Finian's Rainbow

Amazon.com

A funny thing happened to Finian's Rainbow in between its debut as a Broadway musical in 1947 and its appearance as a film in 1968. After 21 years, its theme of racial tension in the American South was no longer cutting edge, and the fact that its heroes are a group of sharecroppers called the Rainbow Valley Tobacco Cooperative dates it even further. Add a number of subplots and the heavy hand of a 29-year-old Francis Ford Coppola directing his first and only musical, and the two-and-a-half-hour running time feels bloated. Hermes Pan (best known for the classic Astaire-Rogers movies) is credited with choreographing the overbusy musical numbers, but he was reportedly overruled by Coppola at every turn. Still, there is a lot to enjoy in this movie, most notably Fred Astaire in his last lead role in a musical. Fred plays Finian McLonergan, an Irishman who has traveled to America in hopes of planting a pilfered pot of gold near Fort Knox and watching it grow. Even at 69, Fred shows he is still capable of a sprightly step and warbling "Look to the Rainbow." Another plus is the casting of '60s pop icon Petula Clark as his daughter, as she sings with an unaffected loveliness. Finally, the score by Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg includes two of the best Broadway songs ever written--"Old Devil Moon" and "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?"--as well as the comic ditty "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love." --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

I Love "Finian's Rainbow".......2007-07-13

Movies are to us Americans what opera was to the Italians or what the great nineteenth-century novels were to the English: the most dynamic expression of our culture. Like other art forms, movies have expressed, interpreted, and shaped our values, our interests, and our beliefs.
The movie "Finain's Rainbow" was made in the late 1960s, and is based on a moderately successful but long-forgetten stage musical of the late 1940s. Francis Ford Coppola's brilliant direction brought this tale up to date in a way that resonated with audiences in 1970. The original play was rather daring in its time, combining a direct attack on racism with a lighthearted populist-style socialism. By 1970, when the movie hit the big screen across America, racism was no longer respectable, and the attack on it no longer controversial. Most of the socialist theme in the original was expunged from the movie, and what was left was treated very lightly.
What remains is a delightful(for my taste) fantasy about an Irishman (Fred Astair) who comes to America with his daughter (Petula Clark) in search of a place to bury a pot of gold he has stolen from a Leprechaun in the old country. Fred Astair's character is not quite a con man, and yet not quite of this earth, either. Petula Clark is radient, and Tommy Steele as the leprechaun is a delight. "The Mclonergan theory of economics" as only Fred Astair can tell it is one of the best scenes in any movie, in my opinion.
The anti-racist element in the movie is almost a subplot until the final few minutes, when all the story lines are brought together. Finian finds himself in a sharecropper community in Kentucky, in which a fantasy version of full racial integration is practised. Those of us who saw this movie in 1970 knew very well that no such community really existed; but it encouraged us to ask ourselves, "why not? Can't we do better as a nation?" For me, that was an uplifting message.
The one thing that modern audiences will not relate to is the sharecropper community's goal of achieving prosperity by growing better tobacco. All I can really say in defense of that part of the story is this: I hope audiences today can see the tobacco experiment in the movie as a holdover from an earlier time, and as a metaphor for better community improvement.
Give "Finian's Rainbow" a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Finian's Rainbow.......2007-06-08

This movie is a modern version of "Brigadoon" set in the 60's.

It is light with good songs and dancing sequences.

It is very much a family movie, however probable politically incorrect in todays enviroment because the story line is centered around the production of smokeless tobbacco.

Its a long movie but if you like musicals and old fashioned values you will enjoy this movie.

Finian's Rainbow.......2007-05-18

This was a good overall movie. I think there was a touch too much leprechan time though. Some numbers where a little long. But........Fred Astaire, 69, dancing up and down boxes...Hurray for him! Nice Dancing!

Francis Ford Coppala's first musical.......2007-04-17

Coppala was right out of college when he was asked to do "Finian's Rainbow". It had been a big hit on Broadway in the 40's but predated the civil rights movement. Coppala had the task of updating it for 1968.

