Brigadoon

Rating:
Summary: Brigadoon
Review: Ah, Brigadoon. What can I say about this one? It was an excellent film, I don't care what anybody says. Brigadoon is a town in Scotland that comes to life just once every 100 years. Gene Kelly and Van Johnson are Jeff and Tommy, hunters who get lost and are looking for some food and a place to stay. Then they see Brigadoon. Van Johnson was just hilarious as Jeff, the cynical guy who just can't bring himself to believe that all this craziness is really taking place. Gene Kelly portrays Tommy, a guy who falls in love with Fiona (brilliantly portrayed by Cyd Charisse). He has to make a decision at the end of the day, whether he wants to go back to New York and leave Fiona and Brigadoon behind forever, or stay with Fiona and leave New York forever. A difficult decision for anyone to have to make. Just a wonderful romance with some beautiful dance routines. Go to the movie store and buy it. If you like romance/musicals, you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: A sweet little musical whose power sneaks up on you.
Review: Given the tone of many comments here, I wish I'd seen the stage version of this first; it's apparently been restaged for the screen. That said, the film does have its merits: music by Lerner & Lowe, a fine cast of performers (Van Johnson is particularly effective as a wisecracking cynic who, nevertheless, still manages a pleasant soft-shoe with Gene Kelly), and a lighter-than-air book & story. Regarding Kelly and Cyd Charisse (a symphony of beauty here), they are fine; my only complaint is that they dance more apart than together. Beautiful as "The Heather on the Hill" is, it's the only complete duet with them (a reprise of the same dance comes at the end of their courtship, but it barely lasts 60 seconds). Charisse is gorgeous with her future bridesmaids in the number "Waitin' For My Dearie," and Kelly is superb with buddy Johnson and the locals in "I'll Go Home With Bonnie Jean." When the main plot point is finally explained away in roughly five minutes of the second hour, the fairy tale suddenly becomes more powerful- and therefore more poignant. The sound stage interiors have never bothered me, as most musicals were shot in studios; so I've never understood why so many people are using that fact as fodder to criticize this movie. The plot is lushly romantic and, as someone else noted, all romantics will love this one, warts and all.

Rating:
Summary: A Musical That Grows On You!
Review: If you would of asked me three years ago what I thought of the musical "Brigadoon", I would of said YUCK! I am a big fan of musicals, but I am not the wild about period pieces (ie..."Yolanda And The Thief" and "The Pirate). However, my stepfather was watching "Brigadoon" one day, and the movie transformed my views about it.

With songs written by Lerner and Lowe, it is definitely one of their most catchy scores. The cinematography is breathtaking, and it one of MGM's most colorful musicals. (Directed by Vincente Minnelli, it is reported that he supervised everything, down to the flower arrangements). The icing on the cake is the cast. I think this was the best pairing of Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse, and with choreography by Kelly himself, the dance numbers are breathtaking as well. Van Johnson rounds out the cast as Gene's wisecracking best friend. He doesn't have much of a musical background, but he's one of my favorite things about the movie.

Take a chance and watch "Brigadoon". It will transform you to another world...

Rating:
Summary: Scotland the Bland
Review: MGM expected BRIGADOON to be their box-office musical smash of 1954--and for good reason: the film was based on an early play by Broadway's Learner and Lowe and includes some captivating music in a winsome tale of two 20th Century hunters who stumble into a Scottish village that magically appears for one day once every hundred years. But MGM hadn't reckoned that film audiences would respond to the movie precisely as Broadway audiences had several years earlier: they stayed away.

BRIGADOON is not a bad film. It is well-crafted in true MGM fashion. The score, which includes such favorites as "Almost Like Being In Love," is quite fine. The cast--which includes Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, and Van Johnson--is superior, the musical numbers are enjoyably staged, and although not one of his finest efforts the film bears the imprint of director Vincent Minnelli's famous touch. On the other hand, BRIGADOON is not a particularly enjoyable , exciting, or memorable film and the fanciful story is so sweetly presented that it quickly becomes off-putting. While individual songs in the score are brilliant, when heard collectively they have a sameness of tone that creates a repetitive feel. Most musical fans will enjoy seeing the film once--after all, Kelly and Charisse are a handsome pair and they dance extremely well together. But only those who like their musicals bland, extra-sweet, and with sugar on the side will care for a second helping.

Rating:
Summary: awesome
Review: My Life, and a great song called Come to Me Bend to Me. Almost Like Being In Love is in the Campbell house, and Waitin' for My Deary isn't. Tommy and Jeff aren't in Bonnie Jean and there's more to Meg Brockie than what they have in the movie. And the Campbell family is actually the McLaren family. There's a sword dance before the reel and Tommy and Fiona don't do as much dancing as they did.
But enough of the differences between stage and movie. It is an awesome movie, full or great, catchy songs and great dancing. My friends and I who were in it always got Bonnie Jean stuck in everybody'shead and who couldn't like Gene Kelly singing "Almost Like Being in Love"? If you just watch the movie and not the play, then it is awesome. It shows true love is out there, you just don't know where you'll find it. And that "the hardest part in life is giving up everything, but that's the only way you'll get everything."

