Oklahoma!

The gorgeous shots of the Midwestern landscape can probably best be appreciated in the widescreen Todd-AO version. (The film was famously filmed twice, in the new process and in standard Cinemescope to accomadate theatres who did not have the new technology installed) Gordon McRae is a marvelous Curley, full of energy, sarcasm, and romantacism, and he sings those songs to perfection. He and the original Curley, Alfred Drake, are the best I've heard. The radiant Shirley Jones is perfect in her film debut as Laurey. The supporting cast is all first-rate; other reviewers have mentioned Gloria Grahame's Ado Annie, which is indeed a hilarious and unforgettable performance, but there is also Gene Nelson's wonderful Will Parker, Charlotte Greenwood's loveable and delightful Aunt Eller, and Rod Steiger's adaquately menacing Jud Fry. (That last character loses some dimension through the deletion of his solo "Lonely Room," but Steiger probably wouldn't have sung it all that well, and the rest of the film is so perfect, that this is really a minor quibble) It should be noted that, even though this cast contains quite a few actors not noted for their singing pipes, no one is dubbed, and everybody sings very well. (Though again, Steiger might not have been up to the demands of "Lonely Room," though he does a fine job on "Poer Jud Is Daid") It could be argued that these classic songs have never been better-sung then they are here, and the augmented original Robert Russell Bennett orchestrations are great. Agnes de Mille recreates her original choreogrpahy to great effect; "Kansas City" still is amazing in how casually it comes out of the situation, "The Farmer and the Cowman" and "Many a New Day" are delightful, and the famous "Laurey Makes Up Her Mind" dream ballet is still stunning. Not the best R&H musical, ("Carousel" and "The King and I" outclass it in story and score, and "The King and I" is probably a better film) but certainly one of the best film versions of one of their musicals with the makings of a highly entertaining evening for the whole family. A fine tribute to a classic of musical theatre.


DVD not all it could have been   February 3, 2000
Jay Littner (Cincinnati, Ohio)
20 out of 21 found this review helpful

This is a fine DVD, to be sure, but considering that there are two widely-seen versions of this film (Todd-AO and CinemaScope), I don't see why they couldn't have given us both versions instead of "retiring" one of them for all time. I realize I'm in the minority, but I actually prefer the CinemaScope version, perhaps because that was the one I grew up watching on TV over the years. Once I got past the novelty of seeing the Todd-AO version for the first time I missed hearing the lines delivered the "old" way! I remember the CinemaScope version actually began with a title card that said "Color by Technicolor" while a full-bodied orchestra played the music to "There's a bright golden haze on the meadow"--an exhilarating fanfare never to be heard on home video, as they have always substituted the Todd-AO version's overture. Since the Todd-AO version was a "road show" only attraction, it seems to me that more people would have seen the CinemaScope version over the years and thus it deserves to be preserved for historical purposes if not for any other. Ironically, the back of the DVD box erroneously indicates that it's the CinemaScope version!


The Todd-AO transfer is heartbreakingly BAD!   November 12, 2005
David Fox (Phoenix, AZ)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

It's been a while since I've written a review of a DVD, but I had to comment on this new 2-disc special edition of Oklahoma. First of all, it's wonderful to have the Cinemascope version available on DVD at last. This is the familiar version that I grew up with and watched (admittedly in pan-and-scan) on TV for years and years. Then in the mid-90s I heard about a "new" version of Oklahoma that had not been seen for years, filmed in Todd-AO. I eagerly rushed out and bought the laserdisc of this version, and brought it home. I was STUNNED! The picture was clear as crystal, sharply in focus and had almost a video-like clarity to it, due to the 30 frames-per-second Todd-AO process. The colors were sharper than I'd ever seen this movie in, and the sound was as if it had been recorded in a modern studio yesterday.
Then a few years later the advent of DVD came about and I couldn't wait for the Todd-AO version to come out and knock the socks off the laserdisc transfer. Unfortunately, I was disappointed; while a lot of the clarity was still there I could tell a lot of the sharpness was lost in the digital transfer to DVD. The lack of an anamorphic picture was not a problem as I did not yet have a wide-screen HDTV; All in all, though, the laserdisc version still looked better.

Then I bought my Sony 46" widescreen TV, and once again waited. . .thinking the next DVD version of Oklahoma would correct not only the problems with the digital transfer but will also be anamorphic, creating an even sharper image. Tonight I picked up the new 50th anniversary DVD. First I put on the Cinemascope version. It looked excellent!. . .much better than any previous version on video of the Cinemascope Oklahoma, including the Cinemascope laserdisc which was pretty fuzzy and faded. In anticipation I switched discs to the Todd-AO version. The first thing that worried me, though, was the fact that the Todd-AO version seems to be included as an "extra", along with all the other extras on the second disc. I started playing it and noticed the main titles seemed out of focus. Then the picture opened up on the corn field, that first shot that made me gasp with pleasure with that Todd-AO laserdisc I got 10 or so years ago. I definitely gasped again. . .with horror! Although the 30-fps smoothness of motion is still there, the colors are faded -- and worst of all, the entire picture is out of focus! This doesn't look anywhere NEAR 70mm quality; it doesn't even match the 35mm quality of the Cinemescope version! I have to agree with the poster that said this version needs to be recalled and remastered; it is one of the worst travesties I've seen in ANY video remaster, especially considering the wonderful picture of the LASERDISC 10 years ago! If you have the original DVD version of this, my advice is hang onto it until the Blu-Ray version comes out (although considering the history of these transfers that version will probably end up having the same quality as an old Little Rascals short. This one is darned close to that!)


Visual diappointment for a great format   May 12, 2006
P. C. Hutley (glendale, NSW Australia)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

Like several others, I agree that the Cinemascope version was well presented, but what a disappointment as far as the Todd-ao digital transfer! The original release I bought in 1999 gives a much clearer and brighter Todd-ao version that gives you a much better idea of what the original may have looked like. I enjoyed seeing "The Miracle of Todd-ao" again, but similarly the realism that was present in the original was lost, either due to poor quality of stock or inabilty to be able to digitally correct and sharpen the image. (I find it hard to imagine that Fox couldn't resore it better).There was an apology printed on our Region 4 version.




This DVD Release Misses a Golden Opportunity   January 6, 2001
Lowell Prescott (Minneapolis, MN United States)
18 out of 21 found this review helpful

First things first: I love this movie -- start to finish. I love the show -- song for song. The performances here are magnificent, as is the movie-making. The whole thing is an absolute masterpiece.

But this DVD release is a major disappointment.

First and foremost, nowhere is the CinemaScope vs. Todd-AO issue mentioned. Knowing that there are two completely different versions of this movie -- filmed separately, edited differently -- but not knowing without some research which version I'm watching is completely unacceptable. (Now I know that it's the Todd-AO version on the disc.) I should be able to watch either version, or both side-by-side. (If you've never done this, try it. The two films are alarmingly different. And though the picture quality is much better in Todd-AO, the performances by the actors are significantly more relaxed and natural in the CinemaScope version. Setting technical aspects aside, without question I think the CinemaScope version is a much better, more gentle, movie. You really have to watch the two movies side-by-side simultaneously to see this, but a comprehensive DVD release would let you do just that and make up your own mind.)

Second, while watching this disc, there were times when it looked like it was originally shot on video tape! I think this is due to a bit of over-zealous addition of crispness, added to the already-crisp Todd-AO picture. It's a very strange experience which takes some getting used to.

Third, though the overture has been restored to the beginning, the opening credits are just still scans of the titles over a black background. What happened to the sweeping location shots which graced the original??

Fourth, the so-called extras are completely pitiful: one short trailer and three brief screens of "production notes". Some of the people who made this movie (like Shirley Jones) are still around, for goodness sake, and should be enlisted for commentaries and/or a making-of documentary.

In summary, buy this disc only if you're curious about the Todd-AO alternate version. If not, wait for the inevitable (I hope) de luxe release at some distant future date.

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