The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
For those of you who've had the pleasure of seeing Stephen Sondheim's classic Into the Woods (1986) on stage, you know that, like most of the great composer's once-prolific oeuvre, it is very particularly a Work of Theater. Some artists' skill sets transfer easily between stage, screen, television and literature and so on but others do not. Certain geniuses are so tied to a particular medium they become it; Stephen Sondheim IS Musical Theater.
But musical theater is different from musical cinema. Naturally compromises will have to be made. The person doing the new compromising is Rob Marshall who Hollywood is still giving the musicals to, presumably because of the huge success of Chicago (2002) and not the floppery of Nine (2009). So yes, compromises must be made... but they do not have to be made in casting. Many star actors -- if you're forced to cast that way -- have great singing voices. Les Misérables may have botched its casting of Javert (Ugh. Russell Crowe) but elsewhere Tom Hooper seemed to understand that beautiful melodic musical-friendly trained voices were required and could be found in big stars (Hathaway, Hackman, Seyfried) and rising ones (Tveit & Redmayne) and he cast accordingly... except for that bit about letting Helena Bonham-Carter "sing" again post-Sweeney Todd.
Unfortunately Hollywood loves to repeat its mistakes and somehow Sweeney Todd did NOT result in Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter being lifetime banned from future musicals ...
I have a confession to make. I only selected A Star is Born (1954) for this week's edition of 'Best Shot' as an excuse to talk about one of the all-time greatest movie scenes. I'm talking All Time All Time. The scene is the shot and the shot is the scene and the scene justifies the whole movie's title... although it might be more accurately titled A Star is Reborn. I can't let it stop me that several people have already chosen it as their Preferred Shot though this will have the unfortunate effect of making a quite extraordinary whole movie look a little front-heavy since The Scene comes very early in the film.
Take it honey. Take it from the top...
And so she does, glancing over sheet music, humming the melodic line, and easing herself into her spotlight as the mood sweeps over her. She then unleashes one of the great Garland performances, which keeps shifting incandescendantly between three separate modes: tossed off AM rehearsal goof with the boys, fully detailed showmanship of a PERFORMANCE to come, and internal musical reverie. Judy Garland is giving three spectacular performances at once all of them bleeding into each other organically in this one continuous shot. It wouldn't be half as moving or incredible if George Cukor had broken it up into little bits.
But who needs to jazz up a scene with different camera angles when "The World's Greatest Entertainer" is giving you so many character angles already?
The night is bitter. The stars have lost their glitter. The winds grow colder. Suddenly you're older. And all because of the man that got away.
No more his eager call, the writing's on the wall. The dreams you dreamed have all gone astray. The man that won you, has run off and undone you. That great beginning has seen a final inning. Don't know what happened. It's all a crazy game!
Coupled with the very smart screenplay, which aptly describes this very performance immediately afterwards as filled with "little jabs of pleasure" and George Cukor's astute understanding of what to do with Cinemascope (the mise-en-scène throughout the movie is A+), it's a performance for the ages. Garland's emotionally intricate performance (her best ever as she's just as good in the "book" scenes) is, if you stop to really consider what's happening in the frame, explicitly choreographed in every way possible to provide this bracing cocktail of performance, rehearsal, improv, and narrative while also hitting so many marks which work with very smart choices in Art Direction and Cinematography. Consider, for instance, that the dominant color in this scene is red which was also used to character Norman Maine's drunken madness in the film's opening scene but here the red is suddenly warm and cozy rather than garish and unnerving.
That this shot/scene feels so genuine, spontaneous, and possible rather than like a set piece engineered to mechanical perfection is one of the great miracles of Hollywood Showmanship. The crazy part is this: the movie's just begun! Big glitzy awesome musical numbers for Garland are still ahead of us and Vicki Lester hasn't even been "Born" yet but no matter; Judy Garland came roaring back to life right here.
