Author Topic: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Kiss Me, Kate" (1953)
RX_Sith  4057 posts
Title: C&G Game Host
Registered: Mar '06
42342_Star Wars Monopoly
Date Posted: 11/28/07 1:08pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Discussing: "Woodstock (3 Days of Peace & Music)" (1970)) - Date Edited: 11/28/07 1:13pm (1 edits total) Edited By: RX_Sith
Woodstock (3 Days of Peace & Music) (1970).

(from wiki)

Woodstock (subtitled "3 Days of Peace & Music") is a 1970 documentary on the Woodstock Festival in 1969. The film was directed by Michael Wadleigh and was edited by (amongst others) Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker; Schoonmaker was nominated for an Academy Award for Film Editing. It received the Academy Award for Documentary Feature, as well as a nomination for Best Sound. The Official Director's Cut spans 225 minutes. There is also a solo DVD release of Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. VH1 Classic occasionally airs the Director's Cut version of the documentary.

Artists by appearance
number group / singer title
1.* Crosby, Stills & Nash - Long Time Gone, Wooden Ships
2.* Canned Heat - Going Up the Country
3. Richie Havens - Handsome Johnny, Freedom
4. Canned Heat - A Change Is Gonna Come**
5. Joan Baez - Joe Hill, Swing Low Sweet Chariot
6. The Who - We're Not Gonna Take It/See Me Feel Me, Summertime Blues
7. Sha-Na-Na - At the Hop
8. Joe Cocker and the Grease Band - With a Little Help from My Friends, Crowd Rain Chant
9. Country Joe and the Fish - Rock and Soul Music
10. Arlo Guthrie - Coming Into Los Angeles
11. Crosby, Stills and Nash - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
12. Ten Years After - I'm Going Home
13. Jefferson Airplane - Saturday Afternoon/ Won't You Try**, Uncle Sam's Blues**
14. John Sebastian - Younger Generation
15. Country Joe McDonald - FISH Cheer/Feel-Like-I'm-Fixing-to-Die-Rag
16. Santana - Soul Sacrifice
17. Sly and the Family Stone - Dance To The Music/I Want To Take You Higher
18. Janis Joplin - Work Me, Lord**
19. Jimi Hendrix - Voodoo Child**, The Star-Spangled Banner, Purple Haze & Instrumental Solo
20.* Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Woodstock

*) opening and final credits (no stage performance)
**) not in the original version, only in the directors cut

Trivia

* The documentary was reportedly edited from 120 miles of footage shot at the three-day concert.
* While they don't appear in the film, or on the soundtrack, a number of other artists played at Woodstock, such as The Grateful Dead, Incredible String Band, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Johnny Winter and Ravi Shankar played through the rain. Ironically, it was because of the Dead that Creedence doesn't appear; John Fogerty complained that the Dead jammed way past their scheduled slot, and thus most of the audience was tuned out when Creedence took the stage. Fogerty felt the band's appearance was sub-par, and asked that it not be included in the film.
* Two of the film's six editors were the future multiple-award winning director Martin Scorsese, and Scorsese's frequent film editor Thelma Schoonmaker.
* Short portions of the film are featured in the 1971 sci-fi movie The Omega Man. Charlton Heston goes to watch Woodstock in an abandoned theatre ("Good show! Held over for the third straight year.") in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles. The segments shown include Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe & The Fish, and an anonymous hippie attendee whose remarks Heston mutters along with.

* The film is rated R by the MPAA for drug content, nudity, and language, even though the original festival was all-ages.

Review

This 'defining moment of a generation' has been over-romanticized to the point of parody. Woodstock changed nothing about American life or culture--the mythos surrounding it is just a nostalgia trip for aging hippies and guilty yuppies longing for the days before mandatory drug-testing. The notion that getting stoned and balling in the mud at a rock concert could qualify as a form of social or political activism is so ridiculous that it's almost contemptible.

Nevertheless, 'Woodstock' the movie is a gem for its numerous moments of brilliance on stage and the relatively innovative use of multiple sound-tracks and camera angles that paved the way first for similarly brilliant concert films like Scorsese's 'The Last Waltz.'

