Month: April 2014

Aaron Burr, Part 2

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An interesting short film has been making its way across the film circuits.  Aaron Burr, Part 2, is a 9 minute comedic film that purports to retell the story of Hamilton and Burr’s duel from Burr’s perspective.  Much like Gore Vidal’s Burr, the film is filled with inaccuracies, but I think it raises some interesting dialogue points.  I’d be curious to know what It’s Hamiltime readers think.

The Atlantic’s description states:

Complete with iPhones, battle reenactments, and a very snarky first person narration, this short film is a hilarious take on the event that tarnished Burr’s legacy. Aaron Bur, Part 2 comes from director Dana O’Keefe. The film has been showcased in film festivals across the country, including SXSW and the Dallas Film Festival where it received the Jury Prize for best short film.

Film School Rejects states:

Why Watch?Dana O’Keefe and company take up the task of humanizing Aaron Burr, an incredible figure whose memory has been reduced to one label: the man who killed Alexander Hamilton. In this unconventional take on history, Burr is a man out of time, sliding between his pre-Revolutionary days fighting in Canada and a modern day New York City where hip hop hugeness paints his larger-than life with every slow motion step.

It’s tough to say why this works. Maybe it’s because Burr appears here as a ghost kept alive by the people that remember him, foolishly trying to set the record straight while lamenting what time has done to the world he knew. Maybe it’s the hipper-than-thou attitude it carries. Maybe it’s because it’s the kind of comedy that keeps a straight face. Or maybe it’s just because it’s really damned cool.

Short of the Week writes:

The effect is brilliant. Reimagined as a brooding anti-hero, Burr (Alex Kliment) enchants. It’s a crazy comparison, but with the culture obsessed as it is, Burr reminds me of a vampire, a historical Lestat. Beautiful, dangerous, he haunts the modern lanscape, filled with regret, damned by an unforgivable act committed ages ago.

Mirroring the theme, if History is a contested narrative, the narrative of the film is a contest between its various styles. Amazingly the film has been programmed as both a fiction and documentary film, playing reputable venues like SXSW, HotDocs, and being nominated for the Cinema Eye Honors, as one of the best documentary shorts of the year. With its archival images and historical re-enactments, it shares elements of films in the Ken Burns mode, however its playful style is much more in line with modern American fiction directors like Wes Anderson in its dramatic use of music, slo-mo, and on-screen text.

You can watch the film on Vimeo here.

True/False Film Fest also had an interview with director Dana O’Keefe about the film.

Hamilton Statue at Columbia University

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The statue of Hamilton at Columbia University stands proudly outside of Hamilton Hall and greets students and campus visitors.  The Hamilton statue was commissioned by the Alumni Society and erected in May 1908, as part of the commencement celebrations of that year and was presented by the Alumni Society to the school.  The Columbia University Quarterly from 1908 describes in detail the poetry verses and procession that were part of the celebrations surrounding the unveiling of the statue.

In accepting the statue on behalf of Columbia, Dean John Howard Van Amringe stated:

“No memorial of affection for their alma mater from her children could be more appropriate than this noble statue representing, and fashioned by, one of themselves; this embodiment of civic virtue and the highest public service; this splendid monument of immortal youth great in thought and action, of the loftiest ambition without a trace of meanness, of transcendent political genius and intrepid constancy, of constructive statesmanship which was a great, if not the greatest single force that gave vitality, direction, and lasting quality to this Union of States, of oratory that had the rarest attribute of human speech in convincing the judgment of men against their will and in compelling their will to follow the dictates of their captivated judgment.  May this statue stand here for all time, a tribute of affectionate gratitude to the College from the Alumni, an ever-present incentive to successive generations of students.”

Statue of Alexander Hamilton, Hamilton Hall

Sculptor William Ordway Partridge described the sculpture in his catalogue:

“This heroic statue of bronze stands on the plaza in front of Hamilton Hall, Columbia University, and represents the great statesman at the moment when he is making the historic speech at Poughkeepsie which won over his opponents and saved New York to the Union.  Presented to the University on behalf of the alumni by President Butler.  The speech of acceptance was made by George L. Rives.  Dedicated and unveiled May 27, 1908.  The pedestal was designed by McKim, Mead and White.”

Here’s the statue looking as handsome as ever on one of my visits to the Columbia campus.  (My brother Sid is a recent graduate of Columbia, so I’ve had the opportunity to visit the campus quite a few times!)

statue

Fodor’s: Nevis a Must-Visit Destination!

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Fodor’s Travel recently released a list of five reasons to visit Nevis right now.  Number three on the list is: soak up some Caribbean history:

“The first written accounts of Nevis came from Columbus, who sailed past the island in 1493; in another 150 years or so, it became the most profitable British colony per capita, thanks to sugar. You can still get a feel for those times by visiting any of the several ruins, including those of the New River and Coconut Walk estates on the island’s east side. One popular site is the remains of Cottle Church, north of Charlestown, built by a wealthy planter so his family and slaves could worship together—which was illegal at the time. And U.S founding father Alexander Hamilton was born on Nevis; his childhood home (he left when he was 9) now houses the Alexander Hamilton Museum.”

This isn’t the first time that Nevis has been highly recommended by an international publication.  In November 2012, Forbes published an article entitled “10 Reasons to Visit Nevis this Winter,” focusing on the many resort activities and beautiful scenery on the island.

Nevis is of course on the bucket list of most Hamiltonians because it is Hamilton’s birthplace.  Although Hamilton only lived in Nevis until he was eight years old, some of his early experiences there, particularly his observations of the slave trade, may have shaped his later views on slavery.

The current Hamilton House is a replica of the original house, which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1840.