#maria redgrave

[skyblitzhart]

new OC sketches alongside older ones because I sometimes forget to post 💀

[kowaipun]

just a collection of emotes ive done

[lambyrammystuff]

[mtonino]

A short clip with Marcello Mastroianni, Gian Maria Volonté and others in some of Elio Petri's movie where him is director or writer

@falsenote

[perfettamentechic]

25 maggio … ricordiamo …

25 maggio … ricordiamo … #semprevivineiricordi #nomidaricordare #personaggiimportanti #perfettamentechic

2020: John Peter Sloan, è stato un insegnante, comico, cabarettista, attore, commediografo, regista teatrale e cantante britannico. (n. 1969) 2020: Paolo Marzotto, imprenditore italiano. Apparteneva alla famiglia dei Marzotto. Figlio del conte Gaetano Marzotto. (n. 1930) 2018: Sergio Graziani, doppiatore, direttore del doppiaggio e attore italiano. (n. 1930) 2014: Herb Jeffries, pseudonimo di…

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 2A

Christine Baranski (1952) "CHRISTINE BARANSKI (Charlotte) last appeared in the Playwrights Horizon’s workshop production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George. Just prior to that she appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festiva’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for which she received an Obie Award. She also recently completed filming Louis Malle’s new movie Crackers in which she co-stars with Donald Sutherland. Other New York credits include Sally and Marsha with Bernadette Peters at the Manhattan Theatre Club; The Undefeated Rhumba Champ at the Ensemble Studio Theatre and Coming Attractions at Playwrights Horizons. Her films include Playing for Time with Vanessa Redgrave, Lovesick, and Soup for One. She has worked at Center Stage in Baltimore, Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and the McCarter Theatre in Princeton as well as the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut. Christine is a graduate of the Julliard School and is the happy bride of actor Matthew Cowles.” – Playbill bio from The Real Thing, May 1984

Judy Kuhn (1958) “JUDY KUHN (Alice/Succuba/Citizen/Miss Isabel Yearsley) is making her Broadway debut in Drood and was a member of the original company in Central Park last summer. Off-Broadway she received critical praise for her performance in the Jewish Repertory Theatre’s production of Pearls. Before that she was seen with Yul Brynner’s farewell tour of The King and I. Roles in stock productions include Maria in West Side Story, Julie in Carousel, Rosamund in The Robber Bridegroom. Judy is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and studies acting with John Stix.” – Playbill bio from The Mystery of Edwin Drood, April 1986.

NEW PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

"With the devastating elimination of Patti LuPone, Christine Baranski may well be our reigning *Diva* in the most literal sense of the word. Are you truly worthy of the title if you don't inspire drag egos? Go on, close your eyes right now and picture a living Broadway Diva. Baranski is going to be on that list every time."

"Four-time Tony loser Judy Kuhn is a sad sentence to type. But hey, at least she's in good company with Elaine Stritch. Judy doesn't need a fancy trophy to prove how talented she is. She's booked and busy, and aren't we glad for it?"

[justforbooks]

Greek stage and screen actor who appeared in The Guns of Navarone, Zorba the Greek and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

It is apposite that Irene Papas, who has died aged 96, was at her peak when playing the heroines in film versions of classical Greek tragedies. Notwithstanding her many roles in a wide range of Hollywood, international and Greek films, including The Guns of Navarone (1961), Zorba the Greek (1964) and Z (1969), Papas always gave the impression that there was an Electra, Antigone or Clytemnestra bubbling beneath the surface.

She balanced expertly between theatrical tradition and the cinema closeup, her strong, expressive face being especially eloquent in moments of silent suffering.

All the films of the Euripides trilogy – Electra (1962), The Trojan Women (1971) and Iphigenia (1976) – directed by Michael Cacoyannis, were dominated by Papas’s dramatic beauty in closeup against realistic Greek landscapes, and proved that the ancient myths could grip modern audiences. It was Cacoyannis, with whom Papas made six films, including Zorba the Greek, who brought out her talent in full.

The daughter of teachers, she was born Eirini Lelekou in a village near Corinth, and attended the royal drama school in Athens. She started her career in her teens as a singer and dancer in variety shows before launching her film career in 1948, by which time she had married the director Alkis Papas.

After two minor films in Greece, she signed a contract in Italy, where she was underused. Among them were two sword and sandals epics, Theodora, Slave Empress (1954) and Attila (1954), in which she played second fiddle – in the first to Gianna Maria Canale, and in the second to Sophia Loren with Anthony Quinn in the title role. Papas would co-star with Quinn in several films, in which they were a combustible duo.

She made an impressive Hollywood debut as the lover of a ruthless cattle baron (James Cagney) in the Robert Wise western Tribute to a Bad Man (1956). This was the female lead role and she consolidated her star status as the valiant resistance leader in the war adventure The Guns of Navarone.

In the same year, 1961, Papas took on her first Greek tragedian role in Antigone. Directed by George Tzavellas in such a way to make Sophocles’s poetic parable come across with lucidity, it allowed Papas as the intractable heroine to demonstrate her elegiac power.