This film was largely responsible for the explosion in popularity of The Who's 'Tommy,' and it's easy to see why. Their renditions of the rock opera's high points, culminating with 'See Me Feel Me/Listening to You' in the early morning hours, are simply breathtaking. Ironically, the Who frequently slagged their performance at Woodstock and the hippie movement in general, and Townshend famously clobbered anti-establishment activist Abbie Hoffman with a blow to the head from his guitar after Hoffman tried to take the mike during their set (sadly, this legendary bit of rock lore was missed entirely by the film crew, who were changing reels between songs at the time). Their set's most serendipitous aspect--the sun breaking over the horizon during the instrumental climax of their final number--was a consequence of the group's holding up their performance for several hours, demanding to be paid in advance. They were also quite angry about having been unwittingly dosed with LSD, which had been added to basically every form of beverage--including ice-cubes--in the backstage area. They translate their frustration and anger into a manic energy unrivalled in the history of live rock.

Also perilously high on LSD was Santana, whose performance of 'Soul Sacrifice' became a defining moment for that incarnation of the group. Though Carlos Santana's guitar was always the focus of Santana, the film's sound editing and camera work dwell more on drummer Michael Shreve, a drop-dead brilliant jazz-trained percussionist who joined Santana while still in his teens. One could easily be persuaded that Shreve was the real genius of Santana from this performance.

Other star-making turns are here to be found: the first public appearance of Crosby, Stills, & Nash, delivering a stripped-down performance of 'Suite: Judy Blue-Eyes' supported only by Still's acoustic guitar and their legendary three-part harmonies, Joe Cocker refashioning the Beatles' 'With a Little Help From My Friends' from psychedelic pop into gut-wrenching soul, and the hugely underrated Richie Havens' acoustic folk introspection.

The snippets of dialogue and interviews date poorly, with the exception of a humorous turn by Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who gives a quick running commentary as he rolls and displays a fat marijuana joint for the camera (the Dead refused permission to have their performance featured in the film).

Perhaps the most celebrated moment of the film is Jimi Hendrix's set with his new group, the Band of Gypsies, which features his virtuosic take on the 'Star-Spangled Banner.' Though the hippie rhetoric about the glorious counter-culture revolution of the sixties is tiresome (I find it somewhat telling that, due to weather, Hendrix's set was pushed back to the morning of the last day, and was missed by the majority of the filthy, soaked, and hung-over crowd), Hendrix (who, unbeknownst to many, was an Army paratrooper before he became a rock god) captures the confusion and fear aroused by the Vietnam War and the rift it inspired between American youth and the so-called establishment with stunning clarity. He also proves quite convincingly why he will never be equaled as a rock guitarist or an icon of cool.

Forget the hippie nonsense and get off on some of the highest-quality recordings and concert footage of the golden age of rock.

Discuss.

 

-----signature-----
Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Zaz  38669 posts
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered: Oct '98
40038_Jawa
Date Posted: 11/29/07 11:15am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Discussing: "Woodstock" (1970))
I've never actually seen this movie; I suppose I should....

 

Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
RX_Sith  4057 posts
Title: C&G Game Host
Registered: Mar '06
42342_Star Wars Monopoly
Date Posted: 12/6/07 2:48pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Discussing: "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971))
Fiddler on the Roof (1971).

(from TCM)

Synopsis

In 1905, poor Jewish milkman Tevye struggles to feed his family in the impoverished Russian village of Anatevka. Despite political unrest and anti-Semitism, Tevye maintains his religious traditions and devotion to God, with whom he carries on a constant dialogue. One day, Yente, the village matchmaker, informs Tevye's wife Golde that widower Lazar Wolf, a middle-aged, wealthy butcher, has asked to marry Tzeitel, the oldest of their five daughters.

Quick-witted Hodel and bookish Chava, Tevye's second and third daughters, long to be matched, but Tzeitel explains that without a dowry or family connections, they will probably be married to older, unattractive men. Meanwhile, Tevye fantasizes about being rich and, good-humoredly, asks God if being wealthy "would spoil some vast, eternal plan." Later, Tevye learns from his neighbors that Jews living in other areas are being evicted from their homes. As the men spout ineffective curses at the authorities, Perchik, a student from Kiev, approaches, chides them for their inaction and predicts that the rich must soon share their wealth. Upon learning that Perchik teaches for a living, Tevye, who appreciates learned men, offers to pay him food in exchange for lessons for his daughters.

At home, Tzeitel urges the timid tailor Motel, the childhood friend with whom she is in love, to ask Tevye for permission to marry her, but he is waiting until he can afford to buy a sewing machine to prove to Tevye that he is worthy. During the Sabbath prayers, Tevye and Golde pray that their daughters will become good wives and mothers. Afterward, sent by Golde, Tevye visits Lazar and their conversation becomes increasingly confused, until Tevye realizes that Lazar wants to marry Tzeitel, not buy his cow. Tevye thinks hard about Lazar's proposal because although Lazar is wealthy, he much older than Tzeitel, but he concludes that Tzeitel would be safe from hunger. After he agrees to the match, the two go out to drink and celebrate with the other Jewish men. Cossacks, moved by their joy, make a toast, and for a short time, Jews and Gentiles dance together.

