A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Fantasticks -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Robert Harris · Apr 15, 2015

The Fantasticks was playing off-Broadway when I was a kid, and seemingly did so for a century or so.

The film was produced in 1995, and not released until 2000. Apparently, the studio had its doubts as to what to do with it.

It's an interesting artifact, and I'm pleased that Twilight Time has seen fit to see that it gets a release.

Whatever lovers of musicals think about the content, there is no downside to the new Blu-ray, which is a magnificent affair.

Color, resolution, grain structure, all in place.

Checking out The Fantasticks shortly after April Love, I was wondering if the sweet, innocent couple (played by Jean Louisa Kelly and Joey McIntyre) might have a fun evening out with Pat Boone and Shirley Jones, and what they might discuss?

Image - 4.75

Audio - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

RAH

Virgoan · Apr 16, 2015

I imagine many people reading this have also performed in a production of "The Fantasticks" at some time or other. My time was in college when I was cast as Matt. I was not a singer but I could carry a tune, stay on pitch and I was loud.

The music gets under your skin...and in this movie, Broadway master orchestrator Jonathan Tunick has created a gorgeous underscore that serves the movie and the Broadway score very well.

Interesting note: This film was shot on location...in the same area where the movie "Oklahoma!" was filmed.

Jim*Tod · Apr 16, 2015

I think, if I remember correctly, OKLAHOMA! was actually shot in Arizona.

Robert Harris · Apr 16, 2015

Jim*Tod said:
I think, if I remember correctly, OKLAHOMA! was actually shot in Arizona.

And M-G-M, Culver City.

Citizen87645 · Apr 16, 2015

I owned the DVD mainly as a fan of Kelly after Mr. Holland's Opus. I wound up selling off the DVD though as the musical ultimately didn't stick with me. I am surprised it's getting the Twilight Time treatment, but more power to 'em!

haineshisway · May 2, 2015

A wonderful transfer of the film. But Mr. Coppola should never have been allowed anywhere near it and I really advise everyone to watch the original cut of the film. Mr. Coppola ham-fistedly cuts whole portions of songs out and it's not like people don't know this score by heart. Not to mention that anyone who would cut Try to Remember from the beginning of The Fantasticks clearly does not understand the material. By the one-hour mark in the short version, he's already cut a whopping eighteen minutes out of the film. El Gallo is like an extra in the short version. It's not like the film played for more than a week in one theater so it could not have possibly done worse had they released Ritchie's cut. The film is weird but I kind of like it on its own terms and my Lord Jean Louisa Kelly is gorgeous and adorable (and still is - I work with her every now and then and she looks amazing and is still singing beautifully).

ROclockCK · May 2, 2015

Mine hasn't arrrived yet Bruce, but what did you think of the commentary with Kelly and Kimmel? Worth a listen?

haineshisway · May 2, 2015

ROclockCK said:
Mine hasn't arrrived yet Bruce, but what did you think of the commentary with Kelly and Kimmel? Worth a listen?

I haven't actually listened to it yet

ahollis · May 5, 2015

Based on all the talk of this film, I blind ordered it and it arrived earlier today. What an enchanting film and so entertaining. Thanks to all for supporting this for if you didn't I would have missed something special.

MatthewA · May 5, 2015

In 1995, you'd think after the success of Mr. Holland's Opus,* they'd want to exploit that connection in some way.

MGM buried a lot of movies during this period, like the real sequel to A Christmas Story**. This was when Credit Lyonnais still owned it, and they were stuck with the mess from the Giancarlo Parretti debacle; Kirk Kerkorian would take it off their hands a year later for the third and last time. But to do this to a musical when musicals were one of the things that made them what they used to be? To this day, I still can't even.

haineshisway said:
A wonderful transfer of the film. But Mr. Coppola should never have been allowed anywhere near it and I really advise everyone to watch the original cut of the film. Mr. Coppola ham-fistedly cuts whole portions of songs out and it's not like people don't know this score by heart. Not to mention that anyone who would cut Try to Remember from the beginning of The Fantasticks clearly does not understand the material. By the one-hour mark in the short version, he's already cut a whopping eighteen minutes out of the film. El Gallo is like an extra in the short version. It's not like the film played for more than a week in one theater so it could not have possibly done worse had they released Ritchie's cut. The film is weird but I kind of like it on its own terms and my Lord Jean Louisa Kelly is gorgeous and adorable (and still is - I work with her every now and then and she looks amazing and is still singing beautifully).

It concerns me that Coppola talks about taking stuff out of Finian's Rainbow on that film's DVD commentary, even if that actually is his film. Why did they ask him in to do it in the first place?***

*Okay, I'll be the first to say it: where's the Blu-ray of that? It never even got an anamorphic DVD.
**Then there's that Ollie Hopnoodle thing, which I didn't even realize had yet another set of actors as Ralphie Parker and his family, but that's The Mouse's to deal with if they ever choose to.
***How ironic that the first thing you see in The Godfather is a long, uninterrupted zoom-out shot (the "I believe in this country" scene, not to be confused with a similar scene in The Happiest Millionaire, another film that got treated the same way by its studio).

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