South Pacific is, again, Rodgers & Hammerstein. It is sort of based on a book (but not really). There is a fairly well-known 1958 film. In 2006, Carnegie Hall produced South Pacific in Concert which uses the same presentation style as the PBS Les Miserables production and stars Reba McEntire and Brian Stokes Mitchell.
My Fair Lady is Lerner & Loewe, starring Audrey Hepburn's body and Marni Nixon's voice (the stage production starred Julie Andrews). Oh, yeah, and Rex Harrison (not to mention an incredibly young Jeremy Brett). It is based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, which is based on a Greek myth.
Mike and Kate didn't (re)watch all of these films although all will be mentioned!
KATE SAYS I rewatched Sound of Music for this review. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the recent The Sound of Music Sing-a-Long event at Portland's Merrill Auditorium. Apparently, it was a hoot! People sang the songs, dressed up in costume (apparently, one man dressed up as a "'Re' of sunshine") and generally had a rollicking good time.
It's a rollicking good movie!
The stage musical is also a lot of fun, but it doesn't have the, well, scenery for one thing (WOW!) or Julie Andrews for another. Julie Andrews is mind-bogglingly magnificent in the film. There is something intrinsically fine and upstanding about Julie Andrews. I can see why she was replaced by the elfin Audrey Hepburn for My Fair Lady. But as the outspoken Maria who can handle seven children, Nazis, and Christopher Plummer, she is more than up to the task. The one flaw is that no one else in the film is even close to being as powerful a singer as Andrews. But then, she carries most of the numbers anyway.
South Pacific deals with the singing problem by having the strengths of the singers also match their characters. The refined and wealthy Emile de Becque is played by Broadway-trained Brian Stokes Mitchell whose baritone will make you melt. (Seriously, the guy puts Gordon MacRae to shame.)
On the other hand, the small-town chick is played by Reba McEntire whose country-trained voice can reach the back-rows, no problem (this isn't always true of popular singers, who often come off as kind of tinny on the big stage). The thing I like best about Reba is her sheer exurberance. The concert is fun to watch because she is so darn fun to watch. She obviously had a good time doing the concert, which I appreciate. (I saw Les Mis in London when it was still in its 10-year run and frankly, it was kind of dull--spectacle doesn't do it for me if the actors are bored.)
I actually performed in a high school production of My Fair Lady: I was Freddy's mom. It isn't one of my favorite musicals. I like it the way I like almost all chocolate--it is a good example of its kind. Audrey Hepburn is perfectly cast. Rex Harrison is good. Jeremy Brett is adorable. The Ascot scene is hilarious. Etc. Etc. Etc. But as I've gotten older, the Pygmalion tale has paled on me a tad. Bernard Shaw's play version is more accurate to human nature--he has Eliza marry Freddy while still trying to micro-manage Henry Higgins--but the whole thing is sort of depressing. On the one hand, as Shaw pointed out, being poor is absolutely no fun. On the other hand, middle-class English society in the early twentieth century is not my idea of a satisfying, non-stulifying life.
South Pacific in Concert is a hoot because the actors are so buzzed energy-wise. But in general, the story isn't one of my favorites. I don't automatically have a problem with being messaged to death through music, but I do demand more plot.
So my award for best happy musical as film goes to The Sound of Music. The thing I noticed this time around is how smitten the captain is by Maria from the get-go. Christopher Plummer really does a great job portraying a man whose worldly charm (that he uses around the countess) is really just a veneer for a guy who is at heart a family man with a taste for mountains over cities. Maria is not only his soul-mate; she will be able to support his principles and manage his rather intense nature. Good stuff!
MIKE SAYS As a parent, finding time to watch a three hour musical that isn't animated is something of a chore. While it helps to have a one year old that enjoys musicals (see video), 9 hours or more of classic musical in a single week is pushing it.
The Sound of Music is a film I've known my whole life, and seen countless times. The film has permeated international society, as evidenced by this flash mob in Germany. And the greatest thing is that the film totally deserves it. Between Julie Andrews, the amazing music of Rogers and Hammerstien, and a satisfying story, the movie succeeds on almost every level.
The music still blows me away, as does the fact that nearly every number is memorable and wonderful, which is fantastic, as there's usually always one number in a musical I can't stand. If I had to choose a least favorite number from SOM, it would be the signature number itself, "The Hills are Alive," which I still adore . . . Just not as much as the other songs.
The story of the film definitely takes its time, as with most musicals. In fact, I've decided that the length of most musicals is based on the fact the the numbers don't really advance the plot; as such they drop the numbers into an average length film. The Sound of Music isn't an exception to this, as the numbers don't advance the story, but rather dwell in the moment. Despite this, every ounce of emotion the viewer feels toward the characters is built through the numbers. The pacing of the film helps with this, especially in following the love story before moving on to the more serious war drama.
My Fair Lady is a film far more aimed at the English lover than the history buff, and has a heavier air of Hollywood to it than Music. While Music went the distance with locations, Lady makes use of the extensive sets and backlots that Hollywood is known for.
The music of Lady is far more fun and sarcastic than Music, but this is as how it should be, as My Fair Lady is far more jovial and comical than the far more serious Music. Despite this, I don't enjoy it quite as much. While the acting is wonderful, and the film is fun and amusing in its satire of society, the music lacks the emotional punch of that Julie Andrews brings so efficiently.
Where The Sound of Music really earns its length, My Fair Lady revels in it and seems to drag it out as long as it can. As such, I felt no guilt as I fast forwarded through the odd slow scene.
Bith films are wonderfully made, and are classic musicals in form and function. But in the end, I think I can see why The Sound Of Music and its soundtrack have endured in modern memory, while My Fair Lady has become a tad more obscure. In the end, the power and strength of the musical numbers is what brings people back. While fun, "The Rain in Spain" will never compare to the "Doe-Ray-Me," which is far more fun to sing in the shower.
2 comments:
So if Xander grows up to be tap-dancing Donald O'Connor, you'll know why!
I know! Lanae says I'm a bit early to be looking for tap dance instructors, though. Ah well.
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