tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post5750160667035921528..comments2024-03-10T00:00:31.355+00:00Comments on BRIAN SIBLEY : his blog: BLOODY BRILLIANT!Brian Sibleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-91756056376456155042008-01-22T16:20:00.000+00:002008-01-22T16:20:00.000+00:00Just found out that you are blogging again - thou...Just found out that you are blogging again - thought you'd stopped for longer than this. Hurrah!<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the insight into Sweeney Todd - won't be seeing the movie because of all the gore but have fond memories of the stage show.Diva of Deceptionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03674271381902557731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-56981119058895307772008-01-15T14:36:00.000+00:002008-01-15T14:36:00.000+00:00Ooops!! LOL! That's what comes of returning from h...Ooops!! LOL! That's what comes of returning from holiday to 4000 items of spam...<BR/><BR/>Forgive me, Anon, if I leave your comment, but hastily correct 'penile' to 'penal'!Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-44116843902666970932008-01-15T14:22:00.000+00:002008-01-15T14:22:00.000+00:00"penile servitude" ??? ! Roger"penile servitude" ???<BR/> !<BR/> RogerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-27417255422657765152008-01-13T11:40:00.000+00:002008-01-13T11:40:00.000+00:00PHIL - Thanks! These sculptures looks amazing... A...PHIL - Thanks! These sculptures looks amazing... And may well get blogged about in the not too distant future!!<BR/><BR/>(PS: Happy New Year to you, too! And apologies for not having acknowledged your last Bradbury communication! There are now so many new limited edition Ray books on offer that my bank balance has gone into seizure!!)Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-69480934607301343352008-01-13T11:17:00.000+00:002008-01-13T11:17:00.000+00:00Brian, Happy New Year - and good to see your blog ...Brian, Happy New Year - and good to see your blog back in action.<BR/><BR/>This isn't really anything to do with anything (although the thought was prompted by the Sweeney Todd images you posted), but:<BR/><BR/>Have you see the work of this sculptor:<BR/><BR/>http://thomaskuebler.com/gallery.htmlPhilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04216810702125906530noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-15688235444445879192008-01-13T10:23:00.000+00:002008-01-13T10:23:00.000+00:00LAURIE - On 'The Stingiest Man in Town'....This mu...LAURIE - On 'The Stingiest Man in Town'....<BR/><BR/>This musical version (with Basil Rathbone as Scrooge) televised live as part of The Alcoa Hour in 1956 was, in fact, the SECOND musical version of 'A Christmas Carol'.<BR/><BR/>Two years earlier, 1954, a filmed epsiode of The Shower of Stars presented Fredric March as Scrooge (and Basil Rathbone as the Ghost of Jacob Marley) in a musical version of 'A Christmas Carol' with lyrics by Maxwell Anderson and music by Bernard Herrmann. This was also the first version of the story to be filmed in colour and won Fredric March an Emmy nomination.<BR/><BR/>Maybe that's where someone got the idea of subsequently casting Rathbone in the role of Scrooge.<BR/><BR/>As I think you know, the songs from 'The Stingiest Man in Town' were later used in an animated version of the story (1978) from Rankin-Bass with Walter Matthau as Scrooge.Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-77071505475673393402008-01-13T10:06:00.000+00:002008-01-13T10:06:00.000+00:00IAN - No, we didn't get much of that, though every...IAN - No, we didn't get much of that, though every questioner, I think, managed to begin their question (or, more often, COMMENT!) by contriving to sound as if they were one of Mr Burton's closest friends - and, who knows, maybe they were!<BR/><BR/>SUZANNE - Sorry! The film doesn't open in the UK until next week, so I should have put a * SPOILERS ALERT * on this post - and have belatedly done so...<BR/><BR/>MICHAEL - I understand your reactions and as I commented to Laurie, I also had difficulty with hearing some of the lyrics especially those sung by HBC (which is never a problem with Miss Lansbury); but the fact that the film got made and survived the Hollywood process is something of a miracle (the first Burton film NOT to be screen-tested before release) and the media of theatre and cinema, whilst related, are so different...<BR/><BR/>I bet people who saw Julie Andrews and Richard Burton in 'Camelot' on Broadway groaned at Richard Harris' and Vanessa Redgrave's film version; and - now here's a thought - maybe devotees of Mary Martin's stage portrayal of Maria in 'The Sound of Music' shook their heads in disappointment when they saw Miss Andrews singing 'Do-Re-Mi' on the big screen!Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-11982240269500514852008-01-13T09:48:00.000+00:002008-01-13T09:48:00.000+00:00MICHAEL G comments...I enjoyed your piece on 'Swee...MICHAEL G comments...<BR/><BR/>I enjoyed your piece on 'Sweeny Todd'.<BR/> <BR/>I saw it a few weeks ago and was a bit disappointed by the changes and limitations of the singers.<BR/> <BR/>I found it very hard to even understand what they were saying when singing, and missed Angela Lansbury's take on Mrs. Lovett. I was fortunate to see the show in LA when they went on Tour - with George Hearn as Todd some 20+ years ago!<BR/> <BR/>It is so difficult to translate from one medium to another, and I thought it not as successful as I had hoped.Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-45424140231538751722008-01-13T08:45:00.000+00:002008-01-13T08:45:00.000+00:00I'm afraid I skipped through most of your commenta...I'm afraid I skipped through most of your commentary about the film... I want to keep the surprise complete for when I go to see the film. Which apparently here doesn't come out until late February.<BR/>Really looking forward to it - I love Tim Burton's work and of course anything (well almost!) with Johnny Depp in it!Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05920066331651290774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-89312660419866962222008-01-12T22:26:00.000+00:002008-01-12T22:26:00.000+00:00Disappointed with Depp of late.He made a right pig...Disappointed with Depp of late.He made a right pigs ear of 'The Libertine'and he really ought to make some reparation for 3'Pirates' films so may wait for it to come on TV...Boll Weavilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03858122220880954456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-80457390326979195222008-01-12T20:22:00.000+00:002008-01-12T20:22:00.000+00:00Thanks for the preview, Brian, it certainly makes ...Thanks for the preview, Brian, it certainly makes me want to go and see the film, despite the fact that I tend to be squeamish.<BR/>But then Johnny Depp can make you forget about everything else that is going on, even without his little beard.SharonMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17369769107190148944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-592047939071574892008-01-12T18:31:00.000+00:002008-01-12T18:31:00.000+00:00Glad it's good.And it sounds like you didn't get t...Glad it's good.<BR/><BR/>And it sounds like you didn't get too many of the "I'm a xxxx. My name is xxxxx and I do xxxx and this is really all about me. (long prologue about what person's amateur dramatics group/story writing group/student film group do cut). Anyway, I guess I'm supposed to ask a question now. So here it is" <BR/><BR/>Look forward to seeing the Q&A as an extra on the British shiny disc version, as the NFT poorly-shot interviews always seem to be included on DVDs these days.<BR/><BR/>Watched "The Walker" on DVD a couple of nights ago and it included the NFT Q&A, which started with two or three shots of people walking in front of the camera completely blocking any stage view BEFORE the interview actually started. Haven't these people heard of trimming/editing shot footage? It's quite staggering in terms of incompetence, but then one shouldn't expect more should one? It's only the National Film Theatre and British Film Institute, after all!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13442419547110456696noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-58236897489872571272008-01-12T18:24:00.000+00:002008-01-12T18:24:00.000+00:00While you were on "holiday vacation," I posted a q...While you were on "holiday vacation," I posted a question about Stingiest Man in Town (which, thanks to your reminder, I got for Christmas). Was that the first major musical version of A Christmas Carol? I can't think of a movie musical or TV special version that predates it, though I can remember a few after it.Laurie Mannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16886124993171547304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-40657516222425126222008-01-12T16:54:00.000+00:002008-01-12T16:54:00.000+00:00Andy - Oh, gawd! I hope you like it!Laurie - I agr...Andy - Oh, gawd! I hope you like it!<BR/><BR/>Laurie - I agree that Bonham Carter's voice is too ordinary; the problem's not that she isn't a singer, but that there is no singularity to her vocal performance and - a problem - for all of the cast: Sondheim's lyrics are often tortuously tongue-twisting and quite a few of the best lines in the songs were simply lost. But I seriously doubt if the film could have achieved the same intense and shocking terror if the score had been sung with the brilliance of Cariou and Lansbury.Brian Sibleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02395103557170474777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-22541940359301041642008-01-12T16:36:00.000+00:002008-01-12T16:36:00.000+00:00I saw the movie a couple of weeks back and enjoyed...I saw the movie a couple of weeks back and enjoyed it. Even though Johnny Depp is a smaller man with a much smaller voice than Len Cariou, he was so creepy that he worked very well.<BR/><BR/>I'm mildly critical of Bonham-Carter's singing however. Her voice was too sweet and too plain. Angela Lansbury's over-the-top accent and nasal tone always nailed Mrs. Lovett for me.<BR/><BR/>I also agree with you completely on the restraint Alan Rickman showed in interpreting his role. It was fine for most of the actors to be weird. He had to seem very "normal" most of the time.Laurie Mannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16886124993171547304noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28039080.post-19545603834379910312008-01-12T15:30:00.000+00:002008-01-12T15:30:00.000+00:00Happy New Year Brian!I saw the trailer for this la...Happy New Year Brian!<BR/><BR/>I saw the trailer for this last night for the first time and wondered if it was worth seeing. I love Tim Burton's creations and so assumed it probably would be worth a visit to the cinema, but thanks to your review, I am now actually excited to see it!Andy Lathamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04404988861331264759noreply@blogger.com