Stardust squared
No, no points for the reference in question, but feel free to comment on it.
Anyway, I saw “Stardust” a second time. It’s funny really, this time around it was an even better movie. How so? Well, I was done comparing it to the book so I could just sit back and watch the movie. Which, incidentally, is a very good way to spend a few hours. First off, the music. I noticed it last time around, but this time it blew me away. It is extremely well done all the way through the movie. Yeah, I mentioned the cast last time around, yeah, they’re good, but dang. Everyone actually works, I love them even more the second time around — and to whomever who got De Niro to dance Cha-cha-cha in drag? Thanks! Well, except I might never watch “Raging Bull” or “Taxi Driver” the same way again…
It is funny how a second take on something gives you a different experience than the first one. Some select movies (“When Night is Falling”, “Brazil”, “Heat” and others) are movies I’ve seen many times over, but after tonight I’m contemplating if the second viewing is the magic one. I’ll just have to keep that in mind for movies that seem to warrant it — and probably some that don’t, just to make sure.
Good movie the first time around, great movie the second time around. It’s not the book made into a movie. It’s the concept of the book transferred into a different medium, and accepting that (which means even forgetting about the book as you see the movie) will grant you an even better experience.