Ok, so I used Spring Break to catch up on LW adaptations.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m glad it’s over because I just can’t stand to see or hear any more about the March girls.\u00c2\u00a0 In any event, here are my thoughts.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n
1933<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n TheCukor version was dull and static and had very little to offer in the way of entertainment or thought provoking fodder.\u00c2\u00a0 Katharine Hepburn was a major\u00c2\u00a0snooze fest.\u00c2\u00a0 She appeared to be just going through the motions with her line recitations.\u00c2\u00a0 It sounded like she was reading them right off her cue cards!\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0With all due respect to an actress that garnered much respect from critics,\u00c2\u00a0peers and fans, she brought the film down with her stilted, dull performance.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0She was just too mannish for the role.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The lighting in this\u00c2\u00a0version was very dark.\u00c2\u00a0 There was too many shadows.\u00c2\u00a0 Marmee was weird and Laurie had some serious gender-identity issues going on.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n 1949<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the LeRoy version was a pleasant surprise.\u00c2\u00a0 June Allyson nailed the part of Jo as she seemed to embody her very essence.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The score in LeRoy’s versionreminded me so much of the music from the “Wizard of Oz” that at times I actually felt like I was watching “Oz.”\u00c2\u00a0 To go along with that, I felt like\u00c2\u00a0Allyson was acting in a very Judy Garland-like way.\u00c2\u00a0 Their voices sounded similar; as didsome of their mannerisms.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0She played Jo the way she was meant to be played; lively and effervescent, yeat somber and serious when\u00c2\u00a0need be.\u00c2\u00a0 All in all, a great acting job!\u00c2\u00a0 I did notice that Prof. Bhaer\u00c2\u00a0started looking and sounding a little more Italian in this version.\u00c2\u00a0 I thought I detected an Italian accent.\u00c2\u00a0 Also, he was way easier on the eyes.\u00c2\u00a0 On a final note, the colorization technique\u00c2\u00a0contributed\u00c2\u00a0to the\u00c2\u00a0“Oz” feeling of the film.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 This was the best adaptation.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n 1994<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n What can I say about this version?\u00c2\u00a0 I wanted to like Armstrong more than LeRoy so bad.\u00c2\u00a0 However, there were some things that Armstrong did that I liked more.\u00c2\u00a0 For one thing, the dialogue emphasized a decidely\u00c2\u00a0feminist stance.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m not sure why this came through but it did.\u00c2\u00a0 Marmee (what an awful name) encouraged her girls to seek happiness in themselves.\u00c2\u00a0 I even noticed Susan Sarandon giving Laurie and Brooke looks that said, “Don’t even think we’re giving into that chauvinistic, poor, pathetic woman thing.”\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0She made a speech\u00c2\u00a0to Brooke and Laurie when she and Meg were outside that really shocked poor Meg.\u00c2\u00a0 I don’t remember what was being said but it had something to do with women looking after themselves and not waiting for a man to do it for them.\u00c2\u00a0 I also enjoyed the scene in NY when Rider and Byrne attended the meeting where womens rights were being discussed and Rider said that women should have the right to vote because they were human beings.\u00c2\u00a0 That was the best line in the film.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Armstrong bumped up Marmee’s role and made a strong, feminist force to be reckoned with.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0She was firm but not preachy and really created a strong role for herself in her daughters’ lives.\u00c2\u00a0 I thought Sarandon did an outstanding job.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Like Hepburn, Wynona Rider was just so dull that I couldn’t stand it.\u00c2\u00a0 How did she ever get cast in the role?\u00c2\u00a0 I have\u00c2\u00a0never known Rider to be a strong force or play strong characters.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Whoever was in charge of casting\u00c2\u00a0(Armstrong?) \u00c2\u00a0for this one really missed the mark.\u00c2\u00a0 Juliet Lewis (provided she would have taken the role) would have made a\u00c2\u00a0much better Jo.\u00c2\u00a0 Oh well.\u00c2\u00a0 As for Prof. Bhaer, well, he keeps getting better and better all the time.\u00c2\u00a0 He lost most of his accent and dressed better.\u00c2\u00a0 Gabriel Byrne was not such a Nancy-boy like the actor in LeRoy’s version.\u00c2\u00a0 In favor of the Armstrong version,\u00c2\u00a0the scene selection was better.\u00c2\u00a0 Armstrong was wise to include the scene where Amy was painting cups.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00c2\u00a0gave us a chance to see that Laurie was jealous of Freddie Vaughan.\u00c2\u00a0 Went a long way toward character development.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n So, those are my thoughts on “Little Women” adaptations.\u00c2\u00a0 I. never want to see this movie again.\u00c2\u00a0 No offense to you Dr. C.\u00c2\u00a0 You were right to include this on the syllabus.\u00c2\u00a0 It does a great job of highlighting the gender\u00c2\u00a0theme.\u00c2\u00a0 However, I just don’t have any interest in the women, their time\u00c2\u00a0or what they endured.\u00c2\u00a0 As a final matter, I am giving you my Armstrong copy.\u00c2\u00a0 Think of it as a donation to UMW, c\/o “The Little Women”” Learning Foundation.”\u00c2\u00a0 Thank you.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ok, so I used Spring Break to catch up on LW adaptations.\u00c2\u00a0 I’m glad it’s over because I just can’t stand to see or hear any more about the March girls.\u00c2\u00a0 In any event, here are my thoughts.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0 1933\u00c2\u00a0 TheCukor version was dull and static and had very little to offer in the way 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