Chance Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Hi! I hope this is the right place to put this! I am looking for a review of Vanity Fair if anyone has read it? I am especially looking for someone who has seen both the movie as well as read the book. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonetta Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 Hi there, I haven't seen the movie yet but this is an interesting review: Vanity Fair is an epic story by William Makepeace Thackeray of the rise Becky Sharp through the social ranks from her impoverished beginnings as an orphan girl. The film is your usual period extravaganza with all the usual trappings - lush locations, stunning costumes, hairstyles, horses, but what makes it a bit special is the director Mira Nair who is an Indian gal who made her mark with the brilliant "Monsoon Wedding" a couple of years ago. Mira brings a fresh eye to the period and even gets a chance to throw in a Bollywood style dance number at one point! If you are more of a purest then maybe the BBC-TV version is more for you. Reese Witherspoon could have made the whole thing unbearable but actually pulls it off nicely with her wicked slow eyes and shrewd moves reminiscent of Tracey Fleck in her best film to date - "Election". Also worthy of mention is Rhyss Ifans in a rather dapper serious role as an Army captain and Gabriel Byrne as the rather onerous Marquis of Steyne. It's a long film loaded with matters of manners and backroom bitchiness, all to do with breeding but overall a familiar story quite well told. Source Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chance Posted September 30, 2005 Author Share Posted September 30, 2005 Interesting! Thanks for that! I enjoyed Reese's performance. She is beautiful in my opinion. I just saw her in an interview, seems very down to earth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (1853) "Vanitas Vanitatum! Which of us is happy in this world? Which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?" The blurb: No one is better equipped in the struggle for wealth and worldly success than the alluring and ruthless Becky Sharp, who defies her impoverished background to clamber up the class ladder. Her sentimental companion Amelia, however, longs only for caddish soldier George. As the two heroines make their way through the tawdry glamour of Regency society, battles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Another one on my shelf awaiting to be read that I must get round to this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kernow_reader Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Oh, I adore Vanity Fair!! To me it's a veritable feast of words to gorge upon. I also like Becky Sharp the protagonist. And Dobbin rocks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kell Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 To me it's a veritable feast of words to gorge upon. I just LOVE how you put that! I'm going to have to give this one a try too now - you guys are going to bankrupt me in no time at all! off to add this to my wish-list... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renniemist Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Good review PDR. It makes me want to read Vanity Fair despite its length. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple Poppy Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Good review. I don't think I have read it (it's on my TBR list) but I did see the television drama. I don't remember being that enamoured of Becky though. Trish did you deliberately put this? And Dobbin rocks!!! or was it a lucky choice of words? PP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madcow Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Good review PDR. It makes me want to read Vanity Fair despite its length. Same here, I've set myself a challenge to read a few classics this year and this could be one of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronny Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I liked this movie and ordered the book and it was burried at the bottom of my TBR pile but I think your review has comvinced me to move it up quite a bit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 I think the film is really good - I watched it last night, again! It was very unfairly bashed by critics, criticising how they'd edited the story. Well, it's over 800 pages long! How else would they fit it into two hours?? I think it's an excellent interpretation of the novel: it's so beautiful to look at and Mira Nair captures the decadence and 'gloss' of Thackeray's world. Reese Witherspoon's portrayl of Becky got some 'tut-tutting' but I feel some critics forgot that Becky's scheming side is only really apparant in her thoughts, not her behaviour. I remember watching the BBC series, but I wasn't particluarly enamoured with it. After reading the novel, I think Mira Nair's film is much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Polka Dot Rock Posted January 17, 2007 Share Posted January 17, 2007 Oh, and in the film, Rhys Ifans makes for a very foxy Dobbin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest velocipede2288 Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 Vanity fair is one of the greats. Thackery was a contemporary of Dickens and his equal if not so prolific a writer. An all time favourite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echo Posted October 4, 2008 Share Posted October 4, 2008 This is one of my favorites, but I haven't read it yet this year. Dobbin is my favorite character, but both female main characters annoy the heck out of me, especially Amelia. I think Becky is far more entertaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirian Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 This isn't one of my favourites, but I'm glad to have read it. I was so annoyed with Becky Sharp for the first half, then I started to pick up that she was the most interesting character. And Amelia is naive. The book had me commenting on the behaviour of the characters to myself, so it draws you in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadya Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 (edited) Though she is very interesting, I don't like Becky much, my favorite character was also Dobbin. An exellent book, but I remember when I read it, thinking that Thackeray sometimes simplifies certain things a bit too much, like Amelia I think. It's been a while though, one or two years ago that I read it, so I could be wrong. One of the things I liked about the book was that Thackeray gave each character of the book, even unimportant characters, something original which only defines those certain characters. Most writers only do that with the main characters. I used to dislike all descripitions in books and often skipped them to go on with the story. That changed when I came across books of authors who could describe things or people in a fascinating way. Now I do read descriptions sometimes. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I might this week. Still want to watch the movie version of the 'DaVinci Code' as well. I don't know which movie I'm going to watch first. Edited May 3, 2009 by sadya Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruska Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Don't be put off by its length, the pages will fly by. The BBC series was vastly superior to the film. The actors in the film were all a bit too pretty. Dobbin is so loveable, I just wanted to slap Amelia and I was cheering for Becky until...well, I won't spoil it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Univerze Posted September 26, 2010 Share Posted September 26, 2010 So, I have just started this, am about 40 pages in. Have to get used to the tone of the book a bit, as always with classics. Can't say much yet of course since I've only been reading it a bit. But just thought I'd give it a go, especially since it only cost me 4 euros, even if it was a horrible green penguin popular classics edition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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