It's no secret that this movie is an absolutley terrible version of a great musical. The question I'm posing is what made it so bad: bad directing? bad acting? cutting out the songs? or was it just not meant for the screen?
shareHELL NO i love this movie....alright its so cheesy but hey that the whole meaning of this movie:) just like cry-baby:)
it's a great cheesy movie:)
Finding Deppo
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oh I'm so sory you think that. I love this movie. Maybe you are trying to take it seriously-don't. I think this is one of the few films that I can watch over and over and still think it is screamingly funny each time -so there's my two bits
shareThey took out too many of the actual musical numbers, and the ones they kept in were butchered.
shareLet me say that I think that this is a very funny movie, but it is most definitely the case that the play is much better. Where they took full advantage of the medium, like during the chase scene, this film is incredible, but the majority of the movie seems like it was just hacked. I've noticed while viewing the DVD that there seems to be evidence of a different begining than is in the released film, and also maybe some other deleted scenes. If ever a DVD needed a commentary track, this is the one! They should try to catch the principals while some are still alive.
shareI have to agree with elipongo. While I enjoy the movie very much, it just doesn't do justice to the original show. I've played Domina in a local production, and she's much funnier and more sympathetic than the movie lets her be. Why they added the Gladiator Instructor bit is beyond me, although I do think Roy Kinnear is a very funny performer; it was good to see Jon Pertwee, but they should have let him be Lycus, as he'd performed the role in London. Cutting out half the songs, including the most important one ('Free'), makes no sense. Neither did the extended chase scene, though it *was* funny, and the interpolated sequences detract from the pacing of the original. Yes, it's a wonderful send-up of Ancient Rome (especially considering it's based on three Roman plays), but it's not as good as it could have been.
We can blame Lester. The stage show itself is hilarious, as long as the slapstick is properly executed and the punchlines are properly timed. I played Pseudolus in a local show at the Bay St. Louis, MS Little Theater (sadly, it is no more, a victim of Hurricane Katrina) and we all learned hard lessons about how difficult live slapstick can be. There is enough action in the basic show to keep those who are bored by the slapstick interested. Lester took the action and added his trademark nonstop camera movement, making it sickeningly dizzy and distracting from the comedy. Otherwise, he had everything going for him; he could cut and edit to his heart's content to maximize the slapstick effects. Even the added gags worked, mostly. The formula that worked for "Help!" (where the confusion was actually the only thing besides the music that made the movie entertaining) is superfluous and almost blasphemous...to the 2,500-year-old humour of Plautus...here.
shareI'm not sure what movie you saw, but this is a classic - Zero Mostel is howlingly funny, the pace is perfect, the performances wonderful. How did you decide that "this movie is an absolutley(sic) terrible version of a great musical"? Maybe you don't like slapstick? Don't appreciate entertainment for entertainment's sake? Have no sense of humor? It's always easier to tear down a film than to view & appreciate it on its own terms. Chill out and relax. In the very capable hands of Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night), this movie is a fun ride, and I (and 83% of critics on rottentomatoes) think it is wonderful.
shareThe actors mostly did fine, but Richard Lester's treatment definitely was a mistake. Removing so many of the songs, and going with so many elaborate gags such as the chariot sequence removed much of the charm of the original musical and just slowed the pace of the story.
I saw Zero Mostel on broadway in the original and also saw the rivival where Phil Silvers played the Pseudolus role. Phil's version showed lots of the old vaudeville style of slapstick. Both of these versions showed the greatness of live theatre.
It sounds then, that you are really comparing theatre with film. If you prefer the "superioirty" of the theatre, that's fine. Both mediums have their merits. It is, however, unfiar to judge a film (or play) using the rules of the other medium. I think AFTHOWTTF the movie should be judged for what is onscreen, not what is not onscreen. It's akin to criticizing the 1968 film "The Producers" becasue it lacksthe songs of the current Broadway musical, and the ending is different.
shareloved it - thought it was one of the classic comedies and it never fails to crack me up
shareYeah, whatever. This movie is hilarious.
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"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" is the second best movie of all time in my humble opinion.
People are right in that the songs were butchered-- that's because the movie isn't supposed to be a musical. It's a comedy with a few songs thrown in spontaneously. "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" is hillarious in it's camera work-- the symmetry, and having a bunch of guys in togas lying on the floor, singing. It's just FUNNY!!!!!
The best scenes in the movie, however, all refer to the "house of flesh". Zero Mostel's facial expressions when the cortesans are doing their dances make me crack up every time I watch the movie, and when he's talking to the dumb girl, their "words" are so over the top that I practically peed in my pants.
Come on, it's a movie starring Zero Mostel with lyrics by Steven Sondheim... How can it NOT be damn close to perfect?
"Everybody Ought to Have a Maid