Horror Movie

Carlos Villaras and Lupita Tovar starred in the 1931 Spanish language version of Dracula. Mike Gallegos for NPR hide caption

Carlos Villaras and Lupita Tovar starred in the 1931 Spanish language version of Dracula.

In 1931, Universal Studios shot its classic horror film Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi as the bloodsucking count from Transylvania. But after production wrapped for the day, an entirely new cast and crew arrived at night to redo all the scenes in Spanish.

This version of Dracula en Espaol starred Carlos Villaras as the caped vampire out for blood. He had been a stage actor in Spain and his resemblance to Bela Lugosi was uncanny, said the late actress Lupita Tovar, who played the lovely Eva.

"There were so much alike, but the main difference was their hands," she said in a video for the complete legacy collection of Dracula. "Lugosi had long, long fingers, you know, and Carlos Villaras has got shorter fingers."

Tovar reminisced about working the graveyard shift. "We shot all night long till next morning because we used exactly the same sets. As matter of fact, we had the same marks the English cast got, we stepped in the same place."

She remembered the creepy scenery and its dark shadows, lit candles and cobwebs.

"Once you went into that set, it was a different world. You became under the spell of Dracula," she said. "You know, if anybody will touch me, I think I would scream. I was frightened. I really felt scared of Dracula, you know?"

Carlos Villaras and Lupita Tovar on-set of the 1931 Spanish-language version of Dracula. Glasshouse Images/Alamy hide caption

Carlos Villaras and Lupita Tovar on-set of the 1931 Spanish-language version of Dracula.

The actors were from different Spanish-speaking countries, but director George Melford didn't speak the language. His directions were translated for the cast and crew.

"We wanted our version to be the best," Tovar said. "And according to the critics, I think it was."

By all accounts, that's true. This version of Dracula was 29 minutes longer than the English version.

Tovar's son, Pancho Kohner, said Melford and Villaras would watch scenes shot during the day and make improvements. They were able to set up better camera angles and add more exciting elements.

"They didn't have to contend with the Hays Office, the censorship," Kohner said from his home in LA's Pacific Palisades neighborhood. "My mother wore a low-cut negligee and it was very sexy. My father, who was in love with my mother, he was on the set. He was producing it, made sure that it was a better film."

Kohner, who became a producer like his father, helped his mother write her memoirs before she died in 2016, at age 106. He says she was a high school student in Oaxaca when Robert J. Flaherty, the director of the film Nanook of the North, discovered her. Fox Studios had sent him to find the most beautiful girl in Mexico.

"My mother came down to Hollywood with her Irish grandmother as her chaperone," Kohner said. Tovar spent a year at Fox Studios doing small bits, but she didn't speak English. "When talkies came in, they weren't going to renew her contract."

Pancho Kohner, in front of a portrait of his mother, Lupita Tovar, painted by Mexican arist Diego Rivera Mandalit del Barco/NPR News hide caption

Pancho Kohner, in front of a portrait of his mother, Lupita Tovar, painted by Mexican arist Diego Rivera

Someone at Fox recommended her to Universal Studios, where she met the head of dubbing, Paul Kohner, "who instantly fell in love with her," according to their son.

Tovar was reluctantly getting ready to head back to Mexico, but getting her signed on to do Dracula in Spanish was part of Kohner's plan, said Chris Weitz, the grandson of Tovar and Kohner, who were married for more than 50 years.

Weitz is now a well-known film director. So is his brother, Paul. Together, the Weitz brothers are writing a script for a movie about the making of Spanish Dracula. Pancho Kohner, their uncle, will produce it.

Directors Chris and Paul Weitz. Amanda Edwards/Getty Images hide caption

Directors Chris and Paul Weitz.

"It is a love story between two immigrants," explained Paul Kohner. "Our grandfather was from what would now be the Czech Republic. So he was part of the European Jewish migr community. And then our grandma was from a completely different immigrant community."

Chris Weitz said Spanish Dracula could also be seen as an immigrant story: "Dracula comes over from Transylvania to England and is generally considered bad news. He's a bloodsucker He's a parasite. This is a kind of view of immigrants, as opposed to what we really believe about the role of immigrants in this country, which is they're the lifeblood of how the country works."

For a time, in the 1930s, hundreds of movies were reshot not only in Spanish but French, German and Italian. It was a mini-boom in Hollywood, before the film industries in other countries geared up, and before dubbing or subtitles came into vogue.

And now, in addition to Spanish Dracula the movie, there will soon be a TV series on Vix+, the new streaming service by TelevisaUnivision.

"It's a single cam workplace comedy," said producer Ben Odell. "It starts with the gathering of the cast, sort of like an Ocean's Eleven. Once we set it up, it's about this kind of cast of quirky characters trying to make this thing, which ends up being great."

Actor Eugenio Derbez at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

Actor Eugenio Derbez at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Odell said this production will be shot in Mexico, with actor Eugenio Derbez directing and starring as Dracula. Odell said in their version, that the actor who plays Dracula is a ham. "He loves the attention, he loves the applause. He's a theater actor, so he's disgusted by the movie business. When he's offered this movie role, he turns it down at first. He's like, 'don't they know who I am?'"

The Lupita Tovar character is based on stories from her memoir. "Lupita was very afraid of her father, who was an alcoholic, and was abusive. So it's this idea there's this monster at home," said Odell. "She doesn't want to go back to Mexico. With the silent era ending. She thinks she may be forced to go back."

Odell explained that the cast and crew of the original Spanish Dracula worked under the worst circumstances.

"They had to come in at night and work crappy hours and they had a lower budget, but they ended up making a better movie," he said. "That's such a great American immigrant story and such a great Latino story because oftentime coming to this country, you have to work harder, you have less support, less opportunities, and you still have to try to deliver. And they overdeliver it, as often is the case. So it just it was a beautiful kind of underdog immigrant story."

This story is part of our five-part Latinos in Hollywood series, which pays tribute to some of the legends and pioneers in the film industry and examines how some Latinx actors, film composers and directors are getting or creating more opportunities.

Read more here:
'Dracula' in Spanish finds new blood after 91 years : NPR

Its not the WORST show. The music and effects are good, and the actors are great. Like Penny Dreadful, they pull in other characters from Bram Stoker's Dracula and other big name monsters and modify them significantly. The show is a little tame for me, but okay for a once-through ride.

HOWEVER - if the show is going to pull in Dracula as being the historical, real Vlad III Dracula, then the history should be done correctly.

