Amazon.com Essentials:
Some people may sneer at this 1965 musical, but the truth is
the film has earned its status as a perennially watchable
romantic-drama, largely on the strength of a fun story and chemistry
between stars Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. Veteran filmmaker
Robert Wise (The Day
the Earth Stood Still) mostly stays out of the way of the
film's appealing elements, which include a based-on-fact tale of
Austria's von Trapp family, who fled their Nazi-occupied country in
1938. Andrews is delightful and even fascinating as Maria, who sheds
her tomboyish ways as a novice nun to accept the mantle of adulthood,
becoming matron of the motherless von Trapp clan. Plummer is
matinee-idol handsome and gives a smart performance to boot, and the
cast of young people and kids who make up the singing von Trapp
children make a strong impression. Based on the Rodgers and
Hammerstein stage musical, the score includes such winners as "Maria"
and the future John Coltrane hit "My Favorite Things." --Tom
Keogh
Amazon.com video review:
This lavish set contains film versions of the five major works by
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who helped define the American musical
landscape and rewrite the direction of musical theater. After enjoying extremely
successful careers working with others, Rodgers and Hammerstein first teamed up
in 1943 for the prairie tale Oklahoma!, with songs including "Oh, What a
Beautiful Mornin'" and "People Will Say We're in Love." The subsequent 1955 film
starred Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, who teamed up again for 1956's
Carousel. While that film's dark nature made it less popular than its
predecessor, the score ("If I Loved You," "You'll Never Walk Alone") was
Rodgers's favorite. The King and I (also 1956) featured stage star Yul
Brynner as the King of Siam and Deborah Kerr as schoolteacher Anna Leonowens,
who must learn Asian customs even as she tries to instill some of her Western
ones. The somewhat bloated version of South Pacific (1958) follows two
couples during World War II and features standards such as "Some Enchanted
Evening" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" from stars Mitzi
Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi. The last film, The Sound of Music (1965),
proved to be the most popular, with Julie Andrews winning the hearts of seven
children and their father with her blissful songs. And if the perhaps saccharine
music and plot may test the patience of some, there's no doubt that songs such
as "My Favorite Things" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" have charmed audiences around
the world for decades.
Accompanying the Big 5 in this set is the relatively minor State Fair
from 1945 (though it does have "It Might as Well Be Spring" and "It's a Grand
Night for Singing"). Some may prefer other entries in the R&H canon such as
Flower Drum Song or the television production Cinderella, but
State Fair was included because it was one of the five films (not
including Sound of Music) released in 1999 in sumptuous remasterings that
allow their scores and locales to truly shine. The remasterings ensure good
sound and picture quality throughout this historic collection. --David
Horiuchi
Amazon.com video review:
This lavish set contains film versions of the five major works by
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who helped define the American musical
landscape and rewrite the direction of musical theater. After enjoying extremely
successful careers working with others, Rodgers and Hammerstein first teamed up
in 1943 for the prairie tale Oklahoma!, with songs including "Oh, What a
Beautiful Mornin'" and "People Will Say We're in Love." The subsequent 1955 film
starred Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones, who teamed up again for 1956's
Carousel. While that film's dark nature made it less popular than its
predecessor, the score ("If I Loved You," "You'll Never Walk Alone") was
Rodgers's favorite. The King and I (also 1956) featured stage star Yul
Brynner as the King of Siam and Deborah Kerr as schoolteacher Anna Leonowens,
who must learn Asian customs even as she tries to instill some of her Western
ones. The somewhat bloated version of South Pacific (1958) follows two
couples during World War II and features standards such as "Some Enchanted
Evening" and "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair" from stars Mitzi
Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi. The last film, The Sound of Music (1965),
proved to be the most popular, with Julie Andrews winning the hearts of seven
children and their father with her blissful songs. And if the perhaps saccharine
music and plot may test the patience of some, there's no doubt that songs such
as "My Favorite Things" and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" have charmed audiences around
the world for decades.
Accompanying the Big 5 in this set is the relatively minor State Fair
from 1945 (though it does have "It Might as Well Be Spring" and "It's a Grand
Night for Singing"). Some may prefer other entries in the R&H canon such as
Flower Drum Song or the television production Cinderella, but
State Fair was included because it was one of the five films (not
including Sound of Music) released in 1999 in sumptuous remasterings that
allow their scores and locales to truly shine. The remasterings ensure good
sound and picture quality throughout this historic collection. --David
Horiuchi
