# The Most Moving Works You Know Of



## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

What works -- of music, drama, film, literature, art, etc. -- do you personally find the most emotionally moving? There are certain works -- or, more accurately, certain parts of certain works -- the very thought of which make me choke up or give me chills. I'll try to list them for you:

1. Verdi's opera _Simon Boccanegra_ -- the sequence in the last act beginning with Simon's "Tu piangi" and continuing on thru Fiesco's solo and the "Piango, perche mi parla" duet. The scene is about two men reconciling after years of bitter feelings toward each other, and the way that this is expressed in music is just overwhelming emotionally for me.

2. The scene at the end of the film _Schindler's List_ commonly known as the "I could have got more" scene. Liam Neeson as Oskar Schindler is lamenting the fact that he didn't save even more Jews than he did. At the end of the scene he breaks down weeping. I can't even hear the music to the scene, let alone watch it, without crying.

3. Arthur Miller's one-act play _Incident at Vichy_ (about a group of French Jews during the Holocaust) -- particularly the last ten minutes or so.

4. Richard Strauss' opera _Salome_, especially the orchestration and anything sung by the character John the Baptist. The first time I saw _Salome_ in an opera house, I sat there with chills running up and down my spine virtually from the beginning of the opera to the end. There's just something about it...

5. The 1963 episode of _The Twilight Zone_ called "In Praise of Pip," starring Jack Klugman, about a father whose son is critically injured far away in Vietnam. I won't give away any more of the plot, but the climactic scene of the episode is heartrending, thanks to Klugman.

Those are all I can think of right now, but I'd really like to hear about your most moving works/moments.


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

Way, way many. These are random samples:

*War and Peace*. I read it as a teenager, instantly identifying with Pierre, a clueless idealist finding his way through a complicated life, and re-read it as an adult. Same response. Apparently not that unusual. I used to know a guy who identified with Andrei Bolkonsky. It slightly resembled our relationship.

*Beloved*, my nominee for the Great American Novel.

*anyone lived in a pretty how town*, by e. e. cummings. I don't know why this poem gets to me, but it does.

*Boris Godunov*, especially with the Mussorgsky original orchestration, but the Shostakovich version acceptable, also the Rimsky Korsakov. I cry almost all the way through it, not only for the pathos but the overwhelming emotions it draws out of me.

*Khovanschina*, also with as much of Mussorgsky's orchestration as possible (it was incomplete), Shostakovich acceptable, but Stravinsky not so much. Marfa is one of my favorite female opera heroines of them all. I feel for her as if she were a real person.

*The Ring Cycle*. Every few years I binge on this, my favorite versions conducted by Solti and Levine. My wife leaves me alone for a few days while I disappear into it, then there is an afterglow, and I'm good for a few more years.

Who doesn't tear up at the finale of *Dialogue of the Carmelites*?

*Abbey Road*, the Beatles farewell. God, I miss them.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

There are many but one that immediately comes to mind is Bach's *St Matthew Passion*.


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## Vronsky (Jan 5, 2015)

*Shakespeare's big four: Othello, Macbeth, King Lear and Hamlet. *
_Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing. _
(_Macbeth_)

*Jorge Luis Borges short stories*. Especially the story _A Weary Man's Utopia_ from _The Book of Sand_.

*Arthur Rimbaud, Illuminations - Génie*
_And we remember him and he travels. . . And if the Adoration goes away, resounds, its promise resounds: "Away with those superstitions, those old bodies, those couples and those ages. It's this age that has sunk!"_

*Mozart's Requiem - Sir Colin Davis & BBC Symphony Orchestra (1967)*

*Ingmar Bergman - The Seventh Seal (1957)*


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## Chordalrock (Jan 21, 2014)

My top 5 of moving, as in beautiful and/or sad:

*Dark Knight Rises*. (1) Prison escape scene. (2) The scene where Batman resists Catwoman's offer to flee together. (3) Towards the end when Robin stands on the broken bridge watching Batman fly the nuke over the bay.