In the show, Dracula is against the Order of the Dragon - even the little snippet about the real Vlad they include states as much. And they paint the real, historical Order of the Dragon as being some crazy fanatical group akin to the ones who burned witches in the Salem witch trials. This is simply not true - and the misinformation makes me bare my own fangs. Vlad III Dracula and his father, Vlad II Dracul were creators and members of the Order of the Dragon - a band of free noblemen who united to repel the Ottoman Empire from Wallachia and surrounding territories (what is now known as Romania.) There was once a time when a saying abounded in the region, that roads must never be put into working order, lest the Turk (Ottoman) suspect resistance and bring punishment. Vlad and his father spent their lives desperately trying to restore order to a ruined region, all the while trying to repel the vicious Ottoman Empire which was a ruthless, huge, invading foreign power during this time. (Frankly, it threatened India, France, Greece, Armenia, and half the globe. India had its own band of free warriors who finally stood together after the destruction the Ottoman Empire brought to almost all of India's holy sites...they were called the Marathi, look them up! It turns out many countries had a "Dracula" figure rise up to defend against this notorious empire.)

Yet, during the same time as this invasion, rich Saxons were angry with Vlad III Dracula when he re-established order in his region, it threatened their stranglehold on the trade routes, for the war and conflict benefited them the way it benefits the super rich today. And the Ottomans, well of course they despised Dracula because they'd been invading half the globe for well over 800 years at that point, and they did not like resistance. Dracula was cruel with his enemies, and used impalement, or "The Art of the Khazouk" as the Ottomans called it. For Dracula learned the art of the Khazouk from the very Ottomans who stole away the young Dracula and his brother Radu as forced tribute. But aside from his intolerance of crime, and his turning of impalement back upon the very same who tried to kidnap and indoctrinate him, many regarded Dracula as a hero.

The rich Saxons spread exaggerated tales of Dracula's cruelty far and wide, seeking to defame him in grotesque poems and literature. These defaming stories are responsible for much of what we see in modern vampire lore. Germany in particular went wild with a rush of vampire literature and horror stories. However, those who lived there and particularly in eastern Europe, where people actually lived under Dracula and sought to maintain their life under the constant threat of Turkish invasion - they tell a different story and champion Dracula as a local hero. Even today you can speak to people whose great grandfathers lived through the end of the Ottoman threat. Romania still has a statue of Dracula standing today, and many credited him with restoring order, vanquishing rampant crime, and playing a large part in Romania's sovereignty today.

Today we know that Dracula was a desperate man with a limited army who did everything he could to defend his nation and people from invaders, like any good Szekely would. He was a pioneer of psychological defensive warfare. He spent his entire life pinned between the Ottomans, who had tried again and again to cross the Danube and subjugate the land, and the Saxons behind him, who engaged in constant political espionage against his name, as they assassinated his father before him.

People don't like to hear this, because there is a new age cliche that all bad*ss characters must get their power from the devil, but on the contrary, it wasn't until later that Dracula meant son of the devil. During Dracula's time, as the Romanian board of tourism will even tell you, the name Dracula meant son of the Dragon, not devil. Dracula was a Christian nobleman who would not abandon his land. And vampires, traditionally, are creatures of sheer will - A will so strong that they defy the natural order of death. However, being dead yet refusing to die, they require the blood of the living to animate their flesh. Aside from their need of blood, they were known to be more neutral creatures who sometimes slept in the crypts below churches for sanctuary. Did you know, traditionally, it is actually Werewolves that made a pact with the devil?

So, yeah. The show is enjoyable, but I'm sick of shows like this pulling in the historical Dracula and not getting the story straight, and making the Order of the Dragon - the heart and soul of Dracula's desperate stand against a warring world - how ignorant for a Dracula show to change real history and defame the crux of Dracula's cause. Dracula was not a contrite little man who spoke about darwin, he was a proud, Szekely warrior. If you don't care about history - or the real Dracula - maybe you'll like the show turning him into the exact opposite of what he is and what he fought so gruesomely for.

Original post:
Watch Dracula Season 1 | Prime Video - amazon.com

Ben Stevenson's Dracula, presented by the Nevada Ballet Theatre, will fill the stage with all the eerie, Gothic grandness to begin the Halloween season. Haunting performances will be presented at The Smith Center Oct. 6-9.

Audiences will be transfixed from the first bite by this haunting world of temptation and its otherworldly battle between good and evil. The Gothic grandness at the heart of Dracula stresses high-flying action. In this production, four dancers fly through the air in an otherworldly display of power and grace. Audiences roared with delight in 2018 when Dracula put Las Vegas under his spell, and Dracula has returned in 2022.

Audiences will be transported into a dark, foggy set; creepy classical music; over-the-top costumes; and Ben Stevenson's choreography set to the music of Franz Liszt. The passionate love triangle at the center of this iconic tale is set to sweeping movement, ingenious stage effects, and dark, rich coloring to envelope all in its haunting world of evil temptation.

Bram Stoker wrote Dracula as a novel that was published in 1897. Dracula was then adapted as a stage play, written by the Irish actor and playwright Hamilton Deane, in 1924. After touring in England, the play was revised and debuted on Broadway production, opening at the Fulton Theatre in October 1927. This production starred Bela Lugosi in his first major English-speaking role. The play would be performed over the decades, including a Broadway revival in 1977 starring Frank Langella and winning the Tony Award for Best Revival. Dracula, developed as a full-length ballet, premiered at the Wortham Center in Houston on March 13, 1997, to mark the 100th anniversary of the iconic 1897 novel.

Ben was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) by Queen Elizabeth II in the New Year's Honors List in December 1999. A native of Portsmouth, England, Ben received his dance training at the Arts Educational School in London and performed with the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet and English National Ballet. He staged his first and successful The Sleeping Beauty, performed by the English National Ballet. Ben has received numerous awards for his choreography.

In Ben's ballet version of Dracula, he distills the essence of the novel, retaining key characters and dramatic situations. Some of the elements of the novel were amended to tell the story in the language of ballet as well as more theatrically compelling. The ballet takes place entirely in Transylvania, with the first and third acts transpiring in Dracula's castle and the second act in the village.

