#194- The Sound of Music

Quick recap: A singing nun takes on the role of governess for 7 children and teaches their widower father about love.

The hills are ablaze with the euphonious symphonies of descant

Fun (?) fact: Julie Andrews fell several times while on the mountain

My thoughts: Oh, Sound of Music. I fell in love with this movie as a kid after my music teacher showed it to us in its entirety. I have since seen many more ( sometimes better) musicals as an adult, but this one still holds a special place in my heart. Since I am familiar with this movie, watching it again for the list was more about whether it holds up as much as it did when I was little rather than if it is actually a ‘good’ movie.

When I told my husband that I was going to be watching The Sound of Music, he scoffed at how schmaltzy it is. This is coming from someone whose favorite Christmas movie is It’s a Wonderful Life, but that’s for another post.Anyway, while watching it, I could definitely see some schmaltziness, but it just didn’t bother me like I feared it would now that I am a jaded, cynical adult. Like, for instance, how quickly the children latch on to Maria when they are known to have driven several governesses away, including one that only lasted a couple of hours. She’s just someone that you can’t help but want to do good by, though. And Julie Andrews was made for this role. The kids can be eye rollingly cute at times but it is her that completely makes this movie into something wonderful.

Above all things, I love The Sound of Music for, what else, the music. I love every single song and was pleasantly surprised by how many of the lyrics I remembered ( the cats were not impressed with my singing, by the way, especially one who bit me throughout the movie). Edelweiss is still my favorite because of its simplicity and yet all the complicated things it stood for. For a kid just getting acquainted to the ‘adult’ world, this movie was a perfect bridge between childhood and adolescence. It was the first time I really understood the Nazi regime and how terrible everything was, and yet there was a happy ending so that I could still have hope. It may be schmaltzy, but it’s my kind of schmaltzy.

Final review: 5/5.

Up next: All that Jazz

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#193- Within Our Gates

Quick recap: A newly single woman devotes her time trying to raise money to keep a school open

Alright, let’s just jump on in!

Fun (?) fact: This film was thought to be lost forever, until it was discovered in the 90s in Spain

My thoughts: A little over three years ago, this was the movie that broke me.I had just started this project and at the time, had decided to watch the films chronologically. This meant that the first 15 or so would be silent films, which I was cool with at first, but it soon managed to drain my entire soul and made me wonder why I I ever thought this would be a good idea. It wasn’t that Within Our Gates was a particularly bad film, but instead what broke me was that it was another film. With a change in direction and plenty of time separating the remaining silent films, I am glad I decided to hold off on this one until I could truly appreciate it for what it is.

What makes Within Our Gates so unique and important is not its plot or special effects, but instead its cast: all African- Americans. You know what movie was also popular around this time? Birth of a Nation, a movie that attempted to prove that black people weren’t ‘true’ people and couldn’t possibly have the intellect of other races. And then this film comes along, and turns that idea completely upside down. The main character is an educated school teacher, who only wants to do good in the world. She comes across a school for African-American children in the south, where it was very difficult to be black (and still is, but that’s another story for another time). The point of the movie is not just to tell a story, but to prove that all races are in fact equal and that all people deserve equal rights. This was in 1920, mind you, way before the Civil Rights movement started gaining momentum.

At times, it’s hard to tell where this movie is going. It felt like director Oscar Micheaux wanted to throw in every single problem African- Americans were facing without really building up much of a plot. Within Our Gates gets bogged down with issues at times, but considering how rare this sort of film was (and still is, honestly), it makes sense that he saw an opportunity to be heard and ran with it.

Final review: 2/5. No, I wouldn’t want to watch it again, but that doesn’t lessen the cultural impact or its worth in any way.

Up next: The Sound of Music

#192- Last Year at Marienbad

Quick recap: A man insists to a woman that he met her last year at-you guessed it- Marienbad.

Fun (?) fact: Delphine Seyrig, who plays the female lead, was Jeanne Dielman! I knew that movie would come back sooner or later to haunt me.

I didn’t recognize her until I looked her up because most shots in this movie are of her looking off into the distance

My thoughts: Have you ever seen a perfume commercial and thought to yourself that it would be better if it was an hour and a half long instead of just 30 seconds? Well, then I have news for you! All your twisted dreams have come true in Last Year at Marienbad. The movie starts with a voiceover repeated the same few lines over and over and then there are people talking and then the rest of the film is the two main stars (who have no names, by the way) staring off into the distance, or sometimes at each other with pained expressions. Far be it from me to stereotype any kind of movie, but this one is very, very FRENCH.

I think that if all of the words were left out of the movie, it would’ve been more enjoyable to watch. The acting was meh but I absolutely loved the scenery and the costumes. The costumes, by the way were designed by Coco Chanel, which makes me wonder if this wasn’t actually a perfume commercial I watched after all. The music, too, was nice and suspenseful, although a little much sometimes.

So, I guess the question I’m supposed to ask is ‘did these two people actually meet last year….in Marienbad?’ and the answer is, maybe? I don’t know. The guy sure had some specific memories and even a picture of the woman he had an affair with, but she also seemed completely confused by the whole thing. One theory I read online was that the man was actually the woman’s therapist and he was inside her mind, trying to unblock something that had happened to her last year….in Marienbad. Another theory says that the man is from a parallel universe and is trying to warn the woman of something horrible about to happen this year….in Marienbad. Personally, I found the explanations much more interesting than the actual movie. Also, I could really go for some Chanel No.5. Is that still sold in stores?

Final review: 2/5

Up next: Within Our Gates

#191- 42nd Street

Quick recap: Director Julian Marsh has been hired to put on a musical, even though he is very close to a nervous breakdown. Of course, nothing goes right and hilarity ensues.

If there’s one thing I love, it’s a stereotype about over-stressed directors

Fun (?) fact: A line in the song ‘Shuffle Off to Buffalo’ says ‘I’ll go home and get my panties’, which is sung by the male lead. Back in the 1930s, ‘panties’ was a synonym for ‘underwear’, so men used the word too.

probably thinking about his panties

My thoughts: 42nd Street is the chicken noodle soup of movies-comforting, well known, satisfying and also a little bland. It’s the kind of film I could probably watch a few times without getting bored, but not one of my favorite movies I keep coming back to. And that’s ok sometimes.

When I think of the musical genre, 42nd street is the kind of film that pops in my head- something all-American, with a bunch of theatre stereotypes and big, flashy numbers. No songs stuck out particularly for me, but I enjoyed them nonetheless. This isn’t really your typical movie musical though, because no one bursts into song at the drop of a hat. Instead, all of the dancing and singing is isolated into the rehearsal, which I loved because the movie was about the making of the musical and so the musical itself didn’t really have to make sense. You do get to see a few numbers at the end, to see how everything comes together, but I liked not knowing what the musical was supposed to look like. It all felt like a hot mess, just like director Julian Marsh saw it.

The plot and acting was a little bland for me, but maybe it’s because I’ve seen the situation play out on so many sitcoms and kids’ television programs. Basically, a small town girl, Peggy, is cast into a tiny role but through various circumstances, ends up as the lead and does a perfect job. Meh. The star of the musical, Dorothy Brock, was temperamental, but not necessarily evil. She is dating the financier of the musical, even though he is clearly not her type because if she loses him, there will be no show. That part of the plot seemed the most familiar to me for some reason…..

Final review: 4/5. The dancing was phenomenal and the rest of the film was decent enough to watch again.

Up next: Last Year at Marienbad

1001 Movie Nights

Category Archives: Movies

#194- The Sound of Music

#193- Within Our Gates

#192- Last Year at Marienbad

#191- 42nd Street

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