March 7th, 2009
Diana Ross is simply the best person to play this part. In fact she was the first choice! It earned her a nomination for best actress. For anyone to say that she isn’t a great actress has to re-evaluate what it means to be a great actor.
Furthermore, no one really knows who or what the real Billie Holiday looks like. Famed fashion designer Bob Mackie mentioned that he himself doesn’t even know what Miss Holiday looks like. I personally think Diana’s voice was better than Miss Holiday’s, although Suzanne de Passe mentioned before during the filming of the movie that Berry Gordy wanted Diana to sound more like Diana Ross, not Billie Holliday.
Diana took this film with a vengence and she silenced her critics. If this movie was to be an accurate portrayal of Miss Holliday then we would have to have a few more leading men other than Billy Dee Williams and the film would’ve been much longer. Berry Gordy and Paramount Pictures did a great job in portraying her and most people would agree that this movie depicts Diana Ross’ acting talents and portrayal of Billie Holiday at it’s best.
Cast
- Diana Ross – Billie Holiday
- Billy Dee Williams – Louis McKay
- Richard Pryor – Piano Man
- James T. Callahan – Reg Hanley (as James Callahan)
- Paul Hampton – Harry
- Sid Melton – Jerry
- Virginia Capers – Mama Holiday
- Yvonne Fair – Yvonne
- Isabel Sanford – The Madame
- Tracee Lyles – The Prostitute
- Ned Glass – The Agent
- Milton Selzer – The Doctor
- Norman Bartold – The Detective #1
- Clay Tanner – The Detective #2
- Jester Hairston – The Butler
Tags: Lady Sings the Blues, R&B
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March 7th, 2009
Jesse Robins (Rabinowits) Neil Diamond plays the son of Rabbi, and wanting so much to have his only son follow in his foot steps but Jesse has other dreams and ideas. He is a wonderful singer and wants to write music, and is being smothered by his father makes for strained relationships. The father played by Sir Lawrence Oliver is outstanding, and Neil Diamond gives it the extra tense and scared view.
Jesse is called to Hollywood by some friends where he meets Luci Arnez who is a talent rep. she starts helping him and although Jesse is married, he starts to fall in love with her, and stays in Hollywood, when the father goes to see where he lives, and finds Luci Arnez, and as Jesse tries to explain the situation, it just causes more strain on their relationship.
This is a wonderful story line, it is believable, the struggle to find your way is always on the edge, and to find meaning to one’s life. Neil Diamond does a fabulous first time acting job, and the music that was written for this movie is outstand; Hello, Love On The Rocks, America and more.
Cast
- Al Jolson as Jakie Rabinowitz (Jack Robin)
- May McAvoy as Mary Dale
- Warner Oland as Cantor Rabinowitz
- Yossele Rosenblatt as himself
- Eugenie Besserer as Sara Rabinowitz
- Otto Lederer as Moisha Yudelson
- Bobby Gordon as Jakie Rabinowitz (age 13)
- Richard Tucker as Harry Lee
Tags: jazz, The Jazz Singer
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March 7th, 2009
Danny Kaye played Loring “Red” Nichols, the well known cornet player who rose to his fame in 1930s and whose Jazz group “Five Pennies” was once home to Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman and more – great musicians in the 40s Swing music.
The movie was coherent, tightly woven both in the musical and emotional aspects. The duets between Danny Kaye (played by Red himself) and Louis Armstrong – the Battle Hymn of Republic and the Saints are marching – were wonderful. On the emotional side, Barbara Bel Geddes (Mrs. Ewing in Dallas) as Danny Kaye’s sweetheart was a loving wife who endured long tours in the Five Pennies group, a devoted mother and a steadfast lady who held the family together. The bonds between the Five Pennies musicians, father and daughter, husband and wife are close and personal.
