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A great list, and yours not mine, but… (Reply to this comment)
by rightbrain
…you could have bumped a couple out for Top Hat and The Bandwagon. I mean, c'mon. I won't even mention Funny Face or Pennies From Heaven or Gypsy or My Sister Eileen or (ahem) A Star is Born (1954 version). Or the musical numbers in Footlight Parade. Or even Navin! The Musical.
Wait, that one's on my wish list. Can you use your connections to convince Steve Martin to write a musical of The Jerk? And I'm sure you could bring so much more to the role of Marie as a mature ingenue. "Heeee's picking out a therrrrmos for meeee!"
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Jan 11 '02
9:49 pm PST
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Re: FAAAAAAAB-ulous! (Reply to this comment)
by MrsNormanMaine
Hi there - the ranking is chronological which is why 'Cabaret' is at seven. If it were on quality, it would probably be number one...
Meet Me in Saint Louis is a favorite film of mine but it doesn't have the seminal importance that most of the films on the list has. It would certainly make a top twenty of mine...
MNM
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Aug 21 '01
8:03 am PDT
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FAAAAAAAB-ulous! (Reply to this comment)
by kknox0616
Another well-done job commenting on a bunch of wonderful films. I think you have just about summed up some of the best musical movies ever made, although I happen to find ANNIE quite enjoyable. I guess that's the part of me that loves GREASE 2 and XANADU as well. Hehe. Guilty pleasures, you know. And Carol Burnette is so much FUN in it! It's also the film that introduced me to CAMILLE, so for that I will always love it.
BUt CABARET all the way down at No. 7, and MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS not in the top 10??? MMISL is definitely in my top 10 films of all time, and CABARET... well, CABARET is just CABARET. : )
But I take it there is no lost love for THE SOUND OF MUSIC?
Still, another excellent job here. Much agreed.
Ken
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Aug 20 '01
4:55 pm PDT
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Re: Great+Choices (Reply to this comment)
by MrsNormanMaine
I enjoy 'Grease' but I don't find it as substantial a film as most of the rest of them on my list. It's probably close to vying for a spot in the top twenty as any as it succeeds brilliantly on its own terms. It's certainly better than the film version of 'South Pacific', for instance.
MNM
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Jul 03 '01
7:42 pm PDT
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Great Choices (Reply to this comment)
by DavidK93
Dear Vicki,
I positively adore most of the musicals you chose. Although I think you have shamefully overlooked Grease, it is still a great list.
--David
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Jul 03 '01
5:57 pm PDT
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Re: congratulations! (Reply to this comment)
by MrsNormanMaine
They're all worth seeing and I could come up with another twenty or thirty if you're interested. Then there are the musicals to avoid at all costs...
A Chorus Line
Annie
Rhapsody in Blue
Night and Day
The Last Dragon
and a whole bunch of others...
MNM
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Jun 29 '01
4:08 pm PDT
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congratulations! (Reply to this comment)
by jankp
You deserve the hat definitely. I always enjoy your stellar reviews. Haven't seen quite a few of your picks, Beauty and the Beast, Dames, but really like the honorable mentions.
Jan
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Jun 29 '01
11:51 am PDT
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Re: Singing+MNM's+century-mark, (Reply to this comment)
by MrsNormanMaine
Mike, thank you. This is heady praise indeed from a man whom I regard as one of the finest writers I've come across in years. (I hope you don't mind, but I've told my English teacher brother to look at your stuff to show his students how to construct an essay...) Anyone who can hold my interest though a piece on portable air conditioners is tops in my book.
MNM has certainly taken on a life of her own, far beyond what I had ever expected. Who knew? When she sits down to write, I never know quite what will pop out of her demented head but she does have a fairly sharp eye for what's right and wrong in film making.
You know the psychological reasons for her existence - when that situation is over, she may have fulfilled her purpose. But, who knows? She's a tough old bird and unlikely to go gently into that good night.