Quite unfortunately just as this killer scene hooks you into the film for the long haul -- and it is a long haul as running times go though the movie is gripping -- it stops looking like a movie and starts looking suspiciously like film stills. I didn't even know it was National Preservation Week when I selected this film for this date in the series. Let's call it a happy accident and thank film preservations everywhere for their efforts. A Star is Born was notoriously butchered during release when the studio suddenly decided they wanted a tighter running time and started chopping scenes. So the movie that Oscar voters screened and voted for (six noiminations but absurdly shut out of Picture & Director) was not the version that many Americans saw in late 1954 and early 1955 as it made its way around the country. The version that's most readily available now is this Frankenstein version which tries to stitch in the missing scenes where they would have appeared in the film.
Esther Blodgett becomes Vicki Lester, contract player. They don't want to see her face!
On one level it's thrilling that these shards of old scenes are there since the movie itself is so wise and "deliciously sarcastic" (thanks, Vince) about The Hollywood Machine in all of its devouring glory. But I think the reason that A Star is Born is so enduring -- and I swear it improves on each viewing it's so sophisticated -- is that it combines this biting wit with genuine empathy for the Willing Human Casualties of that machine.
On the other level, these half-scenes distract me from the pleasure of the picture and I'd almost rather watch the compromised version that survived. A Star is Born tries to make peace with its own compromises in the Maine marriage, very movingly. On this particular viewing I was quite struck by two bookend shots from Esther's Vicki makeover.
If I can't have the whole "Man That Got Away" shot, I'll take this second one as my best shot
In this first shot, Norman is forcing Esther to wash off the horrible studio mandated makeup but she objects already convinced that she has an "awful face" and "no chin". Norman only objects to the first comment and Esther finally laughs aloud at his aggressive but supportive commands. In the second shot, Norman is still controlling her but he's unearthed her natural beauty and "extra something" that stars have and has forced her to see her it. Maine's occassionally violent always controlling Svengali instincts are maddening but the complexity and tragedy of the marital drama in A Star is Born is that "Esther Blodgett" has always needed his heavy hand to finally realize her inner "Vicki Lester" and she may be truly lost without him. By the movie's end she's abandoned both women in favor of "Mrs. Norman Maine."
NEXT: DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) on May 1st
Nine Stars Waiting For Their Big Break... She Blogged By Night on Norman Maine... "like a child with a blow torch" We Recycle Movies "How A Star is Born Changed My Life" Film Actually gets uncomfortably privy to Norman Maine's headspace Cinesnatch Vicki Lester Steals a Moment Antagony & Ecstacy on the Judy Garland Meta Narrative (and more) Amiresque shares four vivid memories of this picture Dancin' Dan a master class in how to shoot a musical sequence Alison Tooey sees a good sense of distance between the characters The Film's The Thing looks at ALL THREE film versions. Overachiever! ...or see all the choices Sequentially
Glenn here, one of the few remaing Smashites who will be with this dear show until the bitter end. I'm not going to mince words here: "Opening Night" was the best episode of the season so far. This is for a multitude of reasons that we'll get in to briefly, but mostly it's because "Hit List" barely factored. And when it did it was in the shadow of "Bombshell", the musical gets hailed the hit of the season. Too bad they didn't get that "love letter from The Times" that Liza so beautifully sang about a couple of weeks back.
2.12 "Opening Night"
This week is "Bombshell" heavy as opening night occurs and all the anticipation and exhiliration and drama and disappointment that comes with it. This is a good thing, folks, and "Hit List" thankfully takes a sidestep (although the show's writers can't help but force it upon Smash even when there are far more important things to be worrying about).
Ivy is naturally worried about the reviews... [more]
We're getting to know the Film Experience community. Today we're talking to Joey from Pittsburgh. He's currently performing in Godspell on stage. If you're in Pittsburgh there's two more shows this weekend.
When did you start reading The Film Experience?
Around the time that Far From Heaven was released in theaters. I was realizing that Julianne Moore was my favorite actress, so your blog was mecca when I was in college. I love the site because it doesn't just celebrate movies, but it helped me realize that movies can be bad with something great in them (and vice versa).
