The Boy Friend 1971

Its seems to me that there was a love affair in the 1970s with the 1920s and 1930s

with films like Bugsy Malone,The Purple Rose of Cairo, Death on the Nile , Valentino ,Cabaret , Murder on the Orient Express Broadway shows like Chicago , and of course the OG Great Gatsby,

But one of its crowing glories must be Ken Russell's Extravagant and Decedent Spectacular  The Boy Friend' often stylized as "Ken Russells The Boy Friend" This May be one of the Ultimate Play within a Play examples best executed ,

A jolly Romp paying homage to the Busby Berkeley  Musicals of the 30s, caricaturing attitudes of the 20s  Suffering from on the whole from a hangover from the 1960s.

The Boy Friend is a MishMash of creative ideas some of which work fantastically , other which Fall flat to say the least, In any case its certainly worth watching If you like Twiggy , the 20's/30's and Ken Russell's work in general  You will certainly appreciate this film , While the Boy Friend is not really widely known as it should be probably because it hasn't been released on a good quality format until very  recently, and while its not the best musical film in the world , its definitely needs more praise and public application than it has,
The Original Stage version of The Boy Friend written in the 1950s and set in the 1920s just follows Polly brown a nouveau riche English  girl attending a Private seminary in  the French Riviera, unlike all her friends at Madame Dubonnets school for young ladies Polly is the only girl without a Boyfriend ,partly because she is very shy, and mainly because Her father very cautious that all the boys that would want to date her because shes an heiress to millions .
Polly as a result has resorted to telling everyone she has a boyfriend who writes her letters from Paris,(which she forwards herself from Nice ,But as Carnival Time approaches , her little Ruse is endangered of being exposed as she has promised that her 'Boyfriend" would be attending the Carnival ball and as yet she dosnet know any boys let alone have a boyfriend in general .
In the Film version of the show 'The Boy Friend is being performed in a seedy seaside carnival theater as a matinee show somewhere in the south of England , here a third dimension is added to all of the characters from the boyfriend in that is they exist in the real world in the 1920s in England and inhabit their roles  from the Boy Friend of the stage 

Aria 1987

This film follows a similar structure of a live action style of Disney's fantasia 1940 ,   In that it is a live action pastiche  motive of various different pieces of classical music arias from opera giving  their own artistic interpretation by some of the best directors at the light at the time , A few of them funny a lot of them tragic and all of the visually beautiful in every which way .Aria is a  mixed bag with some sequences  not quite as good as others particularly the first segment by  Nicholas Roeg ,but I'm whole most enjoyable ,
 All of the sequences Are linked together by the last segment Il Pagliacci  starring John Hurt  directed by Bill Bryden  each sequence is intercut between  them to give the premise some sort of overall blending , if any .

Directors responsible for the segments such as Robert Altman ,Bruce Beresford ,Jean-Luc Goddard, Derek Jarman ,Ken Russell and music video Star director of the 1980s Julian Temple , this film could've had so much potential particularly if the two segments that was supposed to be directed by Fellini and Woody Allen were included I think we would've been looking at an absolute masterpiece of cinema and art ,  however apart from my own personal bias  it seems to fall a little bit short but you have to watch some of the bad to enjoy the most of the good .
The first segment which I think does the most damage to the piece is Un ballo in  maschera  a fictionalised account of the 1931 assassination attempt at King Zog the 1st of Albania notable for his shooting back at the assassins whist leaving a performance of word of trivia he was actually leaving a performance of Pagliacci  interesting enough ,the director Nicolas Roeg ( The man who fell to earth with David Bowie ) puts his wife at the time to Theresa Russell in a Male drag performance as The aforementioned King Zog  which may have seemed  like a good idea  at the time  that brings absolutly little  else interesting to this historical pantomime ,

Roeg  was primarily a cinematographer for David Lean before venturing into the directors chair, particularly for Dr Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia you can tell his touches on the film especially with the lighting of the Theresa Russells face in the theater box scenes  in much the same way as was beautifully done for Julie Christies in  Zhivago and of Peter O'Tooles in Lawrence of Arabia  The other point of interest is the beautiful inter cutting editing between the assassination attempt scene and the swirling around of the characters dancing  on the stage in the performance which is  expertly done  but aside from these minor points the first segment drags the rest of the film down really and  if it was included shouldn't have   been the shown as the first  offering  in the first place.