Papas as Electra, in her first film with Cacoyannis, prompted the critic Dilys Powell to exclaim: “I had never thought to see the face of the great Apollo from the Olympia pediment live and move. Now I have seen it.” Roger Ebert, looking back on the Oscar-nominated film 10 years later, said: “The funereal figures of the Greek chorus – poor peasant women scattered on a hillside – still weep behind Electra, and I can never forget her lament for her dead mother. I thought then, and I still think, that Irene Papas is the most classically beautiful woman ever to appear in films.”

The Trojan Women lost the power, poetry and beauty of the ancient Greek language by being in English, but the multinational cast of Katharine Hepburn (Hecuba), Vanessa Redgrave (Andromache), Geneviève Bujold (Cassandra) and Papas as a seductive Helen of Troy, compensated somewhat. The Oscar-nominated Iphigenia (based on Cacoyannis’s stage production of Iphigenia at Aulis), the last of his Euripides trilogy, had Papas, by now in her 50s, giving a forceful performance as Clytemnestra.

Between the first and second Euripidean films, Papas played the lonely widow in Zorba the Greek who, after making love to an English writer (Alan Bates), is stoned by the Cretan villagers. The character has little dialogue, but Papas’s face and body language are eloquent enough.

Papas went on to play other widows, notably in two political thrillers, Elio Petri’s We Still Kill the Old Way (1967) and Costa-Gavras’s Z. The latter clearly pointed the finger at the colonels’ totalitarian regime in Greece, which Papas – who lived in exile in Italy from 1967 to 1974 – called “the fourth Reich”.

In 1968, among the first work Papas undertook in Italy was the mafia drama The Brotherhood, opposite Kirk Douglas, and the television miniseries The Odyssey, in which she played Penelope. She had now become a travelling player, playing Spaniards such as Catherine of Aragon in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) or Italians such as the lusty housekeeper in Francesco Rosi’s Christ Stopped at Eboli (1979). In the 1970s and 80s, Papas made an average of two films a year, many of them unworthy of her talents.

Happily, she had the chance to shine on Broadway in two plays by Euripides, in the title role of Medea (1973) and as Agave in The Bacchae (1980), the latter directed by Cacoyannis. Of her Medea, the New York Times critic wrote: “Irene Papas, who has often played aggrieved and grieving women, brings to the role a controlled intensity, an innate intelligence, and an implacably stubborn anger.”

In films, she began to get supporting roles, bringing fire and authenticity as mothers and grandmothers as in Rosi’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1987) and Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) before making a superb exit from cinema in Manoel de Oliveira’s multilingual A Talking Picture (2003).

At one point in the film, on board a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, Papas keeps the passengers spellbound by singing a Greek folk song. Her beautiful contralto voice can also be heard on discs of songs by Vangelis and Mikis Theodorakis.

After leaving the cinema, Papas appeared in Euripides’ Hecuba on stage in Rome in 2003, and directed Antigone at the Greek theatre in Syracuse in 2005. She also devoted herself to the establishment of schools of acting in Rome and Athens.

Papas’s first marriage ended in divorce in 1951, and her second marriage, to José Kohn, in 1957, was annulled.

🔔 Irene Papas, actor, born 3 September 1926; died 14 September 2022

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[musemash]

GALLERY: 1 Michael Cacoyannis' 1977 film Painters: 2 Jacob De Wet 3 Giovanni Battista Tiepolo 4 François Perrier 5 Bertholet Flemalle 6 Nicolo Tornioli 7 Giovanni Andrea Carlone 8 Franz Anton Maulbertsch 9 Francesco Fontebasso Actors: 10 Irene Papas & Tatiana Papamoskou

IPHIGENIA'S ANCIENT CAUTIONARY MYTH STILL RESONATES – by David D. Fowler & Aeon 999

MFF marks INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY, and WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH, by exploring an iconic work of art from many centuries ago. EURIPIDES' tragedy, IPHIGENIA IN AULIS, is one of the greatest anti-war statements ever created; and it is also a powerful commentary on the plight of women down through the ages.  

EURIPIDES' powerful drama focuses on the dilemma facing KING AGAMEMNON, when the gods order him to sacrifice his own daughter. It can also be seen as a protofeminist work – highlighting perils faced by women and girls, when they are part of a militaristic, male-oriented culture with authoritarian religious leaders. Various traditions of this myth are embodied by the paintings in our image gallery.

This story is at the heart of our special feature: IPHIGENIA, the 1977 epic masterpiece, by ZORBA THE GREEK director MICHAEL CACOYANNIS. It is one of the finest depictions of a Greek tragedy, which takes a few imaginative artistic liberties with the conventions of that art form. Chief among its virtues are the powerhouse performances of IRENE PAPAS, as Queen Clytemnestra; and TATIANA PAPAMOSKOU as her daughter Iphigenia.

The videos embedded above include an extended trailer from this film – along with a graphic novel portrayal of the death of Iphigenia; and an experimental theatre adaptation of Agamemnon's ritual murder of his daughter. As an alternative metaphor, we have also included accounts of the biblical legend of Abraham being called to sacrifice his son Isaac. One is a poignant song by LEONARD COHEN; and the other a powerful depiction of WWI poet WILFRED OWEN's apocalyptic take on the same story.

