The Best of Broadway Musicals - Classic Performances from The Ed Sullivan Show [VHS]

This is one of the Best and Original Broadway Musical Shows.

SOME OF THE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS MUSIC [ SAMPLE ]

1) Great Broadway performances - I owned this on VHS and am pleased that it has made it to DVD. I hope it is the first of many releases of original Broadway performances of the 1950's and 1960's on DVD. Some performances are direct from their Broadway productions, while some are performed several years later. It runs about 56 minutes total and has extra features that provide background information on the musicals presented including creative credits, synospis, original cast, songs, Broadway production dates (including revivals), and when the film version was produced.

The performances are:

ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1966)

"There's No Business Like Show Business" - Ethel Merman

OKLAHOMA! (1955)

"Oklahoma!" - John Raitt, Celeste Holm, Florence Henderson & Barbara Cook

"I Cain't Say No" - Celeste Holm

FLOWER DRUM SONG (1958)

"I Enjoy Being a Girl" - Pat Suzuki

GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1959)

"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" - Carol Channing

MY FAIR LADY (1961)

"Wouldn't It Be Loverly" - Julie Andrews

WEST SIDE STORY ( 1961)

"Tonight" - Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert

CAMELOT ( 1961)

"What Do the Simple Folk Do?" - Julie Andrews and Richard Burton

THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT, THE SMELL OF THE CROWD (1965)

"Who Can I Turn To?" - Anthony Newley

MAN OF LA MANCHA ( 1966)

"The Impossible Dream" - Richard Kiley

SWEET CHARITY (1966)

"I'm A Brass Band" - Gwen Verdon

HELLO, DOLLY! ( 1967)

"Before the Parade Passes By" - Pearl Bailey

This is a must-have for any fan of Broadway musicals. I must say that my favorites are Gwen Verdon's "I'm a Brass Band" and Pearl Bailey's "Before the Parade Passes By", both performed while they were still in the Broadway show and with the respective choreography of Bob Fosse and Gower Champion. Seeing Bailey & cast, one can see how "Dolly" was revitalized with an all-black cast taking the show back to sold-out status. These preserved performances give us a mere glimpse into what true Broadway stars were like. The end of the DVD promises that a Volume 2 is in the works. Let's hope there are more to come.

By A Customer on July 30, 2003

2) Invaluable - Pretty much without exception, the original cast performances in Broadway musicals are matchless. However, the ephemeral nature of theatre makes it impossible to relive these performances over and over as we do with film, and often Hollywood translations missed out by hiring "bankable" Hollywood names. How lucky that Ed Sullivan led the way in featuring many of the original Broadway greats on his show. Of course, there are MANY more of these segments which I'd like to see make their way to DVD, but the segments presented here are superlative. The running list follows... Almost every one presents a Broadway star who was replaced with an inferior (and dubbed) Hollywood name in the film adaptation.

1.ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1966)

"There's No Business Like Show Business" - Ethel Merman

2.OKLAHOMA! (1955)

"Oklahoma!" - John Raitt, Celeste Holm, Florence Henderson & Barbara Cook

"I Cain't Say No" - Celeste Holm

3.FLOWER DRUM SONG (1958)

"I Enjoy Being a Girl" - Pat Suzuki

4.GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1959)

"Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" - Carol Channing

5.MY FAIR LADY (1961)

"Wouldn't It Be Loverly" - Julie Andrews

5.WEST SIDE STORY ( 1961)

"Tonight" - Carol Lawrence and Larry Kert

6.CAMELOT ( 1961)

"What Do the Simple Folk Do?" - Julie Andrews and Richard Burton

7.THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT, THE SMELL OF THE CROWD (1965)

"Who Can I Turn To?" - Anthony Newley

8.MAN OF LA MANCHA ( 1966)

"The Impossible Dream" - Richard Kiley

9.SWEET CHARITY (1966)

"I'm A Brass Band" - Gwen Verdon

10.HELLO, DOLLY! ( 1967)

"Before the Parade Passes By" - Pearl Bailey

By D. Fletcher on October 28, 2004

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Click –The Best of Broadway Musicals - Classic Performances from The Ed Sullivan Show [VHS]

Ruby in Paradise [VHS]

