h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I will let you into a secret, just don’t tell anyone else. How I wrote thirty journals in thirty days. I planned it. I thought of a theme, selected the relevant videos and DVD’s, listed them on a spreadsheet, and jotted down rough idea of the direction my thought might go in.

Faustus was a bit about Marlowe; Henry V was the Globe and Sam Wanamaker. Not all the ideas came at the beginning of course, and some got switched around as I watched a production. I usually watched things the day before I started writing; this gave me time to mull, so that when I started the journal I had a structure that I could just randomly throw words at.

I arrived at the completion of the twenty ninth journal, and looked at the list. I had three possibilities (contingency planning is always a good idea) and nothing sprang to mind. Obviously this is why these items had continually slipped down the list. To fail at this late stage? Normally most of my ‘inspiration’ arrives in the early evening when I am in the kitchen cooking my dinner.

I prepare the raw materials and commence the process. At this point I am entitled to a glass of alcohol, usually a pre dinner whisky. As the cauldron bubbles, I sip my whisky, and walk about the kitchen talking aloud to myself. Heaven knows what the neighbours think but as they don’t speak English I do not have to pre edit my thoughts about school girls in short skirts at the Globe.

And then it came to me. Perhaps people might wish it hadn’t, but here it is.

More than fifty years ago, I suddenly decided I ought to read the classics of English Literature. One of the alleged classics was the work of William Shakespeare. Will and I had not got on well together at school, not his fault as no playwright can survive having

‘This was the noblest Roman of them all,
All the conspirators save only he,
Did what they did in envy of great Caesar,
Blah blah blah blah blah’

Written out twenty times as a punishment. But here I was, a forgiving soul, reading Hamlet. It was exciting! It was funny! But most of all the language was so beautiful, so clever, so rhythmic!!!! And I was hooked, gentle reader. Whoever loved that loved not at first sight? Or second sight in my case.

Not much of an explanation for a life long obsession but there was a story, about a friend who visited Picasso in his studio and was looking at Pablo’s latest work. ‘But what does it mean?’ asked the visitor. ‘If I could tell you that, I wouldn’t have to paint it’, said Picasso. So all I can say is, watch a play by Shakespeare, if he can’t convince you, I have no chance.

So, given my love of words, and especially Will’s words, it will be no surprise that today’s journal deals with foreign language versions of King Lear and Hamlet. Languages I can assure you I understand not a single word of.

Korol Lir 1970 directed by Grigori Kozintsev

In Russian with sub titles, filmed in black and white. The script was based on the 1949 translation by Boris Pasternak. Is it a good translation? Can’t say, I don’t speak one word of Russian. The film is set in a bleak landscape with few defining features. It is very Russian in style featuring many lingering shots of skyscapes and landscapes.

It also has a soundtrack by Shostakovich and some terrific choral pieces. Kozintsev unusually has Lear’s curse on Goneril as a soliliquy. The ‘suicide’ of Gloucester is cut but we see him die instead, an event only reported in the play. The battle is extended in sweeping blockbuster fashion, but being Russian is much more exciting. Crucially the fool to allowed to survive and play us out on the pipes.

As a rendition of the play it loses too much, although much of that will be the poetry, but as a film it is excellent entertainment. Sometime before the halfway point I found myself resenting the sub titles as they were distracting me. Sadly I only have this on tape and could not switch them off. I may see about getting this on DVD which should allow me to watch unhindered. I guess that is the best compliment I can give the movie; that I would prefer to watch it without the words. Never thought I might say that.

Kozintsev also filmed Hamlet. I have resisted buying this because unlike the possibilities of the cinematography in Lear, Hamlet is a much more claustrophobic piece, and depends more on the words, words…words. It also acts as check on my obsessive desire to own everything ever filmed!

Although that desire wasn’t curbed when I bought:

Hamlet Liikemaailmassa (Hamlet Goes Business) 1987

A bizarre Finnish black-and-white film noir reworking of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', not only is it in a foreign language but it doesn’t even have any word of Shakespeare in it.

After the death of his father, young Hamlet inherits a seat on the board of a company controlled by his uncle that decides to move into the rubber duck market. But Hamlet is suspicious of the circumstances surrounding his father's death. Just about everyone has a dubious character. Hamlet claims to love Ofelia but is really only interested in bedding her. She rebuffs him under orders from her father and brother who see her relationship with Hamlet as a way to gain control of the company.

