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claudia1829things · 9 months

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"VANITY FAIR" (2018) Review

“VANITY FAIR” (2018) Review

When I had first heard that the ITV channel and Amazon Studios had plans to adapt William Makepeace Thackeray’s 1848 novel, “Vanity Fair”, I must admit that I felt no interest in watching the miniseries. After all, I had already seen four other adaptations, including the BBC’s 1987 production. And I regard the latter as the best version of Thackeray’s novel I had ever seen.

In the end, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to watch the seven-part miniseries. In a nutshell, "VANITY FAIR" followed the experiences of Rebecca "Becky" Sharp, the social climbing daughter of an English not-so-successful painter and a French dancer in late Georgian England during and after the Napoleonic Wars. The production also told the story of Becky's school friend and daughter of a wealthy merchant, Amelia Sedley. The story begins with both young women leaving Miss Pinkerton’s Academy for Young Ladies. Becky managed to procure a position as governess to Sir Pitt Crawley, a slightly crude yet friendly baronet. Before leaving for her new position, Becky visits Amelia's family. She tries to seduce Jos Sedley, Amelia's wealthy brother and East India Company civil servant. Unfortunately George Osborne, a friend of Jos and son of another wealthy merchant, puts a stop to the budding romance.

While working for the Crawleys, Becky meets and falls in love with Sir Pitt’s younger son, Captain Rawdon Crawley. When Sir Pitt proposes marriage to Becky, she shocks the family with news of her secret marriage to Rawdon. The couple becomes ostracized and ends up living in London on Rawdon’s military pay and gambling winnings. They also become reacquainted with Amelia Sedley, who has her own problems. When her father loses his fortune, George's own father insists that he dump Amelia and marry a Jamaican heiress. George refuses to do so and thanks to his friend William Dobbin's urging, marries Amelia. Mr. Osborne ends up disinheriting George. However, the romantic lives of Becky and Amelia take a backseat when history overtakes them and their husbands with the return of Napoleon Bonaparte.

I wish I could say that the 2018 miniseries was the best adaptation of Thackery's novel I had seen. But it is not. The production had its . . . flaws. One, I disliked its use of the song "All Along the Watchtower" in each episode's opening credits and other rock and pop tunes during the episodes' closing credits. They felt so out of place in the miniseries' production. Yes, I realize that a growing number of period dramas have doing the same. And quite frankly, I detest it. This scenario barely worked in the 2006 movie, "MARIE ANTOINETTE". Now, this use of pop tunes in period dramas strike me as awkward, ham-fisted, unoriginal and lazy.

I also noticed that producer and screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes threw out the younger Pitt Crawley character (Becky's brother-in-law), kept the Bute Crawley character and transformed him from Becky Sharp's weak and unlikable uncle-in-law into her brother-in-law. Hughes did the same with the Lady Jane Crawley and Martha Crawley characters. She tossed aside the Lady Jane character and transformed Martha from Becky's aunt-in-law to sister-in-law. Frankly, I did not care for this. I just could not see characters like Bute and Martha suddenly become sympathetic guardians for Becky and Rawdon's son in the end. It just did not work for me. I have one last problem with "VANITY FAIR", but I will get to it later.

I may not regard "VANITY FAIR" as the best adaptation of Thackery's novel, I cannot deny that it is first-rate. Gwyneth Hughes and director James Strong did an excellent job of bringing the 1848 novel to life on the television screen. Because this adaptation was conveyed in seven episodes, both Hughes and Strong were given the opportunity retell Thackery's saga without taking too many shortcuts. The miniseries replayed Becky Sharp's experiences with the Sedley family, George Osbourne, and the Crawley family in great detail. I was especially impressed by the miniseries' recount of Becky and Amelia's experiences during the Waterloo campaign - which is the story's true high point, as far as I am concerned. Also, this adaptation had conveyed George's experiences during Waterloo with more detail than any other adaptation I have seen.

