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jackiijackii 's review for:
An Oresteia
by Euripides, Aeschylus, Anne Carson, Sophocles
I hated the movie "Troy". For all the reasons one should hate a movie: awful directing (I know they're good actors, so I blame their lameness on the director, and also:), terrible terrible script, overpowering-to-the-point-of-hyperbole score, unreasonably long running time, and Brad Pitt's ridiculous paycheck. Seriously, I know his abs were magical, but if they could have paid him a few million dollars less, they might have been able to afford a better screenplay, conductor, director, etc.
Yes, for all these reasons, I hated Troy up until the last few minutes of the movie. Then, I hated it for a completely different, and some may say snobby, reason: they freaking kill Agamemnon. The arrow or spear or whatever goes WHOOSH-thud, and my favorite Greek story of all time goes POOF into non-existence. But, you know, Brad Pitt gets his revenge or whatevs I DON'T CARE. They messed up the Oresteia, the House of Atreus, Klytamnestra's revenge, one of the most compelling stories I've ever read in my life, all for Brad Pitt's magical abs. That is simply...unforgivable.
So it's good to see that the Oresteia didn't die after that. I've read Anne Carson's poetry, and her translation of these plays are what I expected. More contemporary poets need to translate ancient works. I loved Heaney's Beowulf, and now Carson's Oresteia. Even if you're unfamiliar with the plays in this book, Carson gives us great introductions before the plays begin. So if you already love the story, I recommend it; if you've read older translations and hated it, I recommend it; and if you have no idea what it's all about, I recommend it.
Yes, for all these reasons, I hated Troy up until the last few minutes of the movie. Then, I hated it for a completely different, and some may say snobby, reason: they freaking kill Agamemnon. The arrow or spear or whatever goes WHOOSH-thud, and my favorite Greek story of all time goes POOF into non-existence. But, you know, Brad Pitt gets his revenge or whatevs I DON'T CARE. They messed up the Oresteia, the House of Atreus, Klytamnestra's revenge, one of the most compelling stories I've ever read in my life, all for Brad Pitt's magical abs. That is simply...unforgivable.
So it's good to see that the Oresteia didn't die after that. I've read Anne Carson's poetry, and her translation of these plays are what I expected. More contemporary poets need to translate ancient works. I loved Heaney's Beowulf, and now Carson's Oresteia. Even if you're unfamiliar with the plays in this book, Carson gives us great introductions before the plays begin. So if you already love the story, I recommend it; if you've read older translations and hated it, I recommend it; and if you have no idea what it's all about, I recommend it.