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Almost Angels (aka: Born to Sing)

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  • Moderator

I first watched this movie when I was a young lad of thirteen at the American Club in Tehran, Iran where my father was stationed as the head of a project to design and oversee the installation of VORs linking Karachi, Pakistan with Tehran, Iran and Istanbul, Turkey. I was so moved by this delightful and musical film featuring the Vienna Boys Choir (Weiner Sanger Knaben), that I begged my parents to emigrate to Austria so I could audition for the WSK...

Needless to say, that ask went over like a lead balloon! However, this movie inspired me to take up playing the organ. In any case, I did eventually manage to sing with the WSK many years later when they came to Corpus Christi, Texas as I was then a member of the Corpus Christi Cathedral Chorale and we were honored to add our adult voices for several pieces of their repertoire.

This movie made such an impact on my life that, to this very day I still occasionally have a dream of what might have been. One of the best pieces of music featured in this movie is Omnes de Saba Venient composed by Joseph Eybler in 1807. This version with full orchestra performed by the WSK along with older men and boys who were graduates of WSK themselves is the finest presentation ever recorded. Up until the time of this movie was recorded, the WSK didn't wear the Austrian Royal patch on their sailor jackets. This innovation was made at the request of Walt Disney himself!

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8zz1xu

Fr. Bill    

AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556


     Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator

You got me. Had to watch it again. It is a great movie.

  • Author
  • Moderator
4 hours ago, Penzoil3 said:

You got me. Had to watch it again. It is a great movie.

Indeed, it is fabulous. I'm glad that you got to see it again. Disney has been on again - off again with movies in their tightly controlled "digital Vault." For many decades most of their legacy movies were simply unavailable for purchase or even rental.

Several years ago, I discovered that someone over in the far East offered Almost Angels on DVD for sale. I ordered one and was bitterly disappointed that not only was it a "bootleg copy," the DVD they recorded on didn't have enough capacity to record the entire video! The entire performance in Sidney's great Hall was dropped, so Peter's rather comical -may I say exuberant, nay frenetic! - directorial debut was dropped due to lack of space... 

About a year later, Disney decided to release the original film on DVD. I promptly bought two copies just to be safe. Now I note that "Dailymotion" has a copy for streaming video, which is what I linked to in my initial post. I make a point of watching it every year at least once. 😉

Fr. Bill    

AOPA Member: 07141481 AARP Member: 3209010556


     Avsim Board of Directors | Avsim Forums Moderator

From the subline to the not so much.

Almost Angels at the Trump Taj Mahal Ego Lounge

 

 

Edited by n4gix
Removed excess blank spaces.

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