 The second segment La Vergine Degli Angeli from The Force of Destiny music by Giuseppe Verdi  features two teenage girls and a small boy who out of boredom and from what I can see parental neglect ,steal a car with dire consequences ,this one is very shortest segments  and certainly one of the most emotionally devastating , directed by Charles Sturridge  as far as I can see it was mostly a theater director ,this is one of the best pieces in the film collective shot in black and white   It is placed well in the film despite the first sequence before it  and serve me as a contrast to what follows .The film has garnered some criticism as I can understand it because of some of the blatant  female  sexualisation , somewhere in the trailer for this film I Believe either Playboy magazine or  hustler Magazine gave it four stars or something to that effect ,so I can quite understand its reputation as a film collective thats Nude for Arts Sake and only fit for SBS television after 11 at night..
This is most particularly the thirs segment Armide music by John Baptiste Lully,
This is directed by Jean-Luc Goddard and is a in a vague retelling of the Operas plot  regarding Christian Knights in a foreign land with  local witches trying to seduce them with magic to pacify and  then destroy them But one witch  feels remorse for them for  not being able to love for themselves and so on....

In This version of events the Knights are Bodybuilders in a Gym with young Nubile girls wearing only a flimsy robe and nothing else! PS the robes stays on for about 5 minutes  or possibly less .
In between the clunking of the Gym equipment you can hear  Lullys music  while naked girls rub the body builders in a almost naive but but curiously perverse fashion,,the girls touch themselves within their robes and strike poses completely nude with physical gestures only to be  found in antiquity and renaissance works of art. The Bodybuilders however seem  to take absolutely  no notice of them or whats going on around them while they are pumping iron,,this almost reminiscent of Jane Russell in Gentleman Prefer Blondes With the Entire Olympic team ignoring her as she struts her stuff by the pool except a little bit more weirdly symbolic  and ridiculously decedent in gratuitous female nudity,
its probably not the best in this collection of the best of Goddards Either but certainly a curiosity
Comes the Forth in the segments that of  Rigoletto, Music by Giuseppe Verdi once again
Unlike the Dramas that have been framed in the previous two Verdi Segments  this one is more along the lines of a traditional farce ,Directed by Julian Temple  (who directed most of the quintessential Music Videos of the 1980s) and Starring National Lampoons Vacation Beverly DeAngelo this follows the amorous paths of a married couple , One a Producer,the other is ex Actress Wife who  go  sneaking out behind each overs backs to have extramarital affairs , little do thy know  unfortunately that both couples will be staying at the same location for their dirty weekend , the Famous Madonna Inn in California , what follows is a series of misadventures, head trauma, drug taking,dancing and getting their freak on, but not necessarily with the person they think they will be ,

I love the  the fact the Producer is 'working on the film' which he is unknowing starring in (ARIA) ,making reference to Fellini and Woody Allen's involvement ,this could be perhaps made with the belief they were committed to  do a film each for Aria and made before the knowledge they had pulled out, but could have been a little jab at them in the film for not being able to contribute.
Its the most Humorous of the segments but the punchline of this could have been a lot better than it was ,just saying.

The Fifth Segment comes from Australian Director Bruce Beresford and features Music from one of  cinemas most beloved Composers Erich Wolfgang Korngold  who along with Max Steiner dominated  Hollywood  in the 30's with sumptuous  scores for films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood,The Sea Hawk,Captain Blood,Kings Row just to name a few...Korngold a contemporary in style at least to Richard Strauss used some of earlier records and inserted them into his latter film compositions such as Robin Hoods famous main title, and the aria featured here is from his venture into opera , The Dead City.

