Gay Content in the English Patient?
Ken Rudolph
Buck Foss wrote:
>
> I really thought that the man who was feeding fruit to the Egyptian
> Boy riding on top of his truck (who would lean over and he would pop
> it in his mouth) was having an affair with the boy. First, their
> interaction was very intimate. Also, he made that speech to Fines
> about how things that change so much in the desert to seem correct.
> And finally, Fines tirade about how the International Explorer's group
> included the word buggerer.
>
> My lover didn't think there was any content at all.
>
> Did anyone else think that there was some Homo hanky panky going on?
Absolutely. Clearly. I saw it exactly the way you did. Anyway, it was
also an allusion to the fact that the real Count Lazlo Almasey was
undoubtedly homosexual and was almost certainly having an affair with the
guy he was working with ( I forget his name, something like Mattheson -
the one who in real life committed suicide when he heard that Almasey was
a German spy, and the movie character who told Almasey that the cleft
under the throat was the supersternal notch (something rilly rilly
important to know.))
Maybe the real story would have made a better movie for us on soc.motss.
But then it wouldn't have won 9 Oscars.
--Ken
Buck Foss
2QT2BSTR8
Ken Rudolph (ke...@postoffice.worldnet.att.net) wrote:
: Buck Foss wrote:
: > My lover didn't think there was any content at all.
: >
: > Did anyone else think that there was some Homo hanky panky going on?
: Absolutely. Clearly. I saw it exactly the way you did.
However, I couldn't figure out whether or not the youth was reciprocating
the affections, or just being naive or whatever. The scene didn't last too
long anyways, and before I knew it a wheel or something fell off their
truck, so that was the end of that.
David
** Harvard University Music Department **
** mailto://im1...@virgil.harvard.edu **
*** http://mario.harvard.edu/im1ru12/ ***
Arne Adolfsen
In article <5hn6bk$snh$1...@news.fas.harvard.edu>,
2QT2BSTR8 <im1...@mario.harvard.edu> wrote:
>Ken Rudolph (ke...@postoffice.worldnet.att.net) wrote:
>: Buck Foss wrote:
>: > Did anyone else think that there was some Homo hanky panky going on?
>: Absolutely. Clearly. I saw it exactly the way you did.
>However, I couldn't figure out whether or not the youth was reciprocating
>the affections, or just being naive or whatever. The scene didn't last too
>long anyways, and before I knew it a wheel or something fell off their
>truck, so that was the end of that.
When you've seen the flick as many times as I have -- I think I've
popped it into the VCR a dozen times now -- it's abundantly clear
that the two have been having a sexual relationship for quite some
time.
--
-- Arne Adolfsen --------------- ar...@mtcc.com --- http://www.mtcc.com/~arne --
"Asked how it felt to be 104, she trumpeted: 'Madame, I am officially 32. If
you print anything else I will sue.'" -- from Lucie Young's interview of
Beatrice Webb, "the Mama of Dada", in the New York Times, 3/6/97
Ken Rudolph
ric...@concentric.net wrote:
>
> Arne Adolfsen wrote:
>
> > When you've seen the flick as many times as I have -- I think I've
> > popped it into the VCR a dozen times now -- it's abundantly clear
> > that the two have been having a sexual relationship for quite some
> > time.
> >
What do you mean, huh? Multiple viewings indicate definite signs of the
affair (and clear up all sorts of other ambiguities in the plot.) Can
you be a little clearer what your skepticism is about?
My worn out Academy VHS tape of "The English Patient" is testament to
Arne's having seen it several times, for what that's worth. Too bad the
studios don't send out laserdiscs.
--Ken Rudolph (ke...@worldnet.att.net)
ric...@concentric.net
Ken Rudolph
Buck Foss wrote:
>
> Did anyone else think that there was some Homo hanky panky going on?
As if there were any doubt, from the actual screenplay by Anthony
Minghella, for The English Patient, page 38:
INT. BERMANN'S CAR. DAY
Bermann is driving the lead CAR along some STEEP DUNES. Almasy beside
him. Bermann is peeling AN ORANGE, a segment of which he holds out of
the window. Kamal, riding shotgun, leans down and collects it, his head
dipping in to grin at Bermann. Bermann looks uneasily at Almasy. He
wants to tell him of his passion, of his absolute love for Kamal, but he
daren't.
BERMANN
How do you explain? To someone who's never
been here? Feelings which seem quite normal.
ALMASY
(compassionate)
I don't know, my friend. I don't know.
