tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post1031547593454038349..comments2023-09-26T15:52:33.786+05:30Comments on Movies that make you think: 39. US director Richard Brook's "Lord Jim" (1965): Conrad's treatise on fear, heroism, cowardice and deathJugu Abrahamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-58711086360632662562013-02-13T20:19:36.439+05:302013-02-13T20:19:36.439+05:30These days I use the android version of kindle to ...These days I use the android version of kindle to read classic novels (which are available for free download). Actually, I stay in South Delhi while my college is in North Delhi (Rohini), and so I have to commute (by Metro) over 50 kms daily. More often than not, I use the time to read these classics. But, I am an unusually slow reader (partly because I have this strange tendency to enjoy the prose more than the plot itself, and partly because I only started reading good literature about 3 years back). <br /><br />I got so enthralled by The Idiot that half way through it I decided to give Kurosawa's adaptation a go. After watching the movie I somehow lost my hunger for the novel. However, I will surely finish it off, but perhaps at a later date. I read Father Sergius (on your recommendation) and felt blessed. Like you, I too was amazed by Tolstoy's incredible range. Now, I plan to check out the likes of Conrad, Joyce, Hardy, etc. starting with Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Murtaza Ali Khanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09747183316188241022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-37245424607745736902013-02-13T10:20:29.135+05:302013-02-13T10:20:29.135+05:30Conrad is a great writer--some close friends and c...Conrad is a great writer--some close friends and cynics attribute this to the cosmic coincidence that we share the same birth-date! Levity apart, I am constantly amazed at the variety of subjects Conrad has dealt with in depth through his novels. The strains of tragedy, self-doubt and constant attempts to place his characters within the matrix of geography and a greater universe always grip me.<br /><br />Though I am equally a great fan of Dostoevsky, I have have yet to read "The Brothers Karamazov"--at this point of time, my favorites remain his other two works "The Idiot" and "Possessed." Jugu Abrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-7572204090751081912013-02-11T20:31:41.401+05:302013-02-11T20:31:41.401+05:30I will read them most definitely, now that you hav...I will read them most definitely, now that you have recommended them. Another book of his that I have heard a lot about is Nostromo. Have you read it? If I am not wrong, Ridley Scott's "The Duellists" - which I had the privilege of watching only recently (again thanks to your recommendation) - is also based on a book by Conrad? <br /><br />I had watched "Apocalypse Now" a couple of years back... perhaps I will have to watch it again to appreciate it truly. But, I think I can still relate the pain experienced by Brando's character in the movie to that of Peter O'Toole's character in Lord Jim. I have also heard a lot about Truman Capote's In Cold Blood. I think it was the book that invented the non-fiction genre. I would surely love to watch Brook's adaptation of the movie. Btw, what's your take on Brook's version of Dostoevsky's "The brothers Karamazov". I recently watched Petr Zelenka's version of The brothers Karamazov. Even though I haven't read the novel yet, I found the film quite interesting. The treatment that Zelenka gives to Dostoevsky's novel is what really got my attention. I would very much like you to watch it and analyse it.<br /> <br />Here's the IMDb link for it: <br /><br />http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1080716/Murtaza Ali Khanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09747183316188241022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-78758519961055518762013-02-11T19:29:44.173+05:302013-02-11T19:29:44.173+05:30Do read both the Conrad's novels, "Lord J...Do read both the Conrad's novels, "Lord Jim" and "Heart of Darkness," Murtaza. I have not seen Brook's most talked about films "In cold blood" and "Something of Value"--I have only seen his westerns and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and they were just above average.<br /><br />However, any screenplay writer dealing with Conrad and Dostoevsky (Brook directed 'The brothers Karamazov') is no pushover. Not having seen his best films, I rate him high as a scriptwriter who could deal with complex subjects, but not so much as an outstanding director. "Heart of Darkness" proved to be the fulcrum of the script of "Apocalypse Now'. As my commentator Squelsh (above) stated, Coppola must have gained much from "Lord Jim" (the book and the movie) to develop the Marlon Brando sequences in his film. Jugu Abrahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03168705724665556320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-11119213501726868402013-02-11T14:31:18.516+05:302013-02-11T14:31:18.516+05:30Finally watched it last night... and enjoyed it th...Finally watched it last night... and enjoyed it thoroughly. I agree with you that it's not great cinema but it definitely has its moments. Peter O'Toole's part surely reminds one of his mesmerizing portrayal in Lean's Lawrence of Arabia. I was moved by movie's spiritual elements. I think Brooks tackled the religious sentimentalities of different groups (Islam, Christianity, Budhism, and Hinduism) really well. I was shattered by the movie's ending. I couldn't have imagined a more apt ending to Jim's tale. Now, I plan to watch Becket soon. I would surely want to come back to Lord Jim after few years... it might help me access the movie at a different level. I was also thinking to give Conrad's novel a go. Murtaza Ali Khanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09747183316188241022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33415680.post-43920416184195138492011-11-17T17:18:43.035+05:302011-11-17T17:18:43.035+05:30i think the book is interesting thus far. conrad i...i think the book is interesting thus far. conrad is a little hard to follow though. i think f f copola definitely used some themes from lord jim as well in apocalypse now. the two stories are related by marlow.Squelschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07323613330285003698noreply@blogger.com