Music: Musicals!

I've been using Spotify to go back into my collection of musical songs. Here are some of my favorites. I'd also like to apologize for the my noticeable (I hope this isn't just me being hopeful)absence and my future shorter posts.

One of my favorite songs from That's Entertainment starring Fred Astaire and Jack Buchanan.



High Society, the musical remake of the classic Katharine Hepburn/Cary Grant/Jimmy Stewart film The Philadelphia Story, featured two of the best singers of all time--Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Personally, I like the latter's voice better. This song is so much fun!
 

Monsters Inc, the musical! I love Billy Crystal. Recently I rewatched When Harry Met Sally--Billy Crystals delivers lines like no one else.


 This isn't from a musical, but my friend the Panda showed it to me a while ago. Streisand and Garland are two musical forces to be reckoned with.

Oh, the rain...

Do you recognize this gentleman? 

What do Fred Astaire & Joseph Gordon Levitt have in common?

Last week was Easter, and I had Easter Parade on the brain. Released in 1948, the film stars Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. It's a fun musical, with two undeniable attractions--Fred Astaire's fancy footwork and Garland's voice. 

If you get impatient, skip to 2:20 for Fred Astaire's big number. It's a lot of fun!

A mental jump, hop, and skip away from this film was Fred Astaire's Royal Wedding. One of its most famous scenes involves Fred Astaire dancing on the ceiling in one of the set rooms. It was, I think, pretty advanced for its time (and even now, I'm still impressed by the visual fun). 

The basic premise for how it works is that Fred Astaire is dancing in a rotating room, and the camera must rotate at the same angular velocity as the room. In the final filmed product, we can't see the room moving because the room's velocity relative to the camera is zero. And voila, Fred Astaire is dancing on the ceiling! 

Here's a clip showing both the scene as it appears in the film, and the scene if you were an onlooker watching them film the scene. 

In Christopher Nolan's Inception, a similar premise was used to film the a-MAY-zing fight scene featuring Joseph Gordon Levitt. 

I've a huge behind-the-scenes fan. A big fan of minutiae and all things 'trivial,' I value the Special Features on DVDs and Blu-Rays almost as much as the film itself. (You will never catch me buying a DVD with no special features. Never.) The subdued music playing behind a director's commentary, the smooth transition between production stills--I love it all. Much to my glee, there is a clip online with commentary about Joseph Gordon Levitt's hallway acrobatics. You can check it out below. I never thought about it before, but a rotating set that has props requiring electricity poses a special problem for set designers. To find out how they solved that issue, and to hear Joseph Gordon Levitt talk about the intense training needed for the scene, watch the clip! :)

Gone With the Wind: 75th Anniversary

Gone With the Wind. I've watched it many a time, and I notice something new each time. The cast is great, but it's really Vivian Leigh's film.

For some great behind the scene pictures, check this out:

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/414427/Gone-With-the-Wind/tcm-archives.html#tcmarcp-281824

If you like what you see, go to the TCM archives for more! Publicity photos, production photos, etc. 

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/414427/Gone-With-the-Wind/tcm-archives.html#

In celebration of this movie (and those who worked on it), check out the following books: 

http://www.amazon.com/Cukor-Gavin-Lambert/dp/0847822974/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1302825838&sr=8-5

Known as a woman's director, Cukor helped several actresses achieve some of their most well-known performances: Judy Garland in a Star is Born, Vivian Leigh in Gone with the Wind, and Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story. Gone with the Wind factoid: Cukor worked on the film for a long time beginning in pre-production, but he was removed early on due to creative difference with David O. Selznick, the film's producer. Main actresses Leigh and Olivia de Haviland were devastated by the decision, and they continued to see Cukor for guidance during filming even after his removal. Talk about loyalty! 

http://www.amazon.com/Frankly-My-Dear-Revisited-America/dp/0300164378/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1302826366&sr=8-2

Normally I like to read almost encyclopedic works on film, but this was my first foray into actual film criticisms and analysis. Molly Haskell writes an interesting feminist take on Margaret Mitchell's literary classic.