THE WIZARD OF OZ -- Victor Fleming, dir.

©1939
studio: Warner Home Video
production company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
dir: Victor Fleming
cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charley Grapewin, Pat Walshe, Clara Blandick, Terry ("Toto")
screenplay: Noel Langley and Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf
musical
based on the novel by L. Frank Baum

A young girl gets swept up in to a magical land called "Oz" where charlatan wizards and powerful witches rule the kingdom, and from whence she tries to return to her home.

This is still one damned fine movie!

The calendar that hangs on my wall near my desk and computer is a calendar of modern movie posters from the Museum of Modern Art. I decided, at the beginning of the year, that I would watch the movie of the month, during the month, and for February, it is The Wizard of Oz.

I watched most of this special, three disc set, and quite frankly, the 1939 movie still holds up. The tornado sequence is really an awesome job of filmmaking. The tension that builds during the scene, with the patient, forceful motions of the twister keep you on edge during the scene.

The arrival in Oz is brilliant. Everything about the place lets the viewer know that we are somewhere completely different than anything we are familiar with. The colors, the sounds, the sizes...!

I think that one of the things that makes the movie work so well is the reality in which all the characters treat the film. Other than the heart-felt, famous quote, "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," no one treats all the unusual-ness as "look at us -- we're in a magical land!" It is treated as if it is all real in the here and now. (While it's been some time since I've seen Shirley Temple's The Bluebird [the Shirley Temple answer to Wizard of Oz] -- I remember having the feeling that they were trying to show us how clever they could be at creating magical worlds, rather than treating it like it was real.)

Disc Three of this special set contained the complete films of other movie forays to Oz. They were, if I recall correctly, a film from 1910, two from 1914, from 1925, and a cartoon from 1933 (which precedes the popular film but also has the beginning in B&W and the Oz scenes in color!). The two films from 1914 were written and directed by L. Frank Baum!

This has long been a favorite for so many people, and it really is a movie worth watching, whether it be for the first time, or the 20th time.

GENE KELLY: ANATOMY OF A DANCER - Robert Trachtenberg, dir

©2002
studio: Warner Home Video
production company: American Masters, Turner Entertainment, WNET Channel 13 New York
dir: Robert Trachtenberg
cast: Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Jeanine Basinger, Betsy Blair, Laslie Caron, Cyd Charisse, Betty Comden, Adolph Green
documentary

A documentary on dancer, choreographer, director, Gene Kelly.

I really liked this, simply because the focus is on Gene Kelly, one of my all -time favorite performers. I'm always happy to watch this man dance, so a documentary which features many clips of his work is certainly going to be well received by me. Most of the clips are certainly available by watching his movies, but there are a few gems here, such as a bit of 8mm movie footage of his work on Broadway in Pal Joey, and a rare television special which he hosted, in which he tries to show the similarities in dance and sports.

More than once I sensed some uneasiness for some of the other actors to mention what a task-master Kelly was. Debbie Reynolds, for instance, talked about how he'd lock her in a studio or how her feet would bleed from all the work he'd put her through, but she'd quickly add how she'd learned everything (and was still in the business) because of him. It seemed as if Gene Kelly is still "sacred ground" and it wasn't good to speak ill of him still.

For someone such as myself, who has really looked forward to Kelly's films, there was nothing really very new here, and all the information was quite tame (no down and dirty tabloid news here!). '"Anatomy" of a dancer' doesn't really seem appropriate for this documentary -- we didn't really get much more than a retrospective of his career.

The thing that I, and so many others, like about Kelly's dancing, and which is commented on here, is how masculine he made the art form. Kelly proved that dancing wasn't just for "sissy" boys. Indeed, the film reports that there was a large confluence of men taking dance lessons during the Kelly years.

Again, this is all about Gene Kelly, my favorite "star," and I therefore recommend it most highly.

SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller -- Broadway Archive

©2001
studio: Good Times Video
dir: Jerry Zaks (Broadway?)
cast: Ken Ard, Adrian Bailey, Matt Bogart, Brenda Braxton, Victor Trent Cook, B.J. Crosby, DeLee Lively, Deb Lyons, Frederick B. Owens
Broadway Musical performance

This DVD is a well-edited tape from the final performance of the Broadway show. Rather than the dull, plain video-taping often done of Broadway shows, this film uses multiple camera angles, including some from the band POV.

I was impressed with the breadth of work of Leiber and Stoller. I had no idea who they were, and then had no idea that they were the creators of many very memorable songs ("Stand By Me" being just one of their more famous hits).