An old Chinese proverb calls women "THE OTHER HALF OF THE SKY". In keeping with our desire to honor the respect being shown to women worldwide on this particular day, one of our playlists offers eloquent articles debunking stereotypes about FEMINISM. We also include items dealing with the history and meaning of these holidays, embodying more progressive attitudes toward women.

We present various retellings of Iphigenia's story, and related myths, in movies, plays, audiobooks, and operas. This includes works by composers such as CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK, BENJAMIN BRITTEN, WAYNE SHORTER, SERGEY TANEYEV, NICOLE V. GAGNÉ, and DAVID AVIDOR. We also offer different versions of Euripides' companion piece, IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS – which tells an alternative tale, wherein the heroine is supernaturally rescued from her father's sacrifice by the goddess Artemis.

We feature works created by acclaimed directors such as PETER HALL and ANDREI KONCHALOVSKY, as well as another outstanding Cacoyannis film, THE TROJAN WOMEN. Performers include MARIA CALLAS, KATHARINE HEPBURN, VANESSA REDGRAVE, GENEVIEVE BUJOLD, ISABELLA ROSSELLINI, ARMAND ASSANTE, GRETA SCACCHI, BERNADETTE PETERS, ERIC ROBERTS, GERALDINE CHAPLIN, CHRISTOPHER LEE and ESPERANZA SPALDING.

It should be noted that some of these videos are by talented amateurs; thus, there are occasional technical issues, and a few have overly lengthy introductions. Nevertheless, they are well worth watching, if you overlook these very minor flaws. Most of the foreign language productions have English subtitles, sometimes accessed via the CC feature on YouTube videos.

We end with a section of works dealing with the fates of characters from Euripides' plays – and depictions of the Trojan War and its aftermath, by notables such as AESCHYLUS and HOMER. But first, we present further interpretations of the story of Isaac from the Book Of Genesis, one of human history's most enduring tales of child sacrifice. This is followed by the extraordinary Cacoyannis film; its availability, in a good quality copy, is what inspired us to do this post for Women's Month.

SACRIFICIAL MYTHS Story Of Isaac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ30w3eQR4o Abraham & The Sacrifice Of Isaac https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zb9ql-rSOs Abraham & Isaac Paintings https://fineartamerica.com/art/paintings/sacrifice+of+isaac The Old Man & The Young  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16kjENwNjDw Britten War Requiem: Offertorium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xctltGbPL4s Iphigenia In Greek Mythology https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Story-of-Iphigenia-in-Greek-Mythology The Sacrifice Of Iphigenia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ay5kRC_989U Iphigenia In Aulis & Tauris https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcBIn_PvaWs Cacoyannis' Iphigenia (1977) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jD-IuhwLmk

MYTHS VS REALITIES Mythology & Feminist Thought https://consortium.gws.wisc.edu/conference/past-conferences/announcing-the-4w-and-wgsc-2021-conference/2021-presentations/mythology-and-feminism-the-connection-between-myth-and-feminist-thought/ Myths & Truths About Feminism https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-myths-and-truths-about-feminism https://femalemindunleashed.com/myths-about-feminism/ https://www.mic.com/articles/96292/the-10-worst-myths-about-feminism-debunked https://www.bl.uk/sisterhood/articles/myths-and-controversies-surrounding-feminism https://medium.com/@makemuse/5-of-the-most-common-misconceptions-about-feminism-91292daa5c37 https://studybreaks.com/culture/feminism-common-stereotypes/ https://icytales.com/top-10-myths-about-feminism/ https://www.aware.org.sg/2010/02/myths/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/christinapark/2015/03/07/a-millennials-perspective-five-myths-about-modern-feminism/ https://medium.com/keepmesafe/widespread-myths-about-feminism-and-feminists-fe47456a7897 International Women's Day https://www.internationalwomensday.com/ https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/international-women-s-day-women-s-history-month-101-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-celebration/ar-AA185qpU https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/how-women-s-rights-in-the-us-have-been-eroded-since-the-last-women-s-history-month/ar-AA18bHUg https://www.wmagazine.com/culture/womens-history-month-2023-books-feminist-reading-list https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/2023/03/01/international-womens-day-gifts/?sh=5bc62e497ba6 National Women's History Month https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/655595/womens-history-month-facts https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/when-is-womens-history-month-everything-you-need-to-know/3289829/ https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/womens-history-month https://nationaltoday.com/national-womens-history-month/ https://news.yahoo.com/celebrate-women-history-month-female-220052929.html

IPHIGENIA AT AULIS Iphigenia At Aulis Onstage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yR6VwSG_wY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTGn__ph4bY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILyUShi5l4g Gluck: Iphigénie En Aulide https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBRU5NlQVxw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJL2E7Aqu40 Iphigenia: A New Opera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbeGIdyhy7c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5erDLURRCE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG6ZoESYjPQ Iphigenia In Aulis: Zoom Drama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8vF1By09Bc Iphigenia In Aulis: Audio Drama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm1gzYTVsbw Iphigenia At Aulis: Translations http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/iphi_aul.html https://archive.org/details/iphigeniaataulis00euriuoft/mode/2up

