Ok, I guess
Added 9/12/2009
This is another movie that I bought for my uncle, so I am not sure how good/bad the movie is.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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The King's Winning Formula
Added 8/17/2009
Today (Sunday August 16, 2009) is Elvis Presley day on Turner Classic Movies. We have over 500 channels and 500 more DVDs to choose from. Yet today all day long, as I painted my deck and worked on my latest song, as my wife fixed a nice dinner and I helped her clean up, and as my kids ran in and out with their friends from our basement to the neighbor's pool, we have had Elvis movies on. And all of us have giggled, smiled, danced, and sung along with some part or other.
Clambake is on as I write. Bill Bixby is trying to seduce Shelly Fabares. He sits at a grand piano. There is over-the-top semi-classical romantic music. Bill looks over-the-top beautiful in an over-elegant robe. Shelly looks beautiful in a short dress and perfect 60s hairdo. And soon Elvis will come on the screen, so spectacularly handsome, confident, talented, and magnetic that it's impossible for this cast of beautiful women, handsome men, and spectacular scenery to upstage him. He explodes off the screen!
This is probably the fifth time I've seen Clambake. As I watch I am still amazed. His fantastic looks and singing talent alone make him a phenomenon to behold. And his acting in my opinion was just as fantastic. He wasn't a trained actor. He learned on the job. And he learned well. For contrast, I think back to a live play I just watched last week. There was a cast of thirty including fifteen men, including several very talented, experienced actors. You could not make an Elvis out of these fifteen men put together and multiplied by one hundred. Elvis easily carried every movie in which he starred. Try to imagine any other actor playing Elvis as well as Elvis in any of these movies. I can't think of one.
For those that feel Elvis wasn't that great an actor, I get it. But I think it was Elvis's very out-of-this-world fantastickness (first time I tried that word - Elvis deserves it) that prevented him from being placed in a movie of the "Emmy" variety. Picture Elvis in a scene with Robert DeNiro in the Godfather. The only role Elvis could have played was that of an entertainer (like the Sinatra-character), because his charisma is so over the top. Had they tried to do anything else with Elvis, everyone in the theater would simply lose their "suspension of reality" and tell themselves that this character could be plausible only as a happy-go-lucky music and movie superstar. I suppose with makeup and the right wardrobe you could play Elvis down. But would anyone in the world want to see the King played down? Not me!
The King's formula was perfect. Setting: Pre-Beatles mid-60s. Somewhere extremely beautiful like Acapulco, California, or Florida. Plot: The King walks on the screen and it's obvious he's got the looks, smarts, and confidence to succeed in anything he chooses, including catching a beatiful girlfriend or two or three. He faces a personal challenge while weaving his way through an assortment of female relationships. In all the right spots he sings lighthearted rock and roll tunes with a little bit of choreography and lots of beautiful women in bikinis. And in the quiet spots he sings a few ballads. Many of the stories include his parents, with whom he might not agree, but also toward whom he's always respectful. He wins the race, reconciles with mom and dad, and gets the girl. 90 minutes later we're still tapping our toes and humming those ballads. And we have lived a few moments of corny, harmless, funny, lighthearted Hollywood perfection with the King and all his pretty, funny friends.
What a beautiful way to spend our day.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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The greatest boating film ever
Added 3/23/2009
Filled with fascinating homages to the writing of Patricia Highsmith, Clambake also offers Elvis is two of his finest roles backed ably by Shelly Fabares and stalwart Bill Bixby. And, naturally, some of the finest boating ever to be seen on screen.
Not to mention the boss title track.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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I order this DVD because I am a big fan of Elvis and I was not disappointed with the movie. I would recomend this movie to any Elvis fan, not only Elvis fan, but anyone who likes a lot of fun and music from Elvis.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Clambake was a great movie. It's always a pleasure to buy from Amazon. It's my preferred site for purchasing movies.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Ok, I guess
Added 9/12/2009
This is another movie that I bought for my uncle, so I am not sure how good/bad the movie is.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
The King's Winning Formula
Added 8/17/2009
Today (Sunday August 16, 2009) is Elvis Presley day on Turner Classic Movies. We have over 500 channels and 500 more DVDs to choose from. Yet today all day long, as I painted my deck and worked on my latest song, as my wife fixed a nice dinner and I helped her clean up, and as my kids ran in and out with their friends from our basement to the neighbor's pool, we have had Elvis movies on. And all of us have giggled, smiled, danced, and sung along with some part or other.
Clambake is on as I write. Bill Bixby is trying to seduce Shelly Fabares. He sits at a grand piano. There is over-the-top semi-classical romantic music. Bill looks over-the-top beautiful in an over-elegant robe. Shelly looks beautiful in a short dress and perfect 60s hairdo. And soon Elvis will come on the screen, so spectacularly handsome, confident, talented, and magnetic that it's impossible for this cast of beautiful women, handsome men, and spectacular scenery to upstage him. He explodes off the screen!
This is probably the fifth time I've seen Clambake. As I watch I am still amazed. His fantastic looks and singing talent alone make him a phenomenon to behold. And his acting in my opinion was just as fantastic. He wasn't a trained actor. He learned on the job. And he learned well. For contrast, I think back to a live play I just watched last week. There was a cast of thirty including fifteen men, including several very talented, experienced actors. You could not make an Elvis out of these fifteen men put together and multiplied by one hundred. Elvis easily carried every movie in which he starred. Try to imagine any other actor playing Elvis as well as Elvis in any of these movies. I can't think of one.
For those that feel Elvis wasn't that great an actor, I get it. But I think it was Elvis's very out-of-this-world fantastickness (first time I tried that word - Elvis deserves it) that prevented him from being placed in a movie of the "Emmy" variety. Picture Elvis in a scene with Robert DeNiro in the Godfather. The only role Elvis could have played was that of an entertainer (like the Sinatra-character), because his charisma is so over the top. Had they tried to do anything else with Elvis, everyone in the theater would simply lose their "suspension of reality" and tell themselves that this character could be plausible only as a happy-go-lucky music and movie superstar. I suppose with makeup and the right wardrobe you could play Elvis down. But would anyone in the world want to see the King played down? Not me!
The King's formula was perfect. Setting: Pre-Beatles mid-60s. Somewhere extremely beautiful like Acapulco, California, or Florida. Plot: The King walks on the screen and it's obvious he's got the looks, smarts, and confidence to succeed in anything he chooses, including catching a beatiful girlfriend or two or three. He faces a personal challenge while weaving his way through an assortment of female relationships. In all the right spots he sings lighthearted rock and roll tunes with a little bit of choreography and lots of beautiful women in bikinis. And in the quiet spots he sings a few ballads. Many of the stories include his parents, with whom he might not agree, but also toward whom he's always respectful. He wins the race, reconciles with mom and dad, and gets the girl. 90 minutes later we're still tapping our toes and humming those ballads. And we have lived a few moments of corny, harmless, funny, lighthearted Hollywood perfection with the King and all his pretty, funny friends.
What a beautiful way to spend our day.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
The greatest boating film ever
Added 3/23/2009
Filled with fascinating homages to the writing of Patricia Highsmith, Clambake also offers Elvis is two of his finest roles backed ably by Shelly Fabares and stalwart Bill Bixby. And, naturally, some of the finest boating ever to be seen on screen.
Not to mention the boss title track.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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