Carmen Jones (1954)

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I did enjoy the movie, even when I was just kind of listening to the music. It was Bizet, after all, even if they'd let Oscar Hammerstein loose all over the words. And it may not've actually been Dorothy Dandridge or Harry Belafonte singing, but the people dubbing their voices were, obviously, quite good. And, as we know, more operatic and therefore befitting the Bizet. The filming's good, too. The trailer refers to the "interesting people and colorful places" of the United States, presumably because it would've been a tacky to refer to the colorful people in a situation like this one. And certainly the places are colorful, even if--as is the case in the flophouse in Chicago--that color is grey.

Contemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.Most critics loved it, but Channel 4 called it "a truly dreadful film. Preminger can't be faulted for ambition, but for once, his execution is sorely lacking... Dandridge's tough, hip-swinging, steely eyed Carmen goes some way to redeeming things, but the part is too fractured by the imposition of another singing voice, bad dubbing, and the alien tone of the songs." In 1992, Carmen Jones was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Indeed, it has earned this -- a film adaptation of a play adaptation of an opera. And one of the first big films with an all-black cast. That was ground-breaking in the 1950s.For me, I did not really get into it. But that was because this really is not my kind of music. For those who like "Carmen", you may love this movie.

Watching "Carmen Jones," produced and directed by Otto Preminger from Oscar Hammerstein's update of the Bizet opera, is a very otherworldly experience, not at all comfortable but somehow challenging. On the one hand it's an interesting look at the racial differences embedded into the society at the time; on the other hand, it's a wild and vivacious bit of showmanship.Dorothy Dandridge is magnificent as the title character, that free-spirited, free-loving parachute factory worker whose romantic entanglement with conflicted Joe (Harry Belafonte in another good performance) kicks off one of the most unique movie musicals in history.The music direction is definitely the highlight of the film, sounding absolutely incredible. I can't believe it didn't win the Oscar. Familiar faces in supporting roles include Diahann Carroll and Brock Peters, and it's always fun to see them. But "Carmen Jones" is not "fun," per se.... Not for long.The first few scenes establish a riveting pace and high level of energy that the film is not quite able to maintain. Carmen's antics are not amusing for long, and the songs descend in quality from the magnificently catchy "Dat's Love" to the frantic, busy "Card Song" and the chillingly titled "String Me High On a Tree." Maybe it's the cultural climate in 2010 attempting to do battle with that of 1954, but it's uncomfortable. Very much so.Of course, they don't make movies like this anymore.

I have seen my fair share of musical movies and even though it's not my favorite genre I can say with certainty that I still really enjoyed watching this movie and is therefore among the more entertaining ones that I have ever seen.Not only is this movie a modern take on the novel and opera 'Carmen' but it also is one that has a completely Afro-American cast. This gives the story a whole new different attitude and it brings certainly live to the whole movie and story.It's an 1954 movie but let me tell you that the movie feels a lot more modern than that. If you would had told me that this movie was from 1974 I would had certainly believed it. It's not just because of the approach that the movie feels way more modern but also really because of its fine visual looks.As far as the musics goes, an important aspect within a musical movie of course, I also must say that I quite liked it, even though it was certainly weird seeing how basically every singing bit of the movie got dubbed by an obviously totally different person, that sounds really nothing like the actor who is playing the character.In this movie you could had real easily hated the Carmen character, fore she is one that is a real tease with men, steals boyfriends from other women and every now and then applies some manipulation, with her sexual and sensual powers. Yet you far from hate her, for which most credit really needs to go to the actress portraying her, Dorothy Dandridge, who also even received an Oscar nomination for her role in this movie.But at the same time there also is not really anything that makes this movie stand out as a truly excellent one. It's production values obviously weren't too high and the movie feels a bit static and simplistic at times. Nevertheless, I simply enjoyed watching this movie and that is what counts the most.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/