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A young man with a talent for music has begun a career with much promise. He meets an aspiring singer, Apollonia, and finds that talent alone isn't all that he needs. A complicated tale of ... See full summary »
Joey Evans is charming, handsome, funny, talented, and a first class, A-number-one heel. When Joey meets the former chorus girl ("She used to be 'Vera...with the Vanishing Veils'") and now ... See full summary »
This is the film version of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical about Bohemians in the East Village of New York City struggling with life, love and AIDS, and the impacts they have on America.
Director:
Chris Columbus
Stars:
Anthony Rapp,
Rosario Dawson,
Wilson Jermaine Heredia
Members of a circus troupe "adopt" Lili Daurier when she finds herself stranded in a strange town. The magician who first comes to her rescue already has romantic entanglements and thinks ... See full summary »
In this legendary Gershwin opera set among the black residents of a fishing village in 1912 South Carolina, Bess - a woman with a disreputable history - tries to break free from her brutish... See full summary »
Director:
Otto Preminger
Stars:
Sidney Poitier,
Dorothy Dandridge,
Sammy Davis Jr.
Billy Bigelow has been dead for fifteen years, and now outside the pearly gates, he long waived his right to go back to Earth for a day. But he has heard that there is a problem with his ... See full summary »
Director:
Henry King
Stars:
Gordon MacRae,
Shirley Jones,
Cameron Mitchell
At an all-black army camp, civilian parachute maker and "hot bundle" Carmen Jones is desired by many of the men. Naturally, she wants Joe, who's engaged to sweet Cindy Lou and about to go into pilot training for the Korean War. Going after him, she succeeds only in getting him into the stockade. While she awaits his release, trouble approaches for both of them. Songs from the Bizet opera with modernized lyrics. Written by
Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Eartha Kitt was offered the role of Carmen but they wanted her to be dubbed so she would have an operatic voice in the role, same offer they made to Harry Belafonte and Diahann Carroll. Kitt refused, wanted to use her natural chest voice. It didn't matter for Pearl Bailey, whose own voice suited her comedy songs. See more »
Goofs
Reflected in a window as Carmen is walking through town. See more »
Quotes
Joe:
Thanks, but I don't drink.
Carmen Jones:
Boy, if the army was made up of nothin' but soldiers like you, war wouldn't do nobody no good.
See more »
This memorable melodrama is an interesting adaptation of the classic "Carmen" story and music with a new setting and new song lyrics. Most of it works quite well, but it is remembered most of all for Dorothy Dandridge's impressive performance as "Carmen Jones".
The basic Carmen story itself is a perceptive and tragic look at the elemental passions and emotions that drive so much of what happens in human relationships. For the story to work most effectively, it takes a Carmen who not only has plenty of energy, but who also can be convincing in dominating all of the other characters. Dandridge excels at both, and she makes it easy to believe that she could get practically anything that she wanted from anyone.
Except for Pearl Bailey, who makes her character lively and entertaining in her own right, most of the rest of the cast is solid but is clearly - as is no doubt meant to be the case - overshadowed by Dandridge and Carmen. One exception, though, is Olga James as Cindy Lou. Although her character is very meek, and has no chance against Carmen, James does a fine job of making her sympathetic without becoming overly weepy or maudlin, and her performance adds some additional depth to the drama of relationships.
Most of the musical numbers work well, and there is good variety in them, as there is also in the settings and the material. The climactic sequence in the arena is nicely crafted, with the prizefight taking place in full view while, hidden from sight, the characters' passions are reaching the boiling point. It caps off an effective and interesting movie.
15 of 22 people found this review helpful.
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This memorable melodrama is an interesting adaptation of the classic "Carmen" story and music with a new setting and new song lyrics. Most of it works quite well, but it is remembered most of all for Dorothy Dandridge's impressive performance as "Carmen Jones".
The basic Carmen story itself is a perceptive and tragic look at the elemental passions and emotions that drive so much of what happens in human relationships. For the story to work most effectively, it takes a Carmen who not only has plenty of energy, but who also can be convincing in dominating all of the other characters. Dandridge excels at both, and she makes it easy to believe that she could get practically anything that she wanted from anyone.
Except for Pearl Bailey, who makes her character lively and entertaining in her own right, most of the rest of the cast is solid but is clearly - as is no doubt meant to be the case - overshadowed by Dandridge and Carmen. One exception, though, is Olga James as Cindy Lou. Although her character is very meek, and has no chance against Carmen, James does a fine job of making her sympathetic without becoming overly weepy or maudlin, and her performance adds some additional depth to the drama of relationships.
Most of the musical numbers work well, and there is good variety in them, as there is also in the settings and the material. The climactic sequence in the arena is nicely crafted, with the prizefight taking place in full view while, hidden from sight, the characters' passions are reaching the boiling point. It caps off an effective and interesting movie.