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Don Giovanni (1990)
Mozart is never out of fashion
Peter Sellars has taken Mozart's "Don Giovanni" and set it in modern New York City ... and it still works, which just goes to show how timeless the genius of Mozart really is.
But Sellars true genius was in casting African-American twins to play the parts of Don Giovanni and his servant, Leporello ... there is a scene where they change places, disguised as each other, and you don't have to suspend your disbelief to enjoy it.
There is a scene where they discuss their plans for the evening over a meal ... the fact that they are sitting on a curb eating burgers from McDonalds does not get in the way at all.
For any inner-city teacher who would like to introduce their students to opera, seeing two vital, young black males singing music that's 200 years old, and in Italian (with English subtitles), should be an eye-opening experience. The multiracial cast showcases many splendid young (and at the time, unknown) voices selected only for their talent, and demonstrates that opera is really for everyone.
I'm glad that I taped it from PBS years ago, because it hasn't been released yet on VHS or DVD. <sigh!>
AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Wait for the rental ... or free cable release
My scale for rating movies is very simple, ranging from "I'd pay to see it again in the theater" (as I did with "Dances with Wolves") to "That's two hours of my life I'll never get back."
I'm enough of a fan to have "Aliens" (the 2nd one) in my VHS collection in wide-screen format, and I'm thinking of replacing my VHS copy of "Predator 2" with a DVD ... my homey and I had been looking forward to it for months (one of those testosterone bonding things that guys do), but waited a week for the lines to diminish before we caught a matinee, so that we wouldn't be surrounded by kids.
For "Alien Vs. Predator", I have to say, "I would have enjoyed it more if it had cost less." My advice is that it's worth seeing once, but you'll probably enjoy it more as a rental for half the price of theater tickets and popcorn ... I mean, a DVD rental will cost *LESS* than the theater popcorn! If you *must* have the theater experience, do like we did and catch a matinee.
So put it on your "Maybe Someday" list, but save the gas and the thirteen bucks ($25 if it's a date) for something better. OTOH, it's the Sigourney Weaver wannabe who survives, so it's not a bad date movie, as an alternative to a chick flick. :-)
And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003)
A movie about a movie
Every hero is guilty of some atrocities, and Pancho Villa was no exception. Antonio Banderas delivers a convincing performance as a complicated man who had the brilliance to use the majesty of his own personality to help finance a peasant revolution in Mexico.
As docudramas go, this one is very well balanced ... it reveals the darker side of a legend, the people who tried to manipulate him, and the people he manipulated. Although the original film, the making of which is the heart of this story, has been lost to the ages, it is nonetheless a moving story.
How much is history and how much is Hollywood? Who can say? All I know is that I was more impressed than I expected to be, and more than just being entertained and educated, I was given a lot of food for thought. I sincerely hope that a Spanish language version of this will be available so that the people of Mexico can learn a different version of his story than the one that is in the books in their schools.
This was two hours of my life that I'm glad I spent in front of the screen, and I thank everyone involved for the experience. It is not the best movie I've seen this year, nor will it ever be on my Top Ten list, but it *IS* a very good example of what cinema *SHOULD* be, and all too often is not ... a thought provoking drama that tells a slightly different story than the one we thought we knew.
Great Performances at the Met: Tannhauser (2016)
My favorite Wagner opera
I have two copies of this opera on CD, and just purchased the DVD of this performance to replace my VHS copy. The VHS is two tapes, and I kept them cued to the scenes with the pilgrims at the roadside shrine in Acts I and III ... now I can jump right to them on the single DVD.
This is a fine performance for introducing someone to opera. The subtitles provided are sufficient to keep up with the action without getting in the way of the singing. OTOH, a good opera guide, or a CD version with the full libretto in both English and German, is necessary for full appreciation of the story.
Although the classic Bugs Bunny cartoon "What's Opera Doc?" visually uses elements of Wagner's "Ring Cycle" (Bugs as Brunhilde, Elmer Fudd has a spear and magic helment), the musical themes are mostly from "Tannhäuser" ... you'll be surprised how much of this music you recognize, even if you've never seen or heard this opera before.
Good camera work, capturing the action on the Met stage from several angles... the costumes are great, and the opening "orgy" scene in Venusburg is delightfully choreographed. If I had to reduce my collection of videos and DVDs to only ten, this would be one of them.
Turandot (1983)
I got what I could get ...
Turandot is one of my favorite operas, and I have seen live performances on several occasions. I wanted a copy of my own on VHS, and at the time (about ten years ago) this was the only one I could get ... I'm seriously considering replacing it with the 1987 version with Eva Marton and Plácido Domingo. This is a well done production, but it's performed in a large stadium, and the acoustics ruin it ... the performers are so far apart, and so far from the orchestra, that they are badly out of sync. There is a very short duet in which Turandot sings, "The riddles are three, death is one!" while the prince sings, "The riddles are three, life is one!" ... it's painful to hear how out of sync they are because of distance and the echoes. On the bright side, Ping, Pang, and Pong are delightful, stealing every scene they're in!
Zardoz (1974)
It's worth seeing ... at least once!
This is one of those films that people either Love or Hate. I know that it had a very profound effect upon me when I originally saw it in its theatrical release (and started collecting recordings of Beethoven's 7th Symphony.) I loaned my copy of the video to my nephew, who was born five years after the movie was released.
I told him, "This is a Sean Connery movie done after his success as James Bond, but before he got his act together as an 'older' actor ... he's running around with a pot belly hanging out of this leather thong thingy. The people at Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) would have to pass on this one as being 'too easy' ... there are places where you can't help laughing out loud without any prompting from robots in the corner of the screen."
Having said that, I went on to tell him that it was one of the most original of the post-apocalyptic plots, with cutting-edge special effects for its day. And it was really kind of tongue-in-cheek from the git-go when you realize what "Zardoz" actually means ... kind of like "Rosebud", only more profound.
As I said, seeing this film for the first time over a quarter of a century ago was a Significant Emotional Event for me. Today, it's not really that dated, and if you can suspend your disbelief long enough to get over a flabby, out-of-shape Sean Connery as the object of sexual obsession in a triangle involving two "perfect" women (not unlike the 300 pound soprano singing Desdemona in "Otello" as the object of a crime of passion) then it's still a clever and original yarn.
To this day, it's painful for me to watch this film ... I can't help but become a little "farhklepmt" at the end. OTOH, I've seen it enough times that I have some snappy, "Rocky Horror Picture Show" type responses to some of the lines. (A home-brew MST3K! :-)
This is a film that every Connery and/or serious SciFi fan should see at least once. *THEN* you can decide if you're in the Love or Hate camps, or if (like me) you sit on the fence as if you are looking at a traffic accident... sickened, yet unable to turn away.
But the best thing about this film is the people with whom you will interact *after* having the shared experience of seeing it.
When you overhear someone mention a Sean Connery film, ask them if they have ever seen "Zardoz" ... if they have, then their response will be well worth having sat through it, even if you wouldn't *take* money to sit through it again!
It doesn't matter if one of you is in the Love camp and the other is in the Hate camp, or if you're both in the same camp, or which camp it is ... this is a film worth discussing, with a friend or a stranger, regardless of your viewpoints.