Classic Movie Picks: May

by Lani

Each month, I scour the Turner Classic Movies Now Playing guide for upcoming films that I can't miss. The highlights are posted here for your reading and viewing pleasure! (All listed times are Eastern Standard, check your local listings or TCM.com for actual air times in your area. Each day's schedule begins at 6:00 a.m.; if a film airs between midnight and 6 a.m. it is listed on the previous day's programming schedule.)

5/2, 8 PM - Gates of Heaven (1978)
I think some people avoid documentaries because sometimes non-fiction films can make you feel like you are back in school getting a lecture on economics, environmental science, or foreign policy. However, documentarian Errol Morris is like that one cool teacher who can make any subject engaging. He uses inventive cinematic techniques and finds completely unique topics - such as the Gates of Heaven pet cemetary and the people whose pets are buried there. Roger Ebert has listed Gates of Heaven as one his top 10 films of all time and written about it for his Great Movies series, but I think the best endorsement for this movie is that it caused director Werner Herzog to eat his shoe.

Star of the Month: Esther Williams
5/5, 8 PM - Bathing Beauty (1944)
5/12, 8 PM - Neptune's Daughter (1949)
"Wet she's a star, dry she ain't." Though that Fanny Brice quote was originally said about Olympic swimmer Eleanor Holm (Holm had married Brice's ex), many people have applied it to "Metro's Golden Mermaid" Esther Williams. Her swimming-centric musicals were such big hits in the 40s and 50s (and still entertaining today), you can't deny her star-appeal. And Williams' water-ballets were so unique, no one else even tried to copy her - a true rarity in the film industry! I've singled out a couple of my favorite Williams films, but I really feel like any of her musicals are worth watching simply for the spectacular pool sequences. However, if you find they're not your style, check out some of Esther's non-swimming movies on May 26 - she's pretty good outside the pool, too.

5/18: Heist Movies
6:30 AM - The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960)
8 AM - Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
10 AM - The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
12 PM - Cairo (1942)
2 PM - Rififi (1955)
4 PM - High Sierra (1941)
6 PM - I Died a Thousand Times (1955)
TCM has really been hitting my sweet spots lately, last month they had a night of prison break movies, this month they're doing a day of heist films. The only film out of place here is the 1942 Jeannette MacDonald musical Cairo. It would make more sense to show 1963's Cairo which is a remake of The Asphalt Jungle in which thieves try to steal King Tut's jewels. However, the Now Playing guide and TCM website both say that the '42 film is the one playing today.

5/21, 2:30 AM - House of Pleasure (1954)
I've recommended the films of director Max Ophuls before, and as long as TCM keeps showing his films I'll keep picking them. This one contains three stories about the pain that pleasure can bring, and it features many wonderful French actors including Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux, and Simone Simon.

5/22, 8 PM - My Brilliant Career (1979)
This film about a headstrong girl who chooses independence over marriage was part of the Australian New Wave of the late 70s and early 80s, and started the career of director Gillian Armstrong (whom I always mistakenly call "Gillian Anderson," a habit I need to break - reason #1 for me to see this movie). The film also introduced the wider world to the great Judy Davis, who would later go on to star in A Passage to India (1984) and several Woody Allen films, as well as winning an Emmy for her portrayal of that other great Judy: Judy Garland. Though I've seen Davis in many films, I realized that I've never heard her speak with her natural Aussie accent (reason #2 for me to tune in tonight)!

Andrzej Wajda Trilogy
5/15, 2 AM - A Generation (1955)
5/22, 2 AM - Kanal (1957)
5/29, 2:15 AM - Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
These three films by legendary director Wajda form a trilogy about the Polish experience during World War II. A Generation is a coming-of-age story of young Polish soldiers during the German occupation. Kanal shows the harrowing experience of resistance fighters trapped in the sewers during the ill-fated Warsaw Uprising. Finally, Ashes and Diamonds takes place on the first day of peace after WWII as one totalitarian regime replaces another.

