It's May the Lusty Month of May

from the soundtrack of my life

'Camelot' Blu Ray Releases Today

i love 'camelot'. i contend it is one of the best translations of a broadway show to film media. i love the book, the look, the score, the casting and the direction. richard harris and vanessa redgrave are the perfect arthur and guenivere. if there is a weak link it is franco nero as lancelot getting one of the worst dubbed singing voices in musical history. otherwise it is actually a better film than the original broadway production. 

richard harris plays arthur as a big kid with a big heart, a lot of love, warmth and charm. he is just so damn perfect. vanessa redgrave gives us a guenivere that is worth fighting a war over. and she has never been more sensual as  a guenivere should be.

the score soars. it seldom falls flat although 'if ever i would leave you' one of it's most famous tunes is utterly destroyed by the aforementioned nero dubbing. rather than list my favorites i give you some videos instead. please realize these are not from the blu ray version but some older you tube clips.

'i wonder what the king is doing tonight' introduces us to mr harris's youthfully charming arthur

'where are the simple joys of maidenhood' in turn introduces us to a  youthful yet sensual guenivere

'the lusty month of may' gives us an equally lusty guenivere, lusty knights and lusty ladies

'camelot'

'what do the simple folk do'

'take me to the fair'

'how to handle a woman'

don't let it be forgot
that once there was a spot
for one brief shining moment...


and now it is on blu ray forever

 

Happy Birthday Vanessa

vanessa starred in a number of my favorite films and amongst them were 'camelot'. it was a lush adaptation of the broadway musical and vanessa played guinivere as a queen a king would go to war over. vanessa proved herself worthy as a musical leading lady who sang her musical numbers with a sultry and smoking voice.

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'simple joys of maidenhood'

'camelot'

'what do the simple folk do'

'the lusty month of may'

'take me to the fair'

'i loved you once in silence'

vanessa was oscar nominated in 1968 as best actress for 'isadora'. based on the life of dancer isadora duncan it was largely unseen. pity as it has a brilliant performance by ms. redgrave. on my wish list for disc release.

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three scenes including the end of isadora duncan

what can i say about ken russell's 'the devils'? a mad nun, a sex crazed priest and total all around depravity. not for the faint of heart. and another vanessa film that may be lost for all time. it's never really been available on disk except for a lousy 'from tv' copy. it's a shame considering the garbage that is released on disc that a major film maker's work is wallowing in limbo.

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just one of the more bizarre scenes in the film

'murder on the orient express' is truly one of my favorite all time greats. a star studded cast, a full lush score and an amazing adaptation of the agatha christie novel. all around grand entertainment.

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a great scene combining the departure of the orient express and a piece of the amazing score that sent it on its way

and what a score!

and most recently there is 'letters from juliet' in which ms. redgrave stole the film playing a woman in search of her lost love in verona.

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featurette