Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
Movies, DVDs, and Theater
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Have U especially enjoyed the background music to a particular movie?
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What a great topic....I am such a lover of music.....I often wait till the credits to see who has either written the score or has done a certain song in the film. The music in Gran Torino was like that & I downloaded the title song onto my ipod....
I like the music in a lot of movies. The songs in Armegeddon were great. Aerosmith is a favorite band. (How did steve Tyler ever produce Liz?!!!)For musicals, my favorites are "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (Richard O'Brien & Tim Curry), "Paint Your Wagon" (tough guys Lee Marvin & Clint Eastwood sing.) & "Jesus Christ Superstar".
I just went to look up the soundtrack for The Watchmen & it looks fantasic!!!http://www.amazon.com/Watchmen-Soundt...
The most gorgeous film score I think I ever heard is for an English movie hardly anyone knows about called "Firelight", with Sophie Marceau and Stephen Dillane. The story is sort of a cross between "Jane Eyre" and "The Miracle Worker," and it's a breathtakingly photographed film too, but the music by Christopher Gunning, with its piercingly beautiful violin themes, is haunting beyond belief and goes right to your heart - I tear up just thinking about it. (The script is by the distinguished British writer William Nicholson.) Unfortunately, it was such a flop at the box office - no stars, costume drama, a recipe for disaster - that I don't think it's available on DVD in this country. I've seen it available on ebay from Japan, and you can still find it secondhand here on VHS.
Margaret wrote: "The most gorgeous film score I think I ever heard is for an English movie hardly anyone knows about called "Firelight", with Sophie Marceau and Stephen Dillane. The story is sort of a cross betwee..."Someone recently told me about this movie & I have it on my netflix list...
Becky, Jim, and Margaret, your replies make me want to see every movie you mentioned.I think my Netflix queue is going to get a lot of additions today.
I guess we shouldn't limit this thread to background music. Jim mentioned musicals and we should include them. The song which comes to mind immediately is "Razzle Dazzle" from the broadway play and movie "Chicago". I love the humorous lyrics. Below is a link to them: ====>
http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/chicag...
Jerry Orbach sang it on the original soundtrack in 1975. See it and hear it at: ====>
http://www.amazon.com/Chicago/dp/B001...
You can hear a clip from the song on the above webpage by clicking on the little white arrow in the black box to the left of the song title (Song #15).
Another good song from the same soundtrack is "Mr. Cellophane" (Song #13).
Heck, they're ALL good songs! At the end of that movie I couldn't stop clapping as the credits rolled. Meanwhile most of the audience filed out, walking up the aisle without a bit of emotion. I couldn't understand how they weren't affected by the music the same way I was. The music was so thrilling.
Oh Chicago-LOVED it!!! I own the movie & have seen it on Broadway....
Who was in "Chicago" when you saw it on Broadway, Becky? I wish I had seen the play. As for the movie, I love Richard Gere, but I didn't think the part fit him well. His singing wasn't expressive enough.
Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Who was in "Chicago" when you saw it on Broadway, Becky? I wish I had seen the play. As for the movie, I love Richard Gere, but I didn't think the part fit him well. His singing wasn't expressive e..."No one famous Joy(it was wonderful anyway) but I have to disagree with you on Richard Gere, I thought, as did my friends, that he was wonderful in Chicago & did so much to get into that role, I think the Academy was rude to not even have nominated him that year, I think it was a slap in the face for his outspokenness...
Becky, I skimmed some of the reviews of Chicago and Richard Gere got high marks. I guess I just can't see him as a singer.
Joy-Richard Gere made his start in theater in Grease!! LOL
Does that mean he's a singer? :) I think the first pic I ever saw Richard Gere in was "Pretty Woman" with Julia Roberts in 1990. I loved him in that movie. I also enjoyed him in "Shall We Dance" with Jennifer Lopez in 2004. He didn't sing in either of those movies. So I didn't think of him as a singer.
Well Joy, I wouldn't say he is a "singer" but I would say if he was in Grease, he probably had to sing LOL & there were quite a few people singing in the movie Chicago who I wouldn't classify as "singers"-they were actors who had singing roles to me...I loved Shall We Dance.....the very first movie I ever saw him in was Looking For Mr Goodbar & I don't think you would care for it & then I couldn't wait for American Gigolo to come out!!! & then Officer & A Gentleman--should I go on???? LOL I love RG!!
Joy, don't watch "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". I REALLY don't think it is your cup of tea.If you haven't seen the other two, you should.
Jim wrote: "Joy, don't watch "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". I REALLY don't think it is your cup of tea.If you haven't seen the other two, you should. "
Thanks, Jim. I've removed RHPS from my queue. What is it about the movie which I might not like?
I'm keeping The Patriot and A Knight's Tale on my queue. Are those the 2 you mean?
Becky wrote: "Well Joy, I wouldn't say he is a "singer" but I would say if he was in Grease, he probably had to sing LOL & there were quite a few people singing in the movie Chicago who I wouldn't classify as "s..."Becky, I guess that my main objection was Gere's delivery of "Razzle Dazzle" in the movie, Chicago.
It wasn't as lively as the version sung by Jerry Orbach on the original soundtrack, which is the one I was accustomed to hearing. So I was disappointed in Gere's delivery of the song because it's one of my favorites. There's so much humor in it the way Jerry Orbach sings it.