Afterward, as the drunken Tevye heads home, the constable, a bigoted man who nonetheless likes Tevye, warns that his superior has ordered "a little unofficial demonstration" against the Jews in the village. Continuing on his way, Tevye is approached by the Fiddler, a figment of his imagination, who begins to play for him and the two dance, despite Tevye's fears of the impending pogram. The next day, Tevye suffers a hangover and sleeps late, while Perchik teaches Tevye's youngest daughters, Bielke and Schprintze, an unorthodox interpretation of the story of Jacob. When Hodel later confronts him about his "advanced" thinking, Perchik belittles her blind adherence to tradition. He shows her how boys and girls now dance together, but they become tongue-tied upon realizing their mutual attraction.

When Tevye revives, he announces Tzeitel's engagement and is surprised when she tearfully begs him to call off the match. Motel and Tzeitel tell Tevye that they have pledged to marry each other, an "unheard of" break with tradition, which insults Tevye, as tradition dictates that the father arrange the marriage. He accuses Motel of being poor, but Motel summons the courage to say that "even a poor tailor deserves some happiness." Impressed, Tevye reconsiders and gives them permission to wed and then wonders how to explain his illogical decision to Golde. Chava is walking alone in the countryside when she is taunted by four Russian boys, until a fifth one, Fyedka, orders them to stop. Like Chava, Fyedka loves books and offers to lend her one of his, so that they can discuss it together. That night, Tevye pretends to awaken from a nightmare, which he then describes vividly to Golde: In his dream, Grandmother Tzeitel tells him that her namesake should marry the tailor.

Then Fruma Sarah, Lazar's shrewish deceased wife, emerges from the grave and jealously threatens to strangle Tzeitel in her sleep if she marries Lazar. Disturbed by Tevye's dream, Golde agrees that Tzeitel should marry Motel. Later, the constable is ordered by his superior to carry out the pogroms. During the wedding ceremony of Motel and Tzeitel, Tevye and Golde note how fast the time has gone by. During the following celebration, the villagers start to quarrel over Tzeitel marrying Motel rather than Lazar, but Perchik interrupts and points out that Motel and Tzeitel were in love. Then, taking down the cord separating men from women and thus breaking with tradition, he calls to Hodel to dance with him. Soon, Tevye orders Golde to dance with him and many startled villagers are lured by the joyfulness of the dancing, which is abruptly halted when the constable and his men break up the wedding, and then continue to vandalize other Jewish homes. Tevye orders his distraught family to clean up, but wonders why God has allowed this to happen. However, he does not lose his faith and later reports to Him that Motel and Tzeitel are too happy to "know how miserable they are."

Perchik tells Hodel that he must leave for Kiev, where Jews and Gentiles are working together to fight the restrictions of the Tsarist government. Before leaving, he asks her a "political question," which she discovers is his way of proposing to her. She agrees to marry him, but when they announce their intention to Tevye, he refuses his permission. They explain that Perchik plans to send for her when he can, and that they wish his blessing, not his permission. Aghast, Tevye worries that his allowing Tzeitel's unarranged marriage has had bigger consequences. Although to him love is just "a new style," he ponders that once their old ways were new, and realizes that Hodel and Perchik were "matched" by God. He gives both his permission and blessing, but later must try to explain himself to Golde. Remembering back to his own wedding day, when his and Golde's parents said that they would learn to love each other, Tevye asks Golde if she loves him. Although embarrassed, they admit to loving each other and find comfort in the realization. In Kiev, Perchik is arrested for his activism and sent to a Siberian workcamp. When Hodel decides to go to him, Tevye reluctantly walks her to the train stop. There she explains her sadness at leaving home, but feels she must be with Perchik, whose work she compares to that of Abraham, Joseph and Moses.

