6 Movies - Hollywood Musicals Collection Volume 2 - Oklahoma / The Wizard of Oz / Dirty Dancing / The Yellow Submarine / Cabaret / Victor Victoria - DVD Set

This excellent Gift Box Set of Classic Musicals (six movies on seven DVDS), effectively details how musicals changed and evolved in style, form and content over several decades. Rodgers and Hammerstein are represented by the 1955 screen adaptation of their groundbreaking 1943 musical "OKLAHOMA!" (Widescreen: Todd-AO Version: Rated PG). Remember, Rodgers And Hammerstein were revolutionary on the Broadway stage. Their innovations seldom transferred successfully in the screen adaptations of their musicals. "Oklahoma!" was an earnest, mostly successful, attempt to preserve what the show had been on Broadway. Cowboy Curly (Gordon MacRae) and Jud Fry (Rod Stiger) vie for the affections and attentions of pretty Laurey (Shirley Jones). Laurey is unreasonably obstinate and willful. She is clearly smitten with Curly, but too afraid of the menacing Jud to actively protest his advances. The menace of Jud is muted in the screen version. The screen version also lacks the darker subtexts found in Trevor Nunn's 1999 London revival starring Hugh Jackman. What remains are the songs and Agnes DeMille's choreography. "Laurey's Dream Ballet" is presented intact, and remains as surreal and theatrical as ever. The DVD includes Audio Commentary by Shirley Jones. As befitting its deserved status as one of the most beloved films of all time, "THE WIZARD OF OZ" (1939: Rated "G") starring the legendary Judy Garland, receives a double disc Anniversary celebration. The second disc includes the documentary "The Making Of The Wizard Of Oz", narrated by Martin Sheen (2012). The documentary explores, by way of several interviews, the artistic and cultural legacy and impact of "Oz." Judy Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli had her own Academy Award winning showcase in "CABARET" (1972: Rated PG-13). Director Bob Fosse's chilling, critically acclaimed, adult adaptation differs significantly from the Broadway musical by John Kander and Fred Ebb, but is regarded as a cinematic masterpiece in its own right. Joel Grey received an Academy Award for reprising his role as the Emcee in "CABARET" opposite Liza Minnelli. Joel's daughter Jennifer Grey stars in the 1988 hit "DIRTY DANCING." (Rated PG-13). It is the summer of 1963, and "Baby" proves she is no longer "daddy's (Jerry Orbach) little girl" when she takes lessons in dance and romance from super sexy Patrick Swayze. The music is fun, the dancing is hot, and Sexy Swayze sees to it that "nobody puts Baby in a corner." For a bit of a change of pace, there is the 1966 animated musical "YELLOW SUBMARINE", (Rated G) featuring the music of The Beatles. Director Blake Edwards turns expectations and perceptions upside down in his gender-bending gem "VICTOR/VICTORIA" (1982: Rated PG-13). Set in 1934, very "Gay Paree", nightclub entertainer Toddy (the brilliant Robert Preston) has a delicious idea for struggling singer Victoria (Julie Andrews) to masquerade as "Victor", in essence: "a woman pretending to be a man--pretending to be a woman!" An idea so preposterous "no one will ever believe it." Victor/Victoria becomes a hit in the gay nightclubs. Meanwhile macho, aggressively heterosexual gangster James Garner grows increasingly confused; while his floozy girlfriend played by Lesley Ann Warren becomes hilariously frustrated. In its own comedic and wise way, "Victor/Victoria" has some important things to say about gender and sexual politics. As Julie Andrews says to James Garner, "Your problem is that you are preoccupied with stereotypes."* This seven DVD Set comes in a sturdy Gift Box Set.

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