Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Well it's been 2 years since I last posted a review for this movie... I have just purchased the "Special Edition" version mainly because at last there is a wide-screen DVD version now available! This was one movie that suffered very greatly from a standard T.V format transfer ..... Now in wide-screen,it is possible to see the cinematography as it was intended to be viewed from the original Super Panavision format,even though there is still some "enhanced" format alteration to bring it into line with 16:9 ratio and luckily it was shot in Technicolor,which was easily the best analogue colour system around. Perspectives can now be seen as intended and the beautiful sets and the dance routines look vastly better... you can actually see all the dancers ! Take for instance one scene in Caractacus Potts windmill laboratory,where he shows Truly Scrumptious one of his inventions with which he intends to transmit "pictures and sound".....in the standard format half of the shot is missing so the machine cannot be fully seen and it makes no sense.. however in wide-screen you can see the "picture" and also the whole machine; so now you can enjoy one of Emmet Rolands fantasy machine creations in full. All through the movie the scenery and sets are set up framed with objects in the foreground and back ground which lend to perspective and depth of the image. The sound track seems also to have been worked on .. in previous releases the children's voices seemed to "squeak" but now they sound much more natural. You can see how much we have been missing with previous releases and it is a lot. The Special Edition also has some featurettes on the making of the movie and other related information plus a lovely booklet as well.

As to the movie itself .... it has never lost it's magic for me. I see reviews which pan the musical numbers or say it's too long or that

after seeing it as an adult they were disappointed from what they remember as a child ... but is that not the point ? It is a movie for children and/or those adults who can still view it remembering the child in themselves. It has no coarse language , no mindless violence (except the pantomime variety).. no cynicism ...just fun. In short it is a type of movie that Hollywood can no longer make because they no longer know how ... so it should be treasured more for it. People criticize Dick Van Dykes "American" accent but I find it not intrusive at all ... in fact he would probably have been better off using his normal voice in "Mary Poppins" than attempting the cockney accent which he obviously had some difficulty with.

Kids love this movie .. let them be the judges.

Thank-you Cubby Broccoli ..we miss you. Thank-you Ian Fleming / Roald Dahl / Richard Maibaum and Ken Hughes. Thank-you Ken Adam ... a genius in design for Chitty.

This exciting children musical displays derring-do adventure, romance , thrills and spectacular frames with phenomenal production design . Imagination and fantasy with primitive but effective special effects galore including a mesmerizing photography with wonderful , marvelous landscapes . The flick gets lots of bombastic effects including flying machines , globes , romantic castles and numerous images have you on the edge of your seat . This is the most Fantasmagorical musical entertainment in the history of everything . In the early 20th century England, a weird inventor named Caractacus Potts (Dick Van Dyke who steals the show as likable dancer and splendid player) works in his rare artifacts , he lives along with his equally rare father (Lionel Jeffries) , and his two little boys named Jeremy (Adrian) and Jemima (Heather). When the kiddies beg their daddy to buy for them thhe wished plaything , a broken car sitting at a local junkyard , a garage whose owner is George Coggings (Desmond Llewelyn) . Then eccentric Caractacus does whatever he can to make some money to buy it. One plan to raise money involves the unexpected help of a beautiful girl they have just met named Truly Scrumptious (a pretty young woman well performed by Sally Anne Howes), the daughter of a candy factory wealthy owner (James Robertson Justice) . Using his magic skills, inventive Caractacus turns the piece of junk into a marvelous working machine , an amazing flying car that also navigates which they name Chitty Chitty Bang Bang because of the noise the engine sounds . At a seaside picnic with his children and Truly , Caractacus and Co. spins a fanciful tale of an eccentric inventor, his gorgeous new friend , his two children, and his favorite car named Chitty all in the faraway country of Vulgaria. The nasty Baron Bomburst, the king of Vulgaria, will do whatever he can to get his hands on the magical car. Then the villain Baron Bomburst (Gert Frobe) married to Baroness Bomburst (Anna Quayle) robs the car of ours friends . The baron has made kiddies illegal, being pursued by the sinister child catcher (Robert Helpmann) including the unsuspecting children of a stranger inventor of a fabulous car . Later on ,Caractacus helped by a toymaker (Benny Hill) have to attempt and save the kiddies of Vulgaria.

