“When I grow too old to dream … “

Today I saw, for the first time, if you can believe it, Deep In My Heart, the life story of Sigmund Romberg.

Some call it the Cleopatra of Hollywood’s composer movies.

Another such effort wasn’t even thought of for quite some time apparently.

Yes, a seemingly long but not endless journey through the life of Sigmund Romberg.

This American composer had a longer, happier life than say the brief but pyrotechnical 38 years of George Gershwin.

Cole Porter, with 73 years, outdid the other two.

I’m bringing this up only because I had been directed by the actor who played the role of Sigmund Romberg.

Yes, for two weeks I had the distinct honor of working with José Ferrer. (more…)

Last week, I stirred some folks up with my Top Ten Most Overrated Directors of All Time.  To recap, they were: Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, David Lean, Darren Aronofsky, Mike Nichols, David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, and Alfred Hitchcock.  And by “stirred some folks up,” I mean faced down a virtual lynch mob.  Who knew that Aronofsky supporters were fans of the film Fury? 

A few quick items in response to that piece.  First, it was not about “bad directors” (although some were plain bad, including Aronofsky), but about overrated directors.  Alfred Hitchcock is nowhere near the worst director ever (I was probably too harsh to label him “slightly better than mediocre”), but it is a travesty to label him the greatest director of all time, as so many have.  The same holds true for David Lean (I appreciate Great Expectations, Brief Encounter, and swaths of Bridge Over the River Kwai, I just think he doesn’t deserve to make the top 20 list). Second, I neglected three directors who clearly should have made the list: Roman Polanski (somebody stop the Chinatown cult!), Spike Lee (how can he make race relations this dull?), and Tim Burton (damn you for ruining Sweeney Todd).  Third, two corrections: (more…)