You gotta give these guys some credit. All the Poe, Hawthorne, and DeMaupassant was probably in the public domain and didn't cost them a cent for the rights.

Finished watching Twice Told Tales. Nothing new to report except that Hawthorne could be really tough on people who cross the line.

I debated watching the 3rd section, a version of The House of 7 Gables, because there is a Joe May film of the story from 1940 (which I think Price is in also). That version is probably superior to this one and I haven't seen it. Not knowing the story either I didn't want to blow a chance to see a better version fresh, but I went ahead and watched this one anyway. It's the best section of the three and if anything it makes me want to see the May version more now not less.

THE EMERALD FOREST (GB 1985)

Directed by John Boorman
Screenplay by Rospo Pallenberg
Photography by Philippe Rousselot
Music by Junior Homrich and Grian Gascoyne

Main Cast: Powers Boothe, Charley Boorman, Meg Foster

The son of a construction worker gets abducted by a tribe in the Amazons.

Plenty of room there for a detailed meditation on the old clash of civilizations idea, so I was really surprised at the simplistic discourse. Stilted dialogue and awkward performances in the "normal family" English-language scenes (was this intentional, to show how stilted and awkward our accepted relationships are?); TARZAN-level views on cultural differences; Disney-esque portrayal of the utopian society of the tribe (complete with idyllic waterfall-frolics); and Chuck Norris WALKER-ish rescue scenes (Powers Boothe frees the poor native girls from slavery and prostitution).

I haven't read Boorman's published diary about the making of this film, but I get the impression that the end result is miles away from what he envisioned in that first blinding flash of inspiration.