Page to Screen- Tess of the d'Urbervilles

"So do flux and reflux- the rhythm of change-alternate and persist in everything under the sky."

Tess of the d'Urbervilles was published in 1891 by Thomas Hardy with the subtitle "A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented". His novel was a depiction of country live in his made up county of Wessex and dealt with topics such as pride, justice, industrialization, and the double standard presented of being pure for men and women. In an interview, Thomas Hardy even said he fell in love with Tess while writing this novel. Her naïve nature juxtaposed against her worldly and harsh life give us a 400 page novel worthy of the distinction of "classic literature."

Tess Durbeyfield lived in Marlott with her family. Her father was a salesman who spent most of his time inhabiting the local pub, and her mother was a woman who loved her family, but who had no real sense of responsibility to taking care of them in a way which would ensure their success. On the day that everything began, Tess was participating in the May Dance. All the young ladies of the town were dressed in white and were dancing in the fields in celebration. On their way through the country side three brothers came upon this dance and one stayed behind to participate. His name was Angel Clare. His stay was short lived and his attentions toward Tess only seemed to be that of a passing admiration for her beauty and grace. While on route home from the pub, Tess's father, Jack, has a run in with a local parson who tells Durbeyfield that in his research of the once high families in the area he ran across the ancestors of John Durbeyfield. Their name was d'Urberville and they were noble folk with much land and pride. To Jack, this news is a blessing. Now that he knows his ancestry, he assumes that he will inherit money or property, but to his dismay he learns that the family died out ages ago leaving his family as merely distant descendants of a once great house. John and his wife, Joan, learn of a family who has adopted the name of d'Urberville and who live handsomely only a short distance from Marlott. In hopes of improving their lives, the Durbeyfields send Tess in hopes that these d'Urbervilles, whom they assume are relations as well, will take in the beautiful Tess and provide money and land for their family to live on.



Tess reluctantly goes to the home of the d'Urbervilles. Upon her arrival there, she finds that in fact the owners of the land and name bought their noble name in order to be accepted in high society. However, they do give Tess employment as a bird keeper on the grounds for the blind Mrs. d'Urberville's beloved bullfinches and chickens. Mrs. d'Urberville's son Alec, however, is not as kind and sweet as Mrs. d'Urberville. His nature is aggressive and entirely unpredictable. Tess does not trust him from the very start. Alec also seems to have taken a fancy to Tess which causes her great distress. When Tess is vulnerable, he takes advantage of her and leaves her ruined. Tess returns home only to be a disgrace to her family who have done nothing else to improve their names and reputation. Tess is forced to labor in order to provide for the family, but now that she has returned home she must also care for the child that she bore after Alec d'Urberville's attack on her. The child, however, is not well and soon dies leaving Tess completely and utterly obliterated. Tess's life is torn to shreds. In order to escape the whispers at home and the hate of her father who blames her for the cards he has been dealt in life, Tess goes to become a milkmaid in the country side.

When Tess arrives in the countryside, she is once again introduced to Angel Clare. He lives and works on the dairy farm so that he can learn to skills necessary to one day owning his own farm. Angel falls very much in love with Tess because of her beauty and naïve way of thinking, however, Tess knows that she can never truly be happy and marry Angel until he knows her secret. Unfortunately, Angel gives her no time to explain her tragic history before he marries her. So on their wedding night, Tess gives her confessions of all the troubles that have cursed her before she came to the farm. Angel is outraged at the fact that Tess is not pure. He leaves her for Brazil so that he is not forced to be near her. He leaves her twenty-five pounds and promises to return soon once he has made up his mind. But a year passes with Tess being forced to live on her own. She struggles to find work and a way to support her family back in Marlott. It isn't long before she is forced back into the outstretched arms of none other than Alec d'Urberville.

"There was hardly a touch of earth in her love for Clare. To her sublime trustfulness he was all that goodness could be- knew all that a guide, philosopher, and friend should know. She thought every line in the contour of his person the perfection of masculine beauty, his soul the soul of a saint his intellect that of a seer. The wisdom of her love for him, as love, sustained her dignity; she seemed to be wearing a crown. The compassion of his love for her, as she saw it, made her lift up her hear to him in devotion. He would sometimes catch her large, worshipful eyes, that had no bottom to them, looking at him from their depths, as if she saw something immortal before her."


