy Autrey Wilson,
c2010, ISBN: 9780061778896<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://historywithatwist.blogspot.com/">http://historywithatwist.blogspot.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://popclassicsjg.blogspot.com/2011/01/rome-caesarion.html">http://popclassicsjg.blogspot.com/2011/01/rome-caesarion.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://romanhistorybooksandmore.freeservers.com/r_antony-and-cleopatra.htm">http://romanhistorybooksandmore.freeservers.com/r_antony-and-cleopatra.htm</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jan/13/cleopatra-myth/">http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jan/13/cleopatra-myth/</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0000ee; font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><u><br /></u></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jan/13/cleopatra-myth/"><br /></a></div>
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<i>This Review was first posted on the Ancient Warfare Magazine web site, May 2011.</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
(c) 2011 by David L Reinke</div>
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<a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/jan/13/cleopatra-myth/"><br /></a></div>
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Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-76895824177382143162013-04-04T22:56:00.001-07:002015-03-29T16:49:53.940-07:00Hollywood Romans #9 -- The Eagle<!--[if !mso]>
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<span style="font-size: 16.0pt;"><b>The Eagle of The Ninth –
MIA In Hollywood<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<b>The Eagle</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> (2011) 114
minutes</span></div>
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Director: Kevin Macdonald<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Screenplay: Jeremy Brock</div>
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Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Mark Strong, Donald
Sutherland</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uJ6X85dj0nLSz1OIE24Ytw4Oz6JiSrsxn5pzahNWhKqKbKlXL_vMXYFXFtZLHHY7BzocYXzxLtakaS6gRv8jVWn1-qvmUGd00JVloqU7dWKTCu2RSWcxMCXa4nJRlFh2FkS0RuHLJg8I/s1600/the+eagle+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uJ6X85dj0nLSz1OIE24Ytw4Oz6JiSrsxn5pzahNWhKqKbKlXL_vMXYFXFtZLHHY7BzocYXzxLtakaS6gRv8jVWn1-qvmUGd00JVloqU7dWKTCu2RSWcxMCXa4nJRlFh2FkS0RuHLJg8I/s320/the+eagle+1.jpg" height="320" width="216" /></a></div>
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"There are only two American novelists who should be
grateful for the movies made from their books. I am one of them (for <i>Slaughterhouse-Five</i><span style="font-style: normal;">). The other one? Margaret Mitchell, of course." </span></div>
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<span style="font-style: normal;">- Kurt Vonnegut, </span><i>Palm Sunday</i><span style="color: red; font-style: normal;"><b>1</b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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When it was announced, several years ago, that Hollywood was
embarking on a feature film adaptation of Rosemary Sutcliff’s YA novel, <i>The
Eagle Of The Ninth</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, there was cautious
optimism that a much beloved book would finally give viewers a more authentic
vision of the Roman Empire than heretofore had graced the silver screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was good cause for hope.</span></div>
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The creative team of director Kevin Macdonald and writer
Jeremy Brock had just received well deserved accolades for their film <i>The</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><i>Last King Of Scotland</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, and although the myth of the Ninth Legion’s
disappearance had long since been put to rest, Sutcliff’s novel told a rousing
story that seemed perfectly suited to the big screen.<span style="color: red;"><b>2</b></span>
Casting announcements and early on-set photos sounded notes of caution
concerning authenticity, both to history and to the source novel, however it
was the decision to change the film's title from </span><i>Eagle Of The Ninth</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> to simply </span><i>The Eagle</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> that sounded the clearest alarm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why change the title?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, having seen the film, the answer
is obvious: This is not </span><i>The Eagle Of The Ninth.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Without resurrecting the entire Film Vs. Book argument it is
important to note that Sutcliff wrote what is essentially a mystery novel in
which subtlety and detail are critical, while Macdonald has made an action film
where movement and brute force are the order of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond the broad outlines of the plot
and the character names there is little of the novel in the film.</div>
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This is not to say that <i>The Eagle</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is a wholly inadequate film, for it is not, and yet
in making his action film adaptation one has the impression that Macdonald
missed the essence of the novel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Missing too are the wit and the intelligence of both the story and the
characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sutcliff was writing a
story of reconciliation, of acceptance, of redemption, of honor lost and
regained, and of the common humanity of all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The film touches on some of these themes but with seemingly
little understanding and even less heart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Indeed there is hardly any room for humanity when there is so much
action to fit in.</span></div>
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If Book Vs. Film arguments tend to be fruitless, then the Film
Vs. Historical Accuracy comparison is equally troublesome, particularly for <i>The Eagle</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, and almost from the first frame. </span></div>
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The film begins with a printed preamble telling us of the
Ninth Legion’s march north to oblivion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is followed by a second title card that begins: “Shamed by the lost
of the Ninth Legion, the Emperor Hadrian built a wall …” While “The function of
the wall continues to be hotly debated” to claim that it was built out of a
sense of shame over the loss of one legion is an exaggeration.<span style="color: red;"><b>3</b></span></div>
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The ancient sources suggest that
there was no clear defensive or offensive</div>
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ethos, but rather a range of
opinions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More importantly they
make it clear </div>
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that the Romans were more concerned
with power than the physical occupation </div>
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of land, and dealt with political
entities, states, kingdoms and tribes.</div>
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The Roman Empire extended as far as
the Romans were able to make </div>
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peoples do whatever they desired
or, perhaps more accurately, deter them</div>
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from doing anything which the
Romans did not want them to do.<span style="color: red;"><b>4</b></span></div>
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Beyond these larger issues, the historical accuracy of <i>The
Eagle</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is, as with most films set in the
ancient world, a hit and miss affair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While the Costume Designer, Michael O’Connor, has an impressive list of
period film credits, this appears to be his first set in the ancient world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand the Military
Technical Advisor, Paul Hornsby, whose area of expertise seems to be World War
Two, has worked on two noteworthy films set in the ancient world: first, as a
stunt man on </span><i>Alexander</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, and then as
the senior military advisor on </span><i>The Last Legion</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
results of their efforts here are mixed.</span></div>
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To their credit, Macdonald and O’Connor do convey, more
convincingly than many recent films, the professional discipline of the Roman
Army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The effort to rescue the
Roman prisoners being held before the gates of the fort is a case in
point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Romans favored an
“active defense” and would often attack out of a fort under siege to turn the
tables on the besiegers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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In the film, Centurion Marcus and his rescue party are
instantly set upon once they exit their fort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Romans adopt the testudo formation and work their way
through the attackers to rescue their fellow Romans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is at this point that the Britons spring their trap and
attack with chariots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Romans
retreat toward their fort, but it quickly becomes evident that the chariots will
overtake and slaughter them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Realizing this, Marcus turns to face the on rushing chariots and,
finding a previously thrown pilum lying on the ground, proceeds to stop the
enemy chariot attack with a well-aimed pilum. The fact that the Roman pilum was
specifically designed to prevent its reuse in this manner is perhaps a minor
point, for the scene does show quite well just how effective this signature
Roman weapon could be, and more to the point, it is an exciting sequence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Likewise, the use of pitch in the moat to create a wall of
fire to protect the fort makes for exciting cinema but dubious history and
likely falls into the Ridley Scott School of History: How Do You Know This Didn’t
Happen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You Weren’t There.<span style="color: red;"><b>5</b></span></div>
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It was said of Akira Kurosawa that the battles in his films
were confused without being confusing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is a rare gift and although the battles in <i>The Eagle</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> are excitingly choreographed, the use of medium to
tight close-ups almost to the total exclusion of any wide shots limits our
vision of the entire scope of the battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The director is attempting to give us a “you are there” feeling, but in
doing so he does not use the full canvas that a cinema screen offers.</span></div>
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Costumes are standard issue Hollywood Roman, with bracers
all around, lots of leather segmentata, metallic rather than painted shield
emblems and a rather eclectic array of helmets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While his helmet looks pretty good, Centurion Marcus wears a
muscled cuirass instead of chain mail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Impossible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, but
unusual, for as Graham Sumner points out:</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
is therefore somewhat ironic to discover that not a single example <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>[of
muscled cuirasses] from the Roman period has ever been recovered.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It
was often believed in the past that cuirasses could have been made from <o:p></o:p></div>
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molded leather, this would
certainly account for the lack of surviving evidence. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A more likely explanation is that
despite their popularity with sculptors,<br />
who depicted all classes of Roman
troops wearing them, they were as far as one can<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>tell
the exclusive preserve of the senior officers.<span style="color: red;"><b>6</b></span></div>
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More egregious is the depiction of the Seal People.</div>
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Here Macdonald is standing on firmer creative ground for
there is, essentially, no historical ground.</div>
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Since the history of the Picts has
been described by the historian Michael Lynch as “a mystery story with few
clues and no satisfactory ending”, Macdonald has a fairly free rein in
recreating his ancient tribe; but he is determined to be as authentic as possible,
with the tribesmen in the movie all speaking Gaelic.<span style="color: red;"><b>7</b></span></div>
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For the Seal People, the film’s main antagonists, Macdonald
has adopted a look very reminiscent of the North American Mohican tribes,
though painted gray and wearing both seal skins and bones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is all fine and good, and while
the use of Gaelic may not be completely accurate, it does work to differentiate
the Romans from the Britons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
same linguistic strategy was used in <i>Centurion</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> where it worked equally as well.</span></div>
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More problematic are the actions of the Seal People, and in
particular the killing of a young member of the tribe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without giving anything away, the scene
is used to give the audience proof that the Seal people truly are barbarous and
smacks of the AVS (African Village Scene), so common to Hollywood films.<span style="color: red;"><b>8</b></span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
is yet another unfortunate departure from the book, which went to great lengths
to depict the tribes north of the Wall as real people, but is in keeping with
the action film formula.</div>
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There has been much carping about the acting, or lack there
of, but on the whole the cast performs well enough, but not outstandingly
so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Macdonald has cast Americans
as the Romans (in the speaking roles at least) to further emphasize the divide
between the Romans and the Britons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Although some of the line delivery is flat, the film does seem to come
alive whenever Donald Sutherland is on screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He brings a level of natural ease and humanity to his
character that the other actors seem unable to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may be due in large part to Sutherland’s long years and
experience as an actor, allowing him to rise above the material.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Also, it should be noted that in keeping with Goldsworthy’s
First Law Of Hollywood Romans: <i>There Shall Always Be Gladiators – Even When
The Story is Not About Gladiators</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, we are
first introduced to Jamie Bell’s character, Esca, at the local arena where he
is matched against a gladiator in a fight to the death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This scene does appear in the book, but
is played there quite differently and far more effectively.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the film Esca refuses to fight and
submits himself to death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sutherland’s character salutes his courage but is dismayed that a slave
would be matched against a gladiator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is an odd sentiment considering that gladiators were slaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, the protagonist in Neil
Marshall’s film, </span><i>Centurion</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, was
the son of a gladiator, further confirmation of Goldsworthy’s 1st Law.<span style="color: red;"><b>9</b></span></span></div>
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As with last year’s film about the Ninth Legion, <i>Centurion</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, the look here is dark, featuring a somber color
palate of blues and grays with few exceptions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In both films much emphasis is placed on the rugged beauty
of the Scottish landscape, though </span><i>Centurion</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> does make better use of it.</span></div>
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In the end, the real question is: Should you spend your time
and money on this film?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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This film will do well enough with the target demographic of
10 – 29 year olds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is plenty
of action and the story moves along swiftly enough to hold their interest even
when they are waiting for the next battle scene.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Macdonald manages to put a lot of action and production
value on the screen despite the film’s modest budget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not as graphically violent as Gladiator, parents can feel
safe letting their teenagers watch this film.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;">On The Other Hand…</span></div>
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If you are a fan of the book then you are likely to be very
disappointed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise, if you are
a fan of films set in ancient Rome, <i>The Eagle</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> will serve, but only just.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Indeed, for the price of a pair of tickets you could easily purchase the
DVD and enjoy the film in the comfort of your own living room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like </span><i>Centurion</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, </span><i>The Eagle </i><span style="font-style: normal;">will likely enjoy its biggest success as a DVD rental or purchase.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b><u>Notes:<o:p></o:p></u></b></span></div>
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1. From the introduction to the book <b>Palm Sunday</b>. <span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><a href="http://www.vonnegutweb.com/faq/index.html">http://www.vonnegutweb.com/faq/index.html</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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2. For an explanation of what happened to the Ninth Legion
Hispana and the debate surrounding this myth of its disappearance see Duncan B
Campbell’s excellent article, The Fate Of The ninth, in Ancient Warfare
Magazine, Volume IV, Issue #5. You may down load the article here: <a href="http://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/cms/component/content/article/16-ancient-warfare/ancient-warfare-articles/65-the-fate-of-the-ninth.html">http://www.karwansaraypublishers.com/cms/component/content/article/16-ancient-warfare/ancient-warfare-articles/65-the-fate-of-the-ninth.html</a></div>
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3. I am recalling these quotes from memory so please excuse
the rough paraphrasing.</div>
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4. See <b>The Complete Roman Army</b> by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2003,
</div>
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ISBN: 0-500-05124-0, the chapter Frontiers pp 152-161 and in
particular the section on Hadrian’s Wall pp 157-161.</div>
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<br /></div>
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5. Scott elucidates his approach to history in the audio
commentary on the <i>Gladiator</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> Director’s
Cut DVD.</span></div>
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6. See <b>Roman Army Wars Of Empire</b> by Graham Sumner, pp 62-63
for his observations on the muscled cuirass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is one of several excellent books by Sumner on the
uniforms worn by the Roman Army, and it leaves one to question if the film’s
costume designer did any research at all, as the correct information is so
readily available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is very
likely the case that in fact he did and may even have gone to the costume
rental house with this information in hand and every intention of “getting it
right.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, he may well have
discovered that the stock of available costumes fell far short of the ideal,
but short of having new ones made, getting costumes that were close, though not
perfect, was the only financially reasonable course left open to him.</div>
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<br /></div>
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This does not, of course, explain the use of bracers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As there is no evidence that the Roman
Army ever used these then why go to the trouble of including them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it is the case that without the
bracers the audience might not recognize the soldiers as Roman.</div>
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7. From the article, <i>Kevin Macdonald Will Bring To Film
Pre-Celtic Clash Of Cultures</i> by Magnus Linklater in the Sunday Times of August
3, 2009.</div>
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<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6736860.ece">http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article6736860.ece</a></div>
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8. Russell Means, founder of AIM and a featured actor in the
film <i>Last Of The Mohicans</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, coined this
phrase while working on that film.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Means was appreciative of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>director Michael Mann’s sensitive portrayal of the native tribes, but
objected strongly to the inclusion of the scene at the Algonquin village where
the British officer is burned alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He called it the film’s “African Village scene” that though dramatic,
was not historically accurate. </span></div>
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In the same way the killing of the young member of the Seal
People by their leader is both gratuitous and unnecessary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is included not only to assure the
audience that the barbarians truly are barbarous, but as a motivation for the
character of Esca to side with the Romans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, by this point in the film, Esca has made common
cause with Marcus and has cast his lot with the Romans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He needs no further motivation, and yet
the director feels the need to give him a good sound moral reason for hating
the Seal People.</div>
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9. Adrian Goldsworthy mentions this quirk of Hollywood films
about Rome in a lecture he delivered at the Kansas City Public Library in
2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A link to a podcast of that
lecture may be found on the KC Public Library web site.</div>
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<a href="http://www.kclibrary.org/event/adrian-goldsworthy-how-rome-fell">http://www.kclibrary.org/event/adrian-goldsworthy-how-rome-fell</a></div>
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<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #073763;"> This review was first posted on the Ancient Warfare Magazine website in February 2011.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(c) 2011 by David L Reinke</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-5683543073139325272013-03-16T17:12:00.000-07:002018-08-21T10:05:54.404-07:00Hollywood Romans #15 -- I, Claudius<!--[if !mso]>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Hollywood Romans #15 – I,
Claudius<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy; font-size: 13.0pt;">“Few incidents
here given are wholly unsupported by historical authority of some sort or other
and I hope none are historically incredible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No character is invented.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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--Robert Graves, from the introduction to <i>Claudius The
God</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> (c1035)</span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I, Claudius</span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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1976 BBC 668 minutes in 12 Episodes (13 Episodes in the US)</div>
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Directed by Herbert Wise</div>
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Written by Jack Pullman from the novels by Robert Graves</div>
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Starring: Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Sian Philips, John
Hurt, Patrick Stewart</div>
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Robert Graves, one of the “war poets” who emerged from the
trenches of World War One, was a writer of prodigious talent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond several volumes of poetry,
Graves published more than 100 other works including translations of the
classics (<i>The Twelve Caesars</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) biography
(</span><i>Lawrence And The Arabs</i><span style="font-style: normal;">) and even
science fiction (</span><i>Seven Days In Crete</i><span style="font-style: normal;">).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, Graves is best know for his
works of historical fiction and for two in particular, </span><i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and </span><i>Claudius The God</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
two books, first published in the mid 1930’s, are still considered by many to
be the high point of the historical fiction genre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Robert
Graves</span></span> </div>
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It should come as no surprise then that Hollywood, in the
form of director Alex Korda, came calling and quickly bought the film rights to
the books with an eye to producing a new feature film epic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That production, directed by Josef von
Sternberg and staring Charles Laughton, as Claudius, Merle Oberon, as
Messalina, and Flora Robson, as Livia, was troubled from the start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although Korda was riding high after
his recent hits and though the thusly revived British film industry spared no
expense when it came to sets and costumes, the production just never
jelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In particular, Laughton
had difficulty “finding the character” and many days were spent with the cast
and crew waiting for him to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Neither Laughton, nor von Sternberg were happy, and even though rushes
of those scenes that were filmed show signs of true brilliance, giving hints of
what might have been, there was nevertheless a palpable sigh of relief when the
production was cancelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was
due to a near fatal accident suffered by Merle Oberon who, at that point, could
not be replaced without substantial additional cost.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Charles Laughton as Claudius</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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It was not until 1976, when the BBC undertook a new
adaptation of the book, this time for television, that Claudius finally made
his screen debut.</div>
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The series director, Herbert Wise, and producer, Martin
Lisemore, chose their cast and crew with care.</div>
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Seeing the inherent humor that Graves had infused into his
books, Wise had the good sense to hire Jack Pullman, known for his comic
writing, to do the adaptation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Wise and Pullman decided to use the format of the American Soap Opera
where the characters are fighting for control of the family business, which, in
this case, just happens to be running the world.</div>
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Wise then selected actors who could do justice to the
script’s subtle wit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although many
already had solid careers, none were big ‘stars’ and few were well known
outside of the UK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> changed all that, and many of the actors are quite
familiar to audiences today, though fans are often surprised to learn that
these actors were part of </span><i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Patrick Stewart as Sejanus</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #3366ff;">Patrick Stewart</span>, best
know as Captain Picard on Star Trek, as Sejanus, the commander of the
Praetorian Guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #3366ff;">John Rhys-Davies,</span> Sula in <i>Raiders Of The Lost
Ark</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and Gimli in</span><i> Lord Of The
Rings</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, as Macro, another officer of the
Praetorian Guard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #3366ff;">Kevin McNally</span>, Mr. Gibbs in </span><i>Pirates Of
The Caribbean,</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> as Drusus minor or Castor to
his friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #3366ff;">James Faulkner</span>, the Major in </span><i>The Bank
Job</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, as King Herod Agrippa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the seemingly minor part of
Gratus, a Praetorian Guardsman was played by <span style="color: #3366ff;">Bernard
Hill</span>, now better known for his turn as King Theoden in </span><i>The Lord
Of The Rings.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-style: normal;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"> Bernard Hill as Gratus</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Then too, some actors are so closely tied to this production
that they have become the characters they portrayed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although he does not look anything like Caesar Augustus, it
is hard not to see <span style="color: #3366ff;">Brian Blessed</span>’s face when
thinking of the first emperor of Rome, or of <span style="color: #3366ff;">Sian
Philips</span> when you hear the name Livia, or even to read the novel <i>I,
Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> without doing so in the voice of <span style="color: #3366ff;">Derek Jacobi</span>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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All of these actors have enjoyed excellent careers on
stage and screen, appearing in several note worthy films.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However I would be remiss if I did not
mention Brian Blessed’s bravura turn as Voltan, King of the Hawkmen, in the
1980 feature film, <i>Flash Gordon</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His performance alone is worth the
price of admission.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Brian Blessed as Caesar Augustus</span></span></div>
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In the initial casting call <span style="color: #3366ff;">John
Hurt</span> was approached for the part of Gaius Caligula, but he declined,
feeling himself not right for the part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Invited to a cast & crew party held at the start of filming, Hurt
was so impressed by the assembly of talent, that he, somewhat sheepishly,
approached Herbert Wise and asked if he might reconsider his decision turning
down the part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But of course,
replied Wise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had invited Hurt
to the party in the hopes that he might change his mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is lucky that he did, for John Hurt
is nothing short of brilliant as Caligula.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"> John Hurt and Derek Jacobi</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Initially, critics were rather lukewarm to the series, but
by episode five they had changed their tune and were now enthusiastic supporters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Audiences, on the other hand, had taken
to the series instantly, and <i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
proved to be popular not only in the UK but around the world as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, it has remained one of
the BBC’s most popular hits being re-broadcast several times on US television
and enjoying healthy sales on laser disc and DVD. </span></div>
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Now, 35 years after the initial 1976 broadcast, Acorn Media
has released a newly re-mastered 35<sup>th</sup> Anniversary DVD collection of <i>I,
Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></div>
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The set contains the original twelve episodes, as broadcast
in the UK, as well as a re-edit of the first episode into two one-hour episodes
as broadcast in the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is
also a fifth disc containing supplemental material. </div>
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The video quality is excellent and a marked improvement over
the previous release on DVD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
images are crisp with bright colors and sharp detail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same is true for the audio, which is much improved over
the early DVD release.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not
to say there are not some minor issues, but these arise not from the DVD’s
themselves nor from the re-mastering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are in fact due to the limits of the technology in use when the
series was originally made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
that day video cameras were using tubes resulting in ‘comet tailing’ of bright
objects (like candles) and some slight image lag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise, the increased resolution of the DVD format,
coupled with large screen HD monitors, makes it easy to spot the limits of the
make-up in use at that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #351c75;">However …</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These are truly minor technical quibbles and do not detract
from the overall quality of the series. I have owned copies of this series on
Betamax, Laser Video Disc and DVD, but <b>this new release is by far the best</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Indeed, watching the series again, on a 55” HD monitor, was like seeing
it for the first time (even though, in our house, <i>I, Claudius</i></span> is
a perennial that is viewed yearly).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Details missed during previous viewings, on a 32” CRT monitor, are
clearly visible now and seem newly added, though in truth they were always
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, more importantly, <b>what
really stands out is the quality of the acting.</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is always a joy to see good acting and <i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> is a shining example of what happens when an
intelligent script is put into the hands of talented actors – it is pure magic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLimtGO984T1mh28Oiv3Ye35FtE3-BQNxEeVwLEe4KRMuKRg_GLwmNbkYIphXdBmDmKtKonuOPYpNN9UKUuWDB_C2doEfyGBceqvNxBORlLkdfFnLHhTaG6yiF6ydMBwCCk1VCQmkAsbX1/s1600/Claudius+%238.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLimtGO984T1mh28Oiv3Ye35FtE3-BQNxEeVwLEe4KRMuKRg_GLwmNbkYIphXdBmDmKtKonuOPYpNN9UKUuWDB_C2doEfyGBceqvNxBORlLkdfFnLHhTaG6yiF6ydMBwCCk1VCQmkAsbX1/s320/Claudius+%238.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Christopher Biggins as Nero</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With a cast such as this, it is impossible to single out any
one performance or performer as markedly superior to the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is truly an ensemble piece and the
whole is absolutely greater than the sum of its parts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, everyone has his or her
favorite scenes and for me there are several.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Certainly Livia’s speech to the gladiators is a high point
of black comedy, as is Caligula’s speech to the Senators upon his return from
his war with Neptune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whereas the
scene of Augustus confronting the Senators, many of them close friends, who
have slept with his daughter is a sublime mix of black comedy and pathos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, it is Claudius who anchors
the series and Derek Jacobi has several wonderful scenes, including his speech
to the Senate upon his becoming Emperor by acclimation of the Guard.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I should also note that while the original two hour opening
episode, from the UK version, is interesting, I much prefer the re-edited US
version of two 1-hour episodes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These contain some additional footage that is minor, to be sure, but to
me glaring in its absence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also,
the two documentaries on the fifth disc are fascinating and well worth watching
in their entirety. One contains interviews with the cast and crew of the 1976
series while the other examines the aborted 1937 feature film with rushes from
several of the scenes that were filmed before the project was cancelled.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Inevitably, the question of historical accuracy arises, as
well it should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally, some
will also wonder how <i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
compares to the more recent BBC/HBO series </span><i>Rome</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With
regard to the latter question it is obvious from the start that </span><i>Rome</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> had a much bigger budget that allowed for multiple
locations and many exterior scenes with a large cast of extras and all that
this entails (costumes, props, sets, etc.)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplCFgSRk0J-7NzkMeZtKHU37WnTjoK5IY-1-zy9cCZAbAAr-_LiEpKm-lJQ_hfPNHuB73QL8rEE8aC67cKAliI_49wBVyzsIhFBhyIvowzMyYyM_vOTgI0kuR4jwnjzLiqnxgxBjHL1dN/s1600/Claudius+%239.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiplCFgSRk0J-7NzkMeZtKHU37WnTjoK5IY-1-zy9cCZAbAAr-_LiEpKm-lJQ_hfPNHuB73QL8rEE8aC67cKAliI_49wBVyzsIhFBhyIvowzMyYyM_vOTgI0kuR4jwnjzLiqnxgxBjHL1dN/s320/Claudius+%239.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Augustus and Livia at the
games</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, working
with a more “modest” budget, was shot entirely on a soundstage; so most scenes
are interiors with a very limited number of extras.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise costumes, though generally good, tend to be simple
with armor worn by the Praetorians being standard issue Hollywood Roman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even so, it is truly amazing how much
production value they were able to squeeze out of their budget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is also obvious that Wise put the
majority of the money into his cast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was the smart choice for that investment paid off handsomely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGoz0tm5x00xFCbetLabxB1PElhzRd5DknsZifsGKs0Nsf2HulbyOb18EnYW-1QmWc6-wLKWj1Ii_t8LgTKUVq0RHiWD0O8dbdHROHZaK5VesJQWyNyKcIj2hmrTKrhC7rXcIlijPKIUKG/s1600/Claudius+%2310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGoz0tm5x00xFCbetLabxB1PElhzRd5DknsZifsGKs0Nsf2HulbyOb18EnYW-1QmWc6-wLKWj1Ii_t8LgTKUVq0RHiWD0O8dbdHROHZaK5VesJQWyNyKcIj2hmrTKrhC7rXcIlijPKIUKG/s320/Claudius+%2310.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Statue of Claudius now in the Vatican Museum</span></span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In terms of historical accuracy, I would say that <i>I,
Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> does a better job of dealing with
the sweep of time and a large cast of historical characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, </span><i>Rome</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> does capture the sense, the feel, even the apparent
smell of ancient Rome, and several characters are very well drawn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet, the liberties taken in </span><i>Rome (</i><span style="font-style: normal;">compression of time, amalgamation or elimination of
characters) seem more obvious and more jarring than they do in </span><i>I,
Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5PfQoKq-3gz6-aPSDTWl41LSqrbfPawzbQviuWHrfHt6XkDVVUp3lFZjZSXe5t23j3EPzTGBxqArJlw5Gnlt1U20eKnwF4LkpqtWyoz3z233TtYh6c5_kITFX1vkjboUvNzqgzgbKVoxG/s1600/Claudius+%2311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5PfQoKq-3gz6-aPSDTWl41LSqrbfPawzbQviuWHrfHt6XkDVVUp3lFZjZSXe5t23j3EPzTGBxqArJlw5Gnlt1U20eKnwF4LkpqtWyoz3z233TtYh6c5_kITFX1vkjboUvNzqgzgbKVoxG/s320/Claudius+%2311.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">George Baker as Tiberius</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Indeed, <i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
succeeds on these terms in large part because it has such a solid foundation in
the Robert Graves novels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes,
some liberties were taken (it is unlikely Claudius ever visited Cumae,
Caligula did not eviscerate his sister or murder his own father) and several
scholars (most notably Annelise Freisenburch, in her excellent book, </span><i><b>Caesar’s
Wives</b></i><span style="font-style: normal;">), have taken issue with the depiction
of Livia as the arch schemer or of Tiberius as the degenerate lecher.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That said, </span><i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> remains well within the bounds of historical
probability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Ms. Freisenburch
notes:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: navy;">“ … Graves’ own unflattering portrait of Rome’s leading
women was not <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: navy;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>entirely
his own creation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He simply chose
to cooperate, for the most <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: navy;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>part,
with the descriptions of them written by ancient Rome’s best known </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: navy;"> and most
revered commentators … Indeed the ancient literary sources that </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: navy;"> inspired Graves
seem, on the face of things, to conform with his </span><span style="color: navy;">characterizations.”
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
- <i>Caesar’s Wives</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, c2010, pp. XVI-XVII</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMdjV63AFNyjYuLIuIKhQiSkabplE7Wmr4wDwNExd0kn9kgaIRR4bN5z8yyWFOSmE7ftOmPmWJHt8BgQ34FRKyWSorx6sIQUgEPyjHu5W84pknsGkLMq8z1xjU5VX16tohfKG825CAIZK/s1600/Claudius+%2312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQMdjV63AFNyjYuLIuIKhQiSkabplE7Wmr4wDwNExd0kn9kgaIRR4bN5z8yyWFOSmE7ftOmPmWJHt8BgQ34FRKyWSorx6sIQUgEPyjHu5W84pknsGkLMq8z1xjU5VX16tohfKG825CAIZK/s320/Claudius+%2312.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Sian Philips as Livia, with
Brian Blessed as Augustus </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For those who have never seen this series, or read the
books, I urge you to do so – what a treat you have before you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And for those who are familiar with
both, this new 35<sup>th</sup> Anniversary edition would be a worthy addition
to anyone’s collection and will provide the perfect opportunity to discover <i>I,
Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> again, as if for the first time.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Currently <i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">
is available from Amazon on DVD and as Instant Video for those of you wishing
to download the series to your iPad or other mobile device.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Acorn Media also offers </span><i>I,
Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> as a streaming video, with one
episode for free and the others available as part of their “</span><i>premium</i><span style="font-style: normal;">” service.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>One final note:</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After the success of their series <i>Rome</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, HBO and the BBC are teaming up once again, this time for a new
production of </span><i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(This on the heels of yet another
aborted feature film project involving, at various times, both Leonardo
DiCaprio and Disney.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The HBO/BBC
project is still in development so cast and crew have not been announced nor
has a release date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How will it
stand up in comparison to the original?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Difficult to say, thought no doubt the new production will have a much
bigger budget, feature more exteriors with large crowds, and, in keeping with
the HBO tradition, much more graphic sex and violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, when it comes to the acing,
the original will be tough to equal, let alone beat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing pleases quite like the classics.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5moGNkGXQ5_0lCJ1BhTq9Fo-DfUCJdsTcTugreFwe9jL0OsMd3NX1pneHxq9omu7gm5gmB2uYYITsA2srGbTfQZWaPWrZ1judOBa3pGzFDmZx-OgJDO0g9vwaFLX39GnUgt-wa_w2OzR/s1600/Claudius+%2313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY5moGNkGXQ5_0lCJ1BhTq9Fo-DfUCJdsTcTugreFwe9jL0OsMd3NX1pneHxq9omu7gm5gmB2uYYITsA2srGbTfQZWaPWrZ1judOBa3pGzFDmZx-OgJDO0g9vwaFLX39GnUgt-wa_w2OzR/s320/Claudius+%2313.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial";"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">Derek Jacobi as the Emperor
Claudius</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Further Reading and Links of Interest<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>I, Claudius</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and </span><i>Claudius
The God</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> by Robert Graves, c1934 & 1935
respectively</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Twelve Caesars</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> by
Suetonius translated by Robert Graves & Revised my Michael Grant, c1957
& 1979 respectively</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Caesar’s Wives</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> by
Annelise Freisenbruch, c2010</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Augustus</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> by Anthony
Everitt, c2006</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>This review was first posted in August, 2012 on the Ancient Warfare Magazine website.</i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(c)2012 by David L Reinke</span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-76015972835581554752012-10-18T11:05:00.003-07:002014-07-16T23:10:14.444-07:00UCLA Theatre Seminar - Japanese Theatre The Quest For Balance<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
UCLA Theatre History Seminar</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
October 19, 2012<br />
Japanese Theatre - The Quest For Balance</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<br />
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>I.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Introduction
<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Covering
800 years of history in 60 minutes – Mission Impossible</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>II.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>3
Major Nexus Points Important to Theatre<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>A.
Gempei Wars 1180-85</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1.
Fujiwara Vs. Genji Vs. Heike</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2.
Rise and Dominance of the Samurai </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>3.
Source Material for many of the most popular plays <span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">(*Yoshitsune)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>4.
</span>The Samurai quest for <b>Balance</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
(<i>Bun</i> and <i>Bu</i>) brings No into being<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>B.
Tokugawa Shogunate 1603–1868</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1.
First sustained peace in nearly 400 years</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2.
Flourishing of Popular Arts (Kabuki & puppets)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>3.
Struggle between Bakfu and Kabuki </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>C.
WWII and the US Army Occupation of Japan 1945—48</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1.
Kabuki faces its biggest challenge for survival </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2.
Shochiku uses Kabuki to resist US Occupation </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>3.
Army trained linguists bring Japanese Theatre to America</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #993300;">“</span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: 13.0pt;">Though I am ruler of Japan, there are three things which
are beyond my control: the rapids on the Kamo River, the fall of the dice at
gambling, and the monks of the mountains!” – </span>Emperor Go-Shirakawa 12<sup>th</sup>
Century<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #993300; font-size: 13pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #993300;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>III.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Noh
Theatre<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>A.
Kanami and Zeami “invent” Noh out of Sarugaku</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>B.
Noh flourishes under patronage of Ashikaga Shoguns 1338—1534 <br />
Performance before Shogun Yorimitsu in 1374</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>C.
Jo – Ha - Kyu</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>D.
The goal of Noh is the balance of <i>Hana</i> and <i>Yugen</i> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Yugen</b> -- lit. ‘Obscure and Dark.’ As used by Zeami it means: “half
revealed or suggested beauty, at once elusive and meaningful,
tinged with wistful sadness.” <br />
<br />
<b>Hana</b> -- To have <i>hana</i> is to have grasped the universal in the individual. It is to have creative freedom within limitation. As Zeami noted, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">"Whatever is suitable to the occasion is real <i>hana</i>."</span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">“The purpose of all art is to bring sweetness to the hearts
of all people and
to harmonize high and low” </span>– Zeami, <i>Kadensho<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>E. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">Noh is refined, elusive,
distant.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">The stage is so
constructed to separate </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;">actor from audience –</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px;"> The White Sand Bar emphasizes this separation.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>F.
The Mirror Room where the actor becomes the character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>IV.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Kyogen<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>A.
Comic plays staged between Noh plays on a normal program<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>B.
Comparison to Laurel and Hardy or R2D2 and C3PO<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>C.
Most scripts 10 pages or less, 3 to 4 characters (<i>Busu</i><span style="font-style: normal;">)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>D.
Zeami notes:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">“Kyogen should kindle the mind to laughter, but neither in
speech nor in gesture should there be anything low. The jokes and repartee
however funny they may be, should not introduce the vulgar.” </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>E.
Kyogen in Children’s Theatre (Jennifer DeCosta’s <i>Kyogen O’ Hawai’i)</i><o:p></o:p><br />
<i><br /></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>V.</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><b>Kabuki and Puppet Theatre<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;">A. Kabuki from the verb “<i>kabuku</i>” = at an angle,
askew <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is Kabuki a Chonin
response to theatrical and Tokugawa orthodoxy? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1.
