this ran at a retirement home the other day. only watched the first 45 minutes and it was awful. thank goodness musicals are passe.
shareManners folks. This is a discussion board for comments on the movie. Not just a "I liked it because ..".
Wasp, apologies for the others and I, for one, am interested in what you disliked about it. I have to admit it's not my favourite either, but I can appreciate parts of it. It is fairly corny - but is the only musical of that time to cover racial prejudice. ("Cabaret" was another to cover prejudice, but that was years later).
So - what did you dislike about it? Anything you liked? Not a musical fan?
yes I should say up front that I am not a musical fan. However I had fun watching 'singing in the rain' for example.
I visit my mom on weekends at a retirement home. They tend to play alot of oldies. Among them a fair amount of musicals. But as I stated above, there are some, such as 'singing in the rain' that I thought were quite good. I enjoyed 'grease' but then again I liked the music anyways. I was born in the 60's so musicals were definitely becoming passe as I started going to the theaters.
I don't mean to come to this board just to insult 'south pacific'. And I can't even offer a laundry list of all the things I didn't like about it. But to me it was just silly. I can't imagine that it would have appeal to people. Maybe if the japanese came out and started shooting people while they were singing I would have stayed and watched the rest but I could only bare the first 45 minutes or so.
Anyways to each his/her own taste!
romojo: I just read your comment again about this film covering racial prejudice. Kudos for these guys for doing that.
While I respect that you dont like musicals, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but saying what you are saying certainly proves that you dont and that you know nothing about musical theatre/films.
Rodgers & Hammerstein were the greatest musical theatre collaboration, at least 5 of their musicals are considered classics of the genre, bet you know all five!!! and they changed the musical theatre to allow such shows as 'Grease' as you mention to have ever have been written, and every other modern show you care to mention as well.
The film of 'South Pacific' while not being without flaws was an adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein's 1949 musical play considered one of the greatest musicals of all time, it was only the second musical in history to win The Pulitzer prize, very daring for the time, and very brave of Rodgers & Hammerstein remembering that it was written shortly after World War Two to tackle such a project and its handling over the racial prejudice issue was excellently pulled off, especially with the song 'You've got to be carefully Taught' many people of which wanted the song removed from the show, which comes rather late in the show/film, long after you'd given up on it I'm afraid, and certainly one of the greatest scores ever written for any musical. Having probably more classic songs in it than any other, songs I'm sure even you as a non musical fan will know.
As for the rest of the storyline have you ever read James Michener's original book :'Tales of the South Pacific' brilliant book I would certainly recommend it, to you as a good read, no silly stories there, and the main story of the the American Nurse and the French Plantation owner in the musical, did you know that it was that show that made the realtionships of younger women with older men more universally acceptable when it was first produced in 1949?
Stage musicals dont always transfer perfectly to the screen either, 'Singing in The Rain', being written directly for the screen anyway, a diffrent genre. I sincerely hope your Mom enjoyed it anyway and continues to do so.
Check out the original Stage play of South Pacific, the original cast recording of this show was also one of the greatest selling albums of all time, selling millions and millions of copies. as was the film soundtrack as well, in fact here in the UK it spent more time at the top of the charts than any other album, and I believe that is still the case 50 years later!!!!!!! and as for you being born in the 60s, so was I!!!
Really all I can say to you is one man's meat is another man poison.
Thanks for coming back Wasp. I'm a late 50s man myself, and I agree that musicals were becoming passe. Both of us missed their hayday. I also like "Singing in the Rain" - just wonderful.
Other musicals I hate - "Carousel" (R&H?), "Brigadoon", most of "Oklahoma" ... but I love "Meet me in St Louis" and "The Music Man".
As a later poster said, one man's meat is another's poison.
My respects to your mother, next time you meet her. Does she enjoy the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rodgers dances pieces from the 30s? Might be too old for her. Really - cinema has been around that long, now. When I head off to the home I hope to rewatch the Marx Brothers, myself...
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I like most of the movies today, because they are like going on a roller coaster ride. I watch them with my kids and they love them.
My kids do not like the older films especially black and white. I don't think they have had enough life experiences to enjoy them. I recently saw South Pacific with my daughter live at the Lincoln Center and will enjoy watching the movie with her when it is shown over the Christmas Holidays. I think now that my daughter is a little better educated she will enjoy it too.
