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! Their May Be SPOILERS in the movie reviews !
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! Their May Be SPOILERS in the movie reviews !
LONDON - A bawdy 17th-century play billed as the rarest known piece of English pornography sold for $88,300 at auction Thursday.
"Sodom, or the Gentleman Instructed," attributed to writer and libertine the Earl of Rochester, was bought by an anonymous bidder for well above its pre-sale estimate of $48,000 to $68,000.
It is the only known printed copy of the play, which is believed to have been written as a private entertainment in the 1670s. Catalog notes by auctioneer Sotheby's describe it as "outrageously obscene in its sexual and scatological references, language and content."
A cautionary tale, the play charts the consequences of a decision by the King of Sodom to institute free love throughout his kingdom. An epidemic of venereal disease and a fiery cataclysm ensue.
Sotheby's said the play, while "in every sense, and in almost every line, pornographic," was also a literary parody and a political satire of the ribald court of King Charles II.
A renowned restoration wit known as much for his debauched life as for his satirical writings, John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester, died in 1680 at age 33. Johnny Depp plays Rochester in "The Libertine," a new film based on his short but eventful life.
#67 Tracey Jacobs
Partner/motion picture agent
UTA
Jacobs has ridden the crest of the Johnny Depp wave as his agent, steering him (albeit reluctantly) into big-budget studio features last year with "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and then this year packaging him into "Shantaram" for Warner Bros. Pictures (written by UTA client Gregory David Roberts). She also this year placed client Tea Leoni in Sony's "Spanglish," packaged Lasse Hallstrom into Buena Vista's "Casanova," signed filmmaker Laurence Dunmore and helped him sell his film "The Libertine" to Miramax and put together the deal with screenwriter Daniel Clowes and direction Terry Zwigoff for "Art school Confidential." Her clients also include Harrison Ford, Nathan Lane, Michael Keaton, Joan Cusack, Ryan Phillippe, Rose McGowan and the recently signed Seann William Scott.
From Isis
The Libertine
The Libertine is played on the play about the
17th century, Restoration-era Earl of Rochester
drinking himself to death. He's a Christian and
atheist, poet and sodomist.
Elizabeth Barrie is the first woman of her time
to become famous for acting in a naturalistic
style. At first she terrible until the Earl trains her.
He falls in love with her but then their relationship
becomes twisted. She is his nemesis and his world
crumbles.
He was always ignoring his talent for some reason
or other. At first it was the drink and later he
destroys everything because of his religion.
"Johnny Depp is very down to earth and a very sweet and kind person.
I have met a lot of actors and he is one of the least pretentious - and
very charming."
The Libertine..... To be honest, a solo viewing of this film, in my opinion, is nowhere near enough to give a proper review, however, it is enough to convince me that Johnny Depp is more than an actor portraying a character.....he is a powerful force that knows no limitations nor will stop at anything. His performance in The Libertine had such an impact on me that I was overwhelmed and moved to the point of tears and fear. Powerful is just one way to describe him. Of coarse he was beautiful, so beautiful that my breath was once again taken away which he now holds in the palm of his hand. Once sitting in the darkened theater, I was not prepared for what I was about to witness. Slowly, fading into view, his beautiful face emerges as big as life itself and from his sinister and well formed sensual lips he speaks the words, "You're not going to like me." From there, this man gives the most gut wrenching speech I have ever heard. This is Johnny like you've never seen before. Powerful, intense, and compelling are an understatement. I felt as if I were hit between the eyes with a forty-five automatic and left spent without even remembering the act. Even Laurence Dunmore could not say enough about Johnny's performance and I give him high praise for his art in progress.
Throughout this film, Johnny goes through his incredible transformations and took me with him with each gritty step. I loved him, I despised him and I wanted him. Most of all, I felt him in my soul and this I will never forget.
I was taken to a place with Johnny that was multidimensional and left alone, yet feeling like I have experienced many lives with my master. As each scene unfolds, (and he is in most every one) he led me on my own emotional leash, dutifully obeying his queues. I cannot shake his captivating spell, nor do I want to as he left me mesmerized and still in a trance. His performance is indescribable, so I apologize for being speechless....it truly needs to be experienced.
Yes, I am convinced, Johnny is not a man, he is a most powerful force who, not only took my breath, but held me on his rock hard pedestal and kissed my soul.
Take care~
Chocolat
Johnny Depp stars as John Wilmot, the Second Earl of Rochester, a thickly smarmy, cynically slimy drunkard who promises we won't like him at all in The Libertine's terrific, dark opening monologue. From there, Rochester takes a floundering stage actress (Samantha Morton) under his wing -- and into his bed -- transforming her into the top star of the day. He also, on advice of King Charles II (John Malkovich), pens a play of his own. This is somewhat less successful, as the drama includes characters named Clitoris, props which include giant dildos, and more than a passing swipe at old Chuck Deux. Oh, and Rochester has a servant named Cock.
What follows is a startlingly impressive transformation from Depp, and this performance is, to date, the crowning achievement of his career. Those dolts who pushed Depp for a Best Actor award last year for that stupid amusement park movie should be embarrassed when they see this. Likewise, Depp makes The Sea Inside's Javier Bardem look like even more of a meatloaf.
