tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post2496375970226002492..comments2024-03-17T10:11:46.952-04:00Comments on Film Experience Blog: Musical of the Month: Calamity JaneNATHANIEL Rhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-79970132171993190672008-08-08T16:24:00.000-04:002008-08-08T16:24:00.000-04:00Although I totally love Little Shop (I mean what c...Although I totally love Little Shop (I mean what can be more uplifting and fun then man eating plants!?), Don't you think we should take a look at Christian Bale before he bacame the dark night. I vote for Newsies.<BR/><BR/>"Sante Fe, are you there?"Chris Na Tarajahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06545312034833563234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-60699447888560018912008-08-08T10:22:00.000-04:002008-08-08T10:22:00.000-04:00It's been years since I've seen Calamity Jane (I s...It's been years since I've seen Calamity Jane (I saw it on TV as a not-yet-out lesbian in my early teens) and I'm not sure if I got the homoerotic context (in fact I'm sure I didn't) but I loved seeing a movie role with a bold, butch character, played to not-quite-over-the-top perfection by Day. (Who is a really underrated actress, I think, and could be splendid in the right hands - she's my favorite thing about Hitchcock's 1950's remake of his own 1930's film "The Man Who Knew Too Much") That was and is still quite rare.<BR/><BR/>So I don't share your enthusiasm Nat for an all-drag "man as a woman everyone thinks is a man" spin, if I'm understanding you correctly (and maybe I'm misunderstanding your intention?) There are few enough interesting roles for women out there - don't rob us of another one.Janicehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08049113750769117163noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-51092270984738274052008-08-08T00:58:00.000-04:002008-08-08T00:58:00.000-04:00I second Neel Mehta's opinion about MOTHER INDIA. ...I second Neel Mehta's opinion about MOTHER INDIA. It was incredibly popular in its day (1957)and its reputation has been kept alive largely,I suspect, by people who either haven't seen it for years or haven't seen it at all. What's more,a certain amount of prestige still clings to it because of its surprise Oscar nomination as Best Foreign Language Film. It took over 40 years for another Bollywood movie (the much more deserving LAGAAN)to repeat that feat. MOTHER INDIA's like one of those cumbersome mother-love dramas Hollywood used to churn out in the 30's, with stars forging their way from giddy girlhood to doddering old age, along the way undergoing the tortures of the damned - mostly for the sake of ungrateful offspring. Everything but the kitchen sink was usually thrown into these potboilers. And that's certainly the case with MOTHER INDIA. Its songs by Naushad, the Gershwin of Indian film music, DO provide an excellent soundtrack. And fascinating Raaj Kumar packs a lot of charisma and oomph into his all too brief role as Mother India's husband. But on the whole the film's pretty heavy going - a melodramatic marathon likely to tax the patience of most modern viewers - and certainly not a movie I'd expect would encourage newbies to explore other Bollywood titles of similar vintage. AMAR(1954) starring a beguiling favorite of mine called Nimmi and the lavish epic MUGHAL-E-AZAM(1960) both have classic Naushad scores as well and I'd say either movie is a better bet than MOTHER INDIA. But I'd still suggest DIL SE as the ideal ice-breaker for those interested in experiencing Bollywood at its best.CanadianKenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12240756292929779255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-37478600528479560242008-08-07T18:54:00.000-04:002008-08-07T18:54:00.000-04:00oooh, snap! See if I share my stale, old movie th...oooh, snap! See if I share my stale, old movie thoughts with you! ;)<BR/><BR/>I, too, love the arcana. There's enough written about the biggies, so it's fun to look at something that is perhaps just as wonderfulbut overlooked, or cult faves (like the Red Shoes) that maybe I've missed. So my vote, too, is for the lesser knowns....Criticlasmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942568777607340234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-35096012971808302532008-08-07T16:31:00.000-04:002008-08-07T16:31:00.000-04:00Echoing canadianken...Dil Se is the movie that fea...Echoing <B>canadianken</B>...<BR/><BR/><I>Dil Se</I> is the movie that features <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMsv3MrbDcs" REL="nofollow">"Chaiyya Chaiyya,"</A> the song that opens <I>Inside Man</I>.