Carmen - A Hip Hopera (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)I think that this movie is definately worth your money and your time. It is fabulous and it involes alot of r'n'b singing and music. The story is fabulous and of course the actor is fabulous: BEYONCE KNOWLES!

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The Cheetah Girls (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)I saw this movie a while back on the Disney Channel. After hearing some mixed reviews about it, some being good; some being bad, I decided to give it a try because it was about an all-girl band named "The Cheetah Girls" and I basically love anything about music.
When I watched it, I was amazed.
This movie contains friendship as well as lots and lots of awesome, cool songs!
I *HIGHLY* recommend this for people who loves movies about friendship and music. It's one of the best Disney movies I've ever seen.

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Broadway - The American Musical (PBS Series) (2004) Review

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(More customer reviews)Soup to nuts, the folks over at PBS pulled it off. They've condensed the history of the American Broadway musical into six hours, and it feels about right.
Yes yes yes, there will be hordes of folks who quibble that their "all-time most important" musical didn't make it, but that's missing the point.
You will feel as if you have a serious grasp of the development of the American musical after seeing this film. Period. Mission accomplished.
The first segments of the documentary, hosted by the ageless Julie Andrews, begin with Flo Ziegfeld, and the "Follies". One thing that hasn't been mentioned (yet) is the nice concomitant history lesson you get regarding New York, Times Square and American popular culture while absorbing this mini-series. The influence of opera (or more properly, operetta), vaudeville and minstrel shows are made abundantly clear, and are fascinating to someone like me who really had no exposure to this sort of material.
As we reach mid-century, more and more of the people talked ABOUT in the film are actually alive...and the shows discussed are ridiculously familiar to even the most "uneducated" viewer. Song after song reveals their source...standards that originated on Broadway that have become part of our cultural language.
Artistic ambition grows by leaps and bounds...from the musical "revue" to musical "comedy" to a dramatic "book" musical. Storytelling techniques through song and staging develop as fast as the geniuses on the stage, behind the stage and under the stage can think...
Some of the creators, like Sondheim, are expert at analysis and insight. They provide some great "talking head" moments about musicals that aren't theirs! By and large, the critics they used for the documentary come across as enthusiastic, overwhelmingly knowledgeable, incisive, playful...I thought as a group they were terrific, without any hint of elitism, snobbery or any number of other "stereotypes" one may have about a "New York Broadway critic."
My first audible gasp came at the end of episode five, when they play that "I Love NY" commercial from the late 70's. I remember seeing that as a kid, but the only thing that had any effect on me was the presence of Brooke Shields at the end of it.
People like Mandy Patinkin, Patti Lupone, Angela Lansbury, those "Cats" creatures and yes, I think that's Patrick Swayze in "Grease" mode...what a riot!
The most affecting portion, for me, is the last episode, for that encompasses most of my personal Broadway experience. I imagine that whatever era you feel the most affinity towards will have the same effect.
Spending 6-10 minutes per musical or producer seems criminal, until you simply appreciate the tidbits for what they are. They're like little gems. Fragments of shows that you yearn to see ALL of...
...so let me editorialize for a second.
All musicals should be filmed once with their original casts, if only for posterity. I own "Sunday In The Park With George" and "Sweeney Todd", two exemplary musicals (covered here) and nice DVD's to own. What I wouldn't give for an "Evita" (not covered here) with Lupone and Patinkin, or the original cast of "Rent". There. Editorial done.
Speaking of "Rent", the final fifteen to twenty minutes of the movie are an emotional tidal wave. Seeing Jonathan Larson's last day of work on video...watching him make his last milk shake at the Moondance Diner...and then finding out he dies right before previews, is not heartbreaking, it's heart-shattering.
That segment leads into the piece on 9/11. Somber and a little creepy, as you've seen almost six hours of the busiest intersections on Earth suddenly empty, a modern ghost town.
The filmmakers then pull off a terrific stunt. They show the post 9/11 commercial encouraging people to come back to NY. It echoes the one from over two decades prior, yet is defiant, proud and yes, a little inspiring.
A quick cut to "Hairspray", specifically to the finale which may be the single most energetic song to ever grace the boards, and then summing it all up with "Wicked", a musical I coincidentally just saw three weeks ago (and loved), made for an amazing viewing experience and I could not recommend this any more highly.
Now, for those of you who DO own this, my copy is plagued by a jittery video (with pristine audio) across all three discs. No one else has mentioned this, so perhaps my case is isolated...
One last request: please watch the rehearsal "bonus" footage with Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, working on their song from Wicked called, "For Good." Watching and listening to these two outstanding singers tentatively creating these performances, intercut with footage from the final result, sent shivers up my spine.

