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! There May Be SPOILERS in the movie reviews !
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! There May Be SPOILERS in the movie reviews !
From Box Office Prophet
The Libertine
Release Date: August 19, 2005Johnny Depp stubbornly refuses to take on conventional roles. Even when he plays archetypal roles such as his now famous Captain Jack Sparrow, he is compelled to do weird things with the performances. The Keith Richards homage is just the latest in a long line of quirky outings that flout convention, and it's exactly this rebellious streak that makes him a perfect casting choice in The Libertine.
Centuries before the Rat Pack or the Algonquin Roundtable came into being, a similar group of legendary personalities dubbed the Merry Gang gained notoriety for their unique combination of wit and bawdiness. Members included several famous wordsmiths, intellectuals and royalty of the day. One such man, the second Earl of Rochester, qualified under all three titles.
John Wilmot's birth in 1647 was followed by his death a mere 33 years later. In the interim of this flammable existence, he somehow managed to alienate, violate and/or instigate anyone with whom he came into contact. His rakish behavior was the subject of controversy by one and all. Perhaps Samuel Johnson (you know, the Dictionary guy) summed it up best when he described The Libertine in this manner: "He lived worthless and useless, and blazed out his youth and health in lavish voluptuousness."
This leads to the query of why anyone would be making a movie about him 350 years later if his existence were worthless and useless as Samuel Johnson indicated. The reality is that Wilmot's life was far more than that description, though in the end, how much more impacting it might have been is questionable.
A graduate of Wadham College in Oxford at the age of 14, Wilmot sought his fortunes on the sea. He returned a hero after a famous victory in nautical combat against the Dutch. Back in England, he married at the age of 20. This was noteworthy due to the fact that his blushing bride was the very woman he had unsuccessfully attempted to kidnap two years prior to that. I can't decide if that sounds like the makings of a Harlequin Romance or Dear Penthouse Letters.
As a way to woo her, Wilmot began to write poetry. Quickly, though, the nature of his words changed from romantic in tone to overtly sexual. Many of his works were declared obscene and destroyed. The most famous of these, “Sodom, or the Quintessence of Debauchery” - well, it has a title that speaks for itself. The respect he garnered from other noted scribes of the time guaranteed the immortality of his work despite the Fahrenheit 451 crew's attempts to quell his quill. Even authors such as Tennyson, Goethe and Voltaire were squarely in the camp of Wilmot as a hallmark literary talent.
Nonetheless, the love of his life was not the woman he kidnapped/married. Instead, that title was carved out for his mistress, Elizabeth Barry. You might know her as the most famous actress of the Restoration stage (if you were some sort of Restoration era scholar anyway). Wilmot's tutoring is what carried her through struggles early in her career but after a time, he grew bored and lusted for new adventures. In the end, it was this constant need for new experiences that left him riddled with syphilis. On his deathbed, Wilmot attempted the only aspect of life he had failed to explore previously. He was proclaimed to have found religion and repented all his sins. So legendary were his prior transgressions that for two full centuries after his death, the Earl's redemption was still being mentioned as a hallmark moment in religion.
Perhaps no aspect of his life better defines the Earl of Rochester than this one. While banished from Charles II's court after a lampoon failed to amuse His Majesty, Wilmot went into business as a doctor. His area of expertise was the treatment of married women struggling with infertility. During this period of crossing the country and impregnating women right under the noses of their cuckolded husbands, Wilmot went by the all-too-appropriate moniker of Doctor Bendo. What a character.
In addition to Depp, John Malkovich, a man who just can't seem to resist the chance to wear a good period costume, and Samantha Morton also have major roles. Morton will take on the character of the actress Elizabeth Barry while Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich portrays King Charles II. Since Wilmot's life was an endless cycle of times when he fell in and out of the favor of the court, this part of Wilmot's life might be highlighted in a similar fashion to the French classic, Ridicule.
Describing Wilmot's life in words sounds surprisingly like a plan once espoused by Bart Simpson. He lived life recklessly and lecherously. His sinful carousing and eschewing of pious living was legendary in his time. Once the vessel of his body had been destroyed, the Earl of Rochester recanted all of his misdeeds from his deathbed in order to cleanse his immortal soul. I don't know about you but I can't wait to see how Johnny Depp pulls it off.
If you think the whole thing sounds like a younger man's Quills, I am right there with you. (David Mumpower/BOP)
From Coming Soon.com
The release date for LIBERTIE is August 19, 2005, and the page goes on to say the trailer is "coming soon."
From the Akron Beacon Journal
`Libertine' update at long lastJohnny Depp movie is due for fall release
Q: George, I submitted a question a while back and never saw an answer. It was about a Johnny Depp movie that has never hit the United States -- ``The Libertine.'' Will it ever be released in this country? -- Becky, Uniontown.
A: Becky, I'm sorry it took so long to get an answer to your question, but sometimes questions aren't so easily answered. In some cases, it takes weeks for movie studios to get back to me when other sources fail.
The Libertine was especially difficult because it involves the recent divorce between Bob and Harvey Weinstein of Miramax and Walt Disney Studios. The Libertine was to be released under the Miramax banner when it hit these shores, but then it was up in the air as to which films the Weinsteins would take with them when they left Miramax and which would stay at Disney.
I can now tell you that according to the Hollywood Reporter, the Johnny Depp film, for which there is already Oscar buzz for next year, is slated for a fall release here. However, if you are looking to see this movie, don't expect it to play in Akron. Prepare to make the trek north.
April 28, 2005
At long last, Miramax has a page for LIBERTINE on it's website HERE
What Rachel found when she investigated the "Libertine DVD" that W.H. Smith advertised:She did a search on the catalogue number EDV9289. I got two results, the one for WH Smith (one of the UK's leading retailers for books/cds/dvds etc) and a Kelkoo result which on further clicking brought me to a dvd called "Libertine" from 1969.
http://films.kelkoo.co.uk/b/a/sbs/uk/film/pid/-1/catno/EDV9289/DVD/ok/title/Libertine/149201.html
Looks like someone may have their catalogue numbers confused.
As Carlton Advertising are selling the cinema screen advertising here in the UK, it seems odd that, if the film is to be released at cinemas on the 6th May 2005 (tbc), the dvd would be released 3 weeks later.
Thank you Rachel!
From Karen at Johnny Depp Reads
Clips of THE LIBERTINE will be shown at Showest in Las Vegas this month(March).
Libertine Soundtrack
From an Interview with Michael Nyman at The Guardian
(excerpt)
Future releases will include the soundtrack to the film of Stephen Jeffreys' play The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp, and an album of songs arranged for popular singers including Beth Orton, Kate Bush and Norma Winstone.
From Emma
February 27, 2005
They are selling the screen advertising for the UK and they have the certification listed as 15 (tbc) with a May 2005 (tbc) release.The Libertine
Release Date: May (tbc)
Synopsis: Johnny Depp portrays John Wilmot, a. k. a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave succumbing to syphilis at the age of 33 only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.Cast Samantha Morton, Johnny Vegas, Johnny Depp, John Malkovich Director Lawrence Dunmore
Release Size Wide
Cert 15 (TBC)
Distributor Entertainment Film Distributors
Est UK Box-Office £3,500,000
Est UK Screens 300
Est CSA Screens 195
Est UK Admissions 800,000 6 Week 30"
CSA Cost £53,000CSA - Carlton Screening Advertising
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