Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.0

Sweet Charity Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 6, 2020

Note: Kino Lorber released Sweet Charity on Blu-ray for the North American market in 2019, which I reviewed when it came out. This review repeats pertinent sections of that review.

Some cineastes might posit an all time classic like Citizen Kane , The Seventh Seal, Rashomon or Battleship Potemkin as the, or at least a, film that changed their lives, but for this particular reviewer, Sweet Charity stands as one of the first truly gobsmacking viewing experiences I had as a child. From the first brass inflected punches of “Big Spender” in the film’s overture, to an almost magically immersive Swingle Singer-esque vocal on a beautiful Esus4 as the actual credits started (one of the first times I remember being consciously aware of movie sound surrounding me), I was almost magically transported, and that feeling continued throughout a film which offered some of the most dazzling dance moves of its (or, frankly, any) day, something that helped to elevate a rather touching if also kind of tawdry story of a dance hall hostess with the improbable name of Charity Hope Valentine (Shirley MacLaine) who was eternally on the hunt for true love. Many fans will know that Sweet Charity was of course adapted from one of those all time classics that might be cited by higher minded film fans as having changed their lives, namely Fellini’s immortal Nights of Cabiria, which director and choreographer Bob Fosse fashioned into a sizable Broadway hit designed expressly for his wife Gwen Verdon. Verdon had never quite set the film world on fire, despite a rather appealing turn in the film version of another Broadway outing which had starred her, Damn Yankees, and while the decision to cast MacLaine certainly didn’t rise to the near “scandal” levels of Audrey Hepburn assuming the Julie Andrews role in My Fair Lady, for Broadway cognoscenti at least, it may have been a bit of a disappointment not to see Verdon in the role. Verdon was on set, at least reportedly, helping MacLaine to master the complex choreography, but even without Verdon’s mentoring MacLaine probably would have acquitted herself more than adequately in a role that plays to MacLaine’s strengths as a romantic naif caught in a kind of smarmy, morally questionable, world.

There's an undeniably vignette driven approach to Sweet Charity, and fans who have seen the original stage version know that Bob Fosse fashioned a kind of vaudeville-esque escapade that in some ways presaged his later work on the original Broadway version of Chicago. The basic set up of Sweet Charity is simplicity itself: it's the story of a girl who wanted to be loved, as one of its subtitles announces. Charity works as a dance hall hostess, where her naivete about romantic matters makes her the occasional butt of jokes, though she's obviously loved by her co-workers and roommates Nikki (Chita Rivera) and Helene (Paula Kelly).

Charity drifts in and out of various adventures, including having a run in with a famous film star named Vittorio Vitale (Ricardo Montalban), but it's when she meets cute with an ultra nervous insurance agent named Oscar Lindquist (John McMartin) that her string of bad luck in boyfriends seems to be coming to an end. That "end" was the source of some controversy at the time of the film's production, as evidenced by the two different endings of the two versions offered on this release.

Sweet Charity marketed itself as "the musical motion picture of the 70s", but it's pretty resolutely 1969 every step of the way, from its mod costumes, to some then trendy use of zooms and still photographs as interstitial elements. But aside from the really winning score by Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields, one that produced standards in "Big Spender" and "If They Could See Me Now" along with a slew of other well remembered songs, it's probably the unbelievable dancing that really sets Sweet Charity apart from its late sixties' musical siblings. The club scene with Vittorio and Charity is a definite standout (and keep your eyes peeled for a young Ben Vereen as one of the dancers; Vereen would of course move on to starring in Fosse's staging of Pippin on Broadway in a couple of years). The rooftop trio with Charity, Nikki and Helene doing "There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This" is an obvious rip-off of "America" from West Side Story, but in virtually every other dance sequence in the film, Fosse is charting his own very distinctive territory.

Sweet Charity Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Sweet Charity is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Powerhouse Film's Indicator imprint with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. As with the Kino release, Powerhouse is advertising a "4K restoration", though, as I mentioned in my review of the Kino release, the fact that this is virtually identical in appearance to the Kino release, may suggest this is sourced off the same master that was released in France a couple of years ago, since many folks thought the Kino release itself was a near carbon copy appearance wise of the French Blu-ray. This release was originally supposed to finally offer the complete Roadshow version, and was originally announced as including the two missing pieces of (instrumental) music the Kino release omitted, but something went haywire along the way, and this release is also missing the Entr'Acte and Exit cues. One way or the other, this is a largely ravishing looking presentation, one that offers a mostly vivid palette, and one that is especially impressive in some of the reds, purples and blues it purveys. Grain resolves beautifully throughout the presentation, and detail levels are routinely high. There are a few slightly ragged looking moments, many featuring the still photographs that are used as interstitial elements, but also some of the big club scene, where I'm now wondering if they didn't immediately cut out of the opticals for the superimposed titles of the dances, since there's just a slightly "dupey" look at times, one that I frankly hadn't noticed as much on the old DVD release of the film. There are no major signs of age related wear and tear and no compression issues that I noticed.

