North and South - Mr. Thornton.

The BBC miniseries, North and South, exhibits some of the best casting I have ever seen. I am now reading the book on which it is based, bearing the same name, and written by Elizabeth Gaskill.

All the main characters fit very well with their descriptions from the book, Today I'm just going to focus on the remarkable similarities between the Mr. Thornton of the book, and Mr. Thornton as played by Richard Armitage.

The book describes Mr. Thornton thus,
"Now, in Mr. Thornton's face the straight brows fell low over the deep-set earnest eyes, which, without being unpleasantly sharp, seemed intent enough to penetrate into the very heart and core of what he was looking at. The lines in the face were few but firm, as if they were carved in marble, and lay principally about the lips, which were slightly compressed over a set of teeth so faultless and beautiful as to give the effect of sudden sunlight when the rare bright smile, coming in an instant and shining out of the eyes, changed the whole look from the severe and resolved expression of a man ready to do and dare everything, to the keen honest enjoyment of the moment, which is seldom shown so fearlessly and instantaneously except in children." (North and South, chapter 10)

In the movie, not only does Richard Armitage fit this description, but the way he played the character fits as well. His eyes were piercing, he looked severe, and at that moment when he smiled in the movie near the end, it was like the sun burst forth suddenly from behind clouds and it seemed as if he was entirely wrapped up in that moment.

Here is a set of pictures to illustrate this description and demonstrate how they coincide:

"The straight brows fell low over the deep-set earnest eyes...seemed intent enough to penetrate...The lines in the face were few but firm, as if they were carved in marble and lay principally about the lips...the severe and resolved expression of a man ready to do and dare everything."

"...when the rare bright smile, coming in an instant and shining out of the eyes, changed the whole look from the severe and resolved expression of a man ready to do and dare everything, to the keen honest enjoyment of the moment, which is seldom shown so fearlessly and instantaneously except in children."

One difference is that his teeth are hardly seen when he smiles, while in the book it seems they are visible when he smiles, although much of the smile comes from his eyes: "a set of teeth so faultless and beautiful as to give the effect of sudden sunlight when the rare bright smile, coming in an instant and shining out of the eyes."

All the same, I am amazed at how well he fits the description in the book in look and manner. 

The Hobbit, Battle of the Five Armies teaser trailer

I was in China when the teaser trailer came out and was able to watch it via an Australian news-site. Later, I learned how to work the big screen TV which connected to the internet that was in our room, and was able to watch it full screen! So exciting, I would not have been able to do that at home!

I love the trailer. I was disappointed in both The Desolation of Smaug trailer and movie. So since I loved this trailer and love An Unexpected Journey, I'm hoping Battle of the Five Armies will be stellar! Since I love this trailer so much, I'm embedding it here in my blog.

It was certainly epic, dramatic, and stirring. Bilbo's lines 'One day I will remember..." followed with Pippin's song were just beautiful! If you remember from An Unexpected Journey, Gandalf said to Bilbo, "Home is behind, the world ahead." This is the opening line from Pippin's song, which is now in this trailer. I like to think that Bilbo wrote this song because of this adventure and Pippin learned it from him. In the book, Bilbo did write songs that Pippin, Merry, and Frodo all learned and sang, and while this song is not in the book, it makes for a sort of blended fan-fiction/head-canon.