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"2001" ran road show style in my town through the magnificence that was Cinerama. What overpowering sights the movie presented as mammoth spaceships (in actuality, models, of course) trekked across the gigantic and deeply curved Cinerama screen! For a great cliffhanger, how about the scene just before the intermission? The two astronauts have finally figured out that there is something terribly, terribly wrong with HAL, the computer on their ship. Fearful that HAL will overhear, they retire to a smaller vessel within the vast ship, where HAL can’t hear them, to plan what to do. They may have to turn off most of the computer's higher functions. As the conversation proceeds, there is a sudden cut to alternating close-ups in vignette of each man’s mouth moving in speech, but in silence, first one, then the other, then the first, back to the other, and so on; HAL is reading their lips. Lights up! No popcorn or candy for me, frozen in place in dread of what was to happen next.
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Posted: |
Nov 12, 2004 - 11:20 PM
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By: |
CH-CD
(Member)
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I guess my favorite three have already been mentioned....... "Doctor Zhivago", "Gone With the Wind" and "Mad,Mad,World" - with Zhivago being (perhaps) the most strikingly effective.
Of course, the score had a lot to do with making the Intermission/End of Act:1 so memorable.
On this level, (apart from the above), other favorites would be:
"Around the World in 80 Days" .... as Fogg finally leaves British waters, and heads for America, to the thunderous, combined strains of Rule Britannia and Yankee Doodle.
"How the West Was Won" ..... as Greg and Debbie are re-united , while Alfred Newman's glorious score swells and reaches it's magnificent (Act:1) conclusion.
"The Fall of the Roman Empire" ..... after Commodus parades through ancient Rome (probably the most awesome set ever seen in an Epic!),he enters the temple of Jupiter to make his (sly) offering, whilst Dimitri Tiomkin's beautiful horns and timpani take us into the break.
And let's not forget the musicals .... how about:
A zillion extras marching through old New York whilst Babs belts out "Before the Parade Passes By", in "Hello Dolly!". We really need a break after that scene !
Maria running out on the Captain, whilst Irwin Kostal whips up the orchestra to produce a glorious first half conclusion. (My favorite part of the whole score - so,why wasn't it on the expanded CD ?)
There are many more...you name them.
Another important point about the Intermissions in these Epic movies is that they nearly always conveyed an important time lapse in the story, and were planned to do so.
From say, a few hours in "Mad, Mad, World", or,"West Side Story", to many years, as in "El Cid", or "How the West Was Won".
Having a 10 to 15mt. break between the salient scenes makes a great difference to the effectiveness of many of these great movies.
NP. "The Alamo" - Dimitri Tiomkin
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"2001" ran road show style in my town through the magnificence that was Cinerama. What overpowering sights the movie presented as mammoth spaceships (in actuality, models, of course) trekked across the gigantic and deeply curved Cinerama screen! For a great cliffhanger, how about the scene just before the intermission? The two astronauts have finally figured out that there is something terribly, terribly wrong with HAL, the computer on their ship. Fearful that HAL will overhear, they retire to a smaller vessel within the vast ship, where HAL can’t hear them, to plan what to do. They may have to turn off most of the computer's higher functions. As the conversation proceeds, there is a sudden cut to alternating close-ups in vignette of each man’s mouth moving in speech, but in silence, first one, then the other, then the first, back to the other, and so on; HAL is reading their lips. Lights up! No popcorn or candy for me, frozen in place in dread of what was to happen next.
Oh man was that creepy!
I remember it as if it was yesterday!
Happily, they kept the intermission when it was revived at the Castro in SF a couple of years back.
Bruce Marshall
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I am currently reading a delightful book ROADSHOW MUSICALS which focuses on the SOUND OF MUSIC era of bloated,
money losing (in most cases) 60's musicals.
This was the true era of the "studio blockbuster" as everyone was trying to recapture the magic (and huge grosses) of SOM.
bruce
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I really wish they'd show Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut with the roadshow opening and entr'acte. I think it's a modern classic now.
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I also have that book. What a great read !!!!
Apparently, all anyone had to say to the studio heads to get these into production was, "I think we have another Sound of Music !!!" It worked.
One of the best things in the book are the inter-studio memos.
Whenever a film was in big trouble -production wise or artistically-
some hack executive could always be counted on to write the director/studio boss/producer of the latest fiasco that they "have produced a musical masterpiece" that "wlll outperform SOUND OF MUSIC."
YOU HAFTA READ 'EM TO BELIEVE the backscratching bullshit!
lol
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