26. Funny Girl (1968)
Directed by William Wyler
Screenplay by Isobel Lenhart from her play
Music by Jule Styne lyrics by Bob Merrill
Starring Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, and Anne Francis
Oscar Nominations: 8 Oscar Wins: 1 (Best Actress Barbra Streisand)
I am an unabashed Barbra fan. I really love the woman and her work and there is no way for me to be objective about it. I loved her in freaking Nuts people and even I know that was a terrible movie. So, anything I say is going to come across as very biased but that's the point of this list, right? Anyway, Babs rocks in this movie and there is no other reason to watch it. Yeah, there are other actors but it's all Babs' show as famous stage actress Fanny Brice. Her singing and humor are both awesome and she alternatively funny and sad playing to every emotion. The woman deserved her Oscar, now can someone give her her Oscar for Prince of Tides?
If I have to talk about something other than Babs, let's talk about the music with which I can still talk about the most awesome diva ever. The songs are very memorable. People and Don't Rain on My Parade have both become standards of Babs. There aren't many songs that don't involve Babs singing but the supporting cast does carry what singing it needs. I'm sorry, I'm trying to challenge myself by not talking about Babs but it isn't quite working. Just go see the movie, see the glory of Babs, and realize how gay Will is to rave about her so much.
25. Fantasia (1940)
Directed and written by Quite a few people, really, just hit IMDB for this one people.
Starring Leopold Stokowski, Deems Taylor, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Walt Disney
Fantasia is more than just a movie, it's an event. There is literally nothing quite like it, not even the rather lackluster Fantasia 2000. Fantasia is animation set to classical music. Some of the sequences have a plot and other don't. They really don't. The animators were just allowed free imagination to do as they please and make it awesome and works. The choice of music is also impeccable and there isn't a sequence that doesn't stand out or not work. Let's talk about my favorite one.
Night on Bald Mountain and Ave Maria are probably the best sequences in the movie, even more so than The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It's basically Evil being vanquished by Good. First is Night on Bald Mountain in which a massive demon, possibly Satan himself, gathers his minions and forces them to dance for his amusement. The sequence is very terrifying, even as an adult. It then goes into the more quiet Ave Maria where pilgrims trek to a holy land. Really, just a brilliant sequence and the use of music is just so powerful in both. It's all rather hard to describe in words so go and rent it on DVD. It's all nice and restored.
Next Time: "You're right, I did lose a million dollars last year. I expect to lose a million dollars this year. I expect to lose a million dollars next year. You know, Mr. Thatcher, at the rate of a million dollars a year, I'll have to close this place in, 60 years." "Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money and for a woman. I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman. Pretty, isn't it?'"
No comments:
Post a Comment