Dunmore and photographer Alexander Melman give The Libertine the suggestion
of color, bathing the film in candlelight, fog and smoke. Michael
Nyman's score is right on, as are the costumes, art direction and makeup.
But this one is all about Depp. Somebody get this a distributor .
. . stat!
A festival Web log by Dave Larsen , film critic for the Dayton Daily News
Not at liberty to say
The Libertine, a period drama starring Johnny Depp as the scandalously
decadent John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, was screened on Thursday
night as a work-in-progress. As such, the public screening was intended
more for potential film buyers than for members of the media. But being
a huge Depp fan, I was able to score a ticket on the condition that I not
review the film. Introducing the film, director Laurence Dunmore said that
it still needed a "tiny bit of polishing." Depp, as always, delivered a
stellar performance.
Posted by Dave Larsen on Friday morning.
Not at liberty to say
The Libertine, a period drama starring Johnny Depp as the scandalously
decadent John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, was screened on Thursday
night as a work-in-progress. As such, the public screening was intended
more for potential film buyers than for members of the media. But being
a huge Depp fan, I was able to score a ticket on the condition that I not
review the film. Introducing the film, director Laurence Dunmore said that
it still needed a "tiny bit of polishing." Depp, as always, delivered a
stellar performance.
Posted by Dave Larsen on Friday morning.
Opinions count
Walking to my first screening on Friday, I got a phone call from a studio
rep asking for my critical reaction to The Libertine. The studio, known
for its aggressive festival acquisitions, appears to be sniffing around
the film, which was shown as a work-in-progress and doesn't yet have distribution.
Several of my colleagues also received calls gauging their response to
A Good Woman, an Oscar Wilde adaptation starring Scarlett Johansson and
Helen Hunt, which also premiered at the festival without a distribution
deal.
Posted by Dave Larsen on Saturday morning.
Stunning, unbelievable and brilliant....even these words do not accurately describe Depp's execution of this part.
This is an entirely new character presented to Johnny's fans. You could see traces of Jack and perhaps even Sands in this performance, but I think that is only because we've watched those movies to death and know the characters inside and out. By this, I don't mean that you can see (those) Jack or Sands coming out in Rochester, but there are certain eye movements and twitches in the cheek or mouth, that remind you of other characters that JD has done.
We were blown away and that is the best way to describe it. It was funny in parts, raunchy in others, tear-jerking towards the end. I found myself holding my breath so many times, because Johnny's acting was so amazing.
When Rochester starts to show the ravages of his disease towards the end, all I could think of was that Johnny FINALLY got his wish....to play a character as ugly as possible with his face so mutilated and scarred that he was almost beyond recognition. It was MAGNIFICENT!! He was truly hideous and it was a good reminder of the toll that syphillis took on a person in those days.
This movie is not for the faint-hearted or easily offended. There is foul language, plenty of nudity and phallic symbols are used liberally throughout this film, although Rochester is always fully clothed.
We definitely felt there was much more chemistry between Johnny and the actress who played his wife, than between Johnny and Samantha Morton. Perhaps it was supposed to seem that Morton's character Elizabeth Barry did not really 'click' with Rochester, as that was the impression we were left with.
The sex scenes, even between Rochester and Barry are very rough and savage as opposed to being actual 'love' scenes.
It was the opinion of our group that Johnny has elevated himself to
that upper echelon of actors who are to be revered for their skills and
talent. This role is the crowning glory of his career to date.
In 1996, the legendary Steppenwolf Theatre Group performed The Libertine by Stephen Jeffreys, a play that so fascinated its lead actor, John Malkovich, that he became determined to bring the story to the big screen. It was to be nearly a decade before he succeeded in producing The Libertine and, in the meantime, he gave his original role – that of the scandalously decadent John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester – to the charismatic Johnny Depp. It is an inspired choice; Depp’s portrayal adroitly combines an unabashed lust for life and sheer drunken hedonism with a deep sense of sorrow, loss and regret.
In fact, the profound sense of internal conflict and wistfulness that Depp brings to his best roles is strongly mirrored in Laurence Dunmore’s vision for the film. The director uses low-level candlelight to give the film both a period feel and a dark, brooding atmosphere. His debauched society borders on the bloated and coarse and London has never looked so simultaneously filthy and glamorous.
The Libertine follows the Earl’s adventures in London, from his passionate romance with a young actress, Elizabeth Barry (Samantha Morton), to the writing of a scurrilous and scandalous play – which resulted in his banishment for lampooning the monarch, Charles II (Malkovich, in a particularly menacing and effective performance.) We follow the Earl’s inexorable downward spiral as he drinks himself to death – aided greatly by a raging case of syphilis.
Dunmore allows Rochester’s rapier-sharp maxims to drive straight to the heart of hypocritical bourgeois respectability. The Earl is not particularly likeable and is a figure of both our contempt and envy, yet it is the very complexity of his character that allows Depp to move beyond proto-rock star swaggering and endear himself to us. His outward brilliance conceals a deep melancholic understanding that he is an earthy man living in an age devoted to enlightenment. This irony is reflected in the film’s blend of sophisticated scripting and sheer delight in the Earl’s depravity, making The Libertine an irresistible mixture of wit, vulgarity, romance and tragedy.
- Noah Cowan
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