This book is fantastically filled with sweeping vistas and intensely dramatic scenes which have transferred wonderfully onto film. The 2008 BBC version of Tess of the d'Urbervilles stars Gemma Arterton as a removed, but beautiful Tess. She plays innocent very well and gives excellent weight to scenes which require a great deal more emotion (like the death of her child Sorrow etc.). Respectively, Angel Clare is played by Eddie Redmayne who is great at those looks that one who is in love gives to the one they adore. Anytime Tess is talking (before he runs off to feed Brazilian cattle of course), he just stares at her with open eyes that seem to take in every part of her. It's really wonderful to watch. And the ever evil Alec d'Urberville is fantastically seductive and evil. His intentions, though never directly stated, are clearly portrayed in his smiles and stares at Tess. Those three main characters were brilliantly cast and bring life to the story.

The lovely thing about BBC miniseries is that they have the time to get the film very close to the book. They can make a four hour long show and no one seems to mind. There were several changes which were made to adapt the script better to the screen. The largest of these changes of course was the actual rape scene. In the novel, there is no detail. That phase just simply ends and nine months later she has a child. The film takes great lengths to make sure that it appears raw and terrifying. The fog is set and the lighting is in deep blue just so that the entire sequence is properly fit to the mood of the film. Though it's not super-graphic in the way that nothing is shown to great extent, it is very real feeling. This makes the audience feel very attached to Tess in these moments as they feel the pain that she has had to endure. They also show several scenes between Angel and Tess that were just assumed in the novel (this being the consummation of their marriage a year later). These scenes were shot very differently than the scene with Alec. The lighting is more golden and much more is shown. Hardy would never have been able to fully describe these scenes in the novel due to the standards that were considered decent in literature, nor do I think they are completely necessary. However, being that this is a film, it is kinda hard not to have a sex scene. Oh how the mighty have fallen.


Repetition is very important in the novel. The continued placement of bird in important scenes is very evident as are the colors red and white. Red being the Alec and the immoral of Tess and white being the virginal moral part of Tess's life. These symbols are noted in the film, though they are not as prominent as they are on paper. Listen to the sounds of the film and you will find a great many bird calls and whistles that bring that theme and symbol into the film. The birds also play an extremely important part in one of the final scenes at Stonehenge. They foreshadow what is to come and cast an eerie feel on that entire sequence. Likewise, the red and white colors are prominent in the film, though perhaps not as heavy handed.

"She's brim full of poetry- actualized poetry, if I may use the expression. She live what paper poets only write..."


The final scene of this film is remarkably done and is done in a way which gives the audience the needed closure to deal with the harsh fate that Tess faces. What was heavily symbolic in the book is taken a bit more literally in the film, but this adds to the overarching themes that it tries to capture. This is not a happy story. It's supposed to mean something, and if everything had turned out fine for Tess then the moral would be completely lost on the reader or viewer. It is one of those books that everyone should have to suffer through to fully enjoy the film experience afterwards. Hardy intended for it to affect you. So, yes, it's ok to cry.

Stream of the Week- One Day

Because when it rains romance- it pours.

Emma graduated with Dexter. Dexter was the infamous flirt to her sardonic writer mentality. One might even say the ying to her yang, but that might be a tad too cliché. On the night of their graduation they find themselves holed up in Emma's apartment falling asleep in each others arms. Merely as friends, of course.  Their friendship banter lasts for years as the film visits them on the same day every year- July 15th. Emma finds herself struggling to be a writer and instead goes back to school to give her life meaning so as any writer does, she becomes a jr. high English teacher. Dexter on the other hand, has no ambitions except to be pleased at all times. He finds himself a job as a TV show host on a late night program for teens, and his life sky rockets. He is out every night partying with friends and living life to it's very fullest. Emma, meanwhile, is at home stuck in an apartment with a washed up comedy actor who she doesn't even like She pines for him and rambles along believing that he doesn't need her. Dexter's success begins to fall when Emma's is rising. Emma is a wonderful teacher and is having one of her books published while Dexter is being fired from his show and his mother is dying. Dexter enters a complete tailspin. His drug use is overbearing and his personality is wasted on being arrogant and showy. Emma puts her foot down and says that she is done. She's not going to love someone who tears everything up around him. But as their paths lead through their lives, their friendship returns and remains steady as they learn that their opposite natures may just be perfect for making each other the better people they need to be.

You already know that I can't help myself when overdramatized love stories start to play. It's my weakness, not my only one, but a very strong one indeed. Anne Hathaway is crazy quirky charming with a sense of sarcasm that makes me proud. In response Jim Sturgess is wonderfully handsome and very rebellious. The two play off each other very well making the chemistry fly off the screen. Be warned, this is not a happy romantic comedy. I cry when I watch it. Just keep that in mind.

