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Glad i got the LES MISERABLES THREAD going, since you folks are saying some imformative stuff. So why don't we have more theatre talk? I will be in the Background here , like ED SUILLIVAN will pitch in with some ideas along the way and if you would like take it deeper from there. This month THIS[MOVIE NETWORK] will show the very rare 1980 film HAPPY BIRTHDAY GEMINI, the film died at the boxoffice, like alot of plays that were brought to the screen,. Folks would you like to offer why you think this happens often?
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My guess is that it requires special handling to keep a film based upon a stage play from seeming "too stagey". I recall that Fred Zinnemann worked hard to "open up" A Man For All Seasons, taking as many scenes outdoors as possible.
Injecting the "cinematic" into a stage play requires a talented director who understands the special needs of such a property.
Robert Wise shot many, many scenes in The Sound Of Music outdoors, involving wonderful scenery, to bring his stage musical into cinematic life.
These are merely my opinions, but I have backed them up with a few facts.
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I think it has more to do with some properties are fine if they are "stagey", and others are not. I have zero issue with DIAL M FOR MURDER, which pretty much never leaves the apartment, but despise the studio-bound MY FAIR LADY. which is screaming for a breath of fresh air, to me. Still MFL was a hit; but the title was so famous, it really couldn't fail. Not sure what makes the difference? I don't think it really has anything to do with its source being a play. Some films succeed (many inexplicably), and others do not. There are just as many flops based on books and original screenplays, as those based on Broadway shows. As a former avid theater-goer, since the 1950s, there are very few films that I find the equal of their stage counterparts. These days, I don't care much for either.
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PhiladelphiaSon, you give me much to consider.
For example, Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men never leaves the courthouse, and spends most of the time in the jury room.
However, Lumet's camerawork, editing and overall direction take this stage play successfully into the cinema. He understood how to make that transition.
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Then there was MY DINER WITH ANDRE-81- another example how a film can work in one setting, it worked so well with me i didn't want it too end.Just dawn on me, does anyone know if this was a play once?
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Not a play.
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Deathtrap, a stage play written by Ira Levin, became a film starring Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve & Dyan Cannon.
Once more, director Sidney Lumet brought the play into the cinema quite well.
Lumet had a singular talent for these properties.
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I thought 1776 -72 - worked well on film.-However in the same year there was MAN OF LA MANCHA-72- which died at the box office and was attacked by many critics and viewers alike.Sans such critical comments both movies had wonderful music.
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AHHH, neo, my dear friend!
I am so glad you are here.
And, I have that funny feeling that you are about to usher us into the world of
Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?!
Go for it, neo.
I am waiting with baited breath.
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If I am recalling correctly, 1776 is the only Broadway play that was made into a film, keeping the entire cast intact.
Jack Warner insisted upon that.
If I'm wrong, please correct me.
1776 is a huge favorite of mine.
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If I am recalling correctly, 1776 is the only Broadway play that was made into a film, keeping the entire cast intact.
Jack Warner insisted upon that.
If I'm wrong, please correct me.
1776 is a huge favorite of mine.
My good friend Betty Buckley is not in the film, and it suffers because of it. On stage, her fire and incredible skills as both actress and singer convinced you she was just what Jefferson needed. On film, the lackluster Blythe Danner leaves you wondering what it was he missed! For me, the film hits a brick wall when she appears. Oddly, her number is the one song that I find infinitely better orchestrated on the OCR. Otherwise, I prefer the film's orchestrations.
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Thanks to you all...
I am being EDUCATED!
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I have no idea what the appeal of CATS is. For me, it had one thing going for it, Betty Buckley (again) stopping the show. Then it had another friend of mine, Laurie Beechman doing the same thing. Otherwise, it had nothing, imo. Still, people love it. I just don't know why? By the way, when Buckley was hired for the show, that's all she was told by ALW. "I want you to stop the show." That's what she did.
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I have no idea what the appeal of CATS is. For me, it had one thing going for it, Betty Buckley (again) stopping the show. Then it had another friend of mine, Laurie Beechman doing the same thing. Otherwise, it had nothing, imo. Still, people love it. I just don't know why? By the way, when Buckley was hired for the show, that's all she was told by ALW. "I want you to stop the show." That's what she did. She is now in London, getting ready to stop the show in the London premiere of Jerry Herman's DEAR WORLD.
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I don't know lots of people!
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Nifty shot thar, amigo ... so didja do double-duty or were you just in front of the audience this tyme?
(and did you and Ms. Buckley do a show together once? How'dja meet?)
Inquiring 5,013 year young Immortals wanna know ...
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Betty Buckley ’s renditions are definitive, moving and letter-perfect.”] 
SHE immediately comes to authoritative 
and everything of Authentic - mind.
]