Nevada Ballet Theatre continues to enrich lives through professional ballet productions, an affiliated academy offering the highest level of dance training, and outstanding Community Education programs for underserved youth. The largest professional ballet company and dance Academy in the state, Nevada Ballet Theatre is a nonprofit organization focusing on the cultural landscape since its first performance 50 years ago. Its mission is to educate and inspire all audiences and impact community life through professional company productions, dance training, and community education programs.

Ben Stevenson's Dracula, presented by the Nevada Ballet Theatre, will be performed at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, 361 Symphony Park Ave, Oct. 6-9. For more info, visit nevadaballet.org.

See the rest here:
Feature: Ben Stevenson's Dracula, presented by the Nevada Ballet Theatre, to Bring Gothic Grandness - Broadway World

Real lives (and the unreal life of Dracula) are what it's all about on SBS VICELAND in October.

Mario and his date in Blind Love. Source: Lost In Vision Entertainment/ITVS

In a world where prospective lovers often judge each other instantly based on an image, how do people who are vision impaired find love? This honest and fun-loving American documentary follows Mario, Solomon, Joni and Simon on the quest for love. They dont want pity, they want a real relationship in which they are seen and accepted for who they are. A welcome fresh perspective on contemporary dating, theres plenty of good banter and heartfelt support between our four and their friends and family. Sometimes, you wonder whether theyre actually helping, though: Once you start talking to the guy, its like, you know, rainbows. Awkward!

Blind Love premieres at 9.55pm, Friday 7 October on SBS VICELAND.

'True Believers' looks into Universal Medicine. Source: VICE

Seekers of connection, healing and answers to lifes big questions can find themselves sucked in by self-styled prophets who promise eternal happiness. At the worst of times, they cannot escape the situations they find themselves in. This three-part series from VICE follows people who end up joining some of the worlds strangest organisations, and finding themselves in curious, cruel and deadly situations. The series includes a look at Universal Medicine, an organisation founded by an Australian, former tennis coach Serge Benhayon; a yoga empire hit by abuse allegations; and an LA rehab business that seems too good to be true.

Three-part series True Believers premieres at 10.30pm on Saturday 8 October on SBS VICELAND. Episodes air weekly.

'The Big Sex Talk'. Source: CBC

Fronted by sex educator Shan Boodram, this six-part Canadian documentary series cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of sexual and gender diversity. With help from culture vultures, personal stories and experts such as sociology professor Tina Fetner from McMaster University, Boodram unpacks our notions of sexuality, spells out the new sex lingo and debunks myths surrounding sex. From sex robots to gender fluidity, polyamory to good old-fashioned monogamy and beyond, this original series puts a human and often humorous face on all things sex, kicking off with exploring why, if monogamy isnt for everyone, we act as if it is?

Six-part series The Big Sex Talk premieres at 9.50pm, Friday 14 October on SBS VICELAND. Episodes air weekly.

Queer Eye star Tan France is on a mission to take down the shocking beauty trend of bleaching ones skin to lighten it, something France did himself as a child and which he now regrets. France explores the issues surrounding skin tone and colourism in society, with a special focus on the fashion, entertainment and beauty industries. Sharing his own experience, France also talks to experts such as psychotherapist Charlotte Armitage, celebrities including Kelly Rowland and people whose lives have been affected by this disturbing beauty treatment.

Tan France: Beauty And The Bleach premieres at 9.40pm, Tuesday 18 October on SBS VICELAND.

'Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism?' Source: BBC / Flicker Productions

A new drug is being trialled that promises to make children with achondroplasia grow closer to normal height. This is the form of dwarfism that five-time Paralympian gold medallist in swimming Britains Ellie Simmonds has. Here, she investigates all sides of the debate about this controversial drug, meeting families who are undergoing the trial, and others who are proud of their identity and question the aims of the drug.

Simmonds, who was only 13 when she won her first gold medals in Beijing 2008, draws on her own experience of growing up in a supportive environment and asks broader questions about the relationship between science and disability. The documentary premieres on Dwarfism Awareness Day.

Ellie Simmonds: A World Without Dwarfism? premieres at 9.40pm, Tuesday 25 October on SBS VICELAND.

'Dracula Unearthed'. Source: 3DD Entertainment

Its been 100 years since the release of classic German film, Nosferatu by FW Murnau, an adaptation of Irish novelist Bram Stokers Dracula, published in 1987. To commemorate the centenary, this 90-minute special explores the continuing fascination of Count Dracula, a figure who resonates with audiences across the literary, art, mythological and historical worlds. From Vlad the Impaler to Hollywood horror films to the look of Dracula, author and cinephile Ian Nathan presents the various iterations of Dracula over time, with contributions from horror aficionado Neil Norman, author Stephen Armstrong and journalist and respected Count Dracula expert, Kim Newman. A deliciously dark doco for Halloween night.

Dracula Unearthed premieres at 8.30 pm, Monday 31 October on SBS VICELAND.

Follow the conversation on social media: #SBSVICELAND

Excerpt from:
We get real about love, sex and beauty this October on SBS VICELAND - SBS

The early 1990s was a weird, transitional phase for the horror genre. The slasher boom, which was accompanied by a werewolf boom and a vampire boom, had burned out by the end of the decade. The last Halloween and Friday the 13th entries in 1989 performed poorly at the box office, as did Freddy Kruegers that same year.

So what would horror become in the following decade? Especially after ten years of wild excess? Well, after the huge success of The Silence of the Lambs in 1991, horror would get bigger, glossier, and a little more respected. 1992 was a peak year for the genre during that decade. And here are some of the horror (and horror adjacent) movies from that year, each currently celebrating its 30th anniversary. Ones that you should definitely check out this Spooky Season.

Lets get the facts out of the way; Alien 3 is nowhere near as good as Alien or Aliens. And its definitely not the sequel anyone was expecting after James Camerons incredible action-packed second film. But Alien 3, which was David Finchers directorial debut, still has much atmosphere and enough genuinely unsettling moments that make it worth watching.

Sigourney Weaver is as incredible as ever as Ellen Ripley, now the only woman trapped on a penal planet with an assortment of murderous male prisoners. Oh, and one very murderous xenomorph who has been stalking her for years. Throughout, you can see the hints of the brilliant director Fincher would become, even when it gets lost in the films meanderings. Worth watching at least once. And at the very least, its better than Alien: Resurrection.