My problem with this show is the concept of it being a "musical." The weak attempts to put some kind of story line (or lines) together to unite the songs somehow, just doesn't cut it for me. I think that this is why the concept it not faring well in other attempts on Broadway (most recently with John Denver songs!). I would think that simply having a "cabaret" or "revue" would be better.

However, this has been successful in the past (Sondheim) and indeed this very production ran much longer than I would have expected.

I saw this on Broadway and was extremely under-impressed. This DVD is much richer and more exciting than watching it from the back row of the balcony. However, even though I enjoyed watching this, I expect that the average person would get more enjoyment out of listening to the CD.

As for any directing or choreography, most of the songs were performed in the same style and pace, which grew thin quickly.

Skip this, and listen to the CD and you might be surprised that some of the hits you grew up with were written by this duo.

AS YOU LIKE IT -- Paul Czinner, dir

©1936
dir: Paul Czinner
cast: Laurence Olivier, Elisabeth Bergner, Sophie Stewart, Felix Aylmer, Henry Ainley, Leon Quatermaine
treatment: J.M. Barrie
screenplay: Robert Cullen (and Carl Mayer)
based on the play by William Shakespeare
B&W

An early screen version of Shakespeare's play about a young man who's inheritance is usurped by his brother, and who falls in love with the lovely Rosalind, who disguises herself as a man and tells the young man how to woe her.

I actually quite like this version of the play. I remember seeing it while I was in college, and then paying a small fortune for a video tape copy back in the late '80's.

The sound quality is poor and hasn't transferred well to the DVD, but Olivier's performance is quite strong and really makes this work. Bergner, as Rosalind, is a little annoying as Rosalind, but actually kind of fun to watch when she plays the man, "Ganymede."

I've since learned that Olivier didn't much care for the role or the production, and it was because of this that he maintained creative control over his screen portrayals of Shakepearean works afterwards.

I recommend this as an entertaining version of this play.

OT: OUR TOWN (A Famous Play In An Infamous Town) -- Scott Hamilton Kennedy, dir

©2002
studio: Film Movement
production company: A Stressbox Inc., OT Films
dir: Scott Hamilton Kennedy
cast: Catherine Borek, Karen Greene, Ebony Starr Norwood-Brown, Archie Posada, Armia Robinson, Jackie Oliver
documentary
winner of 5 film festival awards

A high school in Compton, California attempts to produce the play Our Town, which would be the first play produced at the school in more than 20 years.

This was a very interesting documentary. It definitely hit on some important issues, such as the need for more than just sports in schools and the the fact that teenagers are mostly the same, no matter where they come from.

I really liked the impression that despite being a ghetto community, Compton really is as much like the Grovers Corners in Our Town as any other city, as it is the people that make up a community.

If there is any failing of this film, it is it's attempts to get too much in to the film. How these students live their lives, how the rehearsal process goes, comparing/contrasting Compton with Grovers Corners, the need for arts in the schools, etc etc etc.

All in all, a very good film, and I'm extremely interested in the Film Movement series.

ROMEO & JULIET -- Franco Zeffirelli

©1968
studio: Paramount
production company: BHE Films, Dino de Laurentiis Cinematografica, Verona Produzione
dir: Franco Zeffirelli
cast: Olivia Hussey,Leonard Whiting, Milo O'Shea, Michael York, John McEnery, Pat Heywood, Natasha Parry, Robert Stephens
screenplay: Franco Brusati and Masolino D'Amico
from the play by William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare's classic story of two star-crossed lovers who come from feuding families.

This was really a wonderful film adaptation of Shakespeare's play. The acting was all quite excellent. In particular, I enjoyed Michael York and Milo O'Shea.

There were times when I grew weary and wanted the story to just get on with it, and this could possibly have been the result of my just being tired, but perhaps the film could have used some trimming as well. However, it did seem that the screenplay was quite faithful to the original play, and therefore not wanting any editing.

The costumes were very interesting, and some times distracting. More than once I wondered if men would really be just walking around town dressed in two-color tights and ballet slippers. And did men's tights really have those tied-on cod-piece covers that were more than a little evident here? I liked the visual look that the costuming gave to the film, but it didn't seem practical or as authentic as perhaps they were trying to be. (And to be fair, for all my weak knowledge of period costuming goes, this could have been THE most authentic look ever recreated.)

Despite my protestations mentioned above, I liked this movie quite a lot and highly recommend it.

