Cabaret (Liza Minnelli)

(Amazon UK link)

We’ve had the film Cabaret on our shelves for over a decade. As far as I remember, it was a free DVD which a relative acquired with a Sunday newspaper, and then passed on to us. I’ve looked at the blurb a couple of times, and thought it sounded interesting… but it’s taken until now for us to finally sit down and watch it.

The film was made in 1972, so inevitably the style is a bit dated - and perhaps deliberately so because it’s set in the 1930s, in Germany. Apparently it was based on a stage show which was based on a book, but I’m not familiar with either of them. 

Quite a bit of the film is set in a popular night club in Berlin, with a cabaret show hosted by a made up man (Joel Grey) who is excellent at what he does, though it’s not a style that appeals to me at all. He makes crude jokes which the audience laugh at, and sometimes dances with the women (one of whom is a man in drag…). Sally (Liza Minnelli) is one of the stars of the show and it’s quickly clear that she lives a highly promiscuous lifestyle.

Grease (Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over twenty years since we watched the DVD of the 1978 film ‘Grease’. We saw it at the cinema in the late 1970s, and then acquired the DVD in 2005 when we started collecting them. We watched it soon afterwards. But it’s been sitting on a shelf since then. I remembered the basic outline of the story, but had forgotten most of the details. It was clearly time to rewatch it.

We meet Sandy (Olivia Newton John) on a beach in the United States, saying a long farewell to her holiday romance boyfriend, Danny (John Travolta). These principal actors must have been 30 and 24 respectively, but are quite believable as 17-year-olds about to embark on their final year of high school. 

Sandy is Australian, and expects to return home with her parents. But plans change, and she enrols at the local high school, not knowing that it’s the one attended by Danny. But he’s in a group of friends who are quite tough and don’t treat girls particularly well, so when they do finally meet, he’s distant and abrupt with her. 

A hard day's night (The Beatles)

(Amazon UK link)

We’ve had the DVD of the classic film ‘A hard day’s night’ on our shelves for years. I have no idea how or when we acquired it. But last night we decided, at last, that we would watch it. We knew nothing about it, other than that it featured The Beatles.

The film was made in 1964, but was in black-and-white. This didn’t worry us, after a moment’s initial surprise. And while there is, of course, quite a bit of Beatles music featured, the film doesn’t feel like a standard musical. Instead, it’s a story - fictional, but based loosely on the kinds of things that might have happened - starring the four Beatles as themselves.

We first see them chased and almost mobbed by screaming young women, but getting onto a train with their manager Norm (Norman Rossington) and his sidekick Shake (John Junkin). They are also accompanied by Paul’s grandfather (Wilfred Bramble). I could not understand the frequent references to Grandfather as ‘a very clean man’, until we watched one of the ‘extras’. Apparently he was better known in a sitcom from the same era, ‘Steptoe and Son’, where he played an elderly man who was known for being very grubby. 

White Christmas (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye)

(Amazon UK link)

Nearly two years ago, we were given several early classic DVDs by a friend who was downsizing. We’ve watched several of them, but had put aside ‘White Christmas’ for the festive season. So we finally decided to watch it. We knew the theme song, of course; but as far as we recall, neither of us had any idea what the film was about. 

We did know that Bing Crosby was one of the stars; we had not realised that Danny Kaye was the other main male lead. The two work together extremely well in this film, with Danny Kaye demonstrating his sense of humour and excellent comic timing more than once. 

The film opens in an army camp on Christmas Eve during World War II when a concert is happening. Bob (Bing Crosby) is clearly an experienced entertainer, and Phil (Danny Kaye) is a new recruit. Their major-general (Dean Jagger) is retiring, and is clearly beloved by the whole troop. We see some of the concert before bombing begins, and Phil manages to drag Bob away from a falling wall. 

Carousel (Gordon MacRae)

(Amazon UK link)

One of the films we were given by a friend downsizing at the start of last year is ‘Carousel’. It’s a 1950s classic musical, by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and just over two hours long. We decided we would watch it last night, making sure to allow plenty of time. We have the 50th anniversary edition, with two discs. I don’t know if it was digitally remastered, but the quality of both sound and picture seemed to be very good. 

We had no idea what the story was about when we started watching. However, the opening sequence shows a fairground after dark. There are crowds of people, mostly adults, buying street food, or playing games, or converging on the carousel. It’s an old-fashioned one with wooden horses and other animals going up and down to loud music. It’s impossible to hear any dialogue over the general noise, but apparently that was deliberate.

