Does anyone know of an accessible review by an historian of the film, The
Return of Martin Guerre?
Paul R. Rivera
Department of History
Florida Gulf Coast University
Fort Myers, Florida
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Back in 1983, Film & History carried a long and detailed interview with
Natalie Zemon Davis, the historical consultant to the film.
Bensen, Ed. "Martin Guerre, The Historian and the Filmmakers: An Interview
with Natalie Zemon Davis." 13.3 (1983): 49-65
This article can be obtained at a library which carries the journal or
owns the CD-ROM for 26 Years. Back issues of the journal and
the CD-ROM are available via the Film & History web site.
As you know, this film made quite a splash when it came out because
of its meticulous historical research; it seemed to prove that films could
be BOTH historically accurate and dramatically viable. This principle has
a lot of truth, but is generally ignored for interest in the "story arc."
Martin Guerre was remade with Richard Gere as "Summersby" (1983) and
placed in an American Civil War setting.
Good luck!
Peter Rollins
Peter C. Rollins
Editor-in-Chief
_Film & History: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Film and TV Studies_
(Web site: www.filmandhistory.org)
RR 3 Box 80
Cleveland, OK 74020
(918)243-7637 and fax 5995
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Comments: Individual subscription information on the web site
as well as information and FAQ's about the CD-ROMs. There are
also discussion items and essays on Saving Private Ryan, Amistad,
CNN's Cold War, and a host of other topics. The Table of Contents
for the last thirty years is there as well. The last two issues deal with
The Holocaust in Film and the next two issues (2003) will focus on
the Western in a follow through from our Kansas City conference during
November of 2002. (The first of the two was mailed in July, 2003.)
Next conference is scheduled for 11-14 November 2004--yes, 2004--
and will focus on "War in Film, TV, and History," in Dallas
Texas. We are looking for energetic people to serve as Area Chairs
and will put a list of existing and available Area Chair topics on
the web site in the near future. Some basic information is on the
web site right now. Check it out at
www.filmandhistory.org
The conference site is pictured at
http://www.dolce.com/americanairlines/american.html
Past issues of Film & History have been devoted to World War II, The Gulf War,
and many individual articles over the years have surveyed the propaganda,
feature, and television dramas about War. It is a popular and pervasive
genre--second only to The Western, the topic of our last conference.
Keynote speaker for the conference is Adrian Cronauer, the person whose
story was brought to the screen by Robin Williams and Director Barry Levinson
in _Good Morning, Vietnam_. Adrian wrote the first script for the project
and then it was '"improved" by Hollywood folks and, of course, Robin
Williams. Adrian is a wonderful public speaker who always starts his
talks with his signature wake-up call,"Goooooood Mornnnnning, Vietnammmmmmm!"
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