A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

Starring: Mostel, Zero and Silvers, Phil

Product Description

A con-man slave and his sidekick fake a courtesan's funeral to fool a pimp in ancient Rome.

• Format: DVD
• Language: English
• UPC: 738329137724
• Release Date: September 2014
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Publisher: Kino Video
• Director: Lester, Richard
• Starring: Mostel, Zero, Silvers, Phil
• Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes
• Number of Disks: 1
• Other Video Info: DVD
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 7.5" x 5.4"

Customer Reviews

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

I first saw this movie in 1966 at a theater in Fort Polk. At the time, the term socially correct did not exist. I saw the play twice since then. Usually, when plays are adapted, there is a loss of spontaneity. In this case, they replace a few songs with some better one-liners and facial expressions that would have been lost at a distance. They added the obligatory chase scene where everyone gets mixed up. The location is ancient Rome, beautifully re-created. This movie is one of those farces where several overlapping stories are made coherent by one main character, Pseudolus (Zero Mostel). He plays a mischievous slave who would do about anything for his freedom. Naturally, the names reflect the character of the named. Pseudolus (Zero Mostel) is a slave who wants his freedom at any cost. Marcus Lycus (Phil Silvers) is in trouble for selling dud eunuchs and dud virgins. Erronius (Buster Keaton) lost his kids to pirates years ago and is looking for them. Hero (Michael Crawford) is in love with something called a virgin in the house of Lycus. (A place of dubious reputation). Hysterium (Jack Gilford) is winsome. Captain Miles Gloriosus (Leon Greene) is coming to claim his bride. Somewhere in all this is a gaggle of geese. If I were to describe all the great actors and plots, this review would be pages long. So, I will just say that this movie is "Something familiar, something peculiar, something for everyone: a comedy tonight!"