Python Hyena South Pacific (1958): Dir: Joshua Logan / Cast: Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston, Juanita Hall: Colorful scenery highlights this musical about the distractions life can issue when turmoil looms. The war against Japan is in full but one island off the Pacific holds a private paradise. Rossano Brazzi plays Emile de Becque, a good man who fled from France after accidentally killing a man. He is sought after for his military background for a mission. Mitzi Gaynor plays Ensign Nellie Forbush, a nurse who has a romantic fling with Emile but is troubled when she is asked to seek out information on him. John Kerr plays Lieutenant Joseph Cable who has just arrived on the island and ready for service but is sighted for a romance. Ray Walston provides comic relief as Luthor Billis, who ends up in dangerous situations while he only desires to quest to another island to enjoy the paradise offered there. Juanita Hall plays Bloody Mary who provides a welcome entertainment to the soldiers while suiting Joseph Cable up with her daughter. The scenery is stunning but the musical numbers are hardly memorable and are mostly dubbed. Director Joshua Logan paints the scene with luscious colors that highlight a theme that reminds viewers that while life presents its share of trauma, there is always the calm after the storm that momentarily distracts us. Score: 9 / 10

pianolover51 I have always had a soft spot for this musical, as I recall my parents (my mother, especially) playing the original LP over and over. My uncle, who served in the Navy in the South Pacific during WWII, loved it, too. The Blu-ray transfer is breath-taking and it is fun to see the restored version (though for those bits, the picture quality is quite faded). Yes, it's old fashioned, yes, it's a bit creaky, and, yes, those filters are a little strange, but just listen to that glorious R&H score, look at the beautiful scenery, and immerse yourself in excellent performances, and you have be taken away. I am a fan of Mitzi Gaynor, though many feel that Doris Day should have played the role. Doris could have done it justice, no doubt, but Mitzi had a wide-eyed freshness, excellent voice, and believability that was refreshing. They don't make musicals like this any more and I'll take this any day over most of the frenetic musicals of today (with their unmelodic scores).

MartinHafer No matter how good "South Pacific" is, it clearly loses a point due to the god-awful use of filters throughout the film. The director, apparently, thought this was the biggest mistake of his career and they made a few of the scenes truly bizarre...really, really bizarre.As far as the rest of the film goes, it really is terrific. While I am not overly fond of musicals with THIS many musical numbers, there were so many good ones that I could look past the weak ones (such as the awful "Happy Talk")--and I found myself singing along with many of the numbers. And, fortunately, it has something that make a great musical great--it has a really strong story. If you like romance, then the film is for you, and I found myself reaching for Kleenex a couple times. Touching, excellent and very watchable. While not the best Rogers & Hammerstein musical (a personally LOVE "State Fair" and "The Song of Music"), it's close.By the way, why did they use an Italian to play a Frenchman? Mr. Brazzi wasn't bad but didn't sound French plus he didn't do his own singing. While not quite so famous, Yves Montand could have handled this role really well (provided they grayed up his hair a bit)--and man, could he sing.

miss_lady_ice-853-608700 *One spoiler in the last paragraph* South Pacific is one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's best. The hit rate with the songs is remarkably high. 'Younger than Springtime' and 'Some Enchanted Evening' have entered many a singer's repertoire, and songs like 'I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out Of My Hair' and 'Honey Bun' add some up-tempo fun.Mitzi Gaynor is adorable as Nellie, the young American nurse who falls in love with charming older Frenchman Emile De Becque, played by Rossano Brazzi. Brazzi is old enough to make the age gap noticeable but he is no OAP. He's your typical cultured 'maturer' man, with good looks. Their romance is believable.John Kerr has been unfairly maligned in reviews. Lt. Cable is a secondary character who exists to contrast this secondary romance with the main one. It's your typical pretty man role and Kerr is sufficiently attractive. He also gets one of the best songs to act (although he doesn't sing it as his singing voice is dubbed): 'You've Got To Be Carefully Taught', a song which argues that it is parents (and on a wider scale,a society) who pass on their racism to their children.It's a long film but with the static camera, it's essentially a night in at the theatre. You can make an evening of it- there's even an intermission. The colour filters are clumsily done. They do add a feeling of strangeness and exoticism but they are overused. You do get used to them eventually though.Back in the fifties and before, musicals were quite innocent entertainment. There is a sweet innocence in South Pacific with the relationship between Nellie and Emile but this is still wartime. Both romances would probably never have started if Nellie and Cable weren't on the island and it wasn't wartime. The theme of racism is handled subtly but daringly. Nellie and Cable are not bigots but simply the product of an intolerant society. Luckily the film doesn't sell out and pair Nellie off with Cable, which would be the more conventional romance.