What a great musical. Terrific songs, amazing cinematography, good story. The two and a half hours fly by, a true indicator of just how enjoyable this movie is. Unless of course you don't like good music.
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I have to agree, it's a great musical, and a great movie. I've always been a little bit put off by the heavy anti-racist propaganda element, but as a musical it's hard to beat. Most of the songs are classics, in or out of context.
Keep On Truckin'
Sandman
I saw the movie "South Pacific" for the very first time last night, at a movie theatre not far from where I live. It's beautifully photographed, and the color was great, but there was a little too much romance in it for my tastes.
"South Pacific" was worth seeing once, but it admittedly does not hold the same special place in my heart regarding movies, generally, as the 1961 film "West Side Story" does.
I love the old Fred Astaire movies of the 30s' And I'm not going to get into the Marx Brothers (we've got to be related if you like them as much as I do).
shareBut that opinion can be revealing.
"Maybe if the japanese came out and started shooting people while they were singing I would have stayed and watched the rest..."
I can't imagine what kind of movie does appeal to you.
I love musicals so much but I didn't like this one. I liked the music but I don't really like the storyline. It bores me.
shareFlyingWasp, you must be tuned into my way of thinking. But I just completed staging a production of South Pacific at my school and I think our version might appeal to you where the original didn't.
First of all, we got rid of Nellie and Emile. Their romance, as you indicated, was silly. We killed them off in the first scene, slaughtered by savage boars as they sang "Some Enchanted Evening" to their pet iguana Liat. Then we built up the roles of the Japanese, having them occupy Bali Ha'i where they manufactured barbarous Ninja robots. We altered just a few of the lyrics and came up with "There is Nothing Like a Ninja Robot" to finish off the first act.
The highlight of our production, however, was "Bloody Mary" sung at the finale by the entire company as mutant aliens armed with space machetes wiped out the entire cast, drenching everyone in real blood. It was, in my humble opinion, awesome in the extreme. And quite tuneful as well.
I wish you could have seen our production, FlyingWasp. I know you would have enjoyed it.
Easily one of the funniest postings around on IMDB - well done!
Please click on 'reply' at the post you're responding to. Thanks.share
I like musicals, but sometimes I'm just not in the mood or too busy for a long movie. And there are some movies (Singin in the Rain, An American in Paris to name but two) just doesn't interest me. I'm sure they're good movies but just not my taste.
I should warn you that usually if not on cable, it's edited and/or with commercials. If you're going to watch this (or any movie), get the DVD or wait until a commercial-free channel.
The Turner Classic Movies Channel is free of commercials. That's a much better TV Channel to watch movies on, for that reason.
shareTom Laughlin and I share the same birthday, he was also born the same year as my mother. The surname of one of the nurses is my mother's maiden name. I therefore take this movie very personally.
shareWas that the same Tom Laughlin that starred as Billy Jack in the "Billy Jack" movie series, or was it a different Tom Laughlin? Just wondering.
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Hi, MichiganJFrogg. Thank you for your response, and for a confirmed answer to my question about Tom Laughlin. I thought that he might be the Tom Laughlin of fame, but wasn't entirely sure, which is why I asked.
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It always bothers me when people complain about negative messages on imdb. This is a message board for DISCUSSION, not solely for those people who wish to gush on and on about their favorite movies.
I've always been a huge movie fan, I watch a new movie almost daily, and recently my girlfriend and I have been drawn to realm of classic musicals. I've been blown away by movies like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Funny Face, and Swing Time, but personally I couldn't wait for South Pacific to be over.
The music was wonderful and memorable, Ray Walston was fantastic as Luther, and the location shots were breath-taking. Unfortunately there were a number of draw backs as well. Mitzi Gaynor grated on my last nerve, I was completely unsympathetic to her character and kept waiting for her to finally go home to Little Rock where I wouldn't have to watch her. John Kerr was simply stiff and boring. The coloring effects done by TODD-AO were distracting at their best and nauseating at their worst.
Maybe R&H did make a ground breaking musical with a solid and much needed message of racial tolerance, but I think it should have stuck to the stage. Next up, the King and I, hope this one is better.
