It may be late September but it’s still summer in New Orleans. The heat shows signs of moderating but it’s certainly not autumnal in the Crescent City. Oh well, what the hell.
The featured image is of the principals in the Cirque du Soleil show Ovo. We saw them for the first time last weekend. It was great fun, and I did better than expected with the stairs at The Blender DBA Smoothie King Center. One could even say it was smooth sailing or is that stairing?
I often review live performances but Cirque du Soleil defies analysis. It’s a combination of an old school circus and a gymnastics tournament with some slapstick comedy thrown in. The blue dude with the egg was my favorite: He made a lot of Stooges noises and I’m not talking Iggy, but the Howard brothers; Curly and Shemp to be exact. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk.
My Cirque du Soleil experience inspired this week’s theme song.
Leon Russell wrote Tight Rope for his 1972 album, Carney.
We have two versions of Tight Rope for your listening pleasure: the Leon OG and Richie Havens.
Here are three more circus related songs. I hope nobody gets caught on the High Wire: I dig the circus but hate heights.
It’s time to leave the circus behind and begin our second act with a look at a fine documentary about a great filmmaker.
40 Takes Willie was what they called director William Wyler. He liked to shoot as much film as possible much to the chagrin of the studio suits and some cast members. He was a meticulous man who made many fine movies.
Wyler’s children were involved in the making of this documentary. They make a strong case that their father has been underrated because he was a generalist as a director as opposed to a specialist like his peers Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford. Wyler liked to joke about being excluded from the auteur club by the French critics of his day. His kids think he belongs, so do I.
Grading Time: I give 40 Takes Willie 3 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B. It can be found at the TCM web site and on their smart phone app.
It’s listicle time. I exclude Ben Hur for which Wyler won a best director Oscar. I’m not a fan of sword and sandal epics, even ones as well-made as Ben Hur. On a more positive note, the number one film on the list was the centerpiece of my 2024 Veterans Day post.
The William Wyler Dozen
- The Best Years Of Our Lives
- The Letter
- Roman Holiday
- The Little Foxes
- The Heiress
- Friendly Persuasion
- Wuthering Heights
- Â The Desperate Hours
- Mrs. Miniver
- Dead End
- Dodsworth
- The Liberation Of LB Jones
The last word of our second act goes to the Tedeschi Trucks Band & Leon Russell:
We begin our third act with our favorite stolen feature.
Separated At Birth Casting Edition: Let’s return to the circus with PT Barnum and Hugh Jackman who played the impresario in The Greatest Showman.
Barnum never looked as good as Jackman, not even on his best day. Should we write his wife and tell her?
Your Weekly Oscar: We move from ringmasters to royals with this OP pairing with the great Nelson Riddle.
Best Of Ed Sullivan: Two of my favorite movie stars, Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis, appeared on Ed’s big shoe to cut up and plug the movie Trapeze.
Classic Movie Trailer: Speaking of Trapeze, here’s the swingin’ trailer.
Grading Time: Trapeze is a good, not great movie but it’s on theme this week. I give it 3 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B.
Saturday GIF Horse: We’re on the high wire with the Cirque du Soleil aerialists.
I have some unsolicited advice for them:
Toon Time: Slate’s Fred Kaplan described President Pennywise’s UN speech as bonkers even for him. I concur as does the Guardian’s Ben Jennings.
Let’s close down this virtual honky tonk with some more music.
Saturday Closer: We finish at the circus: The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus to be exact.
That’s all for this week. The last word goes to Burt Lancaster, Gina Lollobrigida, and Tony Curtis in Trapeze.
