Wednesday, April 10th

Long Day’s Journey in production (film) – how it aligns with expectations from reading and discussing the text

Assignment for Wednesday, April 10th

Watch Long Day's Journey Into Night, directed by Sidney Lumet, 1962 

Available for free on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AkZ-3hBPQwQ?si=qHplNpJ2k446OtNK&t=1

Availble for rental (about $4.00) on Prime Video: https://www.amazon.com/Long-Days-Journey-into-Night/dp/B004EBKWWC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1N3X9ORTAV5V9&keywords=long+day%27s+journey+into+night+1962&qid=1699628185&s=instant-video&sprefix=long+day%27s+journey+into+night%2Cinstant-video%2C527&sr=1-1

Read the section on the 1962 film (pp. 126 - 134) from the chapter called "Media Adaptations" in O'Neill / Long Day's Journey Into Night (Plays in Production), by Brenda Murphy.

Reflection Prompts

1. Having read and discussed Long Day's Journey Into Night over the last few weeks, how did the 1962 film meet, exceed, or disappoint your expectations? 

2. Having read and seen Thirst, did you see Cathleen differently in the two scenes in which she appears?

3. In her chapter on "Media Adaptations," Brenda Murphy elaborates on director Sidney Lumet's statement that, in his 1962 film, the camera is a "fifth character": "it is indeed through the constantly shifting subjective point of view assumed by the camera that the film becomes a cinematic rather than a dramatic experience" (130-131). How does the use of the camera affect your experience of the scene at the beginning of Act 3 with Mary and Cathleen? Other scenes? 

4. How do you think the film balances the "blame game" in the play? Does Tyrone's description of his experience as an immigrant in his Act 4 monologue let him "off the hook" for anything he says or does in Long Day's Journey Into Night? Does having read and seen Thirst affect your sympathies for Tyrone?

5. How does Katharine Hepburn's portrayal of Mary Tryone match up with your perception of the character? Is she more or less sympathetic? 

6. How does Jason Robards Jr.'s performance in the Act 4 scene between Jamie and Edmund affect your perception of the character? Is he more or less sympathetic?