IPHIGENIA IN TAURIS Iphigenia In Tauris Onstage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqyM0hSRBt0 Gluck: Iphigénie En Tauride https://www.metopera.org/globalassets/user-information/nightly-opera-streams/week-14/playbills/feb-26-iphigenie.pdf https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ow9zpUw91J4&list=OLAK5uy_kmz32yqjO79d8FQZWtCv0AaiSOFG_ozcM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROzh7i_RSyc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0m07GnesPs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at1OhtsICt4 Iphigenia In Tauris: Audio Drama https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAjas-3kAdM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YDv5PsrIiM Iphigenia 2020: One-Woman Show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ji75882oPgc Iphigenia In Tauris: Translations http://classics.mit.edu/Euripides/iph_taur.html https://archive.org/details/iphigeniaintauri00gluc/page/n5/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/iphigeniaintauri01goet/mode/2up

FURTHER ADVENTURES IN MYTH Agamemnon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkJi7UG0Llk&list=PLNB6PCJBrfBooXOg2Yr_G0Y9P0FbZDGwo Oresteia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RQ_h46zE-s The Oresteia In 3 Minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz93CoLroeU Agamemnon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdv3vkECqXA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldIJVtDG5TM The Libation Bearers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFv5-OuaL-E The Eumenides https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xagHZoNS6DQ The Trojan Women https://ok.ru/video/2113193708195 The Odyssey https://archive.org/details/the-odyssey-1997-part-1-of-2-avi https://archive.org/details/the-odyssey-1997-part-2-of-2-avi

[skyblitzhart]

forgot to post these sketches of maria!!

also if it wasn't obvious, she's based off serena dqxi both in personality and looks 😭🙏 uauaghhh my love for her transcends time and space so I made a discount version which I turned into my oc sbdjdbs

(also ft. @nondidd's oc for the outfit swap!!)

[lavender-rosa]

Most Anne Boleyn portrayals in visual media

Giuditta Pasta,Maria Callas,Beverly Sills,Joan Sutherland,Montserrat Caballé,Edita Gruberová,Anna Netrebko,Sondra Radvanovsky and Angela Meade all played Anne Boleyn onstage or/and in recordings of the Donizetti opera Anna Bolena (actresses range from it's premiere in 1830 to it's latest performance in 2015)

Clara Kimball Young-Cardinal Wolsey (1912)

Henny Porten-Anna Boleyn (1920)

Merle Oberon-The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)

Joyce Redman-Anne of the Thoudand days (play)(1949)

Elaine Stewart-Young Bess (1953)

Vanessa Redgrave-A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Geneviéne Bujold-Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

Dorothy Tutin-The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970)

Charlotte Rampling-Henry VIII and His Six wives (1972)

Julia Marsen-The Six Wives of Henry VIII (2001)

Jodhi May-The Other Boleyn Girl (2003)

Helena Bonham Carter-Henry VIII (2003)

Lindsey Naegle (Tess McNeille)-Margical History Tour (S15 E11) The Simpsons (1989-?)

Natalie Dormer-The Tudors (2007-2010)

Natalie Portman-The Other Boleyn Girl (2008)

Miranda Raison- Howard Brenton's Anne Boleyn (2010)

Claire Foy-Wolf Hall (2015)

Lydia Leonard-Wolf Hall (Broadway and London West End) (2016)

Krystin Pellerin-"To The Death" Reign (S3 E14) (2016)

Claire Cooper-Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (2016)

Gemma Whelan-Horrible Histories (2017)

Ashleigh Weir-Six the Musical (2017)

Millie O'Connell-Six The Musical (Uk Tour) (2018)

Courtney Bowman-Six The Musical (West End Production) (2019)

Andrea Macassaet-Six The Musical (North American Tour) (2019)

Madison Bulleyment-Six The Musical (UK Tour) (2019-2022)

Hazel Karooma Brooker-Six The Musical (Bliss Cruise Production) (2019)

Kelly Sweeney-Six The Musical (Breakaway Cruise Production) (2019)

Kala Gare-Six The Musical (Australian Tour) (2020)

Anne Boleyn-Criminal Case S6 Case #11 "A Tudor Murder" (2019)

Alice Nokes-The Spanish Princess (2019-2020)

Jodie Turner Smith-Anne Boleyn (2020)

Unnamed Actress-The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family (coming soon apparently)

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Is Mansfield Park 1999 really so off? I thought the adaptation with Billie is off?

They are both off... in very different ways.

1999 is, more than an adaptation of Mansfield Park, a reimagining of Mansfield Park. As I have said before in other posts, Patricia Rozema asks herself what kind of characters and archetypes would the novel have if it were a product of the late 20th century instead of the early 19th century.

So, instead of principled, shy, chronically ill Fanny, you get plucky writer Fanny; instead of indolent wasteful Tom, you get tortured artist Tom; instead of benevolent but also "I don't want to talk about uncomfortable things" Sir Thomas, you get a lecherous rapist; instead of a vapid and absentminded Mrs. Bertram, you get opioid addict Mrs. Bertram, and so forth.

The problem is that the characters as Rozema writes them cannot go where the original characters go; but she has to end the movie the same way the novel ends. And that's where the interesting concept turns into an unresolved mess that doesn't go anywhere.

It is a very nicely photographed and directed movie otherwise, Alessandro Nivola steals the screen as Henry Crawford, and has little brilliant details like lady Bertram and Mrs. Price being played by the same actress, and a gorgeous soundtrack that doesn't really fit into the story at many points.

