South Pacific (1958) Review

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(More customer reviews)I first saw South Pacific when it was released in 1958 at the age of 10, and remember being totally overwhelmed by the orchestrations, performances and photography. Over the years I have regularly heard the film trashed by critics and many members of the public, so I was curious to see how I would respond to it now when I recently bought the video. Well, maybe it's just me, but I found the film as thrilling and beautiful as I did forty years ago. I agree with everyone else that it was a mistake to use those colored filters in many of the sequences, but the film still packs a heck of an emotional whallop, and I think along with The King and I stands out as the most successful of the Rogers and Hammerstein shows put on film. The weakest of the cast is John Kerr, who is somewhat wooden; however, Juanita Hall is magnificent as Bloody Mary (she will never be surpassed in the role she createwd on Braodway), Rossano Brazzi is thoroghly convincing as Emille DeBeque (even if he was dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi), and Mitzi Gaynor gives an unforgettable performance as Nelly Forbrush. Of all of the criticism one hears of South Pacific, to me the most puzzling is the bashing of Mitzi Gaynor, who to me is not only excellent but perfection in the role. I realize a lot of this probably stems from anger that Mary Martin didn't get the role and is basically sour grapes, but the fact is Ms. Martin was too old to be convincing in 1958. The scenes in which Ms. Gaynor struggles with her small-town prejudices are moving and very real, and when Bloody Mary brings Liat to her to find Lieutenant Cable, who has been killed, it breaks one's heart. Anyway, the movie still knocks me out, even if that makes me, as Nelly Forbrush calls herself, a "knucklehead." The incredible photography, gorgeous music, and theme of the need to triumph over bigotry which is still so relevant even today, makes this film a 5-star winner in my book. As trite as it sounds, "They don't make 'em like that anymore!"

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Cats - The Musical (Ultimate Edition) (1998) Review

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(More customer reviews)The `Cats' DVD is a cinematic record of the Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical as performed on the London stage in, I believe, 1998 starring Elaine Paige in the `lead' role of Grizabella, although the only aspect of her role which warrants calling it the starring role is the fact that this character sings the `show-stopper' song, `Memory' which, if you are to believe writer / director Kevin Smith's bit in `Jersey Girl', has become a real Broadway cliché. The show is the most truly `ensemble' performance I can think of. Few characters stand out for more than the length of a single piece, yet practically all characters are on stage for over 50% of the two-hour performance. Aside from Paige, the only character / actor who is remotely familiar to me is John Mills who is on for but two scenes and who is more of a prop than a character.
I make a strong point of the fact that this is a recording of a stage performance rather than a conversion of the play to a more realistic environment. This conversion is done for most Broadway plays turned into movies, especially for big musicals such as `Oklahoma', `The Sound of Music', `My Fair Lady', and `Chicago'. But this conversion is not always successful. That is, the very big realistic setting is not always an enhancement. My best evidence for this is the film done of `The Fantasticks' with a cast including such high powered talent as Joel Gray and others. As someone how has seen the play done on the live stage three times with three different interpretations, including a performance by the New York City cast, I can say that the movie failed to breath any life into the classic minimalist staging it gets in intimate little theaters. The movie was simply not as good as the live performance. This is clearly not the case with this DVD record. It gives us the stage fantasy that needs practically no embellishment with a real ally or cinematic whiz-bang.
Like `The Fantasticks', I have seen `Cats' on the New York stage sitting in a mezzanine seat about 4 rows from the back of the Winter Garden theatre. And, while there is something about a live performance that simply cannot be recorded, I will say that this DVD (and VCR) recording is quite as good a record as you can get.
My most important criteria for evaluating a movie on DVD or VCR is whether or not the work wears well after the second or third or fourth viewing. For example, `Chicago' was fun to watch once, but I have no burning desire to watch it again. On the other hand, `Singin' in the Rain' I can watch about once a year and still find the time well spent. I will say with great conviction that I can watch this recording of `Cats' once a year and enjoy every minute spend with the experience, because I have done so over the last few years. The performance and its record are so durable that my second most important criteria for a DVD, a good commentary track, becomes unnecessary. And, the commentary track is basically a waste of time for a musical anyway, especially a musical based on famous poems written 65 years ago by the most notable poet, T. S. Eliot in `Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'.
The play has the thinnest of plots based on a once a year selection of one Jellicle cat to ascend into some state of grace, presumably at the conclusion of their legendary nine (9) lives. The only other plot twist involves the kidnapping of the head cat, Old Deuteronomy, thereby preventing this feline apotheosis from being carried out.
This accounts for four or five out of the nineteen numbers. All the rest are based directly on fourteen out of the fifteen poems in Eliot's little book.
One may think that this work has but a single hit song and, therefore, the remaining musical numbers are second rate. This is certainly not the case. I find myself tapping my toe to all numbers, with especial pleasure coming from `Jellicle Cats', `Mungojerrie and Rumpleteaser', and `The Pekes and the Pollicles'. These are much more like stories in song than a simple ballad with easily remembered refrain.
Very highly recommended for anyone with a taste for musicals and worth a try for anyone who likes fantasy.


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