Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786303494395 Format: Closed-captioned ISBN: 6303494390 Label: 20th Century Fox Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: 20th Century Fox Release Date: 1996-09-03 Running Time: 157 Studio: 20th Century Fox Theatrical Release Date: 1958-03-19
The dazzling Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, brought to lush life by the director of the original stage version, Joshua Logan. Set on a remote island during the Second World War, South Pacific tracks two parallel romances: one between a Navy nurse (Mitzi Gaynor) "as corny as Kansas in August" and a wealthy French plantation owner (Rossano Brazzi), the other between a young American officer (John Kerr) and a native girl (France Nuyen). The theme of interracial love was still daring in 1958, and so was director Logan's decision to overlay emotional moments with tinted filters--a technique that misfires as often as it hits. The comic relief tends to fall flat, and an overly spunky Mitzi Gaynor is a poor substitute for the stage original's Mary Martin. But the location scenery on the Hawaiian island of Kauai is gorgeous, and the songs are among the finest in the American musical catalog: "Some Enchanted Evening," "Younger than Springtime," "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair," "This Nearly Was Mine." That's Juanita Hall as the sly native trader Bloody Mary, singing the haunting tune that launched a thousand tiki bars, "Bali H'ai." Based on stories from James Michener's book Tales from the South Pacific. --Robert Horton
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: "Soutn Pacific" DVD Comment: Broadway was just a string of Variety shows until "South Pacific". Everything changed after that. This DVD is a wonderful experience. Customer Rating: Summary: Great gift Comment: I had bought a different DVD of South Pacific for my children's anniversary, but returned it as that wasn't the one they wanted. They are just thrilled with this one.South Pacific (Collector's Edition) Customer Rating: Summary: Great classic Comment: The digital enhancement of this old classic is superb! The special features were also very good. Pure entertainment! Customer Rating: Summary: Classic Favorite Comment: A great classic musical movie. I had a scratchy VHS tape of this and wanted to get a good, clear movie. Thank you for making it available at a reasonable price. The music in it is very, very good and the story is a great one. Customer Rating: Summary: This musical did not age well. I'm very disappointed. Comment: This musical did not age well at all. I'm crushed and disappointed. Purchased for my granddaughter based on my memory of the film, but the acting was weak and stilted, with the exception of the old Polynesian dame, who was WONDERFUL. Still, not worth the money or experience of seeing it again.
