Lea’s new album is for people who love movies

Whoever put together Lea Salonga’s repertoire for last year’s Songs from the Screen concert certainly knew what he was doing. Now contained in the album release of the same title, it is virtually a movie lover’s dream come true. Soaring, playful, melodramatic, cloying at times, but definitely the sort of music that dreams are made of. From the Henry Mancini medley that opened the set down to the medley of Filipino movie themes that closes the album, the entire thing is nearly an hour of silver screen memories.

And whoever thought of including What Matters Most honestly deserves a whack on the head. How dare he get us all emotional? I know it is dumb rationalization for failed relationships but the theme from The Champ never fails to conjure up sweet ghosts we would much rather, very much rather, keep buried. And when coupled with another Marilyn and Alan Bergman composition like It Might be You from Tootsie it packs a doubly sentimental wallop.

I miss Moon River and Someone to Watch Over Me plus so many others, but what Lea presents is more than adequate. Can You Read My Mind from Superman, Our Love is Here to Stay from An American in Paris, Through the Eyes of Love from Ice Castles, Colors of the Wind from Pocahontas, Ikaw from the film of the same title, Tukso also with the same title, Over the Rainbow from Wizard of Oz, and a medley of Sana’y Maghintay ang Walang Hanggan, Kahit Na, Mahawi Man ang Ulap, Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin, Ikaw Lamang and Bituing Walang Ningning. And she does all of them beautifully. Her crystal clear tones with the precise phrasing have acquired depth and power and she now takes on anything with absolute assurance. She is at her best.

If you love movies, then you should treat yourself to this one.

Casablanca revisited

From the mail and still on the movies: Pat M. Bael from Butuan City writes in again about Casablanca. "A fellow movie buff told me that he had read that Casablanca is shown on US TV more than any other film, making it the most watched movie of all time. Humphrey Bogart’s performance is truly excellent. I’ve seen him also in many gangster movies. There are many tapes of Bogart movies in one of the video stores of Butuan City. An encyclopedia tells that Bogart was born on Dec. 25, 1899 and that he pased away on Jan. 14, 1957.

"A friend sent me an ad about a novel of Casablanca, As Time Goes By by Michael Walsh. It asks: how did Rick meet Sam? What happened before Ilsa and her husband arrived at Rick’s cafe? What happened after the plane took off into the fog? I wonder if copies of the book are available in Manila.

"I think you’re right, Casablanca should remain as it is, untouched with a sequel or remake. There are many movies whose sequels are a disappointment. An elderly movie fan said that the original Darna films of the ’50s are still much better than any remake.

‘I’ve seen Gona with the Wind. It’s a beautiful movie and has beautiful music. I read somewhere that actress Jane Russel regarded Gone as fabulous and her favorite movie of all time. I’ve also read that the terrific ending for Casablanca was kept secret and not even Bogart and Bergman knew how the film was going to end until the final scene was ready to be shot."

Still on Casablanca from Hannibal B. Marayag of Roxas District, Quezon City: "For the benefit of Pat, I’d like to make a correction. Casablanca won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1943 as well as Best Director and Best Screenplay. As for the sequel or remake, critics have called The English Patient winner of 9 Academy Awards, including Best Picture in 1997 the Casablanca of the ’80s.

My fault, Hannibal I checked out the Best Picture winner for 1942, which was Mrs. Minives and I presumed that Casablanca did not win the Oscar. I did not check 1943. Honestly speaking, I still wonder why The English Patient won the Academy Award and I wonder even more why there is still so much fuss about Casablanca. I am more of the Citizen Kane type. That movie left me stunned the first time I saw it. And I prefer watching Bergman in Anastasia and Bogart in The Petrified Forest. If only because of Pat, I’ll take time to watch Casablanca again and try to find out what I keep missing.