Susan Gordon, as the couple’s daughter Dorothy from 6 – 8 yrs old, was a delight. She was intelligent, passionate for her father’s music and love, and would settle for nothing less. The night when father and daughter developed a closer bond over the song “Five Pennies”, a table of cards, followed by a duet in the bar was touching. Susan Gordon’s performance was subtle yet memorable. The dramatic turn when Danny Kaye threw away his cornet and work in a wartime shipyard at a meagre salary to make up for Dorothy in the subsequent years was heartbreaking. When the accomplished cornet player did make a comeback, it was not easy but gradual. The big finale was a tear jerker, but it’s worth every tear.
This is a well-balanced act between the musical and drama. Definitely worth watching it again and again.
Tags: jazz, The Five Pennies
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March 7th, 2009
Simply stated – this movie, this musical, bowled me over and completely enveloped me in its acting, its production value and its music. In my opinion, Dreamgirls creators have done the impossible – they have taken an award winning Broadway musical and made it better than the Broadway show that it was based upon.
The production on screen allowed for a more complete telling of the story behind these women, their successes and their fears. Success in this movie is directly associated with sacrifice – what will these women surrounder to in order to get the dream they want and what will it take for them to claim control over their lives in order to fulfill their destinies.
There are however three production issues that could have been done differently that would have more firmly knitted the music to the storyline:
* First, Beyonce’s “Listen” number was misplaced in a recording studio; its should have played out that evening when she told Curtis she was leaving.
* Secondly, Effie should have received another number – and expansion of “Effie White is Going to Win” in Curtis’ office.
* Finally, the producers should have addressed the most blatant oversight – a musical number for Lorelle. It appeared in the stage version and was cut from th script or the film. Anika Noni Rose did an outstanding job in her role, and the lack of a solo hurt her chances at the recognition that she should have received.
Finally, after you see this movie you need to listen to the soundtrack and see how well the songs express the drama. “And I’m Telling You” is NOT the best song in the movie. That honor belongs to “I am Changing” The unsettling “We Are Family” is meant to stop the story, send a double message, and set the stage for Effie’s impending removal from the group. It works if you understand it, otherwise it feels misplaced.
The message of the movie is that everyone has dreams, and that those dreams can come true if you seize your destiny and make those dreams come true for yourself.
Tags: Dreamgirls, R&B
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March 7th, 2009
This movie made me feel like I was actually sitting in the Cotton Club. I developed an appreciation of the music from this era that has never gone away.
Part of the reason to watch this movie is the late, great Gregory Hines and his also-talented brother Maurice. Not many movies can legitimately incorporate tap-dancing into the plot. I am glad that Coppola took advantage of the opportunity to do so.
You also have to love Fred Gwynne. It was rather a shame that he was so type-cast via the Munsters. He had aspirations of being a more serious actor. He had a brief role as Michael Douglas’ boss in Fatal Attraction.
Jennifer Grey played Nicholas Cage’s wife in this film.
Ownie Madden had a hand in boxing back in the Cinderella Man days.
Dixie Dwyer was based on the actor George Raft, who had a role in Some Like it Hot.
This movie did not go over terribly well at the box office. It is not exactly uplifting to witness racism and mob violence. However, if you are a history buff, it follows true organized crime events pretty closely.
I was in it more for the music and the tap-dancing, which were outstanding. Richard Gere in his prime didn’t hurt either.
Cast
- Richard Gere as Dixie Dwyer
- Gregory Hines as Sandman Williams
- Diane Lane as Vera Cicero
- Lonette McKee as Lila Rose Oliver
- Bob Hoskins as Owney Madden
- James Remar as Dutch Schultz (Vera Cicero’s boyfriend)
- Nicolas Cage as Vincent Dwyer
- Allen Garfield as Abbadabba Berman
- Fred Gwynne as Frenchy Demange
- Gwen Verdon as Tish Dwyer
- Lisa Jane Persky as Frances Flegenheimer
- Maurice Hines as Clay Williams
Tags: jazz, The Cotton Club
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March 7th, 2009
The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as “Joliet” Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a “Saturday Night Live” musical sketch. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James Brown, Cab Calloway, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and John Lee Hooker. The film is set in and around Chicago, Illinois, and also features non-musical supporting performances by John Candy, Carrie Fisher and Henry Gibson.