Okuni starts kabuki dancing 1596<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2.
Onna Kabuki 1603 – 1629<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>3.
Wakasu Kabuki 1629 – 1652<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>4.
Yaro Kabuki 1652 – <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>5.
Bakfu forbids ALL amateur theatricals 1697.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>B.
Struggle Between Kabuki and the Bakfu</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1. Laws segregating actors & prostitutes</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2. Actors required to have their hair length measured</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3. Forbidden to depict current events or people</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>4. Bakfu wants to keep everything just as it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They use “morality” as a means of
control.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their other major tool is segregation – of
the country, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of classes, of the towns &
provinces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone has a place and they must remain
there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 1.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: #993300; font-size: 13.0pt;">“People are easily influenced by the
behavior of actors and prostitutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Recently there has been a tendency for even high-ranking people to use
the argot of actors and prostitutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This habit has become a kind of fashion, and people think that those who
do not use such words and phrases are rustics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am ashamed that this is so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such a tendency will result in the collapse of the social
order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is therefore necessary
to segregate actors and prostitutes from ordinary people.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #993300; font-size: 13.0pt;">“Morality is
nothing but the necessary means of controlling the subjects of the <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #993300; font-size: 13.0pt;">Empire …
Morality may be regarded as a device for governing the people”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>Ogyu
Sorai (1666 – 1728), advisor to Tokugawa Yoshimune, 8<sup>th</sup> Shogun</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>C.
Competition between Kabuki and Puppets</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1.
Ideas move in both directions (Double Suicide Plays)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2.
Puppets Not Viewed as Threat to Social Order</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>3.
Joruri is 3<sup>rd</sup> Person while Kabuki is 1<sup>st</sup> Person</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kabuki is an Actor’s
drama, Joruri belongs to the Chanter </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Original 1-man puppets have
limited movement</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They essentially
“disappear” when not moving.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To compete with Kabuki,
larger 3-man puppets are developed </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>4.
Chikamatsu the Japanese Shakespeare?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>5.
Puppets Theatre undergoes MAJOR change in 1746-48 moving</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>away from the style of
Chikamatsu to one more like Kabuki.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3 Great Epics of Takemoto
Puppet Theatre:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sugewara Denju Tenarai
Kagami – 1746</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yoshitsune Senbonzakura –
1747</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kanadehon Chushingura –
1748</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #993300; font-size: 13.0pt;">“From the
beginning joruri has modeled itself on kabuki, with even the puppets imitating
kabuki actors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The natural result,
now that kabuki is imitating puppet movement, is the decline of kabuki.”</span>
– Kabuki Actor Otowa Jirosaburo </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the first staging of Chushingura by the puppet theatre, 6
chanters were used in the Ichiriki Brothel/Tea House scene – one chanter for
each major character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This made the
scene much more like a kabuki play, more 1<sup>st</sup> person drama than 3<sup>rd</sup>
person narrative. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>D.
The Physical Theatre</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1.
Hannamichi – Single and Double</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2.
Traps, Lifts, Revolves<br />
Scenery Lift - 1727, Actor Lift - 1736, Revolving Stage - 1758</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>3. Draw and Drop Curtains </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>4.
Geza Music</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The kabuki stage invites the audience in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The house is traditionally wider than
it is deep so that everyone is close to the stage. (At the old Kabuki-za in Tokyo the stage is 90' wide while the house is 60' deep.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Likewise the hannamichi is more than simply a runway from the
back of the house to the stage – it is an acting space upon which (usually at
the 7-3 point, major characters are introduced, and important action takes
place, right in the midst of the audience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An important action that takes place there is the <b>maku-soto</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> – acting outside the curtain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kumagai’s final exit</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kampei and Okaru’s exit at end of michiyuki (with Bannai
closing the curtain)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Benkei’s ropo exit at the end of the <i>Daimotsu Ura</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> act, </span><i>Yoshitsune Senbonzakura<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brandon calls the maku-soto<span style="color: #993300;"> “The
single most important solo moment in any play.”</span> <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>-- Chushingura – Studies in Kabuki</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, p133</span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>E.
Kabuki Play Formats, Acting Styles and Major Themes</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>1.
Play Types</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jidaimono – History Plays</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sewamono – Domestic Tragedy</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shoshigoto – Dance Play</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>2.
Acting Styles</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aragoto – Rough House, Edo</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wagoto – Soft Style, Osaka</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Onnagata – Female Roles</div>
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<br /></div>
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The goal of the onnagata is not to imitate or impersonate a
woman, but rather it is to capture the very essence of femininity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is why, even today, geisha closely
observe the onnagata at the Minami-za theatre for tips and examples of how to
behave, move, and speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>3.
<b>The Major Theme of Japanese Theatre – Balance</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Bun</i> and <i>Bu</i> – the
Civic and the Military Virtues (Arts)</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Giri </i>and <i>Ninjo</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Duty vs. the yearnings of the
Heart</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life and Death<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Beauty of Each</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>*Yoshitsune
epitomizes this Balance.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>4.
Juhachiban – The 18 Favorite Plays of the Ichikawa Family</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span><a href="http://www.naritaya.jp/english/compendium/18_index.html">http://www.naritaya.jp/english/compendium/18_index.html</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.artelino.com/articles/kabuki-juhachiban.asp">http://www.artelino.com/articles/kabuki-juhachiban.asp</a><br />
</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>5.
Misc. Notes on Kabuki</div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">In Japanese theatre the
pauses, the silence, the stillness, are just as important (perhaps even more
so) than the moments of action.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">The Noh and Kabuki actor use
“stillness” as expressively as a Western actor uses movement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Consider Steve McQueen’s performance in
the film <i>The Magnificent Seven</i></span><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"> –
he is always moving, always doing ‘business’ never still.)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;">When Okuni staged her dances in the dry bed of the Kamo river, actors were often called <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">kawara-kojiki</span></i> (<i>river bank beggars</i>).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 17px;">The audience sat on the grass and perhaps this is why the Japanese word for play, <i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">shibai</span></i>, is written with the Chinese character (kanji) meaning <i>turf</i> and <i>to sit</i>.</span></div>
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Videos:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Daimostu Ura no Ba from <i>Yoshitsune Senbonzakura </i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Entire
Act: 30 minutes<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Maku
Soto (out of curtain exit) 5 minutes<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Michiyuki from <i>Yoshitsune Senbonzakura</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Entire
Act 25 minutes<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Tadanobu’s
entrance and dance 5 minutes</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;"><b>Yoshitsune, hero of stage, screen and the video game console</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2hRTnEXA26weYR14GTTpUsIWwSuuBqLaO_quSi20oSpiD52TS8dJZuD1vDpXwlzjsorb4n3rq7cRlwS45nIlSw6OhjfiTMLCAkk2GXC9YgetII2RDGEu7ahyphenhyphenFYQYWFB0fugXc9MzoDpl/s1600/yoshitsune.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK2hRTnEXA26weYR14GTTpUsIWwSuuBqLaO_quSi20oSpiD52TS8dJZuD1vDpXwlzjsorb4n3rq7cRlwS45nIlSw6OhjfiTMLCAkk2GXC9YgetII2RDGEu7ahyphenhyphenFYQYWFB0fugXc9MzoDpl/s400/yoshitsune.jpg" height="400" width="251" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: LucidaGrande; font-size: 17px;">At the Battle of Yashima, during the Gempei War 1180-85,
Minamoto no Yoshitsune, leader of the Genji Army, dropped his bow in the water.
Despite heavy enemy fire and the frantic urgings of his own troops, Yoshitsune
continued looking for his bow and returned to the safety of his own lines only
after he had recovered it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: LucidaGrande; font-size: 13.0pt;">His own officers and veteran warriors were angry with the young
general and told him so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: LucidaGrande; font-size: 13.0pt;">"That was a terrible thing to do sir. Your bow may be worth
a thousand, even tens of thousands of gold, but how could it be worth risking
your life?"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: LucidaGrande; font-size: 13.0pt;">"It isn't that I didn't want to lose the bow itself,"
Yoshitsune replied. "If my bow were like my uncle Tametomo's and required
two or three men for the stinging, I even might have deliberately dropped it
for the enemy to take. But mine is weak and feeble. If the enemy had taken it,
he would have jeered at me, saying 'See, this is Minamoto no Yoshitsune's bow!'
I wouldn't have liked that. That's why I risked my life to get it back."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Yoshitsune epitomizes this ideal of Balance so admired by
the Japanese, combining the refined grace of the Heike with the robust spirit of the
Genji.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is the quintessential
tragic hero in Japanese literature and theatre.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>Sources / Further Reading</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06;"><b>The Gempei Wars</b></span><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Samurai – A Military History</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by S.R. Turnbull, ©1977<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See in particular pp. 13 – 83 for the Hekei-Genji struggle </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And pp. 266-90 for the Decline of the Samurai during the Edo
period</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Nobility of Failure</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
by Ivan Morris, ©1975<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See in particular pp.67-105 Chap 5 Yoshitsune Victory
Through Defeat</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Legends of the Samurai</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
by Hiroaki Sato, ©1995</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See the Introduction for an excellent essay on the origins
of the samurai </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also pp.110-56 for Yoshitsune and pp.304-38 for the 47 Ronin</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Tale of the Heike</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
Vols. I and II translated by H Kitagawa & B Tsuchida ©1975</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The Kabuki Handbook</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
by Aubrey and Giovanna Halford ©1956</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See in particular pp. 418-25 for a synopsis of the
Heike--Genji Cycle</div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Noh and Kyogen</b></span><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<b>The Noh Drama</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
translated by the Special Noh Committee, Japanese Classics © 1955</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See in particular the Introduction pp.9-16</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>20 Plays of the No Theatre</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> edited by Donald Keene, ©1970</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See in particular pp.1-15 Conventions of the No Drama</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<b>Ze-ami’s Kadensho</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
translated by Sakurai, Hayashi, Satoi & Miyai, ©1968</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">The man who started it all writes on No and the search for artistic truth.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>A Guide To Kyogen</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by
Don Kenny, ©1968</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See in particular pp.7-14 </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Three Modern Kyogen</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
by Donald Richie, ©1972</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Introduction is excellent and the plays themselves very
funny.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Japanese Folk Plays</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
translated by Shio Sakanishi, ©1960</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
See in particular the Introduction pp.1-22.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This slim volume contains many of the most popular Kyogen
and a few obscure plays as well, like <i>The Magic Mallet Of The Devil.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #b45f06;"><b>Kabuki and Puppet Theatre</b></span><o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<b>The Kabuki Theatre</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
by Earl Ernst, ©1956 & 1974<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This remains the <b>very best</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> detailed study of Kabuki covering history, theory and production
written by one the officers who was part of the US Army Occupation Forces.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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If you have a serious interest in the Kabuki Theatre this
book is a <b>Must Have</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>The Kabuki Handbook</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
by Aubrey and Giovanna M Halford, ©1956<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Contains synopses of the most popular plays as well as
explanatory notes on acting styles, make-up, costumes, music, play cycles, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An indispensable book.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Kabuki Encyclopedia (Kabuki Jiten)</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> translated and adapted by Samuel Leiter ©1979<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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An excellent one-volume reference book on all things kabuki.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>The Art Of Kabuki Famous Plays In Performance</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by Samuel Leiter, ©1979<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Translations of the kabuki scripts for <i>Benten Kozo</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, </span><i>Sugawara’s Secrets Of Calligraphy,
Shunkan</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, and </span><i>Naozamurai</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>The Actor’s Analects</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
translated by Charles J Dunn and Bunzo Torigoe, ©1969<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A fascinating collection of notes and advice on the kabuki
theatre made by kabuki actors.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<b>Kabuki – Five Classic Plays</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by James R Brandon ©1975<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Excellent translations each with extensive notes on staging,
costumes, etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Includes the plays <i>Sukeroku,
Narukami, Ichinotani</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> (with </span><i>Kumagai’s
Battle Camp</i><span style="font-style: normal;">), </span><i>Sakura Hime</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> and the wagoto masterpiece </span><i>Love Letters
From The Licensed Quarter</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Studies in Kabuki</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by
James R Brandon, William P Malm, Donald H Shively, ©1978<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Essays on Kabuki Vs. the Tokugawa Bakfu (Shively), Kabuki
Music (Malm) and Kabuki acting techniques, styles and kata (Brandon).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<b>Chushingura Studies in Kabuki and the Puppet Theatre</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by James R Brandon, ©1982<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Contains a new translation of the kabuki version of this
famous play along with excellent essays on <i>Chushingura</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> (Keene), Forbidden Plays (Shively), Jouri Music
(Malm) and the differences in the puppet and kabuki versions of </span><i>Chushingura</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Sukeroku’s Double Identity: The Dramatic Structure of Edo
Kabuki</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by Barbara E Thornbury, ©1982<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Excellent study of Edo Kabuki and the Soga Brothers
tradition in both Noh and Kabuki.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>The Traditional Theatre of Japan</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by Yoshinobu Inoura & Toshio Kawatake, ©1981<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Good General Text covering No, Kabuki and the Puppet
Theatres<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Four Major Plays of Chikamatsu </b><span style="font-weight: normal;">translated by Donald Keene, ©1961<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Excellent Introduction on Chikamatsu and the puppet theatre pp.10-38<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
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<br />
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<b>The Puppet Theatre of Japan: Honor, Vengeance, and Love</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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translated by Stanleigh Jones, ©2012<o:p></o:p></div>
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4 Classics of the Puppet stage newly translated into English<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> translated by Stanleigh Jones ©1993<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Translation of the Joruri text along with extensive stage
notes, background information and bibliography<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Sugawara and the Secrets of Calligraphy</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> translated by Stanleigh Jones, ©1985<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: ArialMT; font-size: 11.0pt;">“His translation is of excellent quality, as he attempts to
offer not only the strict English version of the story but also to mimic poetic
devices so often lost in most translations.”</span><span style="font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>The Voices and Hands of Bunraku</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by Barbara Adachi, ©1978<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This is a good general text with excellent photos of the
puppets and their puppeteers. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>An Interpretive Guide to Bunraku</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> edited by Patricia Pringle, ©1992<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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In depth essays on every aspect of the puppet classic <i>The
Love Suicides At Sonezaki<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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This was a special publication for the 1992 Bunraku
Artist-in-Residence program at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Contact the Dept. of Drama and Dance
directly to see if any copies are available.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2WD96pbuA6jnLHEaJcznNixouoi-HTgWO22GjkHxPi1Zurtzmda_BlS0lb93P-bqAQyNyi5nlBFHeJ-QZhp7cY_OPdgfmfEr3wyvskYkbWFe_wKqZ9lK_g246AGl6K64Wp6KBsQIe0op/s1600/1973_Narukami.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif2WD96pbuA6jnLHEaJcznNixouoi-HTgWO22GjkHxPi1Zurtzmda_BlS0lb93P-bqAQyNyi5nlBFHeJ-QZhp7cY_OPdgfmfEr3wyvskYkbWFe_wKqZ9lK_g246AGl6K64Wp6KBsQIe0op/s320/1973_Narukami.jpg" height="320" width="255" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<u>Kabuki and the West<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Kabuki’s Forgotten War 1931 – 1945</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by James R Brandon, ©2009<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Fascinating study of how Kabuki adapted and survived World
War Two and how Shochiku used Kabuki to resist the US Occupation <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Theatre East and West–Perspectives Toward a Total
Theatre</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by Leonard Pronko, ©1967<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pronko’s ideas for using Asian Theatre to infuse new life
into the theatre of the West.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>The Challenge Of Kabuki</b><span style="font-weight: normal;">
by Mitsuko Unno, translated by Ann Cary ©1979<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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A detailed study of the kabuki productions staged by the
foreign students at the Canadian Academy in Kobe, Japan. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Dreamers, Dilettantes and Documenters</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> by Leonard Pronko, ©2010<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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An essay by Dr. Pronko on the use of kabuki in Western
