This documentary pulses in and out of the different phases of Hemingway’s life. There is a lot of music, both classical pieces as well as original music composed just for the film. This was also one of the criticisms of this documentary, but I had no problem with it.
The extensive usage of Hemingway’s letters, short stories, and novels make the best narrative. There are also some quality interviews with Hemingway scholars, surviving friends, and even a brief interview from Hem’s younger sister, Carol (1911-2002). Best of all, there is Patrick Hemingway, who was a consultant for this film, also on camera. It has always bothered me that he was absent from the Wrestling with Life documentary from A&E’s Biography.
Of the interviewees, good old reliable A.E. Hotchner and aging Boomer scholar Ann Douglas, who, based on her remarks, is clearly ready to jump into bed with the young Ernest, contributes some fine insights into Hemingway’s work.
Three Shots, Fathers and Sons, The Sun Also Rises, and A Farewell to Arms are just some of the works liberally quoted from for this documentary. Of the correspondence quoted, one of the best is a letter from Archibald MacLeish concerning the suicide of Hemingway's father. MacLeish's consoling words are are both sympathetic and insightful.
Hemingway’s voiceover from The Spanish Earth is heard. His voice sounds better than it later would after his two airplane crashes in 1954.
There is some Cuba and second African safari footage I have never seen before. There is also some footage of Hemingway clowning around for the camera while fishing in the Gulf Stream.
Rivers to the Sea has a dreamlike quality, flitting in and out of the many phases of Hemingway’s exciting life. At times it even feels like a Powerpoint presentation, though those moments are fleeting. This is the kind of film that I could picture myself watching at 3 a.m. during one of my frequent bouts of insomnia, though the documentary itself is by no means a cure for it.
The article insinuates a lot, but offers little (other than "Buy the book!") and the author doesn't offer much other than reports of some meetings. This was floated out there eight years ago when someone else was promoting something:
Rivers to the Sea has a dreamlike quality, flitting in and out of the many phases of Hemingway’s exciting life.
You got that right. In spades. The "Three Shots" opening is perfect. It sets the pace for his life and what follows. The entire opening section of the doc has a Malick feel a la voiceovers with sweeping images. The music throughout the program is wonderful. The cello refrain in particular has a remarkable soothing(!) effect. Had to laugh a bit though at the hornerization of [hee hee] Horner's Field Of Dreams in every way underscoring "Fathers and Sons." And hearing Patrick H for the first time--oh no he sounds like Balok for goshsakes. It is uncanny.
Still, a worthwhile viewing for the material alone. Papa is such a compelling figure.
Glad you liked it, Howard. Watch the Martha Gellhorn interview when you get the chance--nothing on Hemingway, but a lot of insight on the Spanish Civil War and the holocaust, both of which Gellhorn witnessed firsthand.
Looks like I'll have to buy the Palin. Amazon has a two-disc set for $12.98, but it looks like there's a catch...hmmm...so unlike businesses to have a catch...
"I know how the death of your father changes him in your mind and he becomes what he was when you were very young and your heart is destroyed with tenderness for him. You are walking in your own boyhood and everyone is very far away. But there is one thing I am going to say: I know how your mind works; round and round your pain like a dog in cover, going over and over the same track. But now you must not. It is too serious. The consequences to you are too grave."
A 1929 letter from poet Archibald MacLeish to Ernest Hemingway, written after Hemingway's father committed suicide.
Magnificent. Such wisdom from sad knowledge. If only everyone could receive consolation and comfort of this quality (from a two-time Pulitzer Prize recipient).
Thanks in part to Kev McGann's recent thread on Craig Armstrong's score for The Great Gatsby as well as the BBC Fitzgerald documentary, I have embarked on a Scott revival, having ordered his short stories collection as well as the Cambridge edition of his essays.
I have also found yet another quality Scott doc, Midnight in Manhattan from 2000. While dated in spots, it features interviews from numerous literary luminaries: Plimpton, McInerney--it's that man again--Keillor, and Styron, and focuses on The Great Gatsby's, well, greatness.
And I rewatched Midnight In Paris within the past week and by happenstance noticed Moulin Rouge available on TCM Demand, so I watched it for the first time yesterday. Always enjoy the Toulouse-Lautrec encounter in the former and now have seen the famous Jose Ferrer performance in the latter. Will have to find an appropriate thread for elaboration purposes.
I have also found yet another quality Scott doc, Midnight in Manhattan from 2000. While dated in spots, it features interviews from numerous literary luminaries: Plimpton, McInerney--it's that man again--Keillor, and Styron, and focuses on The Great Gatsby's, well, greatness.
Holy cow they used Bernstein's On The Waterfront at the close! Just watched via Roku and enjoyed the watch very much. Do not know the literary critics but both they and the writers you mention give the unmistakable airs of commenting as a labor of love. Dated in spots, absolutely, and yet Hunter S. Thompson's "Where's the iceberg?" and the images of the Twin Towers at night haunt in tandem, prescience and retrospect.
I reread Gatsby every five years or so for every reason evoked here. The discovery of the diary at the end never fails to reduce me to a wreck inside. Ditto for Allie's baseball glove in Catcher...Rye, another semi-decade reread.
