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I made the comparison because Paul had mentioned that WSS made him question whether or not SITR was the best musical of all time. I stand by thinking SITR is better, but that's just my personal taste. I can understand the arguments against it. My personal favorite musical of all time is Annie. Is it the best movie? Probably not, but Annie was such a huge role model for me in her spunk and toughness (at least in the film adaptation). It has a special place in my heart. I get what Cameron H. says about the stakes being higher and the themes being deeper in WSS than in Romeo and Juliet. I think I'll need to watch it a second time so that I'm less distracted by the comparison. I still find the most interesting thing about it is how WSS ends with Tony's death, but no suicides.

I don't understand where this dichotomy came from. By my count, this is at least the fourth musical they've covered so far, including Wizard of Oz and Swing Time. Why is Singin' In the Rain getting singled out? To me, West Side Story is a different beast than those, because it was based on a pre-existing stage show rather than being written directly for the screen. The reason I've seen most of these film adaptations of stage musicals is because my younger sister went through a phase where it was all she would watch. 25 years later, she has an MFA and works at a theatre company, and I asked her to poll her workplace to see what they thought were the best film adaptations of stage musicals. West Side Story was one of their top choices, as well as Chicago and maybe Carousel. That's the debate I think we should (and will) have when we get to Sound of Music. I think there's plenty of room on this list to include Singin' in the Rain AND Wizard of Oz AND West Side Story. But I think the debate between Sound of Music and West Side Story will be much more contentious.

GEOSTOOOOORM!

U guyz...

Personally, I love Singin’ in the Rain, and if you asked me a week ago, I probably would have put it above West Side Story. However, on this re-watch WSS felt like the better picture. When it comes down to it, SitR is a great movie, but the plot feels kind of like pap. It’s a jukebox musical about famous actors trying to stay famous, having their talent recognized, and falling in love. WSS feels more visceral to me with its themes. Outside of Tony, Maria, and Anita, there aren’t really “good guys” and “bad guys,” just points of view. And the movie does a decent job of presenting both points of view. No, it’s not perfect, but it has a lot more weight than just “how can we fool everyone into thinking that this woman who can’t sing actually can so we can stay rich?” I mean, yeah, it’s essentially Romeo & Juliet, but it adapted really well. It delivers a contemporary message that is able to extend beyond Shakespeare’s intention. In R&J, Shakespeare introduces us to the Capulets and Montagues as being “alike in dignity,” and we really don’t get too much in terms of their rationale for disliking each other. R&J can’t be together just sort of...because? And in the end, we’re sad because we recognize what a waste it is for two young people to die without reason. WSS, on the other hand, doesn’t have the same balance. While both groups are equal in street rep, it’s clear that the “whiter” gang is favored by the police. I think this distinction helps set it apart from R&J while introducing its own themes about race and clashing cultures. When Tony dies, we not only think “how tragic to die over something so silly,” but hopefully, what can I personally do to make sure this never happens again? It forces the audience to reflect on their own prejudices in a way that R&J doesn’t. Again, I love SitR. I would absolutely not remove it from the list. But for me, WSS is more emotionally satisfying and that puts it ahead of SitR on my own personal list. ETA: Just continued listening and the are basically making my same point. Oops. Guess I should listen to an entire episode before commenting

Both movies are deserving. FIVE STARS.

Note: I updated the poll to include the West Side Story vs. Singin' In The Rain rivalry proposed by Amy & Paul.

If you want to read the book this appears to be the full text. https://wikilivres.org/wiki/Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang:_The_Magical_Car

GEOSTORM!!

@gigi-tastic and I had a great time discussing the movie last night and we had both seen it before! I can't wait for tonight to see the reactions of newcomers.

I didn't realize Rabbit had closed my room. It's back open.

I did not find this episode any louder than the usual live episode and remain baffled that the first comments are about that. As for the movie: aside from the confusing plot and character motivations, I was also constantly disoriented by how the camera just kept drifting aimlessly around the actors, even in scenes where they're just delivering exposition at each other. It was like Alfredson decided he wanted to try directing a CSI episode or something. Why is the camera always moving?!

That may have been a reference to the cutup dead body from years ago.... ? Also, I read some criticism of this live broadcast, but I found no more shouting than most of the live HDTGM pocasts.

They mentioned the throat cancer in the episode when they were talking about the ADR.

I just started, but this episode seems like a complete mess. Erin yelling, Bryan booming, Jason yelling. Poor Paul. I was really looking forward to them covering this..."film"...but I'm not sure I'll make it through if this continues.

My poor ears :( Erin, please stop screaming the entire time.

And just in time for the 200th episode, we FINALLY answered the question How Did This Get Made?!

Ok, so is Action Jackson a good cop? I mean, he comes face-to-face with the delivery man/hit man: Shouldn't he have noticed that his uniform says "APS"?