The story is a tale of redemption for paroled convict Jake and his brother Elwood, who take on “a mission from God” to save the Roman Catholic orphanage in which they grew up from foreclosure. To do so they must re-form their rhythm and blues band, The Blues Brothers, and organize a performance to earn $5,000 to pay the tax assessor. Along the way they are targeted by a destructive “mystery woman”, Neo-Nazis, and a country and western band — all while being relentlessly pursued by the police.
Released in the United States on June 20, 1980, it received generally good reviews with 76% of reviews positive according to the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. It earned just under $5 million in its opening weekend and went on to gross more than $115 million in theaters worldwide before its release on home video.
Band
- John Belushi as “Joliet” Jake Blues, vocals
- Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues, harmonica and vocals
- Steve Cropper as Steve “the Colonel” Cropper, rhythm guitar and vocals
- Donald “Duck” Dunn as Donald “Duck” Dunn, bass guitar
- Murphy Dunne as Murphy “Murph” Dunne, keyboards
- Brian “Name Finder” Mulqueeny, backing vocals
- Willie Hall as Willie “Too Big” Hall, drums and percussion
- Tom Malone as Tom “Bones” Malone, trombone, tenor saxophone and vocals
- Lou Marini as “Blue Lou” Marini, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone and vocals
- Matt Murphy as Matt “Guitar” Murphy, lead guitar
- Alan Rubin as Alan “Mr. Fabulous” Rubin, trumpet, percussion and vocals
Tags: blues, The Blues Brothers
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March 7th, 2009
Bird is a 1988 American film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood.
The film is a biopic, a tribute to the life and music of jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker, written by Joel Oliansky. It is constructed as a collage of scenes from Parker’s life, from his childhood in Kansas City, through his marriage to Chan Richardson, to his early death at the age of thirty-four.
Music
Initially, when Columbia owned the project, the studio executives wanted to hire musicians to re-record all of Parker’s music, largely because most of the original recordings were in mono, and considered of insufficient sound quality to accompany a feature film. Eastwood had some recordings of Parker made by Parker’s wife, Chan, from which he had a sound engineer electronically isolate Parker’s solos. Contemporary musicians such as Ray Brown, Walter Davis, Jr., Ron Carter, Barry Harris and Red Rodney were then hired to record backing tracks on modern sound equipment. Dizzy Gillespie was on tour at the time of recording, so trumpet player Jon Faddis was hired to record his parts.
Cast
- Forest Whitaker — Charlie “Bird” Parker
- Diane Venora — Chan Parker
- Michael Zelniker — Red Rodney
- Samuel E. Wright — Dizzy Gillespie
- Keith David — Buster Franklin
- Michael McGuire — Brewster
- James Handy — Esteves
- Damon Whitaker — Young Bird
- Morgan Nagler — Kim
- Arlen Dean Snyder — Dr Heath
- Sam Robards — Moscowitz
- Penelope Windust — Bellevue Nurse
- Glenn Wright — Alcoholic Patient (as Glenn T. Wright)
- George Orrison — Patient with Checkers
- Bill Cobbs — Dr Caulfield
Tags: Bird, jazz
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March 7th, 2009
All Night Long is a 1962 British film directed by Basil Dearden, and starring Patrick McGoohan, Marti Stevens, Paul Harris, Keith Michell, Richard Attenborough and Betsy Blair. The story, written by Nel King and Paul Jarrico, writing under the name Peter Achilles, is an updated version of Shakespeare’s Othello, set in the London jazz scene of the 1960s. The black and white film is notable for featuring performances by a number of prominent British and American jazz musicians.