Capture of Culture- Smash His Camera

Often the natural rights of the human race are called into question. Do we have the right to privacy? Does the first amendment give paparazzi the right to chase people down the street while stuffing cameras in their faces? Well the jury is still out on that one.

Ron Galella was the world's "Jackie Chaser" and spent his entire life grabbing pictures of the rich and famous. His archives span decades, and his subject matter is widely varied. For 10 years, Ron chased Jackie Onassis and her children to get the shots that appeared all over the magazines and newspapers of the day. She sued him. He sued her. The courts had a hay day. The controversy surrounding his profession give Ron the interesting position of being both the good guy and the bad guy. The people like him because he is kinder than most of the paparazzi, but he is also in a position which people consider his profession to be that of a legal stalker. Artists look at him as a fake. He snaps pictures that aren't very interesting or creative except for the fact that their subject matter makes millions.


This documentary argues both sides of the legality behind the paparazzi profession. Is it right to let them take pictures of whoever they want? Technically these people are on public property, and they sell their faces to film companies. Why not give a smile to the guys who have to live on this stuff? Artists, photographers, editors, and lawyers all come together to discuss the life's work of Ron Galella and his rise to fame. They claim his hype is undeserved. What did he ever do to get such a name in the industry except break restraining orders and hide in bushes?

Ron Galella to this day still plans exit routes and secret entrances into the best and most exclusive parties to get his shots. He drives like a maniac, and snaps without planning just so he can get his shots. But Ron has entered the part of his life where he is no longer intrigued by getting modern stars. They pose and everyone gets the same shot. There is no fun to it anymore. So he "harvests his life's work" and sells the prints from all his years of chasing. The younger generations don't seem to know who the real stars are, or were rather. So Ron waddles around with his camera telling stories of the time Brando knocked 5 teeth out of his jaw or the time Jackie told her security guys to smash his camera. Ron lives through his past and prints.

Stream of the Week- Ever After: A Cinderella Story

I swear I am far too romantically minded.

A young girl of the name Danielle has the unfortunate luck of having both her parents parish leaving her in the care of her selfish and cruel stepmother. In her anguish, Danielle grew to be a beautiful, humble, but headstrong woman who had a very clear sense of right and wrong. 10 years after her father's death, Danielle stumbles upon a man attempting to steal her father's old horse. She knocks him to the ground only to realize that he is in fact the Prince of France who is running away from a dreadful arranged marriage to a Spanish Princess. After their chance encounter, Danielle is forced to pretend to be a lady of the court so that she can rescue a friend of hers from being sold as a slave. While there, she runs into Prince Henry once again, but this time he does not recognize her for she is dressed as a fine lady instead of the peasant servant girl that he first met. Prince Henry falls very much in love for this Countess, as she calls herself, and spends much of his time there after in attempts to impress her and understand the passion she has for life. Because, as we all know, rich Princes are quite bored until they meet their lowly Cinderella's who have all the zest that life can offer. However, in the true spirit of evil stepmothers, Danielle's caretaker is attempting to push her eldest daughter into the way of the crown as an alternative to the Spanish Princess. She is constantly shut down by the Prince's absence in the name of the mysterious Countess. In the pouring rain on the announcement of the Prince's intending engagement, the stepmother prevails and exposes Danielle's true breeding. The Prince is outraged and betrayed. All is lost, until, of course, Leonardo Da Vinci tells the prince to go and get his girl!

I am a total sucker for romance movies, historical tales, and princes. This was like the trifecta. Though for the fact that they live in France, all of their accents are very British. Each character has an interesting twist of modern and olden scripting which leads to a somewhat comically inclined performance from all the actors. The overdramatic sequences and deliveries lend themselves to making this film what could be considered a 90's cult classic in certain circles. Yay for 90's culture! It's not terrible in the most entertaining of ways.

 

(Side Note! Did you notice the wings in the picture above and the semi-imposed wings in the picture before that? It's like they were telling us this was coming!)

Capture of Culture- Bill Cunningham New York

There once was a man who lived in Carnegie Hall. He lived with fashion and took pictures of it all.

