I Just Watched...

[Lorna]

I just dug out the DVD to check a thing or two. I honestly think that the intermission of the orchestra leaving and then returning was not on the VHS release. It's certainly an odd little bit, especially with the title of the film being flashed on the screen in the middle of it (which they didn't do at the start of the film). Also, how did this get the Production Code seal? If you look near the end of Bald Mountain, two winged nude female figures (only partially looking human) flit by the camera, with split-second close ups, of , I kid you not, hot pink and red animated nipples. I didn't think that the Hayes code would have allowed that usually in 1940.

it's not just that scene in BALD MOUNTAIN, when THE FAIRIES sparkle the webs and flowers with dew to THE NUTCRACKER SUITE there are numerous nipple shots. i was surprised.

there's a good documentary about FANTASIA that is maybe on the DVD and is def on youtube, they went into detail about the release and mentioned how complicated it was, and then they mentioned that for the GENERAL RELEASE version (non-roadshow) that RKO cut all the between-scenes narration and the opening TOCCATTA IN FUGUE number, to both of which I said "good!" out loud to no one in particular.

also, while i don't think there are nipples in the CENTAURS AND CHERUBS scene, I will reiterate how WEIRD it is, and while i'm not posting them here, it's worth searching the removed racist bits on youtube because MAN they are TERRIBLE (and their original presence did a lot to undercut the film's "high art" patina)

[Lorna]

you've made me recall two points I had wanted to make in re: FANTASIA (1941)

1. DISNEY apparently talked smack about THE FLEISCHER BROS. and their animation style, but quite a few scenes during the CREATION OF THE EARTH sequence really brought FLEISCHER AND CO. to mind.

2. I guess at the time the opening TOCCATA AND FUGUE NUMBER was A BIG DEAL (although I'm willing to bet some were bored by it on first release,) but now it has just been rendered really unimpressive by technology- it's basically watching a less exciting than average SCREEN SAVER and it just GRINDS THE OPENING OF THE FILM TO A HALT. Also, TOCCATA AND FUGUE needs to be done PHANTOM OF THE OPERA-style on A PIPE ORGAN, preferably in A GOTHIC CATHEDRAL or THE CELLARS below LE'PALACE D'OPERA

[txfilmfan]

I have John Culhane's book on Fantasia. Each section is described in great detail, including the backstory on the development of each. The Pastoral Symphony sequence is the one with the centaurs. The original concept art was topless, and the faces were supposed to be more realistic or more like classical Greek or Roman statues. They became (degenerated into, is how Culhane describes it) what the Disney artists called (and still call) Freddie Moore girls. Culhane states that the centaurs are the film's nadir. Moore was an artist at Disney, and he had worked on previous features there before Fantasia. Apparently he liked drawing nymphettes. A lot. If you recall the mermaids in Peter Pan, those were Freddie Moore's creation.

[Lorna]

I have John Culhane's book on Fantasia. Each section is described in great detail, including the backstory on the development of each. The Pastoral Symphony sequence is the one with the centaurs. The original concept art was topless, and the faces were supposed to be more realistic or more like classical Greek or Roman statues. They became (degenerated into, is how Culhane describes it) what the Disney artists called (and still call) Freddie Moore girls. Culhane states that the centaurs are the films nadir. Moore was an artist at Disney, and he had worked on previous features there before Fantasia. Apparently he liked drawing nymphettes. A lot. If you recall the mermaids in Peter Pan, those were Freddie Moore's creation.

AAAAAH! That explains a lot, actually thank you!

One other thing I found problematic in the PASTORAL SYMPHONY SEGMENT was how all the variously colored CENTAURS and CENTAURETTES paired off EXCLUSIVELY with a mate of their corresponding body/hair color- the red with the red, the blue with the blue, the green with the green, the purple with the purple- damned if GOLDEN ERA DISNEY didn't have a DOWNRIGHT QUEER OBSESSION WITH COLOR and COLOR-CODING.

Like, i have to wonder if the BRIGHT YELLOW CENTAUR decided that he wanted to be with the GREEN CENTAURETTE whether or not they'd have CENTAUR DR. JOSEPH MENGELE come in for a consultation dissuading them.

