Salome's Last Dance
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Movie Reviews of Salome's Last Dance
Movie Review: Miscreant Minx . . . or Calumnied Cassandra??
Summary: 4 Stars
In more ways that one, Imogen Millais-Scott reminds me of a number of my exgirlfriends. She is cuter than a bug and twice the effort to cuddle, and for that reason alone I counsel acquaintanceship with this glorious mess.
"The Trial of Salomé v.
Of all Glory authored by He in His trade,
No Beast of His likeness was properly made.
He fashioned from filings of immaculate grade,
His image, now mortal, and divinely portrayed.
From none He made one, and one into two,
The former, his function: the latter he'd woo.
One painted steadfast, built pious and true,
The other made lesser; of curious hue.
~
And she, insufficient, made minor a match,
For pomiferous persuasions from saurian Scratch.
"Behold! censored produce; sworn not to detach,"
Made ever more eager by Satanic dispatch.
That dame of fair beauty but runty resolve,
Resigned all resistance; let duty dissolve.
With proud mastication at once did devolve,
The grace and the virtue 'round each did revolve.
~ ~
So Adam, fell even, with whom he shared birth,
A guilt by relation had sullied his worth.
An exile from Eden, that Heaven on earth,
Our hero, now tainted, was cast from His mirth.
If blame is commissioned, and one falls to scorn,
Spare our true hero - from virtue was torn;
The blanche of perversion is hers to adorn,
Discolored devotion takes feminine form.
~
In honor of insults to masculine pride,
A host of harsh harlots have sought to misguide.
Since Eden's ejection, our faith she's defied,
It's fashioned in fables, and utters our slide.
With malice aforethought and sex her device,
A girl from Judaea draws violence from vice.
A jig in her skivvies had precious a price,
And bound by his honor, her wish, he'd suffice.
~ ~
A tart! A tyrannous! Through ages the scream,
Aptly termed wicked or so it would seem.
But truth of her purpose shall raise her esteem,
Amending the matter and favor, redeem.
Now poesy relinquish; with text, thus begin,
Descriptions of lust and of female sin.
This frequent of fables and subject of stage,
Forthwith shall it follow on subsequent page.
http://www.user.dccnet.com/dma
Movie Review: Senuous version of Wilde's exotic play
Summary: 4 Stars
Rather than film Oscar Wilde's play, Salome, as a stand-alone piece, Ken Russell uses the time-honored technique of a play within a play, to present a fictional British premier of the play considered so decadent, the Lord Chamberlain banned it from the stage. Wilde did not see a production of Salome in his lifetime. In Mr. Russell's film, the guests and employees of Alfred Taylor's brothel present a fully staged performance of Salome for Wilde as a birthday present. Within this concept, Russell has each actor, except Wilde, play two parts in the film, one in the brothel, one in the play. Most remarkable of these is Imogen Millais-Scott who, the first time we see her, is a very timid, slightly stuttering maid, but who, in the play within the play, is none other than the seductive princess Salome. Besides having an intriguing face that can look thirteen one minute and sixty the next, she has a melodious, slightly odd speaking voice and intense line delivery.
Nicholas Grace is the sensuous, slightly debauched Oscar Wilde, Glenda Jackson commands the stage as a dissipated, but regal queen Herodias/Lady Alice, and Stratford Johns gives a detailed characterization as Herod/Alfred Taylor (the owner of the brothel). Russell himself appears with a fairly sizeable spoken role.
There are only two extra features on this DVD: the inevitable trailers (not particularly interesting) and a commentary by the director Ken Russell which is both fascinating and enlightening. Mr. Russell readily describes his creative process, explains some of the choices he made in the film, and relates a few interesting anecdotes about the actors, all the while dropping bits of information about the music he chose for the film and why.
This is not an appropriate film for children. It contains nudity, some crude gestures, and sexual situations.
Movie Review: Salome's Last Dance
Summary: 4 Stars
Salome's Last Dance is a bizarre, yet well-acted film that mixes a campy performance of Oscar Wilde's French-decadent play, witty in-joke quotes, and a nose-tweaking of history, to eventually create a film that while may turn off many with its strangeness, is an interesting homage to the play's author and the period. The performances are wonderful, especially Glenda Jackson's Herodias and Imogen Millais-Scott as Salome. I was a little disappointed in Nickolas Grace's Oscar Wilde, though. He tries, but he's just no Stephen Fry, and his performance lacks a certain spark. The other actors seem equally at home in the forums of period piece and camp drama, and although seemingly done on a low-budget, the film looks great. I would recommend this to any Oscar Wilde fan, as well as anyone who enjoys just plain strange movies.Movie Review: Great if you like Russell, interesting otherwise.
Summary: 3 Stars
Ken Russell is kind of like stinky blue cheese: you either like him or you don't. If you like him, Salome is an essential work to add to your collection.Russell tends to hit you over the head with his hidden meanings, and this is one of the few films where he decides to let the images do the work for him, mostly by sticking close to the text of Wilde's original play. This is to his credit. The production design is lush, the photography surprisingly brisk, although his camera movements (as always) are just plain amateurish.
Imogen Millais-Scott turns in an astonishing and bracing performance as Salome (interestingly, she never worked in film again) and Nicholas Grace (Brideshead Revisited) turns in a somewhat boring Oscar Wilde.
I don't think I would buy this if I wasn't a big Ken Russell fan, but if you're learning more about this, er, interesting director, this is a good film with which to start.
Movie Review: May it indeed be the last
Summary: 2 Stars
It's interesting to see this movie getting so many good reviews, because among my friends, it's known as the film that's only bearable to watch on fast-forward.
This film is sensationalist, yet boring--it attempts to follow in the steps of Jarmann, but is not nearly so inventive.
The person playing Salome was horrible, reducing her wonderfully paradoxical character in Wilde's play to nothing more than a Lolita knock-off with an oral fixation, with only one tone of voice for all of her lines.
Most of the sequences actually relating to Oscar Wilde were historically wrong--which could be borne easily enough--but also unimaginatively vulgar, and demeaning--which cannot. I wouldn't be surprised if the take on Wilde and his circle portrayed here was based in large part on "Teleny"--an "erotic novel" (I use both terms loosely) that has popularly been attributed to him, but which was most likely a simple (and poor) imitation of his style.
This film might be interesting as a curiousity, but it does Wilde's beautiful play no justice.