Rating:
Summary: Not real exiting
Review: The reason I saw this is because I am a huge Gene Kelly fan and I love Cyd Charisse as well! This isn't the greatest MGM musical but it was one of the last ones from the "Golden Age" that make this movie very special. The movie is about two hunters named Tommy(Gene Kelly) and Jeff (Van Johnson) who are in Scotland. While they are lost they stumble into this little village that isn't on their map. The village happens to be Brigadoon and it happens to wake up for one day every one hundred years. Tommy starts to fall in love with Fiona (Cyd Charisse) but Fiona can't leave the village if she does the town will disappear forever. This movie has a lot of great music my favorites are "Heather on the Hill", "Waitin' for My Dearie", "I'll Go Home With Bonnie Jean", and "Almost Like Being in Love." This is really one the last great musicals! This a must see movie!

Rating:
Summary: Insipid '50s
Review: This really should have been a good movie. I love most of Vincente Minelli's stuff. Gene Kelly is the MAN! Van Johnson did a decent job playing against type and reminded me of his hoofer roots. And Cyd Charrise was her perenially lovely and swift-footed self. But I am just sort of lukewarm on this one. The songs were o.k. The choreogaphy was good, but the plot lacked something like maybe spontaniety and cleverness. The sets looked flat and uninspired. I didn't get involved in this one at all.

I often lament the death of the MGM musical, but here it seems like it really needed a expedidited funeral service.
This is one rare example where a great stage musical just didn't translate well as a movie. If you want to see MGM at its best, try SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS, or SHOWBOAT, but avoid this mess.

Rating:
Summary: Once in the "Highlands"
Review: Vincente Minnelli's film of Brigadoon suffers greatly from its reliance on studio recreations of the Scottish Highlands. Instead of shooting on location, MGM provided very fake-looking scenery and landscapes, and although these perhaps add to the image of Brigadoon as a mythical town, they nevertheless rob the film of its potential grandeur. Additionally, the score is mutilated; 6 songs were cut from the original Broadway score, including the rapturous "Come to Me, Bend to Me", the lovely 2nd act duet between Tommy and Fiona ("From This Day On"), and the 2 'naughty' songs for Meg, the town squeeze. Gene Kelly is outstanding as Tommy, and the very flexible Cyd Charisse makes a wonderful leading lady, despite her dubbed singing voice. Their dance sequences are the film's most beautiful moments. Van Johnson provides some welcome humor that counteracts Kelly's dreamy and relaxed manner, and the cast as a whole performs with zest and folksey charm. Still, the film, despite its widescreen splendor and expert direction, is overall an underwhelming presentation of one of the musical theater's great shows.

Rating:
Summary: Brigadoon is out of this world!
Review: When I first rented BRIGADOON from the public library last spring, I immediately fell in love with it. Just added the DVD to my collection yesterday. It is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. It is a 1954 film adaptation of the 1947 Broadway musical. The Lerner and Loewe score is one of the greatest ever written for the stage (or screen). The great cast includes Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Cyd Charisse. Although certainly not the greatest singers in the world, Kelly's and Johnson's singing is more than adequate and is really quite lovely. Charisse's singing voice is dubbed for this film, and she works great as well.

When Brigadoon made the transition from Broadway to Hollywood, a good chunk of its score was dispensed with in order to make room to highlight the dancing abilities of its stars. This is, in fact, where many people find fault with this film; the lack of the rest of the Broadway score. To these people, I have this to say... ---This movie is not the Broadway play. It is a **film adaptation.**--- This is also the common complaint about MGM's "Show Boat" from 3 years earlier. Another common complaint about "Brigadoon" is that it was obviously shot in soundstages on the MGM lot in Culver City instead of the highlands of Scotland. This was due to the fact that producers were working with smaller budgets than they had been just 3 or 4 years earlier. This, coupled with the unpredictable weather in the British Isles, necesitated that the film be shot at the studio. This is also evident in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" from the same year. Although the sets are obviously painted backdrops, they are nicely done and work well. IMO, they do not demerit the film.

Brigadoon more than makes up for the missing songs by adding some spectacular dance numbers. "Heather on the Hill" is one of the most sweeping dance numbers I have ever seen in any film. Kelly's and Charisse's gracefulness really hits the spot.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the DVD, with its lush color, clear picture, and stereo sound. If you haven't seen "Brigadoon," you should see it. At the very least for some of the greatest dance numbers you will ever see.