"Green Book," new movie about pianist Don Shirley

[ghost of miles]

This one seems to be getting a lot of good buzz--will be curious to see it:

Green Book

... Shirley's an interesting figure to me.  I have only one of his CDs, a best-of I picked up used for $2.99 a couple of years ago, and news of this movie sent me to the couple of previous Organissimo threads that exist about him.  The historical context of the movie is intriguing as well.

(Mods:  feel free to move to "Artists" section if that seems like a more appropriate subforum for this topic.)

Edited November 6, 2018 by ghost of miles

[Brad]

Article in the New York Times a couple of days ago. 

Who Was Don Shirley

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

he lived above carnegie hall?

[medjuck]

40 minutes ago, chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez said:

he lived above carnegie hall?

So did Isaac Stern (well at least he had an office there) and Bill Cunningham. 

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/28/nyregion/28carnegie.html

[mjzee]

I saw Green Book tonight with my wife and some friends.  We all enjoyed it.  Heartwarming, tough-minded, great acting (Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali gave excellent performances), and in some ways a Christmas movie to boot.  A good date movie.  

[jlhoots]

Looking forward to seeing it when it opens here this week.

[ghost of miles]

Just saw it tonight and loved it. My favorite movie of 2018... I hope it gets an Oscar nomination for best film. Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen deserve consideration in the Best Actor category as well.

Edited December 2, 2018 by ghost of miles

[gmonahan]

Hmmmm. I liked the performances a lot, thought it was a well made movie, but it was just a bit too pat for me, and I hated the ending. Sort of "Driving Miss Daisy" with the roles reversed. I could write more, but I don't want to spoil any of it for those who haven't seen it yet.

 

 

 

gregmo

[Brad]

15 minutes ago, gmonahan said:

Hmmmm. I liked the performances a lot, thought it was a well made movie, but it was just a bit too pat for me, and I hated the ending. Sort of "Driving Miss Daisy" with the roles reversed. I could write more, but I don't want to spoil any of it for those who haven't seen it yet.

 

 

 

gregmo

That was the criticism, that it was Miss Daisy in reverse and a “buddy” movie. 

[gmonahan]

Just now, Brad said:

That was the criticism, that it was Miss Daisy in reverse and a “buddy” movie. 

Purely as a "buddy" movie, it works just fine, but it wants also to be a movie about race, and in that rather fraught area, I think it works a lot *less* well.

 

 

gregmo

[jlhoots]

I thought it was fine. 

[JSngry]

Please to be asked is there the real Don Shirley records to be used in the soundtack? And can there be made to sell a soundtrack album if so?

[mjzee]

3 hours ago, JSngry said:

Please to be asked is there the real Don Shirley records to be used in the soundtack? And can there be made to sell a soundtrack album if so?

Per Wikipedia, the music in the film is by Kris Bowers.  There are many pieces in the movie, filmed while Ali is at the piano, which sound like they could have been copied from improvisations/pieces by Don Shirley.  A soundtrack could be made that would include original music from the movie, certain live scenes (such as the roadhouse scene towards the end of the movie), and some Shirley performances.  Someone would have to sort out the Cadence rights, first.  Would the soundtrack come out on Collectibles records?    Actually, the music rights are probably owned by Universal, since they own everything these days.

I have to mention Rex Reed's review of the movie.  He loved it, but he did say this: "Shirley was a pretentious Jamaican musician so improvisational he couldn’t play anything straight. I never cared for his recordings and on the few occasions when I saw him in person on smoky stages like the Village Vanguard, he could make Gershwin sound like Berlioz and Berlioz sound like Brubeck."  https://observer.com/2018/11/green-book-best-film-viggo-mortensen-rex-reed-review/

[JSngry]

I didn't know Rex Reed was still alive? He could take a refresher course in writing, though, because what he means as a dis comes out sounding like a compliment to yours truly.

TBH - I have never heard any Don Shirley that captivated me enough to dig deeper. But an OST made entirely of his recordings, hey, I'd be in on that, because, you know, a superficial yet big-enough representation would be enough for me to feel self-satisfied and culturally astute, especially since it would be an OST. Like a Ken Burns collection.

But all that other stuff? Not needed here. That would be like when the twirlers in my high school went to twirler cam to learn their routine, and the one they selected was the theme to Viva Max, aka "Viva Max March". So, the school dutifully purchased the RCA OST, whereby it was eventually discovered  (not the by twirlers, mind you, even though it was the very next track on the record) that that LP also contained this little piece of WTF-ishness:

Ok, RCA, how about a whole Al Hirt album like that business @ 0:52? Huh? Well? Ok? Right?

Anyway, it was actually a pretty funny movie. Check it out sometimes if you haven't yet. And knowing now a lot more than I did then about Hollywood film-scoring, the full OST is not without interest in that vein. But you know, 14 year olds don't know shit about shit like that.

[Brad]

I hadn't read any of Rex Reed's work in years but the lines quoted above sound like typical Rex Reed. However, when you read the full review, he mostly avoids embellishments (although there are a couple of notable exceptions) and the review is quite complimentary.  

[jlhoots]

Not just a "buddy" movie - also a road movie & a "fish out of water" movie. 

[JSngry]

I had a buddy who hit a bump in the road coming back from the lake and ended up having all his fish knocked out of the water he was keeping them in. Is this movie anything like that?

[Teasing the Korean]

I saw the film tonight.  It combined buddy, white savior, and magical negro tropes at different times, but still, it was very enjoyable.  

I wrote elsewhere that I have the Don Shirley album on Cadence with the blue cover, and the version of "I Cover the Waterfront is stunning.

[Joe]

My mother introduced me to Don Shirley's music years ago. Not exactly my thing, but I appreciated the skill displayed. When I saw previews for this film back in September, I knew I had to take her to see it. For what it is -- a Hollywood production -- it is very, very good. Maybe even better than that, partly by virtue of its being somewhat understated in how it handles its "big issues." Mortensen and Ali are pretty much in every scene; they really carry the film with superb performances. Also surprising (to me, anyway) that Peter Farrelly (one of the Farrelly Bros.) helmed the production.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Joe

[Teasing the Korean]

I read a fact-checking piece on the film, and apparently, it is very true to what really happened, based on what Shirley and Vallelonga told the filmmaker (Vallelongo's son).  The main creative liberty that was taken was that a year-and-a-half's worth of real-life events were compacted into a two-month tour for the film.  

Shirley apparently told the filmmaker that he was fine with the making of the film, as long as the filmmaker stayed true to what both he and Vallelonga reported to him, and that the film was made after Shirley died.

SPOILER ALERT:  It has been speculated that the reason Shirley did not want the film to be released while he was alive was because of an event suggesting that Shirley is gay.  

[ghost of miles]

Here’s a new Night Lights show that I did about Shirley:

“Jazz Is Not A Noun”: Don Shirley, The Extraordinary Pianist

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

You know what i learned- that 1st columbia lp of is Water Boy, is a REISSUE of one of his Cadence lps, with a new cover.  Why he just didnt make a new album, i do not know

[ghost of miles]

Excellent Ethan Iverson article about Shirley for the New Yorker:

The Music Of Don Shirley

 

[mjzee]

7 hours ago, ghost of miles said:

Excellent Ethan Iverson article about Shirley for the New Yorker:

The Music Of Don Shirley

 

I liked the article; thanks for linking to it.  I especially liked the last paragraph.