Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Sony/Tri-Star, 2022

Starring Naomie Ackie, Stanley Tucci, Ashton Sanders, and Tamara Tunie

Directed by Kasi Lemmons

Music and Lyrics by various

After Houston's untimely death in 2012, ideas for a film biography were tossed around. A TV film debuted on Lifetime in 2015, but while it was well-received, it mostly focused on her relationship with Bobby Brown. The movie they finally came up with in 2020 focused on her entire life, from her first major performance in 1983 to her last hours. How does her difficult life look now? Let's start just as pop superstar Whitney Houston (Ackie) is gearing up for the 1994 American Music Awards...and remembering how she began...and find out...

The Story: In 1983, Houston sings in her church choir and lives with her girlfriend Robyn Crawford (Nafessa Williams). Her mother Cissy (Tunie) groomed her for the choir, but she has bigger plans. She "suddenly" gets laryngitis the day major music producer Clive Davis (Tucci) happens to be in the audience at the nightclub where she sings. Whitney goes on for her, and Davis is so impressed, he gives her a contract to Arista Records.

Whitney's first filmed performance is of "Home" from The Wiz on The Merv Griffith Show later in '83. Her first album debuts in 1985, and it's a sensation. She wants Robyn to be her personal assistant, but her father and manager John (Clarke Peters) encourages her to start dating men. Whitney really takes that to heart and first goes out with Jermaine Jackson (Jaison Hunter), to Robyn's consternation. Though her second album in 1987 is even bigger, it's not enough to dodge criticism that her music isn't "black enough." She quells this by becoming engaged to early rapper Bobby Brown (Sanders) in 1989 after they meet at the 1988 Soul Train Awards. 

Whitney's at her peak of popularity in the early and mid-90's, singing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl and appearing in the smash hit 1993 film The Bodyguard. Her home life isn't going nearly as well. She and Bobby finally marry in 1992, and she has their daughter Bobbi Kristina in March 1993, but Bobby is frequently missing and her father is withholding her assets. 

Two attempts at a comeback, in 1998 and 2009, are massive hits...but the subsequent tours after their releases wear out her body and her vocal chords. They're not the only things wrecking havoc on her body, either. She's begun to deal with the pain of her bad marriage and heart by drinking heavily and taking cocaine. John has mismanaged most of her money, too, forcing her into a 100 million dollar contract with Arista. She's so furious with him, she won't go to his funeral. Divorcing Bobby in 2007 does help, but by 2012, she's spiraling into addiction again...this time with fatal consequences...

The Song and Dance: The heavy story is alleviated somewhat by powerhouse performances. Ackie and Sanders are fabulous as Houston and Brown, showing how they fell for each other when they were both stars, only for Brown's ego and both their addictions to come between them. They really did their homework, too. Most of the concerts and music videos look like the real thing. You can almost believe that's Whitney in the candy-splashed "How Will I Know?" music video. 

The Numbers: We open with Whitney singing "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah" as her mother gives her a singing lesson for the church choir. We get a brief glimpse of her mother singing "I'll Be There" at a nightclub...before her parents' fight indicate that she's most definitely not around much. Robyn and Whitney dance together - and fall for each other - to the tune of Chakah Khan's "Hot Butterfly." Whitney gets her big break singing "The Greatest Love of All" in place of her mother. She's an even bigger sensation singing "Home" on The Merv Griffith Show.  

We next get a montage of Whitney choosing songs for her next album. Among those that make the cut are the ballads "Saving All My Love for You" (which we see Houston recording) and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?" She really loves the bouncy "How Will I Know?" Later on, she's even more into "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and has a ball singing it in concert. Bobby sings his hit "My Prerogative" at the Soul Train Awards. Whitney's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the Super Bowl in 1991 is so impassioned, it becomes an instant legend. After starring in The Bodyguard and singing it at the 1994 Concert for a Free South Africa, she's even more associated with "I Will Always Love You." It even plays under her wedding to Bobby. She has a harder time with "I Have Nothing," even refusing to sing it at one point.

Her recording of "Why Does It Hurt So Bad?" turns into a commentary on her tumultuous relationship with the possessive and egotistical Bobby. "It's Not Right, But It's Okay" launches her 1998 comeback. The single isn't released, but the album is a hit. She does a fabulous "I'm Every Woman" and "I'm Your Baby Tonight" in a montage on tour, which finishes with "One Moment In Time." Her surprise rendition of "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" on The Oprah Winfrey Show launched her second comeback in 2009. We end on a positive note with her sensational medley of "I Loves You Porgy," "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," and "I Have Nothing" at the 1994 American Music Awards. 

What I Don't Like: First of all, not all of this is historically accurate. For one thing, she recorded "The Greatest Love of All" for her 1985 debut album and never sang it at a club. She also had a career as a model before she started singing that isn't really discussed here. (She was one of the first black models to appear on the cover of Seventeen Magazine in 1981.) But then again, this movie is long and slow enough as it is. Some of the depressing ending could have been trimmed with no one the wiser. It's also dripping with typical biographical film cliches, up to and including that upbeat ending at the American Music Awards. 

The Big Finale: Worth checking out if you're a fan of Houston and have time on your hands. 

Home Media: Easily found in all formats.

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Miles Ahead

Sony Pictures Classics (Columbia), 2015

Starring Don Cheadle, Ewan MacGregor, Emayatzy Corinealdi, and Michael Stuhlbarg

Directed by Don Cheadle

Music by Miles Davis and others

We jump ahead from the 1910's to the 1970's, and from ragtime to a very modern form of jazz. Miles Davis was one of the major jazz greats of the mid-20th century, a tempestuous giant whose experiments in cool jazz and be-bop from the late 50's through the early 80's revolutionized jazz and music in general, pushing the boundaries of what jazz could be and do. He was also said to have been notoriously difficult, his life plagued with drug and alcohol addiction and physical illnesses. His addictions led him to drop out of music entirely between 1975 and 1980. In fact, let's begin in 1979, as he was preparing to make a comeback, and find out just how hard that was for him to start over again...

The Story: Davis (Cheadle) is living alone, painting and dealing with debilitating hip pain, when a young Scottish reporter named Dave Braden (MacGregor) forces his way into his home to get an interview. Instead, he ends up following Davis as he pursues tapes of his most recent compositions stolen by local thugs. As he and Braden pursue the thieves, Davis recalls the creations of his most famous compositions, and his troubled relationship with his first wife, dancer Frances Taylor (Corinealdi). She was his muse and his inspiration in the late 50's and 60's, but their marriage ended with her fleeing for her own safety in 1968. 

The Song and Dance: Cheadle directed and wrote this project along with starring in it, claiming no one else could do it better. Maybe he was right. He's an electric Davis, capturing the musician's early spirit and drive, even as he dove head-first into his own addictions. MacGregor almost matches him as the Rolling Stones reporter who is determined to get a story at all cost, even breaking the law or pushing his way into Davis' house. The music is so fabulous, the soundtrack won Grammy. We get Davis' compositions in all their raw, eclectic glory, from the title song to "So What?" to "Prelude Pt. 2."

The Numbers: In fact, we open with "Prelude No. 2" from the live album Agartha, the last album Davis made before his self-imposed exile. Among those we see him working on are "Duran," "So What," "Frelon Brun," the title song, "Back Seat Betty," "Seven Steps to Heaven," "Gone," "Blue In Green," "Black Satin," "Sanctuary," "Teo, "He Loved Him Madly," "East of Rockford," and "Solea."

What I Don't Like: First of all, this is all fictional. While Davis really did take time off between 1975 and 1980 and really did make a comeback in 1981, Dave Braden was created as someone Davis could argue with and drag around to find the tapes - and the story with the tapes going missing was created to add drama. Second, this is for adult jazz fans only. This is rated R for a reason. There's tons of heavy swearing, fisticuffs, abuse, and drug and alcohol use. Start the kids on Davis' best-known albums first. It's also pretty obviously a low-budget indie movie, with cheap sets and costumes. No one besides MacGregor and Cheadle remotely register, especially Corinealdi in a thankless love interest role. There's also all the jumping around. The editing is confusing, and the movie isn't always clear where we're going or what time period or part of Davis' life we're in.

The Big Finale: If you're an adult fan of Davis or jazz like me, you'll want to check out this exploration of something that might have happened during one of the most difficult periods of his life. 

Home Media: Easily found on all major formats. Can currently be found for free on Pluto TV with commercials.

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Pluto TV On Demand

Cult Flops - The Producers (2005)

Universal/Columbia, 2005

Starring Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Uma Thurman, and Will Farrell

Directed by Susan Stroman

Music and Lyrics by Mel Brooks

This week, we're looking at two more recent remakes of older musical and semi-musical films. Mel Brooks' original film version of The Producers did well enough at the box off in 1967 but got mixed reviews. Critics at the time didn't always get the black comedy about two producers who try to put on a flop musical that turns into a huge hit. The 2001 stage version, on the other hand, was wildly popular with critics and audiences alike. Everyone praised Susan Stroman's inventive choreography and direction and the pitch-perfect performances of Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick as the title characters. Needless to say, all three were carried over to the film version...but what works on stage doesn't always work on screen, as we're about to discover. Let's begin in Times Square in 1959 as theatergoers emerge from producer Max Bialystock's (Lane) latest flop musical and find out just how much a smash stage show can go off the rails onscreen...

