STEPHEN SONDHEIM

He was a giant of the entertainment world. Stephen Sondheim joined the heavenly cast at the good old age of 91. Almost on his way out he gifted us with the spectacular remake of West Side Story (2021). He had written the lyrics for the first version in 1961 and he directed the remake. The great Leonard Bernstein songs are still there, sung by a new group of remarkably talented and hitherto unknown actors. New faces include Ansel Egbert as Tony, Rachel Zegler as Maria, and Ariana Dubose as Anita. The incredible Rita Moreno, who just turned 90, is back for a curtain call as Valentina. She was the feisty Anita in the original version. This film is a great throwback to the storied musicals of the past, and at two hours and thiry-six minutes never lags. The choreography, directed by Jerome Robbins in the first one, and by Justin Peck in the newer one, is even more eye-popping and enjoyable. There’s a new screenplay by Tony Kushner and it delivers the goods. 

Though he won eight Tonys for his Broadway plays, Sondheim’s only Oscar was for Best Original Song in Dick Tracy (1991). I predict another statue is coming. 

Most of Sondheim’s Broadway musical plays were made into good movies. There are two versions of Gypsy. The 1962 version stars Natalie Wood as Gypsy and Rosalind Russell as pushy stage mother Rose. This one is far superior to the 1993 made-for-TV version with Bette Middler as Rose.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966) does not have great music but does have snappy dialog. It’s a send up of ancient Roman foibles and features Zero Mostel at his over the top best. Sly digs at slavery and the crochets of the nobility are part of the fun. 

.The “based on a true story” plot line of Sweeney Todd seems a most unlikely place for a musical to land. And yet, it won a Tony on the stage and has sired several films. The best is the 1963 with Johnny Depp as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Helena Bonham Carter as his willing assistant Mrs. Lovett. Sweeney returns from a prison sentence for a crime he didn’t commit and wreaks a horrible revenge on the presiding judge and everyone else.  Don’t ask what goes into those sausages! 

Into The Woods (2014) is whimsically based on fairy tales and this best of several versions stars the iconic Anna Kendrick, Johnny Depp, Emily Blunt,  Chris Pine and the iconic Meryl Streep.  A wicked witch (Streep)  put a spell on a young couple, making them childless. They are tasked with procuring four items in order to lift the curse, all of which are the subject of fairy tales. Sondheim wrote the original songs with James Lapine. 

Company (2011) and Sunday In The Park With George (1990) are filmed stage plays and  are very good..

A Little Night Music (1977) with Elizabeth Taylor neither singing nor acting, is not recommended.

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. All except Sweeney Todd are OK for mature 12-year-olds. 

                                                            DEAN STOCKWELL 

        Dean Stockwell, who died recently at 85, had one of the most interesting film careers I have encountered. I’ll begin with his big hits.

Stockwell earned his lone Oscar nomination as Tony “The Tiger” Russo in Married to the Mob (1988). He lost to Kevin Kline for A Fish Called Wanda. Stockwell is comically menacing as the crime boss putting the moves on Angela de Marco (Michelle Pfeiffer). Angela is married to gangster Frank de Marco (Alec Baldwin). She is working undercover against the mob, and wants out. Her efforts are sometimes funny, sometimes sort of scary. 

Dean Stockwell portrays Walt Henderson in the underrated Paris, Texas (1984). He is the brother to Travis Henderson (Harry Dean Stanton) who wanders into town from the desert, not speaking, and with only a paper with a phone number- his brother’s. Walt then comes from LA to rescue Travis who he has not been in contact with for over four years. They begin a journey to discover what happened in the missing years. Many critics feel this movie, and particularly Stanton, should have been nominated for Oscar. Well, they were not, but it is in the Criterion Collection.

To Live And Die In LA (1985) is a terrific movie about crooked police and random acts of thuggery. It has one of the best chase scenes ever filmed! Dean Stockwell has a small part as the attorney of one of the bad guys. The story is too complicated to reel out here. 

