Faerie Tale Theatre - Princess and the Pea (1984) Review

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(More customer reviews)THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA is one of the all-time great FAERIE TALE THEATRE episodes. Featuring a talented cast and brilliant costumes and sets, it's totally adorable.
Prince Richard (Tom Conti) leads a boring and eventless life under the thumb of his controlling mother Queen Veronica (Beatrice Straight). Until, one stormy night, in whirls the vivacious Princess Alecia (Liza Minnelli). But is she really a princess? Queen Veronica is skeptical, so employs a method to test her royalty: she places a tiny pea under 20 mattresses and quilts. If Alecia can feel the pea it will prove beyond any doubt her royal blood.
Will Alecia pass the test? And if she does, will she choose to marry Richard? You'll find out in THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA. Co-starring Jane Alden and Nancy Allen.

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Faerie Tale Theatre - The Nightingale (1982) Review

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(More customer reviews)THE NIGHTINGALE is one of the all-time greatest episodes of FAERIE TALE THEATRE, featuring great performances, expert direction by Ivan Passer and a heartbreaking musical score.
The Emperor of Cathay (Mick Jagger) lives in a porcelain palace with his courtiers completely cut off from his people. When he hears about a magical bird called the Nightingale and it's exquisite song, he demands an audience with it. The Kitchen Maid (Barbara Hershey) swiftly leads the Prime Minister (Edward James Olmos) to the bird. When the Nightingale sings for the Emperor, it immediately gladdens his heart and giving nature.
But when a mechanical version of the Nightingale is given to the Emperor, he quickly dismisses the real bird. Now ill and close to death, the Emperor needs the love and companionship of the real Nightingale more than ever...
Featuring strong performances all around. Co-starring Bud Cort as the Master of Imperial Music. Look closely and you'll spot Anjelica Huston and Jerry Hall as the fairies Primrose and Pansy.
Highly-recommended

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Faerie Tale Theatre - Thumbelina (1982) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Thumbelina" is a fantastic retelling of the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, "Little Thumb".
Produced in 1983 (and released the following year), as part of Shelley Duvall's charming live-action "Faerie Tale Theatre", the narrative is told with good humour, imagination, and a great sense of fun. The magnificent cast adds much colour and warmth to the proceedings. In particular, Carrie Fisher, in the title role, delivers a captivating performance. She makes an extremely attractive heroine, not to mention one who's "more than just another pretty face". She's an absolute delight, adding her unique qualities to the role. Not only is she pint-sized in real life (although not quite as tiny as a thumb!), she has a lovely, deep voice that is quite at odds with her diminutive stature. When she sings, it is a beautiful and rewarding experience. Indeed, she sings with "an angel's voice". (This is also a highlight for any Carrie Fisher fan, as she began her career as a singer, and yet she only sings briefly in "Hannah and Her Sisters", 1986, and in the Walt Disney live-action comedy, "Sunday Drive", also released in 1986.)
Carrie Fisher is supported by equally delightful character actors. The late Burgess Meredith is in top form as Mr Mole, the second would-be husband of Thumbelina. Likewise, William Katt makes a very positive impression as the Prince of the Flower Angels.
This wonderful fairy tale is further enhanced by excellent production values, including great music, atmospheric sets, and good costumes and creatures like Mother Toad, her hapless son, Herman, the Fieldmouse, and the Swallow.
The script faithfully follows the original story, although the gender of the Fieldmouse has been changed, making for a more convincing friendship with Mr Mole to exist, as well as creating a heartfelt guardianship of Thumbelina along strictly platonic lines.
This well-written and perceptive tale ("I'm always the bride, but never the bridesmaid") makes for enchanting family entertainment. "Thumbelina" delivers a great message, too, but above all, it's storytelling at it's most memorable.
I applaud executive producer Shelley Duvall, and all involved, for giving such a wonderful gift. It's up there with Jim Henson's equally engaging "Storyteller" anthology series, produced in the late 1980s, and the "The Doll", an Emmy Award winning episode of "Amazing Stories" (of the same era).
For me, it's an extra special treat because Carrie Fisher became much more than just Princess Leia with this performance. Besides, she continues to melt me every time she smiles as the Ultimate Flower Angel! Let's hope that this "Faerie Tale Theatre" production, along with my other favourites like "Beauty and the Beast", are re-released soon. Preservation on DVD for future generations is highly recommended.

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Faerie Tale Theatre - The Emperor's New Clothes (1985) Review

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(More customer reviews)THE EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES is an altogether fine entry in the FAERIE TALE THEATRE series.
Alan Arkin and Art Carney stars as the con-artists who fool a vain and ruthless Emperor (Dick Shawn) into believing that they can create the most exquisite of clothes that are invisible to those who are foolish or unworthy. Legendary British songstress Georgia Brown co-stars as a wise innkeeper.


