Jedi Council Forums - The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Kiss Me, Kate" (1953)

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Author	Topic: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Kiss Me, Kate" (1953)
RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 4/23/06 4:33pm Subject: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Kiss Me, Kate" (1953) - Date Edited: 1/2 7:53pm (139 edits total) Edited By: Zaz
	I asked to host a thread on musicals. This is my third posted topic. I will discuss all of the musicals and their directors from the beginning to the current releases. I will start out with "The Jazz Singer", considered to be the musical that was the precursor of the musical genre. The Jazz Singer The link above goes to a review by Tim Dirks. The film was directed by Alan Crosland and distributed by Warner Bros in 1927. It used the Vitaphone sound system (sound-on-disk) that only was used for a few years. It features Al Jolson as the lead after Eddie Cantor and George Jessel had declined to accept offers from Warner to play the title role. Jolson was considered to be America's favorite jazz singer. He broke into song, ad-libbed with his mother at the piano, and proclaimed the famous line to introduce a musical number: Wait a minute! Wait a minute! You ain't heard nothin' yet. Wait a minute, I tell ya, you ain't heard nothin'! Do you wanna hear 'Toot, Toot, Tootsie!'? All right, hold on, hold on. (To the band leader) Lou, Listen. Play 'Toot, Toot, Tootsie!' Three choruses, you understand. In the third chorus I whistle. Now give it to 'em hard and heavy. Go right ahead! Jolson was actually promoting the title of one of his songs, "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet" (written by Gus Kahn and Buddy de Sylva), that he had recorded in 1919. The film has been remade twice: Warners' and director Michael Curtiz' The Jazz Singer (1952) with Danny Thomas (as Jerry Golding) and Peggy Lee (as Judy Lane), and director Richard Fleischer's The Jazz Singer (1980) with singer-songwriter Neil Diamond in the lead role as the cantor's son with legendary co-star Laurence Olivier as his father. The movie tells the story of a son who defiantly refuses to follow his father as a Jewish cantor. He is asked in the movie to choose between his singing career and his obligation to his sick father to sing in the temple for Yom Kippur. At first he chooses his career, but then his wife finally persuades him to go and reconcile with his father. He sings "Kol Nidre" quite grandly despite not having sung it since he was a little boy. His father dies and then he opens his show the next day singing the jazz music that he loves. In the final scene, his proud mother sits in the crowded Winter Garden Theater audience, listening and weeping. In blackface (symbolic of his assimilation into the culture, or a way to mask his ethnicity?), Jack croons the song "My Mammy" to her: Mammy! Mammy! The sun shines east. The sun shines west. But I know where the sun shines best. Mammy! Mammy! My heart strings are tangled around, Alabamy. I'm, I'm a comin'! Sorry I made you wait. I'm, I'm comin'! I hope and pray I'm not late. Mammy! Mammy! I'd walk a million miles for one of your smiles! My Mammy! And then, Jack gets on one knee for the finale to his Mama, flinging his arms out toward her and the world: Mammy! My little Mammy! The sun shines east. The sun shines west. But I know where the sun shines best. It's on my Mammy I'm talkin' about. Nobody elses. My little Mammy! My heart strings are tangled around, Alabamy. Mammy! I'm comin'! I hope I didn't make you wait! Mammy! I'm comin'! Oh God, I hope I'm not late. Mammy! Don't ya know me? It's your little baby! I'd walk a million miles for one of your smiles! My Mammy! Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 4/23/06 4:42pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "The Jazz Singer")
	This film was a sensation at the time, because it was a semi-talkie. I'm ashamed to say I've never seen it. Reports are that it is hokey in the extreme, but historically, it is a very important film. For one thing, its success started a storm of musicals. For another, the coming of sound ruined a lot of careers among the actors, actresses and directors. I'd like to see it, just for curiosity's sake.
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TheBoogieMan Title: Manager Emeritus Registered: Nov '01	Date Posted: 4/24/06 12:07am Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "The Jazz Singer")
	I'd like to see it, too. It looks interesting, even though it might be campy and cheesy.
