The Hemingway Play

I remember seeing "The Hemingway Play" on Hollywood Television Theater on KCET TV in LA. Saw in a few times as it was repeated during that year. My best friend Jeff and I called each other when we knew it was going to be on. I was familiar with a few of the actors in the production.

Ever since then I have tried to find a copy of it. Not knowing who wrote in was the main problem. I even mentioned it to Tim Matheson last year. He lives in Santa Barbara. After a SB Film Festival event ( where he interviewed Felicity Huffman on stage after showing "Transamerica") I had an opportunity to meet him outside and mentioned the play. He was taken back saying that goes way back and he didn't remember who wrote it. Thankfully there is the internet!.

If I can find a copy I believe it would be an excellent idea to do it on stage. With Matheson directing or even in one of the older parts. Any info on where to find a copy?

Amazon has a service where they can use video on demand via printing on a DVD-R. I saw this with a few DVDs that are not available here in the US.

I hope they can do this with this play.

Like many of you, I found that this was a profoundly interesting play with many of life's lessons that can be mined.

Combined with first rate acting and a great idea that was well executed, it is a shame this effort does not have wider release.

If I can see again a performance for one last time before I die (many more years down the line I hope) I want to see this again.

Of all the movies that I want to see again, this movie is the one I want to see the most. The dialogue is first rate and the story is both subtle and moving. It moved me and that was the first time that I wished I had a VCR. It is my fondest hope that this film be re-released.

I am so glad to find others who remember and love this play. I've searched for 20 years for a place to buy it on video or DVD This is one of the best plays ever. My husband and I talk about it often because we go to Key West a lot and always visit the Hemingway house. We've asked the clerks in the gift shop about the play and they say they have never heard of it. I've also searched PBS websites like the History Channel, AETN, Biography channel, etc. I wonder who we could contact to find out if it is available any where? There's not many stories that stay in your heart or mind for twenty years. I've also looked at Best Buy. Does anyone know of any Hemingway historians who might know where to get copies? If you do please post it here. I'm sure all of us would love to get our hands on it.

This is an incredible production and a wonderful play. It's a shame it's not out on video. In it we see the four stages of Ernest Hemingway: the wounded boy back from WWI, the 1920's Paris writer, the middle aged safari hunter and "Papa" Hemingway. They and their entourages meet and mingle in a fascinating look at the writer and the people in his life. It is touching and very adult in the handling of its characters. Basically a stage play on video, the production values and overall casting are very high.