Judy, Frank & Dean - Once in a Lifetime (2002)

The title might be a trifle grand for what is essentially a one-hour 1962 TV special--that's been colorized, yet. But Judy Garland is in fine voice, belting out signature tunes like "When You're Smiling" and "The Man That Got Away." Rat Packers Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are at their unctuous best, with Sinatra at one point casually flicking ash from his cigarette right onto the stage while singing an emotional "I See Your Face Before Me." The patter among the three stars is a bit stiff, but the numbers are all showstoppers, and Garland, especially, is belting in her most over-the-top Carnegie Hall tradition. Her finale, a medley of "Swanee," "Rock-a-bye Your Baby" and "San Francisco" still brings down the house 40 years later. (Trivia alert: the special was directed by a pre-Moonstruck Norman Jewison.) --Anne Hurley Amazon.com essential video

Judy at near peak levels.

Ok what works is that voice and the lighting and the final runway sequence where ajaudy belts out thos enumbers. In 1962 Garland had just warpped up her legendary concert tour which included carnagie hall and she had lost about 30 pounds of wieght and was realtively for her healthy. Yet this special is the last tim einmy mind she would truly be at her best. March 7, 2008

POW !!!

Judy Garland's 1962 television special placed her squarely in the leading role with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin as her honored and adoring guests. The excitement begins immediately with a slightly shortened version of "The Garland Overture;" and immediately after this Judy's name in lights gradually goes up--and there's Judy!

Judy Garland remains in excellent, top notch form throughout this TV special and anyone with any instinct for unsurpassed entertainment will want this DVD in their library.

Judy begins the show by singing "Just In Time" and "When You're Smiling;" she sings in such a singularly beautiful way as she uses her arms and legs to accentuate certain words and even syllables as she gracefully delivers these ballads.

Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin also perform to perfection on this DVD of their television special. Sinatra sings "You're Just Too Marvelous" and "I See Your Face Before Me." Dean Martin performs "You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby" and Dean does a great duet with Frank Sinatra for "The One I Love Belongs To Somebody Else." Awesome!

But make no mistake about it--this is Judy's show. Not only does she get the lion's share of air time, Judy sings with incredible power as she infuses each song with a sense of intimacy with her audience and a certain vulnerability all at the same time. Judy does a smashing rendition of her classic torch song ballad "The Man That Got Away;" and she performs "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" to perfection.

The ending gives you Judy at her very finest. Judy sings on a runway with an orchestra to create a miniature concert for the masses who were watching that evening. Judy performs "Rock-A Bye Your Baby;" "Swanee" and "San Francisco" with incredible panache and emotion. One is left with the belief that any other singer could never surpass her. All the others could ever hope to do is to merely aspire to be like Judy when you see her deliver these last three songs.

The colorization brings up both good and bad points: The clothing Judy, Frank and Dean wear is great to see in color. Unfortunately, however, as one reviewer points out, it does create the effect that their skin is either very heavily made-up or simply painted onto them! Disappointment! I wish they had left this in its original black and white format; black and white can be very special, too. In addition, there are times when Frank Sinatra sings and you get a slightly fuzzy blur at the very left edge of your screen. Twice you can see the microphones overhead. Nevertheless, these are no reasons to avoid this incomparable masterpiece by Judy, Frank and Dean because, in my opinion, entertainment just doesn't get any better than this.

Overall, Judy fans will consider this a "must-have" for their collections. Together Judy, Frank and Dean weave a magical spell over you that will leave you wanting much more than the 50 minutes you get on this DVD. If you like this DVD I recommend the DVDs of The Judy Garland Show that was presented weekly on CBS TV throughout the 1963-64 season. You may also want to pick up the Judy Garland four DVD set entitled The Judy Garland Collection.

Now THAT'S entertainment!
March 26, 2007

Once in a lifetime!

This television special is one of the most incredible DVD's I have ever watched. Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra are my favorite singers so I was thrilled to find out that they worked together on this show. I don't really like Dean Martin, but if you like his kind of lazy, crooning style then he's at his peak I suppose. Frank's voice is in great shape and he gives an incredibly moving performance of "I See Your Face Before Me," among others. But it is still Judy's show, and as the New York Times stated when this show aired in 1962, "Judy Garland held television in the palm of her hand last night." Indeed she did. Her voice is in great shape and she sings many of the songs that she sang in her 1961 Carnegie Hall album, which was still charting at the time this aired. This is arguably the greatest television show featuring Judy Garland, even her wonderful series never quite matched its excellence, making it a must-have for any fan (or lover of truy great singing!) April 27, 2005

please release this at higher quality level

Judy is great, but I don't like Sinatra/Martin at all. Still, the show would be 5 stars if not for the mediocre sound quality and terrible colorization. It just looks plain weird and is more than a little distracting! I wish that this would be presented at the level of the Judy Garland Show DVDS. PLEASE! September 28, 2003

A Live "Television Spectacular" From 1962

Judy Garland was super-hot in 1962--so hot that she could easily coax stars Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin into appearing as secondary attractions when she decided to recreate portions of her legendary Carnegie Hall concert for television. After opening the program with a medley including "Just in Time" and "When You're Smiling," Garland introduces her guests, and both Sinatra and Martin have their musical moments and share a bit of comic banter. But this show belongs to Garland, and she dominates it with considerable ease.

Garland's voice was a delicate instrument, and although it was not in truly superior form for this performance it was certainly solid enough to deliver one knock-out punch after another, beginning with a ferocious performance of "The Man Who Got Away" and then a charming and memorable "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." But the highlight of the program comes at the end, when Garland dispenses with her guests and stomps out onto a runway surrounded by her audience to toss off a handful of songs as only she could: "Swanee," "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby," "San Francisco." And while she doesn't quite manage to catch that Carnegie Hall lightening, she still makes it more than worth the trip.

The program has been tinkered with, of course, first remixed into stereo and then colorized. The stereo isn't bad--but the colorization was a mistake: Sinatra's famous blue eyes have a truly peculiar cast, and the skin tones have a painted-on look. But I wouldn't avoid this tape on that account. On the other hand, a lot of Garland's television work is being slowly but surely released on DVD, and you may prefer to bypass this particular out-of-print tape in favor of a future DVD release. But one way or another, this is one that hardcore Garland fans will want to have in their collection. September 18, 2002

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