Arts Movie Reviews

Family movie reviews for "Arts" sorted by average review score:

Frank Patterson Collection (World of Music / God Bless America - An Irish Salute)

Released in DVD by Wellspring Media, In (20 August, 2002)

MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Starring: Frank Patterson

Famed Irish tenor Frank Patterson, who died in June 2000, is remembered in World of Music, which features concert performances as well as brief interview segments with friends and family members. His widow, Eily O'Grady Patterson, provides personal anecdotes, as does Patterson's son Eanan, who is also seen accompanying his father on violin. In concert, Patterson sings with orchestral accompaniment as well as with an Irish folk group, the Cassidy Brothers. He showcases his classical training by singing a Bach cantata, and his popular appeal is demonstrated with Irish songs such as "Farewell My Derry Love" and even the American country standard "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain." Patterson himself recalls performing in John Huston's final film, The Dead, explaining the significance of "The Lass of Aughrim" in the story by James Joyce before he performs the song. This is a fitting tribute to "Ireland's Golden Tenor," who carried on the tradition of the great John McCormack and reached a worldwide audience.

God Bless America: An Irish Salute was conceived to give a sampling of Irish music to an American audience. Videotaped before an adoring audience in New Jersey in September 1999, Patterson sings such standards as "The Rose of Tralee," "Mother Machree," "Danny Boy," and a medley that includes "Galway Bay" and "The Town I Loved So Well." Also participating is a harp orchestra (led by Eily O'Grady Patterson), son Eanan playing violin, a bagpipe and drum band, and what's billed as "hundreds of Irish-American dancers." Indeed, the stage and even the aisles of the theater become so packed with children step dancing in colorful costumes that it makes Riverdance look like a neighborhood ceilidh. Though the theme of the concert is overwhelmingly Irish, Patterson also dons a cape to perform "The Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera, and he pays homage to his adopted home with "God Bless America" and a flag-waving finale performance of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." --Robert J. McNamara

Average review score:

Lovely tribute to a lovely man

We loved this DVD. We have seen God Bless America on video, but it is far better on DVD, it is worth watching just for the dancers.It has some added surprises ,extra to whats on the video.The picture quality is so much better on DVD, and it is special for being one of Frank's last concerts.
World of music is excellent too, it has songs we have never heard before, and we liked the memories of his family and friends.It is a nice celebration of his life and his music,it makes you smile, and makes you cry sometimes.
The DVD is very good value,it is a fitting tribute to a great man, how lucky we are that he recorded all this lovely music.

Fosse

Released in DVD by Image Entertainment (05 February, 2002)

MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)

Director: Matthew Diamond

The 1999 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, Fosse celebrates the work of director-choreographer Bob Fosse, one of Broadway's and film's truly innovative and distinctive talents. While Fosse's protégé Ann Reinking (also the co-choreographer) and frequent collaborator Ben Vereen are the headliners, the dance revue was conceived as an ensemble piece, so the 32-member cast gets plenty of chances to shine. The nearly two-hour performance features re-creations of dazzling numbers from such milestones as Cabaret ("Mein Herr"), Chicago ("Nowadays"), Sweet Charity ("Big Spender"), The Pajama Game ("Steam Heat"), Dancin' ("I Wanna Be a Dancin' Man"), and All That Jazz ("There'll Be Some Changes Made," among others, but not the stunning "On Broadway" sequence). Reinking, Vereen, and another Fosse collaborator, cast member Dana Moore, also share their memories in interview segments. Filmed in live performance, Fosse stands as a memorial to one man's striking vision, an essential record of many classic routines, and simply a whole lot of fun to watch. --David Horiuchi

Average review score:

Fosse - What a Shame

I purchased this DVD for my wife who loves dancing and theater. We had seen this production on Broadway and I was not impressed with it in person. This taped production has done nothing to change my mind.

Bob Fosse was a masterful director and choreographer. With such hits as Pippin, Chicago, Damn Yankees and How to Succeed, he had made a name for himself as a man with a different point of view to dance and theater. His work was new and exciting and often provocative and one would think that a show that showcases his work would be an incredible evening of theater. Unfortunately, more Fosse does not an evening of good theater make.

One of the first questions one must ask is why add Ben Vereen and Ann Reinking to the cast? While both performers are an important part of Fosse history, as they push into their 50's the movement required to perform Fosse's crisp dances is missing. And their time on stage (especially Reinking) is minimal. It is also strange that several of the dances that these 2 performers created are peformed here by other dancers. Didn't Reinking JUST star in Chicago a few years back? Then why isnt she perfoming Nowadays here? You want to see Ben Vereen perform the Manson Trip Dance from Pippin? Buy the Pippin DVD where is he is top form. His performance in Fosse is disappointing that borders on embarassing at times. Such a shame for such an incredible performer.