Bill Cunningham is the society column photographer for the New York Times. He is the oldest man you will ever see on a bicycle. Everyday, Bill takes his blue jacket, film roll camera, and currently unstolen bike out on the streets of New York City to get pictures of everyday women who wear beautiful things. His themes and trends come from what he sees out on the streets. This guy is predicting trends months in advance just by being on the streets of New York with his camera. Bill also happens to be 85.  His life story, though interesting and filled with great stories, is rather lonely sounding. He lives in a tiny apartment with filing cabinets full of every negative he's ever had. All day long he just clicks his little camera and captures real life and fashion working together in the most stressfully artistic place in the world- The New York City Sidewalk. This documentary captures his story using old pictures and footage intermixed with interviews from the world's top brains on fashion- like Anna Wintour(!!!!). His pictures and layouts have been gracing the pages of the New York Times for ages and will until he can't ride his cute little bike anymore.

This documentary is vivid and full of life. It ends on the note that all documentaries (at least the good ones in my opinion) end on- a deep question unanswered and open to you. They address Bill's past as a milliner, his life in the Carnegie apartments, and his work at fashion weeks all over. Everyone respects Bill and treats him like he is the king of fashion. Anna Wintour stops for him, and Michael Kors interviews for him.  His is the man with a camera that you never see, but will always know exists. He is absolutely fascinating. He has dedicated his entire life to this stuff. He has nothing else. He eats, lives, breaths, and sleeps his fashion photography, and it is astounding. Perhaps all we ever need to find in life is our Bill pursuit; our one thing that we cannot stop doing or sleep without having done each day.

Stream of the Week- An Ideal Husband (1999)

I only wish I was as wonderfully sarcastic and witty as Oscar Wilde's plays and novel.

An Ideal Husband is the film adaption of Oscar Wilde's play about a man who is up for a parliament position, but who has a dark past that comes back to haunt him and his reputation in the form of his best friend's ex-lover. Mrs. Cheveley was once engaged to the professional bachelor Lord Goring. Mrs. Cheveley then proceeded to marry someone for their money and profited quite well, however, now that her husband is dead she is lonely. Apparently, she believes Goring is the only one who can solve her issue. Using the blackmail she has on his best friend, Sir Chiltern, Mrs. Cheveley attempts to trap Goring into a marriage with her. At the same time, Lord Goring has an ongoing flirtation with Chiltern's sister Mabel. He's in love with her, but refuses to say it aloud. Chiltern is feeling the pressure of the blackmail and is terrified of what his loving wife will think of him once she finds out he stole state secrets in order to gain finical profit. Through the twists of Mrs. Cheveley, Lady Chiltern feels scorned by the secrets that Sir Chiltern had kept from him and goes to find solace with her good friend Lord Goring. Somehow, Goring is able to juggle it all so that Cheveley finds her self quite unmarried and his good friends the Chilterns back in each other's arms.

What I love about Wilde works is that there appear to be commonalities among his characters. For example, Lord Goring is so very much like an Earnest from The Importance of Being Earnest. And though less sinister, Lord Goring has a bit of Lord Henry from Dorian Gray in his personality. It's the kind of witty that I adore. It's fast paced and each line is a quip, whether it be towards a specific societal group or the whole of mankind. People laugh when they should cry, and situations that would drive normal people insane have only a positive effect on the heroes. It's the kind of society that we wish we could be part of but would never truly belong in because honestly everyone is just too intelligent for us.

Sabrina v. Sabrina

I am a sucker for an Audrey Hepburn movie. I literally will drop everything to watch her films. Sabrina was no exception. But then they went and threw Harrison Ford at me and I swear I haven't watched anything else but Sabrina for the past two days.

 Sabrina is the story of a young girl who is the chauffer's daughter on a large estate. All her life, she watched the fantastical lives of the people her father drove, and she fell very much in love with the youngest son of the family, David. She, however, was never noticed by David in a romantic sense and to cure her of her unhealthy obsession with him, she was sent off to Paris. While in Paris, Sabrina "found herself" and found a life without David, though she pined for him endlessly. During her stay, David found himself engaged. His engagement was arranged by his older brother Linus as part of a business merger to link his family company with another big family corporation. When Sabrina returns from Paris, she is more beautiful than ever before with a newly adopted Parisian sense to her character. David falls head over heels for her before even realizing it's the same girl he grew up with. Sabrina's dreams are about to come true when Linus sees a relationship forming between the two that would jeopardize his merger so he intervenes, cleverly making David unavailable to Sabrina while he takes her out and gets her to fall in love with him. Linus's plan is to get her to believe that he is going to go to Paris and that he wants her to come with him. This would get her out of the way for David to continue in his engagement to the business deal. But somewhere along the way Linus too finds himself in a bit of bother when he falls in love with Sabrina and can't go through with his plan to get rid of her.

