The Critical History of Singin’ in the Rain
The 1952 original musical, Singin’ in the Rain is one of the most treasured musical films ever made. This heartwarming, hysterical, and enjoyable movie illustrates the challenging shift from silent pictures to speaking films. Singin’ in the Rain was created in a way that gives the viewer a surprisingly accurate glimpse into the history of this period of cinematic evolution. This is all done while providing non-stop entertainment for the audience. The stars of the film, Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds had utterly captivating on-screen personas. Those personas, paired with charming music and fun choreography, greatly contribute to the film’s initial success with the public. In
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In fact, “it received only two Academy Award nominations - Best Supporting Actress (Jean Hagen), and Best Musical Score (Lennie Hayton) and didn't win any awards.” (Dirks) The nomination for Best Musical Score at least honored the music that was original to the film, but it is shocking that other than Jean Hagen (who was hysterical in this film), no other actor, or the film in general, was recognized by the Academy. In spite of this noticeable Oscars snub, Singin’ in the Rain did earn itself some other notable accolades. “Donald O’Connor won the 1952 Golden Globe award for “Best Motion Picture Actor in a Musical or Comedy” for his performance in "Singin' in the Rain".” (The Picture Show Man) Also in 1952, screenwriters Betty Comden and Adolph Green, were honored with the “Best Written Musical” award by the Screen Writer’s Guild of …show more content…
However, the criticisms that Singin’ in the Rain faced were mild. I have yet to find one that has actually prevented anyone from thoroughly enjoying this movie musical. One reviewer said that the movie fails to recognize the dire situation that the stars of the show would be in if The Dancing Cavalier were to flop. It was too “fluffy” and failed to get to a deeper emotional level. “The film is so busy cracking jokes and dancing around that you never feel that the characters are in trouble.” (Hunter) Another review states that the music does not correspond with the context of the movie, and that the ballet scene was lackluster. I find this review to be comical. Now that I know the screenwriters set out to create a script that incorporated existing musical scores, I would have to say they did an amazing job making all of the music flow within the
One piece of literary work that has changed my life is a book called Every Storm, by Lori Wick. It has changed the way that I look at my family and how much I depend on them for support. This book is set right after World War II and two sisters, Josie and Lorri, are set to head back to the United States (US) from Australia to visit family. On the way back to the US, there is a huge thunderstorm that results in Josie and Lorri’s plane crashing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, Josie and the pilot did not make it, forcing Lorri to survive on a random island alone to fend for herself. Lorri is finally able to reach her home and she is faced with all sorts of challenges physically, mentally, and emotionally. This book has always
It is curious to see the great star of the musical Wicked on Broadway, Indina Menzel, giving her voice to a character in Disney’s Movie, Frozen. This movie, that is an example of success, has won many awards, among them the Oscar for the best animation movie and music. However, does a musical produced in a theater such as Les Miserables or Chicago have the same success and prestige as the movie version? The advance of technology in the field of cinema that has been possible to adapt and improve the stories of books, real facts, and of course, musical theater presentations, makes everyone think the answer is no. Hence, even though the musicals produced in theater and for movies are very similar in the presentations, they have certain differences, such as audience and production that make one more successful than the other.
The movie “Rain Man” was released in 1988. This movie is basically about two brothers who go on an adventure together, but not just for good intentions. This movie stars Tom Cruise, who plays as the character Charlie Babbit, and Dustin Hoffman, who plays as the character Raymond. In the beginning of the movie, one would have never thought that Charlie Babbitt had a brother. Charlie Babbitt owned his own automobile company. He appeared successful and very self-centered. Charlie Babbit’s automobile company is in trouble. He is in serious debt.
