People quickly agree with my comment that I have the movie taste of a 50 year old woman when they see my DVD collection. The thing that probably stands out most is the number of musicals. I like musicals, at least old ones. There, I said it. Now beat it! Everyone was usually happy (except those nimrod faux gang members in West Side Story-the average 5th grade girls PE class could take down the Jets and the Sharks combined). The music often was excellent. I admire the athletic and body control skill of the great dancers like Kelly, Astaire, Charisse, and Ann Miller. Most of all they were generally light-hearted, and if I'm going to devote two hours of my time to watching a movie, I don't want to wind up with a worse outlook than when I started. Put another way, if I want to get anxious and upset, I'll just go to work.
So here's some of my favorite musical scenes. Remember, if I can bring a little joy into your humdrum lives, then my work ain't been in vain for nothing. Bless you all!
Singin in the Rain. Obviously. Adolph Green, one of the writers, watched the movie years later with Leonard Bernstein, who had never seen it (which seems implausible since he wrote both On the Town and West Side Story). Bernstein called this scene "a reaffirmation of life." Pretty heady for a musical.
An American in Paris (Our Love is Here to Stay). I basically hate the actual movie part of this movie; the ballet of course was transcendent. Gene Kelly plays a starving artist, stalking this obnoxious French perfume selling babe. In the process, he two times some American heiress who's lifting him out of his glorious obscurity and giving him a chance, while Leslie Caron betrays the rather delicate Frenchie cabaret singer who saved her life during the war. Gross. Oscar Levant was kind of cool though. This movie has some powerful scenes. This one is time capsule worthy, and features the very last song that George and Ira Gerswhin wrote together-Our Love is Here to Stay. Ira wrote the lyrics several weeks after his brother died, and unquestionably the lyrics were about him. But I digress... This clip has Stairway to Paradise on it at the end; couldn't find one limited to Our Love is Here to Stay.
An American in Paris (I Got Rhythm). If Kelly hadn't done Singin' in the Rain, this is the scene that he'd have been remembered for. Notice how there's almost no cuts in the take, even after "AEROPLANE." What an athlete. Bob Fosse said of Gene Kelly, "he looked like a guy on your bowling team, only classier." This clip is subtitled in French, ironically.
Top Hat (Isn't It a Lovely Day). There's nothing on the surface particularly remarkable about this scene. Its not Astaire and Rogers' greatest dancing, but this is one of the rare scenes where they're not in evening wear, or in a ballroom, and it shows Astaire wooing the girl. For a lightweight, foppish, delicate kind of guy (translation-got the crap kicked out of him in 3rd grade recess), Astaire in the movies had some serious game when it came to the ladies. This scene shows it.
Shall We Dance (Slap That Bass). Gershwin and Astaire again. I guess this scene is what 1937 calls "integration." Good to know the fellas down in the engine room have plenty of time to choreograph numbers and rehearse. I guess the Titanic must not have been as good a gig.
Easter Parade (Drum Crazy). I wanted to put Shine On Your Shoes from the Bandwagon but couldn't find it. But this is similar. Astaire just had a way of showing a feeling through dance and song. And impressing random 10 year old boys with their stuffed pink elephants in music stores (that was a little weird). In real life, Astaire was an accomplished pianist and drummer.
Saturday Night Fever (More Than a Woman). I always scoffed at this movie-the absurd out of nowhere trendsetting low budget flick that foisted Vinny Barbarino on us and in the process rescusitated disco and was responsible for three talking baby movies. Til I saw it for the first time about three years ago. And loved it. The story of a loser trying to make good, who really only finds any modicum of success on the dance floor, is very compelling. In the beginning Travolta is your standard Atlantic City/Jersey douche worried about his hair and scoring over the weekend. But somehow, like the proverbial salamander that crawled out of the sea onto dry land, he manages to see his life for what it really is and resolves to change it. This scene, I think, is where he finally realizes he can be more than a paint-selling guido club skeeze the rest of his life. (He can join Scientology, marry Kelly Preston, and give speeches about Royales with Cheese).
The Sound of Music (The Lendler). With all that prancing around and making play clothes out of drapes and hating on the evil Baroness (when Liesl has to give her a kiss once she learns that's her new stepmother, that's about the most gag inducing attempt at affection since the Gores threw down on stage at the 2000 Democratic convention), people seem to forget this scene, which is where the Captain fell in love with Maria (I guess its where he realized she wasn't a Home Depot shopping flannel wearer after all). I have to say, the Captain was totally cool- ripping apart the Nazi flag with his bare hands and talking Rolf the Nazi Boy Wonder out of shooting them in the graveyard was definitely gangsta. Wearing white gloves in this scene-not so much.
Victor/Victoria (Crazy World). Sometimes just standing there and singing works perfectly well.
Beauty and the Beast. I hate that I love this scene. Basically, I view Disney as being on par with flesh-eating bacteria and cannibalism. So to overcome that attitude and think so highly of this scene, that pretty much says it all.
Young Frankenstein (Puttin on the Ritz). Not technically a musical, but a great way to end this post. Put the candle BACK!!!!
Next-romance. How sweet.
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