5/31: Fantasy-Adventure Movies
6:15 AM - The Three Worlds of Gulliver (1960)
8 AM - The Boy and the Pirates (1960)
9:30 AM - The Wonders of Aladdin (1961) [listed online as Thief of Bagdad (1940)]
11:30 AM - Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960)
1 PM - Atlantis, The Lost Continent (1961)
2:45 PM - The Pirates of Blood River (1962)
4:30 PM - Captain Sinbad (1963)
6 PM - Captain Nemo and the Underwater City (1969)
Stories of pirates, magic, and underwater cities - this just seems like a day of pure fun!

A Stripper is Born

by Lani

Because I am mildly interested in any movie which contains musical numbers, it was only a matter of time before I would see Burlesque. Starring Christina Aguilera and Cher as a hungry up-and-comer and a jaded veteran of the stage, respectively, Burlesque looked like a combination of Chicago and Showgirls...encrusted with rhinestones and sequins and wearing a feather headdress. The anticipation was palpable.

It has been awhile since I saw a decent modern musical film. I'm not asking for something that stands up to Singin in the Rain, I just want something fun with catchy music and dancing. The big musical of 2009, Nine, ultimately took itself too seriously to be fun; but Burlesque could not possibly take itself too seriously because it stars Cher, who doesn't even take herself seriously. Furthermore, Nine was cast to the gills with Oscar-winners who are not also singers, but here Cher has the upper-hand again because she is both.

Well, Burlesque is now on video and I have seen it. I wouldn't suggest that anyone seek it out, but if you, too, feel unable to resist the lure of this movie then, by all means, watch it. However, I suggest you also listen to episode #1 of the How Did This Get Made? podcast which delves into the many ridiculous and problematic elements of Burlesque - including Tony award-winner Alan Cumming's appearance as a glorified extra, Stanley Tucci playing literally the same character he played in The Devil Wears Prada, and an excessive use of wigs. Unfortunately, the biggest problem with Burlesque is the lack of consensus about what "burlesque" actually is. Is it, as Cher explains in the one number, the seemingly counterproductive process of showing "a little more" then showing "a little less"? Is it go-go dancing? Is it lip-syncing to Megan Mullaly CDs? (It is none of these.)

For a more definitive portrayal of the art of the striptease, I suggest you look to Gypsy (1962), the classic musical biopic of famed burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee. More specifically, watch the "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" number in which three experienced performers explain the finer points of their profession to young Rose. Sure, it isn't exactly realistic, but at least this film acknowledges that burlesque dancers are supposed to take their clothes off.

I think my favorite burlesque-themed film would have to be She's Working Her Way Through College (1952) starring Virginia Mayo and Ronald Reagan. As you may have guessed from the title, Mayo is working her way through college by stripping at the burly-q. With the encouragement of her teacher, played by Reagan, she brings her talents to the school's struggling drama department. In the end, the students put on a lavish musical which, like all musical productions put on by film characters, has no plot and no songs that relate to each other in any way.

But under all the wigs, Burlesque follows a tried-and-true formula: the nobody who goes out on stage and comes back a star. In this case, Aguilera achieves stardom as a singer in a burlesque club, so the pinnacle of her success is getting her photo in the weekend section of the newspaper. Though it wasn't the first film to use the formula, A Star is Born has become the archetype for this type of showbiz story. In both the 1937 version and its 1954 musical remake, little Vicki Lester becomes a movie star almost overnight, even going on to win an Oscar. Unfortunately, her husband is a drunk and he can't handle her success in the face of his own professional failures.

A Star is Born doesn't have much in common with Burlesque; however, one could argue that both films deserve to be remade. A Star is Born has been made three times (and a fourth version may be coming soon) because it is an affecting story that can be adapted to any decade and appeals to a wide audience; Burlesque should be remade because it's terrible.