Quasimodo will be played today by Hannibal Lecter

Two freaks, Quasimodo and Hannibal Lecter, who have nothing in common, except that they have both been portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins. After reading “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” recently, I saw the 1982 television adaptation starring Hopkins as Quasimodo, Lesley-Ann Down as Esmeralda, Derek Jacobi as Claude Frollo, Robert Powell as Phoebus and John … Continue reading Quasimodo will be played today by Hannibal Lecter

Hero, meet your villain; or, never mind

It's a common trope in fiction: a final confrontation between the central hero of a story and its central villain. It's an important trope in Westerns, both on the page and screen -- Clint Eastwood's "Unforgiven" is just one famous example. And we see it in works of fiction that are too many to count: … Continue reading Hero, meet your villain; or, never mind

Napoleon and Alexander the Greats?

September 1, 2020 Reading “War and Peace” and watching Epic History TV’s documentaries about Napoleon and Alexander the Great (see below), I’m struck by some parallels between the two men.  Alexander’s conquests spread Hellenistic culture and some Greek ideas about democracy.  Napoleon’s conquests are said to have exported some of the ideas of the French … Continue reading Napoleon and Alexander the Greats?