The Story: Max is still mourning the demise of his latest theatrical venture when his meek accountant Leo Bloom (Broderick) points out that you can make more money off of a flop than a hit. Intrigued, Max hits on the idea of staging the worst musical possible and reaping the rewards when it tanks. Leo resists it first, until he realizes how tired he is of his bland, boring life at the accounting firm. 

They first seek out Franz Liberkind (Farrell), the Nazi-obsessed author of the ridiculous musical Springtime for Hitler, even taking an oath in order to get the rights to his show. Transvestite director Roger Di Bris (Gary Beach) and his effeminate partner Carmen Ghia (Roger Bart) object to the darker tones in the show, insisting on keeping everything light, even if the Germans win the war. Gorgeous Swedish blond Ulla (Thurman) turns up on their doorstep, and both men are smitten enough to hire her as their secretary and promise her a role on the show. 

The two men do their level best to make sure everything is a disaster, including Max getting dozens of little old ladies to finance it, but...against all good taste and better judgement, Springtime for Hitler winds up as a smash success. Leo's ready to turn them in, until Franz turns up with a gun because everyone laughed at his play and Ulla suggests they take the money and run. Max thinks he's left holding the bag, but you can't break up Broadway's most unlikely and closest producing team, even when they're in jail.

The Song and Dance: It's the movie people who are the revelations here. Who knew Thurman, who is usually associated with action and drama roles, could sing and shake her hips like a champ? And that split she does at the end of "If You Got It, Flaunt It" is incredible. Farrell has way too much fun as the Hitler-adoring Franz, with his pigeons and crazy vows. Makes me wish they both did more musicals. Of the stage folks, only Beach as the mincing director has any idea of how to play the role to the camera. There's some sensational costumes in brilliant colors reminiscent of the Technicolor of 50's MGM musicals, too. And frankly, I do appreciate that the musical drops some dated aspects of the original film, eliminating the character of the hippie who originally played Hitler and giving Ulla more authority and more to do. 

The Numbers: We open with the brief "Opening Night" as two usherettes (Bryn Dowling and Meg Gillentine) wonders how the audiences will react to Max Bialystock's latest show. The theatergoers come out shortly after and give their assessment - it's "The Worst Show In Town." "We Can Do It," Max insists to Leo in his office, though Leo isn't as sure. Leo changes his tune around his "Unhappy" coworkers after he fantasizes about how "I Want to Be a Producer," complete with chorus girls in skimpy beaded dresses prancing in the office. 

Franz teaches Max and Leo the Fuhrer's favorite song, "Der Guten Tag Hop-Clop," before he insists on their vows. Roger, Carmen, and their extremely stereotypical stage team think a musical should be much lighter. "Keep It Gay!" Roger proclaims. Ulla auditions for Max and Leo at their office with "If You've Got It, Flaunt It"...and while the duo haven't started casting yet, they aren't exactly objecting to the show. Max gets the money for the show from a chorus line of old ladies tapping on their walkers (including Andrea Martin and stage star Debra Monk) who say "Along Came Bialy." Leo and Ulla are more interested in falling in love, dancing around their now very white office while singing about "That Face."

They can't find a better Hitler than Franz after he floors everyone with his rendition of "Haben Sie Gehurt Das Deutsche Band?" Roger and Carmen claim "You Never Say Good Luck On Opening Night" backstage, but Max disagrees. "Springtime for Hitler" and "Heil Myself" are the big chorus numbers, and they are a riot of color, sequins, and every possible German and World War II stereotype, up to and including Roger taking over as a decidedly not-butch Hitler. 

One of the two new songs added for the film version is "You'll Find Your Happiness In Rio," which shows Ulla and Leo doing just that as Max reads the postcard from them in prison. He feels "Betrayed" as he rants in a soliloquy of the type that were popular in 40's and 50's musicals, relating pretty much the entire show up to that point. Leo returns at the trial, claiming no one thought he was special "Till Him." The duo are still doing their same "sell everyone 100 percent of the show" schtick in prison as Max directs their big jailbird musical "Prisoner of Love." It becomes their first stage hit after they're paroled. Mel Brooks himself claims "There's Nothing Like a Show On Broadway" (the other new song) over the credits before telling the audience "Goodbye!" and that it's time to go home.

Trivia: The Producers opened in April 2001 and was a sensation, running six years and earning 12 Tony Awards, the most of any show to date. It also did well on London's West End, running three years. In fact, at press time, a revival is playing at London's Garrick Theatre. 

Three songs from the stage show, "The King of Broadway," "In Old Bavaria," and "Where Did We Go Right?" were filmed, but cut for time. All three are in an extended cut, and "King of Broadway" and "In Old Bavaria" are included as extras on the DVD.

What I Don't Like: Frankly, it feels like Thurman and Farrell are in an entirely different film from everyone else. Lane and Broderick are used to scaling their performances to the balcony, not to the camera. Everyone else is playing everything way too broadly, shouting when something slightly more sly and subtle would have done better. Likewise, Stroman's direction and choreography is scaled to theater audiences. Despite the filming in real locations, this feels like the filmed play it is. Good as most of the numbers are, they also push the running time a little too long. This is over 2 hours, way too long for a wacky black backstage comedy. Some of the other numbers or the shtick in the middle could have been trimmed with no one the wiser. There's also the simple fact that...a musical about a "gay" Hitler isn't nearly as shocking as it would have been in 1967, nor are the many rather ridiculous gay, theater, and Jewish stereotypes. 

The Big Finale: Good performances from Ferrell and Thurman aren't enough to put this in the "hit" column for anyone but the biggest fans of the leads, Brooks, or modern Broadway shows. 

Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming, with the DVD often being found for under $10. 

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Cult Flops - Journey to Bethlehem

Sony Pictures (Columbia), 2023

Starring Milo Manheim, Fiona Palomo, Antonio Banderes, and Omid Djalili

Directed by Adam Anders

Music and Lyrics by various

There aren't too many musicals covering the real reason for the Christmas season. Most of the few musicals I know of that discuss the birth of Christ are animated or low-budget. This was released theatrically in 2023, and although it didn't do well at the box office, it's become a bit more widely seen on streaming since then. How does a modern version of the story of Mary, Joseph, and the Three Wise Men look now? Let's begin with those three Wise Men as they realize that a new king is to be born and find out...

The Story: Mary (Palomo) wants to be a teacher, but her father (Antonio Cantos) has her betrothed to a man she's never met. She's furious, and he's not happier. He has his own dreams of becoming an inventor. No one believes Mary when she says the angel Gabriel (Lecrae) comes to her, claiming that she'll have a baby who will be the son of God. Even Joseph doesn't at first, until he finally realizes how much he loves and trusts her. 

Even as Joseph decides to trust his wife, egotistical King Harrod (Bandares) is worrying about a prophecy he heard from three rather goofy wise men. Seems there will be a "king of kings" who could potentially take his place among the people. He's not complaining when Caesar Augustus orders all of his people to travel to Bethehem for a census and be counted. Joseph worries that Mary can't make the trip, and when they do finally arrive, there's only room in a stable for them. That turns out to be more than enough for their new family. The Three Wise Men have been searching for them too, but all they have to do is talk to shepherds and follow a certain star to see a baby born in a manger who will become one of the most important religious beings on the planet.

The Song and Dance: This is...not what I was expecting. I figured we'd get something subdued, quiet. What we got amounted to a Disney Channel musical with a religious theme. That's not to say it doesn't have some virtues. Palomo is a lovely, feisty Mary, while Banderes is a wonderfully hissable and egotistical King Harrod, and even the Wise Men occasionally get a funny line or gag. There's also the dusty yellow backdrop, a golden, ancient Spain representing the Holy Lands.

The Numbers: We open with a young woman beginning "O Come All Ye Faithful" over the credits as the Wise Men travel to Jerusalem before it Segways into the title song and the oldest-known still performed Christmas song, "O Come O Come Emmanuel." "Mary's Getting Married" her sisters and the women of the town sing in delight during our first chorus number. Mary's not buying their claim it'll be "good for her." She only sees herself having to give up her dreams of teaching. Harrod claims to his followers that it's "Good To Be the King." Mary and Joseph are more concerned about their fracturing engagement as they wonder "Can We Make This Work?" 

After Gabriel arrives, Mary claims she's now "The Mother to a Savior and King." Joseph's worried that his wife's belief in her immaculate conception may be "The Ultimate Deception." The Three Wise Men claim they are those "Three Wise Guys." Joseph and Mary grow closer during their trip to Bethlehem, where "We Become We." Antipater (Joel Smallbone), the husband of Deborah (Moriah Smallbone), insists that the baby his older wife has created is "In My Blood." "The Nativity Song" is a medley of Christmas carols based around the birth of Christ, revealing the angel Gabriel and the true "king of kings" born in a humble manger. The movie ends with "Brand New Life" over the end credits.

What I Don't Like: Between the nice but largely unmemorable pop songs, the presence of bland but likable Manheim, and the side plot with the too-goofy (not very) Wise Men trying to figure out what's going on, this really feels more like a Disney Channel musical than one that was released on the big screen. They're not going for historical accuracy, either. (Admittedly, they do make this clear right before the end credits.) If you're looking for a darker, more "accurate" version of the Nativity story, this isn't it.

The Big Finale: Worth checking out at least once for families with older kids and tweens looking for a religious musical or a Nativity film.

Home Media: Easily found on disc and streaming.

