Hello Dolly!

Before getting into my review, let me preface by saying that "Hello, Dolly!" has never looked better than on this restored 2013 Blu-ray release. Compared to the 2003 DVD, it's like seeing a different film. The colors are brighter and more vibrant, the overall picture is incredibly sharp and clean without being either too soft or too grainy, and the sound is so crisp and clean that I was noticing lines of dialogue that had been all but inaudible before. Fox may have released this without much fanfare, but it's one of the best restorations I've seen for a film of this age. Despite its generally limited recognition, "Hello, Dolly" stands as one of the most spirited musical creations of our century, and certainly one of the most sparkling movies of all time. Barbra Streisand shines as the indomitable Dolly Levi, the young, sassy, street-wise widow whose plan to wed herself to Horace Vandergelder (played with great alcrity by Walter Matthau), a curmudgeonly half-a-millionaire who owns a profitable hay and feed business in Yonkers, New York, and adds her own special charm to the richly detailed and brightly bubbling confection that glows just as bright today as it did back in 1969. It was because of the Disney*Pixar movie "WALL-E" that I first became aquainted with this film. Of course, I had to go out and buy the DVD and see for myself what it was all about. I fell in love with it immediately, and it quickly became my favorite film, if not my favorite musical, of all time. There is something indescribably special about it, something that makes it stand out from everything else I've seen, which I just can't get enough of. Perhaps in a time where people dress down, have little or no interest in history, don't take time to slow down and enjoy the little things, or even observe common values of courtesy and good manners, "Dolly" provides an escape into the glorious and opulent of Victoriana America, not to mention giving its viewer a lavish throwback to the last great musical Hollywood ever produced. I once heard Michael Crawford describe this as a beautiful, romantic, "old-fashioned valentine" of a musical. That is exactly what it is. It is a sweet and charming story with beautiful songs and a stellar cast that simply refuses to be lost into the passage of history. Truly, there are no bad moments. Every second has something interesting to look at or listen to or feel, and the performances from the actors are just priceless. The whole thing is a joyous spectacle from start to finish, and I am always laughing and crying and applauding the sheer brilliance of it throughout the entire experience. Unlike most musicals, the acting is uncharacteristically good. The performers are entirely believable in their roles and play them with truthfulness and reverence. Of course, there are some moments where a little zaniness is required, but it never comes over the top. Gene Kelly's stellar direction took the show to places the original creators never dreamed of going. His choice between merely making a musical and making a good movie is never questioned: he made a great movie, hands down, and it shows. The way he handled everything, from the cinematography to the choreography sequences to the musical numbers themselves just proves that he's a talented director who knows what he wants and knows just how to do it. Every choice he made was perfect, to say nothing of the brillant job he did of casting. I also applaud Ernest Lehmann for his marvelous script. He really went to town in taking a show with good songs but a somewhat boring and predictable storyline to something Oscar-worthy. As to the lady herself, I can't think of a time when Barbra Streisand ever looked prettier. She has a huge smile on her face throughout the whole film, and gives Dolly an energy and enthusiasm Carol Channing never had. She sings with vim and verve and uses every last bit of her vocal range and power to toss a little extra "oomph" into Jerry Herman's peppy songs. Even though she was criticized at the time for being too young, her performance is no doubt one of the best in her career. You need a dynamic personality like Barbra's to carry the role of Dolly Levi believably, and she carries to perfection. What really strikes me as interesting about her is the fact that although she was only in her mid-twenties when this was filmed, she manages to appear as a woman who is much older, maybe in her thirties or forties. Not that she looks old and matronly (anything but!); but rather her wisdom and persona project the air of a woman much more mature than twenty-five. Take the dancing scene, for instance. She's marvelous at giving Michael Crawford a lesson on how to waltz, and is very patient and understanding of his overly-exuberant youth. In real life she was actually three months younger than him. That type of acting is rare to be found an anyone today--someone with skills enough to make you forget how young or old the person is themselves, and just see the character alone. I simply love the characters of Cornelius Hackle and Barnaby Tucker, Mr. Vandergelder's niave young clerks, who want to spend a day in New York, spend all their money, and kiss a girl; both played expertly by Michael Crawford and Danny Lockin, respectively. Crawford, only twenty-six at the time, has a sweet, gentle voice, and uses an American accent very well in one of his earliest film roles. Despite being cast by Mr. Kelly as the "attractive idiot", Crawford puts over an equally great comic as well as heartfelt performance. The astonishing moments of excellent physical comedy are well worth watching, and it's amazing to think that he'd be playing the part of the Phantom only a few years later! I especially liked him in the "It Only Takes a Moment" sequence; just look at his expressions and gestures. He plays the role with such honesty, I almost always get teary-eyed! The two supporting women, Barnaby and Cornelius's love interests, are also very talented: E.J. Peaker as Minnie Faye, and Marianne McAndrew as Irene Malloy. Although she didn't do her own singing, Ms. McAndrew is very nice looking and a fine actress, just the sort of person you can picture Cornelius falling in love with in just one day. Or in "a moment", as the song goes. The visual look and feel of the film is gorgeous, with sumptuous sets and marvelous costumes. The widescreen, TODD-AO film captures the colors and patterns vibrantly, and still looks bright and new after fifty years. I especially liked a very obvious Gene Kelly trademark in the opening scene of the film, showing nothing but people's feet strolling the sidewalk in downtown New York. Genius. To close, "Dolly" is great fun, a terrific movie for the whole family that is truly timeless, and one that only gets better with each viewing.

