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Magic Hate Ball posted:Into the Woods is such a weird, flaccid adaptation. It looks like it was shot in a forest behind Rob Marshall's house on his days off and makes me think he doesn't know how to shoot a musical number that isn't literally on a stage.
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Jan 24, 2021 18:47
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I got lots of love for Les Mis even if every other film buff hated it. I'm very on board with the idea of live singing. e: seconding the rec for God Help the Girl. It's so much fun and I don't know another film like it.
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Jan 24, 2021 19:28
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I was impressed by how relatively faithful Les Mis was, though it was also weirdly claustrophobic. The musical is such a giant "sell it to 3000 people at once!" kind of show that Hooper putting the camera up everyone's nostrils got kind of overwhelming in the third act.Timeless Appeal posted:Disney producing Sondheim is a crime against humanity, but to be fair, Into the Woods has been pretty disneyfied over the years. The original production was famous for a Bid Bad Floppy Wolf dong. The funniest thing about Into the Woods is that, ever since the very first production, there's been an issue of people leaving at intermission because they think it's over, which is...thematically appropriate.
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Jan 24, 2021 19:57
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Vegetable posted:I got lots of love for Les Mis even if every other film buff hated it. I'm very on board with the idea of live singing.
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Jan 24, 2021 20:23
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I really like La La land, but I admit to not having the musical viewing history/knowledge as many others in the thread. Maybe it was just the bright colors and beautiful leads, but I dunno, film just worked for me. Last time I was flying in pre-covid times, I remember watching a documentary about Fidler on the Roof. I hadn't seen the film in probably 15 years, but it was fun hearing some of the songs again. An interesting aspect the documentary discussed is how many times the show had translated and adapted for other countries. I wonder if this is common though (besides Disney). I feel like some shows would be kind of culturally unique?
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Jan 25, 2021 02:43
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There's an interesting bit in Frank Rich's book about Boris Aronson, the theatrical designer who designed Fiddler's original Broadway production as well as several of the initial overseas productions, where after the show debuted in Japan (where the design was altered to be more horizontal, akin to a kabuki stage) one of the Japanese producers talked about how he couldn't believe it wasn't based on a Japanese story, because it seemed so relevant. It's just one of those shows that makes sense everywhere - shifts of tradition, the bittersweetness of leaving home, the pain of letting your children go into the world, it's kind of a does-it-all show. I was watching a video about the composition of "Far From The Home I Love" and I immediately choked up when he played the clip because that song just Does That.
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Jan 25, 2021 05:19
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Timeless Appeal posted:Hottest of takes, I like Russel Crowe a lot in Les Mis. I understand why people who love Les Mis don't care for him, but I think the film adaptation smartly puts the character in front of the gravitas. Javert is such an uncomfortable square, a man who you can tell is searching for order because he doesn't even fully understand himself. And it's not like Crowe's a bad singer even his voice is untrained. His version of Stars is profoundly sad in a way I rarely find the song even if it's not the best performance.
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Jan 25, 2021 07:07
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Magic Hate Ball posted:Opinion: La La Land is a terrible musical. It misses a huge amount of opportunities (a discussion about jazz in a jazz musical wasn't made into a jazz musical number? what?), most of the songs are lyrically facile, and after a certain point it essentially stops being a musical at all. It opens with the best number, both musically and in terms of spectacle, because they used professional singers and dancers. Then Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling take over and it's a lead balloon. Magic Hate Ball posted:The funniest thing about Into the Woods is that, ever since the very first production, there's been an issue of people leaving at intermission because they think it's over, which is...thematically appropriate. The licensed version for schools is just the first act.
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Jan 25, 2021 07:22
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Prince Myshkin posted:The licensed version for schools is just the first act. For *some* schools — probably middle schools and summer theatre camps. Every high school production I’ve ever seen (at least 3?) has been the full show. The movie’s got a ton of issues, chief among them that the show needs an intermission to work. You have to feel the gap in time and tone, and the movie just can’t convey that. Cutting the death of the Narrator removes the first “poo poo got real” moment, too.
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Jan 25, 2021 07:58
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oneforthevine posted:For *some* schools — probably middle schools and summer theatre camps. Every high school production I’ve ever seen (at least 3?) has been the full show. Yes, it's one of MTI's "Junior" versions of shows for elementary/middle schools. They also have one for Sweeney Todd, specifically for high schools. Not sure what's cut from there besides the Judge's, ah, reprise of "Johanna". Prince Myshkin fucked around with this message at 08:53 on Jan 25, 2021 |
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Jan 25, 2021 08:50
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Vegetable posted:I got lots of love for Les Mis even if every other film buff hated it. I'm very on board with the idea of live singing. The difficulty is that live singing isn't meant to be repeated for the number of takes a film director is used to taking so you end up with performers who sound like poo poo from severe vocal fatigue.
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Jan 25, 2021 20:22
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So I watched my first Demy film, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and I think Demy is just too exhausting for me, with the constant singing. Literally from start to finish, there's no dialogue that isn't singing. I definitely enjoyed it, and it's an absolutely stunning film visually, but maybe in the future with Demy I'll watch them in two sittings.
