Category Archives: Films

A Random Thought on Ocean’s 11 (2001)

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Where has this movie been all my life?? That was my first thought when I finished watching Ocean’s Eleven (2001), a heist film starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, amongst many others (I can’t believe this movie is fifteen years old already!)

Clooney stars as Danny Ocean, a thief and con-artist just released from jail with a plan already in mind: rob three Las Vegas casinos in one night. It just so happens that all three casinos are owned by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who just happens to be dating Ocean’s ex-wife Tess (Julia Roberts). To pull this heist off, Ocean has to assemble a crew of the best in the business, eleven in total. At stake: $160,000,000 (divided 11 ways).

The crew consists of:

Danny Ocean (George Clooney)
Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt)
Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon)
Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle)
Frank Catton (Bernie Mac)
Turk Malloy (Scott Caan)
Virgil Malloy (Casey Affleck)
Saul Bloom (Carl Reiner)
Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould)
Livingston Dell (Eddie Jemison)
“The Amazing” Yen (Shaobo Qin)

From the very beginning, you can tell that this story is going to be an insane ride. Clooney, as the suave Danny Ocean, and Brad Pitt, as the eternally-eating Rusty Ryan, are the perfect onscreen bromance and henceforth I will watch any movie if I know those two actors are in it. I especially love how these two are always completing each other’s sentences, it’s like they share a brain.

The plot is, admittedly, a little convoluted in some points, but the humor is undeniable. The smug/overconfident Terry Benedict doesn’t stand a chance against Ocean and his crew.

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I highly recommend the entire trilogy of Ocean’s films, they’re all extremely funny and well worth viewing more than once or twice.

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The Sword in the Stone “Mad, Madam Mim” (1963)

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You know how a lot of Disney movies have been adapted into Broadway plays? Like Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, etc. ? Well, one film that I wish would be turned into a Broadway show is The Sword in the Stone (1963), a Disney animated feature that was released after Disney’s Golden Age and long before the Disney Renaissance at the end of the 1980s. This film generally slips under the radar but it still contains some amusing and memorable moments.

Based on T.H. White’s book The Once and Future King (1958), The Sword in the Stone tells the story of a young page named Wart (real name Arthur, voiced by Rickie Sorensen, and Richard and Robert Reitherman) who meets a strange wizard named Merlin (Karl Swenson) and a talking owl named Archimedes (Junius Matthews). Merlin is convinced that Wart has a big future in front of him, but it won’t come to pass unless he gets a proper education (that Merlin will provide).

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The Sword in the Stone “Mad Madam Mim” (1963)

Wart’s “education” can be divided into several segments based on the animal he is turned into (and the appropriate lesson he learns): a fish (brains are better than brawn); a squirrel (Love is the greatest force on Earth); a bird (knowledge and wisdom are real power). It’s this last segment, where Wart become a bird that really wants me to see this story as a stage show because THIS is where we meet Madam Mim (Martha Wentworth), a slightly-deranged witch who is as evil as Merlin is good. Wart (still in bird form) ends up falling down her chimney by mistake while fleeing a hawk and quickly comes to the witch’s attention. Hearing that the Wart is acquainted with Merlin (“the world’s most powerful bungler” as she puts it), Mim decides to prove to Wart that SHE is the most powerful, and not Merlin, by performing a song that I would dearly love to see rendered on the stage.

Mim

With only a touch, I have the power
Zim zaba rim bim, To wither a flower
I find delight in the gruesome and grim
(Oh, that’s terrible.)
(Thank you, my boy. But that’s nothing, nothing for me!)
‘Cause I’m the magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim

(You know what? I can even change size.)

I can be huge; Fill the whole house
I can be teeny, small as a mouse
Black sorcery is my dish of tea
It comes easy to me,
‘Cause I’m the magnificent, marvelous, mad Madam Mim!

Mim demonstrates various abilities: she can change size (from giant to very tiny), make herself even uglier than she already is (by her own admission) and also change herself into someone beautiful as well. I’m not sure how a live show would accommodate all of these changes exactly, but I’m sure it could be done somehow.

(Hahahaha! Marvelous, boy! Marvelous! Hahohoho! Hey, lad. Did you know I can make m’self uglier yet?)
(That would be some trick, er… I mean, uh…)
(Wanta’ bet? BOO! You see? I win, I win! Aren’t I hideous, boy? Perfectly revolting?)
(N- Yes, m’am.)
(But you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Watch this.)

I can be beautiful, lovely and fair
Silvery voice, long purple hair
La la la la, la la la la la
La la la la la, la la la la la la la
But it’s only skin deep, for Zim zaberim ZIM
I’m an ugly old creep; the magnificent, marvelous, mad, mad, mad, mad Madam Mim!

