WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

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tzwicky
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Total agreement.

Post by tzwicky »

accessmenj wrote:The extra character development is another reason that the musical is superior as a work of art . But also, I know that comparing the film to the musical is not fair, since the musical has been constantly modified since it began. Most of these changes have improved the show. The film, of course, can not be tweaked. And the cast of the musical is always changing. This makes the musical a living, breathing work of art, and the film a kind of archive.

I feel badly for reviewers who think that the film is superior to the musical, or it is too long, or some of the musical numbers do not belong. They truly missed what transforms a great film into "The Best Show That You Will Ever See.
Yeah, the musical does live and breathe and change every time the "curtain" falls on the Little Boy and moments later you find out which Billy you're seeing.

Of course insisting on front row seats helps a lot, too.

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ERinVA
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Re: WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

Post by ERinVA »

Of course, in the touring show, there is no curtain that drops onto Small Boy, but that's just a minor detail. 8-)
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accessmenj
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Re: WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

Post by accessmenj »

This review from the National Student considers both the film and the musical to be masterpieces.

"Like the talentless girls of Mrs Wilkinson class, it's not very often that our expectations match up to the real thing, but I can safely say that both musical and film stand as masterpieces in their own right."

But the reviewer does seem to heap extra praise on the musical, and its appeal to those who do not like musicals.

"This is the musical for people that don't like musicals. If, like the men in Billy's small minded community, you find musicals to be a lot of prancing about, all jazz hands and no substance then think again. This musical is more than about a boy that wants to dance. It's about a family readjusting after a great loss, it's about an entire community being stripped of the source of their income and it's about overcoming your inhibitions and looking at the world through the eyes of an optimistic child instead of a pessimistic adult."
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Re: WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

Post by Wowzell »

accessmenj wrote:its appeal to those who do not like musicals.
Am I the only person that feels this isn't entirely true? For all its differences from 'normal' musicals, it is still, after all, a very 'dancy and singy' musical. Granted, the different layers of it and the political sub-plots do make it somewhat different from the usual Wizard of Oz, Singin' In The Rain-esque musicals, but that's not to say that BETM is particularly 'stand-out' in its appeal. The only musicals I truly believe appeal so much more to 'non-musicals' type people are Blood Brothers (which is why I feel it's such a shame that it's soon to close in London!), Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon.
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angelenroute
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Re: WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

Post by angelenroute »

accessmenj wrote:its appeal to those who do not like musicals.
Wowzell wrote:Am I the only person that feels this isn't entirely true? For all its differences from 'normal' musicals, it is still, after all, a very 'dancy and singy' musical.
I agree with both opinions. I love traditional musicals, as long as they help move the story along. The element that makes Billy so special is that it's such a beautiful "dance" between musical and straight play. You get the drama and sadness, the tears and the heartache that a dramatic play can deliver, while still delivering every drop of joy and foot-tapping "electricity" of a fun musical. The way these two creatures move in and out of one another, pulling us up and bringing us down like waves of joy and sadness crashing onto us is just incredible. Has always stood out to me as being one of the greatest accomplishments of this musical, its ability to play with our heartstrings so delicately and so effectively.

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Re: WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

Post by MegaBillyfan »

I only can agree with you, Sean - for me BETM is something special because of the extraordinary story that is told (and I`ve heard people talking about the show this way - so did my daughters when they saw it for the first time!)!
It makes you love, it makes you cry, it makes you happy - I think one of the "Billys" said this - and it´s true!
London: 27 shows (Ryan 2* - my first Billy, Dean, Kaine 4*, Adam, Redmand 4*, Harrison 3*, Harris 2*, Tade 3*, Ali 2*, Matteo, Ollie, Bradley, Nat, Euan - my last Billy)

I can´t really explain it, I haven´t got the words
It´s a feeling that you can´t control ...
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Re: WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

Post by accessmenj »

I agree. The genius of the four creators is the ability to control our emotions, while telling a dark story. The dance, songs and humor of the musical control our moods even more than the film. The Billy who pointed this out was Ollie Gardner.
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Re: WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

Post by accessmenj »

Here is a quote from Stephen Daldry that explains why the musical is a superior way to convey the themes of BETM.

“What appealed to me most about doing the show was to have the opportunity to delve into the miners’ strike,” Daldry said. “That strike was one of the most important events in my life, as well as in domestic village politics. It’s not possible to exaggerate the cultural flowering that happened during that year in the pit villages. There was a real shift in consciousness for everybody involved in those villages, which is part of the sadness of the whole story. Because something extraordinary happened – and then it was wiped out as they shut down the pits. So we wanted to talk about the community and the family as much as Billy in the musical. The strike bookends the show. The theater lends itself to big, working-class anthems of struggle and loss. You can present that in a much more believable and moving way onstage than on film.”
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Re: WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

Post by OliverWaters »

I think the one scene the film had which was missing from the musical is when after the lessons, he was running, jumping and dancing through the streets in joy. An equivalent scene would be nice I think.
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LiamM
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Re: WHY BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FILM

Post by LiamM »

The shadow dance is in a similar vein, but different.
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