This is one of my favorite movies! Natalie Wood is great! A must see if you enjoy great Hollywood Musicals!
October 7, 2008I loved this movie when it came to theaters in the early 1960's, and I loved it just as much watching it again. This is one of those movies that I will watch again and again.
August 30, 2008You can not beat Rosalind Russell in this film she is a powerhouse with an amazing supporting cast! The only thing is I would have choosen a singer to dub her with a higher voice. I like Peters more than Lupone so that explains that. This movie takes you on a wonderful two and a half hour ride. This musical works because it is solid from start to finish. Ms. Wood is constantly complementing the domineering mother. The different periods of the ride are all equally entertaining. No wonder this story keeps getting told on stage on Broadway, it is truly great. Thank you for getting it right Hollywood with the most talented Russell, i just love her. No one like her today or ever in my opinion!
August 1, 2008There's a reason that Arthur Laurents is a film and theater legend, and Leonard Spigelgass, who adapted Laurents' book for the musical "Gypsy" to the screen is...well, not. Spigelgass took a taut, witty, emotionally and psychologically complex script and turned it into a padded, flabby mess; all that's good about the dialogue is lifted directly from the original. That said, there's a lot to enjoy about this film, primarily the performances. Her dubbed singing aside, I think Rosiland Russell is a fabulous Rose: driven, obsessive, flirtatious, vulnerable. As much as I would have loved to have a record of Ethel Merman's performance, she wasn't much of an actress. Russell finds subtlety and nuance in the character that Merman would have missed with a map and a blowtorch. I always felt about Natalie Wood that she was fundamentally unaware of how gorgeous she was; she had a fragile insecurity about her, and it's ideal for Louise. It's probably my favorite performance of hers, particularly as she blossoms, much to her surprise, into Gypsy Rose Lee. Malden is a solid, if overly strong, Herbie; he should have brought out more of his inner milquetoast, which is closer to the character as originally written. Which brings us back again to Mr. Spigelgass and his lousy rewrite. To be fair, it's obviously the screenplay that director Mervyn LeRoy and Warner Brothers wanted. But Spigelgass was no Ernest Lehman, who had, the year before, re-imagined (and improved upon) Laurents' book for "West Side Story," and would do the same for "The Sound of Music" in 1965.
For the three charismatic leads, this is a "Gypsy" worth viewing. But if you're a fan of the show and know it inside out, be prepared to grit your teeth and clench your armrests through a lot of it.
July 30, 2008I was very happy with the transaction and will deal with this person again in the future.
July 20, 2008More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
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