A tragedy tailored to the spirit of the times – Romeo and Juliet as interpreted by Franco Zeffirelli and Baz Luhrmann

This article discusses two film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, i.e. one directed by Franco Zeffirelli and the other by Baz Luhrmann. It covers the following aspects: the structure of both the drama and its two film adaptations, the characters’ creation, the choice of setting and screen time, and the function of tragedy. Shakespeare’s language is characterised by unparalleled wit and powers of observation, and the final form of his plays is a clear indication of his ambivalent attitude towards tradition and the rigid structure of the drama. By breaking with convention, favouring an episodic structure, and blending tragedy with comedy, Shakespeare always takes risks, in a similar vain to the two directors who decided to make film adaptations based on his plays. Each technical device the adaptors selected could have turned out to be a wonderful novelty or a total disaster. The strength of both Zeffirelli’s and Luhrman’s adaptations is their emphasis on love and youth, which thanks to their directorial skill is perfectly in tune with the spirit of their respective times.This article discusses two film adaptations of Romeo and Juliet, i.e. one directed by Franco Zeffirelli and the other by Baz Luhrmann. It covers the following aspects: the structure of both the drama and its two film adaptations, the characters’ creation, the choice of setting and screen time, and the function of tragedy. Shakespeare’s language is characterised by unparalleled wit and powers of observation, and the final form of his plays is a clear indication of his ambivalent attitude towards tradition and the rigid structure of the drama. By breaking with convention, favouring an episodic structure, and blending tragedy with comedy, Shakespeare always takes risks, in a similar vain to the two directors who decided to make film adaptations based on his plays. Each technical device the adaptors selected could have turned out to be a wonderful novelty or a total disaster. The strength of both Zeffirelli’s and Luhrman’s adaptations is their emphasis on love and youth, which thanks to their directorial skill is perfectly in tune with the spirit of their respective times

Hermite-Hadamard type inequalities for Wright-convex functions of several variables

We present Hermite--Hadamard type inequalities for Wright-convex, strongly convex and strongly Wright-convex functions of several variables defined on simplice

Polish libraries: Leaping from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century

This paper traces computerization in Polish research libraries, from microfilming initiatives in the immediate post–World War II era to the inauguration of digitization programs from the 1990s onward. It describes the initiatives taken by the new, independent Poland during the 1990s to develop an information society, including library networking, computerization, and digitization, and credits the work of the Mellon Foundation in bringing changes to Polish libraries.published or submitted for publicatio

The Pianist – the image of a ghetto in the film language of Roman Polanski

The Pianist – the image of a ghetto in the film language of Roman Polanski The work of Roman Polański has always been a unique example of both craftsmanship and interesting subjects. Each of his films (even of those crushed by the superficial interpretations of the reviewers) functioned perfectly well in popular culture and as an artistic accomplishment. It reconciled the tastes of both sophisticated viewers and those who looked for simple entertainment. Roman Polański’s method of creation entails the use of a number of curtains (genres, popular culture subjects, popular patterns) which cover the deeply hidden truth about the world and relations among people. In The Pianist the subject of the Holocaust was used as the key to show the mechanisms that rule the world. Also in this case the most obvious diagnosis proves to be the least important. The Pianist is not an autobiography dealing with the memories from a getto. Definitely more significant is the attempt to juxtapose the image of a ghetto and its inhabitants with the film language of Roman Polański. It makes it possible to read the problem of the Holocaust against the motifs always present in his work, including the context of the cinema of the kind. In The Pianist Polański joins the precision of a craftsman with the memory of a witness. As a result, using the solutions known from Hollywood films, he tells the story of a ghetto, which is seen as the metapher of the whole world.The Pianist – the image of a ghetto in the film language of Roman Polanski The work of Roman Polański has always been a unique example of both craftsmanship and interesting subjects. Each of his films (even of those crushed by the superficial interpretations of the reviewers) functioned perfectly well in popular culture and as an artistic accomplishment. It reconciled the tastes of both sophisticated viewers and those who looked for simple entertainment. Roman Polański’s method of creation entails the use of a number of curtains (genres, popular culture subjects, popular patterns) which cover the deeply hidden truth about the world and relations among people. In The Pianist the subject of the Holocaust was used as the key to show the mechanisms that rule the world. Also in this case the most obvious diagnosis proves to be the least important. The Pianist is not an autobiography dealing with the memories from a getto. Definitely more significant is the attempt to juxtapose the image of a ghetto and its inhabitants with the film language of Roman Polański. It makes it possible to read the problem of the Holocaust against the motifs always present in his work, including the context of the cinema of the kind. In The Pianist Polański joins the precision of a craftsman with the memory of a witness. As a result, using the solutions known from Hollywood films, he tells the story of a ghetto, which is seen as the metapher of the whole world

Different Faces of Parody in Billy Liar

Parody in John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar functions on a number of levels. First of all, it relates to the construction of the main character – his behaviour, way of speaking, facial expression. Billy constantly plays a game with the world in which, according to him, one can live only when pretends someone else. Since its main aim is to imitate and mock others in order to achieve a comical effect, it is easy to state that Billy Fisher is a master of this art. But the character of Schlesinger’s film is expressed not only in the construction of the character (Billy’s aversion to the set patterns of middle-class life and his simultaneous fascination and disdain for mass culture). The director did not hesitate to parody the Angry Young Men cinema too. Thanks to this, he managed to expose the weaknesses of this world-renowned movement in the British cinema. Ironically, in parodistic, artificial behavior of Billy we can see a lot of truth about him, his environment and even the convention used by the director to talk about Billy’s life.

