A Little Night Music
by Harold Prince
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Actor: Diana Rigg, Elizabeth Taylor, Hermione Gingold, Len Cariou, Lesley-Anne DownDirector: Harold Prince
Brand: Henstooth Video
Cinematographer: Arthur Ibbetson
Editor: John Jympson
Producer: Denis Holt
Producer: Elliott Kastner
Producer: Otto Plaschkes
Writer: Hugh Wheeler
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 124 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-06-05
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Henstooth Video
DVD Reviews of A Little Night Music
DVD Review: A Fairly Poisonous Package
Summary: 2 Stars
Witty, moody, poignant, and ironic, SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT launched Ingmar Berman to international fame in 1957--and has inspired others for half a century. In the 1970s it inspired composer Stephen Sondheim, who with writer Hugh Wheeler adapted its complex tale of several misguided lovers to the musical stage. Opening on Broadway in 1973, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC was a great critical success, and although it did not have a spectacularly long run it has proven remarkably durable, enjoying many notable revivals in The United States, England, and Europe.
The 1978 film is quite a different matter. Directed by Hal Prince, who directed the original stage version, and starring several of the original stage performers, it was a critical and popular disaster of legendary proportions. This was partly due to the backers, who insisted on certain changes and cuts, and partly due to the cast, which was not always ideal; in an overall sense, however, it was due to Prince's utter inability to translate the humor of the piece to film, and what was quick and sharp and clever on stage became plodding and uninspired on the screen.
This aside, the great disaster of the film is Elizabeth Taylor in the central role of Desiree, an aging actress who determines to shed an unwanted and passing lover in favor of an old flame. Some sources state that Taylor sang her vocals; other sources state that she was dubbed. It doesn't really matter because whoever sang did so very, very badly; indeed, "Send In The Clowns" is so badly done that it is downright embarassing. And perversely for one so well known for her beauty, Taylor actually looks bad in the film. It would seem that cinematographer Arthur Ibbetson went out of his way to light and photograph her in the most unflattering ways possible, and her face often has a strangely mannish quality in close-up.
This might be forgiven if Taylor actually gave a good performance, but she doesn't. She phones it in as slightly over-ripe melodrama and without the sense of cleverness or style that the piece requires, and since the role is central to everything it essentially contaminates the entire tone of the film. There are indeed a few delightful performances here, with Diana Rigg a knock-out as the embittered Charlotte, but Taylor is so dire that it is hard to look beyond her to see them--and when combined with the overall plodding quality of the film it all adds up to a fairly poisonous package.
The DVD itself is a mediocre transfer of bad elements; I would not say that it is unwatchable, but it certainly isn't anything to write home about. There are no bonuses of any kind to leven the film itself. If you are a diehard Sondheim fan curious to see how this stage masterpeice was translated (no matter how poorly) to the screen, or if you think you can get past the directorial awkwardness and Taylor's dire performance to enjoy the work of Riggs, Guittar, and Cariou--give it a shot and good luck to you. But don't say I didn't warn you.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Description of A Little Night Music
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