She promises to be married according to their faith and Tevye dryly concedes that probably "a rabbi or two was also arrested." When Motel, now a father, buys his sewing machine, the neighbors come to admire it. Chava tries to broach the subject of Fyedka with Tevye, but he forbids her to speak of the Gentile. Later, Golde learns from the priest that Chava and Fyedka eloped. Stunned, Tevye orders Golde, as tradition demands, to consider Chava dead to them. Alone, he remembers Chava as a child and, in his imagination, sees his three daughters dancing together before they are enticed away by their suitors. He imagines that Chava pauses as the Fiddler plays for her, but then leaves with Fyedka. Coming out of his reverie, he realizes she is standing before him, asking for acceptance. Although he tries, he realizes that to do so requires that he deny everything he believes in and, his heart breaking, sends her away. An edict from St. Petersburg evicting the Jews from Anatevka allows them three days to sell their belongings and leave. Despite the hardships there, the Jews are devastated, but begin packing, some unsure of their destination. Chava and Fyedka are also leaving, as they refuse to stay where neighbors mistreat one another. When Chava visits, Tevye refuses to talk to her, but when Tzeitel rebels and bids her goodbye, he tells her, under his breath, to say, "God be with you," allowing the family to reclaim her. Pulling the cart loaded with their possessions, Tevye and his family join the march of exiled Jews. At a crossroad, the rabbi performs a last service before the neighbors disperse. Teyve and his family plod onward, but, when he hears the Fiddler playing a tune, Tevye motions for him to follow.

Cast/Crew

Topol
(Tevye)
Norma Crane
(Golde)
Leonard Frey
(Motel)
Molly Picon
(Yente)
Paul Mann
(Lazar Wolf)
Rosalind Harris
(Tzeitel)
Michele Marsh
(Hodel)
Neva Small
(Chava)
Michael Glaser
(Perchik)
Raymond Lovelock
(Fyedka)
Elaine Edwards
(Schprintze)

Discuss.

 

-----signature-----
Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Yodas-evil-twin  5040 posts
Registered: Jun '05
Date Posted: 12/6/07 5:09pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Discussing: "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971))
Passerby: How does one say a prayer for the Czar?

Rabbi: May God bless the Czar and may He keep him far away from us.

I love this film.

 

-----signature-----
"Who watches the Watchmen?"
"The JCC is pretty much Lord of the Flies without the healthy outdoorsy atmosphere."
-soitscometothis
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Zaz  38669 posts
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered: Oct '98
40038_Jawa
Date Posted: 12/6/07 8:48pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Discussing: "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971))
It was pretty good up until the wedding. The last half was quite boring.

Liked Topol.

 

Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Zaz  38669 posts
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered: Oct '98
40038_Jawa
Date Posted: 12/13/07 2:37pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Discussing: "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971))
I thought we could discuss EW's list 25 best musicals:

Starting at the bottom:

"25. Once (2006)
Made for less than $200,000, this scruffy indie from writer-director John Carney redefines the musical form. It stars an actual musician — Glen Hansard, of the Irish rock band the Frames — as a fictional busker who falls for a quirky pianist (Marketa Irglova) on the streets of Dublin. They have a tortured romantic flirtation, and pour their hearts out to each other in mournful original tunes that feel utterly real because they're not played as musical fantasy. A must."

I didn't see this, and it sounds...depressing.

 

Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Zaz  38669 posts
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered: Oct '98
40038_Jawa
Date Posted: 12/14/07 4:08pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Disc. 25 Best Musicals: 25. "Once" (2006))
24. "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (1954)

"The star here is choreographer Michael Kidd, who turns the big barn-raising scene into something that's part dance sequence, part gymnastic contest, and part action spectacle: It starts out real neighborly, but degenerates into a brawl when the building teams start sabotaging each other. The rest of the movie gene-splices Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with The Taming of the Shrew, as a frontier gal (Jane Powell) copes with making a home for her sexist-pig husband (Howard Keel) and six mangy siblings."

The dancing in this is more athletic than usual in an MGM movie, and the leads (Howard Keel and Jane Powell) are fun.

 

Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Zaz  38669 posts
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered: Oct '98
40038_Jawa
Date Posted: 12/16/07 1:57pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Disc. 24. "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers")
23. "The Music Man" (1962)

"Robert Preston repeats his Broadway role as Professor Harold Hill, a swindler who organizes small-town kids' bands so he can steal their uniform and instrument money. Costar Shirley Jones has great chemistry with Preston, little Ronnie Howard lisps and mugs shamelessly, and composer Meredith Wilson gives his melodic all to ''Seventy-Six Trombones,'' ''Marian the Librarian,'' ''Till There Was You'' (later a hit for the Beatles) and lots more. Best corn you'll ever consume that's not popped."

