Musicals are coming back into cinema chic. Whether it's the fanciful Moulin Rouge or Broadway coversions like Chicago or Phantom of the Opera, it's not uncommon to see actors dancing and singing their way onto screen these days. I don't know why it hasn't been more popular in the last couple of decades. The Muppets have been doing it for years and they're as cool as you can get!
Ah've goot Cahben Feeever!
Er, anyway...Kenneth Branagh's latest brush with the musical, Love's Labour's Lost, was a colossal disaster. According to Empire Online, Branagh's at it again, only this time he's wisened up a little. Instead of trying to add music to a classic work of theater, he's picked a piece that comes with it's own song and dance. Best of all...it's Mozart!
Branagh has always done well with Shakespeare and now he's trying his hand with Mozart's famous opera, The Magic Flute. A fantastical, magical journey, the opera follows Prince Tamino and gang as they work to rescue Princess Pamina from her evil captors. It has the potential for some really amazing special effects sequences, the kinds of things the story deserves but stage productions can rarely offer.
The downside? Ingmar Bergman did it thirty years ago. While this isn't technically a remake, it's not completely new ground, but it will be interesting to see if Branagh takes advantage of the kinds of effects not available in the seventies.
Given that it's opera, Branagh has made another smart move by casting people who can actually sing the style. Those of us who saw Gerard Butler as the Phantom understand the importance of this decision. The cast includes, Joseph Kaiser, Rene Pape and Lyubov Petrova. Ever heard of them? Me neither. Time to start listening to a little more opera.
At present, Branagh is finishing up his latest Shakespearean adaptation, As You Like It, so don't look for The Magic Flute before 2007.
