You either love it or don't understand it

RENT is a masterpiece of song, dance, and acting. I've now seen it at least eight times and have yet to find any major flaw. All of the negative reviews that I have seen for it are from people who
a) Simply didn't understand it (I maintain that a lot of people loved the stage version because of the big noise and smoke but still didn't understand it, so when the noise and smoke had to go when it was transferred to film, they didn't enjoy it)
b) Have memorized the music (as I have) and thought that the spoken lines were badly-acted (They're not. If you know exactly, word-for-word, what's going to be said next, it will always sound wooden)
c) Love the stage version and are upset at all of the changes that have been made (A few songs have been taken out or cut shorter or made longer, although there are no new songs in the video, the locations of some scenes have been changed, and all of the other minor changes that always occur when translating a stage production to video)
d) Won't let themselves enjoy it because of the subject matter (Either they are homophobic or do not want to listen to characters addicted to heroin or cross-dressers)
e) Simply don't like musical film and only watched it because they had liked the musical
In any case, if you are open-minded and enjoy musical film, I can guarantee you will love RENT. If you watch it, though, there are some things that are important that aren't for most movies:
a) You have to pay attention at all times, even during the songs. If you miss even five minutes, you'll understand it less. It's hard to understand (I didn't understand it enough to enjoy it until the second time I saw it and didn't understand it completely until the fourth time), so make sure you're paying attention!
b) You have to be open to issues of homosexuality, HIV, heroin addiction, poverty, and the Bohemian lifestyle. Try not to be too shocked and focus on the message of the movie.
c) You have to open yourself up to the heart of the movie. There's a lot of big feelings in it and you have to let them hit you.
d) Relax and enjoy it! It's a musical. People sing almost nonstop the whole time. There are barely two scenes in a row without a song.
Those who say it's dated also don't understand it. Maybe East Village has changed. But there's still AIDS, homosexuality, cross-dressing, drug addiction, poverty, and homelessness in today's world. And, most importantly, there's still love. It's a movie about love in the end of the day - not a love story, but a movie about love.
If there were more stars, I'd give them to RENT, because five out of five doesn't seem like even close to enough.

Piece of my childhood

I grew up watching this movie on VHS and know all the songs, I love the kooky edge Michael Crawford brings to his role, I find his high pitched feminine voice strangely uplifting, and Streisland as always is vocal perfection. Escapism set to music.

A beautiful film

as usual Baz Luhrman creates a winning film. it's beautiful to look at with it's bright colours, places, costumes and actors. It tells the story of Chrstian, a penniless writer in the 1900's. He traves to Paris to pursue his dreams. He meets up with the bohemians who are making a musical, he soon gets roped in to writing the script. He winds up at the Moulin Rouge to convince harold Zidler, the club's owner to produce their play. Chrisitan meets the Beautiful Satine, a couresan and they fall in love, unfortunatley people around them have other plans. It's a romance and a musica with both comedy and tragedy, with great mixes of music thrown in. It's a trully beautiful film and it's earned a spot in my all time favorites. Unmissable

How musicals should be

If"West Side Story" was the best musical film of the sixties, then"The Sound of Music," adapted from the long-running Broadway musical play about Maria Von Trapp and her singing family, was certainly the most popular...

With a story that includes the right amount of family sentiment (the Von Trapp children never quarrel among themselves), religion (in the Hollywood tradition of serene, kind nuns), romance (actually two romances, one adult, one adolescent), and anti-Nazi feeling (Captain Von Trapp refuses to surrender to the Nazi invaders)--and with director Robert Wise who is in fact a solid, conscientious craftsman and a fluent story-teller mercifully free of grandiose pretensions,"The Sound of Music" is perfect with its sumptuous location photography, immaculate, fluid editing, and splendid tones...

The film does have a justifiably famous opening: the camera sweeps over the Austrian Alps to catch Julie Andrews, as mischievous, warmhearted Maria, exultantly singing the title song as she rushes through the bright green valley... It is an exhilarating moment that the film never really matches again, but there is plenty left in the remaining hours to please the legions of devotees...

There are unquestionably some enjoyable songs and musical numbers specially when the eldest Von Trapp daughter (Charmian Carr) meets her shy beau (Daniel Truhitte) in the family garden, he sings"Sixteen Going on Seventeen" to her, and they do a charming little dance around the gazebo... Maria's music lesson to the children,"Do-Re-Mi," is beautifully staged, set over several days as they amble in and around Salzburg, changing their clothing through camera wizardry... And perhaps the best of the songs is the simplest,"Edelweiss," with a tender lyric and poignant melody that make a fitting last song for Rodgers and Hammerstein...