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This Christmas

Sony (Columbia)/Screen Gems, 2007

Starring Loretta Devine, Delroy Lindo, Idris Alba Jr., and Regina King

Directed by Preston A. Whitmore II

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's jump back thirteen years from a community-focused Christmas to a family-oriented one. Most Christmas musicals are big and bold. This one reminds us that there's music in smaller holidays, too. I also don't know of too many holiday musicals that focus on the African-American Christmas experience, like this one does. How well does the tangled tale of one family's troubled Christmas Eve and Day hold up over a decade and a half later? Let's begin as a singer performs a slinky "Santa Baby" and the Whitfield family begins to gather for Christmas and find out...

The Story: Shirley "Ma'Dere" Winfield (Divine) is looking forward to seeing her six children and their families and significant others. She's happy with her boyfriend Joe Black (Lindo) after her husband walked out, but her oldest son Quentin (Alba) doesn't like that he replaced their father. Her oldest daughter Lisa (King) is a housewife with two children whose unfaithful husband Malcolm (Laz Alonso) barely has time for her. Kelli (Sharon Leal) is a college grad living in New York, while youngest daughter Melanie (Lauren London) is a college student who brings her boyfriend Devan (Keith Robinson) home for the holidays. Youngest son Baby (Chris Brown) still lives at home. He loves photography, but he also loves to sing, which he hides from his mother. 

Musician Quentin is having his own problems with bookies Mo (David Banner) and Dude (Ronnie Warner), who want $25,000 yesterday. Kelli is happier with Gerald (Mekhi Phifer), the handsome guy she meets at a local nightclub. After middle brother Claude (Columbus Short) is arrested for pulling a gun at a nightclub, his very white wife Sandi (Jessica Stroup) turns up nervous and pregnant. There's also their mother's long-standing dry cleaner business that they all own shares in. Malcolm and Lisa want to pressure the others to sell, but it's their mother's business. Over the course of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, faith will be tested, new bonds will be created, and the Whitfield family will learn the importance of family, teamwork, connection, and sticking up for yourself and others.

The Song and Dance: I like how low-key this is. As I mentioned earlier, most Christmas musicals tend to be big, bold, and brassy. The focus on one family and their relationships makes this rare among holiday musicals, and almost refreshing just for that. It's sweet and thoughtful with just enough sass to keep it from diving into overly syrupy Hallmark movie territory. Brown's adorable as the youngest member of the family who worries that his talent may upset his mother, Divine is radiant as the family's anchor and matriarch, and Alba as the most tortured of the brothers. 

The Numbers: We open with Lina's sexy performance of "Santa Baby" at the bar where musician Quentin works. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" provides the backdrop for Baby taking photos while his mother and Kelli wonder where the others are. Marvin Gaye's "Got to Give It Up Part 1" provides the backdrop for Quentin's arrival via Greyhound as the rest of the family dances. "Merry Christmas Baby" by Charles Brown underscores Malcolm and Lisa discussing Quentin and why their mother doesn't allow them to play music. Quentin plays "The Christmas Song" on a piano in the garage late at night. 

A rap group at the nightclub performs "Go Getter" as they arrive. Baby performs "Try a Little Tenderness," to the shock of his siblings who had no idea he could sing. TLC's version of "Sleigh Ride" underscores the scene where the men buy a Christmas tree. Aretha Franklin's "I Ain't Never Loved a Man (The Way I Loved You)" likewise provides the backdrop for an angry Lisa to drive her husband's beloved truck into the Los Angeles River. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Me" by Stevie Wonder has Quentin leaving clothes for Joe. The church choir raises the roof with a gorgeous "O Holy Night," after which Baby sings the title R&B standard for his mother. The movie ends with the entire cast reprise their group dance routine to "Got to Give It Up."

What I Don't Like: If you're expecting a bigger, bolder, or more action-packed show, this is not going to be for you. This is basically a holiday family soap opera with a couple of goons thrown in. It also goes on for way, way too long. Most of the melodrama in the middle could have been trimmed. Some members of the family are heard from more than others. London in particular as the youngest daughter has the least to do other than talk about her night spent with Gerard. And what's with the random dance-off at the middle and end of the movie? They're funny, but they also have nothing to do with anything. 

The Big Finale: If you're looking for a quieter Christmas movie to watch with your grown children by a roaring fire, you can do far worse than this look at one family's tumultuous holiday season.

Home Media: The discs are pricey, but it's easily found anywhere on streaming, including for free with commercials on Pluto TV.

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Saluting Our Veterans - Idol On Parade

Columbia, 1959

Starring Anthony Newley, William Bendix, Anne Aubrey, and Lionel Jeffries

Directed by John Gilling

Music and Lyrics by various

Let's celebrate Veteran's Day overseas and honor those who fought and died in Europe with this British comedy. Elvis Presley being drafted into the Army in 1958 made so many headlines, it became fodder for everything from Broadway musicals to TV show episodes. Anthony Newley was an up-and-coming star songwriter and performer in England around the same time. He'd started out as a child actor in the late 40's, but by 1959, was one of the most popular singers in the country. This low-budget black and white comedy was the movie that made him a star, but does it still entertain 60 years after Elvis came back from the Army? Let's begin with Newley's character, rock star Jeep Jackson, at one of his concerts and find out...

The Story: Jeep is shocked when he's mistaken for another J. Jackson and called into military service. He's not popular at first. He's used to the rock star life and keeps trying to sneak out the camp or return to his recording career. He's popular with his fellow recruits, who enjoy hearing him sing spoofs of the officers, but not with said officers. Irish Drill Sargent Lush (Bendix) is particularly fed up with his antics. The ladies are more pleased, especially Caroline (Aubrey), the friend of wealthy Bertie Barnett (Jeffries). It's not until he records a best-selling ballad that the rest of the camp comes to appreciate him...and he begins to realize that there's a lot more to serving your country than playing jokey songs about your superior officers.

The Song and Dance: Bendix and Newley are almost the whole show in this cute spoof of Royal Army life in 1959. Newley is charming enough that I can understand why he was so popular in 1959. Although his singing style is closer to crooning than Elvis, he still has a way with his own songs and other people's. Bendix is hilarious as the lug of a drill sergeant who spends most of his time screaming at Jeep, and even manages a semi-credible Irish accent.

The Numbers: We open with "Idle On Parade" as we see why girls are so crazy about Jeep at one of his concerts. "Won't Get No Promotion" is his spoof of the officers, including Lush, for the men in the barracks. "I've Waited So Long" is performed several times, including Jeep's attempt to sing it after having done drill sergeant work with Lush and the silkier version heard on that hit record. "Idle Rock-a-Boogie" and "Saturday Night Rock-a-Boogie" are his songs performed near the end, before he leaves.

Trivia: The movie the soldiers go see, The Cockleshell Heroes, was one of Anthony Newley's earliest film appearances. 

Known in England as Idle On Parade.

What I Don't Like: This is pretty obviously a British B comedy from the late 50's. Jefferies isn't bad as the snobbish Bertie, but Aubrey's character isn't much more than a love interest. Despite "I've Been Waiting So Long" being a #3 hit in England, the songs aren't all that memorable, and the plot is even less-so. The second half in particular, with Jeep managing to continue his singing career, gets a little too fluffy for its own good. 

The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent fans of Newley, Bendix, or the British or rock musicals of the 50's and early 60's.

Home Media: Only on DVD in the US as part of the Sony Pictures Screen Classics By Request made-to-order DVD line.

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Animation Celebration Saturday - KPop Demon Hunters

Sony (Columbia)/Netflix, 2025

Voices of Arden Cho, May Hong, Ji-young Yoo, and Ahn Hyo-seop

Directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Applehaus

Music and Lyrics by various

This review is dedicated to the children in the after-school and summer camp program I work for. KPop Demon Hunters was all the older kids at the summer program could talk about all summer long. The girls admired the young women band and warriors. The boys drew artwork of the imaginative demons. Their teachers and caretakers constantly played the catchy soundtrack on their speaker and let the kids dance along. I'd only vaguely heard of this before it caught on in a big way. I'm not the biggest fan of Korean pop. It always seemed so cutesy, regardless of what part of the world it came from. This is about as far from cutesy as you can get. What is this, and why are all the kids into it? Let's head to a concert with Korean pop group Huntrix and find out...

The Story: Huntrix is in reality the most recent incarnation of three female demon hunters who stopped demons from taking human souls for their leader Gwi-Ma (Lee Byung-hun) by creating a barrier from communal energy known as the Honmoon. They're also a wildly popular Korean rock trio, at least until the Saja Boys turn up on the scene with their smash hit "Soda Pop." Their rise coincides with their leader Rumi's (Cho) voice fading. Rumi herself is part demon, but she was raised to hide her demon marks and what she is by former demon hunter Celine (Yunjin Kim). 

The girls quickly figure out that the Saja Boys are demons, but after Rumi has an encounter with their leader Jinu (Hyo-seop), she begins to question what she is and her role in the group. Everything comes to a head at the Idol Awards, where the girls are to perform their new anti-demon song "Takedown." They decide it's too inflammatory and substitute their hit "Golden" instead...but then it seems like Rumi's fellow Huntrix Mira (Hong) and Zoey (Yoo) are against her. Rumi confronts Jinu, then Celine...but she finally learns that the best way to rescue her friends and everyone's souls is to love herself the way she is, demon marks and all.