Aside from the Waterloo sequence, there were other scenes that greatly impressed me. I really enjoyed those scenes that featured the famous Duchess of Richmond's ball in the fourth episode, "In Which Becky Joins Her Regiment"; Becky's attempts to woo Jos Sedley in the first episode, "Miss Sharp In The Presence Of The Enemy"; the revelation of Becky's marriage to Rawdon Crawley in "A Quarrel About An Heiress"; and her revelation to Amelia about the truth regarding George in the final episode, "Endings and Beginnings". There were people who were put off that the series did not end exactly how the novel did - namely the death of Jos, with whom Becky had hooked up in the end. I have to be honest . . . that did not bother me. However, I was amused that Becky's last line in the miniseries seemed to hint that Jos' death might be a possibility in the near future.

The production values for "VANITY FAIR" struck me as quite beautiful. I thought Anna Pritchard's production designs did an excellent job in re-creating both London, the English countryside, Belgium, Germany, India and West Africa between the Regency era and the early 1830s. Not only did I find the miniseries' production values beautiful, but also Ed Rutherford's cinematography. His images struck me as not only beautiful, but sharp and colorful. I would not say that Lucinda Wright and Suzie Harman's costume designs blew my mind. But I cannot deny that I found them rather attractive and serviceable for the narrative's setting.

One of the production's real virtues proved to be a very talented cast. "VANITY FAIR" featured some solid performances from it supporting players. Well . . . I would say more than solid. I found the performances of Robert Pugh, Peter Wight, Suranne Jones, Claire Skinner, Mathew Baynton, Sian Clifford, Monica Dolan, and Elizabeth Berrington to be more than solid. In fact, I would say they gave excellent performances. But they were not alone.

Michael Palin, whom I have not seen in a movie or television production in years, gave an amusing narration in each episode as the story's author William Makepeace Thackeray. Ellie Kendrick gave a very poignant performance as Jane Osborne, who seemed to be caught between her loyalty to her bitter father and her long-suffering sister-in-law. Simon Beale Russell gave a superb, yet ambiguous portrayal of the warm and indulgent John Sedley, who also had a habit of infantilizing his family. Frances de la Tour was deliciously hilarious and entertaining as Becky Sharp's aunt-in-law and benefactress Lady Matilda Crawley. I could also say the same about Martin Clunes, who gave a very funny performance as the crude, yet lively Sir Pitt Crawley. One last funny performance came from David Fynn, who gave an excellent portrayal of the vain, yet clumsy civil servant, Jos Sedley. Anthony Head gave a skillful performance as the cynical and debauched Lord Styne. I thought Charlie Rowe was superb as the self-involved and arrogant George Osborne. Rowe, whom I recalled as a child actor, practically oozed charm, arrogance and a false sense of superiority in his performance as the shallow George.

I have only seen Johnny Flynn in two roles - including the role of William Dobbin in this production. After seeing "VANITY FAIR", it seemed that the William Dobbin role seemed tailored fit for him. He gave an excellent performance as the stalwart Army officer who endured years of unrequited love toward Amelia Sedley. Tom Bateman was equally excellent as the charming, yet slightly dense Rawdon Crawley. At first, I thought Bateman would portray Rawdon as this dashing, yet self-confident Army officer. But thanks to his performance, the actor gradually revealed that underneath all that glamour and dash was a man who was not as intelligent as he originally seemed to be. Amelia Sedley has never been a favorite character of mine. Her intense worship of the shallow George has always struck me as irritating. Thanks to Claudia Jessie's excellent performance, I not only saw Amelia as irritating as usual, but also sympathetic for once.