Another of the film's virtues is Julie Andrew's performance as Maria... She cuts through the thick sentiment with her own sharply honed blade of authority and self-confidence, implying that at least she will get through all the high corn without damaging her self-esteem... It works to balance the tight-lipped stodginess of Christopher Plummer as Captain Von Trapp, the"adorable" posturings of the children, and the artificial airs of Eleanor Parker as the haughty baroness...

King Cry Baby

This film is superb. It's trashy, tacky and loads of fun.

Starring Johnny Depp, this musical is very funny and has some catchy tunes. 'Please Mr Jailor' is a great track, as they all are. Johnny Depp plays deliquent Wade 'Cry Baby' Walker, and gleefully makes fun of his then teen idol persona. The great thing about this film is that it manages to be so adorable and cute and utterly sexy at the same time. It's fun to watch, the performances are superb, and the songs are catchy.

The dvd also includes a great commentary by Director John Waters and a featurette including interviews with the cast. A must have for anyone who likes Johnny Depp, musicals (although I don't generally like them, but I love this), and fun, humourous films.

5/5

I'm just a sweet transvestite...

...from transexual Transilvania! A brilliant movie, I challenge anyone to watch this and not like it. The music is catchy, fast paced, and enjoyable even if it's not to your taste. The characters are all completely unique and zany. I wouldn't say there is much of a plot, but that just makes the movie seem more enjoyable in my opinion!
Anyways, I give it 5 stars and order anyone who hasn't seen it yet to go out and rent it now!

Jolsen Story And Sequel

Much is made of the factual inaccuracies of this story. In fact if you have the good fortune to read the excellent book JOLIE -THE STORY OF AL JOLSEN by Michael Freedland, the truth is not as far away as you may think. First of all the man had to have an ego do what he was doing, cope with the fame and up to a point survive. He had certain character traits that others had, a temper, meanness followed by generosity and so on that were minimised and ignored for the most part by the film. You can only tell so much of a story and maintain the interest of the watcher. Personalities devolve in to composite characters and so on. Like for most mature vocalists, the music has to be several steps lower as the range changes with age. As with Sinatra and others this was a bonus and Jolsen's voice became richer and developed a beauty that many would envy. I saw a comment about Larry Parks as the younger Jolsen having too rich a sound for Jolsen at that age. So what!!! Rather that than a bad impressionist or an adjusted old record for a soundtrack. Jolies voice is thrilling by anyone's standard.

Larry Parks worked very hard to demonstrate the power of Jolsen. He sang at the top of his voice to unbearable loud Jolen tracks so that you could see that he was 'working'; veins bulging; eyes poppin'. Something I have laughed about in other films where they just move their lips and totally fail to convince.

According to Jolsen; apparently he was pleased with what Parks did except for one sequence on the runway Parks could not mimic the Jolsen dance convincely (for Jolie). In fact in long shot the 'dancer' is Jolie! He used to jest that when he died they would bury Larry Parks he was so convincing.

This is still one of the finest biographical musicals ever made. A box officer winner the time and enjoyable in the extreme now.

Incidentally in another place, great play was made of his ex-wife Ruby Keeler being air-brushed out of the film. She would not let it happen and allegedly never watched the film when it was made.

Watch this film, see between the lines; you will appreciate that most of the story is there somewhere.

A lot closer than the producers of the immensely enjoyable Benny Goodman and Glenn Miller stories ever got to the truth!! Those films wereimmensely enjoyable too.

You must not shrink from buying these films if you have any sort of soul.

Take That and Party

This musical was unique, the characters were so believeable. The storyline was intermingled with huge Take That hits and they were performed to a great standard. It would have been hard to tell the difference from the real thing......the whole production was professional and very very enjoyable. The performance of 'Never Forget'had my spine tingling and still does..... the children don't make one wrong move (excellent choreography), the cast and the choked back tears of the leading lady. Absolutely magnificent, well done to all. The Manchester Opera House never looked so good and it rocked!!

A good buy - be warned you will find yourself watching it over and over

Angie C

Superb production

A very well directed version sung in English. As part of the plot our heroes have to end World War One (makes more sense than the original Mason undertones). It's well sung and the sets are stunning. The World War One battlefields (complete with a version of the Angel of Mons) make far more sense than Branagh's As You Like It in Japan. It's a nice intimate opera, which avoids the proscenium arch view. And there's a cameo performance from Liz Smith as the crone-Papagena. I don't know the opera exhaustively so I don't know if there is anything that would offend the purists, but I found it very entertaining.

A must-see classic!

I've loved this film since I was a child and I find it as moving and fun to watch now that I am 'grown-up'. The extras on the second disk are well worth seeing - some very moving and informative story-telling.

Western musical - toe tapping fun

I read on IMDB that 'Paint your Wagon' single handidly killed off the western and musical genres. Ignore sush tripe.

