Musical – Page 5 – UpcomingDiscs.com

Kiss Me Kate

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 6th, 2003

Synopsis

Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson are playing the leads in a musical version of The Tamingof the Shrew, and they share a fair bit in common with their characters. We move back and forthbetween the performance of the musical-within-the-musical and the backstage antics. Will oursquabbling couple get back together? And what role will the two loquacious mobsters play?Though not in the same league as Singin’ in the Rain, Kiss Me Kate is still a prime example ofits genre, with tune…
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West Side Story

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on March 10th, 2003

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Synopsis

Instead of the Montagues and the Capulets, it’s the Jets and the Sharks, two street gangs onthe mean streets of Manhattan’s west side (these gangs wouldn’t recognize their old stompinggrounds today). Full of energy and wit, bursting with spectacular choreography, the film is atriumph of the musical form.

Audio

A brand new 5.1 mix, and it sounds wonderful. There aren’t enough surround sound effectsto create an environment, the music is reproduced in …
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Grease

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 24th, 2002

Synopsis

New girl Sandy (a simpering Olivia Newton-John) arrives at school after a summer romancewith bad boy John Travolta. Will he acknowledge the love they shared together, even if this costshim some of his coolness factor? Whether or not you care can be gauged by how you feel aboutthe extremely 70s soundtrack.

Audio

The film has been given a 5.1 mix, but the result isn’t spectacular. Granted, the soundtrack isalmost 25 years old, but the sound quality he…
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Singin’ in the Rain

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 19th, 2002

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Synopsis

The plot is very simple, as the spectacular song-and-dance numbers are the real star of theshow. Gene Kelly and Jean Hagen are big stars of the silent screen. But sound is arriving, andHagen’s voice sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard (and she has a personality to match). Kellyfalls in love with Debbie Reynolds, a struggling dancer with a terrific voice. This is enough of aframework on which to hang the production numbers, but the comedy in between is oftenhowlingly fun…
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Hard Day’s Night, A

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 30th, 2002

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Written by Dan Bradley

Rifling through my father’s LP collection as a child produced many musical memories, ranging from Kiss and Pablo Cruise to the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. It wouldn’t be until years later when I would fully understand the impact those very Beatles had on the world’s culture then and continued to influence today.

For most Beatles fans, their memories are relived through new digital masters of the original recordings on compact disc. With this digital revolution, the Beatles film A Hard Day’s Night can f…
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1776

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 25th, 2002

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Synopsis

It’s a musical. It’s called 1776. What do you think it could be about? That’s right: the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence, with all the major figures of the time (John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson) singing up a storm. The production is extremely handsome. I do think, however, that you the events have to be part of your history for the film to really get your juices flowing.

Audio

As part of the restoration process, the original mon…
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