It’s time to dig into some of the previously un-reviewed (for me) recommendations in the Musical section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, and I was rather surprised with how much I enjoyed Norman Jewison’s anachronistic adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic rock opera. Christian theology has never really been my…
Tag: musical
West Side Story (1961) – Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins
Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins direct the film that brings me back to the musical genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Stephen Sondheim pens the lyrics for this Academy Award winning musical (including Best Picture) that is an updated retelling of Shakespeare’s beautiful tragedy Romeo & Juliet with Richard Beymer…
Mamma Mia! (2008) – Phylida Lloyd
The final recommendation for my screening of Jailhouse Rock for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film is the beloved stage musical, Mamma Mia! Using the catchy tunes penned by cherished pop group, ABBA, the tale is a but of a post-modern Philadelphia Story as a young woman, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) is on the…
The Harder They Come (1972) – Perry Henzell
Featuring a fantastic 1970s reggae soundtrack, The Harder They Come, featuring Jimmy Cliff is the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Jailhouse Rock. Ivan Martin (Cliff) is trying to find a way to succeed, even survive, in Jamaica. He sets his sights on making it…
The Girl Can’t Help It (1956) – Frank Tashlin
The first recommendation following my screening of Jailhouse Rock for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film is the very enjoyable The Girl Can’t Help It starring the stunning Jayne Mansfield. The film follows an alcoholic PR man, Tom Miller (Tom Ewell) who used to the top of his game, and could find the…
Jailhouse Rock (1957) – Richard Thorpe
The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book brings me back around the Musical genre, and this time around it features Elvis Presley himself. The story, such as it is, follows Vince Everett (Presley) who is serving one year (!) for manslaughter. While in the joint he meets a former country singer, Hunk Houghton…
Guys and Dolls (1955) – Joseph L. Mankiewicz
It’s time for another musical recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Oklahoma! and I have to tell you, this one I liked. With a caveat. I’ve never been a fan of Marlon Brando. I didn’t care for his performances, and I get the impression I would…
Rio Bravo (1959) – Howard Hawks
If someone mentions John Wayne to me, this is the movie I go to. Happily, it’s the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Searchers. Starring Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Walter Brennan and Angie Dickinson, this, to me, is Howard Hawks best western. Wayne stars…
Quantum Leap (1991) – Dreams and A Single Drop of Rain
Deborah Pratt writes the first episode up for review this week, Dreams. It aired on 13 November, 1991, and finds Sam (Scott Bakula) on 28 February, 1979. Sam has leaped into a police detective, Jack Stone, who is working a murder case, but is also suffering from some terrible flashbacks. These trace memories are throwing…
La Belle et la Bete (1946) – Jean Cocteau
The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book returns me to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre, and this time, it’s to plunge me into this wonderfully imagined fairy tale. Long before Disney retold the story, first in animated format, then a stage musical, and then in a live action film, French director Cocteau…
The Mind Reels 