I think this scene summarize what I mean:

Mansfield Park 2007 on the other end is an attempt at sticking to the plot and themes of the original story... in an extremely low budget and a sad, sad script, but with good and even excellent actors in it. And that's... a combo.

So, Fanny is modernized, but just a little bit: she's not ill, but she keeps a lot to herself and such. Attempts were made at making Billie Piper look youthful by having her wear her hair down, which ended up making her look out of place (but ever since I watched Sally Lockhart I stand by the opinion that she could have been a great Fanny with better costumes, hair, make up and direction). There was no budget for the Portsmouth part of the movie, so... Fanny is left at Mansfield while Sir Thomas and lady Bertram go to visit one of their parents. I kid you not. Instead of a ball for Fanny's birthday, we get... a picnic. And so forth XD

On the other hand, you have Hayley Atwell as Mary Crawford, Jemma Redgrave as lady Bertram, James D'Arcy as Tom, which are all delightful to see and elevate, when they are onscreen, a very lackluster script. The script has things like putting Henry's cheeky quote "Wife is Heaven's LAST best gift" in Sir. Thomas' mouth, saying it about Fanny and Edmund as "wife is Heaven's last BEST gift". You have Edmund making the realization that "oh, boy, Fanny is there and she's perfect and I should marry her" in a scene where lady Bertram asks "Fanny, dear, which is better, the purple, or the maroon?" about some threads for worsted work, Fanny answers and boom! Edmund knows.

Still, 2007 sticks to the main themes of Cinderella story, and the family growing to appreciate everything about Fanny while Maria and Mrs. Norris get their commeupance, so in a way, it is the most accurate adaptation of the two, if you want to see the characters and the story of the novel, but it is not a good adaptation.

So far, I think the best adaptation is 1983, with an even likeable Edmund and both Susan AND William (1999 leaves William out, 2008 leaves Susan out), but it is still a 1980s tv production and it shows.

[ariel-seagull-wings]

TOP 12 WICKED QUEEN PORTRAYALS

@sunlit-music​ @mademoiselle-princesse​ @princesssarisa​ @superkingofpriderock​ @metropolitan-mutant-of-ark​ @amalthea9​ @theancientvaleofsoulmaking​ @astrangechoiceoffavourites​ @giuliettaluce​ 

Alongside the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella’s Stepmother, The Giant from Jack and The Beanstalk, The Witch from Hansel and Gretel and Bluebeard, The Wicked Queen from Snow White is one of the most iconic fairy tale villains of all time. A lot of people come to consider her the real protagonist of the fairy tale, since is her desire to be considered the Fairest of All and her actions to keep that title what puts the narrative in motion. And today, i will rank my favorite portrayals of this fascinatingly nasty foe.

12º Miranda Richardson as Queen Elspeth in Snow White: The Fairest of Them All (2001)

Talk about being typecast: before that turn as Snow White’s Evil Queen, Richardson had portrayed an Evil Sorceress Queen and Stepmother in Jim Henson’s The Storyteller (’The Three Ravens’ episode) and she was a wicked Sorceress Stepmother in Tim Burton’s Sleep Hollow. So it was neat for her to be called for the role of the most famous Evil Sorceress Queen and Stepmother in this Hallmark TV Movie. Elspeth is the sister of a strange, mysteryous creature known as the Granter of Wishes. Having been recently released from his freezing prison, the Granter of Wishes makes a spell to make her look beautifull for human standards, and marries her to the newly crowned and widowed King John. At first she looks content with the prospect, but as time passes, she grows more and more unsatisfied. Her source of joy is the Magic Mirror that praises her beauty, and casting spells to turn gnomes into garden statues. But when the Magic Mirror says that Snow White’s beauty surpasses hers, the unsatisfaction gets mixed with paranoia, and Elspeth slowly abuses her power in constantly harming other people, until there is no magic enough...

11º Herta Kravina in Schneewitchen (1971)

This german TV Movie is the most faithfull adaptation of the Grimm’s tale original edition, not only keeping the three murder attempts by ribbon/lace/corset, hair comb and apple, but also being the only one to show the Queen dancing to death with hot iron shoes in Snow White’s wedding. This is enough to make it worth a checkout. The other reason i find this version interesting is how the Queen comunicates with the Magic Mirror: they sing to each other. And Kravina has a really good voice (no wonder she was a voice actress for Peggy Lee in the first german/dutch dub of Disney’s Lady and The Tramp). Sometimes that is enough to get a spot in a ranking.

10º Mari Yokoo/Caterina Rochiara/Regina Reagan/Carol Jacobanis as Queen Crystal in The Legend of Snow White (1994)

From the outside, Queen Chrystal appears to be calm, regal, and sophisticated, but in reality, this collected and stately facade hides an extremely sadistic, hateful, cold and sinister person. She is ruthless, jealous and obsessive and wants nothing more than to be the fairest in the land. She also has an extreme vanity that made her utterly intolerant of rivals. Being solely focused on the idea of becoming the fairest of all, Queen Chrystal does not appear to be significantly involved in governing her husband's kingdom, though the skeletal remains of prisoners in her dungeon point to her being a villainous ruler. In the end, her mad vanity and jealousy of her stepdaughter Snow White drove her to murderous insanity. Later is revealed that Queen Chrystal is not unredeamably evil as everyone thins, but an actually kind and gentle person who is possessed by an Evil Spirit. 