*Ginga Nagareboshi Gin*. Too many scenes and moments to mention during its 21 episodes. This series is almost unknown outside Scandinavia and East Asia, so let it be known that it's a strange, completely unique, and almost uniquely effective love song to warrior virtues - not very fashionable these days, but very moving if you still have a heart where modern people are supposed to have a wallet. It's not particularly subtle, but once you've watched through it once and start over from the beginning, the weight of all the memories about the story and its beauty just crushes you at some point.

*Edge of Tomorrow*. This one can be subtle, actually too subtle for most people. The second time I watched it in the theater, I was shaking through the first half of the movie, it's that good.

*Never Let Me Go* (the movie). This had one scene toward the end that was just heart-breaking. Having read a few Ishiguro novels, I'd hazard the guess that this movie is a lot more effective than the novel it was based on.

*Game of Thrones*. Beginning of fifth season. I'm not sure they even tried to make it particularly moving, but it just got to me. At any rate, an incredible show past the 1st season that I was sceptical of at first, and now am one of its biggest fans.


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

There are many, many. Maybe I can post them as I think of them. 

The first thing to come to mind is the brass blast section of Liszt's Les Preludes.

Venturing into more popular (but not too popular) fare, Ian Anderson / Jethro Tull's climax near the end of A Passion Play, the vaguely resurrection themed 'Here am I rolling the stone away -- from the dark into ever day!" My heart pounds so fast during that section and the goose bumps rise, I get concerned for my health.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Many things in the arts moves me, but let me relate three examples that I think are representative...

In Literature:

*Book of the New Sun* by Gene Wolfe.
It is an amazing achievement. Spectacular world building. But the entirety of the book is full of world weary nostalgia, that for me, rends the heart. This whole series is wonderful. Think of it as a cross between Robert Graves _I Claudius, Claudius The God_ and Mervyn Peake's _Gormenghast _Trilogy.( That is also very good.)

In Cinema:

*Doctor Zhivago * Of all of David Lean's productions, this is the one that moves me to tears at the end.

In Music:

*Finlandia* Sibelius. 
All classical music moves me to a degree, but this has a special place in my heart, as it was my mother's favourite piece.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

A random selection - just what comes to mind.

The ending of Paul Gallico's short novel *The Snow Goose* moves me unbearably. I once wept openly in a railway carriage reading about the death of the artist who went out in his boat to rescue soldiers from Dunkirk and the goose that flew back to 'tell' his girl at the lighthouse. The reason is that my father was one of those evacuated from Dunkirk, a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer, aged just 19.

Other endings to books which move me: the miners given up for dead in a pit accident come home at the end of *The Bonny Pit Laddie* by Frederick Grice; Marty South's testimony of love at the end of Thomas Hardy's *The Woodlanders*; Sidney Carton's noble sacrifice at the end of Dickens' *A Tale of Two Cities*. And the last page of Eric Lomax's *The Railway Man*, where he forgives his Japanese torturer.

Poetry - I love these traditional ballads: Johnny Armstrong; Sir Patrick Spens; Lord Thomas & Fair Annet; The Hunting of the Cheviot; Andrew Lammie.

Music: 





and Biber's Rosary Sonatas, particularly the Five Sorrowful Mysteries; also Handel's Messiah, especially I know that my Redeemer liveth.

Films? *Schindler's List* moved me so much that I can never bear to watch it again. The same for Mel Gibson's *The Passion of The Christ*. 
*Dangerous Liaisons* - how tragic when people are too smart for their own feelings.

The TV series that made me cry was the BBC's dramatisation of Samuel Richardson's *Clarissa*. Also their 1970s production of *War and Peace*.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Musically, Allegri's Miserere, Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, Richard Strauss's September from Vier Letzte Lieder spring to Mind.


