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Re: VN and the Jekyll and Hyde movie (the good one) - SPECULATIVE
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I think Nabokov would have enjoyed more the Russian-born Rouben Mamoulian's
virtuoso version (1932) of the story, a still stunning movie, which doesn't
intrepret the original novella as the clash between the good and the evil in
a human being, but rather the premieval versus the cultured, or 'decent'
side in one's bosom. A great film.
2009/3/6 Nabokv-L <nabokv-l@utk.edu>
>
>
> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: VN and the Jekyll and Hyde
> movie (the good one) - SPCULATIVE QUERY Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 23:34:58
> -0500 From: Walter Miale <w@greenworldcenter.org> <w@greenworldcenter.org> To:
> Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU><NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU> References:
> <49B03604.4010905@utk.edu> <49B03604.4010905@utk.edu>
> >...VN's negative views on detective stories are prominent here, but
> >he makes an exception of J&H: it's lame as a detective story, and
> >even tasteless as a parable or allegory. "It has, however, its own
> >special enchantment if we regard it as a phenomenon of style."
>
>
> I wonder how Nabokov would have liked The Nutty Professor (the Eddie
> Murphy version), a travesty of Jekyll and Hyde. Personally I found it
> one of the funniest things I've ever seen, a sidesplitter, and true
> regarding Jekyll's underlying motive.
>
> But enchanting and stylistically phenomenal as it is, The Nutty
> Professor is LOW clomedy, about as low as it gets; full of fat jokes
> and fart jokes--done with genius.
>
> Did VN care for slapstick or for "gross, robust humor, extravagance
> of caricature, bold naturalism" i.e. the "Rabelasian"? And what did
> he think of Rabelais? And what would he have thought of Borat, a
> still more gross etc, and even funnier, film than Nutty? Would he
> have found it hilarious, or a vulgar bore, or neither?
>
> The Jerry Lewis version of Nutty was made in 1963, but though it
> presented a serious, or rather antiserious, treatment of the J & H
> theme, I find it hard to imagine VN seeing it or enjoying it. Or am I
> wrong?
>
> Walter Miale
>
> Search the archive<http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en> Contact
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> subscription options <http://listserv.ucsb.edu/>
>
> All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by both
> co-editors.
>
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virtuoso version (1932) of the story, a still stunning movie, which doesn't
intrepret the original novella as the clash between the good and the evil in
a human being, but rather the premieval versus the cultured, or 'decent'
side in one's bosom. A great film.
2009/3/6 Nabokv-L <nabokv-l@utk.edu>
>
>
> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: VN and the Jekyll and Hyde
> movie (the good one) - SPCULATIVE QUERY Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 23:34:58
> -0500 From: Walter Miale <w@greenworldcenter.org> <w@greenworldcenter.org> To:
> Vladimir Nabokov Forum <NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU><NABOKV-L@LISTSERV.UCSB.EDU> References:
> <49B03604.4010905@utk.edu> <49B03604.4010905@utk.edu>
> >...VN's negative views on detective stories are prominent here, but
> >he makes an exception of J&H: it's lame as a detective story, and
> >even tasteless as a parable or allegory. "It has, however, its own
> >special enchantment if we regard it as a phenomenon of style."
>
>
> I wonder how Nabokov would have liked The Nutty Professor (the Eddie
> Murphy version), a travesty of Jekyll and Hyde. Personally I found it
> one of the funniest things I've ever seen, a sidesplitter, and true
> regarding Jekyll's underlying motive.
>
> But enchanting and stylistically phenomenal as it is, The Nutty
> Professor is LOW clomedy, about as low as it gets; full of fat jokes
> and fart jokes--done with genius.
>
> Did VN care for slapstick or for "gross, robust humor, extravagance
> of caricature, bold naturalism" i.e. the "Rabelasian"? And what did
> he think of Rabelais? And what would he have thought of Borat, a
> still more gross etc, and even funnier, film than Nutty? Would he
> have found it hilarious, or a vulgar bore, or neither?
>
> The Jerry Lewis version of Nutty was made in 1963, but though it
> presented a serious, or rather antiserious, treatment of the J & H
> theme, I find it hard to imagine VN seeing it or enjoying it. Or am I
> wrong?
>
> Walter Miale
>
> Search the archive<http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en> Contact
> the Editors <nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu> Visit "Nabokov
> Online Journal" <http://www.nabokovonline.com/> Visit Zembla<http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm> View
> Nabokv-L Policies <http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm> Manage
> subscription options <http://listserv.ucsb.edu/>
>
> All private editorial communications, without exception, are read by both
> co-editors.
>
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/