Musicals - Page 21

Manufacturer: WarnerBrothers Brand: Warner Manufacturing

TCM Greatest Classic Films: Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland (4FE)]]>

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Brand: Hayward

Susan Hayward gives a stunning, Oscar-nominated portrayal as Broadway's Lillian Roth in this true story of an alcoholic's wretched decline and her eventual, courageous recovery. Year: 1956 Susan Hayward has a signature role in I'll Cry Tomorrow, a pedal-to-the-metal look at the troubled times of singer Lillian Roth. Hayward snagged her fourth Oscar nomination for the part, which takes Roth from humble beginnings through great stardom and finally into a hell of alcoholism and recovery. The movie delivers on a couple of tendencies of its era (1956): a fresh frankness about addiction (The Man with the Golden Arm had come out the year before), plus some handy psychoanalyzing of the heroine--in this case, Roth's problems are laid at the feet of her pushy stage mother (Jo Van Fleet). With all the sturm und drang, there's not a lot of room for songs, but we do get to hear vintage tunes such as "Sing You Sinners" and "When the Red, Red, Robin Comes Bob, Bob, Bobbin' Along." Hayward does her own singing, and she can best be described as a belter rather than a singer ("belter" describes her acting style, too). Also in the cast, portraying the men at various stages of Roth's life, are Ray Danton, Eddie Albert, and Richard Conte (trailing the aura of violent noir behind him); Daniel Mann directed, just after his duties on The Rose Tattoo. It's a slice of Fifties melodrama, the kind that hasn't aged particularly well, but if you appreciate Hayward's customary pull-it-from-the-guts style, you'll be engrossed. --Robert Horton

Manufacturer: Warner Archive Collection Brand: Warner Manufacturing

Musical biography of composer Sigmund Romberg, who fought to bring serious music to Broadway.When sold by Amazon.com, this product will be manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

Manufacturer: Acorn Media Brand: Acorn Media Publishing

Experience Camelot’s "one brief, shining moment" as Lerner and Loewe envisioned it—live on a Broadway stage. Working at the top of his talent, Richard Harris heads an all-star cast in one of Broadway’s wittiest, most literate musicals, filled with memorable tunes. Recorded at New York’s historic Winter Garden Theatre in 1982, this production captures all the immediacy and intimacy of a live performance viewed from the best seat in the house. Idealistic King Arthur longs to create a perfectly principled kingdom, but sees his dream undone by a tragic love triangle involving Queen Guenevere (Meg Bussert) and his best friend Lancelot (Richard Muenz). In this thoroughly engaging Tony®-nominated production, the medieval monarch’s vision—a place where "violence is not strength, and compassion is not weakness"—speaks to our time and for all time. Recommended for family viewing by the National Education Association DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE original Broadway PLAYBILL® (DVD-ROM) and bios of Lerner & Loewe and Richard Harris. A live-on-stage performance filmed for HBO in 1982, Camelot returns Richard Harris to the role he immortalized on film in 1967. Harris replaced the original King Arthur, Richard Burton, in this revival production as it was on its way to New York's Winter Garden Theatre, which turned out to be Harris' only role on the Broadway stage. Fifteen years later, he's an older and wiser Arthur, a little more world-weary but still with a twinkle in his eye. He's paired with Meg Bussert, whose Guinevere is not as beautiful as Vanessa Redgrave in the film, but a better singer and appropriately younger. Bussert, who was Tony-nominated for her role in Brigadoon the year before, sounds eerily like original Broadway star Julie Andrews at times. Richard Muenz (The Most Happy Fella revival) plays Lancelot, Barrie Ingham plays Pellinore, and Richard Backus is Mordred. Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe's score is still a great classic, and here two songs cut from...