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## QuietGuy (Mar 1, 2014)

Literature: 
Harper Lee:*To Kill a Mockingbird*. (also the movie, with Elmer Bernstein's theme)
Kahlil Gibran: *The Prophet*.

Music: 
Ravel: *Ma Mere l'Oye*: Le Jardin Feerique. Simple, pure C Major and the last 8 or so bars of fanfare at the end. It moves every time I listen to it.

Ravel: *Daphnis et Chloe*: I'm bowled over by the whole thing, but especially the Lever du Jour at the beginning of part 3

Copland: *Appalachian Spring (Suite)*: the Shaker Variations.

Movies: 
*The Green Mile* There's a beautiful speech by Coffey: "I'm tired....." I think about setting this speech to music, but I have no idea how to go about getting permission to use it.

*Guess Who's Coming to Dinner*: Beah Richard's speech beginning "What happens to men when they grow old?" & ending with "How could you do what you are doing?" I've thought of setting this too, but I have the same problem -- permission.

Pop tunes: Carole King's Tapestry and Song of Long Ago. They just move me.

That's all I can think of now ...


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Berlioz's ; Les nuits d'été , the whole text.
La Traviata ; Violetta realising that she's going to die, Ah, gran Dio, morir si giovane 
Strauss ; Four last songs, Lucia Popp singing moves me to tears.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Pugg said:


> Berlioz's ; Les nuits d'été , the whole text.
> La Traviata ; Violetta realising that she's going to die, Ah, gran Dio, morir si giovane
> Strauss ; Four last songs, Lucia Popp singing moves me to tears.


Rest to follow.


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## Xenakiboy (May 8, 2016)

Mahler's 9th, it's so beautiful yet chromatically dissonant through polyphony. I don't think there is much competition for it!


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

Got to agree with you on La Traviata. First time I saw the whole thing was in the Zefferelli film version. Until that point in the opera I was looking at it as melodrama (not in a condescending way), but found myself moved to tears by Violetta's aria. Blubbering, actually. So wrenching. Another one that gets me is Aida's "Mia Patria." Verdi could certainly push those buttons.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

This is one of those threads where I'll want to come back every week and change my list.

*Gorecki's Symphony #3*: I don't listen to it often, but it gets to me every time
Isaac:* Innsbruck Ich muss dich lassen*: a 500 year-old shot of nostalgia for a city I've never been to. A good performance is a thing of beauty.

There are a ton of pop/rock songs that get to me. 
*Whiskeytown "Houses on the Hill."* Short, bittersweet song about a wasted life. Bit of a country twang to it, which always helps. 
I know a lot of people don't like his voice, but *Tom Waits* is the most consistently moving performer for me. Georgia Lee, Kentucky Avenue, Take it With Me, etc.

Movies:
*The Diving Bell and the Butterfly* comes to mind. The director pulls every pretentious film school trick in the book, but it all works.
Chaplin's *City Lights*

Books:
Frank McCourt's *Angela's Ashes*. I think this got some blowback because of its massive popularity, but it really is great and consistently moving.
Cormac McCarthy's *The Road*, although it is probably more harrowing than moving.


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

GreenMamba said:


> This is one of those threads where I'll want to come back every week and change my list.


My sentiments exactly. I may act on them.



> *Gorecki's Symphony #3*: I don't listen to it often, but it gets to me every time


Thanks for this. I had never heard it before.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Having only seen it once so far, I'm tempted to add the recent movie _Risen_ to my list -- or at least the scene in which Clavius first discovers Jesus after he is...well...risen. From that part of the movie onward I had basically the same "chills up and down the spine" feeling I had watching Strauss' _Salome_ (see my OP). But I'd have to see the movie again to know for sure.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

In a shot period in time I've seen; *A Single man*, with Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult.
I don't cry at films but at this end did it almost.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Ingélou said:


> A random selection - just what comes to mind.
> 
> The ending of Paul Gallico's short novel *The Snow Goose* moves me unbearably. I once wept openly in a railway carriage reading about the death of the artist who went out in his boat to rescue soldiers from Dunkirk and the goose that flew back to 'tell' his girl at the lighthouse. The reason is that my father was one of those evacuated from Dunkirk, a Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer, aged just 19.
> 
> ...