What's your earliest movie memory? JOEY: The earliest memory I have is when my Dad took me to go see Beauty and the Beast. I remember playing around outside, and he asked if I wanted to go. I didn't actually answer his question, because I got so excited and just got into the back seat of the car and buckled myself in. The music floored me, and I wanted all of the household objects in my house to come to life.
What's your moviegoing diet like in a year?
JOEY: I see more movies in theaters than I do on demand or RedBox. My dad and I would always go on Saturdays and see at least two (the day we saw Gangs of New York, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and Two Weeks Notice was a long day) When I worked at a movie theater, we had a competition to see who could see the most movies in the theater, and I was always the biggest bitch and killed everyone else. When I was really trying to see everything just to see everything I saw 191. It's calmed down considerably, but I will see anything.
What's the last movie you watched?
Stoker. I never want to have Park Chan-wook direct the story of my life, because it was just be so terrifying. It would be gorgeous and edited nicely, but it would scare the crap out of me. Also, I didn't realize how well Nicole Kidman was aging until I saw it. I kept leaning over to my friend and whispering compliments to her, "She's gorgeous...I love her hair...she's soooo beautiful..."
La Pfeiffer was so robbed in 2002Take an Oscar away from someone. Give it to someone else.
Can I give a nomination away instead? Take Queen Latifah's nomination from Chicago and give it to Michelle Pfeiffer for White Oleander. Pfeiffer was running circles around everyone else, and she could freeze me with that icy stare any day. I get stupidly angry over a lot of Oscar winners, so if I had to pick an actual winner, I would take away Jennifer Lawrence's and give it to Emmanuelle Riva. I mean...COME...ON!!!
I understand you love musicals and you're a singer/actor. What are your favorites or favorite roles.
Sweeney Todd because, well, it's Sweeney Todd. I've had the pleasure of playing both Tobias and, more recently, Anthony. It lead to two completely different experiences, and I treasure them both. I have three dream roles at the moment (they change every time my iPod changes). I want to be Gabe in Next to Normal, because that show DESTROYS me every time I listen to it. I need to hit the gym before I even consider auditioning for it. Gordo in A New Brain is something I have wanted to play for years, but no one ever does it. I also want to be Jamie in The Last Five Years someday. His songs are so great, but his last one (where you find out he was unfaithful) is my favorite because it shatters his likability right then and there. I can imagine that is just a treat for actors to play.
Godspell commercial with Joey in the cast / NPH doing Sweeney Todd's "Tobias" role in concert
When I was a theater student in college, I was always told I could a lot with my voice, but I am really short and I look like a child. It's a weird dynamic, I guess.
I also love The Wild Party. Both versions.
There should be a movie! The Wild Party (LaChiusa version) is the only imaginary movie I ever obsessed over directing even though I'm not a director. But I interrupted you. One more favorite?
Moulin Rouge! because I'm human and that movie makes me openly weep. I could be at the most professional event of my life and if someone says "Satine dies at the end" I would just ugly cry the entire way home.
Tim Brayton here again. With the cinephile world still reeling from the passing of irreplaceable film critic Roger Ebert a few days before, and The Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher’s death the same day sucking up every available scrap of oxygen in the news cycle, the loss of Annette Funicello on 4 April to the MS that had forced her into retirement over two decades ago was generally reported as a sort of afterthought. A sad thing, but not remotely surprising, and not of particular importance in the grand scheme of things.
While it is true that Funicello’s death doesn’t represent the end of an epoch in quite the same as Ebert’s, it’s still worth stopping and reflecting on her career and what it represents.
Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 1:00PM 
For those of you who've had the pleasure of seeing Stephen Sondheim's classic Into the Woods (1986) on stage, you know that, like most of the great composer's once-prolific oeuvre, it is very particularly a Work of Theater. Some artists' skill sets transfer easily between stage, screen, television and literature and so on but others do not. Certain geniuses are so tied to a particular medium they become it; Stephen Sondheim IS Musical Theater. 