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Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm suspecting that there are two types of people who are approaching this DVD, a filmed version of the stage production of "Jekyll & Hyde". One, someone familiar with the show--perhaps saw it and liked it or has the soundtrack--and wants to check out this variation. Or two, someone discovering it anew. It tempts me to write two reviews because while I love "Jekyll & Hyde", it's slightly unfortunate that this is the production most people will get a chance to judge.
So let me preface this by saying that I really am a fan of this show. Some people consider "Jekyll" sort of a "Phantom-lite". I, myself, have never been the biggest supporter of "Phantom of the Opera". It's fine, full of bombast, but hardly the revolutionary experience that people give it credit for. "Jekyll" does play to similar themes, but has a stronger overall soundtrack. Instead of a couple of showstoppers like "Phantom", "Jekyll" is filled with memorable power ballads. Not the most complicated show musically, it is very accessible. And when you have great singers, these simpler and emotionally charged songs become pop opera and quite moving.
So, without hesitation, I recommend the original Broadway Cast recording!!! Robert Cuccioli, Linda Eder and Christiane Noll are superb. You couldn't hope for better.
But here's the problem with this DVD, it's not this great cast--NO, the star is David Hasselhoff. So you see my problem, don't you? Look, I'm not going to be unkind--it's an easy target. Let's just say this. If you're a fan of the show, he doesn't completely ruin it. And it's not like there are any other versions to add to your collections. If you are new to the show, I'm still recommending it provisionally. I wish there were another option. If you like the show, though--and I think you will--please rush over and buy the 1997 Cast recording. Treat yourself to how "Jekyll & Hyde" should really sound.KGHarris, 10/06.

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The longest-running show in the history of Broadway's Plymouth Theatre, Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical brings new life to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story of romance and the epic battle between good and evil. A whirlwind odyssey pitting man against himself is set in motion when the brilliant Dr. Jekyll's medical experiment backfires, giving life to his evil alter ego, Edward Hyde. The show won a legion of repeat visitors (dubbed by the press as "Jekkies") and spawned hit songs on the pop charts with "Someone Like You" and "This Is the Moment."

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Broadway's Best at Pops (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)The Boston Pops Orchestra under such legendary conductors as Arthur Fiedler, John Williams, and Keith Lockhart is an American musical icon. Now WGBH Boston Video has produced a DVD edition of "Broadway's Best At Pops" showcasing memorable moments enhanced with candid interviews with renowned conductors and Broadway personalities drawn from some 35 years of public television musical history. "Broadway's Best At Pops" features such luminaries as Ethel Merman, Ray Bolger, Kristin Chenoweth, Pearl Baily, Bonnie and John Raitt, Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tune, Carol Channing, Gregory Hines, and dozens of others. Superbly recorded, the DVD format of "Broadway's Best At Pops" has such bonus features as an additional twenty-five minutes of interviews with John Williams, Michael Feinstein, Barbara Cook, and others; printable selections from original Boston Pops Orchestra concert programs, and extended performances not seen on the original television program because of on-air time constraints. with a complete running time of 76 minutes (plus the extra 25 minutes of additional bonus footage), "Broadway's Best At Pops" is a very highly recommended addition to community library DVD collections and a 'must' for the family collections of Boston Pops Orchestra enthusiasts and fans.

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Item Name: Broadway's Best at Pops; Studio:WGBH Boston

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Glee - Director's Cut Pilot Episode (Limited Edition) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)After watching the pilot for GLEE, it was the most excited I've been for a tv show since I saw the pilot for HEROES three years ago. The show is being marketed as a musical comedy and while the show is full of music and comedy, it's also very dramatic and quite quirky. The closest thing to GLEE that's been on tv was ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. In May 2009 Fox made a bold marketing move and aired the pilot episode of GLEE after the finale of AMERICAN IDOL. That gave the country efour months to either become interested in the show or completely forget about it. The buzz built and, thank goodeness, the show seems like it will be a success
In the pilot episode, we are introduced to the main characters that will form "New Directions"/ Glee Club at William McKinley High School in Ohio. After the former sponsor is let go after "inappropriate behavior" with a student, teacher of the year and former McKinley student, Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison) takes over the group. Auditions are held and after a little bit of questionable deal-making, Mr. Schuester is able to get the quarterback of the football team to join the glee club and the group of social outcasts seems destined for great things.
This special director's cut of the pilot includes about five minutes of footage that didn't air on tv, including a rendition of "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by Morrison. Also included on the DVD is a sneak peek of episode two (the first full twenty minutes of the episode, actually), a featurette about the dancing involved in the show, a talk with show creator Ryan Murphy, and a featurette entitled "What Is Glee?" that has characters from the show discussing what Glee means to them.
I'm a fan of GLEE and though the pilot episode will be a part of the upcoming DVD set, that won't be released until next spring. Until then, I'll watch the show on Fox and keep rewatching the uplifting (and in many ways better than the original) version of "Don't Stop Believin'". Recommended for gleeks and those who just have an interest in great television.

