Herbert Ross had a pretty eclectic filmography - in addition to the films you've already mentioned, he directed Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam; the Sherlock Holmes pastiche The Seven-Per-Cent Solution; The Goodbye Girl; The Secret of My Success; Steel Magnolias; My Blue Heaven…

If you ever get the chance, check out Danny Peary's review of New York, New York in his Cult Movies III book (1989). Peary makes - I think - a pretty convincing case that Minnelli's character is actually the "villain" of the film.

Now I'm thinking of Mad Magazine's musical parody of The Godfather. I think it was called The Mob's All Here.

Ehhh, you know what I meant! :)

It's funny that Roy Scheider got the role of Joe Gideon after Richard Dreyfuss dropped out.

If we're going to loosen the pre-requisite to "major directors in both fields," I suppose Julie Taymor would qualify.

I'd cut Sweet Liberty some slack as Fosse was in the deep end, it being his first movie and he was under the thumb of the studio. He wasn't satisfied by the end result, but if nothing else he learned what not to do the next time he directed a picture.

Poor Malcolm McDowell ended up getting snubbed by Gene Kelly at a party because of the whole "Singin' in the Rain"/A Clockwork Orange thing.

Possibly the most hilarious instance of fascists adopting an anthem is far-right groups in Britain using the Manic Street Preachers' song "If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next" to promote anti-immigration rallies. It's funny because the song was actually inspired by the leftist side of the Spanish Civil War…

Agreed. And I really need to stop dilly-dallying and get the Criterion edition…

All That Jazz is pretty dark, as musicals go. I think both it and Cabaret have a tonal kinship going, with unabashed, hedonistic protagonists carrying on unabated while a dark spectre is looming over them (Cabaret: Nazism, All That Jazz: death). Both films are flamboyant and splashy, but incredibly grim.

Fosse made five films: none of them a stinker, and at least three of them masterpieces (Cabaret, Lenny, All That Jazz). After that there's Sweet Charity (not a great movie, but likeable enough), and Star 80 (technically well-made and a film I admire a lot, but an unpleasant film that's difficult to "enjoy" in the…

Kellerman's life really went to hell that season, didn't it?

Goddamn it. Edward Herrmann was a total pro. Turned up in a lot of things, and was always great. I recently watched The Cat's Meow for the first time, and Herrmann was amazing as William Randolph Hearst: an amoral, unscrupulous bastard, but also a lonely, lovelorn old guy you could feel some sympathy for. Not an easy…

Never Say Numberwang Again

"Stab on, you crazy Diamond!"

I see what you did there…

I re-watched Scrooge the other day - first time I'd seen it in about 20 years - and it holds up. But thanks to Miller's Crossing, the bit at the start with the carollers outside heckling Scrooge made me imagine Scrooge getting a tommy-gun from under his bed and chasing the kids down the street.

Also sadly missing: Jay the Intern, P.K. Winsome, Gorlock, Buddy Cole, Jane Fonda, and the remains of Ham Rove.

I guess I have to re-adjust my feelings about Star Trek: The Motion Picture again. When I was a kid, I thought Kirk was awesome (because, you know, Kirk) and Decker was a whinging git. After some years, I realised Decker was perfectly right to be pissy at Kirk for usurping his command (especially since Kirk turned out…