The MoFo Top 100 Musicals Countdown
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It's been a while since I've seen The King and I but remember loving it. Probably would have made my 25 had I rewatched it in time. Glad to see it made the list.
Only seen bits and pieces of 42nd Street so can't count it as seen.SEEN 10/24
BALLOT 2/25
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Agh man, The King and I 75th?
What kind of poll is this??
What kind of poll is this??
Eh.... hasn't aged the best. The King is a brutal dictator, who murders and tortures, and at least 1 of his wives is there against his will, making him a rapist as well. Also a lot of this is to make his culture appear "savage", while white culture is portrayed as the "correct" one.
Yes, he becomes a better person through his friendship with the heroine. And the musical numbers are quite good, but it's still a problematic story.
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The King and I was my #19. It's a childhood favorite, although as a kid I used to love the animated one as well.
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Woohoo! Two more great and old musicals! I love it
Both were last minute cuts as my ballot was way too full. But love both of these movies and rewatched them recently.
Previously I wrote this:
42nd Street (1933)
Directed by Lloyd 'bring home the' Bacon
Musical numbers staged by Busby 'show me more leg' Berkeley
Both were last minute cuts as my ballot was way too full. But love both of these movies and rewatched them recently.Previously I wrote this:
42nd Street (1933)
Directed by Lloyd 'bring home the' Bacon
Musical numbers staged by Busby 'show me more leg' Berkeley
This is the 1st musical in a series of musicals done by Warner Bros. with Busby Berkeley creating the magical musical sequences. And let's be honest, without Busby's vision no one would care about this film. The movie is a behind the scenes look at a Broadway play being staged by a hard driven director who wants to make just one more show before his poor health sidelines him. 42nd Street features brand spanking new and wide eyed, Ruby Keeler as the chorus girl who's told by the director, 'You're going out a youngster but you've got to come back a star!' Which is one of the most famous quotes from a movie.
To be honest Ruby Keeler really can't act in this, can't sing and yet she was an instant sensation and starred in a number of musicals through out the 1930s. I like her for her youthful charm and exuberance, she's fun to watch and in her future movies she does get better. Much later in life Ruby Keeler said this about her surprise stardom of the 1930s.
Gotta love Ruby for her down to earth honesty.
Best musical number is Shuffle Off to Buffalo. Love the double entendres and the flip counter lyrics sung by a humorously jaded Ginger Rogers and Una Merkel...Oh and what happens to the train is a hoot.
To be honest Ruby Keeler really can't act in this, can't sing and yet she was an instant sensation and starred in a number of musicals through out the 1930s. I like her for her youthful charm and exuberance, she's fun to watch and in her future movies she does get better. Much later in life Ruby Keeler said this about her surprise stardom of the 1930s.
It's really amazing. I couldn't act. I had that terrible singing voice, and now I can see I wasn't the greatest tap dancer in the world, either.
Best musical number is Shuffle Off to Buffalo. Love the double entendres and the flip counter lyrics sung by a humorously jaded Ginger Rogers and Una Merkel...Oh and what happens to the train is a hoot.
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 20 hours ago at 05:38 PM.
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Eh.... hasn't aged the best. The King is a brutal dictator, who murders and tortures, and at least 1 of his wives is there against his will, making him a rapist as well. Also a lot of this is to make his culture appear "savage", while white culture is portrayed as the "correct" one.
Yes, he becomes a better person through his friendship with the heroine. And the musical numbers are quite good, but it's still a problematic story.
Yes, he becomes a better person through his friendship with the heroine. And the musical numbers are quite good, but it's still a problematic story.
The country's system of government is monarchist.
I saw no evidence of him being brutal.
"who murders and tortures"
I saw no evidence of this.
"and at least 1 of his wives is there against his will, making him a rapist as well."
I saw no evidence of this. A wife was given to him as a present.
I thought this was a nice gesture.
I think I'm right in saying that she went back to her boyfriend anyway?
"Also a lot of this is to make his culture appear "savage", while white culture is portrayed as the "correct" one."
I honestly didn't get that vibe.
"Yes, he becomes a better person through his friendship with the heroine."
I liked the King more than I liked the female character personally.
Sorry you didn't like it, and I respect and appreciate alternative points of view.
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Sorry this is so long! But I'm a big fan of The King and I, I also liked the non musical Anna and the King.
Previously I wrote:
The King and I (1956)
About: In the 1860s a British school teacher and widow, agrees to travel to exotic Siam (Thailand) to teach the King's many children.
Based on the successful Broadway musical written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, that featured Yul Brynner in the lead role. That play was originally based on a novel: Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon, which in turn was based on the real diaries of Anna Leonowens who did indeed traveled to Siam as a school teacher.
