Rent

krestofre

krestofre

Knight of the Holy Order
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/rent/

Anyone catch this yet? I'm curious as to opinions. I knew absolutely nothing about the stage show before going in to the film, except the song "Seasons of Love." And I got two hours of wanting to drill my eyes out, but I hesitate to be too critical because I got the feeling that fans of the show would really like this movie.

Anyone?
 
I've been a fan of the music for ten years . . . wasn't as big a fan of the show itself. Nonetheless, I'll see it when it hits DVD.
 
I worked for "RENT" for 6 years.

When I first saw the show my eyes almost fell out of my head. I did not and can not understand what the big deal was. I found the show to be boring, badly staged with some exceptional music and some of the worst "music" I have ever heard. EVER!

What happened to the show's writer was a tragedy, and unfortunately created a PR whirlwind that spurred the show to heights I don't believe it would have achieved had he lived... also, had he lived, he would have been able to revise, change, and rework a lot of the duds in the piece, so it MAY have turned into the piece critics made it out to be when it opened. It is not HAIR. It is not LA BOHEME. Not by a long shot.

That said. I feel the same way about the movie. I didn't like these guys when they performed it on stage and I still don't like them in the movie, when they are 10 years too old for their parts.

I find it hard to sympathasize with brats from Scarsdale who don't work and wonder how they're going to pay the rent (after refusing to pay it). GET A FREAKING JOB AND STOP YOUR WHINING!!!!! GROW UP!!!

Ug.
 
John_Hudson said:
This is just one of those films I have ZERO desire to see; e v e r
Click to expand...

Really John? I'm surprised! I pictured you walking around the house singing,"How we gonna pay???? How we gonna pay????? last year's rent...rent...rent...rent...rent...rent...." :thumbsup:
 
Yes he did. And when I saw his name I thought "alright, this movie was in good hands, I'm going to enjoy myself." Too bad I didn't.

Oh well. The wife liked it, so I made up for dragging her to Walk the Line. :laugh:
 
I'd like to see Rosario strip, then I'd skip...

From what I've heard of the music it sounds generic, like a Simpsons episode spoof of theatre.


Cheers.
 
D_and_G said:
I'd like to see Rosario strip, then I'd skip...

From what I've heard of the music it sounds generic, like a Simpsons episode spoof of theatre.


Cheers.
Click to expand...

She doesn't exactly strip, but the scene to see her in is about 20 mins into the movie!

I wouldn't say the music sounds like a spoof of theatre. I think some of it is really fantastic and some of it is just awful. It's almost like 2 different people wrote the score.

Similarly, the film feels like 2 different people directed it. There are moments that are just beautiful and some that are just...ug. Ironically, the moments I liked most in the stage version are the moments I liked best here. I don't think they really tried to fix any of the story problems or moments that drag in the show because of some weird loyalty to Johnathan Larson who is dead. I think he would have wanted it to be the best it can be, but who knows.

Also, none of the holy original cast members dazzle on film. Their stage performances are lost here, particularly Adam Pascal who seems to have forgotten how angry and volatile and energetic his character is supposed to be...and was on stage. Its like he's on valium the whole movie. Weird.

Oh well!

Next up for Bway on Film.... the Producers. Ug. I hate Nathan Lane. Find Matthew Broderick as interesting as watching grass grow. I'll take the original movie any day of the week.
 
It's like "Little Shop of Horrors" . . . it was a movie. Then it was on stage. Then it was a movie version of a stage play.
 
David Jimerson said:
It's like "Little Shop of Horrors" . . . it was a movie. Then it was on stage. Then it was a movie version of a stage play.
Click to expand...

Yeah and I liked the musical version almost as much as I liked.... Rent. LOL.:evil:
 
Saw rent the musical in San Francisco. The worst musical I have seen. Music is horrendous as well. Have you ever been so drunk, that you lose all memory and motor functions. I felt that way after coming out of the theatre. I may have lost 5 IQ points.

Why the hell anyone would want to watch it as a feature film bewilders me.

On the brighter side, I still remember that dumb ass song, "5 million 6 hundred 44 thousand, 360 minutes, something like that, and I just recently saved on my car insurance by switching to (you know who).
 
marquee said:
Saw rent the musical in San Francisco. The worst musical I have seen. Music is horrendous as well. Have you ever been so drunk, that you lose all memory and motor functions. I felt that way after coming out of the theatre. I may have lost 5 IQ points.

Why the hell anyone would want to watch it as a feature film bewilders me.

On the brighter side, I still remember that dumb ass song, "5 million 6 hundred 44 thousand, 360 minutes, something like that, and I just recently saved on my car insurance by switching to (you know who).
Click to expand...

Well, all things said and done Seasons of Love is one of the best theatre songs to come out of Bway in 20 years.
 
I saw Rent on stage in NYC a few weeks ago. I'd never seen it before then, but was very intetested to see how it would translate to screen. After seeing it on stage I felt like there were so many possibilities, given the minimalist nature of the production design.

As far as moving from stage to screen, there were technical issues that seemed like they could have been easily resolved.

Songs rarely seemed to start up slowly or blend into the film... instead they'd just START and BAM, we're into a song. Small things here and there could have saved the abruptness. If shots started a second later for instance. Even if Columbus didn't want to cut shot length to better serve the music cues, they could have just written a few extra seconds of music onto the beginning and ending of songs to help things flow better.

During the opening song "Rent" (not the tacked on "Seasons of Love") I was excited. The shots were creative, separating Roger and Mark in a way that only film could do. I like to see film versions of stage shows if they can show me WHY they should be on film rather than only on stage. That number started out great as we saw Mark on his bike intercut with Roger in the flat, eventually having them meet up and then bring Tom Collins into the mix from down on the street. More of that would have been quite welcome. Sadly, the creativity was not evenly distributed throughout. The only other time there seemed to be any effort put forth was in the "Tango Maureen" number with the addition of the dream sequence.

Shot composition and selection was also bothersome. It seemed like any time they happened to nail the master shot in one take that's what they used. While it was nice to see sometimes, it got old. I can see a wide master by going to the play. When things SHOULD have stayed wider to show off the dance numbers they were all chopped up instead (Angel's "Today 4 U" number for instance).

Once we get to the point where Mark is doing the deal with Buzzline and Maureen and Joanne have their reception things seem to grind to a talkative halt. The added scenes are interesting, but it's as if the film goes from musical mode to normal talkie mode and then finally back to musical (with "Take Me Or Leave Me").

The "La Vie Boheme" sequence was fantastic, but the "I Should Tell You" stuff in the middle of that (with Roger and Mimi) was DARK! It also wasn't very interesting... they just walk down the alley, turn around, and go back inside.

"Santa Fe" seems like another missed opportunity for creativity. The dancing in the subway car just didn't seem like the best option for that. On the other hand, "Out Tonight" was another wonderfully staged sequence. Again, as with the opening "Rent" number, good choices were made with how to progress the song with the locations. It's great how it takes Mimi from work to the streets to Roger's window.

Visually I would have liked to see things a bit grittier. Production value is fine -- almost too fine. The image so crisp and vivid... when you'd expect things to seem more like they look through Mark's lens.

Overall I guess the film was a lot like the music. Some great moments, and some not so great. I do wonder how people will react who haven't even seen the play.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top