A rather eccentric film musicals poll

Cosmiclawnmower wrote: I read a lot of your posts and I can ensure you that 'thoughtful, nuanced and insightful' writing is what I enjoy most from reading them  x

I appreciate that, and I really like reading what you have to say.   It's given me a lot of food for thought, and made me reflect on what I think I know, what I believe, what matters to me and ultimately what's important in life. You have a good aura about you, if you know what I mean. I like to think very holistically, I strongly believe everything is fundamentally connected, and I like to look for connections, but sometimes I do have a myopic, narrow perspective, a place of alienation, and people like you help to broaden my horizons. In the words of VdGG, "All things are apart; all things are a part". But I'm still waiting for my saviour, storms tear me limb from limb, my fingers feel like seaweed, I'm so far out I'm too far in. ;)

Edited by Logan - April 05 2020 at 15:26

I prophesy disaster wrote: Logan wrote: I prophesy disaster wrote: The Qatsi trilogy, especially Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance  I like those but that is not at all what I mean by a musical. Here is the OED definition for a musical: "A play or film in which singing and dancing play an essential part. Musicals developed from light opera in the early 20th century. ‘a hit West End musical, Miss Saigon’" Not everything in my list would I consider to be a true musical.   It's true that movies like Koyaanisqatsi are nothing like (for example) The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and that when one hears the term "musical", movies like Koyaanisqatsi are not what one thinks of. But if one considers the term "musical" at face value, meaning that music is a dominant feature, then movies like Koyaanisqatsi would have to qualify.

It's "musicals", not "musical", and that makes a difference in my inference.

Yeah, that's not what I meant. I should have made that really clear in my OP so we're not talking apples and oranges (or talking at tangerines, erm, tangents), more PCs and Apples. Many words have more than one sense, and one has to infer from the context. I shouldn't have included Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem (2003), because that is more like a long Daft Punk music video than a musical to me (I only started watching that after I made the poll). Several others in the list I don't consider to be musicals in the sense (think Broadway musicals and the like) that I meant. If really open, so much could go, including animated films like La Planète sauvage. Although I did specify "a musical" in my OP, and I think that commonly refers to how the OED defines it. Instead of "film musicals," I would have said "musical films" to refer to a much broader list. But maybe this is not the best place to discuss semantics, although I don't mind if others want to argue such stuff until the cows come home.

Edited by Logan - April 05 2020 at 15:04

Logan wrote: The thing is figuring out what the list represents, and trying to work within that framework.

BTW, I mentioned the Qatsi trilogy not as a complaint for its non-inclusion, but as something from left-field worthy of consideration.

moshkito wrote: Logan wrote:   ... Judging by one of Moshkito's comments, in response to the Dark Elf, he seemed to like one of my choices, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, yet Moshkito didn't vote for it (that's the first one I thought of, such a classic).  ... Hi, I don't think I voted at all yet. There is too much stuff I have not seen or can relate to ... I guess I differ in what "musical" means to me, and some of that stuff just doesn't click ... I'm not sure I understood what the poll wanted. Here is a small list taken from my website of reviews of films about music ... and many of them are truly eccentric. They are not a "musical" per se, although some of them fit ... but the use of the music in the film is very deep and intense and valuable, and most of them deal with the composers and their use of the ability to create something in music. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert The Piano Amadeus Once Performance Pirate Radio The Music Lovers The Rutles The Accompanist The Music Teacher Tous Les Matins du Monde Un Coeur en Hiver Allegro Non Troppo (Italian Fantasia! Great!!) Orchestra Rehearsal Carmen (Carlos Saura) Tango (Carlos Saura) All That Jazz 32 Short Films About Glenn Gould Her Composition The Rocky Horror Picture Show

I don't like or know all of the films in this poll,and in one case, which I got from another list, I don't think it fits my conception of a musical.

I've seen plenty of those, but many/most are not what I meant by a musical. I added The Rutles for you even though I don't really feel it fit (and then I added The Wicker Man for myself even though I don't think it really fits despite having song and dance and some others). Again, I should have defined as a particular genre. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, that I would have included had I thought of it at the time. I love that film and have mentioned it in the forum before myself. Films about music, such as Amadeus, are a different beast, as are ones likes The Music Teacher. if it was about music in that way, I'd include Diva and many others. Un Coeur en Hiver is a beautiful film but would have been more likely to be on my art house poll than a poll about musicals. This isn't about being musical, or having music as subject matter, it's about being a musical (again, I did stretch from that, especially with later additions, and some I wouldn't have included in retrospect).