Fred Astaire is 69 in the title role and this was his last role dancing and singing. This was the first times since the beginning of Astaire's career that he didn't have control over the direction of his musical numbers. Coppala was an inexperienced director and fired Hermes Pan, Fred's chorographer. He admits that it was his fault that Fred's big number in the film didn't come out the way should.
Petula Clark is wonderful as Astaire's daughter. Tommy Steele who was also in "The Happiest Millionare" and "Half a Sixpence" plays a part typical of his personality.
There is very little chemistry between Petula Clark and her love interest, Dan Franck.
PLOT: Finian(Astaire) is an Irishman that steals a pot of gold from Og (Tommy Steele). He heads toRainbow Valley, which is right next to Fort Knox, Kentucky, where he thinks burying the gold will multiply his riches. He meets some people, Woody and Silent Sue, and gives them money to save their land from the bigot senator (Keenan Wynn). In return he wants part of their land to secretly bury the gold. Og follows Finian to get his gold back. He is turning into a mortal because he has lost his pot of gold. Meanwhile, Finian's daughter(Petula Clark) is falling in love with a local, Woody (Dan Franck).

Nicely restored with great special features. Includes a commentary with Coopala that actually has a mini documentry before it. Featurette is the world premere with interviews with the stars.

A Truly Great Movie!.......2007-01-24

Finian's Rainbow (1968) is one of the truly great movies of all time!

Unfortunately it was produced at the beginning of the reign of terror instigated by the Liberal Thought Police, and labeled "racially discriminatory."

Nothing could be further from the truth. It attacked racial bigotry in a most delightful way.

Check it out. I'm sure you will like it!

The Classic Musicals Collection - Broadway to Hollywood (Easter Parade Two Disc Special Edition / The Band Wagon Two Disc Special Edition / Bells Are Ringing / Finian's Rainbow / Brigadoon)

Average customer rating:

brigadoon is short-changed
Five of the Best Color Musicals Ever Made
Not the best musicals
Thank You, WB!
A SUBLIME COLLECTION OF GREAT MUSICALS!

The Classic Musicals Collection - Broadway to Hollywood (Easter Parade Two Disc Special Edition / The Band Wagon Two Disc Special Edition / Bells Are Ringing / Finian's Rainbow / Brigadoon)
Starring: Judy Garland , Fred Astaire , Peter Lawford , Ann Miller , and Jules Munshin
Director: Charles Walters , and Vincente Minnelli
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Classics | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

Musicals & Performing Arts | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

Classics | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Two-Disc Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0007939PW
Release Date: 2005-03-15

Amazon.com

Broadway to Hollywood: The Classic Musicals Collection is a five-film set of fondly remembered, mostly MGM musicals: Easter Parade (1948), The Band Wagon (1953), Bells Are Ringing (1960), Finian's Rainbow (Warner, 1968), and Brigadoon (1954). Four of the films are making their DVD debut, all are available separately (for a higher price), and the two best films, Easter Parade and The Band Wagon, come in two-disc special editions complete with commentary tracks, new and vintage documentaries, and musical outtakes. Both of those films star Fred Astaire following his return from premature retirement. Easter Parade is a Pygmalion-like tale of a Vaudeville veteran (Astaire) who attempts to develop an act with a small-timer (Judy Garland) after his partner (Ann Miller) leaves him. Favorite songs include the title tune, "Steppin' Out with My Baby," and "We're a Couple of Swells." The Band Wagon was a sort of career retrospective for Astaire, as he plays an aging film star trying to resurrect his career by returning to the Broadway stage. Costars include Cyd Charisse, Jack Buchanan, Oscar Levant, and Nanette Fabray, and favorite numbers include "Dancing in the Dark," "By Myself," "Triplets," and "A Shine on Your Shoes."

Bells Are Ringing is a charmingly dated Vincente Minnelli film starring Judy Holliday, in a reprise of her Tony-winning Broadway role as an employee at an answering service who finds herself falling for a client (Dean Martin). Favorite songs include "Just in Time" and "The Party's Over." Finian's Rainbow is a bloated oddity directed by a young Francis Ford Coppola and starring Astaire as a leprechaun and '60s pop icon Petula Clark as his daughter. It does have some great songs, however, including "How Are Things in Glocca Mora," "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love," and "Old Devil Moon." Brigadoon has been out on DVD twice before, but appears now in its best version yet, remastered, anamorphically enhanced, and with musical outtakes. It stars Gene Kelly and Van Johnson as Americans who stumble across a Scottish village that only appears on Earth one day every 100 years, which is a problem when Kelly falls in love with one of its residents (Cyd Charisse). Favorite songs include "Almost Like Being in Love," "The Heather on the Hill," and "I'll Go Home with Bonnie Jean."