Theatre, “Super Kabuki” in Japan and the concept of “<i>Kabuki imaginaire</i><span style="font-style: normal;">.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28kjdBvJMOmWG1r_HRHGq7UGmbLfIjPro6dc1MsAZ-eeCkqmTdrt3c8E1LjEoMEdzk2gVdomDt3NgAyB2_aAzmX8CpwNtyAGIcrRpDkazXjvXq_Japtug0djZBIvTaPjIA28jpfIKtGNy/s1600/Gidaiyu+Class+Kabuki+Hawaii+1979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28kjdBvJMOmWG1r_HRHGq7UGmbLfIjPro6dc1MsAZ-eeCkqmTdrt3c8E1LjEoMEdzk2gVdomDt3NgAyB2_aAzmX8CpwNtyAGIcrRpDkazXjvXq_Japtug0djZBIvTaPjIA28jpfIKtGNy/s400/Gidaiyu+Class+Kabuki+Hawaii+1979.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">On-Line Resources</span></b></u><b><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b>
<b>Theatre Nohgaku Blog </b><br />
<a href="http://theatrenohgaku.wordpress.com/about/">http://theatrenohgaku.wordpress.com/about/</a><br />
A blog dedicated to Noh Theatre with excellent photos and commentary<br />
<br />
For example - their report on the No play Aoinoue<br />
<a href="http://theatrenohgaku.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/hyakuman-and-aoinoue/">http://theatrenohgaku.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/hyakuman-and-aoinoue/</a><br />
<br />
<b>Bunraku Bay</b> is a US based troupe performing with traditional Japanese puppets.<br />
<a href="http://bunraku.us/index.html">http://bunraku.us/index.html</a><br />
Using the word "Bunraku" in their name has a nice ring to it, but it is a bit of a misnomer as Bunraku is the name of a specific troupe in Japan. However ... Bunraku Bay is doing some very interesting work name notwithstanding. <br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Kabuki21<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://kabuki21.com/">http://kabuki21.com/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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This is, by far, the most accessible and comprehensive web
site for all things kabuki.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
addition to current news and performance schedules, there are synopses of
plays, actor bio’s and an exhaustive list of links to other useful web
sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This should be your first
stop in researching topics in kabuki.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>The 47 Ronin</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> are the
most revered samurai in all of Japanese history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their story has been told not only in the Puppet and Kabuki
theatres but over 100 times on film and television.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There have been turned into toy soldiers for collectors, a
board game for adults, and I dare say someone somewhere is even now working on
a video game version.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed,
Universal Studios is currently producing a new version of the 47 Ronin, for the
first time in 3D and staring Keanu Reeves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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Not surprisingly, there are numerous web sites devoted to this
band of loyal retainers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is a
list of the more useful or interesting ones:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.47ronins.com/">http://www.47ronins.com/</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/hds2_chushingura.html">http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/hds2_chushingura.html</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=47_Ronin">http://wiki.samurai-archives.com/index.php?title=47_Ronin</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/CHUSHINGURA.htm">http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/CHUSHINGURA.htm</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/chushingura/FILMS/Index.htm">http://www.columbia.edu/~hds2/chushinguranew/chushingura/FILMS/Index.htm</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="http://www.kuniyoshiproject.com/Main%20-%20Chushingura.htm">http://www.kuniyoshiproject.com/Main%20-%20Chushingura.htm</a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaqkuoUKdF06vuloPhS_wUe88Mg2cmTVdQAsv8WX1KXaTdgnJGD_40IA1baochyphenhyphenXZPnm9OtUu_HplBZBitaPvYBTKKMMlReQJy1KWd0t2_xPHC47N3uIeYHRwWZXS3Fb1tYVBqaW6PMhv/s1600/Untitled+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikaqkuoUKdF06vuloPhS_wUe88Mg2cmTVdQAsv8WX1KXaTdgnJGD_40IA1baochyphenhyphenXZPnm9OtUu_HplBZBitaPvYBTKKMMlReQJy1KWd0t2_xPHC47N3uIeYHRwWZXS3Fb1tYVBqaW6PMhv/s400/Untitled+23.jpg" height="272" width="400" /></a></div>
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<u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #0b5394;">On-Line Video</span></b></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There are quite a few kabuki videos on YouTube. Most are fragments or short sections of plays while a few videos contain the entire act. There are also several documentaries from the NHK or National Geographic that provide a good 'general' introduction to Japanese Theatre. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Below are links to a few of the kabuki videos on YouTube. No doubt the diligent will find many more.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><br /></b>
<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Noh and Kyogen</span></u></b><br />
<br />
<b>Atsumori Otoko-mai </b>Atsumori's dance as performed by the Nogaku Theatre, a US based Noh troupe. (5 minutes)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgsALoKic9s">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgsALoKic9s</a><br />
<br />
<b>Busu</b> - a short section of the Kyogen performed in Japan (4 minutes)<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaBT0fedCME&feature=channel&list=UL">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaBT0fedCME&feature=channel&list=UL</a><br />
<br />
<u><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Puppet Theatre</span></b></u><br />
<br />
<b>Short Introduction to Puppet Theatre </b>(10 minutes)<br />
h<a href="ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TKt67ouaqM">ttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TKt67ouaqM</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #cc0000;">Kabuki Theatre</span></u></b><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Dai Motsu Ura</b> act from Yoshitsune Senbon Zakura (<i>Yoshitsune And The Thousand Cherry Trees)</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txaxum007X4">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txaxum007X4</a> (31 minutes)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Michiyuki </b>(Travel Dance) from Yoshisune Senbon Zakura (40 minutes)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part I <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jDqenOT-b8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jDqenOT-b8</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part II <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVU_GckQZ-o&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVU_GckQZ-o&feature=relmfu</a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Musume Dojoji</b> starring Bando Tamasaburo (each part is 12 - 14 minutes in length)</div>
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Part I <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axcbh92iC6U&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axcbh92iC6U&feature=relmfu</a></div>
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Part II <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31yI8y1IVP8&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31yI8y1IVP8&feature=relmfu</a></div>
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Part III <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHnymgCWpWs&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHnymgCWpWs&feature=relmfu</a></div>
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Part IV <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmNMuNVRmVs&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmNMuNVRmVs&feature=relmfu</a></div>
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Part V <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Zi6IRaKh0&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Zi6IRaKh0&feature=relmfu</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<b>Short Introduction to Kabuki </b>(10 minutes)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3IHdm2Tf8g&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3IHdm2Tf8g&feature=related</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<b>Kanjincho - The Subscription List </b>(adapted from the No Theatre. In Multiple parts with English narration.) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYqdC4x-Vns&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYqdC4x-Vns&feature=related</a></div>
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Part II <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2XjWx61-C8&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2XjWx61-C8&feature=relmfu</a></div>
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Part III <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPg5XWIexMk&feature=relmfu">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPg5XWIexMk&feature=relmfu</a></div>
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Additional parts are listed on the YouTube site.</div>
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<b>Renjishi - Two Lions</b> a Kabuki Dance Drama (Shoshigoto)</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7UdYl3BG4Y&feature=related">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7UdYl3BG4Y&feature=related</a></div>
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In 1978 the University of Hawaii undertook a year-long
program of intensive kabuki study culminating in the production of
<b>Chushingura</b>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The play ran for
three weeks in Honolulu, then toured the neighbor islands before embarking on a
six week mainland tour beginning in LA and ending in Boston.</div>
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Here are a few videos from that production</div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0y-TEZrFQ8">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0y-TEZrFQ8</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2WnL1d6PKY">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2WnL1d6PKY</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uRLnQ8Yp3Y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uRLnQ8Yp3Y</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fQPKx53sOraeKSIOtf32iL2pWiRae0kUDdXlbNEriIr0W2rvWRIKZAYNWkZ2nv51KZLR-jVFgkVb7u4zBdYEK0OlSxT7XX_ucxSndukfq7V-6_heWrnyiYe0m7eWnZ4MU012Ys10m5Gg/s1600/Wakasanosuke+UH+Kabuki+1979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-fQPKx53sOraeKSIOtf32iL2pWiRae0kUDdXlbNEriIr0W2rvWRIKZAYNWkZ2nv51KZLR-jVFgkVb7u4zBdYEK0OlSxT7XX_ucxSndukfq7V-6_heWrnyiYe0m7eWnZ4MU012Ys10m5Gg/s640/Wakasanosuke+UH+Kabuki+1979.jpg" height="640" width="436" /></a></div>
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A final thought ...<br />
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<u>The Zen of Noh.</u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5IQglrj3iJLO4-pRT63oPvA5_qiFtVNLWM4XnlyseE6OUiH1SDHBnPiztl91xbOxmR2_8VdHGVwmsMETG6tquALrvy_9lbOjhKxRZWC7BLjONum3pnGLBCIDrPN6WYlsPKtrNj6XiFa6/s1600/Aoinoue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA5IQglrj3iJLO4-pRT63oPvA5_qiFtVNLWM4XnlyseE6OUiH1SDHBnPiztl91xbOxmR2_8VdHGVwmsMETG6tquALrvy_9lbOjhKxRZWC7BLjONum3pnGLBCIDrPN6WYlsPKtrNj6XiFa6/s320/Aoinoue.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />
Zeami divided hana into nine grades or levels. He described the top three grades as:<br />
<br />
3rd Grade: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">"The whiteness and purity of snow lying on a silver garden"</span><br />
2nd Grade: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">"Among snow-covered mountains one peak has ceased to be white."</span><br />
1st Grade: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;">"The light of the sun at midnight."</span><br />
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This is the state of mind beyond thought and language. It is mind without mind ... The human is no longer human and art is no longer art. -- from the introduction to Zeami's <i>Kasenso</i>.<br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-76590938765667968402012-05-15T14:38:00.001-07:002014-11-25T17:24:49.622-08:00The Essence of Kabuki Endures<br />
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Not a day passes, or so it seems, that the news is not
reporting on some new instance of
‘kabuki theatre.’ Of course
they are talking about politics, particularly as staged in Washington D.C. The fact that these little dramas more
resemble Roman Farce or even Greek Tragedy, than Japanese Kabuki, seems to be
lost on both reporters and readers alike.
Indeed, when the James Earl Jones character in the Francis Ford Coppola
film, <i>Garden Of Stones</i><span style="font-style: normal;">, described the US
Army’s Old Guard as “… the Army’s Kabuki Theatre on the Potomac” he was much
closer to the truth of it.</span></div>
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Started around the year 1603 in a dry Kyoto river bed by the
itinerant dancer Okuni, Kabuki has grown, adapted, changed, and generally
rolled with the times, surviving the Tokugawa Shoguns, the popularity of the
puppet theatre, the opening of Japan to the West, World War II, TV and video
games.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfP8kCEut55uWetjAV-VSaVcjSDplXB9D6Tv00VAknv8NPdAj9SR82qdjsuKNLn_LdqnevG7MyGjo0z3DKUk2V2hWbvm7RMyUayGZSUa-eWtpqVplWJuAfr76g6inoNKD_0qfAg5GaOUCC/s1600/Kanjincho+UH+Kabuki+1981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfP8kCEut55uWetjAV-VSaVcjSDplXB9D6Tv00VAknv8NPdAj9SR82qdjsuKNLn_LdqnevG7MyGjo0z3DKUk2V2hWbvm7RMyUayGZSUa-eWtpqVplWJuAfr76g6inoNKD_0qfAg5GaOUCC/s320/Kanjincho+UH+Kabuki+1981.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">UH 1981 Production of Kanjincho - The Subscription List</span></div>
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Unlike most classical theatre, Kabuki has enjoyed a
continuous and consistent performance tradition that has endured into the 21<sup>st</sup>
century and shows no signs of diminishing. </div>
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The very best book about Kabuki is Earl Ernst’s seminal
work, <i>The Kabuki Theatre</i><span style="font-style: normal;">. Written in 1956 it remains unsurpassed
in its scope, depth and understanding of this most sophisticated art form. Indeed, those who are interested in Kabuki
will not only have this book on their shelf, but will have actually read it,
often more than once.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUi0SgPoQs40jSReER1xed9iVEZfyFUY3PAc89WoP9D2HXQQZepBCuazFpojCYYlQ4qBjBUoSF7L-9dVmr4Ok4sX4JKE25ZVT8y7z8gTOYR_RIBdRZNjFvGKDHTlwo1p5taAgjgXgqq6a/s1600/UH+Kabuki+Benkei+DF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUi0SgPoQs40jSReER1xed9iVEZfyFUY3PAc89WoP9D2HXQQZepBCuazFpojCYYlQ4qBjBUoSF7L-9dVmr4Ok4sX4JKE25ZVT8y7z8gTOYR_RIBdRZNjFvGKDHTlwo1p5taAgjgXgqq6a/s320/UH+Kabuki+Benkei+DF.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">David Furumoto as Benkei</span></span></div>
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In 1974, when the University of Hawai’i undertook to
republish the book Ernst, who was a professor at the UH, was asked to write a
new introduction. He was
challenged that, certainly in the 20 years since the book’s first release,
things had changed. Yes, Ernst
agreed, many things in Japan had changed, and even Kabuki, which always rode
the waves of time and fashion, had made certain accommodations, the biggest of
which was the institution and support of a new actor-training program at the
National Theatre.</div>
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And yet …</div>
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Even with a beautiful new theatre built by the government,
weekly-televised performances of classic plays, and new blood from outside the
traditional Kabuki families, the essence of Kabuki had not changed. </div>
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I quote Ernst in full:</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“In October 1972 one could step out
of the din and pollution of Tokyo into the Kabuki-za to see Kichiemon’s
grandson play Togashi in The Subscription List, a role in which his grandfather
excelled. He’s not yet as good as
his grandfather was, but he will be. [<i>And he was</i></span><span style="color: navy;">.] The set was precisely the same as it’s always been and so
was the music. The audience was
perhaps a little more restrained then the one grandfather played to, but they
came and went at will, they ate, and some seemed to have little notion of what
was going on theatrically, though whatever it was, it was estimable, and there
were those, perhaps a majority, who shed tears when Yoshitsune forgives Benkei
for having struck him. As long as
audiences weep at that moment of the play, a moment so purely Japanese that it
is emotionally inaccessible to most foreigners, traditional Japanese
sensibility will be alive and the Kabuki will nourish it.”</span> -- <i>The
Kabuki Theatre</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> 1973 Preface.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xaXrH_cIRUEMuiDS0SPKJLtAzw4ztCuD8efd2dlQINXIWcC9p-8AoPTTtty5LEJLVI7bmJpiog7JzfF5a5zmyWJseIIT1lO-LQ8SKA-mYWqUxk_1cFsjEqrsUHlQUSfapvHWp0mVZmuu/s1600/UH+Kabuki+Togashi+RO.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xaXrH_cIRUEMuiDS0SPKJLtAzw4ztCuD8efd2dlQINXIWcC9p-8AoPTTtty5LEJLVI7bmJpiog7JzfF5a5zmyWJseIIT1lO-LQ8SKA-mYWqUxk_1cFsjEqrsUHlQUSfapvHWp0mVZmuu/s320/UH+Kabuki+Togashi+RO.jpg" height="320" width="237" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Russell Omori as Togashi</span></span></div>
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If Dr. Ernst were asked to write a new introduction for a 21<sup>st</sup>
century edition, I doubt he would change much, if anything, from this intro,
except, perhaps, for the idea that the emotions raised by the scene of
Yoshitsune forgiving Benkei are ‘inaccessible to most foreigners.” In our post-modern global society I
think there are many non-Japanese who would also weep at that scene. Yes, the moment is uniquely Japanese,
and yet not so inaccessible as it once was, and that’s a good thing.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGGo_7Kt0G5V9ynIS9r4_i7r8kX9jX7wFVIe3l1kUD7DLlhN2YFSu_jSEGRFgSVVEV3LsIA6l5uAyh9ubyh5VaT_Cylp6WI572CGPew5WnoAkU1gVnlRKQpn0oNjvtcgxKCCxKGyNZxtq/s1600/UH+Kabuki+Yoshitsune+PB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGGo_7Kt0G5V9ynIS9r4_i7r8kX9jX7wFVIe3l1kUD7DLlhN2YFSu_jSEGRFgSVVEV3LsIA6l5uAyh9ubyh5VaT_Cylp6WI572CGPew5WnoAkU1gVnlRKQpn0oNjvtcgxKCCxKGyNZxtq/s320/UH+Kabuki+Yoshitsune+PB.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Penny Bergman as General Yoshitsune disguised as a porter</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFJqf0Q_Q2eFcZYOASJnFuSc8my1JkmWk2eSFK5DnQUzlH4JJtiBVPULH-KjF9YpX5OimpdryV2UzqP8Oz3RdSef-H-4kVZAq-W6BLNPEM1VU5jMYCXsIWGdZcCcYJPkk5i-NER1wwLEc/s1600/Reinke-Kanjincho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFJqf0Q_Q2eFcZYOASJnFuSc8my1JkmWk2eSFK5DnQUzlH4JJtiBVPULH-KjF9YpX5OimpdryV2UzqP8Oz3RdSef-H-4kVZAq-W6BLNPEM1VU5jMYCXsIWGdZcCcYJPkk5i-NER1wwLEc/s320/Reinke-Kanjincho.jpg" height="238" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Koken or Stage Assistant in the 1981 UH production of Kanjincho</span></div>
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Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-53025699450833550842011-12-07T22:18:00.000-08:002016-12-19T22:40:04.586-08:00December 7th - The Serendipity of 70 Years<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Reflections On Kabuki, Faubion Bowers and Serendipity</span></b><br />
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Serendipity is a wondrous thing, putting us, as if by random chance, in the right place at the right time, even though it may not be entirely obvious to us until much later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Today marks the 70<sup>th</sup> anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, an act that widened the Great Pacific War.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a merciless war that continued for nearly four years and only ended with the occupation of Japan by the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This event (and the ripples it caused) continues to reverberate today and has occasioned much chatter on the Social Media pages of the Internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some have remarked that although we remember these events, there is little or no animosity among the descendants of the combatants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would seem that “time heals all wounds” but in fact, that healing was already in full swing in 1945.</div>
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It just so happens that today I was in a used bookstore, looking for potential Christmas gifts, when I came upon an old program from the 1960 Grand Kabuki tour of the US.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The program contains several classic photos of the stars making the tour as well as essays by several noted kabuki scholars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is one by famed author Yukio Mishima on the actor’s craft, another by the noted translator and scholar, Donald Keene, about the history of kabuki, and finally a longer piece by Colonel Faubion Bowers, about the struggle to return kabuki to the stage in post war Japan.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FnEIfrmT8_7xTYOWkvzLz-xolzvqq7-sZkhgROfbxtoZcV5U1SBB-9xplbZ034hTrgUNgVpOUAgMpBVMttxt1sLTQBvNx5oWRDPsXsJr1CpzG8PZhcTwIgcWcEHnH55_RHgWLzdu6jp7/s1600/bowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3FnEIfrmT8_7xTYOWkvzLz-xolzvqq7-sZkhgROfbxtoZcV5U1SBB-9xplbZ034hTrgUNgVpOUAgMpBVMttxt1sLTQBvNx5oWRDPsXsJr1CpzG8PZhcTwIgcWcEHnH55_RHgWLzdu6jp7/s320/bowers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Colonel Bowers (R) with General MacArthur</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Bowers, known in Japan as “the man who saved kabuki” was a graduate of Columbia and Julliard, and had taught at Hosei University in Tokyo before the war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 1945 he returned as General MacArthur’s aide and translator.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a heady time for the American members of the Occupation, many of whom had never been overseas let alone to so seemingly strange a place as Japan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Bowers puts it, “We were flush with our victory, overenthusiastic, ignorant and arrogant – a bad conjunction of qualities.”</div>
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In their zeal to “reform” Japan into a modern democracy, the Military Censors “persuaded” the Shochiku Company (who controlled Kabuki) to remove Kabuki from all theatres.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was felt that Kabuki extolled feudal values (like seppuku, bushido, and the subordination of women) that were incompatible with a modern and democratic Japan.</div>
