How important that is depends upon your love for that musical. In the end, Dangerous Rhythm provides provides plenty of fodder for discussions. Read it, and start yours! Oct 19, Michael Ritchie rated it it was ok. A very disappointing book coming after 2 books by Barrios that I liked quite a bit.
This one is a mess from beginning to end. Occasionally he makes an interesting observation about musicals, especially ones of the 20s and 30s, but there are three huge problems: 1 There is no strong thesis except for that given in the subtitle, and I don't think he succeeds in proving that they DO matter [I firmly believe they do, but not because of anything in this book]; 2 The structure is thematic music, ac A very disappointing book coming after 2 books by Barrios that I liked quite a bit.
Occasionally he makes an interesting observation about musicals, especially ones of the 20s and 30s, but there are three huge problems: 1 There is no strong thesis except for that given in the subtitle, and I don't think he succeeds in proving that they DO matter [I firmly believe they do, but not because of anything in this book]; 2 The structure is thematic music, actors, material, race and sex rather than chronological or by movie, so there is a LOT of repetition--he tells us how great Wizard of Oz is and how terrible Paint Your Wagon is in almost every chapter; 3 There are virtually no plot summaries or even descriptions of production numbers or sets--he is assuming an audience who has seen every movie he has.
Two sections of the book are interesting: one on the largely unseen Porgy and Bess, and mentions of recent productions such as Were the World Mine and the TV shows Glee and Smash. I can't recommend this--instead, I highly recommend his earlier book A Song in the Dark, about the origins of the movie musical.
Jun 22, Michael Samerdyke rated it it was amazing. It is the equivalent of listening to an interesting person talk about a subject he is passionate and well-informed about. The book covers the movie musical from the Twenties to "Les Miserables," but instead of taking a chronological approach, Barrios looks at key themes: the role of a director, Broadway to Hollywood adaptations, flops, the best musicals, animated musicals and the impact of TV on the musical.
This last was a topic I hadn't even s "Dangerous Rhythm" is an extremely enjoyable book. This last was a topic I hadn't even seen anyone consider in earlier books. If you are interested in movie musicals, this book will be a delight both to the novice and the long-time fan. Aug 16, Steve rated it liked it. To begin with, I'll say that Barrios is obviously knowledgeable and passionate with definite opinions when it comes to movie musicals.
The good thing about a book like this is that it introduce me to many movies that I'd never heard of, so it will fun to track them down. The problem I had with "Dangerous Rhythm" is that for the first half of the book, Barrios is so negative in his opinions about musicals, that it's hard to believe he likes them. I kept wondering what his criteria for excellence To begin with, I'll say that Barrios is obviously knowledgeable and passionate with definite opinions when it comes to movie musicals.
I kept wondering what his criteria for excellence were and it seems the only one is "if it works, it's good; if it doesn't, it's not. A minor quibble: He never really gives his reasons as to why movie musicals matter. But, that's OK. May 16, Carla rated it it was ok Shelves: grown-up-stuff. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been less I understand that the author has a vast amount of knowledge about musicals, but the negative overtone of most of the chapters, and the biting way so many musicals that I love were dissed, made this one hard to read.
I had the feeling that the author felt his opinion of every film discussed was obviously everyone's opinion, and to be honest I wasn't sure he even liked musicals until the very last chapter wherein he finally begin I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been less I had the feeling that the author felt his opinion of every film discussed was obviously everyone's opinion, and to be honest I wasn't sure he even liked musicals until the very last chapter wherein he finally begins to hint at "why movie musicals matter.
Mar 26, Samantha Glasser marked it as to-read Shelves: i-own-a-copy , non-fiction , movies. I've met Richard Barrios at Cinevent, and he is a very knowledgeable, enthusiastic person. He will be doing a book signing there in Columbus, Ohio in October Sep 20, Adriana rated it liked it Shelves: hollywood. For a book written by a man who is known for writing such in-depth pieces about musicals, much of Dangerous Rhythm sounds like an attack on almost every musical ever put on film.
Sure, he heaps major amounts of praise on the expected classics, but most of the comments skew towards deriding most of the genre's output.
That said, it does include a lot of information and it does pose a valid point about the cookie cutter, factory style look and feel of a lot of old-school musicals. Barrios also doe For a book written by a man who is known for writing such in-depth pieces about musicals, much of Dangerous Rhythm sounds like an attack on almost every musical ever put on film. Barrios also does a fantastic job of firmly placing the "classics" within the period they were created in and setting up a link between their success or failure and the state of the world at the time.
It definitely gives one a lot to think about, but I would have liked it a bit more if it didn't skew so much towards giving reasons why musicals are so often seen as bad films. Aug 09, Pat rated it liked it Shelves: non-fiction.
I was expecting something a bit more enthused about musical films. The back story info was interesting, just not enough of it. I did discover a few more films I'd like to watch. Jul 29, Dave Sikula rated it it was amazing. Fascinating and personal take on film musicals from a guy who really knows the topic.
Dec 14, Shannon rated it really liked it Shelves: musicals. Don't go into this book expecting a clear explanation of the subtitle, or even a clear explanation of anything!
I think this book is what it might be like to hang out with Richard Barrios for a couple of hours over coffee, listening to him expound on one hundred years of movie musicals. He's totally biased, but he's so smart and witty that I can forgive him for taking jabs at my faves, Judy Garland and Gene Kelly as the cover image implies, Barrios is an Astaire loyalist all the way.
It took a Don't go into this book expecting a clear explanation of the subtitle, or even a clear explanation of anything! It took a while to get used to Barrios's freewheeling style, but after a chapter or two I was hooked. A must read for any serious movie musical nerd.
Sep 25, Mark rated it really liked it. For those of us who love movie musicals, the sad reality is that most of them aren't very good, a few are sublime and the rest have their moments. Richard Barrios does an excellent job of explaining why some musicals work so well and others flop. The first couple of chapters are the hardest going. Barrios zips back and forth through time and repeats himself, and his discussion of any given musical tends to be spread through the book like, well, fruit coulis through the layers of a magnificent pastry.
The index entry for My Fair Lady , for instance, has it mentioned on average about once every ten pages. You long for him to slow down and focus. This is an odd production, it should be said, from a university press.
Barrios tosses off ex-cathedra judgments with telegraphic abruptness and in patches it reads more like a blog-post speaking to a community of aficionados. Another debit comes with the crypto-gay presence of Billy De Wolfe, who served as comic relief in a great deal of forties fluff without being amusing One great Astaire dance plus Berlin sung too languidly by Crosby and bubbly support from Olga San Juan — and otherwise this is ghastly.
Barrios — like any high-coloured musical folly — has his heroes and his villains. The latter include Camelot , Mamma Mia! Password Please enter your Password. Library Card Please enter your library card number. Contents Go to page:. View: no detail some detail full detail. Introduction All That Jazz. Chapter 5 The Art of the Possible. Chapter 6 Music Makes Me. Chapter 7 With Plenty of Money. Chapter 8 I Get the Neck of the Chicken. Chapter 9 Turn on the Heat. Epilogue Dream Dancing.
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