When the musical made the leap from stage to screen, it opened everything up, not just in terms of accessibility for the viewing audience, but the scope of the storytelling canvas – things were no longer confined to a stage, the settings, the choreography, the characters could live in a whole new way. Cameras could…
Tag: musicals
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) – Michael Curtiz
As I continue my time with the Musical chapter in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, I dove into the biographical film, Yankee Doodle Dandy starring James Cagney. That gave me a pause. Despite everything I had ever heard about the film, I’d never seen him do anything like this. It was…
The Little Mermaid (1989) – Ron Clements and John Musker
Hans Christian Anderson’s classic fairy tale gets the Disney makeover in this the first recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Lion King. While Lion King is undeniably more popular, The Little Mermaid was the film that more or less launched the Disney renaissance. Prior to…
Oklahoma! (1955) – Fred Zinnemann
The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book has brought around to musicals again, and this time, it’s Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! This big budget adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical that opened in 1943 cast Gordon MacRae as the show’s lead Curly and Shirley Jones, as the object of his affections, Laurey. There’s…
Singin’ in the Rain (1952) -Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
For me, screen musicals don’t get any better than Singin’ in the Rain. It’s my favourite. It combines great music, with a fun look at Hollywood on the cusp of transitioning to talkies, and features some wonderful sequences and a completely charming cast in the form of Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds….
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) – Mervyn LeRoy
The Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book brings me back round to musicals again, and I was quite happy to dig into this 1933 gem that I had heard of, but had never seen. Featuring some wonderful choreography by Busby Berkeley, this had one was a complete delight. Set in the depression,…
Funny Girl (1968) – William Wyler
I was completely charmed by this one. That’s twice Streisand has wowed me when I thought she wouldn’t. Clocking in at two and a half hours, this is the final musical recommendation to go with my screening of The Jazz Singer for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Babs is Fanny…
The Killer (1989) – John Woo
An assassin with a conscience, a cop who doesn’t care about collateral damage and a lounge singer suffering from blindness due to being caught in a crossfire. These three characters are the center of this entry on the 101 Action Movies list, and John Woo’s first appearance on it. Chow Yun-Fat plays Ah Jong, an…
The Mind Reels 