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Now you can own this exclusive Director's Cut pilot episode of the year's most talked about and acclaimed new TV show! With footage not shown on television and a locker full of special features, this edition with fill you with GLEE!
William McKinley High School once had a champion glee club, but now they're floundering. That's when an idealistic Spanish teacher (Matthew Morrison) takes up their cause, vowing to transform the rag-tag group of singers and dancers into winners. Get set for high-energy performances, chart-topping music and unforgettable characters... and give a cheer for GLEE!
Special features:
- Dance Boot Camp featurette
- Deconstructing GLEE with Ryan Murphy featurette
- What is GLEE? featurette
- Sneak-Peek of Episode Two

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High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Extended Edition) (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)The movie is truly amazing! (And it`s an extended edition!) Anyone who liked the first two will literally fall in love with this one! I think that even if you didn't see the first two, you will like this one because of what it talks about. This movie is about something we all go through: saying good-bye to our friends after high school. Addiotionally, it's nice to see ateen movie that doesn't revolve around sex, drugs, violence, and profanity.
The East High Wildcats decide to put on their final show together at their school: a musical about their twelfth grade experience. It'll be a pretty unique musical because, for once, they won't have to play a character - they'll be playing themselves! But due to her incredible intelligence, Gabriella, the female protagonist, is offered to skip her senior year in high school and go to straight onto college right away. Will she accept Standard's offer, leaving her friends, boyfriend, and the musical behind? Will Troy, the male protagonist, chose to continue with basketball or will he chose a career than involves acting? Will Sharpay win a scholarship to New York's Julliard University of Performing Arts or will her brother? Will Ryan and Kelsi find true love? Find out in this exciting conclusion to one of the world's greatest film series! The only good thing recently produced by the screwed-up Disney Channel! Yes I hate Disney Channel, Hannah Montana, Cory in the House, Jonas Brothers, and all of the other inappropriate teen shows they've decided to put on a children's channel. But High School Musical is different. It teaches both kids and teens a valuable lesson and it allows adults to revisit their past. The plot is actually relevant to what many people feel and...it's a teenage musical! You don't see something like that everyday! Just watching Troy and Gabriella perform a beautiful waltz is reason enough to buy this film. Also, the old fashioned music at the end proves that rap, hip hop, and pop isn't always what you'll see in a teenage film.
The songs are as original, catchy, and wonderful as they are visually stunning! During "Scream," the turning walls that represent Troy's confusion are spectacular! The disappearing pictures on the wall in Gabriella's solo "Walk Away" were really quite sad. The Statue of Liberty that shoots fireworks out of its head in "I Want It All" is amazing. The sets in "A Night To Remember" will leave you with your mouth wide open. "Right Here Right Now," "Can I Have This Dance," and "Just Wanna Be With You" are three incredible romance songs. And, of course, Troy and Chad turning into little boys in "The Boys Are Back" was really cute. That reminds, "Right Here Right Now" and "The Boys Are Back" are so of my favorites because of what they talk about: not wanting to grow up. Anyway, n case you forgot or are too lazy to read the customer reviews for the HSM3 soundtrack, here are the songs:
1. "Now Or Never" - Troy and the Wildcats basketball team
2. "Right Here, Right Now" - Troy and Gabriella
3. "I Want It All" - Sharpay and Ryan [A TRUE BROADWAY SONG!]
4. "Can I Have This Dance? (Version I)" - Troy and Gabriella
5. "A Night To Remember" - cast!
6. "Just Wanna Be With You" - Ryan & Kelsi, Troy & Gabriella
7. "The Boys Are Back" - Troy and Chad
8. "Walk Away" - Gasbriella
9. "Scream" - Troy
10. "Can I Have This Dance? (Version II)" - Troy and Gabriella
11. "Senior Year Spring Musical" ***made up of reprises of NOW OR NEVER (Chad, the Wildcats basket team, cheerleaders), I WANT IT ALL (Ryan), JUST WANNA BE WITH YOU (Sharpay & Jimmy, and later Troy and Gabriella), and A Night To Remember (Sharpay vs. Tiara), as well as a new song: Last Chance (Ryan and Kelsi)***
12. "We're All In This Together" - cast!
13. "High School Musical" - cast!
14. "Just Getting Started" - during the end credits, winner of the Get In The Picture ABC7 contest
By the way, during the "I Want It All," you actually see Gabriella The Maid a bit more than you did in the theaters because you see that part of the song in a different camera angle than you did in theaters. That also lets you see an important-looking lady giving Ryan a newspaper with him and Sharpay on the cover. This is not due to the extended edition thing because the song is the same length, but, like I said, the camera angle is different so you see more things.
The special features on this Blu-ray are freakin' cool! Even though it's a single disc release, it has the exact same content found on the Two-Disc release, plus more! These are the Special Features (the last two aren't found on the two-disc release).
-- Extended Version Of The Movie
-- Optional Sing Along Version
-- Bloopers
-- Deleted Scenes
-- "Cast Goodbyes" feature
-- "Night Of Nights" feature
-- "It's All In The Dress" feature
-- "Senior Awards" feature
-- New Cast Profiles
In addition, just like in the Two-Disc release, you can download a digital copy of the movie. And as if that weren't enough, it comes with the first disc of the Two-Disc Edition!!!!! Now you can watch the movie practically anywhere because you have the regular version as well as the Blu-ray version!!!! What do you know, it is a two disc after all. ^_^