But then the film moves to a very different scene. Billy (Gordon MacRae) is sitting on a ladder, polishing and hanging stars. I thought at first he was decorating for Christmas, but quickly realised that these are supposedly real stars, set in the sky, and that he is in some kind of afterlife. Someone tells him he’s heard rumours that his family on earth are having trouble, and tells him that he might be able to go down for a day. Billy isn’t sure about this, but consults the person in charge…

This is a good device for letting the viewer know Billy’s back story, as he supposedly recounts it, to explain why he has a family, and why he is no longer with them. Billy was the ‘barker’ (a term I didn’t know) for someone else’s carousel at the fair. That meant he stood at the side, proclaiming the wonders of the experience, to draw people in to buy tickets. He was evidently very good at this, until he became distracted by an attractive young woman called Julie (Shirley Jones)...

Billy is quite a womaniser but Julie is rather smitten, although insisting that she is respectable. And as they flirt a little, they burst into song. I should have expected it - this is, after all, a musical - and they both have good voices. But I found this, and some of the other songs in the film, rather slow and long-winded. The first one is mildly amusing, perhaps… and then the action takes us back to Billy in his afterlife scenario. To remind the viewer, perhaps, that something evidently happened to cause his death.

Back to earth, as he continues talking about what went on, and he’s married to Julie, but all is not well. Billy has no job now, and hates being idle. All the town is going on a ‘clam bake’ (something else I had never heard of) which starts with a trip out in boats… and Billy is persuaded to go by a disreputable ‘friend’ who has proposed a method of making them both wealthy…

I did enjoy the dance sequences, which were cleverly choreographed and extremely well executed. I was also quite surprised to find that I knew a couple of the songs in the film. ‘June is bustin’ out all over’ was written for this musical, as was the quite well-known ‘I’ll never walk alone’. I also quite liked Billy’s gradual change of heart, as circumstances change, although it’s not until the very end that he does something totally altruistic.

We appreciated the settings too; it was filmed in Maine, on the coast and there are quite a few scenes on the beach, or on sailing boats. Despite the title of the musical, the carousel itself only appears at the beginning of the film, as the place where Billy and Julie first meet. 

While there’s some humour and a lot of caricaturing, it’s a bit dark for a musical. I gather that it wasn’t as popular as the writers had hoped when it was first in the cinemas. Perhaps that’s because Billy isn’t all that likeable, and because there is a tragic scene when things go wrong. It’s one which we know is going to happen, but it stops the otherwise light-hearted film being truly family-friendly, despite the U rating. 

While I’d have liked it better if it wasn’t quite so slow-moving, it was very well done, in a 1950s way. The way actors in films spoke - as if they were on stage - seems quaint to us now, as does the way that the women are all perfectly made up at all times, even at the end of a day’s fishing and then smoking sea-food. 

We didn’t watch all the extras, but were interested in one about the making of the film, with some clips from the writers and people involved in the production. Apparently it was based on a much darker Hungarian film called ‘Liliom’ which didn’t have the somewhat uplifting ending of ‘Carousel’. Initially ‘Carousel’ was a stage musical which ran for quite a long time before it was turned into a film. 

Worth watching once, as it’s a classic, if only for the excellent dance sequences. But it’s not one I’m likely to want to see again.

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Annie (Alicia Morton)

(Amazon UK link)

Towards the end of 2009, we watched the DVD of the 1982 version of the musical ‘Annie’, with Aileen Quinn in the title role. We liked it on the whole, and thought it well-done. But I didn’t feel that it was entirely suitable for young children. There was some extreme drunkenness, some innuendoes and a very tense scene towards the end.

Last year, when we bought some extra DVD shelving, we also acquired, inexpensively, some more children’s films on DVD. One of them was the 1999 Disney version of ‘Annie’, with Alicia Morton in the title role. We wanted something light to watch last night, and this was the DVD my husband chose.

The story opens in the orphanage, showing interactions between the half dozen or so children. One of them cries for her mother at night, and Annie comforts her, while reminding everyone that she is not an orphan. She has a letter that was left by her parents, and part of a locket. She believes that, one day, they will come to find her.

As with some other Disney films, the action is quite rapid. Even so, I was a bit surprised that almost immediately Annie decides to get out of the orphanage to look for her parents. She creeps downstairs and is unlocking the front door when Miss Hannigan (Kathy Bates) appears. She is the owner of the orphanage, and appears to be the only member of staff. The children have to say, repeatedly, that they love her, although in private (including in song...) she expresses how much she loathes little girls.

Everyone else is woken up to be punished, by extra thorough cleaning of the floors. Nobody seems to resent Annie for having brought this on their heads… instead, musical style, they launch once again into song. There seem, in my view, to be rather an excessive number of songs in this film, although they’re very well done.

