Portrayals of Music Lovers

[Scarpia]

Yes, but Florestan's point was that the character trait was already there in Conan Doyle's books long before anyone ever thought of making them into movies.

They revised many aspects of the original stories, morphing Dr. Watson from an inquisitive partner to a clowning sidekick, so they clearly would have dropped Holmes' interest in music if it suited them. 

The entire topic seems nonsensical to me.  You'd have them make movies with scenes of people listening to Shostakovitch on their stereo sets?  References to classical music, as well as to other non-popular art forms are just not common in commercial movies.  Does that really surprise anyone? 

[Joe Barron]

That's because neither Updike or Austen are geniuses. :josquin:

Neither Updike nor Austen is a genius. Or/nor constructions connecting singular nouns take a singular verb.

And maybe I was wrong about classical music lovers not being snobs or criminals.

[Joe Barron]

The entire topic seems nonsensical to me.  You'd have them make movies with scenes of people listening to Shostakovitch on their stereo sets?  References to classical music, as well as to other non-popular art forms are just not common in commercial movies.  Does that really surprise anyone?  

Sigh.

[Brian]

The only good guy I can remember liking classical music was Columbo. (His wife was said to love Madame Butterfly.) Woody Allen has had nice things to say in his movies about Mahler and Mozart, too, but he tends to go the other way, judging people who like music he regards as unfit for human consumption.

Yes, Columbo loved classical music. His favorite composer was Johann Strauss, and his wife loved Strauss too. But then again, Columbo and his wife generally happen to be fans of anything the murderer is a fan of, because Columbo always wants to butter the killer up.  

I should also note that at least two murderers in Columbo were classical music lovers: an architect in season 1 (played by Patrick O'Neal) reveals his scheme by leaving a stolen car switched to the classical radio station, and Etude in Black stars John Cassavetes as a murderous conductor.

[karlhenning]

So that was just smooth work on Columbo's part, eh, Brian?

[Brian]

So that was just smooth work on Columbo's part, eh, Brian?

Well, Columbo did always volunteer Johann Strauss' name specifically and waltzes generally, which was amusing when the killer was, like the O'Neal character, a real music snob.  

[Joe Barron]

I don't think Mr. Holland was _truly_ evil.'

No, he just wrote lousy music. 

[secondwind]

There are positive representations of music lovers in the movies.  I think of The Shawshank Redemption scene when the Andy Duphrene character has commandeered the sound system of the prison and broadcasts opera. What was that duet?  (C'mon now, someone with a better memory than mine should have that right away!)  And in Pretty Woman, the Julia Roberts character's reaction to opera (she really, really liked it) was used as proof that she was actually a very classy person (and the hooker job just a temporary necessity).  In the Inspector Morse series from BBC, which I used to enjoy, Morse was portrayed as a music lover who attended many performances and sang in a local chorus.  The soundtrack of the episodes used to include well chosen opera selections.  

[Joe Barron]

I should also note that at least two murderers in Columbo were classical music lovers: an architect in season 1 (played by Patrick O'Neal) reveals his scheme by leaving a stolen car switched to the classical radio station, and Etude in Black stars John Cassavetes as a murderous conductor.

Then again, Johnny Cash once appeared as a country singer who murders his wife and the young girls he had corrputed, so I guess there was a kind of equal-opprtunity villainy in place.

[karlhenning]

Well, Columbo did always volunteer Johann Strauss' name specifically and waltzes generally, which was amusing when the killer was, like the O'Neal character, a real music snob.  

A trick! Subtle annoyance, to set the villain off guard! 

[karlhenning]

There are positive representations of music lovers in the movies.  I think of The Shawshank Redemption scene when the Andy Duphrene character has commandeered the sound system of the prison and broadcasts opera. What was that duet?  (C'mon now, someone with a better memory than mine should have that right away!)  And in Pretty Woman, the Julia Roberts character's reaction to opera (she really, really liked it) was used as proof that she was actually a very classy person (and the hooker job just a temporary necessity).  In the Inspector Morse series from BBC, which I used to enjoy, Morse was portrayed as a music lover who attended many performances and sang in a local chorus.  The soundtrack of the episodes used to include well chosen opera selections.  

On those lines, Nick Cage's at-first-edgy character in Moonstruck has a passion for the opera, and his sharing that passion with Loretta is pretty straightforwardly positive and feel-good-ish.

[Wendell_E]

Who is OP?

The Original Poster, who started this thread.

I remember in Six Feet Under, Margaret Chenowith, the Mother from Hell, often played opera music, as did Lionel Luther in Smallville, though in the end he wasn't all bad.

[Joe Barron]

On those lines, Nick Cage's at-first-edgy character in Moonstruck has a passion for the opera, and his sharing that passion with Loretta is pretty straightforwardly positive and feel-good-ish.

I thought of that, too. I think the original rule in ebert's glossary refers to villains specifically in crome or action pictures, though it may be expanded to fit, in modified form, comedies. I hadn;t know about Lionel Luther. I stopped watching Smallvile a while ago, and the character was pretty bad.

[Joe Barron]

The Original Poster, who started this thread.

Original poster? Why ... that's me!

[Joe Barron]

A trick! Subtle annoyance, to set the villain off guard! 

Well, there was one episode in which Patrick McGoohan played the murderer (as he did three times), who in this case worked for the CIA  or some unnamed espionage organization. During one of their interviews, he plays Madame Butterfly on the stereo. Columbo says, "That's my wife's favorite music." McGoohan says, "I know." And Columbo responds, "You had my house bugged." From this we may conclude that Mrs. Columbo actually did listen to opera. It wasn't just a ruse on her husband's part.

I wish I knew my Shakespeare this well ...

Bonus question: What classic character in literature was Columbo based on?

[Florestan]

Bonus question: What classic character in literature was Columbo based on?

C. Auguste Dupin? Porfir Petrovich? 

[Joe Barron]

C. Auguste Dupin? Porfir Petrovich?  

Well, you're half right.  

[Szykneij]

Original poster? Why ... that's me!

Oh. I thought it was Ron Howard ...



Jake Fratelli, opera-singing bad guy in "The Goonies".

[knight66]

There are positive representations of music lovers in the movies.  I think of The Shawshank Redemption scene when the Andy Duphrene character has commandeered the sound system of the prison and broadcasts opera. What was that duet?  (C'mon now, someone with a better memory than mine should have that right away!)  ............In the Inspector Morse series from BBC, which I used to enjoy, Morse was portrayed as a music lover who attended many performances and sang in a local chorus.  The soundtrack of the episodes used to include well chosen opera selections.  

I think it was Janowitz and Mathis singing 'Che soave zeffretto' from Bohm's recording of The Marriage of Figaro. As I was reading through the thread, I was thinking of Morse, you got there before me. 

Mike

[Florestan]

Well, you're half right. 

Which half? 

He could also have learned a thing or two from Javert.