long self indulgent review ahead please ignore thanksss xxx
You might like Cabaret but I like it in a far deeper and more intellectual way than you ever will and that is why I absolutely adore this film. firstly Julie Harris is the greatest Sally I have seen (sorry Liza and my west end Sally, Emily Benjamin). She's ridiculous and oblivious and beautiful and tragic and perfect. She made this film great for me. It's obviously not the greatest Isherwood adaptation, but nothing is or ever was. They've all had their flaws, and one of them in the this particular adaptation is the lack of explicit queer characters, especially in Christopher himself. I adore Michael York's soft spoken Brian, and the many charming (slightly grating) American Cliff's that have graced the stage in Cabaret, bringing explicit themes of queer experience with them, and I absolutely know that in 1955 it would've been a bit of an ask to make this Christopher have a clear queer story, but it is something that I miss. Cabaret and Goodbye to Berlin are so inherently queer, but that doesn't mean this film is awful for not having that. It is its own work, and I genuinely feel that way about all adaptations of the source material. Isherwood's real life experience is a story in itself, his written works are a story, I Am a Camera is a story, Joe Masteroff's Cabaret is a story, Fosse's Cabaret is a story and Rebecca Frecknall's (queen. mother.) Cabaret is a story. They all take up a different space to me, and at the end of the day it's the history behind it all which I truly connect to. This film is just another reflection of the history told through a story I already know, and it's not insanely accurate but it holds weight. Sally's eccentricity and obliviousness shines in this, but I don't think it provides the most effective contrast in the way the '72 film does. The disgusting political situation isn't touched on as much as other adaptations, but if you know them you can see the relevance in here.
Also I just need to mention Sally's outfits because I'm obsessed they are STUNNING, and I have a tiny feeling, and I could be completely wrong, that Cara Delevingne's make up in the current west end version seems a little inspired by Julie's in her first scene! the little heart on her cheek is something Cara is doing for her Sally, and I'm probably connecting dots that are miles apart but I would love to think I Am a Camera had some influence on the incredible west end run.
Anyway this is just a film I personally really like. I read Goodbye to Berlin a few years ago now and it's my favourite book, so all the adaptations aren't just films I watch and brush off, they're all a bit personal and special to me and this media I love so intensely. I Am a Camera is visually beautiful and an enjoyable adaptation with a convincing and ridiculous performance of Sally. It's another building block in the Cabaret story we see today and I find that incredibly interesting. I don't know why I put off watching it for so long, I think I was scared it would ruin Cabaret for me because the ratings I've seen have not been great. I thought it would be poor quality and not worth my time, but I'm so glad I took the time to watch it and really take it in. It compliments other interpretations and adaptations and it really filled the gap in my love for Cabaret. Great film would recommend for any other annoying insufferable Cabaret enjoyers out there xx
(however absolutely hated the scene when Chris tries to uh, force Sally by grabbing her. -★)
long self indulgent review ahead please ignore thanksss xxx
You might like Cabaret but I like it in a far deeper and more intellectual way than you ever will and that is why I absolutely adore this film. firstly Julie Harris is the greatest Sally I have seen (sorry Liza and my west end Sally, Emily Benjamin). She's ridiculous and oblivious and beautiful and tragic and perfect. She made this film great for me. It's obviously not the greatest Isherwood adaptation, but nothing is or ever was. They've all had their flaws, and one of them in the this particular adaptation is the lack of explicit queer characters, especially in Christopher himself. I adore Michael York's soft spoken Brian, and the many charming (slightly grating) American Cliff's that have graced the stage in Cabaret, bringing explicit themes of queer experience with them, and I absolutely know that in 1955 it would've been a bit of an ask to make this Christopher have a clear queer story, but it is something that I miss. Cabaret and Goodbye to Berlin are so inherently queer, but that doesn't mean this film is awful for not having that. It is its own work, and I genuinely feel that way about all adaptations of the source material. Isherwood's real life experience is a story in itself, his written works are a story, I Am a Camera is a story, Joe Masteroff's Cabaret is a story, Fosse's Cabaret is a story and Rebecca Frecknall's (queen. mother.) Cabaret is a story. They all take up a different space to me, and at the end of the day it's the history behind it all which I truly connect to. This film is just another reflection of the history told through a story I already know, and it's not insanely accurate but it holds weight. Sally's eccentricity and obliviousness shines in this, but I don't think it provides the most effective contrast in the way the '72 film does. The disgusting political situation isn't touched on as much as other adaptations, but if you know them you can see the relevance in here.
Also I just need to mention Sally's outfits because I'm obsessed they are STUNNING, and I have a tiny feeling, and I could be completely wrong, that Cara Delevingne's make up in the current west end version seems a little inspired by Julie's in her first scene! the little heart on her cheek is something Cara is doing for her Sally, and I'm probably connecting dots that are miles apart but I would love to think I Am a Camera had some influence on the incredible west end run.
Anyway this is just a film I personally really like. I read Goodbye to Berlin a few years ago now and it's my favourite book, so all the adaptations aren't just films I watch and brush off, they're all a bit personal and special to me and this media I love so intensely. I Am a Camera is visually beautiful and an enjoyable adaptation with a convincing and ridiculous performance of Sally. It's another building block in the Cabaret story we see today and I find that incredibly interesting. I don't know why I put off watching it for so long, I think I was scared it would ruin Cabaret for me because the ratings I've seen have not been great. I thought it would be poor quality and not worth my time, but I'm so glad I took the time to watch it and really take it in. It compliments other interpretations and adaptations and it really filled the gap in my love for Cabaret. Great film would recommend for any other annoying insufferable Cabaret enjoyers out there xx
(however absolutely hated the scene when Chris tries to uh, force Sally by grabbing her. -★)