It bothers just as much when the negative messages are idiotic (like this original post), and the author obviously just doesn't understand the genre, or simply enjoys a different type of movie, or frankly is just too stupid or lazy to form an intelligent opinion.
There is no point in going on this boards with generic "I hate this" messages. It's like saying: "This cheddar tastes awful! And ALL cheeeses are awful!"
Truly pointless, and usually the m.o. of idiots who only like action movies and TV wrestling.
I DO enjoy if people post WHY a production is bad, with specific examples of specific faults. They don't have to agree with me by any means, but emotional outbursts with no intellectual thought process is just written flatulence.
If something is bad, I want to know why, not just read the yammerings of a bored child who needs to go post something on their facebook page and not return.
I enjoyed the stage play way more than the movie. I can't put my finger on it just why I felt that way. It was basically boring to me but when the play came to San Diego and Robert Goulet was starring in it as the French planter I gave it one more try and really enjoyed it. I finally got the reason why there was tension in it. I also enjoyed the stage show with Reba McIntyre where there were stars who came out and did some dialogue on stage along with the songs. It was definitely a different way of seeing the play. I am not saying the movie was bad. It just did not appeal to me. Everyone has their own preferences. I don't say I hate a movie or stage play. I know I like what I like but someone else may enjoy it. Oopinion varies from person to person.
share"South Pacific" was a 3-hour movie, with no intermission. I was kind of taken by surprise at that.
shareOur local musical theater grp did the play a few yrs ago. I went because I like to support local thaeter. I thought it would be corny, but I really liked the play, and "Carefully Taught" knocked my socks off. I really didn't know what this was about and didn't know they talked about racism, very rare for that time. I'm not done w/ the movie yet, but I think I like the play better, even done by our local talent.
shareWhile I don't think the movie "South Pacific" is horrible, I think it is an uninspired adaptation of a wonderful play. I don't think a single cast member was up to the job, particularly the leads. (I'll give Mitzi Gaynor some credit for doing her own singing -- but it's adequate and nothing more. She is conventionally "cute" but not magnetic.) The score is sublime, and the scenery is a bonus, but the movie epitomizes mediocrity.
shareI would have to say South Pacific grew on me. It is somewhat corny, but the story captivates me. I especially liked it because I've been to Hawaii several times and it kind of brings back memories of those trips. I think some of the filming was in Kauai. And Bali Hai is my favorite song of all time, so for me, I enjoy watching it and do every few months.
Some trivia, one of the men in the airplane was Ron Ely, of the tarzan series. The pilot of the plane starred in Billy Jack, a 60's movie I enjoyed. Ray Walston became My Favorite Martian. I'm sure there are others that went on to some sort of fame, but that's all I can remember off the top of my head. I just looked up and Doug McClure of the Virginian was in it as well.
I am not a South Pacific fan. I like musicals, loved "The King and I" and "The Sound of Music," but this was baaad. The colors were bizarre and off-putting, every character annoyed me, and when I wasn't in pain, I was bored. I have never been so happy to fall asleep during a movie. And don't even get me started on "Bali H'ai." Why did it have to be the first Rodgers & Hammerstein movie released on Blu-Ray?!?
shareI, for one, would very much like to see a copy of the "South Pacific" film version **without** all of the bizarre tinted scenes. I find them to be VERY distracting, and keep me from following the film (based on Michener's excellent novel).
It could be done - for each of them determine what color correction (subtract yellow, blue, etc...) makes white (uniform, whitehat, cloud) look white and apply that correction to all of that segment. There's almost certainly **something** somewhere in each segment which ought to be white, and take it from there.
Musicals are my favorite genre and South Pacific is the best in my opinion. In fact, it is my very favorite movie of all time.
sharethis, ladies and gentlemen, is colloquially know as a TROLL:
"by flyingwasp (Mon Nov 5 2007 11:02:41)
Ignore this User | Report Abuse Reply
this ran at a retirement home the other day. only watched the first 45 minutes and it was awful. thank goodness musicals are passe."
"google it if you dont think so ...."
My favourite musical is South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
shareTut. Trolls aren't polite, and don't return.
