Post by klep on Jun 6, 2016 6:42:38 GMT -6
MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/6: Singin' In The Rain
WEEK ONE OF MUSICALS MONTH
It would be difficult to pick a better film to kick off our celebration of musicals. It's a classic musical, but it's also about movie making in a time when it was first becoming possible to make musicals. Set right at the point where silents were switching over to talkies, Singin' In The Rain focuses on a silent film star Don Lockwood (Gene Kelley) and his on-screen partner Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) as Monumental Pictures tries to move them to talkies. Lockwood has a great vocie, but Lina's unbearable, high-pitched voice is unsuited to a leading lady. After a disastrous test screening, Lockwood, his friend Cosmo (Donald O'Connor) and Don's girlfriend and aspiring actress Kathy (Debbie Reynolds) embark on a plan to save the picture from Lina by overdubbing her lines and turning it into a musical.
We get to see a lot of behind-the-scenes action as a result. Lockwood&Lamont are billed as a couple both on screen and off, with the opening sequence showing both our societal celebrity obsession and the way the studios would manipulate the relationships of its stars to feed that obsession. We get to take a walk through a silent film studio and see several films all being shot right next to each other. We get to witness the teething difficulties of the switch to sound - the problems with The Dueling Cavalier's test screening were common problems at the time. And we also see the very real fears of irrelevancy on the part of silent film stars, and the way that their careers could be destroyed for nothing more than having a voice that didn't match their image.
But enough of that, let's get to the songs! Singin' in the Rain has several of the most famous musical numbers in film history. I've had Good Morning stuck in my head pretty much since I watched the film, and it probably remains my favorite for involving all three of its stars. It's a joyous song, and it's great to see newcomer Debbie Reynolds gamely keeping up with her veteran co-stars. The title song is one of the most memorable sequences in film history as newly in love Gene Kelley joyously prances around the street, swinging from stoplights and stomping in puddles. And of course there's Cosmo's phenomenal slapstick routine in Make 'Em Laugh, a testament both to his talent and his endurance - contorting his face and punishing his body through lengthy takes of tumbling and pratfalls.
What's your favorite musical sequence in the film? In particular I'd be interested to know what you guys thought of the Broadway Melody sequence. It seemed to me that, while it was very good in its own right, it didn't quite fit with the rest of the film. It sort of stopped the forward momentum for me in a way similar to the psychiatrist's speech at the end of Psycho. Do any of you feel the same?
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/13: South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut
SECOND WEEK OF MUSICALS MONTH
For our next musical we go from the peak musical era of Hollywood to a more modern era to spend some time with 4 foul-mouthed children from South Park Colorado. Frequently movies that are extensions of television shows are terrible, but Trey Parker and Matt Stone knew what they were about when they created this musical full of entertaining earworms that still pop up now and again today (and are the only way Brian Boitano gets any press). South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut is available on Netflix Instant and for rent on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members. Also, Jacob Roth will be attempting to stream it on The Dissolve Couch this Friday evening.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/2: The Nice Guys
Where L.A. Confidential focused on the boys in blue, The Nice Guys is a period L.A. noir focused on a couple of private investigators. What are the lines that can be drawn between them? The podcast discusses that today and we'll discuss it on Wednesday. The Nice Guys is still in theaters.
WEEK ONE OF MUSICALS MONTH
It would be difficult to pick a better film to kick off our celebration of musicals. It's a classic musical, but it's also about movie making in a time when it was first becoming possible to make musicals. Set right at the point where silents were switching over to talkies, Singin' In The Rain focuses on a silent film star Don Lockwood (Gene Kelley) and his on-screen partner Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen) as Monumental Pictures tries to move them to talkies. Lockwood has a great vocie, but Lina's unbearable, high-pitched voice is unsuited to a leading lady. After a disastrous test screening, Lockwood, his friend Cosmo (Donald O'Connor) and Don's girlfriend and aspiring actress Kathy (Debbie Reynolds) embark on a plan to save the picture from Lina by overdubbing her lines and turning it into a musical.
We get to see a lot of behind-the-scenes action as a result. Lockwood&Lamont are billed as a couple both on screen and off, with the opening sequence showing both our societal celebrity obsession and the way the studios would manipulate the relationships of its stars to feed that obsession. We get to take a walk through a silent film studio and see several films all being shot right next to each other. We get to witness the teething difficulties of the switch to sound - the problems with The Dueling Cavalier's test screening were common problems at the time. And we also see the very real fears of irrelevancy on the part of silent film stars, and the way that their careers could be destroyed for nothing more than having a voice that didn't match their image.
But enough of that, let's get to the songs! Singin' in the Rain has several of the most famous musical numbers in film history. I've had Good Morning stuck in my head pretty much since I watched the film, and it probably remains my favorite for involving all three of its stars. It's a joyous song, and it's great to see newcomer Debbie Reynolds gamely keeping up with her veteran co-stars. The title song is one of the most memorable sequences in film history as newly in love Gene Kelley joyously prances around the street, swinging from stoplights and stomping in puddles. And of course there's Cosmo's phenomenal slapstick routine in Make 'Em Laugh, a testament both to his talent and his endurance - contorting his face and punishing his body through lengthy takes of tumbling and pratfalls.
What's your favorite musical sequence in the film? In particular I'd be interested to know what you guys thought of the Broadway Melody sequence. It seemed to me that, while it was very good in its own right, it didn't quite fit with the rest of the film. It sort of stopped the forward momentum for me in a way similar to the psychiatrist's speech at the end of Psycho. Do any of you feel the same?
OUR NEXT MOVIE OF THE WEEK for 6/13: South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut
SECOND WEEK OF MUSICALS MONTH
For our next musical we go from the peak musical era of Hollywood to a more modern era to spend some time with 4 foul-mouthed children from South Park Colorado. Frequently movies that are extensions of television shows are terrible, but Trey Parker and Matt Stone knew what they were about when they created this musical full of entertaining earworms that still pop up now and again today (and are the only way Brian Boitano gets any press). South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut is available on Netflix Instant and for rent on Amazon Instant Video, though it is not free for Prime members. Also, Jacob Roth will be attempting to stream it on The Dissolve Couch this Friday evening.
NEXT PICTURE SHOW PODCAST for 6/2: The Nice Guys
Where L.A. Confidential focused on the boys in blue, The Nice Guys is a period L.A. noir focused on a couple of private investigators. What are the lines that can be drawn between them? The podcast discusses that today and we'll discuss it on Wednesday. The Nice Guys is still in theaters.