Great Actors Research Articles

When cinema draws its inspiration from literature: Marcello Mastroianni and his literary characters’ embodiment

It is since the dawn of cinema that the relationship between literature and cinema exists. Despite the profound transformations taking place in production and consumption, cinema continues to draw inspiration from literature. The increasingly important role that new technologies have in the production of spectacular effects has not eliminated the need to have subjects of proven effectiveness: the recourse to works of both classical and contemporary literature. One of the film careers that has crossed paths on many occasions with the major Italian and foreign fiction, contemporary and classic, through the interpretation of some of the most famous characters of those books is Marcello Mastroianni’s, great actor on the Italian theatrical and cinema scene.

The Russo-European Gas Trade and the Position of Southeast Europe between the Great Actors: Neo-imperialism, Conflict–Cooperation Perpetuum, and Soft Balancing

Abstract The article analyses the Russian neo-imperialist strategy in the gas trade in Southeast Europe (SEE) and the reactions of the EU and the region’s countries to this. The first argument in the article is that the existence of favourable political, social and economic preconditions is necessary for the application of a neo-imperialist strategy. The second argument is that an individual country’s geographical position determines Russian interest in building transit pipelines on its territory. Because the gas trade exists in the framework of the conflict-cooperation perpetuum between the interested parties, the third argument is that this provokes a reaction from the EU and the affected countries in the form of soft balancing. This approach is intended to curb Russia’s power, but not to completely break a gas trade with this country. As the EU has been making efforts to counteract Russian geo-economic power by promoting diversification of the gas supply and funding new gas infrastructure projects, Russian influence in the region has been decreasing in recent years.

The “Psychological Gesture” as an Element of Michael Chekhov’s Creative Theory

The name of Michael Chekhov is firmly associated with the expression “genius of the Russian stage. In his theoretical work “On the Technique of Acting”, M. Chekhov outlined the main components of acting, where one of the most striking and effective elements was the “psychological gesture”. However, the isolation of the empirical part of Chekhov’s legacy, due to the actor’s move abroad, creates the problem of interpreting the theory. So, in an effort to master the principle of working with the “psychological gesture”, many modern actors take liberties in interpreting methodological techniques, without taking into account the practical clarifications formulated by the master while working abroad.The article analyzes little-known and popular examples of the “psychological gesture” that appear in the theatrical literature of the Russian and foreign periods of M. Chekhov. There is considered the experience of working with this tool of the great actor’s direct students. The material for the study is the transcription of a video recording of the practical seminar of M.A. Chekhov’s friend and colleague G.S. Zhdanov, made by A.A. Kirillov, and the transcript by I.Yu. Promptova. The comparison of the documents and evidence makes it possible to systematize information about the “psychological gesture”, clarify the essential nuances formulated and transmitted by M. Chekhov to his students “from hand to hand” during the period of his working abroad, and warns against erroneous interpretation of the theory. The considered examples empirically confirm the capability of using the gesture to activate the actor’s imagination, to reveal the speaker’s psychology, to emotionally concentrate on the meaning of a word, a line, a phrase, a monologue. The article shows that the PG is intended for the actor to work on the text during the rehearsal period; it can awaken feelings and will in the actor’s soul, helps in finding the undertones, contributes to a deep penetration into the content of the role’s text, and affects the sounding speech.M. Chekhov’s search in the field of interaction between psychology, gesture and speech has been confirmed by recent studies. Thus, modern linguistics has scientifically supported the intuitive guesses of the great actor, proving that the gesture reflects the cognitive processes of the speaker.