Television critics had lavished a great deal of praise upon Olivia Cooke as the sharp-witted and manipulative Becky Sharp. In fact, many have labeled her performance as one of the best versions of that character. And honestly? I have to agree. Cooke was more than superb . . . she was triumphant as the cynical governess who used her charms and wit in an attempt to climb the social ladder of late Georgian Britain. I would not claim that Cooke was the best on-screen Becky I have seen, but she was certainly one of the better ones. I have only one minor complaint - I found her portrayal of Becky as a poor parent to her only son rather strident. Becky has always struck me as a cold mother to Rawdon Junior. But instead of cold, Cooke's Becky seemed to scream in anger every time she was near the boy. I found this heavy-handed and I suspect the real perpetrator behind this was either screenwriter Gwyneth Hughes or director James Strong.

I have a few complaints about "VANITY FAIR". I will not deny it. But I also cannot deny that despite its few flaws, I thought it was an excellent adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray's novel. Actually, I believe it is one of the better adaptations. "VANITY FAIR" is also one of the best period dramas I have seen from British television in a LONG TIME. And I mean a long time. Most period dramas I have seen in the past decade were either mediocre or somewhere between mediocre and excellent. "VANITY FAIR" is one of the first that has led me to really take notice in years. And I have to credit Gwyneth Hughes' writing, James Strong's direction and especially the superb performances from a first-rate cast led by Olivia Cooke. It would be nice to see more period dramas of this quality in the near future.

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disarmluna · 5 months

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#tyler james williams #fashion #style #front row #pre fall 2024 #balenciaga #abbott elementary

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hoffmans-hoffman · 10 months

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Jasper Stones - FNAF

David St James - Re animator

Davis Devils - Saw

Samuel - FNAF

Robby Neils - Saw

Daniel Ronnix and August Row - Multi Horror

Sam Williams - Evil Dead

Tommy Blue - Evil Dead

William Daniels - Saw

Harvey Locke - Halloween

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Horror ocs of mine 🖤💜

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stomach-rental · 21 days

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Little notes page on Louis' size, since I'm inconsistent as of late sometimes. Stomachs are Smaller than I expect them to be!

Will and Louis belong to @peachnewt and her series, Getting in Deep!

#drawns #gid #getting in deep #louis patriarch #william james rowe #safe vore #soft vore #extreme cuddling #it would be very difficult to get this guy in your mouth fully without gagging. I Commend William James Rowe.

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peachnewt · 1 year

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No idea why this was in my folders. Was I trying to design a button? A patch? A minimalist poster? No idea. But here ya go! ^_^

#peachnewt #getting in deep #spilling guts #william james rowe

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love-studying58 · 3 months

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happy Masters of the Air release week. In honour of the series due to release on the 26th, I wanted to list a few faces we’ll be seeing throughout the series. I want to particularly note the crewmen of the 100th in hopes this makes sense to viewers who either a) didn’t have time to read any books based on the 100th bomb group, or b) want to read Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller during/after the tv show aires. My lovely friend on tumblr @kylaym was happy to message me on instagram regarding who’s who for most of the 100th bomb group posts. She gets that everyone in uniform looks the same; same haircut, moustaches, masks, everywhere, etc. She mentioned it is always better to remember a bunch of lads as groups and crews than as individuals!

Here we gooo..

Colonel Neil “Chick” Harding

A West Point graduate and the school’s football coach prior to the war. Harding was a seasoned aviator who truly emulated much of the 100th’s attitude. He exhibited an appreciation for his crew’s mental and emotional well-being.

Major John C. “Bucky” Egan and Major Gale “Buck” Cleven

Two of the squadron commanders, Majors John “Bucky” Egan of the 418th Bomb Squadron and Gale “Buck” Cleven of the 350th, had piloting skills which matched their personalities. (Found top row 3rd and 4th members from left to right).

Captain John D. Brady

He served as a pilot in the 418th bomb squadron and was shot down during the mission to Munster on October 10th, 1943. (Shown here on the far left). He flew overseas in A/C #42-30071 “Skipper” as 1st Lt. Pilot. 2nd Lt’s being Lt. John L. Hoerr [Co-Pilot] and Lt. Harry Crosby [Group Navigator and Captain].

