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Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $18.71
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Magical Moment in Television History
Review: I've always enjoyed this production a great deal.
Miss Warren is very charming and vulnerable in the lead.
Damon sings well.
The wicked mother and sisters are very funny.
The score is lovely.
And the moment in which Cinderella descends the stairs in silence is one of the most beautiful and moving moments in the history of television.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: OK version, but not as good as the original
Review: This version of Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" is decent but can not hold a candle to the original with Julie Andrews. Anyone who was lucky enough to have seen the original can not help but remember what a magnificent production it was. The cast was so good that any others playing the roles pale by comparison. Julie Andrews WAS (and still is) Cinderella. Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostly were a riot as the stepsisters and Edie Adams was a young, sexy, very funny godmother. The final image of her twirling her wand like a cheerleader with a baton at the wedding is unforgettable. She also had a much better singing voice than Celeste Holm.

When this second version was produced, a new book was written that took out all the humor given the stepsisters and godmother. It became a rather straightforward almost cardboard version. Gone was the great song for the king and queen - one of the real delights in the original. (Luckily it can be heard on the CD of the original.) The king and queen were delightful off beat characters but were made too dignified in the new version. The roles were cut so drastically that casting Ginger Rogers and Walter Pidgeon wastes the talents of these major stars.

Leslie Ann Warren is an acceptable Cindy but the part was written for Julie Andrews so anyone else is at a disadvantage. It is rather ironic that she and Julie are both in "Victor/Victoria". Two more different actresses you could not find. Simply compare them in "V/V" to see this.

But, even fondly recalling the first version - though it was in black and white, this would still be a production to watch over and over. Even with eliminated songs, the score is wonderful. The production design is storybook lovely with great color.

"Cinderella" will be successful in almost any version (except the one with Whitney Houston and Brandy - a real mistake) so perhaps comparing the Julie Andrews version to this one is a bit unfair. They use some of the same material but are very
different shows.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: an enchanting musical
Review: The second small-screen version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical version of CINDERELLA, and probably the most fondly-remembered.

Lesley Ann Warren (fresh from her first Broadway musical "110 In The Shade") makes for a ravishing heroine, while Broadway's Stuart Damon is a suitably-charming Prince.

However, it is the star-studded supporting cast that really impresses; including Celeste Holm as Fairy Godmother, Ginger Rogers as the Queen, Walter Pidgeon as the King, Jo Van Fleet as the Stepmother, Barbara Ruick and Pat Carroll as the Stepsisters.

Simply delightful, this classic presentation looks as good as expected for its DVD debut; the original master tape was used for the first-ever digital restoration of the story. There is some instances of grain and some imperfections with the mono sound but nothing we haven't seen before.

The special features include retrospective documentary called "A Cinderella Story" which has new interviews with Lesley Ann Warren, Stuart Damon and Celeste Holm. There are also detailed filmos for the main cast members, trailers for Columbia's BYE BYE BIRDIE, OLIVER! and ANNIE, and DVD-ROM access to the official Rodgers and Hammerstein website.

This classic musical has been out-of-print for quite some time now. Snap it up before the clock strikes Midnight!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dream Come True!
Review: I have been wanting to see this movie again since childhood. I was so happy that I could buy it here. It's a miracle. Thank you. It's a great movie. I recommend it to one and all to show to their kids and grand kids.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: It is fabulous
Review: This is a wonderful t.v. musical. I am playing the Herald in the Company Theatre production of this wonderful show. Leslie Ann Warren is fabulous. The stepsisters bring much humor to the show especially when they're messing up at the ball. I thought that the woman who played Esmerelda was a bit old. My father thought that Prunella's hat looked like Madonna's famous pointed bra. Stuart Damon has a lovely voice. Celeste Holm has a very nice voice. Even the sets look lovely. When I first watched this show on DVD, I hated it for reasons like the outdoor sets being phony. Now I love it. Buy it. You'll love it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great memories
Review: When I found out that this movie came out on dvd I had to get it. When I was a kid, my sister and I would watch this movie every year. We loved it then, but I thought that my memories of it would be better than it actually was in reality.

When I got it I couldn't wait to share it with my 3yr old. The quality of the dvd is not great. The beginning is pretty blurry and is honestly difficult to watch, but it
improved eventually.

