Notre Dame(PART 1 OF 3)
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Subj:London Theatre
Here We Come !
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From: diane@vancouver.ca
To: barclay1720@aol.com
Date: Wed, Mar 14, 2012 9:41 pm.
Pacific Daylight Saving Time
Hello, Kato !
We've returned now from our whirlwind theatre tour of London... whew!
I'm exhausted and recouperating, but it was a good experience overall.
We managed ten plays in the same number of days, different venues and different themes.
Overall, I'd say they were no more superior than what is offered right here in Vancouver.
Before we left, we saw "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and a few weeks before that we saw Dostoesky's "The Idiot" at UBC.
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"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
at Vancouver Playhouse
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Both were very professional and provacative and exciting.
But we did see a wonderful play about Shakespeare's life after retirement called inexplicably "Bingo."
Shakespeare was played by Patrick Stewart of Star Trek fame and he did a fabulous job.
I could go on and on about the plays, of course, and the city itself and Covent Gardens and Hamstead Heath and Borough's Market and Carnagy Street and Picadilly Circus and St.Paul's Cathedral and the museums and pubs and such, but it would take too long.
My boyfriend was great for the most part (a bit of a know-it-all sometimes) and tried to make sure it was a good experience for me.
He's not as good to travel with as my Bob was, but guess I'll have to put more effort into training him, don't you think?
I enjoyed the interesting clips you found there on Fatal Attraction.
Certainly, it was one movie that stayed with us all, don't you think?
Who knows how many hundreds of thousand of possible straying husbands?
God it was scary.
Fatal Attraction (Trailer)
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I never thought about the Madame Butterfly theme, but can see it now.
Michael Douglas looks so young in those clips, so does Glen Close.
Here in Vancouver, I saw Glen just recently in the film Albert Nobbs and she was excellent, truly excellent in that role.
So when is the end not the end?
I never knew that what we saw was actually the second ending.
All considered, they made the right decision to change the ending I would say.
It is such a powerful, powerful film.
Thanks for digging up this juicy information, Kato.
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"Fatal Attraction's" Alternate Ending
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I sent you a cool postcard from London, and loved the stamps I got which were designed especially for postcards and are really brilliant in my opinion.
Of course, I do have a thing for postcards so that could be just my opinion.
Thanks for all of this,
Will see you soon I hope at (of course) the VPL
Love, Diane ~
Welcome back, Diane.
Thank you, Kato... I'm very glad to be here with you.
My pleasure...so, Diane, you saw "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" at Vancouver Playhouse before you hit the road to London, didn't you?
Yes, I did.
How did you like it?
Oh, marvellous!... so exciting!...I wish you'd been there with me.
I know...I know... Everybody seems to enjoy the play or the movie for that matter.
"The Hunchback of Notre-Dame"
The story begins on Epiphany (6 January), 1482, the day of the 'Feast of Fools' in Paris, France.
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Quasimodo, the deformed hunchback bell-ringer of Notre Dame, is introduced by his crowning as King of Fools.
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Esmeralda, a beautiful Gypsy with a kind and generous heart, captures the hearts of many men, including those of a Captain Phoebus and a poor street poet, Pierre Gringoire, but especially those of Quasimodo and his adoptive father, Claude Frollo, the Archdeacon of Notre Dame.
Frollo is torn between his obsessive love and the rules of the church.
He orders Quasimodo to kidnap her, but the hunchback is suddenly captured by Phoebus and his guards who save Esmeralda.
Quasimodo is sentenced to be flogged and turned on the pillory for one hour, followed by another hour's public exposure.
He calls for water.
Esmeralda, seeing his thirst, offers him a drink.
It saves him, and she captures his heart.
Esmeralda is later charged with the attempted murder of Phoebus, whom Frollo actually attempted to kill in jealousy, after seeing him about to have sex with Esmeralda, and is tortured and sentenced to death by hanging.
As she is being led to the gallows, Quasimodo swings down by the bell rope of Notre Dame and carries her off to the cathedral under the law of sanctuary.
Clopin, a street performer, rallies the Truands (criminals of Paris) to charge the cathedral and rescue Esmeralda.
Frollo asks the king to remove Esmeralda's right to sanctuary so she can no longer seek shelter in the church and will be taken from the church and killed.
When Quasimodo sees the Truands, he assumes they are there to hurt Esmeralda, so he drives them off.
Likewise, he thinks the King's men want to rescue her, and tries to help them find her.
She is rescued by Frollo and her phony husband, Gringoire.
But after yet another failed attempt to win her love, Frollo betrays Esmeralda by handing her to the troops and watches while she is being hanged.
When Frollo laughs during Esmeralda's hanging, Quasimodo pushes him from the heights of Notre Dame to his death.
Quasimodo then goes to the vaults under the huge gibbet of Montfaucon, and lies next to Esmeralda's corpse, where it had been unceremoniously thrown after the execution.
He stays at Montfaucon, and eventually dies of starvation.
About eighteen months later, the tomb is opened, and the skeletons are found.
As someone tries to separate them, Quasimodo's bones turn to dust.
SOURCE: "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame"
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
So, you know the story, don't you?
Yes, of course, I do. It's a world-famous novel written by Victor Hugo. It was published in 1831. In the English-speaking world, it is known by that title, but in French it means "Our Lady of Paris (Notre-Dame de Paris)." So, naturally, the story is centered around the Notre Dame Cathedral---one of the largest and most well-known cathedrals in the world.
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But you seem to be against the above review.
You know, Diane, I was kinda preoccupied with the 1939 movie:
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Trailer (1939)
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So, you like this movie more than any play or any other film, don't you?
Yes, I do.
How come?
Well... simply 'cause I saw this movie for the first time in my life as far as "The Hunchback story" is concerned.
So, this old classic has imprinted the unforgettable impression on your mind ever since, hasn't it?
You're right on, Diane. I like Laughton as Quasimodo and Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda.
(To be followed)