09º Diana Rigg as the Queen in Canon Movie Tales: Snow White (1987)

This lady is the personification of paranoia multiplied by the double. Why? Because the Magic Mirror didn’t needed to say that the little child Snow White was the fairest, this queen just feared so much that the princess’s beauty would outgrow hers that she ordered the huntsman to kill her. Basically: run, she is bad news.

08º Jeri Arredondo as Sly Fox in Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales For Every Child (1995)

Sly Fox... What a cunning diva. People try to counsel to not use alone a Magic Mirror that is a portal to the spirit world, but who says she listens? She is just there to hear the singing of her praises, and will try to eliminate anyone who gets on her way. She even goes so far as taking the appearance of the kind hearted nurse Sage Flower to lure her stepdaughter White Snow to eat the poisoned appled. What is not to love about that bastard?

07º Kazue Komiya/Arlene Banas as the Queen in Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics (1989)

Interestingly this encarnation starts naturally cold, calm and collected, ocasionally at the princess Snow White to see if she can ever grow more beautifull than her, and dismissing the girl with contempt. It is years later that she lets go of acting calm and collected, because after hearing some gossips in the palace, she asks Snow White if she thinks of herself as more beautifull than the Queen, and her stepdaughter reacts by exclaiming that the Queen is vain and cruel, and to her eyes that makes her ugly. So besides the desire of being considered the most beautifull, you get the feeling that this Queen pursues Snow White as a way to shut a person that dares to rebell against her, wich ads new interesting dimentions to their antagonism.

06º Dorothy Cumming as Queen Brangomar in Snow White (1916)

Brangomar was once a lady in waiting of the palace. But one day, she met the powerfull Witch Rex, who offered to give Brangomar anything she wanted. And what Brangomar wanted was to become a beautifull Queen. Wich was achieved by a faustian deal where Witch Rex would cast a spell that killed Imogene, the previous Queen, while in return Brangomar would have to find a way of getting Snow White’s heart for the Witch. Years have passed, and now Brangomar  must kill the princess to pay her debt, or else everything she got will be lost. Hey, here is a way of making a villain tragic, almost simpathetic and complex while keeping clear that she is still a villain!

05º Vanessa Redgrave as the Queen in Faerie Tale Theatre (1984)

The most loud and bombastic portrayal of the Wicked Queen ever put on screen. Bringing to television her sperience from stage, that allows some more over the top emotional reactions, Redgrave had the time of her life in that role, indulging in twirling, preening and screening as much as she could, and his Queen is all the most fun for it.

04º Gudrun Landgrebe as the Queen in Schneewittchen (1992)

What i live about Landgrebe’s Queen is her range: at first she acts all humble, discreet, cold and mysteryous. Then her husband leaves to fight in a Crusade, and she trows the white veil and gray clothing of humility to show a diva red hair and orange dress, as to say “Hey, the King leaved, i have all the power here now and you must do as i say”. Later, a knight comes, offering a magical crystal ball that connected to a mirror says all the truth, and the Queen takes posession of it to ask about her beauty. When Mirror says that the most beautifull woman in the kingdom is Snow White, she gets infuriated, than goes to carefully plan ways to eliminate the princess once and for all. The highlight is when she takes the disguise of a russian male doctor to offer the apple (where she injects poison into with her ring) to Snow White.

03º Maria Antonieta de Las Nieves in El Chapulin Colorado: Blancanieves y los Siete Churín Churín Fun Flais (1978)

This three part episode of the mexican comedy superheroe show is a loving parody of the Disney version, that stands out as an enjoyable retelling of the classic fairy tale in its own right. Interestingly, while most of the comedy in the episode is delivered in the form of over the top slapistick, de Las Nieves’s delivers a straight faced, contained performance. Wich makes her answers to the absurd situations in the story all the more funny.

02º Patricia Medina as the Queen in Snow White And The Three Stooges (1961)

This lady was a hell of a foe: she not only antagonizes Snow White for the title of the Most Beautifull, going so far as to lock the princess in a dungeon for no crime at all, but also, alongside her partner in crime Count Oga, ordered a murder attempt aggainst Prince Charming when he was a child, to prevent him from marrying Snow White, and this way she could become ruller of the kingdoms of Fortunia and Bravuria. Troughout the film, you think that she could win, since she has powerfull magic, spy and a mighty army at her comand, wich makes the viewer get all the more excited on the seat, that is how enjoyable Medina’s Queen is.

And my Number One Portrayal of the Wicked Queen is...

01º Lucille La Verne as the Queen in Disney’s Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The first encarnation of the character that i ever saw in my childhood, and the one that still sends chills/shivers to my spine. As a young Queen, she rarely smiles, acting cold and calculating, intidimidating who is subordinate to her with the expression of her eyes and highbrows. And as a Crone, she lowdly indulges in her cruelty, offering the poisoned apple to her pet raven to scare him, and mocking the dead skeleton of a prisoner inside the castle’s dungeons. That balance between cold calculism and loud cruelty, where both are equally unsetling and scary, is something very hard to achieve, but i think this encarnation did a very good job in achieving that balance, that every other  portrayal that camed tried to draw influence from it ever since. And that’s why Disney’s Wicked Queen is my Number One portrayal.