I was going to say The Snow Goose! Wonderful little book. I found it in my cupboard the other day, and I haven't read it since I was a kid. I'll remedy that tonight!

Later: I have, and it's every bit as good as I remember it. Beautifully written - lyrical descriptions of Essex in winter.The last couple of pages are very moving.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Opera: the ends of Contes d'Hoffmann and Clemenza di Tito; "Riez, allez, riez du pauvre ideologue" in Don Quichotte.

TV: "Curtain", the final episode of Poirot. I'd read the book and knew what was coming, but I was crying at the end. I'd watched Poirot since I was a kid, nearly twenty years before.
I, Clavdivs

Books:
The Snow Goose
Terry Pratchett's Shepherd's Crown. It's not Pratchett's best, by any means, but it made me cry.
The Neverending Story - not the death of Artax (where most people get weepy), but the final chapter
The Phantom Tollbooth
The Once and Future King
The Vicomte de Bragelonne
Greyfriars Bobby 

Stephen Sondheim 
And (whisper it low) Disney movies make me cry.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

SimonTemplar said:


> Opera: the ends of Contes d'Hoffmann and Clemenza di Tito; "Riez, allez, riez du pauvre ideologue" in Don Quichotte.
> 
> TV: "Curtain", the final episode of Poirot. I'd read the book and knew what was coming, but I was crying at the end. I'd watched Poirot since I was a kid, nearly twenty years before.
> I, Clavdivs
> ...


You softy........


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

SimonTemplar said:


> Opera: the ends of Contes d'Hoffmann and Clemenza di Tito; "Riez, allez, riez du pauvre ideologue" in Don Quichotte.
> 
> TV: "Curtain", the final episode of Poirot. I'd read the book and knew what was coming, but I was crying at the end. I'd watched Poirot since I was a kid, nearly twenty years before.
> I, Clavdivs
> ...


As a _major_ Poirot fan, I can't bring myself to read or watch CURTAIN.

Interesting about CONTES D'HOFFMANN and Sondheim. What is it about Sondheim that moves you?


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

One of my most favorite films in the whole world ever is *Children of Paradise*, a French film from 1945. It is generally regarded by critics as one of the best films ever made. It was produced in Paris during the Occupation and shortly thereafter. That in itself is an incredible but complicated story. Both members of the Resistance and collaborationists worked on the film. But none of this backstory is anywhere near the screen. Directed by Marcel Carne with a terrific cast, the story is set in early 19th Century Paris and centers around the show business part of town with a cast of characters who, in real life had actually existed then, although not necessarily as portrayed in the story.

The main character, played by Jean Louis Barrault (Marcel Marceau's teacher,) is a popular mime who performs at his family's theater. He is in love with an independent woman of the streets, who also has other suitors; an actor who is basically in love with himself, a playwright thief who sees in her some form of redemption and a rich man who wants to own her. Of them all, the mime is the only one capable of loving her for herself, but he is paralyzed with doubt, and is also engaged to another woman who knows his true feelings but clings to him desperately. It's a movie about love, and pretty much covers the topic. I fell in love with the movie at first viewing and every time I even think about it, the feelings return.
My delusion is that I know these people, almost all sympathetic characters and that every rerun of it is like returning home.

It's a 3 hour film with a planned intermission in the middle, but believe me, the time simply flies. The stories moves along at an attention keeping pace with all the elements of humor, pathos and the stuff of life.

