[Note to Kate and others who loved the new "Pride and Prejudice": there were several familiar P&P faces in "The Libertine." P&P's Jane was Rochester's wife; Mr. Collins was Rochester's friend and fellow playright George Etheredge; Miss Bingley was one of Rochester's favorite whores; and Mr. Wickham was Rochester's boy toy.]
 A year or so ago, Greg and I had a sort of 18th century video festival. For several months, we rented every movie we could find that was set in the 18th century, and a few in the late17th century, just because we both love that period. We also threw in a few early 19th century films, most of which were Jane Austen adaptations. Anyway, it was a costume drama marathon, and we loved it. After watching dozens of movies, we agreed that our favorite, based on atmosphere alone, was "Barry Lyndon." Like "The Libertine," it could have used some editing and the pace was plodding, but the evocation of the mid-18th century seemed more genuine than any other movie. Here are some of the other movies we watched in our little "festival":
1776
Affair of the Necklace
Amadeus
Aristocrats (1999 BBC mini-series)
Casanova (Fellini version)
Damn the Defiant
Dangerous Liaisons
 The Draughtsman's Contract
Farinelli
Jefferson in Paris
Joseph Andrews
The Lady and the Duke
Last of the Mohicans
The Madness of King George
Marie Antoinette (1938)
Moll Flanders (1965 and 1996 films, plus 1990s BC min-series)
La Nuit de Varennes
Orphans of the Storm (1920s silent film)
Poldark (the 1970s BBC mini-series)
Quills
Ridicule
Rob Roy
The Scarlet Pimpernel (all versions)
A Tale of Two Cities (1935 film and 1989 BBC mini-series)
Tom Jones
Triumph of Love
Valmont
And, of course, all the Jane Austen movies.
 "Dangerous Liaisons" continues to be a favorite for the acting alone. And I love the opening scenes of Glenn Close and John Malkovich (separately) getting dressed. The fact that many of Glenn Close's dresses were copied from paintings of Madame de Pompadour was also a plus. "Amadeus" is another favorite, based on the brilliant acting of F. Murray Abraham. I also have a particular fondness for "The Draughtsman's Contract" set in the early years of the 18th century, and I'm a big fan of director Peter Greenaway.
 As we watched all these films, it was fascinating to see how certain film periods portray the 18th century. The 1922 silent film, "Orphans of the Storm" with the Gish sisters, was not too bad in terms of atmosphere and period detail (the women's costumes were a bit odd, but overall the 18th century ambience was pretty good for the time) . But the movies of the 1930s through the 1960s seem more of their own era than of the 18th century. Hairstyles, especially, tend to reflect the time in which the film was made. But when you get to the mid 1970s, an attempt to portray a more accurate impression of the era begins to be seen in some movies. Though there continued to be some that presented a Hollywoodish version of the 1700s, all bright and glittery and glamorous and clean, you begin to see films that are more atmospheric and gritty, showing as much of the filth as of the opulence of the period. As we watch them, we don't necessarily think, "This looks SO much like 1963," as one thinks when watching "Tom Jones." Instead, we think, "This looks like what I imagine the mid-18th century must have looked like." The first film to really do that was Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" from 1975. "The Libertine" continues that tradition.
 Anyway, my rambling point is that I looooooooooove period movies. Give me costumes and wigs and grand country house settings and I am in hog heaven. Regardless of reviews, I will go to see every costume drama that gets released. And I will watch them again and again on video/DVD. One of the reasons I so loved the new "Pride and Prejudice" was the atmosphere. I did not at all care that Jane Austen's words and story had been tampered with. The atmospheric direction made up for everything. And 18th century atmosphere will get me to a movie theater every time.
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