This children motion picture mingles musical numbers , flat jokes , noisy action , flying car pursuits , humor with tongue-in-cheek, rip roaring and lots of amusement . This is an entertaining film loosely based on book by Ian Fleming and well adapted by Roal Dahl , it packs fantasy , musical numbers which both pastiche and subvert adventure and speculative fiction of the period ¨Belle Epoque . The picture incorporates contemporary action film as well as much use of adventure to portray its fanciful elements , furthermore visual effects within the form of the older-style films they have largely superseded . Riveting for its casting , but overall , roller-coaster spectacle . Most of the charm and wit remains from original story in this particular version . It results to be an amusing of somewhat aloof , storytelling of children classic with a magnificent star cast at its best . Stimulating adventures of ours protagonists are complemented by a breathtaking final attraction in the castle scenes . The film is a Dick Van Dyke recital , he sings , dances, stooges, makes acrobatics, tongue twister and pulls faces and grimaces . It's a farce with the master comic pretty amusing and with several choreography and musical numbers . Ideal main cast is completed by phenomenal secondary actors as Lionel Jeffries , James Robertson Justice , Benny Hill and Desmond Llewelin , among others. Atmospheric , lively score by Irwin Kostal , fitting splendidly to adventure and musical numbers , including the classic leitmotif . Colorful and glamorous cinematography by Christopher Challis in Super Panavision 7o with the fantastic château scenes filmed in Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau, Schwangau, Bavaria, Germany . The picture is lavishly produced by Albert R Broccoli ,James Bond's producer, and brilliantly directed by Ken Hughes . He's a good writer, producer and director, who achieved big time when made ¨Cromwell¨, ¨Trials of Oscar Wilde¨ , ¨Casino Royale¨ and of course with ¨Chitty , Chitty Bang Bang¨.

This is a highly amusing and frequently funny action-adventure romp with a witty script specifically aimed at a kiddies' audience , though excessive songs leave adult spectators a bit seasick . Picture is a vehicle Van Dyke , he's an authentic comic and real Farceur. If you like Dyke's crazy interpretation , you will most definitely enjoy this one . Well worth watching for passable special effects and an enjoyable performances from main cast as the children will like it.

A delightful fantasy for the whole family to watch. There really is something for everyone here. A cartoonish story with "comic book characters" like the "Child Catcher" (Robert Helpmann) and "Baron Bomburst" (Gert Frobe) that the kids will love, and some marvelous song and dance routines from Sally Ann Howe as "Truly Scrumptious" and Dick Van Dyke as the inventor "Caractacus Potts" that the grown ups will marvel at. I never realized until I watched this movie as an adult what a marvelously talented man Van Dyke is, but his dance scenes are absolutely amazing (particularly "The Old Bamboo" performance at the carnival.)

The story is imaginative. A flying car whisks Truly and Caractacus, along with the two Potts children Jeremy and Jemima (Adrian Hall and Heather Ripley respectively) off to the fictional kingdom of "Vulgaria" (where children are forbidden) to rescue eccentric Grandpa Potts (played absolutely perfectly by Lionel Jeffries), who has been kidnapped by Bomburst in the mistaken belief that he's the inventor of the car. This was one of my favorite movies as a kid, and you have to think like a child to watch it and appreciate it as an adult. Until today I had never actually seen the movie unedited, and I found it just a delight.

It's true that there are weaknesses. Although Dick Van Dyke put on a marvellous performance, he ironically seems totally out of place with his American accent. I truly can't figure out how Caractacus' father can have a British accent, and Caractacus' children can have British accents, but Caractacus himself has an American accent? It's something you wouldn't notice as a kid, but as an adult I found it somewhat distracting. Also, Hall and Ripley didn't blow me away (I know - give them a break; they were just kids. Still, I've seen better performances from children that age.)

But why nitpick. Suspend disbelief, think like a kid, sit back and enjoy the ride.

8/10.

It's fifty years-old this year and it still hit the mark. I watched this with my eldest son when he was about 6 and he loved it. But, I just forgot about it as time went by. He's 14 now. I put it on last night for my other two kids, who are 10 & 5, well they loved it. Watched it again the very next day. My teenage son even sat in and watched it too. They sing the theme song now while driving. The only bad point to me is that it's a very long movie and it can seem a little slow at times. Probably not a bad thing to a kid though, mine never complained. They asked questions about "the olden days" as it's onviously set even many years before it was made. I loved the questions and the insight into a different time of story telling. He movie was at least 25 years old when I saw it and it seemed old to me then. But I loved it. Great movie. Don't be turned off thinking kids won't like it compared to modern kid and family movies. It's dated but that's not a bad thing.

As good as any Disney film of that era. The Songs in the movie are full of catchy melodies. This film introduced America to the Comic talents of Benny Hill as the toymaker. I wish I had a toot sweet right now!