US Soft Power through Hollywood during Cold War: Rocky IV

Power has always been a concept around which many have been pondering, in a sense of trying to achieve it. International relations have mostly been about power, according to realism, amongst other shifts in the international politics, so it is crucial to understand it. Since the world, after the World Wars, shifted from violence and wars, a new power remerged, called soft power, which now relies more on the global influence, and not on hard means of power like. Soft power is best described as imposing influence on the other states, through different canals like movies, student exchanges, media, etc. USA, as a superpower, employed soft power as a mean of spreading their political and ideological influence, especially during the Cold War. One of the tools of soft power employed, was through pop culture of the 1980s, via Hollywood industry and creation of USA-themed big-grossing movies, with great actors and popular topics. US movie industry focused on creating plots of the movies which would indirectly exert influence on the wider masses, in Europe, USSR, and other countries. One of those movies is Rocky saga, which are the movies about a boxing US hero, who is unbeatable, and poses as a symbol of US power. This movie, with a focus on Rocky IV, is a great example of how USA employed soft power through Hollywood industry, and the acceptance of the movie in the 1980s by the global mass is a great example of how influential soft power can truly be.

Fotografia e teatralità sulla scena europea del secondo Ottocento

The article analyses theatre photography in the period between the second half of the Nineteenth Century and the early Twentieth Century. In this period, in parallel with the diffusion of the photographic technique, the phenomenon of the great actor establishes throughout Europe, while we are witnessing to the birth of the Stage Directing. The investigation moves from a double perspective: on the one hand, highlighting how the notion of theatricality is at the basis of the photographic device, and on the other, underlining how theatre photography is characterised by a substantial ambiguity which calls into question its testimonial value. The two perspectives of investigation are developed starting from examples taken from the European scene, highlighting how, depending on the context, photography and theatre play a role of mutual modelisation, and focusing on photographic portraits of actors, both private and on stage, through some emblematic cases, such as Tommaso Salvini, Sarah Bernhardt, Eleonora Duse, Henry Irving.

The 2021 Josephine Waters Bennett Lecture: On Protean Acting: Race and Virtuosity

In November 2020, Manohla Dargis and A. O. Scott, the New York Times film critics, published an article entitled “The Century's Greatest Actors,” in which they proclaimed, “We are in a golden age of acting—make that platinum.” Celebrating the fact that their list of the top twenty-five actors from the last twenty years “looked beyond Hollywood,” Dargis and Scott declared that while there are Oscar winners on their list, “there are also character actors and chameleons.” One of the “radical shape-shifting” actors on the list is Tilda Swinton, whom Dargis characterized in the following fashion: The woman of a thousand otherworldly faces, Tilda Swinton has created enough personas—with untold wigs, costumes and accents—to have become a roster of one. She's a star, a character actor, a performance artist, an extraterrestrial, a trickster. Her pale, sharply planed face is an ideal canvas for paint and prosthetics, and capable of unnerving stillness. I am interested in the way that Swinton's “pale, sharply planed face” is praised for being so malleable: as Dargis says, “an ideal canvas for paint and prosthetics.” Swinton's paleness—her whiteness—is appended to her ability to be a “trickster,” to sustain paints and prosthetics, and to radically shape-shift. Swinton's acting craft is rendered visible to Dargis, because her “canvas” is “pale.”

Anderson, Emily Hodgson. Shakespeare and the Legacy of Loss.

Anderson, Emily Hodgson. <i>Shakespeare and the Legacy of Loss</i>.

A “Brilliant Talk” and a “Stirring Appeal”: How Women of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Built an Audience for the Ballets Russes in 1917

A “Brilliant Talk” and a “Stirring Appeal”: How Women of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Built an Audience for the Ballets Russes in 1917

Überlegungen und Perspektiven zur neuen chinesischen Ordnung in der demokratischen Republik Kongo

"Nowadays, more than ever, China plays a major role in economic activities in Africa. China competes aggressively with the West for control of the continent's strategic mineral resources. The great red actor considers that the imposition of Western democratic values on Africa is one of the main causes of political instability and economic stagnation, which is why he has chosen to adopt a different attitude which is has proven to be prolific in the context of globalization. The cooperation of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with China is currently considered by the Congolese people as a safety valve, an insurance against risks. Essentially, the DRC tops the list of China's strategic partners in Africa, and the DRC aims to attract China to help build infrastructure. This cooperation bears the signature of Joseph Kabila (president of the country from 2001 to 2018), his speech being a central point of this research. While the two countries boast of an exemplary model of win-win cooperation, this article aims to explore whether it is really a win-win collaboration or rather China is trying to invent a new order using a cosmetized neocolonialism. Keywords: Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, China, globalization, mineral ressources, neocoloniaslism, global order "