HONORABLE MENTIONS: Addi Adamets in Schneewittchen (1955), Marianne Christina Schiling in Schneewittchen (1961) and Sonja Kirchberger in Sechs Auf Einen Streich (2009)

[anne-the-quene]

Anne Boleyn on Stage and Screen

Giuditta Pasta in the Teatro Carcano‘s production of the opera Anna Bolena (this was the original production of this opera and the title role was written specifically for her voice) — 1830

Apollonia Bertucca in the New York premiere of Anna Bolena — 1850

Violet Vanbrugh in the Lyecum Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII — 1892

Clara Kimball Young in a short film about Cardinal Wolsey — 1912

Henny Porten in the film Anna Boleyn — 1920

Merle Oberon in the film The Private Life of Henry VIII — 1933

Vivien Leigh in the Open Air Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII — 1936

Sara Scuderi in Gran Teatre del Liceu‘s production of Anna Bolena — 1947

Joyce Redman in the Broadway production of Anne of the Thousand Days — 1949

Elaine Stewart in the film Young Bess — 1953

Maria Callas in La Scala’s production of Anna Bolena — 1957

Gloria Davy in the American Opera Society’s production of Anna Bolena — 1957

Leyla Gencer in Anna Bolena — 1965

Vanessa Redgrave in the film A Man For All Seasons — 1966

Genevieve Bujold in the film Anne of the Thousand Days — 196

Dorothy Tutin in the BBC miniseries The Six Wives of Henry VIII — 19

Charlotte Rampling in the film Henry VIII and His Six Wives — 197

Beverly Sills in the New York City Opera’s production of Anna Bolena - 1973

Marisa Galvany in the New York City Opera’s production of Anna Bolena — 1974

Barbara Kellerman in the BBC production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII — 1979

Joan Sutherland in the San Francisco Opera’s production of Anna Bolena — 1984

Oona Kirsch in the film God’s Outlaw — 1986

Edita Gruberová in Anna Bolena — 1994

Jean Marsh in the film Monarch —2000 (this is not a depiction of Anne Boleyn, specifically, but rather an amalgamation of all six wives)

Julia Marsen in the documentary The Six Wives of Henry VIII — 200

Jodhi May in the BBC TV movie The Other Boleyn Girl — 2003

Helena Bonham Carter in the ITV TV movie Henry VIII — 2003

An uncredited actress (as young Anne) in the documentary Kingdom of Scandal — 2003

An uncredited actress (as adult Anne) in the documentary Kingdom of Scandal — 2003

An uncredited actress in the History Happened Here segment Henry VIII & Anne Boleyn — 2007

Mariella Devia in Anna Bolena — 2007

Natalie Dormer in the Showtime series The Tudors — 2007-2008, 2010

Natalie Portman in the film The Other Boleyn Girl — 2008

Karen Peakes in the Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII — 2010

Miranda Raison in Howard Brenton’s play Anne Boleyn — 2010

Hasmik Papian in the Dallas Opera’s production of Anna Bolena — 2010

Miranda Raison in the Globe Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII — 2010

Anna Netrebko in the Vienna State Opera’s and Metropolitan Opera’s productions of Anna Bolena — 2011

Emma Connell in the documentary Henry & Anne: The Lovers Who Changed History — 2011

Keri Alkema in the Minnesota Opera’s production of Anna Bolena — 2012

Jo Herbert in the UK tour of Howard Brenton’s Anne Boleyn — 2012

Rochelle Hart in the Opera Seria UK’s production of Anna Bolena — 2012

Anna Jullienne in the Auckland Theatre Company’s production of Howard Brenton’s Anne Boleyn — 2013

Serena Farncocchia in the Welsh National Opera’s production of Anna Bolena — 2013

Fleur Keith in the play Fallen in Love: The Secret Heart of Anne Boleyn performed at the Tower of London — 2013

Tara Breathnach in the documentary The Last Days of Anne Boleyn — 2013

Kathryn Myles in the Actors Shakespeare Project’s production of Shakespeare’s Henry VIII — 2013-2014

Miou Kazune in the Japanese musical Lady Bess — 2014-2017

Sondra Radvanovsky in several productions of Anna Bolena including at The Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan Opera, among others — 2014-2015

Claire Foy in the BBC miniseries Wolf Hall — 2015

Harriet Green in the documentary Inside the Court of Henry VIII — 2015

Lydia Leonard in both the West End and Broadway productions of Wolf Hall Parts One & Two — 2015

An unknown actress in the Spanish TV series Carlos, rey emperador — 2015

Claire Cooper in the documentary Six Wives with Lucy Worsley (also known as Secrets of the Six Wives) — 2016

Fleur Keith in the short film I Am Henry — 2016

Harriet Green in the documentary The Six Queens of Henry VIII (also known as Henry VIII and His Six Wives) — 2016; Archive footage of Green in this documentary was also featured in the documentary series Elizabeth I — 2017

