Tuesday, August 26, 2014

50 years ago: Mary Poppins, the “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious musical fantasy,” released

Mary Poppins

Released: August 26, 1964

Studio: Disney

Genre: musical/fantasy/comedy

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 102.27 Worldwide: --

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: 887.80 Worldwide: 1511.80

Directing: Robert Stevenson

Screenwriting: Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi

Starring: Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke

Review:

“This supercalifragilisticexpialidocious musical fantasy” ^A07 “is proof of how childhood films can be a wonderful salve as you grow into an adult.” ^RF “There’s charm, wit, and movie magic to spare in Walt Disney’s adaptation of P.L. Travers’s book about a ‘practically perfect’ nanny who brings profound change to the Banks family of London, circa 1910.” ^LM

The movie “introduced Andrews to film history as the magical nanny who…arrives at the home of Jane and Michael Banks via umbrella and teaches them that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” ^A07 Dick Van Dyke “is equally good as Bert, the whimsical jack of all trades). That’s Jane Darwell, in her last screen appearance, as the bird lady.” ^LM

Sources:

^A07 American Film Institute (2007). “AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – 10th Anniversary Edition”
^LM Leonard Maltin “100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century”
^RF Refinery29.com (2/8/2023). “101 Best Movies of All Time” by Alexandra Koster

Awards/Honors/Lists:

Dave’s Movie Database Lists:

Box Office:

Awards:

Oscars:

Wins: 5 – Best Actress (Andrews), Best Film Editing, Best Special Visual Effects, Best Original Song (“Chim Chim Cher-ee”), Best Substantially Original Score

Nominations: 13 – including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art/Set Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound, Best Scoring of Music

Lists:

Experts’ Picks:

Genre Lists:

First posted 6/11/2023.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro's magnum opus fairy-tale for adults, released

Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)

Released: October 11, 2006

Studio: Warner Bros.

Genre: fantasy/monster/foreign

Box Office (numbers in millions):

Domestic: 37.63 Worldwide: 83.85

Adjusted for Inflation:

Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Guillermo del Toro

Screenwriting: Guillermo del Toro

Starring: Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo

Review:

Pan’s Labyrinth is director/screenwriter Guillermo del Toro’s “magnum opus,” ^SF “the essence of the filmmaker distilled down to a single film.” ^SF It is a “fairy tale for grown-ups, as pull-no-punches brutal as it is gorgeously, baroquely fantastical.” ^E18 “There’s an earthy, primal feel to his fairy-world here, alien and threatening rather than gasp-inducing and ‘magical.’” ^E18 It is a “poignant, visually stunning dark fantasy about the loss of innocence set during the Spanish Civil War.” ^SF

The story “follows a young girl who escapes her grim and death-filled reality by entering a world of magical creatures and wood fairies. del Toro doesn't sugarcoat or hide anything, paying as much attention to crafting a stunning magical world with stunning creature designs as he does to portraying the grim and violent reality of fascist Spain. Tying the fantasy to real-life horrors is the core of what makes this such a brilliant film, as it grounds both storylines, making reality feel fantastical, and fantasy feel real.” ^SF

“This is in no small part thanks to the gorgeous visuals that realize del Toro’s vision to life, particularly the titular faun and the repulsive Pale Man, creating two memorable characters that will forever haunt your dreams — while the haunting score helps realize a world that is as beautiful as it is eerie.” ^SF