I thought the reimagining made this movie, On my blog a while back, I compared and contrasted this movie to the true disaster that was “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” (the 1978 movie, not the album). It was an unfair comparison, to say the least.

This is a musical, people. And it's supposed to be over the top and unbelievable – but it should also take your breath away. That's what this movie does for me. The way most of these songs were staged just blew me away. I mean, not just having Joe Cocker sing “Come Together” (truly genius) but have him play three different characters during the course of the song? Wow. How creative.

Look how fantastical all the “classic” movie musicals of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were. Would you call those surreal ballet sequences at the end of both “An American in Paris” or “Singing in the Rain” train wrecks? No, because they were a beautiful reimagining of familiar songs. Which is what Taymor did, 21st century style. I agree that there were some bad decisions along the way (the character of Prudence was, on the whole, a mistake) but it gave me a new visual window to the songs I've grown to love.

Plus, I really became a big fan of the Jimi Hendrix stand-in, Martin Luther, who has released some cool retro-soul stuff in the vein of John Legend and Ryan Shaw.

I thought the reimagining made this movie, On my blog a while back, I compared and contrasted this movie to the true disaster that was “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” (the 1978 movie, not the album). It was an unfair comparison, to say the least.

This is a musical, people. And it's supposed to be over the top and unbelievable – but it should also take your breath away. That's what this movie does for me. The way most of these songs were staged just blew me away. I mean, not just having Joe Cocker sing “Come Together” (truly genius) but have him play three different characters during the course of the song? Wow. How creative.

Look how fantastical all the “classic” movie musicals of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were. Would you call those surreal ballet sequences at the end of both “An American in Paris” or “Singing in the Rain” train wrecks? No, because they were a beautiful reimagining of familiar songs. Which is what Taymor did, 21st century style. I agree that there were some bad decisions along the way (the character of Prudence was, on the whole, a mistake) but it gave me a new visual window to the songs I've grown to love.

Plus, I really became a big fan of the Jimi Hendrix stand-in, Martin Luther, who has released some cool retro-soul stuff in the vein of John Legend and Ryan Shaw.

I thought the reimagining made this movie, On my blog a while back, I compared and contrasted this movie to the true disaster that was “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band” (the 1978 movie, not the album). It was an unfair comparison, to say the least.

This is a musical, people. And it's supposed to be over the top and unbelievable – but it should also take your breath away. That's what this movie does for me. The way most of these songs were staged just blew me away. I mean, not just having Joe Cocker sing “Come Together” (truly genius) but have him play three different characters during the course of the song? Wow. How creative.

Look how fantastical all the “classic” movie musicals of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly were. Would you call those surreal ballet sequences at the end of both “An American in Paris” or “Singing in the Rain” train wrecks? No, because they were a beautiful reimagining of familiar songs. Which is what Taymor did, 21st century style. I agree that there were some bad decisions along the way (the character of Prudence was, on the whole, a mistake) but it gave me a new visual window to the songs I've grown to love.

Plus, I really became a big fan of the Jimi Hendrix stand-in, Martin Luther, who has released some cool retro-soul stuff in the vein of John Legend and Ryan Shaw.

I loved this movie. LOVED it! for the chances it took, the re-spinning of the songs and the eye popping imagery. A few of the songs didn't work, but that's what goes with taking chances (i hated I Want to Hold Your Hand). I have been pressing all my friends to watch this.. Gorgeous.

As for the (meager) audience the film scared up, I remember a newspaper article a few weeks after the movie came out, talking about how teenage girls were “discovering” it because of Jim Sturgess' earnest, not-too-threatening sex appeal. Whether that was studio marketing geniuses blowing smoke up our asses or the real thing, such was the story–though, obviously, not too many teenyboppers (or anyone else) made the discovery.