 This segment has a quality of a place literally frozen in time, like say Brigadoon, coming to life every 100 years here two lovers undress and profess their love before lovemaking (yes more nudity) and believe it or not thats  a teenage Elizabeth Hurley underneath tat gold weave and bushy eyebrows .
The combination of the serine  images and music reminiscent of the golden years of Hollywood merged with a Strauss tone poem,  leave u feeling almost guilt for interrupting this beautiful secret world and its inhabitants .
Next on the list of offerings is a more creative interpretation of an aria , at the helm is Robert Altman in recreation of opening night at Paris's Théâtre Le Ranelagh  in 1734. According to the brief blurb at the beginning of the segment  The French aristocracy had bizarre tastes in  forms of entertainment, if your still unsure please check up on The Dangerous Liaisons or the Marques DeSade , The audience of this opening night  is not filled with aristocracy but rather  various  assortment of inmates from an insane asylum. The reaction from these demented souls to the highest form of performance art (at the Time) is priceless entertainment

value to the ruling class, and as a film rather turns voyeurism on its head , The camera follows the motley crew of different characters panning throughout the arches and architraves  of the theater and floats through the various inmates ,and their ghostly powder covered almost cartoon like facades leaving you amused and bemused by what their interpretation of the performance is  , a performance in fact that you never see though , as the camera focuses completely on the audience, their reaction and nothing else , an interesting offering at least with an experienced driver at the wheel

Following this comedy of sorts is one of the ultimate tragedies in Opera and indeed in this film collective , Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde by Richard Wagner,this film erroneously credits  this film as Brigid Fondas (Single White Female , and Henry Fondas Grand Daughter) Film debut , and even if this isn't true it certainly would be been a great start.  This is almost a music video is it artistic structure and the  picture perfect finale for a great love epic that ultimately meets its demise it the grand fashion of even Shakespeare himself

The basic plot follows two young lovers arrive in Las Vegas a portal through life to its ultimate extravagant death. A native american being arrested on the side of the road as they drive past look into their faces and somehow senses the fates of these two souls  After driving down Fremont Street, they check into a cheap hotel room where they  make a passionate ritualistic love that causes a glass to fall to the floor and shatter ultimately becoming  the next great tragic tool in this plot,
 The last shot of the woman walking out of the casino in the morning after a big night closes this segment and leaves you with a great sense of desertion and longing

Les Girls 1957

Not to be Confused with the Infamous Club in Sydney in the late 1960s although they might have taken the name from the Movie ,Les Girls is an Akira Kurosawa 'Rashômon' styled narrative film Directed by George Cukor (My fair Lady,A star is Born,the Philadelphia Story)

that presents the story from three points of view Beginning as a Courtroom drama Sybil (Kay Kendall) a former Burlesque showgirl accuses Angele another Former Showgirl of having an affair with Barry (Gene Kelly), in her current published memoirs whilst Angele who is suing for Liable Damages insists that it was actually Sybil who was having the affair. Finally, Barry gives his side of the story. One of Kellys last Dancing pictures
and showcases the last original work by the great American composer Cole Porter,
One of tis last outings for poor Kay Kendell, She suffered from Leukemia but he Husband Rex Harrison who had left his wife to marry her after he found out from a doctor she had the condition never let her know her time as finite and gave her the last loveing years of her Life, I didnt know much about Leukemia until my Mother died of it in 2014 , its a horrible painful way to die I cant image how  Rex Harrison Back in 1957  kept it from her by saying it was a dietary issue , Now every year around march i do the Worlds greatest Shave and have all my hair cut off , I do it every year now so I always sadly remember this film about that time.
Not Your average style musical by any means ,
its quite entertaining,trying to work out who is telling the truth as there are traces of it to be found if you watch carefully

The Woman in White 1947

Credited as the First Real Mystery Novel and the inspiration for the writing style of Dracula The Woman in white is an Elaborate adaptation of Wilkie Collins' 1800s novel that follows a Penniless drawing instructor Walter Hartwright ( Gig Young who won an oscar much later for 'they shoot horses dont they') falls in love with one of his students beautiful Laura Fairlie (a luminous Eleanor Parker the Countess from the sound of music) who is already promised to evil Sir Percival Glyde (John Emery)

