(no subject)

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

I was wondering if any of you have read or seen the film adaptation of E.M. Forster's Maurice, and if it was/they were worth checking out. Or, if you can rec other Jooster-era books or movies along the m/m lines. Aside from Queer London, because that one's already on the to-read list.


E.M. Forster’s provocative 1914 novel, published posthumously in 1971, is brought to the screen by director James Ivory in this beautifully photographed film. Set in pre-World War I England, the film concerns the coming of age of two young men who meet at Cambridge University and fall in love. Maurice and Clive struggle with their hearts within the confines of a rigid society’s moral hypocrisy. Clive eventually succumbs to a traditional life after witnessing the social banishment and imprisonment endured by another gay friend, Viscount Risley. But Maurice struggles with his sexual desires and chooses a more difficult, but honest, way of life. When a young gamekeeper returns his affections, Maurice experiences his first real happiness. The film deals with trademark Merchant-Ivory themes involving individuals who are trapped by their society's strict conventions and who often attempt to break free, with varying consequences of fulfillment or disaster.

Comments

[tootsiemuppet.livejournal.com]

Read it but haven't seen it .. YET.

*wraps self around Forster in every possible spinebreaking way possible*

Adored it to pieces. Very much a must-read.

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I may have to read it now. ^___^

[tuff-ghost.livejournal.com]

i really liked the novel too, but i haven't seen the movie. dunno where to find it!

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

I'm prolly going to have to find someplace online to buy it from.

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

Read the book, seen the film. The film comes under guilty pleasure for being rather sweet, if a little clumsy (with more emphasis on the gayness and relationships than the book) and the book I spit on from a great height. I left the thing on a train after reading it, I disliked it so much. Seriously. Loads of angst, prevaricating and boring-ness and about three pages max on Alec, who turns out to be the relationship that's most important to him.

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

Hrm, there seems to be a mixed review on the book, but all love for the film. I kind of like angst though, but not so keen on boring-ness. But, since I'm more interested in the relationship bits, I'm leaning more toward the movie.

[peak-in-darien.livejournal.com]

the film concerns the coming of age of two young men who meet at Cambridge University and fall in love.

I won't say it.

[veronamay.livejournal.com]

Oh, go on. I'm thinking it.

... actually, the scenario fits better than it should.

[peak-in-darien.livejournal.com]

Yeah... one going straight and the other remaining gay. I wonder what parallels we could draw?

[veronamay.livejournal.com]

The mind absolutely boggles.

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

I have no idea where you're going with this. ;P

[veronamay.livejournal.com]

I love the film - nobody does repression quite like Merchant Ivory, and the actors (James Wilby, Hugh Grant and Rupert Graves) all do a marvellous job. I had quite the crush on Rupert Graves for a long time after seeing him as Alec. It's recently been remastered in Region 2 with a nice little extras package, so keep an eye out for it at Amazon and Sendit.com. Oh, and also? One of my favourite first kisses EVER.

I haven't read the book in some time, but I loved it. I'm a total sucker for repression/angst/denial stories, and that's exactly what Forster delivers. It can be a little heavy on the wangst, though, so if you're not fond of internal monologues you might want to stick to the film.

[derien.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hate wangst, myself, so that's probably a major reason I didn't like it quite as well as the movie.

[veronamay.livejournal.com]

Plus, well... the movie has the visual payoff of handsome young men mooning over each other, which is always an improvement.

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

I like angsty stories. I also like handsome young men mooning over each other. Just mentioning that it has one of your fave first kisses, makes me want to run out and buy it right now.....

Sometimes I think that I alone could keep Amazon UK in business. ^^

[veronamay.livejournal.com]

Handsome young men? -- Check.
Mooning over each other? -- Check.
Angsting? -- DOUBLE check.
Awesome first kiss? -- Check.
Bonus: references to Plato? -- Check.

