Swing Time (1936) Director: George Stevens ★★★★★ Swing Time is a wonderful film, and may be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers's finest movie. Together they made ten Hollywood films, and nine of which were musicals for RKO. Six of them were the top money-makers for RKO. As Katherine Hepburn once said, "He gives her class, and … Continue reading Swing Time
Tag: musical
The Broadway Melody
The Broadway Melody (1929) Director: Harry Beaumont ★★★☆☆ The Broadway Melody was the first "talkie" to win the Academy Award for Best Picture and it was also the first musical to be released by MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer). The film is hardly memorable except on several key points: its novelty as the first "talkie" to win the … Continue reading The Broadway Melody
42nd Street
42nd Street (1933) Director: Lloyd Bacon "Come and meet those dancing feet, On the avenue I'm taking you to, Forty-Second Street." ★★★☆☆ Although 42nd Street is historically and aesthetically significant, it is challenging for modern audiences to follow the pace of the various characters and their interconnected plot lines. However, it is an entertaining movie. … Continue reading 42nd Street
Notes on the Isha Upanishad
In the Isha Upanishad (perhaps meaning hidden or enveloped in the lord or ruler), there is an acknowledgement of the distinction between the 'transient' and the 'eternal.' In the opening line, the eternal is identified as superior to the transient. One who dwells exceedingly on the latter will descend into darkness, but one who acts according … Continue reading Notes on the Isha Upanishad
The Jazz Singer
9/15/14 The Jazz Singer (1927) Director: Alan Crosland "Wait a minute, wait a minute. You ain't heard nothing yet!" ★★☆☆☆ The Jazz Singer is a film worth watching purely for its claim to fame: the first film to be labeled a “talkie." Without this novelty, the film would be, unfortunately, entirely forgettable. Based on a … Continue reading The Jazz Singer