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It's time to celebrate as Disney's phenomenal High School Musical hits new heights in High School Musical 3: Senior Year! Fresh from the big screen, this motion picture extravaganza delivers non-stop entertainment from start to finish! It's almost graduation day for high school seniors Troy, Gabriella, Sharpay, Chad, Ryan and Taylor - and the thought of heading off in separate directions after leaving East High has these Wildcats thinking they need to do something they ll remember forever. Together with the rest of the Wildcats, they stage a spring musical reflecting their hopes and fears about the future and their unforgettable experiences growing up together. But with graduation approaching and college plans in question, what will become of the dreams, romances, and friendships of East High's senior Wilcats?Find out what happens to all your favorite characters in the big screen musical sensation, High School Musical 3: Senior Year! It's a fabulous celebration the whole family will love! Disc 1:
Extended version includes extra scenes integrated back into the theatrical movie
Bonus Features include: Cast Goobyes, Bloopers, Deleted Scenes, Night of Nights, It's All in the Dress, Sing-Along Mode
Disc 2:
DisneyFile Digital Download Copy Disc: Watch your DVD in the living room and your DisneyFile digital copy on the go!

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Hairspray (Two-Disc Shake & Shimmy Edition) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)`Hairspray' is a non-stop, exhilarating song and dance extravaganza. This exuberant remake of the John Waters' musical is funny, fast, and fabulous. Adam Shankman's direction is appropriately lilting in the right measure, but balanced with social commentary highlights. Unlike 'Dreamgirls,' there are no Oscar worthy performances, but the production is so fun there doesn't have to be. The entertainment is winning on every level, and, as for the songs, it never goes limp.
Once again we are transported to the early sixties in Baltimore, where flannel is uniform, Blacks and Whites are segregated, and beehives are in fashion. The plot is fairly simple: Overweight teen Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) wants to break the mold on her favorite TV program "The Corny Collins Show" (an "American Bandstand"-like feature) while discovering a more urgent need to end segregation on a show that only sometimes features "Negro Night". She gets her big break when teen singing sensation, Link Larkin (Zac Efron) makes advances that bring her to the stage floor. In the meantime, her success is challenged by the show's program manager, (played with overbearing skill by Michelle Pfeiffer) and her daughter, Amber, the show's reigning "Miss Teenage Hairspray," a nasty nemesis . Joining forces with her Afro-American friends, especially Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) and dancer Seaweed (Elijah Kelly), she works for equal time on the dance floor.
`Hairspray' is set as perfect entertainment. John Travolta provides likable loopiness as Nikki's mother while he dances and cross-dresses his way into our hearts. The villains are nasty enough, and the sweetness pervades even amongst important demonstrations on key social issues. When it all comes down to balance, 'Hairspray' fills the bill.


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It's 1962, and change is in the air in Baltimore. Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion--to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show" and is transformed overnight from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can the trendsetting Tracy win the heart of teen-dream Link Larkin and stand up for what she believes in, despite the program's scheming stage manager? All she needs is her best friend Penny, a toe- tappin' beat - and a little HAIRSPRAY!

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Company: A Musical Comedy (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)Marry me a little,
Love me just enough.
Cry but not too often,
Play but not too rough.
Keep a tender distance
So we'll both be free.
That's the way it ought to be....
Only Stephen Sondheim could come up with such sophisticated couplets to a love song as disquieting as the beautiful "Marry Me a Little". I was very fortunate to have seen the enthralling 2006 production at the Ethel Barrymore Theater last season, and I'm thrilled it has been captured for posterity on DVD as part of PBS's "Great Performances" series. There is something supremely ironic about how a 37-year old show, already revived twice, can feel fresher than most Broadway musicals written today. However, when the music reflects Sondheim at his most accomplished with performers so adept, it becomes a moot point, even though several of the songs here have been inescapable at karaoke bars for years from the lips of overly zealous musical theater aficionados.
Staged like a minimalist cabaret act, John Doyle's joyous revival uses the same technique he used in his 2005 production of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, specifically he has the actors play their own musical instruments, a daring move which actually helps underline the characters' feelings. The story is blessedly simple as it revolves around perennial bachelor Bobby, as he turns 35 and observes his circle of upscale Manhattanite friends, five married couples at different stages in various vignettes that make him reconsider what he wants out of life. Juggling three girlfriends, Bobby is a likeable but elliptical figure with commitment issues, and the story really follows his journey toward self-acceptance. There is an element of contrivance to the structure, but what I thought would be a severely dated libretto by George Furth continues to resonate with wit and insight.
For a canon as legendary and often erratic as his, Sondheim's sophisticated music and lyrics never seemed as accessible and hummable as they do here. So much of the show rides on the crucial casting of Bobby, and Raúl Esparza is terrifically bold and poignant in managing the precarious balance between yearning romantic and cynical hedonist. With a beautifully expressive singing voice coupled with a common-guy demeanor, he captures the character's arc with an escalating emotional intensity from the measured romanticism of "Someone Is Waiting" to the tender tentativeness of "Marry Me a Little" (with the beautiful, Sondheim-trademarked rolling piano) to the bursting climactic catharsis of "Being Alive".
The rest of the cast accomplish wonderful moments that already come with high expectations - Heather Laws' dexterously motors her way through "Getting Married Today" with her character's nerve-wracking intensity intact; Elizabeth Stanley brings a likable warmth to the dim-bulb flight attendant April as she duets sweetly with Esparza on the comically post-coital "Barcelona"; Angel Desai's saucy turn as hip Marta on "Another Hundred People"; the poignant "Sorry-Grateful" performed by the comparatively less spotlighted male ensemble; and of course, there are the lacerating observations in "The Ladies Who Lunch", handled with fierce worldliness by Barbara Walsh as Joanne. In the intimidating shadow of Elaine Stritch, Walsh lets out repeated primal screams at the end that pierce with wounding acuity.
TV director Lonny Price does a fluent job transferring the production to the small screen with minimum fuss. The 2008 DVD contains three terrific extras. First, there is a fifteen-minute interview with an articulate and thoughtful Esparza who discusses his connection with Bobby, the challenge of learning piano, and the alternating joy and pressure of working with Sondheim (for the third time). There is also a nine-minute interview with the erudite Doyle who explains how his unique use of actors as musicians went over with Sondheim. The centerpiece has to be a fascinating, 38-minute interview that Australian TV personality Jonathan Biggins conducted with Sondheim last year in Sydney's Theatre Royal. Sondheim is particularly forthcoming with humorous anecdotes about working with the likes of Leonard Bernstein, Ethel Merman, Barbra Streisand, and his mentor Oscar Hammerstein II during his long, illustrious career. This is a wonderful DVD for any Broadway aficionado and particularly for fans of Sondheim, Esparza and Doyle. I happen to be all three.