Krystin Pellerin in the CW series Reign, season 3 episode “To the Death” — 2016

Anastasia Drew in the documentary The Private Lives of the Tudors — 2016

Gemma Whalen in an episode of the CBBC series Horrible Histories — 2017

Ashleigh Weir in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival production of the musical Six — 2017

Christina Modestou in the Off-West End production of Six — 2017

Millie O’Connell in the original West End production of Six — 2018-2019

Angela Meade in several productions of Anna Bolena throughout the years, most recently in ABAO Bilbao’s production — 2019

Hazel Karooma-Brooker in the Norwegian Cruise Line production of Six — 2019

An uncredited actress in the Starz series The Spanish Princess, season 1 episode “All Is Lost” — 2019

Andrea Macasaet in the North American tour and original Broadway productions of Six — 2019-2020

Courtney Bowman in the West End production of Six — 2019-202

Maddison Bulleyment in the UK tour of Six — 2019-2020

Kala Gare in the Australian tour of Six — 2020

Alice Nokes in The Spanish Princess part 2 — 2020

Jodie Turner-Smith in the Channel 5 miniseries Anne Boleyn — 2021

Rafaelle Cohen in the BBC docuseries The Boleyns: A Scandalous Family — 2021

Amy Manson in the film Spencer — 2021

Amy James-Kelly in the Netflix docudrama Blood, Sex and Royalty — 2022

[magicalmonsterhero]

Castlevania: New Blood trailer

A trailer for a live-action Castlevania movie, released today in honor of the series’ 35th anniversary.

If anyone has any ideas for casting, feel free to speak up.

Recommended listening: -Vampire Killer -Divine Bloodlines -Nothing to Lose

(Open on 22-year-old reporter Colette Whitmore arriving in Amsterdam for her first international assignment. Accompanying her as she disembarks from the plane is cameraman Javier Guerra.)

Javier: Why’d you want to come here so bad?

(Shot of Colette on a balcony, staring at the distant form of a castle.)

Colette (v/o): Something...drew me here. I can’t quite explain it.

(Cut to Colette and Javier on a bus. The passenger beside them is reading a newspaper, with the headline reading “Has the Mystery Castle Appeared Before?” Cut to Sophie Ziegler, a teenage girl who looks much like a female version of Richter Belmont, sitting on her bed with a black-shelled turtle, a blue-scaled dragon, a red-feathered bird, and a white-furred cat, each small enough to be mistaken for a stuffed animal. As the cat crawls into her lap, she turns to stare out her bedroom window.)

Sophie: Maria...it’s happening again.

(Konami logo appears. Cut to Colette and a young Brit named Adam Redgrave in a hotel buffet room, watching a news report about people dying in what look like animal attacks.)

Adam: There are other Belmonts out there...

(Shot of Colette holding the Vampire Killer with a look of awe. Cut back to Colette and Adam.)

Adam: ...but fate has decreed that this is your time.

(Shot of Colette, Javier, Sophie, and Adam approaching the entrance to Dracula’s Castle. Cut to the inside of the first floor hallway as the door creaks open. Shots of the quartet fighting various enemies. Cut to Death watching from a balcony as Adam helps an injured Javier to his feet.)

Death: Dracula was freed from the cycle years ago...

(Cut to the quartet in a room full of portraits. Colette and Javier are looking at paintings of Simon, Richter, Trevor, and Julius, Sophie gently strokes a painting of Maria with a mournful expression, and Adam inspects a painting of Soma Cruz and Alucard. Cut to Death floating through the castle halls.)

Death: ...so why does the castle still keep returning?

(Shot of Adam conjuring a sphere of lightning and holding it aloft. It releases smaller bolts of electricity that shoot off like fireworks and hit the mummies advancing toward him. Shot of Sophie and the four small animals from earlier. She gestures, and they grow larger, transforming into avatars of the Four Symbols. Shot of Javier on his hands and knees as a beam of moonlight shines down on him. He starts to grow larger and change form, shirt and shoes being torn apart. As the change completes, the new werewolf rises to his feet and howls. Cut to Colette standing face to face with Medusa. An aura of confidence emanates from Colette as she draws and brandishes the Vampire Killer.)

Colette: I...am...a Belmont!

(She lashes out with the whip, striking Medusa with enough force to knock her to the floor. As she gets up, hissing angrily, Colette smirks and cracks the whip. Cut to title card.)

Castlevania: New Blood

(Shot of Carmilla inspecting a set of photographs, including one of Sophia. Across from her, Laura lays out several hand-painted cards, each depicting a past wielder of the Vampire Killer, in a line on the floor. Carmilla kneels and begins setting the photos across from the cards. The camera zooms in on Sophie’s photo, paired with the card featuring Richter Belmont.)

[militibus-ex-umbra]

“So, you’re the infamous Son of Sparda? Maria was right, you do live like a frat boy.” A blonde haired woman hummed, sitting on his desk.

“My name is Magdalen D’Angelo. We met briefly during the RedGrave incident. I’m going to assume you’re Dante, right? You don’t match the lover boy Maria never shuts up about.”

@dangelo-devilservices

“Eh frat boys are just kids who can’t pull off chisled handsome looks like this.” Dante replied with a chuckle. “And yeah I think I remember you. So what’s the deal? Do you have a job or is this just a friendly chat about our dear family?” He asked.