The two main films which I watched had many commonalities which made watching them fun. It was easy to spot the lines that were similar and to feel the similar pacing in both films. Little things, however, were different. First and foremost would be the time periods. Audrey's Sabrina was based in the 1950's. This left a very different feel to the story when compared to the 90's reboot with Ford which was based in the mid 90s. Bogart, who played the 50's Linus was the owner of Larrabee metals, railroads, shipping, and plastics. Ford as Linus was the owner of a technology company which owned satellites, TV networks, and cornered the market on new technology. Despite the changing times, the characters remain wholly the same.

Plot wise there are different details towards the beginning of Sabrina's life. For example, Audrey's Sabrina tried to kill herself the night before she left for Paris because she was so distraught over David not loving her. She turned on all the cars in the garage and tried to breathe in the exhaust. Linus, always the knight in shining armor, came to the rescue by opening up the garage doors. 1990's Julia Ormond had a different run-in with Linus. The night before she went to leave for Paris, her Sabrina went to confess her love to David when she saw the light turn on in his room. When she had finally said her peace, Linus walked out of the closet revealing that she had confessed her love to the wrong Larrabee brother.  There is also a difference as to why Sabrina is in Paris. Audrey is there to learn how to cook, and Julia is there to intern at a magazine. The updates to the modern version are very skilled at keeping the same story while still keeping the film fresh (for the 90s) and modern.

Every actor brings a new perspective to the same story and the same characters. Audrey Hepburn, for example had the Parisian girl down, but she also had a very interesting humor that she brought to the character while still remaining young. Julia Ormond was a very different Sabrina. She was definitely more introverted and a deeper thinking character. Her transformation was more surface though she became a great deal more mature. She remained the quiet scared little girl from the room above the garage. Humphrey Bogart (who I can't stand to start with) reportedly hated this role of Linus. His performance was comical and a great deal more sarcastic than Ford's. I loved Harrison Ford as Linus. He was genuine and a deeply lonely person. His portrayal made Linus seem like a victim of business rather than a titan of it.  David is both comical and sleezy in the most romantic way possible in both films. His character seems like a bridge just to bring the two leads together for the real romance.

Stylistically, nothing beats the beauty of black and white. And nothing ever will. Though both films were well done, 1950's Sabrina is just so dang pretty to look at. The contrast of darks to lights and the gray in between is just so fantastically deep. Not that there's anything wrong with the colorized version of the 90s. It's just not as visually stimulating as the black and white. Both films have great costumes, but they are styled for different times. Sabrina in the 90s is very structured with business like pant suits, where as Sabrina in the 50s is very flirty in nature with the classic Parisian flair.

I can't say I loved one more than the other. Both are superbly wonderful. The story is solid and can be interpreted hundreds of different ways making for an interesting contrast of versions. In short, watch romance films.

Stream of the Week- Anna Wintour:Bloomberg Game Changers

Goodness knows I love a good fashion documentary. And I only wear sweatpants and plaid.

There are certain names that will always be in fashion- Ralph Lauren, YSL, Vera Wang etc. The most respected and somewhat feared in that industry, however, is not a designer but a fashion magazine editor. Not just any editor though. She is the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine- Anna Wintour. The rules are always changing in fashion as are the ways to display it. Anna Wintour has managed to stay ahead of the curve and presents new articles and trends to readers all over the world. Anna's humble beginnings only make her rise to the top more interesting. As she climbed her way up all the ladders and ranks, Anna made a name for herself as a ruthless, "getter done" kind of gal with a mission and vision for her magazine. She even gained the name Nuclear Wintour as she made her reputation in the industry.


Bloomberg goes through and examines the rise of Wintour to the top of the industry and her impact on the current fashion world. Wintour plans dozens of charity events and shows which help finance the industry as well as bring new artists to the front spotlight where they can get the attention they need to promote their careers. Anna Wintour was also a huge help to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's costume collection as she helped raise the necessary funds to bring back the exhibits which showed the progression of fashion and the industry. Though it is a short examination, this sneak peek into Wintour's life has insightful interviews with the friends and colleagues that Anna has collected over the years. They explain the drive that Anna has always had and the persona that she has adopted in the public's eye- dark glasses and all.

Bloomberg explains her youth in England and journalist father which got her started in the industry. They go over her take over and over haul (tad over the top?) of House and Garden as well as her run-in with the Animal Rights gang. Everything has shaped the way Wintour does business and runs her brand.