The plot is, as far as I recall, reasonably close to the story in the 1982 version. A wealthy bachelor wants to foster an orphan for a week, and Annie is chosen, much to Miss Hannigan’s disgust. It all happens rather rapidly, and Annie is thrust into a world of wealth, with new clothes, toys and plenty of food. And she becomes quite attached to the rich Mr Warbucks (Victor Garber). Again, this happens a tad too quickly, it seems… 

There’s low-key tension as Mr Warbucks and his PA Grace (Audra McDonald) attempt to locate Annie’s parents, and a sneaky plot is hatched by Miss Hannigan and her scheming brother Rooster (Alan Cumming), along with his intellectually challenged girlfriend Lily (Kristin Chenoweth). They are delightfully wicked, and I liked their song-and-dance routine, with Miss Hannigan, as they discuss how to go about getting rid of Annie.

There’s more humour in this than I recalled in the earlier version, and it’s generally more family-friendly, so that the rating of U seems appropriate. Miss Hannigan makes a lot of threats to the orphans, but it’s clear that she has never actually hit any of them. She’s unpleasant, but there’s no hint of drunkenness. Lily is dressed proactively, but there’s no nudity or any bad language. The tense scene in the 1982 version isn’t there at all. And the dog is very cute.

It’s undoubtedly ‘Disneyfied’, with that feel-good sense, and little time to think about or anticipate anything very much; it’s under 90 minutes in length, and I thought it could have benefitted from being a bit longer. However, as a piece of light-weight entertainment, it certainly filled the bill. And since it takes place in December, with the (inevitably) happy ending on Christmas Day, we’ve decided to put this with our Christmas DVD collection for the future.

Recommended if you like this kind of child-centred musical with some caricatured villains and a positive outcome. 

Review copyright 2025 Sue's DVD Reviews

Loving You (Elvis Presley)

(Amazon UK link)

While we did, of course, know of Elvis Presley as a famous American singer, I don’t think I had realised that he was also quite a talented actor. I probably wouldn’t have come across the film ‘Loving You’, had it not been offered as a freebie in a UK newspaper many years ago. A relative acquired it, and passed it on to us. It’s taken us more than a decade to get around to watching it, but we finally did so yesterday evening.

The film was made in 1957, when Elvis would have been in his early twenties. He stars in this film as Deke Rivers, a young man who was orphaned young and grew up in a children’s home. He’s finally managed to secure a job in a delivery company, and wants to keep it. He’s somewhat shy, but is persuaded to sing in a small country show, and it’s clear that he has a lot of talent.  

Glenda (Lizabeth Scott) is the other main character: she’s an attractive but tough-minded woman who works as a press agent for a politician. When she hears Deke singing, she decides to work for her ex-husband Tex (Wendell Corey) who runs a band, if he will include Deke as an extra member.

Inevitably there are a lot of Elvis songs in this film, but it’s not a typical musical as the songs only happen when the band are on stage. Nobody breaks into song and dance at other times. Well, other than when Deke is persuaded to sing in a restaurant. There’s a low-key love interest, as the girl singer in the band becomes close to Deke, and there’s also a lot of romantic tension between Glenda and Tex.

But there’s a great deal more than that. Glenda is quite manipulative, often at the expense of Deke’s happiness; she persuades people to behave in specific ways so as to gather extra publicity. And she pretends to be a lot more interested in him as a man than she really is. 

Deke is a well-rounded character - we were very impressed with Elvis Presley’s acting - whom we could quite believe in. He’s in a world he knows little about, surrounded by people who insist they have his best interests at heart. He is lonely, longing for a real friend, and isn’t entirely sure who to trust. Nor does he know whether he wants stardom, when he was happy being a small part of a band. 

I understand that the storyline somewhat mirrored Elvis’s own journey into becoming a musical legend, although he was not an orphan, and was close to his parents as a young adult. But he was, apparently, quite shy as a teenager; perhaps that’s why his character seems so authentic. 

There are some deeper themes touched upon lightly, which I thought were well handled in this film. In particular, a passionate plea is made for understanding by the older generation who considered rock and roll to be disgraceful, with a well-crafted argument that is quite persuasive. 

There’s a bit of violence in the film, involving some fist fights as well as some general public rioting; but nothing gory. There are some quite passionate kisses too, and implications about nights spent together, but nothing explicit is shown. There’s some minor bad language, but nothing too shocking.  This is probably why it’s rated U although the storyline wouldn’t be of the slightest interest to children. 

Neither of us is a huge fan of Elvis music, though we don't dislike it. From the perspective of 2024 it feels nostalgically old-fashioned and quite tame by contrast with some of today’s trends in music. We were surprised at how much we liked this film. 

Recommended. 

You can find more information about this film, and see a brief trailer, here at the IMDb site: Loving You.

