...you been going up to Wyoming all these years ...

[Front-Ranger]

Hi, Tremblayans and fellow/sister long time BetterMostians,

We been going up to BetterMost all these months now. What keeps us coming back, LOL? It's a very strange . . . and wonderful . . . phenomenon. I couldn't get thru the day w/o touching bases with my BetterMost friends! Now, I hurry home from vacations LOL because I need to get online again! What keeps you coming back??

[Ellemeno]

Hi, Tremblayans and fellow/sister long time BetterMostians,

We been going up to BetterMost all these months now. What keeps us coming back, LOL? It's a very strange . . . and wonderful . . . phenomenon. I couldn't get thru the day w/o touching bases with my BetterMost friends! Now, I hurry home from vacations LOL because I need to get online again! What keeps you coming back??

You do. 

[Meryl]

The Brokies, of course! 

And the wild, naked orgies. 

[Front-Ranger]

The Brokies, of course! 

And the wild, naked orgies. 

Woo-hoo! Thanks, Meryl and Clarissa! You're so sweet--I've been checking in every day to see if you had solved yr computer problems, and am I ever glad you're back!!

[Kelda]

FRiends that I've made!

 

[Front-Ranger]

FRiends that I've made!

 

Back at you Kelda!!    Am I ever glad I asked this question!!

[Cameron]

Because to be totally honest, it 'gets lonesome' sometimes in RL, it sure is nice to come here.

[Kd5000]

Well, ppl I know give me that look when I mention BBM.  "Your still obsessed with that movie!"  It's so nonjudgmental here, almost like a second home where you know others still have the BBM "bug."

[serious crayons]

Because to be totally honest, it 'gets lonesome' sometimes in RL, it sure is nice to come here.

For me, too. RL can be a lonesome ranch. And sometimes it gets tiresome, like waiting on drunks demanding beer after beer ...

But I always know I can find FRiends here!

[Front-Ranger]

For me, too. RL can be a lonesome ranch. And sometimes it gets tiresome, like waiting on drunks demanding beer after beer ...

But I always know I can find FRiends here!

That is for sure, marlb, lat, and kd. And I promise you I'm not goin away, not anytime soon! Because after the BBQ, there's Alberta, and then sfericsf is talking about a viewing in San Francisco in August, and I  haven't met any Eurobrokies yet, and...

 

[Ellemeno]

That is for sure, marlb, lat, and kd. And I promise you I'm not goin away, not anytime soon! Because after the BBQ, there's Alberta, and then sfericsf is talking about a viewing in San Francisco in August, and I  haven't met any Eurobrokies yet, and...

 

And  I just read in the Dutch play thread that the director might be mounting an opera of BBM in London next year.  GOTTA go to that! 

[chefjudy]

   I know I don't post as often some of you, but I do check in every day (actually several times a day ) - it's kind of like coming home, something you never tire of

[Front-Ranger]

Glad to hear that you're still with us, chefjudy!! Awesome news, Clarissa! Please keep us posted!

[Jeff Wrangler]

And  I just read in the Dutch play thread that the director might be mounting an opera of BBM in London next year.  GOTTA go to that! 

Tell you what, BBM is the perfect source for an opera.

Me, I'm waitin' for the ballet. ... 

[Front-Ranger]

Tell you what, BBM is the perfect source for an opera.

Me, I'm waitin' for the ballet. ... 

You may not have to wait that long, Jeff. I heard that Matthew Bourne is working on a gay Romeo and Juliet, called Romeo and Romeo. Can BBM, the Ballet, be far behind??

[Jeff Wrangler]

You may not have to wait that long, Jeff. I heard that Matthew Bourne is working on a gay Romeo and Juliet, called Romeo and Romeo. Can BBM, the Ballet, be far behind??

I read that about Matthew Bourne doing the gay Romeo and Juliet. There was a very nice profile of him in (where else?  ) The New Yorker recently.

I know I used the Grin smiley, but I wasn't really kidding about the ballet. I'm not just thinking a love duet pas de deux for Ennis and Jack, either. I'm thinking that a talented and skillful choreographer could do a lot with the whole story. For example, I'm thinking of the possibility of a very powerful solo portraying Alma's confusion when she sees her husband kissing a man, and another, and potentially very moving solo portraying her sorrow as her marriage deteriorates. Lots of possibilities here! 