Corn is right. Very long, very slow. But the cast is generally good, and pleasures are available: like "Ya Got Trouble."

 

Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Thrawn1786  9441 posts
Registered: Feb '04
49451_H59: Wicked
Date Posted: 12/17/07 9:32am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Disc. 23. "The Music Man")
This is a fun show, it works very well onscreen. "Ya Got Trouble" never gets old, it's such a great song. I also like "Marian the Librarian."

 

-----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
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Palpateen  1943 posts
Registered: Apr '00
13902_Anakin and Padme
Date Posted: 12/17/07 8:20pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Disc. 23. "The Music Man")
Zaz posted:
23. "The Music Man" (1962)

"Robert Preston repeats his Broadway role as Professor Harold Hill, a swindler who organizes small-town kids' bands so he can steal their uniform and instrument money. Costar Shirley Jones has great chemistry with Preston, little Ronnie Howard lisps and mugs shamelessly, and composer Meredith Wilson gives his melodic all to ''Seventy-Six Trombones,'' ''Marian the Librarian,'' ''Till There Was You'' (later a hit for the Beatles) and lots more. Best corn you'll ever consume that's not popped."

Corn is right. Very long, very slow. But the cast is generally good, and pleasures are available: like "Ya Got Trouble."




Ron Howard was in this too? Did he spend his entire childhood on camera?

 

-----signature-----
The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they do turn.
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon  7521 posts
Registered: Dec '00
17824_Kieran Halcyon
Date Posted: 12/19/07 12:49am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Disc. 23. "The Music Man")
I like to consider the Last Starfighter an unofficial sequel to the Music Man...

 

-----signature-----
Personally if treating homosexuals with respect and dignity is the definition of 'anti-Christian' then I hope that Obama is the friggin' anti-Christ. - FIDo
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Thrawn1786  9441 posts
Registered: Feb '04
49451_H59: Wicked
Date Posted: 12/19/07 8:11am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Disc. 23. "The Music Man")
Palpateen posted:
Zaz posted:
23. "The Music Man" (1962)

"Robert Preston repeats his Broadway role as Professor Harold Hill, a swindler who organizes small-town kids' bands so he can steal their uniform and instrument money. Costar Shirley Jones has great chemistry with Preston, little Ronnie Howard lisps and mugs shamelessly, and composer Meredith Wilson gives his melodic all to ''Seventy-Six Trombones,'' ''Marian the Librarian,'' ''Till There Was You'' (later a hit for the Beatles) and lots more. Best corn you'll ever consume that's not popped."

Corn is right. Very long, very slow. But the cast is generally good, and pleasures are available: like "Ya Got Trouble."




Ron Howard was in this too? Did he spend his entire childhood on camera?



Yep...he gets to sing a reprise of "Gary, Indiana" and it's rather cute.

 

-----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
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Zaz  38669 posts
Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre
Registered: Oct '98
40038_Jawa
Date Posted: 12/19/07 3:35pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Disc. 23. "The Music Man")
Next: 22. "Gigi" (1958)

"Screenwriter-lyricist Alan Jay Lerner and composer Frederick Loewe basically cloned their stage hit My Fair Lady for this adaptation of French author Colette's 1945 novel about a teenage Parisian courtesan. It's got the same ugly-duckling-to-swan transformation for the leading lady (Leslie Caron), and the same half-sung 11th-hour epiphany for the confirmed-bachelor leading man (Louis Jordan). But thanks to director Vincente Minnelli, it feels original — and works better as cinema than George Cukor's film of Fair Lady does."

Does it work better than MFL? No.

 

Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Jedi_Keiran_Halcyon  7521 posts
Registered: Dec '00
17824_Kieran Halcyon
Date Posted: 12/19/07 9:45pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Disc. 22. "Gigi")
Thrawn1786 posted:
Yep...he gets to sing a reprise of "Gary, Indiana" and it's rather cute.


Not to mention his 'coming out' (in the old-fashioned sense) during "Wells Fargo Wagon", which is in fact the turning point of the entire film.

 

-----signature-----
Personally if treating homosexuals with respect and dignity is the definition of 'anti-Christian' then I hope that Obama is the friggin' anti-Christ. - FIDo
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History
Thrawn1786  9441 posts
Registered: Feb '04
49451_H59: Wicked
Date Posted: 12/20/07 10:52am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: (Now Disc. 22. "Gigi")
Oh yes, I forgot. It's been a while since I've seen Music Man.

 

-----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
Locked Topic | Active Topic Notification | Private Message | Post History