Advantages: Some really good tracks
Disadvantages: Some are "so-so"

...equally sophisticated as If You Wee Mine, it is a somewhat different, more melancholy style. The lyrics are slightly corny, it has to be said, though Frankie does well with them. The next song is also by Buck Clayton and his Orchestra and Frankie Laine. It is a version of My Old Flame. I am sorry, but since I heard the spike Jones version of My Old Flame, I really haven't been able to take this song as seriously as it deserves. (Spike Jones mangled the song to include a psychotic killer (sung as a passable impersonation of Peter Lorrie) Although somewhat bizarrely, Frankie Laine remains totally mute during the Buck Clayton version of My Old Flame! The next track is by the Benny Goodman Quartet, featuring Benny Goodman on clarinet, with fantastic swinging backing from the rest of his band, including jazz xylophone. Stompin' at the Savoy... Read review

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Advantages: Romance, passion, memories
Disadvantages: Tragedy, tears, memories

...Dafoe, Colin Firth and Juliette Binoche. I love this film because I can relate to so much of it. If you've ever loved and lost - and more importantly, when you lost, it was like a door shut in your life - then you might appreciate this film. The dialogue is absolutely superb from beginning to end! The way the Count instructs Kip to read Kipling - "imagine the speed of his pen" and the moody one-liners spat out between lovers: "What do you hate?" "Ownership. When you leave, forget me." You can practically taste each and every mood that the film throws at you and the soundtrack is pretty special if you enjoy oldies such as Benny Goodman, Fred Astaire and Ella Fitzgerald. The cinematography is out of this world and you will see some incredibly beautiful sets in both Africa and Italy. I hope you enjoy it! :~) "You speak so many bloody... Read review

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Advantages: A Gem.
Disadvantages: Can't think of one.

...it was like the live in America in the 40s, let alone New York City. Yet this film tributises that era so much that I miss it myself. It's a warm, lighthearted, comical, and undoubtedly Jewish tale of family life. It's touching, without being schmaltzy. There are values to be learnt - family comes first, through the good times and the bad, closely followed in second by the radio and the songs it has made famous, songs that I'm now, in 2004, and big admirer of. Woody Allen does not physically appear in this film. He does, however, talk the audience through the changing scenery and comments adheringly about the songs that shaped his childhood. Those memorable songs include September Song (Harry James), Body and Soul (Benny Goodman), In the Mood (Glenn Miller), and I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You (Tommy Dorsey). The songs are as much... Read review

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Advantages: Real music
Disadvantages: None

...One of the few things in this world capable of dragging me away from the keyboard apart from the need to sleep and eat was the showing of The Glen Miller Story on ITV on Sunday. The Benny Goodman Story, The Al Jolson Story and The Great Caruso are three others of a very limited list. Starring James Stewart and June Allyson and supported by Henry Morgan (of MASH fame) this purports to be the story of how the Glen Miller Orchestra became famous world wide. O.K. so it dramatised things quite a bit but essentially it sort of followed his life. However they couldn't "fake" the music and the "sound". That was real and a treat to hear. James Stewart was the ideal person to play Glen Miller as he had more than just a passing resemblance to the trombone player and June Allyson, with her slightly husky voice, sent many a young man... Read review

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Advantages: Exciting, great dancing, Bonnie, talented cast
Disadvantages: A bit 'heavy' for non-fans

...(1986) – Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries, Dancin’ Dan From The Little Prince (1974) – Fosse’s World From Liza With A Z (1972) – Bye Bye Blackbird, I Gotcha From Dancin’ (1978) – From The Edge, Percussion 4, Crunchy Granola Suite, Mr. Bojangles, Benny Goodman’s Sing Sing Sing From Sweet Charity (1966) – Big Spender, Rich Man’s Frug From The Pajama Game (1954) – Steam Heat From Cabaret (1972) – Mein Herr From All That Jazz (1979) – Take Off With Us From Chicago (1975) – Razzle Dazzle There are nice changes in pace over the show. It opens with Bonnie singing Life Is Just A Bowl Of Cherries, which is a good way to begin, as it is a very good song and she has a wonderful voice, but it’s quite a calm, simple beginning. This is reprised near the end of the second half too, slowing down the tempo in preparation for the dramatic, fast-paced finale... Read review

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Advantages: classy and atmospheric
Disadvantages: not for everyone

...and upbeat contrast to the previous track, this is the soundtrack's second non-Yared offering. This jazzy instumental is performed by Benny Goodman on trumpet. Perfect for the film's wartime era sound. The tune was used for a dance sequence in the movie. 15. "Convento di Sant'Anna" - Back to the soundtrack's signature sound of piano and strings, the delicate melodies reminiscent of the later Bach, this is a much longer segment of music. The piano driven music seems to be particularly applied to the sections of the film set with Hana in Italy. 16. "Herodotus" - a more "exotic" sounding piece, linking nicely into... 17. "Szerelem, Szerelem" - a traditional Hungarian folk song performed by Sebestyén and her group, Muzsikás. The sound could be arabic, which fits in with the film's Cairo setting when it is played, but reflects the main character... Read review

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