Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Rating:
Summary: One of the Most Energetic Musicals of all Time
Review: 1954's "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is rough around the edges and that's just what the doctor ordered. Stanley Donen directed this rough and tumble highly acclaimed musical, set in Oregon in 1850. It was adapted from Stephen Vincent Benét's story "The Sobbin' Women" (based on Plutarch's The Rape of the Sabine Women) and perfectly integrates song, dance, and storytelling. Russ Tamblyn as one of Howard Keel's brothers and Julie Newmar as one of the potential brides are very memorable. Besides Michael Kidd's brilliant choreography (which almost goes without saying) is Cinematographer George Folsey's CinemaScope photography that captured both the grandeur of the land (shot on MGM's back lot!) and the brilliant and bawdy dance numbers. Unfortunately it was shot in Ansco Color and not Technicolor which makes the images less vivid. Yet it does not hinder the film. I saw a recent interview with Jane Powell and she believed that MGM thought they had a real dud on their hands. Boy, were they wrong. Of the DVD versions I prefer the original MGM issue which had a 2.55 to 1 aspect ratio. The Warner Studios version is 2.35 to 1. Both DVD versions remastered the original 4-track magnetic soundtrack to 5.1 Dolby Digital discrete channels. I find this sound remastering very annoying especially to stereophonic films made in the 50s and 60s. The sound on the hi-fi VHS tape is actually truer to the original film.

Rating:
Summary: Singin' & dancin' & sobbin'
Review: A "sleeper" when it was released in 1954, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is still one of the freshest musicals ever made. With a pretty, spirited score by Gene de Paul and Johnny Mercer and rambunctious but carefully-controlled choreography by Michael Kidd, this modestly-budgeted movie surprised everyone by becoming an enormous hit, even being nominated for Best Picture. Based on a short story by Stephen Vncent Benet called "Sobbin' Women" (which was the film's working title), it tells the story of a frontier woman Millie (Jane Powell) courted by a backwoodsman Adam (Howard Keel). He takes her off to his rustic home, neglecting to tell her he has six untamed brothers to care for. Undaunted, Millie sets about domesticating the household, complete with readings from classical history, including the story of the Sabine women, which the boys take to heart. The musical was filmed in AnscoColor and CinemaScope, and the wide screen is utilized to great effect, especially in the barn-raising sequence. Letter-box is mandatory. DePaul and Mercer wrote some effective songs ("Wonderful Day", "When You're in Love", "Sobbin' Women") and the numbers blend into the story perfectly under Stanley Donen's smooth direction. Dresden-doll coloratura Powell and strapping baritone Keel make such an attractive couple it's odd M~G~M never co-starred them again. (Evidently a musical version of "Robin Hood" never got past the drawing board.) The brothers include New York City Ballet star Jacques d'Amboise and a non-dancer, the mysterious Jeff Richards, who may have been the handsomest man ever to appear on the screen, Rock Hudson notwithstanding. Among the brides is Julie Newmar, who a couple of seasons later would stupefy Broadway in "Li'l Abner".Bright and pleasantly aggressive, "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" is right up there with Metro's best musicals.

Rating:
Summary: Top MGM musical which outlasted many of its contemporaries.
Review: Howard Keel is in his usual manly, slightly misogynist character as Adam and Jane Powell is both strong and vulnerable as his bride, which makes things more interesting. Watch out for a young Julie Newmar stealing the show as Dorcas, the tallest of the brides, and Russ Tamblyn as an athletic youngest brother Gideon. There are three solo love songs (as you often get in these musicals) which are nowhere near the standard of the chorus numbers. By contrast, Bless Her Beautiful Hide, Going Courting, and Spring Spring Spring show Johnny Mercer's skill in crafting memorable lyrics for great tunes by Gene De Paul

The dancing is a delight. The accompanying 'making-of' documentary shows how Michael Kidd cleverly made is so that the macho brothers didn't actually dance much unless it was appropriate, instead he had them jumping and moving to time. Interviews with most of the main cast members and director Stanley Donen make this an interesting extra, even if short at 35 minutes. There's also a trailer and subtitles (ideal if you plan to sing-along!).

The techniocolor works very well in this restored version, particularly with the brightly coloured shirts the brothers wear and the pastel shade dresses worn by the brides. There is stereo sound too, not bad for 1954. All in all, you have such a good time watching this you forget the back-projection and rather obvious backdrop paintings which might otherwise detract from this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Great musical Fun, albeit Corny Musical Fun
Review: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a film that surprised MGM. It was released the same year as Brigadoon, and since Gene Kelly and Cid Charisse were better known stars than Howard Keel and Jane Powell, it was assumed that Brigadoon would be the bigger hit. Director Stanley Donen had to make many compromises on the film that he believed sacrificed the quality of the overall picture. Yet the movie was a great success and is one of MGM's most beloved musicals. (All this information can be found in the additional track section of the DVD Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.)

The story is rather implausible. Adam, and his six brothers Ben, Caleb, Dan, Ephraim, Frankincense, and Gideon, live alone in the Oregon back country. Adam decided to get a wife and Millie, a local girl agrees to take a chance with Adam. She gets more than she bargained for when she is expected to cook and clean for the seven barbaric men, but eventually she tames them. The six bachelor brothers deicide they too want wives and kidnap six other young ladies. Eventually the women fall in love with the men and all are married. Somehow the magic of the movie makes the viewer forget the complete political incorrectness of the film, and in reality the brothers should be facing criminal charges rather than marital bliss.

Highlights of the film include the barn raising scene where one of Hollywood's greatest dance scenes takes place-the brothers compete fore the attention of the ladies with one of the most acrobatic square dances ever conceived. The lonely feel of "I'm a Lonesome Polecat" is very convincing. DVD viewers can get the benefit of the story behind the movie which gives the viewer an appreciation of the great musical films. All in all, this is a feel good film and definitely worth the price.

Rating:
Summary: Fun movie!
Review: The movie Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is an excellent, fun, family movie with singing, dancing, romance, and even some action. It tells the story of seven brothers who all live together way out in the country. When the eldest brother, Adam, comes home from town one day with a wife, the other six brothers decide they want brides too. They have to battle the townsmen, however, who have already "spoken for the girls." This movie is full of fun and laughs, and I would highly recommend it.