theBCLMC     

The Long Island University Brooklyn Campus Library Media Center Newsletter 

 

We love movies, among other things.

March 2007, issue 23

"The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means." --Miss Prism, The Importance of Being Earnest. 

 

SPRING BREAK ISSUE: 

MEDIA CENTER GONE WILD(E)!!

Oscar Wilde, that is.  This month we feature works in our collection by or about that notorious late Victorian with the rapier wit and the tragic life.  His best comedies are splendidly funny, urbane and endlessly quotable. 

  • The Oscar Wilde Collection Four titles in this collection, all produced for British television as part of the Play of the Month program.  The four plays are Lady Windermere's Fan, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and An Ideal Husband, and the cast includes Sir John Gielgud and Joan Plowright.  Well done. 
  • Dorian Gray This adaptation of the Wilde novel was filmed in 1970 and updates the hoary tale to swinging sixties London.  Dorian Gray is a handsome young man who lives a life of debauchery, but the toll of the sinful life is reflected in an oil painting portrait of Gray, while he stays youthful and beautiful.  Don't confuse this racy film with the much less explicit Hollywood version.  
  • The Importance of Being Earnest Quintessential movie version of Wilde in our collection from the esteemed Sir Arthur Rank production company.  If you can only watch one of these movies, this is the one. With Michael Redgrave and Dame Margaret Rutherford, among others. 
  • Wilde Biopic of the playwright examines his homosexuality in late Victorian London. Starring Stephen Fry as Wilde.
  • Road House Okay, this gritty bit of film noir has no business being listed with all things Oscar Wilde in our collection.  But when I did a keyword search with Oscar, Wilde, and videorecording, this tough little Ida Lupino and Richard Widmark number came up.  How?  Why?  Because Cornel Wilde is in it, and Oscar Saul is involved as well.  I thought it was funny so I left it on the list.  Its hardboiled tone would be a wicked little antidote if you find yourself a little clevered-out after feasting on Oscar Wilde's bon mots and witticisms and plain old drollery.

Connections Correction:  Judy Chicago in Brooklyn

The Brooklyn Museum of Art is opening its new galleries devoted to feminist art this month, and not last month as mistakenly noted in the last issue, including a permanent display of Chicago's famous The Dinner Party.  We have a video about the making of this early feminist installation art that you may want to watch either before or after you visit the work in person.

 

 

"I mean that I only talk seriously on the first Tuesday of every month. Between noon and three."  --Lord Arthur Goring, An Ideal Husband. 

 

 

 

The Media Center is located on the fifth floor of the Library Learning Center.  Come up and see us some time.

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In the Mix:  a random shuffle of some movies we've played recently in our Now Playing program: 

Other sites we like:

This issue of  BCLMC is brought to you all the way from the back row by Media Assistant Patrick  Jewell, who has never had a cucumber sandwich.  Tell your friends. 

BCLMC  BROOKLYN CAMPUS LIBRARY MEDIA CENTER

Questions?  Comments?  Contact us. 
Media Center Staff:
Andrea Slonosky,  Media Librarian  (718) 488-1311  Andrea.Slonosky@liu.edu
Patrick Jewell,  Media Assistant  (718) 488-3392  Patrick.Jewell@liu.edu
Lisa Rivera,  Media Assistant  (718) 780-4378  Lisa.Cotton@liu.edu