A few words about…™ Annie Get Your Gun – in Blu-ray

A favorite of mine too. Looking so forward to this.

Great, I pre-ordered it yesterday.

Mark Get Your Annie!

Done!

Mark

Pre-ordered through the HTF link. Looking forward to viewing another of the WAC's 3-strip beauties.

ahollis said:

A favorite of mine too. Looking so forward to this.

Click to expand...

Looking forward to Annie in blu-ray. The old DVD was the first time I’ve ever seen the movie. I did buy the wonderful CD of the soundtrack which also includes the Judy Garland versions recorded for the film. It’s a wonderful score. The film was a bit disappointing but that score lifts it up whenever you hear those tuneful Irving Berlin songs.

I bought the soundtrack LP as a surprise christmas present for my wife back in the early 1970s when it was still a rarity to be able to hear it, let alone see it. From memory, It was a Karousel label from Germany. Sounded great; we loved it then and still do.

My thanks to RAH for this review.

Good news all around.

.Annie Get Your Gun will get my full-priced support and attentions, without a blink nor hesitation.

Got mine pre-ordered. I also just bought the 1957 Mary Martin and John Rait TV performance on Blu-ray. I think Mary Martin was pretty good in the role as well though the only person i have to compare her to is Betty Hutton and the cast recordings of Ethel. I knew it was an old kinescope recording so i wasn't expecting much quality wise, I really love seeing old performances that aired on TV, it's a shame they could not be preserved better at the time.

If they were live performances (and I believe the Martin-Raitt Annie was live), the video quality was likely better because what we're seeing is a kinescope, a movie shot off a television screen during the performance, and that kind of quality is never going to be great. It was probably in color, too, and the kinescope is black and white.

Matt Hough said:

If they were live performances (and I believe the Martin-Raitt Annie was live), the video quality was likely better because what we're seeing is a kinescope, a movie shot of a television screen during the performance, and that kind of quality is never going to be great. It was probably in color, too, and the kinescope is black and white.

Click to expand...

You are correct. Just as Julie Andrews‘ Cinderella was broadcast in color, but all we have is the black & white kinescope of that great performance.

It’s hard to top The Merm, but Betty Hutton seemed tailor made for this role.

The experience of seeing the true giants of Broadway on stage is not something to be had today. I saw Carol Channing on tour in Hello Dolly in the late 70s and I’ve never forgotten it.

Thank you RAH- is there a caveat/warning newly added at the beginning a la GWTW?

Betty Hutton--always there for when you run out of coffee.

Good movie, but not my favorite. I very much wish they had used orchestrations similar to the Robert Russell Bennett orchestrations, which were expanded for the Lincoln Center performance in the 60's, and that CD is in my opinion the best treatment of this score, with Merman reprising her role. In my opinion one of the best original cast CD's. The scoring in the film is good and certainly an orchestra of that size is a pleasure, but i just feel they don't compare to Bennett's orchestrations. I agree with Mr. Harris, Merman should have played the role. But Betty certainly was a lively Annie. Such a shame stereophonic sound in film didn't come a little sooner. I would love to see them take a popular film, like Wizard of Oz, where they have the dialogue and effects tracks, and replicate the orchestra with a new recording and mix it in. But back to Annie, looking forward to the new blu.

Looking forward to this.

And I envy RAH having seen the Lincoln Center production. The cast recording of that has been a favorite for years.

My copy was delivered today. Won't watch for a few days, but looking forward to it.

Mark

It's a fantastic transfer with stunning color. I really like Betty Hutton and think she was ideal for it. I watched the Garland stuff again and sorry Garland fans, she is just so out of it in those clips - no energy, lifeless, not funny - she sounds good, of course, because that stuff was pre-recorded. One can see instantly why replacing her was the only thing to do. I've never been in love with the film, however, mostly because Sidney Sheldon's screenplay "adaptation" isn't great (why not use the script of the show - some of it's the same, but not enough) and it's hard for me to get past the missing songs, especially Moonshine Lullaby and most especially I Got Lost in His Arms, one of Berlin's greatest songs.

haineshisway said:

It's a fantastic transfer with stunning color. I really like Betty Hutton and think she was ideal for it. I watched the Garland stuff again and sorry Garland fans, she is just so out of it in those clips - no energy, lifeless, not funny - she sounds good, of course, because that stuff was pre-recorded. One can see instantly why replacing her was the only thing to do. I've never been in love with the film, however, mostly because Sidney Sheldon's screenplay "adaptation" isn't great (why not use the script of the show - some of it's the same, but not enough) and it's hard for me to get past the missing songs, especially Moonshine Lullaby and most especially I Got Lost in His Arms, one of Berlin's greatest songs.

Click to expand...

I agree, Betty Hutton is spunky and fun in the role and is a large part of why I enjoy the film. I think she was better suited to follow in the footsteps of Ethel Merman than Judy was.