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This week my picks are
The Muse
(1999 - 
) and
My Fair Lady
(1964 - 
).
The first film this week is the latest from the comic mind of
Albert Brooks. Here he plays a screenwriter who hires a woman
(Sharon Stone) as a "Muse" to inspire his work. She basically
takes over his life, even his marriage with Andie MacDowell.
While not up to the level of his previous work
(Lost in America,
Mother), it is still Brooks being Brooks, which is better
than most comedies. Also commendable is Stone's performance,
which earned her a Golden Globe
nomination. Watch for a hilarious cameo from Martin Scorsese,
and other appearances by directors James Cameron and Rob Reiner.
Full review from August 27, 1999
Of course, Stone's character was high-maintenance, but Audrey Hepburn is a real handful in the second film. Based on the stage musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe (which was based on George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion), My Fair Lady tells the story of how a British linguist (Rex Harrison) conducts an experiment in teaching a poor cockney girl (Hepburn) to act and speak like a respectable lady. It's full of classic, memorable songs such as "Wouldn't It Be Loverly", "I Could Have Danced All Night", and "On the Street Where You Live". Harrison won an Academy Award for his career-defining role -- one that was originally written for him on Broadway. It also won Oscars for Best Director (George Cukor), Art Direction, Color Cinematography (Harry Stradling, Sr.), Costume Design, Score Adaptation, Sound, and Best Picture of 1964. On its 30th anniversary, it was beautifully restored by Robert Harris and James Katz, who just this year restored Hitchcock's Rear Window.
For more information, visit the Internet Movie Database:
The Muse (1999)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Here's some merchandise for sale at
| The Muse (1999) | -- VHS |
| The Muse: Soundtrack | -- Compact Disc |
| My Fair Lady (1964) | -- VHS |
| My Fair Lady (1964) | -- VHS Widescreen |
| My Fair Lady (1964) | -- DVD |
| Pygmalion and My Fair Lady, plays by G.B. Shaw and A.J. Lerner | -- Paperback |
| Pygmalion, a play by George Bernard Shaw | -- Audio Cassette (read by Shannon Cochran, Nicholas Pennell, et al.) |
| My Fair Lady: Original Soundtrack | -- Compact Disc |
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