[serious crayons]

How about BBM, the cable TV series?    That would get me to subscribe to HBO!

[Ellemeno]

I read that about Matthew Bourne doing the gay Romeo and Juliet. There was a very nice profile of him in (where else?  ) The New Yorker recently.

I know I used the Grin smiley, but I wasn't really kidding about the ballet. I'm not just thinking a love duet pas de deux for Ennis and Jack, either. I'm thinking that a talented and skillful choreographer could do a lot with the whole story.

Le Tussle Heureux.

[Kd5000]

But operas are so tragic. Fits in so well with BBM.  Will there be gods?? Can just hear Alma doing an aria after she see Jack and Ennis having a reunion kisss.


The word deceased being sung over and over again. Deceased, Deceased!   The setting, i.e. the great outdoors is certaily worthy of opera.  Can't see them doing ballet on the moutain. 

[Ellemeno]

Can't see them doing ballet on the moutain. 

Though they do fly on the euphoric, bitter air.  (I think that's the quote.)

There would have to be tumbling and rolling - maybe Pilobolus could do it at the special broadcast of the First-Ever Academy Awards Retraction and Rectification Show, where they fix their 2006 @#$%-up. 

[Jeff Wrangler]

Can't see them doing ballet on the moutain. 

Oh, but sure enough! A talented choreographer could have a field day depicting through dance how Jack slowly gets Ennis to open up, then their growing attraction, culminating in TS1, which would be a pas de deux, of course! Yeehaw! 

[Meryl]

Opera or ballet, I just like the direction yer goin'. 

One of the most memorable pas de deux I ever saw was for two men, performed to the slow movement of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto.  In the age of AIDS, it was tremendously moving.

[Front-Ranger]

I read that about Matthew Bourne doing the gay Romeo and Juliet. There was a very nice profile of him in (where else?  ) The New Yorker recently.

I know I used the Grin smiley, but I wasn't really kidding about the ballet. I'm not just thinking a love duet pas de deux for Ennis and Jack, either. I'm thinking that a talented and skillful choreographer could do a lot with the whole story. For example, I'm thinking of the possibility of a very powerful solo portraying Alma's confusion when she sees her husband kissing a man, and another, and potentially very moving solo portraying her sorrow as her marriage deteriorates. Lots of possibilities here! 

I will be seeing Matthew Bourne's Edward Scizzorhands on April 22!! Is it coming to your neck of the woods, Jeff??

[Jeff Wrangler]

I will be seeing Matthew Bourne's Edward Scizzorhands on April 22!! Is it coming to your neck of the woods, Jeff??

Actually, it's played here (Philadelphia) already and moved on. I didn't see it. Didn't much interest me. (Never saw the movie; that didn't interest me either.)

[fernly]

Opera or ballet, I just like the direction yer goin'. 

I think some of the 'parallel' scenes in the film would be really interesting to see on the stage at the same time, like Jack and Lureen dancing at the same time as Alma is trying to convince Ennis to move to town, and Jack and Ennis are both looking toward each other, unseeing and unseen, into the empty darkness in the center of the stage.

[Ellemeno]

I think some of the 'parallel' scenes in the film would be really interesting to see on the stage at the same time, like Jack and Lureen dancing at the same time as Alma is trying to convince Ennis to move to town, and Jack and Ennis are both looking toward each other, unseeing and unseen, into the empty darkness in the center of the stage.

Fern, you don't say much, but I love when you do! 

[Brown Eyes]

I think some of the 'parallel' scenes in the film would be really interesting to see on the stage at the same time, like Jack and Lureen dancing at the same time as Alma is trying to convince Ennis to move to town, and Jack and Ennis are both looking toward each other, unseeing and unseen, into the empty darkness in the center of the stage.

Wow!  I'll just echo what Elle said... This really is a stunning image to imagine!
 

