Boyle's Olympic Opening to Broadway- Page 2

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 8:50am

Bob30..."a terribly British affair" is fine but all good writers, directors should know their audience - and for this instance the audience was more than British. The show was specifically to show the world who Great Britain is and this opening portrayed Great Britain as...well...dull which we all know is far from the truth. I think it is possible to show Great Britain without being slow, uninteresting and monotonous. IMO the show lagged along. Days later this is what I remember. I saw green pastures, grass, farm building, people...they pulled up the sod and carried it off. Next I saw guys in top hats and was told it was the Industrial Revolution. I saw iron being forged and the ring being cast which then was raised to be a part of the 5 Olympic rings...remember that was cool. I was mildly amused by the JM Barrie segment, the history about children's literature, the characters coming to life. The music and dancing segment lost me and the rest went down hill from there. The show was far from visually impressive. The only WOW moment was the Queen's entrance. Was glad it was over and they moved on. At the end I specifically remember questioning the choice of "Hey Jude"...Not being a giant Beatles fan it didn't matter but yes "Imagine" did come forward as an alternative. A very good friend of mine grew up in London. She is in her 60s. She was far from impressed as well.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 9:42am

"Although i did wonder how other countries would receive it as many parts would not of been funny or impressive to those with no experience of English culture, which i suppose for a global event wasn't the best way to open the games but it was pretty to look at i suppose"

Bob, I am one of the biggest Anglophiles around. For several years, when Thanksgiving weekend came around, I was on a plane headed for London. I still hold my belief, despite much criticism, that Great Britain turns out better actors than the USA. My Netflix is jammed with British shows, I'm such a British show nerd that I just watched the show "Nighty Night" which only has something ike 12 episodes.

If anybody wanted this production to be interesting and successful, it was me. I understand that the emphasis was to display Great Britain's history, but so many questions come up.

Where was the nod to Shakespeare, one of GB's greatest artists?

What about a nod to Queen Elizabeth I or Queen Victoria, two very interesting monarchs that are recognized by the world.

Why was there no mention of World War 2, a period in time that really evokes Great Britain? Was the director afraid that someone might give praise to Winston Churchill? Did the budget not stretch to build bluebirds over the White Cliffs of Dover?

What about British tv? We Americans love "Downton Abbey", we laugh ourselves silly at "Ab Fab". We solve mysteries with Agatha Christie or Poirot. Yet we're given an unfunny Mr. Bean.

And what about the 20 minutes of the girl losing her phone, dancing around and then the boy finding it. Is Vodaphone that important to GB? I felt sorry for that girl because she's really talented and shouldn't have to be working with such insipid material.

Finally, that NHS portion of the show was obviously propoganda. Thousands of years of British history and the director decides to highlight a broken healthcare system? I didn't read the credits, but was Michael Moore an advisor to the director?

Oh, and that baby was just creepy. And Matt Lauer should have had the cajones to say so.

[Brian07663NJ]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 10:01am

I thought I did hear someone make a comment about the creepy baby??

[Wynbish]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 10:07am

Where was the nod to Shakespeare, one of GB's greatest artists?

Seriously, Goth? What did you think Branagh was reciting? Ernest Hemingway?

[oasisjeff]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 10:11am

"what does Hey Jude have to do with the Olympics?"

Well, since the opening was a UK lovefest, one imagines the point was getting Paul onstage, not what song he sang. As for why Hey Jude, I'd imagine the point was that it has the easiest global sing-a-long factor for the audience.

"Na na-na na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-Hey Jude."

Posted: 7/31/12 at 10:33am

Branaugh recited lines from Shakespeare's the Tempest to open the ceremony. Winston Churchill tipped his hat to the queen as she flew over. There was indeed a moment of silence as a tribune to soldiers lost in WW I and WW II- and all wars. It's good to know that Goth's ignorance knows no borders

Updated On: 7/31/12 at 10:33 AM

Posted: 7/31/12 at 10:36am

Oh, and the story about the girl who lost her phone- That segment was a tip of the hat to the whole modern age- the internet, cell phone culture and contemporary music with a mix of over 50 of Britain's biggest hits of the rock era. I guess that's why you couldn't follow it.

[Wynbish]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 10:38am

Right, and the modern age was a part of a timeline that encompassed the ceremony. It's okay, Goth. It must have gone over your head, just like Shakespeare.

Updated On: 7/31/12 at 10:38 AM

[Wynbish]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 1:19pm

"Shakespeare passage features in opening ceremony."

[Renart]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 3:40pm

Nothing against the Beatles, but why choose someone who looks and sounds like he's a hundred years old? McCartney looked like death and sounded horrible. If they insisted on having someone old, a better choice would have been Elton John who can probably still sing.

I know that the Beatles are gods to some, but can you imagine the 1984 Olympics being headlined by Perry Como and Dinah Shore? They were quite big forty years earlier.

As far as the tableau of English history goes, I quite liked it. I thought it was inventive and in keeping with the tradition whereby opening ceremonies highlight the host country's culture. I loved how Salt Lake City had the 5 tribes of Utah sitting around 5 drums/Olympic rings. I wish Boyle had created all 5 rings out of "molten iron" onstage (rather than just one and then have the other four fly in from the side).

