Tea at Trianon: Raintree County (1957)

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Raintree County (1957)

They say in Raintree County there's a tree bright with blossoms of gold.
But you will find the Raintree's a state of mind, or a dream to enfold.
~"The Song of Raintree County"

Perhaps the sign of a classic film is if it means one thing to you when you are young but takes on a whole different meaning in later years. Raintree County is one such movie. I saw this movie as a young person and loved the romance, the clothes, the rivalries, which all seemed so exciting. Now I see the tragedy of a young man losing his dreams and his great love through one moment of misspent passion, a passion that would beget many sad repercussions for many people. Montgomery Clift captures the idealistic and brilliant John and his quest for redemption in the form of the elusive raintree. Elizabeth Taylor is in rare form as his mentally ill Southern belle seductress, struggling with demons brought on by family dysfunction. Eva Marie Saint is lovely and spirited as John's true and lost love, although you totally understand how he falls for Taylor. As usual, there is great chemistry between Taylor and Clift. The supporting actors are in top form. It is one film that is pretty faithful to the book, which was much more tragic. Share