Please don't die without seeing this film. You'll regret it if you do.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

There are several descriptors that one can use to further explore/explain the phenomena above: things that deeply move us can fall into categories such as Pathos, Ecstasy, Sublimity (under which can be found Terror and Grandeur).... We find examples in literature, film, music, the static visual arts (not so much, because the sense of irresistible forward motion is difficult to arouse in the static visual arts). In literature, I have never found the equal of Herman Melville's _Moby Dick_. There are scenes and passages and images and character interactions that leave me breathless, stupefied, awestruck, astonished, weeping. I know it is a daunting, a difficult book for many to begin and to allow themselves to become immersed in, but for those with whom it resonates fully, it is incomparable. I had a copy of Bartlett's Familiar Quotations years ago and went to their Melville entry. There I found a few short quotes but an admission by the Editors that they felt helpless before Moby Dick, could do the book and author no justice at all, and urged the reader to go to the source. Wise counsel.


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

Another book recommendation; *Winnie the Pooh* and *The House on Pooh Corner*. Set aside that these are children's books. I read them for the first time at age 35 and loved them, even getting a bit misty at their conclusion. Maybe that's a reflection on me, but I think Milne was letter perfect about childhood consciousness, and ultimately, its bittersweet end.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

znapschatz said:


> Another book recommendation; *Winnie the Pooh* and *The House on Pooh Corner*. Set aside that these are children's books. I read them for the first time at age 35 and loved them, even getting a bit misty at their conclusion. Maybe that's a reflection on me, but I think Milne was letter perfect about childhood consciousness, and ultimately, its bittersweet end.


If you get misty over the Pooh books, try also _The Wind in the Willows_, and _The Jungle Books_. Disney & such ilk utterly vandalized these classics.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

Kathleen Ferrier singing Britten' s arrangement of the folk song Oh Waly Waly. Gets me every time. 
Try


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

Strange Magic said:


> If you get misty over the Pooh books, try also _The Wind in the Willows_, and _The Jungle Books_. Disney & such ilk utterly vandalized these classics.


Actually, as a child I did read _The Wind in the Willows_ but not the *Jungle Books* and probably won't. I'm mixed on Kipling. Too much British Empire for me. And I can't stand the Disney versions of almost every classic, children and adult, although they did okay on some.

"I say, do you like Kipling?" 
"I don't know, I've never Kipled."


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

Bellinilover said:


> As a _major_ Poirot fan, I can't bring myself to read or watch CURTAIN.
> 
> Interesting about CONTES D'HOFFMANN and Sondheim. What is it about Sondheim that moves you?


His psychological penetration, I think; the forms and subjects of his musicals are innovative, but the characters are "true" - they're complex, with adult emotions. And songs like "Losing My Mind", "Being Alive" or "No One Is Alone" are powerful. (But a lot of his songs are also verbally clever and very funny.)


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

znapschatz said:


> Actually, as a child I did read _The Wind in the Willows_ but not the *Jungle Books* and probably won't. I'm mixed on Kipling. Too much British Empire for me. And I can't stand the Disney versions of almost every classic, children and adult, although they did okay on some.
> 
> "I say, do you like Kipling?"
> "I don't know, I've never Kipled."


You're missing out on a lot, then! Kipling is great. He's one of the finest short story writers in English - a sensitive observer, complex, and a storyteller. Orwell and Said's criticism can safely be ignored.

Here are some good articles on Kipling:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2...ling-unexpected-revival-150-years-after-birth
http://garethseducation.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/rudyard-kipling-racist.html

The Jungle Books are great - and the British really only appear in two stories: "Her Majesty's Servants" and "The Undertakers" (both non-Mowgli tales). Most of the tales are set in India, among animals or Indian villagers. A couple are set in the Arctic.

Plain Tales from the Hills, his collection of tales set among the British in India, is excellent. In only a few pages, he can draw characters and describe situations, in a number of genres. "Thrown Away" is powerful.


