More vintage photos turn up in a routine Internet search than in this film.
Other disappointments--aside from the fact that we have to watch Norris on-camera rather than hear his voiceover and be treated to a slideshow of Joyce's Dublin--include a jumpy narration that's almost Joycean in its incomprehensibility, and a nasty habit the filmmakers have of never finishing what they start. We'll see a plaque on the wall of the Ormond Hotel telling us this was an important setting for Ulysses, but as with other plaques and other buildings we're show, we never get a tour of the interior with a narration that would tell us what in the world we're seeing. We have to wonder if the next shot is an interior of that building or somewhere else. When we're told that Dublin now is nothing like Joyce's Dublin, and it's mostly because the people are so different, the narrator tells us that Mulligan's Pub is the only place that remains unchanged. But hey, the discussion was about people, and we instead get shots of the dark pub after closing hours. When we're told that in this building Joyce created Leopold Bloom, we cut to another clip of Norris performing, rather than getting a glimpse inside or a discussion of the book. Non-sequitors abound. In another example, a superfluous discussion of brothels in Dublin segues into the voiceover pronouncement that "Joyce was very musical" and shots of a piano, then another testimonial on "What I love about Joyce from an actor's point of view."
This 1999 production was produced in association with RTE and aired on Irish television. Maybe it's of value to people already familiar with all things Joyce, but for people wanting some sense of the chronology of the author's life and the relationship between his life and his works, you won't find it here. Even Joyce's use of the playful "Dyoublong" isn't explained fully enough or in context. "James Joyce: So This is Dyoublong?" spends way too much time on the reactions and tributes and contemporary scenery, and not enough on Joyce himself, and the places of Joyce's time.
Video:
The picture quality is decent, though if you've been watching a lot of HD lately you'll see a loss of edge detail that will remind you how far technology has come. There's a slight graininess throughout, but at least the colors are bright and true. This film appears to be presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
Audio:
Nothing special here--just a Dolby Digital Mono that serves the purpose. But it's not the greatest soundtrack, not because of the decision to go one-track, but because I don't think the conditions and equipment weren't optimal. I can't imagine that they used boom mikes, because so often the narrator talking in big spaces sounds farther away, and the clips of the stage performances are particularly rough, both in terms of picture and sound. I've seen and heard better, even on DVDs.
Extras:
No bonus features.
Bottom Line:
Where's Ken Burns when you need him? More voiceover and vintage materials and fewer narrator walk-and-talks would have helped this film tremendously. More vintage photos turn up in a routine Internet search than in this film. As is, "James Joyce: So This is Dyoublong?" disappoints.
This 1999 production was produced in association with RTE and aired on Irish television. Maybe it's of value to people already familiar with all things Joyce, but for people wanting some sense of the chronology of the author's life and the relationship between his life and his works, you won't find it here. Even Joyce's use of the playful "Dyoublong" isn't explained fully enough or in context. "James Joyce: So This is Dyoublong?" spends way too much time on the reactions and tributes and contemporary scenery, and not enough on Joyce himself, and the places of Joyce's time.
Video:
The picture quality is decent, though if you've been watching a lot of HD lately you'll see a loss of edge detail that will remind you how far technology has come. There's a slight graininess throughout, but at least the colors are bright and true. This film appears to be presented in 1.33:1 aspect ratio.
Audio:
Nothing special here--just a Dolby Digital Mono that serves the purpose. But it's not the greatest soundtrack, not because of the decision to go one-track, but because I don't think the conditions and equipment weren't optimal. I can't imagine that they used boom mikes, because so often the narrator talking in big spaces sounds farther away, and the clips of the stage performances are particularly rough, both in terms of picture and sound. I've seen and heard better, even on DVDs.
Extras:
No bonus features.
Bottom Line:
Where's Ken Burns when you need him? More voiceover and vintage materials and fewer narrator walk-and-talks would have helped this film tremendously. More vintage photos turn up in a routine Internet search than in this film. As is, "James Joyce: So This is Dyoublong?" disappoints.
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[release]23674[/release]