Mack the Knife (1989)In the 19th century London, a young girl falls for a famous womanizing criminal and they decide to get married. Her family strongly disapproves so her father "the king of thieves" gets the gangster arrested. Director:Menahem GolanWriter:Menahem Golan (screenplay) |
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I gave "Mack the Knife" a 7.
It does have some weaknesses:
1) A couple of unfortunate cuts -- "Moon Over Soho" and "What Keeps Mankind Alive?" were the ones that seemed most notable to me, especially since Mack refers to "Moon" late in the film, as though he had in fact sung it earlier on. 2) Translations that are more bland than they need to be -- for instance, Jenny and Mack's ode to "that whorehouse where we used to live" has been considerably toned down. 3) Occasional overacting. 4) Laughably bad (but generally short) dance sequences. 5) Weak ending -- but that's a problem with the original, too.
The film also has some strengths: 1) Good songs remain, including the opening and closing "Mack The Knife"; "Pirate Jenny," which looks like something out of Pink Floyd's "The Wall"; and the cat-fight duet between Lucy and Polly. 2) Likeable performances by all the leads, especially Julia.
In all, a mixed bag, but I'm glad I watched it.