March 18, 2011

Marlborough Sounds Familiar;) + Tolkien:"Over the Misty Mountains Cold"(adventure begins) + Movie Recommendation: 'Coco Before Chanel' + Scientific Analysis of RA's Gait *cough,cough*


            

Time for all good li'l girls to have their nite-nite story read by a lovely gentleman.  The reader has apparently developed a history with dragons.  Get your mug of hot chocolate or other beverage of choice, crawl into your snuggly bed and enjoy....(honestly, how could any child under 10(it's a rather scary story:) or any female over 19(not exactly the same reason) actually fall asleep after listening to...

                              



Tolkien Poem from THE HOBBIT:
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away ere break of day
To seek the pale enchanted gold
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.
On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, in twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.
Far over the misty mountains cold
To dungeons deep and caverns old
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.
Goblets they carved there for themselves
And harps of gold; where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves. The pines were roaring on the height, The winds were moaning in the night. The fire was red, it flaming spread; The trees like torches blazed with light. The bells were ringing in the dale And men looked up with faces pale; The dragon's ire more fierce that fire Laid low their towers and houses frail. The mountain smoked beneath the moon;

The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled their hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon. Far over the misty mountains grim To dungeons deep and caverns dim
We must away, ere break of day, To win our harps and gold from him

                                

Example #1:  You'll need to be especially attentive for the first few frames to catch Lucas North walking directly towards you...as if you need to be reminded to keep a keen eye on Mr Spy-candy himself;)



MsG mentioned the coincidence of RA doing a voiceover for a Marlborough NZ wine(thank you Sue for the link).  Have discovered there's something more prominent in NZ which sports the same name as John Thornton's mill..it's Marlborough Sounds -- apparently a nature preserve with many campsites:


#2: Great example as Sir Guy struts, about mid way through, behind RA's original hobbit--the sheriff
                

This one never actually shows RA‘s feet therefore not exactly useful for current analysis - ah,,,what the heck! Yummy is never useless;)

                               

Different topic -- A Movie Recommendation:
It was almost bedtime and for some unknown reason my usual nite-nite program was unavailable.  Decided to check the 20 movie channels we have on trial for Encore and STARZ.  Many weeks ago I'd pretty well partook of those few movies that appealed to me, so expected to find nothing and thereby would get a full night's sleep for a change.  Of course, once that's your plan you can be sure the fate gremlins will have some fun...which they did;)  Somewhere between channel 360 and 380 a familiar face popped unto the screen.  No not him this time--instead it was a french actress whose name I did not know until today -- she's Audrey Tautou -- the star of 'Coco Before Chanel.'

I'm recommending the film after enjoying her interesting portrayal of the fashion icon.  It seems the namesake of the House of Chanel had a sad beginning to her eventful life - she was an orphan.  As if that handicap wasn't enough for an individual to learn to overcome, she was struck with evermore tragedy as an adult.  The love of her life was killed in an auto accident - Gabrielle spent the remainder of her life without really recovering from that loss.  She threw herself instead into her designing career and never married.

The final scenes of the film show Mademoiselle Chanel sitting on the staircase that spills unto her fashion house runway, as dozens of gorgeously clothed models descend.  The couturier inspects each garment with the careful eye mothers usually use to make certain their young childrens' appearances reflect her tender, loving care. 

p.s. The love of Coco's life - Englishman Arthur Capel - is played by Alessandro Nivola.  Never noticed him before this film...nice indeed...and I rarely find moustaches attractive;)

Here's an interview with the charming Ms Tautou.  She's very gracious and apologizes for her English to what sounds like a heavy-handed, clod-footed interviewer.  Her acting technique is interesting - says she doesn't over analyze her character - simply draws on the necessary emotions in herself and attempts to magnify them in her portrayal.  She really is a refreshing actress - not affected in any way.  You might recall some scenes from one of her earlier films posted here a few mos back--believe it was titled Amelia.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLdGywfuH5s


MsG doesn't seem to have any hope that Richard would ever agree to appear on one of the dancing shows(US or UK); although, there's little doubt her enthusiastic appreciation for the Argentine tango will help her envision a different couple(herself & our fav actor:)  as substitutes for this version...

15 comments:

Brown-eyed Girl said...

On the TNT video you can see his feet at 1:39.
He doesn't seem pidgeon toed to me...

He looks sexy as hell!!

Now excuse, I must have a cold shower...

Ricrar said...

That's the type of detailed feedback we need for this in-depth study of RA's walking traits, BEG;)

hahaha...the subject matter does tend to get one rather warm around the collar, doesn't it. We will overcome! and cool down with a frosty ice tea. *gulp, gulp...steam starting to rise* :)

Catch a new example above of Lucas coming right at us with his firm deliberate march.

Laura said...

Goodness, I sure started something, didn't I??? Heh. I was going to apologize, but it looks like y'all are just having too much fun. Wish things would calm down around here so I can do more than just check in each night.

Ricrar said...

Yes, we owe you a debt of gratitude Laura. We're enjoying this 'walk like a man' critique;)

Things to be grateful for -- dwarves don't have hairy feet..only the hobbits.

Sue said...

Laura,

Don't worry we're glad of any excuse to watch those sexy legs!

RiCrAr,

Has Richard been doing a bit of moonlighting in his spare time?

The voiceover to promote the Rugby 2011 (Bloody fed up of Rugby at the moment over here in England) and New Zealand Original Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc Wine sounds very familiar? (Or am I going bonkers and imagining things? Don't answer that!) It does sound suspiciously like Richard, but with a slight Kiwi accent. What do you think? Here's the link:

http://www.visit4info.com/advert/Original-Marlborough-Sauvignon-Blanc-for-Rugby-2011-Brancott-Estate/90127

Ricrar said...

