Bob Dylan (Icons of Pop Music)
Two highly challenging dance works at the Edinburgh International Festival last week looked in some ways quite similar - throbbing, minimal music, small groups of contemporary dancers trying to create new relationships between sound and movement Read more..
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Customer Review: By no means a miss, but not exactly a smash hit. Fred Astaire’s last leading man role in a movie musical
There are a number of good things about Silk Stockings, but there also is a professional finality about the movie that makes it easier to observe than to be delighted by it. It was one of the last of the big MGM musicals coming from Arthur Freed’s production unit. It was the last musical Fred Astaire made as the lead. It was the last film directed by Rouben Mamoulian. It was based on the last Broadway musical Cole Porter wrote. Silk Stockings also was used to make a statement about the excesses some thought were ruining films and music…the advent of rock and roll and the technological changes in films with wide screen and stereo sound. It even takes a crack at the fashion for ballet in many musicals. You’ve got to be very clever and original to successfully parody things which are already self-parodies. Silk Stockings, even with its many entertaining moments, isn’t that clever. The story is based on Ninotchka, the female Soviet commissar who comes to Paris and finds romance reluctantly…and then enthusiastically. Paris is presented as a place where decadence was never more innocent and persuasive. Steve Canfield (Fred Astaire) is a Hollywood producer in Paris who plans to make a film starring a famous film star (Janis Paige), using the music of a famous Soviet composer who isn’t thrilled at returning to Moscow. Three Soviet bureaucrats (Peter Lorre, Jules Munshin and Joseph Buloff), bumblers all, have been sent to retrieve him…but they fall prey to the charms of Paris, too. So one of the toughest, most dedicated commissars is sent to bring them all back. She is Nina Yoshenko (Cyd Charisse), and she is as humorless as a training manual. Canfield piles on the charm, Ninotchka finally softens, romance blossoms. And then, of course, a misunderstanding arises. Ninotchka returns to Moscow, but a bit of sly dealing by Steve gets her back to Paris. The misunderstanding is solved, love blossoms anew, and East-West relations, at least for Steve and Ninotchka, warm up considerably. Marriage is just a kiss and a dance away. One of the things that seems so odd is that, for a Fred Astaire film, Astaire spends a good deal of time doing knee drops, full-length on-the-floor sprawls and athletic dance moves that limit the sophisticated and smooth Astaire style. He was 59 when he made the picture, and this might explain the relative shortness of some of the sequences. Still, while he is assured and immensely watchable (and while he can still do wonders with a cane), three major dance productions he is in just seem choppy. Most of the songs from the Broadway show were retained and Porter wrote a couple of new ones. It’s become routine with Porter to say that whatever his latest show was, the score was never one of his best. In this case, it’s true. The romantic songs are great, but the topical speciality numbers just seem tired. –”Too Bad” is a raucous song and dance involving the three Soviet flunkies, Steve and three ladies Steve brought to convince the flunkies they don’t need to hurry to go back to Moscow. There’s a nice sequence involving Astaire dancing with each of the women. Watching Peter Lorre gamely taking part, however, I didn’t find very funny. He had health problems, was over-weight and it showed. –”Paris Loves Lovers” is a charming song Astaire sings to Charisse, and then she counterpoints in the reprise. –”Stereophonic Sound,” for me, just isn’t particularly clever or funny. Janis Paige plays a character who has no subtlety, and she delivers the song the same way. This is the first of the production numbers that have Astaire sliding under desks and dropping onto the floor. –”It’s a Chemical Reaction, That’s All.” This clever little throw away is used by Ninotchka to explain to Steve that love is nothing more than predictable chemistry. When the electro-magnetic of the hemale Meets the electro-magnetic of the female, If right away she should say, ‘This is the male,’ It’s a chemical reaction, that’s all. And though you fascists may answer with kisses The same applies when you’re mister and missus. Hey diddle diddle with middle class kisses. It’s a chemical reaction that’s all. –Which leads immediately to one of Porter’s first-class songs, “All of You,” which includes the naughty line that sends schoolboys to sniggering every time they hear it. The song is sung by Astaire to a skeptical Charisse. I love the looks of you, the lure of you. I’d love to make a tour of you, The arms, the eyes, the mouth of you, The east, west, north, and the south of you. I’d love to gain complete control of you And handle even the heart and soul of you. So love at least a small percent of me, do. ‘Cause I love all of you. –”Satin and Silk,” a speciality number for Paige. –”Silk Stockings.” This is one of Porter’s great brooding, throbbing latin melodies, danced by Cyd Charisse. –”Without Love” is such a paean to the wholesome hetero love of a woman for a man that Porter must have had a great time writing the lyrics. –”Fated to Mated” is a jaunty song sung by Astaire to Charisse which leads into an extended dance routine for them. The dance is the second number that winds up more athletic than we’re used to. –”Josephine,” another speciality number for Paige, much abbreviated from the Broadway version. –”Siberia,” a not-too-funny specialty number for Lorre, Munshin and Buloff. –”The Red Blues.” This is probably the second least inspired number by Porter. It’s redeemed by a driving arrangement, vivid choreography and a knock-out performance by Charisse. She was a skilled, precise dancer who could handle any steps they gave her. She does a great job here. –”The Ritz Roll and Rock.” Astaire is said to have asked Porter to come up with a big finale number that would poke fun at all the changes in the musical scene that had been happening in the Fifties. This was the result and, to my view, it simply isn’t very good. The song lacks cleverness and wit. Astaire was always expert, but this has him starting out in a classic white tie and tails pose, then sends him spinning on the floor and finishing by smashing his top hat with his fist. As Cyd Charisse said years later in one of the extras on the DVD, “Though Fred was wonderful, it was clear that the age he had come to emulate was over.” This number just doesn’t do the job. Astaire, as always, is first class. Charisse is easy to look at and a fine dancer. George Tobias, as a commissar in Moscow and Ninotchka’s boss, gives a sly and dead-pan performance. Some of Porter’s songs are very good. Mamoulian brought the film in on time and under budget. And Silk Stockings was a success with ticket buyers. The DVD transfer is excellent. There are several light-weight extras, the best of which is a 1934 musical short based on Porter’s Fifty Million Frenchman. It stars Bob Hope and a singer-dancer named Dorothy Stone. It only runs 21 minutes but it features four fine Porter songs from the show, including Hope singing “You Do Something to Me.” At any excuse for a cue, a group of chorus girls and boys prance in to dance with that endearingly clunky style of early musicals.