While none of the films in the Broadway to Hollywood collection are absolutely top-tier MGM (and Astaire, Garland, and Kelly all made better films in their careers), all have their charms and are welcome additions to the DVD catalog. Trivia note: The title of the set isn't 100% correct. Easter Parade did not originate as a Broadway musical, but Tommy Tune made an unsuccessful attempt to adapt the movie into a Broadway show in the late 1990s. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

brigadoon is short-changed.......2007-06-24

This set was given to me a few months ago. My personal interest is in Brigadoon. Cyd and Hugh are probably the greatest dancers to ever crossover (and Mr Kelly doesn't count since he was never really on the other side). What angers me about the transfer of the film version to dvd is that it was edited. DVD transfer is an opportunity to realize a film's full life. The version of Brigadoon in this collection is clearly formatted for some kind of commercial-tv presentation. The beautiful and crucial number "Come to Me Bend to Me" is formatted as an outtake, as if there wasn't time for it in the tv format. I remember when the film was released in 1964. All of us in the production had a sense that this was a show that could delight and move people who would never see a stage production. I cannot fathom why the people that gained the rights to the dvd transfer did nothing more than dump a tv-commercial-edited version onto a piggy-back of a multi-dvd set--they don't know the show, or don't give a damn

Five of the Best Color Musicals Ever Made.......2006-03-28

BROADWAY TO HOLLYWOOD is Warner Home Video's blanket title for five of the splashiest and most tuneful color MGM musicals ever made: THE BANDWAGON, EASTER PARADE, BRIGADOON, BELLS ARE RINGING, and FINIAN'S RAINBOW.

Two of these are sleeper gems. Vincente Minnelli's BRIGADOON (1954), with an army of musical numbers by Lerner and Loewe, has travelers Gene Kelly and Van Johnson coming upon a Scottish village that can only be seen once every hundred years; Cyd Charisse is the lovely leading lady. The movie has been criticized for its sound stage re-creation of a Scottish village, but that is a plus for me. Along with CinemaScope, one gets the feel for what this show was like on Broadway. A dozen songs, choreographed by Kelly, include "The Heather on the Hill" and "It's Almost Like Being in Love." BRIGADOON is a lovely movie, with remastered color and sound. Bonuses include three outtake musical numbers and several original theatrical trailers.

Francis Ford Coppola does brand-new audio commentary on his own fabulous FINIAN'S RAINBOW (1968), in Technicolor and letterboxed Panavision. Again, we are mostly on a soundstage, with Fred Astaire and Tommy Steele as leprechauns and Petula Clark at her loveliest as Astaire's daughter. This E.Y. Harburg-Fred Saidy-Burton Lane musical has songs I cannot get out of my head weeks later, including "Look to the Rainbow,""That Old Devil Moon," "How Are Things In Glocca Mora?" and Steele's show-stopper: "If I'm Not With the Girl I Love, I'll Love the Girl I Am With." The movie is glorious and very underrated, from a late 1960's era of underrated movie musicals, including STAR! and HELLO, DOLLY!

BELLS ARE RINGING.(1960), with Vincente Minnelli directing a delightful Betty Comden-Adolph Green screenplay, with Jule Styne music, is a great musical vehicle for wonderful Judy Holliday, re-creating a Tony winning stage role. She is a switchboard operator named Melasande at Susanswerphone in a lower-depths part of Manhattan. She is not supposed to get personally involved with the clients, but as "Mom" falls in love with songwriter Dean Martin. She also does not know that bookie Eddie Foy, Jr. is using the answering service as a gambling front. Terrific songs here include the legendary "Just in Time" and "The Party's Over". DVD bonuses, in addition to remastered color and sound, include outtake musical numbers and a filmmaking documentary. You also get to see a CinemaScope movie at its right aspect ratio.