Thx for the link Sue. That's definitely Richard's voice. Took him a few weeks to nail the NZ accent and he's in business narrating ads there whenever he's a spare couple hours. haha:)

Amazing energy and admirable work ethic - he's a workaholic. No doubt he does however find time to enjoy his preferred type of play. All work and no play makes for a dull performance, and we never get one of those from RA.

I couldn't embed the ad here from that website - hopefully a fan will soon upload it to youtube.

Laura said...

Ironic, is it not, that he's doing a voiceover for *Marlborough* wines? I thought they only did cotton...

Ricrar said...

Laura, it often seems when faced with numerous choices RA almost finds clues to help with the decision. e.g. Lucas North - he was born in Northern Eng. and of course most telling of all - his numerous 'John' characters. In fact, during one of the N&S interviews he mentioned that Margaret is his mother's name, John his dad's. Perhaps those facts seemed to be a positive omen for that role. It was definitely the gamechanger in his career.

Regretted not making the Spinning Jenny poll choice "throw a cravat into the top hat and win a bag of Marlborough's Cotton Candy Fluff" :)

Sue said...

RiCrAr,

Firstly I would like to apologise. It seems you were right, the actress playing Mr. Higgins's daughter in N&S and the lead actress in South Riding are one and the same, Anna Maxwell Martin.

The voiceover on the advert does sound amazingly like Richard's, especially at the beginning of the advert, but the second part sounds more Kiwi. I wonder if it really is?

I wonder what his speaking voice will sound like in The Hobbit? The director has certainly chosen a mixture of actors with various accents, Irish, Scottish etc. The audio of the Hobbit which I've been listening to, (which was made quite some years ago) has actors who speak with upper lips so stiff I'm surprised they can talk at all! Horrible! The characters have no individuality. Hopefully Richard Jackson will rectify that mistake.

Ricrar said...

I thought for sure if not the same actress, Sue, that they at least shared some close DNA;) Ms Martin was so convincing as Higgins fatally ill daughter that, after the first few viewings of N&S, I could no longer watch her last scene w/Mgt (when she could barely catch her breath). Does Peter Firth have a sizeable role in SR? Didn't spot any leather gloves & whiskey, did you;)

I find the male voice reading Tolkien's 'Far over the mountain' poem(posted here) to be almost as deep as Richard's.

Did you ever notice that during interviews RA's voice sounds as tho' it's at a much higher level than during his performances. His press conference "I'm playing..(down,deep,
deeper,rathskellar level,,middle earth depth).."THORIN" made it clear which voice we'll hear from the head dwarf. There's even a passage when Tolkien mentions Thorin growels:) Very well may get the impression he's Sir Guy's mini-me.

Sue said...

Peter Firth doesn't play a major role in South Riding, but he's a bit of a crafty double dealing devil in it, who talks to his cat, who he pampers no end!

Rupert Penry Jones has another acting role in a new series called "Silk", which is very good. It's about barristers in chambers. Rupert plays a bit of an upper class twit, who snorts cocaine and - to use a description once used for one of RA's characters - is a bit of a "leg-over merchant". He's just got the main character of the series up the duff and is bedding his female pupil at chambers. An all round dog really. I wouldn't say it stretches his acting abilities much, but I suppose the pay more than makes up for it.

I must admit I wouldn't mind pressing my nose against Richard's in a maori ceremony taking place today. How lovely that would be! A bit like Eskimo kissing. That nose was made for it!

Ricrar said...

Evil character who pampers his cat...hmmm, is Peter getting ready to play a Bond baddie:)

Whew! Rupert's character sounds like an upper crust Lee of Coldfeet. Is that the RA character who's a leg-over merchant?

hahaha..we might attempt to keep that long nose pressed for days at a time, right Sue? Hope someone caught a clip of the lucky person who came nose to nose with Richard. *thud*

Your "his nose was made for it" remark reminds me of a recent discussion at Musa's blog about RA's nose. She was trying to identify the type. Game her my opinion that it's a French ancestor's inheritance to Richard. Perhaps one named Crispin??..St. Crispin was a French saint. Most mothers would never saddle their child w/a ponderous middle name UNLESS it's a family tradition. And Richard's nose has somewhat of a resemblance to Napoleon's - although the slight bumps are in different locations..length looks about the same for both men. RA's height must represent some invading Viking DNA -- those broad shouldered, Uhtred like invaders into Northern England. They enjoyed it so much decided to make it their permanent home.

Were you aware that Rob Kazinsky was actually born Robert Appleby? It came to mind because those placenames in No England with the ending 'by' are identified as originally Danish(Danelaw) settlements. Wonder if that applies to surname endings as well??

MsG68 said...

Just had the Santander ad followed by the NZ wine ad on tv and IMO.. it's NOT RA.
Comparing the two...it's very close to RA's...obviously the NZ equivalent of RA....could there be another!!??

MsG68 said...

ps. I'm working my way up slowly RiCrAr! :)

Ricrar said...

That's interesting MsG, the way you could compare both ads and detected a difference. The wine ad voice sounded almost exactly like RA to me. There should be somehwere these crucial details can be verified. haha always amazed the rest of the world doesn't focus as intently as we do on these issues;)

At the rate you're working your way to the most recent post, both Hobbit movies will be finished by the time it happens. *grins* Oh well, I'll put the kettle on in anticipation of your arrival.