HELLO DOLLY! My first introduction to Miss. Barbra Streisand! A flop of it time, and one of the last big expensive Hollywood musical, is finally out on Blu-ray and never look better! Directed by Gene Kelly, starring Barbra Streisand, Walter Matthau, Michael Crawford, and guest appearance Louis Armstrong, it was the most expensive musical ever produced at that time! Everything could be seen on screen, such as the parade and the Harmonia Gardens Restaurant set! The dance numbers is a joy to watch, well shot with wonderful choreography. Too bad it was released at a bad time, when US was deep into Vietnam wars and flowers power was in full swing, no one was into happy happy musical. Oscar Best Picture for that year was MIDNIGHT COWBOY. One could see the sentiment then. Otherwise it was well made and quite entertaining! Well remastered and properly framed at TODD-AO 2.20 (listed as 2.35 on package), detail is fantastic! Just look at Barbra clothing! The DTS-HD MA 5.1 sound great too! Little extras though - an interview with film historian and Gene Kelly window DIRECTING DOLLY: GENE KELLY REMEMBERED (New), a 1969 featurette, trailers in English and Spanish (from DVD). All extras are in HD. The only extra not port over from DVD is Fox Flix - a few Fox musical movie trailers. If that is not important to you, you can safely off load your old 2003 DVD. The single Blu-ray was packed in an eco-Blu-ray case - those with holes! DON'T PRESS TOO HARD! Highly recommended for musical and Barbra fans!

Quite simply this is THE BEST that HELLO DOLLY! has ever looked on home video. It's very apparent that a lot of love, time, care and money was lavished over this restoration. 70mm titles are the ones that seem to look especially robust on Blu-ray (take for instance Fox's earlier Blu release of The Sound of Music and the forthcoming Cleopatra ). DOLLY was filmed in the 70mm Todd-AO system and has yielded a gorgeous transfer on Blu which must be quite close to how the film looked in it's original 1969 theatrical release. The movie gets better with age. Barbra Streisand has been given plenty of flack, ever since the movie was first announced, for 'stealing' away the role of Dolly from original Broadway star Carol Channing - but it's actually her performance which has kept the film fresh for so long. Streisand adopted a "Mae West" flavour for the key to play Dolly, and the decision was inspired. Walter Matthau matches her step-for-step with his downplayed but still hilarious turn as Horace Vandergelder. Michael Crawford and Marianne McAndrew are lovely as Cornelius and Mrs Molloy (although McAndrews' ill-fitting dubbed singing voice robs her of some impact during her musical numbers - it's a couple of hairs higher than her regular speaking voice). Pocket-sized dance dynamos Danny Lockin and E.J. Peaker are outstanding as Barnaby and Minnie Faye. We'll never see such opulence or excess on the screen again. Musicals were fast becoming a dying breed in 1969 but the quality of the designs in DOLLY's sets and costumes are on display in Hi-Def glory here. It is truly eye-popping. You can literally see all the threads in Dolly's golden Harmonia Gardens gown. It surely cannot get better than this. If you haven't seen DOLLY before, this Blu-ray will be an ideal way to introduce yourself. If you're already on familiar terms with the old gal, you'll be floored at how she sparkles anew. My highest recommendation.

