A musical based on the New York City newsboy strike of 1899. When young newspaper sellers are exploited beyond reason by their bosses they set out to enact change and are met by the ruthlessness of big business.
Director: Kenny Ortega
Stars: Christian Bale, Bill Pullman, Robert Duvall, David Moscow, Max Casella, Ann-Margret.
William Holden Jr. ... assistant choreographer
Peggy Holmes ... choreographer
Kenny Ortega ... choreographer
Watched late because disc arrived recently.
12 songs in the Soundtracks, all Written by Alan Menken, Lyrics by Jack Feldman.
I think some extra feature said we got 7 dance numbers; I didn't count. I liked it a lot, but these were not professional dancers. I prefer pros, but it might distract from the gritty nature of the tale, which is based on real events. However, the early number(s) called my attention to the quantity of cuts they made, which always raises my suspicions about what's being disguised. And KO being a mentee of Gene Kelly, who visited the set, knows better than to splice unless absolutely necessary. Apparently the principal actors were not singers or dancers, and went through extensive conditioning and training before the film began, and several uncovered unknown talents. They also trained in martial arts and stunt work, which is also well done.
The story and the acting are excellent, as are the writing and directing. Strange that they had a girl newsie at some point in the planning, but none onscreen.
The c.track is from a decade after the release. The featurettes appear to be contemporary to the release. All good stuff. KO (b. '50) is clearly proud of this, his first film directing gig. (Unfortunately, I don't see any more music/als rated well on his CV. But the High School Musical stuff sold well enough that he made 3 of them, so are those hate votes?)
Disney, dir. Ortega; 8
