I love old movies, whether it is Citizen Kane, Gone With The Wind or They Shoot Horses. Don't They? Who doesn't? In time however, it becomes increasingly difficult to find something that we can truly add on our list as unforgettable, even life-changing, somehow.
Much to my big surprise, even movie-buffs like me can occasionally stumble upon an instant heretofore unknown favorite that has been waiting for the exact right moment to be discovered. The Queen Of The Stardust Ballroom is my all-time favorite at this time in my life. Some of the scenes of this movie were so magic that I had to capture them with VLC player so I would be able to play them again in the future, in case there would be a time when I would believe that seeing this masterpiece for the first time, I was dreaming as if the Queen of The Stardust Ballroom was never made.
Some say when we watch ghosts on the silver screen, long gone in real life, we experience fleeting emotions. This felt especially true to me as I saw it just in 2019, years after both heroes in this movie have passed away. But it was just the right time. Two decades before and I would have dismissed it as sentimental. Good movies are all about story, acting and chemistry. These all come magically together in The Queen Of The Stardust Ballroom. World War II hero Charles Durning shows his wonderful talent as the charismatic archetypal friendly uncle type that made him the king of character actors in the decades to come. His dancing and singing is outstanding and more importantly, very surprising to see of a guy of his build somehow. He truly sweeps the dance-hall as if he doesn't touch the floor and when Maureen Stapleton is flying with him, so are we with them. This is how reviewer redryan64 described it much better than I can: "Few if any knew that the rather stout physique of his concealed the grace and skills that he had honed up in previous years while working as a dance instructor."
To me, this role gives him a shot at eternity - he might not have had the amazing range of the likes of Robert de Niro and so on, but here he shines unsurpassed as himself: mister old fashioned charming. Maureen Stapleton also does a wonderful job playing the widow who is mourning and lost at first, playing hard to get, but how she (and we with her!) discovers how life always has something worthwhile to offer!
The ballroom scenes that blend their lives together in the Stardust Ballroom transport you to a time long gone, with red velvet, wonderful big band music and romance, graced by a knock-out cameo by vocalist Martha Tilton.
I wished this movie would have lasted 10 hours but I had to say goodbye to these characters after around 90 minutes. The ending, well it is best not give it away, but it was fitting and beautiful to know once more that it is never too late for romance. All I can say it is just a knock-out underrated movie that I hope will become a famous classic one day.
Some say when we watch ghosts on the silver screen, long gone in real life, we experience fleeting emotions. This felt especially true to me as I saw it just in 2019, years after both heroes in this movie have passed away. But it was just the right time. Two decades before and I would have dismissed it as sentimental. Good movies are all about story, acting and chemistry. These all come magically together in The Queen Of The Stardust Ballroom. World War II hero Charles Durning shows his wonderful talent as the charismatic archetypal friendly uncle type that made him the king of character actors in the decades to come. His dancing and singing is outstanding and more importantly, very surprising to see of a guy of his build somehow. He truly sweeps the dance-hall as if he doesn't touch the floor and when Maureen Stapleton is flying with him, so are we with them. This is how reviewer redryan64 described it much better than I can: "Few if any knew that the rather stout physique of his concealed the grace and skills that he had honed up in previous years while working as a dance instructor."
To me, this role gives him a shot at eternity - he might not have had the amazing range of the likes of Robert de Niro and so on, but here he shines unsurpassed as himself: mister old fashioned charming. Maureen Stapleton also does a wonderful job playing the widow who is mourning and lost at first, playing hard to get, but how she (and we with her!) discovers how life always has something worthwhile to offer!
The ballroom scenes that blend their lives together in the Stardust Ballroom transport you to a time long gone, with red velvet, wonderful big band music and romance, graced by a knock-out cameo by vocalist Martha Tilton.
I wished this movie would have lasted 10 hours but I had to say goodbye to these characters after around 90 minutes. The ending, well it is best not give it away, but it was fitting and beautiful to know once more that it is never too late for romance. All I can say it is just a knock-out underrated movie that I hope will become a famous classic one day.