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Jane Powell)

(Amazon UK link)

In our gradual quest to watch the DVDs we were given by an elderly friend who was downsizing, we decided on ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ last night. I knew of the film - one of my brothers would watch it whenever it was on television, when I was in my teens. But it didn’t appeal to me then, and I had not come across it until our recent acquisition.

I had little idea what it was about, although the title rather sums it up. Adam (Howard Keel) is the first of the main characters whom we meet in this film. He’s walking through a ‘Wild West’ town in Oregon, doing some trading in stores, and also - as he tells everyone - in search of a wife. He and his brothers are farmers who live in the mountains, and they never meet women. The story is set in the 1850s. 

The reason Adam wants a wife is extremely sexist - his male-only household needs someone who can cook, and clean, and create some semblance of order. It doesn’t sound at all appealing. He breaks into song as he wanders through the town, criticising the local girls for being the wrong size or shape. Then he spots Milly (Jane Powell) who works for an inn. He sees her serving delicious food, dealing with dozens of men at the same time, and also chopping wood. She seems ideal, and fortunately she likes the idea of getting married to this handsome stranger, and leaving her life of drudgery.

Adam does not mention his brothers, so it’s quite a rude awakening when she meets them. There are some amusing (albeit somewhat gross) scenes as she discovers exactly what she has let herself in for. This causes some inevitable stress with Adam too… 

So Milly sets to work, not just to clean the place and provide some nutritious food, but to reform Adam’s brothers. She teaches them about ‘courting’, and tells them to avoid fighting if they want to attract young women. She also supposedly teaches them some basic dance steps; they learn remarkably rapidly. It’s clear that the actors playing the brothers are talented dancers. There are some excellent dance/gymnastic scenes which I very much appreciated. 

There’s singing, too; this is, after all, a musical. It’s not over-done, but every so often someone breaks into song, usually as part of the story. It’s not the kind of musical where the story stops as random people appear to sing and dance, for no apparent reason. The songs in this film don’t go on too long and on the whole I thought they added to the story. 

The acting is slightly overdone, as was typical for films of this era, but that wasn’t a problem, as far as we were concerned. ‘Seven Brides for Seven Brothers’ was made in 1954, so I was quite surprised that it’s in colour. Some of the backgrounds look a bit artificial, but they didn’t detract from the story. 

If the film weren’t so well-made, and basically light-hearted, some sections would be quite shocking. Not just because of the way Milly is expected to work every minute of her day to look after seven men, but because of the way the other six ‘brides’ are acquired… to say more would be to give too much of a spoiler. 

Other than Adam and Millie it wasn't particularly easy to recall who was whom out of either the brothers or their potential brides; even less so with the many townsfolk who were involved. The only brother who stood out was the youngest, Gideon (Russ Tamblyn). The others looked - and behaved - rather too similarly. 

A bonus which we were not expecting was an ‘extra’ feature on our DVD: a short documentary about the making of the film. It has interviews and snippets filmed in the 1990s with several of the cast and crew. Apparently the production costs were slashed in half, although the amount spent still sounded huge for a film made eighty years ago. 

Nobody expected this film to be a success, but it was very much so. Still popular in the 1970s when my brother watched it; still popular in the 1990s when the bonus material was made. The DVD has been remastered and the quality seemed pretty good. We enjoyed the film and are happy to add it to our collection.

Recommended. 

You can read more about this film on the IMDb site: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

An American in Paris (Gene Kelly)

(Amazon UK link)

From twenty-five DVDs given to us by a friend who is downsizing, we decided to watch ‘An American in Paris’. It’s well-enough known that we had both heard of it, yet neither of us had ever seen it. We’re not huge fans of musicals in general, and had no idea what to expect.

The film, made in 1951 but in colour, stars Gene Kelly as Jerry Mulligan, an American artist who decided to settle in France after the war. He’s an artist, and feels that he’s learned a lot and is inspired by the beauty of Paris - but he’s not very successful, and struggles to manage. He lives in a tiny apartment, and there’s an amusing and cleverly choreographed scene where he wakes up and transforms his room from a bedroom into a studio. 

Jerry has a friend called Adam (Oscar Levant) who is a talented musician. We see him playing the piano several times in the course of the film; but he’s also struggling, wanting to be a concert pianist but having to make do with smaller events. 

Adam has a French friend called Henri (Georges Guétary) who is in love with a dancer called Lise (Leslie Caron). They have a mildly humorous discussion as Henri tries to explain what his girlfriend is like, and we see images of her dancing in a variety of roles.