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Not surprisingly Colonel Bowers, who had been quite impressed by the Kabuki performances he has seen before the war, was dismayed by this turn of events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, it was his encounter with a young actor that set him on the road to returning Kabuki to the stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bowers is a wonderful storyteller, so I will let him speak for himself:</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Because I had been an admirer of Kabuki from before the War, the newspapers, shortly after issuing the extraordinary announcement that Kabuki was ended, approached me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a long interview, I regretted the ‘decision’ of Shochiku, and pointed out, I thought and think rightly, that the depiction of feudalism has, in effect, an anti-feudal effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After this interview, I tried to enlist the attention of MacArthur in the matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had no feeling about Kabuki, and couldn’t find ‘its head or its tail.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">The press reported my opinions widely, and mistakenly continued to make Shochiku the villain in the piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remember clearly, one day not long after, sitting in my office.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A Japanese, accompanied by a guard and carrying a slip of paper on which I was to write his time of arrival and hour of departure, entered my room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The paper said ‘Mister Onoe,’ a name not uncommon in Japan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To my astonishment when he introduced himself it was Shoroku II.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Already in 1945 Shoroku was a most promising young actor and dancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Son of the great Koshiro VII and adopted son of the even greater Kikugoro VI, Shoroku was destined for every advantage that the intricate hierarchy of Kabuki affords, yet there I was in full uniform, while Shoroku looked as run down as his compatriots of those postwar years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even the luxurious, extravagant Kabuki actors were poor then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Theatres had been closed because of air raids and many of them had been bombed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most actors had lost their homes, their belongings, and their clothes were crinkly with ‘<i>staple fiber</i></span><span style="color: navy;">’ or <i>ersatz</i></span><span style="color: navy;"> cloth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsF67g6M6F0vt97iOH0eZsHGd4_psdu0rrhy2zqcI4gs0K0c89Lj3G4mIy9-csPjnxL6gn5O6AFYt5y9sjNfJNcNNdMc4h61dhmFzr2w8ritzgLg9PXuSf_p9RfGQZqtc87C5r3OUDCITc/s1600/gnlgy_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsF67g6M6F0vt97iOH0eZsHGd4_psdu0rrhy2zqcI4gs0K0c89Lj3G4mIy9-csPjnxL6gn5O6AFYt5y9sjNfJNcNNdMc4h61dhmFzr2w8ritzgLg9PXuSf_p9RfGQZqtc87C5r3OUDCITc/s320/gnlgy_11.jpg" width="276" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Shoroku as the hero in the play <i>Sukeroku Flower of Edo</i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="color: navy;">“I have come on behalf of the Kabuki actors because of the article in the newspaper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you really say it?” he asked, looking brave, but as he told me later, feeling frightened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was the first soldier he had ever talked to and one of the few foreigners he had ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Certainly this was the first time he had ever entered an Occupation building where guards were posted, bayonets gleamed, and presumably secret documents fluttered in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went on to explain that the ban on Kabuki meant the end of an art, the finish of a livelihood for hundreds of actors and technicians, and a devastating blow to a country prostrate by war but culturally still alive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">“I am not speaking for myself,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I am young, I can learn modern theatre, make movies, and if I have no talent in those directions, I can always work at other things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what about my parents?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is nothing they can do now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">In retrospect, it seems to me that it was then I decided to become a censor of the theatre myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Through a variety of machinations, easily accomplished in those rank conscious days, I became the censor of Japanese theatre, and my self-imposed task was to release the classics as quickly as possible without openly embarrassing the Occupation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My uppermost thought was that if the Occupation left Japan with Kabuki still forbidden, it would be a mark against us, and later, of course, it would be resumed as soon as they were free of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what would have become of the greatness of the old artists and the essential continuity in the training of the younger ones and the atmosphere and traditions that would one-day mould the children of the acting families? </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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– Colonel Faubion Bowers in the 1960 Grand Kabuki US Tour Program</div>
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As a direct result of Colonel Bowers’ cultural sensitivity, historical perspective and, perhaps most importantly, his sense of justice, it was possible in 1978 for the University of Hawai'i to undertake a year long program of intensive study and training that would culminate in the staging of the Kabuki classic <i>Kanadehon Chushingura</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> – The 47 Ronin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Under the tutelage of Nakamura Matagoro II (Chief Instructor at the National Theatre) and a cadre of Kabuki actors, musicians, and technicians, we immersed ourselves body and soul into the world of Kabuki.</span></div>
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Many of us had come from great distances to be a part of this program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, my theatre professor at the Claremont Graduate School, Dr. Leonard Pronko, told the students in his Japanese Theatre seminar that if any of us were serious about learning this art form then we should head to Hawai'i for we would never have the opportunity, even in Japan, of working as closely with the Kabuki talent being assembled for this production.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got on the airplane to Hawai'i and never looked back.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvf3LQ36Y0BHhx68boCqluUongitkZGmZPCo-i26B_JQwYtH4cYxiZHykHLbkXpYJ2QFjt1IGrmiHDC7us6ouw0lVGW8qqNbFbDKDZXBXAgt8m8_UgddaoC5_Q08JIggSD1IvquGdOySV/s1600/Gidaiyu+Class+Kabuki+Hawaii+1979.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMvf3LQ36Y0BHhx68boCqluUongitkZGmZPCo-i26B_JQwYtH4cYxiZHykHLbkXpYJ2QFjt1IGrmiHDC7us6ouw0lVGW8qqNbFbDKDZXBXAgt8m8_UgddaoC5_Q08JIggSD1IvquGdOySV/s320/Gidaiyu+Class+Kabuki+Hawaii+1979.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Class in Gidaiyu chanting</b></td></tr>
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Our mornings were devoted to dance and acting classes and our afternoons were spent in academic classes on Kabuki history, costuming and music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the evenings many of us took additional dance and music lessons and, once the play was cast, we spent every evening, from 3:00pm until 9 or 10 pm in rehearsals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time we opened our Honolulu run in May, we had learned the entire play in Japanese and then re-memorized it in English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We ate, slept and breathed Kabuki.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was, for me at least, the best year of my theatrical life.</div>
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Some of the older Kabuki actors, those who had been the promising young stars when Colonel Bowers was shepherding Kabuki’s return to the stage, were less than sanguine about Matagoro spending so much of his time and energy teaching Kabuki to <i>gaijin</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, they were a small minority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many more of the leading actors were very supportive of our work and Matagoro had no doubts about the efficacy of what he was doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Although there were many talented actors among us, there were also some, myself included, who, though we loved Kabuki and worked at it diligently, had only a modest talent for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even so this did not seem to bother Matagoro sensei in the least. He was unfailingly generous with both his time and his talent.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwgUulbu0DA6yGqaVTjlzHWdOCr0J3hMtn6GR03SexgE4iMF38EdREvEKIMCYsrDce5o6GujZRD-ofbEGr_5rp6CWdG4zQyf5N3KzFTHA37m4oCPSXU2GvoktXPncjLbNz2XfMxbz46ki/s1600/Matagoro040%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwgUulbu0DA6yGqaVTjlzHWdOCr0J3hMtn6GR03SexgE4iMF38EdREvEKIMCYsrDce5o6GujZRD-ofbEGr_5rp6CWdG4zQyf5N3KzFTHA37m4oCPSXU2GvoktXPncjLbNz2XfMxbz46ki/s320/Matagoro040%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Nakamura Matagoro II (seated) during rehearsals at Kennedy Theatre</b> </td></tr>
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As I now look back on those days, I think that Matagoro saw his work as repaying in kind the good work done by Faubion Bowers back in 1945.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even more, Matagoro was “paying it forward,” so to speak, insuring, in some small way, that when serendipity strikes once again, that one of us might prove to be the next Faubion Bowers, in the right place at the right time, with the passion to help Kabuki through its next crisis.</div>
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I can only hope that at least one of our group has both the wisdom and the courage to repay that debt when fate demands it, and so honor both Matagoro sensei and Colonel Bowers.</div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-64441474580621066332011-03-08T20:57:00.000-08:002018-04-23T11:12:28.757-07:00The Limits Of Vision<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnwZ2aOALqibsRiN7qkhBuODhzirESlkKzQS7KhqQx8yIumfPLM4-tiBu58qQPG1JlUOymeFcNUIJRFGn7sBAURmWggRDQlUnYU3LfzM9iU1gO-rghYluineALjE760TxeqDqIyo3Hu9a/s1600/SW+vader+-+I+Want+You%21.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581951028378575666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTnwZ2aOALqibsRiN7qkhBuODhzirESlkKzQS7KhqQx8yIumfPLM4-tiBu58qQPG1JlUOymeFcNUIJRFGn7sBAURmWggRDQlUnYU3LfzM9iU1gO-rghYluineALjE760TxeqDqIyo3Hu9a/s320/SW+vader+-+I+Want+You%2521.jpg" style="cursor: hand; height: 320px; width: 216px;" /></a><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>The Case Against Darth Vader As Luke’s Father</b></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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When <i>Star Wars</i> burst upon the public that summer of 1977 no one was quite sure what had hit them, but from the opening sequence of the Imperial Star Destroyer pursuing the Rebel Blockade Runner everyone knew Lucas had finally gotten it right – space was big, really BIG.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also just as clear that audiences wanted more, and it was obvious they would get more as the villain, Darth Vader, spun off into space alive to fight another day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, all was not what it seemed.</div>
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It turned out that Vader was not the villain we believed him to be and in the years between <i>Star Wars</i> and <i>The Empire Strikes Back </i>much had changed in that Galaxy Far Far Away…</div>
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Following the old Hollywood adage of “<i>Bigger is Better</i><span style="font-style: normal;">” </span><i>The</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span><i>Empire Strikes Bac</i><span style="font-style: normal;">k was exa</span>ctly that: giant walking tanks, vast panoramic vistas, more complex space battles and a plot twist that threw everyone for a loop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No longer was Luke Skywalker on a journey of discovery, a quest to avenge his father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead he now faced the prospect of having to kill his own father in order to save his friends and free the galaxy.<br />
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This was the plot twist to end all plot twists and nothing else Lucas did in the original films matched this for shear audacity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Darth Vader had not killed Luke’s father – Darth Vader was Luke’s father.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Many fans were not happy with this new development and they still aren’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They pointed out all of the problems this created for the story’s internal logic and Lucas went to great lengths to bend the story to fit this new development.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Luke:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Obi-Wan!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why didn’t you tell me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Ben:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He ceased t</span><span style="color: navy;">o be A</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: navy;">nakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So what I have told you was true…from a certain point of view.</span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Luke:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A certain point of view!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Ben:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luke, you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our point of view.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Compare this tortured logic to the clean and straightforward prose of the first film:</div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Luke:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did my father die?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: navy;">Ben:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi Knights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He betrayed and murdered your father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now the Jedi are all but extinct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vader was seduced by the dark side of the Force.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Clearly, Vader and Anakin are not the same person, despite all of the ipso facto arguments to the contrary from Lucas himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course it is his story to tell and he may tell it in any way he chooses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That he changed his mind more than once during both the writing of the screenplay and the actual filming is well documented.</div>
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In an early draft of the first film the main character is a Jedi-bandu Knight named Mace Windy, and during the filming in England Lucas decided that Obi-Wan should “die” on the Death Star rather than escape with the other rebels. (And, as we now learn, that idea was first suggested to Lucas by his then wife, film editor Marcia Lucas.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Such changes are quite common on a film shoot – it is part of the creative process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And yet, by making Vader the father of Luke, I believe Lucas has limited both his vision and his story options.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, by doing so he has taken the easy path to resolving his story.<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Revenge Is Not the Jedi Way </span><o:p></o:p></b></div>
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After finishing <i>The Empire Strikes Back</i> Lucas began work on the final film of his Star Wars trilogy entitled <i>The Revenge Of The Jedi.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was not simply a working title, as films often use, but in fact the final release title.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is evidenced by the fact that 20<sup>th</sup> Century Fox went to great lengths to persuade Paramount to change the title of their up coming film, to be released the same summer as Jedi, from <i>Star Trek II The Revenge Of Kahn </i>to <i>The <b>Wrath</b> of Kahn</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Paramount obliged Fox only to have Lucas change the title of his film from <i>Revenge Of The Jed</i>i to <i>Return of The Jedi</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had been pointed out to Lucas that revenge was not the Jedi way.</div>
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This name change actually better suited Lucas’ revised story line for Luke was not seeking revenge for his murdered father but rather redemption for his father who had fallen from the true faith.</div>
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The idea of a son seeking revenge for the murder of his father is as old as story telling itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most famous example, but certainly not the only one, is <i>Hamlet</i> by William Shakespeare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But where as Hamlet must decide if the king is truly guilty of his father’s death, as the ghost of his father has informed him, Luke has no such dilemma. Luke knows he must kill Vader in order to free the galaxy from the imperial tyranny his father has made possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luke’s dilemma is quite simple: Is he strong enough to kill his own father?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lucas though turns that convention on its head.</div>
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Hamlet is tortured by the fear that the ghost has misled him and the king is in fact not guilty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Luke is tortured by the thought of having to kill his own father in order to fulfill his destiny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we all know Luke opts to not kill his father and instead trusts that his friends will save the day by destroying the Death Star and the Emperor along with it.</div>
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But is Luke’s dilemma as monumental and tragic as Lucas makes it out to be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it in fact easier not to kill your father than to kill him?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did Lucas give his alter ego Luke Skywalker the easier path?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I believe Lucas missed an opportunity to tell a far richer story, one that more fully reveals the essence of the Jedi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Had Lucas but remained true to his original idea, that Darth Vader was not Luke’s father but indeed than man who killed him, what then would Luke’s dilemma have been?<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The Discipline of the Jedi</span></b></div>
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To not kill one’s own father despite his crimes is no great struggle. The children of the Nazi leaders still loved their fathers even as they abhorred and repudiated the crimes they had committed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed it would have been more significant had Luke actually killed his father because of his crimes, Luke’s sense of justice overriding his love of and longing for a father to be proud of.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Of course that is not what happens – Luke spares his father, offering himself as a sacrifice to the Emperor and in so doing shows his father the path to redemption.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However…</div>
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Let us suppose for a moment that Darth Vader was not Anakin but rather, as originally envisioned, his betrayer and murderer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Imagine now Luke’s dilemma as he hovers over a prostrate and defeated Vader in the throne room of the Death Star.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With one stroke of his light saber Luke can avenge his father and free the galaxy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With one simple strike…and yet Luke choose not to strike.<br />
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To not kill the murderer of your father when you have both the means and the rights to do so — now that takes discipline.<br />
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A classic theme in literature is that of the child seeking to avenge the untimely and unjust death of their parent.<br />
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But in telling the story this way, where Luke at last, after three films, has Vader at his mercy yet shows him mercy, is that not more poignant? He does not exact a pound of flesh, does not avenge his father with blood but instead honors his father by adhering to the highest values and discipline of the Jedi order. Thus does Luke not only “out Jedi” Darth Vader, but also his father and Ben as well. And in that moment Vader has a flash of realization, a true moment of Zen satori.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now he sees clearly a path to redemption for himself, by siding with the son of the man he betrayed and against the Emperor who seduced him.</div>
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Thus do we see the limits of vision, a vision that, in the first film, was seemingly limitless but by the end of the second film was constrained to follow a path that ultimately proved to be less satisfying and less fulfilling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What might have been… what might have been…<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" height="300" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581949667939745074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjiglzOh1s8eS9k5Qr5OSt2xeHA51a7PpgH9aa1BTYxuUZdCvtVV7_5ma7gwl013sLZkmMDAUJEcNyRFI5BopU98HHIln7JrM4d3SqQQ0-cmXiC7eCXZPugAetmljQ1B9zuZ_FqDaQn7n/s400/482-DV%2526Minis.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Crimes Against Art </span></b><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">or the Creative Process</span></b></div>
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Many have accused George Lucas of committing artistic crimes (or is that Crimes Against Art?).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jar Jar Binks is the most often cited example, but there are others: the poorly written and delivered romantic dialog between Anakin and Amidala, or envisioning Anakin so young when the story begins. (An older Anakin would have allowed for a wider range of actors to play the part and puberty could have been used as the point beyond which the Jedi believe a Padawan is too old to begin training.) Or the almost comical exclamation of pain by Darth Vader when he learns of Amidala’s death.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the exception of Jar Jar Binks these moments and concepts are indeed all clunkers, but minor ones in light of the real crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If George Lucas is guilty of any crime it is of not having enough confidence in himself and his original vision for Darth Vader and Star Wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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In his original vision Anakin (or as he called him then, Annikin) and Obi wan Kenobi are forced into exile, hiding from the elite forces of Darth Vader who are hunting down any surviving Jedi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is while Anakin is in hiding that Luke is born and that explains Ben’s comment: <span style="color: navy;">“I haven’t gone by the name Obi wan since oh, before you were born.”</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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By making Darth Vader the father of Luke and Leia rather than the murderer of Luke’s father, Lucas broke with himself and in so doing limited the scope of his vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one change became the wellspring from which all of the problems we perceive in the Saga issue forth.</div>
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Now we say “crimes” but of course what we are really talking about is the creative process and the choices every writer faces as they stare at the blank page before them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking at the early drafts of Star Wars and the voluminous background notes it is clear to see that from the very start Lucas had a grand vision and he succeeded in incorporating many of those earlier ideas and characters in his six film saga.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No doubt Lucas feels that his vision was widened after the success of Star Wars in 1977, and that the changes he made to his original concept have only served to enhance the story he is telling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then again…<o:p></o:p></div>
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The original vision of Darth Vader, of Annikin, of Luke and Leia, that vision leads down a far richer path that can only be tread in our mind’s eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps in twenty years or so another hot young director will come along and pull a “JJ Abrams” on Star Wars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Abrams did to Star Trek (using time travel to create an alternate reality for the original crew and thus allowing that franchise to push the “re-set button” and begin again) so a plot device might be found to re-set Star Wars on a different path, a path where Darth Vader does kill Annikin Skywalker, and where Luke must decide between avenging his father by killing Vader or remaining true to the ideals of the Jedi Order and sparing Vader.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Who knows, perhaps that hot young director will be the son of George Lucas himself, come to redeem his father’s original vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that would be life imitating art and poetic justice to boot.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #990000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sources Consulted</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>The Art Of Star Wars</b> – Edited by Carol Titelman, Story & Screenplay by George Lucas c1979<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Empire Strikes Back Notebook</b> – edited by Diana Attias & Lindsay Smith, Story by George Lucas, Screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan & Leigh Brackett.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>c1980<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Making Of Star Wars</b> by J.W. Rinzler<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>c2007<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Force Behind Star Wars</b> by Paul Scanlon, Rollingstone Magazine, May 25, 1977<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Cult Of Darth Vader</b> by Gavin Edwards, Rollingstone Magazine, May 19, 2005<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Screen Chatter: Forget whales, let’s save George Lucas</b> by Brenden West, The Evening Sun May 25, 2008<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark</b> by William Shakespeare, as found in The Portable Shakespeare by Viking Press<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>c1944<o:p></o:p></div>
