First up was "Kiss Me Kate" shown in it's original 3D format. This was one of my favorite films of the festival. A very clever adapation of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" the story backstage mirrors the play onstage. The score is by Cole Porter and the film also features some early work by Bob Fosse. Also of note is the footwork of Tommy Rall.
What was great about seeing this film was that I got to meet some Tommy Rall fans, Beth & Jeremy, at the screening. Beth sent me some neat trivia about the film:
"A little trivia about Kiss Me Kate - the sailor who appeared at the end of "Always True to You..." is Hermes Pan, the choreographer of the film. He was a long time work partner of Fred Astaire and they looked a lot alike."
"The three male dancers choreographed their own sections of "From this Moment On" at the end of the movie. This was the world's first opportunity to see Bob Fosse's style. Also, the girl who danced with Bobby Van was Jeanne Coyne, an assistant to Gene Kelly and his future wife."
"Kathryn Grayson's character had to say the word "louse," because the censors wouldn't allow her to say "bastard," which was in the script for the original stage version."
Beth has a great site dedicated to all things Tommy Rall. It can be found here:
http://www.geocities.com/crazyforcinema/index.html
Coming in Part 2- Scott does a musical triple feature! "42ND Street" "Swing Time" & "Singin' in the Rain"!
7 comments:
Hey, Scott, it was great to meet you, too! I'm glad you were able to give the musicals a shot. They can be an acquired taste, but they're a lot of fun. And, for an acquired taste, I've still to 2001 on my mind. Gotta find me a DVD of this now...
I love all those musicals that you mentioned Walt. I also love "All that Jazz" and I have to thank Gary for introducing me to that one.
Your right Beth! Musicals are fun if you give them half a chance! And i'm glad that 2001 is still on your mind!
Walt, I agree with your comments about the old musicals. It's hard to tell if today's performers are skilled enough to handle the kind of work the ones of old did (I know the cast of Chicago worked their legs off but that was just one film, not the multiple films that were done in the '30s, '40s, '50s). It's also hard to know if any film maker these days has the skill to do an original musical! I do know that Hugh Jackman would love to do a film musical.
As for a current musical, I really loved "Moulin Rouge." While it had that crazy editing, which I don't love, it also had the same energy and element of fun the old musicals had. Another favorite is "Hedwig and the Angry Inch."
I enjoyed "All That Jazz," too. I watched it after having read a bio on Bob Fosse and so I found it both sad and even a little disturbing, since the of the film end dealt with his death during a heart operation and he dropped dead of a heart attack a couple of years later. It might not have been a direct autobiography but it certainly had a ton of elements from his life. Have you tried "Cabaret," also directed by Fosse? Great story, director, performances, etc.
Oh, Walt loves "Cabaret"! Right, Walt?
I agree with you about "Moulin Rouge". I didn't expect that film to pack the emotional wallop that it did. Yes, the editing is a little crazy but it does give the film a crazy energy. And how many camera set ups are in that film?! From a technical stand point, the film is really impressive.
And just to back track, remakes are nothing new. "The Maltese Falcon" was made two times before the Bogart/Huston version. First, in 1931 and then in 1936 with the title "Satan met A Lady".
Yes! I love Cabaret! And I'm happy that Brokeback Mountain came out on DVD. Yah!!
I have a confession for Walt. I played a sort of belated April fools joke. I posted that comment. I'm sorry but I just couldn't resist! Just setting the record straight!
Mina, I'm shocked! :-)
All kidding aside you're right. It really is a fun genre. You just have to give these films a chance!
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