Faerie Tale Theatre: Magical Tales (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)Collected in this DVD are four unforgettable stories from Shelley Duvall's beloved FAERIE TALE THEATRE series. However, the title for this compilation ("Magical Tales") is quite curious, because most (if not all) of the stories from the show can be described as "magical"! Still, your family will adore seeing these fairytale classics, enacted by a star-studded cast: Susan Sarandon, Ben Vereen, Leonard Nimoy and Vanessa Redgrave among them.
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS:
Elizabeth McGovern is luminous in the title role of Snow White. Her acting is very understated and she perfectly captures the innocence and bewilderment of the character. Vanessa Redgrave offers a tour-de-force performance as the Wicked Queen, who dons several magical disguises to ensnare our heroine. Rex Smith gives us a Prince who is handsome yet goofy (a refreshing change), and Vincent Price is a delight as both the Magic Mirror and Narrator. Series creator Shelley Duvall has a brief role as Snow White's mother during the prologue.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST:
Beauty's (Susan Sarandon) merchant father steals a white rose from the castle of the Beast (Klaus Kinski). As punishment, the Beast orders that the merchant return to the castle in 3 days, or else one of his daughters must go in his place. Beauty selflessly sacrifices her own freedom to release her father. Once in the castle, Beauty slowly begins to win the friendship and trust of the Beast, who hides a gentle and kind heart beneath his frightening exterior.
PUSS IN BOOTS:
In return for some swanky new clothes, a clever cat (Ben Vereen) promises his master Edgar (Gregory Hines) a kingdom of his own and wealth beyond his wildest dreams. And with an extra bit of cunning Edgar might just win the hand of the fair Princess Lovinia (Alfre Woodard)!
ALADDIN AND HIS WONDERFUL LAMP:
Aladdin (played by Robert Carradine) is thrown into a world of wonder, danger and romance after discovering a lamp which contains a Genie (James Earl Jones) who will grant his every wish. Unfortunately, a scheming magician (Leonard Nimoy) also knows about the magical lamp and will stop at nothing to get it...

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Includes Four Magical Episodes from Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre Digitally Restored and Re-mastered!
Evil magicians, cursed princes, fierce ogres, wicked queens and more fill this 4-episode collection from the award-winning series.Some of the most treasured tales of magic and enchantment are brought to life with glorious productions and magnificent costumes that will leave you spellbound… happily ever after.
ALADDIN AND HIS WONDERFUL LAMP Aladdin (Robert Carradine) discovers a magic lamp which houses a Genie (James Earl Jones) who can grant his every wish. Unfortunately, the Evil Magician (Leonard Nimoy) sets his sights on Aladdin\'s newest treasure.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST In order to save her father\'s life, Beauty (Susan Sarandon) travels to Beast\'s (Klaus Kinski) palace, a magnificent castle in the woods. The two quickly become friends and learn the true nature of beauty.
PUSS IN BOOTS The resourceful cat Puss (Ben Vereen) must use both skill and trickery to defeat a fierce Ogre (Brock Peters) and bring wealth and success to his best friend Edgar (Gregory Hines).
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS After a jealous Queen (Vanessa Redgrave) poisons Snow White (Elizabeth McGovern), it\'s up to seven brave dwarfs and a handsome prince (Rex Smith) to break her spell.

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That's Singing: Best of Broadway Review

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(More customer reviews)This taping absolutely blew me away! I originally bought it for the single purpose of seeing Barry Bostwick perform "Summer Loving" (instead of the talentless Travolta) after hearing the recording of the orginal "Grease!" cast. What an incredible find. As someone who is in love with musical theatre-I consider this film a treasure! To see such talented performers reviving the roles that they created is a once in a life time oportunity caught here for generations to fall in love with. You are treated to Broadway's Grand Dame Ethel Merman singing 2 of her timeless classics, Nell Carter bringing character and energy to Cole Porter music, Barry Bostwick and Carol Demas proving once and for all who the real Danny and Sandy were, Stephen Nathan and David Haskell tackling probably one of the most challenging duets ever-from "Godspell", the enigmatic Chita Rivera dancing to "The Shriners' Ballet" as well as singing and hoofing to "Little One New York",multi-talented Jerry Orback singing "Try to Remember" and the show-stopping "Lullaby of Broadway", and Ray Walston, gleefully reminising "The Good Ol' Days". Any self-respecting Broadway and/or musical theatre fan should own this taping. It gives the audience a glipmse back to a time when it took pure talent to make in on the Great White Way!!