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_HothWampa_ Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 4/24/06 4:54am Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "The Jazz Singer")
	I'm by no means a pretentious film aficionado, so when I viewed it I found it to be just as you all suspect: cheesy, over the top, and funny in an unintentional way. I respect it for it's significance in cinematic history, but I by no means found it to be a "good film." -----signature----- How could you not love a wampa? Gig'Em Ag's!! Meet me in Montauk.... ESOTSM
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 4/24/06 4:06pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "The Jazz Singer")
	That's what I've heard, too. And early talkies are often terrible because the actors were trained in the silent era. In the original "Dracula", for example, the actors were fine if you didn't listen to them. They could mime emotion perfectly.
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Rogue1-and-a-half Title: Manager: Amphitheatre Registered: Nov '00	Date Posted: 4/25/06 2:09pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "The Jazz Singer")
	It's pretty hokey. I've seen it and it's not a film to watch every year or anything like that. But Jolson has energy when he sings; when he 'acts' he doesn't have much of anything. His Toot Toot Tootsie is pretty fantastic and his Mammy is one of those rare moments when an singer acting a song manages to look like an actor acting a role. It's a layered moment, as you point out, and Jolson nails it like he has managed to utterly miss nailing anything else in the entire movie. Had the whole movie been up to that one song, it would be a great movie. Sadly, it not only kickstarts the musical, it kick starts several negatives about the musical: non-integration of musical numbers into the actual story and a weak story to begin with. Worth seeing once just because everyone should see Jolson at least once in their life. -----signature----- Don't be a fool, don't be blind Heart of mine If you can't do the time, don't do the crime Heart of mine
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 4/26/06 12:35pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "The Jazz Singer")
	I frankly don't care if a musical is integrated or not; just as long as it's good. And Jolson was a star, no error.
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Jedi knight Pozzi Registered: Apr '00	Date Posted: 4/26/06 8:06pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "The Jazz Singer")
	I'm rather fond of this myself. I don't consider it to be a bad film at all. The music is the only low point, but that's just one mans opinion on the music back then. -----signature----- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 13
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 4/28/06 7:46pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Discussing "Rent") - Date Edited: 4/28/06 7:48pm (1 edits total) Edited By: RX_Sith
	This week I will focus on a recent musical that was just released on video. Rent The link above goes to a review by David Rooney for Variety.com Directed by Chris Columbus. Screenplay, Stephen Chbosky, based on the musical with book, music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. Cast: Mark Cohen - Anthony Rapp Roger Davis - Adam Pascal Mimi Marquez - Rosario Dawson Tom Collins - Jesse L. Martin Angel Dumont Schunard - Wilson Jermaine Heredia Maureen Johnson - Idina Menzel Joanne Jefferson - Tracie Thoms Benjamin Coffin III - Taye Diggs Director Chris Columbus (known for the Home Alone movies) directed the movie "Rent" based on the broadway musical. Making "La Boheme" grungy produces a movie that fails for the most part to get its "groove" on. Even fans of the broadway musical shunned this movie. The movie deals with AIDS, drugs, homelessness, and life on the fringe. The musical dance numbers show the performers dancing on tables (like in "Fame") and running through trash-filled streets. The movie opens with the broadway shows best known song "Seasons of Love" but it fails to really pump up this mish-mash of other ideas previously used in numerous musicals. The central theme of downtowners battling to survive, connect and cultivate some kind of artistic purity in an increasingly soulless corporate world is still there, but we've seen this theme way too many times now. Even with the threat of eviction, of these people being forced to sell out, or of succumbing to illness or drug addiction, it just all falls apart throughout this movie. Lately, musicals have been disastrous to release to the theaters. This movie only helps to encourage that trend. Can musicals ever make a comeback? If you base it on this remake of the broadway show, then it seems that Hollywood has lost touch with what its audience wants. Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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JohnWesleyDowney Registered: Jan '04	Date Posted: 4/28/06 8:43pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "Rent") - Date Edited: 4/28/06 8:52pm (1 edits total) Edited By: JohnWesleyDowney
	This is a movie I wanted to love, but I just couldn't make it through all the way when I rented the DVD. It was a struggle. I just couldn't get connect to it, and I love movies so much, I make it through just about ANYTHING. It's extremely rare for me to not watch a film start to finish. "Living in America" was a cool song, but it's the only one I remember (do I have the name right?) but that was about it. The thing wasn't structured right...it never lured me in. Having never seen the stage show...I was just lost from the start. I would have enjoyed the theme of artistic purity battling soulless corporations, IF it had been presented coherently and more importantly - in a compelling way. They should have designed the movie in such a way that if someone had never even HEARD of Rent, they could get sucked right into it and swept up in the characters and situations. I generally try to look for the good in anything I watch, just about every movie has done SOMETHING right if you look for it. So I'll say this, the lighting was good. I'm sure everyone TRIED very hard on this one, but alas, for me, it just didn't work. But I was rooting for it!