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Winner of the 2007 Tony Award! Sweeping all the major theater awards for Best Revival of a Musical, a beloved era-defining classic is stunningly reinvented in this powerful Broadway production, featuring an explosive starring performance by Raul Esparza. Set in modern upper-crust Manhattan, Company is a funny, sophisticated exploration of love and commitment as seen through the eyes of a charming perpetual bachelor questioning his single state and his enthusiastically married, slightly envious friends. With a wise and witty Stephen Sondheim score including "Another Hundred People," "Side by Side by Side," "The Ladies Who Lunch" and "Being Alive," Company offers musical comedy at its finest.

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Glee: Season One, Vol. 1 - Road to Sectionals (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)My rating does not pertain to the show itself, I actually love the show, but this release is a waste of money and manufacturing resources. This set was originally planned earlier this fall when Glee was only going to have 13 episodes for the first season, but then after having such good ratings, FOX added NINE more episodes to the first season. This is a redundant release because FOX has said they will also release an actual COMPLETE first season after the show finishes airing the last 9 episodes starting in April. It will come with a coupon to save on the complete season, but unless that is $30 of more, you'll end up paying more for both releases than if you just wait and buy the complete season. Don't get me wrong, I love the show, but this is just a get money fast scheme and I will not support volume releases. Don't waste your money on this, wait for the full season. Let's make the studios realize they can't screw us over with these types of releases just so they can make more money.

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Includes the first 13 episodes of season one.