The Animation: Wow. Done in a style similar to the Spider Man Spiderverse films, replacing that series' palate of primary colors with the bold black, white, gold, and neons of concerts and music videos. It's blocky and sketchy, computer animation that's made to look like hand-drawn, and it's most effective. The demons in particular are really creative, both in design and movement. No wonder the boys wanted to draw them.

The Song and Dance: Ok, I can see why the kids are into this. The action-packed story is very much in tune to Korean culture and the music that's wildly popular right now - and not a bit of it is cutesy. Cho and Hyo-seop are the stand-outs in the voice cast as the young woman who finds her voice when she accepts all of what she is and the man who gave himself to save his family, only to lose his soul. The music is genuinely catchy and well-done. They say as much in the film about "Soda Pop," but that applies to "Takedown," "Golden," and "What It Sounds Like," too. 

The Numbers: We open after Huntrix finally arrives at the last leg of a major concert tour with their confidant "How It's Done" and see just how much their fans adore them. "Look Back at Me" and "Strategy" show us more of Huntrix and their demon hunting past. "Golden" is first their big "I want" single, then Rumi's attempt to shine at the Idol Awards. They're outdone by the Saja Boys and their silly, simple, and totally earworm-worthy hit "Soda Pop." The members of Huntrix respond with "Takedown," their attempt to expose the demons and reveal their true natures to their fans. The Saja Boys replace the effervescent fizz of "Soda Pop" with the moody, eerie "Your Idol" at the Idol Awards. Rumi sings "What It Sounds Like" as she claims her own truth about being part demon. Mira and Zoey join in for the end of that song and a reprise of "Takedown." 

What I Don't Like: For all of their fidelity to Korean music and culture, the story isn't the most creative. You've seen something similar in a thousand sci-fi and superhero movies before it, including the Spiderverse films. Rumi and Jinu are the only characters we really get to know well. Even Mira and Zoey are more archetypes than actual characters, and the other Saja Boys aren't even that. The girls' manager Bobby (Ken Jeong) can occasionally bend into annoying stereotype territory.

The Big Finale: No wonder the kids love this. Stunning animation, admirable fidelity to Korean culture, and terrific music more than make up for the unimaginative story and characters. If you have kids ages 6 on up and a subscription to Netflix, you've probably already seen this. Even if you're an adult, it's still recommended for the animation and music alone. 

Home Media: It's a Netflix exclusive at the moment.

Netflix

Don't Knock the Rock

Columbia Pictures, 1956

Starring Alan Dale, Alan Freed, Fay Baker, and Patricia Hardy

Directed by Fred F. Sears

Music and Lyrics by various

The Poverty Row studios weren't the only ones who recognized rock as a popular genre among the young. By 1956, almost every studio in Hollywood wanted to cash in on this big new teen sound. Columbia jumped on the band wagon with Rock Around the Clock, the first musical to have a true rock score. That went over so well, they grabbed Bill Haley and the Comets for more of the same, here joined by Little Richard and the Treniers, among others. How well does the story of teens in a small town who show their parents that rock is hardly a corrupting influence come off today? Let's begin with those teens dancing up a storm over the credits and find out...

The Story: Rock star Arnie Haines (Dale) flees Freed's constant promotion to spend the rest of the summer in his hometown. He discovers on his arrival that, while the teens in the town adore him, their parents are far less welcoming. They believe rock to be a corrupting influence on the young, especially the stuffy Mayor Bagley (Pierre Watkin) and influential columnist Arline MacLaine (Baker). Arline's daughter Francine (Hardy) not only doesn't share her mother's opinion about rock, she falls for Artie. 

Francine and Artie set up a concert with big name acts like Bill Haley and the Comets and Little Richard, but it's disrupted by a fist fight set up by jealous Sunny Everett (Jana Lund), who also has a crush on Artie. Artie's ready to give up and leave, but Francine convinces him to do one last show. They claim it's a pageant of art and culture...but it really proves that art changes over time, and today's rebellious youth music is tomorrow's happy nostalgia.

The Song and Dance: This is at least a little closer to what most people probably think of when they hear "early rock musical." Hardy is an attractive and sensible Francine, and Baker is wonderfully witty as her skeptical journalist mother. We also have a far more interesting story, almost a precursor to Footloose thirty years later. Not only does this movie discuss many parents' real-life attitudes towards rock at the time, it reminds people that rock was hardly the first musical genre adults thought would "corrupt" young people. We also get some sensational dancing here to go with that music, including the wild dance routine at Artie's apartment after his show in the opening. 

The Numbers: We open with Haley's rendition of the title song over the credits. Dale sings "I Cry More" (one of the first published songs by Burt Bacharach and Hal David) and "You're Just Right" at a nightclub. Haley's numbers include " "Hot Dog Buddy Buddy," the instrumental "Goofin' Around," and "Calling All Comets." Their version of "Rip It Up" is heard over the big jitterbug routine at their first concert, and we hear the audio for "Hook, Line, and Sinker." Dave Apple and the Applejacks get "Applejack" and "Country Dance." Little Richard tears things up with two of his classics, "Long Tall Sally" and "Tutti-Fruitti." The Treniers "Come Out of the Bushes" and are "Rocking On a Saturday Night."

What I Don't Like: While the story is more interesting, the cast for the most part isn't any better than Rock Rock Rock! Dale is so blank and dull, you wonder what the girls see in him. Freed has more to do here, but he's no actor and comes off as stiff, not at all like someone who would be caught up in a payola scam by 1960. This is once again a vehicle for the music, and anything else takes a back seat.

The Big Finale: Pretty much the same deal here. For early rock enthusiasts and major fans of Haley or Little Richard only. Everyone else is better off looking for their records or watching Footloose again. 

Home Media: The DVD double feature with Rock Around the Clock is currently expensive on Amazon. It's on YouTube, though the copy is glitchy and keeps stopping every few minutes.

DVD - Rock Around the Clock/Don't Knock the Rock 

YouTube

Cult Flops - Burlesque (2010)

Sony/Columbia, 2010

Starring Christine Aguilera, Cher, Eric Dane, and Stanley Tucci

Directed by Steven Antin

Music and Lyrics by various

Evidently, some important lessons were not learned from the failure of Glitter. Director/writer Steve Antin created this one back in 2002 after seeing Aguilera and other artists perform at the Roxy Theater nightclub in Hollywood. He fashioned this story for her, and later for Cher, after she decided this would likely be her last chance to sing in a major musical. Though it was better-received at the time than Glitter and didn't suffer from that film's production problems or universal pans, it wasn't a huge hit with critics or audiences, either. Why didn't it work? Let's begin as Alice "Ali" Rose (Aguilera) takes money from her abusive boss and heads to Los Angeles and find out...

The Story: Ali has dreamed of dancing professionally ever since she lost her mother at age 7. She has little success, until she stops in a burlesque club owned by singer Tess Scali (Cher) and flirts with the bartender Jack Miller (Cam Gigandet). He suggests she audition, but Tess isn't willing to give her the time of day, until she notices their waitress shortage and grabs a tray to help out. Ali eventually joins the chorus after one of the dancers reveals she's pregnant, then gets the star roles when lead dancer Nikki (Kristen Bell) is too drunk to go on. The jealous Nikki turns off the music they usually lip sync to, but Ali just sings in her own voice.

Despite Ali becoming the talk of the town, Tess is in serious financial trouble. Her ex-husband Vince (Peter Gallagher) wants to sell to developer Marcus Gerber (Dane), who wants to build an office tower. He claims he only owns the "air rights" over the club. Ali has been having her own problems. She was living with Jack while his fiancee Natalie (Dianna Agron) was doing a play in New York, but leaves when Natalie catches them in bed together. She ends up with Marcus, only to discover he has a lot more in mind for the burlesque theater than making use of its "air rights." She and Tess have to reveal the truth to the developer across the street (James Brolin) in order to save the theater and the song and dance they both love so much.

The Song and Dance: The song and dance...and some surprisingly strong performances...are the key here. Unlike weepy Carey, Aguilera is obviously having a blast. She's not the greatest actress by any means, but she manages to hold her own against the magnetic Cher and Tucci and even does decently in the dramatic scenes. Cher's even more fun as the older businesswoman who sees Ali as her last chance for fame and to save the club she loves. Tucci's hilarious as her gay partner, and Alan Cummings gets a few good lines as a dancer at the club. The brief, glittery costumes and the theater itself are just as important characters as the actual humans, especially as Ali rises to fame in the first half. The spangles, beads, and feather fans evoke the naughty world of the older Gypsy Rose Lee burlesques of the 30's and 40's, but the music and attitudes are decidedly modern.

The Numbers: We open with Ali's dream at the club and "Something's Got a Hold On Me." "My Drag" is the first of our chorus numbers. Cher performs "Welcome to Burlesque" after we get our first chorus number. "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" starts out with leather and studs as Nikki sings along to Marilyn Monroe's recording...but it turns into Ali's big number, complete with her own vocals. Nikki sings "Long John Blues" before she's ousted. 

Ali joins the chorus for "Nasty Naughty Boy" and auditions to the "Wagon Wheel Watusi." Madonna's "Ray of Light" is a chorus number for all of the girls. "Tough Lover" is Ali's rise to fame, while "But I'm a Good Girl" and "A Guy What Takes His Time" are 30's feather fan and barely-there-pearls stripteases. "Express" is heard near the end for Ali and the girls. Tess defiantly belts "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" when she's on the verge of losing her club. Ali laments that she's "Bound to You," then finishes the movie with the big finale to "Show Me How to Burlesque." 