Европейские экранизации произведений Ф. М. Достоевского

The article provides an overview of adaptations of Dostoevsky’s works in various European countries and in general in the world of cinematography in chronological order. The discussion starts with films from the silent period (till the beginning of the 1930s), when large novels were reduced to short versions, valorized by the participation of great actors and actresses from the period. Films from the Russian “Gold Series” sometimes tried to adapt accurately to the screen key episodes of great novels. As an example, we can mention an adaptation of “The Devils” under the title “Nikolay Stavrogin” by Yakov Protazanov with Ivan Mozzhukhin in the title role. Then, the most often adapted works were the novels “Crime and Punishment” (most of the times reduced to a conventional mystery), “The Idiot” and “The Gambler”. The Talkies brought forward the interpretation qualities of the main characters. Between the women the most notorious was Nastasia Philipovna, played by the greatest actresses on stage and on screen. During the 1930s many adaptations were filmed in different language versions (mostly French, German and English) with actors representing different national traditions. The ban on Dostoevsky in Soviet Russia till the mid-1950s gave the field to France, Germany, Italy and Great Britain and their co-productions. The adaptations made on other continents are sometimes mentioned in the article, but not overviewed in details. Special attention is given to the versions of great filmmakers Luchino Visconti, Robert Bresson, Andrzej Wajda, Bernardo Bertolucci. In USSR during the “thaw” period (mid-1950s — end of 1960s) Dostoevsky was back on the screens. His leading interpreter was Ivan Pyriev whose — latest masterpiece — “The Brothers Karamazov” — was finished after his death in 1968 by his collaborators. The final part of the article considers affinity between Dostoevsky writing method and modern serial production.

The Victim – a Great Actor in a Minor Role? – A Comparative Perspective

Recently, the role of the victim in criminal proceedings became more significant. An observation was made that the legal interests of the victim are much more severely affected by the crime than the collective legal interests in the form of public or social order. However, the differences in the rights the victim is vested with differ substantively between particular countries. The authors present the position of the victim in American, English and French law. The solutions provided for in these systems are confronted with legal regulations adopted in Poland, i.e. the home country of the authors. It shows, surprisingly, that the role of the victim in criminal proceedings has evolved somehow independently of the implementation of the concept of restitution. On the one hand, there are legal systems in which the criminal court may order the offender to pay compensation for the damage caused, but the role of the victim still remains marginal. On the other hand, there are systems in which the victim is not only entitled to receive restitution, but he or she also has significant powers which enable him or her to play an active role in the criminal proceedings.

The balance of language and speech in the Uzbek theater

The article deals with language and speech issues in Uzbek theater scenes. In the course of researching and listening to historical performances recorded on video and audio cassettes, we can see the dynamism and expressiveness of the word “art” in the images of historical figures created by great actors, a peculiar subtlety of the Uzbek language, the harmony of poetic and prosaic forms of speech and speech in a staged ensemble.

Nietzsche's Metaphilosophy: The Nature, Method, and Aims of Philosophy

Nietzsche's Metaphilosophy: The Nature, Method, and Aims of Philosophy

СУЧАСНЕ ОПЕРАЦІЙНЕ СЕРЕДОВИЩЕ В КОНТЕКСТІ ЗАГРОЗИ ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ ХІМІЧНОЇ, БІОЛОГІЧНОЇ, РАДІОЛОГІЧНОЇ І ЯДЕРНОЇ ЗБРОЇ МАСОВОГО ЗНИЩЕННЯ