I also remember the bizarre Dr Suess/Cirq du Soleil opening of Albertville that left me saying, "Huhhh?" or the inflatable dinosaurs from Calgary which left my Canadian companion just plain embarrassed.

I didn't see Beijing because my wife and I boycotted the broadcast but London was way better than Atlanta. Barcelona had the best cauldron lighting.

My biggest complaint was in the choice of cauldron lighter this year. I get the thing about kids being the future, but this should be an honor to be earned. For all we know every one of these kids could be a complete bust in the future. But, hey, they got to light the cauldron. It should have been reserved for one or more athletes who earned it.

[Bob30]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 3:54pm

Paul Mccartney is sore point here in England too don't worry.

[Scripps2]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 4:11pm

I was underwhelmed so I'm not going to defend it too much, other than to address a few points above.

Regarding the history, it was curious for what they chose to leave out as much as for what went in (no Magna Carta, no abolition of the slave trade). But there is so much British history that is worthy of mention that you couldn't get it all in, and still have room to portray Britain as a modern nation in an unfamiliar way.

And the NHS is our history too. Ofcourse that segment was propaganda - it was a nation saying to the rest of the world we provide free healthcare to all our citizens. We are not one of those nations that develops nuclear weapons at the expense of health and education systems for their people nor are we a nation that crosses the road to avoid the inconvenient sick. And I certainly don't accept that the NHS is broken - imperfect yes, broken no.

And there were other political points in there too, even in the contemporary dance-music section, but they will have been far more noticeable to people in non-democratic nations and the developing world.

As for Mr Bean, the global audience is precisely why he was there: he is infinitely bigger in the non-English speaking world than he ever has been in the Anglo-sphere.

It could also have been a hell of a lot worse - at least Andrew Lloyd Webber had been kept well and truly locked out of the stadium.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 4:17pm

Oh, and that baby was just creepy. And Matt Lauer should have had the cajones to say so.

But he did?

Posted: 7/31/12 at 4:23pm

Yes. he did. He said "Is that cute? Or Creepy?"

and folks I am a solid Elton John fan from way way back- but seriously, Paul McCartney (author of Hey Jude) is easily the biggest British musical star of ALL TIME. You can bitch he's old, but NO ONE comes near him in terms of a pop music career.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 4:33pm

"but seriously, Paul McCartney (author of Hey Jude) is easily the biggest British musical star of ALL TIME"

The Beatles were an awesome band. Once they broke up, John and Paul didn't have the magic they had when they were together. As individual performers, Elton John beats both John and Paul.

[doodlenyc]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 4:48pm

That's idiotic...and just an opinion. An idiotic one.

I thought McCartney was fine, and a legend, and he truly seemed emotional over it all.

Everything else, especially that whole star crossed lovers crap, was awful. Worst Opening in recent memory for me.

[DeNada]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 4:55pm

I don't think Paul McCartney's appearance was really about Paul McCartney. It's just, if you want a big old sing along and you're British, someone has to sing Hey Jude. You know the Family Guy episode where everyone does karaoke to Don't Stop Believing? It's our version of that. No-one knows the words, so they just sing along with the "na na na nanana naaaaaa" bit.

I've never actually watched a whole opening ceremony before, but I felt it lacked cohesiveness (much like the British national identity, perhaps?). I loved the Industrial Revolution segment - very Frankenstein, unsurprisingly, and the rings were genius - but thought the rest of it was generally well executed but not especially moving or exciting.

I did enjoy spotting people I know in the show, though. If ever there was an outlet for thwarted actors, volunteering for the opening ceremony was it!

[Scripps2]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 6:10pm

Did you guys see this?

A German member of the IOC greets his team with a wave reminiscent of a certain discredited 1930s political movement. Behind him the Mayor of London watches, convulsed with nervous laughter and the Duchess of Cornwall seems to be mouthing "wtf".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9436019/German-anger-as-dignitary-accused-of-performing-Nazi-salute-at-opening-ceremony.html

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 6:24pm

The IOC has already gotten the video on Scripp's link taken down, so here's another link to the video.
Take Two

[Wynbish]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 6:39pm

Once they broke up, John and Paul didn't have the magic they had when they were together. As individual performers, Elton John beats both John and Paul.

Imagine there's no post-Beatle magic.
It's easy if you try.
Just borrow Gothampc's brain.
Returnable, so don't cry.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 7:01pm

Wynbish is off
Paul needs to cough
Ooops that's his voice
Elton's more the choice

Simply having a wonderful Broadway time
Simply having a wonderful Broadway time

*************

And It seemed to me
Paul sang his song
like a candle in the wind
Never knowing which note to cling to
when the mike was on
And I would have liked to have heard him
But my cat was screeching loud
His meager voice gave out long before
he could make Britain proud

Updated On: 7/31/12 at 07:01 PM

[Wynbish]

Posted: 7/31/12 at 7:03pm

John definitely should have been there. I wonder what he's up to anyway.

1980? Well, that's just unacceptable.