M/Sgt. Kenneth A. Lemmons

He served on the 351st Bomb Squadron and was one of the first crew chiefs assigned to the 100th Bomb Group. After being a part of the U.S. Air Force's ground crew, he was subsequently promoted to the position of flight chief. (Shown above in the front).

Harry H. Crosby

Harry served as a navigator in the 418th Bomb Squadron and later became Group Navigator for the Hundredth, however, his struggle with airsickness often hindered his ability to navigate. (Found above beside Brady on the right). Harry Crosby replaced Lt. Payne on the crew of Douglass.

Payne is found above on the right, beside Harry Crosby.

Lt. Howard B. “Hambone” Hamilton

He was a bombardier mostly known for flying with Brady’s crew.

On the October 10th Munster mission, crew #32 was led by Major John C. Egan as Co-Pilot. Near the initial point “Mlle Zig Zig” was hit by Flak, resulting in the following:

- Sgt Clanton passing away

- wounding Howard Hamilton and Roland Gangwer. (Both ended up spending a long time in the hospital).

- the surviving crew members bailed out but were taken prisoner.

Hamilton is seen above on the far left. Beside him on the left is Lt. James Douglass and Captain Frank Murphy.

Captain James Douglass

Served as a bombardier in the 418th Bomb Squadron with the Everett Blakely crew. (Seen above in the first picture beside Blakely).

Major Everett E. Blakely

Was a career officer of the United States Air Force. He was a highly decorated pilot of the B-17 bomber with the Bloody Hundredth Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force. He is most commonly known for his crew’s plane “Just a Snappin”. On a mission to Bremen on October 8th, 1943, his plane was severely damaged by flak and enemy fighters. He later became the Group Training Officer (Shown above on the right and next to Major John Egan in the second picture above).

Blakely’s Crew:

Major John Kidd- Command Pilot

1st Lt. Everett Blakely- Pilot

2nd Lt. Charles Via- Formation Officer in the tail (SWA on the mission during Black Week)

1st Lt. Harry Crosby - Navigator

2nd Lt. James Douglass - Bombadier

T/Sgt. Edmund Forkner - Radio operator

S/Sgt. William McClelland - Ball Turret Gunner (WIA on the Black Week mission)

S/Sgt. Edward Yevich - Waist Gunner (WIA on the Black Week mission)

S/Sgt. Lyle Nord - Waist Gunner

S/Sgt. Lester Saunders - Tail Gunner (KIA on the Black Week mission)

Lt Roy Claytor

Roy Claytor was part of the 350th Squadron. Above, he may be flying as a command pilot in this mission or practice with the Claytor Crew.

He is seen above on the left, beside Cleven.

Major Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal

Rosie joins the unit in late 1943. He becomes one of the 100th's most reliable pilots.

Rosenthal's Crew:

[Shown left to right; top row than bottom row]

Sgt. Loren Darling - Waist Gunner

Sgt. Michael V. Boccuzzi - Radio Operator/Gunner

Sgt. John H. Shaffer - Waist Gunner

Sgt. Clarence C. Hall - Top turret gunner/engineer

Sgt. William J. DeBlasio - Tail Gunner

Sgt. Ray H. Robinson - Ball Turret Gunner

Lt. Ronald C. Bailey - Navigator

Lt. Robert 'Rosie' Rosenthal - Pilot

Lt. Clifford J. Milburn - Bombardier

Lt. Winifred 'Pappy' Lewis - Copilot

Lt. Curtis Biddick

Lieutenant Curtis Biddick was known as a ‘hard luck’ pilot but was recognised as exceptionally expert and courageous. ‘Every time he went out something seemed to happen,’ said one of his buddies. On one raid he brought his plane back with 1,700 shell and bullet holes in it and two wounded men aboard.

He clashes due to his English colleagues embarking on night-time raids.

Richard Snyder

Biddick's co-pilot and was part of the 418th Bombardment Squadron.

