Almost Angels | |
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Directed by | Steve Previn |
Written by | |
Produced by | Walt Disney |
Music by | Heinz Schreiter |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Almost Angels (also known in some foreign markets as Born to Sing) is a 1962 American comedy-drama film about a group of boys in the Vienna Boys' Choir. The film centers around the chorister's recruitment process, the rehearsals and the life in the institution as well. The story also conveys the value of friendship, honesty and loyalty. The child actors were actual members of the Vienna Boys Choir who perform several traditional Austrian songs throughout the motion picture. The filming took place in the Augarten Palais, the surroundings of Vienna and some other places of the beautiful Austrian landscape. [1]
In the United States, the film was released as the second half of a double bill. The first feature on the double bill was the 1962 re-release of Lady and the Tramp . [2]
Tony Fiala (played by Vincent Winter) is a working-class boy whose greatest desire is to become a member of Vienna's most famous choir. His father, however, wants his son to follow in his own footsteps as an engine driver. Unlike his loving and supportive mother, he sees no future for the boy in music.
Despite the objections, Tony manages to join the Vienna Boys' Choir. Once there, he meets Peter (played by Sean Scully), who is the leading chorister and the most experienced solo voice. When Peter finds out that Tony has a wonderful, clear treble voice, he feels threatened by the talented new boy. Peter's jealousy will prompt him to do everything in his power to ruin his rival's public performances and his good image as a boarder, to the point of endangering Tony's life. The sabotage will eventually end but the breaking of Peter's voice will change the events drastically. [3]
The film takes advantage of the story itself to present traditional Austrian and German songs performed by the children. Besides the Lieder, there are some international scores and instrumental music:
The film was released on DVD as part of the Disney Movie Club. In addition, the title was also made available for streaming in the digital format. [4]
Produced and released more than two years before The Sound of Music and six years after Sissi - The Young Empress , Almost Angels uses the same formula of combining a family story, beautiful scenery, beloved music and Austrian local customs and traditions. Although it had limited distribution in theatres, the film aroused the interest in choral institutions and in the Vienna Boys' Choir itself. Almost Angels was telecast broken up into two parts on the Disney anthology television series.
Johann Baptist Strauss II, also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son, was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well as a violinist. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. In his lifetime, he was known as "The Waltz King", and was largely responsible for the popularity of the waltz in Vienna during the 19th century. Some of Johann Strauss's most famous works include "The Blue Danube", "Kaiser-Walzer", "Tales from the Vienna Woods", "Frühlingsstimmen", and the "Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka". Among his operettas, Die Fledermaus and Der Zigeunerbaron are the best known.
Johann Baptist Strauss I, also known as Johann Strauss Sr., the Elder or the Father, was an Austrian composer of the Romantic Period. He was famous for his light music, namely waltzes, polkas, and galops, which he popularized alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons—Johann, Josef and Eduard—to carry on his musical dynasty. He is best known for his composition of the Radetzky March.
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4 time which was popular in Austria, Bavaria, German Switzerland, and Slovenia at the end of the 18th century.
Josef Strauss was an Austrian composer.
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The Vienna Boys' Choir is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries.
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Sean Scully is an Australian actor, active in film and television, most especially serials.
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Grete Wiesenthal was an Austrian dancer, actor, choreographer, and dance teacher. She transformed the Viennese Waltz from a staple of the ballroom into a wildly ecstatic dance. She was trained at the Vienna Court Opera, but left to develop her own more expressive approach, creating ballets to music by Franz Schreker, Clemens von Franckenstein, and Franz Salmhofer, as well as dancing in her own style to the waltzes of Johann Strauss II. She is considered a leading figure in modern dance in Austria.
Wilma Lipp was an Austrian operatic soprano and academic voice teacher. A long-time member of the Vienna State Opera, she was particularly associated with the role of the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, a role she performed internationally more than 400 times. She was awarded the title Kammersängerin at age 28, and was an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera, among other honours.
Vienna Waltzes is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by Johann Strauss II, Franz Lehár and Richard Strauss, made as a tribute to Austria. It premiered on June 23, 1977 at the New York State Theater, performed by the New York City Ballet, and was an immediate success among the public.
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The Mozart Boys' Choir is an Austrian boys' choir founded in 1956 to commemorate the 200th birth anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Originally it was named Mozart Sängerknaben, and it is now one of the most famous choirs in Europe, gaining recognition internationally.