After her song, Mim demands to know which one is better, but Wart still believes that Merlin is the best because his magic is for good (Mim doesn’t like this at all). Recognizing that Merlin sees something “good” in the boy, Mim declares that for her that’s “bad” and therefore she’ll have to destroy him. Moving in for the kill, Mim demonstrates one more ability, she can change into animals just like Merlin can, and what animal do you use to catch a bird? A CAT!!!

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Fortunately for Wart, Merlin steps in shortly afterward…

I absolutely love this song, it’s pure Disney madness from beginning to end. If “Mad Madam Mim” were performed on a Broadway stage today, who do you think could pull it off the best? I’m not sure myself, but I’d love to hear your thoughts about it 🙂

*all images are the property of Walt Disney Studios

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The Sword in the Stone “That’s What Makes the World Go Round” (1963)

The Sword in the Stone “A Most Befuddling Thing” (1963)

For more great Disney songs and films, check out the main page here: Disney Films & Soundtracks A-Z

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Beauty and the Beast “Human Again” (1991)

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“Human Again” is a musical number created by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman that originally occupied the position that “Something There” now does. Written in the tempo of a fast waltz, the song features a number of enchanted objects (led by Lumiere, Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts, and the Wardrobe with her own verse) singing about how they could be human again now that Belle and Beast are growing closer together.

This song was ultimately cut from the original version of the film because of pacing issues and length (the entire sequence was approximately 11 minutes long!!). It also presented an issue because the number implies that a very long passage of time is occurring, which doesn’t make sense since it’s already been established that Maurice is out in the woods looking for Belle (and it wouldn’t make sense for him to be out there alone for months). So the decision was made to cut “Human Again” and replace it with the shorter and to-the-point “Something There.”

The number was first restored for the Beauty and the Beast Broadway production in 1994 and ultimately was restored to the film for the 2002 Special Edition DVD release (it is placed between “Something There” and the ballroom scene).

For the restoration, all the original cast members from the film were reunited to record the song and careful work was done on the animation to ensure it merged in seamlessly with the rest of the film. I’m glad they did this when they did, as Jerry Orbach (the voice of Lumiere) sadly passed away two years later.

I like “Human Again,” it’s a fun musical number and features some great shots of different areas of the castle being cleaned up. In fact, re-inserting this sequence does help to explain why the West Wing is suddenly much tidier when Beast takes Belle to see the magic mirror after their dance (because various servants are shown cleaning the room up). There’s also a hysterical moment when the footstool-dog comes across a pillow-cat and gives chase, tracking dirt into the newly cleaned ballroom!

Run pillow-kitty, run!!!

Believe it or not, we’ve actually made our way through all the songs of Beauty and the Beast, but I’m not done with this film just yet. There’s a few musical moments that I still want to explore: “The West Wing”, “Battle on the Tower”, and especially “The Transformation.”

*all images are the property of Walt Disney Studios

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For more Beauty and the Beast, see:

Beauty and the Beast “Belle” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Belle (reprise)” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Gaston” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Be Our Guest” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Something There” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Beauty and the Beast/Tale as Old as Time” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “The Mob Song” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “The West Wing” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Battle on the Tower” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Transformation” (1991)

For more great Disney songs check out the main page here: Disney A-Z

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Beauty and the Beast “Something There” (1991)

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“Something There” is a fun, if brief, interlude for our main characters before the romance of the ballroom scene and the drama that follows afterward. Before the song proper commences, there’s a funny scene where Belle and Beast are meeting for breakfast and Belle discovers that Beast is…slightly out of practice using silverware, let’s just put it that way. However, Belle finds a compromise and we next shift to the pair taking a walk through the snow covered garden while Belle feeds the birds.

Neither Belle nor Beast sing aloud, this song is really an expression of their thoughts regarding each other. Belle is finding that Beast is really sweet and is just on the cusp of recognizing that she feels love for him as well, even though he’s “no Prince Charming.”

There’s something sweet
And almost kind
But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined
And now he’s dear, and so unsure
I wonder why I didn’t see it there before

She glanced this way
I thought I saw
And when we touched she didn’t shudder at my paw
No it can’t be, I’ll just ignore
But then she’s never looked at me that way before

New and a bit alarming
Who’d have ever thought that this could be
True that he’s no Prince Charming?
But there’s something in him that I simply didn’t see

Beast, at the same time, is delighted that Belle isn’t scared of him anymore, though he still doubts that romance could develop between them. At the same time, he does admit that Belle is looking at him somewhat differently, so maybe there is hope after all.

Then Lumiere, Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts get into the act and they sing a verse of their own as they observe the pair in a rather one-sided snowball fight (Belle wins), with their own hope growing that soon the enchantment will be broken.

