Rating: 
Summary: If you have any respect at all for The Fantasticks...
Review: I just finished watching the movie version of The Fantasticks, and I must say that it is among the worst adaptations I have ever seen in my life. Set in middle America, the opening intrigued me... then, after about five minutes it took a turn for the worst and plummeted downhill at an increasingly rapid pace. Many of the songs were either botched or cut completely, along with my favorite character (I'm a little partial because I have played the part), the Mute. Joel Grey was highly enjoyable, along with Jean Louisa Kelly, though they were unable to redeem this completely inadequate version of a wonderful show. In this movie, every shred of quaint theatricality that IS The Fantasticks was removed. If you have any respect at all for the show itself, do NOT bother to see this movie. It will forever taint the memorable style and beautiful simplicity that the show carries.
Rating: 
Summary: A mostly Fantastick effort
Review: I am happy to have this DVD in my collection. When this movie was filmed, I waited with high anticipation to see it. When I didn't get to, this was a day I hoped for!I was disappointed in the editing of some of the songs, but on the whole, this is a good piece. I think the book is handled marvelously. Yes, the poetry is gone, but that would be a big risk in film for the mass appeal of it all. The concepts for the songs were great. I did think, with some of the film editing and song editing, that the pieces didn't quite make it until Soon It's Gonna Rain. Though all songs are performed wonderfully by the performers, it is not until this song, despite a useless edit, that the blend of film making, magic and romance begin to mix. Round and Round caps it off as the best screen adaption of a song for the whole show. The performances are top notch and the cinematography is first rate as is the art direction. DVD is the only way to go. You get just about everything that was cut, including pieces from songs, and Michael Ritchie's commentary. He nicely explains why the Rape Song was exchanged for the Abduction Song, which was written for a tour in the 80s I believe. (I know Rape means abduction in this play, but I suppose trying to explain it to everyone would be tedious!) I forgive the change due to its originality from the authors. I couldn't evaluate the book scenes cut, but the songs that had edits, only takes about 10 - 15 minutes. They should have just left those. It is a musical after all! Still, that is my only complaint. If you love musicals, if you love The Fantasticks, you will love this movie. Or at least really really like it!
Rating:
Summary: Barely Evokes the theatrical mastery of its namesake.
Review: I saw this video a few weeks ago and I was astonished. Of course, being a fan of the musical, I should have realized that THE FANTASTICKS is not a property suited to film adaptation. Everything charming and adorable about the Off-Broadway show--that still charms after so many years--has been pushed to the side so that the directors "concept"--oh so reminiscent of ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD--may take centerstage. The power of the stage show comes from the actors talking to the audience and inviting the audience into their own little world. On film, that world is thrown at us muddled and uninteresting. And the characters are reconceived! Oh, the horror. Trust me, if you are a fan of the stage show, do not waste your time here. If you have never seen the show and wish to be initiated, it is a toss-up, I guess, but I would not recommend this movie to anyone with taste.
Rating: 
Summary: Stunning
Review: This film version of the musical is beautiful in every way. The performances are some of the best of the year and the direction is amazing. The cinematography is flawless and is reminiscent of Oklahoma! The dvd has all the extra bells and whistles that are common these days.
Rating: 
Summary: Gone Awry
Review: I guess this is another example of how somebody tries to "improve" a classic broadway show. I had hoped the movie would capture the warmth and simplicity that I remember from the stage show, but it didn't. On the positive side, the vocals by Louisa and Matt were excellent. Joe McIntyre, in fact, gave a first-rate performance. But Joel Grey and Bernard Hughes were wasted, their parts turned into mere drop-ins. El Gallo was no longer a narrator and storyteller, but a sleazy Casanova. Too bad; "The Fantasticks" deserved much better.
Rating:
Summary: The Abridged Fantasticks
Review: Upon seeing the DVD of the long awaited release of "The Fantasticks", I can honestly say that someone at MGM Home Entertainment had some sense to enrich the DVD with all the foolishly edited scenes and songs that were omitted in the the theatrical release. It was great to see all the excised footage but in the same sense had U/A marketed this film properly and had not had the film foolishly re-edited, it may have done well at the box office. My one regret was that the reprise to "Try To Remember" was used in the final product and not the original filming that is included as an extra. After seeing the film and the deleted scene, the film seems sort of empty. I recommend the disc to musical lovers as it offers a lot but, it would have been nice had this film been given the respect it deserved and all excised scenes and songs were placed back where they were originally intended. On one final note, Ritchie's Commentary is quite interesting to listen to after seeing the film...