---------------------------------------
I think the homo hanky panky was more than mere inference. Buck can now
claim victory in his dispute with his lover. I know how that feels,
having been in arguments like this with my own lover. Unfortunately,
Howard was *never* wrong, even when he was.
--Ken Rudolph (ke...@worldnet.att.net)
Ken Rudolph
2QT2BSTR8 wrote:
> Well, that answered my 'huh?'! Do you need your copy of 'Secrets and Lies'?
Oddly enough, October Films did not send out a general distribution of
the Secrets and Lies video (nor the Breaking the Waves.) Since the
latter didn't get *any* official Academy screenings pre-nomination (and
the one screening for the former was somewhat botched by a scheduling
problem), my theory that nominations are directly related to the number
of people who go to official screenings or watch the videos went out the
door this year.
[aside to JWS: David and I have buried the hatchet, and I have been
deplonked.]
--Ken Rudolph (ke...@worldnet.att.net)
Ken Rudolph
Joel B Levin wrote:
>
> In <334062...@worldnet.att.net>,
> Ken Rudolph <ke...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> :My worn out Academy VHS tape of "The English Patient" is testament to
> :Arne's having seen it several times, for what that's worth. Too bad the
> :studios don't send out laserdiscs.
>
Wrong. All the Academy screening videos are presented original format.
However, it is the rare film I watch on video. I usually try to see the
contending movies on the big screen at the Academy or at studio
screenings. In fact, the only major film I watched on one of the 65
videos I received this year was "Sling Blade." I don't think that
watching that film on video detracted from its impact. Some films work
just as well on the small screen. Most don't.
--Ken Rudolph (ke...@worldnet.att.net)
Joel B Levin
In <334062...@worldnet.att.net>,
Ken Rudolph <ke...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
:My worn out Academy VHS tape of "The English Patient" is testament to
:Arne's having seen it several times, for what that's worth. Too bad the
:studios don't send out laserdiscs.
And I suppose that means you don't even get to see the film letterboxed. :-(
--
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or j...@levin.mv.com| because of gravity' are not mutually exclusive
pots: (617)873-3463 | statements. They can both be true, but only one of
ARS: KD1ON | them may be invesigated scientifically." --N.Plummer
2QT2BSTR8
Arne Adolfsen (ar...@mtcc.com) wrote:
You have a tape of it already?! I didn't know it was out on video yet. Do
you know someone in the Academy? (John Corigliano told me recently that
composition lessons at his apartment invariably end up with a viewing of
the latest new-release film, which he's sent because he's a member.)
2QT2BSTR8
Ken Rudolph (ke...@worldnet.att.net) wrote:
: What do you mean, huh? Multiple viewings indicate definite signs of the
: affair (and clear up all sorts of other ambiguities in the plot.) Can
: you be a little clearer what your skepticism is about?
: My worn out Academy VHS tape of "The English Patient" is testament to
^^^^^^^
Well, that answered my 'huh?'! Do you need your copy of 'Secrets and Lies'?
;-)
Arne Adolfsen
In article <5hprfh$gtm$1...@news.fas.harvard.edu>,
2QT2BSTR8 <im1...@mario.harvard.edu> wrote:
>Arne Adolfsen (ar...@mtcc.com) wrote:
>: When you've seen the flick as many times as I have -- I think I've
>: popped it into the VCR a dozen times now -- it's abundantly clear
>: that the two have been having a sexual relationship for quite some
>: time.
>You have a tape of it already?! I didn't know it was out on video yet. Do
>you know someone in the Academy?
Ken, my roommate in case you weren't aware of it, is a member of the
Academy.
>(John Corigliano told me recently that
>composition lessons at his apartment invariably end up with a viewing of
>the latest new-release film, which he's sent because he's a member.)
Yup. Ken gets sent just about everything with any Oscar nomination
potential -- he received _Evita_, for instance, about a week after
it opened -- except this year, for some curious reason, a video of
_Fargo_ was not made available to Academy members. In the case of
_The English Patient_, Ken was also sent the screenplay, which I think
is truly superb.
Mark Arthur Zumbach
The real gay content of this movie never made it to the screen-play.
The historical figure on which the film was based, did not turn maps
over to the Germans in order to save the life of his dying female lover,
but rather to win the favor of young German military men.
- Z
***********************************************************************
Mark Arthur Zumbach 919/828-2609 919/467-9807
e-mail: mazu...@unity.ncsu.edu
snail mail: PO Box 12271, Raleigh, NC 27605
webpage: http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/users/m/mazumbac/web/
***********************************************************************
Sim Aberson
In article <3340B3...@worldnet.att.net>,
Ken Rudolph <ke...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>Oddly enough, October Films did not send out a general distribution of
>the Secrets and Lies video (nor the Breaking the Waves.)
