Posted by Rich/Mohican Press on February 20, 2000 at 06:59:28:
Mornin' ...
A few notes ...
- Another excellent contribution from Gayle Clark called "Paradoxes ... " covers some of the colorful characters within Cooper's works. A nice job. Thanks a bunch, Gayle!
- Tomorrow night, for those who missed it, will be another airing of "The Crossing" on The History Channel. If you can't picture Jeff Daniels as George Washington, tune in. It's the story of Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware to attack British-allied Hessian forces at Trenton, NJ. A "Making of ..." feature is also scheduled.
- More have signed on for the 2000 Great Mohican Gathering! We've more or less set the 3-Day itinerary, finally. (Almost, anyway ... still trying to squeeze in a treat!) Unfortunately, unless the unexpected happens, The River Walk will not be among the sites. The new owner has not been responsive to our requests. It is sad that such a beautifully scenic area is not to be accessible to the public for all to enjoy ... at least not for the foreseeable future ... even when permission is requested. The State of NC, and the Nature Conservancy, made a valiant effort to save this property for us all, but, in the end, the BIG money talked. Those of you who attended the Gathering last year are among the very few "Mohicans" fans who have had the good fortune to see this area, and its waterfalls, up close.
- This year, at the Gathering, there are many raffles in the works. Some really good stuff. As there will be several "high value" items among the goods, we will make special raffles for these items only. One, is a fantastic wampum set ... Chingachgook's Choker & Hawkeye's Sash. Identical to the movie versions, as sold through our Trading Post, with one major difference ... These to-be-raffled items will be made of REAL wampum. A true collector's item for some lucky winner. If you are interested, see our Gathering Pages. Each raffle for this collection costs $5 - maximum of 2 tickets per address. We have not yet decided on a maximum total number of tickets to sell, but if there are any left they can be purchased at the Gathering before the raffle takes place. Meanwhile, you can buy your tickets by mail. You need not be a Gathering attendee to participate. Open to all. Good luck!
- A couple of new links added to our Links Page, as well.
Well, you went out to buy a DVD player because you just had to have one to watch the LOTM DVD-version. Now what? Slowly, we've been adding some to our collection ... "Glory" - one side is full screen, the other widescreen - "Meet Joe Black," "Titanic," & the recently released "Lonesome Dove." Waiting on a "Braveheart" release ... As one of our sons noted, all these flicks have outstanding soundtracks & that must be a major reason why I enjoy a film. He's right.
Anyhow, "Lonesome Dove" ... As I've mentioned a time or two before, "Lonesome Dove" ranks right up there as my favorite film. It's got to be one of the best productions ever, of any genre, and the characterizations cannot be topped. No film, in my opinion, has ever created the inter-relationships & depth of character that "Lonesome Dove" contains. Brilliant. Of course the score is about my favorite. It adds to the overall production like few soundtracks have. Anyway, on the DVD, are two remarkably in-depth interviews with Larry McMurtry, author of the novel (which, by the way, the film faithfully reproduces), and the one I was completely fascinated with, one with executive producer, Suzanne De Passe. If you love this film, it's worth the DVD just for these interviews. De Passe's is particulary passionate. It was done specially for the DVD, about 11 years after "Lonesome Dove" was released. You can still hear, and see, her emotion for this work. It's no wonder the film is so powerful! Without rehashing the entire, rather lengthy interview ... which I feel prone to do! ... I'll just mention one segment. She is asked by the interviewer what her favorite scene is. She immediately replies with the scene in Miles City, Montana, where the bed-ridden Gus (Robert Duvall) is visited, for the last time, by his friend, Capt. Call (Tommy Lee Jones). She begins to waver, she gets teary eyed, and then begins to cry! 11 years later! The scene still affects her like that! Pretty amazing!
See it folks!
Have a Happy President's Day!