Old musical movies
I watched Brigadoon & Ziegfeld's Follies last night while I sewed, from TMC. Oh, how I so loved Gene Kelly when I was a kid... the way he danced, his slight smirky grin, the little panache in his steps that Fred Astaire just didn't have. I would have loved to dance with Gene, and he was my dancing idol growing up. It's one of the reasons I enjoyed Xanadu as much as I did, as Olivia Newton John just was so lucky to get to dance with The Gene Kelly.
And yes, I know Fred Astaire was an incredible dancer. The way he could move with any woman was mesmerizing, but Gene just had that panache, the quirk to his steps that told me he felt the music in his soul, and that I admired in his dance steps.
I wish we had modern musicals in that old vein of Hollywood, with incredible dancers that mesmerize, and not what we have today with hiphop movements that is jarring. I think Moulin Rouge was one of the last ones I enjoyed for both the song and dancing involved, and that one took me a while to get into with the directing. Today's musicals are just tooooo High School Musical for my tastes. I don't want to deal with high school! I want to watch two bodies swaying together in perfect rhythm, interesting syncopation, and harmony. {sigh}
Edit: I am reading the wikipedia entry on Gene Kelly, and I saw these two things that I thought was interesting.
And yes, I know Fred Astaire was an incredible dancer. The way he could move with any woman was mesmerizing, but Gene just had that panache, the quirk to his steps that told me he felt the music in his soul, and that I admired in his dance steps.
I wish we had modern musicals in that old vein of Hollywood, with incredible dancers that mesmerize, and not what we have today with hiphop movements that is jarring. I think Moulin Rouge was one of the last ones I enjoyed for both the song and dancing involved, and that one took me a while to get into with the directing. Today's musicals are just tooooo High School Musical for my tastes. I don't want to deal with high school! I want to watch two bodies swaying together in perfect rhythm, interesting syncopation, and harmony. {sigh}
Edit: I am reading the wikipedia entry on Gene Kelly, and I saw these two things that I thought was interesting.
- Paula Abdul stars opposite an animated cat in her "Opposites Attract" video, and did so as to mirror Gene Kelly with Jerry (of Tom and Jerry) in Anchors Aweigh. Gene Kelly, her childhood idol, noticed, and wanted to meet her. They met for tea every week until he died.
- Ray Bradbury's novel Something Wicked This Way Comes was dedicated to him.