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Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-19891173481559661322010-11-18T11:21:00.000-08:002018-03-08T08:09:20.768-08:00Cleopatra - The Obsession With Beauty<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
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<b>Antony And Cleopatra by Adrian Goldsworthy c2010</b><br />
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Of all the women of ancient history, Cleopatra is the best known. Who has not heard of the Queen of the Nile?</div>
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Most people “<i>know</i>” she was, perhaps with the exception of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, but was she? Putting aside the vagaries of just what constitutes beauty, what did this most famous of queens look like?</div>
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It is difficult to depict charm, or intelligence, or quickness of wit in sculpture, and Temple paintings are so highly stylized as to be useless as a guide to physical appearance.<br />
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The historian Plutarch tells us:</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;">In itself her beauty was not absolutely without parallel, not the kind to </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;">astonish those who saw her; but her presence exerted an inevitable </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;">fascination, and her physical attraction, combined with the persuasive </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;">charm of her conversation and the aura she somehow projected around</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;">herself in company, did have a certain ability to stimulate others.</span><br />
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Writing one hundred years later, the historian Dio comments that Cleopatra “was a woman of surpassing beauty, and at that time, when she was in the prime of her youth, she was most striking; she also possessed a most charming voice and a knowledge of how to make herself agreeable to everyone.”</div>
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Is it any wonder then that the brightest stars in the Hollywood firmament have sought to play this fabled queen who combined both brains and beauty in a most powerful combination. Vivien Leigh, Claudette Colbert, Elizabeth Taylor, and Kim Cattrall are but a few who have assayed the role, and even now a new film is being readied for Angelina Jolie to star in as Cleopatra.<br />
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540974251656020242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifACXvTQ7z9ziW5T4jIJfEpiMFOio-ZY9lgcDUw0v97iug8J5Q5vo2L0E86ZN2Cy4B4XBF0BUMuzD5cKeYR1sdKvL75WT15_H6kidKMOfzJtyjWbl_Jp9GpIUAW2tiD0AJsWZhqZ9CEqeD/s320/Cleopatra%2528small%2529.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 197px; width: 173px;" /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540974621357888802" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGt_BqMo9g73Fo0MnT19Ck01hq_4oPzyB_hX5hx25WEFS-52Wzrr_UlLMZVAWeXKn8VAEw0veo7X-qDCba5GfV0NI5P1DBtDbIW9fnF3K8No_x02ZIv-DK15x6ZyfMfwSkGnlaRXZEAdpL/s200/cleopatra-colbert.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 200px; width: 160px;" /></div>
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No doubt Cleopatra would be flattered to have such beauties portray her on stage and screen.</div>
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However…<br />
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Allow me to quote at length from the new book, <b>Antony And Cleopatra</b> by Goldsworthy:<br />
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“<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Absolutely nothing is certain.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Cleopatra may have had black, brown, blonde or even red hair, and her eyes could have been brown, grey, green or blue.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Almost any combination of these is possible.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Similarly, she may have been very light skinned or had a darker more Mediterranean complexion.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Fairer skin is probably marginally more likely given her ancestry.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Greek art traditionally represented women and goddesses as very pale, and fair skin seems to have been part of the ideal of beauty.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Roman propaganda never suggested that Cleopatra was dark-skinned, although this may simply mean that she was not exceptionally dark or simply that the color of her skin was not important to her critics.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">At no point will we need to consider Antony’s appearance at similar length and this should remind us that the obsession with Cleopatra’s looks is unusual, and not entirely healthy.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Not only is there no good evidence, but also there is something disturbing about the desire to base our understanding of her first and foremost on her appearance.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Cleopatra was not another Helen of Troy, a mythical figure about whom the most important thing was her beauty.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">She was no mere object of desire, but a very active political player in her own kingdom and beyond.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Cleopatra was born and raised in the real and very dangerous world of the Ptolemaic court in the first century BC.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">When her father died in 51 BC, she became queen.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Auletes had planned for his son and daughter to rule jointly.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;">Cleopatra had other ideas.</span>”</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">-from </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Antony And Cleopatra</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2010 pp.128-129</span></div>
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Goldsworthy has hit on the crux of the problem, and like the historian Michael Grant, reaffirms for us just how little we know for certain about Cleopatra's appearance, and, more importantly, how little it really matters. <br />
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As is often the case, what a person does matters far more than what they look like. In the end, Dr. King put is most succinctly and eloquenty: we must judge a person by the content of their character and not the color of their skin. And when it comes to character, Cleopatra is one of the most fascinating characters not only of her time, but of anytime in human history.<br />
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For more about Cleopatra and the world in which she lived, see:</div>
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<b>Antony And Cleopatra</b> by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2010 ISBN: 978-0-300-16534-0</div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540975059194839826" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2G7dhe9PfzWWb4MD_iofMz7pktT5EnlMYEy4VEq55vDetOwfjy9pKA4YZf_4FOWamOVDNfMBPbhnwjc6XAqwjudaHsZ-M1mF47Due-FpCXUqwjEToTR8_TshyphenhyphenSQRB8nqztEAu4OkwRglx/s320/9780300167009_9780300167009.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 320px; width: 211px;" /><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Antony-Cleopatra-Adrian-Goldsworthy/dp/030016534X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290106917&sr=1-1">http://www.amazon.com/Antony-Cleopatra-Adrian-Goldsworthy/dp/030016534X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1290106917&sr=1-1</a></div>
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Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-40778755364240781992010-08-22T16:06:00.000-07:002014-01-23T16:06:54.342-08:00Playing At War<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Hannibal, Scipio and the Art of War Gaming</b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">"My mother bore a general, not a warrior."</span> </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">- Publius Scipio Africanus </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Recently my grandson and I have been playing the war game Commands & Colors designed by Richard Borg and published by GMT Games of California.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We actually started playing scenarios from the game two years ago when Mr.K was 7 years old, and while he did understand the mechanics of the game then, his tactical finesse is now, at age nine, much better.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">No doubt two years hence it will be better still.</span></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIcNevzG8K4a4g6TzgNKiYW-8ZUwhmKIWoAXyBs6cqqZ-rWAIz7ZzID54CRv_4b085bGPStPY2tltu1clkLFU6HH4lSAWqKKG-yeUZd89ucAzpIIi_P1UE38phDEgStdltzldIoCtFbmG2/s400/Mr+K+Plays+Star+Wars+Risk+dec+08.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508375194898252594" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /> <br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Of course we are both avid, if irregular, game players – Risk, Axis & Allies, Conquest Of The Empire, Battle of the Bulge, and Stratego are all favorites.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Indeed I started playing war games at about the same age as Mr. K, though I began with Joseph Morchauser’s book </span><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">How To Play War Games In Miniature</span></u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">His simple yet well thought out rules brought order and purpose to the chaos that had marked our playing with toy soldiers.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">From there I moved on to Map & Counter war games, like Blitzkrieg and The Battle Of The Bulge, then being published by Avalon Hill.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In college Panzerblitz was all the rage while at the Armor Officer Basic Course the games of choice, in the evening over beer and pizza, were SPI’s Firefight and Avalon Hill’s Kingmaker (about the War of the Roses). </span><span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1</span></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Since then games have taken a back seat to life in general.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My family has been courageous over the years, indulging my love of games as they have, and they actually seem to enjoy playing Space Hulk, the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Aliens</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> inspired tabletop game from Games Workshop.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">However, it was the arrival of the grandson that brought games back to the forefront in a big way.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So it was, that last week Mr. K and I were playing Commands & Colors, re-fighting the battles of the Second Punic War between Carthage and Rome, when we came upon the scenario for the Battle of Dertosa, in Spain, between Hannibal’s brother, Hasdrubal, and the Scipio brothers Gnaeus and Publius. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLzvNJUrjX3Oy58E_4cCnyvpNOT9FLQ2ZkCKZjytzO7qlpcVVWKISBBS00cJc7igXvXlLy3u6pgxSriPgO0mNBq7sbfjXzIFR6hNNnSRUyVxDoWBxaGF1CkjjsQc994JDlFO4eQuNuPgV/s400/C&C+Elephants.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508375910262200690" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">To their great credit, GMT includes a brief but detailed description of each battle, giving the historical outcome and challenging the players to do as well as the original generals.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Mr. K, who always plays the Romans, was intrigued by the name Scipio, and I mistakenly said, “Oh, Publius Scipio goes on to defeat Hannibal at Zama and take the name Scipio Africanus.”</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Actually, this is correct, just the wrong Scipio.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The ancient Romans were a practical and pragmatic people, to a fault, except when it came to naming their children.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In this they suddenly displayed a total and frustrating lack of imagination.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sons were often named after their father, still a common practice today, but so too were daughters, all of them.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Thus you had families with three daughters all named Julia or Agrippina.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This is probably why the Romans had slaves.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Imagine asking one of your three daughters to pass the olive oil.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">You might starve before it was decided just which Julia you were addressing. </span><span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">2</span></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So it is that historians, both professional and amateur alike, must be careful when it comes to the Romans and figuring out just who is who. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In the case of Dertosa, it was the father and the uncle of the future Africanus that led the Roman army in that particular battle.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The younger Publius (and future Africanus) had campaigned at his father’s side several years before this and had actually saved his father’s life at the Battle of Ticinus River in 218 BCE.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Seeing his father surrounded by the enemy, the younger Publius ordered his troop of cavalry forward to the rescue – but the legionaries refused to move.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio rode alone into the enemy and his troop, thus shamed by his courage, joined him in the charge that saved the elder Scipio. It is said that the elder Scipio offered his son the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">corona civica</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> (the Civic Crown) one of Rome’s most revered honors, awarded to those who save the life of a fellow citizen, however the younger Scipio declined the honor.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">All of this got me to thinking about just what a remarkable fellow Scipio Africanus really was.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcbZaD-Uno1AfvhaeTNol0dziMyNkVAYasyky9HI1-k30eQT8DX-6hEBvkChUcY5y0VoBH_-6GbyUXUKw6t5b1JGnxLwW-J6MDfkssT6uZXbDiSMJJjxvZYuBy9skXe1iq0XpQ4LrbwwDS/s200/scipio-africanus.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508377008424514530" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; width: 159px;" /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Cornelian family, of which the Scipio are one branch, were perhaps the oldest and most storied family in all of Roman history, a distinction due in no small part to the members of the Scipio house. They believed in the “</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">res publica</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">” or ‘the public thing’ which is to say fulfilling one’s duty to the Republic in both peace and war.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio’s father and uncle were both gifted generals who won several important victories in Spain against the Carthaginians.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Indeed, the 2</span><sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">nd</span></sup><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Punic War was something of a family affair for while the elder Scipio brothers, Publius and Gnaeus, were fighting in Spain against the Hamilcar brothers Mago and Hasdurbal Barca, young Scipio, now just twenty years old, was part of the Consular Army in Italy moving to confront Hannibal, the third Hamilcar brother.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio was assigned as a Military Tribune in the 2nd</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Legion, a typical position for a young Roman aspiring to a career as a Senator. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhPYQxd_DSzIik2GI2DjMD2k9ugRpnFG62N3-H91F9UBFNJkmeEq5wdsmE_qALcJXW0Pg7XPAk1NWhYoQLjDIy9JDgSRYaE-OB30rcThDjRtBGAtVa9unr0OZWFuniVUJSMtCtgupLTCM/s1600/alps.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhPYQxd_DSzIik2GI2DjMD2k9ugRpnFG62N3-H91F9UBFNJkmeEq5wdsmE_qALcJXW0Pg7XPAk1NWhYoQLjDIy9JDgSRYaE-OB30rcThDjRtBGAtVa9unr0OZWFuniVUJSMtCtgupLTCM/s320/alps.jpg" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508377602841059074" style="cursor: pointer; height: 54px; width: 150px;" /></a></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Although the elder Scipio brothers were enjoying success against the Hamilcar brothers in Spain, the Romans in Italy were being consistently out maneuvered and out fought by Hannibal.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">After weeks of chasing the Carthaginian army around the country side the Romans finally brought Hannibal to battle, but on ground of Hannibal’s choosing.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This proved decisive for although the Romans had a much larger Army, Hannibal inflicted upon the Romans the worst defeat in their history.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In one afternoon, at the Battle of Cannae, the Roman Consular Army of 85,000 legionaries was utterly destroyed.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Losses were staggering – over 48,000 dead, including one of the Consuls, a Proconsul and 80 Senators, as well as 18,000 legionaries taken prisoner.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The remainder, some 14,000 odd survivors, were scattered about the countryside.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Among them was the young Publius Scipio.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Pause, for just a moment, and consider the staggering nature of this defeat.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Imagine if we in the United States received word from Iraq or Afghanistan that we had lost 48,000 soldiers killed in a single afternoon. And imagine if those losses included not only 80 members of Congress, along with their sons, but also the current President and the former President.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Of course for our modern military the loss of 48,000 soldiers, while grievous would still represent less than 10% of our total military manpower.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">For the Romans however, this was a loss, in a single afternoon, of more than 25% of their armed forces (not including the casualties among their Latin Allies).</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Added to the losses suffered in recent previous battles and it seemed that Rome’s days were numbered, and in single digits.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Is it any wonder then that many of the surviving officers, all sons of noble families, considered abandoning Rome and seeking safety by fleeing overseas?</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">However, a few officers were not ready to give up.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">One of them was young Scipio. </span><span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3</span></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We do not know anything about Scipio’s movements during the actual battle, but his conduct after the battle is well known and quickly became part of Scipio family lore. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio and Appius Claudius, another young Tribune, rallied the survivors and held them together by sheer force of will.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">At the same time Scipio moved decisively to check the desertion of his demoralized fellow officers.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">He forced each of them in turn to follow his example by swearing an oath, to Jupiter, that he would never desert the Republic nor allow anyone else to do so on pain of death for himself and his family.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In Spain, Scipio’s father and uncle enjoyed continued success against the Hamilcar brothers until, four years after Cannae, their Spanish allies abandoned the Romans and, now outnumbered, the Scipio brothers were defeated and killed in separate battles.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This left the majority of Spain under the control of Carthage.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The few survivors hung on for dear life and waited for help from Rome. </span><span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">4</span></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">At the age of 25, Scipio was given command of the Roman Army in Spain with the rank of Proconsul</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">even though he had never been elected Consul. This was an unprecedented move, but Scipio proved worthy of such trust and used his authority wisely.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Indeed, Scipio well understood the seemingly modern military concept of “winning the hearts and minds” of the populace as a means to winning the war.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio was in Spain when a captive was brought to him.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She was a maiden of noble birth, whose beauty drew all eyes to her.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio had this woman returned to her fiancé, and made the couple a marriage gift with the gold, which her parents had brought as a ransom.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The tribe was so overwhelmed by his conduct that they gave themselves over to the cause of the Roman people.”</span></i><span style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> – Frontinus, </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Stratagems </span></i><span style="color: red; font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">5</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As Shakespeare would later write in Henry V, “…for when lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">.” </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Henry V, Act III, sc. 6<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio also appreciated the need for good intelligence and meticulous planning.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">His victories in Spain were the very model of superior planning and the astute application of military intelligence.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio defeated Hasdrubal Barca at the Battle of Baecula and, two years later, Mago at the Battle of Ilipa.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now with Spain firmly under Roman control and his father and uncle avenged, Scipio returned to Rome where he was elected Consul (even though he was still too young at age thirty) by promising the people that he would take the war against Carthage to Africa itself.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In 204, after his year in office and now just 31 years old, Scipio was granted the province of Sicily to govern as Proconsul.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Although Sicily was the ideal base from which to strike at Carthage, what the Senate did not give Scipio was an army with which to do so.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Thus blocked by his jealous rivals in the Senate, Scipio set about raising an army of volunteers and training then for the invasion of North Africa.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Once again Scipio was meticulous in his planning, gathering intelligence about the enemy and training his army to the peak of readiness.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">When he at last launched his attack it was with a well-trained, well-armed and well-supplied army against which the Carthaginians had little chance.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio moved quickly, destroying two Carthaginian armies by surprise night attacks.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Carthage entreated for a truce, but this was likely just a ruse to buy time so Hannibal could return from Italy and lead the defense of Carthage himself.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">With Hannibal safely home Carthage resumed the war.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">True to his nature, Scipio was ready.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In 202 BCE, the Roman Army (including two legions of survivors from Cannae) met the larger Carthaginian Army at Zama.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Although Hannibal’s forces included a large contingent of elephants, the Romans for once outnumbered the Carthaginians in cavalry, thanks to Scipio’s Numidian ally Masinissa.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This would prove decisive for when the elephant charge failed to break the veteran legionaries, the Roman cavalry chased their Carthaginian counterparts from the field.