Broadway: The American Musical (2004)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	342:50
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Michael Kantor
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Julie Andrews
Case	Amaray-Transparent-S/C-Dual
RPI	$39.95	Music	Alan Menken

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

    Broadway: the American Musical is a truly remarkable achievement in its own right, while also showcasing the achievements of many extremely talented people who have worked in American musical theatre over the decades.

     Taking us from the very beginnings of the art form in the last years of the 19th century, this wonderful documentary, across six episodes and numerous clips, interviews and excerpts, provides a sharp insight into what American musical theatre stands for and the commitment to artistic freedom and optimism which lies at its heart. Before I watched this documentary, I really thought I had a good idea of what this art form was all about – I was wrong. But having watched it, I now have a much clearer idea.

     Hosted by Julie Andrews, herself a Broadway icon thanks to classic performances in My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music, the documentary covers the history of musical theatre in stages:

• Episode 1 – Give My Regards to Broadway 1893 – 1927 57:11
• Episode 2 – Syncopated City 1919 – 1933 57:01
• Episode 3 – I Got Plenty o’ Nutting 1930 – 1942 57:02
• Episode 4 – Oh What a Beautiful Mornin’ 1943 – 1960 57:02
• Episode 5 – Tradition 1957 – 1979 57:02
• Episode 6 – Putting It Together 1980 – 2004 57:32

     The first two episodes deal with the origins of the form and how and why it developed in New York City; the influence of Vaudeville; the attitudes of the time toward actors, black (“coloured” as they were known then) performers, and some of the major founding fathers of the art such as Florenz Ziegfeld. Episode three, as its title suggests, focuses primarily on Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and how it marked a major change for the form. This is in fact becomes a theme throughout the documentary – the art form reinventing itself for successive generations, incorporating new storytelling techniques, new musical forms, and new design and creative conceptualisations. Episode four showcases the creativity and innovation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein era, perhaps one of Broadway’s most fertile periods. Episode 5 brings us West Side Story, Sondheim and what came after. By the final episode, we’ve seen Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rise to prominence, the effects of 9/11 on Broadway, and been given a glimpse into its future.

     As a historical piece, this is compelling viewing. As a retrospective of the art form, it is just as gripping – although of course, the condensation of so many decades into six episodes inevitably means that certain performers, producers, directors and shows get a cursory overview or are neglected altogether. While this would undoubtedly have been even better as, say, a 26 episode series (!), this six episode version is far preferable to none at all.

     One gripe, however, is the over-use of clips from Hollywood movie adaptations of such Broadway shows as Oklahoma!, Kiss Me Kate, West Side Story and so on. While these are beautiful productions, the fact is they are made for the cinema screen and as such are an art form in their own right, distinct from the Broadway stage. It would be preferable to have included in their place some of the many live Broadway performance recreations captured on American TV programs of the period. (While some of these have been included, many more could have been.) Obviously the black and white picture and mono sound quality is inferior to using clips from the movies, but nevertheless these excerpts would give a more accurate representation of the ‘live’ stage art form.

     The bulk of the historical footage, taken in and around Broadway and 42nd street, is fascinating to watch, especially for those of us like myself who only know Broadway as it exists today, sparkling new and “Disneyfied” (at least according to some purists quoted in the documentary’s final episode). To have walked those streets today, and seen how they were even just ten years ago, in this documentary, is very educative.

     While I recommend this documentary without reservation, unfortunately I can’t say the same for its Region 4 DVD release. As the primary audience for this series is clearly diehard musical theatre mavens, it will come as a great disappointment to learn that the original Region 1 DVD release boasts over three hours of bonus features which haven’t made it to Region 4.

Video

    This is a reference quality 1.78:1 16x9 enhanced video transfer. Sharpness and shadow detail is fine and there is no noticeable noise or artefacting.

     Of course, much of the episodes include historical footage, and this features film artefacts, grain and all the other issues of age-related artefacts one would expect. Viewed within the context of the documentary, it's perfectly acceptable, and there does seem to have been some effort made to find the best quality footage possible.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio is Dolby 2.0 and is perfectly acceptable. Of course some of the historical footage of musical numbers features less than pristine audio. There are no problems with dialogue audibility or audio sync.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    As alluded to earlier, while the Region 4 DVD release includes all six episodes of the series in full, that’s all it includes.

     In contrast, the Region 1 release features:

• Over THREE HOURS of additional interviews with Broadway composers, directors and stars (full interviews from which excerpts were used for the series)
• Additional performances: early vaudeville films from the Library of Congress Variety Stage collection; Bill Robinson performance featured in the movie Harlem Is Heaven (1932); Eddie Cantor's tailor-shop routine in the 1929 feature film Glorifying the American Girl; "Hostesses of the Stage Door Canteen" from Irving Berlin's wartime revue This Is the Army; "If I Loved You" from Carousel performed by John Raitt and Jan Clayton; "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific performed by Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin; "Someone in a Tree" with an interview by Frank Rich and performance by Stephen Sondheim and the original cast of Pacific Overtures; Jonathan Larson's "Sunday"; "For Good" - a glimpse into rehearsal with Wicked composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and musical director Stephen Oremus, and performed by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel
• Special featurette: "Wicked: The Road to Broadway"

     Clearly there is NO WAY one can recommend the Region 4 release in comparison. It is really a terrible shame that these extensive bonuses were not included.

    A truly wonderful documentary which will give anyone remotely interested in the history and development of American musical theatre an insight they're unlikely to get anywhere else. Unfortunately let down by the complete absence of 3+ hours of bonus features which were included on the Region 1 DVD.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall