Customer Reviews

Oklahoma (Special Edition)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

if you love muscials this is perfect to add to your collection
Package was sealed and dvd played wonderfully
The subtitles were a great feature to sing a long too

"Oklahoma!" is one GREAT movie. I don't think I ever smile so much during a movie as I do when I watch this one, it just makes me so darn happy! Ok, so the plot isn't amazing... but it doesn't matter, because the plot isn't really what drives this film. This movie is all about the characters, and the positive mood it creates, and the wonderful music that you will be humming for days after you watch the film. I actually bought the soundtrack a few weeks ago, (that's how much I liked it) and I haven't been able to stop playing it. I've seen a lot of musicals, both movie and stage, and I believe that "Oklahoma!" ties with "West Side Story" for having the best music of any musical, ever. The famous Rogers and Hammerstein score is just awesome. All of the songs are great, there isn't a bad one in the movie, but "People Will Say We're In Love" is my personal favorite. The scene were Curly and Laurie are singing this to each other in the peach orchard is so amazingly cute. I guess I'm just a silly hopeless romantic, but I can't help it. Shirley Jones as Laurie is wonderful, she has a BEAUTIFUL voice, and does a fine acting job too, especially considering she was only 20 years old and this was her film debut. The sparks just fly between her and Gordon MacRae (Curly), and this chemistry between the two leads is really what makes the movie work as well as it does. I was also stunned by the visual beauty of the film. It's beautiful color and exceptional picture clarity is uncommon for an older movie, so when I first watched "Oklahoma!" I had to double check to make sure it was really made in 1955. The special Todd-AO filming process other reviewers have gone into detail about really made a difference here. Anyways, I seem to have rambled on a bit, but I'll try to make my point here. This is a fun, romantic movie, that's a bit hokey at times ( but endearingly so, I believe) and has a few weak moments. But these few weak elements are far outweighed by the great ones. I judge a movie mainly on these two factors: 1) by the way I feel immediately after I've finished watching it, and 2) if it has a lasting impression on me. After this one, I just feel happy, and giddy, and like I want to dance around my living room and break out into song. And as far as lasting impressions go, I liked it so much I felt compelled to write this review and reccomend it to the world. So if this sounds like the kind of movie you'd enjoy, go for it, and have fun watching this classic.

The songs are beautiful and the movie is OK. But we have moved on in time and look at things maybe a bit different.
What I really didn't like was the second DVD which is very disappointing. A sort of sales gimmick I feel.
Did return it. The movie it self is worth keeping alas I didn't.

John Vandermeer Canada.

Well I'm surprised to find that I seem to be in the minority but I think Oklahoma is the Greatest Screen Musical of All Time.
I'll go in to why I think that but first I want you to know that I'm a great fan of musicals and have seen most of the great ones many, many times on the tube and on the big screen. Films like Top Hat, Gay Divorcee, Gold Diggers of 33 and 35, 42nd Street, Footlight Parade, Swingtime, Follow the Fleet, Holiday Inn, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Pennies from Heaven('81) and of course My Fair Lady are as good as it gets and hold a cherished place in my heart.
They all have teriffic stars, good humor and above all wonderful music and wonderful songs. Oklahoma has more of that than any other movie. Every song
is a winner, a gem, a pearl. They eliminated the few "clinker" songs from the stage production (it ran for 26 years) leaving only the absolute winners for the movie. Shirley Jones was eighteen and wonderfully radiant. Her singing was even better than the original stage recording. Her singing was marvelous.
Howard Keel was originally slated to play Curly but opted out because he refused to shoot two movies, as they duplicated every scene for two different film processes. (The A-O Todd version is the one seen on the DVD and has much higher resolution than the
Cinemascope one seen for years on TV) What a stroke of luck, Howard Keel (much too old and stiff to play opposite Miss Jones) is out and Gordon MacRae (the perfect fit) is in. His voice, while not as dynamic as Alfred Drake's, is perfect for the screen
but best of all he brings a sensiblity and earthy quality to the role missing from all the others I've seen. Some bizarre casting
in the minor roles like Gloria Grahame as Ado Annie and Eddie Albert as Ali Hakim and Rod Stieger as the "bully colored" Judd Frey add a strange flavor to the mix. But it's not the only strange thing going on. The story itself is not particularly a pleasant one and one might find the treatment of Judd or Judd himself unpleasant. It themes aren't necessarily family fare. There's even a dream sequence featuring some dark moments in a bordello. These elements add to the complexity and depth of this best-of-all musicals. And now the real muscle, Oh What a Beautiful Morning, Surrey with the Fringe on Top, I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say No, Everything's Up to Date in Kansas City,
Never Will Come a Day, People Will Say We're in Love, Poor Judd is Dead, The Farmer and the Cowhand Should Be Friends, With Me It's All or Nothin' and Of course Oklahoma. No musical, not The King and I, not Singin' in the Rain, not Carousel, not any other save My Fair Lady can boost so many landmark songs. Throw in three or four marvelous dance sequences and big dash of Americana and you have the best screen musical ever. Thanks for your tolerance and thank you Amazon for letting me get that off my chest. There is one other musical I gotta mention, because it puts so many others to shame but I'm afraid I'll lose any crediblity, if any, I've got. Well, here it goes, South Park, Bigger, Longer, Uncut is better than all of Andrew Llyod Webber's musicals wound-up into one. In fact I don't think he's got a single song that can outdo ANY song in S P, B, L, U.
There I've said it and now I'm done. Thank you.