Some people don't like musicals. BTW, I've never been able to read 'Lord of the Rings'.
are you calling me a troll? Go to the imdb site for the South Park movie and you'll see that it's listed as a musical. And it happens to be my favourite musical. If you can return 2 years after posting on this thread, I can return to defend my comment.
shareare you calling me a troll?cornfed_bc, if you change your viewing mode to Nest or Thread, you will see that romojo was responding to widescreenguy, and that they are discussing flyingwasp, the OP, not you. I have seen many arguments break out on these boards just because people cannot follow who is addressing whom. You can change your mode at the top of the page, or permanently change your default in your profile. Try it, you'll like it.
in that case, my mistake.
I will say that I'm surprised that there's such interest in a 1958 musical.
I will say that I'm surprised that there's such interest in a 1958 musical.
Plenty of people are alive today who were around in 1958, you know. The world doesn’t revolve around teens and 20- and 30-somethings.
All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?
I had a hard time reading the book "Lord of the Rings", but I enjoyed the movie...a lot.
shareMusicals may be passe, but then that's because "taste" has become passe. Look at what passes for talent nowadays on TV..."American Idol" is proof that America has lost something vital...a sense of what true talent is or ought to be. Something has reduced intelligence/intellect/insight/introspection.
Musicals are the great American art form on both the stage and the silver screen. I'm not certain a wholly satisfying musical film can be made any more. We had the excellent "film" of "Sweeney Todd" but not the soaring voices that make that show truly classic. "Phanton of the Opera" was even less successful with its casting of the Phantom for "looks" rather than an expressive singing voice (and the world is full of great male singers who could have done just as well as Gerard Butler). But then...we have men of little taste making movies, as well.
We had "Chicago" without proper emphasis on dance that made that show the dynamic showpiece it is/was on stage.
The last GREAT film musical was "Cabaret"...and even it was a different kind of film musical...dropping many songs from the musical play and structuring all of it around the numbers on a cabaret stage (or singing voice over a montage). The sole exception was the beer garden number "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" which served as an anthem for the Nazi movement as it took over rural Germany.
"South Pacific" is not a horrible movie. It is a vast, expansive film with extraordinary visuals and music. The story creaks a bit as it was based on the musical book (that was, of course, based on stories within James Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Tales of the South Pacific"). The glorious thing about this musical is the MUSIC...and in the film this music was served more brilliantly than most music has ever been served in any movie.
I recommend that anyone who really loves this movie or musicals, in general, get the 50th Anniversary 2-CD edition which features the theatrical presentation on disc 1 and the roadshow presentation on disc 2. The roadshow presentation was transferred from the Todd-AO master and contains 17 minutes more than the theatrical cut. The film's ratio is different between the two cuts and I much prefer the roadshow ratio. The extra footage is not theatrical quality, alas, but it contriubtes so strongly to the overall film -- especially in the performance of Ray Walston as Luther Billis -- that it really should be properly restored and issued as the only version available for future viewers.
Just what I want to see - an additional 17 minutes of this film!
I watched it on TCM yesterday and was able, unaccountably to sit through it for the first time, from start to finish. More thoughts later on. But the thought of additional footage? Ugh!
A tree is best measured when it's down.
Just what I want to see - an additional 17 minutes of this film!GG, I am ROLLING ON THE FLOOR!
The best musical ever is Paint Your Wagon, and the best song in a movie ever is Wanderin' Star, by the great singer, Lee Marvin. Anyone who doubts that is a dud. Thanks, fans. P.S. Sound of Music was a close runner-up. Now that's diversity.
shareI do not think there has ever been a musical made, especially the ones made in the 40's/50's & 60's, that I do not love. I adore South Pacific, same as another person wrote; I have been to Kauai several times & it brings back so many memories. Also, IMO, the music is wonderful. In fact, the movie is on right now as I write. 'Some Enchanted Evening'.
"To err is human, to forgive, canine." - Unknown
Thank you, lensmike. I, too, love musicals and believe that their enduring pleasures are the songs. No matter how people may nitpick about aspects of the film or who was a good director or if the Broadway play was better than the movie, we will always have the wonderful songs which transcend any cinematic problems. There will never be anything to equal the "Shall We Dance?" segment of "The King And I", "The Wells Fargo Wagon" song from "The Music Man", "Small World" from "Gypsy", and so many, many more.
shareI'm not sure that Lees' is the best song from that show; when Clint Eastwood talks to the trees, tears come to my eyes.
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