. Marion Holcombe (a gorgeous Alexis Smith  a Lesbian Glamorzon who is in the closet by all accounts but seems to be visually and authentically  offended by Gigs Advances) helps Laura while slimy Count Fosco (Sydney Greenstreet' Casablanca/ Maltese Falcon) helps Glyde. And who is that mysterious woman in white that appears and disappears so rapidly?
Its got some weird Gothic appeal and some great suspense,that is smothered in a Max Stiener Score which is almost impossible to find a good clear quality of sadly  , as well as sporting a pre Nancy drew character in Marion.
 its been adapted into a full blown as somewhat unsuccessful stage show by Andrew Lloyd Webber and has been adapted for television in the 1980s with one of Edith Heads Last Costume design Credits. if 1940s Victorian Gothic of Dr Jekyll and the Spiral Staircase  does it for you this may also enjoy this rare mystery.

Rebecca 1940

Hitchcocks first American Film flooded with Lesbian Subtext and Gothic Noir Still troubled by the death of his first wife Rebecca,(Laurence Olivier r) falls in love with a shy introvert (Joan Fontaine "Suspicion").

They get married, but the second Mrs. de Winter discovers that Rebecca still has a strong hold on everyone in the house, particularly on Mrs. Denvers, the housekeeper, who begins driving the young wife to madness.

Rebecca Is Never seen in this film not even in a but she takes up a great chunk of it , who is this Bisexual human soul cannibal who still casts shadows on all who have lived around her and do you need to kill the living to destroy the dead?

Ricki and the Flash 2015

When i Saw ths film advertised i upon little research thought it to be only about an aging Stevie Nicks styled Rock Goddess whos career was on the slide coming back to her old home to help her wayward daughter through a mental collapse, thinking this an extremely unlikely scenario i just held onto the fact that Meryl Streep could turn any sows ear into a silk purse, upon revelation that the Character was in fact from a second rate cover band that had an album released way back when the concept began to have a little sense of gravitas at least, Ricki Rendazzo and as Linda (Meryl Streep) is the lead singer in her eponymous band 'Ricki and The Flash'.She and her group nightly regale customers with versions of songs (beautiful performed by Meryl must say) songs old and new (watch the version of Gaga's bad Romance it will have you Gagging with delight) she lives that existence that most parents hope their teenage children will soon grow out of and not continue into their third trimester of life,but Ricki at least seems to be happy in this gypsy life with on/off FWB bassets Greg (Australian actor Rick Springfield), the casting choice of which im not entirely convinced on ,Kris Krisofferson would have been a much better option,

