Hair

Rating:
Summary: A REAL "TREAT" OF A MOVIE MUSICAL
Review: This was one of the biggest movie surprises of the late 70s. It's absolutely incredible, the scope of a director who can follow up the cramped quarters & pent-up energies of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest," with the exlplosion of the psychedelic generation in "Hair." But Milos Forman accomplished just that.

Forman imbues this movie musical with distinctive touches all his own: particularly the dizzying 360-degree spin around the lead singer in the opening "Age Of Aquarius" number; the endearing comedy of the "Black Boys/White Boys" number; protagonist Bukowski's drug initiation in the extended "Hare Krishna" number; and (my very favorite) the unexplainable warmth and human celebration of the "Good Morning, Starshine" number (shot entirely in close-ups and medium shots, in a convertible car!). The emotional lift experienced when the camera finally trucks back from a group of characters we've come to know & love, is beyond words.

Twyla Tharp adds her renowned choreography to all songs; director Forman gave her a free rein on all of them.

This disc has both the formatted & widescreen versions; the latter is obviously preferable.

It'll be fascinating to many who've only been familiar with Treat Williams, John Savage & Beverly D'Angelo through their subsequent work, that they're ALL terrific singers & dancers!

Rating:
Summary: A strange and powerful "trip"
Review: "Hair" has my top award for being one of the oddest movie musicals ever made. In the tradition of "Rocky Horror," "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," and "Tommy," "Hair" is that rare musical that takes the viewer on a unique and emotional journey, playing with our emotions as we groove to the strange yet totally awesome music. The journey here is the 60's in the midst of the Vietman War and "Hair" wonderfully re-creates the colorful world of the hippie counterculture during that hectic period.

Director Milos Forman brilliantly recreates the turbulent spirit of the 60's and allows the film to take over our soul, and makes us feel for the characters. His directing is simple yet powerful.

Treat Williams (Everwood)makes his leading man debut in one of his earliest film roles, as Berger, the leader of the Central Park troop who take draftee Claude Bukowski (John Savage) under their wing on his first "trip" through New York City.

The songs are quite weird, that's for sure, but the power of the performances, and the brilliant choreography, make them extremely memorable, and quite brilliant. What other movie musical can sing about LSD and the vagina, and still manage to be so raw, powerful, and emotionally charged. The film brims with intense energy and passion and is both captivating, entertaining, and wonderful. "Hair" is a spectacular and underrated motion picture, and one of the best movie musicals I have ever seen. The bittersweet ending definitely packs a punch and lingers in the unconscious after the initial viewing. I was pleasantly surprised by the film and strongly recommend it. LET THE SUNSHINE IN to the Age of AQUARIUS and enjoy!!! "Hair" is definitely a journey worth taking.

Rating:
Summary: it was a good effort
Review: This is a prime example of a great director, Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus) making a film that doesn't quite pull together. It's a good effort though. Start with one of the great musicals of all time, Hair. It is one of those that needed to be put on film (like the more recent Chicago). But in this case it didn't quite transfer successfully to film. One problem I think was casting Treat Williams as Berger. The acting was a little off. The dialogue was a little off. And the musical numbers didn't quite mesh in with the film (like they do in Grease, Chicago, or Moulin Rouge). I applaud the effort by Forman, if not the finished project.

Rating:
Summary: Ready for another generation
Review: We showed this movie to our young daughters last night. Prompted by a growing sense of anti-war feelings we're experiencing with the daily reports of growing death tolls in Iraq, we felt it was appropriate. They were rapt. I think it was primarily the music and Twyla Tharp's choreography; however, the girls asked a lot of questions, and I think it gave them a little better understanding of what many teenagers felt during the Viet Nam War.

The movie version of this story is a worthy effort, made great by Milos Forman. The quality is not as I remembered it back when I saw it in the movie theater in 1980. And while our expectations of quality may have changed, our expectations of a good, entertaining film have not. Hair has grown into another generation of viewers who can appreciate it on many levels. It's worth another look.

Rating:
Summary: Hair: Revisiting the Age of Aquarius...
Review: Ever since it opened off-Broadway in 1967, the Tribal Love Rock Musical "Hair" has been spreading it's message of love, harmony, understanding, and mystisism everywhere. It's catchy and well written music brought musical theatre into the new decades. Still, today, there continues to be a following throughout the world for this musical.

This film was directed by Milos Formann, who is famous for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Amadeus." This film was made in 1979, a decade after the musical's debut. The music was influenced greatly by the 1970's pop funk and disco entanglements. (The original musical was a more rock-based sound, which unfortunatly is not captured in this film's revival of the score.) Starring here, is Treat Williams as Berger, John Savage as Claude, and even Nell Carter, who is in the ensemble.

Every time I watch this, I have to cringe at the plot structure of this film. It leaves behind the organized chaos of the original musical, and turns it into something that they thought would be "exceptable" to the movie-going audience. Indeed, the cast getting undressing completly, and showing drug-induced hallucinations, are barely filmable, but the script of this is ridiculous at best. We turn Claude into an Oklahoma enlistee, and Berger into a hippee, who gets sent off to war in his plce. Sheila is no longer a protestor but a rich school girl. What many people have found strange about this film is that the script incorperates touches from the musical, that make no sense on film. As a reason to put nudity into this film, the writers added a skinny dipping scene. An in place f the drug-hallucinations, Claude has a bizarre envisionment of he and Sheila getting married, in a confusing and irevalent dance sequence. (When you see the movie, you will see what I mean.)

