...but Caligula! Also, Miss Ives.

[selenak]

Look, Guardian, how anyone can list John Hurt's five best performances and not even MENTION his Caligula in I, Claudius whereas the likes of King Ralph gets listed is beyond me. Okay, fine, the article is about film performances and I, Claudius was tv, but still. You should have mentioned it if only to regret that it couldn't be listed due to the cinematic criteria. It's still the ultimate standard towards which all mad emperor performances aspire and so often fail because they forget it's not all about the shouting.

(Btw, re: the rest of that list, Elephant Man and 1984 I agree with; in Alien John Hurt's character certainly was memorable but that was because of the nature of his demise, not because he got fleshed out before that, so if we go by great cameo John Hurt performances on screen who get killed off early on, his Control from the recent Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy might qualify more.)

Meanwhile, Penny Dreadful goodness:

Vanessa Ives icons! All the Vanessa, all the time.

Courtesy of the recent SDCC: A deleted scene from the finale featuring Helen McCrory and Simon Russell Beale, featuring rhymes and sinister intentions, deliciously played. It also makes me want to rewatch Seance with an particular eye on how Madame Kali/Evelyn interacts with Vanessa there. Bring on the next season!

Comments

[lonelywalker]

Eeee, that deleted scene! (Although I think I read they will use it next season.) Penny Dreadful has such a crazily accomplished cast. I can't wait to see Evelyn having her wicked way with Malcolm. And I wonder what role SRB's character plays in all this: more Egyptian chicanery?

[selenak]

Methinks he'll be the unreliable minion who'll betray both Evelyn and Malcolm-Vanessa-the Gang, depending on whom he's scared of more at any given moment...

[lonelywalker]

It's so hard to get good minions these days.

[d_generate_girl]

... did someone say Evelyn/Malcolm + "chicanery"?! (Seriously, let's make that our nerd-call.)

I am SO looking forward to McCrory and Dalton vamping it up at each other; they have such fantastic chemistry, and I'd love to see Malcolm get played by a woman for a change.

SRB/Lyle seems to rank below Evelyn in the Egyptophile vampire nut hierarchy. He's reminding me of *her* Renfield.

[selenak]

He definitely comes across as the Renfield type in that scene. I'm still looking out for a walking Mummy; if Evelyn is really an Egyptian Queen she'd have had classic horror movie opportunity to recruit him as her minion. Though undoubtedly she wants more than one. Bring on the McCrory/Dalton! Also, of course, the McCrory/Green.

[d_generate_girl]

We're definitely missing a mummy! Also an HG Wells character - I know Logan intends upon doing The Island of Doctor Moreau, so we're getting one soon.

YES GOOD BRING ON MCCRORY/DALTON AND MCCRORY/GREEN.

[lonelywalker]

Chicanery!

I'm so delighted by the idea of a smitten Malcolm, and McCrory vs. Green will be a great fight too. Should we take bets on who will get into bed with whom, or just assume everyone/everyone?

[selenak]

Everyone/Everyone seems the safest bet in this particular show!

[d_generate_girl]

Smitten!Malcolm is going to be *delightful*. And, I mean, it fits - he WOULD fall for a terrifyingly cultured potentially-supernatural cultist nutcase.

Everyone/everyone! SHIP ALL THE THINGS.

[lonelywalker]

a terrifyingly cultured potentially-supernatural cultist nutcase
Well, yeah. She's basically an older Vanessa. Who likes guns. Did anyone mention Freud?

ALL THE THINGS/ALL THE THINGS

[wee_warrior]

(Someone said the magic word!)

I've read various write-ups of the boys + John Logan's Comic Con attendance, and it seemed to me they definitely said they'll be using it. Also the guys (including Logan) are very funny. And Reeve Carney a muppet.

Lyle does read like someone who turns against his allies at the drop of a hat to me, too, but maybe they'll surprise us. He seems to love his performances, but I'm sure Evelyne scares the crap out of him, while Malcolm and Vanessa so far don't.

[selenak]

You'd think having witnessed Vanessa in Seance he'd be at least a BIT scared, but yes, so far he seems to think he can handle Malcolm but is severely intimidated by Evelyne.

