Rating: 
Summary: Great movie, great DVD!
Review: "Well now, friends, just lend an ear / For you're now about to hear / The Ballad of Cat Ballou..." so begins the "Greek chorus" of Nat 'King' Cole and Stubby Kaye, banjos in hand. Having seen "There's Something About Mary" before "Cat Ballou," I didn't realize that the former was paying homage to the latter with this clever device. (Of course, being the original, "Cat Ballou" does it much better). By the way, the often-humorous score is by Frank DeVol.The performances are good all around, each character with well-played and memorable funny bits. Jane Fonda plays it straight and serious next to the inept-ness of so-called outlaws Dwayne Hickman and Michael Callan and the over-the-top Lee Marvin (in a dual role as the Kid Sheleen, the drunken hero, and Tim Strawn, the bad guy with an artificial nosepiece). Marvin and the horse steal the show! This movie is a lot of fun - pure entertainment - and the DVD people at Columbia/Tri-Star did a really good job putting together some extras. The audio commentary with Hickman and Callan itself is fun to listen to while watching the movie on repeat; it's very informative and even laugh-out-loud funny at times. The featurette with the director provides some good info on the movie, and the original trailer and vintage advertising (movie posters, etc.) is nostalgic. The picture and sound quality is excellent; the visuals are clear and colorful, no noticeable scratches...the sound is very clear for being monaural. One side of the disc has the widescreen (definitive) version; the other side has the formatted version, which is also worth a look as it contains some extra information at the top and bottom of the screen on the scenes that were soft-matted. I love this movie - it's nice to see that the DVD people took some interest enough to put together the special features on an almost 40-year-old film. Keep up the good work!
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, great DVD!
Review: "Well now, friends, just lend an ear / For you're now about to hear / The Ballad of Cat Ballou..." so begins the "Greek chorus" of Nat 'King' Cole and Stubby Kaye, banjos in hand. Having seen "There's Something About Mary" before "Cat Ballou," I didn't realize that the former was paying homage to the latter with this clever device. (Of course, being the original, "Cat Ballou" does it much better). By the way, the often-humorous score is by Frank DeVol. The performances are good all around, each character with well-played and memorable funny bits. Jane Fonda plays it straight and serious next to the inept-ness of so-called outlaws Dwayne Hickman and Michael Callan and the over-the-top Lee Marvin (in a dual role as the Kid Sheleen, the drunken hero, and Tim Strawn, the bad guy with an artificial nosepiece). Marvin and the horse steal the show! This movie is a lot of fun - pure entertainment - and the DVD people at Columbia/Tri-Star did a really good job putting together some extras. The audio commentary with Hickman and Callan itself is fun to listen to while watching the movie on repeat; it's very informative and even laugh-out-loud funny at times. The featurette with the director provides some good info on the movie, and the original trailer and vintage advertising (movie posters, etc.) is nostalgic. The picture and sound quality is excellent; the visuals are clear and colorful, no noticeable scratches...the sound is very clear for being monaural. One side of the disc has the widescreen (definitive) version; the other side has the formatted version, which is also worth a look as it contains some extra information at the top and bottom of the screen on the scenes that were soft-matted. I love this movie - it's nice to see that the DVD people took some interest enough to put together the special features on an almost 40-year-old film. Keep up the good work!
Rating:
Summary: The Cat's Meow
Review: An all-time comedy classic. Watch it and see why so many movies have stolen ideas from it. (Including "Something About Mary"). The script, the acting and the singing of Stubby Kay and Nat King Cole are all superb. A must own for any movie buff.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding western parody. . . .
Review: Cat Ballou has everything you could ask of a western; gunfights, chases, train robberies, and a beautiful if occasionally bewildered heroine. Jane Fonda is very effective as Catherine, then Cat, Ballou. The murder of her father transforms her from a mild-mannered schoolmarm into a notorious criminal. Her often unwilling and always inept gang includes an over-the-hill gunfighter named Kid Shelleen, played to the hilt by Lee Marvin in an academy award winning, and show-stealing, performance. Regardless of current opinions, Jane Fonda was an excellent actress, and she has a field day in this picture. Cat Ballou is a mad-cap comedy that set the stage for such classics as Blazing Saddles, the Halleluiah Trail and others. Besides, when was the last time YOU saw a horse with a hangover?