Well, who’d have thought?
Well, bless my soul
Well, who’d have known?
Well, who indeed?
And who’d have guessed they’d come together on their own?
It’s so peculiar. We’ll wait and see, a few days more
There may be something there that wasn’t there before

Poor little Chip though can’t figure out why everyone is so excited and Mrs. Potts shushes him with “I’ll tell you when you’re older.”

It really is an adorable moment, you can tell that something is building between the pair, and it might just be love, but neither will say as much yet.

I really like the moment where Belle sings “New, and a bit alarming!” Just the way she emphasizes that last word shows how unsure she still is about this (which is understandable, Beast doesn’t fit the traditional mold of a sweetheart). And I absolutely LOVE the moment when Belle looks back and discovers that Beast is covered in birds!!!

For next time, I’ll look at a song that initially didn’t make the final cut, but thanks to the special edition, we have it now! Get ready for “Human Again” !

*all images are the property of Walt Disney Studios

Become a patron of the blog at: patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

For more Beauty and the Beast, see:

Beauty and the Beast “Belle” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Belle (reprise)” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Gaston” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Be Our Guest” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Human Again” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Beauty and the Beast/Tale as Old as Time” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “The Mob Song” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “The West Wing” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Battle on the Tower” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Transformation” (1991)

For more great Disney songs and films, check out the main page here: Disney Films & Soundtracks A-Z

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

My Thoughts on: Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)

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Until the release of The Force Awakens (2015), Return of the Jedi stood as the definitive conclusion to the Star Wars saga. And what a conclusion it had to be, there were multiple loose ends to tie up: Han Solo had to be rescued from Jabba the Hutt; Luke needed to reconcile/accept the fact that his father was Darth Vader; the Rebel Alliance needed to defeat the Imperial fleet and most importantly, the Emperor needed to be defeated.

It might seem strange that the Emperor would choose to build another Death Star (considering what happened to the first one), but then again I can only presume that this one had been modified to have no weaknesses like before, that’s why it had to be destroyed before it was completed.

Return of the Jedi Speeder Chase (1983)

For a long time Return of the Jedi was my favorite Star Wars film: it has the speeder chase, Ewoks, and it also has that final confrontation between Luke, Vader and the Emperor. I know some people don’t like the Ewoks, but I love them, they’re cute (The scene between Leia and Wicket is awesome). I have a goal to visit the forest they used for filming the speeder chase, it looks absolutely gorgeous!.

Return of the Jedi- The Emperor’s Throne Room (1983)

The final duel comes at the climax of the movie. While the Rebel Alliance attempts to put their plans into motion, Luke has turned himself in to Vader and is taken to see the Emperor. Considering this is the first movie to have the Emperor in the flesh, he’s quite menacing (the eerie music accompanying him helps with that impression a great deal). The Emperor insists that Luke is on the edge of falling to the Dark Side of the Force and that he is already a servant to him (which Luke denies). The whole time, Luke’s light saber is kept in plain sight, tempting Luke to try and take it and strike the Emperor down. While Luke resists for a while, he inevitably gives in and the duel commences.

As with the Cloud City duel, Vader is portrayed by Bob Anderson, with a number of different camera angles used during the fight (to great effect I might add). There’s an interesting moment towards the end, when Luke has vaulted up onto a catwalk and is looking down at Vader. Someone (I wish I could say who to give proper credit, but I honestly don’t remember) pointed out that this mirrors the situation at the conclusion of the Mustafar duel in Revenge of the Sith, where Obi-Wan has the high-ground above Anakin, but Anakin jumps anyway and that’s when he loses. Now that Luke is in the same position as Obi-Wan was, Vader has seemingly learned his lesson and instead of jumping up after him, he throws his lightsaber instead.

Now, the big moment in this duel is when Luke finally snaps and attacks Vader in a fury when the Dark Lord threatens his sister (who we all know to be Leia). However, this detail had NOT been established when the script was written. All Lucas had written for this point was “Vader taunts Luke/Luke snaps and attacks.” They’d always put off exactly WHAT Vader does to cause this issue, and finally it got down to the wire and they had to come up with a reason, and as they considered what Vader could possibly say that would get Luke to go off, and finally the light bulb went off as they realized “Leia is his sister and Vader threatens Leia!” That’s right, up until that moment, Leia had NOT been identified as Luke’s sister, and I’m tempted to say that the only reason she was identified as such is because they needed a reason for Luke to snap. That being said, I’m still not entirely convinced that Vader knew that Leia was Luke’s sister. In the dialogue, he only discovers that a sister exists and refers to her strictly in the abstract as “she.” He may never have made the connection that Leia and Luke’s sister were one and the same.

