City of Stars A Review of the Musical La La Land The movie musical “La La Land,” which was released in December of 2016, is a film which grabbed the attention of critics and casual moviegoers alike. Although some criticize it for its musical inaccuracies, most can agree that the stunning cinematography and emotionally consuming plotline make up for its technical shortcomings. The film was also successful at alluding to classics such as Singin’ in the Rain and West Side Story without seeming unoriginal. Rather, it paid homage to past works while establishing itself as a new one. Since it is safe to assume that those who strongly oppose musicals would not be a fan of “La La Land” regardless of how well it was executed, I will review it from …show more content…
Both had the acting experience necessary, as well as the chemistry, which was also seen in the film “Crazy Stupid Love” where they were love interests. Due to their previous success as an on-screen couple, it’s no surprise that the duo was met with praise in “La La Land.” Gosling and Stone won the Golden Globes for best actor and actress, Stone also won the Oscar, and both were nominated for countless other awards. They also put months of work into developing their skills to properly play their roles. Gosling already had experience with the piano, but he couldn’t perform anywhere near the level he would need to as Sebastian. He worked with a teacher two hours a day, five days a week, for three months and learned the songs for the movie by rote. Both of the leads also spent time on their dancing so that they could execute the few breakout dance scenes in the musical. These actors definitely put in the work to grow beyond the talents they already had, so to the casual musical lover I would say they did a wonderful job at portraying the characters and striving to …show more content…
The composer, Justin Herwitz, arranged several memorable themes which people could leave the theater humming, however, there were less than most musicals. In fact, excluding reprises and instrumentals, the film only had six original songs. It’s possible that this shortage of musical numbers actually aided the film’s success because it allowed more time for plot development. Musical lovers also complain that Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling's musical performances left something to be desired. I must admit, when I first heard the two sing “A Lovely Night,” I was a little underwhelmed. Even Emma Stone admits that singing is her weakness. Prior to being in “La La Land” Emma was in a broadway production of Cabaret, where she played Sally Bowles. In an interview to Hello! Magazine, she explained that her character was, “a third rate singer in a second-rate nightclub.” So when her voice was gone or she struggled to perform, it made sense for the character. Ryan Gosling also had some previous singing experience as a child star and in a former band where he was the lead vocalist. However, to many people, this was not enough for him to be chosen for a role with so much potential. As Michelle Mastrianni puts it in her article about the film, “If La La Land wanted to be a musical, it would be hard to argue that it wouldn’t have benefited from stronger voices.” I think that this statement is really undebatable,
One of the main products of this movie that popped out to me was the stars. They all seemed to be great actors even though I only knew one of them. For example, I thought that Ian Michael Smith did a great job portraying Simon Birch. He made the movie cute and funny all at once. I also thought that Joseph Mazello did a great job portraying relatable feelings in the movie. You could tell by his facial expressions what his mood was. All the actors did a great job and I can’t pinpoint one of them who did worse than the
The live theatrical production I chose to see was 9 to 5 The Musical. The production was performed by Fayetteville Technical Community College’s very own Fine Arts Department. The musical is based on the film released by Fox in 1980. Collin Higgins adapted the film from the book 9 to 5 written by Patricia Resnick. It wasn’t until 2008 that the film was adapted to a theatrical production. The production was originally brought to broadway by Robert Greenbait and Dolly Parton wrote the lyrics and the music for the Musical. The run on broadway was very short but the production later toured in other countries around the around the world.
The casting of both Leonardo DiCaprio and fresh-faced Claire Danes influence how the film is viewed. Baz Luhrmann is smart in using young, attractive characters to make the adaptation more appealing to a more adolescent
In the book West Side Story as Cinema: The Making and Impact of an American Masterpiece by Ernesto R. Acevedo-Munoz, the author makes an evaluative judgement on the musical West Side Story and details the history of the extensive production and the making of the film and also analyzes the cultural controversy and impact of the film on society. Through the use of primary sources and thoroughly researched claims, the author convincingly demonstrates how the production, presentation, and release redefined the conventions of the classical hollywood musical, and the role of cinema in culture as a way of observing and rehearsing social issues. In the first two chapters of the book, the author provides detailed accounts of the preproduction and
The Wiz is a musical/movie released in 1978 that was an adaptation of the popular film “Wizard of Oz”. It included several very popular stars of the time, which were Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and Nipsey Russell. The movie set place in New York City where the main character, Dorothy, suddenly is swept by a tornado in the middle of a snowstorm. She later then found herself lost in a city she had no clue about and curious as to how she could return home. After meeting 3 other characters during her journey that share similarities, they all embarked on a trip to OZ to fix each of their problems. Throughout the movie characters apply their own soundtrack through singing songs in harmony that compliment the mood of each scene.
