musical films

Jesus Christ Superstar

Posted on by Remy G.

(I watched this to celebrate Good Friday.)

Based on the rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, the first film adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar, directed by Norman Jewison (who had two years before directed that of Fiddler on the Roof) is an incredibly psychedelic take on the story of Jesus that screams “the 1970s,” rife with tons of WTF anachronisms (like a bus of hippies, military soldiers that resemble those of the film’s time, and a few air force jets, among others), and sizably focusing on historical/religious figures like Jewish high priest Joseph ben Caiaphas (whose name and biblical role I now know thanks to the film and his respective Wikipedia article), with bizarre takes on other luminaries like King Herod as well.

I don’t want to go into intense depth about the film. However, I will say that it exemplifies my belief that the quality of any form of media like books, film, television, and video games (for me especially), positive or negative, is almost strictly a point of view. Much of the music is enjoyable and sometimes catchy but frequently has abrupt instrumental, stylistic, and tonal shifts, with its other aspects having abundant WTF and YMMV moments. I found the film incredibly entertaining (but as I said, film quality is often a point of view) because I relate to the story of Jesus as an autistic (like being seen as delusional and ostracized by my kind) and have certain biases regarding the religious commentary, in which case it very much deserved the criticism from religious groups it got at its time of release.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie but can easily understand why and how many others would feel otherwise.

Paint Your Wagon

Posted on by Remy G.

Based on the 1951 Lerner and Loewe American Western musical of the same name, the 1969 adaptation of Paint Your Wagon stars Lee Marvin as a prospector, Clint Eastwood as an amnesiac whom he recruits as his business partner, and Jean Seberg as one of a Mormon’s wives that he decides to sell to the highest bidder. I first saw this film as a rental in my town’s Blockbuster Video when that chain was still a thing, the title alone piquing my curiosity, the fact Clint Eastwood was in it being one of the sole things I knew about it. The following knowledge I would get about the film came from a brief spoof in The Simpsons episode “All Singing, All Dancing.”

Despite the title, the musical has nothing at all to do with literally painting wagons, with “paint your wagon” being a (very) dated expression meaning “to get things done.” Marvin’s character, Ben Rumson, dubs Eastwood’s “Pardner” as he recuperates, with a new tent town, “No Name City,” emerging when they discover gold. The male inhabitants become lonely from no female companionship until the mentioned Mormon husband comes and sells his wife Elizabeth to a drunken Rumson. A love triangle quickly emerges when Ben leaves his fiancé under Pardner’s care.

The latter portion of the movie involves Rumson and his men scheming to tunnel beneath No Name City to collect gold dust precipitating through the floorboards of saloons from paying customers, the only notable plot detail of which I had heard, courtesy my high school economics class, before I streamed this film. A zealous parson also comes to town in futile attempts to get its residents to abandon their sinful ways. Of course, many musical numbers abound, and while Marvin and Eastwood have never been known for their singing abilities, they did decently, with the former’s “Wand’rin’ Star” probably being the high point of the film’s songs.

While I know this film gets its share of criticism, much justified, I found it an entertaining watch, with some initial themes like Rumson putting his business partners first and his apathy towards humanity resounding well with me. Mature content like references to venereal disease and prostitution also get some spotlight. Religious themes are front and center as well, given Rumson’s indifference towards God, the references to Mormonism and polygamy, and the ultrareligious preacher. Much of the film likely didn’t fly well with 1969 moviegoers (though modern audiences would probably find it less offensive than, say, Blazing Saddles). However, I think that time has vindicated it somewhat, and don’t regret seeing it.

Wonka

Posted on by Remy G.

I remember watching the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory starring the late Gene Wilder back near the end of fourth grade, and it remained an endearing classic in my mind to the point where I rewatched it a few times when it appeared on television the following decades. I never read the Roald Dahl book and maybe saw Tim Burton’s adaptation once a few years after it was released. It’s been a bit of a curse for film adaptations of Dahl’s work to falter financially at the box office as the 1971 movie did (though Burton’s version and this were exceptions).

This prequel serves as a companion piece to both the 1971 film and Dahl’s original novel, starring Timothée Chalamet (whom I know best as Paul Atreides in the latest adaptations of Frank Herbert’s Dune) as the eponymous fledgling chocolatier, twenty-five years before the events of the first Willy Wonka film. When he returns home, he struggles financially yet finds ways to make ends meet as he grows his chocolate business. An Oompa Loompa named Lofty, portrayed by Hugh Grant like the non-dwarf actors portraying the halflings in the Lord of the Rings films, eventually aids Wonka in his endeavors. Oh, and the film’s a musical.

While I have fond memories of the original Gene Wilder film, I didn’t have any expectations before watching this prequel film but ended up enjoying it. The musical numbers are pleasant, with many original tunes alongside staples of the 1971 movie like “Pure Imagination” and “Oompa Loompa” (with Grant singing a quirky ending credits epilogue for the various characters to its tune). The cast performances are superb, the settings well executed, and the effects brilliant, accounting for an entertaining movie that does the novel and first film adaptation justice.

Fiddler on the Roof (film)

Posted on by Remy G.

The 1971 film adaptation of the stage musical focuses on the poor Jewish milkman Tevye, portrayed by the late Chaim Topol, living in the Ukrainian village of Anatevka and facing the challenge of marrying off his five daughters amidst the growing tension in his community and Imperial Russia at large in 1905. The prospective husbands include Perchik, a radical Marxist from Kiev (now Kyiv); Lazar Wolf (which most characters pronounce “laser wolf”), a wealthy widowed butcher; and the poor tailor Motel Kamzoil. Following one of the daughter’s weddings, the local constable leads a pogrom against Anatevka, with the second half of the film focusing on the aftermath months later that culminates in the dispersement of the town population following a government decree.

As a musical, there are, of course, several notable tunes such as “Tradition,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Miracle of Miracles,” and “Sunrise, Sunset,” the last two being my personal favorites. A few seem padded with nonsensical words like “If I Were a Rich Man” (though it could be Yiddish or Hebrew). Regardless, most of the numbers are well-performed and certainly would not have sounded awkward even in the place and period where and when the movie occurs, given the soundtrack’s Semitic feel. The film also deals with themes like Jewish tradition, with insight into their customs and relationships back in 1905. While the film is not without its flaws and has a forthcoming remake, I think the 1971 adaptation is good enough as it is.