I just watched "Oklahoma" again for the first time in a few years. I can understand why some viewers disliked this musical. The plot concerns farmers and ranchers fighting for dominance over land in the midwest in the 1800's. It's difficult for some of us modern urban dwellers to relate to this dilemma. Also, the characters in "Oklahoma" all speak in a cutesy, rubish dialect which is sometimes hard to understand and can even be annoying.

And it must seem quaint to us that escorting a girl on a picnic could create the kind of conflict that it does in this story. Another disconcerting element in "Oklahoma" is the sight of supposedly rough, rugged cowboys performing in pristine, balletic sequences staged by Agnes De Mille. After our generation has grown up on the gritty realism and sensuality of choreography by the likes of Bob Fosse or even Baz Luhrmann, this type of choreography seems dated and out of place.

But despite these criticisms, "Oklahoma" is still a great musical because of the music itself, and the way the music is so seamlessly integrated into the plot and characterizations. Simply stated, the melodies composed by the prodigious Richard Rodgers and the lyrics written by the poetic Oscar Hammerstein II for "Oklahoma" are magnificent.

For instance, is there a grander or more exuberant description of a wondrous new day than in "Oh What a Beautiful Morning"? Or a more lilting expression of reluctant love than in "People Will Say We're in Love"? Or how about the lyrical beauty and grace of the waltz "Out of My Dreams"? Or the syncopated melody and lyrics of "Surrey with the Fringe on Top" which is a perfect accompaniment to the clippity-clop of a horse pulling a carriage? And what about the joyous, unbridled energy of the celebratory theme song "Oklahoma"?

They all add up to a superb, exceptional score. Other assets of the movie version of "Oklahoma": the vibrant color photography; the solid performances by a talented and versatile cast; and the rich, beautiful singing voices of Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones.

"Oklahoma" is not a perfect musical, but it's still one of the best and well worth your time if you possess an open mind and a discerning ear.

I absoutly LOVE this movie! It is a classic musical that will never ever leave us. Shirley Jones is a beautiful Laurey Williams. I believe that is her best role. Gordon MacRae is a perfect Curly, Rod Steiger is the perfect Judd, Gloria Grahame is the perfect Ado Annie, Charlotte Greenwood is the perfect Aunt Eller, Gene Nelson is the perfect Will Parker.........everybody's perfect!!! See this movie as soon as possible, and you won't regret it at all!

I finally broke down and watched this movie last night. I have always made a point of avoiding it, knowing full well it was a corny melodydrama. The melody proved to win out over the drama.

Anyway, last summer I found Nelson Eddy's record of the Oklahoma score. Nelson or no Nelson, I was only able to get through it a couple of times. As a rule, I don't go for tap-dancing cowmen and hick folks singing about everything being up to date in Kansas City.

