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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 12, 2016 9:42:03 GMT
So, the Babs thread in General got me to thinking about A Chorus Line and how much I like that film even though I think it got panned by the critics at the time. Even the dreadful casting of Cassie and her highly distracting lopsided bubble perm will not put me off it.
What at are your favourites? Good and bad, and guilty pleasures!
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Post by mallardo on Jun 12, 2016 9:49:11 GMT
Best ever for me is Milos Forman's version of Hair. Many changes had to be made to the story - of necessity - and that put people off, but the moment, right off the top, when the police horses start high stepping to the music, I knew it was going to work.
I also rate Chicago pretty highly although Richard Gere's Billy Flynn was unfortunate. |
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Post by Mark on Jun 12, 2016 9:57:58 GMT
Chicago is a great adaptation. Really enjoy watching it from time to time. I also love Dreamgirls as a film, although can't yet compare to the stage adaptation (and probably won't be able to since this new production will influence from it).
Rent- enjoyable but I really hate some of the cuts. Can't watch it without flicking onto the full uncut version of Goodbye Love.
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Post by ptwest on Jun 12, 2016 10:10:17 GMT
I love the adaptation of Hairspray - it just makes me smile!
I also love Evita - even the fact the Madonna really cant act doesn't ruin it!
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Post by Jonnyboy on Jun 12, 2016 10:29:06 GMT
I love Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd, but then again I love anything with Helena Bonham Carter.
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Post by waybeyondblue on Jun 12, 2016 10:38:35 GMT
JCSS - it's a bit dated but a thing of loveliness. A fine example of imagination exceeding budget.
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Post by benny20 on Jun 12, 2016 10:49:46 GMT
Hairspray, Chicago and Evita was great
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2016 11:21:57 GMT
Hairspray. I always think it a misstep when a movie of a musical adheres too closely to the stage production, especially with regards to casting, so that they went out and got a top-quality and movie-friendly cast was really a big point in its favour. I enjoyed the new music, and I loved the new ending so much that the stage show of Hairspray will forever be a bit of a disappointment to me now.
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Post by theatre-turtle on Jun 12, 2016 11:41:20 GMT
Good:
Hairspray
Chicago
Cabaret
Les Miserables
Sound of Music
Rocky Horror
Dreamgirls
Bad:
Rent
Jersey Boys
Sweeney Todd
Last Five Years
Into The Woods
Phantom of the Opera
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Post by theatre-turtle on Jun 12, 2016 11:42:53 GMT
Chicago is a great adaptation. Really enjoy watching it from time to time. I also love Dreamgirls as a film, although can't yet compare to the stage adaptation (and probably won't be able to since this new production will influence from it). Rent- enjoyable but I really hate some of the cuts. Can't watch it without flicking onto the full uncut version of Goodbye Love. I think Rent is hard to enjoy if you're a fan of the original show - it's hard to explain why but the film doesn't have the same impact, and the vocal performances seem to be manipulated or generally feel lightweight, compare for example the female soloist in Seasons of Love to the original Broadway cast recording. |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2016 11:57:39 GMT
'Hello, Dolly!'. Yes, I know everyone says Barbra was too young for Dolly but she's simply glorious and the songs have never sounded as good as they do in her hands. Plus she looked gorgeous and the whole film is utterly fabulous!
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Post by ShoesForRent on Jun 12, 2016 12:53:53 GMT
I know Phantom is not the best (understatement of the year) but it's the movie that got the ball rolling for me nearly 10 years ago... it's the first show I knew by heart thanks to the film... so it (along with Gerard and Emmy) have a special place in my heart  |
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Post by bjorne on Jun 12, 2016 13:00:56 GMT
Hairspray, Hair and Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Rent has fantastic moments in the movie like the Tango Maureen scene but that's all. I love it but the stage version is... more.
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Post by brenth on Jun 12, 2016 13:21:03 GMT
Gypsy with Roz Russell... I know lot of people don't like it but much a I love Bette Miller, I hated her in this... She can't act and spent most of the film gurning. I saw it in London and I am still traumatised by seeing Mildler's teeth 50 feet high. It was like watching a veloceraptor with a ginger bubble perm... Great entertainer but as subtle as a pneumatic drill...
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2016 14:04:01 GMT
Chicago, Cabaret, Les Mis and Dreamgirls spring to mind, and Grease.
I also quite like the more recent version of Hairspray, and of course The Sound of Music (for Julie Andrews' performance alone). I don't mind the Rent movie, but I have never had the privilege of seeing it on stage.
