Editorial Review

Read more

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (17)

Aging Gracefully.
"Beautiful Girls". What a fantastic opportunity for lovers of Broadway musicals to see the behind the scenes creation and making of a successful musical in four days. This film is in part documentary combined with hi-lights of the finished performance at Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic. The story line of "Beautiful Women" attending a Follies Reunion so many years into retirement is powerful and awakens thoughts of aging. Mandy Patinkin, Carol Burnett, Barbara Cook and Lee Remick lead an all star cast in this Steven Sondheim Classic. You might want to view this film more than once.

WAY UP THERE.........
LEE ..... Lee Remick, Barbara Cook, Mandy, George, Liliane, Carol ..... {A}licia ...Liz ...Betty ....Adolphe .... how quickly it fades .......SO???? I'LL TAKE ANY SCRAP I CAN GET!
True...this is not "the best" documentary film ever made, although it IS pretty darned good, and part of the criticism may come because most of us who would want to see this would be just as happy with just one long uncut take of the concert on film...but we do have that on CD (thank goodness!). And what a concert it was!!! This is as near a dream cast as one could hope for. Of course there will be be endless quibbling over that opinion, and endless comparisons to the OBC...that's the glory of theatre...many opinions. But the overall arc and energy of this concert is amazing and that cannot be disputed...the CD is a classic... and one of those rare few "I wish I were there" events captured on recording. That said, the documentary does offer delight in the backstage glimpses it gives, especiallly after several (hundred? thousand?) listenings to the CD. For instance...I went into this already worshipping and adoring Barbara Cook (for me there can be no other Sally Durant), but after watching, I was really hooked onto Lee Remick too. And there were lots of discovery moments like that because of the documentary...so it did indeed, bring me someplace that the concert CD alone did not, and for that I truly value this DVD. So, perfect? No. (And franky, what is?) But it is worth watching and re-watching, especially if you are a total Follies junky, or learning to become one. How many other backstage stories can you say that of? For me, darned few...this one's a keeper. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Movie    2. Music Video    3. Musicals & Cast Recordings    4. Musicals (Theatrical)    5. Performance    6. Performing Arts - Concerts   

Editorial Review

This bittersweet two-person play by Murray Schisgal stars Eli Wallach(Read more

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater   

Editorial Review

Martin Sheen stars in this Tennessee Williams one-act. What is the Camino Real? According to one character, it is "a funny paper read backwards," while another says everyone must figure it out for himself. Yes, we are in the world of allegory, in a melancholy dreamlike play set in an undefined Latin American country. Sheen plays an amiable Everysoldier, Kilroy. The play unfolds in 10 blocks, each a little vignette, that Kilroy winds his way through. The Camino Real is empty, sad, and menacing--so much so that the dead are simply scooped up by laughing street cleaners. As for the rest, well, figure it out for yourself. This is a fine production, but viewers will need to have a high tolerance for the kind of play where characters actually address each other as "You, Player of the Blue Guitar." Read more

Features

• Black & White
• NTSC

Reviews (2)

Very Entertaining Performance of Rare Tennessee Williams
I had never heard of this play when I say the DVD on the shelf. So I got it, took it home, and watched it. I found it to be delightful. Martin Sheen glows in the bloom of his youth, Lotte Lenya is a hoot, and the rest of the cast, while unknown to me, were admirable, especially Janet Margolin as Esmeralda.
A bird without wings!
Considering that this is the ONLY filmed version of "Camino Real" going, I suppose this DVD is better than nothing.That, however, still doesn't keep me from hating it.Apparently owing to television time constraints, much of the play has been excised.Unfortunately, what has been removed are the portions of the play which provide its theme and focus (e.g., the Don Quixote scenes).Thus, the play comes off like some absurdist piece with no point whatsoever!Read more

Subjects:  1. Action    2. Adventure    3. Drama    4. Movie    5. Performing Arts - Theater    6. TV Shows   

Features

• Black & White
• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (11)

A Great Trip Down Memory Lane
If you have a real love for the history of musical theatre, this DVD is a must for your collection.There are several highlights that are simply joyous.The Larry Kert, Carol Lawrence "Tonight" duet is heart rendering and a treat for the ears!This alone is worth the price of this DVD. But, add to that the young and beautiful Julie Andrews in her prime as she delivers the quintessential version of "Lovely".And, you will understand why so many raved about Pearl Bailey in "Hello Dolly".When she sings "Before the Parade Passes By", she does not merely sing the music, she also sings the lyrics and this is something Carol Channing never really did.The great Gwen Verdon singing and dancing as only she could from "Sweet Charity", the magnificent voice of Richard Kiley delivering the ultimate version of "The Impossible Dream" and vibrant Pat Suzuki belting out "I Enjoy Being A Girl" make this a special treat.Add to that Celeste Holm's "I Can't Say No" (nobody does it better) and the sight of the legendary Barbara Cook as part of the group (John Raitt, Florence Henderson, Celeste Holm) singing a rousing version of "Oklahoma" and you have one great DVD.The only song that does not come across well is Carol Channing singing a rather forced version of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend".But why quibble.Buy this infectious delight!

