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List Price: $29.95Amazon.com's Price: $26.99 You Save: $2.96 (10%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9780767024464
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC
ISBN: 076702446X
Label: Docurama
Manufacturer: Docurama
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Publisher: Docurama
Region Code: 1
Release Date: July 05, 2000
Running Time: 97 minutes
Sales Rank: 65477
Studio: Docurama
Theatrical Release Date: February 13, 1998
Editorial Review:
Description:
Hailed as 'irresistible' by the New York Times, Moon Over Broadway is a no-holds barred, behind-the scenes look at the making of the Broadway comedy, Moon Over Buffalo, starring TV sensation Carol Burnett. Revealing what really goes on before the curtain
Amazon.com:
In 1995, Carol Burnett returned to Broadway after an absence of three decades to costar in Ken Ludwig's comedy, Moon over Buffalo. Legendary documentary filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker and his wife, Chris Hegedus, enjoyed extraordinary access to capture the nuts and bolts of mounting a Broadway play in this video equivalent of a backstage pass. It is more entertaining than the strained farce we glimpse onstage.
Like Pennebaker's cinéma vérité masterworks, the filmmakers do not impose themselves on the proceedings. There is no narration. The cameras record the process, from the introductory press conference to the anxious anticipation of the opening night reviews.
The play's director, Tom Moore, certainly has his hands full. Ludwig (who hit it big with the play Lend Me a Tenor) bemoans what the actors are doing to his words. 'It's like a pact with the devil, having to cast stars,' he complains. He must massage the actors' egos (the play's ingenue dislikes the picture of herself displayed outside the theater) and assuage their insecurities. Observe how he deftly and delicately reins in Burnett, who initially falls back on shtick to get a laugh. In one tense moment, Philip Bosco, Burnett's esteemed costar, becomes flustered when he believes his input is not appreciated. 'Don't you want the benefit of our years of experience, of our sense of comedy?' he demands of Moore. Moon over Broadway is just the ticket for theater buffs. --Donald Liebenson
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - BS Over Broadway
Everyone who's reading this already knows the premise of this documentary about the backstage machinations of Broadway show biz: One of America's best loved television stars agrees to make her Broadway comeback in a half-assed dinner theatre-calibre comedy, ultimately rising above her third-rate material and the fourth-rate "creative" team (playwright, director, producers)who attempt to thwart her at every turn. Fascinating stuff! The behind-the-scenes honchos (and playwright Ken Ludwig, in particular, ... Read More
Rating:  - A well documentary and someone should be embarrassed...
The film went into unexpected details about the whole Broadway process. What is most interesting is the arrogance of the playwright: a man who seemed obsessed with the thought of being embarrassed by actors who apparently were not treating his masterpiece properly. Well he need not have worried; the man's own gross behavior was an embarrassment and actually difficult to watch. Unfortunately I did not have access to DVD version; I look forward to seeing the commentary.
Rating: - Two films in one...
Chris' review has it right: this DVD contains one of the best uses for a Commentary track yet devised.
The film itself is a feast for any theater fan. DA Pennebaker has complete access to the actors, playwright, director and producers during the rehearsal process for the play, both out-of-town in Boston, and then during its entire Broadway run. After seeing it, many may wonder how it could ever be worthwhile producing a play, but that's always been true of working in the theater: you don't have ... Read More
Rating: - God Bless Her
God bless Carol Burnett.
The fact that she was saddled with a mediocre play, a mediocre playwright, and a mediocre director did not ruffler her professional feathers.
No matter what crap she contends with, she is calm, cool, and funny.
The playwright is a pretentious bore who can go and write Feydeau till he is blue in the face.
Rating: - One of the Best DVDs Commentary Tracks EVER.
Moon Over Broadway co-directed by legendary documentary director D.A. PENNEBAKER and his wife Chris Hegedus, is a behind the scenes documentary of the making of the Broadway Show Moon over Buffalo which starred Phillip Bosco, and Carol Burnett and was written by Ken Ludwig. From the announcement of the play being produced, to the beginning of rehearsal, to the disasterous Boston run, to the opening on Broadway. The access to the creative process the film-makers got is pretty amazing and what they captured ... Read More
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