Thanks for this! An excellent read. I was aware of the film Pandora’s Box from the OMD single of the same name but this has tempted me to try to seek it out. The Five is also on my tbr list. I’m glad to hear it doesn’t disappoint.
It really is great, a readable social history and more than anything else a story about the evils of poverty and how unjust societies leave people vulnerable through neglect.
Glad I'm not the only one who reads Wikipedia plot summaries of horror movies, and also I am so fascinated that you grew up reading opera plots in an encyclopedia
I love Pandora's Box (1929)! Such a fascinating film. If it's not on your radar, I'd recommend checking out Louise Brooks' Lulu in Hollywood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulu_in_Hollywood
It’s fascinating that she so identified with the character! I’ll have to check it out, thank you, I was reading a few extracts of what Alice Roberts thought about her role but it’d be great to hear more from Brooks.
Neato! I have a soft spot for Brooks because she had close ties to the theatre I now run, which resulted in that book. If you're interested:
"In 1956, at the encouragement of the Eastman Museum’s first curator of motion pictures, James Card, silent-film icon Louise Brooks relocated from New York City to Rochester. The move contributed to the film world’s rediscovery of the largely forgotten Brooks. A long-time admirer of her work in such classic films as Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl (both 1929), Card invited Brooks to use the museum and its film collection as a study center—a place where she could watch films, do research, and write about motion pictures and the people she knew. Brooks’s essays were ultimately published in the 1982 book Lulu in Hollywood."
This has been one of my favorite Horror Moments series so far and now I have another opera to watch! I can't stand most musicals, but for whatever reason opera is a different story lol.
Speaking of musicals, are we to expect an analysis of Sweeney Todd any time soon?
Thanks so much Kit, I’m glad you’re enjoying it! There are so many more juicy stories on this list. I agree there’s something distinct about them, I’m definitely more interested in opera than in musicals on the whole but there are some interesting overlaps like Repo and Phantom. I will have to do a horror musicals series soon!
I’m sure you know this but Metallica and Lou reed collaborated (yes) on a remake of Lulu.
It is… something
I actually kinda love how unhinged it is, which is not to say it is “good”
I haven’t listened to it but maybe I’ll give it a try, I always appreciate things that are bonkers but have a ‘vision’…
Oh, it’s a vision alrighty
Thanks for this! An excellent read. I was aware of the film Pandora’s Box from the OMD single of the same name but this has tempted me to try to seek it out. The Five is also on my tbr list. I’m glad to hear it doesn’t disappoint.
It really is great, a readable social history and more than anything else a story about the evils of poverty and how unjust societies leave people vulnerable through neglect.
Glad I'm not the only one who reads Wikipedia plot summaries of horror movies, and also I am so fascinated that you grew up reading opera plots in an encyclopedia
It’s definitely something I’ll be mentioning to my therapist ;)
😂
I love Pandora's Box (1929)! Such a fascinating film. If it's not on your radar, I'd recommend checking out Louise Brooks' Lulu in Hollywood: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lulu_in_Hollywood
It’s fascinating that she so identified with the character! I’ll have to check it out, thank you, I was reading a few extracts of what Alice Roberts thought about her role but it’d be great to hear more from Brooks.
Neato! I have a soft spot for Brooks because she had close ties to the theatre I now run, which resulted in that book. If you're interested:
"In 1956, at the encouragement of the Eastman Museum’s first curator of motion pictures, James Card, silent-film icon Louise Brooks relocated from New York City to Rochester. The move contributed to the film world’s rediscovery of the largely forgotten Brooks. A long-time admirer of her work in such classic films as Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl (both 1929), Card invited Brooks to use the museum and its film collection as a study center—a place where she could watch films, do research, and write about motion pictures and the people she knew. Brooks’s essays were ultimately published in the 1982 book Lulu in Hollywood."
Very interesting! It's a bit obscure, but there's actually a third Jack the Ripper opera that is really good:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lodger_(opera)
Ooh that’s very cool, it sounds just like the plot of a film (and maybe a play?) about him. I can’t now think of the title…
This has been one of my favorite Horror Moments series so far and now I have another opera to watch! I can't stand most musicals, but for whatever reason opera is a different story lol.
Speaking of musicals, are we to expect an analysis of Sweeney Todd any time soon?
Thanks so much Kit, I’m glad you’re enjoying it! There are so many more juicy stories on this list. I agree there’s something distinct about them, I’m definitely more interested in opera than in musicals on the whole but there are some interesting overlaps like Repo and Phantom. I will have to do a horror musicals series soon!