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eBook – The Empire Striketh Back

eBook –  The Empire Striketh Back Full title :  William Shakespeare's The Empire Striketh Back By : Ian Doescher  Iillustrations :  Nicolas Delort Score : 9/10 Year : 2014 Publisher : Quirk Books  eISBN :  978-1-59474-716-8 Based on  978-1-59474-715-1 (hard cover) Pages : 176 *  Language : English From Goodreads : Hot on the heels of the New York Times best seller William Shakespeare’s Star Wars comes the next two installments of the original trilogy: William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back  (and not reviewed as yet,  William Shakespeare’s The Jedi Doth Return.) Return to the star-crossed galaxy far, far away as the brooding young hero, a power-mad emperor, and their jesting droids match wits, struggle for power, and soliloquize in elegant and impeccable iambic pentameter. Illustrated with beautiful black-and-white Elizabethan-style artwork, these two plays offer essential reading for all ages. Something Wookiee this way comes!  *** As he explains at the end, Ian Doescher
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Movie – Cat on a hot tin roof




Movie – Cat on a hot tin roof
Score : 8/10
Year : 1958
Director: Richard Brooks
Country : USA
Language : English
Duration: 1h48
Writers: Tennessee Williams (play) ; Richard Brooks & James Poe (screenplay)

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Brick (Paul Newman) , a depressed ex-football player,  who accidentally broke his leg, is an avid alcoholic, drinking daily and refusing the affections of his wife's, Maggie ''the cat'' (Elizabeth Taylor) preferring to argue with her.

His rich, materialistic domineering and dying father, Harvey "Big Daddy" Pollitt (Burl Ives) is coming to the ''plantation'' to celebrate his 65th birthday and the entire family is present : 

Ida "Big Mama" (Judith Anderson), Big Daddy's wife, and mother to Brick and Cooper "Gooper" (Jack Carson), who came with his wife Mae Flynn "Sister Woman" Pollit (Madeleine Sherwood) and their unsupervised flock of children who sing obnoxiously and misbehave throughout the movie as they family starts to feud like sharks regarding the inheritance they would receive once Big Daddy dies... 

Therefore, the entire movie - based on Tennessee William's eponymous play - is difficult to watch as everyone screams and yells to the point one has no choice but to reduce the volume, all in the whilst admitting this family is so dysfunctional ''mine isn't as bad'' and to acknowledge the clever writing for all these dialogues and their delivery...  

But, and there is a big but : this is a must see movie, as it depicts this family, their complex relationships and feud aren't all that uncommon and sets the movie apart in a period the American society was idealising the family structure to an unreasonable extreme. 

The acting is superb, mainly by Paul Newman, Liz Taylor and Burl Ives, supported by the rest of the cast. 

The setting remains almost solely in the estate ; thus, we don't get to see too much of anywhere else. The cinematography is therefore limited.

The music is quite difficult - I didn't like it, I have to say. 

The children aren't meant to be nice, but gosh, they were awful to watch... 

I don't plan to watch this movie again anytime soon - it's one of those you watch every 15-20 years... 
 
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