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jackhutchinsongallery
Reviews
Ruddigore (1983)
Horrible "Compleat G+S" TV series
I agree with the post above. This entire series of the "compleat" Gilbert and Sullivan should be shown in opera production grad schools to make sure that NO ONE ever conceives theirs like this. I remember getting very excited at the time these were done, with a partnership between the BBC and Judith DePaul in Boston, WGBH. Someone really got it wrong. Opera in a TV studio never works anyway but these were particularly awful. Casting Price was a brilliant idea but it looked like they tried to video these shows in a day and a half. One of the problems was that they wanted ONE American star in each light opera. In the case of "Ruddigore", Price was a good choice. Some of the others are just terrible. But having really slammed this, I would say, if you have never seen "Ruddigore", you ought to because it has some of Sullivan's very best music. The ghost scene in Act II is one of my personal favorite choruses in all G+S.
The Matchmaker (1958)
Screaming for the songs, but fun to watch
I have always loved the "straight play" version of the Dolly story. Actually Thornton Wilder's play had a previous incarnation set in Austria, in the German language. He had written it for Broadway in the fifties, it was filmed in 58 in this version, and Jerry Herman must have seen it and fallen in love with it for the musical "Hello, Dolly!". Parts of this are superior to the original stage version of the musical. The film version of the musical is dreadfully over danced and Streisand was way too young for the lead role. Shirley Booth, here in this "Matchmaker", is much closer, in a way to Channing's Dolly of Broadway. I have often wished that SOMEONE would re-do the musical for either video or film. I saw the 1964 Channing production and it was magical. Hollywood so often trashes these brilliant stage works. Anyway, rent this film when you can and compare it to the Streisand "Dolly".
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969)
Dame Maggie, early and brilliant
I remember seeing this film as a college freshman and falling in love with Dame Maggie (she was MBE'd much later). A good friend of mine had seen the Broadway production and told me that the film version, unusually, was actually a better performance. I recently rented the DVD from Netflix and saw it again for the first time in 35 years. It has some quirks but Smith just holds up awfully well. For those of you younger than forty, this should be in your top 100 collection. There were many such films and plays at the emergence of the women's movement. I have often wondered if Wende Wasserstein was inspired by this movie.
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)
Holds up rather well all these years later...sorta
I had seen the original Bway production with Barbara Harris and John Cullum...1966? I think. The score was superb and the special effects, for stage, were quite wonderful for the late sixties...lots of revolve work. When this film came out, I thought Babs was fabulous but the film was awful. And the worst of it was that they gave her songs which really belong to the Doctor. But it was Babs show. And her vocals are at the top of her game in this film.
A few years ago the "Encore!" series in NYC did a semi staged version with Kristin Chernowith (sp) and they restored the songs and orchestrations to 1966 and it breathed new life into this rarely revived wonderful musical. As is nearly always the case with Broadway shows, Hollywood is clueless...recently "Chicago" was a huge exception. How sad that anyone who cannot get to NYC misses out so often on definitive performances of material like this.
BUT...having been a tad negative here...the film holds up now rather well. It's not nearly so tacky looking as it first looked in 1970.