dirac

Very true, Jones was charisma-challenged. But as I realized when she died, she did leave a respectable body of work, and I think she did have talent. I don't believe so, Sandy.

I fear Lysacek's a hopeless case, although he has worked very hard on his presentation over the years. Who knows, he may do better on dry land - as Weir was saying on the telly the other night, dancing is very different from skating. miliosr, any thoughts on the lineup?

There are always egregious omissions in the Montage of the Dead. I don’t remember offhand seeing Nina Foch, Maurice Jarre, Edward Woodward, or Richard Todd, and all of them have better claims to inclusion than either Fawcett or Jackson. Farrah should have been included, though, even if her pictures were generally mediocre or worse. I had no idea what Jackson was doing there, either.

With Gyllenhaal I tend to be torn between respect for her individuality and regret over the choices she makes. I rather liked last night’s print but it didn’t quite work for her -- and she doesn’t have the cans to hold up a strapless number without a little more assistance. I saw Avatar on a regular screen and it was still astounding. I agree that it should be seen in a theater if at all possible.

Did anyone see the movies, foreign language or domestic?

There's no reason why dances at the Oscars have to be mediocre or bad, although that's usually the case. Choreographing to the original scores is a tough business as the music isn't usually intended for dancing for one thing and as in the case of The Hurt Locker (and Avatar) attempts to make the dance fit the subject of the movie can lead to unintended chuckles. (I could just imagine Lauren Bacall sitting in the audience thinking, "I got bumped for this?") Well, as sandik said, it was gainful employment for the dancers. Abatt, I pulled up a picture of Demi. Couldn't agree more about the gown. Lovely. The costume designer Sandy Powell, who won for The Young Victoria, looked terrific. Nice speech, too.

I haven't read the book but Vittorio De Sica did make a movie of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, which I understand is close to the original, and it is indeed a sad story. I would be interested to hear what you think of it.

Everybody gets Botoxed for Oscar night. I only saw Griffiths briefly but it wouldn't surprise me if she's Gone Too Far. I think Demi has had work done on all body parts where it’s possible to do so, speaking of plastic surgery. I tuned back in as she was finishing up so I didn't really get a good look at the dress, unfortunately.

Yes, you were right. She and Christoph Waltz, who won for Best Supporting Actor, have been heavily favored for months. I still haven't seen Precious but people who have say she was great. I liked the dress she wore last night, too.

I liked Theron's dress, too, and Zoe Saldana's, both of which seem to be getting panned. But then I like risky frocks. (Sarah Jessica Parker took a risk last night that didn't pay off, though.) Bullock's dress was gorgeous, despite the poor lipstick choice. Better than the performance she won for, in fact. Didn't catch Kruger. Liked Samuel L. Jackson's tux. Very nice speeches from Christoph Waltz - couldn't be more pleased for him - and Michael Giacchino, who won for Best Score. The dance to the original scores was bad but it fell short of the camp awfulness of, say, the "Night of the Living Dead" interpretive dance routine they did for "Crash" a few years back. Although this one had its moments - as the music from The Hurt Locker played a "bomb" went off and a bunch of dancers all fell over. Since they cut all the Best Song performances, for musical diversion we got Neil Patrick Harris and James Taylor instead of Marion Cotillard, a very poor exchange in my view. I had a feeling it was going to be a bad night for Avatar when during one of the pre performance shows one of the commentators plugged Hurt Locker for the win, with the observation that this wasn't the People's Choice Awards, and I thought, hmmmmm. Then it won Best Original Screenplay, the writers having been shunted to the early part of the show along with supporting actors and animated documentaries, and I thought, uh-oh. Avatar did not sweep the tech awards for sound editing, etc. and I thought uh-oh, again. Then Streisand came out to present the Best Director Award. (Oh, and it was a great touch to have the orchestra play "I Am Woman" after Bigelow's speech. I mean, really, fellas.) Classless move of the evening - giving Roger Corman, Lauren Bacall, and Gordon Willis honorary awards before the show and not letting them onstage. What was up with Clooney?

Nobody's going to mistake Evan Lysacek for Anthony Quinn. Weir's performing style is not really that flamboyant or effeminate. I think he could make the needed adjustments.

That's a wonderful book, one of my favorite ballerina autobiographies. .I had the same difficulty and I find Wiley most readable for dipping purposes - when I have questions about the original "Swan Lake," for example, or any other specific area where curiosity requires satisfaction.

Interesting, because Lysacek had already signed up for DWTS before the Olympics: http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/ne...online_ST_N.htm That's what the latest report says, but apparently the news hadn't gotten around.

Thank you for posting this, sandik. I'm sorry to hear it.

