Sweet Charity
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Movie Reviews of Sweet Charity
Movie Review: Shirley MacLaine in her greatest musical performance
Summary: 5 Stars
This new DVD release of SWEET CHARITY is a welcome addition to any classic movie collection. Shirley MacLaine stars as Charity Hope Valentine in the celebrated film version of the Broadway hit.Charity (Shirley MacLaine) works at the Fan Dango Ballroom, a dingy dime-a-dance hall where the girls give a lot more away than dances. Charity runs her heart like a hotel, and gives her love to one undeserving man after another. Her two best friends Nickie and Helene (Chita Rivera and Paula Kelly) are the ones who help Charity when she is ultimately betrayed by each boyfriend who comes into her life. Ever-hopeful (sometimes impossibly-so), Charity goes through life with wide eyes and wide dreams...
When Charity meets the mild-mannered Oscar Linquist (John McMartin re-creating his Broadway performance), she believes that she will finally be able to leave her sordid past and profession behind her. But will Oscar be as understanding?
Shirley MacLaine colors Charity more vividly than Broadway's Gwen Verdon did (or was permitted to do). MacLaine is especially affecting and heartbreaking in the final 15 minutes of the movie, and sings a plaintive "Where Am I Going?".
Bob Fosse's first big Hollywood film, SWEET CHARITY was a big, if not huge, success when it was first released. The choppy editing and artistic touches that audiences failed to appreciate then make much more sense now, following the success of MOULIN ROUGE. The impressive supporting cast includes Ricardo Montalban, Sammy Davis Jr. and Stubby Kaye.
This beautiful new Special Edition DVD presents the complete 'Road-Show' version of the film including Overture and Intermission. There are also many extras including the trailer, the original 'Making-of' featurette, a featurette where designer Edith Head takes us through her colorful costumes, and the alternate ending that was never used. (Single-sided, dual-layer disc).
Movie Review: An interesting look at the Broadway wet dream
Summary: 5 Stars
This musical is about wanting to get out of the life you live. In the case of Shirley Maclaine's character, it's about her finally trying to stop compromising on her ideals of love and quit her hypocritical( hypocritical considering her remarks about truly believing in love) job as a dancehall hostess. In addition to conversely demonstrating the shallow nature of the Broadway musical dream and how even love can seem insincere on a grand lofty scale, they also inject these ideas with quirky humor which distracts from just how insipid these characters would seem if played straight. The funny thing about this film is that it is both a satire and completely honest in it's depiction of life. It also contains excellent choreography and music whose flash demonstrates the appeal of such things. Depicting all of these differing and seemingly contradictory thoughts makes the viewer not know how they feel about the whole thing. Personally, after the film was over I was left with the callow sense of whimsy and was amazed at how willing I was to be entertained by this. Apparently the stage version has a different ending so I hope that at some point I'll be able to see it.Movie Review: Terrific DVD!
Summary: 5 Stars
Universal has really done a spectacular job on this DVD, giving this underrated musical film the presentation it deserves. The transfer is excellent, with vibrant colors and detail, and rich 4.0 Surround sound. The Overture and Intermission Entr'acte are included in their entirety. And in the supplement department, they give us the unused Alternate Ending, and TWO original featurettes: one revolving around Bob Fosse directing the film, and the other Edith Head and her costumes for the film. Both have lots of behind-the-scenes footage, including costume tests, rehearsals and filming on the New York locations. Universal could have easily charged twice the price for this DVD. Highly recommended. For a DVD NOT marked "Special Edition", this is, at a minimum, the way ALL classic films should be treated on DVD. Bravo, Universal!Movie Review: Such Fun
Summary: 5 Stars
Shirley McCain is wonderful in this movie. Kudos to Gwen Verdon, but unlike many other movie versions of broadway shows, this movie has the ultimate actress for the role. She is strong, naive, vulnerable and eternally hopeful as well as charming.
In additions there are great musical numbers, of which, Rich Man's Frug alone is the worth the price of the dvd or tape.
Movie Review: Sweet Charity
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw the original Broadway musical & went back stage as a kid to get autographs. This is a good rendition, but it is nowhere near what the Orig was. I do recommend this to others, as it is a classic & a fun movie. Gwen Verdon was supreme on Broadray, Shirley MacLaine does her best to replicate her.