7.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Shirley Maclaine stars as dance hall hostess Charity Hope Valentine, a woman whose faith in the virtues of old-fashioned romance is knocked by a string of disastrous romances. Robbed of her earnings by her absconding boyfriend, she suffers further heartbreaks at the hands of an Italian movie star and a nervy insurance clerk. Bob Fosse's musical comedy features songs like 'Big Spender,' 'If My Friends Could See Me Now,' 'Rhythm of Life' and 'There's Gotta Be Something Better Than This'.
Starring: Shirley MacLaine, John McMartin, Ricardo Montalban, Chita Rivera, Paula KellyRomance | 100% |
Musical | 74% |
Drama | 68% |
Music | 39% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.35:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (A, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
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.
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.
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.
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:
- Production Stills (HD)
- Publicity Materials (HD)
- 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)
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.
1940
1972
2007
2012
1927
30th Anniversary Special Collector's Edition
1977
1968
2005
सांवरिया / Eternal Soulmate / Beloved / Oh, My Love
2007
2011-2012
1953
1957
Indicator Series
1933
1977
1955
The Young Girls of Rochefort
1967
50th Anniversary Edition
1961
1969
1945
Warner Archive Collection
1949