Rating:
Summary: Thank God
Review: Having never seen The Fantasticks on stage, it was impossible to predict how it would turn out. The result was phenomenal. As a lover of old movie musicals, I can safely say this brings all of those glorious aspects to life. Comedy,beautiful songs, poignant moments, it's all here folks. A sweet, gorgeously photographed film, ignore the musical haters in the family and see it. It's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful
Review: Although I have never seen an on-stage production of the Fantasticks, I was delighted to have the opportunity to see a short lived run here in Boston movie theaters. I found the simplicity of the plot and set delightful. It was a nice release from the overly done special graphics movies of today, with a very simple plot -- two young lovers deciding to be or not to be together. The singing was beautiful and the involvement of the entire cast in practically every scene makes it a riot to watch.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant cinematic adaptation of a classic stage musical.
Review: The Fantasticks is one of those theatrical pieces that works so perfectly on stage that it seems impossible to adapt to the screen. I attended a pre-release screening, and can happily report that director Michael Ritchie has beautifully accomplished the near impossible feat, translating the simple heartwarming stage musical into a simply stylized film musical while retaining all of its charm. The show on stage is performed without sets and with a lot of poetic suggestion from the script and imagination from the audience. On film it is not exactly transported to reality, but would more accurately be described as surrealistic, which fits the musical format perfectly. The film is set in the 1920s, a relatively more "innocent" time, at least in our memories, and thus makes the innocence and naivete of the young lovers easily palatable. The characters, let by Joel Gray as one of the fathers, live in the middle of a barren desert, their houses situated side by side and separated by a white picket fence. A mysterious carnival sets up shop nearby, run by magician/illusionist El Gallo, whom the fathers hire to arrange an abduction that will bring their children together. The story plays itself out pretty much the same as on stage (the original writers were wisely retained), and due to its strange, surrealistic quality it all makes sense in a dream-like way, even when the characters break into song. All but one of the beautiful songs are in the film--the "Plant a Radish" song is gone, but is not really missed, as it didn't advance the story that much. The "Rape Ballet" song from the original version of the show has been changed to a more politically correct similar song that didn't use such an ugly word as "rape" but serves the same purpose. (I'm told that several years ago the original song had been replaced by this one in the stage show as well, though I'm not certain. The show has been playing Off-Broadway for 40 years.) Perhaps the most well-known song from the show, "Try to Remember" is not sung at the beginning as on stage, but rather at the very end, which is quite fitting for the film as selected clips of the preceding film are intercut like faded memories. The "Metaphor" song is cleverly staged at the carnival in front of a silent film of romantic scenes. "Soon It's Gonna Rain" is sung under a big tree with El Gallo hiding in the branches while sprinkling glittering rain onto the love-struck couple, and performers from the carnival hiding in the bushes providing vocal accompaniment--a skillful melding of the theatrical and cinematic. The vocals of the actors are all superb. Musical arrangements which where just a piano and harp on stage are now fully orchestrated, but not overdone and work well. Finally, in keeping with the theatrical spirit of the piece, the cast actually does a curtain call from the carnival stage during the end credits. Theatre purists should not be wary of this film. Fans of the show should not be disappointed as long as they are not expecting a mere filmed stageplay. Understandably, it is not really a commercial picture to compete with the special effects action flicks popular with the coveted teen audiences, so it will just have a limited theatrical release in big city art houses. In fact, the picture was film five years ago but languished on the shelf as a difficult-to-market film. Thankfully it will finally introduce millions of non-theatregoers to the wonderful story and songs, and will probably do most business on home video among traditional musical lovers. The DVD release takes advantage of the wonderful score, the ability to search for favorite songs at random, as well as deleted scenes. See "The Fantasticks". Especially if you are an adult. It will remind you of what it was like to be young and innocent. You will want to revisit that feeling over and over again. As this work reminds us, that innocence is something none of us realize we have until we have lost it. There's no other way to know it. Kind of bittersweet, but a paradox of life.
Rating:
Summary: BRILLIANT ADAPTATION
Review: I have been involved in five stage productions of THE FANTASTICKS and have wondered for years why it was not made into a film. I recently learned that it WAS made into a film in 1995, but was never released for general distribution. Fortunately I had the privilege of seeing a screening of a limited run at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas and I was completely delighted. All of the simplicity and charm of the stage play are captured in this sparse film adapation. There have been some changes and some parts of the original stage play have been deleted, but it all serves to make the film work wonderfully. If you have never seen THE FANTASTICKS, see this film version. If you have seen THE FANTASTICKS dozens of times, you must still see this film version.
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