It's a long film, but in this day of long films with pointless side plots, this doesn't waste a minute. Filled with great tunes, funny (and clever!) jokes and superb performances I'd say this is a must. At little more than £5 in highstreet stores it's a bargain.

"Shermahorn, sit down, you haven't been rec-og-nised"
"But I'm Shermahorn"

Loved this series - don't forget the bonus disc !

I loved this series (and still love it now). Surprised at how many websites (including Amazon) say this is a 4 disc set. Mine has 5 !! The fifth disc is a CD,"Ultimate Fame", with 19 tracks:

1. Fame
2. Out here on my own
3. Starmaker
4. Hi-Fidelity
5. Desdemona
6. I can do anything better than you can
7. I still believe in me
8. Life is a Celebration
9. It's Gonna be a Long Night
10. Be my music
11. Mannequin
12. Dancing Endlessly
13. Let's play a love scene
14. Dancin' on the sidewalk
15. Think of Meryl Streep
16. Bring on Tomorrow
17. Friday Night (Live)
18. Murphy Blues
19. False Alarm

I don't know if there are two versions of this box out there (one without this CD extra disc) but it is definitely worth seeking out.

The best entertainment ever.

This has to be the most exuberant production of all time. There is not a moment wasted and the direction and acting are sensational.

This is a lyrical tour de force. How does Natalie Dessay manage to control her voice whilst lying down or being thrown around? Juan Diego Flores is a delight and in fine voice and the supporting cast is wonderful.

A not-to-be-missed masterpiece by Donizetti.

Absolutely magnificent

This was intended to be the definitive version of 'Cats', in in most respects it is. Admittedly it lacks the intimacy or 'buzz' of a live performance, but this is more than made up for by the close-ups (which allow you to see details you might otherwise have missed) and, most particularly, what is probably the best cast this musical has ever enjoyed.

It would probably be unfair to single out individual members of the cast, as they're all first rate, but I'm going to anyway! Elaine Paige cuts a terrifically tragic figure as Grizabella and - at the other end of the scale - John Partridge makes for a gloriously over-the-top Rum Tum Tugger. Veerle Casteleyn is a charming Jemima (though dubbed with the beautiful purity of Helen Massey's singing). John Mills's Gus is thoroughly moving, whilst Rosemarie Ford's Bombalurina, together with Aeva May as Demeter, make a sexy and sensual pair. As for Drew Varley and Jo Gibb, I cannot praise their interpretation of Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer highly enough - just perfect.

The main downsides are the cuts. The loss of 'Growltiger's Last Stand' is a terrible shame, but arguably worth it to have John Mills. As for the others, I particularly miss the cut verses from 'Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer', but since this is my favourite song, and stars my favourite characters, I must admit to being biased in this respect!

None of this, however, seriously detracts from what is overall a truly stunning film of this glorious musical.

Sheer Ballet Magic!

Absolute magic! I saw this as a child and it inspired me into career of dance. As a child, I adored to watch it and try to imitate the characters. Frederick Ashton's choreoegraphy brings the animals to life with imagination and fun. In the early 70's The Royal Ballet was in it's glory days with dancers like beautiful Leslie Collier, Wayne Sleep and Michael Coleman: who's Pas De Chat-ing Jeremy Fisher I'll never forget, dancers filled with style, creativeness and that tremendous RB technique. This is a joy, something to have on the shelf for any ballet fan or budding ballerina. Enjoy!

Strange movie...

A weird and nonsensical movie about the 'fab' four who shot to fame in the 60s.

Not having ever been a fan of The Beatles (but old enough to remember them) I was interested in seeing this film for curiosity reasons, to find out what all the fuss was about - needless to say, I was no more impressed for the benefit...

The main reason The Beatles were so big at the time, was the fact that there had been nothing quite like them previously, and consequently caught everyone's attention because of it - but that's about it! You've got four 'odd' looking (ugly?) guys, with perhaps the exception of Lennon who was a slightly better looking chap than the other three, basically fooling around throughout and being silly. I have to confess, I did find the music good though, and this made the movie bearable for me - along with the early appearances of some big names in film and TV which I found interesting.

My advice would be to fast-forward to the seventies for some real talent in the likes of T. Rex, Sparks and ABBA for contrast. This film has not convinced me that The Beatles were bigger/better than ABBA (not that I ever had any doubts on that score) and so this movie would probably only mean anything to someone who was besotted with the group at the time, and as a consequence inspire lots of nostalgia. The closest I ever got to The Beatles was Yoko Ono, who was, and still is an amazing lady!

I give this film two stars for the music only.

Too much, man.

Too long (170 minutes) too loud and too boring. Rossano Brazzi fails to convince and John Kerr shows why he never became a major star.