Divine Madness
by Michael Ritchie
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DVD details
Actor: Bette Midler, Diva Gray, Irving Sudrow, Jocelyn Brown, Ula HedwigDirector: Michael Ritchie
Brand: Warner Brothers
Writer: Bette Midler
Cinematographer: William A. Fraker
Writer: Bruce Vilanch
Writer: Jerry Blatt
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Letterbox, 2.35:1
Running Time: 95 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-05-18
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of Divine Madness
DVD Review: Essential to Have
Summary: 5 Stars
This is so good. I watch it over and over again, and now I think she sang rather well in it (in hindsight). Also, I've seen her live, (during her No Frills tour ..or whatever it was called) but wow, she was so good, I was an even more impressed fan. So, I have to recommend Art or Bust, her cable special, too.DVD Review: Where's Will Vinton's Moutn Rushmore?
Summary: 5 Stars
I was disappointed that Will Vinton's classic claymation trailer with Bette on Mt. Rushmore was not included on this DVD.DVD Review: Amazing..
Summary: 5 Stars
The seller was very nice, answered all my questions, shipped the package on time.. I recommend him!DVD Review: Good DVD But Should Be Better
Summary: 3 Stars
While this is one of my all time favorite Bette shows, the sound quality on this DVD is a bit soft. The film really needs to have a full restoration done to it. Additionally, in this day and age the fact that the full length version has still not been released is a crime. Once again, Rainbow Sleeve and Shiver Me Timers is missing. Also, there is footage of the song My Mother's Eyes that was performed as part of this show, but again this has not been included on the DVD. I think that it is high time that a special edition needs to be released with the FULL version and not this ancient 'home video' version. DVD Review: Not what I remember...
Summary: 3 Stars
I saw first saw this show on VHS sometime back in 1984 or 1985, and haven't seen it since, so it's possible my memory playing tricks on me, but I would swear that there were scenes in the old edition which are missing here. Good bits. The Internet Movie Database tends to support this theory, because it lists the running time of "Divine Madness" as 95 minutes, while this DVD has a running time of 86 minutes.
I can't enumerate precisely what those missing 9 minutes contain, but I do have a strong recollection of Bette Midler on the floor with all three Harlettes, with all of them wearing mermaid tails, and an extended sequence on the exact words to the chorus of the "Hawaiian War Chant" (not just the main verse).
There are some really outstanding bits here. The standup segments are great, the mermaid number (even in its apparently curtailed form) is fun, and there are several great musical moments with songs from the 40s and 50s. There are also a lot of slow bits, however, along with a few musical numbers which border on shrill.
Before watching the DVD, I would have given this show a solid 4 out of 5 or better. Now, though, I feel charitable rating it a 3, and I wonder just how badly my memory is playing tricks on me.
Description of Divine Madness
IN 1980, THE HEAD USHER AT THE PASADENA CIVIC AUDITORIUM GIVESHIS CREW A PEP TALK: HE WANTS TONIGHT'SBETTY MIDLERSHOW TOGO SMOOTHLYAudacious, brazen, funny, and perhaps the unconscious inspiration for Madonna's shows, Divine Madness makes an absolute spectacle of itself. Bette Midler's raunchy, entertaining persona is on high in this concert film filmed in Pasadena. Midler tells dirty jokes, berates herself and the audience, and most of all belts out (some may say shrieks out) covers of Bruce Springsteen and rock and swing classics. Somewhere between "Everything's Comin' Up Roses" and "Vogue," Midler seems a bridge between eras, that of burlesque, do-anything-to-please-'em showmanship and shocking, pyrotechnic exhibitionism and aloofness. (A hint at just how old this 1980 movie feels, Midler unabashedly makes a reference to Georgie Jessel!) Directed by Michael Ritchie, whose Smile and The Bad New Bears were interesting takes on America, Divine is also a slice of the American experience. It's dirty enough to be fun and clean enough to stay just this side of bawdy. That used to be a fine American tradition. Note: The songs "Shiver Me Timbers" and "Rainbow Sleeve," which appeared in the theatrical release of this picture, are not included in this DVD. That's a shame because with Midler, more is more. --Keith Simanton
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