<BR/><BR/>I'd love to see more Bollywood on this site, but I'm not sure <I>Mother India</I> is the way to go. It's very long and heavy on the melodrama. If you don't like it, don't swear off the whole industry.Neel Mehtahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11286549029037039134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-1914988359258461622008-08-07T13:10:00.000-04:002008-08-07T13:10:00.000-04:00If you're going the Bollywood route, DIL SE(1998) ...If you're going the Bollywood route, DIL SE(1998) would be a great choice. Good story. Fine director (Mani Ratnam), incredible A.R.Rahman music beautifully picturized. With three charismatic and gifted Bollywood stars - Shah Rukh Khan (India's top male icon for some time now), superb Manisha Koirala and marvelous Preity Zinta (in her debut). Since then Preity's had a hugely successful career in Indian films - and she's recently completed Deepa Mehta's latest,HEAVEN ON EARTH, a project certain to up her profile in North America. Whenever someone who's interested in investigating a Bollywood film asks me to suggest a title, I always say DIL SE (translation: FROM THE HEART). It's a beautiful experience on every level.CanadianKenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12240756292929779255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-10404909507252966322008-08-07T10:58:00.000-04:002008-08-07T10:58:00.000-04:00I agree. If I could vote, I'd vote for Little Shop...I agree. If I could vote, I'd vote for Little Shop. Though I'd be interested in seeing a new Bollywood musical...Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13622435513032131426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-57229076434112313532008-08-07T10:04:00.000-04:002008-08-07T10:04:00.000-04:00Oh please let it be Little Shop of Horros. "Skid R...Oh please let it be Little Shop of Horros. "Skid Row" in itself is a masterpiece of casting, editing, pacing, etc.Billy Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15773336429810369206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-313669138939531792008-08-07T09:27:00.000-04:002008-08-07T09:27:00.000-04:00Yeah, I really wanted to take part in this, too, b...Yeah, I really wanted to take part in this, too, but I couldn't get my hands on a copy. But not to worry. I've seen a few of these next options, and for those I haven't, I'm sure I could within a month. I love this idea.Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13622435513032131426noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-52349180723358355922008-08-07T07:22:00.000-04:002008-08-07T07:22:00.000-04:00I really wanted to participate in this, but for th...I really wanted to participate in this, but for the life of me I couldn't get ahold of a copy. It wasn't available in two seperate libraries and was checked out of the dvd rental place. Oh, well. I'm enjoying reading these other entries anyway. Those other choices look interesting; I've never seen any of them, but hopefully will for next time.<BR/><BR/>I was sitting in history class last year when the English teacher from across the hall came in to the room and said to my teacher, "Quick, I need to ask you a really urgent question!". She ran over to the history teacher, bent down and said (in the loudest stage whisper you could have), "Is Doris Day still alive?". The class erupted.Catherinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09258493877737555910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-24640565322671391252008-08-07T06:44:00.000-04:002008-08-07T06:44:00.000-04:00goatdog --thanks for expressing it more eloquently...<B>goatdog</B> --thanks for expressing it more eloquently. I definitely want to touch on some universally beloved stuff that 'mr honesty' and others will be excited about but not every month... even though I love musicals there are still <I>many</I> I haven't seen and this is a good excuse.<BR/><BR/><B>jose</B> --generally i think somebody on set is aware of subtext that it's easy to spot years later. but not everyone. Consider how fully aware Stephen Boyd was of what he was doing homoerotically speaking in Ben-Hur even though it sailed right over Charlton Heston's head.<BR/><BR/>I'm guessing Paul Francis Webster (who co-wrote Secret Love's lyrics --it won the Oscar for Best Original Song) must have had an inkling. <BR/><BR/>But it's just a guess!NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-42157651950815733422008-08-07T00:02:00.000-04:002008-08-07T00:02:00.000-04:00She's probably not that conservative considering s...She's probably not that conservative considering she had no trouble working with Rock Hudson so many times.