<Back

Movie Reviews: Two classics deliver glorious feelings

Singin' in the Rain Don't expect subtlety and nuance, but enjoy this cheerful musical classic

The infectiously cheerful 1952 Singin' in the Rain delivers a tale of love in the era when Hollywood first allowed movie stars to talk. It is a witty, energetic classic of old-school musicals.

The plot: Gene Kelly plays a former vaudeville singer turned silent film star. Donald O'Conner is his comical sidekick and the best character in the movie. Kelly's braindead leading lady, played by Jean Hagen, thinks they're engaged because she read it in a magazine. He, however, only has eyes for a stage actress and singer played by Debbie Reynolds.

Their studio decides to start making talking pictures, which is a problem because the Hagen character has a horrible, annoying voice. You see where this is going.

If you are in the mood for subtle performances, nuanced dialogue and an insightful and thought-provoking storyline, this is obviously not the movie for you.

But if you are feeling like a gleefully overacted romantic comedy, spirited singing and dancing and generally abundant happiness, it will be an hour and a half well spent.

The movie has a good number of songs, all of them a lot of fun, although one was fairly brazenly plagiarized from Cole Porter. Some songs relate to the storyline and others are just sort of thrown in there because it was time for some singing.

However, there aren't as many numbers as you might expect. The film has far more non-musical scenes than your average modern musical.

On the level of cinematography and production values, the film is surprisingly well-shot for a movie so old, and clearly had a pretty decent budget. An early example of Technicolor, every scene is notably bright, colorful and lush.

And for the record, Gene Kelley sings in the rain an hour and eight minutes into the film.

by Merrick Meyers

Once Upon a Time in the West The Western genre at its finest

Sergio Leone is renowned for elevating the Western genre to the level of art, largely because of Once Upon a Time in the West. This expansive film highlights the very best elements of the legendary director, whose credentials also include The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

Claudia Cardinale plays a woman with a shady past, Jill, whose family is shot on the very day she arrives out West to begin her life as a homesteader. Soon an unnamed character (The Man), played by Charles Bronson, enters her life and the story progresses along the lines of a classic tale of revenge for both characters. The Man allies himself with Jill as he tracks down Frank, the cold psychopath who killed her family (played brilliantly by Henry Fonda), leading to a final showdown that only Leone could orchestrate.

Leone, who specializes in stunning cinematography and rich visual detail, is certainly not afraid to make a bold statement with his movie. The film stretches almost three hours in length and is sparse on dialogue, which might bore some viewers.

Once Upon a Time in the West is a treat for movie buffs, since Leone does not baby his audience by handing them the story wrapped up in a neat package within the opening scenes of the film. The movie unfolds slowly with bursts of action snapping onto screen when one least expects it, allowing viewers to focus on the beauty of the visual product and complexity of the story.

Once Upon a Time in the West rests comfortably at the top of the Western genre as a classic. It contains all of the elements one might expect: a dubious hero, a truly evil villain and plenty of quick-draw showdowns packaged in a beautiful example of artful filmmaking. It is truly a masterpiece.

by Julia Bottles

<Back