The dancers are uniformly good but some of the dancing seemed sloppy at times. Some of choices of songs performed are interesting and at other times strange. For instance...Glory is performed from Pippin, but not Magic To Do which was a fantastic opening for that show. A highlight of the show is "Hey Big Spender" from Sweet Charity and several numbers from Dancing. This producation was taped just prior to the closing of the Broadway production and the sound and picture quality is good, although there are sometimes too many close ups and quick cuts to get a full sense of what it happening on stage.

The point of Fosse is to highlight the career of a wonderful showman. Unfortunately this production is passionless, which is a disappointing legacy for such a passionate man like Bob Fosse.

Is it the real Fosse?

I'm reviewing FOSSE from a position of relative ignorance about the man and his achievements. Hey, it's never stopped me before.

FOSSE records a live-audience performance of the musical, which is a compendium of selections from various other Broadway productions which Bob Fosse choreographed: "Big Deal", "Liza with A Z", "Dancin'", "Sweet Charity", "Kiss Me, Kate", "Damn Yankees", "Pajama Game", "Chicago", "Pippin", "Cabaret", and "All That Jazz". I've never seen any of them performed live on stage, but only the screen versions of DAMN YANKEES (1958) AND CHICAGO (2002). Obviously, I need to get out more.

The musical "Fosse" was, by the way, not choreographed by the great man himself. He's dead. Rather, the dance numbers were re-choreographed by Ann Reinking, Fosse's protege and girlfriend, with the participation of an aging Ben Vereen, one of Fosse's favorite performers. Between acts, the two are interviewed about Bob's style and work ethic.

The only production I've ever seen in which Bob Fosse had a hand was the excellent 1979 film ALL THAT JAZZ, an autobiographical piece which he directed. From it, and the Reinking and Vereen recollections, I gather that Fosse was a hard-driving perfectionist, and infer that the musical "Fosse" would not have come up to his exacting standards. In many instances, the dance numbers seemed, to my inexpert eye, sloppily done. Vereen's presence in several of them, while appealing to the nostalgia of the audience, did him no particular credit. But, that's show biz, folks.

Two songs from "Chicago" were included in the FOSSE program: "Razzle Dazzle" and "Hot Honey Rag". As performed in "Fosse", both were disappointingly anemic versions of their exuberant equivalents in the blockbuster, Oscar-winning film CHICAGO. This perhaps suggests that a new film version of "Damn Yankees" being produced by Miramax, which released CHICAGO, will be well-worth seeing even if the cost of movie tickets doubles.

I'm being wishy-washy and awarding three stars to FOSSE. I suspect it's but a pale reflection of Fosse's original choreography, but I may be wrong. I guess you had to be there.

And that's showbiz, baby!

This happens to be one of PBS' Great Performances Dance in America series' greatest realizations of a Broadway show and, more importantly, I think one of the most significant documentations of Bob Fosse's choreographic cannon.

Here you have the authority of Ben Vereen and Ann Reinking peforming in or recreating some of their original stage numbers. One of the reasons I wanted to see this show was to see Vereen recreate the "Glory" number from Pippin. Vereen sings "Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries" - a favorite song of Fosse's from Dancin' - imbuing an added level of relevance for anyone who knows Vereen's life and career. Vereen and Reinking bring to this performance a certain history and magic, a passing on of the tradition. It is moving to see them pass it on to a new generation of Broadway dancers. This is a great cast of dancer/singers. To name a few - Rachel Rak's powerhouse sexy performance of "I Gotcha", Brad Anderson's athletic grace and angelic voice, and Ken Allen's dead on precision stands out in every number.

And the evolution of Fosse's choreographic language becomes striking seen in this context, from increasingly jazz-influenced style of "Shoeless Joe" and "Steam Heat" of the 50s to the vaudeville of the Chicago, Liza with a Z and "I Want to Be a Dancin' Man" numbers. And who can resist "Big Spender" and "Rich Man's Frug"? "Repetitive", one reviewer here claims. Yeah, and Martha Graham, Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine were accused of being "repetitive" in their vocabulary.

"Fosse" also includes interviews with Vereen and Reinking that give insight into how Bob Fosse and his choreography attained the relevance this show displays. Reinking states that Fosse took every member of the ensemble seriously, as a character and not just a background dancer. She describes a dancer who, after working on a number all day, muttered "again?" when asked by Fosse to rehearse further. That unfortunate dancer was soon looking for another job. This tells you something of Fosse's perfectionism. "That's what I would like anybody to feel [seeing this show]", Reinking states, "even just a breath of someone's dedication and passion".

Complain? Name me another film or television document to capture the American musical theatre in recent years. Along with 1990 documentary on Fosse, "Steam Heat", by Dance in America, this will be one of the greatest records of the genius of Bob Fosse. Except for the record of numbers Fosse choreographed for films and television, this is the only record of so many Broadway numbers fans and scholars will be able to rely on in future. And what a wonderful thing to have. I'm giving "Fosse" to all my friends who love the American musical theatre. It's a blast to watch all of these numbers again, and I know they will LOVE it.