Stream Brigadoon Online
Mardi, août 17th, 2010 |
Stream Brigadoon Online.
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When I first rented BRIGADOON from the public library last spring, I immediately fell in love with it. Just added the DVD to my collection yesterday. It is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. It is a 1954 film adaptation of the 1947 Broadway musical. The Lerner and Loewe score is one of the greatest ever written for the stage (or screen). The great cast includes Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Cyd Charisse. Although certainly not the greatest singers in the world, Kelly’s and Johnson’s singing is more than adequate and is really quite lovely. Charisse’s singing voice is dubbed for this film, and she works great as well.
When Brigadoon made the transition from Broadway to Hollywood, a good chunk of its score was dispensed with in order to make room to highlight the dancing abilities of its stars. This is, in fact, where many people find fault with this film; the lack of the rest of the Broadway score. To these people, I have this to say… —This movie is not the Broadway play. It is a **film adaptation.**— This is also the common complaint about MGM’s “Show Boat” from 3 years earlier. Another common complaint about “Brigadoon” is that it was obviously shot in soundstages on the MGM lot in Culver City instead of the highlands of Scotland. This was due to the fact that producers were working with smaller budgets than they had been just 3 or 4 years earlier. This, coupled with the unpredictable weather in the British Isles, necesitated that the film be shot at the studio. This is also evident in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” from the same year. Although the sets are obviously painted backdrops, they are nicely done and work well. IMO, they do not demerit the film.
Brigadoon more than makes up for the missing songs by adding some spectacular dance numbers. “Heather on the Hill” is one of the most sweeping dance numbers I have ever seen in any film. Kelly’s and Charisse’s gracefulness really hits the spot.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the DVD, with its lush color, clear picture, and stereo sound. If you haven’t seen “Brigadoon,” you should see it. At the very least for some of the greatest dance numbers you will ever see.
Brigadoon is widely considered as one of Vincente Minnelli’s lesser achievements. The critics were somewhat disenchanted that Brigadoon was filmed on a sound stage in Culver City rather than “on location” in Scotland. MGM had not helped matters by actually dispatching Minnelli and Producer Arthur Freed to Scotland to scout for suitable filming locations. MGM, like the other major studios, were finding themselves in somewhat dire financial straits due to competition from television and certain pieces of anti-trust legislation that loosened their monopolistic grip over the entertainment industry. When MGM pulled the plug on the concept of an “on location” shoot (they were well aware of Minnelli’s obsession with perfection and expected that he would go well over budget if given a free rein), the entire project became saddled with an image problem. By 1954, movie audiences expected something more than fixed indoor sets and painted scenery, especially from a work so site specific as Brigadoon.
Minnelli faced other obstacles. Ansco was a cheaper and somewhat inferior colour processing system than Technicolor, which no doubt irritated his refined sensibilities. He also had to come to terms with the new demands of Cinemascope and full stereophonic sound, with somewhat mixed results.
Even more troubling is that the choreography was in the hands of Gene Kelly, who seemed determined to emphasize the dancing rather than musical element at the heart of Brigadoon. The two had worked wonderfully together on “An American in Paris”, but on the set of Brigadoon their artistic visions clashed. It is telling that Brigadoon was their last collaboration.
Critics in the 1950’s were also a better informed breed than they were 20 years earlier and they were quick to pounce on certain “inaccuracies”, such as the outrageous blends of tartans, which cerainly would have made any Laird wince, and the suitability of much of Mr. Kelly’s choreography; hardly Scottish by a long stretch.
Yet in spite of these encumberances, I love this film. The painted diaramas are in keeping with the preposterous nature of the storyline, and what beautiful sets they are! Minnelli’s artistic flourishes are evident eveywhere, such as the ample plantings of heather which must have caused a state of full employment for local florists. Minnelli”s outstanding contribution to American Film was his refined palette of colour schemes, and in Brigadoon his genius achieves its climax. Make no mistake, Brigadoon is a feast for the eyes.
The music by Lerner and Loewe is superb, with haunting melodies and stirring choruses. Cyd Charisse, always more celebrated for her dancing than her thespian skills, in Brigadoon achieves her finest hour, even though her singing voice is dubbed. Gene Kelly’s type of acting is perhaps an acquired taste, but there is no denying his cat like grace and radiant boyish good looks.
On the whole, the imperfections of Brigadoon only make it more endearing. It is the one musical I never tire of seeing over and over again.
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