Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on February 22nd, 2008
World War II has just ended, and the recently discharged Robert De Niro hits New York on the prowl for sex. He runs up against WAC Liza Minnelli, and the more she resists his advances, the more determined he becomes. There is more: he is a saxophonist, and she (of course) is a singer). So begins a tempestuous relationship between two artists whose enormous talents and equally enormous personalities mean they can neither live with nor without each other.
The idea of Martin Scorsese taking on the form of the classic musical is so bizarre that it had to happen, and here it is. Scorsese’s conceit is ingenious: all the conventions are there (the meet cute, the songs, the artificial sets and colours), but they collide with the naturalism of the performances and the emotions. A perfect case in point: wandering the streets at night, De Niro sees a sailor and his girl perform a dance together. It is a classic musical moment, but the only sound is that of a train passing. It is a scene of extraordinary beauty, grit, and cinematic truth. And it belongs in an extraordinary film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 24th, 2007
In Belle Époque Paris, the can-can is all the rage but also illegal, and Shirley MacLaine’s nightclub is cracked down on by uptight judge Louis Jourdan. MacLaine is defended by libertine lawyer Frank Sinatra. Jourdan falls for MacLaine, who is waiting perhaps in vain for Sinatra to marry her. Maurice Chevalier shows up to chuckle indulgently.
The vision of Paris may be no more convincing than MacLaine and Sinatra playing characters named “Simone” and “François,” but this is a musical, so who cares? The sets are bright, the songs are catchy, and the dance numbers energetic. But the storyline itself is stultifying. Maybe Krushchev was right about this thing after all.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 21st, 2007
A remake of writer/director John Waters' 1988 cult hit, Hairspray is an exhuberant movie musical that builds off the smash-hit Broadway production to recreate the excitement on film for a new generation. Whether it's bigger and better than previous iterations, I can't say, because this DVD release marks my first Hairspray experience. What I can say is if Waters' original and the Broadway show are even half as good, they're definitely worth your time.
If that doesn't convince you, this Hairspray also presents John Travolta as an obese, middle-aged woman — a transformation that required plenty of make-up and, more importantly, allowed Travolta to finally reveal his true self for all to see.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 21st, 2007
A remake of writer/director John Waters' 1988 cult hit, Hairspray is an exhuberant movie musical that builds off the smash-hit Broadway production to recreate the excitement on film for a new generation. Whether it's bigger and better than previous iterations, I can't say, because this DVD release marks my first Hairspray experience. What I can say is if Waters' original and the Broadway show are even half as good, they're definitely worth your time.
If that doesn't convince you, this Hairspray also presents John Travolta as an obese, middle-aged woman — a transformation that required plenty of make-up and, more importantly, allowed Travolta to finally reveal his true self for all to see.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 5th, 2007
There are few things as tragic as potential that is unrealized. Whether it’s by choice or by extenuating circumstances, to see a life cut down before it has a chance to develop and make an imprint on the world is sad to see. And it seems to happen disproportionately among musicians. In most casts, drugs frequently has been the main culprit (see Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin), or suicide in some cases (Kurt Cobain being the more notable name in recent memory). But when an entertainer is murdered, the abrupt nature of the crime seems to shake many to the core. It was sad four decades ago when Sam Cooke was murdered, and equally disappointing two decades later when Marvin Gaye was felled by the hands of his father. When Selena Quintanilla was murdered by her business manager in 1995, it sent shockwaves through the Latin music community. Here was a young woman on the fast track to superstardom, gunned down before her full promise could be delivered.
With the cooperation of the Quintanilla family, Selena was made in part to make sure any films that were being made without the family’s approval would be made null and void. So while Selena’s father Abraham had the final say over what was included in the film, the film itself was written and directed by Gregory Nava (Bordertown), and in the main role, a young pre-diva Jennifer Lopez (Gigli) as the Tejano star. Her charisma is noticed early in her life by Abraham (Edward James Olmos, Miami Vice), who was a musician in his early days and he wants Selena to do well and maybe be a star while avoiding the things he had to endure.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 6th, 2007
Planning a high-profile charity football game that they must nonetheless be sure of winning, the powers that be of Yale attempt to invite the University of Texas, but instead accidentally invite Texas State University, a small college whose town population is a mere 700. Newly arrived coach Jack Haley and his formidable wife Patsy Kelly face the challenge of somehow whipping the football team into something that won’t be utterly destroyed on the day of the big game. The key to possible victory is bumpkin-but-natural-prodigy Stuart Erwin, but he’s a package deal, and comes along with little sister Judy Garland, here making her debut.