In a play there are no edits or cuts, the actors have to do everything in one take and that's what Singin in the Rain tries to do. It also captures the actors talents because we actually believe that they can do the things they are doing, like dancing and singing, because there are no edits. This is really evident in the songs ¨Make ´Em Laugh¨ and ¨Broadway Melody Ballet¨. These scenes really showed the talent and abilities of the
“With pop culture apparently suffering from a retro epidemic lately, today’s 60th anniversary of Singin’ in the Rain provides a chance to look back at a film that was ahead of its time in the way that it, too, looked back” (Bahr). Even though it wasn’t all too successful in the awards department, Singin’ in the Rain stuck with audiences because it was so far ahead of its time. It took advantage of all the latest technology while still keeping its “classic movie” feel. In addition, the film implemented both original and well-known songs into the story. This makes the film feel familiar but fresh and new to its audiences. “…Singin’ in the Rain’s jokes and light parodies of actors and Hollywood are still surprisingly insightful and effective” (Bahr). Having been the most researched musical in all of film’s history, it was probably the most correct parody of Hollywood that the industry has ever seen
“The White Umbrella” by Gish Jen is a very reflective realistic fiction story of a chinese american girl’s youth. When the girl was young, her mother went to work without telling anyone. Her mom didn't even tell her father. The narrator and her sister just assumed normal life when their mother started coming home late. The story picks up one day when the two sisters are at their piano lesson. The older sister becomes envious when her piano teacher (Mrs.Crossman) applauds Eugenie (the girl whose lesson was before hers) on her playing. When the Eugenie leaves, the narrator notices that Eugenie has left her umbrella. Before she can react, Eugenie gets in her car and drives away. When the
The Jazz Singer, released in 1927, is a black and white film that centers on a young man who wishes to conquer his dreams in becoming a professional jazz singer. This film, directed by Alan Crosland, demonstrates new developments from the decade of the 1920’s. During the decade, many new advances; such as the introduction of musicals and other technological advancements, were created. The Jazz Singer utilized these new advances of the decade and incorporated them into each scene. This is evident due to the elements of being the first talkie film, the introduction of the new musical genre and the introduction of the Hollywood stars system. By utilizing the new advances of the decade, Crosland’s film, changed the way cinema would be seen forever.
Love has the power to do anything. Love can heal and love can hurt. Love is something that is indescribable and difficult to understand. Love is a feeling that cannot be accurately expressed by a word. In the poem “The Rain” by Robert Creeley, the experience of love is painted and explored through a metaphor. The speaker in the poem compares love to rain and he explains how he wants love to be like rain. Love is a beautiful concept and through the abstract comparison to rain a person is assisted in developing a concrete understanding of what love is. True beauty is illuminated by true love and vice versa. In other words, the beauty of love and all that it entails is something true.
In A Long Walk to Water by, Nya’s section demonstrates determination and how determination is an important attribute for people to succeed and survive. Nya, an eleven-year-old Nuer girl who is living in Southern Sudan during a drought is required to walk back and forth to and from a pond to get water for her family. Firstly, Nya spends most of her days getting water from the pond but she is determined to provide her family with water so she continues her journeys to the pond and back for quite a long time. For instance, the text in A Long Walk to Water explains, “Waiting for water. Here, for hours at a time. And every day for five long months. Until the rains came and she and her family could return home”, (Park, page 27). Nya knows that she
The period between the early 1940s to mid-1960s or so, alternatively, the period between when the musical Oklahoma! (1943) was produced till the time when Hair (1968) was produced, is usually referred to as the Golden Age of the American musical (Kantor, 2010). It is during this period, that most of the noted titles such as “Carousel”, “South Pacific” etc. were produced by the. The 1940s and early 1950s were dominated thoroughly by MGM musicals, while the late 1950s and 1960s belonged to Broadway. Initially, the musicals of this era had simple plots, unchallenging themes, with romantic or comedic characters and lots of singing and dancing.
Allen Cohen & Steven L. Rosenhaus. 2006. Writing Musical Theatre. 175 Fifth Ave, New York, N.Y. PALGRAVE MACMILLAN.
Savant syndrome isn’t bad or harmful at all to the autistic person it is actually highly beneficial to the person and other people so there is no need for treatment for this. There have been no previous records of anyone trying to treat savant. A big benefit that Charlie had from Raymond was being able to count playing cards. Charlie taught his brother how to play black jack. After Charlie took Raymond to the casinos in Las Vegas Raymond help Charlie when a bunch of money.
The musical selections and songs that were sung told a story and narrated the almost the entire film, as is expected in...
The introduction of sound to film started in the 1920’s. By the 1930’s a vast majority of films were now talkies. ‘If you put a sound consistent to visual image and specifically human voice you make a “talkie”’ (Braun 1985 pg. 97). In 1926 Warner Brothers introduced sound to film but, other competing studios such as FOX, didn’t find it necessary to incorporate sound to their motion pictures production, as they were making enough money through their silent movies. Warner Brothers decided to take what was considered a risky move by adding sound to their motion picture, a risk taken, as they weren’t as successful in the silent movie department. But this risk paid off with the hit release of ‘The Jazz Singer’ in 1927. Though sound in films was then acceptable and successful it wasn’t until the 1950’s that it became feasible to the public as sound was introduced to cinema by the invention of Cinerama by Fred Waller. The Cinerama used 35mm film strip and seven channels of audio.
Neher, Erick. "Movie Music At The Philharmonic." Hudson Review 64.4 (2012): 668-674. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.