Saturday, January 26, 2013

Shaun Berk's 10 Movie Recommendations- 320th Edition: All-Music edition

Welcome to the 320th Edition of my series. Happy New Year everyone. I hope every had a great 2011 but that you still have a good 2012. I decided to start this year out with an all-music edition. I do not usually do themes but I thought I could do pretty good with this and enjoyed putting it together despite racking my brain more than usual. I decided to allow live concert videos, live theater films, and movie musicals both animated and live action and intend to do this about every quarter of the year. If you're one of those that hate musicals at least check out my first selection and just wait for next week when things are a little more normal.

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds: God is in the House (2001): This is my concert film for the week which obviously features Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. They are a band pretty big in the 90s and have a loyal following but never really hit the mainstream. The most known work of Nick Cave was his music score for THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD of which he wrote and amazing score and did the one for the movie THE ROAD which was also very good. He is an Australian singer and was known to write some pretty sad and sometimes dark music. His most known song from the band is probably RED RIGHT HAND which is played in a lot of movies. Some other really good songs are THE WEEPING SONG, the title song, and many others. The only thing missing are Kylie Minogue and PJ Harvey who he has song some good duets with. This is a name that if you do not know who he is, look him up and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Camelot (1967): This is the start of my movie musicals which is a musical on the legend of King Arthur and takes place right after he becomes king. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe wrote the music to this musical. Richard Harris plays the king in this film while Vanessa Redgrave plays the lovely Guenevere. Arthur has a lot to deal with in his illegitimate son Mordred, played by David Hemmings, and Guenevere's attachment to Sir Lancelot, played by Franco Nero. This was a lavish production and entertains while a bit flawed. Not my favorite Arthur film though and while Harris played the part well his singing was flawed. There are some pretty fun musical numbers and is watchable.

Follow the Fleet (1936): I was determined in the blog to include Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, and Gene Kelly while sticking to my "rules". This is my entry for Fred and his 5th collaboration with Ginger Rogers. Astaire plays Bake who is a sailor and a former dancer and dance partner to Sherry Martin, played by Ginger Rogers. When the fleet lands in San Francisco, Bake looks to reconnect with Sherry leading into some song and dance routines. Fellow sailor Bilge, played by Randolph Scott, forms a love interest with Sherry's sister Connie, played by Harriet Hilton. Also look for a young Betty Grable and Lucille Ball. This musical is written by Irving Berlin and fans of classic musicals will love this one that has some great song and dance numbers.

Les Miserables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary (2010): This is one of my live musicals for the week and as the title says the 25th anniversary of this musical adaptation to the Victor Hugo classic. Alfie Boe stars in this as Jean Valjean who is being paroled from prison after 19 years for stealing bread to feed his family. He soon breaks his parole to start a new life while being pursued by officer Javert. It is very difficult for me to go into detail but this is known as one of the most beautiful musicals of all time and it made my expectations. Lea Salonga plays the part of Fantine and she is most known for being the voice of Jasmine in ALADDIN and Mulan in MULAN where she shows her vocal talents here. Nick Jonas plays the part of Marius and I really do not know much about the Jonas Brothers so I did not get pre-judgmental about him and feel he also did a good job. Stay tuned for the end where much of the original cast in 1985 comes out to celebrate. This was also filmed very well to go on the dvd where they have double shots of people so that we can see reactions. This is something that is being done more often and hope it continues. Last October I went to the movie theater to see a live performance of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA on the big screen and did similar things with previous cast members so this was likely first done in movie theaters and wish I could have gone. Claude-Michel Schonberg wrote the music to this show while the lyrics were written by Alain Boublil.

In the Good Old Summertime (1949): This is my entry for Judy Garland this week. This is a musical adaptation to a play called PARFUMARIE by Miklos Laszlo. Other adaptations include the 1940 THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER and the 1998 film YOU'VE GOT MAIL. In this version Van Johnson plays a loyal employee to music story named Andrew who is writing anonymous letters to another woman that he receives through the post office. Judy plays Veronica who gets a job in the store and forms quite the dislike with Andrew but she writes letters to another man so I'm sure now you can guess where this is going. They do not know they are the ones who are writing to each other. Buster Keaton has a very amusing later part as Hickey, the bumbling nephew, to the boss of the store. Look for Liza Minnelli near the end when she was just a little girl. The music is written by various people in this movie unlike the previous selections I have used.

Shock Treatment (1981): This was a sequel to the outrageous ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW in which Richard O'Brien wrote and co-starred. Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper take the parts of Brad and Janet who face even more problems in their marriage. In their hometown, it has become a giant tv show in which everyone is either viewing it or participating in it. In one program, Brad becomes imprisoned in an insane asylum while Janet is becoming more of a star and forgetting about their marriage. This one is by no means for everyone. For one, if you hate the first film, then you probably will not like this one. It is a bit all over the place when it comes to plot but still very fun if you don't take it way too seriously. Jessica Harper has a great singing voice and very good as Janet. Much of the Rocky cast returns for this one in various roles.