Just received my blu ray copy of DOLLY and am really impressed. The color, clarity and quality of the new high def transfer is terrific. The show is entertaining as ever and Streisand shows everyone what talent is all about. What a presence she has onscreen! And the title number is one of the biggest showstoppers in theatre AND movie history. No, it's not up there with WEST SIDE STORY or SOUND OF MUSIC, but it has charms of its own...and it is HUGE! The production values are magnificent. And it's all real. No CGI. That NYC set was actually constructed...as was the Yonkers set. And wow to the Harmonia Gardens sequence. In terms of opulence, DOLLY is an eye-popper. So is CLEOPATRA, the next big blu ray from 20th Century Fox. Can't wait for that. Oh, and a word about the packaging. Why not a blu ray book? CAMELOT had one. Hell, even NATURAL BORN KILLERS was treated to a special book. And why so few extras? A history of the show? Profile of Ernest Lehman? Interview with the cast? And the cover of the bluray is further evidence of how the studios had NO IDEA how to market a classic. The photo-shopped, cut and paste pictures are a lousy representation of the film. DOLLY had a marvelous color logo graphic that would have made a terrific cover. Instead, it appears in a tiny display on the back. Note to Hollywood---use the original graphics when marketing a classic. The art departments were far better back then and the boomers (who are the intended audience for these products) will respond to the original artwork because THAT IS WHAT THEY RECOGNIZE. I won't even get started with the awful artwork on the new GREAT ESCAPE bluray.

My mother really liked this movie. I thought it was okay, but nothing that really grabbed my attention. I don't know why. I think it's because I found Streisand appealing and annoying all at once. She fun, she's kind of cute in a New York sort of way, but she's meant to be a Jewish matchmaker, and I think that's the thing that's never really flatly stated up front, but just inferred by Walter Matthau's and Streisand's presence (extremely odd, since in the end they get married in a church instead of a synagogue). The jokes are funny, clever and carry into the musical numbers which are rich in whit. But the parading of effete male dancers (many of whom I'm sure were hetero family men) coupled with a kind of tame melodrama, just has me sitting in front of the TV wondering when this thing is going to be over with. Why? Eh, I grew up on westerns and sci-fi, so I'm not what you'd call a big musical fan, though I do like specific films in the genre. It's just that the reserve culture of turn of the (1900) century America that is supposed to be celebrated, gets a little annoying. It's light hearted, so we don't get perilous scene of ladies being tied to railroad tracks nor stove pipe hat and cap wearing villains running off with the deed and mortgage to some down and out family. Instead we get the courtship ritual turned on its head, and to fun effect. "Stuffed whale ... wow!" You can't fault it for its effort too much, but it's too much effort at times that I find fault with. The lines are delivered with an honesty and zing that make the film palatable, but the vaudevillian take on reserved WASPY late 19th century America, eh ... just seems over the top, even for a musical. Even so, I enjoyed it on its own level, but unless it's a Sunday afternoon, with a sofa, tall glass of lemonade, and air conditioning on a hot summer day, I'll probably pass up another viewing.

Beautifully remastered and finally on blu-ray. This one of the last of an era of big-time musicals to reach the screen. It is huge, colorful, brash, and full of familiar tunes. Many quibbled that Barbra Streisand was too young to take on this role, especially after Carol Channing made it her own on Broadway, and touring the country. Certainly Ms. Channing made the iconic Dolly Levi come alive on stage. But Ms. Streisand made this part her own on film, and is a sheer delight to watch, and hear her singular take on this character. Her duet with Louis Armstrong during the title song is not to be missed. Brava ms. Streisand in thefilm, and brava Ms Channing on stage. Set back and relish this big brassy musical. And don't forget to catch a young Michael Crawford and Tommy Tune in their supporting roles.

I never really was a fan of Barbara Streisand, but I loved the music and the sets of this movie. Besides, who doesn't love Walter Matthau (he cracks me up!). The plot is a little loose, but that's not the main purpose of a musical; they're meant to make you feel good and tap your feet. Gene Kelly directed the film, and his experience in musicals shows in this grand production. The video is crisp and clean with beautiful color renditions. The soundtrack is simply superb, with vocals that seem to jump out at you during the Hello Dolly sequence. You'd swear you're in the room with them singing to Streisand. Highly recommended!

The show is a classic and the movie provides a level of spectacle just not possible on the stage. (A parade scene involving 12,000 people!) The Blu-Ray is respectable but perhaps not based on 8K scans as the latest release of My Fair Lady, where you could almost feel the texture of the wallpaper! The extras provided detail some production secrets and back story but don't buy it for that, buy it to preserve the classic for enjoyment over a lifetime. From the Singing/Dancing waiters to the antics of Dolly, please be warned that it will take a while to get the great music theme out of your head. But what's so bad about that! Enjoy

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Barbra Streisand está sensacional, la música y la historia son divertidas. Una buena tarde en familia. Nos gustó mucho