Thursday Movie Picks: Musicals

It's Thursday and believe me I'm happy. I'm so happy I am actually singing as I type this post. I'm singing because the theme for this week's Thursday Movie Picks is Musicals. Before we go any further, a very special shout-out goes to our host Wanderer at Wandering Through the Shelves for selecting this topic. If you're not familiar with the weekly meme, turn your dial over to her site and check it out. Then pen your own hit by joining in. Then come back here, of course.

I feel like I'm really stretching the music references without doing them any justice, so I'll quit there. What I will do is get on with my picks for this week. As per usual, I'm trying to dig a bit before suggesting something. I've come up with two hidden gems that are more forgotten than truly obscure. Most of you youngsters just haven't discovered these, yet, even though they're based on iconic works and have a sizable following in certain segments of the population. The other, well, it's certainly hidden, but I'm not so sure I would call it a gem. Actually, I would, but you might not. In fact, if you watch it you might hate it. You might hate me for even bringing it up. However, I must confess my love for this rather strange musical. I'll tell you why when we get there.

Play that funky music, blog boy...

ahem...sorry...The picks, chronologically, as always:

Carmen Jones

(1954)

Way back in 1943, there was actually a stage play called Carmen Jones that was a inspired by the classic opera, Carmen, but featured an all-black cast with music by the one and only Oscar Hammerstein II. Somehow, despite the era it was made, it was a success on Broadway, playing for 500+ performances. Legendary director Otto Preminger was one of those who saw it. He didn't really like it, but thought he could make a good movie out of it. And so he did, by ignoring much of the stage play and going back to the play's inspiration, the original Carmen. He assembled a top notch cast of the era's top black talent, including Harry Belafonte, Pearl Bailey, and Diahann Carroll. The one who really makes this musical sing is its star, Dorothy Dandridge in the role that not only earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, but also made her an icon.

The Wiz

(1978)

Yes, we're going down the same road for this pick. What do I mean? Well, chances are you've seen The Wizard of Oz. I, myself, have seen it more times than I can count. There may not be another movie more iconic than this. However, I also love this 1978 re-imagining of the same source material, L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Produced by legendary Motown founder Berry Gordy, or by Motown Productions more accurately, this one features an all-black cast and is directed by none other than the brilliant Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, etc.) The land of Oz was suitably funked up by the behind the scenes musical talent of Quincy Jones, Luther Vandross, and Ashford & Simpson, among others. For instance, "We're Off to See the Wizard" becomes "Ease on Down the Road" (see below). On the screen, we get Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, in his big screen debut and still on his way up toward international icon status (pre- "Off the Wall"). There's Nipsey Russell as The Tin Man, Mabel King as The Wicked Witch of the West, Lena Horne as The Good Witch of the South, and Richard Pryor as the Wiz himself. In that all-important role of Dorothy, now a school teacher not a farm girl, we get none other than Diana Ross.

Repo! The Genetic Opera

(2008)

This one is not a black version of anything. In fact, I don't think there was a black person anywhere to be found. However, that has nothing to do with anything, so let's move on. It's about a dystopian future where organ transplants are big business and handled by private corporations. Since new organs can be pricey, they offer financing. Guess what happens if you fall behind on your payments? They send someone out to repo whatever it is you've financed: kidney, liver, heart, it doesn't matter. And by repossess I mean hunt you down and rip it out of your body. In fact, we follow one of their employees, played by Anthony Stewart Head, doing his business until, well, things change. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? If the premise sounds familiar it's because 2010's Repo Men, starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker, ripped it off. What we have here is truly the most bizarre musical I've ever watched. Just think about this: gangster movie vet Paul Sorvino is our corporate big wig and yup, he gets to sing a solo. Doesn't that sound strange. The next biggest name in the cast is a certain, widely loathed heiress. Though her work here was nominated for a Razzie, I'm going to give her credit for completely owning a role in which she clearly makes fun of herself. And as I've written before, you haven't lived until you've seen Paris Hilton's face literally slide off her skull while she's on stage crooning a morbid tune. Oh yeah, it's pretty gory. If you've seen this, please stop looking at me that way. I know it's not "good." It's really fucking awful. In fact, it's so bad it's awesome!

Click here for more Thursday Movie Picks!