The Band Wagon

Fred Astaire played Tony Hunter, an over-the-hill Broadway star who takes his last best chance to salvage his career with a new musical. His comeback plans hit a snag when the director, Jeffrey Cordova (Jack Buchanan), has grandiose ideas about turning the light-hearted musical comedy into a dark Faustian opera and recruits a noted ballerina Gabrielle Gerard (Cyd Charisse) as his co-star. In the face of differences that cannot be reconciled, Tony decides to take matters in his own hands. The film, a musical in form, has a lot more to offer than mere cinematic grandeur: ‘Shine on Your Shoes' impresses with its exquisite mise-enscène, canny use of props and theatrical manoeuvres, while ‘Dancing in the Dark', a ballet dance set, oozes simple elegance. The strength of the script is the exploration of the ups and downs, pain and sorrow, joy and elation born out of a desire to explore the true meaning of the theatre experience. Tony's experimentation with theatrical forms new and old and his treading of the fine line between ‘art' and ‘commercial' resonate with many a stage worker attempting to blend dramatic elements and striving to create a new form of art. Indeed, years on, the spirit of ‘entertainment first' that sustains them still shines through the screen and stage.

Date	Time	Venue
1/1/2017 (Sun)#	2:00pm	Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive
5/2/2017 (Sun)	7:30pm	Cinema, Hong Kong Film Archive

# Post-screening talk with Lau Yam, Winnie Fu

The contents of the programme do not represent the views of the presenter. The presenter reserves the right to change the programme should unavoidable circumstances make it necessary.