Highlights Archives
The Age of Innocence: Read It & See It
Edith Wharton's 1920 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, set amid the upper-crust social circles of 1870s New York City, is brought to the big screen in this 1993 film adaptation by director Martin Scorcese. "The Age of Innocence," the next offering in the Classic Book & Movie Club, lays bare both the rigid moral code and the hypocrisy that characterized the city's high society world by retelling the classic tale of a tragic love triangle. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Newland Archer, a well-regarded attorney whose seemingly storybook romance with socialite May Welland, played by Winona Ryder, becomes compromised by his affections for May's unconventional cousin, the Countess Ellen Olenska, played by Michelle Pfeiffer.
The drama follows Archer as he struggles to live by the unyielding rules of his time while secretly longing to embrace the passion he feels for Countess Olenska. Along the way, the elaborate costume drama reveals in vivid color the ambiance of the era with period fashions and dialog of the day while painting a picture of a man trapped between love and his sense of duty and honor.
The film airs at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, September 16, in the auditorium of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Admission is free to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor of English and Women's Studies, Emily Auerbach, will introduce the film and lead a post-screening discussion of the film and the book. Reading the book is recommended but not required. For more information about the program, contact Karen Kron at 608-264-6445.
The Classic Book & Movie Club series is presented jointly by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, and "The Capital Times" newspaper. The series presents Hollywood movies adapted from classic books of the 19th and 20th centuries. Participants are invited to read the books, then see the movies — on the big screen! This cooperative film series draws upon the collections of the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.
:: Posted September 7, 2007
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