Return of the Jedi- Final Duel (1983)

Return of the Jedi- Final Duel (Soundtrack Version) (1983)

One moment in the duel that I’ve heard get a lot of flak is the very end, when Vader 1) discovers that Luke has a twin sister and 2) teases that he’ll get her to join the Dark Side if he won’t, inciting Luke’s fury. The problem (people argue) is, considering how powerful Vader came across in Empire Strikes Back, how is it that Luke can suddenly overpower him? It does seem odd, and for a while I couldn’t answer this argument at all, until I gave it some thought. There are several ways to solve this puzzle, and I’ll list a few here:

Solution #1: Vader’s lightsaber skills aren’t what they used to be. Yes I know how he came across in Empire Strikes Back, but in that duel Luke wasn’t fully trained and he certainly didn’t have control of his emotions (which is key if you’re going to engage in a duel with a Sith Lord). If you think about it, it’s really been close to 20 years since Vader has faced an equally powerful and skilled opponent, his fighting skills had to have deteriorated over time.

Solution #2: Vader’s connection to the Force (which helps his fighting abilities) is severely weakened. If we (reluctantly) assume that the midichlorians are canon, then Vader can’t possibly have as strong a connection to the living Force as he used to. By my calculations, the only human parts of Vader left are his torso and his head, which would have severely decreased his midichlorians, and thus his ability to use the Force.

Solution #3: Vader is not fully committed to killing Luke. Vader seemingly has no problem with potentially killing Luke in Empire Strikes Back; as he tells the Emperor “He will join us or die.” But now, in Return of the Jedi, it’s become obvious that Vader is torn between his son and his duty to the Emperor. This emotional conflict (which Luke can sense) is throwing Vader off, influencing his fighting abilities.

Solution #4: Luke is simply more powerful in the Force than Vader. Being his son, this is certainly possible, and unlike Vader, Luke has only lost a hand at this point. Also, he is fully engaging in the Dark Side of the Force and his fury has magnified his abilities many times over.

Any of these could be viable solutions (or a combination of all four), and therefore I have no trouble with Luke overwhelming Vader at the end. This is really the first moment where the music plays into a lightsaber duel in the same way that “Duel of the Fates” and “Battle of the Heroes” will in the prequel films. The chorus is eerie and foreshadowing: by attacking Vader in anger, Luke is basically throwing himself off of a cliff into the Dark Side, and if he’d cut off Vader’s head instead of his hand, there would’ve been no going back. The Emperor knows this, that’s why he pushes Luke to finish the job. But for once, the Emperor has gravely miscalculated. The last time he tried this (pushing Anakin to kill Dooku), he was able to succeed because Anakin had no blood connection to Dooku, in fact, he had every reason in the world to kill him. But with Luke…he’s asking Luke to kill his own father, and that’s something the Jedi can’t do, no matter what Vader has done.

Of course the Emperor responds by trying to kill Luke with Force Lightning, and the sight of his own son being tortured finally snaps Anakin back into existence and he throws the Emperor down the core shaft, where he (presumably) dies (but I have my own theories about that which I’ll discuss another time, especially now in the wake of The Rise of Skywalker).

To summarize the ending, Luke and Anakin make their way to the shuttle, but the former Sith Lord has been too badly injured and makes a last request to see Luke “with his own eyes”, leading to an all too brief reunion between father and son. I honestly wasn’t sure what to think when Luke went through the motions of taking the helmet and mask off. Considering how terrifying Vader looked (and sounded), there was no telling what might be found underneath the mask. I thought Sebastian Shaw’s brief performance as the redeemed Anakin was good though. The final touch on this scene that I’ll mention is, just after he dies, there is a final refrain of the Imperial March, plucked out on a harp. It’s fitting and symbolic of how Anakin was finally brought back to the Light Side of the Force.

Return of the Jedi- ORIGINAL ending (1983)

Now, the ending of Return of the Jedi…well, I have a lot to say (I probably need to make a separate post on my feelings regarding the various changes). I for one, liked the original ending with the cute Ewok sound. True, what John Williams created to replace it is also good, but I didn’t feel the change was necessary. I did like how Luke looked back and saw the ghosts of Obi-Wan and Yoda with Anakin appearing to join them (I still think it was wrong to put Hayden Christensen in that scene, but at least they didn’t put Ewan McGregor in Obi-Wan’s place too). And at the very end, all the heroes are together, celebrating, the Empire has been overthrown…or has it?

For over thirty years the impression was given that the Empire was dead and the good guys had won. But now, with the Expanded Universe being discarded and a new Star Wars Universe coming out instead, we know this isn’t true. The victory at Endor was not total, and it now seems that the fight is far from over.

I still like watching Return of the Jedi, even though Empire Strikes Back is now my favorite, and I hope that someday, somehow, I can watch the original cut of this film again. Hope you enjoyed this, I know it ran a little long (but then again I had a lot to say, lol).