The City According to Mike Leigh

The City According to Mike LeighThe key to the interpretation of the image of London presented in Mike Leigh’s films can be found in his own words: “I actually do think London is a hidden city the way New York isn’t.” and “You can get the hang of New York, but London is a collection of villages. It takes a long time to get under its skin.” London in Mike Leigh’s films perfectly matches the director’s creative thought, exposing social differences and the lack of communication in the family. However, the director releases his characters from the dark corners and hideous streets, and lets more light and nature into their lives. Thanks to this, as he has said, the city becomes a collection of small villages, which for him is the greatest value of the place where he lives and makes his

Acting Styles of the British New Wave

Acting Styles of the British New Wave British New Wave cinema is typically associated with two groups of actors. One includes those with an established position (such as Peter Finch, Laurence Olivier or Dirk Bogarde), and the other those at the beginning of their film career. The latter group seems to be much more interesting in terms of their lives, background and their methods of work. Most of them come from a working-class, non-artistic background (from which the directors of New Wave films asked them to draw inspiration). However, all of them received a solid theatrical education. In this way, a unique collage of skills and experience was created, the elements of which produced a very interesting artistic result. This sheds new light on the phenomenon of the British New Wave: actors, graduates of renowned schools, known from the most famous theatres and troupes (such as the Royal Court Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company or the Old Vic) end up in films where they are supposed to play characters from the lower social classes, speak their language and make reference to their own memories and background

Poetics of the Happy Ending in Mike Leigh's Films

Poetics of the Happy Ending in Mike Leigh’s Films While the most recent cinema is about surprising us with strange formal solutions, whose finale is intended to completely confuse and outsmart us, Mike Leigh makes fi lms which surprise us with their “typicality”, at the same time (paradoxically) leading to fi nales that we may not expect. Among researchers on melodrama, there are voices clearly assessing happy endings negatively. It is pointed out that a happy ending oft en looks as if it were “tacked on” and artifi cial, ignoring the overall plot rather than being integral to the rest of the fi lm. In the case of Mike Leigh’s films, the situation looks (ostensibly) similarly. Leigh oft en leads the viewer through the dramatic lives of his characters, and watches the process of families’ lives being ruined, one aft er another, only to finally make them rise like a phoenix from the ashes. It may be stated that Leigh’s fi lms in a somewhat artifi cial way take advantage of the happy ending. Th is artifi ciality, however, is not about a banal or ridiculous ending, but about one we have not been prepared for by the director

England in a Miniature in Mike Leigh's "The Short and Curlies"

England in a Miniature in Mike Leigh's “The Short and Curlies”Mike Leigh’s films are known for having kept the same tone and having played out the same melody for years. It is noteworthy that all the themes which Mike Leigh developed in his subsequent films, appeared in The Short and Curlies. Short scenes from the life of the English in The Short and Curlies can be seen in each scene of the film. From details such as a street with a perfectly straight terrace of houses with small gardens to social questions that are constant in the British culture. This ordinary, everyday observation gave rise to the plot of The Short and Curlies, revolving around a love affair of Joy (Sylvestra Le Touzel), a young woman working at a chemist’s and Clive (David Thewlis), a man who communicates with her only by means of his humourless jokes. Another story in the film is a complicated relationship of an eccentric hairdresser Betty (Alison Steadman), who is more interested in the life of the pharmacist than in the life of her own daughter Charlene (Wendy Nottingham). As Ewa Mazierska says: “Mike Leigh was once called the painter of miniatures – his films and TV productions for which he is equally praised and admired, concentrate on life of «small people with small gardens»”. Mike Leigh knows that his strengths are well written dialogues and this extraordinary skill to become a fictional character possessed by the actors he chooses.Mike Leigh’s films are known for having kept the same tone and having played out the same melody for years. It is noteworthy that all the themes which Mike Leigh developed in his subsequent films, appeared in The Short and Curlies. Short scenes from the life of the English in The Short and Curlies can be seen in each scene of the film. From details such as a street with a perfectly straight terrace of houses with small gardens to social questions that are constant in the British culture. This ordinary, everyday observation gave rise to the plot of The Short and Curlies, revolving around a love affair of Joy (Sylvestra Le Touzel), a young woman working at a chemist’s and Clive (David Thewlis), a man who communicates with her only by means of his humourless jokes. Another story in the film is a complicated relationship of an eccentric hairdresser Betty (Alison Steadman), who is more interested in the life of the pharmacist than in the life of her own daughter Charlene (Wendy Nottingham). As Ewa Mazierska says: “Mike Leigh was once called the painter of miniatures – his films and TV productions for which he is equally praised and admired, concentrate on life of «small people with small gardens»”. Mike Leigh knows that his strengths are well written dialogues and this extraordinary skill to become a fictional character possessed by the actors he chooses