The fifth main character is a wealthy woman called Milo (Nina Foch) who buys a couple of Jerry’s paintings, and decides she wants to sponsor him. He’s rather reluctant, but eventually agrees.  And at a restaurant where they’re meeting friends, Jerry sees and is instantly attracted to a young woman… who we quickly realise is Lise. He’s very persistent (in a way that would be considered harassment nowadays) but they become close… 

So there’s something of a comedy of errors, although it’s poignant too; Lise is young and doesn’t know what to do, being courted by two rather different men. The outcome is inevitable, perhaps, but it’s not at all clear how it can come about. And it was a bit irritating that, in fact, we don’t learn exactly how it comes about.  I found the ending of the film rather frustrating, partly for that reason.

The acting is good, if a bit overdone (as tended to happen in films of this era) and there are some interludes with songs and dancing in the first half of the film. Gene Kelly, of course, was known for his tap dancing routines, and they blend in well with the general atmosphere of the film; none of the earlier musical items are too long, and they don’t seem out of place. There’s an amusing musical interlude too, when Adam dreams of being a concert pianist, and we only gradually realise that he’s playing not just the pianist, but the conductor, and all the other instrumentalists too. 

But I found the last twenty minutes of the film puzzling and (frankly) a bit dull. There’s a long dance sequence mainly featuring Jerry, but also Lise with different styles, different locations, and different chorus members. It’s supposed to be Jerry dreaming as Lise drives away with Henri, but although the dancing is crisp and very well done, and it’s all clever, I was involved in the story by this stage, wanting to know what was going to happen. A few minutes of this routine would have been fine - but it went on and on. According to Wikipedia, it’s seventeen minutes! 

Then after the dance routine, there’s only a brief scene before ‘The End’ and the closing credits. One part of the plot is brought to a close (though without any clear indication why it happens the way it does) but other parts are left hanging. We have no idea what happens in Jerry’s proposed exhibition, or how his professional relationship with Milo continues. Nor do we learn whether Adam’s dream comes true. 

I’m glad we watched the film; the dancing is good (even if too lengthy at the end) and the songs nicely done, though Gershwin isn’t my favourite composer or style. The humour is slickly done, and I loved the expressions on Adam’s face as he realises that both his friends are in love with the same girl. But I’m not sure why it was quite as popular as it was, and don’t suppose I’ll want to see it again. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews)

(Amazon UK link)

After re-watching ‘Saving Mr Banks’ a week ago, I was eager to see the film of ‘Mary Poppins’ which I had not seen for at least twenty years, possibly more. I saw it as a child, possibly in the cinema, and certainly on television, when I was a teenager. But although we have had the DVD for a long time, and it’s been seen many times by other people, I don’t recall watching it myself. 

What a delight it is! It’s a long film, over two and a half hours but I didn’t find it over-long at all. Made in 1964, this was the first film role for Julie Andrews, who’s probably better known as ‘Maria’ in ‘The Sound of Music’. She makes an excellent Mary Poppins, the nanny who arrives at the Banks household, floating down from the sky…

The story is set in 1910. Mr Banks (David Tomlinson) is a very regimented man who works at a bank in London. He arrives home at six o’clock on the dot (emphasised by an eccentric captain neighbour who sets of a cannon at this time) and goes through the same routine each day. He’s fond of his young children Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) in a vague kind of way, but wants them to behave impeccably and mostly keep out of his way. 

Despite the fact that several nannies have left in less than a week, Jane and Michael are not badly-behaved or wild children. Sometimes they get distracted, or decide to hide, but they’re basically kind, honest and likeable. We were very impressed by the two children playing their parts; both were less than ten years old, and entirely realistic in their roles.

Mrs Banks (Glynis Johns) is in stark contrast to her husband, although she’s very fond of him and entirely defers to him as head of the household - at least, when he’s with her. She’s an active campaigner for women’s votes, and spends a lot of her time on protest marches. She and the two main household servants Mrs Brill (Reta Shaw) and Ellen (Hermione Baddeley) provide most of the humour of the film.

On the children’s first outing with Mary Poppins they meet her old friend Bert (Dick van Dyke) who is working as a street artist. We’ve already seen him as a one-man band, earlier in the story, and he appears later as a chimney sweep. He’s multi-talented, and his tap dancing skills come to the fore in several scenes. 

In addition to the ‘realistic’ story featuring the family, there are some surreal mystical adventures, the first one including a countryside break, with singing animals and merry-go-round horses that take the children onto a racecourse… this is all done in animation, and I was full of admiration, knowing this was all done by hand long before the days of CGI or even computer-aided animation. There are some delightful sequences, very cleverly produced.