The two crown jewels of the BROADWAY TO HOLLYWOOD set are double disks of Charles Walters' EASTER PARADE (1948) and Vincente Minnelli's THE BANDWAGON (1953). Both have magnificently remastered sound and picture to look and sound brand new. EASTER PARADE has about fifteen old and new Irving Berlin songs, performed by the incomparable Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. Its magnificent bonuses include the finest Garland documentary, two full hours from PBS, that I have ever seen; a filmmaking documentary; and audio commentary by Astaire's daughter Ava and Garland biographer John Fricke. This is an all-time favorite musical of mine, and I have never enjoyed it more.

Last and probably best (which is saying a lot!) is THE BANDWAGON (1953), which several movie musical experts feel is the best movie musical of all time. It is certainly one of the most sophisticated and stylish color ones, with a wonderful Oscar-nominated Comden and Green screenplay about putting on a Broadway show. Astaire stars this time with lovely Cyd Charisse, never better than in "Dancing in the Dark." Other hit songs include "By Myself," "Shine on My Shoes." "Triplets," "Louisiana Hayride," the gorgeously-designed Mickey Spillane climax, and "That's Entertainment!" Comden and Green have a delightful time spoofing themselves as the Nanette Fabray and Oscar Levant characters. The biggest bonus here is audio commentary by a very happy and friendly Liza Minnelli and Michael Feinstein, along with a filmmaking documentary and an hour-long "Men Who Made the Movies" documentary on Vincente Minnelli.

If you'd like to own this DVD boxed set, BROADWAY TO HOLLYWOOD, it retails for about $60, but sells from Amazon for about $45, less than an orchestra ticket for a downtown San Francisco stage show. Happy viewing!

Not the best musicals.......2005-05-22

Theses are not the best examples of the Hollywood musical. While I love Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, there a much better films with Fred or Gene.

Easter Parade has the two best musical stars, Fred and Judy, but together they have no chemistry and are further hampered by a weak script.

Finian's Rainbow is Fred's last musical and what a poor choice. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, he went on to much better fare. This was a groundbreaking musical but does not translate well to the large screen.

Brigadoon is for Gene Kelly super fans only. Kelly is great but this is not one of Lerner and Lowe's better efforts (Think Gigi and My Fair Lady).

There are only 2 great films.

The Band Wagon is Fred at his best. This is classic camp. A show within a show. Fred, Nannette Fabray and Oscar Levant are making a musical version of Faust that turns into a big egg. But they quickly take all the good pieces and rework it to a smash. Sounds familiar but it is original. Most people remember this for the Tripplet's Song.

Bells are Ringing is Judy Holiday at her best. She conquered Broadway with this show and then proved herself again with this film. Dean Martin is her costar and features Jean Stapleton.

Of course both are Comden and Green shows, which of course helps. My suggestion is buy the titles you like seperately.

Thank You, WB!.......2005-03-31

The wonderful folks at Warner Home Video have outdone themselves recently with several amazing boxed sets of great films. We now have definitive batches of the best of Film Noir, Classic Comedy, Gangster Films--and this beauty, my favorite so far. The sheer brilliance of the technical work that went into restoring these classic musicals is reason enough to pounce on Amazon's bargain price while it lasts.

What can you say about the films themselves that hasn't already been said? THE BAND WAGON is the crown jewel here, of course, but the others are excellent. EASTER PARADE is terrific. BELLS ARE RINGING, though not the strongest story or score around, has B'way legend (and Oscar-winner) Judy Holliday in her final star vehicle. And BRIGADOON has all that dancing in the heather, not to mention the stunning score of Lerner & Loewe.

For me, the most pleasant surprise in the box is FINIAN'S RAINBOW. I'm familiar with all the other titles here, but I'd never really looked at this one all the way through before, and it's visually impressive and surprisingly charming. Astaire, Petula Clark, Tommy Steele, Don Francks, and an energetic supporting cast of singer/dancers do wonders with the dated story and timeless score. And young Francis Ford Coppola had some fresh and interesting visual ideas (montage, cross-cutting, swooping aerial shots, etc.) to keep it all humming along. Coppola is unnecessarily self-effacing throughout his commentary track--he has no reason to apologize. With its restored widescreen picture and 5.1 stereo soundtrack, this film is really quite beautiful.

All in all, this is yet another must-have collection for all serious film buffs. Thanks again, Warner Home Video!

