johnm001

In addition to adoring the scores to DRESSED TO KILL (Pino Donaggio) and NORTH BY NORTHWEST (Bernard Herrmann), my other favorite film score is Elmer Bernstein's HAWAII. Oddly, my overall favorite film composer is Jerry Goldsmith. I like more of his scores, than any other composer. I also find him the most versatile of all composers. The theme to THE WALTONS sounds nothing like the theme to THE OMEN, for example.

They're both, excrutiatingly dull, too!

Why I think BLOW UP isn't great or why I think BLOW OUT is? The brief answer to both is, BLOW UP, for me, is the worst thing a film can be, and that is dull. BLOW OUT, on the other hand is anything but dull. I could go into great depth about what I find dull about BLOW UP, but that would be duller than sitting through the thing. For all the imagery, the film is not particularly interesting to watch. BLOW OUT has many long takes, but the screen is filled with fascinating visuals, accompanied by an incredible score. BLOW UP has none of that.

The "miracle" moment in THE MIRACLE WORKER. You take this journey with them, and this is the pay off. The entire scene is so perfectly played (well, the entire film is so perfectly played)! The acting is superb and the musical underscoring is, too.

Really? Even with that wall-hitting vanity number (Broadway Melody) that stops the film dead in its track?. Also, you don't get even the slightest bit droopy-eyed by the thousandth time you've hear "I Will Wait for You", in CHERBOURG?

I haven't seen this film since it was in theaters. Although, I recently realized I actually have it as part of a DVD collection I own.

How does a search on TCM indicate how many people watched something? Wouldn't it be more an indicator of limited knowledge about a film? I certainly wouldn't do a TCM seach for a film I knew.

It's not even remotely a great movie, as far as I'm concerned. BLOW OUT, on the other hand, is great.

Don't know if I'd call it the silliest, but my least favorite musical number in a film is "Once a Year Day" from THE PAJAMA GAME. I just think so much great dance music is wasted by the choreography of people doing very little.

My mother HATED June Allyson, and always claimed that Gloria De Haven should have played every role that June Allyson had. I don't hate her, but I don't love her, either. As for the remakes, I think she fares very well in every one of them. In the case of THE OPPOSITE SEX, other than Joan Crawford, I hate THE WOMEN (and am not particularly fond of THE OPPOSITE SEX, either), but I don't see how she's inferior to Norma Shearer (who I do dislike). The best version of LITTLE WOMEN, is the 1994 version, so her take on Jo is fine, with me. I could do without her singing, and the biggest issue with THE OPPOSITE SEX, is that the best singer in the film doesn't sing (other than over the credits). I do like GOOD NEWS, though. For her musical appearances, that one is easily my favorite. There's no one else quite like her, so I'm glad there's a June Allyson. I almost forgot to say that I met June Allyson, when I was 9 or 10 years old. I don't really recall much about it, other than she was very sweet to me.

I think every single thing about this film is horrible. Everything. The worst thing about it is that it is excrutiatingly dull.

I've never considered THE BIRDS a horror film, just a drama; but, if it is, then it is my favorite, because it's my favorite film of any genre. Of those films I do consider horror (rather than sci-fi), the scariest movie I ever saw is EXORCIST III, followed by THE CHANGELING. I also love CARRIE and BLACK CHRISTMAS, as well.

I was there when it first opened, but then left, for reasons I cannot remember. However, it must have been something I didn't like, because I generally don't bail on things I like.

I love 3D so much. Couldn't be more happy with Blu-ray 3D. Just wish there was more content from the 1950s.

I make my sauce (gravy) meatballs and pasta, all from scratch.

So happy I did not buy the Rodgers and Hammerstein Blu-ray box set. My neighbor has it, and I checked out some of the films. STATE FAIR looks just fine, and the Todd-AO version of OKLAHOMA! looks incredible. THE KING AND I is a disgrace, and should have never been released in such an awful state. The color is completely wrong. CAROUSEL has better color, but the image is far too dim. The soundtrack to the Todd-AO OKLAHOMA! is lousy and there is a scene, immediately following the Entr'acte, that is supposed to be dusk, and is presented on the Blu as broad daylight. It's just disgraceful that these companies allow people with no idea or inclination to know how something should look, to do these transfers. Why no '62 STATE FAIR? For the price they are charging, it should be included, and everything should look magnificent. Both THE SOUND OF MUSIC and SOUTH PACIFIC are the same as their previously released content, except the second disc of extras for TSOM is not included with this box. I wouldn't take one for free, let alone buy it. Hopefully, they'll release the films, solo and corrected! They need to go back to the uncompressed and un-denoised soundtracks that accompanied the laserdiscs. Beautiful, room-filling sound!

Wise's body of work is remarkable, and his films so finely crafted and entertaining, yet he's always given short shrift, even by TCM, for the usual suspects.

Well, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. They is nothing beautiful, about Nicole Kidman, to me.

Not as lousy as this one.

Robert Wise, for me, is the greatest director who ever lived. He directed more great films in more genres, than any other person. At least to my tastes, anyway. He did all these great films without a signature look or feel. Just good taste. If only he had directed even more films that could have used his skill.

Somebody, somewhere thinks Nicole Kidman is even in the same looks universe as Grace Kelly?!?!?!

Yeah, but it's a really, really, really lousy Godzilla movie.

When I saw THE SOUND OF MUSIC on Broadway, Jon Voight played Rolf, so when I went to see MIDNIGHT COWBOY, I was a bit surprised that I was watching Rolf from TSOM! There is an over-the-air digital channel called "Movies", which shows films in their entirety. Certain words are edited and certain body parts are smeared, but nothing is ever actually cut out of the film. A couple of weeks ago, I was surprised to see BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (which also carried an X rating), being shown at 5:00 pm! I kept it on out of curiosity; and, when you see the few moments of blur, and the couple instances where a word was silenced, you realize just how innocuous, by today's standards, these films are.

Although, all the most financially successful movie musicals, even adjusted for inflation, were made after 1955, WEST SIDE STORY, MARY POPPINS, THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, GREASE and THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Since he quit on the actual first day of shooting, all the pre-production stuff would have been done. Which means, he would have recorded all the music for the film. In which Fox valut are those recordings? While I find both Frank Sinatra and Gordon MacRae too old for the role (the only way Billy is the least bit bearable, is if he is a stupid kid doing stupid stuff), I think Sinatra would have been great in the role. Of course, he would have been greater, 15 years earlier. MacRae, of course, is fine and his vocals perfect. Jones cannot be bettered, in any of her musical films.