There are a lot of songs, as this is a musical production. Some of them are well-known, others less so, but all are very well done, most accompanied by excellent choreography. I have have a slight criticism, it’s that some of the songs are a bit drawn-out. Modern directors would have cut them much shorter, and made the film faster-paced; I’d have preferred it just a little faster in places. But in the 1960s films were longer, and apparently people had better attention spans. 

Overall I thought it an excellent production. Our DVD set is an anniversary edition which has an ‘extras’ disc, including interviews with the musical director, one with a rather older Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke, looking back on the making of the film, and quite a long documentary ‘extra’ about the making of the film. All very interesting. I was surprised to learn that the whole outdoor setting of the Banks’ street was a set in a studio. None of the film was shot in London. 

I’m glad we watched it after seeing ‘Saving Mr Banks’, particularly the extras, as that story - which is mostly true - gives a lot of useful and personal background. 

Highly recommended, to adults and children so long as you don't mind suspending reality somewhat.  

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Mamma Mia (Amanda Seyfried)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s ten years - almost to the day! - since my younger son and some of his friends introduced me to the musical film ‘Mamma Mia’. Set on a Greek island, liberally peppered with Abba songs, I liked it very much. So when I saw the DVD inexpensively at a sale, I thought it a good idea to buy a copy.  However I wasn’t sure if my husband would like it; he’s not a fan of musicals, in general.

Last night he suggested we watch it, thinking it could be light and relaxing. He does like Abba songs, so I mentioned that the story is essentially written around them, with not a huge amount of plot. Indeed, I hadn’t remembered much of the story at all, other than that it involved a wedding, and Meryl Streep.

Amanda Seyfried is the real star of this, however. She plays Sophie, a young woman of twenty who is about to get married. Her mother - Meryl Streep - runs a guesthouse in a Greek island, although it’s rather run-down. She and her staff are preparing a huge feast for the wedding, and rooms for guests, and there’s clearly a lot to be done.

Sophie tells her two closest friends (and bridesmaids) that she has invited three men to the party, one of whom must be her father. Her mother never told her his name, but Sophie has found her journal from twenty years earlier, and it’s clear that there are three possible candidates. Sophia wrote to them, and they have all said they’re coming… but her mother doesn’t know.

We then meet these three very different guys: Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgård). Bill is a laid-back kind of guy who owns a boat. Harry is quite uptight, and Sam is a wealthy businessman. There are some deleted scenes - which we saw afterwards - that introduce them properly in context; these scenes probably wouldn’t have added much to the story but were very interesting to see later.

The three end up arriving together in Bill’s boat, and being led to a very dilapidated room by Sophie… who hasn’t told any of them that they might be her father. She thought she would just know when she met them, but this isn’t the case…

So there’s quite a comedy of errors, punctuated with musical numbers (sung by the cast, although in most cases they sound very Abba-like). There are huge crowds involved, and some amazing choreography. There’s humour (Colin Firth’s comic timing is superb) and some poignancy, too.  And of course there’s Meryl Streep, looking so like her film daughter that I wondered if the actress was her real mother. Apparently Streep was 59 when she did this role, in which she dances and leaps about like someone at least twenty years younger.

Of course it’s all rather silly, in the way that musicals are, where everyone dances and sings while the rest of the action stops. But it looked as if everyone was thoroughly enjoying themselves, and it’s so well done that I was quite caught up in the story (such as it was). My husband had spotted that some of the scenery was set in a studio, but I hadn’t noticed; it was explained in the ‘making of’ extra which we saw later.

The one person we felt didn’t quite fit the role (and really didn’t sound at all Abba-like when singing) was Pierce Brosnan as Sam. We couldn’t quite believe in him as Sam, and would have preferred him to have rather fewer solo roles. All of the actors apparently did their own singing (in a studio) and in most cases it was excellent.

Although the UK rating is PG, and there’s nothing explicit, nor any violence, there are a lot of innuendoes. There's also quite a seductive scene part-way through, although nothing comes of it. And of course the entire storyline revolves around three different people having slept with Sophie’s mother twenty years earlier. So I wouldn't recommended it for children or any younger teens who might find this shocking or embarrassing.

But with that proviso, I would definitely recommend this for a light evening’s viewing even if you don’t like musicals in general (unless you also don’t like Abba songs - there are a lot of them!).

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Oliver! (Mark Lester)

(Amazon UK link)

‘Oliver’ is the classic musical production based on Charles Dickens’ book ‘Oliver Twist’. The plot is well-known, as are many of the songs - such as ‘Food, Glorious Food’ or the catchy ‘Oom-pah-pah’. First produced in film format in 1968, this is a lengthy DVD, over two-and-a-half hours in length. It follows the typical style of musical films in that the plot is interrupted regularly by well-choreographed and beautifully sung pieces, which (at least in the case of this one) lighten the mood.

