Oklahoma!

Rating:
Summary: ANY Excuse for a song?
Review: The music in this is, of course, absolutely wonderful. But the story and the acting are simply atrocious. It may just be that it hasn't aged well - and I AM willing to put up with bad acting and scripts to hear good music - hence my love for "The Music Man", "West Side Story", "Oliver", etc. But this exercise in stereotypes was just painful. Nice photography, though.

Rating:
Summary: This DVD Release Misses a Golden Opportunity
Review: First things first: I love this movie -- start to finish. I love the show -- song for song. The performances here are magnificent, as is the movie-making. The whole thing is an absolute masterpiece.

But this DVD release is a major disappointment.

First and foremost, nowhere is the CinemaScope vs. Todd-AO issue mentioned. Knowing that there are two completely different versions of this movie -- filmed separately, edited differently -- but not knowing without some research which version I'm watching is completely unacceptable. (Now I know that it's the Todd-AO version on the disc.) I should be able to watch either version, or both side-by-side. (If you've never done this, try it. The two films are alarmingly different. And though the picture quality is much better in Todd-AO, the performances by the actors are significantly more relaxed and natural in the CinemaScope version. Setting technical aspects aside, without question I think the CinemaScope version is a much better, more gentle, movie. You really have to watch the two movies side-by-side simultaneously to see this, but a comprehensive DVD release would let you do just that and make up your own mind.)

Second, while watching this disc, there were times when it looked like it was originally shot on video tape! I think this is due to a bit of over-zealous addition of crispness, added to the already-crisp Todd-AO picture. It's a very strange experience which takes some getting used to.

Third, though the overture has been restored to the beginning, the opening credits are just still scans of the titles over a black background. What happened to the sweeping location shots which graced the original??

Fourth, the so-called extras are completely pitiful: one short trailer and three brief screens of "production notes". Some of the people who made this movie (like Shirley Jones) are still around, for goodness sake, and should be enlisted for commentaries and/or a making-of documentary.

In summary, buy this disc only if you're curious about the Todd-AO alternate version. If not, wait for the inevitable (I hope) de luxe release at some distant future date.

+

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: In the great land of Oklahoma there is no better romance blossoming than that between Curly (Gordon McRae) and Laurie (Shirley Jones). Just these two people alone would make the movie a perfect 10. But then you add Eddie Albert, and the characters Will and Ado Annie, and you have a 100! The music is delightful, so delightful, in fact, that you'll probably want to go and buy the soundtrack the minute after you hear the first song. Some really drop-dead-funny parts (Persian good-byes and Oklahoma hellos, Poor Jud is Dead) and some real romance. Excellent. I highly suggest it for people who like western musical romances.

Rating:
Summary: OKLAHOMA FOREVER
Review: As JUD ROD STEIGER overacts,some songs are missing from the original 1943 stage production ,but to tell you the truth nobody cares, because when GORDON MacRAE starts singing the magic stills operates after all these years. GLORIA GRAHAME was fantastic as ADO ANNIE and she really steals the show to all the others.SHIRLEY JONES in her first part was charming.Buy this film,you'll want to see it until you get to know all the songs by heart.Some AMERICAN institution are worth preserving and this is one of them.

Rating:
Summary: TODD-AO Is The Way To Go!
Review: Having for years only knowing this classic through a pan-and-scanned version from the Cinemascope negative, I couldn't believe how beautiful it looked with the grain and murk cleared away. With its livelier performances and better lighting, its like seeing the film for the first time. Watch them end up making a scanned version of this for television! Its always interesting when AMC broadcasts both versions on the same day.

Rating:
Summary: A few random thoughts on the DVD version
Review: I found the THX laserdisc to be a superior picture to the DVD, which has a bit too much "shimmer" to it. I believe the color shifting WAS on the laserdisc, though. As a side note for SOUTH PACIFIC fans, the DVD of that film is much better than the THX laser, which had far too much color bleeding.