*all images are the property of 20th century Fox/Walt Disney Studios

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Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Star Wars, the one that started it all! (1977)

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

My Thoughts on: Solo: A Star Wars Story (with spoilers!) (2018)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, My Thoughts!!

My Thoughts on: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

My Thoughts on: Star Wars (1977)

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I have to start this post with a significant piece of irony: everyone knows that the Star Wars franchise is now owned by Disney, but did you know that it was almost that way from the beginning? Believe it or not, when George Lucas created Star Wars, he initially thought of it as a Disney film and took the story to Disney (back in 1976)…and Disney turned him down!! Over thirty years later, they bought the entire franchise from Lucas for a sweet $4 BILLION dollars (of course no one could’ve foreseen that before the movie premiered in May of 1977).

Star Wars (1977) was a cinematic revolution on multiple levels. Along with the release of Jaws (1975), Star Wars introduced Hollywood to the concept of a “blockbuster”: a single film on a relatively small budget that brings in HUGE profits (Hollywood still exists on this model today). The film also proved revolutionary in the realm of special effects; raising the bar so high that hitherto successful stop-motion films fell flat in the wake of this phenomenon (an example being Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977)). Using what was then state of the art technology, George Lucas created lightsabers, huge starships that filled the screen, lasers that blew up planets and fantastic droids of all shapes and sizes. (of course many of these practical effects were ruined by the later updates, but that’s a discussion for another time).

The original Star Wars is responsible for introducing audiences worldwide to a “galaxy far, far away” and the adventures of Luke Skywalker, who finds himself thrust into a life of adventure after two droids crash land on his home planet. Not only that, but old Obi-wan “Ben” Kenobi reveals that he was once a Jedi Knight, the same as Luke’s father. According to Ben, Luke’s father was betrayed by a fellow Jedi named Darth Vader and murdered! As if these revelations weren’t enough, Luke must also rescue Princess Leia and safely deliver the plans for the dread Death Star battle station into Rebel hands before the Imperial fleet discovers the location of the hidden base (wow, there’s a lot going on!) Then there’s the climactic battle to destroy the Death Star, the nefarious Darth Vader on the prowl in his specially designed fighter, and the question of whether the base can be destroyed in time!

Star Wars Original Trailer (1977)

The cast was a mixture of old stars and complete strangers. Among the notable actors appearing were Alec Guinness as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin. The three principal leads went to complete strangers: Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as Han Solo and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia.

Of course, for me, the film music scholar, Star Wars also gave composer John Williams the chance to create some legendary music.Keep in mind that prior to Star Wars, science fiction music was largely considered to sound “futuristic” and “alien”, as in the complete opposite of a traditional orchestra (check out the soundtrack for Forbidden Planet on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean). From the minute the overture sounds at the beginning, you just KNOW that this film is something different. And truthfully, it’s somewhat wrong to call Star Wars “science fiction”, “space opera” is really the preferred way to describe this genre, both musically and visually.

Absolutely no one expected Star Wars to do very well at the box office, 20th Century Fox was essentially going out on a limb by agreeing to distribute the film at all. In fact, Lucas convinced himself that the film was going to bust and even told Steven Spielberg (who was working on Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)) that his film would surely blow Star Wars out of the water. And then the movie came out…and the movie world has never been the same since. It blew away all expectations and made a killing at the box office (my dad remembered the original film played at the local cinema for well over a YEAR after release). I remember, being rather young, asking my dad just how successful the first Star Wars was (since he saw it in theaters the first time). He put it to me like this: the original film (he said) was so profitable, that George Lucas, and Hamill, Ford and Fisher could have retired then and there and been set for life. It’s a pretty accurate statement, but I for one am glad that Lucas kept going because otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten The Empire Strikes Back.

I wish I could remember the first time I saw this movie, I can’t even tell you how old I was, but I can imagine that I sat there, bug-eyed, as this huge drama played out in front of me. I was fortunate in that my parents had recorded a copy of the original, unaltered Star Wars on a VHS tape, and so that was the version I knew first.

Trivia time!!!

There’s a very good reason why James Earl Jones dubbed over David Prowse as Darth Vader: Prowse has an exceptionally noticeable Welsh accent that, unfortunately, makes him sound the complete opposite of menacing. Allegedly, Prowse had no idea he’d been dubbed over until he watched the premiere of the film.

Darth Vader as voiced by David Prowse

Peter Cushing/Tarkin’s boots pinched his feet horribly so he wore them only when a full body shot was absolutely required. Any other time that he is on camera and his feet are not visible…he’s wearing slippers.

