One from the Heart

One from the Heart (1982) starring Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski. Directed by Francis Coppola. This was a vanity project for Coppola, and boy did it flop. Second-rate acting and a weak script make this one of the worst movies I've ever sat through. In fact, I fell asleep watching it, something that virtually never happens. Seriously, Francis, what were you thinking? Grade: D

The Helen Morgan Story

The Helen Morgan Story (1957) starring Ann Blyth, Paul Newman, Richard Carlson, Gene Evans, Alan King. Directed by Michael Curtiz. There really was a Helen Morgan, and she was a big star during the 1920s and '30s. This largely fictionalized movie focuses on Morgan's (Blyth) romances and alcoholism. Although she performs a number of songs, her career as a torch singer seems to be in the background in this film. Newman plays a cheap hood who she falls in love with early on and can never stop loving -- in contrast to her real life, where she was married three times. This film is billed as a Paul Newman movie, but it's one he'd probably rather forget. (English subtitles for the hearing-impaired are available on the disc.) Grade: B- 

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1967) starring Robert Morse, Michele Lee, Rudy Vallee. Based on the Broadway musical, I recall seeing this movie in 1967 and rather liking it. Unfortunately, the DVD is totally devoid of subtitles for the hearing-impaired, and I found it too tedious to watch all the way through. Grade: F

The Harvey Girls

The Harvey Girls (1946) starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury. Attempt at a "musical Western" mostly falls flat. Designed as a vehicle for Garland, it pretty much serves that purpose, but silly script and (mostly) lame musical numbers sabotage the film at every turn. Plot has Garland traveling by train from Ohio to a remote little fictional town called Sandrock out west (apparently in Arizona), where she has agreed to be somebody's mail-order bride. When the marriage plans fall through, she joins up with a bunch of young women who are traveling on the same train with the object of being waitresses in a Harvey House restaurant. The Harvey House restaurants were apparently a nonfictional fixture in the West, but the movie does little to explore that aspect of the plot. Low point is probably a "brawl" between the Harvey Girls and the ladies of a local saloon, which comes off as totally phony  (Judy is lovely, but she can't even fake a fight). The film has English subtitles for the hearing-impaired, but the songs aren't subtitled! Grade: C+  

Hair

Hair (1979) starring John Savage, Treat Williams, Beverly D'Angelo. Directed by Milos Forman. Attempt to bring 1968 stage play to film, really doesn't try too hard to replicate the play, but instead makes many changes, and consequently fails. Some of the songs are enjoyable to hear again, but the plot of the movie is really not much to brag about. Savage plays a young man who is entering the Army and is headed to Vietnam, Williams is the head of a band of hippies that Savage hooks up with, and D'Angelo is Savage's romantic interest. To the credit of the DVD, it does have English subtitles to aid the hearing-impaired, and even the songs are subtitled. Grade: C 

Walk the Line

Walk the Line (2005) starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin, Robert Patrick. Phoenix plays country star Johnny Cash in this biopic, and does a pretty good job of singing Cash's hit songs. Witherspoon won an Oscar for her sparkling portrayal of June Carter, Cash's eventual true love and wife. A movie like this is a tough sell, because Cash is so recognizable and it's just about impossible for an actor to look like the person he's portraying. Phoenix gives it his best shot, but he falls short. Also, the film puts a little too much emphasis on the soapy aspects of the story, namely Cash's long and arduous effort to get Carter to agree to marry him (it wasn't that hard in real life, according to a recent biography of Cash written by Robert Hilburn). Ultimately, for me, the question is, did the film draw you in and make you forget that you were watching an actor portray an icon? The answer, for me, was no. (The film has English subtitles for the hard of hearing, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B- 

The King and I

The King and I (1956) starring Deborah Kerr, Yul Brynner, Rita Moreno, Martin Benson. Musical in which Kerr plays Anna Leonowens, a woman who in 1862 journeys from England to Siam (now Thailand) to be the schoolmistress to the king's (Brynner) hundred or so children. The conflict in the movie arises out of the fact that Anna and the king are both strong-willed individuals, and they clash from the start. The beauty of the film derives from the music and words by the talented duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. Songs include "Hello Young Lovers," "Getting to Know You" and "Something Wonderful." Brynner won a well-deserved Oscar for his portrayal of the king of Siam. Kerr's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon. I found this to be an entertaining movie, although the subplot about the love of Tuptim and Lun Tha could have been trimmed considerably. Also, some of the songs were quite lame. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B+

