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Author Topic: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017  (Read 14976 times)

1SO

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #10 on: April 30, 2017, 09:52:03 PM »
There was so much more potential with Across the Universe, because of what did really work in it and because of the song library itself. Clunky narrative to fit the songs in, held it back, along with sprawling "artistic" choices.

I've mentioned this one before, but the breaking point with me on Across the Universe was "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite". I was already having problems with the staging of some of the numbers. The lighting at the bowling alley was great, but getting trippy for "I Am The Walrus" is just lazy. With so many classic Beatles songs, why Mr. Kite? It's one of the worst songs by The Beatles and the film overextends itself to get to that field so Eddie Izzard could dust off that Oliver Reed impression he played to great effect in Velvet Goldmine.

Great reaches like that mixed with nails on the head like "Dear Prudence". Taymor also put a few in between. "I Want You" is great until the "She's So Heavy" part. "Come Together" gave me some early hope.

Sandy

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #11 on: May 01, 2017, 02:24:17 AM »
You make me want to watch it again, so I can revisit this mess! :) It's been too long since my last viewing.



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Sandy

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #12 on: May 01, 2017, 09:56:07 AM »
This is going to be a hectic month, so at the very least, I'll be piggy backing with the top 100 and see,

Pink Floyd: The Wall
Cabaret


If there's time, I'd like to see 1SO's favorite musical from last years' group marathon,

Three Smart Girls Grow Up

and a few Astaire films,

You Were Never Lovelier
Carefree


I also have a small box set of Crosby films I'd love to go through.

oldkid

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #13 on: May 01, 2017, 12:04:30 PM »
I have quite a list of possibles, but we'll see how many I get to:

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
All that Jazz (rewatch, but I haven't seen it since I was in high school)
Calamity Jane
The Red Violin
Damn Yankees
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Gypsy
Five Easy Pieces
The Legend of 1900
Dirty Dancing
Miss Sharon Jones!
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Bondo

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #14 on: May 01, 2017, 01:23:46 PM »
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

Whether or not it is true as a generality that gentlemen prefer blondes, I'd be hard pressed to believe that many men come out of watching this film preferring Lorelei (Marilyn Monroe). That isn't to speak ill of Monroe, but going up against Jane Russell here as Dorothy, especially given how the characters are constructed, is a pretty tall task. I don't know that this film is particularly memorable as a musical (though Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend has obviously achieved classic status), but as a screw-ball comedy it is a resounding success. Given how much plotting occurs on this boat trip to France, one expects the traveled around the globe en route by accident.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of cinema of the era was the creativity that screenwriters had to employ to make dirty jokes without using the dirty words. It is all tackled at the level of innuendo and subtext. While Lorelei plays the prim and proper gal to woo classy gentlemen, Dorothy has a more hedonistic approach to pursuing pleasure. Even as they play different types, they are both entering the realm of taboo.  It feels very progressive for its time in its gender commentary on the gold digger type, which certainly has a much more negative connotation than the shallow rich man seeking a trophy wife. This commentary that hides silently beneath the surface for much of the film breaks through with a boom at the end in pretty satisfying fashion. This is definitely an early candidate for my 2017 Discoveries list.

Junior

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #15 on: May 01, 2017, 01:34:46 PM »
Yeah, that is a great movie. I love the number set in the gym on the boat, so delightfully over the top. It's one I want to rewatch, maybe this month, and see how it holds up for me. I'm glad it hit a nerve for you!
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #16 on: May 01, 2017, 01:36:11 PM »
Yup, it's a fantastic one. I was surprised by how sophisticated it was. Gotta love Howard Hawks.

1SO

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #17 on: May 01, 2017, 02:02:43 PM »
If there's time, I'd like to see 1SO's favorite musical from last years' group marathon,

Three Smart Girls Grow Up
Oh. Nice, and I don't think it's necessary to see Three Smart Girls first. However, if you wanted a better entry point for discovering Deanna Durbin, I would go back one more year to One Hundred Men and a Girl



I also have a small box set of Crosby films I'd love to go through.
What's in the Box?

Sandy

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #18 on: May 01, 2017, 03:22:14 PM »
Oh. Nice, and I don't think it's necessary to see Three Smart Girls first. However, if you wanted a better entry point for discovering Deanna Durbin, I would go back one more year to One Hundred Men and a Girl

hmm, it's not at my library, but I'll keep an eye out for it elsewhere. The only thing I've seen Durbin in, is from a clip of Every Sunday. She's got pipes! :)

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I don't have high hopes for this particular box, but inside it are these films,

Waikiki Wedding
Double or Nothing
East Side of Heaven
If I had My Way
Here Come the Waves


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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Merry Music of May Marathon 2017
« Reply #19 on: May 01, 2017, 05:47:19 PM »
You make me want to watch it again, so I can revisit this mess! :) It's been too long since my last viewing.



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I love this one. Have you seen the other Carneys?
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