Right up until the first day of filming, Luke was still known as “Luke Starkiller”

Obi-Wan was NOT supposed to die in the original script. He was supposed to make it off the Death Star with everyone else and help begin Luke’s proper training with Yoda in the next installment. What happened is, Lucas looked at the outline of the story and realized that for the rest of the film and a big chunk of the (intended) sequel, Obi-Wan had absolutely nothing to do so, in an 11th-hour decision, Lucas decided to kill the character off (a decision that Guinness was not pleased with).

As strange as it might look, that is a real sword fighting style that Obi-Wan is using against Darth Vader.

This is the only Star Wars film (prior to The Force Awakens) where the Emperor does not appear in some way or another (Tarkin makes a few passing comments about the Emperor dissolving the Imperial Senate, but that is all).

*all images belong to either 20th century Fox/Walt Disney Studios

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My Thoughts on: Solo: A Star Wars Story (with spoilers!) (2018)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), My Thoughts!!

Beauty and the Beast “Beauty and the Beast/Tale as Old as Time” (1991)

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I admit I’ve been putting this particular song off because it’s really my favorite (and I was afraid of not being able to do it justice). But having re-watched the movie for inspiration, I feel confident enough to proceed now.

“Beauty and the Beast” (also known as the Dancing scene) is the culmination of the Beast’s efforts to forge a relationship with Belle. The magical rose is already well on the way to wilting, so it is imperative that Beast confess his love at just the right moment.

The beginning of this scene is just beautiful as Belle comes down the stairs in her golden dress (fact: I loved this dress so much as a kid that I begged my mother to make one for me so I could be Belle too). The Beast, meantime, has made a complete transformation from the mostly-wild creature we first met, to a perfect gentleman.

As the pair walk to dinner, the entire moment is graced with a song by Mrs. Potts (Angela Lansbury), and here comes one of the craziest stories I ever heard about a Disney song (it might just beat the story I told about “Gaston” too). See, the writers and director knew that this moment was pivotal to the story, if they got any part wrong it just wouldn’t work. And therein lay the problem for a long time, they just couldn’t figure out WHO should sing this song. For a while it was going to be Lumiere, but since he’d already performed “Be Our Guest”, it didn’t feel quite right for him to be narrating this moment. Cogsworth was also considered, as well as a Lumiere-Cogsworth duet, but that REALLY didn’t feel right.

Eventually, they felt that Angela Lansbury (as Mrs. Potts) would be just right, however, the actress did NOT want to do it; she didn’t feel right with it, didn’t think she could do the song justice, etc. In short, she politely refused. But the director knew that there was no one else to turn to, so…he used a trick. The director and Alan Menken approached Angela Lansbury and said something to the effect of “We know you don’t want to perform the song, and that’s fine. But could you please do a run-through anyway, just so we have something to help pace the scene?” The actress agreed to that and did a single run-through of the song…and that is what you hear in the final movie. Oh, I’m so glad they convinced her to do it too, it just couldn’t have worked without her.

Tale as old as time
True as it can be
Barely even friends
Then somebody bends
Unexpectedly

Just a little change
Small to say the least
Both a little scared
Neither one prepared
Beauty and the Beast

This scene is also notable for the use of CGI in the main ballroom (the room and especially the chandelier being computer generated). There had initially been two ideas for a CGI scene, one being the ballroom scene, and the other being the climactic battle on the tower. Well, it turned out that the technology of 1991 was not quite ready to render the tower battle realistically, so the ballroom became their sole chance to show off what computer animation could do. There was even a plan B if the animation ultimately didn’t work: the animators planned to use an “Ice-capades” theme (i.e. Belle and Beast would’ve been dancing in a spotlight with darkness all around) if for some reason the computer animation failed.

Ever just the same
Ever a surprise
Ever as before
Ever just as sure
As the sun will rise

Tale as old as time
Tune as old as song
Bittersweet and strange
Finding you can change
Learning you were wrong

Certain as the sun
Rising in the east
Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast

Tale as old as time
Song as old as rhyme
Beauty and the Beast

I think this could be the perfect Disney scene, there isn’t a flaw anywhere, and Angela Lansbury’s rich voice perfectly complements what is going on. I especially love, during the “bittersweet and strange” verse, when the camera is panning down from the ceiling and showing Belle and Beast twirling, fully engrossed in the moment. Should I ever get married some day, I fully plan on this song being “the first dance song” during the reception (because it’s perfect).

I’m not sure what the live-action remake will do as an equivalent for this scene, but, however good it looks, it’ll be hard pressed to top this, that’s for sure.

Next time there’s “Something There” that wasn’t there before (oh what could it possibly be!)

