You're handed one of the all-time greatest works of musical theatre to convert into a movie. It has compelling story lines, interesting characters and a thought-provoking field of subjects that ranges from the war in the Pacific to racism to many variations on the themes of love and loss. The music, lyrics and arrangements are arguably the supreme accomplishment of perhaps the greatest musical-producing team in theatre history.
Could you make a bad movie out of it? You or I might have a hard time trashing such sublimity. Unfortunately Joshua Logan and crew did not. The filters; good grief, what were they thinking. The languid pacing. The dubbing of all those vocals. John Kerr (no offense to him; he was miscast for this role). The standard issue performance turned in by poor Mitzi Gaynor. This was a play that cried out for real locations; what we get here is plastic. And filtered.
I don't know what Richard Rodgers or Oscar Hammerstein thought about this movie but they couldn't have been that happy with it.
This is a show that should have the sweep of the whole Pacific behind it. Instead the movie version leaves you wanting to catch it in the confines of some local high school theatre production. 'Nuf said.
Could you make a bad movie out of it? You or I might have a hard time trashing such sublimity. Unfortunately Joshua Logan and crew did not. The filters; good grief, what were they thinking. The languid pacing. The dubbing of all those vocals. John Kerr (no offense to him; he was miscast for this role). The standard issue performance turned in by poor Mitzi Gaynor. This was a play that cried out for real locations; what we get here is plastic. And filtered.
I don't know what Richard Rodgers or Oscar Hammerstein thought about this movie but they couldn't have been that happy with it.
This is a show that should have the sweep of the whole Pacific behind it. Instead the movie version leaves you wanting to catch it in the confines of some local high school theatre production. 'Nuf said.