An uncommon gem of a film, this story of a young woman finding herself is a marvelous sleeper. Ashley Judd (Kiss the Girls) makes her film debut as Ruby, who moves to a Florida beach town and tries as best she can to earn a living. She begins working in a clothing store and starts dating men, but after some hard choices realizes she must first figure out who she is and what she wants out of life before she settles for something less than she deserves. Writer-director Victor Nunez (Ulee's Gold) tells his tale as an amiable slice of life story without forcing any of the emotion. And Judd gives an astounding performance as a young woman whose quiet inner strength allows her to grow and gain confidence in the person she wants to be. Avoiding all the possible clichés and presenting a positive, realistic, and touching character portrait, Ruby in Paradise is a rare and worthwhile discovery. --Robert Lane

SOME OF THE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS MUSIC [ SAMPLE ]

1) Ashley Judd's debut film - Ruby in Paradise is Ashley Judd's first film and, in my opinion, offers her best performance. She certainly deserved a best actress nomination for this role; I believe the only valid reason she didn't receive one was that this was too small a film and slipped by fairly unnoticed by most people and critics alike. While Ashley Judd has seen gone on to become quite a Hollywood celebrity, I do not feel that she has topped her performance in this film. The film itself is fairly straight-forward; it concerns a young girl named Ruby who runs away from an abusive family environment in Tennessee to try to make a new life for herself in a small Floridan ocean resort town. The film details her struggles to establish an identity for herself and to find her niche in life. This film, understandably, is quite character-driven in much the same way as in "Ulee's Gold" (by the same director) or Robert Duvall's "Tender Mercies" or Joan Chen's "Xiu Xiu" (all of which are excellent films). Nothing much happens during the film, yet the film is absorbing in its portrayal of the daily existence of Ruby. We see the slow metamorphosis of Ashley Judd's character from an uncertain girl into one who is more comfortable and has found direction for her life. It is all very subtly done with little nuances in Ashley Judd's performance and delicate, deliberate pacing by the director; nothing is flashed in big bold letters in front of our eyes, and I believe this makes the film all the stronger. The film is not for everyone - those searching for mindless, fast-paced blockbuster action need not apply, but those looking for a strong character-driven story will find much to like in this small gem of a film.

By Ed N on July 12, 2000

2) What it means to be working class - For those of us escaping at an early age because of a loss of family--in the case of Ruby, her mother's death and other implied circumstances--or the need to support ourselves because we do not have parents that can send us to college, this movie is the mirror of our early years. This is especially true of young women who have to work pink-collar or blue-collar jobs while they are trying to find themselves. The precision, the understatement of this movie, the delicate emotions of what relationships can mean to a woman's independence, is what gives it a five star rating and Ashely Judd's performance (her debut) is magnificent. You can't help but feel that her acting is taken from experiences in her own life. What young woman in those circumstances has not found herself making the mistakes Ruby does but yet, she has the inner strength, even in her most desperate moments (unemployed and thinking of being a topless dancer) to grit her teeth and not sell her soul. Yet, this movie is not judgmental--I don't think a viewer who has had to go through those experiences would have thought any less of Ruby for choosing to become a topless dancer just to pay bills, rent, and eat. We are forced at times to make desperate decisions to stay alive.

This should never had been a "sleeper" film. It is the kind of film I would have (if I had children) my daughter or son watch in their adolescent years. For those of us who came from disadvantaged circumstances in the land of opportunity--AMERICA-- it is a documentary of what it means to begin 300 yards behind the starting line of what is considered the normal sequence of events now in our culture--high school, college, a well-paying job, a good marriage, children. What it means when you have to grow up fast (for Ruby, spring break means being able to sell more merchandise--not the easy fling of fun on the beach). Yet there is nothing pitying about this film. It is the triumph of surviving and finding joy in being able to support yourself, and looking at the world through "different" eyes.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough. It soars.

By Mary Ellis on September 4, 2004

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Click –Ruby in Paradise [VHS]

Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila - San Francisco Opera [VHS]

Placido Domingo and Shirley Verrett star in the title roles of this live recording from the San Francisco Opera of Saint-Saens' great three-act opera, which closely follow the biblical tale of the struggle between the Hebrews and the Philistines and the downfall of Samson in the hands of the temptress Dalila. The colorful and evocative sets and costumes reflect Saint-Saens' melodic and sensual score, beautifully conducted by Julius Rudel.