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now deprived of their cavalry, the Punic infantry proved no match for the Romans.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In the end, looking at the number of casualties suffered (which were heavy but not catastrophic) it was not the Carthaginian Army that was destroyed at Zama, but rather the Carthaginian will to resist.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio had won his greatest victory and in so doing he had not only avenged the defeat at Cannae but, more importantly, he had restored Roman honor.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio, now called Africanus, returned to Roman where he celebrated a Triumph and, in 194, was elected Consul for the second time.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now just 41 years old Scipio hoped to be named Proconsul of Greece, but it was not to be.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">His rivals in the Senate led by Cato the Censor, stymied Scipio at every turn.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio had committed the one unforgivable sin – he had risen too high too fast, and if the Romans were a practical people they could also be an extremely jealous people in equal measure.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio had achieved more in his 30 plus years than most other Senators would in two or even three lifetimes, and that was something they would not abide.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio did eventually serve in the east with his brother, but he remained mostly in the background lest it be said that any Roman victories were his doing and not that of his brother.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">There was also the incident of his son, who was taken prisoner by King Antiochus.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It was said that Scipio feigned sickness on the day of the battle at Magnesia to avoid taking the field against an enemy who had so recently show him mercy by releasing his son.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio died not long after returning from the East.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">He had survived Cannae, and out maneuvered all of his battlefield opponents, but in the end he could not out maneuver his rivals in the Senate or survive their machinations against him.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">He was exiled to Liternum, south of Rome, where he died in 185 BCE.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Scipio’s legacy did survive him, most pointedly in is daughter Cornelia and her sons Tiberius and Gaius, known to history as the Grachii. </span><span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">6<o:p></o:p></span></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Of all the stories told about Scipio Africanus, the one I like most is the one about the time Scipio and Hannibal meet in Syria many years after Zama.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As told by the Roman historian Livy, I quote it in full:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066; font-size: medium;">Africanus asked who, in Hannibal's opinion, was the greatest general of all time. Hannibal replied, "Alexander ... because with a small force he routed armies of countless numbers, and because he traversed the remotest lands"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">When Africanus followed up by asking whom he ranked third, Hannibal unhesitatingly chose himself. Scipio burst out laughing at this and said, "What would you be saying if you had defeated me?"</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">"In that case," replied Hannibal, "I should certainly put myself before Alexander and before Pyrrhus -- in fact before all other generals!"</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This reply, with its elaborate Punic subtlety, affected Scipio deeply, because Hannibal had set him apart from the general run of commanders, as one whose worth was beyond calculation. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(Adrian Goldsworthy, In The Name Of Rome, c2003, page 69)</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Perhaps this story isn’t true, but it should be.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Upon hearing this, Mr. K smiled and said, “So, they were friends after all.”</span> </div>
<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Yes, I replied, in a way they were.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> And with that, we returned to the game.</span> <br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">NOTES</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">1 </span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Map & Counter War Games enjoyed their ‘golden age’ during the 1970’s and 80’s with the leading publishers, Avalon Hill and SPI releasing a dozen or more games each year.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">However, the hobby fell on hard times in the 90’s (thanks in large part to video games) and it is only now enjoying a modest resurgence in popularity.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Hasbro purchased Avalon Hill while SPI’s library went to Decision Games in Bakersfield, California.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Avalon Hill’s biggest sellers, Panzerblitz and Squad Leader, ended up at Multiman Publishing in Canada.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">2</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Roman naming conventions are challenging to say the least.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">See Adrian Goldsworthy’s 2009 lecture at the Kansas City Public Library for his amusing comments about Roman names and the confusion caused by asking Julia to “pass the salt please.”</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Podcast of the lecture may be found here:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.kclibrary.org/event/adrian-goldsworthy-how-rome-fell">http://www.kclibrary.org/event/adrian-goldsworthy-how-rome-fell</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">3</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> Ancient Historians are notorious for inflating numbers of both total combatants and casualties in any given battle, so all such numbers must be approached with caution.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Losses at Cannae may have been as low as 30,000 dead and as high as 50,000 depending upon who you trust.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Goldsworthy in his book, The Complete Roman Army, places Roman dead at 45,500 infantry and 2,700 cavalry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">With regard to what percentage of the Roman Army these losses represent, again the numbers depend upon where they come from and who they are counting.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">P.A. Brunt estimates the losses at 23% of mobilized Roman manpower, but he is only counting Roman citizens and the Latin allies.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In terms of total Roman military might, both citizens and allies, the losses at Cannae might be as high as 40%. As we do not know total manpower reserves for the allies in Italy, Spain and elsewhere it may be a percentage that is impossible to know for certain.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I am indebted to Romany Army Talk Forum Member Pompieus for this information.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=29794&start=40">http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=29794&start=40</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">4</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> The Celtiberian allies were paid to abandon the Scipio brothers despite their generous and evenhanded treatment of the local tribes.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Buying allies, or buying off enemies played to the Carthaginian’s strength as a mercantile empire.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It is a technique the Romans themselves would learn to use in later years.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">5</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> See Chronicle Of The Roman Republic by Philip Matyszak, c2003, p102.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="color: red;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">6</span></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> The story of Cornelia and her two sons is well known.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">See:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Famous Men Of Rome by John H. Haaren & A.B. Poland, c1904, p126<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Also, Chronicle Of The Roman Republic by Philip Matyszak, c2003, p127. The photo caption relates Cornelia’s wish “to be renowned, not as the daughter of Scipio, but as the mother of Tiberius and Gaius.”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Indeed, Cornelia was considered the very epitome of Roman motherhood.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The story was told of how one day a close friend of Cornelia’s paid her a visit to show off some newly acquired jewelry.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">After displaying her finery, the friend asked Cornelia, “Now, let me see your jewels.”</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">At that very moment Cornelia’s two sons returned home.</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She called them to her and placing her arms around them Cornelia replied to her friend, “Here are my jewels.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sources Consulted </span><o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;">I<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">n The Name Of Rome</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2003</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ISBN: 0-297-84666-3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Complete Roman Army</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2003</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ISBN: 0-500-05124-0<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Cannae</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> by Adrian Goldsworthy, c2001</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ISBN: 0-304-35714-6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Hannibal’s War With Rome</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> by T. Wise & M. Healy, c1999</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ISBN: 1-85532-980-8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Famous Men Of Rome</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> by J.H. Haaren & A.B., Poland, c1904</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ISBN: 1-59915-046-8<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Chronicle Of The Roman Republic</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> by P. Matyszak, c2003</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ISBN: 0-500-05121-6<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">A Dictionary Of The Roman Empire</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> by M. Bunson, c1991</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ISBN: 0-19-510233-9<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000066;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The Art of War Great Commanders of the Ancient & Medieval World 1500BC--AD1600</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> edited by Andrew Roberts, c2008</span><span style="font-size: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">ISBN: 978-1-84724-259-4<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Links of Interest</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Roman Army Talk Forum -- an excellent source for information on the ancient Romans and lively discussions of same.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">GMT Games -- The publisher of the Commands & Colors games and one of the better sources for traditional Map & Counter style war games</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.gmtgames.com/c-6-commands-colors-ancients.aspx</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Commands & Colors: Ancients -- A third party site devoted to the Commands & Colors systems with many scenarios beyond those that come with the game.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.thewargamer.com/ccancients/</span></span><br />
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</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Two feature films about Scipio Africanus:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067719/</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0063611/</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The 1937 version, commissioned by Mussolini, is available on DVD</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #000099;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">http://www.amazon.com/Scipio-Africanus-Hannibal-Fosco-Giachetti/dp/B000065VVG/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1282520964&sr=1-1</span></span></div>
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Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-86790655451407785282010-08-04T16:41:00.000-07:002010-08-11T18:32:01.386-07:00Horsing Around In London<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLGhVSsMXarSXfi7sRvEfweCePLWTa0rrCFjBV_Y3iBjQDcaeSwrbOuPr7gmpfMbl3aC6mRWB7lxi6SqhSagckvcyeFrqfdGpvxyJsZpXGW1ZxGyMuBXYtwlhsWn7U4qNxGFG-7hjI4xK/s1600/stefan+eyes+horse+guard.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 194px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHLGhVSsMXarSXfi7sRvEfweCePLWTa0rrCFjBV_Y3iBjQDcaeSwrbOuPr7gmpfMbl3aC6mRWB7lxi6SqhSagckvcyeFrqfdGpvxyJsZpXGW1ZxGyMuBXYtwlhsWn7U4qNxGFG-7hjI4xK/s400/stefan+eyes+horse+guard.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501704398676007890" /></a> <!--StartFragment--><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:12.0px;"><br /></span><span style="color:#000080;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:14.0px;">The Blues & Royals<br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:14.0px;"><br />This regiment was formed in 1969 by the amalgamation of the The Royal Horse Guards (the Blues) and the 1st Royal Dragoons. The Horse Guards trace their lineage to a regiment raised in 1650 by Oliver Cromwell. In 1651 they joined with the Earl of Oxford’s regiment, The Oxford Blues, whose blue uniform color the current regiment has retained.<br /><br />The Blues & Royals have participated in every major war fought by the UK including both World Wars and, most recently, Desert Storm in 1991 and the current conflicts in SW Asia. Indeed their capture of the Regimental Eagle from the French 105th Infantry at the Battle of Waterloo is commemorated by a small embroidered eagle worn on the left uniform sleeve by all members of The Blues & Royals. (You can just make out the sleeve eagle on the Guardsman in this photo.)<br /><br />In the photo above Stefan is posing with the “Box Man” from The Blues & Royals. The Box Man, in either the Foot Guards or the Household Cavalry, is the Guard who stands on duty at White Hall, Horse Guard Parade and Buckingham Palace in London. To be The Box Man is the most sought after duty by a Guardsman and only the best looking Guards and horses are selected for this duty. A Box Man spends one hour on post, or, on extremely cold days, one half hour.<br /><br />Patience is a virtue for both Guardsman and horse as they deal with a seemingly unending stream of tourists, some of who are less than polite to the Guards. In the case of this photo, the horse seems to be asking, “Can I go now?”<br /><br />There is a tradition that those wishing to give the Guardsman a “note of assignation”’ will place that note on the Foot Guard’s bayonet scabbard or inside the top of the Horse Guard’s boot.<br /><br /><b>So Stefan, did you slip the Guardsman a note?</b></span></span></span> <!--EndFragment--> <div><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:14.0px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:14px;">See:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:14px;">The Guards - Britain's Household Division by Simon Dunstan c1995 ISBN: 1-85915-062-4</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:14px;">The Guards text by John de St. Jorre photos by Anthony Edgeworth c1981 ISBN: 059-54376-1</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:14px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:14px;"><br /></span></span></div>Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-59564592763816582672010-03-17T20:46:00.000-07:002010-10-24T14:15:45.887-07:00Jobs -- Is War The Only Solution?<div><br /></div><div>“<i>I can’t call off the war. I’ve already paid a month’s rent on the battlefield.</i>” – G Marx</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08Se9o9nanIg2fSGfJGKdV4R8um72MUgPbqHbjE1Ah9FzjHKGZ3MKBlIs_FOFl-FbKfXGgPcTKdRZOhHmydtBWjkSjDHxmPQXeL1tz6GimUJ2x9-Phmo39m9IBxgoZyTqUsdyU_-ek9vJ/s1600-h/Obama_Poster_Marx_160.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj08Se9o9nanIg2fSGfJGKdV4R8um72MUgPbqHbjE1Ah9FzjHKGZ3MKBlIs_FOFl-FbKfXGgPcTKdRZOhHmydtBWjkSjDHxmPQXeL1tz6GimUJ2x9-Phmo39m9IBxgoZyTqUsdyU_-ek9vJ/s320/Obama_Poster_Marx_160.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449820382445938258" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">The hot topic in the news, not surprisingly, is the economy and the jobless recovery we seem to be in right now.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Many people have now been out of work for a year or more with no sign that they will return to work any time soon.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">What is to be done?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Two schools of thought have emerged – The <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000066;">Stimulators</span> and the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#990000;">Free Marketeers</span>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The Stimulators are advocating for more government spending while the Free Marketeers believe we have already spent too much and we should instead let market forces decide who fails and who survives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Everyone looks back to the Great Depression and FDR for clues as to how we might solve our current economic woes, but in this case hindsight appears to be less than 20/20.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>One thing both camps seem to agree on is the fact that it was World War Two that brought the US economy back to full and robust life.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>So, is war the only answer?</b></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One of the goals of war (as outlined in the 1967 book Report From Iron Mountain On The Possibility And Desirability Of Peace) is to use up the produce of our labors. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">“Why is war so wonderful?</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000099;">Because it creates artificial demand…the only kind of artificial demand, moreover, that does not raise any political issues: war, and only war, solves the problem of inventory.”</span> (p35)</p> <p class="MsoNormal">We are already engaged in two wars that have proven to be ruinous to our economy rather than the boom World War Two was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Now some would say that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan bear little resemblance to what is arguably the seminal event of the 20<sup>th</sup> Century and they are quite correct. Unlike WWII, that saw the entire US on a war footing, we are fighting the “War on Terrorism” more like we did the Vietnam War, with a peacetime economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The current wars are simply not using up enough inventory.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, does this mean we need a really BIG war to revive our economy?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">And if so, then with whom shall we fight?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Germany and Japan are now our allies, as are the Italians.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Russia, who was our ally in WWII and then our enemy during the Cold War, is certainly big enough, but given their current economic woes they seem an unlikely opponent.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">China, on the other hand, has both a robust economy and a first class military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>However, beyond MacArthur’s warning against undertaking a land war in Asia, attacking China would be like attacking your local Wal-Mart.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Yes, it might be fun at the time, and yes the pillaging would certainly be impressive, but once the fires died out where would you shop for all of those items you need & want?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">That leaves Iran, the current enemy of first choice for neo-cons and anyone else who slept through their high school history classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7eGTJ4XH9qk02kFoo52UkKGMrlXf1z9BfThPu12f944ChoeUE7OsYU78mICBx8u_x2nnBj1Xm8n10nqC8_6HznUijMW4CzLnys2UDTTOjj_77lI7uDUIoZZcfSXvLQECNYRuRYIqX6t7/s1600-h/alexanderthegreat.jpe.jpeg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl7eGTJ4XH9qk02kFoo52UkKGMrlXf1z9BfThPu12f944ChoeUE7OsYU78mICBx8u_x2nnBj1Xm8n10nqC8_6HznUijMW4CzLnys2UDTTOjj_77lI7uDUIoZZcfSXvLQECNYRuRYIqX6t7/s400/alexanderthegreat.jpe.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449834476001989394" style="cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 400px; " /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The last person to defeat the Persians was Alexander the Great, and his empire didn’t last very long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Even the Romans, whose empire did endure, found the Persians a tough nut to crack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Yes, they could and did sack the Persian capital several times, but the Romans did not have the resources, and more importantly, the will to stay the course and solidify their Eastern conquests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This is worth noting, as the Romans traditionally had proven to be dogged in their pursuit of victory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Punic Wars and the Siege of Jerusalem are but two examples of the Romans spending whatever it took, in blood and treasure, to secure a lasting victory <i>on their terms</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Yet, when it came to Persia, their resolve seemed to crumble in the face of more practical considerations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>If nothing else the Romans were both practical and pragmatic to a fault.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Despite neo-con hyperbole and promises to the contrary, a war with Iran will be neither short nor easy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Be that as it may, the real question is: would it revive our economy?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Maybe, but the chances are that as the aggressors, most Americans would quickly lose heart and our eventual victory would leave a bitter taste in our mouths.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, who then to fight a new world war against and in so doing save our economy and put our people back to work?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Martians?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">If only the Nazis really had retreated to the Moon (as postulated in the film Iron Sky) and were, even now, waiting for just the right moment to return to Earth and fight World War II The Sequel.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span>Damn Nazis – where are they when we really need them?</p> <!--EndFragment--> </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM142__5GdtRY0_X2xBUSBi2NVp74JQEmZZ_y_SuehqAHfcDrtd808WDOWtEVW_OYQMXlOmoDmYvKzDWkuBCCTkL8tSZD6e1zbg5PXZhcpjK88suZCz9uqr921oUydrXI8VUKw0tkMnJHT/s1600-h/iron-sky-poster-l.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM142__5GdtRY0_X2xBUSBi2NVp74JQEmZZ_y_SuehqAHfcDrtd808WDOWtEVW_OYQMXlOmoDmYvKzDWkuBCCTkL8tSZD6e1zbg5PXZhcpjK88suZCz9uqr921oUydrXI8VUKw0tkMnJHT/s400/iron-sky-poster-l.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449822702602030370" style="cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 400px; " /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><b>S</b><b>o, no enemy means no war, and no economic recovery.</b></div><div> <p class="MsoNormal">Or does it?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">In the 1970’s President Jimmy Carter tired to rally Americans to “fight the moral equivalent of war” and in so doing save the planet and ourselves from ecological disaster.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This call to arms, issued long before Al Gore spoke of the Inconvenient Truth, fell on deaf ears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>And yet, Carter was correct, both morally and economically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>He was simply ahead of his time.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Many derided Carter then, and Al Gore now, yet 30+ years since Carter's presidency clean water is still a luxury for many, basic health care is unobtainable for too many, and renewable, sustainable, green energy is a dream for all but the very few.