This week is a good week for musical fans, with the release of The Music Man on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video, which streeted on February 2nd 2010.
The movie is based on the Music Man Broadway musical from the late fifties what was created by Meredith Willson.
Even though huge musical films had become quite rare, the show was so popular that Warner optioned the rights and made the filmed version.
The Music Man is the story of a con man who travels from city to city, establishing a band for the children where he sells the instruments, uniforms and ‘instruction’.
However once the money is paid, he skips town and the children never learn to play.
The latest target for his scheme is the town of River City Iowa, and his plans go well, though there is the constant threat that his shenanigans will be revealed and the people will see him for what he really is.
The movie is loaded with music and dance that showcases the talent of the cast and company.
And when I say lo
fef
aded, I mean it – the movie runs a full two and a half hours!
That said, The Music Man contains a number of classic and memorable songs, including 76 Trombones and Till There Was You.
Some of the songs in the film borrow strongly from the environment, imitating the train, or the actions of the chickens, to amazing effect.
Since the movie was produced by the same folks as the stage show, the film is remarkably faithful to the source material and most of the singing and dancing numbers were shot pretty much in one take.
Many members of the Original Broadway musical are also in the film, including Robert Preston, Pert Kelton, The Buffalo Bills, and Susan Luckey.
Additionally the cast includes Shirley Jones (who eventually became the matriarch of The Partridge Family), Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold and a very young Ron Howard.
To be honest it is priceless to see this Hollywood legend at such a young age.
The Music Man was directed by Morton DaCosta, the man behind Auntie Mame and Island of Love.
The movie loved by the critics – it earned a Rotten Tomatoes score of 93% and a more modest IMDb score of 7.6/10.
The Music Man also won the Best Adapted Score Academy Awards in 1962.
The video on the disc is a VC-1 1080p encode at 24.5 Mbps, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1.
Needless to say the original film elements are pretty old now – all things considered it looks pretty good.
The details page for The Music Man features full resolution PNG screen captures taken directly from the disc.
The main audio is lossless DTS-HD Master Audio with 5.1 channels – 24 bits resolution at 48 kHz.
The disc is a dual layer BD50, with 36.3 GB used and is coded for All Regions.
The special features are a little limited with a recently filmed introduction by Shirley Jones and a theatrical trailer.
The main featurette called Right Here In River City, the ‘making of’ features both vintage and recent footage, and is actually a quite fascinating 20 minute documentary covering the development and production of the movie.
The Music Man is another classic release from Warner Home Video, one that will greatly appeal to fans of the movie musical.
The retail price is $28.99, or get it now at Amazon for $19.99, saving 31%!
Extras:
Introduction By Shirley Jones
Right Here In River City: The Making Of
Theatrical Trailer
Synopsis:
The Music Man, the joyful film of the 1,375-perfromance Broadway smash, remains an irresistible skyburst of Americana. Robert Preston recreates his Tony-winning Broadway triumph as con artist Harold Hill, arriving in River City, Iowa, to form a boys band, much to the disapproval…and later delight of town librarian Marian Paroo. Buddy Hackett, Hermione Gingold, Paul Ford and 7-year-old Ron Howard co-star. Meredith Wilson’s sassy, brassy score, is orchestrated to Oscar-Winning effect by Ray Heindorf.
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