The portrayals are excellent, however. John Savage is an interesting Claude, but his singing throughout the film was a bit confused. Treat Williams is literally, a treat (sorry for the pun), when it comes to his amazing voice during the songs "Donna" and his solos in "Let the Sunshine In." His acting was just as good, but one admits to wishing that he had better material to work with. Beverly D'Angelo is a sweet Sheila, and her rendition of "Good Morning Starshine" is very cute. I would have liked to see her perform the part, as it was written in the musical. She would have had a much better chance of getting noticed as a wonderful actress.

The music is, of coarse, excellent. The score is still unmatch when it comes to rock-musicals. The lyrics echo the spirit of the time period, and the music mirrors the rebelious personality of the people of the era. The only qualm I have is that this movie makes Hair seem a bit outdated. The entire score has been redone to fit a disco-flavour mood, that does not capture the poignancy of the original.

Overall, this is a film to be watch on moderation. Watch it on a Friday afternoon before leaving to a night out. It isn't the type of thing you will want to see over and over, but it leaves an impression on you. Most people will enjoy it as a film - not as a valid representation of the musical. I hope that you watch it in that light. Otherwise, you will find yourself a bit disapointed at the end.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Score, Amazing Choreography
Review: "Hair" boasts one of the most beautiful scores in Broadway history. While the film changes the plot, it keeps most of the songs and even adds some stunning dance numbers.

Set in the 60's, filmed in the late 70's, the film shows its age. Still the amazing score shines. Some of the best numbers include:

*the still popular "Age of Aquarius" and "Let the Sun Shine" both of which became anthems for an era.
*the haunting "Easy to Be Hard," sung by Cheryl Barnes with cutaways of a little boy that will break your heart
*"Good Morning Starshine" sung primarily by Beverly D'Angelo (the Mom in Chevy Chase's Vacation Movies!)
*"Hair" the title song performed by one of the lead singers of the band Chicago

Twyla Tharp, pre her major fame, choreographed much of the movie. It shows.

As for the plot, well it's thin and it has been changed from the play. An Oklahoma boy wanders into Central Park, a few days before he is to ship off to boot camp for Vietnam. He befriends some "hippies," led by Berger "Treat Williams" and falls in love with Sheila (Beverly D'Angelo), a debutante who ride her horse through Central Park. It's all an excuse for the songs-HOWEVER, the final scenes-including one of hundreds of soldiers marching into a plane heading to Vietanm-turn darker and are far more thought provoking.
I would recommend this movie to those individuals who crave 60's entertainment in any form. Also-if you enjoyed "Moulin Rouge," you probably will like this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Good but just not the same...
Review: I am currently involved with a production of Hair, as the role of Claude Bukowski. Although this film is enjoyable in it's own right I didn't feel it captured the 60's like the show did. The movie not only looks straight out of 1979, the musical arrangements are straight out of 1979. I was horrified to hear some of my favorite songs sung to a disco beat, such as (Claude's song in the show, Bergers in the movie) I Got Life. The plot line also has no resemblence to the one in the show (for those who are sitting at home thinking the show really has not plot, it does...) The plot of the show is an underscore, the real intent is to show what the life of hippies were like, but there is a distinct plot, especially in Act II. This plot could have easily been accentuated for the film version yet it was completely thrown out. Throughout the entire movie, only three songs are sung by the same people as they are in the show. Also in the show Claude and Sheila are both hippies to begin with, Hud doesn't have a wife, Claude Sheila and Berger share an apartment and are involved in a love triangle, Sheila's the head of their tribes protests, Jeanie is obsessed with Claude and the audience is led to decide if the baby she's carrying is Claude's or not...Also in the movie they completely cut out the role of Crissy who sings Frank Mills, and they expanded the role of Dionne (the smallest named part in the show version) into Hud's wife. In the show all of the characters are either just out of high school or last year of high school. Also the show is about Claude's journey and him finding himself and at the end Claude finding himself dead in Vietnam not Berger. The movie is enjoyable in it's own right IF you are not looking for an accurate representation of the original show or the 60's as an era.

Rating:
Summary: Suprisingly enduring.
Review: Hair is a movie near to my heart; I saw it when it was released (I was ten) and loved it, enchanted by the music. As an adult I find it still works.

What's remarkable is that Forman created film that has endured out of a stage play that hasn't. Ever wonder why the show hasn't been revived on Broadway? Well, that would be because it's a horrifically grating, plotless mess...

Which is why it's wonderful to hear the really great music, minus the awful book. The movie imposes a simple plot, nothing terribly interesting but totally serviceable. Performances are mostly dead-on, with a fantastic cameo by a young Nell Carter (another by Betty Buckley). Twyla Tharp's sharply lyrical choreography manages to feel completely impromptu and totally intentional. Impressive cinematography makes it a great film to look at, too, especially the devastating shot of soldiers boarding a transport plane at dawn.

Of course, the messy play much better reflects the 60s than this well-ordered film. But which would you rather watch?

Rating:
Summary: This movie "grows" on you.
Review: This movie got better every time I saw it. The title track. Hair, is a great song, and the acting and dancing skill displayed by the actors really takes it to a whole new level. This is a good example of the polar opposites experienced in the 1960's, namely the love in the streets and its stark contrast to the death and destruction in Vietnam.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing film
Review: I first watched this film a few months ago because my mother recomended it. I may never see it again. Don't get me wrong I loved it, Hair's probably one of my favorite movies now, but even thinking about the movie makes me want to cry. It's the only movie I've ever cried during. Just listening to 'The Flesh Failures' sets me off.