THE HOMECOMING -- Peter Hall, dir

©1973
studio: Kino Video
production company: The American Film Theatre
dir: Peter Hall
cast: Cyril Cusack, Ian Holm, Michael Jayston, Vivien merchant, Terence Rigby, Paul Rogers, Jonathan Sachar
writer: Harold Pinter
based on the stage play

An American college professor returns to his London home, inhabited by his father, uncle, and two brothers. He brings his wife of nine years along to meet his family for the first time. Suppressed violence and anger and betrayal permeate the sparse home, with the wife the focus and the instrument of it all.

This is, perhaps, not the kind of movie in which you would want to spend a carefree afternoon, but it is a wonderfully faithful adaptation of the tremendous Harold Pinter play.

The video cover, as pictured here, gives it an almost comical look, but any comedy here is extremely dark. In typical Pinter fashion, the words don't always mean what they may seem to mean on the surface, but one must pay special attention to attitude and intention.

The acting is incredibly solid, Hall's direction is crisp, and Pinter's script deserves the study it gets. The film look is incredibly dated (you could almost guess the year is 1973 just by the look of the lighting and filmography), but for me anyway, that only adds to the charm of this old flick.

Not everyone's kind of movie, but it makes my recommendation list.

TWELFTH NIGHT -- Kenneth Branaugh, dir

©1987
Thames Shakespeare Collection
studio: A&E Home Video
production company: Renaissance Theatre Company, Thames Television
dir: Kenneth Branaugh, Paul Kafno
cast: Frances Barber, Christopher Hollis, Julian Gartside, Tim Barker, Richard Briers, Caroline Langrishe, Anton Lesser, Abigail McKern, Shaun Prendergast, Christopher Ravenscroft, James Saxon, James Simmons
stage play by William Shakespeare

A woman, surviving from a shipwreck, takes the identity of her brother (whom she believes to be dead), and comes to the employ of a man trying to woo a noble woman. The noble woman comes to believe she is in love with the man sent to woo (who is actually the shipwrecked woman), and the woman sent to do the wooing, falls in love with the man trying to woo the noble woman. And of course the brother isn't really dead.

This version is actually quite good. However... do not watch this expecting to see a "movie." This is the stage version, filmed. There is a vast difference, and many people will not react well to this kind of film.

While some of the acting seems a bit wooden (particularly the woman posing as her brother), much of it is lively and interesting, and Branaugh keeps the action moving quite well.

This probably wouldn't keep the average movie-goer very interested, but a nice adaptation of the stage play, and recommended.

THE 10TH KINGDOM -- David Carson & Herbert Wise, dirs

©2000
studio: Hallmark
production company: Babelsberg Film und Fernsehen, Carnival Films, Hallmark Entertainment, National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Production Line
dir: David Carson & Herbert Wise
cast: Kimberly Williams, Scott Cohen, John Larroquette, Dianne Wiest, Camryn Manheim, Ann-Margret, Ed O'Neill, Rutger Hauer, Dawnn Lewis, Hugh O'Gorman, Daniel Lapaine, Jeremiah Birkett, Warwick Davis, Kim Thompson, Lucy Whybrow
teleplay: Simon Moore
10 hour television mini-series

A father and daughter are caught in a parallel universe where the great queens Snow White, Cinderella, and Little Red Riding Hood have had their kingdoms fragmented by warring trolls, giants and goblins. (Description lifted directly from Amazon.com.)

I remember catching bits of this when it was aired on television and thinking that it seemed like an neat idea but not particularly well done. Not having seen the whole thing, however, I thought it only fair to check it out. Unfortunately, I was right in the first place.

It amazes me that the reviews and ratings (both IMDb and Netflix) are so favorable for this. Perhaps the all-star cast make people afraid to say that it drones?

This ten hour epic moves along on such a single note that when you've experienced the highs and lows of the first twenty minutes, you've experienced the highs and lows for the entire series. Whether this was intentional (so as not to frighten the younger children perhaps?) or not is not clear, but the effect is a persistent buzz that you just can't wait to be gone.

The writing for this is unbelievably bad. It comes across as though no one was sure if they should do this seriously with some humor, or as a farce with some drama. The result comes across as simply "bad acting choices." Is John Larroquette trying to be funny, or is his character just supposed to be a bit on the stupid side? What's up with Ed O'Neill and the Trolls? They are strong and forceful enough to take over an entire kingdom, but they are stupid enough to look like a bad imitation of the Keystone Cops? "Wolf" and the "Prince" (as inhabited by a dog) were cute the first time you saw them make canine motions as humans, but the trick got very tired after ten hours.

