THE DEAD FILMS. 4 EDITIoN 减 The dead sS,A, " The Task of Turning Joyces Prose to Film Poetry, in It,s hard to think of a major filmmaker who relied more on literary e New York Times, vol. 137, section 2, 3 January 1988 daptations than John Huston. The great majority of his 36 features Denby, D,"The Living, in New York Magazine, vol. 21, 18 and virtually all the best ones-were drawn from novels, short stories January 1988 or plays; and he was invariably, though never slavishly, faithful to the Varjola, M, ""Elava Kuollut, in Filmihullu( Helsinki), no. 4, 1988 pirit of the original. This quality of loving respect for his source James, C,""Film View: When Film Becomes a Feast of words. in material shines through the culminating film of his long The Dead.a bitter-sweet meditation on transience and mortality Cardullo, B,""Epiphanies, " in Hudson Review, vol 41, no 4, 1989. Dead is taken from the last and longest story in James Joyces 1914 Shout, JD,"Joyce at Twenty-Five, Huston at Eighty-One: The collection Dubliners. The setting is Dublin in the winter of 1904 when Dead, in Literature/Film Quarterly (Salisbury), vol. 1 twoelderly sisters, Kate and Julia Morkan, and their niece, Mary Jane, no.2,1989 give their annual dinner party and dance. The scenario, by Hustons Yetya, N, ""Los Muertos, in Dicine, no 36, September 1990 son Tony, sticks closely to the original story and often uses Joyces "The Angel Gabriel, in New Yorker, vol 68, 28 December1992/4 own dialogue. On the surface, very little happens. ("The biggest 199 piece of action, Huston noted ironically, is trying to pass the Pederson, A, ""Uncovering The Dead: A Study of Adaptation, in port.' )The guests assemble; they eat, drink, dance, banter, and in one Literature/Film Quarterly(Salisbury), vol. 21, no. 1, 1993 or two cases firt mildly; the party winds to its end; and in the closing Pilipp, F, "Narrative Devices and Aesthetic Perception in Joyce's fifteen minutes we follow two mpany as they and Huston's The Dead, in Literature/Film Quarterly (Salis- hotel. We seem to be watching the casual, happening flow of life, bury), vol. 21, no. 1, 1993 convivial but unremarkable. No voices are raised, except now and then in song: no dramatic emphases in the acting, scoring, or camerawork urge our attention. Yet every detail, unobtrusiveTHE DEAD FILMS, 4th EDITION 296 The Dead Burgess, A., ‘‘The Task of Turning Joyce’s Prose to Film Poetry,’’ in The New York Times, vol. 137, section 2, 3 January 1988. Denby, D., ‘‘The Living,’’ in New York Magazine, vol. 21, 18 January 1988. Varjola, M., ‘‘Elava Kuollut,’’ in Filmihullu (Helsinki), no. 4, 1988. James, C., ‘‘Film View: When Film Becomes a Feast of Words,’’ in The New York Times, vol. 138, section 2, 30 July 1989. Cardullo, B., ‘‘Epiphanies,’’ in Hudson Review, vol. 41, no. 4, 1989. Shout, J.D., ‘‘Joyce at Twenty-Five, Huston at Eighty-One: The Dead,’’ in Literature/Film Quarterly (Salisbury), vol. 17, no. 2, 1989. Yetya, N., ‘‘Los Muertos,’’ in Dicine, no. 36, September 1990. ‘‘The Angel Gabriel,’’ in New Yorker, vol. 68, 28 December1992/4 January 1993. Pederson, A., ‘‘Uncovering The Dead: A Study of Adaptation,’’ in Literature/Film Quarterly (Salisbury), vol. 21, no. 1, 1993. Pilipp, F., ‘‘Narrative Devices and Aesthetic Perception in Joyce’s and Huston’s The Dead,’’ in Literature/Film Quarterly (Salis￾bury), vol. 21, no. 1, 1993. *** It’s hard to think of a major filmmaker who relied more on literary adaptations than John Huston. The great majority of his 36 features— and virtually all the best ones—were drawn from novels, short stories, or plays; and he was invariably, though never slavishly, faithful to the spirit of the original. This quality of loving respect for his source material shines through the culminating film of his long career, The Dead. A bitter-sweet meditation on transience and mortality, The Dead is taken from the last and longest story in James Joyce’s 1914 collection Dubliners. The setting is Dublin in the winter of 1904 when two elderly sisters, Kate and Julia Morkan, and their niece, Mary Jane, give their annual dinner party and dance. The scenario, by Huston’s son Tony, sticks closely to the original story and often uses Joyce’s own dialogue. On the surface, very little happens. (‘‘The biggest piece of action,’’ Huston noted ironically, ‘‘is trying to pass the port.’’) The guests assemble; they eat, drink, dance, banter, and in one or two cases flirt mildly; the party winds to its end; and in the closing fifteen minutes we follow two of the company as they return to their hotel. We seem to be watching the casual, happening flow of life, convivial but unremarkable. No voices are raised, except now and then in song; no dramatic emphases in the acting, scoring, or camerawork urge our attention. Yet every detail, unobtrusively