[wee_warrior]

He totally underestimates Vanessa, and likely thinks of Malcolm as a lot more conventional than he actually is.

[d_generate_girl]

Ooooh, so true. Malcolm's good at flying under the radar, and Vanessa's an artist at it.

[lonelywalker]

I'd like to see Lyle being someone who's putting on a bit of a performance too. I'm so pleasantly surprised by Josh Hartnett, both in the acting stakes and offscreen - he's been totally into the gay scenes and shenanigans, whereas I'd thought of him as being a very dull and conservative leading man.

[d_generate_girl]

YES TO BOTH OF THESE THINGS.

(Hartnett has gone from "boring has-been" to "awesome leading man" in like, two scenes of this show. So pleased to see it.)

[wee_warrior]

I admit I had no image of Josh Hartnett, other than that he used to be some sort of teen heartthrob and then kind of disappeared. It's sort of funny that everyone - including myself, admittedly - apparently expected Ethan to be the kind of dull male pseudo-lead most US shows can't really live without, to the point where you have reviews even of later episodes who describe him that way. And instead we get someone with layers, played by someone who appears very relaxed and at peace with himself. I guess the time away from Hollywood did him good; I thought he came across as charming and intelligent, and very much on board with the subversity of the show, as you say (not that the other two were lacking in that department, but from both Carney and Treadaway I kind of expected that).

[d_generate_girl]

Reeve Carney is the biggest Muppet, oh my god. He's ridiculous in the best kind of way. Treadaway seems a bit Srs Actor Unused to These Shenanigans, but Hartnett seems to be able to rein them both in. I want Green and Dalton there at the next big con so they can all participate in the awesome.

He does seem weaselly, doesn't he? I'm curious to see how he'll play into the upcoming season. Also, it's hilarious that the murdering, pillaging gun-nut explorer and the demonically-possessed girl don't scare him, but *Evelyn* does. Kind of hoping she's got something supernatural going on with her.

[wee_warrior]

My impression of Treadaway was more Excessive Geek than Srs Actor (although that's the impression I already had from interviews), but Hartnett was definitely the nanny in that triumvirat. A somewhat dirty nanny, mind. And yes, hope they can be there next time.

Definitely weaselly. I don't trust him as far as I could throw him, but I'm willing to admit that he's also a sort of type. There could easily be more behind it.

She might... maybe she likes to play with demons, too, I could definitely see that.

[kalypso]

Hurrah, a chance to give my beloved Hurt-as-Caligula icon an outing!

[selenak]

And a great icon it is, too. I don't have one, but I have Hurt as the Doctor!

[kalypso]

I've a feeling I made a War Doctor but didn't have space for it...

I remember when I was watching I, Claudius on first broadcast, and I was thinking the child actor playing young Caligula was very good, and that they'd struggle to find an adult who could top that - and then (oh my god!) they did!

[wee_warrior]

Maybe they thought "best" is the same as "most well-known" or "most iconic" (I knew the chest-bursting scene years before I ever saw Alien)? Then again I don't even remember that he was in Dead Man, too (it's been quite a while). And it is very difficult, I think, to find film roles that really reach the impact of both Winston Smith and Joseph Merrick. Everything else kind of pales next to those two (in film - Caligula is definitely a category in himself).

Penny Dreadful: why is Season Two not here yet? The actors are getting the scripts now, which is why they couldn't say anything at comic con. *sobs*

[lonelywalker]

I knew the chest-bursting scene years before I ever saw Alien

I think a lot of people see it in Spaceballs first these days, due to age considerations. Although it's obviously become a major pop culture reference in any case.

[wee_warrior]

...why, yes. Including yours truly. (Spaceballs was one of my favourite films growing up. That, Brazil, and Maurice. I was the strangest sort of geeky person.)

[selenak]

And we haven't even talked about Hurt's voice acting yet. Just the other day it occured to me he voiced both Hazel in Watership Down and Kilgarrah in Merlin. Talk about extremes. :)

Oh the chest bursting scene is iconic as hell, and I bet he's glad to have been in Alien, but there still wasn't much acting necessary for that one.

[wee_warrior]

See, I only knew about the dragon. But I've never seen Watership Down in the original. :)

That is certainly true...