The Winter in July Blogathon: The Sword in the Stone (1963)

The Sword in the Stone Poster The Sword in the Stone [1963] – ★★★

My second post for Debbie’s Winter in July Blogathon is on Disney’s animation The Sword in the Stone (1963), and, like my previous post, take note of spoilers! Once again I would like to extend my thanks to Debbie for hosting such an amazing blogathon, and also check out other great entries here. The Sword in the Stone is an animation based on a book (1938) by T.H. White, and has a distinction to be the last one produced under Walt Disney himself. In She Sword in the Stone, we have merry old England and an innocent enough plot. Wart (aka Arthur) is a young helper to an aspiring knight Kay, before Merlin, a great wizard, comes into the scene and spots Arthur as having great potential and future. After Merlin and Arthur’s initial encounter, Merlin takes the young boy under his wing and teaches him by experience the power of love, knowledge and bravery The snowy scenes come very late into this film, when it is Christmas and the knights’ tournament is held in London. Sir Kay participates, with Arthur being his squire. The tournament takes place near the place where the legendary sword in the stone stands. The legend has it that whoever draws the sword from the stone is the true heir to the English throne. When Sir Kay’s own sword goes missing, young Arthur has no choice, but to consider taking the sword residing in the stone.

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Ralph Fiennes: 5 Best Performances

Ralph Fiennes is 55 years old today, and, “to celebrate”, I am compiling this very subjective list of his 5 best performances. Fiennes is a fine actor, very versatile and open to challenging roles, be it a romantic hero in a drama, a disturbed individual in a psychological thriller, a villain in a historic adventure film, or simply a caricature of a man in a comedy. In no particular order:

1. Count Almásy – The English Patient (1996)

Anthony Minghella’s The English Patient was both a critical and box-office success, and will remain one of the most beautifully-rendered dramas ever. Part of the credit for this should go to its stars, and Ralph Fiennes played Count László de Almásy (a role which landed him an Academy Awards nomination). This was a tricky role, because the hero was so imperfect. He is a multi-lingual cartographer, but, because of his origin, he is almost a man shrouded in mystery. We learn that, as a person, he can be rather selfish and socially withdrawn, and, as a lover, devoted, but also impulsive. He learns his lessons as circumstances in his life take a turn for the worse. Fiennes gives a memorable performance as that man, and his romance with Katharine (Kristin Scott Thomas) is probably one of the screen’s most heart-breaking.

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Alan Rickman (1946 – 2016)

British actor Alan Rickman

“If you want to know who I am, it is all in the work.”

“I don’t play villains, I play very interesting people.” (Alan Rickman)

British actor Alan Rickman sadly passed away on 14 January 2016. My first introduction to him was through Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), which I watched at a young age on VHS. Rickman was the perfect villain there, impersonating Sheriff George of Nottingham with such passion, zeal and enthusiasm, he becomes a truly feared man there, and I do not think that impersonation would ever leave me, so powerful it was. Then, of course, we also have Rickman’s “great villains” in Die Hard (1988) and Quigley Down Under (1990). I have always admired people playing villains. Unlike action-heroes or “goodies”, villains in films are people whom no one likes, but they are very important because without them, there will not be any praises for glorious heroes. It also takes real acting skill to play a villain, and Alan Rickman could do so not just superbly and convincingly, but with that originality in his presentation that would be simply enviable.

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“Harry Potter” Films

This post is to argue that the first two Harry Potter films directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone (1990)) were the best ones in the series in many ways: they were the most faithful to J.K. Rowling’s original stories; the casting choices could not have been any better there; and the movies had very logical and structured narratives. All these things were barely touched upon in the later, much darker Harry Potter films.

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