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The Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland Collection (Babes in Arms / Babes on Broadway / Girl Crazy / Strike Up the Band) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This is the long awaited boxed set of four Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland musicals that includes a fifth bonus disc. The contents are as follows as described by a press release from Warner Home Video:
Babes in Arms (1939)
This is the first film the two did together and was adapted from the 1937 Rodgers and Hart Broadway hit of the same name. Busby Berkeley directed the film and also did the choreography. This film is being shown as it was in its initial release in 1939, complete with the minstrel numbers that might seem offensive today and a sequence involving the impersonation of FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt that was cut shortly after FDR's death since MGM didn't want to appear disrespectful under the circumstances. The plot is simple - Rooney plays a kid trying to prove his musical talent and therefore decides to put on a show. Garland plays another talented youngster who decides to help him do it.
DVD Special Features:
Introduction by Mickey Rooney
Commentary by historian John Fricke
Vintage Our Gang short Duel Personalities
Classic cartoon The Mad Maestro
1939 Newsreel with Mickey and Judy
Audio-only bonuses:
Leo Is on the Air radio promo
3 different radio shows with Rooney and Garland
Theatrical Trailer
Strike up the Band (1940)
This one has more of a plot than the first, plus some great music. Rooney plays self-involved musician Jimmy Conners who impresses bandleader Paul Whiteman so much that he offers him a job in New York City. However, a friend's medical emergency makes Rooney choose between his own plans and his friend's health, and he chooses his friend in the end. Rooney's character now has to come up with a way to replace the travel money. Busby Berkeley again provides the choreography and the direction in this film. Highlights include a big Busbv Berkeley production number called "Do The La Conga" and Rooney's "Drummer Boy" sequence. The film also features the Oscar-nominated song "Our Love Affair" and a rousing finale with the Gershwins' title tune.
DVD Special Features:
Introduction by Mickey Rooney
Pete Smith specialty comedy short Wedding Bills
Classic cartoon Romeo in Rhythm
"Do the La Conga" stereo remix version
Audio-only bonuses:
Leo Is on the Air radio promo
Millions for Defense radio special with Mickey and Judy
Additional radio show with Rooney and Garland
Theatrical Trailer
Babes on Broadway (1941)
Rooney plays Tommy Williams, a singer in a restaurant who wants a shot at Broadway. Garland plays Penny Morris, and Williams uses her interest in orphaned children to come up with the idea of "putting on a show" to send them on a vacation in the country. However, Williams really is only interested in self-promoting his talent, not the orphans. However, in the end, he learns his lesson. Musical highlights include the song "How About You', Rooney's impersonation of Carmen Miranda, and a massive Busby Berkeley finale which was featured in 1974's "That's Entertainment!".
DVD Special Features:
Introduction by Mickey Rooney
Pete Smith Specialty comedy short How to Hold Your Husband Back
Classic cartoon Dance of the Weed
Audio-only bonuses:
Two Leo Is on the Air Radio Promos
Radio Show Adaptation of Merton of the Movies with Rooney and Garland
Chin Up! Cheerio! Carry On Song Demo performed by composer Burton Lane
Theatrical Trailer
Girl Crazy (1943)
This is the strongest of the four included films. This time Norman Taurog shares direction duties with Busby Berkeley. Here Rooney plays Danny Churchill, a rich college kid that is partying more than he is studying. His father sends him to an all-male college in the middle of nowhere where he can regain his focus. However, Danny does fall for the one eligible female in the hundred mile radius of the school - the dean's granddaughter, Ginger Gray (Garland). Ginger, however, is more concerned that the college is in danger of closing than in Danny's advances. She enlists Danny's help to see that the school stays open. Songs include "Embraceable You," "Fascinating Rhythm," "Bidin' My Time," and a the Garland solo "But Not for Me." Of course there is a huge Busby Berkeley finale done to Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm", with Mickey, Judy, a large supporting cast, and Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra.
DVD Special Features:
Introduction by Mickey Rooney
Commentary by historian John Fricke
Vintage short Hollywood Daredevils
Classic cartoon The Early Bird Dood It
I Got Rhythm stereo remix version
Audio-only bonus: Bronco Busters Outtake
Theatrical Trailer
Finally there is a bonus disc with over three hours of extras that include:
Private Screenings with Mickey Rooney - 1996 TCM special hosted by Robert Osborne
The Judy Garland Songbook- A superb collection of 21 complete, magical Judy Garland musical numbers spanning her many films from 1936-1954
Mickey and Judy Trailer Gallery
The bottom line on this set is that if you are looking for "Gone with the Wind" level serious drama and you don't like great music look elsewhere. However, if you are looking for charming escapist musical entertainment, these films fit the bill. After all, they were made so that troubled audiences could get away from it all during troubled times - the pre and early World War II era. Plus it looks like Warner Home Video has continued their "Film School in a Box" tradition with this set that I have grown to like so much.

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Holiday Inn (Special Edition) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just finished watching the newly released Special Edition of Holiday Inn. I was AMAZED at the clarity of the picture. I've never seen a print of this film looking so pristine. Even on just a regular, 20" non-HDTV set, the hairs askew on top of Bing's toupee during the famous White Christmas scene are plainly visible. Now if you can see single hairs on a person's head during a medium shot on a small television set, that's a stunningly clear picture!
The audio as well is crisp and clear with rich bass and treble tones. If you watch the film with the audio commentary on, you'll hear the dulcet tones of Ken Barnes relating some fascinating tidbits about the making of the film, the songs (one particularly interesting part concerns the verse to White Christmas), the cast, etc. All is enhanced by sound bites from Bing and Fred Astaire themselves in archive audio material from the 1970's. As an example, Bing speaks of the continuing sales of his recording of White Christmas as late as 1974, how he felt it was due in part to people giving the record as a Christmas gift.
The real gems are the bonus features, particularly the 45 minute long mini feature A Couple of Song & Dance Men. Ken Barnes is joined by Fred Astaire's lovely daughter Ava sharing biographical memories of both Bing and Fred, along with trivia tidbits. Ava shows and reads some of the letters Fred Astaire wrote to his wife while on a USO tour in England with Bing in 1944, and telegrams to Fred from Bing, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin are also shown on screen. All is pieced together nicely with song excerpts from Bing's films, coming attractions trailers, and newsreel footage, including Bing opening the Stage Door Canteen in 1944.
The other, shorter bonus feature runs 7 minutes and is titled All Singing - All Dancing. Ken shares some rare behind the scenes photos and techniques of how musical numbers were filmed, beginning with the early talkies. He shows how the orchestra and singer were together on the set and recorded as one.
The original theatrical trailer for Holiday Inn is also included.
All is wrapped up nicely with a slip-cover that goes over the DVD case. When compared with the two-on-one DVD of Holiday Inn and Going My Way that's been out for many years now, the difference in quality is plainly visible. The Holiday Inn print looks somewhat fuzzy or "muddy" in quality when watched after seeing the brilliance of the newly restored print used on this Special Edition.
In short, this is a DVD that's well worth having. If you want the definitive presentation of this classic Holiday film, this is it! Bravo Ken & co.

