Hair

Rating:
Summary: Meant to be
Review: I grew up with Reagan and recession and Republicans I couldn't get away from. From the time I was about 10, I can remember turning on the TV (before cable was common) and seeing snippets of some weird, hippie musical. I was probably 18 before I actually saw the movie start to finish and it changed my outlook on life. It was okay to be myself, express myself despite everything I had been taught. Are you curious about what happens outside your everyday experience? Watch this movie. You may not be a hippie, but its speaks to the freedom upon which this country is based-be yourself!

Rating:
Summary: "Give me head with Hair"
Review: First off, some background so you know where I'm coming from. I first saw the movie about 15-16 years ago during the Summer after my Freshman year of High School and just began getting into musical theater. I knew it was a play back in the 60s and I didn't think the movie and play were going to be much different since I had been in Grease that Summer and that movie and the play there were only a few differences to it such as a few of the songs and the Burger Palace Boys becoming the T-Birds.

About a year and a half later, I had the pleasure of being in the play and it was totally unlike the movie. This is not a bad thing and therefore they should not be compared to each other. Both are brilliant in their own rights. If the movie was filmed just as the play was written, it would have been very difficult since the scenes in the play seem to work only in a theatrical setting.

Milos probably knew that going into the project. I think that he wanted to make a movie that could only be done in a movie setting. Therefore, he decided to take some of the plot of the original play (which wasn't much to work with) and expand on it and even add his own twist at the end which I'm sure the people who had seen the play before were probably surprised to see. I think it was a smart move since Berger was probably the most lively and likable character in the movie so it should be him going off to die so the audience would feel even more sympathy.

Here's what I think about the individual performances. Treat Williams truely was Berger, and he did an excellent job hitting those high notes when then weren't even written in the original music. Him hamming it up on those songs, just added more to his zany characterization. I'll tell you, I think Jon Voight could have just as easily been Claude as John Savage portrayed him especially after seeing a movie like Midnight Cowboy. I wonder if he would have been able to sing too. Beverly D'Angelo was great in both her stuck up and carefree-hippie attitude. One stand-out performance even though it was just for a song, had to be Cheryl Barnes' rendition of "Easy To Be Hard".

There's a lot of songs there were excluded from the original play and there weren't any new songs written for the movie, but some of the new takes were as brilliant as writing a new song such as having the men singing the verses on White Boys/Black Boys. To praise this movie does not mean you're trashing the play. Really, the only thing you can compare is the music itself since it's mainly the only thing the movie borrows from it. And yes, I miss a lot of the great songs that were excluded from the play such as Frank Mills and Dead End. I feel if you can put aside any comparisons of the play, you will truely enjoy this movie which seems to have it all with the music, dancing, humor, and sad parts.

Rating:
Summary: Quite a tear-jerker in the end!
Review: I must say that you don't have to be from the sixties to love this movie (I was born in '85). This movie captures the innocence of childhood and the bliss of ignorance being taken away by war (Vietnam in this case- Iraq in today's world). This is the first time I have ever experienced "Hair," and I hope that it won't be my last! John Savage is perfect as Claude- he tries to act dignified and thinks himself above the group of hippies, but really he has a lot to learn about life. Treat Williams shows a stunning performance as Berger (the last ten minutes of the movie made me cry! Why BERGER?!). The movie shows an "innocent" America being dragged through the mud by a war that shows everyone how real death is. There are some very funny parts like when Berger and his friends sneak into a high class, rich party, and the song "Hair" is wonderful, and also the song about white boys and black boys was very funny. If you don't cry at the end of the movie, I will be very surprised! The choreography in the movie is breath taking and the music wonderful. The DVD is ok but not exceptional because it doesn't have that many extras. The Special Features contain an "Original Theatrical Poster Gallery" in which you can browse through different posters for the movie, and there is also the "theatrical trailer." If you don't want to buy the DVD, I highly recommend at least renting it like I did! I'm thinking about buying it now. VERY BEAUTIFULLY DONE!!!