<BR/>Then again sometimes films shine under different lights due to how much societies change. <BR/>Perhaps not even the people making the film were aware of how it would play out to future generations.Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Socialeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01423835555933819338noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-81789988808152683792008-08-06T23:54:00.000-04:002008-08-06T23:54:00.000-04:00I have to agree with Nathaniel--I think the best t...I have to agree with Nathaniel--I think the best thing about blog-a-thons or film club type things like this is that they encourage you to branch out into something you might not ordinarily see (like with Final Girl's Film Club--eek! bad horror movies! sign me up!) or haven't gotten around to seeing. <I>Calamity Jane</I> was a perfect pick, and if my free time weren't non-existent right now I'd definitely have played along. So I hope you wonderful people pick something I haven't seen--as much as I love Fred & Ginger and absolutely adore <I>The Red Shoes</I>, I'd rather you prompt me to watch a Bollywood movie or <I>Newsies</I>, because film blogging should be about expanding one's cinematic horizons, or else why do it? Sorry, I'm getting all passionate up in here. But really, why be afraid of branching out?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-27339527788096576172008-08-06T23:07:00.000-04:002008-08-06T23:07:00.000-04:00Drew --- I think so but i don't know much about he...Drew --- I think so but i don't know much about her so i didn't want to assume.NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-21980875808516369072008-08-06T23:06:00.000-04:002008-08-06T23:06:00.000-04:00john t -- my normal dvd player works but i basical...john t -- my normal dvd player works but i basically only use my computer for blogging. If i can't take screenshots I aint interested ;)NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-83067407448545434572008-08-06T22:59:00.000-04:002008-08-06T22:59:00.000-04:00mr. honesty... I'm not really interested in on...<B>mr. honesty</B>... I'm not really interested in only doing major hits like Sound of Music or Chicago. Where's the fun in talking about things that people always talk about? One of the joys of film clubs (at least the ones I've seen online) is reintroducing or introducing things people might not otherwise see... or might not have seen in a long time. <BR/><BR/>but that said. These are hardly obscure choices. I mean we're talking two very famous dance musicals, FRED & GINGER, one of the only talked about musicals in the 80s and a "bad movie we love" in Newsies that people still talk about due to Christian Bale.<BR/><BR/>but yes there will sometimes be months for major things that everyone knows like Grease maybe. I just want it to be varied.<BR/><BR/><B>criticlasm</B> posts from 7 months ago don't count ;)NATHANIEL Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11597109147678235399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-12431450051162935492008-08-06T22:04:00.000-04:002008-08-06T22:04:00.000-04:00If you want more people to participate in the blog...If you want more people to participate in the blog-a-thon, you should try picking musicals that more people have actually seen. Most people don't have any real opinions about the choices you've listed, so I'm left kind of unexcited.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-68895606611615057872008-08-06T21:31:00.000-04:002008-08-06T21:31:00.000-04:00One fabulous way to solve that DVD problem-Blu-Ray...One fabulous way to solve that DVD problem-Blu-Ray player. :)John Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12778817752411507792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-44637158610461760712008-08-06T20:55:00.000-04:002008-08-06T20:55:00.000-04:00Isn't Doris Day a mega-conservative? I wonder if s...Isn't Doris Day a mega-conservative? I wonder if she's aware of Calamity Jane being highlighted to the extent it is in The Celluloid Closet.Drewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01203177859683054313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8256060.post-49303611709085152992008-08-06T19:12:00.000-04:002008-08-06T19:12:00.000-04:00Well, if you do the Red Shoes....here's mine :)Well, if you do the Red Shoes....<A HREF="http://criticlasm.blogspot.com/2008/03/red-shoes.html" REL="nofollow">here's mine</A> :)Criticlasmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942568777607340234noreply@blogger.com