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TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Best Picture Winners (Casablanca / Gigi / An American in Paris / Mrs. Miniver) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)I am 80 years old and saw these films when they were first released. In an age when there were no VCRs, much less DVDs, a film came your way, you saw it and from then on they were memories. These films were considered classics then and seeing them again I would say that they stand up well against current stuff. Different acting style, true, but the dramatic impact and the story lines are as good as any. It is refreshing to see the dancing in American... and Gigi. Is today's stuff really more energetic? The old days were so much more graceful - tell me about Ginger Rodgers and Fred Astair. The great relief? I cannot imagine Mrs. Minniver using the indecent language that we hear in too many films these days. How refreshing!!!

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CASABLANCA Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) "sticks his neck out for nobody." Then she (Ingrid Bergman) walks back into his life…with her Resistance-leader husband. "Our candidate for the best Hollywood movie of all time" (Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide), directed by Michael Curtiz.MRS. MINIVER One of Hollywood's most memorable spirit-lifters about an idealized England confronting the terror of World War II. Greer Garson (a formidable Oscar-winning title-role performance), Walter Pidgeon and Teresa Wright star; William Wyler directs.GIGI Thank heaven for the bubbly fun and glorious Lerner and Loewe music! Gigi (Leslie Caron) goes from girlishness to glamour and desires more than the lush life of suitor Louis Jourdan. With Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold.AN AMERICAN IN PARIS Gene Kelly plays an ex-GI who loves Paris and an alluring (but engaged) shop clerk (Leslie Caron in her beguiling screen debut). Dazzling dances and a stunning ballet finale are spun around songs and music by the Gershwins.

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High School Musical (Encore Edition) (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)Let me begin with this caveat; I have no teenage daughter at home. I find this the most fun and refreshing thing I've seen in a long time, and probably for the very reasons "serious" critics find it silly or pedestrian: the movie embraces its cliches and campiness wholeheartedly and makes me laugh aloud each time I watch it (and I've watched it more times than I care to admit) and the songs are hummable and singable and delightful. I've listened to the soundtrack at least once a day since I got it from amazon, usually on my way to work because the songs put me in a good mood. I mean, who doesn't want to do one of those cool dance moves in the car when "Stick to the Status Quo" or "We're All in This Together" comes on? I do refrain. I love theatre, I love show music, and I love "High School Musical"!

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The all-new, smash hit Disney Channel Original Movie everyone is talking about is now available for the first time ever on DVD -- with never-before-seen bonus features that will rock your house! Troy (Zac Efron), the popular captain of the basketball team, and Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens), the brainy and beautiful member of the academic club, break all the rules of East High society when they secretly audition for the leads in the school's musical. As they reach for the stars and follow their dreams, everyone learns about acceptance, teamwork, and being yourself. And it's all set to fun tunes and very cool dance moves! Featuring the hottest talent, HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL celebrates the power of music in this hip, entertaining, gotta-get-up-and-dance movie. Own all the excitement and the exclusive extras available only on this Encore Edition DVD.

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A Prairie Home Companion (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)I wish I'd said this: A Prairie Home Companion is a lovely film about death, and with some great bad jokes. Death and how we deal with it drifts through the film like a dream, but it turns out to be real. Word has gotten around that the 30-year-old radio program is giving its last show. The theater where it has been broadcast from all these years has been sold and will be turned into a parking lot. A woman in a white trench coat moves dream-like through the place, searching for a person whose time has come, and then finds him. And then she finds another. Memories of past successes are talked about, but sometimes not. Reminiscences are wept over or laughed over. The backstage emergencies happen and are dealt with and the radio show goes on. It's just a marvelous movie. People who dislike the actual A Prairie Home Companion will probably not like this movie. Those who do like the radio show I'm sure are going to run out and buy the DVD of the movie as soon as it's available.
Garrison Keillor is not center stage so much as he's the imperturbable head guy who isn't always there, even when he's there. Most of the regular members of the radio show are present, as well as some new names. Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep are incredibly authentic and incredibly funny/poignant as the two remaining members, Rhonda and Yolanda Johnson, of a country-music family singing group. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly are great as the dim cowboys, Lefty and Dusty. Their bad-jokes song is one of the highlights. Guy Noir looking like Kevin Kline tries to keep a lid on the crises. Streep and Tomlin (and Harrelson and Reilly) sing their own stuff and they are first class. Tomlin, in particular, gives a terrific performance as Rhonda, tough, funny, a little bitter and a trooper.
After 105 minutes you may find death not too frightening, may find a kind of comforting acceptance of life, and may find funny some awful jokes...like the name of the country song Lefty sang on last week's show, "I'll Give You My Moonshine If You Show Me Your Jugs." Or a great new wheezer, "Did you hear about the crate of Viagra that was stolen?" "No! Who took it?" "The cops don't know but they're looking for hardened criminals."
I also wish I'd said this, from the New York Times: A Prairie Home Companion isn't great, it's wonderful.