SOME OF THE CUSTOMER REVIEWS ABOUT THIS MUSIC [ SAMPLE ]

1) The best version thus far... - Here is a wonderful performance of Samson. It was filmed in London not more than a year after the rival dvd from Sanfransisco. The production by Elijah Moshinsky is marvelous in it's subtle details which bring the story to life. The sets & costumes by Sir Sidney Nolan are a beautiful fusion of African and Far Eastern art notwithstanding some bizzarely expressionistic front curtains before each act. Don' be put off by them. The cast is uniformly excellent. Verrett, one of the most dramatically beautiful women to ever walk the stage is a supreme Delilah. Her singing is ravishing and she infuses the character with so many subtle touches that show she has really thought out the role. She must have worked very well with the director because it is all the small touches that bring her performance to life. For example, I love the way she conveys a woman voicing her thoughts out loud and discovering her feelings at the same time during the Act 2 duet with the High Priest. Verrett is also in the SanFransico dvd but she is that much more engaged with her role in this performance. She is also more flatterinlgy costumed in this version. Vickers is somewhat les of an actor than Verrett but Samson was one of his finest roles and his sheer force of nature tone and personality are more suited to the role of Samson than the otherwise wonderful Domingo in both other versions on dvd. Jonathan Summers is, I think, the more convincing of the High Priest's than either Wolfgang Brendl or Sergei Leiferkus although to be fair Leiferkus makes the High Preist seem more spooky. Summers' singing is marvellously firm in what is one of those baritone shouting roles like Don Pizzaro in Fidelio. Gwynne Howell is also the better of the singers portraying the Old Hebrew. He looks more convincing as an old man and he has the most velvety sounding voice of the three competing singers. My only reservation about this performance is the staging and setting for the Final scene. The Bacchanale is staged quite wonderfully as an outdoor fertility ritual involving blood sacrifice. Very well done and very convincing. In the rival SanFransisco version the ballet is staged as a wonderful temple orgy in a truly magnificent, steamy looking, pagan temple. The taunting of Samson in the temple is truly scary in it's brutality in the London version but it is negated by the unconvincing destruction of the temple by Samson. It mostly doesn't work because of the outdoor setting that the director & designer decided on so that when the collumns collapse It is unlikely that anyone would get hurt. In the rival Sanfransisco version we are treated to the most gloriously cinematic staging of the destruction of the temple. It still sends shivers down my spine 20 odd years later. That alone is worth the price of that dvd. The Covent Garden Orchestra and Chorus respond excellently to Davis's masterly acount of the score somewhat surpassing the SanFransisco group under Rudel. The picture and sound of this dvd are as good as one could expect from a television recording that is over 25 years old. All in all, if you can afford only one dvd of Samson this really is the one to have.

By J. M. Parr on January 21, 2006

2) Vickers' godlike presence - I've never thought that I could witness such a powerful and commanding performance till the day I've watched this dvd. I must admit that I've ordered this dvd for Verrett because I wasn't expecting Vickers to sound as powerful as in his thrilling 1963 samson recording with rita gorr on emi. but I was so wrong!

He's singing here with a terrifying power and in a complete trance that makes you think that he's truly a demi-god like samson. Even Madame Verrett who in san francisco production had dominated the stage in every scene she was in, is a bit shadowed by Vickers' divine aura. And I didn't like her short hair either. She was much more vibrant, agresive, glamorous in san francisco and so was the production. the rest of the covent garden cast isn't very strong. especially Summers' voice compared to brendel at san fran. is quite weak.

the recent met production (from dg) has only one advantage, better sound and picture quality. but these two other versions are fairly well presented as well.

in short, if you like to watch a legendary samson accompanied by a legendary dalila and a great orchestra (davis surpasses levine and rudel)
buy this one. If you want a glamourous hollywood like production dominated by Verrett's unsurpassed Dalila and a great but not legendary samson (domingo) with superb cast and choir and orchestra buy the san fran. version.

By Maurice D'Archonnoir on March 7, 2008

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Saint-Saens' Samson et Dalila - San Francisco Opera [VHS]