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Jan 25, 2021 20:47
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Basebf555 posted:So I watched my first Demy film, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and I think Demy is just too exhausting for me, with the constant singing. Literally from start to finish, there's no dialogue that isn't singing. I definitely enjoyed it, and it's an absolutely stunning film visually, but maybe in the future with Demy I'll watch them in two sittings. His first film, Lola, isn't a musical at all, and I also love that one. I'm still trying to get around to The Young Girls of Rochefort, but that one's also all-singing, no-dialogue. I think the free-form Jazziness of Umbrellas and the emotional depth of the simple story, and Catherine Deneuve, makes it completely palatable for me, cuz I normally don't go for all-singing musicals as well, but Umbrellas is easily 5 stars for me.
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Jan 25, 2021 21:00
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Franchescanado posted:I think the free-form Jazziness of Umbrellas and the emotional depth of the simple story, and Catherine Deneuve, makes it completely palatable for me, cuz I normally don't go for all-singing musicals as well, but Umbrellas is easily 5 stars for me. I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, how bittersweet it was. Until the last act I was fully expecting a more saccharine, feelgood ending.
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Jan 25, 2021 21:06
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Basebf555 posted:I was pleasantly surprised by the ending, how bittersweet it was. Until the last act I was fully expecting a more saccharine, feelgood ending. I think that's Demy's strength as a filmmaker, which I say with having only seen those two films. Lola is all about missed connections and loving someone but not wanting to be in love with someone, etc. Young Girls of Rochefort, I hear, is lighter? Funnier? So I'm really curious about that one.
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Jan 25, 2021 21:09
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The Young Girls of Rochefort is not an all-singing dialog free film like Umbrellas, it is very much like an american musical from Donen or Minnelli, but you know French New Wave.
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Jan 25, 2021 21:18
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Electronico6 posted:The Young Girls of Rochefort is not an all-singing dialog free film like Umbrellas, it is very much like an american musical from Donen or Minnelli, but you know French New Wave. Oh! That's really good to know! Thanks for correcting me.
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Jan 25, 2021 21:20
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Young Girls of Rochefort is like really amazing, incredible music and songs, wonderful dancing, lots of colors, sometimes goofy, and sometimes even a bit scary(!), very heartbreaking, and it has the Feminine Ideal. Go watch it now!
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Jan 25, 2021 21:34
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Electronico6 posted:Young Girls of Rochefort is like really amazing, incredible music and songs, wonderful dancing, lots of colors, sometimes goofy, and sometimes even a bit scary(!), very heartbreaking, and it has the Feminine Ideal. I mentioned it earlier, I think, but I have the Criterion Demy box, and Young Girls of Rochefort is the next one on the list. I'll watch it soon, hopefully this week, and talk about it in here. Any thoughts on Donkey Skin or Une Chambre en Ville?
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Jan 25, 2021 21:37
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Maybe this would be a nice exercise, and give me something for the OP: What would we say are maybe the Essential Musicals for a CineD Goon? If someone's come in here, see's the OP and thinks it's overwhelming or too historical, and then they see "La La Land sucks", and they're sitting there thinking "I've never seen any musicals except for some Disney animated films. What should I watch? Where do I start?" What would you recommend them? Most popular or common answers will go in a list in the OP.
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Jan 25, 2021 21:42
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I like Donkey Skin a lot, but it is weird as hell, so people often don't talk about it. The other Demy I've watched besides the trilogy and Donkey Skin is Bay of Angels with Jeanne Moreau which has a runtime shorter than 90 minutes and that's all I remember. 
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Jan 25, 2021 21:49
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My 10 Essential Goon Musical list from the intro friendly to the Taiwanese sleepy cinema Singing in the Rain by Stanley Donen Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Howard Hawks An American in Paris by Vincent Minnelli Young Girls of Rochefort by Jacques Demy All that Jazz by Bob Fosse Rangeela by Ram Gopal Varma Om Shanti Om by Farah Khan Dil Se by Mani Ratnam Golden Eighties by Chantal Akerman The Hole by Tsai Ming-liang Edit: Most of it is self-explanatory, 3 of them I already talked about, the last two are the graduation challenge to see just how far someone can take the concept of a musical film.
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Jan 25, 2021 22:06
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Franchescanado posted:Maybe this would be a nice exercise, and give me something for the OP: What would we say are maybe the Essential Musicals for a CineD Goon? Off the top of my head: Cabaret All That Jazz Dancer in the Dark Moulin Rouge! The Saddest Music in the World Fiddler on the Roof Forbidden Zone True Stories Phantom of the Paradise I feel like I'm missing some, but these were kinda formative for me, and are a decently broad range of style. I'd also recommend taking a look at the '82 film of the original Sweeney Todd production (feat. George Hearn and Angela Lansbury), which is just a knockout. Magic Hate Ball fucked around with this message at 22:49 on Jan 25, 2021 |
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Jan 25, 2021 22:45
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Oh poo poo, I'm so excited we're counting True Stories as a musical. The music is really important to the mood and feel, but I hadn't considered calling it a musical.