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A LOOK AT WHAT GOES ON BACKSTAGE DURING THE LAS BROADCAST OF AMERICA'S MOST CELEBRATED RADIO SHOW, WHERE SINGING COWBOYS DUSTY & LEFTY, A COUNTRY MUSIC SIREN & A HOST OF OTHERS HOLD COURT.

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Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)Ever since I saw this show on stage in LA about ten years ago, I've been dying to have a copy I could watch over and over and over... Well, that day has come. I saw the video version on a recent trip to London-- and am sold on it's value. The cast is amazing, lead by Donny Osmond's unflappable vocal ability. Unlike the cats video, no songs have been cut out, and no songs have been shortened, with the possible exception of the Joseph Megamix, which has been revamped to serve as an end credit theme. The sets have been built as immersive environments, not a filmed version of the stage show. Also of note-- a preview before the show of the new production of Jesus Christ Superstar set to come to video this Easter!

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Reefer Madness - The Movie Musical (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical" is a meta-musical, because unlike "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" it works best based upon your knowledge of the original cinematic text, anti-drug propaganda, and certain aspects of 20th century American history. In the 1936 film "Reefer Madness" a school principal tells a group of parents the cautionary tale of two high school kids, Bill Harper and Mary Lane, who attend a party at the apartment of shady adults Jack and Mae where joints are given away free to get the kids hooked. Mary's kid brother Jimmy runs somebody down high on weed and Jack ends up framing Bill for shooting Mary.
For "Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical" the story remains basically the same, although now the Bill and Jimmy are combined so the kid in trouble is now Jimmy "the Cannibis Killer" Harper (Christian Campbell), which is an economical change. But the more significant change is that instead of an academic figure the lecture is now given by a person (Alan Cumming) with obvious but unnamed connections to the forces of government who are overly concerned with the need for vigilance. Although much is made of William Randolph Heart's efforts to stomp our marijuana because hemp producers threatened his logging interests, the lecturer is decidedly a figure of the 1950s in terms of fear mongering, casting aspirations regarding patriotism, and emphasizing decency. One of the best elements in the film's satire has an audience member taking exception to some wild claim that the lecturer has made. But every time Mr. Kochinski (Stephen E. Miller) finds something far fetched, the lecturer hits back by quoting cold hard "facts" from Heart's newspaper.
For me the part where I knew that creators Kevin Murjphy and Dan Studney were cooking with grass in this one was when they took the scene from early in the original, where Jimmy and Mary are doing their adolescent take on some lines from "Romeo & Juliet," and turn it into a running joke because Mary (Kristin Bell) is a blonde this time, which means she does not know it is a tragedy and keeps hoping that she and Jimmy end up with the same sort of happy ending Shakespeare wrote about (Jimmy assures her they have six kids). Bell provides the standout performance in the musical, which surprised me a bit because she was so lackluster at the Emmy Awards this year. No wonder they make sure her character is around for the big finish even though she is dead (being happy but hemorrhaging blood will do that to you).
Overall the production numbers are better than the songs, which means you will be more interested in watching "Listen to Jesus, Jimmy" or "Little Mary Sunshine" over and over again than in singing along (there are not subtitles for the DVD but you can turn on close captioning to get the lyrics if you insist on doing so). Beyond the two leads, both of whom are reprising their original off-Broadway roles, the rest of the cast gets to pop up in supporting roles throughout the show, so keep an eye out for that. The cast includes Steven Weber as Jack, Ana Gasteyer as Mae, John Kassir as Ralph (the piano player who laughs maniacally at the drop of a hat), Amy Spanger as Sally ("She fell down!"), Christian's kid sister Neve Campbell as Miss Poppy, and Robert Torti as Jesus. Kassir and Torti are the other two original cast members (although the other roles played by Torti are now done by Weber).
The original "Reefer Madness" is included on this DVD, so you can (re)familiarize yourself with the source material (I had already rented the original on a DVD that also included "Marijuana" and "Assassin of Youth," but I appreciate the effort). There is also SHOWTIME's short featurette on the history of the musical and the cable version, and a commentary track with directory Andy Rickman, producers Kevin Murphy and Dan Studney, and cast members Christian Campbell and Amy Spanger. Throw in the requisite Cast Biographies, Photo Gallery, and Coming Soon trailers for more SHOWTIME original movies and programming. Be aware that the CD out there is for the off-Broadway show and not the soundtrack for this version.

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Based on the propaganda film from 1936 that has become a cult hit, Reefer Madness is the height of camp entertainment! Framed as a "documentary", a straight-laced high school principal (Alan Cumming) seeks to impart his wisdom about the demon weed by telling a frightful tale about the fate of two innocent teens who fall under the spell of the drugs. Filled with outrageously funny and musical performances by Neve Campbell, Christian Campbell, Kristen Bell and Steven Weber, Reefer Madness is the feel good event of the year!

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