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Rating:  - Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! (50th Anniversary Edition) was very good! It looked as if it was filmed in a modern-day style. I loved it and highly recommend this product to everyone! "OKLAHOMA your O-K"
Rating: - Oklahoma DVD
I bought this for Mother's Day because my mom loved this show and knew all the tunes. Even though she has Alzheimers now and can't always remember who I am she can still sing along with the show and remember most of the words. It brings her such joy.
Rating:  - My Favourite Musical Of All Time But Mixed Feelings About the DVD!
I bought the single disc version that was released in 1999 and the disc says that this is the Todd-AO version and so to fully appreciate the merits of an even wider than usual presentation, the film is shown here in a letterbox format which on my widescreen plasma tv just doesn't quite do it for me. I have to say that the clarity is good in that it is a lot better than what I've been used to when it comes to films of that era and comparing with films like "Rebel Without a Cause" and even "The Searchers" I have to say that just the clearness and the detail really impressed me.
The opening credits looked strange and it looked as if for me to truly appreciate the Todd-AO process I would need to wear 3-D glasses as that was what the opening credits looked like to me like one of those old movies at the drive in that required you to put on your 3-D glasses otherwise the film looked strange. However, after the opening credits, the rest of the film was okay except that the letterbox format made the film appear really small on my widescreen and I had to sit forward to enjoy the film. The sound quality had a 5.1 surround option and has been THX mastered but does not sound as good as other similar dvds with this option that I'd heard but it was nice to have this option anyway. The problem is that the spoken dialogue especially at the start was occasionally very soft but the singing parts suddenly had volume increases which bothered me a bit but I guess that shows that not enough effort was put into the proper mastering required for a 5.1 surround treatment. There are also a few frames of imperfections in terms of picture quality such as the usual culprits of white spots etc that should be cleaned up with the new and modern equipment with computers etc that they have nowadays at their disposal.
The storyline drags on just a little but I always liked "Oklahoma" for the quality of the songs anyway and so I wasn't too bothered about that as the songs are brilliantly performed and for me still stand the test of time as all classics do. I never grow tired of listening to them especially my favourites "Surrey With the Fringe On Top" and "People Will Say We're In Love." With the advent of Blu-ray, I'm hoping the powers that be will somehow adapt the Todd-AO so that we get as much of the benefits as possible but adapted to plasma widescreens as frankly the letterbox format doesn't do it for me and seems like a waste of much of the screen that is in black on the top and bottom. Also, they have to improve upon the sound quality.
Overall, this is still a good dvd but if they make the above improvements for the Blu-ray version, I'll certainly be interested in "upgrading". I'm a big fan of musicals and while the storyline isn't brilliant and in fact can get a little boring at times and the music isn't the greatest ever, this is overall when you put everything together still a great musical and strikes a chord with me that I can hardly put down in words and yet it is still my favourite musical of all time. I guess the best I can describe it is that it gives me that unique "Oklahoma Experience" just like a Jimi Hendrix performance where it's not just listening and viewing but you have to experience the whole package.
I hope you enjoy this too as much as I have over the years although you may want to wait and see what they do with the Blu-ray version. Perhaps some techniques like the Todd-AO process cannot do justice to the viewer unless it is viewed in the way it was meant to i.e. on the large screen of a properly equipped movie theatre and so any attempts at replicating the Todd-AO experience will fall short every time on dvd? If my suspicions are correct then I hope the upcoming Blu-ray version will have both the "normal" Cinemascope and the Todd-AO version to satisfy all camps but of course with all necessary improvements stated above included.
Rating: - Great product!
I ordered Oklahoma because I couldn't find it in any local store and our high school was getting ready to start production! It was extremely fast shipping and the movie was brand new--just as promised! This is a great old classic that I am proud to have in my collection!
Rating: - Almost charming.
It is nice to see a musical set in the Wild West era. The main thing that holds me back from considering this a worthy film is the message given to the one fellow to commit suicide. The reasoning being that he will be remembered then. It is all done very lightheartedly, but still that seems to be a rather peculiar message. And one that keeps this from being a family film, I do believe. Some of the other songs are rather enjoyable, however.
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