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sioux
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 12:17 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 802 Location: philly burbs
here's my thing about Nine. I saw it on Broadway, with Antonio Banderas, and Chita Rivera and Jane Krakowski. And to me, Banderas was dwarfed by these women. Absolutely upstaged. If anyone watches Guiding Light, I went into work the next day and at 6:30 in the morning expressed this opinion in the production office and Robert Newman, who was in the office checking his email, said, "I feel like that every day" which is a great line if you happen to watch the show.

anyway. I'm starting to think that's the point of the show, even if it wasn't the point of 8-1/2 (although maybe it was, I don't know). But if we're supposed to think that the director is some mover of women, I have no more faith in the movie cast than I had in the the show I saw.
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Joe Vitus
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 12:32 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 14498 Location: Houston
I've never seen Nine, but I own both the Raul Julia and Antonio Banderas cast recordings. I always got the impression he was supposed to be frighteningly overwhelmed but not dwarfed by them (like Xander when he had Amy cast the love spell for him).

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sioux
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 12:38 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 802 Location: philly burbs
joe - that's a subtle difference and I've thought since I saw the show that I didn't get that nuance, after hearing respected people review it. Your Xander reference really does put it in perspective for me. I think I thought that the director character was supposed to be...almost a puppetmaster, but I think I was, with all of my experience, missing how a director can just sometimes be the unseen force that brings out the best in the people he's directing.
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Syd
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 1:02 am Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 12887 Location: Norman, Oklahoma
I seem to remember Guido having a lot of trouble dealing with Luisa (Anouk Aimee) and Rossella in 8 1/2. Rossella especially had his number.

Actually Guido had trouble dealing with all sorts of women.

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Joe Vitus
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 1:15 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 14498 Location: Houston
sioux wrote:
joe - that's a subtle difference and I've thought since I saw the show that I didn't get that nuance, after hearing respected people review it. Your Xander reference really does put it in perspective for me. I think I thought that the director character was supposed to be...almost a puppetmaster, but I think I was, with all of my experience, missing how a director can just sometimes be the unseen force that brings out the best in the people he's directing.


I think he's puppet master in that he has money and a studio to bring to life his every fantasy. But he's going through a nervous breakdown, and the forces in his life (due to the way he's handled them) are spinning out of control. So, yes, I think in healthy state he probably is a puppet master who has thousands of women falling at his feet, but at the point we meet him everything is spinning out of control.

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Syd
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 1:54 am Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 12887 Location: Norman, Oklahoma
I was really surprised when I saw 8 1/2 because none of the critics thought to mention how funny it is. I've always thought of the film a comedy, even if IMDb lists it as a drama. Come on, it really takes talent to invite your wife (attended by her sister) to your set when your mistress is there. And the harem scene is hilarious. I almost want to see the film that will never be produced. Unfortunately, I think it's Solaris.

8 1/2 is about as serious as Wonder Boys. They're both great and funny films.

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Joe Vitus
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 3:04 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 14498 Location: Houston
I think 8 1/2 is a crashing bore, but I love the score to Nine.

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gromit
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 4:14 am Reply with quote
Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 9005 Location: Shanghai
I agree that 8.5 is quite funny.
And it has one of the great opening scenes in cinema.

It is a bit long. And I've had three different girlfriends fall asleep while watching it -- though not at the same viewing.*

* On a semi-related note (an auto-biographical tangent is always appropriate for 8 1/2) -- I used to have an annual 4th of July party. One of my friends annually had overlapping girlfriends, one being phased out, the other phased in. So one year he shows up at my shindig with two girlfriends. I'm still not sure how he pulled that off, especially because both of them didn't know anyone else there.
Another friend offered to take either one, but my two-timing friend was almost offended, as these were his girlfriends.


Last edited by gromit on Fri May 15, 2009 9:48 am; edited 1 time in total

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Joe Vitus
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 4:47 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 14498 Location: Houston
There is one thing I find funny in it. When the young boy is being walked down the hall for his punishment, and the camera passes the portraits of previous principals (or whatever they are called there) finally resting on the priest who is the current principal: and they all look identical down to the displeased expression on their faces. A good visual joke.

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billyweeds
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 7:39 am Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 20618 Location: New York City
I too saw Nine on Broadway with Banderas, and totally disagree that he was dwarfed by the women.

Two reasons:

1) Banderas has a little thing called incredible charisma.

2) Krakowski was overrated. (Almost always is, IMO.)

Chita is a goddess, but this was not her greatest outing.

I was very happy that I saw Rebecca Luker, however, instead of Laura Benanti.
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marantzo
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 11:55 am Reply with quote
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8 1/2 is certainly comic. And Guido is shown to have been a very favoured child at the hands of the women who pampered him. He seems to have trouble adjusting to how he's not catered too by women like he was when he was their pet.

8 1/2 is one of my all time favourites. The first 5 or so times I saw it, it was in Paris with French subtitles and that made it even more of a puzzle for me but by the third time I pretty well caught on to all that was happening. When I returned to Paris with Shirley Anne in 1994, we went to see it at a theatre near the Sorbonne that I used to go to. She hadn't see it. What I forgot, was that it would be in Italian with French subtitles, and seeing that SA knew very little of either language, she was very confused by the movie and it she wasn't crazy about sitting though it.

Not only does it have a great opening, but an equally great denouement.
Syd
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 12:17 pm Reply with quote
Site Admin Joined: 21 May 2004 Posts: 12887 Location: Norman, Oklahoma
It's fun to look at the comments on 8 1/2 on IMDb. A lot of them are "I fell asleep the first time I watched it but the third time I loved it." I seem to be the exception in that I liked it best the first time I saw it

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marantzo
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 2:33 pm Reply with quote
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The scene with Sagarina dancing for the kids was a hoot and when they were auditioning the actresses trying out for the part it was a real sideshow.
sioux
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 7:13 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 802 Location: philly burbs
billy - I just don't get any charisma from Banderas - I think he's sexy, but not charismatic. I think its me, cause other people seem to think like you. And regardless of what talents Krakowski may or may not possess, her entrance was um.....attention-getting. Of course as a former stagehand, I kept thinking about the logistics involved and thinking of the huge oops factor.
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Joe Vitus
Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 9:32 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 20 May 2004 Posts: 14498 Location: Houston
Billy,

I can't tell if that's you with a new look related to a role or someone else. For some reason, it reminds me of Leon Redbone and Frank Zappa.

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