/listens for the sound of you clicking madly through the checkout process at AmazonUK

[derien.livejournal.com]

Loved the film, it's so pretty, and Alec is just incredibly delectible. (And you get to see Hugh Grant play the first boyfriend - he always plays a jerk, doesn't he?). Maurice (James Wilby, I believe? Because I'm pretty sure Alec is Rupert Graves. I'm not good on my actors.) could do without the mousy moustache, but still not all that bad on the pretty, himself, and the moustache is period.

The movie had a couple of confusing points where things just sort of happened for no discernable reason. I thought reading the book would clear that up for me, but, as I recall (that was some fifteen years ago, so I'm really reaching the extent of my memory) it did not. The book was not so great, iirc, and the Alec in the book did not thrill me nearly as much. I could see there being convincing explanaitions for why those things happened, and I think people have written some fanfic, but I'm not sure I've read any which really filled it in as well as I'd like.

Conclusion: See the movie.

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

If I have to choose, I'm leaning more towards the movie. Do you know if there's any way to tell if I'd be getting the uncut version or not? Though I imagine if I got the new R2 one that Veronamay mentioned above, it'd have that extra 15 seconds of gorgeous. And, now that you mention it, I'm not sure if I can think of a non-jerk version of Hugh Grant.

[derien.livejournal.com]

After I thought about it longer it occurred to me that maybe the cut version was something the A&E channel did for themselves. That's not the only time I've seen them do something like that - the first time they show it, it'll be fine, the second time they show it there'll be a scene chopped or changed because of full-frontal nudity. And in one of the other movies where I noticed that, "Sirens," they did such a bad job of it that it was really obvious, and I can only think they did it themselves. They changed the full-frontal shot of the woman to a head-shot, but it was all grainy and really obvious they'd had to blow up a section of the original film way beyond what it should have been.

[sor-bet.livejournal.com]

The non-jerk version of Hugh Grant (that I've seen and can vouch for; there may be others) is in "Love, Actually", and I suppose it's possible to see something he does in it as sort of jerky, even if it was for a somewhat good reason.

[derien.livejournal.com]

PS - see the complete, uncut movie, because a cut version exists which doesn't have the scene where Maurice and Alec wake up in bed after their second night together, which is about fifteen seconds of gorgeous.

[lonelybrit]

I haven't read the book, but I saw a video version of the film last year. And I'd definitely recommend it. It's not a brilliant film, but the cast are though. My only doubt being seeing the usually pristine Rupert Graves cast as a rough gardener. Anyway, it is a lovely film. You get the lovely feel of first love between Maurice and Clive, and then you get to see it destroyed by society and all the restraints put on them. So yes, serious angst, but it does end very nicely, well, bittersweetly anyway :)

As for other films, well, there are two very good m/m love stories I'd recommend, though they're not really Jeeves-era.
1) Lilies - set in Canada, in the late 1940s I think. Very beautiful film, with a bittersweet love story between two young men. So far one of my favourite m/m films.
2) Latter Days - cheesy, corny, utterly predictable, but also deliciously lovely. The two guys have genuine chemistry, and they do make you feel like you've earnt the right to wallow in a happy sappy ending by dishing out a nasty dose of angst along the way.

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

I really like serious angst, maybe that's why I'm particularly drawn to m/m love during this time period. Thank you for the other rec's, I'll definitely look into them.

[derien.livejournal.com]

Oh, look! Maurice fic! What good timing. :) Or did you know about this?

http://www.livejournal.com/community/31_days/252274.html

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

Wow, no, I didn't. I found out about the movie/book just before I posted the question because I'd been browsing a web site that sells only gay movies trying to find something from this aprox time period.

thanks!

[hoskie.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you how many times I've read that book.

[hoskie.livejournal.com]

... and if you haven't already, join mr_edna_may, the Maurice comm. ;D

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

Maybe after I read the book/watch the movie. Thank you for the comm link. :D

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

I read the book a few years ago, and remember reasonably liking it, even though the true love in a shack conclusion made me roll my eyes a bit. In any case, Maurice is a very likeable character, and the plot is interesting enough, so I'd definitely recommend it.