What I Don't Like: It's too bad all of these glittering numbers and enjoyable performances are bound to one of the silliest and most cliched scripts I've ever seen. This story has been done endlessly since cinema found its voice in the late 20's, and Burlesque does nothing fresh or inventive with it. The whole thing with buying the air rights and Tucci's sexuality do add mild modern twists, but it's not enough to sustain a whole movie. 

There's also the problem of Gigandet's character. Jack is, frankly, a jerk, inviting one woman over while his fiancee was half-way across the country, then lying and telling Ali he was free when he wasn't. Ali does deal with it somewhat better than Billie dealt with her betrayal, but she still went back to the jerk in the end after he left his fiancee (supposedly) for good. Nikki's alcohol story is defeated by the cliches and Bell's overwrought performance. 

The Big Finale: I'm surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, cliches and all. If you're a fan of the leading ladies or love huge, flashy musicals and are willing to overlook or ignore the heavy cliche storm, you may end up having just as much fun at Tess's burlesque theater, too.

Home Media: Thankfully, this one is also a lot easier to find. The discs often turn up for under $5, and it's everywhere on streaming.

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

Cult Flops - Glitter

Columbia/20th Century Fox, 2001

Starring Mariah Carey, Max Beesley, Terrance Howard, and Eric Benet

Directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall

Music and Lyrics by Mariah Carey and others

This week, we dive into the recent past with two vehicles for major pop and R&B stars that are among the most reviled films of the early 21st century. By 1997, Mariah Carey was one of the most beloved singers on the planet. Most of her albums had gone platinum, her singles were among the most recognizable of the 90's, and she even had one of the biggest Christmas songs of the late 20th century in "All I Want for Christmas Is You." 

By 1997, Carey and her handlers felt she was ready for Hollywood. She wrote the songs for the movie before the project even got a green light. It didn't really get moving until 2000...and then proceeded to have so many problems with filming and editing, Carey had a mental breakdown. It's release was ultimately moved to 2001, two weeks after the attacks on September 11th, which didn't exactly help its chances. Across-the-board awful reviews did the rest. Is the movie really that bad, or does this diva deserve a chance at redemption? Let's begin with young Billie Frank (Isobel Gomes) and her mother Lilllian (Valarie Pettiford) as she calls her onstage to sing with her in a dive bar in the 70's and find out...

The Story: In 1983, years after being put in a foster care home, she and her best friends Louise (Da Brat) and Roxanne (Tia Texada) are spotted dancing in a local club by DJ and producer Julian "Dice" Black (Beesley). He's incensed that she's allowed her voice to be used by another singer. She just thinks it's work. He wants to be her producer, but she already has a contract with big-time producer Timothy Walker (Howard). She finally gets Timothy to let her go if Dice pays him $100,000.

Dice does sign her up with a major label, and they have a huge hit in the song "Loverboy," but their relationship is starting to unravel. He insists on controlling her image, and even throws out her two best friends when they get fed up with him. Billie learns he never paid Timothy that $100,000 either when he turns up and threatens her. She's had enough and walks out...but they can't forget each other. They even end up writing the same song. Alas, he's killed by Timothy before he can reconcile with her, leaving her reminding everyone at her concert that we should never take those we love for granted.

The Song and Dance: Honestly, Carey wasn't really that bad. At the least, knowing she was going through a divorce, a mental breakdown, and discovering she's bipolar at the time this was being filmed does explain a lot about her performance. Howard is the only other cast member who makes even a remote impression as the slick producer who never really let Billie - or her voice - go. There's some pretty spectacular costumes for Billie too, no matter how much Dice derides many of them as inappropriate.

The Numbers: We open with young Billie joining her mother in that dive bar for "Lillie's Blues." "Twister" introduces us to adult Billie and is the song they initially sing for Timothy as back-up singers. "If We" and "All My Life" take us to the nightclub where Billie meets Dice, with Sylk (Padma Lakshimi) seemingly performing the latter. Billie does a version of "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" for Dice, but her confetti-strewn video for "Loverboy" proves far more difficult. She wants to "Lead the Way" with her career at a big music awards show. Rafael (Benet) who is also interested in Billie, performs "We Could Have Been" for her. "Want You" is the song Billie writes with Rafael. "Never Too Far" is Dice and Billie's songs written at the same time with the same music and lyrics. She tries to reprise "Loverboy" at a concert, but breaks down and sings "Never Too Far" instead.

What I Don't Like: Hoooo boy. No wonder this became one of the most notorious flops of the early 2000's. Carey and Billie both deserved far better than this. No matter what the movie wants us to believe, Dice is a major jerk who tries to control not only Billie's career, but Billie herself. He treats her badly, even making a shady deal behind her back. Her dumping him near the end feels somewhat realistic and justified....but then she wants him back, to the point where they somehow manage to write identical songs? That's hard to swallow, even for a musical. The lighting is dreadful, with too many scenes lost in darkness, and the off-and-on editing is worse. None of the songs are remotely close to Carey's best (and weren't hits in real life). I honestly had no idea it was set in 1983, either. The costumes, the sets...they're all pure early 2000's. The music, even the 80's music, doesn't really sound like that era, either. 

The Big Finale: Though this has apparently begun to pick up a slightly better reputation of late, frankly, some mildly decent performances aren't enough to save this off-the-rails vanity project. Even the most devoted fans of Carey will want to stick to the soundtrack and avoid this mess.

Home Media: It was such a flop, it's not even easy to find today. The DVD is way out of print,  the Blu-Ray is available but not much cheaper, and it's not currently streaming. The only place you can currently find it online is in illegal streams on YouTube.

DVD

Blu-Ray

YouTube

I Saw the Light

Sony Pictures Classics/Sony, 2015

Starring Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen, Cherry Jones, and Maddie Hasson

Directed by Marc Abraham

Music and Lyrics by Hank Williams and others

The other country music star we're looking at this week has a far more tragic history. Hank Williams was one of the most influential names in country music during the 40's and early 50's. His songs sold in the thousands, his concerts were legendary, and many of his songs continue to be recorded, revived, and analyzed to this day. His life, however...well, that was more of a mess. Let's begin with Williams' former songwriting partner and publisher Fred Rose (Bradley Whitford), who'll explain to us just how messy Williams' life got...

The Story: We begin near the end of World War II, as country radio star Hank Williams (Hiddleston) and divorcee Audrey Sheppard (Olsen) are about to get married by a justice of the peace. Audrey is a part of his act and band at first, but they get complaints that she's not as good as he is. Hank's mother Lillie (Jones) doesn't like Audrey, partially because she manages the band along with singing. 

As it turns out, Lillie has a point about the marriage. Despite them having a child, Hank Williams Jr, it's rocky from the start. Even as Williams is praised as a genius and becomes one of the biggest stars on the Grand Ol' Opry, his constantly being on the road and dealing with pain from a bad back leads to multiple affairs and heavily abusing drugs and alcohol. 

By 1952, even as he was in talks with MGM about a role in their upcoming musical Small Town Girl, his performances are beginning to suffer. Audrey divorces him; the Opry fires him due to his constantly missing shows. He gets a spark of hope when he marries 19-year-old Billie Jean Jones (Hasson), but his health has already deteriorated, to the point where his much-vaunted tour around Christmas and New Year's ends up being his last.

The Song and Dance: Hiddleston and Olsen are the main reasons to watch this tepid biography. They apparently worked hard to get the mannerisms and accents for their characters right, and it paid off. Hiddleston nails Williams, a charming, hard-working man who ultimately succumbs to his pain and demons, with Olsen nearly matching him as the wife who's had enough of his drinking and womanizing. Hiddleston does his own singing, and does it well, sounding reasonably like Williams and doing justice to several of his best-known songs.

The Numbers: We open with Hiddleston, in a simple yellow spotlight, performing one of Williams' best-known ballads over the credits, "Cold Cold Heart." He and the Saddle Spring Boys sing "Honky Tonkin'" in, appropriately, a down-home western honky-tonk bar. Audrey's "Blues Come Around" is less well-received. They do better recording "Movin' On Over" in Nashville. We see the tail end of Hank's radio show as Audrey joins them for the railroad-themed "Pan American." Williams and the Saddle Spring Boys are briefly seen recording "Lovesick Blues," which he gets to sing in full when he finally gets on the Grand Ol' Opry. 

"Santa Baby" is heard in the background at the Christmas party that Hank spends drunkenly playing with his garage door opener.Hank's introduced by another country legend, Roy Acuff, before he and the Saddle Spring Boys launch into "Hey Good Lookin'."  His second Opry number is the lively ballad "Why Don't You Love Me?" right before he meets Billie Jean for the first time. He sings "Your Cheatin' Heart" for the girl at her home. The cast of the concert Williams was supposed to be at when he died sings "I Saw the Light" in tribute. The movie ends with Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" over the credits.

What I Don't Like: Even more than Walk the Line, this is a tepid mess of cliches you've seen a million times in biographical musicals going back to the dawn of sound. The unfocused script and dull direction doesn't help there. It's also very dark. Williams' death at a young age puts this more in line with later stories of musicians who succumbed to fame like The Doors. This is not for people looking for a more uplifting or cheerful story. And frankly, the black-and-white interview sequences with Rose simply weren't necessary. They should have let Williams' story unfold naturally. 

