Looking for the musical that beat WEST SIDE Tale for the Tony Award? You’ve found it here, in Meredith Willson’s THE MUSIC MAN — and its appearance on DVD, in widescreen format and with all the bells and whistles, is long overdue.
Pop the disc in, and you’ll immediately be taken to the “Lawful Here In River City” documentary (you’ll have to press the MENU button on your DVD controls to find to the main menu so you can actually opinion the movie — why the disc goes immediately to the documentary is rather curious) . Hosted by Shirley Jones, who composed looks enormous, the superb, too-short documentary is crammed with lots of gracious stories and bits of trivia, in the words of several of Those Who Were There. You’ll bag out, for instance, which segments were actually filmed first, how amazed Susan Luckey was at Robert Preston’s ability to lip-synch “Anguish” during filming, and why Shirley Jones wore so many frills and flowers on her dress in the scene at the footbridge.
As for the film itself — the print is lovely, and as someone who had only experienced the film in pan-and-scan format, it is a delight to finally ogle entire dance sequences without the cropping. And you’ll finally be able to peer all four members of The Buffalo Bills barber shop quartet (the bad fellow singing bass could never be seen in TV-formatted versions) .
Buy,Download, Or Stream The Music Man! Click Here
There are other, smaller moments that have always cried our for the letterbox format, and if you seek both versions closely, you’ll peep the valid advantages in seeing the entire scene as it was shot. For example, one particularly disorienting scene in pan-and-scan format is the “Lift A Cramped, Talk A Little/Goodnight, Ladies” sequence, when Professor Hill is speaking with Mrs. Shinn and the town ladies about Faded Miser Madison, and dismebodied voices drift in from off camera. At one point, Mrs. Shinn says, “Miser,” and an off-camera enlighten says, “Madison,” causing Mrs. Shinn to grimace. In pan-and-scan, it looks like a mistake; in widescreen format, the speaker is finally visible to Mrs. Shinn’s accurate, bringing the scene together in a logical fashion. Sounds like a trivial moment, I know, but that scene in pan-and-scan has grated me for years!
The DVD also contains a theatrical trailer, but it’s not the trailer for the modern 1962 release, but for the re-release a number of years later. It’s detached an arresting curiosity, featuring a reworked version of the “76 Trombones” sequence with Preston signing unique lyrics about the film.
If there’s any shortcoming in the disc, it lies in the sound quality. You’ll have to crank the volume up a bit to hear everything properly, but beware — the moment you hit the MENU button, you’ll be blasted by and ear-splitting version of “76 Trombones” on the menu hide. Ouch. Hit Peaceful just before you touch MENU. You’ll thank me later.
Buy,Download, Or Stream The Music Man! Click Here
It’s a feeble out cliche, but they really DON’T fabricate musicals like this any more. And if your only experience with THE MUSIC MAN has been with the pan-and-scan format, do yourself a favor and win up either the DVD or the letterboxed VHS format. You really WILL realize what you’ve been missing.
I appreciate this movie. As funny as it is — a goofy state, absurd over-the-top characters, the wacky “assume system” — it is impartial a whole lot of fun. Robert Preston sparkles as the fly-by-night con artist/salesman who honest happens this time to acquire his foot caught in the door, and who better to glean that foot than Shirley Jones, who is as delicate and talented a leading lady as has ever graced a astronomical hide musical. Ron Howard is as amusing as a kid can be in the movies, and the music will end with you long after the movie is over.
The film also has a substantial cast of supporting character actors and comedians, not to mention the extraordinary Buffalo Bills. I cherish the anvil salesman character (THAT’S a titanic line of merchandise for a traveling salesman!), and my well-liked song has to be the pool hall song, “There’s wretchedness in River City.” The movie, amusing as it is, also has its touching moments, especially when Professor Harold Hill, standing on the footbridge, confronts the gap between his dreams and his life for the first time, and really realizes he is in treasure with the handsome librarian. For pure fun and entertainment, it’s hard to bag a better movie than this bewitching but affectionate kidding of the Hawkeye Residence, and hard to get a more fun couple than the spicy Robert Preston and the aesthetic Shirley Jones.
Buy Electric Cigarette
Raise My Credit Score
Quit Smoking Cigarettes
Wholesale Authentic Designer Handbags
Electronic Cigarettes Reviews