There were some gems in this series (pun intended) -- the mine of the Dwarfs was rather nifty (although there were some GLARING inconsistencies here ... first the dwarfs were ready to kill the humans for intruding, but when they see the reflection of the dog in the magic mirror and discover that the dog is the real Prince, they recall that this was a prophecy long fortold. But then one human [who is under a curse] accidentally breaks some mirrors and it seems that the whole prophecy is completely ignored as the dwarfs try to kill the humans).

Rutger Hauer is great as the "Huntsman" and Dianne Wiest does well in her leading role as the evil queen. And ... okay ... Camryn Manheim is a very good actress, and I have nothing against a performer who is over-weight, but as "Snow White?" And not just "Snow White," but a "Snow White" who has been asleep for a hundred years?

Don't waste even an hour of your time on this dreck.

BRING IT ON -- Peyton Reed, dir

© 2000
studio: MCA Home Video
production company: Beacon Communications LLC
dir: Peyton Reed
cast: Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Jesse Bradford, Gabrielle Union, Clare Kramer, Nicole Bilderback, Tsianina Joelson, Rini Bell, Nathan West
screenplay: Jessica Bendinger

A five-time National Champion cheerleading squad learns that their routines have been stolen from a poor, inner-city school. The new team coach is insistent that they compete with their own routine, and that the inner-city squad gets to Finals as well.

Okay...I am a bit embarassed that I actually watched this. It was in my Netflix queue, listed as a comedy, and I was in a mood for a comedy. However, I didn't find it particularly funny, though it wasn't dreadful either.

The plot was more than a bit lame, but the direction kept it moving well, and certainly the cheer routines kept it exciting. The fact that there were young women in their underwear and in bikinis helped!

I don't recommend this movie, but it isn't a movie to run away from either. I will NOT, however, be looking to put the sequel into my Netflix queue!

DARK ANGEL (Season Two, Discs 1 & 2) -- James Cameron, creator

©2000
studio: 20th Century Fox
dir: David Nutter, Morgan Beggs, Kenneth Billar
cast: Jessica Alba, Michael Weatherly, John Savage, Alimi Ballard, Jennifer Blanc, Richard Gunn, Valarie Rae Miller, J.C. MacKenzie, Jensen Ackles

Set in the future, "Max" is a genetically enhanced human, intended as a model soldier. She, and others of her kind, escaped from the place where they were created, and are now hunted by the autorities.

I wasn't sure if I should bother to include this television series on my video blog, but since I do get these discs from Netflix, I thought maybe I would.

I quite enjoyed the first season of this show quite a bit, but the first couple of episodes of this second season have already left me unhappy at the turn it has taken. The new cast members ("Joshua" the dog boy, "Alec" another mutant soldier, etc) seem to limit the story lines rather than offer new possibilities -- too many cast members mean more stories need to feature them, rather than focusing on the stories that made the series work from the beginning.

None of the episodes have yet felt "good," and a particularly awful episode seemed to be the "halloween" episode, which was quite obviously a dream sequence.

I'll keep the rest of Season Two in my Netflix queue, but this series has(/had) obviously started a down-hill slide.

ALL THE PRETTY HORSES -- Billy Bob Thornton, dir

©2000
studio: Sony Pictures
production company: Columbia Pictures Corporation, Miramax Films
dir: Billy Bob Thornton
cast: Matt Damon, Henry Thomas, Lucas Black, Penelope Cruz, Ruben Blades, Robert Patrick, Bruce Dern, Sam Shepard, Angelina Torres, J.D. Young, Laura Poe
screenplay: Ted Tally
based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy

A young, Texas drifter yearns for the life of a cowboy, but finds that American farms are selling out to Big Oil companies and so heads for Mexico, where he meets all the loves and hardships of cowboy life.

The reviews don't seem to be too good for this movie, citing that large chunks of the movie are missing and so it seems unclear.

I find that the "missing chunks" give the movie an almost surreal quality. It reminds me of a more patient, western version of After Hours. Think 'Kafka as a cowboy.'

The photography was beautiful, and an all-star cast turns in fantastic performances. Thornton moves the story along so that we don't get caught up too long in any one particular story line, and weaves all the bits and pieces together in an interesting fabric.

From the very first appearance of Lucas Black, the thirteen year old cowboy, we know that the cowboys' lives will not be the same. He brings a black cloud over them, litereally, as well as figuratively.

I enjoyed this and would recommend it highly.