Joy, the film is a spoof on old SF flicks, but there's a twist. Frankenfurter (Tim Curry) is an amoral, transsexual sex addict with a following. He's introduced in a robe, which he soon loses to show that he's dressed up in ladies underwear, complete with fishnet stockings. Brad (Barry Bostwick) & Janet (Susan Sarradin) are straight until they fall under his spell for a night. Janet winds up falling in love with Frankenfurter's new creation, Rocky, who Frank made to 'relieve his tension'.The tunes & singing are great. Richard O'Brien, who also plays Riff Raff, the hunch backed butler, wrote the music. Meat Loaf, who plays Eddie, does a great sax piece, before they kill & eat him. (No gore & we're only told that the dinner served is Eddie.)
It's one of my favorite movies of all time, but I just don't think you'd like it. My mother saw a little of it & was disgusted. YMMV, of course. There are a lot of clips of the RHPS floating around, so I'm sure you could get a preview. Go to YouTube & you'll find some. There's also several fan sites.
I checked out the video for The Rocky Horror Picture Show at:http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/...
What a wild movie! Is there a good plot? I skimmed the summary but didn't get a sense that there was one. Seems to be about a strange night in a strange place.
I guess I should read the reviews at IMDb when I get a chance.
Plot? Who needs a stinking plot? Yeah, I guess there is one; evil transsexual alien leads straight laced kids astray, but you like him anyway. I dunno. It's just weird & fun.Oh heck, just watch it. It's too weird to explain. Then there is the whole groupie-party thing that goes with it if you see it in a movie theater. If you do that, read up on what you should bring with you.
Jim wrote: "Plot? Who needs a stinking plot? Yeah, I guess there is one; evil transsexual alien leads straight laced kids astray, but you like him anyway. I dunno. It's just weird & fun.Oh heck, just wat..."
I think I'll skip the groupie-party, Jim! :)
But when I'm in a weird mood I'll put the movie in my Netflix queue. :)
The music from LOTR was fantastic,: dramatic, sorrowful, triumphant, whtever was going on was matched by the music. It was the best score for a movie ever IMO because it brought out the emotions. Very powerful.Braveheart had a very good score too.
P S I Love You has some great music in it.
The Big Chill
Oh, there's tons of great music for movies, If I sit here long enough, I'll just keep on going, LOL
I really should put LOTR on my Netflix queue NQ), if only to hear the music. I gave up on the book, for various reasons. OK, I've put it on my list... both the animated version and the "people" version (The Fellowship of the Ring).I've got "P.S. I Love You" on my NQ.
Haven't see "The Big Chill". (Now on NQ.) :)
I sometimes make a note of a good song heard during a movie. Some examples:
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1. During the credits of "Normal" with Jessica Lange they played "Always", an old, old tune. I made a notation that it's a good song to dance to.
2. During the credits of "The Mirror Has Two Faces", they played a beautiful opera aria. I still don't know which one it was.
3 During the movie, "The Deep End of the Ocean", they played a Greek dance called the "Hassipiko" aka "Hasapiko". I've always loved that type of group dancing. Below is a few links to videos of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8tcKV...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH2z2q...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlkPzQ...
(Then there was Greek dance in "Zorba the Greek"):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh_3xK...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBFJ6b...
(Put on your dancin' shoes!)
4. In "The Five Pennies" with Danny Kaye (1959) there's the beautiful waltz, "Paradise", written by Brown and Clifford:
"...and then he dims the light, da-da,da-da,da-da de dum,
... and then he holds me tight, da-da, da-da da-da de dum... :)
5. At the end of the movie, "Let it Ride", with Richard Dreyfus and Terri Garr, there's an amusing counterpoint of lyrics and melody in the song, "Can Do" from "Guys and Dolls"
See lyrics here:
http://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtr...
6. Good score in movie, "City of Angels", (1998) with Nicholas Cage.
7. I'll never forget Betty Hutton's rendition of "Rumble, Rumble, Rumble" in "Perils of Pauline" (1947).
See the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2hNrm...
WHAT FUN!
8. "Vienna, My City of Dreams" from movie, "Grand Hotel" (I think).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcwU67...
(Richard Tauber sings.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRey9m...
(Richard Tucker sings.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wLBbU...
(Richard Tucker sings.)
I can't get enough of this song!!!
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Well... you get the idea. :)
Music is a real turn-on.
I like this Vienna song too, from Kalman's operetta "The Countess Maritza." Here's a link to a recording by German tenor Fritz Wunderlich (1930 - 1966). My cousin's husband, also a tenor, used to sing it as one of his "party pieces" at family gatherings.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWgsnb...
Margaret wrote: "I like this Vienna song too, from Kalman's operetta "The Countess Maritza." Here's a link to a recording by German tenor Fritz Wunderlich (1930 - 1966). My cousin's husband, also a tenor, used to..."That's beautiful, Margaret. I enjoyed it so much. What a beautiful voice.
When I was a teenager, I used to borrow records and libretto from the library and then go home and try to figure out what the words meant in English. I didn't get very far, but I've always enjoyed arias from popular operas. My favorite opera CD is one with just the melodies, no lyrics to worry about. (g)
I did find a translation of the aria which Wunderlich sang on the YouTube. For what it's worth, the link is below.
http://64.233.169.132/translate_c?hl=...
I went to an online translator and found the meaning of:
"Wenn es Abend wird" (Grüß mir mein Wien)
The translation said:
“If it evening becomes” (greet me my Vienna)
Thanks again for the beautiful song.
I've always enjoyed the background music in Woody Allen's movies. The tunes are the oldies which I love.
Also, in another topic, I wrote the following:
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"I loved the background music in "The Times of Harvey Milk". The music was written by Mark Isham and at times is funereal but not sad; instead it evokes thought about what you're watching. I found that to be an interesting effect and quality. There's no noticeable melody but it's very pleasing and relaxing to listen to."
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Do you recall any outstanding background music in a movie?