vjthom39 Reviews

The King and I (1956)

The way DVDs should be made

[9/10 · 25 July 2008]

There are enough reviews here on the movie itself there is nothing more I can add. What I can comment about it is one of its treatments on DVD. The version of the movie I most recently saw was the 50th Anniversary Edition issued in 2006. I had previously owned the VHS version. I liked my library's copy of the DVD so much I bought my own. The film quality over the VHS tape was extraordinary - clear and pristine. The sound quality was obviously top-notch too, in 5.0 Dolby surround.

However, what contributed most to my enjoyment were the added features. The now obligatory audio commentary (this time by film scholars and historians Richard Barious and Michael Portantier) was both interesting and informative. What I really enjoyed however was the version of the movie with ONLY the orchestral soundtrack - no dialog and no singing. I wish all musicals had this feature for study purposes - I found it truly fascinating, wishing I had the printed score to follow along.

Other features included a few featurettes (which added nothing to the package). Disc Two of the set included the television film pilot of Anna and the King starring both Yul Brynner and Samantha Egger, in both its original version and a commentary by Ms. Egger. It was watchable enough to make me wish I could view other episodes of its one season. Most bizarre was that the series was produced by the same team that created M*A*S*H the same season.

Other extras are excerpts of two songs from the Broadway show by Yul Brynner and Patricia Morrison for a 1950s television special, and one deleted audio from the movie - "Shall I Tell You What I Think Of You".

All in all - the two DVD set is worth picking up.

The Point (1971 TV Movie)

A delightful film, no matter which version you choose

[6 July 2003]

The Point, a delightful animated film, is a joy for both children and their parents. The story line is a typical fable - how little Oblio was born in the Land of Point with a perfectly round head. After beating the evil Count's son in a game of triangle toss, he and his faithful dog Arrow are banished to the Pointless Forest. Here they encounter numerous strange creatures and have many adventures, where they learn that physical or not, everybody has a point. The music was written and performed by Harry Nilsson...after his hits with "Everybody's Talkin'" and the "Theme from the Courtship of Eddie's Father", but before his monumental Nilsson Schmillson album. A song from this feature, "Me and My Arrow" became a minor hit. George Tipton does wonderful but largely unrecognized arrangements of all the songs. The original movie was featured on ABC television in 1971 with Dustin Hoffman providing the narration. Harry Nilsson himself peforms the narration on the corresponding soundtrack album, which is a delight in itself. (It has recently been re-released with additional material.) When the film was shown in Great Britain, the original narration was wiped and replaced with one by Alan Barzman. Later the film was shown on the Disney Channel, with narration by Alan Thicke. The VHS home version is narrated by Ringo Starr, a drinking buddy and close friend of Harry Nilsson. Although the VHS version is no longer in print, I have seen versions with all 4 narrators lurking about on the internet. I have not heard personally heard the Alan Thicke or Alan Barzman versions. Ringo does a nice job on his narration, which I prefer over Hoffman's. However, if you're a Dustin Hoffman fan, his version is fine as well.