Being based on James Michener's book “Tales of the South Pacific”, this Rodgers and Hammerstein play is adapted for the big screen.
There are overlapping stories of different people with extremely different backgrounds and how they cope or do not with each other in a time of adversity during the Second World War in the South Pacific.
This is a musical, and the songs (most have the feel of the '50s, others are timeless) tell the story best of all. Be sure to also obtain the soundtrack.
Different colored filters are used in filming this movie to give you different atmospheric feelings to match the songs. It also poses a sort of dream-like quality to the story.
You will recognize that many of the best actors of the time were picked. This includes deceased Ray Walston, who played Luther Billis.
There was some dubbing of voices in a few of the songs; however, it does not distract from the ambiance of the film or the nature of the story.
So, prepare to be absorbed in the Tales of the South Pacific.
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I try to stick to reviewing the film and not the media. I have to say I was surprised by what they can do with a 1958 film. I saw this in 1958 when it came out. Yet I think that after going through the Blu-ray treatment, I never saw it better. They must have also tackled the audio, as my surround sound headphones make me feel I am in the picture. Sort of a 3D sound. This version is almost too well done.
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Again, I like to review the film, not the package that comes in; however, this presentation made it very difficult. There is a second disk version that was marked bonus, and I figured that this must have been for the commentary and the making of. However, it turns out that it contains the “Road Show” version of the film. Down through the years, I've been watching an abbreviated version and not realizing it. The second disc contains approximately 14 additional minutes of the film and suggests that even more of it might be missing.
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