CHEWER'S 250 GREATEST MUSICAL NUMBERS IN CINEMATIC HISTORY - Page 8

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ratty 

It's kind of hard to mess up this amazing song from the original Broadway production, so fortunately, director Milos Foreman is up to the task.

This sounds like you're saying that Forman went the extra mile and messed it up. Was that your intention?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hammerhead 

 

This sounds like you're saying that Forman went the extra mile and messed it up. Was that your intention?

Ack.  No.  I'll rephrase.  It's a great sequence.

224. "I'll Make A Man Out Of You"-Mulan
 

Musically, Disney's Mulan is a bit of an odd bird. Jerry Goldsmith's score is fucking phenomenal, one of my favorites of his. But the actual songs are, on the whole, just kind of OK.

Except for this, which remains a legitimately awesome number on every level. First, it's one of the few cases where Donny Osmond's voice is not used for evil. OK, I kid; Osmond's not bad. His family's just kind of creepy. The man has a great Broadway-level voice, though, and that's used to spectacular effect here.

The music itself is propulsive and energetic, building to a terrific stand-up-and-cheer climax by the end. The animation provides a lot of great gags and funny facial expressions; Mulan's sheepish grin at one point is particularly priceless. The lyrics are clever and fun. But most importantly, this song pays off huge dividends for the story and character progression. It's basically the movie's "Rocky Training Montage", but Mulan herself evolves as a character, as does her standing amongst the rest of the cast.

Also, I have to admit that this is one of my "sing along in the car" songs when I can get away with it. MYSTERIOUS AS THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOOOOOON!

225." Mmmbop" Detention  With all the gore, metaness, time travel, body switching and the just plain weird, this scene shows that the movie has a heart. Its good to see Riley finally get her man.

#226

Bye Bye Biride - Got a lotta living to do

Can't believe this hasn't been mentioned yet. I've loved this movie since I was a kid and it never gets old. The faux Elvis musical just hits all the right stops and in this number you get how a guy like Hugo could land a girl like Kim.

#227

Hudson Hawk - Swinging on a Star

Amazing film that fills my quirky sensibilities and leaves me quenched. Just when you think you've got this film figured out, Danny and Bruce bust out into song during their daring robbery.

#228. "Playing with the Big Boys", Prince of Egypt

This thread reminded me how much I love this flick, and the songs were just outstanding. Martins Short and Steve really have a ton of fun with this number, and the animation remains top notch. It's fun without sacrificing the menace, but not too dark for kids.

#229. "If You Want Me", ONCE

This works amazingly well in the film; Hansard's character gives her a CD with a demo track, and she listens to it on an evening errand, singing along out loud. It's such an organic and, to me, sort of sneaky way of melding the extremely grounded/realistic presentation of the film's other songs and a more traditional musical approach to incorporating songs in a story. It's also here we get a clear glimpse at how her character feels, and the song is used to give us a look past her usual stoic, reserved demeanor.

I couldn't find any decent grabs of the scene, so no clip.

I'm gonna suggest "Wanted dead or alive" by Tom Cruise from Rock of Ages. From what I understand, the film's looked on as a bit of a flop but I loved it. My Ipod is now flooded with 80's rock music featured in the film but bu the originals of the songs including this (and the tom cruise version)

The sight of Tom Cruise (and WWE wrestler, Kevin Nash) in a musical number is a sight to see. This film introduced me to some good music I had never heard before and this song was one of them. This is a great song be it by Bon Jovi, Daughtry, Julianne Hough or Tom Cruise. For that reason I have to put this one forward 

#230, Julio Iglesias, "La Mer", Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

This is the ending of the movie, so obviously, SPOILERS!

Tomas Alfredsson has made two films, Let The Right One In and this . . . they are both must-see masterpieces.