Invaluable
Pretty much without exception, the original cast performances in Broadway musicals are matchless. However, the ephemeral nature of theatre makes it impossible to relive these performances over and over as we do with film, and often Hollywood translations missed out by hiring "bankable" Hollywood names.How lucky that Ed Sullivan led the way in featuring many of the original Broadway greats on his show.Of course, there are MANY more of these segments which I'd like to see make their way to DVD, but the segments presented here are superlative.The running list follows...Almost every one presents a Broadway star who was replaced with an inferior (and dubbed) Hollywood name in the film adaptation.
Wonderful performances from classic shows
I must respectfully disagree with the reviewer who felt that most of the performances on this DVD were "wooden." My reaction was quite the opposite! I felt that the actors and actresses were really performing the parts, just as they would have done them in the actual shows. I often forgot that I was, in fact, watching a clip from a variety show, and felt as though I were watching the show itself on Broadway (and I have been to many Broadway shows, so I certainly know what that experience is like!)
Read more

Subjects:  1. Movie    2. Musicals & Cast Recordings    3. TV Shows    4. Television   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (1)

"Promise you won't do the hurdles again tonight."
One of three plays adapted by the Broadway Theatre Archive from short stories written by John Cheever, O Youth and Beauty is as much a product of the 1970s as are the other two stories/plays in the Shady Hill series, The Sorrows of Gin and The Five Forty-Eight.Produced in 1979, these plays reflect the struggle of educated suburbanites and their families to find meaning in their lives, struggles which, in their concern with preserving the yuppie life-style, now feel superficial, trite, and dated.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater    4. TV Shows   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (1)

"My father can polish off eight martinis in a night."
With an eye for details and an ear for the hollow speech of the upper-middle-class residents of Shady Hill, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein transforms John Cheever's famous short story into a realistic play about the failure to connect.Set primarily inside a suburban home, the play focuses on the lives of the Lawton family--Kip (Edward Herrmann) and Marcia (Sigourney Weaver), for whom the social whirl of cocktail parties and evening martinis has completely subsumed real life, and eight-year-old Amy (Mara Hobel), sad, lonely, and often fobbed off on the household help.The acting is outstanding, with an amazing performance by young Mara Hobel.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater    4. TV Shows   

Editorial Review

Steelworkers, waitresses, and parking garage attendants hardly make thestuff of the traditional Broadway musical. But their voices form the songs andmonologues of this plotless paean to the American working stiff, inspired by thebestselling oral history by StudsTerkel. Adapted from the stageproduction by composer Stephen Schwartz, this 1982 Read more

Features

• NTSC

Reviews (11)

a great dvd
never say you "have it bad" until you have walked in someone elses shoes..everyone has troubles..
What an awful imitation of the original!
I assumed it would be with original cast members... I loved the CD soundtrack.But here they are, parading out different "stars" of the 70s/80s, butchering the beautiful tunes without a trace of feeling.
Some great stuff
This production moved me when it first aired, and I was not disappointed when I bought the DVD.I remember thinking back in 1982 that some performances/songs were fantastic, others less so.This holds true today: Eileen Brennan is heart-wrenching as the millworker, as is her song; Rita Moreno is perfection as the waitress, with another great song; Beth Howland may not have been the perfect choice for the housewife, but the song is so good it doesn't matter; and who can resist Edie McClurg as the hotel switchboard operator?
Read more

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Subjects:  1. Filmed Stage Plays    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Subjects:  1. Filmed Stage Plays    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Filmed Stage Plays    3. Movie    4. Performing Arts    5. Performing Arts - Theater   

Features

• Black & White
• NTSC

Reviews (1)

A Broadway Treasure!
I liked Lullaby but I would loved it in color. But watching Ruth White at 46 years old play the overbearing mother-in-law and mother to Eli Wallach and his real-life wife Anne Jackson is quite entertaining. I work in Ruth's hometown of Perth Amboy, New Jersey and I ordered Lullaby to give away as Christmas presents because even though Ruth died prematurely at 55 years old in 1969. This is one of her best performances! If you like watching a real-life married couple like Eli and Anne. Remember they have been married at least 50 years and in this business, that is quite an accomplishment for this New York acting couple. Sadly, Ruth never married nor had any children. Acting was her life. She postponed her career to care for her aging parents. Ruth was special that way! By her thirties, she returned to acting in New York City and on Broadway but always came home to Perth Amboy, New Jersey. If you like Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach, you will love seeing them together in their younger days. If you like the overbearing mother-in-law in this production, you will love Ruth White's performance. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Comedy    2. Drama    3. Movie    4. Performing Arts - Theater    5. TV Shows   