I would like it if you would make some thematic polls of your own, and it will be interesting to see how others will play along with it, instead of wanting to make it something that it is not. I feel like there's this kind of contrarian attitude, sometimes from me, that tends to pervade the forum instead of people trying to figure what the OP is getting at and working in that framework. I don't mind digressions, and enjoy friendly debate when I'm not busy (provided I feel that person is really listening to me and I'm really listening to them, and we're not talking at cross-purposes -- more of a dialectic).

I would like to start making polls where the focus is on what I include, not what people wish I included, but mention any others that fit with what is listed as well as commenting on specific choices.

The poll question just wanted you to vote for something, or things you like.   It is really simple, and I said you don't have to know much to vote. You could have voted for The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which has been in the poll from the beginning (the first one I thought of, in fact). You could have voted for The Rutles: We're Only in it for the Cash. I quickly added that for you despite not thinking it quite fits both because its a mockumentary about music and because it was made for TV (which wasn't my focus), but then Head is there, so it fit well enough. And then I added Spinal Tap and some others of that ilk, even though it doesn't fit the conception.

Edited by Logan - April 05 2020 at 14:36

Logan wrote: I prophesy disaster wrote: The Qatsi trilogy, especially Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance  I like those but that is not at all what I mean by a musical. Here is the OED definition for a musical: "A play or film in which singing and dancing play an essential part. Musicals developed from light opera in the early 20th century. ‘a hit West End musical, Miss Saigon’" Not everything in my list would I consider to be a true musical.

Logan wrote:   ... Judging by one of Moshkito's comments, in response to the Dark Elf, he seemed to like one of my choices, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, yet Moshkito didn't vote for it (that's the first one I thought of, such a classic).  ...

^^ Funny you mention Mel Brooks, or maybe not funny, as I made this poll I was wondering about what I could try to try to pub in by him, but I didn't have the time to put as much thought into it as I would have liked.

^ as for Neil Innes, I had heard, it's sad.

^^^ I'm not familiar with the PC game. Interesting. I wouldn't call myself a fan of the musical genre either, but some can be very fun. I tend to appreciate the absurd, the quirky, the strange, often that which is surreal, sometimes the grotesque, and the comical in many "artistic" forms. I could enjoy many dark comedy musicals. Despite Covid_19, the last film I watched was a horror flim (revisited an old fave of mine, The Omen). The Omen could make for a great musical. :)

TCat wrote: Yeah.  Everyone can be judgemental.  Unfortunately, it's human nature.  People have opinions and like to force them on others.  It used to bother me, hell, it still bothers me at times, but I try to tell myself that they are all human and thus are prone to errors, stupidity, or a combination of both.  But they are also prone to enlightenment and friendliness too.  When it all comes down to it, all responses are a combination of opinion and mood.    As far as time management....I get that issue.  Right now I have lots of time on my hands, so I use it here where I enjoy using that time and it keeps my mind off of hard times.  Don't let others get you down, though.  Sometimes the things they say, they won't remember in 10 minutes anyway.  Other times, the words they write don't necessarily mean the way they might sound to the reader.  I always enjoy your input, so just brush off those negative numbskulls.  If they want to convey their own opinion, let them start their own thread if they are smart enough to do so.   Don't let it bug you and push you away.

A truly enlightening post, most sincerely, thank you. And this has helped to shift my perspective -- my perspectives can change quite dramatically depending on my mood. Everyone has bad days and off days, I think I have more than most, and one shouldn't be defined by those moments. If it's the norm, well, that's another matter. While there is some continuity -- some would say there isn't and that's an illusion, and there is discrete time and continuous time... -- we are all rather different people from moment to moment. We're not identical to our past or future selves. We can't help but change even if that's not enough change for what we or others would like. It is my off moments that bug me and push me away the most, but I would hope to acknowledge/accept those, learn from them, and move on from those.

I've always been a procrastinator, some things never change. :) While I already mostly worked from home, with the situation significant adaptation is required.

Edited by Logan - April 05 2020 at 11:55

Yeah.  Everyone can be judgemental.  Unfortunately, it's human nature.  People have opinions and like to force them on others.  It used to bother me, hell, it still bothers me at times, but I try to tell myself that they are all human and thus are prone to errors, stupidity, or a combination of both.  But they are also prone to enlightenment and friendliness too.  When it all comes down to it, all responses are a combination of opinion and mood.