Welcome to episode 7, where we talk about Sexed Up Historical Dramas. (Note: we talk about sex a LOT because that was kind of the topic. There’s a lot of sex, is what I’m saying.)
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First things first: Reidan is in Boston, and was not near the bombings, she’s okay. The Boston mayor Tom Menino and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick set up OneFund Boston as a way to funnel donations. If you could toss in a couple bucks, that would be awesome. Thank you.
IMDB links for the various shows we discussed:
The Other Boleyn Girl: BBC version.
If you would like to read more:
Tudors: Anything by Alison Weir
Borgias: The Borgias and Their Enemies
Rome: God, I have to pick just one? Livia: First Lady of Rome
Enjoy!
“It’s all very white, isn’t it? . . . Where’s sex in ancient China?”
*flexes knuckles*
You know what, this is actually stumping me, ladies. The tv series and movies that appeared after sex was no long that verboten a subject (meaning after the 1990s) don’t usually have quality or historical accuracy to go with it, and therefore I will spare your pain and not recommend them to you.
Seriously, there was an uproar when “Romance on Lushan Mountain” came out in 1980 because of a one-second onscreen kiss. Before that, married couples (yes, only married couples) would close the windows and turn off the lights and that would be it. The good ol’ puritan times.
The movies and tv series made in the Hong Kong and Taiwan regions might have more NSWK material, but I still don’t see much historical accuacy in it. Lots of it is just sexual fantasies (or outright porn) set in ancient times.
For a gritty historical show, though, I can recommend Yong Zheng Wang Chao (雍正王朝, literally The Reign of Emperor Yong Zheng),
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279520/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
http://movie.douban.com/subject/1830575/photos?type=S
it tells of the period from the final stages of Emperor Kang Xi’s reign (1661-1722) and the entity of his fourth son Emperor Yong Zheng’s reign (1723-1736). There are romantic subplots in it, although nothing too graphic. It’s based on the novel by Er Yue He (二月河) and there’s about 50-60% historical accuracy in it. A better resonance could be made if the viewer has an understanding of the troubles in modern Chinese society (such as bureaucratic corruption, natural disasters and famines), many of which the party and government had been tackling for decades. The scrips is sound and the acting is superb.
But I don’t know if there are English subtitles available. But if any clips are available on Youtube or anything, the opening sequence (song sung by Liu Huan, who sang the opening song for the 2008 Olympics alongside Sarah Brightman) alone is worth a watch.
http://v.ku6.com/show/2M9JSkZSIE71-ji_v3PciQ…html
http://www.56.com/u12/v_MTI2Nzg5NTg.html
It’s all very white, isn’t it? . . . Where’s sex in ancient China?”
*flexes knuckles*
You know what, this is actually stumping me, ladies. The tv series and movies that appeared after sex was no long that verboten a subject (meaning after the 1990s) don’t usually have quality or historical accuracy to go with it, and therefore I will spare your pain and not recommend them to you.
Seriously, there was an uproar when “Romance on Lushan Mountain” came out in 1980 because of a one-second onscreen kiss. Before that, married couples (yes, only married couples) would close the windows and turn off the lights and that would be it. The good ol’ puritan times.
The movies and tv series made in the Hong Kong and Taiwan regions might have more NSWK material, but I still don’t see much historical accuacy in it. Lots of it is just sexual fantasies (or outright porn) set in ancient times.
For a gritty historical show, though, I can recommend Han Wu Da Di (汉武大帝) and Yong Zheng Wang Chao (雍正王朝, literally The Reign of Emperor Yong Zheng), the former tells of a period between 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. during the West Han dynasty (202 BC – 4 AD), and the life of an emperor that banished the Huns and helped create the Silk Road;
the latter tells of the period from the final stages of Emperor Kang Xi’s reign (1661-1722) and the entity of his fourth son Emperor Yong Zheng’s reign (1723-1736), both during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). There are romantic subplots in it, although nothing too graphic. It’s based on the novel by Er Yue He (二月河) and there’s about 50-60% historical accuracy in it. A better resonance could be made if the viewer has an understanding of the troubles in modern Chinese society (such as bureaucratic corruption, natural disasters and famines), many of which the party and government had been tackling for decades. The scripts are sound and the acting is superb.
But I don’t know if there are English subtitles available. But if any clips are available on Youtube or anything, the opening sequence (with a song sung by Liu Huan, who also sang the opening song for the 2008 Olympics alongside Sarah Brightman) alone is worth a watch.