Okay.... So I truly hope this helps going into Masters of the Air tomorrow. I can't wait to see all the bomber boys spread their wings and fly. This tv series is going to be an absolute wreck (in the best way possible). Thank you to everyone who enjoys my posts. Love y'all.

#hbo war #masters of the air #austin butler major gale buck cleven #austin butler masters of the air #callum turner #john egan #barry keoghan #@mads-weasley

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lee-kangin · 2 months

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AUDERE EST FACERE. ↳ "I want us to be brave, to be aggressive. To play like Tottenham Hotspur. All I care about is this football club. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club is the most important thing."

Push and run football AKA 'make it simple, make it quick', the mother of Total Football, as designed by Arthur Rowe / Rowe meets Puskás and passes on his philosophy / Ange Postecoglou talks about the inspirations behind his footballing philosophy / Bryan Gil on Tottenham's style of football / Cormac McCarthy, 'The Road' / Tottenham 2-1 Sheffield United / Tottenham 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion / Tottenham 3-3 Manchester City / Tottenham 2-1 Liverpool / Fall Out Boy & Elton John, 'Save Rock And Roll' / Ange Postecoglou mic'd up at Celtic training / Ange Postecoglou on compromising on his attacking style of football / Tottenham playing a high line against Chelsea despite being only 9 men on the pitch / Bill Nicholson / Ange Postecoglou waves to the crowd and his family after winning against Liverpool at home in his first season of the PL, caption from the fan song 'I'm Loving Big Ange Instead' sung to the tune of Robbie Williams' Angels, created by thevoiceofspurs / Young Sheldon, Season 4, Episode 1: 'Graduation' / Tottenham players celebrate after winning against Liverpool at home / Ange Postecoglou on Tottenham weathering a major injury crisis and suspensions leading to players playing out of position / Son Heungmin on Tottenham's underdog comeback victories / Son Heungmin on the feel of the new stadium before the UCL match against Man City, 2019, 'No Filter UCL' / Stray Kids ft. Tiger JK, 'TOPLINE' / Off the Shelf Ep. 20 ft. Brennan Johnson / Lord of the Rings: Return of the King / James Maddison's 'FEARLESS' tattoo on the side of his neck / Ange Postecoglou on Tottenham's chances of clinching the title in the 23/24 season / EDEN, 'love; not wrong (brave)' / Tottenham players link hands and run toward the South Stand in celebration after winning 2-1 against Sheffield United, both goals scored in injury time / Lao Tzu / Pape Sarr runs into the Tottenham fans' arms after equalising against Brighton, 2024 / Destiny Udogie points to the club's badge over his heart after equalising against Brentford, 2024 / James Maddison on Ange Postecoglou encouraging the players to play his way in the first North London Derby of the 23/24 season / To Dare is to Do, fan tifo, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium / Dejan Kulusevski on playing for Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou

#web weaving #tottenham #spurs #tottenham hotspur #football #in the end it is always about BRAVERY. tottenham hotspur and BRAVERY!!!! it's in our dna from the inception of this club #i will probably make a web weave about that at some point but yeah the connection btwn rowe & puskas & ange makes me go insane #and madders' fearless tattoo naaaaah this guy was made for us #basically just shocked with the way that ange fits us 100% tbh #not quiiiiiite satisfied w this but physically cannot look at this anymore #but yeah this is kind of an homage to the players & ange #rahul.txt

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redskull199987 · 24 days

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Hello🌸

Can I request an oneshot with William James Moriarty having a very romantic bath with his fem!s/o? They sip wine, chat and most of all enjoy eachother. (Sfw)

(Also reader is like, the shy type)

I really hope this made sense, and thank you very much in advance.

Bye 👋

Too Sweet

William James Moriarty x fem!reader Request

Word count:0.9k

Warnings: none at all, PURE fluff, they’re naked at some point, don’t know if that needs a warning

Summary: After all the work, the countless nights staying up, planning and scheming, you and William finally manage to spend some quality time with each other

Masterlist

You grew up in a rural area around London. You knew what hard work felt like. Or at least you thought so. That was until you met William Moriarty and his family. That was when you learned what real work felt like. What real tiredness felt like when you were staying up the third night in a row, observing those Nobles, Willaim deemed undeserving of their Title and Money.

