Chitty Chitty Bang Banfg (movie)

[Lorelai]

Posted: 11/30/03 at 7:28pm

For those of you in the NY area, the movie is on tv right now and will be airing again around 1am on channel WWOR (channel 9 by me). I was so happy to find it on tv, I love this film. I really didn't think the musical on London could hold a candle to it.

Updated On: 11/30/03 at 07:28 PM

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 11/30/03 at 8:12pm

For those in the OH area, the movie was on last night at 1 am on Fox (channel 9 near me).

[kec]

Posted: 12/1/03 at 5:19pm

A special edition DVD of the film will be coming out, or may even be out as I write. It includes a lot of extras, including a piece on the behind the scenes look at how the stage musical came to be.

[Lorelai]

Posted: 12/1/03 at 9:20pm

yeah that dvd is out already, has been for quite awhile, i believe it came out when the stage version started.

[DofB5]

Posted: 12/1/03 at 9:56pm

The cool thing, I think, is the comment made in the "Making Of" dvd about how they could do different things with the car in the movie because they could stop and set the shot. The stage version of Chitty has to be able to do everything.

Anyway, it sounds pretty neat to me and I wish I could have seen it. I do hope it comes to NYC. Oh, yeah and I wouldn't mind if Michael Ball does the driving.

D

[MyNameInLights]

Posted: 12/1/03 at 11:12pm

I seem to be obsessed with Michael Ball these days... I wonder what he's like in CCBB, I would love to see it!

[MasterLcZ]

Posted: 12/2/03 at 12:19am

I remember seeing the film as a child and being numbed into boredom by it.

During the scene where they enter the town with no children, my first thought was "What a good idea. Fine with me!"

Updated On: 12/2/03 at 12:19 AM

[kec]

Posted: 12/2/03 at 2:01am

Sorry, mynameinlights, Michael left Chitty in July.

Bronte, the dvd I was referring not the specific "Making of..." that came out soon after the stage show started, but a new dvd of the film version, which, according to Amazon, was set for I think a November release.

[Lorelai]

Posted: 12/2/03 at 3:11am

kec-
sorry, i thought you meant the other dvd, i didn't even know there was a new dvd coming out.

DofB5-
just my opinion, but i really didn't care for stage version of chitty, so i really i don't think you missed anything. michael ball was in it when i saw it too.

small tangent-
i don't know, i was kind of disappointed with a lot of the shows i saw while living in london. there really didn't seem to be any "triple threats" of the shows i got to see (we will rock you" is the first one that comes to mind) had weak choreography (IMO), the actors had great voices but something seemed to be lacking in a way.
i don't know much about michael ball, but even though his voice was good, he just seemed like a weird choice to play that character. but who knows if i'll ever be able to see anyone in that role except dick van dyke. it's not the finest of films, but i loved watching it when i was younger.

Updated On: 12/3/03 at 03:11 AM

[kec]

Posted: 12/2/03 at 4:37am

Bronte, I have to admit I had my doubts about the whole show when I first saw it, because I love the movie too, and just couldn't see how they could make it work on the stage. All the doubts melted away when I saw the show. I thought it worked very well, and I liked the changes made to the story, i.e. making the Vulgarians real as opposed to a figment of Caractacus' imagination. As for Michael Ball -- I didn't know anything about him when I saw the show for the first time, so I had no expectations. I was enchanted with his portrayal of Caractacus Potts and it was his rendition of Hushabye Mountain that made me a fan.

The new DVD is now available from Amazon, and I saw some available in one of the record stores in Oxford when I was there recently as well. The "Making of..." documentary on the new DVD is, if one reviewer is to be believed, the same as the one that became available soon after the stage musical opened.

Posted: 12/2/03 at 4:48am

Apparently according to the owner of one of the original cars in a recent interview.There were six cars in the film therefore they could have a seperate car for each effect they did.It is really amazing to think that one car does it all in the stage show.I thought it was a breathtaking sight when I saw it fly.

I guess if any film is well loved by you it is difficult to see anyone else do it in remakes or stage versions.On the otherhand my niece settled down infront of the tv a couple of weekends ago and was upset because it wasn't Michael and Emma as Caractacus and Truly(she'd seen the show,my making of Chitty video and all the tv appearence they had made)as far as she was concerned Michael and Emma were Caractacus and Truly.

[Lorelai]

Posted: 12/3/03 at 2:42pm

Ok, i'm obviously missing something when it comes to michael ball. i saw him in the show but i was not at all blown away by his performance. i had never even heard of him before that night. i only saw the show once, i thought (before i saw it) i'd want to see it a few times but i really wasn't all that impressed.
i'm trying to remember if maybe i'm forgetting something about the show...but i don't think i am. ::shrugs::


p.s the thing they used for the car to come out over the audience at the end...it kinda looks like what they are using in little shop... for when the plant comes over the audience....maybe?

Updated On: 12/3/03 at 02:42 PM

[kec]

Posted: 12/3/03 at 4:44pm

Bronte, as much as I enjoyed Michael's performance as Caractacus, I've discovered that the music in the show was not very challenging to him vocally. He has an incredible voice and is able to put a lot of himself in each song he sings. I've just recently seen him in concert in the UK, and he blew me away with his rendition of songs like God Give Me Strength, I Wish I Were in Love Again, My Arms Are Strong (he made me cry with that one, and his signature song Love Changes Everything. If you're living in the U.K. now, might I suggest you check and see if you can buy or borrow the dvd of his one-man show at the Donmar, Alone Together? Or perhaps The Musicals and More concert. If you're in the U.S., check out his Royal Albert Hall concert on dvd -- his rendition of Gethsemene is truly excellent.