Halloween Discussion Forums, Costumes, Horror!

Spookymufu wrote:I have never seen this, but I'm not a musicals type, I thought Sweeny Todd stunk, is this better then that?

I'm skimming this thread and am late to this conversation, but there is a world of difference between Sweeney Todd on stage and the (IMO) very disappointing movie Tim Burton made of it. Check out the DVD of the stage production with Angela Lansbury & George Hearn sometime (made around 1982 or '83, I think). It's brilliant and very, very funny, as well as being ravishing at moments, and spine-tingling at others. It's a sin that the movie dropped the chorus. One of the best things in theater, ever!

I haven't decided how I'm going to dress for Halloween. My daughter (13) is at a tricky stage. Last year she said she wouldn't TOT, but did so at the last minute. We just threw on some black robes & capes from the closet and went for it. This year, so far, she seems to be totally into Halloween, but I haven't pushed her about a costume. She may just be planning to decorate and make party-themed food.

This year, I will be a witch.That's always fun!

I'm with you completely, Murfreesboro! When the movie didn't open with them singing "Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd!", I knew I was in for a big, long, disappointment.

Glad you agree, Mac! I think anyone who knows the stage play would agree, though. The only people I know who liked the movie were Johnny Depp fans who had never seen the play.

I got a pleasant surprise this morning. Daughter announced she is planning her Halloween costume. She wants to be Endora from Bewitched (she has recently discovered the series on the internet, has fallen in love with Endora). I am excited. Game on!

Nightmare Before Christmas is good. I've gotten a little tired of Tim Burton's weirdness, but I still enjoy that one.

Musicals can be a bit odd at first, because it somewhat breaks up the reality to have people suddenly start singing about what they're doing. Sometimes, like in The Phantom of the Opera, it seems to fit more naturally with the plot and setting. Sometimes, like in Les Misérables, you think it would never work, but somehow it does. I can understand how some people might never be able to get into it, but when the songs are good, and meaningful to the storyline, and especially when the singers are particularly brilliant, musicals can be a really enjoyable bit of entertainment. When the singers are horrible, however (see The Phantom of the Opera movie... or rather, DON'T see it ), it completely destroys it.

I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound good.

MacPhantom wrote:I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound good.

you tube it.......

MacPhantom wrote:Musicals can be a bit odd at first, because it somewhat breaks up the reality to have people suddenly start singing about what they're doing. Sometimes, like in The Phantom of the Opera, it seems to fit more naturally with the plot and setting. Sometimes, like in Les Misérables, you think it would never work, but somehow it does. I can understand how some people might never be able to get into it, but when the songs are good, and meaningful to the storyline, and especially when the singers are particularly brilliant, musicals can be a really enjoyable bit of entertainment. When the singers are horrible, however (see The Phantom of the Opera movie... or rather, DON'T see it ), it completely destroys it.

Seconding this! (And I agree about the singing in POTO movie.)

Musicals are probably my first love in the world of entertainment. I have been passionate about them almost my whole life, since maybe the age of 11. But there is something about them that makes them mostly intractable to filming. There are a few exceptions (I think the film version of Cabaret is brilliant, for example), but on the whole, I think they are just too inherently theatrical to do well on film. They need the unreality of the theater to live, I think. When they are well done, they are magic on stage, but rarely so on film.

Spookymufu wrote:

MacPhantom wrote:I don't know what that is, but it doesn't sound good.

you tube it.......

I'm afraid to.

Murfreesboro wrote:Seconding this! (And I agree about the singing in POFO movie.)

Musicals are probably my first love in the world of entertainment. I have been passionate about them almost my whole life, since maybe the age of 11. But there is something about them that makes them mostly intractable to filming. There are a few exceptions (I think the film version of Cabaret is brilliant, for example), but on the whole, I think they are just too inherently theatrical to do well on film. They need the unreality of the theater to live, I think. When they are well done, they are magic on stage, but rarely so on film.

One of the best things about theater is that you can go see the same show over and over, and every time it's different. Even if you see the exact same cast, there are little things that change every time, and, again, when the voices are good, the energy just fills the room. With a movie, it's always the same, and feels flat and two dimensional by comparison. I've been into musicals since my mother took my brothers and I to see POTO on Broadway when I was fourteen. But I'm kinda picky... I only like the dark ones, where a bunch of people die by the end.

MacPhantom wrote: I've been into musicals since my mother took my brothers and I to see POTO on Broadway when I was fourteen. But I'm kinda picky... I only like the dark ones, where a bunch of people die by the end.

I think you have hit what thrills me the most about theater. The first time I saw a professional play (it was a revival of The Student Prince out in Los Angeles when I was 11), I was just blown away by the energy in the room. It felt to me as if there were some kind of electrical circuit between the actors and the audience. We seemed to be feeding off each other, receiving the energy and sending it back. You can't experience that in a film, no matter how brilliant the film is.

I just bought this for Ed Gein.



I don't think it will be allowed at school, but after I leave the doors im carrying this around.

Murfreesboro wrote:I think you have hit what thrills me the most about theater. The first time I saw a professional play (it was a revival of The Student Prince out in Los Angeles when I was 11), I was just blown away by the energy in the room. It felt to me as if there were some kind of electrical circuit between the actors and the audience. We seemed to be feeding off each other, receiving the energy and sending it back. You can't experience that in a film, no matter how brilliant the film is.

Bingo! And it's also cool to meet the cast at the stage door afterward. They're always very friendly and appreciative. The whole experience is just so much more real!

Rising Dead Man wrote:I just bought this for Ed Gein.



I don't think it will be allowed at school, but after I leave the doors im carrying this around.

Nice head... where didja get it?? I haven't seen one like that before...