those march girls. they get to me every time. i have a tiny obsession with the name 'march.' miss march. oh so perfect. i wish i knew someone with that last name so that i could hear it roll off my tongue now and then. anyway. i try to multi-task while i watch this movie, taking time to answer emails and lug laundry baskets, but i can't help but throw myself completely into this story.
i sing along with their cheery outburst of merry christmas time is here, happiest time in all the year! i envy their treasure chests, all lined up in the attic, engraved with each sisters' name, and delight in the honest things of the era: sugar lumps, lamplight, curtsies, and ladies' gloves. i see their sisterly woes through teary eyes, and break down in a fit of sniffling over beth. i take comfort in the beautiful 1949 technicolor film (never mind this b + w photo) and courier & ivesish scenery. and of course, of course, i'm infatuated with their vocabillary, as miss amy march would say. words like plummy, bilge, grim, and quincy, leave me wishing we spoke with such finery today.
perhaps i celebrate this film with such feeling because years ago, grandma taped it for me on a kodak vhs. i can still picture her elegant handwriting scrawled across the sticker on the spine. even when i was a little girl, grandma understood my love for all things quaint. now when i see it, it sparks memories of watching and re-watching at mom and dad's house, pre-dvd days, trying to de-fuzz the scratchy tracking on the tape. remember tracking?
i truly hope you have a favorite version of little women to swoon over this season, too.
6 comments:
that is our family favorite. the new versions just don't compare. and, oh my...aren't they beautiful!?
thanks for the reminder. i'm off to find a dvd version...
oh my. i still have not seen this 1949 version, i feel i must be missing out. will be sure it makes my must-see list. however winona ryder's jo makes me happy as does dreamy christian bale as laurie. and claire danes does not disappoint. i bawled my way out of the theater. in fact, i'm packing it up for the weekend overnighter.
hope you and g have a lovely weekend. put your feet up, my dear.
I love it too - I watched it this morning while wrapping presents and got really teary all the way through. My husband would have thought I was mad but that was a wonderful morning!
I have been wanting to watch it with all the girls. I ordered it on netficks for Christmas week. I never thought that I could just watch it by myself. What a great idea!
my favorite hand-made VHS was made by an aunt - a combo of the original wizard of oz & peter pan (mary martin edition). i watched it over & over!
i don't think i've ever seen this version. i'll have to try and find it. thanks for the great post, summer.