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Rating: 
Summary: A GOOD OVERVIEW OF DICK
Review: If you have to choose between this visual document and the biography released in november,don't hesitate to buy the video or dvd. Why? Because it's the facts that are featured here and not the gossips of which no word should be said at all. The daughters of Mr. RODGERS: LINDA and MARY talked about their father's complex personnality and say along the way that the music was more emotional than the man. The portrait of LORENZ HART is also interesting; Mr. RODGERS's patience with LORENZ shows the compassion of a man who knew the value of a partnership. Personnaly, because I am a huge RODGERS and HART fan, I really liked this segment a lot. Those were the days of the AMERICA we like best, between the two world wars. So many of AMERICA's greatest achievement in music happened during those years. 90 minutes of RICHARD RODGERS who was the greatest composer of his time is certainly worthy of your time. This visual biography was first shown on PBS last autumn.
Rating:
Summary: America's Finest Composer
Review: Simply stated, Richard Rodgers is America's finest composer. In our history, no other composer's music equals the consistent and prolonged quality, innovativeness, range, and sublime beauty of his compositions. Rodgers exquisite, unforgettable melodies are crafted with such subtle ingenuity and sophistication that they never lose their freshness or their appeal.Rodgers' musical genius was matched in two legendary partnerships, the first with lyricist Lorenz Hart, and the second with librettist-lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Rodgers' collaboration with these two gifted men elevated and transformed musical theater into a true and distinctive American art form. There is a knee-jerk tendency by a few so-called musical "experts" to site Gershwin as the greatest American composer. But discerning authorities and audiences know better. The ENTIRE BODY of Richard Rodgers' work stands the test of time better than Gershwin's, or for that matter, better than the music of Berlin, Kern, Porter, Arlen, and Carmichael, all gifted composers. Rodgers' music is universally admired and respected generation after generation amongst all kinds of audiences. Few, if any of his compositions sound dated which cannot be said for a substantial portion of Gershwin and other composers' music. Rodgers' music is written so brilliantly that it seems organic, as if nature itself had perfectly strung together a series of notes which sound no less than heavenly, and which seem as if they could not have been structured in any other way. In some of Gershwin's music, particulary "An American in Paris" and "Porgy and Bess", the music seems stilted, grandiose, even pretentious. You never get that feeling with a Rodgers' composition. His music always has a quality of lightness, fluidity, and sponteneity something missing in portions of Gershwin's music. Some of Gershwin's music has a leaden and/or redundant aspect which is not found in Rodgers' works. The breadth of Rodgers' range as a composer was limitless. Here is a man who wrote music perfectly suited to shows as diverse as "Oklahoma", "Pal Joey", "Carousel", "Sound of Music", "Cinderella", "King and I", "No Strings", etc. The list is impressive. The documentary "The Sweetest Sounds" serves as a brief, but informative look at Rodgers incomparable career. It also provides an anecdotal analysis of the handsome ladies' man and the complex, neurotic person that Rodgers was. Rodgers could be a faithful friend and ally, but he was also a demanding perfectionist who could also be confoundingly emotionally distant. Regardless of Rodgers' human frailties, the contributions and innovations that he made in popular and theatrical music are unsurpassed. Richard Rodgers is a genius, an artist, and an icon the likes of whom we may never see again.
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: The few other "reviews" seem more paeans, eulogies to Rodgers, all deserved, but with little about the documentary, which I liked. Larry Hart was my first hero. Keats my second. But that's beside the point. I consider Richard Rodgers the finest composer (and he himself preferred the word "composer" to "songwriter") America has yet (and it seems, will ever) produced. After Hart died and Hammerstein took over, the life and lively interest seemed to go out of Rodgers' music, it seemed to become bland and simplistic, consider his chords as well as his tunes. But in his first show after Hammerstein died (also young, like Hart, though not AS young), the magic returned. This of course was "No Strings" for which Rodgers wrote his own words, and very good ones I thought. The plot, incidentally, is a love affair between a black woman and a white man, and the show was driven out of the south. (America is a very Christian country, as you know, especially in the south.) I saw this show live in SF, and it is my favorite Rodgers' score. Hart, incidentally (I don't remember whether the film stated this) was homosexual. I especially wanted to mention this and the plot of "No Strings". Bigotry should stop where another person's life begins. In the film, it was with sad horror that I saw Rodgers in his dotage so sick and ravaged he didn't even look human. But consider all those wonderful years that came before, genius, songs, work and more work. And he loved it. I had only a few, very few, quibbles with this abbreviated documentary. Mary Cleere Haran sang snippets of Rodgers & Hart songs (frequently), and she changed words and tunes so grossly it was enraging. And I do not like Frank Sinatra. No one should. Ella Fitzgerald recorded a collection of Rodgers & Hart songs (it's on CD, don't buy it), but alas she changes words and music so frequently it is very unhappy. She also, incidentally, recorded a Gershwin collection (also on CD) which, if you like George and can put up with Ira, you might enjoy, she sings all the tunes the way they were written. Her doo-wah-dee-wahs, stylizations and lyric changes are things I just can't handle (not from any singer, Streisand, given the reins, does it too), but when she sings straight, there is simply none better. I do NOT think Ella does this out of conceit or arrogance, it is just her style. It's been said that Rodgers wrote only one jazz tune ("Red Hot Momma" for "Pal Joey"), but as the film amply demonstrates, his tunes and chords fit jazz like a glove. Hart is simply the best lyricist the English language in any century and NOT excluding Byron has ever produced. And Rodgers the best 20th Century American tunesmith. The film, very unfortunately, was too short, was forced to glib over too much and flatly omit tons and tons of things I would have liked to have known or reveled in. And I would, of course, have infinitely preferred more Hart, although Hammerstein got no more than Hart did, which I was happy about. But (sigh) it was deeply informative and entertaining for what it could accomplish, and I would massively recommend it to anyone remotely interested in the subject. Incidentally, many years ago I saw a British (why is it always the British doing this?) bio/retrospective on Lorenz Hart which was wonderful and which I would very much like to see again and to own a copy of.
Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect
Review: The few other "reviews" seem more paeans, eulogies to Rodgers, all deserved, but with little about the documentary, which I liked. Larry Hart was my first hero. Keats my second. But that's beside the point. I consider Richard Rodgers the finest composer (and he himself preferred the word "composer" to "songwriter") America has yet (and it seems, will ever) produced. After Hart died and Hammerstein took over, the life and lively interest seemed to go out of Rodgers' music, it seemed to become bland and simplistic, consider his chords as well as his tunes. But in his first show after Hammerstein died (also young, like Hart, though not AS young), the magic returned. This of course was "No Strings" for which Rodgers wrote his own words, and very good ones I thought. The plot, incidentally, is a love affair between a black woman and a white man, and the show was driven out of the south. (America is a very Christian country, as you know, especially in the south.) I saw this show live in SF, and it is my favorite Rodgers' score. Hart, incidentally (I don't remember whether the film stated this) was homosexual. I especially wanted to mention this and the plot of "No Strings". Bigotry should stop where another person's life begins. In the film, it was with sad horror that I saw Rodgers in his dotage so sick and ravaged he didn't even look human. But consider all those wonderful years that came before, genius, songs, work and more work. And he loved it. I had only a few, very few, quibbles with this abbreviated documentary. Mary Cleere Haran sang snippets of Rodgers & Hart songs (frequently), and she changed words and tunes so grossly it was enraging. And I do not like Frank Sinatra. No one should. Ella Fitzgerald recorded a collection of Rodgers & Hart songs (it's on CD, don't buy it), but alas she changes words and music so frequently it is very unhappy. She also, incidentally, recorded a Gershwin collection (also on CD) which, if you like George and can put up with Ira, you might enjoy, she sings all the tunes the way they were written. Her doo-wah-dee-wahs, stylizations and lyric changes are things I just can't handle (not from any singer, Streisand, given the reins, does it too), but when she sings straight, there is simply none better. I do NOT think Ella does this out of conceit or arrogance, it is just her style. It's been said that Rodgers wrote only one jazz tune ("Red Hot Momma" for "Pal Joey"), but as the film amply demonstrates, his tunes and chords fit jazz like a glove. Hart is simply the best lyricist the English language in any century and NOT excluding Byron has ever produced. And Rodgers the best 20th Century American tunesmith. The film, very unfortunately, was too short, was forced to glib over too much and flatly omit tons and tons of things I would have liked to have known or reveled in. And I would, of course, have infinitely preferred more Hart, although Hammerstein got no more than Hart did, which I was happy about. But (sigh) it was deeply informative and entertaining for what it could accomplish, and I would massively recommend it to anyone remotely interested in the subject. Incidentally, many years ago I saw a British (why is it always the British doing this?) bio/retrospective on Lorenz Hart which was wonderful and which I would very much like to see again and to own a copy of.
Rating:
Summary: The man was a genius
Review: The only way to describe the musical composition of Richard Rodgers is that he was a genius, it's just that simple. In every age is seems like we are visited by someone who just seems to have a certain gift, an ability to communicate in an artistic medium such as music, so that all can understand. As Mozart wrote popular music of his own time, (it is the ages that have determined this to be called the classics), it is Richard Rodgers music that the future ages will consider classics. This is not so hard to imagine, considering Oklahoma still draws sells out shows in a revival of the musical, and it first premiered over 60 years ago, his music will transcend the ages. One could ask, how could this beautiful music come from a depressed, hypochondriac with a drinking problem, then I will simply respond with Mozart. Mozart had many of the same human frailties as Richard Rodgers, or Visa Versa. Like Mozart, Rodgers was also something of a prodigy getting his first show to Broadway by the age of 18. In short, this program captures the essence of this genius. You probably won't keep a dry eye while watching, the experience is just that moving, but when it is over, you will know that you have visited the presence of greatness. In addition to having a tremendous respect for Richard Rodgers, you may find your faith in the human endeavor renewed just a bit, remembering the greatness that the human mind and spirit can achieve.
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