What a movie! It's got it all -- drama, beauty, intrigue, comedy, romance...and even a bit of violence (of the feline persuasion, in the infamous cat fight between Shirley McLaine and Anne Bancroft).
It is Hollywood legend that Ms. Bancroft improvised the famous drink-in-the-face of the unsuspecting Ms. McLaine -- and of course our Shirley, professional that she is -- did not break the scene and just incorporated it into celluloid. I don't know if this is urban legend but it is fun to imagine.
They certainly don't make 'em like this anymore, that's for sure. I recently added this one to my DVD collection and couldn't wait to share it with my adolescent nieces who are enthusiastic ballet students. They had never seen nor heard of Mikhail Barishnikov -- what a pleasure to be the one to introduce Misha to another generation. We had a big estro-fest, with my mother, my sisters, and my nieces -- 3 generations -- all sitting enraptured and then finally wet with tears together at the final scene of lovely Amelia just dancing -- hair flying in an act of ultimate joy and freedom -- at the end. Beautiful!
It is Hollywood legend that Ms. Bancroft improvised the famous drink-in-the-face of the unsuspecting Ms. McLaine -- and of course our Shirley, professional that she is -- did not break the scene and just incorporated it into celluloid. I don't know if this is urban legend but it is fun to imagine.
They certainly don't make 'em like this anymore, that's for sure. I recently added this one to my DVD collection and couldn't wait to share it with my adolescent nieces who are enthusiastic ballet students. They had never seen nor heard of Mikhail Barishnikov -- what a pleasure to be the one to introduce Misha to another generation. We had a big estro-fest, with my mother, my sisters, and my nieces -- 3 generations -- all sitting enraptured and then finally wet with tears together at the final scene of lovely Amelia just dancing -- hair flying in an act of ultimate joy and freedom -- at the end. Beautiful!