On November 16 in 1907, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory joined the United States. The area became the country’s 46th state of Oklahoma, a state that appears often in popular culture.
Much of Oklahoma’s pre-state history includes significant events that have been portrayed on film. Such incidents include the arrival of Native Americans forcibly moved to the territory along the Trail of Tears and the big land rush with its early arrivals that provide the name of the University of Oklahoma football team, the Sooners.
The Oklahoma Land Rush & Far and Away
Regarding the 1889 land rush, one sees it famously portrayed in movies such as Cimarron (1931) and Far and Away (1992). Check out the scene from Far and Away below.
Oklahoma!
While there are plenty of songs relating to the United States becoming a country, one is challenged to think of a memorable song about a territory becoming a state, with one exception. Oklahoma not only has an entire musical set in its final days as a territory, the play and movie versions end with a salute to the territory’s impending statehood.
Even if you are not a fan of musicals, you probably know and can sing along with the song “Oklahoma!” from the Broadway play and movie Oklahoma! The play was the first musical written by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. It is more than OK.
The classic movie Oklahoma! (1955) starred Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones. A 1999 version of the musical starred Hugh Jackman and Josefina Gabrielle. You may compare the 1999 version of the same scene as above.
Finally, the 1955 movie has the honor of featuring a rare song about a territory becoming a state, but it is also a rare movie musical that itself is mentioned in a popular song. The 1971 album Muswell Hillbillies by The Kinks features the song “Oklahoma USA,” written by Ray Davies. In the song, a young woman reflects on her boring working-class life: “But in her dreams she is far away/ In Oklahoma U.S.A./ With Shirley Jones and Gordon MacRae.”
In honor of the anniversary of Oklahoma’s statehood, we hope that at least for a day you can escape work and can get out in the open and breathe some fresh air. And we hope you’re doing fine.
What is your favorite movie or song about a state’s early days? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The play Les Misérables is one of the longest running Broadway productions of all-time as well as an international phenomena. So, for better or worse, the film Les Misérables (2012), directed by Tom Hooper, is always going to be compared to that legacy. While some of the singing in the new film may not live up to major productions of the play, it is a worthwhile addition to the Les Miz canon and a fine way to bring a great story and exciting music to a wider audience.
In the interest of full disclosure, while I have not seen the play 957 times, I have seen it a few times and have owned the soundtrack from the original London production. So I went into the movie with certain expectations. If you have similar expectations, you may or may not be disappointed, depending on how flexible you are willing to be in what you want out of the movie.
Hooper’s decision to film the actors singing their parts live instead of lip syncing studio recordings was bound to result in less than perfect singing. The two major roles played by Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean) and Russell Crowe (Inspector Javert) are the least spectacular in their vocals, generally singing on key but with less-than-powerful voices. Some, including singer Adam Lambert, have been critical of the singing in the film.
Yet, any decrease in quality in singing from stage to film is more than made up for in the emotional power of skilled actors playing the roles on screen in close up shots that you do not get on stage. Hugh Jackman may not get a Grammy nomination on his own, but he more than deserves the Academy Award nomination for Best Actor and his Golden Globes win last night.
Further, most of the other roles are played by excellent singers, including Anne Hathaway. Hathaway, whose mother was an understudy for the same role as Fantine in the first U.S. tour of the play, gives an outstanding singing performance, earning her a well-deserved Best Supporting Oscar nomination and a Golden Globes win even though she is only in a small part of the film. Hence, her vocal skills may be why her voice is the one featured in the trailer below on the song Susan Boyle helped make famous on Britain’s Got Talent.
The actors in the important smaller roles help make the film. Colm Wilkinson, who played Valjean on stage in London and New York, here plays the bishop. Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen provide comic relief as the Thénardiers better than one could do on stage because this comedy generally works better with small details you cannot see in a play. Samantha Barks gives a moving performance as Eponine, as do many of the youngsters in the cast. In short, those who are fans of the play, therefore, most likely will also enjoy seeing the story on screen and in repeated DVD viewings.
Those who have never seen the play who do not have certain expectations about the songs may like the film even more than those with heightened expectations. Of course, some people will refuse to see the movie because they “don’t like musicals.” But those who are open to the experience will be pleasantly surprised how a powerful story can be told entirely in song.
The film, of course, is based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel Les Misérables, which is a long but terrific story about life, forgiveness, love, faith, and hope. The story focuses on a former prisoner haunted by the law and the past despite the fact that he is a changed man. The book, musical, and film all touch on timely themes including a sub-story about a fight for economic justice. The world would be a better place if every human being watched or read this story at least once every year. The book has been made into a non-singing film several times, including a 1998 version starring Liam Neeson as Jean Valjean.
Even though the play premiered in its English language form in 1985, it took more than twenty-five years for the musical to make it into a film. Seeing what these actors and this director accomplished, it was worth the wait.
Conclusion? If you are open to watching a musical, or even if you are not, you likely will be drawn in by the combination of a great story with memorable music. If you have seen the play before, check your expectations and memories at the ticket window and just relax and enjoy the ride.
Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me? Rotten Tomatoes has a 70% critics rating and an 84% audience rating for Les Misérables, somewhat reflecting the fact that the play was always more popular with audiences than with critics. Roger Moore at Movie Nation notes the underlying economic themes of the film and says that the movie is one of the best of the year. Bill Cashill at Popdose writes, “aside from some budget-conscious CGI and the inherent, inescapable staginess of some of the material,” there was little that he did not like about the movie. By contrast, David Jenkins at Little White Lies claims the movie is “nut-smashingly awful.” Meanwhile, Forbes Magazine discusses the political and ethical themes about law and grace in the story. Finally, if you would like to see the stars of the stage perform the songs from Les Misérables, the entire Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Concert is available on YouTube. Note, though, it is a concert and not a full-blown stage production.
What are or were your expectations of the film version of Les Misérables? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The trailer for the upcoming movie, Les Misérables, has been released. As a fan of Victor Hugo’s book and of the musical who always wondered why it took so long to put the play on film, I am excited about the release, which stars Russell Crowe (Javert), Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean), Anne Hathaway (Fantine), Amanda Seyfried (Cosette). Also, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter play the Thénardiers.
The movie is directed by Tom Hooper, who directed the Oscar-winner The King’s Speech. In the upcoming musical, due to be released around Christmas, Hooper had the stars sing live for the filming instead of lip syncing the words to recorded tracks. That is Hathaway’s voice you hear in the trailer. I am guessing that Hooper’s attention to detail will pay off big in Les Misérables. Even if you do not like musicals usually, you might want to give this one a chance.
What do you think of the “Les Misérables” trailer? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On November 16 in 1907, Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory joined the United States. The area became the country’s 46th state of Oklahoma, a state that appears often in popular culture.
