Bolero

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source: Bolero

Moviecut—Bolero

Bolero

I love this film.....not so much for the story which is pretty basic but for a two minute dance between George Raft, the ultimate gigolo and a young Carole Lombard. The use of Ravel's Bolero has been used many times from the ghastly Bo Derek film of the same name to the beautiful 1984 Olympic Gold Medal winning ice dance by Torvil and Dean. But this is the grandaddy of them all and it is sexy beyond belief. Granted, dance doubles were used in the long shots for the difficult lifts but it is very well done and there is enough of Raft and Lombard to retain authenticity. Raft was a dancer in another life so he had the moves and if Lombard was not a dancer, she does a damn good imitation. The plot of the film has been discussed in detail by the other reviewers so I will just call attention to the dance sequence which makes it all worthwhile.

This is really quite a remarkable movie, folks, and one that I strongly urge you to see. Why? Because of the dancing? Not so much. But because Raft and Lombard give two very fine performances here, and have real chemistry. (Could it have been hard to have chemistry with Lombard????) The script is more than just the series of clichés one might expect, and the characters have real complexity. And then there is Sally Rand's fan dance. It is truly very beautiful to watch. There isn't much to the rest of her role, but her 3 minutes dancing are more than worth the price of admission. This is, in a sense, the original "Dirty Dancing". And it's a great predecessor to that other movie. Before Astaire and Rodgers, and the Hayes Office, we see what dancing could also be used to suggest, and it's quite exciting.

In his eighties extravaganza "Les Uns et Les Autres" ,Claude Lelouch tried a new choreography for le Bolero de Maurice Ravel.It cannot hold a candle to the wonderful Raft/Lombard dancing.This extraordinary finale has also emotion and heart going for it,an emotion totally absent of Lelouch's too perfect and terribly cold sequence. The story takes place in France 1910.A miner (Raft) becomes a Danseur Mondain.He 's not interested in his female partners and is a real heart breaker.His only purpose is to marry a rich woman.Enter a gorgeous woman (Lombard) who registers the same desire :she 's looking for a money match.So both agree not to fall in love with each other. Outside the finale ,best scene is the first interrupted ballet : Raft realizes his military audience is not watching them ,talking about the war which has just begun.So they stop dancing and the band segues from Ravel's work to "La Marseillaise" oddly sung in English.