![]() ![]() Almost akin to Bernstein's work on The Great Escape, the CD opens with the "Stripes March", a piece that is excerpted and interwoven throughout the score in various bits and pieces, altering the motif of the given scene on screen. ![]() It seems that when you pair up Ivan Reitman with Elmer, you're bound to always get good work ( Ghostbusters, Animal House) and Stripes is no exception. I have to admit, I've had this score in my collection for a number of years, but not by the means as which the ordinary consumer can now hear this, in the overwrought and over used phrase, "classic" Bernstein comedy score. This was surreptitiously released in conjunction with the "extended cut" DVD, which offers eighteen minutes of deleted scenes, and once again folks, they were deleted for a reason. Luckily for all of you faithful readers, I'll be reviewing the welcomed and worthwhile Varese Sarabande issue of Elmer Berstein's classic 1981 comedy score now on CD. And, finally, in an adventure of farcical proportions, they drag their whole platoon, their sergeant, their captain, and their girlfriends into an armed battle with a Russian battalion in Czechoslovakia.Within the past month we've had two Stripes related releases, one worthwhile, one not so much. They meet beautiful MPs and fall in love. Their sergeant is demanding but fair - and is fair game for John Winger's comic wrath. Instead they've joined a platoon of oddballs and misfits, including "Ox" ( John Candy), an obese blowhard. Alas, basic training is not at all what they expected. They sign, hoping for discipline, duty, honor, courage, and, of course, exotic travel. The army is exactly what he needs and what Russell, an amiable if unambitious English teacher, needs, too. Its message is "You're going nowhere!" That resonates with John. At that perfect moment, a recruiting ad for the U.S. Seeking solace from his lifelong buddy, Russell ( Harold Ramis), it's a time of self-pity and self-blame. He's quit his job his car has been repossessed his girlfriend has left him - all of which he's brought upon himself. ![]() STRIPES opens on a particularly bad day in the life of John Winger ( Bill Murray). To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly The film's often-funny, juvenile humor would appeal to even young teens, but the language and nudity make it problematic for those audiences. The "ditzy," voluptuous mud-wrestling "girls" are almost balanced by some coolheaded, female army MPS, but woman-as-sex-object scenes tip the scales in 1981's direction. Slapstick and exaggerated violence include a mini-war with armed Russian troops (explosions, gunfire, flamethrowers, armored tanks) and the usual falls, bonks, and mishaps. It's typical fish-out-of-water fare, with some rapid-fire cartoon action sexy, big-breasted women (some of those big breasts are bare) and enough bawdy language ("f-k," "s-t," "p-y," "ass") to earn MPAA's R rating. military, dragging BFF and frequent playmate Harold Ramis into the fray along with him. This time, Murray takes his deft comic arrogance into the U.S. Parents need to know that 1981's Stripes is comic mayhem with a young Bill Murray reprising the cheeky hapless character he created for television's Saturday Night Live and in Meatballs and Caddyshack on the big screen. ![]()
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