Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation

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Jim Parsons

Zachary Quinto

Brian Devine

Brooke Devine

Lisa Immordino Vreeland

Mark Lee

Jonathan Gray

John Northrup

Fischio Films

Docudramas

Factual: Arts, Culture & the Media: Arts

BBC Four - Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation

Docudrama that creates a fascinating comparison of two iconic 20th-century writers.

Docudrama that builds a fascinating picture of writers Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams – their friendship, their rivalry and the very different ways in which they handled their success.

Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams – writers, celebrities and, many would say, geniuses – were catapulted to fame in the 1950s, sparking a friendship and rivalry that spanned nearly 40 years. Inextricably entwined and icons of their age, they were both creative powerhouses and gay men, who dealt with success and its evanescence in vastly different ways.

Film-maker Lisa Immordino Vreeland brings these two forces together in a unique and fascinating head-to-head, comparing and contrasting their trajectories through duelling voices – the writers’ own, culled from archival footage, and those of actors Jim Parsons and Zachary Quinto, who portray Capote and Williams at various stages of their lives. 

Both writers constructed rich, imaginary worlds and characters - Blanche DuBois and Holly Golightly to mention just two - which left indelible marks on the era. Both men also paid the price of colossal success and fame, suffering alcoholism and periods of artistic stagnation.


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