The big problem with remaking a legendary film (especially one with such an iconic and oft referenced/mocked ending) is that everyone already knows what’s going to happen. The middle of the film may be wildly different (as some remakes try to be), but the beginning and end points are already known to us.
Tim Burton brings his creep-tastic directing skills to create some very nice imagery but a mediocre script. Burton’s films typically have a dark feel to them and this is no exception. The landscapes work really well, but "Marky" Mark Wahlberg is out of his element and out of his league here. It doesn’t help that the script is bad, laden with intimations at current politics and how our society is really no better off. Pile on top of this some ridiculous special effects, a shameful overuse of wire work, a weak supporting cast, hideously cheesy references to the original, and an ending that made me say out loud “Well, that was stupid,” and you get this underwhelming example of why Hollywood doesn’t need to remake really good movies.
I’ll be honest with you- the only reason I checked this film out from the library is because the main character's name is Galen. Everything else about this movie reeked of lameness. Evidently this movie has a devoted cult following, probably mostly with overweight nerds who know nothing outside of Lord of the Rings and Dungeons & Dragons. I can see how maybe this movie would be satisfying to the unnerving masses of fantasy geeks out there in a pre-Lord of the Rings films world, but there’s really no reason for anyone to praise this movie anymore.
The story is about a sorcerer’s apprentice who, after the death of his master, is sent on a quest to slay a dragon that’s been hassling some town nearby. Big whoop- been there, done that. Boy falls in love with beautiful princess type and we find out he never had any magical ability to begin with. The spirit of his master is inside this necklace he wears (unbeknownst to even him). His master’s spirit kills the dragon in a really poor looking effects sequence, and the hapless dope still gets the girl.
It’s been done before and after, and done much better. Typical cheesy Disney wannabe fantasy crap.
While it is a common misconception that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full motion animated film, there is no dispute that it was the first successful fully animated film. Snow White solidified Walt Disney’s genius and opened up new arenas for the film industry to explore. The painstaking process of animating, dubbing and editing such a project is astounding. More astounding is that the quality of this film made 70 years ago still towers over any traditional or computer animated film made since. Sure, technology has improved, but there’s something about the old classics that still capture the imagination of us all.
Walt Disney takes a timeless folk tale and enhances it with rich backgrounds and vivid colors. With the right splash of suspense and drama, children and adults alike will be captivated by this film. When I watched this film for the first time in a long while, I was honestly surprised at how dark and potentially creepy Snow White could seem to a young child. But in the end, they live happily ever after and we are assured that all bad things have passed.
The filming of an animated film is a long and arduous process of taking still frame by still frame shots of animated plates. Some of the scenes flow for a mere few seconds, which is long enough to shoot at 12 frames per second, but other shots pan and roll for an extended period of time, making consistency a huge issue. Only devoted attention to detail can deliver such a seamless final product.
Also worth noting is the music. Disney incorporates a range of themes and incidental music to hammer home to drama and to lift us off our feet during the lighthearted scenes. The original songs have become legendary in their own right as well. All things combined, Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs made animated films a bankable product and created a template for animated film that still exists largely to this day. It is the gold standard to which all of its followers must ultimately be compared to. If you haven’t seen this movie, check your pulse- you may be dead.
Quite a loverly film, really. While musicals aren’t usually my cup of tea, this one is actually rather charming. Audrey Hepburn is adorable as a piece of street-trash turned into a dignified lady and Rex Harrison is perfect as a repugnant, self-serving professor of phonetics. Harrison’s character takes Hepburn under his wing on a bet from a colleague. He feels that he can make a proper citizen out of anyone, and Hepburn gives him a real run for his money.
As an American, some of the language and humor goes straight over my head simply because I don’t know what certain things mean in British English. Other than an excusable language barrier, the only fault I have is with how neatly everything wraps up. Sure, it works fine in theatre but not so well in film. Perhaps that’s the blow suffered by all film adaptations for musicals, but not really. I’ve seen some tremendous film adaptations that are worthy of a four star or higher rating (West Side Story). There’s just something too perfect about the ending which disagrees with my nature.
As I’ve been mentioning in some other reviews for older films, My Fair Lady runs a tad long with some slow pacing at times, but the sum of all its parts is something quite splendid. The music is delightful and memorable, while the writing is rather witty and smart. It’s got just the right combination of style and substance to make it worth seeing, especially if you are a fan of musical theatre. Loverly, quite loverly.
I think Sunset Blvd. was more deserving of the Oscar for Best Picture in 1950, but All About Eve certainly has its merits. The story is rich with desire from both its female leads. Margo is an aging Broadway star still trying to cling to youthful roles despite her age. Eve is a seemingly harmless aspiring actress who secretly is flat-out obsessed with making it in theatre and willing to go to many lengths to make sure she gets there.
At first, Margo appears to be the villain as she makes sure upstart Eve is reduced to stagehand and understudy work. She is the epitome of the Drama Queen. She expects everyone to fawn all over her as if she were a goddess. When need be, she’ll turn the cameras around to gently but coldly remind everybody who is (or who should be) top diva. One feels bad for Eve and I found myself rooting for Eve in her struggles.
By the end of the film, however, little miss innocent has become the villain. She is even more deplorable for the fact that she won us over initially. She is cool and calculating and engineers her rise to stardom at the expense of Margo (and likely any of her peers that would stand in her way). Duplicitous as ever, once reaching the bright lights she pretends to be humble but is all too willing to take over Margo’s role as Queen of the Universe, as if it were her birthright. She gets a taste of her own medicine at the end though, as years later she is approached by an aspiring actress much in the same way she bored her way into the system.
All About Eve is ugly, wretched and deplorable, which is why it's so good. It shows the dark side of theatre, where ego and self-importance tend to run rampant. It is the exact worst case scenario and the type of people I tried not to get mixed up with while I was involved with theatre in college. Despite running a bit long, with some slower parts, All About Eve turns the spotlight on the dark side of theatre and does so uncompromisingly, for which I applaud it.
The big problem with remaking a legendary film (especially one with such an iconic and oft referenced/mocked ending) is that everyone already knows what’s going to happen. The middle of the film may be wildly different (as some remakes try to be), but the beginning and end points are already known to us.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
While it is a common misconception that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the first full motion animated film, there is no dispute that it was the first successful fully animated film. Snow White solidified Walt Disney’s genius and opened up new arenas for the film industry to explore. The painstaking process of animating, dubbing and editing such a project is astounding. More astounding is that the quality of this film made 70 years ago still towers over any traditional or computer animated film made since. Sure, technology has improved, but there’s something about the old classics that still capture the imagination of us all.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
