Conference bookie::movies

    
    "A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia" was shown a year or two
    ago on U.S. public television.  Ralph Fiennes gave an excellent
    performance -- he really captured T.E. Lawrence's particular
    mix of ambition, self-doubt, bravura, and compassion.  Most of
    the film centers of Lawrence's diplomatic efforts on the behalf
    of his Arab colleagues as the post-war maps change.
    
    Maybe public television could shed some light on video availability.
    
    Ron

    Beth,  In your "Schindler's List" note, you mentioned he appears in
    "The Baby of Macon".  This is the most recent Peter Greenaway film, 
    which played some European film festivals about a year ago, but hasn't
    seemed to make it to this side of the Atlantic.
    
    - Dave

    Re .2: Thanks, Dave - see also note 510 (though it doesn't mention
    Fiennes; dunno if that means his wasn't a very noticeable part, or
    just not a very good one!). Last I heard, "Baby" was being shown at
    *very* limited places in the States, as a "one-time-only" kind of
    thing, with no plans in place for it to be released here.
    
    -b

    "A Dangerous Man" aired on channel 44 [a Boston-area PBS station] last
    weekend, and I managed to spot it just in time to tape it. I had very
    little prior knowledge of T. E. Lawrence - I haven't even seen
    "Lawrence of Arabia," believe it or not - but this production intrigued
    me enough that I may try and remedy that.
    
    The story's perhaps a little heavy on "talking heads," and at times I
    had trouble keeping track of which hefty, moustachioed gentleman went
    with which delegation, but in general it worked quite well - a pleasant
    surprise, as I don't typically enjoy diplomatic-intrigue stories
    (perhaps because of that aforementioned difficulty in telling the
    players apart). It seemed to balance cynicism and idealism pretty well,
    too; nobody's motives were quite as obvious as they seemed.
    
    And Fiennes' performance was... mesmerizing. (The actor who played
    Faisal was quite compelling, too; there were some scenes of duelling
    charismas that were dazzling to watch!)
    
    -b

I watched "Dangerous Man" last night.  I'd taped it
while I was away in London where I saw Ralph's brother
Joseph on stage in "A Month in the Country".  Sibling
resemblance is HUGE!

...a 1992 movie called "Waterland".  I don't remember it, but the Globe gave
it ***/****, and the cast list reads well (Pete Postlewaithe, Sinead Cusack,
Jeremy Irons, Ethan Hawke, John Heard).  

However, I'm not sure about this particular listing, since he's the only 
person listed with no character name, and the cast list is supposedly complete.
This could be an oversight, he may be uncredited, he may have been cut 
from the movie, or someone may have submitted his name in error.

In any case, it looks like it might be worth checking out.

>...a 1992 movie called "Waterland".  I don't remember it, but the Globe gave
>it ***/****, and the cast list reads well (Pete Postlewaithe, Sinead Cusack,
>Jeremy Irons, Ethan Hawke, John Heard).  

>However, I'm not sure about this particular listing, since he's the only 
>person listed with no character name, and the cast list is supposedly complete.
>This could be an oversight, he may be uncredited, he may have been cut 
>from the movie, or someone may have submitted his name in error.
    
    I think he played the, ahem, unusually well-endowed brother with the
    diminished mental capacity in the flashback scenes.
    
    A good film, BTW, available on video.
    

    The hype for "Quiz Show" seems to have begun; Ralph's on the covers of
    GQ and Premiere...
    
    I'm still having trouble imagining a quiz-show contestant - *any*
    quiz-show contestant - with the kind of edgy undercurrents that Fiennes
    is bound to provide. Ought to be... interesting.
    
    -b

    In the reviews for "Quiz Show" I keep hearing his name pronounced as if
    it were "Ray Fines" run-on: "Ray-fines". Surely the announcers don't
    mean to slur the man's name but that's how it ends up.
    
    Also check out Beth's prediction in .-1 versus the review in 658.0
    
      John

    I believe the Ray Fines is how Ralph Fiennes pronounces his name. I've
    heard it that way, and it was spelled phonetically like that in the
    People magazine article on him.
    
    
    Marilyn

    Actually, now that I think about it, it's more like Rafe Fines.
    
    
    Marilyn

>    In the reviews for "Quiz Show" I keep hearing his name pronounced as if
>    it were "Ray Fines" run-on: "Ray-fines". Surely the announcers don't
>    mean to slur the man's name but that's how it ends up.

"Rafe" is apparently a common British pronunciation of "Ralph,"
going back into the last century and probably before.

As for the slurring, words that are joined by the same fricative
consonant (consonant sounds without a stop) often run together
in normal speech.  If there is someone named "Thomas Simon" around
(a made up name for my purposes here), ask if he hears "Thomasimon"
with any regularity.

- tom]  (who still has trouble sounding S-E-A-N as "shawn")

>"Rafe" is apparently a common British pronunciation of "Ralph,"
>going back into the last century and probably before.

Other examples of the "Rafe" pronunciation:

Ralph Rackstraw - lead male character in Gilbert & Sullivan's "HMS Pinafore"

Ralph Vaughn Williams - British composer

-- Nina

From:	US2RMC::"[email protected]" "Elizabeth Rust" 24-OCT-1994 18:37:21.50
To:	humor::eppes
CC:	
Subj:	Fiennes news

Dunno if this has already shown up or not, but
I noticed a news squib the other day stating that
TNT was going to air the Ralph Fiennes version
of "Wuthering Heights" this December (the 5th, I
think, but schedules could change). Critics generally
didn't care for the movie (to put it mildly), but
even while panning it they tended to admire (and
occasionally seem scared by) Fiennes' Heathcliff,
so I'm looking forward to it. Thought you might
want to notify the MOVIES Fiennes-fans, too...

-b

    There's a feature article on Ralph Fiennes in this month's (May95)
    "Harper's Bazaar" Magazine. (Which I usually just buy for the pictures :-)
    
    Ralph will be playing the title role in _Hamlet_ on Broadway starting
    in May. Having played it in London thr reviews are already in. Bazaar
    says that as "[a] troubled son, stuck in a rotten country and a rotten
    family, Fiennes' Hamlet resembles his Charles Van Doren in Quiz Show -- 
    a privileged boy under pressure, a young noble who must put on a mask."
    
    Other random tidbits:
    
    He's working on a new movie _Strange Days_, a thriller set in 1999.
    Co-starring Angela Bassett.
    
    Actors he reveres: Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro.
    
    Sorry, ladies -- Fiennes has, as of yet, no nude scenes on film.
    
      John

    
>>    Sorry, ladies -- Fiennes has, as of yet, no nude scenes on film.

	What's to be sorry about?  That's to his credit, in my opinion.

	Diane

Yes, but he gets his shirt off in "Hamlet".  Aside from
being incredibly tasty throughout (leather pants,
long black military overcoat), it's an excellent
performance in very good production.  But that is theatre
and this is the MOVIES.

Chris

    His body (bare chest and arms) didn't impress me in 
    Schindler's List.
    
    Sue

Well, he put on 30 or 40 pounds for that role.  He's
lean and not very mean now.

dcl

    A few weeks back the New Yorker had a short piece on Fiennes as
    Hamlet.  It was accompanied by a Richard Avedon photo of him
    dressed as Hamlet.  Definitely worth a look ;-)