i have literally seen this movie 100s of times. i still remember seeing
it as a toddler in the movie theatre a couple of times when it first
came out, and to this day, watch it at least 5x a year (i've already
reached my quota - i got the DVD just a few weeks before i went to paris
and watched it dubbed in french a few times to try to get my vocabulary
back). i was a foster parent of two kids about 10 years ago, and one of
them had a real penchant for the movie - i think it put her in a fantasy
world that gave her some comfort. she used to watch it about every
other day, no exaggeration. it truly is a classic movie. it has its
really corny parts, but overall, it's really fabulous. the acting is
amazing, and i think christopher plummer is overlooked for how much he
brings to the film [not to mention just how incredibly sexy he is].
looking beyond the music, i think it's the captain's growth as a
character that makes the film what it is.
early this summer, i taught for the first time, which was really fun
(editing theory at american university). it renewed my passion for
filmmaking and reminded me of why i got into this crazy business in the
first place. the first day of class, i dissected the scene between the
captain and maria when they fight after he's returned from vienna and
they all fall out of the boat. a couple of my students told me later
that when i started with that they were rolling their eyes and thinking
that they might have made a huge mistake enrolling in my class, but by
the end of the lecture were completely fascinated and surprised by how
complex the scene actually is. even i was surprised when i started
preparing for class and took it apart. it seems like a very staged,
mostly wide/2-shot/master shot kind of scene, but there are more than 45
cuts in 2 minutes. i highly recommend taking the time to listen to the
director's track if you've got the DVD.
barbara
np: ceiling fan
ps. saw chris plummer in "barrymore" on broadway a couple of years ago
- even as an old man, still very very sexy!