Features

• Black & White
• NTSC

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater    4. TV Shows   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (1)

"How much more are you going to take before you fight back?"
Henry O. Flipper (played with subtlety by Franklyn Seales), the son of a white mother and a black father, particularly resented being called a "moke," a crossbred ass, the equivalent of a mule."Moke," however, was just one of the names he was called as a cadet at West Point.Though there had been other non-white cadets, Flipper was the first to ignore all the harassment and actually graduate.In this play, Flipper is in his third year as a lieutenant in the army, stationed at Fort Davis, Texas, and his race has become an issue.A new, grassroots colonel (crudely played by Robert Burr) and a group of uneducated fellow officers frame Flipper, the only black officer, and put him on trial for stealing funds from his commissary job.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater    4. TV Shows   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (1)

Beautifully Acted Feel Good Drama!!
Sissy Spacek stars as a second rate wartime USO Girl entertainer trying to make the bigtime.It's a beautifully acted feel good movie!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater   

Editorial Review

Backstage intrigue runs up against the Gestapo in this drama by Jean Cocteau. Read more

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater    4. TV Shows   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (2)

"A born dreamer with a great raft of dreams."
Written from 1935 - 1942, but not published until after the author's death, A Touch of the Poet by Eugene O'Neill is the powerfully dramatic story of Con Melody, a tavern-keeper near Boston in 1828.Melody's family in Ireland had managed to rise from their common roots to become, in their own eyes, "gentlemen." When disaster struck and Con Melody lost everything, however, he brought his wife Nora and daughter Sara to the Boston area, where he now runs a shabby tavern while insisting that he is a gentleman and demanding to be treated as one.
Neglected Masterpiece
"A Touch Of The Poet" is probably the best O'Neill play you've never seen or read, and so it is fortunate that this production has been preserved by the Broadway Theatre Archive.The two leads, Roberta Maxwell and Fritz Weaver, are amazing, and Nancy Marchand is splendid as the passively adoring and long-suffering wife.The story, which is set in the era of the rise of Andrew Jackson, has a startlingly contemporary feel, evoking both the immigrant experience as well as the rise of the American industrial society.An amazing work, the only completed play in what O'Neill's planned as an eleven play cycle.Buy this, and enjoy. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater    4. TV Shows   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Subjects:  1. Filmed Stage Plays    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater   

Editorial Review

Based on the Italian movie Read more

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (40)

True Passion
I have had the recording of Stephen Sondheim's Passion for quite some time now. I love Sondheim, but I never could really get into the music very much. The notes and tempos are extremely irregular and are veyr hard to remember, so it seems you are hearing it for the first time every time you listen to it. But then I saw this DVD and I realized the brilliance of the music and the show itself. It plays perfectly into the story. I shouldn't be able to remember the music very well, I shouldn't think it is light and fluffy. It's not at all. My God, this show tore me apart when I saw this. I had no idea how wonderful it was. It is a perfect example of how actors are not just voices, they are people who bring these characters to life. Sondheim's lyrics and James Lapine's book are exquisite and work so well together, you'd think they were written by the same person. The music flows in such a way I would have never imagined listening to the recording.
How Can Anyone Not Like This Show?
First, I must say that comparing Sondheim shows to each other is ridiculous.Would you tell a plumber that you liked his sink installation in one house more than in another?Each piece is completely different and should be judged on its own merits.
Sondheim's Worst!
Normally, I love Stephen Sondheim's work. I consider Company, Follies, Night Music, Sunday in the Park, Pacific Overtures, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, and even the much derided shows Anyone Can Whistle and Bounce. But this one is...BAD. Yes, I just criticised Stephen Sondheim. I literally could not finish the show. The story is weak, the script sounds like it was done by Andrew Lloyd Weber (from me, that's as low a blow as you can get) and the lyrics, usually Sondheim's showcase, are clumsy and ineffective. The whole show has a breathy, affected air which ruins any pretense of true passion. The only good thing about the show is the logo. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Musicals   

Features

• Color
• NTSC

Reviews (1)

"I only feel like myself when it begins to get dark."
Adapted from the short story by John Cheever, this Terrence McNally screenplay for Public Television, stars Lawrence Luckinbill as a self-centered business executive and Mary Beth Hurt as the mentally ill secretary he has hired, seduced, and then fired.Directed by James Ivory, this 1979 drama builds considerable suspense based upon the loathsome behavior of executive John Blake (Luckinbill), whose high-handed and egotistical treatment of his wife, son, neighbors, employees, and the vulnerable Jane Dent (Hurt) cause immense pain to everyone but himself.His level of cruelty knows no bounds.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Movie    3. Performing Arts - Theater    4. TV Shows