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The FantasticksRating:
Release Date: 27 February, 2001 Retail Price: $14.98 OUR Price: $12.99 You SAVE: $1.99! Cast: |
The Fantasticks Reviews
The Unkindest Cut(s) Of All.
Over the course of my 20 year theatrical "career" I appeared in three different productions of THE FANTASTICKS. First in high school, then in community theatre, and finally in a professional theatre. Each time I played the same role of Mortimer, the man who dies (that's because I couldn't sing but I did die rather well). Imagine my indignation when I discovered that he was all but eliminated in this film version of the long running musical along with Henry, the old actor. As played by Teller (of Penn & Teller) and Barnard Hughes this constitutes a criminal offense on the part of Francis Ford Coppola who was responsible for re-editing the original film five years after it was finished. But that's only the beginning. He also shortened or removed several of the play's signature tunes (TRY TO REMEMBER, PLANT A RADISH) as well as key scenes including the one with the cardboard moon which states the central point of the play which is "to see it not with your eyes for thay are wise but with your ears". Why this was done is hard to fathom as it not only minimizes the storyline but reduces the musical moments as well. Fortunately the DVD has all this missing material (as bonus features) which allows you to reconstruct the film as it was and should have been released. Despite the hatchet job in the editing room there is still a lot to recommend. The play had to be opened up from its humble stage origins and this was done by giving it an OKLAHOMA like setting (it was shot in the same location) and by making El Gallo the head of a mysterious traveling carnival. The performances by the entire cast are not overpowering but they are not meant to be and they fit the characters just fine. Remember THE FANTASTICKS was created as a sort of anti-musical in reaction to the large scale Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals of the day and with an eye to amateur performances. The cinematography is lovely, the updated script by original creators Tom Jones & Harvey Schmidt works well and despite the misguided efforts of Coppola there is still the simple, memorable music that retains the power to grab you if you "see it with your ears". So in the end I was pleased with the film overall with the 5 star musical getting a 4 star treatment minus a star for the horrendous editing. If you love THE FANTASTICKS (or old fashioned musicals in general) then this DVD is certainly worth having and maybe one day the film will be released as originally shot so that we don't have to play the King's men and try and put Humpty Dumpty together again. The commentary by director Michael Ritchie is entertaining and informative regarding how and why certain things were done.
Mistakes were made.
Besides echoing what other detractors have already said about this horrendous movie, I would add that the basic art direction concept -- a story-book landscape with two lone houses and the introduction of a traveling circus wagon -- initially seemed to be a clever and appropriate movie translation of the magical minimalism of the stage production. The original musical might have played out fairly well in this setting. But what killed it -- even more than the inadequate casting -- was the perverse fiddling with the script. Perhaps the worst mistake was trying to "explain" why the young lovers are motherless. Who ever fretted about that seeing the stage show? But the filmmakers were too literal and earnest to allow a fable work its own magic and instead sought to deepen the story by forcing Luisa and her father to mope around the house and stare at each other. This morose quality, wholly alien to the original, infects the entire production.
Like many others posting here, I was sorely disappointed that "Try to Remember" was robbed of its introductory role. But given Morris' rendition of it, thoroughly lacking in lyricism and musicality, it would have been better cut altogether.
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