That's too bad. Emily Watson was just incredible in Breaking the Waves.
I really wished she had won the Oscar, but was gratified with the
cheers she got when her name was announced.
--
"We all know how these dangerous fads get started. First, one guy on your
block marries another guy. Then some woman on the corner marries another
woman. Soon, everybody wants to try it, and before you can say "Roy
Cohn," the whole darn state's gone fruity!" -- Carl Hiaasen
Ken Rudolph
Sim Aberson wrote:
>
> In article <3340B3...@worldnet.att.net>,
> Ken Rudolph <ke...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> >Oddly enough, October Films did not send out a general distribution of
> >the Secrets and Lies video (nor the Breaking the Waves.)
>
> That's too bad. Emily Watson was just incredible in Breaking the Waves.
> I really wished she had won the Oscar, but was gratified with the
> cheers she got when her name was announced.
I, too, thought she was incredible. Even though one isn't supposed to
indicate one's vote (mostly prior to the event, to foil pollsters), I
can safely say now that I voted for Emily Watson. I actually thought
she had a chance to win it, too, even though the best I can say for
Breaking the Waves as a movie is a mild ugh. Sometimes I really would
like to know who came in second.
--Ken Rudolph (ke...@worldnet.att.net)
Jess Anderson
>You have a tape of it already?! I didn't know it was out on video yet. Do
>you know someone in the Academy?
As you now know, he does. As I also know Arne's roommate
(as do hundreds and hundreds of other motssers, most of whom
also know Arne as Ken's roommate), I can attest that to be
taken (as I have been on more than one occasion) to the
Academy to attend a screening is a *great* treat. That is
*not* exactly a junky cinema, believe me!
--
Jess's homepage URL is http://www-jsbach.macc.wisc.edu/~anderson/
Copyright 1997 Jess Anderson. *All rights reserved.* Copying in
whole or in part prohibited except for direct response on Usenet.
Permission to archive for any reason explicitly refused herewith.
--
<> I'm a lesbian trapped in a mans body.
<> Me too.
<> -- (two straight guys on Usenet)
<> Perhaps you guys are lesbians simply because you
<> haven't met the right man.
<> -- Tim Fogarty
--
Opinions expressed herein have no connection with the UW-Madison.
Jess Anderson * Send no commercial email * ande...@doit.wisc.edu
Arne Adolfsen
In article <334096...@postoffice.worldnet.att.net>,
Ken Rudolph <ke...@postoffice.worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>Joel B Levin wrote:
>> And I suppose that means you don't even get to see the film letterboxed. :-(
>Wrong. All the Academy screening videos are presented original format.
Um, no. *Most* of the Academy screening videos are letterboxed, but
a surprising number are cropped to TV proportions. I haven't been able
to discover a pattern, but it seems like the more, um, populist films
are TV-ized and the arty-fartier films are letterboxed.
>However, it is the rare film I watch on video. I usually try to see the
>contending movies on the big screen at the Academy or at studio
>screenings. In fact, the only major film I watched on one of the 65
>videos I received this year was "Sling Blade." I don't think that
>watching that film on video detracted from its impact.
I couldn't stand _Sling Blade_ for more than about 40 minutes. Billy
Bob Thornton's fake acting and that impossibly corny, hackneyed, and
sentimental screenplay he wrote did me in. I watched most of the videos
you got this year, though, and I'm glad I didn't have to shell out the
dough to see some of those turkeys in a theater.
>Some films work
>just as well on the small screen. Most don't.
True enough, but I don't feel that I've missed anything by having seen
_The Mirror Has Two Faces_ and _Jerry Maguire_, say, solely on a big
screen TV.
John F. Eldredge
buck...@worldnet.att.net (Buck Foss) wrote:
>I really thought that the man who was feeding fruit to the Egyptian
>Boy riding on top of his truck (who would lean over and he would pop
>it in his mouth) was having an affair with the boy. First, their
>interaction was very intimate. Also, he made that speech to Fines
>about how things that change so much in the desert to seem correct.
>And finally, Fines tirade about how the International Explorer's group
>included the word buggerer.
>
>My lover didn't think there was any content at all.
>
>Did anyone else think that there was some Homo hanky panky going on?
It certainly looked like flirtation to me.
--
John F. Eldredge -- eldr...@poboxes.com
PGP key available from http://www.netforward.com/poboxes/?eldredge/
--
"There must be, not a balance of power, but a community of power;
not organized rivalries, but an organized common peace." - Woodrow Wilson