River Rushing...

Last night (or 2 nights ago, as it's now technically Monday morning - doesn't time fly when you're surfing t'internet?) for the first time in many years I sat and watched Stand By Me, the 1986 Rob Reiner film based on a Stephen King novella. I absolutely love the film, but it's one of those ones that I almost have to force myself to watch; not because of its content or because I can't stand it (quite the opposite), but because every time I see it, I'm reminded again of the tragic death of River Phoenix and how much talent he had...

All four of the young leads in Stand By Me are talented, and very much of their time and generation, but it was River who was the stand-out performer by about a country mile. It seems to be the most ironic thing in the world that so many of the great writers, actors and musicians I've grown up admiring have died far too early, either through self-inflicted means (Kurt Cobain and Sylvia Plath, for example), accidental overdoses (Heath Ledger) or drugs (Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, River...) There seems to be some bizarre law of the universe that states that it is almost impossible for someone so gifted, so talented, with such a state of genius, to be able to live a normal, happy and healthy life: something always has to come along and screw it up, whether that be tragedy in their personal lives or their own untimely death when, like Heath and like River before him, they still had so much to give. And everytime I watch Stand By Me in particular (although Running On Empty, Indiana Jones and My Own Private Idaho also have this effect), I find myself sobbing at the wasted talent, his tragic death and of course the film itself. It is without a doubt (in my humble opinion at least) one of the greatest films ever made, and this is probably one of my favourite moments in the whole thing...



Of course, I have to declare a conflict of interest here. Not only did I grow up full of admiration for River's talents as an actor and musician, and for his stance on all things animal rights, environmental and political, but I was sort of a sucker for his looks, too. I know it's trite and it's shallow but it's true; for the love of the Gods, I was only eleven years old when he passed away after all, and the hormones were starting to kick in! But because I was so young, it was mainly after his death that I was left to rue what might have been and, yes, to mourn the beauty (physical, emotional and acting-wise) that had been taken from us. To this day, my heart breaks when I watch the campfire scene from 'My Own Private Idaho' for example, or the bit in 'Running On Empty' where his character sneaks into his girlfriend's house...River just shone out from the screen, completely mesmerising and utterly heartbreaking all at the same time.



So come Halloween, I shall make the time (amongst all the other festivities and ceremonies) to curl up with plenty of tissues and watch something River-related to honour his memory. It had better only be the one film, though; there aren't enough tissues in the world that could sustain me for the full 'Stand By Me, Running On Empty, My Own Private Idaho' cycle...may the Gods bless you, River, wherever you are...

The Hills Are Alive...

...with something a little more lighthearted after yesterday's deep and political soap-box! I've just sat and watched the Rodgers and Hammerstein prom on the Beeb, and it reminded me just how many brilliant musicals the very talented Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein wrote together over the years. The King and I; The Sound of Music; South Pacific; Carousel...each one of these legendary films has some absolutely amazing songs and, although I think last year's MGM prom was better (mainly because, although I like the Rodgers and Hammerstein films, I love the old MGM musicals), it was just fantastic. I'd actually forgotten how beautiful some of the songs were; the Soliloquy from Carousel, for example, or how much fun it can be singing along to Oklahoma...damn, those films were good!!

I know 'the big one' is The Sound of Music, but that's actually nor my favourite R&H film (I know - sacrilege!) That honour either goes to Carousel, which makes me howl like a baby everytime I see it, or South Pacific; if I really think about it, I think Carousel just edges it. It has some of the most beautiful songs ever written for a musical, in my humble opinion (and believe me, I have seen a lot of musicals! I was brought up on them by my Nanna; I've seen almost all the Rodgers and Hammerstein ones and a helluva lot of the old MGM classics - ah, Showboat! How I do adore thee! - so I know my stuff here); if you don't have a tear in your eye when listening to the reprise of 'If I Loved You' and 'You'll Never Walk Alone' you are a philistine and should be attacked with bricks and things. I'll prove it...





If you don't know the plot, in the first video Julie (played by the ever-beautiful and talented Shirley Jones) is mourning her husband, Billy (the marvellous Gordon McRae), who was accidentally killed when he fell through some crates onto his own knife when cornered by the police; he and a friend of his had planned a robbery so that Billy, who had no job and no money, could provide for his unborn baby. In the second one, the reprise of 'If I Loved You', Billy's spirit has returned to earth to see his daughter graduate; his ghost, unseen, sings part of the duet that he and Julie sing earlier in the movie. By the time they sing 'You'll Never Walk Alone' again at the very end of the film, I'm usually to be found curled up in a ball sobbing pathetically. It's just the most beautiful film, and unusual because - although it's not a good musical unless there's a bit of tragedy in it - it was one of the first musicals to have a mainly-tragic plot. I swear, between this and Paul Robeson singing 'Ole Man River' in Showboat, I'm a complete basketcase.



Oh Gods, I need tissues now...so much for more cheery and lighthearted...but what a bloody brilliant film!!