Technically, this movie came out in North America in 1993. But since they released it first in Europe in 1992, were going to count this as a 92 movie. Sam Raimi completed his original Evil Dead trilogy with this one, which maintained the horror/comedy style of Evil Dead 2. But Army of Darkness didnt just rehash the second movie. Raimi made a horror/medieval fantasy/time travel hybrid comedy, which is filled with visual flair, and one amazing punchline after another. This movie fully perfected Raimis visual style in fact. And Army of Darkness truly made Bruce Campbells Ash an icon, and many people consider this one the best of the Evil Dead trio.

Dracula had been brought to life literally dozens of times on screen before 1992, most memorably by Bela Lugosi and then later, by Christopher Lee and Frank Langella. But Francis Ford Coppola did what no other big screen adaptation had done before, and stick to the plot of Stokers novel (With a little Anne Rice-style Goth romanticism thrown in for good measure). The result was an absolutely unique film.

Gary Oldman gives an all-time performance as the undead Prince Vlad of Transylvania, as does Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Van Helsing. (Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder are also in this movie. Thats all Ill say about that). The true reason this movie shines so brightly is the absolute feast for the eyes and ears it is. Every frame is a visual wonder, and the score is rapturous. With this film, we pick up new details with each viewing.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the most iconic TV shows of all time. But it simply wouldnt have existed without this horror comedy, released five years earlier. Truthfully, a lot of this movie doesnt work; the tone is all over the place, and a lot of the jokes just dont land. But Paul Reubens is amazing and hilarious as the vampire lackey who just wont die. And the basic idea of a ditzy cheerleader who was born to be the killer of the undead yields a few memorable comedic moments. Sarah Michelle Gellar would later make anyone instantly forget Kristy Swanson ever slayed a vamp. But this movie has its charms.

Say his name five times. We dare you. Although the re-imaging/legacy sequel that came out in 2021 was excellent, Bernard Roses original Candyman is the root from which it sprang. Based on a Clive Barker short story, Candyman is deeply creepy, and one of the best films to explore the power of urban legends on our collective psyches. And the incredible Tony Todd instantly joined the ranks of horror icons like Freddy and Jason from this one performance. We would also be remiss not to mention the score from composer Philip Glass. One of the best horror scores ever, not just from the 90s. This is an important film in the African-American horror genre, and ultimately the entire horror genre, period.

The slasher genre had burned out by the time Dr. Giggles came out in 1992, and died a pretty quick death at the box office. But years of VHS rentals at the height of the Blockbuster Video explosion made this cheese-fest beloved by some today. Essentially, the titular Dr. Giggles was a deranged mental patient, whose father was a doctor who collected the hearts of his patients for a deranged experiment. His son, played by Larry Drake, now escaped from the asylum, goes on a killing spree in the great slasher tradition, even if he himself was never exactly a great slasher. They showed this one at many a 90s teen slumber party.

The first two Hellraiser films are pillars of 80s horror, and Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth is not quite that. This was the first Hellraiser film to lose Clive Barker in all but name, and it winds up feeling like a generic horror movie of the era because of it. Still, it cant be all bad as long as Doug Bradley is our Pinhead, and also gets a chance to play the human he once was. The wildly blasphemous scene of Pinhead imitating Christs crucifixion saying I am the way almost makes up for the Cenobite with CDs in his head who used to be a DJ. Were not really sure what that was about.

Although not one of the greatest Stephen King adaptations, Sleepwalkers is nevertheless quite a guilty pleasure. The films plot is about the last two survivors of a vampiric species of shapeshifters. Ones that drain the life force of human female virgins. There are a lot of fun moments in this one, but it never quite lives up to the King name. Starring Brian Krause. later of Charmed, Twin Peaks Madchen Amick, and future Borg Queen Alice Krige, the screenplay was actually an original work written by King for the screen. It doesnt live up to the quality of his best stories, but at least its better than Maximum Overdrive.

David Lynch and Mark Frosts original Twin Peaks TV series, centering on the murder investigation of homecoming queen Laura Palmer, often felt like it lived in the aftermath of a horror film. Well, David Lynchs 1992 prequel to the series, Fire Walk With Me, is that horror film. And it brought every disturbing hint and subtext from the show to the surface in a totally unforgettable way. The movie was not sold as a horror film, much to the anger of some ticket buyers. But thats exactly what it was. There are images and moments in this film so disturbing theyll stick with you forever. A crucial part of the overall Twin Peaks story, and one of the 90s best horror films.

Continue reading here:
Celebrating the Glorious Horror Films of 1992 - Nerdist

Maybe it's our way of welcoming cooler temperatures and pumpkin spice everything, but North Texans absolutely love to celebrate fall. Besides the fall festivals there are concerts, haunted houses, pumpkin patches and of course, trick-or-treating.

KERA's Art&Seek calendar is absolutely loaded with October happenings. To help you plan, weve gathered all the best events and created a special October theme, that way you wont miss out on a thing.

Heres sampling of whats coming up.

Oct. 1

The Smashing Pumpkins

What better way to kick off the month of October than a trip back to the '90s with Alternative/Indi band The Smashing Pumpkins. Jane's Addiction opens for the group at the American Airlines Center on Saturday.

Make a Pumpkin at Vetro Glassblowing Studio

If you dont feel like smashing pumpkins, you can make one out of glass. Thats right, throughout the month of October you can experience the ancient art of glassblowing at Vetro Glassblowing Studio in Grapevine. Here's how it works: Pick a color, apply it to the hot molten glass, and then watch a professional glassblower finish your one-of-a-kind pumpkin.

Frightsn Lights in Frisco

Part haunted house, part pumpkin patch and part Instagram-worthy photo opt, this Halloween experience ticks all the boxes. A creepy walk features thousands of intricately carved jack-o-lanterns and a gallery of your favorite monsters are brought to life as giant-sized lanterns and lights. While you're there, enjoy games, rides, and the Headless Horsemans Haunted Hay Maze. Frights n' Nights runs Thursdays through Sundays until Oct. 31.

Oct. 7

The Bride of Frankenstein Goes Malibu

Dr. Frankenstein has decided surfer brains are exactly what he needs to upgrade his monsters. Since everyone knows the best surfer brains can be found in Malibu, he packs up Mr. and Mrs. Monster and heads to California. Things are great until the doctors archenemy, Dracula shows up with some of his cranky cronies. The wacky monster mashup is at Art Centre Theatre in Plano until Fridays and Saturdays through October 16.

Mesquite Meander

Get primed for Halloween with a living history tour at the historic Mesquite Cemetery. Actors portray long-passed Mesquite residents who tell their stories among the tombstones.

