Movie Trailers

[petitesuite]

I don't have any particular attachment to the 1994 version, so I am very excited for this one. For some reason I was under the impression that Emma Watson was playing Jo and that had me all 'HELL NO' so I am delighted to learn that I was wrong. I do not, however, think Timothee Chalamet is anywhere near cute enough. It also looks like they have de-aged Bhaer by a lot which I am compleeeeeetely okay with. The book was one of my absolute favorites as a child and I like it much, much less as an adult so for me this is one of those rare movie adaptations that I want to see but also probably won't disappoint me.

[petitesuite]

I believe she does get married outside in the book, but the hair looks all wrong to me--I think of wearing your hair down at a formal occasion as a pretty modern development.

[Deleted]

Aug 14, 2019 18:05:01 GMT -4 petitesuite said:

I believe she does get married outside in the book, but the hair looks all wrong to me--I think of wearing your hair down at a formal occasion as a pretty modern development.

It is indeed. In the book they explicitly say that her sisters braided up her hair in a simple style, and I think the wedding was inside in someone’s parlor. And a proper young bride in the Victorian era (and we all know Meg was nothing if not proper) would NEVER wear her hair down. Once women passed a certain age back then they never appeared in public with their hair down.

I’m passing on this movie. I don’t care for Chalamet and I hate it when filmmakers try to modernize period pieces to this extent. Louisa May Alcott was a feminist, and there were feminist themes in the book, but it was 19th century feminism. Which is entirely different than 21st century feminism. The whole thing just looks and feels wrong.

I’ll stick with the 1994 version, thankyouverymuch.

[kostgard]

Aug 14, 2019 17:06:47 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

Mar 11, 2005 14:51:31 GMT -4 kostgard said:

But, it looks great. Costumes, sets, art direction all look fab. You can see stills here.

I don't remember it exactly from the book, but Meg's boho outdoor wedding looks so wrong. I mean, it's pretty, but it feels way more 2019 Pinterest/Etsy/Instagram than 1860s Massachusetts.

Did anyone watch the PBS version that recently aired?

Yeah, in the 1994 film it was an outdoor/flowers in the hair situation, But definitely not boho.

I saw the PBS version, and did not care for it at all. I thought Maya Hawke was a terrible Jo (I did like her in Stranger Things, though).

It’s been ages since I read the book - in the trailer there is a scene where it looks like Aunt March is basically telling Amy she needs to marry well in order to keep her family out of the poor house. I always thought Amy just wanted to be rich. Was she pressured like that in the book?

And I’ve always been kinda ooked out by Amy/Laurie. Like, he just REALLY wanted to be part of the March family and really wanted Jo, but Jo said no, so he found another way in. I think he and Amy are probably a better match on paper (because Amy is fine being a trophy wife), but I could never shake the feeling that Amy was more a ticket into the March family than a beloved wife, and some years down the road after everyone has had too much wine at Christmas Laurie’s totally going to hit on Jo while they’re out getting more firewood for the party or some shit.

[Babycakes]

Aug 14, 2019 23:25:30 GMT -4 kostgard said:

And I’ve always been kinda ooked out by Amy/Laurie. Like, he just REALLY wanted to be part of the March family and really wanted Jo, but Jo said no, so he found another way in. I think he and Amy are probably a better match on paper (because Amy is fine being a trophy wife), but I could never shake the feeling that Amy was more a ticket into the March family than a beloved wife, and some years down the road after everyone has had too much wine at Christmas Laurie’s totally going to hit on Jo while they’re out getting more firewood for the party or some shit.

Word. I remember eons ago, I read Little Women and A Tale Of Two Cities back to back. I was in a rage for weeks after. Laurie marrying Amy so out of left field, I thought it had to be a fever dream. Going back, I assumed that I had missed clues that this was supposed to be a plot device to make Jo realize that she really was in to him, and change her spinster ways. But nope, she instead chose a broke grandpa. I was incensed. And then that AToTC ending---Lord, how mightily I threw AToTC across the room. Jesus. I feel my blood pressure rising just thinking about it again. I was put off of classic 17th/18th century literature for a good, long time afterwards. I have age and context to help me now. Doing things for social/societal reasons, and courtly love were ever present.

Topic? I have no interest in seeing this unnecessary remake. Stop remaking things Hollywood. There has to be another period piece sitting on a shelf somewhere that needs to be filmed.

[bluemuna]

Aug 15, 2019 0:17:40 GMT -4 Babycakes said:

Word. I remember eons ago, I read Little Women and A Tale Of Two Cities back to back. I was in a rage for weeks after. Laurie marrying Amy so out of left field, I thought it had to be a fever dream. Going back, I assumed that I had missed clues that this was supposed to be a plot device to make Jo realize that she really was in to him, and change her spinster ways. But nope, she instead chose a broke grandpa. I was incensed.

This times a thousand! I haaaaaaaaaaated that so much. All of that. I wanted to smash limes into Amy’s perfect nose Cagney-grapefruit style.

[fabrichnova]

Aug 14, 2019 13:06:06 GMT -4 kostgard said:

Aug 13, 2019 13:57:41 GMT -4 Ladybug said:

I am so conflicted about the Little Women adaptation. I love this story so much, but the 1994 version with Winona Ryder and Christian Bale has a dear place in my heart. I'm just not sold on the Greta Gerwig version yet, but I will probably go see it with my daughter. Lil' Ladybug and I read the entire, unabridged version of Little Women together when she was in 6th grade.

I'm a little torn too, and I'm not sure how much I like the way they seem to be "modernizing" it a bit - though the book was always feminist in nature, it wasn't 2019 feminist. I think updating some things for a modern audience is't always bad, but don't make it anachronistic. I feel that way about Netflix's "Anne with an E" - again, not really a problem updating Anne of Green Gables for a modern audience, but sometimes that show takes it way too far and it just doesn't feel right.

But, it looks great. Costumes, sets, art direction all look fab. You can see stills here. The cast is also great, though I have a hard time separating the actress who plays Beth from the character she played in Sharp Objects (two VERY different characters). I also agree that Timotheeeeeee doesn't really connect with me emotionally, but he does look the part to me (Laurie in my head is always kinda pretty with floppy hair). And the actress who plays young Amy has the perfect nose for it.

If the reviews are decent, I will probably check it out.

I know exactly what you mean about Anne With An E. I enjoy it for what it is, so beautiful to look at, but it's so incredibly anachronistic (and tonally a mismatch) that it's difficult to really call it the story of Anne Shirley and the Cuthberts.

I love the Winona Ryder version so much, but I'm curious to see how this one turns out. I don't think any version I've seen has done much to convince to care about Laurie and Amy, but I suppose that was never really the point of the original book either. Maybe this one can do a better job of that, however.

And I agree with petitesuite about the film score from the 1994 version. You still hear it used A LOT in other movie trailers and during the Olympics. That's a real testament to how good the score is that you can reliably hear it re-used on TV all these years later.

[Babycakes]

I love unconventional movies, and I really enjoy Korean cinema, so this has my name all over it--Parasite.

[luminosa]

Aug 16, 2019 7:39:20 GMT -4 Babycakes said:

I love unconventional movies, and I really enjoy Korean cinema, so this has my name all over it--Parasite.

Same!

I loved Snowpiercer also. I didn’t see Okja yet though.

[petitesuite]

Okja is sooooo good! Highly recommend, although make sure you have the tissue box nearby.