I don't think this film is horribly bad, but I don't consider it to be outstandingly great either. This was certainly n
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dmnemaine — 15 years ago(December 19, 2010 04:28 AM)
I would agree with your list of good movie musicals except for one "Mame". A wonderful stage musical whose transfer to film was completely marred by the terrible miscasting of Lucille Ball in the title role. And no, I'm not prejudiced toward Angela Lansbury. Yes, it would have made the most sense for her to repeat her Broadway success on film, and she would have been great in it; however, there were other middle-aged actresses at the time who would have been much more suited to the role than Ball, who could actually sing, and who didn't have to wear a ton of makeup and be filmed through gauze to look good. Lucille Ball was very good at what she did, but she should have had the humility and honesty to realize that the role of Auntie Mame just wasn't a good match for her.
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dmnemaine — 15 years ago(December 19, 2010 11:50 AM)
I like movie musicals too, but just because I like them doesn't necessarily make all movie musicals good films. There are good ones, bad ones, and everything inbetween. I happen to like some of the bad ones and inbetween ones, but I'm not going to pretend they're anything other than they are just because I like them. The quality of a film goes beyond our opinion of them. Yes, it is an art form, and art appreciation is subjective, but movie musicals also have technical aspects, and when any of those aren't what they should be, it hurts the film.
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dmnemaine — 15 years ago(December 19, 2010 07:35 PM)
LOL When it comes to films, no I suppose there isn't. But that's one of the things that makes works of art like film so great. There are aspects of them that are very subjective and they speak to the individual based on their environment and experience. I appreciate that you have films that you love and enjoy. That's great. I have no problem with that. I was just pointing out that the technical side of a film isn't always what it should be. If we have to judge films at all, that's what they should be judged on, not our personal preference. See what I mean?
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jawebster2000 — 14 years ago(August 26, 2011 09:18 PM)
What about Auntie Mame starring Rosilind Russell? I have it in my DVR rotation and it is ready to be viewed. According to IMDb it comes in at a 7.7 out of ten. That's very good, I'd say. I'm watching "Unsinkable" right now and it is a struggle. Years ago I visited the Molly Brown house on Pennsylvania Avenue in Denver and I am determined to get through this movie. I do like Debbie Reynold's energetic dancing though.
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SweaterCannons — 13 years ago(June 17, 2012 06:07 PM)
My two very favorite Broadway musicals are Gypsy and Cabaret. I saw Gypsy in L.A. right before it moved to New York, with Tyne Daly; the 30th-anniversary revival. I knew almost nothing about the show at the time, so the whole thing was a glorious, wonderful, surprising experience. (I should be ashamed to admit it, but the main reason I went was because it was . . . maybe my first time in L.A. (?) and it was playing at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. That's where the Oscars used to be, usually anyway, I think, before the Kodak Theatre was built. So that's why I went, mainly. It was just terrific, and Tyne Daley was amazing; such a surprise to learn she could sing.
And I saw the 1998 revival of Cabaret, the Sam Mendes version, twice. I saw it the first time in the fall of 2000, with Joely Fisher (daughter of Eddie Fisher and Connie Stevens). I had seen the movie with Liza Minnelli, on TV, some years before but remembered almost nothing about it. I had to go to New York for something, and I went to the theater from the airport and bought a ticket from a scalper (you're not supposed to do this, btw). Fortunately, it was a legitimate tkt, although it was on the very last row of the Studio 54 building. It was so wonderful, but with its pre-Holocaust themes, the antithesis of Gypsy of course. Joely Fisher was terrfic in it.
The following summer, a friend treated me to seeing it again; I liked it just as much. Although Gina Gershon was playing Sally by then, and I didn't have the same appreciation for her interpretation as I did Joely Fisher's. Gina Gershon played her much more downbeat and loser-like. But, still, an extremely incredibly moving show.
Those are my two favorite Broadway musicals. I never saw The Unsinkable Molly Brown. -
SweaterCannons — 13 years ago(June 17, 2012 06:11 PM)
Note: After I saw Cabaret on Broadway and loved it so much, I rented the movie. The book of the musical is much much better than the movie's screenplay. They really took a lot of liberties with the stories and the characters for the movie, and not in a good way.
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jm31315 — 9 years ago(December 29, 2016 05:40 AM)
Part of Mr. Willson's score for "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" is utilized as film underscoring and you can hear the songs on the CD recording. I have seen a high school production of the show in the very distant past with all the songs intact, and I think the cuts made in the film are justified save the song "Dolce Far Niente" which is a nice one.