Sweet Charity Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Kino release was faulted for having substandard volume levels by some, and for those who may have been bothered by that, the good news is that the Powerhouse release has noticeably higher amplitude throughout both its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. Other than that difference, I noticed no major variances between the tracks on this disc and the ones on the Kino disc. There's the arguably overly "wet" sound to a lot of the music, something that is immediately apparent once dialogue kicks in with a "dryer" (i.e., less reverb) sound, both tracks offer sterling fidelity and rather robust sonics. There are occasional minor sync issues that I attribute either to lip synching or post-dubbing, but dialogue and sung material all resonates with great clarity. The surround track certainly opens up the orchestrations, as well as providing some fun immersion (in more ways than one) in some sound effects out in the urban hustle and bustle the film offers. There is some noticeable hiss on the 5.1 version during the solo guitar work that accompanies some of the photo montages.

Trivia fans may know that Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields penned two new songs for this version, "My Personal Property" and "It's a Nice Face", probably in the hopes of securing an Academy Award nomination for Best Song (they failed in that regard). Coleman also wrote a pretty delicious new setting for the title song that largely retains Fields' original lyric from the stage version. Kind of interestingly, the film omits one of the stage version's better known songs, "Baby, Dream Your Dream", and some fans (like this one, sorry) may argue that "I'm the Bravest Individual" was a catchier tune for the elevator scene than "It's a Nice Face".

This is really a propos of nothing other than my inveterate geekiness, but those aforementioned Swingle Singer-esque vocals that open the film feature singers who sound remarkably like the session singers who populated late sixties "easy listening" recordings by Hugo Montenegro in particular. I'd love to know who sang on these sessions; if any other inveterate geeks out there happen to know, Private Message me.

Sweet Charity Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

While this release offers both some of the same supplements as well as some different ones as the Kino release, this is a deluxe edition housed in a slipcase which also includes a rather substantial booklet with some really interesting writing, along with some of contemporary reviews the film received at the time of its release. There's also a folded double sided reproduction of the film's posters. Unlike the Kino release, this Indicator edition is only a one disc affair, though it does offer three different viewing options for the film. The on disc supplements include:

• Audio Commentary with Lee Gambin, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Cara Mitchell


• The John Player Lecture with Shirley MacLaine is in essence an audio supplement, culled from a 1971 interview, that plays as an alternate audio track to the first half of the film.


• From the Stage to the Screen: A Director's Dilemma (HD; 8:59) is an archival featurette that I think might have aired on an NBC Saturday Night at the Movies back in the day to help fill a two hour time slot that the feature that evening must not have (I have a vague memory of having seen it in that context). This has some fun footage of Fosse in action.


• Edith Head: The Art of Exaggeration (HD; 7:27) is a fun archival piece looking at Head's Oscar nominated creations for the film.


• Interview with Sonja Haney is another audio supplement, with Lee Gambin interviewing one of the film's dance captains. This plays as an alternate audio track to the film's second half.


• Now and Then: Sammy Davis, Jr. (HD; 21:44) is a fascinating 1968 interview with Davis conducted by Bernard Braden, done in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Robert Kennedy, which is how the interview opens.


• Super 8 Version (HD; 17:16) is the kind of hilarious redaction of the film made for the then nascent "home video" market. Video quality here is pretty ragged.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:36)


• Image Galleries

  Production Stills (HD)

  
  

  Publicity Materials (HD)

• Play Options

  Play with Overture (2:30:11)

  
  

  Play without Overture (2:28:15)

  
  

  Play with Alternate Ending (2:24:37)

  
  

  Play Alternate Ending Only (11:50)

Sweet Charity Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're as much of an unabashed fan as I am of this film, there's little question which version offers more in the way of non disc swag, and even arguably in terms of some of the technical merits (vis a vis the audio), so those with Region B players would do well to consider this release. Those with region free players who reside in either Region A or Region B and who may have already opted for the Kino release might also consider double dipping for this version, as per the above. Highly recommended.