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Songs and performers:
1. Everything's Coming Up Roses--Ethel Merman (Gypsy) 2. Quadrille--the American Dance Machine (Can-Can) 3. Get Some Cash for Your Trash--Nell Carter (Ain't Misbehaving) 4. You Could Drive a Person Crazy--Donna McKechnie, Pamela Myers, Susan Browning (Company) 5. You Made Me Love You--Debbie Reynolds (Irene) 6. Try to Remember--Jerry Orbach (The Fantastics) 7. Shriner's Dance--Chita Rivera and the American Dance Machine (Bye Bye Birdie) 8. Summer Loving--Barry Bostwick and Carol Demas (Grease) 9. Sleeping Bee--Diahann Carroll (House of Flowers) 10. Never Will I Marry--Anthony Perkins (Greenwillow) 11. All for the Best--Stephen Nathan and David Haskell (Godspell) 12. Mean to Me--Nell Carter (Ain't Misbehaving) 13. I Believe in You--Robert Morse (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) 14. Could I Leave You--Alexis Smith (Follies) 15. Charlie's Place--Donna McKechnie, Wayne Cilento, and the American Dance Machine (Over Here) 16. Little One New York--Chita Rivera and the American Dance Machine (Tenderloin) 17. Pretty Woman--Len Cariou (Sweeney Todd) 18. Send in the Clowns--Glynis Johns and Len Cariou (A Little Night Music) 19. Those Were the Good Old Days--Ray Walston (Damn Yankees) 20. They Say It's Wonderful--Ethel Merman (Annie Get Your Gun) 21. Lullaby of Broadway--Jerry Orbach and the entire company

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Paul Robeson - James Earl Jones One Man Show Review

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(More customer reviews)Today the legend of Paul Robeson is not so well known, but
thirty to forty years ago he was recognized as a giant. Here is a man who performed serious roles in the movies, most rare for Black actors in the 1930'and 1940's. Robeson's singing of African American folk spirituals is second to none. Paul Robeson became a lawyer, an actor, an activist and was rather fluent in several languages. (But in response to Jim Crow racism, he turned to socialism for an answer...a political choice that many have never forgiven)
James Earl Jones performs Robeson masterfully...indeed Jones is probably the only Black actor who is big enough to fill the role. I hope more people learn about this thought provoking film.

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James Earl Jones gives the performance of a lifetime in this one-man-show as singer/actor/activist Paul Robeson, whose controversial political views ended his career prematurely. Paul Robeson was a man of extraordinary versatility and achieved distinction as both a scholar and an athlete before he became an internationally-honored concert artist, and stage and screen actor, in the 1930s and 40s. His life took a darker turn in the late 40s when he repeatedly spoke out against racial injustice and defended the Soviet Union (at the height of the Cold War). As a result, he was virtually blacklisted from the entertainment industry. His passport was revoked and his concerts were cancelled. His dazzling career was shattered. Only towards the end of his life did he resume public appearances and his fame began to revive. He died in 1976. James Earl Jones is outstanding, with only a few props and a bare stage, in portraying Robeson's life and truly heroic spirit, with a magnificent performance that matches the remarkable subject.

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The Rivals Review

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(More customer reviews)Although I am hardly an authority on the theater, it does not take a genius to see that this production is something special. The acting is wonderful, the camera work is excellent (especially compared to most recordings of stage events) and the play itself is amazing. The performance was done in period costumes, just as it was when it was in 1775, and the language of the 1775 text is retained just as Sheridan wrote it. I have noticed nothing in this performance that detracts from Sheridan's original vision.
I can guarantee you will have a great time watching this; it is completely worth the money to have this gem.

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The Rivals, Sheridan’s first play, is a portrait made of material from his own life, his scandalous marriage to a popular singer of the age and the characters he had come to know in the town of Bath. As his biographer Fintan O’Toole said, it was an attempt ‘to inflate everything that people thought they knew about him into a huge, hysterical burlesque. Instead of inventing a story and pretending it was real, he could present his own reality as if it were an invention.' Sheridan’s great satire turns the familiar world of arranged marriages, courtship and rivalry on its head. One of the sharpest and funniest social comedies of the late eighteenth century is presented here in the perfect setting of a theatre built just nine years before the play was written. Directed by Rachel Kavanagh,with Selina Cadell, recorded at Bristol Old Vic."Rachel Kavanaugh’s elegant, nimble-footed production is the best account of Sheridan’s play I’ve seen." THE SUNDAY TIMES"..whenever Selina Cadell sails on to the stage in this latest revival, a rose-red galleon half as old again as she wants to be, the evening’s pleasure-content soars. She deranges her epigraphs with an unstressed equanimity, and never the hint of a doubt crosses her carefully composed countenance." THE TIMES"Peter McKintosh has designed a spacious Georgian set; in the background, a soft Gainsborough sky. This is a treat." THE SUNDAY TIMES

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