Hey, you'll get it in a minute.
From 1947, directed by the great Edgar G. Ulmer (one of my all-time heroes), please enjoy (complete, uncut, and in a very good print) the astoundingly star-studded celebration of the practioners of classical music in the 20th Centruy (and the building that hosted them) -- Carnegie Hall.
Yeah, yeah, I know, I know -- the above has pretty much dick to with the mission statement of this here blog. But I'm posting it for a couple of very good reasons. 1) It's pretty amazing and 2) I'd be very surprised if any of you guys had ever seen it or even knew it existed. I certainly hadn't and didn't.
And dig this cast list.
Olin Downes (music critic)
Jascha Heifetz (violinist)
Harry James (trumpeter)
Vaughn Monroe (band leader)
Jan Peerce (vocalist)
Gregor Piatigorsky (cellist)
Ezio Pinza (vocalist)
Lily Pons (vocalist)
Fritz Reiner (conductor)
Artur Rodziński (conductor)
Arthur Rubinstein (pianist)
Risë Stevens (vocalist)
Leopold Stokowski (conductor)
Bruno Walter (conductor)
Walter Damrosch (conductor)
I mean -- wow. And that doesn't even count a very young Cloris Leachman as a dancing nightclub patron.
Also, and most important, it's a perfect illustration of the theme of today's brain teaser.
So now to business. To wit:
...and your favorite (or least favorite) post-Elvis pop/rock/soul/country/jazz-themed movie is...?
Arbitrary rule: no straight concert films need apply. We're talking either fiction films, or bio-pics. Oh, and documentaries too.
BTW, in case you're wondering, I'm voting Performance.
Okay -- discuss.
And have a great weekend, everybody!!!
Well, The Kids Are Altight is pretty great.
ReplyDeleteBut I’ll go with George Lucas’ best movie, American Graffiti. I was just-barely-a-teenager when this came out, and for months afterwards, anytime I had the choice of what went into the car’s 8-track player, it was the soundtrack to this movie. The music tells the story, and beautifully captures a moment in time. And I take off my metaphorical hat to Lucas for pursuing - and getting - the clearances for all of the original music; the studio could have sunk the movie by not paying up and using recreations instead, but somehow Lucas got them to take a chance, and it paid off brilliantly. (And, not for the first time, shame on Col. Tom Parker, for not going along with Lucas and thereby keeping Elvis recordings out of the movie.)
Does Hillbillies in a Haunted House count?
ReplyDeleteThe movie's horrible and the music is almost as bad.
Cthulhu -- on top of being a twerrific movie, Graffiti is absolutely accurate in every detail. That's exacty what it felt like to be felt like to be a kid in America in 1962.
ReplyDeleteI was there, Charlie, and I'm telling you....
That Thing You Do!
ReplyDeleteSpinal Tap.
Fictional: Sweet Geraldine - The Weasels
ReplyDeleteDocumentary: Gimme Shelter
Biopic: American Hot Wax
Captain Al
The Kids Are Alright, hands down!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I'm inclined to go with The Kids Are Alright, too, someone has got to mention Rock 'n' Roll High School.
ReplyDeleteAlmost Famous
ReplyDeletePerformance was my first pick. Follow ups have been mentioned. So how about Payday, the movie that was supposed to make the great Rip Torn a STAR (but didn't).
ReplyDeleteThe original Hair Spray needs an honorable mention.
Two Hundred Motels, How I Won The War,,
ReplyDeleteTwo Lane Blacktop, Dont Look Back,
Festival Express, Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid...rob
No one has yet mentioned A Hard Days Night.
ReplyDeleteBeware Mister Baker
ReplyDeleteBeware...Is a great documentary
DeleteRe; Graffiti Steve - sometimes I would take another route on my way to Catholic school - anyway there was a car on one street where a Cherry Red ,50s Ford that was parked with French Style lights, and Tuck and Roll interior ,Drop Lights- a true Graffiti style Rod.
ReplyDeleteOne other if you are a Gear Head I went to Car shows that had Ed"BigDaddy" Roth cars were way to outlandish for the movie
rob
What, no love for 'Sid & Nancy?'
