Judy Garland - The Concert Years (1996)

In 1985, 16 years before her memoir became the basis for the television film Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, Lorna Luft narrated this documentary focusing on her mother's "second career" following her years at MGM. The 59-minute retrospective (reduced from its original 90 minutes) collects comments from family and colleagues, shows clips from concerts at the London Palladium, Carnegie Hall, and the Palace Theater, a previously unseen 30-second scene cut from her famous comeback film, A Star Is Born, and scenes from her short-lived TV show.

Not surprisingly, some of the footage spotlights Garland's affection for her kids: she shares the stage at the Palladium with Liza Minnelli and appears with Lorna and Joe Luft at the Palace and sings to them on her TV show. And while many of the songs are shown only in brief clips, there are a number of complete performances, including a duet with Barbra Streisand of "Get Happy" and "Happy Days Are Here Again," her dramatically charged rendition of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" following JFK's death, "Ol' Man River," and "The Man That Got Away." And of course "Over the Rainbow" is here, in a 1955 performance that is the only TV recording of how she performed the song in concert: sitting on the edge of the stage, face-to-face with the audience. And it's a credit to Garland that even in hobo makeup, she lets the raw emotion of the song pour through. --David Horiuchi Amazon.com

Great show!

I happily recorded this in 1985 when it aired on PBS and hung on that tape for many years, until the DVD was finally released. It's a terrific show!

And, in 1985, with the release of the entire "Judy Garland Show" on DVD still many years off, this was the only place to see many clips from that series, most of which, as Lorna said, "hadn't been seen for over 20 years" at that point.

I heartily agree with what everyone else wrote -- this is a great piece about the last 20 years of Judy's career, when she returned to the stage and performed live for her fans. Yes, there are a lot of clips from her TV series -- but that's just about the best quality of clips that you're going to find of her, in that era, performing live. So, why quibble with that? As someone noted, they simply didn't think to go out and shoot concerts with several cameras like they do today (Madonna's "Truth or Dare" for example).

But, this show is replete with nice moments from things other than her show -- singing at a JFK fundraiser, on stage with Liza at the Palladium, a clip from "Till the Clouds Roll By" and yes, the finale from her 1955 TV debut when she sang "Over the Rainbow" from the edge of the stage, in her full tramp make-up. It's a sublime treat...and anyone who wants to know why they're still talking about Judy Garland almost 40 years after her death need only watch that performance to get it.

Frank Sinatra probably said it best, "The rest of us will be forgotten, but not Judy." I won't forget Frank either, but the sentiment is excellent. May 25, 2008

Very good for the fan

The disc is filled with clips of Judy Garland in concert and on TV, so some of the image and sound quality is a product of the time, but it includes some great clips. March 23, 2008

Garland front and center

Judy Garland--The Concert Years gives people an excellent retrospective on her career after her hectic movie making days at MGM Studios. Hosted by Judy's daughter Lorna Luft, this fine documentary takes us through Judy's greatest triumphs during her concert years.

The retrospective begins with footage of Judy's song and dance numbers at MGM and it shows how these numbers became the foundation for Judy's concerts. We get some lovely color footage from "Till The Clouds Roll By" and some photo stills as well. Lorna then takes us along with her on a journey that describes Judy's fantastic success at The London Palladium in 1951. We see how Sid Luft managed Judy very actively and encouraged her to return to the United States to perform at theaters like The Palace on New York City's famous Broadway.

We get concert footage clips from the early 1950s, Judy at Boston Commons in August, 1967 and some other TV concerts as well. However, the bulk of the footage we get here comes from Judy's 1963-1964 weekly television series on CBS. Not surprisingly, this is some of the best footage from Judy's concert years as CBS recorded on high quality film and preserved it relatively well. With some restoration the same footage looks marvelous here. Judy sings beautiful duets with Lena Horne, a young Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett and Ethel Merman.

Lorna lovingly adds commentary along the way; and other reviewers are correct when they note that the footage includes Judy singing songs about her beloved children and for her children on installments of her weekly television series. One particularly wonderful clip has Judy singing" Consider Yourself" from the show Oliver with all three of her children. Awesome!

The documentary also has interviews with Sid Luft, Melissa Manchester, Tony Bennett, Mort Lindsey and Rex Reed to give us an even better understanding of Judy's concert years. Excellent!

The quality of both sound and image is excellent; and Judy performs some classic ballads to perfection--and beyond, making old ballads fresh again and distinctly her own.

The DVD sports a wonderful extra--footage lasting approximately 25 minutes of the premiere of A Star Is Born from 1954 which starred Judy Garland. It is exciting to watch the stars come up to the stage just before they enter the theater to view the premiere of this grand movie. The footage plays well as a result of careful restoration.

Overall, this video is a must-have for Garland fans; and people who enjoy classic pop vocals will thrill as Judy delivers number after number after number flawlessly. This film documents very well the countless triumphs of the great Judy Garland during her "concert years."

Highly recommended.
August 6, 2007

A MUST FOR JUDY FANS

BEING A MUSICIAN, I LOVE GREAT SINGERS. JUDY GARLAND WAS AND IS A NATIONAL TREASURE AND WILL ALWAYS BE LOVED BY EVERYONE(ESPECIALLY ME). JUDY SINGS GREAT MATERIAL AND OF COURSE, HAS THAT MAGIC CONNECTION WITH THE AUDIANCE. THIS WONDERFUL LADY SINGS WITH AS MUCH POWER AND EMOTION AS ANYONE BEFORE OR SINCE. JUST GET THIS AND ENJOY. April 16, 2007

Tour de Force a la Judy!

Being too young to have seen Judy Garland in concert has always been a regret of mine. The energy she projected in person must have been truly unique. Well, for those in the same boat as I am, here's the next best thing. What a shame that professional footage of her concerts were never made. Her TV series, however, is represented here quite well. The duets, the comedy sketches, the solo numbers, all show what a versatile performer Judy Garland was.

Without the constraints of a movie script or schedule, Judy allows herself to really project her full range of emotions in her songs. Particularly powerful are 'Old Man River' and 'Battle Hymn of the Republic'. Judy just sings her heart out in both songs, the emotional peak higher than anything in her movies. Particularly touching are her songs sung to her children Liza, Lorna and Joe. Lorna's song, with specially written lyrics by Johnny Mercer, is sung so lovingly by Judy that it left me in tears. There are also some lovely moments when all three children perform with Judy together. Liza's young strong voice is so much like her mother's.

If you think Judy was intense in her movie numbers, think again, for they are nothing compared to what she does on the stage and live in person. How lucky we are that they are captured and presented beautifully here in this hour-long DVD.

Simply a must-have if you're a Judy fan. July 21, 2006

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