As someone interested in film history I'd like to see a special edition that includes both the TODD-AO and the Cinemascope versions of OKLAHOMA. A comparison of cinematography and performances would be fascinating.

The musical does show its age in its sparse plot, but the music, and particularly the ballet sequence, make it still worth watching, as well as some of the performances. Charlotte Greenwood still sparks the screen as Aunt Eller, and Graham has some fun moments, too.

Rating:
Summary: Homa, homa, homa!
Review: To tell you the truth, I haven't really seen many musicals from the 50's! I'd been too busy watching ones from the early 80's!

I didn't hire the video until after I saw the musical performed on stage in the modest little town of Wangaratta, Victoria. I loved the show, the music and the story, so naturally I thought I better check out the vid!

I think it actually works better on stage. The actors were better able to gauge the audience's reactions and play on that. Plus, they sang "Oklahoma" about five times due to the encores!

Of course the movie is also gorgeous though and I'm definitely gonna hire out more musicals from that era, and of that ilk. It made me wish I was a local yokel living in Oklahoma... spending my days singing and trying to encourage the farmer and the cowman to get along! The jokes are very cute. Nothing much really happens, yet you find yourself on a fun and intriguing ride that leaves quite a smile on your face!

Rating:
Summary: Total Showbiz Magic
Review: This is a stunning production,but be sure to get hold of the Todd-AO version,with it's glorious theatrical style presentation,and better visual and sound quality.The film was shot twice,once in the standard ratio,and again in the widescreen ratio. The latter is of course the Todd-AO version and the superior of the two,though it is seldom seen,and the standard ratio version is always used on television broadcasts. Laurie's dream ballet is the major highlight in the film,with Bambi Linn as the 'Dream Laurie'. The music is breathtaking,and everything is simply gorgeous. Gloria Grahame makes the perfect Ado-Annie Carnes and she sings a very good 'I Cain't Say No'. Overall,this film is a true treat for Rodgers and Hammerstein fans. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Groundbreaking Musical
Review: This is the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic that changed musicals forever with songs blending seamlessly into the plot. The songs also helped advance the story. Prior to "Oklahoma", musicals were more like revues. "Oklahoma" changed all that. This film is a beautiful realization of the stage version. It gives you the feeling of the wide open spaces. And isn't "Out of My Dreams" one of the loveliest waltzes ever composed for musical theater? I just adore that waltz and the feeling of floating and gliding that it conveys. This is a good movie for the entire family to see.

Rating:
Summary: Persian Accent?
Review: I just had to comment regarding the person who slammed Eddie Albert because he doesn't have a convincing Persian accent in the movie.

Talk about missing the point! The character of the traveling salesman is supposed to be a PHONY Persian! He's supposed to be as Persian as Bill Clinton! An actor successfully playing the role uses a bad accent ON PURPOSE. The guy who played it in the original Broadway cast used something close to a Yiddish accent. If Eddie Albert's accent kept changing throughout the movie, this does not mean he did a BAD job of portraying the character. It means he did a GOOD job.

The traveling salesman in Oklahoma! is similar to Harold Hill in The Music Man -- he travels around trying to gyp people in small towns by selling them phony products -- one of them, in this case, being an Egyptian elixir. Eddie Albert played his role so well in this movie that 4 years later he was selected to replace Robert Preston in the original Broadway run of The Music Man.

While I'm worked up, someone else said he prefers the CinemaScope version to the Todd-AO. He says he realizes this puts him in the minority. I'll say! The Todd-AO version is better in every way, shape and form, and that's the only one that ever should have been shown to the public, anyway. The CinemaScope version is an anomaly of movie history. The C-version looks brown and muddy. The Todd-AO version is bright and colorful. I know "brown and muddy" is in style these days, and "bright and colorful" is out, but "bright and colorful" is much more indicative of the musicals of the 1950s, and evidently was the original intent of the filmmakers, and really SHOULD be the only version available. I have no nostalgic feelings for the C-version, which is the only one I ever saw for 40 years. Going from the C-version to the Todd-AO is similar to going from Kansas to Oz -- everything turns to color!