Classic Movie Musicals Part 1.

I’ve wanted to do a post like this for awhile now, even before I had this blog. Though my taste has branched out as I’ve grown, movie musicals is what first got me interested in classic film. I was introduced to them as a child by way of films like Bedknobs and Broomsticks and The Sound of Music. I believe this love was cemented for me in middle school when I saw My Fair Lady.

Since then I’ve tried to see as many as I could over the years. Though I enjoy the earliest movie musicals from the 1930s, to the most recent ones, my all-time favorites are the colorful spectacles from the 1950’s and early 60’s. However, on this on-going list of my favorite musical scenes, you’ll see films from every decade.

Lets get started :)

We’ll start off with a bang with this number from The Band Wagon starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. I should get it out now that I totally adore and envy Cyd Charisse. She’s honestly one of the most beautiful, charismatic and talented women I’ve ever seen. Watching her dance is entrancing, and even Fred Astaire said “Once you dance with Cyd, you stay danced with.”

Some people will argue that this was the greatest movie musical to come out of this era, even rivaling Singin’ In The Rain. I think this scene sums up why.

Since I got on the subject of it, we’ll move right into it. Really, with a movie like Singin’ In The Rain, every single musical number is amazing. This is a movie I have to watch every  time it comes on, even if I didn’t plan on it. I never get sick of watching Gene Kelly, especially in this film. I picked his most iconic performance because I don’t know a soul who doesn’t smile when they see this. We’ll surely see more Gene and more Singin’ In The Rain on the list later on.

You simply cannot have a movie musical list without Judy Garland. Meet Me In Saint Louis is an endearing movie, and this is about the catchiest song I’ve heard.

Though a self-proclaimed classic and musical movie lover, I had not seen Fiddler On The Roof until recently. As the most recent movie on the list, it definitely has a different style not only for that, but because of the overall influence that the story has on the music. I love this song and this scene because of the way it’s set up; just your average Jewish countryman on his simple farm, who just so happens to have an amazingly booming voice.

More to come!

The Kansas Silent Film Festival

The Kansas Silent Film Festival is back for its 14th year Friday night – February 26th and all day Saturday – February 27th, 2010 at White Concert Hall on the campus of Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. As with all previous events, admission is free and open to the public. Kansas City film historian, Denise Morrison will provide introductions for the films to be presented, providing an overview of the silent film era and the artists who created them.

Schedule and more info HERE

Film Review: How Green Was My Valley (1941)

I love those moments where having never intended to watch a movie, you get sucked in by accident. Flipping through the channels one night with my mother, this film was the only thing on. She’d seen it, I hadn’t.

Directed by the infamous John Ford and based off a 1939 novel by the same name, this film paints the tale of a coal mining Welsh family, the Morgans, during the turn of the century. Their struggles are told in retrospect  through the eyes of the Morgans youngest son, Huw.

It could be thought of as a “coming of age” story in a way, watching Huw go through dramatic changes in his life and the way it matures him. But it’s main focus is on that of the family, and how they can pull together or completely fall apart through different circumstances. There are many sub-plots that give you an idea of who these people are and what they strive for.

Over all, I’d say it’s a character-driven piece, one of my personal favorites. One of the many reasons I love classic film is because of their focus on people, not incidences. Though so many powerful, heart-breaking and sometimes humorous things happen to these people, you’re more interested in how they deal with it on a personal level and not the out-come of the actual situation.

I was entranced from the very moment the movie began, pulled in with its tides. It’s imagery is striking; dark and gritty when it needs to be and light and beautiful when it also calls for it. The only warning I’d give is that it’s definitely a tearjerker and something that will send you on an emotional roller coaster.