bgandrl-904-261616 I'm amazed by the negs on this review space. I suggest all those haters read Michener's book. I was stunned when I heard there was a "musical" based on it, and not at all surprised how poorly it came across, from Broadway through all the movies UNTIL this one.The story is badly neglected in most productions, and the War is barely noticed.This is the best version I know of, great production values, proper respect for the story, EXCELLENT CASTING with believable people in all the roles. Mitzi Gaynor? You have got to be kidding! I own a copy of this DVD, but expected to be just as disappointed with it as other versions. Now that I have seen it, it is a keeper, and I think it's time to read "Tales of the South Pacific" again. Later on I will savor this excellent movie again.

Scott Amundsen Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical drama masterpiece was given a rather bloated and unsatisfying film treatment in 1958, a badly shot film with a poor sense of pace; a cast that can best be described as uneven, and some wacky and inexplicable choices such as dubbing Juanita Hall's Bloody Mary when she was perfectly capable of singing her own songs, having created the role on Broadway. The two male leads could not do their own singing either, and Hollywood's practice of dubbing vocals has always irritated me.So in 2001, director Richard Pierce set out to do a remake. For television, of all things. And all things considered, with just two rather egregious missteps, the proceedings were much better this time around and I found this remake far more satisfying than the 1958 film despite its flaws.They start with a real winner: Glenn Close as Nellie Forbush. It is clear they were thinking more of Mary Martin here than of Mitzi Gaynor; Nellie is not yet middle-aged, but she is not a young girl, either. And Close's voice is more than equal to the task; she even manages to infuse it with the same "gee whiz" quality that Mary Martin did so well.Her Emile is Rade Sherbedgia; his baritone is lighter than previous Emiles, so his renditions of songs like "Some Enchanted Evening" and "This Nearly Was Mine" are persuasive rather than bravura. But his voice is lovely, and his chemistry with Close far better than that between Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi in the first film.Also on hand are Lori Tan Chin as Bloody Mary and the late Robert Pastorelli as the comic-relief Luther Billis. I found Chan's speaking voice a bit unnerving at first: she speaks in a sharp, high-pitched whine that I found hard to believe was her natural speaking voice. But her singing is another story.Here comes the first egregious mistake: Bloody Mary's sweet little number "Happy Talk" was cut because the producers felt it was too "politically incorrect (?!?!?!?)." Yeah I know; don't ask me either. But thank heaven, they did NOT cut her signature tune, "Bali Ha'i;" her singing voice is lovely and she truly makes the song her own.Billis, of course, is the one character who does not need a great singing voice; in fact it is better if he doesn't have one, and Pastorelli certainly has the necessary comic chops to make his Billis a proud successor to that of Ray Walston.Now I come to the bit of casting that, if the rest of the picture were not so wonderfully done, would have sunk the proceedings completely: Harry Connick, Jr as Lieutenant Joe Cable. He looks way too old for the part, for starters; Connick was thirty-four when he made this but looks ten years older. And his voice is totally wrong for the part. It is a swell voice for a lot of things, but not for a Broadway musical. Cable is supposed to be a tenor; Connick, a baritone, could not possibly reach the notes in the original score so his songs were all transposed down a third. "You've Got to Be Taught" does not suffer too much from the transition; it is sung with a soft intensity that any vocal range can accommodate. But Cable's signature tune, "Younger than Springtime," is a disaster. For starters, having a man who looks like he is tottering on the edge of middle age sing a song called "Younger than Springtime" creates an irony that was not intended by the authors, and the climactic final notes of the song simply fail to land when the highest note is an E as opposed to the high G of the original. And Connick being a crooner, even if he had been able to sing the higher register, is not and never has been a belter. Power was what was needed here, and the song simply fails to land. It would have been better had they simply cut it.But all in all, there is more right than wrong with this mostly remarkable production, and the fact that it was done for TV and done successfully is all the more remarkable. At the end of the day, the evening really belongs to Glenn Close and Rade Sherbedgia, and they acquit themselves so beautifully that even with the flaws I have mentioned this is a joy to watch.

edwagreen Rodgers and Hammerstein's great music is the salvation of this 2001 movie.For starters, Glenn Close was too old to play Nellie. Her singing voice can't be compared to Mitzi Gaynor.Emile De Becque as played by the Rade person had no singing range at all. He was like dumbfounded in the part.Some good acting is displayed by Lori Tam Chinn in the role of Bloody Mary. Her speech pattern works and is similar to that of Juanita Moore. Her singing of Bali Hai was inspirational to say the least.John Kerr fared much better in the original movie. There was a certain depth to his performance which is missing in Harry Connick Jr.'s interpretation of the role of Cable. Yet, the music and scenery transcends all. The original show and movie were definite achievements for facing racial prejudice. How original to depict prejudice via the musical route.

selffamily I loved this new fresh version of what has to be the best Rodgers and Hammerstein movie. The songs are beautifully delivered and being on a smaller screen (poverty wins at last!) means that wrinkles, pan-cake don't show. I missed "Happy Talk" (hence 8/10) but loved the remake unreservedly, as the colour changes in the original drove me crazy as did the original Luther Billis. I thought that this version had been remade perfectly for modern audiences who weren't old enough to have gone to the stage production or who weren't reared on Mitzi Gaynor and co. Today's audiences don't want to sit for 3+ hours, and I felt that this captured the spirit of it without labouring on. No problems here with Glenn Close, and I thought she would have been an older woman (we can't all be under 30)anyway, career nurse etc, making it all so reasonable.