I thought about putting the usual laundry list at the end but decided against it as it just didn't seem right for this piece somehow. Call me a fool...
AD aka MNM
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Jun 28 '01
7:14 am PDT
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Re: A+wonderful+list+and (Reply to this comment)
by MrsNormanMaine
I love 'Carousel' as a stage show. I find the movie flawed, but not without it's moments. The bench scene, one of the great pieces of musical theater writing, comes across as stilted in the film, too stage bound and not cinematic. The changing of Billy's death from suicide to accident undercuts the whole meaning of the piece and the toning down of the rougher elements to fit 50s film sensibilities also hurts it. On the other hand, 'June is Busting Out All Over' is a great moment and the clambake stuff works better on film then on stage. Shirley Jones and Gordon McRae are also in fine form.
Did you see the recent English National Theater production? Absolutely marvelous... All of the imagery of circles and the circle of life caught up in the Carousel...
MNM
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Jun 28 '01
7:08 am PDT
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Re: What+an+impressive+list! (Reply to this comment)
by MrsNormanMaine
Thank you Patty.
Norman and I are indeed off to whatever new restaurant Wolfgang Puck has emblazoned his name across. I trust that he actually sets foot in the kitchen occasionally but I'm always the optimist. I'll have my usual manhattan and try to keep Norman from drinking any stray cleaning products.
MNM
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Jun 28 '01
7:03 am PDT
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Singing MNM's century-mark, (Reply to this comment)
by Sloucho
When I first started coming to your stuff (and it doesn't seem that long ago), I remember thinking that you couldn't possibly make that final paragraph of a salvo of truncated points work every time. And aha! I've got you, for you didn't say "gratuitous Oklahoma" in your final paragraph here. But in your one hundred reviews you have transformed what I initially regarded as a gimmick-that-couldn't-work into an integral component of reviews that absolutely class up the site. I don't remember ever congratulating you on the advisorship, so allow me to throw all sorts of good thoughts at you at once.
Most importantly, allow me to praise this particular review--which, as I'm sure you know, is head-and-shoulders above the average "ten best" piece. Starting with _Dames_ and explaining the limitations of the sound technology and what Berkely had to do in order to translate stage material to the screen effectively was a perfect way to kick off a genuinely thoughtful discussion of films throughout the century (or am I being too hard on the twelve-year-olds who feel qualified to write that the ten movies they've seen in the last two years of their lives are the ten best movies in history?).
In any case, thanks for your continued contributions to a site that doesn't deserve you.
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Jun 28 '01
6:33 am PDT
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Re: Wonderful! (Reply to this comment)
by MrsNormanMaine
Thank you.
I can't even contemplate 200 yet. I'll set my sights on 110 first. After all, it's in the shade.
MNM
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Jun 28 '01
5:49 am PDT
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A wonderful list and (Reply to this comment)
by WendyD3520
as always, a wonderful review - just wondering...don't you like my favorite?
Carousel?
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Jun 28 '01
5:03 am PDT
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What an impressive list! (Reply to this comment)
by makeupu
CONGRATULATIONS on your 100th!! I hope you and Norman are celebrating tonight! You've been writing your @ss off, MNM and I've enjoyed every Epinion~!
Have a drink on me!
With love from your biggest fan!
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Jun 27 '01
10:43 pm PDT
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Wonderful! (Reply to this comment)
by lorace
Thank you for this beautiful list of great musicals. Enjoyed reading it. Especially the introduction! What a masterpiece.
And Congratulations on the hundredth. Let's get to 200 quickly.
Lorace.
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Jun 27 '01
9:57 pm PDT
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Re: Wow,+great+writing! (Reply to this comment)
by MrsNormanMaine
Thank you...
I just know what I like...
MNM
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Jun 27 '01
9:38 pm PDT
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Wow, great writing! (Reply to this comment)
by Mark_A.
You know your movies!
Congrats on a great 100th!
Mark
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Jun 27 '01
9:31 pm PDT
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