My daughter has been a fan of everything cinderella, and to my great pleasure, the movie that I loved so much as a little girl has now become her favorite as well. We sing the songs together and dance around the house (so what that my little girl may never join NOW.)My husband,however,is not so excited as I. It is definitely a "chick-flick".

If you want to relive your youth, or share it with a child you love- definitely purchase this movie

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: KARLA'S CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
Review: I WAS BORN IN 1961 IN A SMALL COMMUNITY IN NORTH LOUISIANA.
WHEN I WAS SIX YEARS OLD I SAW THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOVIE IN THE WORLD. THE MOVIE I SAW WAS "CINDERELLA" WITH LESLEY ANN WARREN.
I REMEMBER HOW EXCITED AND SAD WHEN I SAW THE UGLY STEPSISTER'S
AND STEPMOTHER. I CAN STILL REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME CINDERELLA
SAW THE PRINCE AND OFFERED HIM A DRINK OF WATER AND THE WAY THAT
SHE LOOKED AT HIM AND THE WAY HE LOOKED AT HER AS IF SHE WAS THE
MOST WONDERFUL CREATURE HE HAD EVER SEEN. I CAN STILL REMEMBER THE DREAMS THAT I HAD ABOUT HAVING A FAIRY GODMOTHER. THIS IS A MOVIE THAT NO HOME IN THE WORLD SHOULD BE WITHOUT. WHETHER YOU ARE POOR OR RICH DREAMS DO COME TRUE, EVEN WHEN YOU THINK YOUR LIFE IS SAD AND YOU DON'T HAVE THINGS THE WAY YOU HOPED AND PRAYED ABOUT, KEEP HOPING AND PRAYING. DREAMS DO COME TRUE ONLY IF YOU BELIEVE.

THANK YOU,
KARLA CLINE

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A wonderful film for all ages
Review: This 1964 version of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella was a childhood favorite of mine. After I became a grown-up with a VCR, I purchased a copy of the tape, and found that it stood the test of time, and only enhanced my memories. Lesley Anne Warren, at the tender age of 16, is fabulous as Cinderella, and Stuart Damon as Prince Charming is romantic. Fabulous stars of days gone by are also featured: Walter Pidgeon and Ginger Rogers as the King and Queen, Celeste Holm as the Fairy Godmother, and Jo Van Fleet as the wicked stepmother are all superb. This is a film that never loses its appeal over the generations.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Musical Fantasy for Your Imagination
Review: Set is very stage-looking. For those who love music and dancing and romance, it's magical. Both my 3-yr-old daughter and 6-yr-old son loved it--especially since you see live--not cartoon--characters. We've all been singing and humming the songs. Yes, I watched this growing up and was ecstatic to be able to watch again and this time with my children. It's violence- and profanity-free. Cannot recall if there was any name calling like there is in most children's movies.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Poor Oscar Hammerstein
Review: Can you imagine being hailed as the greatest lyricist and librettist of your time only to have subsequent generations throw out or "improve" your work? Such is the fate of the late, great Oscar Hammerstein II, and "Cinderella" was the first of many re-works of a Hammerstein book that completely threw out the charm of the original. The 1957 live telecast (which does exist on kinescope and should someday be made available to a wide audience) was a typical Hammerstein script: simple and honest, even when telling a fairy tale. Now, just two years after his death, the 1962 version was given a new script, and it just doesn't move very well. Sure, children will enjoy it. But the nice thing about the '57 script, is both adults and kids could get into it. Sure, the '62 version is a lot better than the politically correct '97 version, but overall, this one clunks along. Ginger Rogers has no appeal here. Nor do Celeste Holm, Walter Pidgeon, or even, for that matter, Lesley Ann Warren or Stuart Damon. Plus, some discarded songs from previous R&H shows find their way into the plot slowing down an otherwise commendable score. "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful" captures a wonderful notion about why people fall in love. And "Ten Minutes Ago," is a great waltz by Rodgers, with a wonderful Hammerstein lyric that captures love at first site. "The Prince is Having a Ball" is a good comic number, and "In My Own Little Corner" is a good song to define the title character. However, the telecast would be much more enjoyable had they kept the original Hammerstein script. This is an interesting piece to see what early color television looked like, and how directors would use color in sometimes strange ways. Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" deserves another look by someone so it appeals to children and adults, too. Maybe someone will finally dust off the 1957 script, or, release the kinescope of that live performance. Students of drama, music, or of Rodgers and Hammerstein deserve a chance to see it.


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