In the current context, the most prominent menace to global security prevails, the same it was 50 years ago, the feasibility of using the nuclear arsenal. This arsenal continues to be renewed, incorporating increasingly advanced technologies and state-of-the-art vectors capable of transporting these means at very high speeds and almost unlimited distances.A significant feature of modern military conflicts is the multidimensional nature, specific to hybrid warfare. Unconventional hybrid threats should also consider the possible use of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons of mass destruction (CBRN WMD) and the generation of destruction or sabotage incidents, which may result in contamination with toxic industrial materials (TIMs).The current operational environment appears crystallized in a new, more refined, and sophisticated form of the Cold War, with two major classical strategic blocs, namely NATO and partner countries, on the one hand, and the Russian Federation as the opposite pole. The two great actors are not the only constituent elements of the current geostrategic ensemble. Added to this are the conflict in Syria, tensions in Israel and Palestine, the complicated US-Iran relationship over the last state's nuclear program, the volatility of the Kim Jong-un regime in North Korea and, last but not least, the rise of China and India as economic and military superpowers. In this study, we will detail the basics of international law in the possession, production, and use of CBRN agents, the declared arsenals of weapons of mass destruction of main world actors, and how CBRN agents had been used in recent conflicts.

Arktik Bölgesi Siyaseti: Ottava Deklarasyonu’ndan Bugüne Aktör Politikaları Ve Çin’in Kutup İpek Yolu Projesi

Arktik giderek artan bir jeopolitik, jeostratejik ve jeoekonomik değerle birlikte uluslararası siyasetin gündeminde yer bulmaktadır. Küresel iklim değişikliğinin bir boyutu olan küresel ısınmanın yarattığı etki, buzullarla kaplı ve iklimi oldukça sert bu bölgede köklü değişimler yaratmaktadır. Bölgedeki buzulların erimesi çevresel bir tehdit ve ekolojik bir dönüşüm oluştururken siyasi, ekonomik, bilimsel, askeri, ticari alanlarda da ortaya çeşitli fırsatlar çıkarmaktadır. Hem bölge hem de bölge dışı aktörler de bir yandan uluslararası güvenlik meselesi haline gelen küresel ısınmaya yönelik çalışmalar yürütmek isterken diğer taraftan ulusal çıkarları bağlamında paylaşımdan pay alma iradesi göstermektedirler. Bu kapsamda bölge giderek büyük aktörlerin politikalarının yoğunlaştığı bir odak noktası haline gelmiştir. Arktik ayrıca uluslararası alanın yükselen gücü olan Çin’in ise küresel açılımını sergilediği yerlerden biri olarak ön plana çıkmaktadır. Bölgedeki alternatif ticaret yolu güzergâhı, enerji kaynakları, değerli madenler, bilimsel keşifler, turizm gibi potansiyeller Çin’in yöneliminin temel güdülerini oluşturmaktadır. 2018 yılında açıklanan “Beyaz Kitap” ile Çin Arktik politikasının resmi ana hatlarını çizmiş ve Yol ve Kuşak Projesinin bir ayağını oluşturacak olan Kutup İpek Yolu girişimini açıklamıştır. Bu çalışmada öncelikle Arktik Bölgesinin kısa bir tanıtımına yer verilecek, ardından Ottava Deklarasyonu uyarınca 1996 yılında bölgedeki 8 devlet ve yerel halkların üyelerini oluşturduğu Arktik Konseyi’ne değinilecektir. Arkasından da Arktik’teki aktörlerin politikalarının genel hatları ele alınacak ve bir bölge dışı aktör olan Çin’in Arktik siyaseti, Kutup İpek Yolu projesi üzerinden incelenecektir.

Brian Friel on the french stage: from Laurent Terzieff to women directors of Dancing at Lughnasa

The success of Brian Friel's drama on stage in the English-speaking world is beyond dispute. Many plays of his plays have also been widely translated leading to numerous productions worldwide. My concern in this article is with French-language productions. The focus in this article will be, first, on the association between Brian Friel and the late great French actor and director Laurent Terzieff, who introduced French theatre professionals and audiences to Friel; and secondly on Dancing at Lughnasa, the play that has been most often performed on French stages, with specific reference to productions twenty years apart by two women directors, Irina Brook (1999) and Gaëlle Bourgeois (2019).

