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Adam brings the heat with 1995’s Heat. A discussion about how within Michael Mann’s apparent action film follows the beats and scene work of a family drama. Adam elaborates the bag of tricks the director uses to sneakily get you involved in the interpersonal relationships even amongst sweeping thrills. The conversation starts with a discussion of musical theater for some reason, and even before that, it appears our MC has turned into a ghost.


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Adam Ganser: https://twitter.com/therealganz

Abe Epperson: https://twitter.com/AbeTheMighty

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Patrick Sullivan

Not a media historian, but I would hazard a guess that musicals came to be through a compulsion to combine the various types of performance. They make more sense as a performance showcase than as an artform standing on its narrative strength. We still refer to performers as a "triple threat" who can act, dance, and sing. I think this is why musicals (generally) belong on stage - relegated to live performance - rather than on the screen. As a child of the 90s, I also was inundated by (mostly Disney) animated children's musicals. I would consider those a separate genre - or at least a distinct mode of musical - that doesn't necessarily fit the above reasoning: "musical as performance showcase above all."

SmallBeans

I like this take and well put. Though, I guess my opinion differs in that most other musicals I've seen prioritize that showcase over the story, which ought to be king. Although, I know in my heart that even Disney's golden era films at times were an excuse to get another song in because they're working from a well-oiled formula of how to entertain, but most other musicals (to me) feel like they stop what they're doing and just have a song only for the sake of the song. Even as a kid, I could never really get over this, but in my childhood brain, I could see a difference. It may also be a trick of animation. Disney plays a very impressive line of making the songs feel like they come out of the character, not "here's another ditty for you shmucks." Again, this distinction is probably misguided, as any musical wants to revel in the music, but that nuanced facsimile sets those films into another category altogether (again, to me). - Abe