I haven't seen the movie, but most of my friends who've read the book disliked it. They do say there's plenty of kissing and nudity, so that redeems it a bit.

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

Yes, well, you can't knock kissing and nudity. ;D

Thank you. Your review is completely opposite than that others, so now I'm all confused. I guess I'll just have to read *and* watch for myself.

[stungunbilly.livejournal.com]

I loved the movie so much when I first saw it, that I sought out the author and read everything he's written. I enjoyed the book very much, but it is told in a much more dense way than the movie. I actually found all the characters sympathetic in different ways.

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I think it's settled then that I'll get both.

[sine-que-non767.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed both book and film (I read the book, then watched film a week or so later). But the film does give the visual pretty...and Rupert Graves as a bit of young innocent rough maketh the loins shudder, so to speak. :) I found the portrayal of 'romantic friendship' idealised by Hugh Grant's character, and the more robust practical course adopted by Maurice (Wilby) really fascinating - if you're interested in the course of gay history, it's a good snapshot of the times.

Jooster-era books...Dorothy L Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey books, of course...though Wimsey is involved with a woman, he's that delicious blend of foppishness and shy aristocratic Englishness that works for Bertie, too. Plus the side subtext of his close relationship with his manservant Bunter.

If you haven't already, you might want to track down Granada's 1981 production of Evelyn Waugh's Bridehead Revisited. Doomed and pretty Oxford University apparently-not-love-affair between the oh-so-queer Sebastian and the adoring Charles, subtext up to 11. They're re-released it on remastered DVD boxset.

There's a sad dearth of really good Jooster-era work, though, esp. m/m stuff. I'm always on the avid look-out, so if I come across anything I'll post.

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the thoughts and rec's. Yes, I am quite interested in gay history, most especially from this particular time period as of late. If you run across anything else, do share. ♥


btw - I've missed your fics. *sad eyes*

[sine-que-non767.livejournal.com]

I shall share, forcibly and repeatable, never fear. ;)

btw - I've missed your fics. *sad eyes*

Honey! *smooch* I'm replying to your email...this week is doom and work, but will reply.

[innocentsmith.livejournal.com]

In re: recs, you might give E. W. Hornung's Raffles books a try. They're available for download at Project Gutenberg (The first, "The Amateur Cracksman," is here: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/706 ) so you won't have to worry about finding them in print, which can be tricky.

Raffles is a handsome gentleman-cricket player who supports himself in the manner to which he enjoys being accustomed by periodic daring jewel heists, in which he is assisted by his adoring chronicler/former schoolmate/sidekick Bunny Danvers. (Bunny: "When you want me I'm your man.") Yes, really, his nickname is "Bunny". There's one story where, having broken into a house, he goes and dresses up in drag. Why? Oh, just as a lark, to surprise Raffles...what? They're sort of the anti-Holmes and Watson, with a definite touch of Jeeves and Bertie, in places.

They were very popular; Bertie makes several references to the stories when he's being suspected of Raffles-ish behavior, and they do seem like the kind of thing he'd enjoy reading. The first was published in 1899, and as such they aren't overtly m/m, but the subtext is pretty dashed thick. Bunny is so madly in love with Raffles it's almost embarrassing (especially as Raffles is obviously a charming sociopath); he makes constant reference to Raffles's admirable athletic frame, handsome face, extraordinary penetrating eyes, etc., and angsts constantly about how wrong what they're doing is...but he just can't bring himself to stop, and leave Raffles's side. He was standing in front of me with his hands on my shoulders; he was smiling as he knew so well how to smile...

[sine-que-non767.livejournal.com]

Oh my WORD, I have to read that right away. *runs*

[innocentsmith.livejournal.com]

*g* Let me know what you think!

[notatracer.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[innocentsmith.livejournal.com]

Also required reading for Wodehouse/Wilde fans: Saki.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saki

Though that may go without saying.

"Reginald closed his eyes with the elaborate weariness of one who has rather nice eyelashes and thinks it useless to conceal the fact."