Soliciting Audience’s Ovation: The Antagonist’s Artifices and Acting Ingenuity in Shakespeare’s Othello

Rarely does Shakespeare assign the antagonists in his plays such dominant and pivotal roles as he does in Othello. Seldom, either, does a Shakespearean character exhibit such an obsession with playacting and theatricals as Iago does. The paper at hand explores the consequences of Shakespeare’s unusual decision to tip the traditional balance between protagonist and antagonist in favour of the latter in this great tragedy. The paper argues that Othello is more a play about the splendour of playacting and the charm of actors than it is about evil and evildoing. Arguably devised as suffering from ‘histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders,’ Iago is self-urged, by his latent desire for attention and approval, to parade his histrionic flairs and procure audience’s admiration and commendation. The paper, therefore, assesses the acting and theatrical potentials that Shakespeare invested in the character of Iago, with special attention given to the queer antagonist-audience rapport in the play. The paper concludes that the character of the antagonist is the central attraction in Othello and a major factor in its popular reception. Shakespeare makes Iago ‘the acting dramatist,’ who combines the roles of playwright, actor, stage-manager, and director, to extol the acting profession and emphasise the power of great actors in his day. The paper invites readers of Othello to view Iago not merely as a malefactor but also as a deft actor.

Pivot States and Great Powers - the U.S. Foreign Policy Strategy towards Georgia as a “Pivot State“

Great powers are believed to play a crucial role in global politics. Their keen interests in politics, military capabilities and economic strength mean that their actions have a great influence on the international security environment. The powers maintain dominant positions in alliances and in waging wars, and prove their diplomatic and political weight in international affairs. This difference in power distribution and reputation leads to so called “a set of rights and rules“, governing interactions among states. Pivot states generally possess military, economic or ideational strategic assets and are coveted by great powers. They are caught in the middle of overlapping spheres of influence of multiple great powers as measured by associations that consist of ties that bind military and economic agreements as well as cultural affinities.Keywords: Brinksmanship, cooperation, deployment, global politics, great actors, initiative, pivot states

Coopetitive games for environmental sustainability: Climate change and decision global policies

In this work, we propose and analyze a coopetitive model for the Climate Change environmental sustainability: a global duopoly type game structure, involving a generic type of green technological good. Our model allows to select certain strategy profile solutions within a continuous horizon of possible global scenarios, in the context of the Paris agreement COP21 and after Trump’s decision to abandon the agreement itself. More specifically, we construct a parametric coopetitive game with two great actors, US and the group of countries which still agree to COP21. The two actors of our duopoly game compete on the global market by producing and selling green technological goods (for example: electric cars, electric airplanes, hydrogen cars, solar panels, low impact batteries for smart houses, electric cars or self phones, and so on). Our multi-dimensional coopetitive model suggests possible cooperative strategies in order to improve the efficiency and strength of the actions enforced by the countries to mitigate the Climate Change catastrophic risk at the level of its causes and effects.

Georg Simmel: Toward the Philosophy of the Actor

This is a translation of Georg Simmel’s paper, “Zur Philosophie des Schauspielers,” which was published posthumously in Logos: Internationale Zeitung fur die Philosophie der Kultur, Band 9 (1920-1921), 339-362. Given that a play is already a work of art, Simmel explores the relationship between the actor as a real person and the prescribed role he physically brings to life onstage. In the course of this study he explains, among other things, how the actor’s art differs from the functional roles people play in ordinary life, how it resembles painting and poetry, how artistic freedom draws near to moral freedom, and how two great actors can have strikingly different yet equally correct interpretations of the same role. Artistic creation in general, he argues, is rooted in a metaphysical depth of being, and acting is the most radical of the arts.