Oct. 14

West End Zombie Crawl

Drop off the kids and join your fellow undead for the 1st Annual West End Zombie Crawl. Retrieve your passport at the check in location and roam participating West End locations for free themed drinks. The event also includes a body painting station, 3 DJs spinning music, a scavenger hunt and a costume contest.

Oct. 21

Le Ballet de Dracula

If you thought ballet was all Sugar Plum Fairies and dancing snowflakes, think again. LakeCities Ballet's Le Ballet de Dracula will definitely put you in the Halloween spirit. Its the classic story of the famous vampire, but told with dancing gypsies, bats, vampire brides and Dracula himself. This show does for Halloween what The Nutcracker did for Christmas. There are only three performances at the MCL Grand in Lewisville, and tickets sell out fast, so take my advice and get your tickets now.

Oct. 28

Trick-or-Treat on Downtown Streets

Sure, you can go trick-or-treating in your neighborhood, but for something really different join Downtown Dallas, Inc. for Trick-or-Treat on Downtown Streets. Everyone (adults, kids, pets) is invited to this 4th annual event that starts at Main Street Garden Park. A map of all participating downtown businesses will be provided and each local retailer on the map will create a fun Halloween station handing out treats for all.

Silent Disco Halloween Bash

Put on your dancing shoes and head to Sammons Park in Dallas for a Halloween Bash. DJs spinning perfect tunes and themed cocktails make this a party you won't want to miss. Be sure to enter the costume contest for a chance to win prizes.

Dentons Day of the Dead Festival

This annual community festival is described by the organizers as "little harvest fest, a little Dia de los Muertos, a little Halloween, and a lot of Denton magic." There will be games and food vendors plus a variety of entertainment on hand including music and dancing. Don't miss the twilight lantern parade, and the coffin races. The quirky, community get-together happens this Friday and Saturday on Hickory and Industrial Street in beautiful downtown Denton.

Cirque du Horror

If you're looking for old-timey Halloween fun that's just a touch macabre, look no further than Cirque du Horror. The family-friendly tent show located on E. Oak Street in Denton is an original Halloween musical that features songs, dancing and poetry. Catch performances Oct. 28 through Oct. 30.

Oct. 29

Dia de los Muertos en Fort Worth

Artes de la Rosa's annual Dia de los Muertos Festival in Fort Worth's Northside neighborhood honors those loved ones who have passed. The celebration starts on Saturday morning with a parade that leads to Marine Park followed by a family-friendly festival that features mariachi music, ballet folklorico, arts and crafts and theatrical performances.

Dallas Zombie Crawl

Join over 500 members of your fellow undead for annual Dallas Zombie Crawl! Come in costume and roam the streets of Deep Ellum stopping in and out of over 10+ bars and nightclubs with one all-access pass.

Halloween at the Park

This annual family-friendly extravaganza at Farmers Branch Historical Park and features midway style carnival games, bounce houses and tons of food vendors. If you want something a little bit scary, check out the Haunted Hedge. It's best for ages 9 and older. But don't worry, there's also Boo-Ville, a not-so-scary area with activities for little monsters 5 and under.

Pumpkin Patches!

It just isnt fall without a pumpkin patch. Here are just a few perfect patches youll want to peruse this October.

Autumn at the Arboretum

The Dallas Arboretum has a bumper crop of pumpkins--over 100,000 and that makes it the ideal place to capture the perfect fall photo. The theme the garden has chosen this year is A Fall Fairy Tale, which means you can snap selfies on Cinderellas carriage or in the themed pumpkin houses in the Pumpkin Village. Other displays showcase classic tales like Jack and The Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs and The Sword in the Stone. There's even a magic carpet ride selfie experience from One Thousand and One Nights.

Big Orange Pumpkin Farm at Preston Trail Farms

Pick a green pumpkin right off the vine at this working farm, just a 40-minute drive from Plano. Experience the country life as you take a hayride, explore a 6-foot hay maze, ride the farm train, or pet some farm animals. And if you miss your chance to go before Halloween, no worries. This patch is open daily through Nov. 23.

Pumpkin Nights

The organizers of Pumpkin Nights decided that Christmas shouldn't get all the love when it comes to light displays, so they created a half-mile walking path full of lights with a definite pumpkiny flair. Some of the displays include the Forbidden Pumpkin City, a pirates cove, and fantastical lands featuring over 3,000 hand-carved real and artificial pumpkins. Pumpkin Nights happens nightly through Oct. 30 at Howell Farms in Arlington. Be sure to get your tickets in advance because they sell out quickly.

Yesterland Farm in Canton

This Christmas Tree/Pumpkin farm is packed to the gills with fall fun. There are rides for the kids, a candy cabin, a three-acre corn maze, pig races and of course miles and miles of pumpkins. There's also an after-hours Fright Farm where you can get into a paintball fight with zombies, or take a scary hayride. Open weekends through Nov. 6.

Mainstay Farm in Cleburne

Celebrate the 2022 fall season with a visit to the biggest backyard in Texas. Enjoy food, music and over 40 attractions, including a jumping pillow, a tubing slide and a Ferris wheel. Pick out a pumpkin in the pumpkin patch, and then relax under the trees with a glass of Mainstay Farm wine.

Got a tip? Email Therese Powell attpowell@kera.org.You can follow her on Twitter@TheresePowell13

Art&Seek is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, considermaking a tax-deductible gifttoday. Thank you.

Read this article:
Plan your October in North Texas with these spirited events - KERA News

Each month, the programmers at the Criterion Channel produce incredible line-ups for their subscribers. For October, the Channel will feature films from Ishiro Honda, Tsai Ming-liang, Kathryn Bigelow, andmore!

Below youll find the programming schedule for the month, along with a complete list of titles that Criterion has in store for us. Dont forget to check the Criterion Channels main page regularly though, as they occasionally will drop surprises that arent included in the official pressrelease.

Dont subscribe yet? Start a 14-day freetrial

The 1980s were defined by style and excess, and the eras horror movies were no exception. Innovations in practical effects made the nightmares more vivid than ever, and thanks to the rise of home video, the call was now coming from inside the house. While established talents such as John Carpenter (Prince of Darkness), Tobe Hooper (The Funhouse), David Cronenberg (Scanners), Michael Mann (The Keep), and Paul Schrader (Cat People) brought terrifying spectacles to the screen, often with the help of Hollywood studios, home video opened up a new market that allowed the independents to take the genre to unexpected andin the case of the UKs censorship of infamous Video Nastiescontroversial new heights. Curated by Clyde Folley, this ghastly tour through the decade of greed features ambitious art-pulp hybrids (White of the Eye), a Hitchcock-inspired trucker movie (Road Games), old-fashioned creature features (Q: The Winged Serpent), a vampiric Nicolas Cage (Vampires Kiss), and absolutely unclassifiable cult oddities (Society), bringing together some of the eighties most stylish, haunting, and outrageousvisions.

