The Brilliant Eartha Kitt Is “Miss Kitt” to You
Eartha Kitt’s best recordings from the 1950s represent the bedrock of her career and deliver a charming respite from a world in turmoil. Miss Kitt, to You is a revelation.
musical
‘The Devil’s Bride’ Is Like a Lithuanian Teletubbies
The Devil’s Bride is surely one of the most bizarre films from the Iron Curtain; as hallucinatory as anything this side of Teletubbies.
Sundance Film Festival 2025 Is at a Crossroads
While the Sundance Film Festival still uplifts under-the-radar films in an increasingly challenging market, its future may be in doubt.
It Ain’t Easy Being Green in Wicked’s Hollywood
In Wicked: Part 1, “normal” citizens come in all skin colors – except green. It ain’t easy being green in Wicked’s (or America’s) Hollywood.
Venice Film Festival in Focus: ‘Queer’, ‘Joker: Folie a Deux’, ‘2073’
In the vein of socially relevant topics at Venice Film Festival 2024, Queer, Joker: Folie a Deux, and 2073 got the island of Lido talking for different reasons.
Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinematic Melodrama: ‘Victims of Sin’
In Emilio Fernández’s Victims of Sin, a galaxy of important Mexican film and music artists collaborate on a tale of mambo music, martyred mothers, and melodrama.
Cymande Are Possibly the Most Sampled British Musical Artists of All Time
Cymande were foundational in the creation of hip-hop, disco, house, drum and bass, and rare groove, passed through generations like so much underground music.
‘The Second Greatest Sex’ Is No ‘Lysistrata’
By focusing on “love” rather than “sex”, Hays Code-era musical comedy The Second Greatest Sex was trying to communicate a deeper meaning about how the emotions and thoughts of women ought not to be controlled.
La La Land’s “Another Day of Sun” as Utopian Entertainment
La La Land’s opening number, the dance performance “Another Day of Sun”, is about much more than just dreaming the traffic fantastic.
What Was Paramount Smoking When It Released ‘Murder at the Vanities’?
There are wild numbers in the raunchy pre-code 1934 musical Murder at the Vanities but “Sweet Marijuana” really stirred up the uptights. Paramount shrugged.
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25 Years Ago Madonna Sought Respectability and Validation with Film Biography ‘Evita’
In a career defined by musical makeovers, Evita represented Madonna’s most extreme and conservative musical guise in the Andrew Lloyd Webber kitschfest.
The Way They Kiss in ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’
Julie Andrews’ 1960s musical Thoroughly Modern Millie does its anti-authoritarian, anarchic-chaotic thing in a different key.