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

I'd also add:
_Boris Godunov_'s "Skorbit dusha" and "Dostig ya vyshey vlasti"
Massenet's _Roma_
"Pauvre martyr obscur" and "C'est ici le berceau" from Paladilhe's _Patrie!_ (Would someone please record this opera?)


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

For deeply moving poetry, I recommend the works (especially the short lyric poems) of my avatar, Robinson Jeffers. I first discovered Jeffers upon reading _Hurt Hawks, Science,_ and _To a Young Artist_ in a junior college lit course; I can still remember sitting there, with a wave of chills and goose flesh sweeping over me such that I thought I might pass out in the classroom. The magic is still there.


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

Strange Magic said:


> For deeply moving poetry, I recommend the works (especially the short lyric poems) of my avatar, Robinson Jeffers. I first discovered Jeffers upon reading _Hurt Hawks, Science,_ and _To a Young Artist_ in a junior college lit course; I can still remember sitting there, with a wave of chills and goose flesh sweeping over me such that I thought I might pass out in the classroom. The magic is still there.


Perhaps you may know the truth or not of this Robinson Jeffers anecdote. The way it goes, an associate was shocked to learn that Jeffers had never read *King Lear*. Jeffers confirmed this, and said he was saving it for his deathbed, when he would suddenly sit up and declare, "I can't die yet! I haven't read *King Lear*!"


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

SimonTemplar said:


> I'd also add:
> _Boris Godunov_'s "Skorbit dusha" and "Dostig ya vyshey vlasti"


I am wowed by almost every scene in Boris. Often overlooked as very moving is the love duet between the pretender Dimitri and Princess Marina Mnishek, ending the Polish Act. An inspired blend of attraction, cynicism, lust for power, and genuine love, a perfect dialectical union, it never fails to put me around the bend.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

znapschatz said:


> Perhaps you may know the truth or not of this Robinson Jeffers anecdote. The way it goes, an associate was shocked to learn that Jeffers had never read *King Lear*. Jeffers confirmed this, and said he was saving it for his deathbed, when he would suddenly sit up and declare, "I can't die yet! I haven't read *King Lear*!"


I'd like to see the attribution. The tale strikes me as out of character for the usually dour Jeffers, whom it is difficult to conceive as never having read Lear.


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

Strange Magic said:


> I'd like to see the attribution. The tale strikes me as out of character for the usually dour Jeffers, whom it is difficult to conceive as never having read Lear.


This was from more than 50 years ago and doubt I could track it down today. My assumption has always been it was meant as a joke by either Jeffers or whoever made up the story. My demi-memory was of encountering it in a literary magazine. Another icon clasted, I guess.


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## Avey (Mar 5, 2013)

I have written enough about musical moments (maybe not _enough_, but I opt to use this thread differently!).

But, oh my, how do I stick with one post?! Well, how about a few lines from those (films) that sent chills down the spine, as we say, and made me rethink too much:

_Never get out of the boat._

_Video was a poor excuse . . . but it helps me remember. I need to remember. Sometimes there is so much beauty in the world, I feel like I can't take it._

_I've never been more lonely in my life, and I think I'm in love with Margot. New Paragraph.
I've had a rough year, Dad.
Is it dark? Of course it's dark.
But I'm going to live!
I wonder if it remembers me.
What a beautiful creature. Wish him luck boys.
Of course it depends!_

_I see the worst in people . . . I built up my hatreds over the years, little by little._

Those are the words, alone, in film. A finite section of what has made me cringe. I don't even know where else to write from there. But be sure, I will!


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## OldFashionedGirl (Jul 21, 2013)

Music: Mahler's 2nd Symphony. 
Film: Dreyer's Ordet.
Literature: Dostoyevsky's The Idiot.


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

So much stuff to check out after reading this thread. Love this forum. No other forum has the taste of this one. 