The Big Finale: Mainly recommended for Hiddleston and Olsen's sterling performances if you're a major fan of the stars or Hank Williams. Everyone else is probably better off looking for Williams' real-life recordings instead.

Home Media: Easily found in all formats. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

Amazon Prime

The Buddy Holly Story

Columbia Pictures, 1978

Starring Gary Busey, Don Stroud, Charles Martin Smith, and Maria Richwine

Directed by Steve Rash

Music and Lyrics by Buddy Holly and others

Jim Morrison was hardly the first or last rock star to die young. Buddy Holly was one of the seminal rock pioneers. His songs were international hits in the late 50's, including classics like "Peggy Sue," "Rave On," and "That'll Be the Day." He pushed for more control over his music, including writing and producing his own songs. He might have done more, if it wasn't for his death during that fateful and poorly-organized Winter Party Tour. I reviewed a later version of that fateful night, La Bamba, last September. How does this slightly more upbeat take on Holly's side of the story look now? Let's begin with teens roller skating at a rink in Lubbock, Texas and find out...

The Story: Buddy Holly (Busey) and his friends drummer Jesse Charles (Stroud) and bassist Ray Bob Simmons (Smith) play at the skating rink and for a local radio station as the Crickets. Buddy's been experimenting with that brash, jangly new sound known as rock. The teens at the rink love it, and Riley, the manager at the station (William Jordan), is interested enough to recommend them to Coral Records. 

The Crickets don't last long with Coral after they learn they're expected to play country music, not rock. Fortunately, Riley also sent a tape of their skating rink performance to producer Ross Hunter (Conrad Janis) in New York. He's so impressed, he releases the tape without knowing the Crickets aren't under contract. After it's a hit, Holly convinces Hunter to sign them up and let him produce their output. 

That gets them up and running. They're so popular, they even become the first white act to play the Apollo Theater in Harlem after someone mistakes them for a black band. Buddy's more interested in Turner's secretary Maria Elena Santiago (Richwine). He convinces her aunt to let them go out, then marries her after their first date. 

Buddy's now writing hit after hit, but Jesse is feeling in his shadow and resents the time he spends with Maria. After an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, he and Ray Bob quit the band and return to Texas. Buddy wonders how he can make music without them. Maria encourages him to go on the Winter Party Tour to bring his confidence level back up again. She and the Crickets even plan on seeing him in the next stop after Clear Lake...or would, if he hadn't chartered a plane to get them there in a snowstorm...

The Song and Dance: This has some things in common with La Bamba and The Doors. They're all anchored by terrific performances from actors who threw themselves into the lead roles, beautifully recreating the performing styles of the singer in question. Gary Busey was so perfect as Buddy Holly, he landed a Best Actor nomination. He looks as gangly as he did in real life and does his own singing and playing so well, you'd think that was Buddy Holly there. Smith and Stroud also do well as his band mates who eventually feel overshadowed by his success. The low budget and decision to film all musical numbers right on the soundtrack actually works to the film's advantage, giving it a slightly gritty, raw warts-and-all feel that's very welcome in a biopic.

The Numbers: We open with Buddy and the Crickets performing the country ballad "Mockin' Bird Hill" at the skating rink before switching to the far more upbeat "Rock Around With Ollie Vee" and "That'll Be the Day." He's not as happy when their attempt to record "Day" for Coral Records comes out sounding a lot more country than he wants. Paul Mooney makes a not-bad Sam Cooke singing "You Send Me" at the Apollo before Buddy and the Crickets come out and tear up the place with "Everyday," "Oh Boy!" and "It's So Easy." The audience has so much fun, they end up dancing in the orchestra pit.

"Words of Love" and "I'm Gonna Love You Too" show us the Crickets in the studio. "Love You Too" almost ends with fisticuffs between Buddy and Jesse when the latter makes a racial comment about Maria. "Rave On" and "Listen To Me" go better, until Buddy gets so into his duet with Eddie Cochran (Jerry Zaremba) on "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," he makes the other two Crickets feel unappreciated. "Well...All Right" and "Maybe Baby" are their numbers at The Ed Sullivan Show, but the damage has been done. After the Big Bopper (Gailord Sartain) performs "Chantilly Lace" at Clear Lake, Buddy proves he still has it, even on his own, with a final medley of That'll Be the Day," "True Love's Ways," and "Not Fade Away."

Trivia: This wasn't the first attempt at a Buddy Holly movie. Gary Busey actually played the drummer for the Crickets in another biography made for 20th Century Fox, Three-Sided Coin, that was ultimately canceled. 

What I Don't Like: While more accurate than The Doors, this is still full of cliches. The original Crickets had already sold the rights to their names for another biopic, which is why fictional names are used and the band is reduced from three to two. "Peggy Sue" was named for the girlfriend of original Cricket Jerry Allison, not Buddy's girlfriend. Buddy's time recording country songs in Nashville went far smoother than what we see here and didn't end with him punching anyone. 

I'm also not a fan of the film's too-pat ending. They allude to the fatal crash in a quick paragraph after the Clear Lake Finale medley, but we don't see it. It wasn't until La Bamba debuted almost a decade later that someone finally detailed the events leading up to that tragedy on the big screen.

The Big Finale: Though not as dynamic as The Doors, it's still worth checking out for Busey's terrific performance as the title musician and the sensational numbers, especially if you're a fan of early rock. 

Home Media: Easily found on DVD and streaming in the US.

DVD

Amazon Prime

A Salute to Val Kilmer - The Doors

Tri-Star Pictures, 1991

Starring Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kevin Dillon, and Kathleen Quinlan

Directed by Oliver Stone

Music and Lyrics by various

We honor Val Kilmer, who passed away last week, with our first weekday review. The idea of a biopic of the mercurial Doors front man Jim Morrison had been kicked around in Hollywood since at least the mid-80's. Stone was initially supposed to only write it, but the surviving Doors were impressed with his war epic Platoon and wanted him to direct it as well. 

The movie was problematic from the start. The Doors and the parents of Morrison and his late wife Pamela Courson objected to how the duo were portrayed in the film, and the Doors weren't thrilled with the historical inaccuracies in the script. Were they right, or like Morrison himself, is there more to this movie than meets the eye? Let's begin in 1949, as a young Jim Morrison (Sean Stone) and his family pass by a dying Native American who will shape much of his later feelings on death, and find out...

The Story: By 1965, Jim (Kilmer) is going to college at UCLA. Among the few students who get his provocative and often political poetry are co-ed Pamela Courson (Meg Ryan) and pianist and songwriter Ray Manzarek (Kyle MacLachlan). Jim is so impressed with Ray's songs, he, guitarist Robby Krieger (Frank Whaley), and drummer John Densmore (Dillon) form the Doors to show them off.

After trying psychedelic drugs in Death Valley, they return to LA ready for their first gig. They're a sensation at the wildly popular Whiskey a Go-Go nightclub and pick up a huge fan base. Jim's lewd behavior onstage loses them the gig, but gains them a contract with Elektra Records. They're suddenly one of the biggest bands on the planet, enough to gain a spot on The Ed Sullivan Show. It proves to be their only time on the show, due to Jim refusing to change the lyrics to "Light My Fire" to fit then-broadcast standards.

Both Jim's marriage to Pamela and his relationship with the other Doors are increasingly strained by his wild and erratic behavior. Jim begins an affair with journalist Patricia Kenneally (Quinlan) and even gets involved with her wiccan ceremonies. He's arrested in Miami after exposing himself during a concert. Jim knows his life is out of control, but he continues to fantasize about death, even after he and Pamela finally move to Paris. Jim thinks he's escaping the rock lifestyle, but he can't avoid it when his many excesses and abuses finally catch up with him while he's in the tub one night...

The Song and Dance: For all the problems and inaccuracies, they got the casting right. Kilmer pretty much begged for the role of Morrison, and he totally nails it. He looks like him, sings like him (when his actual voice is used), and throws himself into Morrison's wild lifestyle with total abandon. Ryan, still best known for romantic comedies, is nearly his equal as his abused girlfriend, and later wife. Others who rise to the occasion include MacLachlan as the Doors' quieter pianist, Quinlan as the mystical journalist who also fell for Morrison, Mimi Rogers as sassy photographer Gloria Stavers, and Crispin Glover in his brief role as a pitch-perfect Andy Warhol. Gorgeous cinematography in the real LA, New York, Paris, and Mojave Desert add to the dream-like ambiance. 

The Numbers: The first actual number is "California Sun" by the Rivieras, which gives us Jim's arrival in LA and his view of its beach scene. "Love Street" introduces Jim to Pamela when he follows her to her parents' home. We get to see the newly-formed Doors rehearsing two of their most iconic songs, "Break On Thorough to the Other Side" and "Light My Fire," at Pamela' house. "Break On Through" gets a reprise at the Whiskey A Go-Go that gives us our first glimpse of Jim's heavily sexual singing style...and how the women in the audience react to it. 

"My Wild Love" is the Doors' song performed during their acid trip in Death Valley, accompanied by nothing but bongo drums. "The End" starts during Jim's Native American vision in Death Valley, but eventually carries to the Whiskey A Go-Go..and ends. "Light My Fire" is reprised for Pam and Jim's wedding as LA flower children celebrate the Summer of Love. "Alabama Song" takes the doors to their first performances on the east coast in New York City. "Light My Fire" comes up again on The Ed Sullivan Show, but the producers do not like it when Jim sings the original sexually charged lyrics. 