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Arkady Leokum's Enemies (Broadway Theatre Archive) Review

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(More customer reviews)Enemies is a wonderful two character, one-act, 45 minute play from the Kultur Broadway Theatre Archives. The setting is a small restaurant in the Catskills, 1971. The two characters, well into their senior years have encountered one another for five years. Gittleman (Sam Jaffe) is a waiter who has to put up with the demanding, harsh and critical insults of customer Miller (Ned Glass), who makes his frequent visit, as he puts it, to eat before the riff raff comes in.
For five years, Miller criticizes the food, the hygiene, the coffee, the menu, the establishment and the final blow is to refer to Gittleman as a lowly waiter who Miller has had to train! Clearly Gittleman and Miller are not friends. Miller is a widowed man has merely enjoyed the pleasures of life that "discount hours" have brought him, clearly a lonely and less expensive existence. But he flaunts a different lifestyle filled with success and happiness. Gittleman is a hard-working family man.
It is the turn of events that makes this play a gem! The two veteran actors have starred in television and movies for years. Ned Glass is known also for his nasal voice while Sam Jaffe for his wild white hair. The two actors both died in 1984. Arkady Leokum is popular for his Tell Me Why: Answers to Hundreds of Questions Children Ask. If you care to see another great play by him, try Neighbors (Broadway Theatre Archive) ....Rizzo


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Miss Julie and The Stronger, by August Strindberg Review

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(More customer reviews)I contemplated writing anything about this production at all, but there are two things that really must be said to future buyers:
1. Theatre needs to be accessible to everyone and I value those that provide any recorded performances to be made available to the general public as one way of bringing live theatre experiences into our homes. This company should be commended for going through whatever it takes to get this product out there (there are very few live versions of Strindberg plays available on DVD).
2. This is really a poor production in many ways. If you are expecting anything close to a professional production, be warned - this is an amateur production (at best). Acting is one-dimensional and completely cliche more times than not - it is very much like what you might expect to see at a high school production - director choices are sketchy - video effects and continuity are all sub-par. However, I believe everyone involved did the best they could do and they should be commended for that - I don't want to be rude because even at it's worse, the heart of what they are trying to do is admirable. It's just not so great.

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The Master Builder (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1960) Review

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(More customer reviews)Produced in 1960 by David Susskind, this Broadway Theater Archive production of one of Ibsen's most famous plays focuses on an older man's fear that he will be replaced by the younger generation before he has been able to reconcile his success with his personal sacrifices. Halvard Solness (E. G. Marshall) is a Master Builder who has built much of the small town in which he lives. Arrogant, manipulative, and often paranoid, there is little he will not do to appear in control.
When Hilde Wangel (Lois Smith) suddenly knocks on his door, the younger generation arrives. Exuberant and flirtatious, Hilde reminds Halvard that exactly ten years ago, when she was the twelve-year-old daughter of a client, he called her his little princess and promised to buy her a kingdom. Ingratiating herself with Halvard, Hilde listens as he reveals his guilt about his success, his fear of godly retribution, and his simultaneous belief that he is one of the "special people" who can bring his desires to fruition through the summoning of demons, "called 'luck' by others." Regarding herself as the person who will free him from guilt, Hilde urges the acrophobic Halvard to place a wreath at the top of the tower on the house he has built for his wife-a symbolic celebration of a new kind of life through Hilde, building castles in the air.
Though Robinson and Smith portray their roles with passion, their characters are not always realistic, and the psychological grounding seems uncertain, lacking unity. Their relationship, because of differences in age, background, and personalities, is unsettling and uncomfortable for the viewer, and the actors themselves do not seem to connect in this supposed relationship. The formality of E. G. Robinson matched with the bizarre flirtatiousness of Lois Smith feels more like a dramatic conceit than the natural attraction it is supposed to be. Halvard's seemingly bloodless wife (Joanna Roos), fully aware of the growing attraction between Halvard and Hilde, vividly conveys her frustration with her life and her wayward husband, and her behavior at the end of the play is touching--filled with a kind of hopeless sadness.
Set in Halvard's house, this black and white production depends on the viewer's acceptance of the characters and their peculiar interactions, since there is virtually no change of scenery and no color to provide distractions. The play, directed by John Stix and Richard Lukin, is filled with strong emotion, but it carries a pessimistic and ambiguous message conveyed through characters who are not quite believable. Mary Whipple


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The Shirley Temple Storybook Collection: Shirley Temple Show - The Little Mermaid (1961) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Shirley Temple's Storybook" was a successful television series (that ran in colour on NBC between 1958 and 1961) where Miss Temple hosted and more often than not, starred in, adaptations of fairy tale classics and other works of children's literature. Serving as the precursor to other shows like "Faerie Tale Theatre" and "Tall Tales and Legends", "Shirley Temple's Storybook" boasted a galaxy of stars from stage and screen, elaborate production values and lavish costumes. The series later ran in syndication under the "Shirley Temple Show" title.
In "The Little Mermaid", Shirley Temple stars in the title role. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's tender fairytale of selfless love and sacrifice. While living in a kingdom at the bottom of the ocean can be very pretty, the Little Mermaid feels there is something more that life has in store for her. During a brief visit to the surface, she rescues and falls in love with a handsome prince (Donald Harron), and vows to become a human. A bargain with the Merwitch (Nina Foch) is the obvious answer to her dilemma, but will the Little Mermaid risk her very life to become part of the prince's world?...
Shirley Temple brings a lot of depth and feeling to her portrayal of the title role. Legendary actress Cathleen Nesbitt plays dear Granny Mermaid to perfection. With Nancy Kulp, John Hoyt, J. Pat O'Malley, Torin Thatcher, Ray Walston and Francine York. Original air-date 5th March 1961. Adapted from the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale by Bernard C. Schoenfeld.
TECHNICAL DETAILS:
Single-sided, single-layer disc
Keep case
Audio: 2-channel stereo