Out of the Blue she is contacted by her Husband Pete (Kevin Kline, wasted in this role)who has some good moments but Somehow i wished he could have brought his crazy to the table (eg Wanda,).Pete contacts Ricki out of Desperation as their Daughter Julie (Mamie Gummer Meryls own daughter in real life ) is experiencing a total mental breakdown after unexpectedly her left her only after a short lived marriage,Mamie Gummer brings her acting chops to the table but as Katherine Hepburn once said about her mother Meryl as an actress 'you can see all the gears turning' meaning the sense of desperation and fire could have been a little but more restrained.
These events lead to some interesting scenes in the movie earlier on, particularly the group dinner with her children she hasn't meet in over 20 years particularly her Gay son Adam (Nick Westrate , Mildred Pierce tv series) ,who is every inch of the word an Addison Dewitt short of an 'All About Eve'.
All the good Character development must be said to exist up until sadly the middle of the film where things go array slightly lets just say.
The bottom of the film falls out halfway through the picture in between the return from her ex husbands house and the prolonged musical scenes which seem to be purely filler and only enjoyable due to Meryls performance. of Ricki playing with her group. There seems to be a great disappointment that Rickis Daughter Julies absence in the bridge of the film does a lot of damage to her and Rickis characters eventual return , one could argue that Ricki absence up until this point as a parent would not especially make a difference to the character development , But when she does return for a wedding (strangely coming down the isle long after the bride ) Rickis prompting of her to continue seems just a little weak , this is greatly underlined as this is well into the better half towards the end of the film .
But the scenes that following and the conclusion are satisfying if not a little expected , but this is the ending you are really secretly rooting for .
On the whole see the film for Meryl and Mamie, they work very well together and I can only hope for great things in her future , worth noting also is the confrontation scene between Ricki and Petes current wife Maureen (Broadway Star Audra McDonald) who really lets Ricki have it and good for her ,anyone who can steal a scene from Meryl deserves all the credit they can get .
Also Cameos are Great to say the Least, from Rupauls Drag Race Alumni ,Trans community Giant, and Supermodel Carmen Carrera ,Americas most sort after session musician Rick Rosas and drummer Joe Vitale all worth Noting .I was disappointed mainly by the middle of this film which gets saved by the performance by Meryl, after watch her back to back , Hearing her as Julia Child, and then as Ricki , two completely different sides of the Piano altogether, she could be mistaken for Patti of Selma , Marge Simpsons Sisters ,
Ricki lived away from her Family to really live to be the person who she believed she was, without compromise at the cost of perhaps her family ,should we judge her as this film should be judged for its faults?
Ill let you be the judge .

A Star is Born 1954

Hello, everybody. This is Mrs. Norman Maine."


As in most of the opening sequences of George Cukoors films ,
the opening scene , whilst seeming meaningless gives a clue to the plot and its outcome ,this film is no exception showing a grand opening night in Hollywood where One Spotlight short circuits and becomes extinguished and another Spotlight being suddenly turning on,

This is the premise of a Star is Born.

.
At an annual Hollywood Charity Event ,Norman Maine (James Mason) a Slipping Alist Actor with a percent for drinking at any time of the day for any reason at all , is so completely intoxicated they his minders are trying desperately to delay or defer him from appearing on stage in his embarrassing current state,as a result Esther Blodget (Judy Garland in the performance of her life) and her group of travelling musicians go on earlier to perform the routine,Norman Maines Minders cannot contain him or his wandering hands,any further seeing him coming from the sidelines Ester tries to stop him from coming on the stage by trying to corner him in the wings , but the spotlight hits them and to the surprise of the greater assembled company Norman Maine appears on Stage grasping a flustered Ester after being slapped in the face by him.this their first meeting ,

The concept of making a star is born a musical film as it was later with Barbra Streisand seems easy enough but when presented by the notion that Norman Maine, a Gary Cooper styled actor would know anything about music or singers and be able to give Ester the assurance to continue ,maybe its the performers or the Chemistry but it just works , and it works marvelously
Although it was intended as a vehicle for Judy Garland, you don't need to be a big Garland fan to enjoy it. It's seems more tragic than the '37 version (apart from Frederic March's and Janet Gaynors brilliant performance) because you can see Judy Garland is actually a star, its almost semi autobiographical is some scenes particularly the makeover scene which given Garlands treatment at MGM when she as a Child seems so cruel , needlessly heartless ,and clinical , it makes it seem almost chilling to watch .Her unnecessary guilt at husband Normans dying career and personal collapse is so poignant and heart wrenching it bars repeating the question why oh WHY did Grace Kelly Win the Oscar and Not Judy?.
James Mason expertly portrays Norman's struggle to be happy for his wife when his own career and life has hit rock bottom. the roots of which stem from actual sources such as Wallace Reed a silent movie Michael Fassbinder who after a accident on the set of 'The Land of Giants' and time constraints set up by shareholders and producers induced him to regular doses of morphine to complete the film without delays due to his injuries and constant pain,this lead to his addiction and subsequent death, The story is inherently tragic because it's so true but these two stars really add something that not only makes this work as a musical but as a dramatic testament to the trials and tribulations of creative people struggling for a personal life under the Hollywood Studio Machine .