I had only the vaguest memories of this film, but we had it on DVD. It’s rated U so I rather naively assumed it would be a good one for some young friends (aged 3 up to 11) to watch. Thankfully they didn’t opt for it, and instead I saw it - or most of it - in the company of two teenage friends who already knew the story. One of them had read the Dickens book.

The story, set in the mid 19th century, starts in the workhouse. Oliver, who has lived there all his life, draws the short straw and makes the infamous request for more gruel. He is sold to a local undertaker, and escapes, only to find himself part of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. It takes him a while to work out what’s going on, by which time he is ensnared by the greedy Fagin, and the evil Bill Sykes. Bill’s wife Nancy, however, develops quite a soft spot for Oliver who is quite tender-hearted despite his upbringing.

It’s very well done. The young Mark Lester makes a very believable Oliver with an amazing singing voice, and Jack Wild was perfectly cast as the Artful Dodger, Oliver’s new friend and lead amongst the young pickpockets. The songs go on, perhaps, a bit too long for today’s youngsters, and some of the general shots of scenes in London were rather slow; an editor today would, I’m sure, reduce the length by at least half an hour with no loss of plot or dialogue. But those are minor quibbles; it’s a classic film, and this kind of thing is to be expected.

What surprised me more was the level of violence in the film, something which, I feel, should have lifted the rating to at least PG, preferably 12. There are two very unpleasant deaths at the end; one is off-stage, but it’s still clear what went on, and the other, while less gruesome than that in the book, could still give nightmares to a sensitive child. Earlier in the film there is a great deal of violence - or threatened violence - to the boys, in ways that would today be considered seriously abusive.

While there is no overt bad language, nudity or intimacy, there are some clear innuendoes, and quite a bit of drinking - not inappropriate for the characters and era concerned, but equally not something I would want a young child to see. I will no longer offer it to my younger friends as a possibility!

Still, for teens and adults, it’s worth seeing at least once, if only to learn where the songs come from, and to appreciate the grandeur and complexity of such a major production in the late 1960s.

Available as DVD or Blu-Ray.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Fiddler on the Roof (Topol)

(Amazon UK link)

About eight years ago, when we started collecting DVDs, 'Fiddler on the Roof' was on special offer. I knew it was a classic, one of those musicals where I knew some of the songs, and had a vague idea of the storyline. I'm pretty sure I saw a stage version - maybe done at a school - when I was a teenager, but I had never seen the 1971 film production.

It's the story of a Jewish family living in Tzarist Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Tevye, the star and narrator, is brilliantly portrayed by Topol; he's a likeable middle-aged peasant who has been married for twenty-five years and has five daughters.

Teyve pledges his oldest daughter to be married to the local widowed butcher who is wealthy, but not at all young or handsome. To his horror, his daughter pleads to be married instead to her childhood sweetheart. Teyve loves her, and wants her to be happy, so he agrees somewhat reluctantly… not realising the irony in that in marrying a nice Jewish boy whom he likes, she is being far more traditional than her younger sisters will prove to be...

For tradition is at the heart of the culture. The opening song glorifies the importance of tradition, which is how Teyve was raised, and how he expects his future to continue. Yet young people - most of all his daughters - are starting to query it. Concepts such as love are alien to Teyve; in the song quoted in 'love language' books, his wife lists the things she does for him, but is also a bit puzzled by the concept of love itself.

Teyve is a caring person, and is usually willing to listen; sometimes he will change his viewpoint too, often in conjunction with a quick chat with God. This is done in a style that works well as little asides, as if he is thinking aloud, pondering the pros and cons of various options while his companions of the time are temporarily frozen.

'Fiddler on the Roof' is a long film, nearly three hours in all. The musical style, even the songs themselves seem old fashioned at times, yet the choreography is excellent, and the scenery gorgeous. The Russian army, eventually driving the Jews out, are shown in historical context, making this useful from a social history point of view, and overall there’s much to think about. At the end, which was almost too abrupt, seeing Teyve himself having to depart from his beloved tradition for many reasons, I found myself wishing it could be longer.

Recommended.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (Donny Osmond, Maria Friedman)

(Amazon UK link)

I've known of and liked the musical 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat', written by Andrew Lloyd-Webber, for many years. It was popular in the UK in the 1980s, often performed by schools or other choirs, and many of the songs are well-known. So when I first saw this adaptation for film starring Donny Osmond, some years ago, I was not quite sure what to expect.

I was very impressed.

I saw 'Joseph' again four years ago, with relatives, and enjoyed it again.

