Isadora

The bigger than life Isadora Duncan, a dancing legend, is the focus of this film. "Isadora", which came out in 1968, came and went without much fanfare. The opportunity to watch it again came when it was shown on a cable network recently. The main attraction is Vanessa Redgrave's take in the subject matter.

The biopic, directed by Karel Reisz, follows aspects of Ms. Duncan's life. One thing comes across: she was a woman ahead of her time! Her disregard for classical dance made her famous, although as shown in the film, one wonders what liberties the filmmakers took in Ms. Redgrave's renditions of works created by the famous artist.

Another thing that is clearly evident in the movie is the unhappy life of Isadora. She had no luck with anyone of her lovers. The most famous one was Paris Singer, the son of an American millionaire which ended tragically as their son and her daughter with another man drowned, something that weighed heavily on this tormented woman.

Vanessa Redgrave at the height of her beauty was magnificent in her interpretation of the troubled Isadora. Jason Robards is seen as Paris Singer, the American heir that fell in love with the dancer, but didn't seem to have much in common with her.

ISADORA is one of those exquisitely produced big studio films of the late 60s that had a major release for 3 months and then vanished off the face of the earth forever. Some other titles this seemed to have happen to are; YOUNG WINSTON, NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA, MONTECARLO OR BUST (the other "Great Race" movie), STAR!, MAROONED, FINIANS RAINBOW, ON A CLEAR DAY, DARLING LILI....all presented in 70mm as souvenir ticket presentations in luxury cinemas of the time and then.....rarely revived or screened but also never forgotten, because so many people apparently saw them and remember them from this one major release. ISADORA may have been more financially successful than some mentioned above and it did have a huge impact on the beautiful Art Nouveau decor revival of the 60s (Art Deco ate the 70s..or vice versa). The look for the film was a sensation and the impact on teenage girls and their mothers was undeniable, all having a huge impact on free form ballet classes (nymphs and Grecian urns and veils) so hilariously satirized in THE BOYFRIEND in 1972. Vanessa Redgrave is synonymous with this role and one yearns for a cinema presentation of this extraordinary 20s icon now in 2005. I don't remember the film being overly criticized in 1968, it was a hit and respected for its tragic story and superb art direction. Several docos appeared on TV (one even being directed by Ken Russell) and there was quite a celebration of all things ISADORA and Vanessa in that year. But none since.

One of the better biopics thanks in large part to a stunning performance from Vanessa Redgrave in the title role of "Isadora" and meticulous direction from Karel Reisz who obviously knew what he was doing and displayed an obvious affection for his subject. It's intelligent and it looks great and there's a fine supporting cast so with all this going for it why does it feel like a very high-class soap opera? Perhaps because all biopics can finally do nothing but reduce their subject's lives to a series of melodramatic incidents or 'highlights'. Perhaps because most famous people's lives are dull most of the time and it's only the melodramatic incidents that people are interested in. This one spins out a series of dances, (very well recreated by Redgrave), and romantic encounters with sufficient aplomb to give it an edge over most biopics. It isn't quite in the same class as Ken Russell's shorter, rawer television version but it comes close.

Over the past weekend, I viewed a VHS of Isadora. Throughout the movie (and I assume this was in the script), the motif of the scarf is repeated in various ways showing that she loved scarves and billowy fabric; even if she didn't in real life, the reinforcement of the scarf (as well as her pursuit of the man driving the Bugatti), gives her death a logic and finality that "real" life cannot. Surely, Isadora's death must have been so fictional as not to be believed, as well as the fate of her children. Film-makers must craft a film in such a way that the viewer believes that every moment is true. Compare this screenplay with what Robert McKee says about writing screenplays in his incomparable book, Story, and you'll agree that the Isadora screenplay is undervalued. Also, Redgrave's performance is surely one of the finest of any era--and should have gotten the Oscar, but thankfully won at Cannes (outside the Hollywood political machine). The length of the film, to me, was no problem; the life of Isadora Duncan, could not have been shown in less. The stage scenes of her dancing were perfectly directed and illustrated how she could fill a theatre while also being rejected.

There are several versions of this film. The original is rather long, but well worth the time spent viewing it. The subsequent edited versions -- even the so-called "director's cut" -- omit small but crucial events in Isadora's life, without which it becomes more difficult to understand how Isadora sublimated her angst into her art.