"Revealing" Mr. Maugham?
Revealing Mr. Maugham (2012) is the new documentary on W. Somerset Maugham directed by Michael House. One can buy it through Amazon by requesting a copy (either PAL or NTSC) made.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting too much of it because so far biographies about Maugham have not been too successful. I attribute this to the fact that Maugham writes so much better about himself that it leaves other people's efforts pale in front of his Summing Up (1938), A Writer's Notebook (1949), or the semi-autobiographical Of Human Bondage (1915).
The description on the back of the DVD case reads: "For the first time the full story is told of one misunderstood & influential Gay writers..." It puzzles me immensely what was in the mind of the person when he/she was writing this. I think it is very likely that Maugham would reject the label "gay writer." In the age of gossips and invasion of private space, his homosexuality swells into an exaggerated importance that distracts the reader...
Engrossing
Although I haven't read any Maugham (yet!) - I still have been exposed to his work without knowing it. Much of his work became the basis for screenplays e.g. If you have seen Bette Davis' atrocious Cockney accent in Of human bondage (1934), or Joan Crawford in Rain (1932) then you've seen a screenplay of his novels. Actually a lot of Hollywood connections - Marilyn Monroe might have appeared in a 3rd version of Of Human Bondage had she live a bit longer. That would have been something to see. It seems he was a master of depicting sexual jealousy. Who wouldn't be interested after knowing that? A life full of intrigue (he worked for British intelligence), great fame and wealth, and betrayal (both by him and others).
Click to Editorial Reviews
No comments:
Post a Comment