I just love this movie! It's wonderful...It's intelligently written by one of the truly great Hollywood screen writers, Ernest Lehman. Lehman's volume of great movies include:
Hello, Dolly!
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The Sound of Music
West Side Story
From the Terrace
North by Northwest
Sweet Smell of Success
Sabrina
The script is the life blood of a movie and The King and I pulsates with life! It's witty, it's charming, and it explores many different themes without being obvious. Of course the real stars of the movie is
Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. Have there ever been two more inspired performances which are so in tune with each other and the story, that you forget you're watching a movie.
Yul owned the role of the King, it's hard to believe anyone else could do that role. He's forceful, he's powerful and yet he's curious and not quite as forbidding as he might seem. Thanks to Yul making the King human, we can see more than meets the eye.
Deborah Kerr has never shined more than here, she seems to be truly enjoying herself and that joy comes through the screen to us. She has great charm and poise. She's strong yet feminine.
A young Rita Moreno, has a plum role as Tuptim the Burmese slave girl brought against her will to the palace of the King of Siam. Her story line is in many ways what this film is about.
And those sets! Anna is decked out in those giant hoop dresses which the director puts to good use in the film. I love the way her skirt swirls when she dances and spreads out on the floor like a giant umbrella when she sets down. All the colors and the fabrics shine in the glorious palace sets, this is a visual treat!
Ahhh...the music! What wonderful songs we have from the greatest song writing team to work on stage and movies, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Getting to Know You is the signature song from the movie.
My favorite number was the ballet style The Small House of Uncle Thomas, it's a beautiful yet simply retelling of the classic American novel Uncle Tom's Cabin...it's told from the viewpoint of a Burmese slave woman running away from the Kingdom of Siam. It combines both traditionally Thai and Asian dance movements with modern choreography. There's nothing else like it.
I'd give The King and I Ten Stars if I could.
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Previously I wrote:
The King and I (1956)
About: In the 1860s a British school teacher and widow, agrees to travel to exotic Siam (Thailand) to teach the King's many children.
Based on the successful Broadway musical written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, that featured Yul Brynner in the lead role. That play was originally based on a novel: Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon, which in turn was based on the real diaries of Anna Leonowens who did indeed traveled to Siam as a school teacher.
I just love this movie! It's wonderful...It's intelligently written by one of the truly great Hollywood screen writers, Ernest Lehman. Lehman's volume of great movies include:
Hello, Dolly!
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
The Sound of Music
West Side Story
From the Terrace
North by Northwest
Sweet Smell of Success
Sabrina
The script is the life blood of a movie and The King and I pulsates with life! It's witty, it's charming, and it explores many different themes without being obvious. Of course the real stars of the movie is
Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. Have there ever been two more inspired performances which are so in tune with each other and the story, that you forget you're watching a movie.
Yul owned the role of the King, it's hard to believe anyone else could do that role. He's forceful, he's powerful and yet he's curious and not quite as forbidding as he might seem. Thanks to Yul making the King human, we can see more than meets the eye.
Deborah Kerr has never shined more than here, she seems to be truly enjoying herself and that joy comes through the screen to us. She has great charm and poise. She's strong yet feminine.
A young Rita Moreno, has a plum role as Tuptim the Burmese slave girl brought against her will to the palace of the King of Siam. Her story line is in many ways what this film is about.
And those sets! Anna is decked out in those giant hoop dresses which the director puts to good use in the film. I love the way her skirt swirls when she dances and spreads out on the floor like a giant umbrella when she sets down. All the colors and the fabrics shine in the glorious palace sets, this is a visual treat!
Ahhh...the music! What wonderful songs we have from the greatest song writing team to work on stage and movies, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Getting to Know You is the signature song from the movie.
My favorite number was the ballet style The Small House of Uncle Thomas, it's a beautiful yet simply retelling of the classic American novel Uncle Tom's Cabin...it's told from the viewpoint of a Burmese slave woman running away from the Kingdom of Siam. It combines both traditionally Thai and Asian dance movements with modern choreography. There's nothing else like it.
I'd give The King and I Ten Stars if I could.
+++
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"The King is a brutal dictator"
The country's system of government is monarchist.
I saw no evidence of him being brutal.
"who murders and tortures"
I saw no evidence of this.
"and at least 1 of his wives is there against his will, making him a rapist as well."
I saw no evidence of this. A wife was given to him as a present.
I thought this was a nice gesture.
I think I'm right in saying that she went back to her boyfriend anyway?
"Also a lot of this is to make his culture appear "savage", while white culture is portrayed as the "correct" one."