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">The looming ecological disaster is now more obvious (the doubters not withstanding – the ice caps really are melting folks) and the economic need is obvious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Time to dust off Carter’s Moral Equivalent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It is time for the <b>Unarmed Forces of the United States</b><span style="font-weight:normal">.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> This new force would be organized, trained and led just like the US Army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They would wear the same uniforms, have the same rank structure, be grouped into squads, platoons, battalions, and so forth, be subject to the UCMJ and receive the same pay and privileges as the current US military.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They would, for all intents and purposes, be soldiers, but they would not carry weapons nor fight on the conventional battlefield.</p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlifddyWYkhB0k-0w7pNBP00fS_k7OT8A44ASTOVRpHNjoRZWPFPZ_M8LgD0kqA8cPHswqBmM9cwxnfti3tddZR7HvcEpTo-ibZzWriP7nyDZgYRSFyUle6D4fnrRbqKUeFFHjeCWt1_g/s1600-h/Unit+Formation.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghlifddyWYkhB0k-0w7pNBP00fS_k7OT8A44ASTOVRpHNjoRZWPFPZ_M8LgD0kqA8cPHswqBmM9cwxnfti3tddZR7HvcEpTo-ibZzWriP7nyDZgYRSFyUle6D4fnrRbqKUeFFHjeCWt1_g/s320/Unit+Formation.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449818805756735874" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">The US Army is currently reshaping itself away from the heavy infantry and armored divisions it thought it would need to fight against the Warsaw Pact, and towards the more flexible and rapidly deployable Brigade Combat Team.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The adoption of the Stryker combat vehicle and the doctrine of Total Situational Awareness have hastened this transformation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">A typical Stryker Brigade has a TO&E of just under 5,000 personnel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This number is in some flux as the Army works out exactly how many soldiers it needs in the Support Battalion and the Forward Support Companies, however, for our purposes (and to keep the math simple) we may say that each Brigade Team has 5000 soldiers.</p></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1d-1G6vq-c2j03Imlp_5uo9X-_UdHGYgrqyV5yXxFVcszdtOHmdBa_xFLeb9H6HPNwTHmp9a2h_oPxnfuSA5lwtGC4x_FLPDQr8ZjSAuEQb6i1a0XFeqb3J9ooZM8J9mqXbZh4XEd71q/s1600-h/Stryker+BCT+TOE.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1d-1G6vq-c2j03Imlp_5uo9X-_UdHGYgrqyV5yXxFVcszdtOHmdBa_xFLeb9H6HPNwTHmp9a2h_oPxnfuSA5lwtGC4x_FLPDQr8ZjSAuEQb6i1a0XFeqb3J9ooZM8J9mqXbZh4XEd71q/s320/Stryker+BCT+TOE.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449818324402317906" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">If each state raised four Brigade Ecological Teams (BET) of 5000 soldiers each we would have a new army of 1 million solders across the fifty states.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They would need uniforms and equipment, vehicles, housing, food and all the other items any army needs in order to function.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Additionally, because the BET is not designed nor expected to engage in combat, the ranks throughout the brigade would be open to both men and women. Engineer, medical and logistics units would replace actual combat elements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Required skill sets would run the gamut and include doctors and other medical technicians, engineers and skilled construction professionals, electricians, heavy equipment operators, communications and networking engineers, law enforcement and education, agricultural specialists, etc. etc. etc.</p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOdVJyRW1YazNWAvNGlkqk8nW_FyM9xgaGBWpY26ZkGOc3SVR75YN2t3A_hfh2kg1lvOW09-pQlYQMCzep8gGO2Vi9epsrG87VPnOBLVosdfGHzZ28-b6WAZOxeArF3bDJfF0ejIFcJ5L/s1600-h/Stryker.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicOdVJyRW1YazNWAvNGlkqk8nW_FyM9xgaGBWpY26ZkGOc3SVR75YN2t3A_hfh2kg1lvOW09-pQlYQMCzep8gGO2Vi9epsrG87VPnOBLVosdfGHzZ28-b6WAZOxeArF3bDJfF0ejIFcJ5L/s320/Stryker.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449817836124856946" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>This one million in uniform would require several more millions supporting them, producing and providing them with the tools and equipment, food and supplies they would consume in the course of performing their job.</div><div> <p class="MsoNormal">Doing what?</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Working to restore the ecological balance of our planet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">Green Energy Projects</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">Clean Water & Water Reclamation</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">Infrastructure Upgrades both physical and virtual</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">Disaster Relief</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#006600;">Forest Restoration</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b>How long will this war last?</b><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"></span>Long enough for most of the new soldiers to make a career of it, retiring after 20 years with a pension pegged at 50% of their base pay.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Many (my brother the lawyer and my sister with the PhD in Economics) might well say that this approach, a gigantic government works program, is totally impractical for a host of legal and economic reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>They may be absolutely correct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Likewise, there are some (those who remained awake in their High School History classes) who might recall that Germany tired much the same approach in the 1930’s and 40’s, drafting able bodied young men and women into labor battalions of the National Labor Service (RAD).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This approach not only fed upon the need for jobs but also the seemingly unique German penchant (some might say ‘love’) for organization, uniforms and marching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj073fX82glB49w125TsqNlnhsIDV9pYOGFGlgzxgrjx25zauXj-CO5NLQ8XTYljcs_YPGTv68Wi1WRERO0KZnWuYzIWPT3nZxZph7jWLihfqff2YQvi4HlKCrvPx0vQ_bVZDZlEdEh2Kw2/s1600-h/RAD+Poster.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 231px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj073fX82glB49w125TsqNlnhsIDV9pYOGFGlgzxgrjx25zauXj-CO5NLQ8XTYljcs_YPGTv68Wi1WRERO0KZnWuYzIWPT3nZxZph7jWLihfqff2YQvi4HlKCrvPx0vQ_bVZDZlEdEh2Kw2/s320/RAD+Poster.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449816981069455234" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>Of course, any association with the Nazis is be avoided, and for good reason, however, given the typical American's natural rebelliousness, it seems unlikely the BET would devolve into some sort of political shock troops.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Even so, those of a practical bent might still object, and they too may be absolutely correct.</div><div> <p class="MsoNormal"> Yet practical thinking seems to be getting us nowhere, so perhaps it is time for some impractical thinking.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Now I am not the first to suggest the Unarmed Forces of the United States (UFUS) and I dare say I will not be the last, however the time has come to give this proposal serious consideration.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Just as the Founding Fathers looked to those great civilizations of Greece and Rome for guidance in the formation of our own Grand Democratic Republic so it is fitting that we consider again this concept of Universal Service.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Military service has never been a prerequisite for holding elected office in our country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Although many on the right pay lip service to such a concept, in fact few members of the GOP have served.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Indeed it is a peculiar irony of the US Congress that of those few who have served the majority are Democrats, while the majority of Republican members have never served or have actively avoided military service even when their country called upon them for their help.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Service as a Hoplite, a “citizen soldier,” was a corner stone of Greek Democracy during the age of the City States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Likewise, during the years of the Republic, members of the Roman Senate regularly served in the military as part of their duty as citizens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(Of course, Rome may be unique in this regard and perhaps not the best example, for Rome did not have an army – Rome was an army.) Some have even advocated military service as the price for citizenship, along the lines portrayed in Robert Heinlein’s book Starship Troopers. However, this is perhaps carrying the concept too far. </p></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7C2cw4ZfF6MrBtyQiLIhohQONmUNH0WDxB65ZFmc3dYLj5945BZkJWU7f8tB6wY2FbpKN6kFvYdEMV2nuDYBh6bM3_IVQ8LirHN7Uy7FtWOAbED7yZ-vG0ElUgCfTGn6pebnxD9JTvr_/s1600-h/Starship+Troopers.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 194px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU7C2cw4ZfF6MrBtyQiLIhohQONmUNH0WDxB65ZFmc3dYLj5945BZkJWU7f8tB6wY2FbpKN6kFvYdEMV2nuDYBh6bM3_IVQ8LirHN7Uy7FtWOAbED7yZ-vG0ElUgCfTGn6pebnxD9JTvr_/s320/Starship+Troopers.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449816473512217938" /></a><br /><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal">The idea of universal military service as a requirement for the holding of elected office has its merits and the advent of the Unarmed Forces of the United States would allow for more of our fellow citizens to do so without undue risk to life and limb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Those who chose to service in the UFUS would have a longer term of active duty obligation than those who selected service in the Armed Forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Say 4 years in the former and 2 in the latter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Beyond that there would be no distinction between the two forces in look, discipline, basic structure, pay or benefits.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Cleaning up the Earth and restoring some ecological balance to our planet would seem, on the face of it, both imminently practical and wisely foresighted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Besides, keeping one’s only home clean and in working order is only common sense.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> And, once we have cleaned up Earth there is Mars and the galaxy beyond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>It will take a lot of inventory to fill up outer space.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrJqBiA7vYpDOpI5XjrHd67WViYRvnGaDgZ1g9HkHG1hAl-aZ8YmnyfPdAK1KNRWKDTK1nNBuRX_KyDBdPvwRijbw3ZU1REW4B80CyikN7mZWgvgDFMlWfHFO046NAI2x0y1w4m3mAhu_/s1600-h/We+Need+Troops.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvrJqBiA7vYpDOpI5XjrHd67WViYRvnGaDgZ1g9HkHG1hAl-aZ8YmnyfPdAK1KNRWKDTK1nNBuRX_KyDBdPvwRijbw3ZU1REW4B80CyikN7mZWgvgDFMlWfHFO046NAI2x0y1w4m3mAhu_/s400/We+Need+Troops.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449824125692106098" style="cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 375px; " /></a></p></div>Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-58828783791182892462009-07-24T11:45:00.000-07:002009-07-24T11:46:49.113-07:00Roman Centurion<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre; "><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nZEDFeSXlls&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nZEDFeSXlls&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></span>Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-21009920964703832502009-06-05T20:51:00.000-07:002016-03-15T11:57:17.857-07:00D-Day June 6th, 1944 -- Still the Stuff of Homer 65 Years On<!--StartFragment--> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Saturday is June 6th, the 65th anniversary of the Allied Invasion of Hitler's "Fortress Europe."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps not since the Greeks sailed against Troy had the world seen an invasion fleet as large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Indeed, Agamemnon and Odysseus could not have conceived of such a force even in their wildest dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And paratroopers, filling the night skies in their thousands, would have struck the Greeks as if the gods themselves had come to join the battle.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Many an Achilleus and Hektor fought and perished that day, and the days, weeks and months that followed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were heroes on both sides, and some villains too, but any glory or honor the German forces won by their battlefield exploits and warrior élan is forever tainted by the evil cause they served.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh one might make a case for nobility of an individual soldier, even among the members of the Waffen-SS, but there is no redemption for the larger group or the master they followed.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">General Eisenhower called it the “Great Crusade” and indeed it was a crusade after a fashion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others have seen that June day in terms truly Homeric, and that too is certainly true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>German Fieldmarshal Erwin Rommel said the invasion would be “The Longest Day” and so it was.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27dqeRpxU7MXXjV5aQaCk1YyskPB1mN7Yb_EnRFEtrF9UkWjkXXe86DHNSlcGzfJUt7TG4-2FLe3u6ufnQ9upJPhcb7vHJqyvxpucvZwzFlHSWmoE1TKSEd9gabPANe_Pg1rC3IdgWTAo/s1600-h/Eisenhower-Paratroopers-D-Day.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344061852664730450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27dqeRpxU7MXXjV5aQaCk1YyskPB1mN7Yb_EnRFEtrF9UkWjkXXe86DHNSlcGzfJUt7TG4-2FLe3u6ufnQ9upJPhcb7vHJqyvxpucvZwzFlHSWmoE1TKSEd9gabPANe_Pg1rC3IdgWTAo/s320/Eisenhower-Paratroopers-D-Day.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 253px; width: 320px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh27dqeRpxU7MXXjV5aQaCk1YyskPB1mN7Yb_EnRFEtrF9UkWjkXXe86DHNSlcGzfJUt7TG4-2FLe3u6ufnQ9upJPhcb7vHJqyvxpucvZwzFlHSWmoE1TKSEd9gabPANe_Pg1rC3IdgWTAo/s1600-h/Eisenhower-Paratroopers-D-Day.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><br /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">We who now sit comfortably in the present, 65 years later, can but imagine what it was like that day, jumping out of a plane into the dark and an uncertain landing or bobbing up and down in a landing craft waiting for the ramp to drop and rushing into an almost certain death on the beaches of Normandy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Some of us actually know someone who was there: a grandfather or an uncle or a friend of the family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That they survived at all, let along went on to win a stunning victory is nothing short of miraculous.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">For those who enjoy their History via Hollywood one can do no better than the 1962 Darryl F Zanuck film The Longest Day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, Spielberg’s film, Saving Private Ryan, is more popular and certainly more visceral, but in terms of historic authenticity it rather pales before Zanuck’s old Hollywood warhorse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">I remember well the first time I watched <i>The Longest Day</i></span><span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> for it was the only time that I can recall my father actually going to a theatre to watch a movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was to be a special screening of the film at Walter Reed for service members and their families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father, who was stationed at Walter Reed, made a point of gathering us up and driving from our home in Wheaton Maryland to the post theatre for the showing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although my father had served in World War Two he reached Europe, as an infantry officer, after the Battle of the Bulge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even so many of the soldiers he served with were veterans of that invasion and for reasons he did not articulate he thought it important that we see this film. Not surprisingly, at age 7 the film made a big impression on me, and still does every time I watch it. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">Of course it must be remembered that in 1962 most of the veterans of the D-Day landings were still alive, whereas by 1998 when Spielberg released his D-Day opus World War Two was ancient history and barely remembered by the vast movie viewing public.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With this in mind Spielberg concentrated on the story in the trenches so to speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Zanuck’s audience, on the other hand, already knew that story – they had lived it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What they might not know about, and what <i>The Longest Day</i></span><span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;"> tells so well, was the story-taking place above their heads and above their pay grades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How the officers on both sides blundered about and how victory, for either side, was decided as much by chance as it was by skill or courage.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">This is not to degrade by any means the courage displayed that day by the soldiers on both sides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a day when “uncommon valor was common.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However all soldiers know that luck on the battlefield is a commodity not to be underestimated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Julius Caesar once observed when considering a highly recommended officer for promotion to general, “Yes, I know he is good, but is he lucky?”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "lucidagrande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">On that day long ago, June 6<sup>th</sup>, 1944, a little luck backed by immense courage carried the day for the Allies and the world saw not the beginning of the end to Hitler and World War Two, but certainly the end of the beginning of our march to victory.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4IrMNpMarLsWbjDCjeCx3ZYmAo87hsWbmJItxWSH3wPSWuk4_Dj8EHAXg6OWKKnqWRHlE-9SHW5c6a284bznjP9btq6T78DVTcIF1URoy_PL7eIMGNNfsMekXXN4upF0jSx1mDUURrY_O/s1600-h/d-day.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5344061846971747874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4IrMNpMarLsWbjDCjeCx3ZYmAo87hsWbmJItxWSH3wPSWuk4_Dj8EHAXg6OWKKnqWRHlE-9SHW5c6a284bznjP9btq6T78DVTcIF1URoy_PL7eIMGNNfsMekXXN4upF0jSx1mDUURrY_O/s320/d-day.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 210px; width: 320px;" /></a>Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8628303010303391859.post-39251121818724177032009-05-26T21:46:00.000-07:002009-05-26T22:53:48.337-07:00Petraeus Speaks Out Against "Enhanced" Interrogation<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCy-CgVkn4aZEubIcEfpzBUmeIbZwgt8pA90FtFVbyL3zWj6vdrV00SyGeoCMKN-e-qCeyXmWY0FdT8hafHS0a21TfEc0DOO-82s7cnffEPoKFbCgYUF6NMp5Fv3V5OyMGOXe3G27Csvn/s1600-h/610x.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 225px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaCy-CgVkn4aZEubIcEfpzBUmeIbZwgt8pA90FtFVbyL3zWj6vdrV00SyGeoCMKN-e-qCeyXmWY0FdT8hafHS0a21TfEc0DOO-82s7cnffEPoKFbCgYUF6NMp5Fv3V5OyMGOXe3G27Csvn/s320/610x.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340362358351456722" /></a>In an Open Letter to the troops General David Petraeus spoke out against the use of so called "enhanced interrogation" and in favor of following the Geneva Conventions. Furthermore on May 24th of this year, during an interview on Radio Free Europe, the General reaffirmed his support for the Geneva Conventions and voiced support for the president's decision to close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center. <div><br /></div><div>One might hope that the words of this outstanding officer might put an end to this debate about the efficacy of using torture and perhaps give those who advocate the use of torture, but who themselves have never served in the military, pause to reconsider their pro-torture positions. Indeed, one might hope...</div><div><br /></div><div>Here is the text of the letter by General Petraeus:</div><div><br /></div><div><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;"><b>10 May 2007<o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen serving in Multi-National Force—Iraq:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">Our values and the laws governing warfare teach us to respect human dignity, maintain our integrity, and do what is right. Adherence to our values distinguishes us from our enemy. This fight depends on securing the population, which must understand that we—not our enemies—occupy the moral high ground. This strategy has shown results in recent months. Al Qaeda’s indiscriminate attacks, for example, have finally started to turn a substantial portion of the Iraqi population against it.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">In view of this, I was concerned by the results of a recently released survey conducted last fall in Iraq that revealed an apparent unwillingness on the part of some US personnel to report illegal actions taken by fellow members of their units. The study also indicated that a small percentage of those surveyed may have mistreated noncombatants. This survey should spur reflection on our conduct in combat.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">I fully appreciate the emotions that one experiences in Iraq.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">I also know firsthand the bonds between members of the “brotherhood of the close fight.” Seeing a fellow trooper killed by a barbaric enemy can spark frustration, anger, and a desire for immediate revenge. As hard as it might be, however, we must not let these emotions lead us—or our comrades in arms—to commit hasty, illegal actions. In the event that we witness or hear of such actions, we must not let our bonds prevent us from speaking up.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">Some may argue that we would be more effective if we sanctioned torture or other expedient methods to obtain information from the enemy. They would be wrong. Beyond the basic fact <b>that such actions are illegal</b></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">, [</span><span style="color: rgb(48, 48, 48); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">emphasis added</span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">] history shows that they also are frequently neither useful nor necessary. Certainly, extreme physical action can make someone <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">talk</span>; however, what the individual says may be of questionable value. In fact our experience in applying the interrogation standards laid out in the Army Field Manual (2-22.3) on Human Intelligence Collector Operations that was published last year shows that the techniques in the manual work effectively and humanely in eliciting information from detainees.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">We are, indeed, warriors. We train to kill our enemies. We are engaged in combat, we must pursue the enemy relentlessly, and we must be violent at times. What sets us apart from our enemies in this fight, however, is how we behave. In everything we do, we must observe the standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees with dignity and respect. While we are warriors, we are also all human beings. Stress caused by lengthy deployments and combat is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign that we are human. If you feel such stress, do not hesitate to talk to your chain of command, your chaplain, or a medical expert.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">We should use the survey results to renew our commitment to the values and standards that make us who we are and to spur re-examination of these issues. Leaders, in particular, need to discuss these issues with their troopers—and, as always, they need to set the right example and strive to ensure proper conduct. We should never underestimate the importance of good leadership and the difference it can make.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:19.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;">Thanks for what you continue to do. It is an honor to serve with each of you.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">David H. Petraeus
General, United States Army
Commanding</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;font-size:13.0pt;color:#303030;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment--> </div>Narukamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16884079775625846790noreply@blogger.com0