In some respects, the film is most interesting in retrospect, featuring as it does future Tin Man Haley in a film with the soon-to-be Dorothy. Also of note is Betty Grable as one of the students assisting Haley and Kelly. This was also a very early release by the newly formed 20th Century Fox studios. All of that history aside, this is still a perfectly pleasant musical, completely enthusiastic in its good cheer. There’s nothing earth-shattering about the comedy or the songs, but they make the 93 minutes pass by most pleasantly.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 18th, 2007
Synopsis
Danny Kaye plays Jack Martin, entertainer in a Riviera nightclub, as well as Henri Duran, philandering aviator. Duran is being driven to the edge of bankruptcy by a man with which he is forced to do business. Desperate to raise cash, he leaves town, but then his rival is invited to a dinner party. If Duran is not present at the party he is supposed to be hosting, disaster will ensue. So his partners conscript Martin, who has done a pitch-perfect impersonation of Duran at the club, to act as ...im for the evening. Cue all sorts of mistaken identities and romantic entanglements, particularly involving Duran’s neglected wife (Gene Tierney).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 6th, 2007
Dreamgirls created a substantial amount of buzz when it was first released at the end of 2006, and has since won two Academy Awards. Although this movie never really struck me as being something I just had to watch, I've been curious to check out what all the praise was about. For those of you that don't know, Dreamgirls is a musical, a whole whack load of singing intertwined with the ongoing plot; much like Grease or Chicago. Like most musical films, Dreamgirls is adapted from a pl...y of the same name, and inspired by the history of Motown Records.
The film takes place during two separate eras, the first taking place between 1962 and 1965. We then skip ahead a few years where the story continues between 1973 and 1975. Back in Detroit 1962, a trio of women (Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce Knowles, and Anika Noni Rose) known as The Dreamettes enter a talent competition with the hopes of awing the crowd with their apparently sensational singing. Things work out even better than they could have hoped when the R&B superstar James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy) is in the need of backup singers for his evening’s performance. Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) an aspiring young Cadillac dealer further arranges with Early's manager Marty (Danny Glover) for The Dreamettes to tour as backup singers. As time goes on, the group rapidly gains popularity and Curtis turns his Cadillac dealership into an office for his newly formed record label, Rainbow Records. After a short period of harsh times the group finds their way to the Apollo Theater and other top clubs. Along with the success comes a number of problems for the group, affairs, payola schemes, and betrayal amongst each other.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 24th, 2007
Ahead of the pack with eight nominations, Dreamgirls had a lot of buzz leading up to this year’s Academy Awards. In the midst of it all, there was talk of a surprise standout performance by American Idol alumnus Jennifer Hudson in her first film role, and even more surprisingly, Pluto Nash – I mean, Eddie Murphy was up for best supporting actor.
With that many nominations, Dreamgirls, in yet another surprise, was not up for the coveted best picture Oscar. And after the dust settled, the film had been honored with just two of the golden statues, for Jennifer Hudson as best supporting actress and best achievement in sound mixing. No best picture nod and so few wins seemed to say, ‘yeah, your movie had a lot of good parts, some even great, but they didn’t add up to something more.’
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 15th, 2007
Adapted from the hit stage musical, Norman Jewison's film version of Fiddler on the Roof has established itself as a classic over and over again since its release in 1971.
"He loves her. Love, it's a new style... On the other hand, our old ways were once new, weren't they?" I'll hardly be the first to write it, but the reason Fiddler on the Roof, a story about Jewish people and their culture, is so popular, is that its themes have universal appeal. In fact, in a way it hardly matters th...t the characters are Jewish. As we learn from a famous anecdote, when the first Japanese production of the stage musical opened, the show's creators traveled to Japan to meet the producer. He said to them, "I don't understand, I don't know how this piece can work so well in New York. It's so Japanese!"
![Dreamgirls (Two-Disc Showstopper Edition) [HD DVD] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/dreamgirls-two-disc-showstopper-edition-hd-dvd-large.jpg)