A SUBLIME COLLECTION OF GREAT MUSICALS!.......2005-03-16

Warner has been doing a magnificent job of using the latest picture resolution process to restore and/or polish up their best movies; and again they do not disappoint! Warner Home Video truly hits a home run and does the incredible with this boxed set of five of the greatest musicals of all time! The set is well presented with excellent digital transfer, wonderful sound and a bevy of sublime extras.

The Band Wagon (which itself is a two DVD special edition) stars Fred Astaire as an older entertainer trying to be successful again in show business. Things do not go well: he doesn't like the director; there aren't fancy dance scenes that he prefers to perform and he has to dance with a ballerina! The show is unpopular and Fred's character Tony Hunter saves the day using his superior technique and know-how. The extras are wonderful! Liza Minnelli (whose Dad, Vincente Minnelli, did an excellent job as director of the picture) and Michael Feinstein provide an engaging commentary. There are also two documentaries: "Get Aboard! The Band Wagon" about the making of the movie and an older expose entitled "The Men Who Made the Movies: Vincente Minnelli." You won't regret these-they are excellent and very informative! SMILE There's also the outtake musical number of Two Faced Women. Very good! For Astaire fans there's an Astaire trailer collection and even a musical short of Jack Buchanan with the Glee Quartet. I was particularly pleased with the fine commentary Liza Minnelli and Michael Feinstein give here.

The other two disc special edition is of the MGM classic Easter Parade. Wow! This has always been one of my very favorite musicals. The acting and the chemistry between Astaire playing the professional dancer and Judy Garland playing Hannah Brown his at first unlikely dance partner-and eventually romantic partner-is nothing short of excellent and captivating! Ann Miller turns in a great performance as the dancer who leaves Fred's character to try to get even further ahead in her career. The digital quality of the video and the sound are both excellent. There's a documentary of the making of this movie and a particular favorite of mine is the American Masters documentary profile: "Judy Garland: By Myself" put out only with the essential effort of my friend John Fricke. (The American Masters documentary won more than just one Emmy, making this a particularly valuable extra! John won one of the Emmys for this; he is the leading Garland biographer who wrote several books on Judy.) John worked so hard on this profile! John's fine commentary along with Ava Astaire (Fred Astaire's daughter) proves to be an excellent resource for reliable information about this film and Judy. You also get the outtake musical number "Mr. Monotony." There's a Judy Garland trailer collection and some promotions for the original film are provided. Wow! A fine two disc set in and of itself.

Bells Are Ringing is Judy Holliday's last performance; she plays a worker at a telephone answering service who gets overly involved with her client's personal lives. Jean Stapleton, a favorite actress of mine (from All In The Family as Edith) is in this picture as well. This picture was nominated for an Oscar for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture and the song "Just In Time" is certainly one good reason why! Outtake musical numbers include "Is It a Crime?" and "My Guiding Star." The digital transfer is again excellent and the sound quality is excellent. This is definitely a classic musical.

Brigadoon boasts a wonderful musical score by Lerner and Lowe. The principle cast is only the best: Gene Kelly, Van Johnson and Cyd Charisse. An adventurous American suddenly uncovers a magical Scottish town which is only visible one day a century! Does he stay there and perhaps experience a fine true love; or should he return to his life as it is? Quite the dilemma! There are three musical outtakes you want to look at: "Come to Me Bend to Me," "From This Day On," and "Sword Dance." An audio outtake and a brand new digital transfer make this a fine addition to the box set as well as your DVD collection.

Last, but certainly not least, is Finian's Rainbow. A wonderful fanciful musical, this film stars Fred Astaire in his final full length performance as Finian McLonergan. Somehow Finian steals a pot of gold from Og the leprechaun. Finian and his daughter Sharon (the lovely Petula Clark) go to America (as does Og) and use their powers to overcome a rather prejudiced senator. Not only are the musical numbers excellent; the cinematography is superlative and the ending is a happy one! There is an excellent commentary by director Francis Ford Coppola and a cute feature on the film's premiere.

All in all, this is clearly one of the best boxed sets of supremely fine great musicals and it is very reasonably priced. For me personally this set was an easy decision-it is already in my personal DVD collection! I highly recommend this boxed set for fans of the great American musicals as well as all patrons of the arts. This is also a solid introduction to some of the quality musicals produced on film to date. Equally important, the hard work and effort everyone put into the seemingly countless extras is superlative.

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