Ouch! Not my favorite skater. Of course, with a partner Evan will not be able to waggle his limbs in the uninhibited semaphore to which we have become accustomed. I think perky is right, he immediately becomes the favorite. Johnny Weir was on Larry King last night and King broke the news to him that it was going to be Lysacek on DWTS. I suspect this may have been a deliberate attempt to harsh Weir's mellow on the air, but Johnny took it well, bless him.

Contestants for the new season are announced. Evan Lysacek will bring his special brand of arm flailing artistry to the dance floor. This should be truly too much for television. I hope Aldrin doesn't break a hip or something.

Presenters announced.

The closing ceremonies met all expectations. Like Bob Costas, I was especially taken by this. I just love the Olympics.

No. Yes. You are. I really liked Opus 19. Perhaps it was the cast you saw? I thought there was a lot of Dybbuk in it, so the dancers needed to tell a story with the choreography rather than do steps. I would have also said there were quotes of Wheldon (lifts), Elo (port de bras), and Morris (partnering) except Robbins came first by about 40 years. And I'm amused that anyone can dismiss a Robbins ballet. I always think if I see a Larry Poons painting I don't get, or listen to Karel Husa that I can't hear, or read a Haruki Murakami novel I can't follow, that its me who needs to step up. These guys are good, and Robbins and Prokofiev are more than good. There was lots of The Dybbuk in it - the choreography of Opus 19 is full of Robbins-isms - but I didn't regard that as necessarily a good thing. Both ballets struck me as weak efforts to the point where I'm not sure that anyone is doing Robbins a major favor by reviving them, although I'm glad I saw them. It simply wasn't clear to me what Robbins was doing with his corps and I didn't feel particularly interested in what the dreamer was dreaming. I don't have anything against the Prokofiev concerto although he's not my favorite composer. (Peggy, I'd try listening to it without the ballet. If that doesn't work, give up. ) I couldn't agree more with your larger point that it is sometimes worth asking yourself, when confronted with a serious work one doesn't initially care for, if it's the piece or if it's you. I didn't feel any need to do that here. I'm not infallible, but neither was Robbins.

In my neck of the woods the broadcasts are in a multiplex, but then multiplexes are all we have, alas.

Yes, Plushenko's a jerk, but a lot of first rate athletes answer to that description. Abbott has had trouble with consistency in the past, but also he had barely left the ice at the national championships before Team Lysacek started playing head games with him. He was easily the best American figure skater this season. Too bad, and these opportunities don't always come around again. I saw Canada v. Norway in the men's curling final and it was splendid theater although I felt bad for the Norwegians because it's hard to lose but it must be even harder wearing those checkered pants. I assume it was also good curling but I wouldn't have any idea.

Thank you for the link, CM. I hadn't heard Anda before.

I'll speak up for Asada's program. I appreciated that it was going for something different and give it brownie points for that even if they probably should have gone with someting safer in an Olympic year. The range of expression for the women isn't very large these days. Tarasova may not be the right coach for her but I hope Asada isn't too unhappy with this result. Too bad she wasn't allowed to compete four years ago. Thank you for posting the link to the article by Gia Kourlas, kfw. The 'athleticism v. artistry' debate in figure skating has been going on forever and so many of the points she makes are familiar ones. (Every Olympic season you get an article from someone complaining about too many jumps. This has been going on for decades.) Informed opinion tends to differ about the effects, for better or worse, of the elimination of the school figures, which Kourlas makes much of. Some think it's an irretrievable loss, others aren't bothered by it. (Is anyone on BT watching anything other than figure skating? Hockey? Curling? Skiing?)

Thank you for mentioning Lipatti, Pamela. I forgot about him. Wonderful responses, everyone.

We can certainly agree to disagree. The music has to be suited to a routine that will run only for a few minutes and there are rules about the nature of the music. Singles skaters can’t use vocal tracks, for example, and Helene has mentioned the requirements for ice dancers. A long program for a singles skater will have three sections, fast-slow-fast, and the music may have to be cut to fit, which will be painful to the ears at times even if the same piece of music is used for the entire routine. (Choosing a great and difficult piece of classical music can actually make this effect worse.) Arrangers working with the skaters will tweak the music so it meets the needs of the program, if necessary. The music is canned, of course, and usually comes out over a public address system, so a robust orchestration is helpful and may help cover up small bloopers; even with the altered arrangement noted by volcanohunter the Adagietto used by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir in the dance final was actually rather risky for ice dancers – a single wobble will really stick out in a number like that one. Figure skating is often kitschy - but not always - and if you love the sport and the special appeal of moving on the ice you put up with it or enjoy it for its own sake. So I don’t know that you’re really “missing” anything – it may not be your cup of tea. Mark Morris has said in two recent interviews that he’s not a fan – loves the costumes, hates the music. He didn’t elaborate but I can guess at what he means.