It's hard for me to answer this question, but I wanted to mention one book that has moved me recently:

_*The Remains of the Day*_ by Kazuo Ishiguro. I was in tears at the end of this book when I read it a couple months ago. It's a somewhat sad story about an English butler who's spent his whole life serving others, especially his old lord of many decades, only to find out who he thought was a great man might not have been so great...you can see where this is going. If you haven't read it, I strongly suggest it. The whole novel is so powerful, especially end. You really feel for this poor man and hope he can feel good about his life in the end.


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## znapschatz (Feb 28, 2016)

SimonTemplar said:


> You're missing out on a lot, then! Kipling is great. He's one of the finest short story writers in English - a sensitive observer, complex, and a storyteller. Orwell and Said's criticism can safely be ignored.
> 
> Here are some good articles on Kipling:
> 
> ...


In fact, I've read quite a bit of Kipling, which was why I describe myself as "mixed" on the author. His qualities as a poet and writer
cannot be denied, but there is the matter of his support for the project of Empire and "The White Man's Burden," the phrase he coined, ironically, in a poem about the US conquest of the Philippines. So there is the basis of my conflicted views. I have strong views on colonialism , and yet can still recite "Gunga Din" from memory.


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## JosefinaHW (Nov 21, 2015)

Tristan said:


> So much stuff to check out after reading this thread. Love this forum. No other forum has the taste of this one.
> 
> It's hard for me to answer this question, but I wanted to mention one book that has moved me recently:
> 
> _*The Remains of the Day*_ by Kazuo Ishiguro. I was in tears at the end of this book when I read it a couple months ago. It's a somewhat sad story about an English butler who's spent his whole life serving others, especially his old lord of many decades, only to find out who he thought was a great man might not have been so great...you can see where this is going. If you haven't read it, I strongly suggest it. The whole novel is so powerful, especially end. You really feel for this poor man and hope he can feel good about his life in the end.


I did not read the book but I remember parts of the movie; I just remember flinching and having to turn my head away after watching Hopkins with Thompson. Yes, a very strong reaction, probably intended, but I never want to see it again.


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Bellinilover said:


> Having only seen it once so far, I'm tempted to add the recent movie _Risen_ to my list -- or at least the scene in which Clavius first discovers Jesus after he is...well...risen. From that part of the movie onward I had basically the same "chills up and down the spine" feeling I had watching Strauss' _Salome_ (see my OP). But I'd have to see the movie again to know for sure.


Having watched _Risen_ again, I'd definitely put the above-mentioned scene on my list, along with the music score of the film. Both are chilling and awe-inspiring (and, I'd dare say, not just for Christians or religious people).


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## JosefinaHW (Nov 21, 2015)

_*Können Trännen meiner Wangen Nichts erlangen*, St. Matthew's Passion*, *Magdalena Kozena, Digital Concert Hall, 13 Oct 2013

The way they ritualized this piece enables me to feel the pain and the frustration. Kozena and Padmore are really something to see; Bach's insight leaves me (almost) speechless and in tears. This "scene" is 100x worth the cost of the ticket._


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## TxllxT (Mar 2, 2011)

The most moving work for me probably will be Czar Peter's brainchild St. Petersburg + all the art & music & literature & poetry this city has been the midwife to. This summer we'll do St. Petersburg for the fourth time. As soon as you know the city a bit, you just have to notice a few pinnacles (Admiralty, Peter & Paul's Cathedral) pointing towards heaven and you know immediately your own location in relation to them. Next to this everpresent geometrical clarity and luminosity there are the Summer Garden and lots of other parks that just become soulmates. In the heart of hearts of course there is the Hermitage with Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son:


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

Im usually a complete mess throughout all of La Boheme! 
Strangely enough though, I was recently listening to one of my Kathleen Ferrier LP's and when it got to "Woe unto them" from Mendelssohn's Elijah, I just broke down. I mean normally I dont like Operatic music sung in English or Religious music. Im just glad the Family were out shopping!


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## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

The trial scene from the film _The Reader_ chills me to my core. Here's an excerpt from it:


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