Category: Articles
Raising the Barn: 7 Great Musical Moments
Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly tower over the American musical film. America barely produces musicals anymore – India now dominates that market – but the classic American product, from MGM or Fox, from Lerner and Loewe and Porter, is still what most people think of when they think of the musical. Maybe more than any…
Movie Music Gems: 12 Terrific, Little-Known Movie Scores
Musical scores have become so ingrained in our cinematic culture that we often notice when a film doesn’t have one. And it’s easy to take such tunes for granted; they form part of the fabric of a picture and – at their best – provide definition, as well as texture. In thinking about what makes…
Knowing Where to Start: On the Necessity of Lists and the Canon
I’m sitting on the couch of my share house flicking through the cable TCM guide and hitting record on the films of interest. Woman of the Year (1942) with Katherine Hepburn? Record. An Affair to Remember (1957) with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr? Record. To Have and Have Not (1944) with Bogart and Bacall? Record.…
The Beautiful People: Is Hollywood Getting Too Pretty?
In 1991, Garry Marshall filmed an adaptation of Terrence McNally’s play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair De Lune. Off-Broadway, Kathy Bates had great success portraying the plain-Jane middle-aged waitress Frankie, but she did not get a shot at the movie. Instead, Marshall cast Michelle Pfeiffer. Some were outraged, but most just wrote this off…
Art and Greatness: On the Essence of Being a Master
While listening to Manuel de Falla’s Harpsichord Concerto in the past, I’ve often wondered whether an artist with few works that I like can be considered a master. Since then, I’ve come to an answer: yes, of course. He or she can. It has been difficult for me to categorise such creators because I then…