ReplyDeleteActually, since 'This is Spinal Tap' has already been mentioned, I'll cast my vote for The Rutles in 'All You Need is Cash.'.
Least favorite: Pink Floyd The Wall
Haven't seen it since it came out, but I remember loving Phantom Of The Paradise.
ReplyDeleteThe Decline Of Western Civilization was good.
C in California
A- Phantom was terrible...Paul Williams - could have been a KISS vehicle - rbm
ReplyDeletePhantom of the Paradise was directed by Brian De Palma, whose films are always worth a look no matter how bad they are. I'm going with Rocky Horror.
ReplyDeleteRe: edward & Payday
ReplyDeleteLoved Payday... thought I was the only one. Always liked Rip Torn, especially in Defending Your Life.
And to grind the gears, I vote for Clockwork Orange. Good ol' Ludwig.
Get...Clockwork among my 5 best movies ever made - Kubrick at the absolute top of his game and then ..2001 !!! cmon... rbm
DeleteI'm with Danny and C in California. I like Phantom of the Paradise. You gotta take it for what it's worth. Very culty. Was obsessed with it despite its flaws, which are pretty terrific in themselves. Early exposure for Jessica Harper, I think her first film, pre-Woody Allen and Suspiria. She’s never looked better. Gerrit Graham's portrayal as "Beef" (vocals by Ray Kennedy) was quite the over-the-top mockery. The movie is a parody within a parody within a parody. I obsessed on it for a while and saw it with Sandy countless times in various states of mind and dress.
ReplyDeleteIt’s easy to rag on Paul Williams. But he is a skilled craftsman and rightfully in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His tunes may not be your style but … and he’s a pretty good actor to boot. I love this song from the movie which is done beautifully by Harper and some of L.A.’s best session guys. It speaks for itself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENYqLrzxhxA
VR
VR and Steve,
ReplyDelete"SOMEDAY MAN" by Paul Williams (released in 1970, on the Reprise label) is a great album.
Purple Rain
ReplyDeleteThe Fabulous Baker Brothers
The Commitments
O Brother Where Art Thou
rs
God, my personal trainer showed up at 6 this morning. He's such a Nazi. Just because a couple other people canceled doesn't mean I wanna see him at the crack of dawn. That's usually my "come down" time. Fuck it. I lived.
ReplyDeleteLate to the seance - some of these overlap
WORST EVER - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts club Band
BEST
Gimme Shelter (got a story percolating, but)
Dazed and Confused. (love it) (more real than American Graffiti)
Rocky Horror Picture Show. (loved it on the strip when it was the Rocky Horror Show, then the endless runnings at the Tiffany. Sandy had a crush on the Hollywood play's Rocky (Kim Milford - he's not in the movie). Too short for my style. I bet her that he was gay. She said if he was, she'd ungay him. Guess what happened?)
Fallen Angel. (Gram Parsons bio has some insightful interviews about his storied and tragic life)
Suburbia (both of them, now that I think about it)
The Filth and the Fury
Control. You don't have to be a Joy Divicion fan to like this, but it helps
This Is Spinal Tap (but I feel no need to see it anymore)
Payday
Kids Are Alright
Cocksucker Blues:)
Blow-up.
Sid & Nancy
Licorice Pizza
Easy Rider.
Psycho Beach Party
Decline of Western Civilization
The Endless Summer
High Fidelity (if it counts)
Phantom of the Paradise
VR
The Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" is a masterpiece.
ReplyDeletepaulinca
Best Worst/Two Minds films depending on what day it is, which way the wind is blowing and what time of the month it is
ReplyDeleteLadies & Gentlemen The Fabulous Stains – Diane Lane, c’mon. Forget about the ending.