OK, now about the movie. If nothing else, it held my attention for the eternity it seemed to play. I did fast forward the overture, the entr'acte, and Ado Annie's songs. But I watched the rest.

Gordon MacRae wasn't bad; neither was Shirley Jones. I think she was quite pretty in her pre-Partridge days. Not half bad as a singer, either. The man who played Jud was suitably creepy and disgusting. In fact, I think the most powerful element of the story was Jud's stalking Laurie. However, that element kinda got lost in between songs. I did not go for the ballet in the boudoir. I found it a little difficult to swallow that rural Oklahoman females would all be so gloriously accomplished at pliés and pirouettes. I did like Shirley Jones' dresses. Ado Annie, Ali Hakim, and Will were incredibly annoying. The scenery was beautiful - a pity they didn't show more of it. I did not like the short-haired bleach blonde dancer. She disturbed my tranquillity.

Now, the dream sequence was probably the most interesting part of the movie. Not a word spoken or sung, if I remember correctly - but how much was said with gestures and the surreal lighting, backdrops, and sparse sets. Very, very powerful. I liked also the way they cut off for the entr'acte, when she wakes up to see Jud standing there.

I found the end to be incredibly hokey. Oh, if only it had ended when the last strains of Oklahoma, OK! wafted away into silver screen space. But no, we are compelled to sit through a weak resolution to the conflict with Jud, a few appearances by Ado Annie, and a corny court session held in Aunt Eller's kitchen. Not to my particular liking. It was late and I was so incredibly ready for it to be over.

I really doubt I'll ever watch this again. Of the four or so R&H musicals I've seen, The Sound of Music is my enduring favourite. State Fair is also very sweet, if not particularly deep. Oklahoma has not increased my desire to see more of their work-on-film, but perhaps someday I shall.

It's not that I hate musicals (I used to, but Nelson Eddy changed my mind). It's just that I prefer the escapist type à la 1930's and early 40's M-G-M: New Moon, Rose-Marie, Sweethearts, The Chocolate Soldier... The mood and style of musicals had drastically changed by the 50's and the ones made then just don't appeal to me.

My advice: Watch this movie if you're a fan of 1950's musicals or Rodgers and Hammerstein, or just for the experience, if you're a classic film fan who has to see all the "classics". I wouldn't class this as a classic because it ain't classy - but, each to his own.

As many others have stated, the picture quality on this DVD is terrible, much worse than the other O & H musicals which Fox released in the same series. At times, it looks more like an MPEG movie than a DVD. Save your money until they bring out a restored "collectors" edition.
Shame on you, Fox, for wasting people's money!

I have to say, this is an amazing performance. It is at least 10 times better than the more recent version. The only reason it got 4 stars instead of 5 is that they left out my favorite song in the entire show, "It's a scandal, It's a outrage" sung by Ali Hakim. If you want to see "Oklahoma!", then this is the one to see.

I had the pleasure and good fortune to see this on TCM recently and learned for the first time that the movie was actually filmed for its theatrical release TWICE!! I viewed the film on VHS years ago from a conventional 'fullscreen' Cinemascope print and thought nothing of it. Imagine my surprise when I saw Turner's broadcast of it in the 'Todd-AO' wide-screen version!! The color saturation is positively stunning (it has been mentioned that the T-AO film process actually shot more frames per second, which accounts for that sharpness and saturation) and makes certain sequences, like the opening number "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" and sections of the "Out Of My Dreams" ballet explode on screen. The Rodgers & Hammerstein songs are magnificent (notably "Poor Jud is Dead," "I Cain't Say No," and "People Will Say We're In Love"), the color cinematography is stunning (note the crisp, blue skies), a lasso dance by Gene Nelson in a railway depot is a standout, but some of the characters and subsequent performances (like Rod Steiger's manic-depressive farmhand Jud) are more than a bit over-the-top. Accept this premise and you'll be just fine. The Todd-AO version of the film is currently available on DVD. Grab it, and fast-forward to your favorite parts.