[Allhallowsday]

MARATHON MAN (1976) Essen!!

[Detective Jim McLeod]

The Sandpiper (1965) TCM On Demand-4/10

A free spirited single mother (Elizabeth Taylor) has an affair with a married clergyman (Richard Burton).

This was a mostly tedious soap opera with some lush scenery of Big Sur and a beautiful music score (has the Oscar winning song "The Shadow Of Your Smile"). It was a big box office hit in it's day, due to the popular tabloid story of Taylor and Burton. They both seem bored with the roles, which I expect they accepted due to the huge paychecks. Liz has some nice sexy curves in this one.

[CinemaInternational]

The Sandpiper (1965) TCM On Demand-4/10

A free spirited single mother (Elizabeth Taylor) has an affair with a married clergyman (Richard Burton).

This was a mostly tedious soap opera with some lush scenery of Big Sur and a beautiful music score (has the Oscar winning song "The Shadow Of Your Smile"). It was a big box office hit in it's day, due to the popular tabloid story of Taylor and Burton. They both seem bored with the roles, which I expect they accepted due to the huge paychecks. Liz has some nice sexy curves in this one.

Yes, I have to agree, The Sandpiper is a deeply ponderous and tedious film. Nice photography, memorable song, good performance from Eva Marie Saint as the wronged wife, but the script by Dalton Trumbo is extremely lacking, and director Vincente Minnelli barely seems interested in any aspect of the story. It's one of the rare major-studio A-list films prior to 1967 that I would flat-out call a bad film.

[txfilmfan]

The Sandpiper (1965) TCM On Demand-4/10

A free spirited single mother (Elizabeth Taylor) has an affair with a married clergyman (Richard Burton).

This was a mostly tedious soap opera with some lush scenery of Big Sur and a beautiful music score (has the Oscar winning song "The Shadow Of Your Smile"). It was a big box office hit in it's day, due to the popular tabloid story of Taylor and Burton. They both seem bored with the roles, which I expect they accepted due to the huge paychecks. Liz has some nice sexy curves in this one.

Yes, I have to agree, The Sandpiper is a deeply ponderous and tedious film. Nice photography, memorable song, good performance from Eva Marie Saint as the wronged wife, but the script by Dalton Trumbo is extremely lacking, and director Vincente Minnelli barely seems interested in any aspect of the story. It's one of the rare major-studio A-list films prior to 1967 that I would flat-out call a bad film.

What doesn't work for me is that Liz never looks like the 1960s Big Sur Earth Mother artist she's supposed to be. Maybe it's just me stereotyping, but she looks like a Rodeo Drive version of a 60s hippie artist. That, and the thing is boring as hell. I've never made it through it without falling asleep, and I've tried many times.

[Lorna]

The Sandpiper (1965) TCM On Demand-4/10

This was a mostly tedious soap opera with some lush scenery of Big Sur and a beautiful music score (has the Oscar winning song "The Shadow Of Your Smile"). It was a big box office hit in it's day, due to the popular tabloid story of Taylor and Burton. .

Yes, I have to agree, The Sandpiper is a deeply ponderous and tedious film. Nice photography, memorable song, good performance from Eva Marie Saint as the wronged wife, but the script by Dalton Trumbo is extremely lacking, and director Vincente Minnelli barely seems interested in any aspect of the story. It's one of the rare major-studio A-list films prior to 1967 that I would flat-out call a bad film.

What doesn't work for me is that Liz never looks like the 1960s Big Sur Earth Mother artist she's supposed to be. Maybe it's just me stereotyping, but she looks like a Rodeo Drive version of a 60s hippie artist. That, and the thing is boring as hell. I've never made it through it without falling asleep, and I've tried many times.

it's funny how something that WAS "THE MOMENT" many years ago- like, DOMINATED the culture at the time in a way we don't see anymore thanks to internet and streaming- is, in retrospect, SO BORING. As much as I miss having those in the 21st century, it's curious how few films that became POPULAR ON THAT LEVEL are any good at all.

