A Little Night Music
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Movie Reviews of A Little Night Music
Movie Review: Yes disappointing print, but.......
Summary: 3 Stars
Yes this is not a good print, it is inaccurate advertising-- it is not widescreen as several people point out and is really just a pan and scan TV print with scratches. Yet with such an aobscure movie musical that hardly ever received a theatrical release, its better than nothing and probably as good as we will ever get. It is a little easier to watch than the Video print by a small margin.Movie Review: A Fairly Poisonous Package
Summary: 2 Stars
Witty, moody, poignant, and ironic, SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT launched Ingmar Berman to international fame in 1957--and has inspired others for half a century. In the 1970s it inspired composer Stephen Sondheim, who with writer Hugh Wheeler adapted its complex tale of several misguided lovers to the musical stage. Opening on Broadway in 1973, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC was a great critical success, and although it did not have a spectacularly long run it has proven remarkably durable, enjoying many notable revivals in The United States, England, and Europe.
The 1978 film is quite a different matter. Directed by Hal Prince, who directed the original stage version, and starring several of the original stage performers, it was a critical and popular disaster of legendary proportions. This was partly due to the backers, who insisted on certain changes and cuts, and partly due to the cast, which was not always ideal; in an overall sense, however, it was due to Prince's utter inability to translate the humor of the piece to film, and what was quick and sharp and clever on stage became plodding and uninspired on the screen.
This aside, the great disaster of the film is Elizabeth Taylor in the central role of Desiree, an aging actress who determines to shed an unwanted and passing lover in favor of an old flame. Some sources state that Taylor sang her vocals; other sources state that she was dubbed. It doesn't really matter because whoever sang did so very, very badly; indeed, "Send In The Clowns" is so badly done that it is downright embarassing. And perversely for one so well known for her beauty, Taylor actually looks bad in the film. It would seem that cinematographer Arthur Ibbetson went out of his way to light and photograph her in the most unflattering ways possible, and her face often has a strangely mannish quality in close-up.
This might be forgiven if Taylor actually gave a good performance, but she doesn't. She phones it in as slightly over-ripe melodrama and without the sense of cleverness or style that the piece requires, and since the role is central to everything it essentially contaminates the entire tone of the film. There are indeed a few delightful performances here, with Diana Rigg a knock-out as the embittered Charlotte, but Taylor is so dire that it is hard to look beyond her to see them--and when combined with the overall plodding quality of the film it all adds up to a fairly poisonous package.
The DVD itself is a mediocre transfer of bad elements; I would not say that it is unwatchable, but it certainly isn't anything to write home about. There are no bonuses of any kind to leven the film itself. If you are a diehard Sondheim fan curious to see how this stage masterpeice was translated (no matter how poorly) to the screen, or if you think you can get past the directorial awkwardness and Taylor's dire performance to enjoy the work of Riggs, Guittar, and Cariou--give it a shot and good luck to you. But don't say I didn't warn you.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Movie Review: Where to start?
Summary: 2 Stars
I've been curious to see this film for a long time, being a devotee of Mr. Sondheim's, as well as a huge fan of the stage show, so when this DVD was finally released, I jumped at the opportunity to purchase it. When it came to me in the mail, I popped it straight into my player and prepared myself to be at least amused, I hoped. Unfortunately, it was not to be. First of all, this film is just as bad as you've heard. And not even in any sort of "so bad it's good" way. It's just bad. It's tedious, and plodding, and filled to the brim with boring, dull performances. The one saving grace of the film is the glorious reworking of "The Glamorous Life", which, however, gains nothing from being seen on screen, and could just as easily be enjoyed on the soundtrack recording. On the whole, I'd recommend seeing Bergman's "Smiles of a Summer Night", which, among other things, is set in the correct country, has sterling performances, and features some of the greatest dialogue recorded on film, between Fritz and Petra, characters who here (and in the stage version) have been reduced basically to extras. Secondly, the DVD itself is horrendous. The transfer is incredibly ugly- it looks like it was taped off of television in the late eighties. Not to mention, my personal copy started to skip uncontrollably during the song "You Must Meet My Wife", and continued to do so until the middle of the next scene. When I took it out to discover what was wrong with it, I discovered a large splotch of something on the playing side that ominously resembled dried blood, but which I'm going to assume was paint. And this is right out of the shrink wrapped package! Of course, I returned it, and I will say this: it was the very first time I've had to return something purchased on Amazon, and it was handled beautifully, so that system is running just fine.
Anyway, I gave the product two stars because I finally had the opportunity to see a film which I've been wanting to see since I first discovered Sondheim in my early teens. That said, I'm glad I had an excuse to return it.
Movie Review: a little night music
Summary: 2 Stars
I AM RETURNING MY COPY OF "A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC". FIRST OF ALL IT STATES ON THE DVD THAT IT IS IN THE WIDESCREEN FORMAT, IT IS NOT, IT IS FULL SCREEN. I DO NOT KNOW WHERE THEY GOT THIS PRINT BUT THERE IS A BLACK LINE GOING DOWN THE PICTURE FOR ALMOST ALL OF THE FILM. THE SOUND IS BAD AND THERE ARE TWO PLACES WHERE THE A BIG BLACK LINE SHOWING TH AGE OF THE FILM. I TRIED TO FIND OUT WHERE HEN'S TOOTH VIDEO IS LOCATED AND THERE WAS NO WEBSITE FOR THEM. THIS IS AWFUL THAT A FILM OF THE CALUBLAR HAS BEEN LOST. WHERE IS THE MASTER STORED? I AM SURE THAT SOMEONE HAS IT.
THEY WERE ABLE TO RESTORE "MY FAIR LADY". THIS FILM NEEDS SONE RESTORING BEFORE IT IS LOST FOREVER, OR IT IS TIME TO REDUE IT AGAIN WITH A DIFFERENT CAST.
Movie Review: Keep your VHS.
Summary: 2 Stars
This DVD is not good, not that the quality of the original film was all that good, either. Yes, the film has mono sound- it always did. Yes, the picture quality is not good- it never was. This DVD looks like it was put together from a best-available positive print. Both the DVD and the packaging look like fairly well done home-grown bootleg product. Don't ANY original negatives still exist? The worst part of the DVD is that, unlike the VHS, it has been remastered at a slightly accelerated speed, resulting in ALL the music coming out a half tone higher in pitch- MOST disconcerting.