Jim realizes how "People are Strange" during his photography session with Gloria Stavers. "Heroin" by another pioneering hard rock group The Velvet Underground introduces Jim to an admiring Andy Warhol. "Strange Days" shows his increasingly weird drug trips and obvious affairs. The New Haven concert gives us "Back Door Man" before Jim rants about a cop who sprayed him with mace before the show. "The Movie" accompanies their discussion of starring in a film before they're kicked out of the bar. "You're Lost, Little Girl" provides the accompaniment for the disastrous Thanksgiving that ends with Pam and Jim literally at each other's throats.

"To Touch the Earth" gives us Jim at his wild best in concert...before he comes home and realizes he's not the only one having affairs. We see him increasingly erratic, onstage, with Pamela, and with the other Doors. This leads into a Wiccan marriage ceremony and a genuine Native American ritual dance. Unfortunately, it's effecting his performances. His attempts at "Moonlight Drive" and "The Soft Parade" are slurred and under his usual standards. He's late to the Miami concert, but his electric performance of "Five to One," "Dead Cats, Dead Rats," and "Break On Through" ends with him stripping his shirt and being dragged along by the crowd. 

What I Don't Like: The real Doors heavily objected to how Stone played fast and loose with facts and claimed that only the worst sides of Jim and Pamela were portrayed on-screen. Apparently, the problems between the group members weren't quite as bad as portrayed here, either. Jim's student movie was much lighter than the heavy sexual romp seen during his class at UCLA, and he took the Wiccan wedding to Patricia far more seriously than he seems to in the film. Morrison didn't blatantly disregard the request to change the lyrics on The Ed Sullivan Show, either. He simply sang the song as written. (Jim later claimed he meant to change the lyric but was nervous about singing on TV and forgot.) Pamela and Patricia also got along far better than they're seen to here. 

I've been a fan of the Doors for a long time, and while I can understand why their music would inspire Stone to get melodramatic, a lot of this comes off as overly pretentious. The lavish sequences with them dropping acid in the desert and Morrison's visions of the elderly Native can just seem like a little too much, even for a rock star known for his insane lifestyle. Stone gets so into the flash, he never really gets under Morrison's skin and shows how or why he fell so hard, so fast.

The Big Finale: Kilmer's sterling performance and some great music makes this worth seeing for fans of Stone or Kilmer's other work, the real Doors, or classic hard rock.

Home Media: Easily found on all formats. The DVD often turns up for under $10. The 4K is "The Final Cut" with some scenes removed and changed. It's currently on Pluto TV for free with commercials.

DVD

Blu-Ray

4K - The Doors: The Final Cut

Pluto TV On Demand

One Night of Love

Columbia Pictures, 1934

Starring Grace Moore, Tulio Carminati, Lyle Talbot, and Mona Barrie

Directed by Victor Schertzinger

Music and Lyrics by various

This week, we dive into the rarefied world of opera and operetta and get to know two silver-screen divas in our weekday entries. Metropolitan opera and Broadway star Grace Moore originally entered films in 1930, but the two operettas she made for MGM were not successes. She went back to the Met, waiting for MGM to come up with the right vehicle for her. She was considered for the first sound version of The Merry Widow before the lead role went to Jeanette MacDonald. Columbia was just starting to push itself beyond B-films at this point and was shopping around for a big star to headline its musicals. How well does Moore's first Columbia movie come off today? Let's begin in New York City as Mary Barrett (Moore) sings for her family and find out...

The Story: Mary goes to Milan to study voice over her family's objections after she loses a radio contest. She gets a job at the Cafe Roma, where she first encounters voice coach Guilio Monteverdi (Carminati). He's so impressed, he takes her on as a student right there...provided she has no problems with him having total control over her life. Mary has no objections to this at first, especially after he helps her get over a nasty bout with stage fright at her first shows. 

As the years pass and she becomes more popular, she grows tired of his constant need to dominate everything about her. After Lally (Barrie), one of Guilio's former students, flirts with him, Mary gets jealous, accepts a marriage proposal from her friend Bill Houston (Talbot), and refuses to sing that night. Giulio first threatens to replace her with Lally, then proposes to her. That gets her onstage, but she gets fed up again when he advises her against taking a role at New York's Metropolitan Opera. He claims she's not ready, but she's dreamed of playing the Met for years...and then Lally says she's still involved with Guilio...

The Song and Dance: Moore is the main reason to see this today. She has a remarkable naturalness about her for an opera diva, a kind of girl-next-door down-home persona under the diva's temperament. It makes you understand why her movies were so popular in the mid-30's, and why Columbia was willing to take a chance on her. They surround her with a decent production, including the big Carmen and Madama Butterfly segments and some decent gowns. Lyle Talbot is the only actor who comes close to her as the wisecracking millionaire who thinks Mary is just swell and wants to marry her.

The Numbers: We open with Moore trilling the title number for the radio contest she fails to win. She's joined by the folks from Cafe Roma for "The Sextet" from Lucia di Lammermoor. "Ciribiribin" is the vivacious solo at the cafe that convinces Guilio to take her on as his student. She's having so much fun, the cafe patrons eventually join in. We get two numbers from La Traviata at the show where she gets stage fright, "Sempre Libera" and "Ah! fors e lui." She and Guilio rehearse the old folk song "The Last Rose of Summer." The "Habernera" aria from Carmen is what finally gets her into the Met. She has less luck with the famous (and famously difficult) "Un Bel Di" solo from Madama Butterfly in the finale. 

Trivia: First movie to win an Oscar for Best Score. Moore would also be nominated for Best Actress.

What I Don't Like: Pretty much everything else. The story is silly and boring. The rest of the cast doesn't get anywhere near Moore or Talbot, and Talbot doesn't really have that much to play. Carminati is so dull and plain that you can't understand why his two female pupils are fighting over him, and Barrie is more shrill than threatening. Other than that huge recreation of the Met that apparently took up most of the Columbia soundstage, the sets are even more boring, without a drop of Italian flavor other than some real Italian character actors.

The Big Finale: At press time, this is Grace Moore's only vehicle that can be easily found online, making it pretty much your only option if you're a fan of her or opera in general.

Home Media: As I said, this is currently Moore's only vehicle that can be found easily online. In fact, streaming is your best bet. None of her films are legitimately on DVD or Blu-Ray at press time. 

Amazon Prime

YouTube

My Tragic Valentine - Porgy and Bess (1959)

The Samuel Goldwyn Company/Columbia, 1959

Starring Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis Jr., and Pearl Bailey

Directed by Otto Preminger

Music by George Gershwin; Lyrics by Ira Gershwin

Our next star-crossed couple weren't the only ones who had a hard time staying together. This film version of the 1935 Gershwin opera was plagued with production problems from the start. For one thing, Ira Gershwin wasn't crazy about there being a film based on his brother's life work to begin with. Second, Goldwyn made two popular musicals earlier in the decade, but Porgy and Bess was a lot darker than the fluffy comedian-driven extravaganzas he usually preferred. Rouben Mamoulien was originally going to direct as he did in 1935, but fought with Goldwyn and was replaced by Preminger. Arson destroyed the sets and costumes before shooting started, and Dandridge had just ended a relationship with Preminger and wasn't comfortable working with him. With all these problems, how did the film finally come out? Let's begin with the arrival of fishermen returning to Catfish Row in Charleston, South Carolina in 1912 and find out...

The Story: Crown (Brock Peters), the town bully, gets a little too rowdy with Robbins (Joe Fluellen) after a craps game and ends up killing him. He flees, abandoning his drug-addicted girlfriend Bess (Dandridge). Porgy (Poitier), a crippled beggar who travels by a goat-drawn cart, takes her in. They fall in love with each other, but when Crown turns up at a town picnic, he does a lot more harm to Bess than stuffing her drugs bought from Sporting Life (Sammy Davis Jr). Bess turns up back at Catfish Row two days later ranting and near-unconscious. Porgy nurses her, with the help of pious Serena (Ruth Attaway) and sensible Maria (Bailey). 

During a massive hurricane, most of the residents of Catfish Row take shelter in the largest house. Not only does Crown return and vow he'll make Bess his again, but Clara (Diahann Carroll) is killed waiting for her fisherman husband who was lost in the storm. Bess and Porgy are happy to take in Clara's baby, but Crown is still determined that Bess should be his alone. Porgy finally stabs and strangles him, but when he's called by the police to identify the body, Sporting Life sees his chance to try to get Bess to come to New York with him one last time...

The Song and Dance: Terrific all-black cast knows how to handle the melodramatic story. At the least, Preminger is on more accustomed turf with a dark opera than he was with the lighter material in That Lady In Ermine ten years before. Poitier makes a wonderful Porgy, especially near the end when he realizes Bess has walked out, and Sammy Davis Jr. is relishing his turn as the deceptively charming drug peddler Sportin' Life. For all the trouble Dandridge had on the set (she ended a stormy relationship with Preminger not long before the movie began), she does well by flighty Bess. The scene with her and Crown on the island is nearly terrifying.

The Numbers: We open with the arrival of the fishermen and Clara and her baby during "Summertime." Sportin' Life and Robbins remind the crap players why "A Woman Is a Sometimes Thing." "Here Comes De Honey Man" introduces the kindly old peddler who sells honey to the locals. Porgy explains his lot with "They Pass By Singin." "The Crap Game" becomes a chorus number when Robbins and Crown end up in a choreographed fight. "Gone, Gone, Gone," Serena wails after her husband's death, because "My Man's Gone Now." The others wonder why Porgy doesn't try for something better. "I Got Plenty O' Nuthin," and that's fine by him.