Seeing it again recently with friends, I enjoyed it once more. It's very unusual for me to be able to sit through any film more than once but the music is enjoyable, the acting and directing excellent, and the whole musical an extravaganza, so cleverly done that even people who don't generally like musicals would most likely enjoy this.

Donny Osmond in the title role is extremely good. He plays the young and rather arrogant Joseph in a believable way. The story follows that of the Biblical book of Genesis. Joseph is disliked by his brothers, sold as a slave in Egypt, and gradually rises to a foremost position under Pharaoh. The ending - which I won't mention, just in case anyone reading this does not know the true story - enables it to be an example of God's provision and plan, despite men's deviousness. It is also a happy-ever-after kind of story, ideal for family viewing.

The music is deliberately set in a wide variety of styles, from the well-known 'Any Dream Will Do', sung by Joseph, to the brilliantly executed song of Pharaoh which took our friends (who did not know the music) by surprise!

What I particularly like is the way that the whole is tied in with a school. The narrator begins as headmistress, and there is a somewhat surreal integration of past and present. I was surprised how well it worked - and completely mesmerised the first time I saw it!

Suitable for all the family. Highly recommended.

review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews, August 22nd 2011

Mamma Mia! (Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried)

(Amazon UK link)

Mamma Mia! was perhaps quite a risky film to make, rather in the style of 1950s musicals with the cast breaking into song and dance at rather unlikely moments. Except that the songs were all originally by the group Abba, many of them very well known. And there was something of an all-star cast, headed by Meryl Streep, who was brilliant as ever in an energetic role that belies her years. She can sing, too.

I watched this DVD with friends, unsure what to expect. The setting is an idyllic Greek island, with a planned wedding for a beautiful daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). Meryl Streep plays her mother, but as we quickly learn, she has no idea who her daughter's father might be.

However, Sophie has found some old diaries of her mother's which suggest three possible candidates... so she boldly gets in touch with them all, unknown to her mother, and invites them to the wedding. Chaos, as can be imagined, quickly ensues.

The plot was clearly written in order to feature the Abba songs. While some of them fitted in well, I felt that some were rather contrived - although quite amusing. The whole thing was light-hearted and great fun, with some excellent singing and dancing by the women although we were less impressed by some of the male voices.

Rated PG-13 in the USA, PG in the UK.

Annie (Aileen Quinn)

(Amazon UK link)

The only reason we have the 1982 musical 'Annie' in our collection is that it came as a special offer combined with a different musical film. And although I am sure I had watched it at some point in the past, our DVD version sat on our shelves for at least a couple of years. Finally I watched it a few weeks ago with some friends, including children down to the age of four.

The children's mother remembered enjoying it very much in her childhood, and the rating was 'U' ('G' in the USA). While we vaguely remembered a tense moment at the end, we assumed this film would be entirely suitable for children of all ages.

The story is a classic, and the DVD was based on the broadway stage show, which was itself apparently based on a cartoon comic strip. The precocious orphan Annie (Aileen Quinn), who loves to sing, longs to be adopted. She is fostered for a week by a wealthy man, and turns his life upside down in many ways.

So we were rather shocked - given the rating - that there was some bad language (albeit minor) in the film. There was also some drunkenness (supposedly humorous, but rather extreme) and even some sexual references. We felt that the rating should have been at least PG, possibly even 12/PG-13.

While I don't mind musicals, I have to admit that I don’t particularly like the music in this film. In addition, I found Annie slightly annoying rather than adorable. Perhaps it was the old-fashioned style, despite having been made in the 1980s. The ending is melodramatic and rather predictable by the time it appears.

But still, it's a likeable film in some ways. I didn't give up in boredom but watched it to the end, and might even consider re-watching it again one day.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (Donny Osmond)

(Amazon UK link)

I liked the songs from the 1970s musical 'Joseph', which I saw live once or twice when schools performed it. But had never thought that a TV or movie version would really be worth seeing - after all, it's just a group of people on stage. Right?

No. Not in this version, anyway. My son bought it, having seen it somewhere else, and insisted that we watch it. Expecting to be bored, even though Donny Osmond was one of the heartthrobs of my youth, I was absolutely riveted.

The musical has been done as a surreal stage production, involving a school with its Headmistress - played brilliantly by Maria Friedman - singing the narration of the story.

Donny Osmond is wonderful as Joseph, the rather obnoxious favourite son of Jacob in the Bible, who ends up in prison, rising quickly to great heights in Ancient Egypt.

Despite having seen it a couple of years ago, I was happy to watch it again last night with relatives who thought it sounded interesting - and who also enjoyed it very much. There are some excellent routines; it's a very clever idea that works extremely well.

This is one of the few musicals I could watch repeatedly.

(Note: I did then watch and review' Joseph' again, four years later)

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews