Well, dear readers, today is Tuesday, in case anyone was wondering, and so I thought it would be a fine idea to have notes for a Tuesday. Isn’t that a fine idea, and radical, too. To begin our notes for a Tuesday let me just say that I’m writing these here notes in the waning minutes of Monday evening. And you know the old saying – when it’s waning it’s pouring, and since these here notes won’t be posted until the midnight hour, you won’t be waning, but you will be poring over them with great interest or boredom, depending on your frame of mind. My mind is currently in an 8×10 frame, for those who are wondering. I am currently listening to a newly released (last December) CD, the soundtrack of Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz by Maurice Jarre. I know most people hate Topaz, but I enjoyed it very much when it came out in its 126-minute version. Yes, there were bits that didn’t land well, especially the performance of the leading man, who really hurts the movie. But then you have superb performances from John Vernon, Roscoe Lee Browne, Karin Dor, Phillipe Noiret, Michel Piccoli and others. I bought the film on VHS then laserdisc and then the DVD came out and it was no longer the theatrical version, but a preview cut that was never meant to be the final version – after the bad reaction, Hitchcock went to work and cut twenty minutes that made the film tighter and better. Yes, there are a few moments in the preview version that help explain a few things, but they’re not crucial. Jarre’s score has some fine things in it, but it also has very silly things in it that hurt the scenes he’s underscoring. I especially hate the Russian march played over the main titles and which continues over the first sequence, as if there’s a parade going on somewhere – that entire sequence, which is really well directed, could benefit with actual underscoring. I’ve never quite understood the vehement hatred of the film, frankly, but it’s mostly hated by those who saw it long after it came out and when all the bad things had been written about it. Of course, it WAS a disaster at the box-office. The soundtrack, in truncated form, was released by Universal France over a decade ago – I have never understood the deal with Universal France, who clearly have NOTHING to do with Universal here, as they always get tapes from the composers’ estates, which is what they did here – subsequently, it’s in bad mono sound and completely out of film order because the “producer” of their film music albums couldn’t be bothered to watch the movie. This release is from the master tapes, in stereo, and complete. It works better as an album than it does in the film at times.
Prior to that, I watched a motion picture I’d never seen before, a motion picture so wrong-headed, so hideous, so grotesque as to beggar belief. It is the film version of the Broadway hit, The Wiz. I never had any desire to see it after reading about how awful it was, but nothing could have prepared me for how truly awful it was and is and always will be. Why anyone would hire Sidney Lumet, a fine director, to direct a MUSICAL is anyone’s guess, but that happened constantly in the 1970s – Arthur Hiller with Man of La Mancha and Charles Jarrott with Lost Horizon are two of the worst, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING tops the travesty I just watched. Apparently, the Broadway Dorothy, young Stephanie Mills, who was great in the show, had been signed to play in the film – until Diana Ross called Berry Gordy and begged him to let her do the part. He said no – that she was way too old for it. So, she went around him to Rob Cohen at Universal and unfortunately Mr. Cohen acquiesced to her demand that she be cast and hence the film never had a chance. She was thirty-three at the time and looked older due to her weighing about eighty pounds and looking like a skeleton. And there is not a single moment of joy on the screen, not one. Then there’s adaptor Joel Schumacher – a terrible choice who ended up using nothing from the Broadway book. What he came up with to justify Ms. Ross was so ludicrous that the film is a joke from its first scene right through to the ending. A few of the performances are fine, many of the Broadway songs are missing in action and the new songs are horrible. The choreography, if you want to call it that, by Louis Johnson is beyond bad. Poor Tony Walton did his usual fine work with an unworkable concept – for both sets and costumes. It’s a complete and utter mess and has some of the worst opticals ever.
Prior to that, I had an early supper with Marshall Harvey. We convened at the Smoke House at four and were the only diners there for the first thirty minutes. They have weeknight specials Monday through Thursday, so we both did that – prime rib at a much cheaper price. I had a dinner salad with it and a cup of clam chowder and Marshall had the same and had some of the salad, too. It was all excellent and of course we shared a small order of garlic cheese bread. By the time we left at five-thirty it was starting to fill up. Depending on what happens on Wednesday, I may go back for the fish and chips special at quite a discount price. We shall see.
Prior to that, I got six hours of sleep, so heading in the right direction at least. Once up, I answered a LOT of e-mails, did some work on the computer, and then got ready for dinner. I stopped at the mail place and picked up a small package and the rest you know. And here we are.
Today, I’ll be up when I’m up, I’ll do whatever needs doing, I’ll make a show order and start writing the commentary, I’ll eat something amusing at some point, I’ll have a few telephonic conversations, and then I can watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow is the very important telephonic call with Social Security so send some of your most excellent vibes and xylophones that that all goes well, then there’s a work session on Thursday, then after that I’ll do whatever needs doing.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, be up when I’m up, do whatever needs doing, make a show order, write commentary, eat, have some telephonic conversations, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What movies that are generally hated do you have a fondness and a soft spot for? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy to have written notes for a Tuesday.