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kotorchick Registered: Aug '05	Date Posted: 4/28/06 9:45pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "Rent")
	A) I love hte movie a LOT. B) I knew the sorce material and loved it before I saw the movie. I think the second factor contributes to wheather a person really enjoys the move or not. It's not the best structured movie out there, I know that. But the performances are incredible too. Not one weak cast member. -----signature----- "I may be small, but I have giant plans, to shine as brightly as the sun!" Jo March- Little Women the Musical "Every single time I look at your icon, it looks to me like the blaster is an Ewok holding a shield in front of Leia's giant face."- DarthIshtar
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 4/29/06 8:55am Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "Rent")
	I haven't seen either the play or the movie, but there's no question that the movie, which cost a lot to make (musicals do) was a flop. It's a great pity, because in the wake of the success of "Chicago" this movie and "The Producers" were greenlighted and they both were disappointing. Several other musicals are now not going to be made: most notably: "Damn Yankees"
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AboutaSith Title: IEFF Webi-Master Registered: May '05	Date Posted: 4/29/06 1:46pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "Rent")
	I went to see this at the cinema. I wasn't very impressed with it. I loved the songs in it but didn't like the following: 1. The Opening on Stage - We know it's a play, forget that and just start with the street scene. 2. When you know who passes and they all feel so down about it, I didn't get it, we didn't see enough interaction with that particular character for us to feel the same way or even truly get why. 3. The music got very repetative towards the end. 4. How many times did it look like it was finished only to start again? I think it would have been better with a different director. The good thing about it was the didn't cast the pop acts they were thinking of to begin with Britney, Justin, Christina et al. I want to see it on stage, maybe the story works differently. -----signature----- Former President of IEFF - Please Build Me A Library http://www.inlandempirefanforce.com
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_HothWampa_ Registered: Jun '02	Date Posted: 4/29/06 4:42pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "Rent")
	I hate hate hated Rent. I knew very little about the actual stage show prior to being exposed to this film, but I did think I would like it because I'm a big fan of a majority of modern musicals. This one however... I thought the songs were lame, the acting was blah and there were just way too many cheesy moments. I know a lot of people that enjoyed it, but I know even more who were disappointed. -----signature----- How could you not love a wampa? Gig'Em Ag's!! Meet me in Montauk.... ESOTSM
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Thrawn1786 Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 4/29/06 5:27pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "Rent")
	I liked most of Rent. The only things I did not like were how they left out "Halloween" and cut part of "Goodbye Love". Those were essential to the plot in my mind. Otherwise it was pretty good. -----signature----- Knick knack, Patti's whack, diva's on her throne-you just got Patti LPwned! Senator of Thrawn Fans Unite, EU Senate My 2009 Dear Diary Challenge entry: http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/29687672/p1/?3
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Rose_Skywalker Registered: Nov '02	Date Posted: 4/30/06 12:52pm Subject: RE: The Movie MusicalsThread: (Now Discussing "Rent")
	I happened to really like the movie. Granted i'm a huge fan of broadway anyways. To me seeing the movies is the closest i can get to the actual show, because i live in podunk nowhere and even the tours of the shows don't come close. I felt they could have left in a few songs, but i still thought it was touching and well done. I happened to be a fan of the movie version of The Producers as well. -----signature----- ~* *~ It's like Star Wars, if it was on the WB- Josh
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