Friday, July 2, 2010

Afterglow



I read Vladimir Nabokovs' Lolita sometime last year and I was enthralled by it's intoxicating use of lyrical descriptions and long, uninterrupted tangents of thought. I only wanted to watch the film after I had finished reading it to see how Director Stanley Kubrick had envisioned this controversial love affair between Literary scholar Humbert Humbert and his 12 year old step-daughter Dolores "Lolita" Haze. The 1962 version incorporates a screenplay written by Nabokov himself, sustaining the genuine nature of the classic novel without ever compromising it's content for theatrical pleasure.


The movie was highly enjoyable though it did occur to me that it was a quick skim through a intensely rich and, at times, traumatic love affair between Humbert and his divine 'nymphet', omitting crucial scenes that developed both the story and the emotional arc in which Humbert would be pulled through in order to prove his infatuation and loyalty. Converting a novel to film format obviously requires careful deliberation, sometimes requiring dramatic changes to the story. What works in a book may not necessarily work onscreen and vice versa. But in this case, it was a carefully constructed and beautifully executed projection.


Film Count: 94 out of 365


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7 comments:

Claire Kiefer said...

I've never seen the film, but Lolita is one of my favorite books ever. So much of what I love, though, is the incredible craft with which it's written . . . so I am curious as to how that translates to the screen. Loving your reviews, and following you now!

Ruben Romero said...

The scenes in which Peter Sellers is dropping innuendo after innuendo blows my mind even after my 100th viewing of this movie. Unfortunately forgotten, but primed for a re-remembrance.

Fickle Cattle said...

I've never seen the film or read the book, but the plot and concept of Lolita always intrigued me.

http://ficklecattle.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Hello! I love the idea behind your blog and it's so great to read! I LOVE film too - studied it, write about it, read about it etc, etc. I've started a blog and I try to write about films/directors I like. I attend a cinematheque every week and had a similar idea to yours of reporting back on what I'd seen each week (http://my-name-is-jocelyn.blogspot.com/). Good luck with your taget, hope you don't end up having to watch 4 films a day in December! :)

Jessica said...

hey girl! i know its been ages since ive been on here (busy with work!) but i'm back at it again. I've seen seen Lolita but now you've got me interested! :)

City Girl (EC1) said...

What a great post and lovely blog! I am a huge film fan and I'm looking forward to exploring your blog further. I'm your newest follower :) City Girl x
http://citygirldiariesec1.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

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- Laura

 

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