*all images are the property of Walt Disney Studios

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For more Beauty and the Beast, see:

Beauty and the Beast “Belle” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Belle (reprise)” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Gaston” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Be Our Guest” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Something There” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Human Again” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “The Mob Song” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “The West Wing” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Battle on the Tower” (1991)

Beauty and the Beast “Transformation” (1991)

For more great Disney songs, check out the main page here: Disney A-Z

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My Thoughts on: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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It is not often that a sequel surpasses the original, and yet the prevailing opinion is that The Empire Strikes Back, released on this day in 1980, did exactly that. Set an unspecified amount of time after the original Star Wars (now known as A New Hope), Empire Strikes Back finds the Rebel Alliance holed up on the ice planet of Hoth while the Imperial fleet, led by Darth Vader, searches for them (and for Luke Skywalker in particular, as he delivered the killing blow to the Death Star).

This film features several plot lines. The first is Luke’s continuing journey to becoming a Jedi, now under the tutelage of the ancient Jedi master Yoda (Frank Oz) on the swamp planet of Dagobah. The other follows Han Solo, Princess Leia, Chewbacca and C-3PO has they flee in a damaged Millennium Falcon from Darth Vader.

And speaking of Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith’s role is greatly expanded compared to the previous film. Whereas the first film had Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing) and the vague threat of the Emperor, this film places Vader as the sole villain to be feared. And unlike the first film, where he releases the arrogant Imperial officer from a throat choke (at Tarkin’s demand I might add), the Vader in Empire Strikes Back shows no such mercy, killing an Admiral AND a Captain in the course of the film.

Of course The Empire Strikes Back is also known to possess one of the greatest cinematic twists of all time: the shocking revelation that, far from killing Luke’s father, Vader IS Luke’s father!! (It was so shocking in fact, that when shown the page of dialogue, James Earl Jones was convinced that Vader had to be lying).

How could they keep something that big so secret for so long? Simple: they lied to everybody about the twist. What I mean is, when everyone was given their script, Lucas and company put in a fake page of dialogue for that moment (to prevent the true secret being leaked). Hamill was not told the truth until right before it was time to film the scene (allegedly Prowse wasn’t told at all and had a totally different dialogue that Jones dubbed over, but this is disputed). According to the fake dialogue, the pivotal moment read as Vader saying “You don’t know the truth, Obi-Wan killed your father!” Now, you have to admit, even if it was fake, that’s a pretty earth-shattering twist!

The other best-known moment (or I should say sequence of moments) from this film would be the lightsaber duel between Luke and Vader in the depths of Cloud City. The director stated that, regarding Cloud City, he wanted to create an idea of Heaven and Hell, with the white exterior of the city among the clouds symbolizing Heaven, and the freezing chamber deep in the city representing Hell. If you compare this duel to any of the duels in the prequel trilogy or The Force Awakens, one big difference should jump out at you: for most of the duel, there is no music whatsoever. The only sounds you hear in the opening are lightsaber hits and Vader’s breathing.The lack of music serves to raise the tension (I believe), as Vader is placed as this really powerful foe that (according to Yoda and Obi-Wan) Luke is NOT ready to face.

The Empire Strikes Back: Cloud City Duel (1980)

When the villain is introduced like that, you know you’re in trouble

Furthermore, Vader, at the start, is only fighting Luke with one hand, he doesn’t even need to use both hands to block Luke’s attacks (in effect, he’s toying with him).

Now, regarding this fight, there’s a little known fact that you should know: that is NOT David Prowse in the Vader suit. It was going to be, but Prowse kept snapping the practice blades during rehearsal and finally they said “You’re out.” He was replaced by Bob Anderson (1922-2012), an Olympic fencer and and a legendary fight choreographer (he trained everyone from Errol Flynn to Viggo Mortensen and then some in sword fighting). Now, Anderson was nowhere near the height or bulk of Prowse, so the director had to resort to some cinematic trickery to make you unaware that someone else was playing Vader. The key element was shooting Vader at high or unusual angles, to make it look like he was the same size. That’s why in the opening part, the camera is looking UP at Vader, who is standing on top of the stairs. There are also a number of shots where you don’t see Vader’s whole body in the frame. All of this would be repeated for the final duel in Return of the Jedi (1983).

The Empire Strikes Back “Imperial March” (1980)

Musically, this film is best known for introducing “The Imperial March” aka “Darth Vader’s theme.” This is possibly the most famous Star Wars theme ever created, and it has come to represent total evil. (For more on the “Imperial March”, see “The Imperial March” by John Williams ).

Of the seven Star Wars films released to date, Empire Strikes Back is the one I invariably end up watching the most (I also highly recommend the NPR radio drama of this story). That’s all for now, enjoy the rest of the weekend!

*all images are now the property of Walt Disney Studios/or possibly 20th Century Fox still

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Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

My Thoughts on: Solo: A Star Wars Story (with spoilers!) (2018)

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Star Wars (1977)

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

My Thoughts on: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

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Hans Zimmer talks The Dark Knight (2008)

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Hans Zimmer talks The Dark Knight (2008)

In 2008 Warner Bros. Studios released The Dark Knight, the highly successful sequel to Batman Begins (2005), continuing the story of Batman (Christian Bale) as he faces his most legendary foe: The Joker (Heath Ledger in his final screen role).

