Word: hammonds
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Talented Bedouins. A leading expert on the Nabataeans, Dr. Philip C. Hammond Jr. of Princeton Theological Seminary, is watching this operation with quiet satisfaction. The Nabataeans, he explains, were a wave of Bedouins who swept out of the Arabian Desert about 300 B.C. At first they lived by plunder, with a sideline of piracy on the Red Sea; later they saw the advantages of civilization and proved to be both talented and adaptable. They took the unpromising lands that had fallen to them -the Sinai Peninsula and the dry fringes around Palestine-and made them amazingly fruitful...
When he hears of visiting engineers searching for water in Nabataean country, Dr. Hammond likes to point out that the tricks of modern geology can be a waste of time. The first step, he believes, should be to look for fragments of Nabataean pottery, which was remarkably thin and strong. It often leads to ruins of buildings in apparently waterless places. "But water is always available," says Dr. Hammond. "The Nabataeans wouldn't have built a town if they couldn't get water...
Excellent photography accentuates the subtle characterizations. Dramatic, almost surrealistic rugby shots emphasize the players' brutality. Even shots of background scenery contribute to the characterization. When withdrawn and upset, Mrs. Hammond appears in front of a blurred, ruined abbey; when relaxed, she stands in the midst of an idyllic country scene...
Without exception, the actors are equal to their complex parts. Richard Harris vividly portrays Machin's brutality; he also emphasizes Machin's attempt at kindness and his wry humor ("Let me call you sweetheart," he implores Mrs. Hammond as she rants at him.) Rachel Roberts' expressive, bony face clearly reveals Mrs. Hammond's changes of mood...
Though this characterization succeeds, Lindsay Anderson's directing fails in other areas. He considers his viewer a rugby opponent who must be hit over the head to make a point. As Mrs. Hammond dies, Machin tries to crush a spider. A dramatic drumbeat heralds every dramatic moment. And Anderson overemphasizes obvious lines like Machin's "You see something...