BIG SUR EARTH MOTHER would be AN AWESOME BAND NAME.

[Lorna]

i am happy to report that SEASONS 1-6 OF A LITTLE SHOW CALLED "MURDER, SHE WROTE" are presently on AMAZON PRIME.

Watched the ONE WHERE SHE VISITS YE OLDE ITALIAN STEREOTYPE SONOMA WINERY OWNED BY ELI WALLACH last night. I had forgotten that the ending is pretty clever.

[Swithin]

Watched the ONE WHERE SHE VISITS YE OLDE ITALIAN STEREOTYPE SONOMA WINERY OWNED BY ELI WALLACH last night. I had forgotten that the ending is pretty clever.

Thanks for that information, I'd love to see that episode. I worked with Eli and knew him very well. I pass his apartment building every day.

Earlier in his career, Eli played an Italian. He was the original Alvaro Mangiacavallo in The Rose Tattoo on Broadway (1951), winning a Tony Award for his performance. (Burt Lancaster played the role on film.) Maureen Stapleton played Serafina in the original Broadway production.

[Lorna]

Watched the ONE WHERE SHE VISITS YE OLDE ITALIAN STEREOTYPE SONOMA WINERY OWNED BY ELI WALLACH last night. I had forgotten that the ending is pretty clever.

Thanks for that information, I'd love to see that episode. I worked with Eli and knew him very well. I pass his apartment building every day.

Earlier in his career, Eli played an Italian. He was the original Alvaro Mangiacavallo in The Rose Tattoo on Broadway (1951), winning a Tony Award for his performance. (Burt Lancaster played the role on film.) Maureen Stapleton played Serafina in the original Broadway production.

Even though the material isn't exactly top shelf, WALLACH gives 110% as always- he really seemed to relish doing an accent (I also recall his MR FREEZE on BATMAN) and he has a great scene at the end- he and BRUCE DERN are two MURDER SHE WROTE guest stars who actually put some effort into their parts instead of going on autopilot or doing camp.

[CinemaInternational]

I guess not all classic era films will hit the mark, but it's strange that two in a row didn't work for me.

Angel on My Shoulder (1946) is a blending of Faust and Here Comes Mr. Jordan, with Paul Muni as a gangster sent to hell but reincarnated as a judge by the devil, played by Claude Rains (who had been an angel in the earlier film). Then of course, later on Muni wants to get out of the bargain after falling for Anne Baxter. I didn't feel fully comfortable with the plotline, and I also found the treatment to be on the dry side, but I see others like it much more.

Broadway Rhythm (1944) is one of the lesser MGM musicals. I think its main problem has to deal with the fact that lead Ginny Simms, while pert and upbeat, does not radiate big movie star charisma. Another issue is that the film runs close to two hours, and is on the poky side. However, it does have nice early Technicolor and ena Horne gets to sing two numbers, so that's something.

On a more felicitious note, I started looking at Barbra Streisand 's autobiography, which is almost as big as a doorstop at 969 pages, but it is extremely interesting and every word radiates her unmistakable spirit. The book interweaves her work with singing, film work, the stage, politics, and her personal life. I admit that I find the material relating to films to be the most interesting, but its a well handled book.

[CinemaInternational]

i am happy to report that SEASONS 1-6 OF A LITTLE SHOW CALLED "MURDER, SHE WROTE" are presently on AMAZON PRIME.

Watched the ONE WHERE SHE VISITS YE OLDE ITALIAN STEREOTYPE SONOMA WINERY OWNED BY ELI WALLACH last night. I had forgotten that the ending is pretty clever.

Yes, I just found it on there the other day. It's nice that Murder, She Wrote is on Prime now, at least the first half (which is the better half, although I quite like season

It seems like some of those services are finally stepping up their game on 80s/90s series....Moonlighting hit Hulu in October, and LA Law and now Northern Exposure are almost in full on Amazon....

[Lorna]

Yes, I just found [murder she wrote] on there [meaning AMAZON PRIME] the other day.

WHY WAS I NOT INFORMED?????!!!!!!!!!!!!

(j/k)
(sorta- you know me and MsW)