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Post by mrtumnus on Jun 12, 2016 15:46:44 GMT
Little Shop of Horrors
Sunshine on Leith
The other way round
Can't stick the Billy Elliot film but love the stage show.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2016 17:01:02 GMT
So, the Babs thread in General got me to thinking about A Chorus Line and how much I like that film even though I think it got panned by the critics at the time. Even the dreadful casting of Cassie and her highly distracting lopsided bubble perm will not put me off it. What at are your favourites? Good and bad, and guilty pleasures! So i saw the title of the thread and I immeadiately thought if any says A Chorus Line, they are nuts.... and it's right there in the opening post.... lol !! BB - YOU'RE NUTS!! And how fitting that Bebe is a character in that same show. For me, expanding the story outside of the line made it lose most of it's impact. What I Did For Love is not about Michael Douglas! Though i do like the added song 'Surprise' |
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Post by joshb on Jun 12, 2016 17:41:49 GMT
Recently I've really enjoyed the Into the Woods film. The musical is too fitted to theatre to fully and properly work on film but I still really enjoyed it. The cast all gave great performances and sounded pretty good (Emily Blunt was the highlight for me) and I find it greatly enjoyable to watch.
Hairspray is pretty much the best example of adapting stage to film too, and I love it for pretty much being my gateway into a love for musicals and theatre.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2016 18:11:26 GMT
Not my favourites, but I certainly think Jersey Boys and Phantom of the Opera are underrated.
Jersey Boys works well as a docudrama and I don't really think of it as a musical because the songs don't progress the story or characters as much as like they do on stage. Although I do miss "Beggin You" and "Fallen Angel".
I really don't understand some of the negativity for Phantom, it looks fantastic the songs and story are all there, I know Gerard Butler's voice isn't the best but I think it works well on film, on stage I'd be disappointed.
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Post by theatremadness on Jun 12, 2016 18:13:07 GMT
I also love Hairspray, that was my introduction to the musical and I'm also a big lover of the Chicago film. Very well done and always enjoyable to watch, both of them.
My favourite is probably The Producers. Some may like it, some may not, but for my money, it's just about the best stage musical comedy put onto film, it completely mastered the genre of musical theatre it was going for, in my opinion, and all the performances are brilliant. I can quote it from beginning to end and will laugh with every viewing!
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 12, 2016 18:57:49 GMT
So, the Babs thread in General got me to thinking about A Chorus Line and how much I like that film even though I think it got panned by the critics at the time. Even the dreadful casting of Cassie and her highly distracting lopsided bubble perm will not put me off it. What at are your favourites? Good and bad, and guilty pleasures! So i saw the title of the thread and I immeadiately thought if any says A Chorus Line, they are nuts.... and it's right there in the opening post.... lol !! BB - YOU'RE NUTS!! And how fitting that Bebe is a character in that same show. For me, expanding the story outside of the line made it lose most of it's impact. What I Did For Love is not about Michael Douglas! Though i do like the added song 'Surprise' Lol, sorry! |
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Jun 12, 2016 19:03:46 GMT
My favourite is probably The Producers. Some may like it, some may not, but for my money, it's just about the best stage musical comedy put onto film, it completely mastered the genre of musical theatre it was going for, in my opinion, and all the performances are brilliant. I can quote it from beginning to end and will laugh with every viewing! Another one that was badly received but I agree. I loved it too. I think the critics didn't like how Susan Stroman basically took the stage show and filmed it. Err, what's up with that? Nowadays we're paying to see the actual stage show broadcast into a cinema so what's the problem? Carmen Ghia and the lissssssssssssssssssssssssp  |
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Post by loureviews on Jun 14, 2016 6:57:31 GMT
The best:
West Side Story
Guys and Dolls
Gypsy
Hair
Jesus Christ Superstar
Show Boat (36 and 51)
The King and I
Chicago
Reasonable:
Evita
The Sound of Music
Oklahoma
Carousel
The Phantom of the Opera
Godspell
Rent
Hello Dolly
Not good:
A Little Night Music
Jersey Boys
Nine
A Chorus Line
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Post by crabtree on Jun 14, 2016 7:31:18 GMT
Oh dear, I'm afraid I find Sweeney Tood just a terrible adaptation of a musical, but also a truly dire film in itself. It's a film that seems to be apologizing for being a musical, not celebrating one of the greatest musical ever written. A disaster.
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Post by Dave25 on Jun 14, 2016 10:42:01 GMT
Evita!!!
I think this way of storytelling (acting through notes) should not be approached in a literal way because per definition it is not. It is a triumph of the fantasy with sung thoughts, etc. In Evita they use all kinds of filmic cinematography, very clever editing and incorporate the music in many different ways (a choir, sung thoughts, moments of music as a voice over, instead of constantly seeing the person mouthing to it, etc). It's filmic, sweeping, a triumph of the fantasy with the exact right use of the music. Even though madonna is not a good singer.
The worst one is Les Mis. Not only because of the literal approach (singing live in eachothers face in a 1 take dry close up shot)which takes away all the magic and the essence of sung thoughts on screen, but also because of the constant switching between acting and singing. Sometimes in 1 sentence, speaking 4 words and then use vibrato for 10 seconds on the 5th. The bizarre thing is that people like Jackmam thought this constant switching made the given of singing feel raw and real while actually it works better if there is no switching but combining and embracing it.
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