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In Fashion (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1974) Review

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(More customer reviews)A charming period piece on many levels- a look at the 1890's from the perspective of the 1970's. Pleasant songs, none of which go on too long (except one- on purpose) and a very capable cast. The romantic lead is Daniel Davis, who might surprise those who know him as Niles the butler in THE NANNY, or Professor Moriarity on STAR TREK. Likewise Charlotte Rae (from THE FACTS OF LIFE) reveals a remarkably good singing voice behind her comic facade. The quality of the image is quite good, with the usual dificulties of shooting a live performance. There is one tape glitch about midway through, but I'm thankful that this minor gem survived.

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An Enemy of the People (Broadway Theatre Archive) (1966) Review

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(More customer reviews)"Television's Golden Age," the 1950s, gets that moniker because the best of that decade's live drama anthologies -- such as "Playhouse 90," "Studio One" and "Kraft Television Theater," featured innovative plays that made insightful comments about contemporary life.
Though "Enemy of the People" aired on National Educational Television (the precursor of PBS) in 1966, Arthur Miller's adaptation of the Ibsen classic feels like an extension of the "golden" era.
In the Norway of the 1880s, an idealistic doctor (James Daly of "Medical Center") discovers that water from a new spring is contaminated with deadly bacteria. Because the spring is expected to bring a solid tourist trade to this small town, his repeated attempts to convince the town's officials and citizens are met with hostility -- most notably by the mayor, who happens to be the doctor's brother (Philip Bosco).
The acting here is uniformly excellent, delivered in normal theatrical style. Daly is ideal in the lead role, never sounding a false note. Kate Reid is solid as his concerned wife, though sometimes encumbered by wild motivational swings in her character, as written.
Bosco is appropriately maddening as the doctor's brother, though viewers may be somewhat amused by his stage mustache, which becomes skewed during one sequence.
A number of very good actors from the period inexplicably go unbilled on the box, and are even absent from the IMDB entry. Among them are George Voskovec as the doctor's scheming father-in-law; James Olson as an unscrupulous newspaper editor; and William Prince as the battle-scarred publisher of the newspaper. Tim Daly, best known for his role on "Wings," plays one of the doctor's young sons; he is the real life son of the late James Daly.
Rue McLanahan appears in a bit role.
In what might have been rather startling for TV viewers of the mid-'60s, the mild profanity of Miller's adaptation is kept intact.
The play was shot on black-and-white videotape, and the print that was used for this DVD is very good. It's always so much better to see the straight video from this period, rather than a kinescoped copy.
"An Enemy of the People" will be rewarding viewing for any lover of classic television.

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Adapted by master playwright Arthur Miller from Henrik Ibsen's groundbreaking 1882 play, An Enemy of the People is a scathing indictment of a corrupt society. An idealistic doctor, played by 1966 Emmy-winner James Daly, discovers that the medicinal springs- source of a small Norwegian town's wealth and fame--are in fact poisoned. "Few dramas... clamor with as much present-day social relevance," declared Variety. Veteran Broadway, screen, and television actress Kate Reid plays the doctor's indomitable wife who stands by him in the face of the town's hostility to his findings, as he becomes "an enemy of the people." "Few dramas...clamor with as much present-day social relevance." --Variety

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Faerie Tale Theatre: Little Mermaid (1987) Review

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(More customer reviews)FAERIE TALE THEATRE's touching and tender recreation of THE LITTLE MERMAID (the second-last in the series) is one of their best efforts.
Pearl (Pam Dawber) is a beautiful young mermaid who lives with her father King Neptune (Brian Dennehy) and her sisters Coral and Anemonie (Donna McKechnie and Laraine Newman) in a kingdom at the bottom of the ocean. When Pearl comes of age and is allowed a brief glimpse of the world above the sea, she falls in love with a handsome Prince (Treat Williams) whom she saves from drowning when his ship has a fatal explosion.
She makes a bargain with the Sea Witch (Karen Black): her voice in exchange for a pair of legs and hopefully the love of the Prince. Once on land Pearl quickly returns to the Prince, though he only has eyes for the lovely Princess Emilia (Helen Mirren).
What follows is a heartbreaking story of selfless love and sacrifice, as Pearl risks everything for true love...
Pam Dawber leads a strong cast. Karen Black is amazing as the Sea Witch; Newman and McKechnie are a delight as Pearl's sisters and Treat Williams fills the role of the Prince admirably. A true gem in the series

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