Starring Treat Williams, John Savage, Beverly D'Angelo, and Annie Golden
Directed by Milos Forman
Music by Galt MacDermot; Lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado
Hair was one of the biggest things on Broadway in 1968. It broke many rules for musicals of the time, from the brief nudity to its rock score and then-trendy look at hippies and the counterculture. By 1979, those hippies were now yuppies in sharp-collared suits, the counterculture was considered dated, disco was the trendy music, and Vietnam had been over for four years. How does this very 60's story look in the late 70's...and even now? Let's in Oklahoma, as farm boy Claude Bulkowski (Savage) leaves home for Vietnam recruitment center in New York City and find out...
The Story: Shortly after his arrival in New York, Claude encounters a group of hippies in colorful clothes begging him for money. Their leader is George Berger (Williams), a charming fellow who avoids the draft and work by hanging out with his "tribe." They also try to get money from debutante Sheila Franklin (D'Angelo) and her friends who are horseback riding in Central Park. Claude is so taken with Sheila, he grabs a horse and shows off his skills for her.
Noticing Claude's interest in Sheila, Berger and the tribe crash a private dinner party in order to get them together. Sheila and a few of the guests get a kick out of them, but her parents aren't as amused and call the cops. Sheila doesn't give them money for bail, but she does join them in Central Park. Claude's not happy when it ends with Sheila losing her clothes and him arguing with George over the draft and the war in Vietnam and finally goes to basic training. The others eventually follow him to Nevada, hoping to convince him to stay. It's Berger who finally makes the ultimate sacrifice in order to bring them together and teach him the meaning of responsibility.
The Song and Dance: This may have looked terribly dated in 1979, but nowadays, it actually looks a lot less dated than some of the goofy disco musicals released around that time. Forman throws in some excellent touches, from the hippies cavorting in New York to the tearjerker finale. Williams does by far the best as the head of the tribe who is more interested in making out and bringing together a new friend with a pretty lady. D'Angelo does so well with "Good Morning Starshine," I wish she did more musicals. The cinematography is gorgeous, especially around New York and Central Park and in the Nevada desert.
Favorite Number: The hit "Aquarius" sets the scene as Claude arrives in New York and we meet the hippie tribe and Sheila and her society friends on horseback. "Sodomy" is the hippies' opinion on horseback-riding debutants. Berger sings about Claude's pursuit of "Donna" as he goes after Sheila on his own horse. "Colored Spade" takes us to Central Park as Claude is introduced to the hippies and their bohemian lifestyle. Claude admits that he feels like he's from "Manchester, England" as a stranger in the city. Nell Carter belts "Fourscore" and can be heard on "Ain't Got No."
"The Party" is a lot wilder with the hippies among the tables. By the time of "Party Music" and "I've Got Life," Berger is dancing on the dining room table with a delighted Charlotte Rae. Wolf (Don Dacus), one of the hippies, won't let anyone cut his "Hair" in prison, leading to a wild dance routine about why he wants to keep it. They take Claude to a "Be In" at Central Park. His acid trip there leads to him dreaming of marrying Sheila, which turns into a wild ballet of hippies and women in bridal gowns dancing to "Initials," "Electric Blues" and "Old Fashioned Melody." After he falls out with the hippies, Claude wonders "Where Do I Go?" in the big city.
He finally reports to the draft board, only for them to end up singing along with everyone in Central Park (including Nell Carter) about "Black Boys" and "White Boys." "Walking In Space" gives us Claude's military training via letters to Sheila. The fiancee (Cheryl Barnes) of one of the hippies, Hud (Dorsey Wright), wants to marry him, reminding him that it's "Easy To Be Hard," and entirely too easy to ignore your responsibilities in the pursuit of a dream. "Three Five Zero Zero" has the hippies stealing a car from Sheila's brother (Miles Chapin). Sheila is so delighted to be out from under her family's thumb, she sings "Good Morning Starshine" during the ride. The movie ends with "The Flesh Failures" and "Let the Sunshine In" as we see how Berger's ruse to replace Claude worked too well, and its tragic results.
Trivia: Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical opened to rave reviews in April 1968, running for four years. The London mounting later in September 1968 ran even longer, and probably would have continued if the roof of the theater hadn't collapsed. It saw Broadway revivals in 1977 and 2009. The latter was so successful, it won a Best Revival Tony and would be replicated in London a year later.
What I Don't Like: It may have been toned down from the stage, but this be-in is still for older teens on up. That brief nudity is still there, and there's bad language and the violence in the montage of Claude's basic training. The original musical had far less of a plot and was mainly about hippies and what they do in New York, no society heiresses or farm boys involved, and it was Claude, not Berger, who went to Vietnam. A lot of songs from the show were cut, too, though five of them, "Air, " "Abie Baby," "My Conviction," "Frank Mills," and "What a Piece of Work Is Man," can be found on the soundtrack. It's also way too long at over two hours. Some of the numbers go on forever and probably could have been trimmed.
The Big Finale: I think the world just wasn't ready for Hair in 1979. With many of the subjects it discusses back in the limelight, it's actually worn better than many of the musicals of the late 70's. Highly recommended for older teen and adult fans of Williams, D'Angelo, or the rock musicals of the late 60's and 70's.
Home Media: Easily found in all formats. Tubi currently has it for free with ads.
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