[serious crayons]

I'll third that. This will make me sound incredibly ignorant, but because I'm more of a film buff than a theater one, I tend to think of film as being able to do more to dramatize a story than theater. But this is a wonderful example of how sometimes just the opposite is true.

[Meryl]

I think some of the 'parallel' scenes in the film would be really interesting to see on the stage at the same time, like Jack and Lureen dancing at the same time as Alma is trying to convince Ennis to move to town, and Jack and Ennis are both looking toward each other, unseeing and unseen, into the empty darkness in the center of the stage.

I love that! 

[Jeff Wrangler]

I think some of the 'parallel' scenes in the film would be really interesting to see on the stage at the same time, like Jack and Lureen dancing at the same time as Alma is trying to convince Ennis to move to town, and Jack and Ennis are both looking toward each other, unseeing and unseen, into the empty darkness in the center of the stage.

Great idea! Much more affecting than a "split screen" in a film!

[fernly]

Thanks, guys! Glad you liked the image.

Meryl, isn't there a stunningly beautiful and sad quartet in Cosi Fan Tutti?...seems like there'd be more than one opportunity for something like that in BBM, whether or not the characters know they're all singing at the same time.

Elle - I am saying a lot these days, it's just that it's mostly all in the fanfic I'm writing.

[Meryl]

Meryl, isn't there a stunningly beautiful and sad quartet in Cosi Fan Tutti?...seems like there'd be more than one opportunity for something like that in BBM, whether or not the characters know they're all singing at the same time.

Yes, the quartet in Cosi comes near the end, after the ladies discover they've been tricked into falling for each other's fiances.  They go back to their original lovers, and all four sing a harmonious toast to their upcoming marriage vows.  But one of the four, Guglielmo, can't swallow his anger entirely, and his vocal line becomes a jumpy and emotional counterpoint to the others.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of a quartet in the standard rep that uses the situation of two couples onstage at the same time, who are actually in different physical locations, with two true lovers thinking of each other while they're with someone else.  It would be an utterly cool scene to do.

[brokebackjack]

surely SOMEONE has something to say about this fine thread??

[Front-Ranger]

I think you just said it, friend!!

[brokebackjack]

Wow!  I'll just echo what Elle said... This really is a stunning image to imagine!
 

Let me echo you atz...stunning visual!

[Front-Ranger]

Hi, Tremblayans and fellow/sister long time BetterMostians,

We been going up to BetterMost all these months now. What keeps us coming back, LOL? It's a very strange . . . and wonderful . . . phenomenon. I couldn't get thru the day w/o touching bases with my BetterMost friends! Now, I hurry home from vacations LOL because I need to get online again! What keeps you coming back??

I thought I'd just re-ask the original question that started this thread. Nowadays, I have a new, sad reason for coming back. It's because I've shared, not only the good times, but the bad times with my friends, after tragically losing Heath, and a devoted Brokie friend Jackie, in the space of two days in late January. There's nothing like a shared history to cement friendships. Thank you, fellow BetterMostians, for being there. 

[optom3]

Opera or ballet, I just like the direction yer goin'. 

One of the most memorable pas de deux I ever saw was for two men, performed to the slow movement of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto.  In the age of AIDS, it was tremendously moving.

Could not agree more.
I saw the version of Swan lake where all the swans were males.
Completely amazing,stunning,you name it.I used to do ballet untill 18 and never thought a male version of that ballet would work,
I was so wrong.
Guess that's why I keep comming back here.People with open minds,open hearts and of course a certain fascination with a certain film.

[Artiste]

What would you change in the movie/story if you could? For the short story I would change nothing, it is a magnificent achievement which stands alone.

For the film, I would try to balance the additional material inserted by the screenwriters about Jack's heterosexuality with equally measured material about Jack's closeted gay activities when he was away from Ennis. I believe this would lead to a more balanced and truer version of the life of a closeted man such as Jack.

Additionally, I would have Ang Lee leave in the final cut the brief and humorous exchange created by McMurtry/ Ossana in the 1972 "Blue Parka" camping scene. Ennis arrives late to meet Jack, he smiles and shows Jack a surprise he has for him in a paper sack. It is a can of beans.

 

..........

Interesting!


Hugs!