*Available November1

Scary yet seductive, the vampire has inspired more fascination than just about any other creature in horror history. Ever since Bela Lugosi set the standard for sinister sophistication with his iconic performance in Tod Brownings 1931 classic Dracula, filmmakers have been relentlessly reimagining and redefining the vampire myth as a delivery system for primal fear, edgy eroticism, and potent social commentary. Glam lesbian vamps (Daughters of Darkness), blaxploitation bloodsuckers (Blacula), pint-size Nordic Nosferatus (Let the Right One In), K-horror creeps (Thirst), and more are now all part of an ever-growing, multinational lore that will, truly, neverdie.

*Available November1

Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Invisible Man: some of the most legendary movie monsters of all time originated at Universal Pictures in the 1930s, when the studio produced a string of gothic horror classics that would shape the development of the genre for decades to come. Featuring pioneering special effects and makeup, atmospheric mise-en-scne influenced by German expressionism, and unforgettable stars like Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, these classic chillers have left an enduring mark upon the collective culturalimagination.

Featuring an appreciation by filmmaker AlexCox

The man who gave the world Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and more, Ishiro Honda was the wizard behind the Japanese monster-movie (kaiju eiga) craze that thrilled legions of international fans in the 1950s and 60s. Turning the trauma of nuclear attack into larger-than-life pop spectacle, Honda created ferociously entertaining special-effects extravaganzas that doubled as resonant metaphors for the devastation of World War II. This tribute to Hondas ever-imaginative artistry features the creature features for which he is best remembered as well as lesser-known cult favorites like the psychedelic horror freakoutMatango.

With the indelibly disturbing nightmares Hereditary and Midsommar, Ari Aster has already established himself as one of twenty-first-century horror cinemas most audacious auteurs. In this edition of Adventures in Moviegoing, Aster sits down to discuss the unforgettable films that have shaped his life and work. Many of his choicesincluding Julien Duviviers moody noir Panique, the twisted psychological shocker Lady in a Cage, and Lucrecia Martels unnerving mystery The Headless Womanquiver with the same sense of dread that runs through Asters ownwork.

*Available November1

The sophomore feature from Tsai Ming-liang finds the acclaimed master of Taiwans Second New Wave demonstrating a confident new cinematic voice. Vive lamour follows three characters unknowingly sharing a supposedly empty Taipei apartment. The beautiful realtor May Lin (Yang Kuei-mei) brings her lover Ah-jung (Chen Chao-jung) to a vacant unit she has on the market, unaware that it is secretly being occupied by the suicidal Hsiao-kang (Lee Kang-sheng). The three cross paths in a series of precisely staged, tragicomic erotic encounters, but despite their physical proximity, they find themselves no closer to a personal connection. Featuring an intoxicating mix of longing and deadpan humor, Vive lamour catapulted Tsai to the top of the international filmmaking world and earned him the prestigious Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice International FilmFestival.

A masterpiece of American avant-garde cinema, Christopher Harriss 2000 thesis film is a haunting record of the crumbling, eerily depopulated landscapes of St. Louiss north side, an area almost exclusively inhabited by working-class and working-poor African Americans. Shooting in evocatively ghostly black-and-white 16 mm, Harris crafts an at once sorrowful and searching study of urban decay that speaks pointedly to Americas history of racialinjustice.

Long thought lost, this elegiac concert documentary captures the extraordinary 1990 reunion of estranged Velvet Underground bandmates Lou Reed and John Cale. The occasion for this landmark event was a live performance of their album Songs for Drella, a wry and wrenching tribute to their recently deceased former manager Andy Warhol (the nickname, Drella, a portmanteau of Dracula and Cinderella, hints at the complex feelings the two men held for the artist, who exerted a Svengali-like influence over their early careers). Filmed with evocative austerity by renowned cinematographer Ed Lachman (The Virgin Suicides, Carol), Songs for Drella is both a mesmerizing musical experience and a haunting reflection on memory, loss, regret, and the search forsolace.

Garnering comparisons to the work of David Lynch, Brian De Palma, and Pedro Almodvaryet undeniably on its own uncanny wavelengththe debut feature from Erin Vassilopoulos is a stylishly retro thriller tinged with surreal menace. On the run, Marian (Alessandra Mesa) goes to the only place she knows is safe: her childhood home. There, she is greeted by her estranged sister, Vivian (Ani Mesa), a stay-at-home housewife struggling to conceive and on the verge of a failing marriage. Though the two are identical twins, they live opposite lives. Marians mysterious return disrupts Vivians small-town routine, and the sisters must learn to reconnect and reconcile. When Marians haunted past finally catches up to her, their separate worlds collide, catapulting both sisters into gravedanger.

Superior is presented with the short film of the same name that inspiredit.

Barbara Stanwyck saddles up with Samuel Fuller for this audacious pulp western that puts a boldly feminist spin on thegenre.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: The feature-length documentary A Fuller Life, interviews with Fuller and critic Imogen Sara Smith, andmore.

Film noir hits the mean streets of 1990s Los Angeles in this stylish and subversive underworld odyssey from veteran actor-director BillDuke.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: An interview with Duke; a conversation among Duke, actor Laurence Fishburne, and critic Elvis Mitchell; a conversation between film scholars Racquel J. Gates and Michael B. Gillespie; andmore.

River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves make an unforgettable screen pairing in Gus Van Sants haunting tale of life and love on themargins.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: An illustrated audio conversation between Van Sant and filmmaker Todd Haynes, a documentary on the making of the film, an interview with film scholar Paul Arthur, andmore.

Vra Chytilovs subversive take on the 1980s teen horror movie is both a gonzo genre joyride and a blistering allegory for the psychic violence wrought by authoritarianoppression.

Kathryn Bigelows seductive breakout feature mixes moody art-house style with pulp pleasures to breathe fresh life into the vampirefilm.

The dark side of childhood imagination is conjured with exquisite eeriness in this unsettling evocation of innocencelost.

