Fantasticks [DVD] [1995] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Watching a filmed version of a stage show that you have loved for many, many years is sometimes difficult. Your head contains the perfect production and it is hard for anything to match it. Having said that this does pretty well and Joel Grey is, as always, splendid. Initially I was confused at finding two well known songs missing from the show but later discovered they were hidden away in "Special Features". So fear not, it's all there though not necessarily where you would expect to find it.

Speaking as both a filmmaker with over 65 feature film credits AND as a professional harpist (the original orchestration for THE FANTASTICKS consists of harp and piano) I think this is the best possible adaptation that could have been done to bring the musical play to the screen. The play itself is filled with asides to the audience, breaking the "4th wall" and performed on a minimalist set, where a stick stands in for a wall....and a cardboard moon! To translate such a "suspension of disbelief" that characters would sing/talk/dance this way in such a peculiar environment to the screen would seem almost impossible....but Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt adapted their classic play into a real-world screenplay--albeit a "real world" that is still fanciful and at right angles to the world the rest of us live in. My only complaint, as a filmmaker, is that at times the low budget shows.....just one more fog machine for "Round and Round" would have been worth every penny! But given the limited budget, the film is nonetheless a handsome effort with beautiful location Panavision photography. The acting is great, and again the HIGHLY adapted script opens up the action and works in a filmic setting. As a veteran of performing dozens of productions of this musical on stage, it was very startling to hear totally new dialogue (indeed, few lines from the original remain!) but these changes were needed and well thought out. It's not a perfect musical, but it is a very good attempt at filming what others would have considered "unfilmable." Another plus is that many numbers are sung "live" as opposed to lip sync to avoid the "playback syndrome" where audio/vocal quality suddenly shifts from location sound to studio recording. And Jonathan Tunick's superb orchestrations open up the piano/harp original to a full orchestra are a delight to listen to. And the orchestra tracks are isolated on the blue ray as an audio extra. And as a musician, it's almost a course in orchestration for me, knowing the original as well as I do.

The Fantasticks is one of the longest running shows in Broadway history. Try To Remember was a best selling song on the radio and many people do not know it comes from this musica... That being said, this is a charming fable about two widowers, one who has a daughter and the other a son. The plan is for them to make sure their offspring marry each other. All of this is done surrepltitiously and this makes for wonderful storytelling, heartwarming romance and lots of surprsing provided by a traveling carnival that has charms all its own. The music is sparkling, the actors are charming, and the singing if out of this world. Don't miss it. You will be glad I suggested buying it. Jean Louisa Kelly of Mr. Hollands Opus once reveals her wondrous vocal talents and Joey Grey as her father is spectacular. You will see a wonderful family film to enjoy for years to come. Run out and buy it.

A simple setting in an intimate theater is perfect for "The Fantasticks." This movie adds a literal circus, which has come to town nearby the rural homes of the main characters. I much prefer no circus, leaving El Gallo's persona to the imagination, rather than having him be some literal creature of human form. I see him as nature overlooking the callow, helping to mature natural naivete. And who on earth cast the actor in the role of El Gallo? He is weak vocally and not nearly handsome enough to attract Luisa. He might just as well have been Matt as El Gallo. Joel Grey, who is given top billing, likely because of the fame he garnered after his brilliant portrayal of the MC in "Cabaret," provides a lackluster, very disappointing portrayal of the girl's father. The rest of the cast is more than satisfactory, in particular, "the girl." Songs are deleted too. Fortunately, they can be viewed in the specials after the movie finishes. I am not unhappy about purchasing this production, but I am disappointed. In 1979 I directed a high school production of "The Fantasticks" in Brooklyn. I am a modest man, but my performers were, one and all ((even my pianist - my "one-woman orchestra"), better than those cast in this movie, including Joel Grey. Yet, once again, I am not unhappy about adding this film to my film library. Although the director did his best to destroy the simplicity of the plot and its meaning, he failed to do it completely, and what is left are the wonderful sounds of the original music and some good performances, which I did enjoy.

Blu-ray disk arrived on time and in excellent condition. The Fantasticks movie content was amazing, sound and picture quality were very good, including the "standard definition" original cut of the movie in the special features.

Good play. Love Joey Mac!!