Cast
- Patrick McGoohan as Johnnie Cousin
- Marti Stevens as Delia Lane
- Paul Harris as Aurelius Rex
- Keith Michell as Cass
- Richard Attenborough as Rod Hamilton
- Betsy Blair as Emily
- Bernard Braden as Berger
- Harry Towb as Phales
- María Velasco as Benny
- Carol White as Lucille (uncredited)
Tags: All Night Long, jazz
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March 7th, 2009
CB4 is a 1993 comedy film about a fictional rap group named ‘CB4′, named after the prison block in which the group was allegedly formed (Cell Block 4). The movie parodies the rap group N.W.A among other gangsta rap aspects. It was directed by Tamra Davis.
The movie features short segments featuring celebrities such as Halle Berry, Eazy-E, the Butthole Surfers, Ice-T, Ice Cube, Flavor Flav, and Shaquille O’Neal.
Plot
The movie follows a group of three young aspiring rappers into fame and popularity. Longtime friends and amateur rappers Albert, Euripides, and Otis want to make their big break on the rap scene. In order to get their name heard, they must appeal to local kingpin and nightclub owner, Gusto. After a failed meeting with Gusto, the police rush in and throw him in jail. Gusto blames the group for the police raid and swears revenge when he is released from prison. However, while Gusto is locked up, Albert takes on the name of the crimelord, and Cell Block 4 becomes the hottest band on the charts with hits like “Sweat From My Balls” and “Straight Outta Locash”. Their rise to fame is documented by an aspiring director.
Cast
- Chris Rock – Albert Brown / M.C. Gusto
- Allen Payne – Euripides Smalls / Dead Mike
- Deezer D – Otis / Stab Master Arson
- Chris Elliot – A. White
- Phil Hartman – Virgil Robinson
- Charlie Murphy – Gusto
- Khandi Alexander – Sissy
- Art Evans – Albert Sr. Brown
- Theresa Randle – Eve
- Willard E. Pugh – Trustus Jones
- Tyrone Granderson Jones – 40 Dog
- Rachel True – Daliha
- Victor Wilson – Lt. Davenport
- Richard Gant – Baa Baa Ack
- J.D. Daniels – Ben
- Stoney Jackson – Wacky Dee
- Isaac Hayes- Store Owner
Tags: CB4, rap
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March 7th, 2009
You Got Served is a 2004 drama film written and directed by Chris Stokes, manager of its stars, recording artist Marques Houston and the members of boy band B2K. The plot concerns a group of dancers, who take part in a street dancing competition. It was released by Columbia Pictures’ Screen Gems division on January 30, 2004, during the Super Bowl XXXVIII weekend and was produced by Marcus Morton, Cassius Weathersby, Billy Pollina. It opened at #1 at the boxoffice during Super Bowl weekend with $16 million USD grossed in its first week.
Soundtrack
You Got Served Soundtrack features mainly music by B2K, but also Marques Houston, and many others. There were some profanities in the soundtrack such as “Streets Is Callin’” but did not receive a PA label. The soundtrack was released on December 23, 2003. Also, there was a release of a music video for B2K’s single “Badaboom” featuring Fabolous and Marques Houston was the guest appearance. The music video contains B2K and Fabolous in a female club while showing the “You Got Served” movie shots.
Cast
- Marques Houston – Elgin
- Omari Grandberry – David
- Jarell Houston – Rico
- De’Mario Thornton – Vick
- Dreux Pierre Frederic – Rashann
- Jennifer Freeman – Liyah
- Meagan Good – Beautifull
- Steve Harvey – Mr. Rad
- Christopher Jones – Wade
- Robert Hoffman – Max
- Malcolm David Kelley – Lil’ Saint
- Wade Robson – Himself
- Lil’ Kim – Herself
- Alani Vasquez – Herself
- Michael Taliferro – Emerald
Tags: rap, You Got Served
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