Oddly enough, though I was fascinated by Batman around this time, I never got around to watching this movie, or any other movie in the Dark Knight Trilogy to be perfectly honest. I’m not sure if it was because Heath Ledger had died or something else, but I know from reputation that they are an excellent set of films, with a great trilogy of scores co-composed by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard.

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It’s interesting to note that Zimmer created the Joker’s theme while Howard created the theme for Two-Face (to serve as musical contrasts to each other). The score was, for the most part, well-received, though like most films there were those who disliked it as well. I’ve had the score recommended to me for some time, so I should probably get my own copy sooner rather than later.

The interview linked above contains an extensive look at the score of the film and as always provides a valuable insight into how a film composer works. If you’re a fan of The Dark Knight (and even if the film is new to you), I believe you will enjoy this.

*poster image is the property of Warner Bros. Studios

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See also:

Film Composer Interviews A-H

Film Composer Interviews K-Z

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Shrek 2 continues to turn fairy tales on their heads

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On this day in film history, Shrek 2 (2004) came bouncing into theaters. Like the original, Shrek 2 received extremely positive reviews and proved to be the most profitable film in the series until Shrek the Third (2007).

As the story opens, a mysterious figure makes its way to Fiona’s castle, boasting all the time about how he’s going to rescue the princess (having no idea that this has already happened long since). Instead of meeting Fiona, Prince Charming (yes, that’s really his name) meets the Wolf from Little Red Riding Hood, who informs him that Fiona is already on her honeymoon. (During the honeymoon montage, Shrek ends up being kissed by a red-headed mermaid that is likely a reference to Disney’s Ariel because we never see her face (Fiona drags her away and throws her to the sharks first)).

Shrek-2-Fiona-Donkey

As Shrek and Fiona return from said honeymoon, they get an unexpected message from Fiona’s parents, the King and Queen of Far Far Away (as in “once upon a time, in a land far far away), who want to see their daughter and her new husband at once. They eventually go, but things are decidedly awkward as no one was expecting Fiona to have married an ogre.

Meanwhile, it turns out that years ago, the King of Far Far Away (John Cleese) made a deal with the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) for her son Charming to marry Fiona, and on the basis of that deal, she gave him HIS “happily ever after” years ago. When the Fairy Godmother threatens to revoke the arrangement, the King agrees to find someone to kill Shrek so Charming can step in. Enter…Puss n’ Boots (Antonio Banderas in a brilliant casting choice), famed ogre killer extraordinaire.

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A big message in this film is the importance of accepting others for who they really are, and not trying to change them into your vision of “normal” or “happy.” Granted, Shrek and Fiona don’t match the happy couple everyone initially expects, but the King and Queen gradually come to understand that the two are deeply in love, especially after the lengths Shrek goes to in winning Fiona back (there’s a hilarious sequence where Shrek takes a potion, becomes human, which makes Fiona human again, only Charming is pretending to be human Shrek, it’s a long story, but you should watch it!)

Jennifer Saunders (voicing the Fairy Godmother) steals every scene she’s in. This is NOTHING like the Fairy Godmother from Cinderella, while she pretends to be this sugary, lovey figure who only wants to grant wishes, the Godmother is really a nasty person, who’s really out for herself and her spoiled rotten son Charming (she made the deal with the King in order to see her son Charming eventually take the throne, so that presumably she could influence the Kingdom in her son’s name). It’s a shame she only appears in this film, she’d have made a great recurring villain.

The pop music scenes are awesome as well, including this great scene at the climax of the film where the Fairy Godmother sings “I Need a Hero” while human Shrek storms the castle with a giant Gingerbread Man.

Shrek 2 “I Need a Hero” (2004)

Don’t get me wrong, the original film is a great movie, but I almost enjoy this sequel more because it really fleshes out the world that Shrek takes place in.

Random thoughts:

Julie Andrews is perfect as the Queen, that is all.

The reveal of the King as the “Frog Prince” was brilliant.

I’m still weirded out about Donkey and Dragon having kids because, I mean think about it, HOW did that work??? (also, while Donkey was a stallion, the producers stated that Dragon turned into a Pegasus).

Puss ‘n Boots might be one of the greatest characters this film series has ever produced, PERIOD. And nobody could do it like Antonio Banderas, absolutely nobody.

The numerous pop culture references in the Land of Far Far Away are too many to count, but they’re all well-done and it’s fun to watch the movie and try to catch all of them.

*film poster is the property of DreamWorks Pictures

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See also:

Animated Film Reviews

Shrek (2001) upends fairy tales!