Into the Woods is a musical based off of classic Grimms Brothers’ characters and their fairytales. The production explores the consequences of their wishes and the quests that they fulfill and take on. In writing this play, it seems as though Sondheim and Lapine were attempting to bring to life the classic fairytales of their youth with a twist of reality. Through this portrayal of classic tales, the audience is also taken back into their childhood for the entire two hours and forty-five minutes.
I have listened to the cast albums for both the movie and the Broadway production, and many songs from the Broadway production were taken out of the movie. Some lines were not even taken out, but were spoken instead of sung. Personally, I think that when these line are sung rather than spoken, they evoke more emotional reactions in the audience. In the movie version, there are also some characters that do not appear in the original Broadway version. An example of this is seen through Roger’s backstory with April, his dead girlfriend - the movie shows Roger and April together, whereas in the Broadway version, she is only
Many songs were incorporated into the story line, such as “The Sound of Music,” “My Favorite Things,” and “So Long, Farewell.”
...melodies which made this musical so memorable and great. The song “Rent” at the beginning of the musical is a rock song which explains the struggle to get money to pay for rent and how the residents at the building will not pay the rent. Another choral number “Seasons of Love” is probably the most famous song from the musical and it talks about how the seasons are changing and life will still go on. Also the last choral number “Finale B” is also very renowned and it expresses the remaining friends’ joy of being together and realizing that they have this moment and that their lives will continue on. The musical also has many solo numbers including Roger’s heartfelt ballad to write that one song to be his “One Song Glory” and Maureen’s “Over the Moon” which attacked on the idea of building the Cyber Studio and expressed to her audience how corrupt those investors are.
The sound design and choreography intensified the overall musical. They created the time, place, and mood through rhythm and great energy. The actors had wireless, behind the ear mikes, that attached to the mike pack which amplified the sound, making it very clear. I could easily understand what they were talking about or singing.
The soundtrack of La La Land is just as important as the characters in the film because it helps the storyline advance and because Sebastian is a talented jazz musician, the soundtrack features a lot of jazz music which helps support the film and what the characters are going through. Musical composer, Justin Hurwitz, fuses retro and modern style music into the soundtrack of the film which has reinvigorated a genre in musical film which lacks it. All the songs that were included in this film had several demos before an official theme to the songs could be added which means that each song was rehearsed several times before it could be added to the film. The songs are what gives the film its critically-acclaimed title, along with the outstanding performance that was done from actors and actresses. The songs in the film also stand for a certain scene in the film. Each one advancing one character from here to there. Without the soundtrack, this film simply would not have its moral theme set clear and overall completes this musical film
The film “La La Land,” written and directed by Damien Chazelle, teleports you to another world through singing and dancing. It brings you to a place where jumping out of your car in the middle of awful L.A. traffic to sing a tune called “Another Day of Sun”- a bit about how each day brings new hope for these young wannabe artists- is normal, and thats just the opener. There really is no mistaking that this film is a musical from the start. The leading male, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), or as we later know as Seb, is a young and passionate jazz pianist with a partially formed but enthusiastic goal of opening his own club and protecting his favorite music from going extinct. Mia (Emma Stone) is a talented woman who aspires to be an actress and whisks between unsuccessful auditions and working as a barista at a coffee shop on the Warner Bros studio lot.
The musical selections and songs that were sung told a story and narrated the almost the entire film, as is expected in...
Watson does an amazing job at capturing Belle’s intelligence and kindness. In the Dazzling “Be Our Guest” scene Watson does an incredible job of acting delighted the over the top performance, especially noting that nothing was actually in front of her. The moments when she sings however, are a little underwhelming. Watson’s singing is good, just not Disney Princess good.
The importance of music in movies is highly regarded for manipulating the viewer’s emotions and helping them immerse into the story. Music is one of the prime elements in cinema. Without it a movie would feel dull and unexciting. There are three elements in a movie: one is acting, the second is picture, and the third one is music. It is a holy trinity; if incomplete, there would be a lack of sensation and excitement. Both acting and picture can stand independently from one another, but music is the one that makes the movie memorable.