More women filmmakers featured in this monthsprogramming:

In this installment of our Spotlight series, critic and author Grady Hendrix examines the potent blend of emotional anguish and body horror that David Cronenberg tapped into for one of his most terrifyingclassics.

The lauded French Canadian filmmaker behind the recent blockbuster sensation Dune, Denis Villeneuve started his career with a series of darkly funny, offbeat films laced with the intriguing science-fiction themes that would recur in much of his later work. Following a striking, technologically prescient contribution to the omnibus anthology Cosmos, Villeneuve made his feature directorial debut with August 32nd on Earth, an idiosyncratic existential drama that established him as one of Canadian cinemas most vital new voices. Its follow-up, the audacious psychological fairy tale Maelstrm, is narrated by a fish with its head on a chopping block in a classically Villeneuvean touch of surprisingsurrealism.

Damon Runyons classic short story gets a sparkling screen update courtesy of an all-star cast let by Walter Matthau, Julie Andrews, and TonyCurtis.

Discover the unexpected story behind one of the most beloved books everwritten.

The most acclaimed of the many film adaptations of Anthony Hopes classic adventure novel is a superbly mounted tale of political intrigue, mistaken identities, and swashbucklingheroics.

This inspiring documentary traces a young powerlifters coming-of-age journey as she fights to hold on to her title while navigating the perils ofadolescence.

The magic of Disney becomes a young autistic mans lifeline in this powerfully honest and moving account of one familysjourney.

Fear comes in all forms in this selection of dread-inducing shorts. Featuring unsettling early works by masters of menace like David Lynch (The Alphabet) and Guillermo del Toro (Geometria) as well as innovative contemporary films that use horror to confront issues such as racism (Hair Wolf) and cultural genocide (The Black Case), these macabre miniatures may only last minutes, but they will haunt your psyche for muchlonger.

Sierra and The GreatRace

Get revved up for a pair of epic car races in a neon-surreal animated odyssey and an exuberant slapstickdelight.

Queer alienation gives way to an ecstatic experience of liberation in Dania Bdeirs dazzlingly conceived short, a Sundanceprizewinner.

Hot Mother and AutumnSonata

The often frayed bonds between parents and children are put under the microscope in these intense, claustrophobic portraits of extremely troubled mother-daughterrelationships.

The Criminals and TheEar

Two politically charged thrillers bristling with unseen menace evoke the ever-present sense of dread that underpins life in an authoritarian surveillancestate.

Specializing in portraits of powerful and often controversial figures, Marina Zenovich (Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired) began her career with these three idiosyncratic documentaries, which range from a candid look at the struggles of American independent filmmakers in the 1990s (Independents Day) to a self-reflexive exploration of her own fascination with a French politician turned convicted criminal turned actor (Who Is Bernard Tapie?) to an offbeat portrait of Tallinn, Estonia, as it prepares to host the Eurovision Song Contest (Estonia Dreams ofEurovision!).

Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang explores the limits of Americas rugged individualism in this troubling portrait of a young drifter who has turned his back onsociety.

With this exquisite fashion documentary, legendary designer Dries Van Noten offers an intimate look into his intricate creative process and rich homelife.

Benjamin Christensens legendary treatise on the history of witchcraft is a satanic brew of the scary, the gross, and the darklyhumorous.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: Audio commentary by film scholar Casper Tybjerg; Witchcraft Through the Ages (1968), a seventy-six-minute version of Hxan narrated by author William S. Burroughs; andmore.

More documentaries featured in this monthsprogramming:

Panic in the Streets andCaught

In her centennial month, the feisty, perpetually underrated Barbara Bel Geddes shines in a pair of tense, atmospheric noir classics from Elia Kazan and MaxOphls.

Dracula andBlacula

The ultimate vampire classic is paired with a subversive blaxploitation update in this twice-bitten doublefeature.

The Blob (1958) and The Blob(1988)

The gelatinous terror strikes and strikes again in the 1950s drive-in classic and its impressively gory Reagan-eraremake.

Frankenstein and Bride ofFrankenstein

Mary Shelleys fabled monster unleashes mayhem in a Universal horror classic and its wickedly wittysequel.

Bette Davis goes gloriously over-the-top batty in her and director Robert Aldrichs follow-up to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, a gothic melodrama overloaded with creepy swamp-water atmosphere, severed limbs, and high-camphistrionics.

Director Ti West tips his hat to the slasher classics of the 1970s and 80s with this intense, stylishly retro satanicshocker.

Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi star in this twisted H. G. Wells tale of science run amok from Hollywoods pre-Code horrorheyday.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: Audio commentary by film historian Gregory Mank; a conversation among filmmaker John Landis, makeup artist Rick Baker, and genre expert Bob Burns; andmore.

*Available in the U.S.only

Read the original:
October 2022 Programming on the Criterion Channel Announced - CriterionCast.com

At its best, the relationship between novelist and reader is an intimate one. Can I tell you something? whispers the writer, and the reader whispers back, Please do Of all the forms that the novel can take, the diary is surely the most confiding of all; its as if the intimacy level has been turned up to max. Can I tell you something really private; something I wouldnt share with anyone else?

A diary has the potential to be funny, by showcasing the idiotic lapses and random thoughts were all prone to, but too embarrassed to admit. It can be exciting: a piece of on-the-spot reportage from an eye-witness who was right there today, and will be right there again tomorrow. It can be a supremely manipulative text, forcing the readers trust, on the grounds that private outpourings are aways going to be authentic. (Are they, though? And what does it mean to call any piece of writing private?)

These ten novels could not be more diverseranging from the hilarious, to the confidential, to the downright sinisterbut they all have the diary format in common.

*

E.M. Delafield, The Diary of a Provincial Lady

The twee titleand, in the case of my copy, the flowery pink cover designdoes this novel no favors. Its not twee; its a work of dryly comic genius. The eponymous heroine is a harried housewife and would-be writer, juggling work, children and social life in a rural village, in pre-war England. Her woes are very humdrumfeeling fed up with her dowdy old clothes, for example, or failing to gel with her grumpy husband, or thinking of a witty put-down long after her snobbish visitor has leftbut the provincial lady turns everything to comedy gold with her crisply observant style.