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Jan 25, 2021 22:46
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I think it's close enough! I guess Nashville could be counted as well, given how many of the songs have to do with the plot (I'm Easy in particular, but a lot of the other numbers are related). Certainly the whole movie comes together as a thematically cohesive musical/movie whole.
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Jan 25, 2021 22:54
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Magic Hate Ball posted:I think it's close enough! I guess Nashville could be counted as well, given how many of the songs have to do with the plot (I'm Easy in particular, but a lot of the other numbers are related). Certainly the whole movie comes together as a thematically cohesive musical/movie whole. Oh yeah, Nashville is for-sure a musical. It's just weird cuz it's Altman.
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Jan 25, 2021 22:58
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Which also reminds me that Popeye is mostly a good musical.
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Jan 25, 2021 23:00
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The Apple is essential for any fan of trash cinema. Directed by Cannon’s Menachem Golan! https://youtu.be/Uix3tbov65o And Phantom of the Paradise is a goon favorite for sure.
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Jan 25, 2021 23:07
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Franchescanado posted:I mentioned it earlier, I think, but I have the Criterion Demy box, and Young Girls of Rochefort is the next one on the list. I'll watch it soon, hopefully this week, and talk about it in here. I like Une Chambre en Ville a lot, but it’s in many ways a more exhausting version of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg — imagine that film stripped of its levity, both musically and thematically, and then add in much darker set design and costuming. Donkey Skin has two memorable songs and some neat special effects, but that’s about it.
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Jan 25, 2021 23:33
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Gotta go again with Little Shop of Horrors as it is the musical even people that hate musicals like, and if someone is only coming from Disney, its got the exact same style of music to the point that half of Part of That World from Little Mermaid is Somewhere Thats Green. Also, Im always going to say that Happy Feet is a better mashup song musical than Moulin Rouge, and would always recommend that over the Rouge.
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Jan 26, 2021 01:02
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What do you goons think about John Waters' Crybaby? I enjoyed it quite a bit. I went in almost expecting a singing and dancing Pink Flamingos.
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Jan 26, 2021 01:09
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Thanks for all the recs, adding them to my list!! This was my favorite song from last weekend's viewings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG6UllZwj9c
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Jan 27, 2021 02:38
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Franchescanado posted:Maybe this would be a nice exercise, and give me something for the OP: What would we say are maybe the Essential Musicals for a CineD Goon? Rocky Horror Picture Show is essential for defining the notion of musicals as being indie and subversive I feel like Once is a film that doesn't get enough love. It's oddly a stage musical adaptation of a film that really surpasses the film. But still, I think there is a genre of low key, earnest mumblecore musical that I wish it had sparked.
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Jan 30, 2021 04:07
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One of the docents at the Zoo got very angry when I started singing the final number from "Stop the Planet of the Apes. I Want to Get Off!"
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Jan 30, 2021 09:44
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drat Yankees (1958) has exactly the kind of silliness that I crave! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry8CpIg2fvU
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Feb 1, 2021 00:48
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Magic Hate Ball posted:Off the top of my head: Cabaret is definitely my favorite off that list, even if it has like half the songs from the Broadway show. The rendition of "Maybe This Time" always breaks my heart. I'll echo some love for that Sweeney Todd recommendation. It was so much fun to see Angela Lansbury in that role when I had only known her from Murder She Wrote. There are also pretty good Into the Woods and Passion live films for the Sondheim folks. I don't particularly like the Hollywood versions of his films but the stage ones have all been spot on from what I've seen. The film version of A Little Night Music is especially bad in my opinion, even if the song "If" is fairly well done. Then again, I think Sondheim's male duets are generally just pretty drat good songs in general ("Pretty Women," "Agony," etc.) If you can ever find it, there's a really cute musical version of Shop Around the Corner called She Loves Me that I've only seen once and as far as I know was only produced for television and doesn't really get re-aired.
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Feb 1, 2021 19:03
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I think it was the Broadway revival that was live-streamed, yeah (it's an easy video to...find...), and I heartily recommend all the other Sondheim Broadway videos as well, particularly Sunday in the Park with George.
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Feb 1, 2021 20:55
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Magic Hate Ball posted:I think it was the Broadway revival that was live-streamed, yeah (it's an easy video to...find...), and I heartily recommend all the other Sondheim Broadway videos as well, particularly Sunday in the Park with George.
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Feb 1, 2021 21:16
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Magic Hate Ball posted:Off the top of my head: That's a really good list (only ones I've seen). Phantom of the Paradise is one my favorite movies, period. I didn't see any mention of Purple Rain (even though you mentioned Sign of the Times) or Eddie and the Cruisers, unless I missed them. Is something like that not considered a "musical", like in the vein of A Star s Born? Excellent OP btw.
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Feb 3, 2021 15:44
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I think a lot of people call musicals those works that feature a bunch of non-diegetic numbers, but you also have movies like Cabaret where all the numbers are diegetic and that sure seems like a musical to me. I'd also suggest Show Boat as required watching in that it sets the discourse for "what a musical is" which Rodgers-Hammerstein would later perfect in the 50s.
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Feb 3, 2021 19:18
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