Pure theatre.

[rogueslayer452]

++ I've been in a weird headspace lately. Nothing bad (no worse than usual, at least), it's just that kind of off feeling, like you're off-center somehow and don't know precisely how or why. Of course, I'm also dealing with seasonal allergies which have been going on and off for about a little over a week now, so that could be a contributing factor.

++ Because of this weird headspace I ended up kind of revisiting some fandoms of mine that I don't really talk much about -- Doom Patrol, Legion, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, all fantastic shows in their own right that are often underappreciated, imho -- I even revisited some horror (early 00s horror movies, cheesy remakes of old classics specifically like The Haunting and The House on Haunted Hill) and it's like, some might say they're not good but I don't care I love them anyway because they just have that very specific early 00s horror vibe that I cannot deny is entertaining. And it's not even like a planned revisiting for any of these, it's just once I get a hankering to watch one thing I then end up going down the rabbit hole, which happens every so often.

++ The City of Musicals is a Chinese variety show where contestants are performing from a wide range of musicals, and while it is a competition of sorts, the main goal seems to be introducing different kinds of musicals to a larger audience via their performances. I knew about this variety show due to an c-actor I like, Wang Zhuocheng (known mostly for Jiang Cheng in The Untamed), and being aware of how much of a musical theatre kid he is I know he is in his element and living his best life doing this show. His first performance was of a Romeo and Juliet duet, which was nice, but I think his second performance has become his most notable one so far. It's from Mozart L'Opera Rock, a French rock opera about Mozart, a musical I had no idea about. What's interesting is that the song that is performed from it, "L'assasymphonie", is translated and sung from French to Chinese, and they went hard, harder than the French version (at least the versions I found and listened to, anyway). And yes, their rendition of the song has been stuck in my head for some days now. Not that I'm complaining, of course.

Watch on YouTube

I've seen some of the other performances from the variety show and they do some very notable and recognizable songs from familiar musicals, like from The Phantom of the Opera and Mamma Mia!, most of them sung in English, but I also like that there's lesser known musicals being added in, too.

Comments

[miscuartosamores]

I love the 00's horror movies. I love the Haunting. I do love the 60s version but the 00's version, I grew up on, so I can't deny my nostalgic feeling towards it. I never honestly paid attention to the House on Haunted Hill, neither version, so I may just have to watch it after all.

[rogueslayer452]

Yeah, 1999's The Haunting was my first introduction to The Haunting of Hill House long before I even knew what the story was, and despite it being very, very loosely inspired by the story I have a soft spot for it due to that particular nostalgia.

House on Haunted Hill definitely has that typical early 00s horror elements, but I can't help but love it since I watched it around the same time I watched The Haunting back when they were released.

[sunshine304]

I just looove the "L'assasymphonie" performance, it's so good! *_*
I also found it better than the French version. I checked that out and found it a bit weak, the instrumentals sound way more tinny, and I also didn't like that singers voice all that much. This performance here is much more dramatic and I'm living for it!

I even went and got the lyrics they used on the show, and tried to get a useful translation for it. That was fun. XD I can't speak the language so this was an exercise of staring at the characters and looking at the pinyin a lot, and then noticing that there were a few mistakes in the video's Chinese subtitles. Which at least explained some very weird Google TL phrases. XD

[blackcatofmisery]

I enjoyed the House on Haunted Hill remake. The original is still my favorite, but the remake took the idea and went farther with it, matching the original's opening monologue. It was fun. And the black character didn't die!

=^..^=~

[dhampyresa]

I love Doom Patrol! need to catch up.

[rogueslayer452]

I'm actually surprised the original didn't go as hard as it could have, or should have. Regardless though, I loved their rendition of the song, they were giving it their all with that performance.

and then noticing that there were a few mistakes in the video's Chinese subtitles. Which at least explained some very weird Google TL phrases. XD

lol, this happens a bit when I'm also doing some translating myself if there isn't anything readily available, sometimes you're just so ???? at the way things were translated from the original. Sometimes it's just funny, the kinds of words that are being substituted, like one tiny mistake can really throw an entire sentence off.

[rogueslayer452]

And the black character didn't die!

lol, it's such an unfortunate rarity when that happens, but I'm happy that he managed to survive.

And yeah, the movie is fun. I'm not that familiar with the original, only know the information from the basic plot summary when doing research in comparing the two, but I this was the version I saw first and therefore have a bit of nostalgia for.

[blackcatofmisery]

That's valid. The original is on YouTube, if you're ever curious. (The main actresses have some really nice screams, which I appreciate.) I believe there's even a colorized version, but I prefer the black and white both because that's how it was filmed and the colorized process is sometimes more distracting than appealing. Depends more on the quality of film, I think.

[montmartres]

*hugs*

I watched Haunting of Hill House for the first time not too long ago and despite being scared, I thought it was absolutely brilliant.

[sunshine304]

Yes, i felt like this was prime material for being super dramatic. But IIRC those French musical are usually sold as "pop rock operas" and often the music is not as dramatic as one would think, leaning more towards a pop song sound.

Sometimes it's just funny, the kinds of words that are being substituted, like one tiny mistake can really throw an entire sentence off.
Yeah, totally! I have no idea about Chinese, I've been too lazy to actually sit down and learn it in earnest. But I used to study Latin and Classic Greek in school, so translating is something that I enjoy overall.
And I remember, there was the phrase 淹没 = to drown, but the 淹 in it was wrong in the subtitles. It was a very similar looking character but the word made absolutely no sense in that context. XD That's the one I remember the most, because up until that part the MTL wasn't bad.

[rogueslayer452]

You're talking about the Netflix series, right? Because yeah, I loved it too, it was absolutely brilliant, the performances, the atmosphere, the way everything was paced out and came together in the end was tragically beautiful.

What's interesting is that, after rewatching The Haunting, which was a very loose adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House, that both the movie and the Netflix series are deviations of the novel but in different ways. It's just that the Netflix series benefited from being a show that gradually unfolded the story and got us intrigued and connected with the characters more than the 1999 movie. Even though the Netflix series had a stronger story to tell, I still have a soft spot for the movie.