The duo admit that "Bess, You Is My Woman Now" when she finally agrees to stay with him. "Oh, I Can't Sit Down" sings Maria excitedly with the chorus before the picnic. Serena may scold everyone for having fun, but the chorus points out "I Ain't Got No Shame." After all, Sportin' Life reminds them, "It Ain't Necessarily So." Bess wants to know "What You Want With Bess," but she really already has a good idea of what Crown's after. Porgy begs for Serena to pray to "Oh Doctor Jesus" when Bess is sick. Bess assures her boyfriend "I Loves You, Porgy," while Crown claims "God and Me" will get by when he finds his "Red-Headed Woman." 

"Clara, Clara" is the brief lament for the young mother lost in the storm waiting for her fisherman husband. Bess reprises "Summertime" in her memory. Sportin' Life reminds Bess "There's a Boat Dat's Leaving for New York," and this time, she might be willing to join him on it. After we hear the "Morning Sounds" of the street vendors, Porgy comes home...and wails "O Bess, Where's My Bess?" when he realizes she's gone. We end with him taking off in  his goat-drawn cart as he sings "O Lawd, I'm On My Way."

Trivia: Robert McFerrin (father of singer Bobby McFerrin) dubbed Poitier. Adele Addison dubbed Dandridge. Inez Matthews dubbed Ruth Attaway. 

The original Broadway show debuted in 1935, with Mamoulien directing. It wasn't a success, but the music was popular enough for it be revived in New York in 1942, 1953, 1976, and 2012. 

What I Don't Like: For all the success of its music, there's a reason so many black performers turned this down, and many theater critics and historians have problems with it to this day. First of all, many of the characters here can come off as stereotypical, especially some of the nastier men like Crown and Sportin' Life. Second, this is heavy going. We're not talking about one of the Gershwin's lighthearted romps from the 30's here. Four people die (admittedly two of them in the hurricane), a woman is insinuated to have been raped, and they all but shout what that "happy dust" Sportin' Life keeps giving Bess is. 

Truth be told, no matter how much Goldwyn admired the original Broadway production, he was in over his head with this one. Preminger had a point that the lavish sets and costumes are maybe a bit too lavish for a run-down fishing neighborhood in South Carolina. No wonder someone burned them. For all the size, they're also too cramped. This is more like the filmed opera it is than an actual movie. Except for the location shooting on the island, you may as well be watching this at the Met. 

The Big Finale: Problematic but fascinating, with terrific music and performances that make it worth checking out despite the dated and dark story and treatment of black culture. 

Home Media: The Gershwin estate was so disappointed with how this came out, they won't allow it to be released on legitimate home media. The only places you can find it are in washed-out, blurry copies on YouTube and the Internet Archive.

YouTube

Internet Archive

Tommy (1975)

Columbia Pictures, 1975

Starring Roger Daltrey, Ann-Margaret, Oliver Reed, and Elton John

Directed by Ken Russell

Music and Lyrics by Pete Townsend and others

Having enjoyed the unique film biographies I watched last week, I thought I'd dive further into the stranger side of rock with two really weird movies from the 70's and 80's based around groups of the time. Townsend wrote the original Tommy in 1968. It debuted a year later on a two-disc record and was a massive success. Music producer Robert Stigwood, who specialized in rock spectacles like Jesus Christ Superstar, bought the rights and brought in Russell. Russell wasn't a fan of rock, but he knew weird extravaganzas like no one's business. How did  his peculiar sensibilities shape this story of a young deaf, dumb, and blind pinball player who becomes a messianic-like figure? Let's begin with Tommy's mother Nora Walker (Ann-Margaret) and father (Robert Powell) during the early days of their courtship and find out...

The Story: Nora is pregnant with her son Tommy (Barry Winch) when her husband goes missing during World War II. Five years later, she falls for Frank Hobbs (Reed), whom she met at a summer camp. Tommy looks up to Frank, until he sees him murder his returning father reflected in the mirror. Frank and Nora insist that he didn't hear or see anything, making him withdraw into a deaf, dumb, and blind state.

By the time Tommy (Daltrey) is in his early 20's, Nora is in despair of him ever being cured. Frank takes him to a faith healer (Eric Clapton) and a drug dealer (Tina Turner), but nothing works. Leaving him with a bullying cousin (Paul Nicholas) and an abusive uncle (Keith Moon) doesn't help, either. Tommy eventually discovers he's a pinball protege, beating even the reigning champ (Elton John). This brings him a great deal of money, but it does nothing to help his condition. 

Frank finally takes Tommy to a doctor (Jack Nicholson) who suggests he confront his reflection in the mirror. His mother is fed up and shoves him through it...which does the trick. Tommy is not only cured, he wants to transform the entire world. He travels with a band to spread his word, turning his home into a religious camp. That makes him wildly popular with young girls especially, at least until they demand he do more than talk and sing. He loses everything in the ensuing riot...but gains an understanding of the true meaning of salvation.

The Song and Dance: Even just that plot description tells you what you're in for. The Who's music and simply amazing imagery carry the day here. There's also some fabulous costumes, going from the austerity of World War II through the glittering "glam rock" popular in the mid-70's. Russell spared no expense, and the result is a jaw-dropping mish-mash of all-star cameos (look for Turner's "Acid Queen" number and Jack Nicholson in one of his only two musicals to date) to the expansive cinematography and massive sets and pinball machines. Ann-Margaret did so well as Tommy's desperate mother, she won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar. Reed nearly matches her as the seemingly cheerful holiday worker she falls for, until she discovers his dark side. 

The Numbers: We open with Nora and Captain Walker's romantic courtship, her husband's disappearance, and Tommy's birth in "Captain Walker/It's a Boy." "Bernie's Holiday Camp" shows Tommy's childhood and introduces Frank, showing why mother and son both come to appreciate him. Nora and Frank hope "1951" will be their year, but they worry "What About the Boy" when he sees them kill his father. Tommy's "Amazing Journey" begins and ends with the mirror as he shuts himself in his head. His mother laments that he can't even appreciate his birthday on "Christmas." 

"Eyesight to the Blind" and "Acid Queen" are Frank and Nora's attempts to find someone to heal their son. "Eyesight" takes them to a cult that worships Marilyn Monroe, while the "Acid Queen" deals in drugs and Iron Maidens. Neither "Cousin Kevin" nor Uncle Ernie who "Fiddles About" do much to help Tommy's condition. Tommy eventually finds the "Sparks" that brings him to an abandoned pinball machine. Pete Townsend himself narrates "Extra, Extra, Extra," on Tommy's rise to fame, bringing us to the famous "Pinball Wizard" sequence. Elton John stomps out in massive boots (that he asked to be allowed to keep) in a lavish sequence with the two of them surrounded by fans in probably the show's best-known song.

"Champagne" depicts Tommy's rise as a media sensation. Nora watches in her pristine white room, furious that her son can't experience all of this for himself. She imagines herself covered in the beans she sees on TV and the chocolate she's been eating, writhing in her misery. "There's a Doctor" brings in Frank to explain they're seeing another doctor, and the doctor telling them what's really wrong with Tommy. "Go to the Mirror" leads Nora to the edge, taking us to "Tommy Can You Hear Me" and "Smash the Mirror." 

"I"m Free" finally releases Tommy, letting him enjoy everything he's missed over 20 years. "Mother and Son" and "Miracle Cure" is his becoming that messiah figure. "Sally Simpson" is the young girl who believes in his cult and is hurt defying her father to see him. "Sensation," "Welcome," and "TV Studio" shows Tommy's rise to cult figure. "Tommy's Holiday Camp" brings his people together, but they rebel, claiming "We're Not Gonna Take It." It ends with Tommy fleeing the destroyed home and following the sun in "Listening to You/See Me, Feel Me."

Trivia: Tommy's continuing popularity led to Townsend adapting it to the stage in 1992. It opened on Broadway a year later and ran for two years. The London production in 1996 didn't do nearly as well, not even making a year. It was revived on Broadway briefly in 2024.

Two real-life pinball machines were made by Data East that were inspired by the film, one featuring Roger Daltrey, the other Elton John.

There's quite a few changes from the album (and would be more for the stage version). For one thing, Captain Walker kills his wife's lover on the album and onstage, not the other way around, and he came back from World War I rather than World War II. The order of many songs are reversed, new lyrics were written, and "Bertie's Holiday Camp," "Extra, Extra, Extra," "Champagne," "Mother and Son," and "TV Studio" were added.  

What I Don't Like: Your interest in and appreciation of this film will depend on how big of a Who and hard rock fan you are and your tolerance for Russell's in-your-face style of direction. This is not a subtle movie. It's also not a traditional romantic family musical. It's not for those who aren't fans of hard rock in general and the Who in particular, who can't handle or don't like Russell's wild camp spectacles, or who are looking for a quieter show. Fans of the album and the stage show may not appreciate some of the changes or the weirder casting. 

The Big Finale: Necessary viewing for fans of the Who and Elton John, this is also recommended for those who like their rock musicals huge, lavish, and completely off-the-wall. 

Home Media: Easy to find in all formats, including streaming. The two-disc 4K set will be released on March 18th. 

DVD

Blu-Ray

4K

Amazon Prime