A Little Night Music
by Harold Prince
List Price:
Our Price: $22.99
You Save: $1.96 (8%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $20.00 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Diana Rigg, Elizabeth Taylor, Hermione Gingold, Len Cariou, Lesley-Anne DownDirector: Harold Prince
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-06-05
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Henstooth Video
Movie Reviews of A Little Night Music
Movie Review: Disappointing film of Broadway great
Summary: 4 Stars
This film version of one of the great Broadway musicals is all the more disappointing because the creators were involved in the filming. Harold Prince has some interesting ideas for the film but the changes to Sondheim's score are not an improvement. The cast are fine enough (Diana Rigg in particular) however the studio recording of the songs is obviously that - a studio recording that is at odds with the sound levels that should apply to the locales where the songs are supposedly being performed. Setting the story in Austria (a condition of the funding?) is also odd. The DVD transfer is acceptable quality but obviously not from a mint print - the ratio is also incorrect, with information missing from either sides of the frame. The DVD menu is also not well-designed (more chapter breaks would have been helpful). Nevertheless, it's a chance to view a version of one of the great Broadway musicals and Sondheim/Prince collaborations.
Summary of A Little Night Music
Studio: Henstooth Video Release Date: 06/05/2007 Run time: 120 minutes Rating: PgThere are many enjoyable elements in the 1978 film version of Stephen Sondheim's exquisite chamber musical A Little Night Music, based on Ingmar Bergman's film Smiles of a Summer Night. First, Sondheim's score (all based on meters of 3) is full of riches such as "Now/Later/Soon," "Every Day a Little Death," "It Would Have Been Wonderful," and the famous "Send in the Clowns." There's even one reworking, of "The Glamorous Life," that became something of a collector's item for fans. Second, much of the cast is good, with original Broadway lead Len Cariou reprising his role as Frederik, the lawyer torn between his young wife, Anne (Lesley Anne-Down), and his former beau Desiree (Elizabeth Taylor). Others from the original Broadway company are Laurence Guittard (as pompous soldier Carl-Magnus) and Hermione Gingold (Mme. Armfeldt), and Diana Rigg adds a wonderful spice. Unfortunately Hal Prince couldn't translate his successful stage direction to this clunky film, Taylor's marquee value couldn't help her sing her big number, "Send in the Clowns," and a number of decisions--cutting songs, moving the setting from Sweden to Austria, eliminating the Greek chorus--just didn't work. It's worth seeing for the cast and for Sondheim's music, but all in all, A Little Night Music is one of the most dismal Broadway-to-movie adaptations ever made. --David Horiuchi
On the DVD
The 2007 DVD is in a barely perceptible 1.66 widescreen, not enhanced for anamorphic televisions. Years earlier, the film was scheduled to be released by Image Entertainment but the print was judged too poor to release. Hen's Tooth's DVD has visible print damage throughout; you won't use it to show off your home theater, but it is watchable, and the film's reputation makes an expensive restoration unlikely. If you want A Little Night Music, you're unlikely to get anything better than this any time soon, if ever. (Smalller quibble: only 12 chapter stops makes it hard to find the songs.) --David Horiuchi
Drama DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Long-Awaited DVDs That Came Out in 2007 (Plus A Few for 2008)
Newhart - The Complete First SeasonTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2008-02-26; DVD
Best price: $16.70
Price in other shops:
Personal BestWarner Brothers; Release date: 2008-01-08; DVD
Best price: $11.61
Price in other shops:
She's Gotta Have ItRelease date: 2008-01-15; DVD
Best price: $7.55
Price in other shops:
Third Watch - The Complete First SeasonWarner Brothers; Release date: 2008-02-05; DVD
Best price: $35.11
Price in other shops:
The Untouchables - Season 1, Vol. 1PARAMOUNT PICTURES; Release date: 2007-04-10; DVD
Best price: $17.85
Price in other shops:
Mission Impossible - The Complete First TV SeasonParamount; Release date: 2006-12-05; DVD
Best price: $21.52
Price in other shops:
The Fugitive - Season One, Vol. 1Paramount; Release date: 2007-08-14; DVD
Best price: $21.61
Price in other shops:
The Odd Couple - The First SeasonODD COUPLE; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $15.61
Price in other shops:
Silver Spoons - The Complete First SeasonSony; Release date: 2007-06-19; DVD
Best price: $13.26
Price in other shops:
One Day at a Time - The Complete First SeasonSony; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Stephen Sondheim's Passion (Original Broadway Cast)Image Entertainment; Release date: 2003-06-10; DVD
Best price: $12.47
Price in other shops:
Show Business - The Road to BroadwayWELLSPRING/GENIUS; Release date: 2007-10-16; DVD
Best price: $11.48
Price in other shops:
Curtains (2007 Original Broadway Cast)Release date: 2007-06-05; Music CD
Best price: $12.86
Price in other shops:
Into the WoodsImage Entertainment; Release date: 1997-08-27; DVD
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops:
Sunday in the Park with GeorgeImage Entertainment; Release date: 1999-03-23; DVD
Best price: $12.47
Price in other shops:
Stephen Sondheim - A Little Night Music (1973 Original Broadway Cast)Release date: 1998-11-10; Music CD
Best price: $5.48
Price in other shops:
Camelot (Broadway Version)Release date: 2007-05-01; DVD
Best price: $15.75
Price in other shops:
Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway) (Keepcase)Warner Brothers; Release date: 2008-04-15; DVD
Best price: $6.84
Price in other shops:
MameWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-06-19; DVD
Best price: $10.56
Price in other shops:
CompanyImage Entertainment; Release date: 2008-05-20; DVD
Best price: $11.64
Price in other shops: