Steampunk Noir Jazz with Jennifer Connelly

by inkling 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  inkling

  So, not too long ago I saw the movie "Dark City".
  It's a beautiful (if somewhat flawed) movie, best known for being the Matrix before The Matrix, and one of it's several patches of light is this sultry dark haired dame, played by Jennifer Connelly.
  
  Her character moonlights as a jazz singer in a smoke filled dimly lit bar. The two songs we see her character perform on film are "Sway" and "The Night Has A Thousand eyes", both as performed by Anita Kelsey.
  
  The original theatrical version of the movie has vocals of Anita Kelsey, with Jennifer Connelly lip syncing.
  
  Now, here's the thing... it turns out that during (or near) filming they captured Jennifer Connelly's vocals, and the director's cut of the movie now features those same scenes with Connelly's actual voice.
  
  
  I have to say, I strongly prefer the Connelly versions.
  
  Here are the two songs from the director's cut:
  
  "Sway": http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=e7H_1KuJ5SU
  
  "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes": http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=mFTz5KqUQvc
  
  ----------------
  For the sake of comparison, here are the songs with the Anita Kelsey vocals:
  
  Sway: http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=ZFZaiuySd5M&feature=r elated
  
  "The Night Has A Thousand Eyes": http://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=25e9ni85d_w
  
  --------------
  
  To be sure the Kelsey vocals are far "prettier", but for this particular context Connelly's voice is, to me, far more evocative, seductive, and meaningful.
  
  Thank goodness for directors cuts... It just makes me sad that the full version of her singing "Sway" don't exist, so far as I know.

  [inkling]
• 

  leavingwt

  A little trivia for you...

  she grew up in Brooklyn Heights, home of Brooklyn Bethel.
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  avishai

  Agree with everything you said. The original vocals fit the film far better
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  watson

  I like everything Jennifer Connelly does!
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  purplesofa

  Wow, how could they have not let the original vocals be used?

  So much more feeling in her voice.

  thanks for sharing.

  purps
• 

  primitivegenius

  yeah those vocals just dont sound right comeing out of her mouth. her own voice woulda been a much better choice. i did not know that she could sing especially like that.
• 

  CaptainSchmideo

  While we are on the subject of Jennifer Connelly, does anyone prefer the "new" Jennifer over the "original"?

  Back in the days of "The Rocketeer" and "Career Opportunities," she was voluptuous and healthy looking, a prime example of what a "normal" good looking woman should look like. Even in "Dark City", she was incredibly sexy. Even her eyebrows were sexy!

  Now, in recent years, she has lost a lot of weight, plucked her eyebrows to pencil thin, and she's all elbows, chin, and cheekbones. I mean, not just slender, but emaciated!

  I am not the only one who has noticed this, apparently.

  This is a quote from a retrospective review of "The Hulk" from the Onion AV Club:

  http://www.avclub.com/articles/my-year-of-flops-case-file-100-hulk,10094/

  Bana's love interest is played by Jennifer Connelly, an actress who helped usher me and countless other members of my generation through the raging libidinal storm of adolescence. These days, however, Connelly seems to be preparing for the lead in a live-action remake of Todd Haynes' Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. Clearly drastic measures need to be taken before Connelly loses so much weight that one day she simply disappears into the ether. I am calling on the good people of this great land to wage a covert campaign to bring back Connelly's baby fat by any means necessary. If you're a coffee-server-person and Connelly shows up at your place of employment and orders a soy latte with skim milk, please substitute a triple Chocolate mocha with whole milk and slip in plenty of whipped cream while you're at it. If you're one of Connelly's neighbors, "mysteriously" leave cakes and boxes of donuts at her doorstep. Like bringing attention to the lesser films of Paul Mazursky, you'll be doing God's work.

  Or maybe Connelly's simply too depressed to eat. Just look at some of the films she's made in the past decade: Dark City, Waking The Dead, Requiem For A Dream, Pollock, A Beautiful Mind, House Of Sand And Fog, Little Children, and Reservation Road. There's a not a rib-tickler or gut-buster in the bunch. It's as if Connelly is forever doing penance for that pre-starvation Career Opportunities poster. Speaking of which, here's a completely gratuitous shot of Connelly cleavage:
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  avishai

  Yep. She's a lot less attractive w/ emaciated. Nobody looks good like that.
• 

  MissingLink

  That's one of my all time favorite movies. Thanks for posting. I didn't know there was a director's version. I'll have to look out for that.

  The obvious singing overdub did bother me in the original. I assumed she must have had a horrible voice. This is way better for the movie. They should have just put the other vocal on the soundtrack.