Tag: Charles Doughty-Wylie

Damian Lewis BRIGHTENS the Screen in Queen of The Desert

I first saw Queen of the Desert as part of a test screening back in October 2015. Test screening is a pretty serious process that you sign an agreement not to make public comments on the parts of the movie that have not been made public yet. Thus, I decided to publish my review only when the movie is released in the US Theaters. And now that the VERY LONG wait is over, and that I have seen Queen of the Desert at the IFC Center in NYC on the day it opened (the final version is a bit different from the test screening version), I am fired up and ready to go share my thoughts about the movie with you!

In a nutshell, Queen of the Desert is a film about Gertrude Bell who had a pretty unconventional life, particularly as a woman, in early 20th century. She was a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, political attaché and a spy for the British Empire in the Middle East. She played a significant role in shaping the politics of the Middle East and drew up the borders of modern Jordan as well as Iraq. Think of more or less a female Lawrence of Arabia. Continue reading “Damian Lewis BRIGHTENS the Screen in Queen of The Desert”

Queen of the Desert UPDATE: Coming to IFC Spring 2017

imageedit_37_8702110920 We’ve just learned that IFC films has acquired the U.S. rights to Queen of the Desert. We’ll finally be able to see it when IFC releases the film in Spring 2017! On the occasion of this great news, let’s revisit what I’ve written about the film so far.

Continue reading “Queen of the Desert UPDATE: Coming to IFC Spring 2017”

A Horse by any other Name …

damian lewis charles doughty wylie queen of the desert nicole kidman gertrude bell
source: QueenFilmFan and koenigin-der-wueste.de

In light of upcoming international releases for Queen of the Desert, allow me to take you on a visual trip into some screenshots from German clips and “fotos” released from the official German site for the film. No word yet on when we can see this large-scale saga on our screens in the U.S. Reviews abroad, so far, have been mixed, some going so far as to say that with such a conventional romantic epic, Herzog has stepped perilously far from the avant-garde aesthetic which has defined his work to date. Needless to say, one of the preeminent directors of our time certainly took a chance with this enterprise. But, what’s the value of achieving preeminence if not to be given a license to take chances every now and then? One thing is certain from the trailers and clips we’ve seen: the actors involved in this project have given it their all. I’ll, of course, focus here on Damian’s work in this film, picking apart the few glimpses we’ve seen so far.

Continue reading “A Horse by any other Name …”

Damian Lewis is Charles Doughty-Wylie in Queen of the Desert

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By now, you all know that one of the highly anticipated Damian Lewis projects this year is Queen of the Desert, directed by celebrated director Werner Herzog and starring Nicole Kidman, Damian Lewis, Robert Pattinson and James Franco. The movie had its World Premiere at Berlinale 2015 and will be coming to the US movie theaters in winter 2015 according to the official movie website.

Queen of the Desert is essentially a biopic of Gertrude Bell, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, political attaché and a spy for the British Empire in the Middle East in the early 20th century. She shaped the politics of the Middle East and drew up the borders of modern Jordan as well as Iraq. Think of more or less  a female Lawrence of Arabia.

source: Vogue
source: Vogue

Nicole Kidman stars as Gertrude Bell, and Damian Lewis takes on the role of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie, who is considered to be the love of Bell’s life. He was married, and the two had a romantic, yet unconsummated relationship; they exchanged love letters between 1913-15 until his death. Continue reading “Damian Lewis is Charles Doughty-Wylie in Queen of the Desert”

Happy Birthday Charles Doughty-Wylie – Can’t Wait to Meet YOU!

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Happy Birthday to Charles Doughty-Wylie — he was born 147 years ago today. We cannot wait to finally meet him in Queen of the Desert!

By now, you all know that one of the highly anticipated Damian Lewis projects this year is Queen of the Desert, directed by celebrated director Werner Herzog and starring Nicole Kidman, Damian Lewis, Robert Pattinson and James Franco. The movie had its World Premiere at Berlinale 2015 and will be coming to the US movie theaters, according to the official movie website, late 2015 or early 2016.

Queen of the Desert is essentially a biopic of Gertrude Bell, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, political attaché and a spy for the British Empire in the Middle East in the early 20th century. She shaped the politics of the Middle East and drew up the borders of modern Jordan as well as Iraq. Think of more or less  a female Lawrence of Arabia. Continue reading “Happy Birthday Charles Doughty-Wylie – Can’t Wait to Meet YOU!”