Movies for Rent
After a decade of overwhelming success in the form of a Musical, Jonathan Larson’s Rent is finally going to see a wide-spread audience in the form of a feature film.
Sony Pictures has converted the multi award-winning show to the big screen. I for one am optimistic. Having watched the trailer on the official website, it seems that they have decided to fuse elements of film with elements of the stage. I am glad that they did.
I have seen Rent on the stage in Toronto. The characters are amazing, the music is unbelievable, and the spectacle is mind-blowing. But the key to Rent’s success came from its divergence from the Les Mis, Phantom, Miss Saigon version of the emotive musical. Rent was different, and it showed from the first note of the first song. The band was part of the set, and was essentially a rock band. How would this uniqueness, this divergence from the norm that goes so well with the theme of the story translate onto a big screen?
There is a real danger that the film is only being made because Sony knows that the following Rent garnered on the stage will still go see the film for sentimental reasons. My hope is that they do more than this. There is room for a story of this magnitude, of this import, to genuinely reach people. I hope that it does so.
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POSTED IN: Film Reviews
5 opinions for Movies for Rent
Ingrid Diaz
Sep 24, 2005 at 2:40 am
I finally got to see the Rent musical a few months ago after years of listening to the soundtrack over and over. I’ve been following the Rent Movie blog since it went up, and can’t wait for the movie. I am a little worried about what they may have done to my favorite musical, but I’m staying optimistic. I hope it gets to France quicky (and in English!) so I can watch it.
Thanks for posting about it. It always makes me giddy when I see Rent mentioned anywhere. lol.
Jacob Murphy
Sep 24, 2005 at 7:42 am
Ingrid, you listened to the soundtrack for years without seeing the musical? I think that’s amazing. The music by itself really is good enough to hold one’s attention isn’t it?
But oh baby I love the stage show.
In the official trailer for the film you see scenes that are obviously Movie type shots of big city-scapes, and Mark on his bicycle. But there are also shots of the cast in a line on a stage, like the musical. It seems that they have fused the two styles in order to hold on to some of the stage magic.
I hope it does justice to Larson’s original story.
Ingrid Diaz
Sep 24, 2005 at 10:34 am
I fell in love with the soundtrack back in high school, but I was in Florida at the time. Then I moved to NJ, so I was only about an hour from NYC, only I was either too poor to attend a Broadway showing, or things kept getting in the way. So I only got around to seeing it back in March. I’m so glad I got to see it before I left, though. It was amazing. Once it was finished I just wanted to go back and watch it again!
The trailer looks very promising. I love how they blended movie-style sequences with stage performances. It goes a long way to keeping me optimistic about the film.
I also think it’s great that they’ve kept a lot of the original cast. I’m particularly excited about Idina Menzel, who is one of my favorite Broadway stars. I so wish I could’ve caught her in Wicked before she left. Alas…
And now I’m rambling. ;)
Film Gecko » Gary’s Trailer Park
Nov 21, 2005 at 2:22 pm
[…] ~ It was the first post in this blog back in the day, and it’s finally coming to pass!! Rent fanatics should be singing in the streets thanks to the Rent theatrical trailer and the rapidly approaching release. I just thought I’d bring it up again to send musical lovers into spasms of excitement. […]
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Jun 5, 2008 at 6:33 am
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