The SF Chronicle ran an article about POB about 2 weeks ago. In the
nineties one of our big business successes from HP who loves sailing
read all his books, and invited POB over for a cruise on the west coast
on our moguls 50' (ketch?). All parties reported great enjoyment, but
the show stopper was that POB displayed a _total_ ignorance of sailing -
couldn't be trusted at the helm and hadn't a clue about the methods or
capabilities of a boat. Completely charming old racanteur (sp?) though,
and impressively brilliant, eccentric, and "old school".

Rufus


Chuck Bollinger wrote:



Gogarty wrote:

Has anyone seen this movie? I did yesterday. Disappointing. No depth
at all.

Yes, like another complex effort: "Dune". Frank Herbert, the author,
complained that the movie should have been titled "Scenes from Dune".

Parhaps the most distinguishing feature of the POB books is the slow
pace. Apparently POB was a fan of Louisa May Alcott with her detail, and
it is said that one of the volumes, in which the story is entirely (?)
on land, is a tribute to her. For that reason, it would seem impossible
to accomplish the feel of the books in a movie. And, really, try to
think of the movie you would produce from the real M&C, volume 1. By
the time you got the music recital where A meets M and challenges him,
to the promotion, re-meeting and dinner, fitting the Sophie - there's an
hour gone just doing that properly, and they haven't even got underway.

The diametrical opposite of POB's books are Patrick Cornwell, "Sharp"
series, in which this incredible (literally) ubermench of a junior
officer winds up hobnobbing with Nelson and all sorts of stuff. I
couldn't stand it - too MTV.

I do hope that there will be future movies and that they will serve the
population of loyal readers by developing characters and such.
Nevertheless, as a production, it certainly conveyed the confusion of a
naval battle, boarding, and such. And the image of that guy sitting on
the 'seat of ease' as the camera panned down the port side in the snow -
that's going to stay with me for a long time.