Film

An American in Paris
Dir: Vincente Minnelli
MGM, 1951

An American in Paris is a classic songbook musical. When it was released back in the 50s it broke new ground. It was a box office hit and even won seven Academy Awards. Many consider it one of the best American musicals every made.

The rough plot centres around American GI turned painter Jerry Mulligan (played by the ever-sexy Gene Kelly) who set up shop in Paris to pursue his art. A wealthy patroness (Nina Foch) discovers Jerry and takes him under her wing, in more ways than one. But Jerry's heart is set on a young gamine (Leslie Caron), who he discovers is engaged to his close friend Henri (Georges Guetary).

The plot is by far the weakest aspect of the movie and it hasn't aged well. But An American in Paris is worth a second look if only for the incredible dance scenes and the choreography set to George Gershwin's music. The title track "An American in Paris" was presented as a 17-minute balletic extravaganza with French artists as the backdrop. Only The Red Shoes (1948) could boast a comparable scene.

But Mr Kelly's tight, lyrical choreography complements the roaring score. He and Ms Caron have great screen chemistry — although it's easy to see why. Mr Kelly is intense, sexy and a giving dance partner. Ms Caron is quick on her toes and quite charming.

An American in Paris was pivotal in American film history and paved the way for more elaborate choreographies in films like Singing in the Rain and Invitation to the Dance.

— Alice Dorothy

You might also like Top Hat directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Fred Astaire

POP

A South Bronx Story
ESG
Soul Jazz Records, Universal Sound, 2000

If you are a fan of old-school funk and love the deep bass of punk music, ESG is the band for you. This South Bronx quintet greatly influenced house music, hip hop and punk and the latest Soul Jazz Records reissue brings together their best tracks from the 80s.

Most people might not be familiar with the name ESG — but many hip hop fans are sure to recognize their tune "UFO." It's one of the most heavily sampled tracks — right up there with the great James Brown. Artists like TLC, the Wu-Tang Clan, the Beastie Boys, Big Daddy Kane and Grandmaster Flash have all used an ESG tune at one point or another.

ESG hails from humble beginnings. Thanks to the support of their mum — who would rather have her girls making music at home than out on the streets getting in trouble — the four teenaged Scroggins sisters, Deborah (bass, vocals), Marie (congas, vocals), Renee (vocals, guitar), and Valerie (drums) were able to start a band. Several name changes and a new band member (their neighbour Tito Libran on congas) later, ESG emerged as part of the burgeoning NYC No Wave music scene.

The CD, A South Bronx Story, is one of the only ways to get your hands on original ESG recordings. Tracks like "You're No Good" and "Moody" are their most well known. Later tunes like "Erase You" bring together bass riffs reminiscent of Public Image Limited and the groove of James Brown.

To give you an idea of how influential these guys — or rather, gals — were, they played the opening night of Manchester's Factory club.

— Abigail Sevigny

You might also like Konk, The Sound of Konk, also released by Soul Jazz Records

POP

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams
Pan Books, 1979

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy is a cultural phenomenon. The novel published in 1979 has spawned an entire lexicon including Babelfish (an online web translator), Trinnian (an instant messaging system) and Paranoid Android (the hit Radiohead tune). With the release date of Hollywood's take on the novel looming, it's fitting to revisit the book.

It's Thursday and Earth has been marked for destruction to make way for a new hyperspace bypass. The only two survivors of the demolition are unlucky Englishman Arthur Dent and his buddy, alien/author Ford Prefect, who was spending his days on Earth penning his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Thanks to Ford's galaxy-savvy instincts, the duo escape by hitching a ride aboard a Vogon spacecraft — and their adventure begins. They get kicked off the Vogon craft but not before they get a taste of some Vogon poetry — the third worst kind in the universe. Luckily, the two get picked up by Ford's semi-cousin Zaphod Beeblebrox. On his ship, the Heart of Gold, they encounter a variety of galactic beings including Marvin the Paranoid Android and Trillian, the last human.

The plot is absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious. This passage from the Hitchhiker's guide sums it up. "Space, it says, is big. Really big. You just won't believe how vastly hugely mindbogglingly big it is."

The film adaptation will star Martin Freeman (from The Office) as Arthur Dent and Mos Def (yes, the rapper) as Ford Prefect. John Malkovitch, Alan Rickman and Sam Rockwell round up the cast.

— Carla Sparks

You might also like Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, also by Douglas Adams

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