In the end everyone dies, which is as it should be, Hamlet is poisoned by his chauffeur who is really an undercover agent for the union who are fearful the Hamlets will close their shipyard as part of the big deal to move into the rubber duck market. High spot of the movie is Ofelia taking sleeping pills then slumping into a bath full of water and drowning, as a plastic duck bobs into view.

The film is very dark unalleviated by the overt comic interludes in Shakespeare’s play, but bubbling beneath the surface is a very subtle black humour. I enjoyed it and I can say that this time I really appreciated the sub titles.


Ran: a film directed by Akira Kurusawa 1985
(Ran in Japanese usually means 'chaos' or 'revolt')

A stunning piece of film making and despite the manipulation of the plot of King Lear and that none of the poetry is used, it manages to illuminate the play in ways that other productions might miss. I am probably not alone in not being able to take myself back to the Elizabethan era and certainly not back to a pre christian Britain and the class differences and attitudes to power but when seen in a Japanese context they seem easier to understand. It has been said that the past is another country, and it is certainly one that I wander through with a phrase book that has a number of pages missing.

The Lear character has sons not daughters, but they treat him the same as the girls do in Will’s play. The youngest son is banished as is the Kent character, who then returns to assist Lear. Gloucester and his two sons are absent, with the wife of the eldest son of Lear filling the dramatic space of Edmund. We see Lear as a warlord who has held absolute sway and has not hesitated to destroy his enemies, men, women and children. There is a son of one of his enemies, blinded in the attack that destroyed the castle, who provides a link to blind Gloucester and his wanderings.

As with a number of later Kurusawa movies, the big set piece battles are stunning. The first battle is played out in complete silence, only the music soundtrack is heard, until after five minutes a gunshot rings out and the noise of battle suddenly hits your ears. Japanese battles are easier to follow than the European, the armies are all colour coded, yellow flags for one son, red for another, blue for the third.

Tatsuya Nakadai plays Hidetora Ichimonjii (the King Lear character) and is by a streak the best Lear I have seen, even if not the best I have heard. Comparing the dialogue with the Russian Lear, illustrates the differences in countries. I can happily listen to the words in Russian even though I do not speak it (and I have read that the main actors were Lithuanian and spoke heavily accented Russian, which annoyed Russian speakers) but Japanese is so alien to my ear. From the sound it is difficult to know whether a character is expressing sweet words of undying devotion or passing sentence of death in a rage.

Mind you some people have expressed the same view about Orson Welles’ version of ‘Macbeth’ in which everyone speaks with a broad Scottish accent. The film company redubbed it back into English before releasing it to its doom. Many years later Welles’ daughter re-released the movie with the original soundtrack. It’s authentic but it doesn’t really help.

And cut; that’s a wrap, people.

Congratulations to everyone who took part in NaJoPoMo, and a special award to anyone who may have read through all my journals, all 31,885 words, including this sentence.

And this one.

Although I've read all your journals this month, I must confess that some have been read hurriedly due to sheer pressure of new posts on my PS. Those I've taken the time to read carefully, however, I've really enjoyed (Much Ado stands out particularly).

I mean to revisit at some point, as I have the works of Shakespeare on my kindle and plan to have a go at reading them - I'd like to read your journal on that particular play after I've read it and know the story.

Well done for this excellent series of reviews, and for making it through to the end.

Deb

I am lucky enough never to have seen a Russian version of any play by Shakespeare, but heartily agree that Ran is enthralling. It's difficult not to comment on the ending but I don't want to spoil it for others who will, I hope, be tempted to see the movie for themselves.

I'm sorry that the series has come to an end. Maybe you should do Carry On films next year (there must be 30 of them)!

Oh, I would just love to read modern-day reviews of Carry On films, what a great idea

Deb

Get thee behind me,.... a series on Carry on films??? Maybe a co- operative venture with 2legs perhaps.

That would certainly be different

I've read every word and will return to re-read. Thank you for confessing to the writing process, I had assumed as much, but in my opinion it doesn't matter at all. I too came to Shakespeare second time around - reading around the class in 5th year English really wasn't inspiring. When the time came to educate my own children I took them to see productions. Moonlight was 3 when we watched a full length Twelfth Night performed open air on the "grassy knoll" outside the Bankside Power station (now the Tate Modern) and she went on to perform in productions herself.

Now that I find myself accidentally teaching MSND to some illiterate 11 year olds I am very aware that Shakespeare is meant to be heard and not read.