To properly chronicle Dean Stockwell’s career, we have to go back to: 1945! Yes, he was a charming child star that Hollywood couldn’t get enough of until his voice changed. He has good parts in The Valley of Decision (1945) as Paulie, Gentlemen’s Agreement (1947) as Tommy Green, The Boy With Green Hair (1948) as Peter, The Secret Garden (1949) as Colin Craven, and Kim (1950) as the title character. Every one of these is a very good film and Stockwell is excellent in all of them. 

After these he sort of disappears for a while, but does pop back up as Judd Steiner, one of the two boys accused of murder in Compulsion (1959). This is a very good film about the famous Leopold-Loeb trial. And though all the names are changed, it is quite obviously based on the murder trial. It features the iconic Orson Welles as Jonathan Wilk, thinly disguised as storied attorney Clarence Darrow. 

Then Dean Stockwell vanishes into hippiedom, TV shows and mediocre films during the 60's and 70's until he reappears in the mid 80's. After his one Oscar nomination, he again vanishes into the ether of TV and bad movies.

All of the movies in this article are available on DVD. The early ones are fine for all ages. The later ones are for grown-ups. 

                                                                        PIGS

Yep, pigs! I recently saw the movie simply called Pig (2021) and it is very good. Nicholas Cage, in his best performance in years (maybe ever) plays Robin Feld, a storied Portland Oregon chef who has become a recluse. Robin has an unusual pig which is excellent at finding truffles in the surrounding rain forest. Rob sells the truffles, which are exceedingly valuable to area restaurants, to a semi-sleazy Amir. One night thugs break into Robin’s shack and make off with the pig. He sets off on a quest to find his pig and get it back. This very unusual film has lots of twists and turns and is rarely what you expect. Pig got me thinking of other films about porkers.

Another recent film about pigs is Gunda (2020). Shot in black and white with no dialog, it is the story of a mother pig and her babies, a couple of cows and a one-legged chicken. This film was shot in Norway, Spain and the UK but you won’t need subtitles. It is sui generis, unlike anything else and it is strangely moving. 

One film that immediately springs to mind in this category is the wonderful Babe(1995). James Cromwell plays Arthur Hoggett, the mild manner farmer who wins the pig at a fair. Babe is spared from becoming Christmas dinner when he shows the farmer that he can herd sheep as well as the dog. The sheep help Babe by telling him what to do. Babe is horrified to learn that people actually eat pigs, and he runs away. But all is well as the farmer convinces him he is loved and wanted. The sequel Babe: Pig In The City (1998) is not quite as good (what a surprise!). When farmer Hoggett is seriously injured, can’t work and is about to lose his farm, his wife Esme takes over. She discovers a sheep herding contest that will pay off their debt, and takes Babe with her to try to win it. Lots of adventures follow. 

Though not the title character (the heady spider Charlotte), the hero of the film Charlotte’s Web (2006) is the loveable Wilbur the pig. Saved from slaughter by the famer’s daughter, Wilbur becomes friends with the other farm animals, especially Charlotte, who rescues him from death by spelling on her web “some pig” and “terrific” and this works. Charlotte gives birth to dozens of babies and three of them become new friends with Wilbur. This version is far superior to the 1973 animated version. Stars lined up to provide voicing for this film: Julia Roberts, Dakota Fanning, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Redford and  Kathy Bates.

Animal Farm (1999) is based on George Orwell’s allegorical novel with farm animals portending the Russian revolution. The revolt is led by the pig Old Major and succeeds only to fall apart later. Another who’s who of voices include Kelsey Grammer, Ian Holm, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Patrick Stewart, etc. This is NOT a kid’s movie! This version is much better than  the earlier 1954 version, which was commissioned by the CIA!

All of the films in this article are available on DVD. Right now Gunda is only available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime.  All but the last one are fine for all ages.