And while you were a hundred percent hooked on William's plans, always supporting him in every way you could, You had to admit that you had never done a more exhausting job before. Not only coming up with the plans and executing them, but also having to see over and over again how cruel most nobles were, how little they cared about the People they thought were beneath them.

“What’s on your Mind, Love?”

You blinked profoundly, before your gaze wandered up to none other than William Moriarty himself who was standing in front of you. For a few seconds, you were only able to look at him. His ash blond hair was messily hanging into his face. He had long discarded his jacket and tie, leaving him in a plain white shirt. He looked more relaxed than you had seen him in a long time.

“Just thinking about our last Mission.”, You finally answered him, slowly standing up and walking over to him,”I think if I mess up like that again, the Colonel will shoot me himself.”

William chuckled lowly, as he reached out for you, his nimble fingers embracing your waist and pulling your body against his. With a soft sigh, you leaned your head against his shoulder, your eyes fluttering shut at how sweet he was with you.

“I wouldn’t let him.”, William mumbled into your ear, before pressing a short kiss to your temple,”Come on, the bath is ready.”

You smiled warmly, letting him guide you towards the bathroom. The tender smell of roses and bath soaps hit your nostrils.

“What’s the Occasion?”, you asked with a smile, as you watched William pull out a few Towels, preparing them for later.

“I think we both deserve something nice, don’t you?”, William elaborated,”All we ever did recently was work to fulfill our plans, my plans.”

You nodded understandingly, reaching out for him and slowly beginning to unbutton his shirt. William only smiled, gently wrapping his arms around your waist. It only took you a few seconds to free him from his shirt, pushing it off of his shoulder and leaving his upper body exposed to you.

“Beautiful”, he mumbled into your skin, his hot breath hitting your neck,”You’re so beautiful, my love.”

“My turn”, You declared after a few seconds of just admiring him. You quickly turned around, waiting for William to unzip your dress. He took his sweet time with you, running his hands up your arms and resting them on your shoulders. You couldn’t help the blush that crept up your cheeks, as he leaned in closely, pressing a few short kisses to your neck.

Finally, he unzipped your dress, pulling the heavy piece of fabric off your body, leaving you bare in front of him.

You bashfully turned back around. Not able to form a coherent sentence, you just smiled at him, before leaning up and pressing a short kiss to his cheek. Without another word, you walked over to the bathtub, stepping over the edge and slowly lowering yourself into the water. A relieved sigh escaped your lips, when your body was fully submerged under the water, only your head still sticking out.

“You gonna keep standing there?”, You chided, once you noticed William hadn’t moved, but instead chose to stare at you with a dreamy expression on his face. Seemingly breaking out of his trance, he quickly got rid of his remaining clothes, before slowly slipping into the bathtub behind you. You watched the water slosh around a bit, until you felt William's arms wrap around your waist once more, gingerly pulling your body to rest up against his.

You sighed quietly, settling your head against his shoulder once more. After a few moments of comfortable Silence, your eyes fluttered shut. It had been a long time since you felt so at peace, so at home.

A small giggle escaped your lips, when William littered short kisses all over your neck and shoulders.

“That tickles”, You snickered, gently pushing his head away from you. But William quickly grasped your wrist, a wicked grin on his face before he started to press kisses all over your forearm.You couldn’t help but grin at his antics, until he finally let go of your hand, letting you rest against him in peace.

You felt Williams' hand rise, tenderly brushing your hair out of your face. His soft touch almost lulled you to sleep.

“I love you”, You heard him mumble into your hair before he pressed a short kiss to your forehead.

You finally opened your eyes again, gazing up into his scarlet eyes,”I love you too, William.”

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