Some Reviews of films I watched over my Cinematic Education. Part Four

[dean]

Ok, it's about time for another round of films!

The subject for this round is one on Musicals: from Hollywood to Bollywood.  This subject was also alot of fun.  I'll also keep this kind of quick.  These lists really do set me on a trip down memory lane [this subject was last year] so they're a little self indulgent!


Grease (Randal Kleisner, 1978)

Introductory film on musicals.  Not much to say really on what you all should know!


Flying Down To Rio (Thornton Freeland, 1933)

A week on duets, modernity and comedy and it also gives us Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.  Fun enough film, though nothing too outstandingly brilliant!  Even though they weren't the main couple, Fred and Ginger shine in this one, and rightly they became a Hollywood Musical staple couple.


Dames (Ray Enright, 1934)

The week on Cinematic Innovation and gendered spectacles, and introduces us to Busby Berkeley's style of musical.


Anchors Awiegh (George Sidney, 1945)

Gene Kelly, masculinity and the integrated musical.  Good film with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, which sets up a nice dual storyline [and silly moments] which I found entertaining.


Calamity Jane (David Butler, 1953)

The week on 'Making things musically queer' and blurring genre boundaries.  Fun film/western, though nothing too spectacular.


Carmen Jones (Otto Preminger, 1954)

Week on representations of race in musicals.  An interesting, if somewhat traditionally unconventional musical [I guess] which I enjoyed, but at times I was a little bored with it.


Blue Hawaii (Norman Taurog, 1962)

Elvis and the postcolonial Rock N' Roll musicals.  Always fun to see Elvis slapping a girl on the bum and calling her duchess.  A bit of indulgent fun.


Mary Poppins (Robert Stevenson, 1964)

Julie Andrews and the Cult Musical.  For this week I was hoping to get me a copy of Forbidden Zone to show the class, but it wasn't available here, so I wasn't able to [damn!] but it's always great to talk about Cult musicals, especially the crazy silly ones.  Recently I got a copy of Forbidden Zone, and I'm very annoyed that I couldn't subject some Mary Poppins fans to it's lunacy with a showing of a clip, perhaps the Alphabet Song.


Aladdin (John Musker/Ron Clements, 1992)

Disney Musicals and postmodern musicals.  When you put a bit of thought into it, these sort of  Disney musicals are kind of rascist in how they depict people, but as a kid I guess you don't really care [it's also funny when you're older to see how subversive they kind of are!]  I did a presentation this week on postmodern musicals, and showed a clip from Glitter, That crappy Britney film and an edited clip from Aladdin, in which instead of 'A Whole New World' playing, it is a dirty parody called 'A Whole Nude World' which synced up really well with the original footage.


Everyone Says I love You (Woody Allen, 1996)

Postmodern, independent musicals.  I think that instead of this film they should have shown Breakdance, or Breakdance II: Electric Boogaloo [just because pop-locking cheese is so much fun!] But this musical was ok in itself.


"Sex Lies and Politics" "Only the Lonely" Ally McBeal (David E Kelly, 1999)

The week on Cross Media Hybridity.  I wasn't much of an Ally McBeal fan personally, but I can appreciate the thought put into these two episodes.


Devdas (Sanjay Lela Bhansali, 2002)

Bollywood Musicals week, with an excellent film which I really enjoyed.  


Overall this course, like the Mythology one, was lots of silly lighthearted fun, and although we did delve into alot of cinematic theories and what-not, we didn't go quite as hardcore as some of the later subjects I did.  It's of course no coincidence that both this subject and the mythology one were run by generally the same people.  Any subject in which I can totally make fun of the stupidity of Footloose is good in my book!