Godspell: A Musical Based on the Gospel According to St. Matthew (1973) : This is my religious musical for the week and is a pretty popular musical written by Stephen Schwarz and has had many different ways to do the musical in terms of setting. In this one, it takes place in New York where Jesus leads his followers who are a group of hippies. Victor Garber plays the part of Jesus in this film version and reenacts the gospel through song and dance in the New York area. This is a more comedic musical whereas Andrew Lloyd Webber's JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is more serious and I do prefer the Webber musical which I used for the six year anniversary. This was still a pretty decent adaptation with Garber playing the lead well showing his range of roles in his career and this is his film debut.

All Dogs Go To Heaven (1989): This is my animated musical selection for the week. I intended to go with something from 90s Disney but much of those either did not fit this week due to my rules or I could not obtain a copy in time so I went with this Don Bluth selection. Burt Reynolds voices the part of Charlie Barkin who is a gambling dog and is murdered by his rival Carface. He soon finds himself in heaven but cons his way back on earth even after the warning that he will go to hell but wants to get revenge with his killer. He soon meets an orphan girl named Anne-Marie who can talk to animals so he takes her in for her abilities but starts to take a liking to her. Dom Deluise, Charles Nelson Reilly, and Loni Anderson also co-star. I would have preferred to do something in Disney but Don Bluth did a good job with his script and music and a pretty good animated film.

Cover Girl (1944): This is my Gene Kelly selection and I had a really hard time finding something for him that fit this edition on my previous selections but obtained this one. Jerome Kern and Ira Gershwin wrote the music to this one. Rita Hayworth stars as Rusty Parker who is a dancer for Danny McGuire's, played by Kelly, nightclub and wants to be a Broadway star. She soon wins a contest to be the cover girl for a magazine which jeopardizes the relationship with Danny who is her mentor and love interest. Kelly took a lot of control for dance sequences and did a very good job. Rita Hayworth is also very good in her role. Gene has had better parts but he still entertains in this one.

Company: A Musical Comedy (2007): I end this week with my second live theater show and this one comes from Stephen Sondheim. Raul Esparza stars as Bobby who is celebrating his 35th birthday with ten of his friends who all happen to be couples which vary on their level of relationship and their happiness while he examines his life as a bachelor. Sounds like what may be me someday. There is really not much of a story on this but the examination of the characters and their relationships which have some great moments. The actors play their own instruments which I have heard they do not usually do that and I would have preferred an orchestra. This is quite different from most of Sondheim who is my favorite musical playwright or whatever you call his job. This musical still was very well done and am always glad to see live theater like this obtainable. This is available on Instant Netflix.

Well, that is it for this week, I hope you enjoyed my selections for this week. I racked my brain a lot but enjoyed putting it together and intend to do it again for my April 1st edition but for now I just want to go back to normal. Tell me what you like and what you dislike and stay tuned next week which so far includes Kevin Spacey, and many others. Continue to read for my next section.

FUN AND USELESS FACTS

This one will mostly include theater peers and possibly some from the movies. If I miss anyone please let me know.

My Facebook friend Rick has directed version of this week's features CAMELOT and GODSPELL. Neither of which I was able to see unfortunately. I know Gabe played the part of Lancelot and Rhonda played the part of Morgana but not sure of my other Facebook friends in the cast.

My Facebook friends Nic, Justin, Catie, Amber, and Stevie all had parts in a Muncie Civic Theater production of GODSPELL.

Fred Astaire (Follow the Fleet) and Judy Garland (In the Good Old Summertime) star in the 1948 film EASTER PARADE.

Fred Astaire (Follow the Fleet) and Gene Kelly (Cover Girl) danced together in a segment in the 1945 film ZIEGFIELD FOLLIES.

Judy Garland (In the Good Old Summertime) and Gene Kelly (Cover Girl) star in the 1942 film FOR ME AND MY GAL, the 1948 film THE PIRATE and the 1950 film SUMMER STOCK.

Judy Garland (In the Good Old Summertime) plays Dorothy in the 1939 film THE WIZARD OF OZ. My Facebook friend Lindsey played the part in a 2006 version at the Muncie Civic Theater in which I played the Winkie General.

Cliff De Young and Jessica Harper play Brad and Janet in this week's feature SHOCK TREATMENT. There have been various productions at Muncie Civic Studio Theater which have included my facebook friend Stevie as Brad and Amanda and Tonya as Janet.

Richard O'Brien (Shock Treatment) plays Riff Raff in the the 1975 film THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. My Facebook friends Kevin, Cody, and Nic have played the part in some of the various Muncie Civic Productions.

Victor Garber (Godspell) plays the part of Anthony in the original stage version of SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET which was written by Sondheim (Company writer). My Facebook friend Morton played the part last October in Portland, Indiana of which I had the pleasure of playing Beadle Bamford.

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