Post by Torgo on Nov 6, 2018 0:49:24 GMT -5
So what was I doing before I got attacked by the Addams and Munsters in October? Oh yeah...this was a thing...
Waltzes from Vienna
It's probably fitting I watch Waltzes from Vienna the night before I'm due to see Bohemian Rhapsody in theaters. I know very little about Johann Strauss II, just as I know very little about Freddie Mercury. Music in general doesn't interest me that much. For some people it's a passion, for some a hobby, for some it's a tool to help them think, for some people it's an excuse to put over compensating speakers into their vehicle so EVERYONE knows what you're listening to while you're slowly going deaf...for me if I listen to too much I get a headache. Car rides with me are very boring. I hear Bohemian Rhapsody is mostly bullpoopie. Maybe Waltzes from Vienna is too. I don't know. I don't know anything about these people's life story. There needs to be a hook in order to get me interesting in knowing more about someone like that, and if you just put a page of words in front of me then this is what happens...
I do love to read, but I struggle when something doesn't hook my interest. Just a biography that says "IT'S THIS PERSON!" I'm like "Great. And I should care why?" But movies are something different, as they let a story unfold in front of your eyes they may be able to lay out that hook that you need to make you interested in that subject, and in turn you'll branch off into learning more, even if the film take wasn't 100% accurate. I myself could name several things about Andy Kaufman's life that Man on the Moon got wrong, though the film itself is still quite good and boosted my interest in the performer (I was already a fan of Taxi prior, however). Neveryoumind that particular biopic brushed off it's inaccuracies in a hilarious opening skit.
Waltzes from Vienna (or Strauss' Great Waltz, as it's also known) is the story of Johann Strauss II writing his famous Blue Danube waltz, set to the backdrop of a love triangle between himself and a baker's daughter he's in love with and a Countess who inspires him and pushes him to become the great composer he's destined to be. He also faces an obstacle in the form of his disapproving father, also famous composer Johann Strauss senior, and his love wishing him to give up music and become a baker.
Things are classic for a reason, and from what I've heard the best thing about both Waltzes from Vienna and Bohemian Rhapsody is the music featured. In Waltzes from Vienna my attention was mostly kept but interest was lackluster until a climactic scene in which Strauss performs The Blue Danube in front of an audience for the first time. This sequence is astonishingly well done, with every shot serving a purpose and the music adding to the feeling of the moment, bringing up a emotional climax that I wasn't even aware was building. This scene is pure cinematic magic.
When we epilogue past that sequence back to the love story those feelings mostly disappeared. The story is fine, it gets the story from point A to point B, Jessie Matthews and Fay Compton are excellent leading ladies, I'm just not that interested in it. There are some great moments that are sprinkled throughout, such as Strauss taking inspiration of the sounds in a bakery for his waltz, and the very last shot in which the cold-hearted father shows he's warming a bit by writing "Senior" when a young girl asks his autograph. Hitchcock has some swell directorial moments as well, though for the most part he allows it to mostly be an actors movie and never overwhelms it with style.
Much has been said about Hitchcock calling the film a low point in his career, having done it only to keep his career flowing when he had no other projects. I'd say it's probably better than a few other films I could name in this marathon so far, and I genuinely enjoyed maybe 60% of it. It's okay, though I'm not sure I'd say go out of your way to see it.
Next Time: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
Waltzes from Vienna
It's probably fitting I watch Waltzes from Vienna the night before I'm due to see Bohemian Rhapsody in theaters. I know very little about Johann Strauss II, just as I know very little about Freddie Mercury. Music in general doesn't interest me that much. For some people it's a passion, for some a hobby, for some it's a tool to help them think, for some people it's an excuse to put over compensating speakers into their vehicle so EVERYONE knows what you're listening to while you're slowly going deaf...for me if I listen to too much I get a headache. Car rides with me are very boring. I hear Bohemian Rhapsody is mostly bullpoopie. Maybe Waltzes from Vienna is too. I don't know. I don't know anything about these people's life story. There needs to be a hook in order to get me interesting in knowing more about someone like that, and if you just put a page of words in front of me then this is what happens...
I do love to read, but I struggle when something doesn't hook my interest. Just a biography that says "IT'S THIS PERSON!" I'm like "Great. And I should care why?" But movies are something different, as they let a story unfold in front of your eyes they may be able to lay out that hook that you need to make you interested in that subject, and in turn you'll branch off into learning more, even if the film take wasn't 100% accurate. I myself could name several things about Andy Kaufman's life that Man on the Moon got wrong, though the film itself is still quite good and boosted my interest in the performer (I was already a fan of Taxi prior, however). Neveryoumind that particular biopic brushed off it's inaccuracies in a hilarious opening skit.
Waltzes from Vienna (or Strauss' Great Waltz, as it's also known) is the story of Johann Strauss II writing his famous Blue Danube waltz, set to the backdrop of a love triangle between himself and a baker's daughter he's in love with and a Countess who inspires him and pushes him to become the great composer he's destined to be. He also faces an obstacle in the form of his disapproving father, also famous composer Johann Strauss senior, and his love wishing him to give up music and become a baker.
Things are classic for a reason, and from what I've heard the best thing about both Waltzes from Vienna and Bohemian Rhapsody is the music featured. In Waltzes from Vienna my attention was mostly kept but interest was lackluster until a climactic scene in which Strauss performs The Blue Danube in front of an audience for the first time. This sequence is astonishingly well done, with every shot serving a purpose and the music adding to the feeling of the moment, bringing up a emotional climax that I wasn't even aware was building. This scene is pure cinematic magic.
When we epilogue past that sequence back to the love story those feelings mostly disappeared. The story is fine, it gets the story from point A to point B, Jessie Matthews and Fay Compton are excellent leading ladies, I'm just not that interested in it. There are some great moments that are sprinkled throughout, such as Strauss taking inspiration of the sounds in a bakery for his waltz, and the very last shot in which the cold-hearted father shows he's warming a bit by writing "Senior" when a young girl asks his autograph. Hitchcock has some swell directorial moments as well, though for the most part he allows it to mostly be an actors movie and never overwhelms it with style.
Much has been said about Hitchcock calling the film a low point in his career, having done it only to keep his career flowing when he had no other projects. I'd say it's probably better than a few other films I could name in this marathon so far, and I genuinely enjoyed maybe 60% of it. It's okay, though I'm not sure I'd say go out of your way to see it.
Next Time: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)