Customer Review: Fred and Cyd Together Again and A Delight!
Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse re-team and give us another excellent MGM musical. Produced at a time when fans of musicals were beginning to wane, this is an absolute classic. Highlights from this include Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse dancing at any time during the movie, and Janis Paige singing Satin and Silk. Overall, a brilliant movie with brilliant songs to match.
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Like the Tin Man’s heart, the true test of a real classic is how much it is loved by others. The enduring charms of The Wizard of Oz have easily weathered the vicissitudes of changing fashions making the film one of the world’s best-loved, most-quoted and frequently imitated movies.
It’s now as ubiquitous an American pop-cultural icon as McDonald’s, making judging the movie purely on its own merits an almost impossible task. Judy Garland’s tragic later life, for example, makes her na?ve and utterly beguiling Dorothy seem all the more poignant in retrospect. But this at least is clear: much of this movie’s success depends on the winning appeal of Garland’s “Everygirl” figure, who creates the vital identification and empathy necessary to carry the audience with her into the land of Oz. We always care deeply about Dorothy, her quest for home and the strength of her friendship with her companions. Garland’s assured dancing and singing routines with her ideally cast Broadway comedy co-stars Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley are still endlessly delightful, of course, and the songs and score (by Arlen, Harburg and Stothart) are as good as anything in the Hollywood musical canon. It is Garland’s deeply felt rendition of “Over the Rainbow” that is both the film’s emotional core and the reason why adults as much as children the world over still respond so strongly to this movie. So long as people long for home and the love of their friends and family, the nostalgic appeal of Oz will never fade.
On the DVD: another splendid digital restoration from the MGM vaults keeps this wonderful classic as vivid and alive as it was back in 1939, if not more so. The 1.33:1 picture is clear and defined, bursting with the vibrant colours of Oz (you can even see the wires holding up the Lion’s tail). Even more remarkably, because the original microphone tapes have been preserved the soundtrack has been remastered in 5.1 stereo, thereby accentuating the lush tones of the MGM orchestra and Garland’s famous singing.
The disc is also chock full of extras, including outtakes, audio sequences, composer Harold Arlen’s backstage movies, extracts from earlier silent Oz films, clips from the Academy Awards and interviews with the stars among many other fascinating nuggets. The new 50-minute documentary hosted by Angela Lansbury, and irritatingly narrated in the present tense, is oddly the weakest part, with too little hard information and too much padding about how everyone loves the movie. The only gripe is Warners’ trademark cardboard slipcase, which is awkward and easily damaged. But this is still an essential disc for the young at heart everywhere. –Mark Walker
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Customer Review: Magical movie!
This movie is so iconic it is deeply ingrained in our culture. As a little girl, and as an adult too, we all want a magical pair of “Dorothy” shoes. The movie’s message is very simple; there’s no place like home. The magical world of Oz is in technicolor whereas the scenes in Kansas are in black and white. This helps to show how enticing Oz is. The characters are pretty damn good, they don’t make em like that anymore. All of the characters go through a personal journey in the film; to get home, to become brave, to get a heart. The plot is as delightful as the characters and the setting, with a dash of humour added in; a must see for young and old, even my quite sensitive 6yr old daughter can handle the scarier bits. The replay value is immeasurable, I have seen the movie so many times and will watch it many times more. The music is enchanting too! Overall I think this movie is a must see. I would rate it 9/10
Customer Review: Quite simply a classic
This is one of the all time best films. I can’t wait for my babies to be big enough to watch this as I am sure they will get as much fun out of it as I did when I was little. Why write this comment? To remind people that just because it is an old film does not mean that it is not suitable for children of today. Buy it for them and you and you will remember why you loved it so much! Simply amazing.
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Pop Jr [CD + DVD] Customer Review: Great for kids
I bought this for my daughter when she was 3 as she loves music. She is now 5 and I am not sure which she has used more the cd or the dvd. She dances and sings away for hours, it’s great.
Customer Review: Good fun cd / dvd
I brought this dvd / cd set for my daughters 6th birthday party. We had a disco / karaokee party for boys and girls, and it was a huge success mainly down to this dvd & cd set. We had karaokee sessions, disco competition & all the other party games using this set, and both my 3 yr old son & my daughter often play the dvd and dance around to it. It’s nice to have something that isn’t aimed at the older children.
Bob Dylan (Icons of Pop Music)
