stefanchikm-2018

Not sure what the deal is with the misleading title, perhaps a poor translation of the original French title. Aside from the word sorcerer on the side of a truck the title has no relevance to the story. In any case it would have been better to call it something closer to the actual premise of the film, something like Philosopher Soldier, which was the subject of the book being edited by the French woman in the beginning of the movie. Another decent title could have been Nothing Left to Lose. This film has good acting, including Roy Scheider in his prime, a suspenseful plot, but I heard this came out a week after Star Wars, so it was overlooked. Worth checking out.

This is nearly a perfect film, and although the 2021 remake is pretty good, I still prefer the original. Many, many years ago I saw a PBS special of Leonard Bernstein conducting a classical orchestra that performed the entire score of West Side Story, which the program said he composed.

Of course I had seen the film multiple times on TV while growing up, as my mother is a big fan of musical theater and Broadway musicals in particular. But seeing Bernstein in all his glory conducting a full orchestra playing this music, I realized how truly special it was.

(Having just watched Maestro in preparation for the Oscars this weekend, I wonder if Bradley Cooper saw this TV special growing up. He's about 10 years younger than me, but not so much younger that this performance would not have made a strong impression on him as well. Apparently he's been a fan of Bernstein and "conducting" since he was a kid and spent 6 years preparing for this role.)

But I digress. What I came here to say was that it was a long time later that I learned that Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics and many credit him with the success of this film and its score. Well he didn't write the music, Bernstein did. In contrast to the general admiration of Sondheim, I was never a fan. I was bored to tears watching Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods is another snooze fest.

With regard to West Side Story, I can't decide if the lyrics are beautifully simplistic, or simply banal. I know this is not a popular opinion, but come on - Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, really? And another brilliant turn of phrase - I like to be in America, okay by me in America! Ugh.

It's truly the music and not the lyrics that make this film. There, I've said it, and I'll get off this soapbox now. If you've read this far, I thank you.