I honestly didn't get that vibe.
"Yes, he becomes a better person through his friendship with the heroine."
I liked the King more than I liked the female character personally.
Sorry you didn't like it, and I respect and appreciate alternative points of view.
The country's system of government is monarchist.
I saw no evidence of him being brutal.
"who murders and tortures"
I saw no evidence of this.
"and at least 1 of his wives is there against his will, making him a rapist as well."
I saw no evidence of this. A wife was given to him as a present.
I thought this was a nice gesture.
I think I'm right in saying that she went back to her boyfriend anyway?
"Also a lot of this is to make his culture appear "savage", while white culture is portrayed as the "correct" one."
I honestly didn't get that vibe.
"Yes, he becomes a better person through his friendship with the heroine."
I liked the King more than I liked the female character personally.
Sorry you didn't like it, and I respect and appreciate alternative points of view.
To be fair, a lot of the cruelest things his were only implied, and/or were things he was 'about to do', but convinced not to at the last minute.
A lot of it is up to interpretation, EXCEPT how does receiving a woman as a present absolve him of owning sex slaves?
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I guess I'm mostly trying to say the tone was very inconsistent, and the King's redemption was earned far too easily.
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To be fair, a lot of the cruelest things his were only implied, and/or were things he was 'about to do', but convinced not to at the last minute.
A lot of it is up to interpretation, EXCEPT how does receiving a woman as a present absolve him of owning sex slaves?
A lot of it is up to interpretation, EXCEPT how does receiving a woman as a present absolve him of owning sex slaves?
If he pressured or coerced them into sex against their will (as opposed to their consent), then whilst technically that might or might not be rape, I would of course very strongly disapprove of it.
But we don't know that that's the case. He struck me as being a fairly considerate fairly gentlemanly, well natured kind of guy/King.
Maybe for some they were happy to please him in return for the associated benefits. But if others were not then I hope they spoke up.
Regardless, he struck me as being more likely to do crosswords in his slippers with his wives, than bend them over the gold washbasins.
I don't know.
Of course I strongly disapprove of sex slaves. She was still a lovely present though, and I personally think we owe him the benefit of the doubt.
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I don't know the details of his encounters and relationships with his gifts.
It's not possible for a slave and a slave owner to have consensual sex. Because one of the two people is legally considered the property of the other. Even if the sex isn't violent, it doesn't change the fact that the slave isn't allowed to say no.
I'm just going to go on the record as saying 'portraying slave owners in a positive light' is always going to be problematic. ESPECIALLY if sex is involved.
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A wife was given to him as a present. I thought this was a nice gesture.
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I probably shouldn't have treated such a serious subject in a light hearted and flippant manner. Apologies.
I guess these are valid questions to consider, even if it might not have been apparent in the 1950s and I don't think this was intended to be analysed in this way.
Maybe we could discuss it further (if at all) in another thread? Personally I find these philosophical kind of discussions quite thought provoking.
For avoidance of any doubt, I abhor sexual slavery, coercion, controlling behaviour and the like in real life.
I guess these are valid questions to consider, even if it might not have been apparent in the 1950s and I don't think this was intended to be analysed in this way.
Maybe we could discuss it further (if at all) in another thread? Personally I find these philosophical kind of discussions quite thought provoking.
For avoidance of any doubt, I abhor sexual slavery, coercion, controlling behaviour and the like in real life.
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42nd Street is the 3rd from my ballot
I didn't hate The King and I, but I wouldn't say I liked it either
5. Charlotte's Web (#79)
17. Calamity Jane (#84)
25. 42nd Street (#76)
I didn't hate The King and I, but I wouldn't say I liked it either
5. Charlotte's Web (#79)
17. Calamity Jane (#84)
25. 42nd Street (#76)
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#81- Purple Rain (1984)
Saw it once sometime in mid nineties. Meh, a great guitar solo and a ton of kitsch...
#75 - The King and I (1956)
Many years ago, I was surprised to learn that my early favorite Yul Brynner had an Oscar for a role in some strange movie. On top of everything, this summer, I've learned that it is a musical. So, I saw it for this countdown.
It turned to be an offensive political commission, mockery with Siam and UK to entertain the masses. How pity...
Saw it once sometime in mid nineties. Meh, a great guitar solo and a ton of kitsch...
#75 - The King and I (1956)
Many years ago, I was surprised to learn that my early favorite Yul Brynner had an Oscar for a role in some strange movie. On top of everything, this summer, I've learned that it is a musical. So, I saw it for this countdown.
It turned to be an offensive political commission, mockery with Siam and UK to entertain the masses. How pity...
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"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.
"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.
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