Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T Blu-ray Movie Review

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be piano players: the musical.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 28, 2016

Most everyone has a "scarred for life" moment. Just as kids say the darndest things, parents make kids do the darndest things, usually with good intentions but sometimes to the detriment of their outlook on, or participation in, life, or at least a little sliver of it. Forced to dress in an embarrassing way, forced into participating in a disliked activity, or force-fed peas (ahem), childhood is defined by life-changing events, with that one negative experience that always stands out and carries on through for the rest of one's years. For little Bart Collins (Tommy Rettig), the protagonist of The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, it was playing the piano, over and over, his little fingers figuratively beat over his head with it until his mind turned to mush and he could not even find refuge in the dream world, living out a nightmare of his, his mother's, and his piano teacher's own making. Note to parents: if a kid really, truly, deeply hates something that's not necessary to their well-being, don't make them do it, particularly if it involves a creepy, overzealous piano instructor. Or peas. Yuck.

"This is dumb!"

Bart Collins isn't like the other kids. He doesn't get to go outside and play ball or ride bikes. No, his mother (Mary Healy) is making him take piano lessons from the overbearing Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried). And she's as strict as he, making him play correctly even when he's gone. He's grown to hate the piano, and Terwilliker's tyrannical tutelage haunts his nightmares. Bart dreams that he's been taken prisoner by the nefarious Dr. T, placed in a large compound built around a sprawling, roller coaster-like piano with room for Bart and 499 other children. That's 5,000 little fingers playing at once. Inside, Bart finds his mother, working for Dr. T and fallen under his spell. He also meets a friendly plumber named August Zabladowski (Peter Lind Hayes) who has been hired to install sinks in the compound. They work together to escape Dr. T and foil his dastardly plans.

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T was the only film to be written by Mr. Theodor Geisel, better known as "Dr. Seuss." The movie may not have anything to do with a cat in a hat or green eggs and ham, but there's an unmistakable dark wonder at play in the movie, even if it's not always done particularly well, be that because it's too obvious, too off the beaten path, or simply because what might otherwise work on the page doesn't necessarily work on the screen. The story is very straightforward, with easily understood themes and a straight line direction, but the dreamlike world in which it takes place is anything but. It's fluid here, angular there, built on disproportionate measures but nothing dark or creepy beyond the obvious and implied themes centering around, in a way, freedom from oppression. Little Bart just wants to do something -- anything -- that doesn't involve playing the piano. That's all. The task becomes a chore which becomes, literally, a nightmare where he and 499 other children are forced into de facto slavery. There's even the enslavement of his mother and the death threat against his adult plumber friend. Pretty dark stuff.

The movie works well enough because it's so involved with, and committed to, intensifying its themes within that dream world. What could be more frightening to a reluctant piano player than a piano that seemingly stretches on for miles with room for hundreds of other, supposedly equally reluctant, pupils, with the nefarious Dr. T standing above them as if a dictator forcing his slaves to do as he commands? What could be scarier to someone who just wants to get away than a tall, tall ladder that offers momentary escape but leads to nowhere? The film is nothing if not smartly constructed around its own creepy brand of imagery that compliments the story to, well, a T. There's also the interesting contrast between Dr. T and the plumber, Mr. Z, both of whom have names worthy of an alphabet soup game but who contrast in simple but interesting ways. T is the great dictator while Z is the savior of sorts. As a plumber, Z is the epitome of the everyman who, in the real world, has a few not-so-kind words to say about Dr. T and who, in the dream world, takes Bart under his wing. At one point Z humors the boy during a make believe fishing expedition that eventually turns into a father-son-inspired bonding moment that contrasts with the heavy-handed parenting of his mother and the overbearing instruction of his piano teacher.

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T features a rather stable and, for the most part, enjoyable 1080p transfer. The movie is presented in its native 4x3 aspect ratio, which places vertical "black bars" on either side of the 1.78:1 display. The image is largely attractive and filmic, with a moderately spiky, but even, grain field in tow. Details are fairly good, revealing the crudeness and relative cheapness of the dream world sets while accentuating basic textures on costumes, clothes, and random odds-and-ends seen in the Collins household. Colors aren't punchy, but they're well balanced, whether T's purple and black robe, yellow and blue henchmen costumes, or other colorful details throughout T's dream world institute. A hint of bleeding is evident, but it's never troublesome. Black levels and flesh tones appear fine. Sporadic pops and scratches appear, though never to the transfer's detriment. Overall, not a bad release from Mill Creek.

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T features a nuts-and-bolts and aged Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. Music never stretches; the two-channel track pushes score and song alike to the center, never allowing it to breathe or find enough space to shine. Clarity is lacking too. Notes are tight and scratchy. The lack of range and definition, and simply the material's aging elements, don't allow for much excitement. A few support effects squeeze in, like a growling dog, but the effect is likewise crunchy and poorly defined. Dialogue is at least clear and adequately detailed and, like the music, pushed to the center. Unlike the music, this is where the listener wants it to be.

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T contains no supplemental content. The top menu offers only a "Play Movie" button.

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Word has it that Dr. Seuss all but disavowed The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. He would never work on another screenplay again. The movie isn't really that bad. It's creative if not a bit limited. Its imagery matches up with its themes very well, through certainly there's an overflow of creepy henchmen and other weird sights (and sounds) that leave the movie a little worse off for their inclusion. But it's a good illustrative example of the way children become emotionally scarred. In a weird way, it's a movie every parent should watch. Mill Creek's Blu-ray is disappointingly, but unsurprisingly, featureless; a commentary with a childhood psychologist and a Seuss historian would have been most welcome. Video quality is fine and audio gets the job done, at least given the release's budget nature. Recommended.