Recent entertainment

[dreamshark]

I finished Ivanhoe, continuing throughout to be surprised by how good it was. I now understand why it was one of Richard's favorite books as a kid and suggested that he read it again to be surprised at the undercurrent of dry humor and political commentary that sails over the heads of the 12-year-old audience. It's much like the Baum Oz books in that way. I liked Ivanhoe so much that I moved the 1997 Ivanhoe mini-series to the top of my DVD Netflix queue. That's the filmic version that got the best reviews. I may read Rob Roy next.

But first I galloped through my Mother's Day gift from Thorin, Below Stairs. An interesting bit of background for both Downton Abbey and Upstairs Downstairs although the "upstairs" folks certainly don't come off as well as they do in the television versions. mle292, you might be interested in the view of the class situation from the kitchen.

Finally watched "Lincoln," which I liked considerably better than the disappointing "Argo." It's pretty much "The West Wing" in 1865. It's kind of an uphill battle to generate suspense for the passage of the 13th Amendment, but I learned a lot about the Lincoln household that I either never knew or had forgotten. Incidentally, Lizzie (the black woman who always seems to be at Mary Lincoln's elbow) was a real person, not a character inserted by Hollywood to be the token black person in all those scenes. Daniel Day-Lewis does indeed create a compelling and human portrait of Lincoln.

I can't even remember what it was like to watch a historical movie in the days before Wikipedia.

Comments

[mle292.livejournal.com]

I am very interested in reading that one. I think it's the last book I tried to read before I accepted that I can't read small print any more.

I should just buy it on Kindle.

Done!