csjlong
Astaire is certainly one of the greatest Hollywood actors ever. I've always valued physical performance because I think it's so much harder to replicate - lots of people can cry or scream or chew the scenery, exactly how many people can dance like Fred Astaire or fight like Jackie Chan?
Another important difference between musicals of yesterday and today is that the older ones used longer takes and fewer closeups. I suppose many modern veiwers find this too slow, but what it does is actually capture a performance on screen. I mean, you're really seeing Fred Astair dance. In movies like Moulin Rouge and Chicago, there are so many closeups and so many quick cuts, you have no idea whether anyone involved can dance or not. That doesn't mean they're bad movies, but it means you're watching something very different, something that's created in the editing room rather than the stage. So you can have all these non-dancers be in musicals today because they don't really have to perform.
That's why I'll take my Fred Astaire musicals, thank you kindly.
Another important difference between musicals of yesterday and today is that the older ones used longer takes and fewer closeups. I suppose many modern veiwers find this too slow, but what it does is actually capture a performance on screen. I mean, you're really seeing Fred Astair dance. In movies like Moulin Rouge and Chicago, there are so many closeups and so many quick cuts, you have no idea whether anyone involved can dance or not. That doesn't mean they're bad movies, but it means you're watching something very different, something that's created in the editing room rather than the stage. So you can have all these non-dancers be in musicals today because they don't really have to perform.
That's why I'll take my Fred Astaire musicals, thank you kindly.
