EricMontreal22 wrote: I found (the remake) a mess and it made me appreciate the original movie, even with those filters, more. Why was Josh Logan such a great theatre director apparently, but his films are often bloated... even when he adapted his plays like SOUTH PACIFIC?
CarlosAlberto wrote: I may be in the minority here but I don't have a problem with the 1958 film version of SOUTH PACIFIC...color filters and all. It's one of my favorite films.
EricMontreal22 wrote: Carlos, I was being too harsh - the film isn't ALL that bad. I like the cast, I like putting back "My Girl Back Home", and finally seeing it in widescreen, remastered, filters and all it looks spectacular.... I do think Logan opens it up a little too much - the silly war stuff that in the play is merely talked about over the radio, feels like it goes on way too long... Some time ago I revisited the 1958 film version of SOUTH PACIFIC. I enjoyed it more than I remembered and it I probably liked it more than I ever have.
The storytelling and the score will always be up there for me. Perhaps a this is about the stage show as well as the film, but I love the way the two narratives complement each other so perfectly. The characters are so well written. It's immensely compelling.
Eric, I don't agree that the war stuff in the film is silly. It's not endless and it has its place. The film is not all that much longer than the stage show and I don't find it bloated. I'm not sure I like the shuffling of the scenes at the top of the film, though. I love the symmetry that opening with "Dites-Moi" would have given to the film, in the way that is does on stage. There's also the singing to the camera in "A Wonderful Guy" and "My Girl Back Home": this is my number one pet hate in movie musicals. I don't think it EVER works, and I just find it frustrating here.
The score is, of course, a truly great one, even if the last half hour of both the show and the film ends up being a little "plotty". There are some strange little cuts here and there in the film, but the score is served much better here than in the recent television adaptation, which I thought was misguided in many departments. And "This Nearly Was Mine" is a beautiful - one of my favourite R&H songs.
I enjoy Mitzi Gaynor's performance more and more each time I see the film. Yes, there are two scenes (in my opinion) where her acting is perhaps a little weak - when she breaks down during the rehearsal for "Honey Bun" and just after "My Girl Back Home". But she generally does a great job, and even does all own her singing, as opposed to some of the other cast members of the film, whether or not they were capable of it. Also, the supporting cast is great, especially Ray Walston as Billis and Russ Brown as Captain Bracett. Both are delightful. On the other hand, I'm not crazy about the casting of John Kerr as Cable, and I don't think Bill Lee is the greatest match as his singing voice. I find his dubbing a bit distracting. It's certainly not as good a match as Emile or Bloody Mary.
The locations are also stunningly beautiful and are really well used throughout the film. It's great when a film actually uses its locations to its advantage, to tell the story and create the world of the film, rather than just as a gimmick. In contrast, the colour filters don't enhance the film one bit in my opinion. They really are a gimmick, but I think that's a common complaint.
Musical Cyberspace: a tribute to the musicals of Broadway and beyond.
Updated On: 6/9/12 at 12:22 PM
