For the 4th of July: Singing Founding Fathers in “1776”

Posted on July 3, 2015 at 8:00 am

Happy Independence Day! Every year, I recommend the rousing musical about the Declaration of Independence. “1776” makes the Founding Fathers vivid, human, and interesting characters, and is so involving that you almost forget that you already know how it all turned out. William Daniels is the “obnoxious and disliked” John Adams, Ken Howard is Thomas Jefferson, who would rather be with his wife than work on the Declaration, and Howard da Silva is a wry and witty Benjamin Franklin. As they debate independence, we see the courage that went into the birth of the United States, and, in an especially sobering moment for us now, we see the tragedy as they compromise with the South to permit slavery in the brand-new country. It is outstanding family entertainment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Iiiy8GnBNI

Orson Welles: Happy First Century

Posted on May 8, 2015 at 3:14 pm

Happy 100th birthday to the writer/director/star of one of the greatest films of all time, Citizen Kane. Everyone should see that movie, and then everyone should see it again, listening to Roger Ebert’s shot-by-shot commentary, a master illuminating a master and together both of them illuminating the best and worst of the human spirit.

Turner Classic Movies has a great tribute to Mr. Welles every Friday this month, with some of this best and least known films, hosted by one of my favorite critics, David Edelstein.

Don’t miss:

Touch of Evil

The Third Man

The Lady From Shanghai

Jane Eyre

The Magnificent Ambersons

And don’t forget: “The Stranger,” “The VIPs,” “Chimes at Midnight,” “F for Fake,” and pretty much everything else Welles ever worked on.

The Sound of Music Celebrates its 50th Anniversary

Posted on March 9, 2015 at 8:00 am

A glorious new 50th anniversary Blu-Ray edition of Sound of Music is out this week, featuring commentary, behind the scenes footage, and all kinds of extras — sure to be one of your “favorite things.”

This box-office champ is one of the all-time great family musicals, a Rodgers and Hammerstein triumph based on the true story of the Von Trapp family’s escape from Austria.

Much of the story is true. Maria was a postulant, sent by the convent to become a tutor for one of the ten (not seven) children of nobleman and Naval officer Georg Von Trapp. They got married, but it was seven years before the Nazis took over Austria. Maria always insisted, though, that Georg was not at all like the stern, humorless character of the early scenes. And they escaped by train, not by the mountains. A new book about the real story behind the family and the film is a lot of fun: The Sound of Music Story: How A Beguiling Young Novice, A Handsome Austrian Captain, and Ten Singing Von Trapp Children Inspired the Most Beloved Film of All Time.