Camelot

Camelot (1967) starring Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero, David Hemmings. I recall really liking this movie when I saw it in 1968. Oh what a difference 45 years make. It now strikes me as a surprisingly bad movie musical, with Harris being rather weak in the lead role of King Arthur, and Redgrave not really that beautiful as Queen Guenevere. The scene where Nero, as Sir Lancelot, kills his opponent in a jousting match, then brings him back to life, stands out as extremely phony. The songs are generally pretty good, but the  singing isn't strong. The introduction of Hemmings as Arthur's illegitimate son Mordred, and the subsequent downfall of the Round Table, is just a downer. Not enjoyable at all. (English subtitles are available for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: C  

An American in Paris

An American in Paris (1951) starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, Nina Foch. American ex-pat Jerry Mulligan (Kelly) lives in Paris, tries his hand at being a painter. He falls in love with a French girl (Caron) while being sponsored by a rich American woman (Foch), who tries to advance his career. There's lots of singing, dancing and music involved, and it all results in a "happy" ending. I was only slightly bothered by the age difference between Kelly (40) and Caron (20), making her motion-picture debut. There was a long ballet number toward the end of the movie that I found rather boring. Overall, the movie holds up rather well, though I found it somewhat dated. (Subtitles in English are offered on the disc for the hearing-impaired.) Grade: B  

Amadeus

Amadeus (1984) starring F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Simon Callow, Roy Dotrice, Christine Ebersole, Jeffrey Jones. Directed by Milos Forman. Abraham won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Antonio Salieri, the unfortunate 18th-century composer who lived and worked at the same time and place as Mozart. Salieri was a mediocre talent at best, and he was undone by his jealousy of Mozart's effortless genius. Hulce, as Mozart, makes the composer seem convincingly obnoxious, and the script is beautifully written to illustrate Salieri's mixed feelings about Mozart. He recognizes Mozart's talent -- perhaps he is the only one in Vienna who does -- yet he resents Mozart's person. The movie also won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director, and I think they were well deserved. (Subtitles in English are available for the hearing-impaired, as are closed captions.) Grade: A   

Ziegfeld Girl

Ziegfeld Girl (1941) starring James Stewart, Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr. Three young women (Turner, Garland and Lamarr) find their lives changed when they become performers in the Ziegfeld Follies. There's lots of singing and dancing, and plenty of subplots, but for my money Garland is the star of the movie. She's also the one, thanks to her singing talent, who becomes a star in the Ziegfeld Follies. It's all good clean fun for the most part, it's just too bad it was shot in black and white. Such a subject seems to call for color. If you enjoy old movies, this one might be good for a look. (English subtitles, as well as closed captions, are available on the disc.) Grade: B   

Yellow Submarine

Yellow Submarine (1968) Animated. The Blue Meanies invade Pepperland and turn most of the inhabitants to stone, and it's the Beatles to the rescue. John, Paul, George and Ringo are recruited by one of the inhabitants of Pepperland, who fetches them in a yellow submarine. Best feature of the movie is the Beatles songs which are played frequently throughout, and the animation is ... psychedelic. It's certainly very colorful, at any rate. For fans of the Beatles, this is probably a must-see, and you've probably seen it already. I happen to know that the actual Beatles had very little involvement in this movie -- it's not even their voices that you hear when the animated Beatles talk. So I find it lacking in that respect. But it's an OK entertainment, and the kids might even enjoy it. (English subtitles are available, but not closed captions.) Grade: B   

The Glenn Miller Story

The Glenn Miller Story (1954) starring James Stewart, June Allyson, Henry Morgan, Charles Drake, George Tobias. The music is the real star of this biopic about popular big-band leader Miller (Stewart), whose music was a smash in the early '40s. Some of the hits re-created for the movie include "In the Mood," "String of Pearls" and "Moonlight Serenade." Stewart is good as Miller, although his life is mostly fictionalized for this film. Allyson does a good job as his wife, Helen, in this sentimental movie. The film ends with Miller's death as he flies across the English Channel in 1944. He is officially listed as Missing in Action. (Subtitles for the hearing-impaired are included, although closed captions are not.) Grade: B+  