Margaret Forster, Diary of an Ordinary Woman

An overview of twentieth-century history that manages to be involving, lucid and concise: this is a tall order for any writer, but Margaret Forster does it, to great effect, in the form of a fictional diary. The ordinary woman in question is Millicent King, who begins writing at the age of thirteen, on the eve of the First World War, and continues through to 1995, chronicling her own personal griefs and joys alongside the great events that shook the world during that remarkable century. As a means of getting to grips with history the diary makes total sense, because it echoes the way in which we all experience the world. Shared, public occasions never exist in a vacuum; they are only ever visible through the prism of our own private concernsand vice versa.

Alice Walker, The Color Purple

Strictly speaking, The Color Purple is an epistolary novel, but since Celies letters are addressed to God it seems fair to include it in this list. Dear God comes pretty close to Dear Diary, in that both forms of address imagine an idealised audience, with boundless reserves of sympathy, patience and understanding. Celie is certainly in need of a good listener; her life as an impoverished African-American teenager in rural Georgia is harsh beyond measure. Walkers novel records Celies struggles againstand eventual triumph overa society that seeks to brutalize her physically, mentally and emotionally. Whereas a third-person narrative might tend towards showing Celies sufferings, the Dear God format allows Celie to use the act of writing in order to think her way through events. Keeping a diary becomes, in itself, an assertion of will.

Wilkie Collins, The Woman in White

Perhaps the most sensational of all Victorian sensation novels, The Woman in White purports to be a document patched together from various sources, one of which is Marian Halcombes diary. Marian is an extraordinary heroine by any standards, but especially when you consider the nineteenth-century norms shes busting: not only is she permitted to have a masculine face, complete with large jaw and nascent mustache, and to avoid being glammed-up and/or married off by the end, she is also the most intelligent, courageous, loving and resourceful character in the novel. When I read The Woman in White as a teenager, I was very jealous of Marians diary: unlike me, she always had something thrilling to write about (when did I ever get the chance to climb about on the roof of a stately home, in the rain, in order to eavesdrop on a pair of villains?), on top of which, her diary had the propulsive narrative structure that mine consistently lacked. Somehow, at the time, it didnt occur to me that the contrast wasnt my fault: real diaries can but plod from day to day; only the fictional ones can carry a tightly-honed story.

Bram Stoker, Dracula

Dracula is another Victorian novel composed entirely of letters, diaries and newspaper articles. It opens with the journal of a solicitor named Jonathan Harker as he travels to Transylvania to meet a mysterious new client, at which point events take a turn for the bloodthirstyin an entirely literal sense. The advantage of the diary format is clear: the reader is able to watch Count Draculas horrific schemes unfold with a day-by-day, hour-by-hour immediacy, and from a variety of perspectives. If theres a disadvantage, its in the clash between the fictional narrators presumed state of mind, and the actual authors desire to write lucidly and well, with a slow ratcheting-up of tension. Within the space of a few hours, Harker finds himself imprisoned inside a gothic castle, at the mercy of a man who is able to crawl around like a bat on a perpendicular wall, and very nearly loses his life in an erotic encounter with three vampire women. Do these freakish events mess with his prose style? Not one bit. Aside from the occasional gentlemanly exclamation (God preserve my sanity!) Jonathan remains a diligent and cogent diarist.

Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl

[SPOILER ALERT] A secret diary is the most confessional and intimate form of writing, and therefore its instinctive to want to trust the diarists voice. Why would someone be lying when they are only writing for themselves? In Gone Girltwistiest of thrillersFlynn uses this intuitive trust to great effect, confusing readers into believing that they really, truly know Amy Dunne, because theyve read her secret diary. Turns out theyre wrong

George and Weedon Grossmith, The Diary of a Nobody

Why should I not publish my diary? Charles Pooter demands, at the start of this deftly comic satire on life in 1890s suburbia. I have often seen reminiscences of people I have never even heard of, and I fail to seebecause I do not happen to be a Somebodywhy my diary should not be interesting. Quite. When it comes to keeping a diary, there is always the potential for pomposity: what, after all, makes any of us believe that our daily thoughts and actions are sufficiently important to be placed on record? Charles Pooter is a middle-class London clerk, with worries and concerns that are far from grandiose (Will the butcher sue me, after tripping over my boot-scraper? Do my ill-fitting trousers make me look like a sailor? Would it be a good idea to paint the bath-tub red?), but for all his pretentions, he is oddly endearing. Perhaps its because hes so recognisable. Theres a little bit of Charles Pooter in every one of us who has ever kept a diary.

Sue Townsend, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13

Although written a century later, and purporting to be the outpourings of an adolescent boy, rather than a middle-aged man, this hilarious YA novel is a close cousin to the Grossmith brothers Diary of a Nobody. A self-styled Intellectual with a loathing for Margaret Thatcher, a terror of acne, and a passion for Pandora Braithwaite, Adrian Mole is a wonderfully Pooter-ish mixture of pretension and lovability. Under the cover of humor, Townsends novel also offers a glimpse into working-class Midlands life during a difficult decade for Britain, when unemployment was rife and class division very real.

Dodie Smith, I Capture the Castle

A diary is so often a teenagers best friend, so its the perfect vehicle for a coming-of-age story. I Capture the Castle may not be as laugh-out-loud funny as Adrian Mole, but its humorous and touching in its own quiet way. In 1930s England, Cassandra Mortmain records the ups and downs of life in a crumbling castle, where she resides with her eccentric family. Their lives are changed, for better and for worse, by the arrival of two dashing American brothers, Simon and Neil Cotton. I discovered this book when I was about fourteenthe perfect ageand fell in love from the very first line. I write this sitting in the kitchen sink, Cassandra tells us, engagingly. That is, my feet are in it. The rest of me is on the draining board.

Helen Fielding, Bridget Joness Diary

A very 1990s take on Jane Austens Pride and Prejudice, and one of the defining books of the decade, its difficult to imagine this novel in any other format. Bridgets insecurities, and her preoccupation with daily calorie-intake, cigarette-count and weight gained or lost, are the kinds of things a heroine can only really confide in the pages of her dairy. Fieldings writing is so good that the plotBridgets gradual disillusionment with caddish Daniel Cleaver, and growing appreciation of Mark Darcys true worthseems to unfold effortlessly, in and among the hilarious descriptions of Turkey Curry buffets, Tarts and Vicars parties, and blue-string soup.

_________________________________

The House in the Orchard by Elizabeth Brooks is available now via Tin House.

The rest is here:
Intimacy and Manipulation: A Reading List of Fictional Diaries - Literary Hub