Introduction to Blog

'Different Strokes for Different Folks'; just about as pithy a title I could think up of for this new (hopefully fruitful) satiating of my critical inhibitions. What's it all about? Well, first off, allow me to meander for awhile.

I've always been fascinated by the mediums of film, of novel, the transition from one to another through adaptation. And indeed, the next step of variations from one film version to another; different interpretations through adaptation. All of which is good for many a ponderous trawling through countless versions of effectively the same stories, treading and re-treading the same themes with effectively, different strokes for different folks.

Partially as a means of ordering my thoughts, partially a way of embracing the medium of nabbing readership in the modern-day world, and wholly centered around a desire to spit out what's on my mind and (hopefully) providing some interest among anyone who chances upon this blog, I've decided to start this blog. http://actorvsactor.blogspot.co.uk is not a URL I'm entirely happy as of yet as it only encompasses the preliminary sketch of what I'm aiming for here; but it'll do, for the time-being.

What will it involve? Well, as a starting point, I'm going to be doing a series of head to head adaptational matchups. Essentially a fancy way of describing how I'll critically review/analyse multiple adaptations/remake of a particular story (i.e. comparing the 1951 and 1970 Christmas Carol stories, the Olivier and Branagh adaptations of Henry V and Hamlet, the 1969 and 2010 versions of True Grit, etc.) In my amateurish exploits as an aspiring theatre critic, my main interest has been analysing the specific actors themselves; so this is the route I'm going to take at first (i.e. who plays the best Heathcliff, Elizabeth Bennett, George Smiley etc.). Though somewhere along the line as I (hopefully) improve the scope of my writing we'll move onto bigger and better things.

So what's the format of these match-ups going to be like? I'll be doing a little trial run in a bit, but effectively, I'll be pitting different actors' performances against one another and declaring a victor between the two. Look out for my next post, where I'll be posting my thoughts on who wins out in the casts of the 1945 and 1974 adaptations of 'Brief Encounter'.

For these matchups, I'm open to any suggestions anyone has; fire away. Those who know me, know that I LOVE to write about anything, especially literature; so don't be surprised if, say, some little discourse on John Donne's poetry, a review of some hidden gem of a novel I've just uncovered, or a critical analysis on some literary theory reading of some text/play across my studies pops up. Again, for these I'm open to suggestions.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and hope you like what's coming up!