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In Reply to: ... with all the sophistication of Vicomte de Valvert from the well known Rostrand play. posted by Audiophilander on November 06, 2001 at 02:03:24:
There are some films in this group that I like: "RSRD" "Sand Pebbles" (sorta), but nothing that grabs me and says "Oh, wow!" (to use a very 60s expression). Like "big ears" below, I see "Kane" as a Welles product, even if others had their names attached.A lot of this stuff strikes me as pretty workmanlike from a directorial standpoint: WSS, TSM, for example. Star Trek the Motionless Picture (great phrase, AuPh!) was the worst of the series -- a TV episode script stretched to feature film length and inflated with the worst of "Trekkie" High Seriousness. The other ones did not take themselves so seriously -- just good clean fun.
WSS is one of my least favorite movies ever. Until I saw several amateur stage productions of WSS, I had no idea that Bernstein/Sondheim's musical version of Romeo & Juliet -- with one or two small lapses -- was every bit as powerful dramatically as the Shakespeare original it was based on. The music, of course, is fabulous. But this film version is nothing but a bunch of fey dancers (who look about as menacing as kittens with tummies full of warm milk) and some pretty carboard actors whose singing is overdubbed with that real singers. Not a triumph for anyone, IMHO. In fact, although the chronology doesn't fit the argument (WSS was first), one could say that the main vice of the movie WSS is that is an attempt to "saccharinize" Bernstein/Sondheim's musical to the sweetness level of TSOM.
Much more than R&J, WSS is Maria/Juliet's story. Maria is the one who undergoes the psychological transformation -- from a young innocent into an adult desperately -- and unsuccessfully -- trying to avoid the consequences of the violent society in which she lives. In the climactic final scene, it is Maria who throws down the gun and refuses to perpetuate the cycle of revenge that has killed Tony. I suggest that if you stripped away the music and the dancing from WSS, you would still have one hell of a play. That is more than one could say for most musicals, which, at best, have plot lines about a 1/2 step more sophisticated than those of operas.
Mr. Wise's WSS buries all of this grown-up stuff under a 25 lb. bag of sugar, with a Natalie Wood poster stuck on the front.
Arrgh!!!!!!!
Follow Ups:
... but the word coming from some of our friends in the industry is that the Director's cut coming out today is VASTLY superior, completely eliminating the pacing and monotonous editing flaws forced upon Wise in the rushed original release. See the attached link for more details.The are three things about Robert Wise's resume which strike me as a lifelong film enthuesiast:
1) His diversity as director.
2) His longevity as a creative force in Hollywood.
3) His groundbreaking achievements as a director.His diversity can probably be attributed to the financial success of his films, but it's rare to see the degree of flexibility achieved here. This adaptability, in my opinion, is due to the director's own vision (i.e., knowing what works in each genre and being able to capture the appropriate style and scope required).
His longevity as a creative force in Hollywood is probably attributable to his ability to bring in movies on time and under budget; this has allowed him to work in what is easily the most cut throat business outside of a career in espionage as deep cover operative.
Last, but far from least, are the absolute classic films among those listed which you've apparantly opined to omit. These include, but aren't limited to: "Curse of the Cat People" and "The Body Snatcher" which he directed for Val Lewton, "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (one of the first true science fiction films and still one of the most memorable), "The Haunting" (one of the most atmospheric psychological fright films ever; second only, IMHO, to Hitchcock's "Psycho"), "The Andromeda Strain" (an inspired visualization of the Michael Crichton novel dealing with a alien microbiological threat) and of course the aforementioned "The Sound of Music" and "Sand Pebbles", each uniquely distinguished and moving in their respective genres.
I'm not a huge fan of the film version of West Side Story either, ...personally, I prefer Alice Cooper's abreviated version best (~;^D), but as his first go at translating a Broadway musical to film having been saddled with actors and a watered down script the studio felt necessary to "open" it, he did an excellent job. Some directors would've balked at the challenge.
Well, I've pretty much said my piece, but check out the URL; you may even want to risk adding the new DVD of ST-TMP(DC), to your collection. I know we're thinking about it!
Cheers,
AuPh
I'm strictly an analog guy. It's tape for me!!Yeah, if Wise cut The Motionless Picture down to the length of a TV episode, it might be pretty good.
It's also amazing to see how good some older, classic films look on DVD-Citizen Kane, Philadelphia Story, It's a Wonderful Life, etc. Sign up with Netflix (internet rental by mail service), buy some microwave popcorn in bulk, and your'e set.
Aarrrrgh! ;^)
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