Head
Border Radio
American Graffiti Wolfman Jack was not yet broadcasting to California in the film's setting of 1962. When he started with XERB in 1963 he was working out of Del Rio, Mexico or Chula Vista, not Lucas' romanticized Modesto. His show was much more R&B related than represented in AG. Also, The Beach Boys' "All Summer Long" is in the film, not the soundtrack album. That wasn't out till 1964. That kinda shit bugs me. Plus, there are very few actual hits from 1962. No Dick Dale, Loco-Motion, Duke of Earl, Soldier Boy, Dream Baby, Having a Party, Twistin’ the Night Away, Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, Good Luck Charm etc. Most of the songs in the movie would be considered oldies or rebounds in 1962. Nitpicking, I know, but the DJ is the soundtrack to all the main character's lives and even becomes a part of the story. Sentimental nostalgia colors the memory and obscures the truth. Regardless, good performances by all involved except Harrison Ford. I like Mackenzie Phillips performance a lot. She’s 12 and in her first movie and she rocks. I like her “Dewey Weber” T-shirt, but she doesn’t look like a surfer girl. Too pale. I mean, how much surf is there in Modesto? It’s a two-hour drive to Santa Cruz. My cousin lives in Modesto and I’ve cruised those streets in her older brother’s Corvette, he got a new one every year. Streets in the movie are not Modesto. It’s a good mainstream feel-good film.
That Thing You Do
Nashville (if it counts)
The Doors (a lot of problems here) (like bare-assed Indians crowding the child's fragile eggshell mind) (Meg Ryan as Pam Courson?) (bad wig on Kyle MacLachlan
Almost Famous (rock 'n' roll is a lot more treacherous than portrayed here) (sometimes I go with it, other timess it pisse me off)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High - always like Jennifer Jason Leigh no matter what dreck she's in, Judge Reinhold is priceless in this, Everybody always mentions Spicoli but I don't much care for the character, or should I say caricature
Valley Girl
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
Purple Rain
Quadrophenia
Hard Day's Night
Big Time
VR
More Worst:
ReplyDeleteLisztomania
Tommy
The Wall (Roger is a bummer)
Heavy Metal
Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park
Magical Mystery Tour
biggest disappointment:
The Song Remains the Same
VR
More Worst
ReplyDeleteAirheads
Stoned Age
The Rose
A Star Is Born
School of Rock
Honorable Mention
Cisco Pike
Runaways
Charlie Is My Darling
VR
Oh god, I forgot WALK HARD.😎
ReplyDeleteJailhouse Rock
ReplyDeleteBird
Inside Llewyn Davis
Blaze
Tapeheads
Bob Roberts
A Face In The Crowd
Easy Rider
Incredibly, The Last Waltz has not been mentioned to this point.
ReplyDeleteAlzo:
ReplyDeleteI think the reason The Last Waltz didn't get mentioned is that it's more or less a concert film. Of course it's open to interpretation. But that's why I left it, and a few others, off the list. Steve's arbitrary rule "no straight concert films need apply."
VR
VR — I was thinking of Last Waltz when stipulated that.😎
ReplyDeleteDang, I forgot A Face In The Crowd (which I recently had my 14-year-old twins watch) and Rocky Horror Picture Show (which they say they don't want to see, based on the images they've seen), Valley Girl (like Phantom, I haven't seen it since it came out but I remember liking it), O Brother (another I recently had my kids watch), Hard Day's Night, Don't Look Back, Spinal Tap, Yellow Submarine, We Jam Econo.
ReplyDeleteC in California
Re Best: I'm gonna throw in a nomination for JACKIE BROWN, directed by Quentin Tarantino, from 1997. Although not specifically an updated Blaxploitation movie, it does feature a lot of fine soul music from the late 60s to late 1970s (Bobby Womack, Bloodstone, Brothers Johnson and, most significantly, the Delfonics) in its soundtrack, as well as an interesting (albeit complicated plot) and splendid performances from all its lead actors (Samuel L. Jackson, in particular, is amazing as the smooth but ruthless gun-runner Ordell Robie.)
ReplyDeleteDid anyone mention 24 Hour Party People? Not my favorite but certainly some great stuff in there.
ReplyDeleteTrue Stories was worth watching 30 years ago, but I confess I haven't seen it since, and I love love love A Mighty Wind. Spinal Tap gets all the deserved accolades, but A Mighty Wind is a better film (imo).
The Touring Years from Ron Howard had some cool shit too, and did no one else mention Get Back?