| DVD Roundup March 2003
 The Producers: The Latest Movie that Moved to Broadway
The recent announcement of the candidates for the 2003
Academy Awards focused everyone's attention on Chicago and its full house of 13
nominations. Chicago, of course, is the film version of the Bob Fosse/Kander and
Ebb musical, which ran for 936 performances in the mid '70s and is enjoying a healthy
revival today (over 2600 performances and counting). Hit Broadway shows have been given
film treatments for nearly a century now. What is far less usual is the reverse -- taking
a hit movie and bringing it to the Broadway stage.
That is what Mel Brooks did with his legendary premiere
film, The Producers, much to the amazement of legions of naysayers. Not that anyone
owns up to it now, but before its opening in April 2001, few people actually thought that
he had a snowball's chance in hell of pulling it off on Broadway. Now, even after the
departure of the popular Nathan Lane as Max Bialystock, it remains one of the hardest
tickets to come by on the Great White Way.
MGM/UA has just given us a superb new transfer of the
original 1968 film in The Producers (Special Edition) (****). The video is
first-rate (possibly better than anything viewers have seen since the first run of the
film) in both anamorphic widescreen and "full screen" versions. The soundtrack
-- listed as Dolby Digital 5.1 -- is crisp and full-bodied. Adding to the riches, the disc
is packed with desirable extras, ranging from a 64-minute "making of" featurette
to an alternate version of the final playhouse scene. It almost makes the wait for a DVD
version of this comic classic seem worthwhile.
There were, of course, movies that made the leap from film
to stage before The Producers -- these days it seems as if they dominate Broadway.
Many are available on DVD. The granddaddy of this current generation is The Phantom of
the Opera, which opened in January 1988, has racked up more than 6200 performances,
and shows little sign of flagging. Based on the Gaston LeRoux novel, the 1925 silent film,
starring Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin, is available as a superbly restored edition from
Image Entertainment (***1/2). (Warning: As was common with silent films, the Image DVD
uses tinted stock, which some modern viewers find off-putting.)
There is also a 1943 musical version of the story, starring
Claude Rains, Nelson Eddy, and Susanna Foster available from Universal (**1/2), but it
hasn't aged well. It does, however, boast astonishing Technicolor opera sequences, which
are well worth seeing, and Rains always deserves a look.
Disney has almost made Broadway its third US theme park in
recent years. First, it came up with a lavish and eternally popular staging of its 1991
animated film, Beauty and the Beast; then it stunned the critics and public alike
with a transcendent production of The Lion King. That film isn't currently
available on DVD, thanks to the Mouse's policy of rotating the availability of his wares,
but Beauty and the Beast is -- and in a beautifully transferred Special Platinum
Edition to boot (****).
Disney is said to be at work adapting Aladdin for
the stage, only not for Broadway, but rather for California Adventure in Anaheim. However,
if it proves successful there, don't bet against a Broadway opening night soon thereafter.
Victor/Victoria, which is represented by a superb
Warner DVD transfer (***1/2), made the leap to the stage and played an impressive 734
nights. The Broadway version is also available on DVD from Image Entertainment (***). The
Full Monty, available as a 20th Century Fox DVD (***), lasted 770 nights on stage. Sunset
Blvd., represented by a crackerjack Paramount Special Edition (****), put in 977
performances in New York and was staged in London and Los Angeles. My Favorite Year,
which was a lovely little film, is available in its 20th Anniversary Edition from Warner
Home Video (**1/2). It was not a huge success on the Great White Way, however, lasting
only 36 performances. It lives on, though -- as one of the most frequently staged high
school productions of the last decade.
Post Producers, Hairspray has been one of the
most heartwarming Broadway success stories -- 205 performances and counting, plus full
houses and critical raves. The film, which has a bit more of John Waters' patented edge,
is available as a somewhat pedestrian New Line DVD (**1/2). Perhaps the play's success
will engender a collector's edition.
Thoroughly Modern Millie is the latest
Hollywood-to-Broadway metamorphoses. It seems to be struggling to find its audience, but
it has lasted almost a year, which is no mean feat. The film has been slow to come to DVD;
Universal expected to release it in February, but now it has been pushed to May or June.
It promises to be worth the wait, as it will carry a mind-boggling low list price of
$14.95.
There have also been some spectacular failures that
attempted the transition. Possibly the most famous was Carrie, the Musical, which
lasted three days on Broadway and lost its backers over $7 million. The excellent MGM/UA
Special Edition of the original movie (****) even has a featurette on Carrie, the
Musical, which makes it plain precisely how misguided that idea was. Even so,
there are rumors that there may be a revival of the play. Be afraid -- be very
afraid.
Less well known is the Broadway staging of Blake Edwards' Breakfast
at Tiffany's, which lasted for precisely four previews. It originally had a script by
Abe Burrows, which was later re-written by Edward Albee. (Hey, it lasted four performances
-- what does later mean?) Either way, it apparently failed to charm audiences and
now haunts the empty theaters near Schubert Alley. An excellent transfer of the bewitching
original movie is available from Paramount (***).
But stories of failure don't deter ever-hopeful stage
gypsies, and even as you read this, there are plans to develop Rocky, The Pink
Panther, Moonstruck, and From Here to Eternity (all arguably
four-star-movie DVD releases) as Broadway vehicles. Will any of them match The
Producers, Phantom, or The Lion King as critical and commercial
successes? Stay tuned.
Finding out is just part of the excitement. Besides, if
they don't flourish, perhaps they will live up to Carrie, the Musical as great what
were they thinking? calamity stories. Tales for a winter of discontent.
...Wes Phillips
wesp@hometheatersound.com |