Rating:
Summary: A Showcase For Lee Marvin's Many Talents
Review: CAT BALLOU is a movie about a school teacher who organizes a small gang of misfits to avenge the death of her rancher father who is murdered by a hired gunman. The heroine is named Catherine 'Cat' Ballou. Her gang includes her own hired killer who is played by Lee Marvin. Marvin also doubles as the noseless shooter who kills Cat's father. The film sets a standard for parodies of the Old West. Marvin's dual performances are memorable to say the least - particularly his antics as the inebriated Kid Shelleen. His ability to play a drunk is unmatched. Do you recall the marriage scene in PAINT YOUR WAGON? The novel device of using Nat "King" Cole and Stubby Kaye to amplify the story with original ballads is more than just unique. It represents a brilliant matching of two great talents and it stands the test of time very well. Lee Marvin won the Best Actor Oscar for his twin roles. CAT BALLOU received Academy Award nominations for Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Adapted Music Score and Song ("The Ballad of Cat Ballou"). The big competition for Oscars in 1965 came mostly from THE SOUND OF MUSIC and DARLING.
Rating:
Summary: Of course, I bought this DVD.
Review: Cat Ballou is a sentimental favorite of mine. With the classic balladeers, Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole, how can it be anything less than terrific? The story is a comic Western, with Jane Fonda in "ingenue" mode, and as Catherine Ballou, former school teacher turned outlaw set to avenge the murder of her father. Also in this film are Dwayne Hickman, Michael Callan and Tom Nardini with great supporting roles. All three of them are great. Of course, Lee Marvin is the star, in what I consider his best role ever. He plays both Kid Shelleen and his evil brother Strawn. He does the best drunk I have ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: Of course, I bought this DVD.
Review: Cat Ballou is a sentimental favorite of mine. With the classic balladeers, Stubby Kaye and Nat King Cole, how can it be anything less than terrific? The story is a comic Western, with Jane Fonda in "ingenue" mode, and as Catherine Ballou, former school teacher turned outlaw set to avenge the murder of her father. Also in this film are Dwayne Hickman, Michael Callan and Tom Nardini with great supporting roles. All three of them are great. Of course, Lee Marvin is the star, in what I consider his best role ever. He plays both Kid Shelleen and his evil brother Strawn. He does the best drunk I have ever seen.
Rating: 
Summary: A VERY FUNNY WESTERN.
Review: Definitely "Cat Ballou" is a very, very funny movie, with charismatic characters and original situations. Recently I found that some people hate Jane Fonda, I don't know why and I don't care (this movie was released 17 years before I was born). The only thing I can say about her in this particular movie, is that she looked stunning and beautiful in 1965, and her performance in this movie is one of the main reasons why "Cat Ballou" works so fine. Also, in this movie Lee Marvin played two characters: Kid Shelleen and Tim Strawn, both of them very well portrayed, it is really hard to recognize Lee Marvin in the role of Tim Strawn. One of the nicest details in "Cat Ballou" is the inclusion of the great Nat "King" Cole in the soundtrack of the film, and he also appears in some scenes, singing with Stubby Kaye, a very classy duo, I must say. It's really a pleasure to hear Nat "King" Cole's incredible voice in these country songs. Bottom line, the reasons to see "Cat Ballou" are: it's a very amusing movie, with a nice performance by a very young and beautiful Jane Fonda (sorry people, I had a crush on her when I saw her in this amusing film), an excellent performance by Lee Marvin, and very good songs performed by the unforgettable Nat "King" Cole.
Rating:
Summary: Hallellujah Brother, I'm here to comfort....
Review: I had so much fun watching this movie. Lee Marvin makes a wonderful drunk. This is a must see movie. My friends and I loved this movie so much that we quote it all the time. So after I tell you, you must see this movie, (There I said it) I will leave you with this quote. "happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear franky, happy birthday to you.
Rating:
Summary: Ohhh, it was just swell.
Review: If, for no other reason, you must watch this movie for the outstanding comedy performance from Lee Marvin. This movie is candy for the brain. The cast performs together like a well-oiled machine. The outstanding muscial performances by Nat King Cole and Stubby Kaye almost steal the show. Dwayne Hickman and Michael Callan as the inept outlaws with a price on their heads are perfect in their supporting roles. This movie is not only the perfect western spoof, it also inserts lighthearted social commentary about race and sex and the roles they played in the era in which this movie was filmed. I have enjoyed this movie for 20 years and it just keeps me rolling. I never tire of watching this movie. They just don't get much better than this.
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