South Pacific

South Pacific (1958) starring Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston. In the early days of World War II, on a Polynesian island, American sailors and nurses and French plantation owners pursue romance. Every once in a while, someone breaks out into song. The cast gives it their best shot, but the star wattage is low. You'd almost hardly know there's a war on, since about 90 percent of the movie is about two romances. The songs, by Rodgers and Hammerstein, are fine (highlights include "Some Enchanted Evening," "There is Nothing Like a Dame"). This is a likable movie, just not quite as great as it could have been. (Subtitles in English are available, as are closed captions.) Grade: B  

Holiday Inn

Holiday Inn (1942) starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Marjorie Reynolds, Virginia Dale. Flimsy plot has Crosby and Astaire rivals for same woman's heart. Upshot is that Crosby sets up a country inn in Connecticut which will be open only on holidays -- the rest of the time he'll be able to goof off. The Holiday Inn forms the setting for a series of Irving Berlin holiday songs, including the classic "White Christmas," which won an Academy Award. The main attraction of this movie is the pairing of Crosby and Astaire on screen, which only happened in one other movie. They play off of one another pretty well, and this film makes for an acceptable, light evening's entertainment. (The DVD includes good subtitles for the hearing-impaired. Closed captions are not offered.) Grade: B    

West Side Story

West Side Story (1961) starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, George Chakiris, Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn. Directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. Romeo and Juliet story is brought up to date, with story set in 1950s in New York City. Wood plays Maria, a Puerto Rican girl, who falls in love with Tony (Beymer), a Caucasian-American. The songs and the dancing are stylized, and totally involving. The movie won ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and deservedly so. Even though it's 50 years old, the film still holds up today, with music by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreography by Robbins. Subtitles in English are available on the disc, as well as closed captions. Grade: A-

Funny Girl

Funny Girl (1968) starring Barbra Streisand, Omar Sharif. Streisand stars as Fanny Brice, star of the Ziegfeld stage show, whose success on stage is belied by her unhappy private life. Sharif plays Nicky Arnstein, the rich gambler playboy who comes backstage and into her life. They fall in love and get married, but then Nicky's fortunes take a bad turn and it affects their relationship. The movie takes a surprisingly dark turn in the last half-hour or so, and it definitely lacks a happy ending. Another tear-jerker from Streisand, but who can blame her? It works for her. Even when the movie is a downer, her talent is incandescent. Songs include "People (Who Need People)" and "Don't Rain on My Parade." (Subtitles are available on the DVD in several languages, including English. Closed captions are also offered.) Grade: B

Victor/Victoria

Victor/Victoria (1982) starring Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston. Directed by Blake Edwards. In 1934 Paris, a starving singer named Victoria Grant (Andrews) decides to try playing a transvestite performer named Victor. In other words, she's a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. But not fooled is King Marchan (Garner), an American visiting Paris who believes that "Victor" is really a woman. Problem is, Victoria Grant is a huge success (the "toast of Paris") as a female impersonator, and she doesn't want to give it up. The movie deals amusingly with gay themes, but I didn't buy Andrews' portrayal of a "man." She wouldn't have fooled me, and I don't think she would have fooled all of Paris. The musical numbers, although they won an Oscar, don't strike me as top-notch, nor particularly memorable. Andrews and Garner are charming in the lead roles, and the movie is entertaining, but it's just not first rate. Andrews was married to director Edwards. (Subtitles are available, as well as closed captions.) Grade: B

Topsy-Turvy

Topsy-Turvy (2000) starring Jim Broadbent, Allan Corduner, Lesley Manville, Eleanor David, Ron Cook, Timothy Spall. In 1884, famed composers Gilbert and Sullivan (Broadbent and Corduner) come to a creative impasse. The logjam is broken when the idea for The Mikado comes to Gilbert. This movie is a delight to watch, with many fine small touches that make the Victorian setting come alive. It brings to life two men who were great celebrities in their time, and whose work is still performed. It shows us a very thin slice of Victorian life and times, and what it might have been like to live during that time and perhaps go to the theater. (The English subtitles are good, although they are hard to find and at times hard to read.) Grade: A-

That's Entertainment, Part II

That's Entertainment, Part II (1976) starring a galaxy of MGM stars. Sequel to 1974's That's Entertainment! features Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Judy Garland, Leslie Caron, the Marx Brothers, Bing Crosby, Eleanor Powell, Laurel and Hardy, Doris Day, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante and more. Most of the ground was covered in the first movie, but still there are good numbers here and there. (The furnished subtitles are not very good, but closed captions are available.) Grade: B-