Re: Post-1939 European Course
Dave Postles (pot@leicester.ac.uk)
Mon, 30 Oct 1995 08:27:37 +0000
Can't resist recommending one of my favorite films of the period: "Darling"
(1965), directed by John Schlesinger, written by Frederic Raphael, starring
Julie Christie, Dirk Bogarde, Laurence Harvey. Beautifully captures the
"groovy" Mod London 60s scene. Very funny and touching, I think--sort of a
British "Midnight Cowboy" (which movie, curiously enough, was directed by the
same guy). Hate it or love it, it's a remarkable time capsule, wonderfully
evocative of the period (or, at least what I *hope* it was like--I was a
little too young to experience it first hand).
On the literary side, and even though they're not novels, I highly recommend
taking a look at the short story collections of the late Angus Wilson ("Sir"
Angus, I think). "The Wrong Set" (1949), "Such Darling Dodos" ('50), "A Bit
off the Map" (57) are all scathing, satiric looks at the post-war British
middle class and the world in which they operate. Wickedly hilarious, bleak
and even wistful. But never sentimental. And the man possessed a
pitch-perfect ear for dialogue. Great stuff, for my money.
Ardwight Chamberlain
Los Angeles
ardchamber@aol.com
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