Miss Saigon

HarryGoldfarb
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Post by HarryGoldfarb »

Indeed, her rendition of On my own from Les Miserables is one of my all time favorite vocal performances... too many emotions compressed in two minutes, her voice is extremely effective, mesmerizing, terrible... I love her...
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Post by kooyah »

I love Lea Salonga's voice. Too bad most people only know her Disney stuff.
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Post by Big Magilla »

Lea Salonga, who has been a star since the age of ten, is something of a national treasure in the Philippines and among the Filipino community in the U.S. Too bad she hasn't been able to break out bigger here. She has a glorious voice.
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Post by Damien »

When he was a little boy, my Beloved played an orphan in a Manilla production of Annie starring Lea Solanga in the title role, LOL.

As for Miss Saigon, I only saw it towards the end of its Broadwy run and all I can say is that it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected it to be.
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Post by anonymous1980 »

I had the privilege of watching Lea Salonga perform Miss Saigon here in Manila. She was outstanding.
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Post by OscarGuy »

I'm really glad to hear someone else likes it. I like it the way I like Andrew Lloyd Webber. I can't go to it for depth, but I can enjoy the bombast of the music and I don't care how melodramatic, Miss Saigon has some very evocative musical strains.
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Post by flipp525 »

I don’t care how overwrought and sometimes melodramatic the score to Miss Saigon is: I frickin’ love it. “The Sacred Bird” is actually one of my go-to songs for heartbreak and depression. I put it on and just throw myself into the drama of it all and cry and cry. Lea Salonga’s voice really affects, it’s simply gorgeous. “The Last Night of the World”, “I Still Believe”, “The Ceremony” and “Room 317” are all favorites but nothing tops “The Movie in my Mind” -- a brilliant, beautiful ballad that is every bit as touching as it is hauntingly tragic.



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Post by Big Magilla »

Well, yeah, it's already been filmed before under its original title, Madame Butterfly.

I actually have a love-hate relationship with this musical. I love a couple of the songs (The Last Night of the World, Why God Why?) but the score as a whole is a bit overbearing though the performances of Pryce and Salonga are impeccable within the frame of the story. There is a DVD on the making of Miss Saigon that is rather tedious but does provide some sense of the production.

I can't imagine anyone bankrolling what would have to be a large scale film version when the return on investment in musicals these days is so small, but if anyone could spark interest it would be Stone.
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Post by anonymous1980 »

The show primarily works because of the performances. Otherwise, yes, it's a story we've seen countless of times before.

I think we'll see a Les Miz film before a Miss Saigon film
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Post by Precious Doll »

I think the dreadful material would be right up Oliver Stone's alley.
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Post by Sabin »

'Miss Saigon' is some painfully melodramatic stuff. I've never been much of a fan. The characters are pretty one dimensional. I think a film version would need some serious fleshing out, and, really we've seen this story before. I dunno. It could certainly be a draw but I see it more of an 'Andrew Lloyd Weber's The Phantom of the Opera' than a 'Chicago'.
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Post by OscarGuy »

There are all kinds of books, musicals and other films that people have wanted to see on the big screen. This new forum will be devoted to discussing those works and discussing the many possibilities.

I start this thread with Miss Saigon, which is a wonderful little musical that I've enjoyed ever since I picked up the original cast recording. Sure, it as the requisite songs I dislike, but the score is wonderfully dramatic and the story is quite poignant.

Sadly, Lea Solonga and Jonathan Pryce are a bit old for their respective parts, but it would probably be best to get Vietnamese actors to play these roles.

I think if the right director picked this up and brought it to the screen with less gloss and more devotion to the story it could be a runaway Best Picture winner.

What does everyone else think? Ideas for an Oscar-winning cast?
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