Manufacturer: Warner Archive Collection Brand: Desert Island Films

That Kelly lad sure can dance. Fred Kelly. In his only credited film role, he and legendary brother Gene happily hoof an “l Love to Go Swimmin’ with Wimmen” specialty romp in this colorful musical biopic about Sigmund Romberg, the ex-piano man who went on to compose some 8O productions. There’s much more to love, too. Ann Miller gams and glams It (from The Desert Song). Jane Powell and Vic Damone remember “Will You Remember (Maytime).” Jose Ferrer (as Romberg) demos all the roles of a gleefuljazza-Doo spree. And before Deep in My Heart is sung, danced and jazza-done, you’ll find Cyd Charisse, Merle Oberon, Howard Keel and more. The talent runs deep. So does the fun.

Manufacturer: BBC Home Entertainment Brand: Warner Manufacturing

Riverdance: Live from Radio City Music Hall: Collector's Edition (DBL DVD)]]> Riverdance, the Irish hard-shoe sensation that took PBS viewers by storm, underwent its second incarnation with Live from New York City, a 1996 performance filmed at Radio City Music Hall. While most of the attributes from 1995's Riverdance: The Show remain--the dazzling ensemble choreography, Bill Whelan's energetic score, and the New Age-y view of Celtic mythology--the most significant difference is at the top, where Colin Dunne replaced bombastic lead dancer Michael Flatley. Though lacking Flatley's bravura, Dunne is a superb technician who works well with Flatley's former co-lead, Jean Butler. Flamenco dancer Maria Pagis returns, as do the Riverdance Singers (formerly known as Anuna) with soloist Katie McMahon and the orchestra with fiery fiddler Eileen Ivers. About a half-hour longer than the 1995 original, Live from New York City expands upon the second act's theme of the Irish leaving their homeland for other parts of the world. "Lift the Wings" becomes a set piece for the people who are saying goodbye (it's hard not to miss the original's solo voice of Aine Um Cheallaigh), and a new song, "Heal Their Hearts," is a showcase anthem for bass Morgan Crowley. In the most engaging new number, "Trading Taps," a trio of Irish dancers faces off against two urban American tappers. While much of this follow-up show will be familiar to those who know the original, it's different enough to be enjoyed on its own terms. It's also more stylishly shot, but that's also its biggest drawback--frenetic editing that allows only brief glimpses of the dancers and leaves the viewer dizzy. --David Horiuchi

Manufacturer: Disney Model: MSE1251017

UK Released DVD/Blu-Ray item. It MAY NOT play on regular US DVD/Blu-Ray player. You may need a multi-region US DVD/Blu-Ray player to play this item.

Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Brand: Warner Home Video

Garbo: The Signature Collection (DVD)Includes the best known films from a timeless and alluring actress of the 1920s and 1930s whose enigmatic beauty in a series of MGM silent films catapulted her to international movie stardom.]]> Who was Greta Garbo? For a while the greatest of all movie stars, then a celebrated recluse, always "the mysterious lady," Garbo purred, "I want to be alone," and people took her at her word. Of course, the real Garbo is actually the "reel" Garbo, the silvery, suffering creature on the movie screen--the way the light caught her eyes, and the way she slithered around in silk. There are other Garbo films to be seen, but Garbo: The Signature Collection is the essential Garbo, the alpha and omega for fans and beginners. This 10-disc package collects seven of her MGM sound pictures, three silents, and the Turner Classic Movies documentary Garbo, which gives a good career overview and warm testimony from friends and relatives (although more critical perspective on her talent would have been welcome). Some extras and commentaries are mixed in. The Garbo Silents disc features Flesh and the Devil, one of her sizzling box-office duets with John Gilbert; The Temptress, a wild number with Garbo as a man-killer who follows Antonio Moreno to the plains of Argentina; and The Mysterious Lady, a tight spy picture with Garbo as a Russian agent seducing the susceptible Conrad Nagel. When Garbo finally talked it was headline news, and if Anna Christie has aged a bit, the star's sultry enunciation of "Gimme a visky" retains its historic punch. (The disc includes a German-language version of the film shot at the same time.) Mata Hari continues the exotic storytelling of Garbo's silent years, as she does an eye-popping turn as the famous German spy. Grand Hotel casts her as a tired, tired ballet dancer, in a star-studded MGM project that played on her public image as aloof and mysterious. The movie was a box-office smash and took the Best Picture Oscar for 1932, and still stands as a glittery gem of the st...