Carousel [VHS]

They loved it

The best of all the Rodgers and Hammerstein shows! Shirley Jones, at 20 years old, was the ingenue par excellence as Julie.Delivery of product was slow.

From the downbeat, "Carousel" was spellbinding and more beautiful than I could have anticipated. The orchestral accompaniment was luscious. Julie (Shirley Jones) expressed her undying adoration for Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae) in her melodious soprano voice, and Gordon MacRae reciprocated in his matchless baritone musicality. The two worked very well together in a performance that was part fantasy, part morality tale, and part old-fashioned man-woman love story. The supporting cast was peerless and as musically exquisite as the two principal stars.If you like dancing, expect to be overwhelmed and deliriously charmed by the choreography and execution by some of the most gifted, athletically proficient dancers ever. Topping the ensemble toward the movie's end in a fantasy ballet is Jacques D'Amboise, (deceased 2021), retired lead of the New York City Ballet, exhibiting skills that approach those of Nureyev and Baryshnikov, with some impressive "hang-time" reminiscent of Michael Jordan when he was a Chicago Bulls superstar.The story line in Carousel has been criticized for its focus on domestic battery and its seeming acceptability when Julie defends Billy's use of physical punishment when she annoyed him. It must be remembered that the culture has changed dramatically in the many years since the story line for "Carousel" was adapted by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. This is not to excuse the total unacceptability of hitting and beating anyone; it simply reflects the old being superseded by the new. It should not spoil anyone's enjoyment of the wonderful music, lyrics, dancing, and camera work and photography that is heart-stopping.I would like to commend and compliment the distributor, 5-Star Media, for its service and reliability in delivering a high-quality set of gently used DVD's that function as if they were out-of-the-box brand new, and most important, will function in the United States. And, as always, my thanks to Amazon's customer service staff for facilitating the exchange of unworkable discs that were manufactured for use only in European applications. This was a total win-win experience for me.

The special features are priceless and include Fritz Lang's masterpiece titled Liliom. The commentary by Shirley Jones and Nick Redmon, regarding all the actors and Rodgers and Hammerstein should remindus of what a great gift the play and movie is. I am pretty sure that this remastered DVD of Carousel is in Cinemascope 55. I was a 17-year-old usher at the theatre showing Carousel in 1956 and did not have the chance to watch the film, so this is the first time I watched the entire movie without interruption. I grew up listening to 78 rpm records with the Broadway songs from Carousel as well as Oklahoma. Thanks to all.

Good movie. I think Everyone else told what It Is about, My favorite part Is where the 2 teams of Dancers are competing against each Other, They get a smoking. I would like to see this movie on Blu-Ray though there are around 30 movies that I would like on Blu-Ray some are Not yet available on Blu-Ray yet as Mary Poppins, Song Of Norway, April In Paris, Hello Dolly, April Love, and some other movies. I usually buy movies used on VHS or DVD save much money buying used. If Its a black & white or a cartoon then I will buy It on VHS If Its a very good movie I will buy It on DVD but If Its a classic I buy It on Blu-Ray but I think Blu-Ray Is over priced after all when People bought DVD They though They were buying the best Not knowing They were being lied to by these corporations trying to sell them a new copy that has been compressed or should I say stripped. In the 1970's & 80' & 90's a large screen CRT was 25 Inch and People did Not complain about the picture quality If They got a good reception & the vertical hold was Not off but People want a television with good color and the old CRT which People I read on web still wish made which has a brighter clearer more colorful picture than these newer plasma and LCD televisions and now they are trying to get Us for more money coming out with LED television. People have asked Is It worth buying Blu-Ray If have standard television? Absolutely, I just said movies on DVD were compressed or should I say stripped so You will notice a difference. I have watched this movie on both standard CRT television and My Computer LCD wide screen monitor, the standard CRT looks better but It cuts some of the picture off but the wide screen more of the picture Is visible and I Am Not just saying that, this Is a true wide screen movie shot on 70 mm film Not a compressed or chopped off picture to look like wide screen.

This is about spousal abuse. Second time around and still enjoyed the singing.

Carousel is my favourite film of all time. I thought Gordon MacRae had such a wonderful voice when I saw this film back then in 1956 when I was a boy. I found I loved the music of Rodgers and Hammerstein as well. There have been many stories about why Frank Sinatra walked away from this picture and was replaced by Gordon but the most convincing one for me, which I only recently found, is in Carousel's producer, Henry Ephron's autobiography 'We Though We Could Do Anything' where he says that Frank had a lot of doubts about the movie. He tried six times to record the 'Soliloquy' number and kept blowing it, so gave up. He was in a bad mood generally as he didn't like working on location and thought Shirley Jones might be too tall for him. He also says Darryl Zanuck sent him a telegram saying Rodgers and Hammerstein didn't want him in the picture. The story about not being paid for making two pictures, one in 55mm and one in 35mm is true, but that never happened anyway as MacRae said in a later interview, they just put the two cameras side by side. Gordon's again teamed with the beautiful Shirley Jones as he was in Oklahoma. Shirley had a wonderfully attractive soprano voice and she's always said that this is her favourite musical ever and used the songs in her act throughout the years. Richard Rodgers also said it was the best work he ever did and loved to listen to it himself, even though he wrote it. Filmed on the coast of New England in Maine Harbour, it's simply beautiful and very moving to watch and to listen to.

Not a great lover of musicals but have to admit I was 'blown away' by Carousel. Everything about it was fun. The choreography was amazing, the dancing fantastic. I have watched it a number of times now and still enjoy it. The songs are also very memorable which has to be the sign of a good musical. Just love it.

Okay, this is a film that I remembered from years ago that I thought I loved. The transfer and production of the discs are excellent, without doubt, but the film is a bit of a dog. I expected to be corny and over acted as is Oklahoma, and it was. I guess I don't really know what I was expecting, but this will not be one of those films I want to see on impulse. To each their own, but I wasn't thrilled.

By mistake, I actually ordered 2 copies of this DVD. Not to worry though. I'm sure a member of my family will appreciate this film, as much as I have - and may submit the other DVD as a present.

Very old film for a surprise to a friend