Simply A Masterpiece

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the last of the lavish Old Hollywood musicals. The performances are all fine, with Streisand the obvious standout, vocally and otherwise. Michael Crawford is a little goofy but I guess he's supposed to be. He's a little Dick Van Dyke-ish at times. Your mileage may vary on whether that's a good thing or not. I was less interested in his plot than the one involving Streisand and Walter Matthau. Pretty much anytime Babs is on screen things are much more lively. I say this as someone who isn't her biggest fan, but she really does own this film. The direction from legend Gene Kelly is solid and appropriately old-school for its time. It really feels like a throwback to the MGM musicals of the 1940s and 50s, with great sets and costumes and big production numbers. The cinematography is also very beautiful. So it's a great-looking movie with an upbeat tempo throughout and some very nice songs. The length is the biggest negative, and I did find myself checking my watch during a couple of the lengthy Crawford segments. But it's still a good movie with a lot to recommend, especially for fans of older musicals.

I agree mostly with the poor casting of roles in this film. But knowing some of the background of the casting woes and battles on the set, everyone in the film appears to be trying their best.The things that I admire most about this film, as it is one of the last great Hollywood musicals, first is the musical scoring. Lennie Hayton and Lionel Newman are the credited Oscar winners among 5 or 6 others who worked on the musical side of things. If you can ignore the spoken scenes and just concentrate on the orchestral parts of the songs and dance numbers, you will hear the lush scoring and great playing of Fox orchestra--the great Fox music department and orchestra that for many years previously headed by the great Alfred Newman! The two big dance sequences (Dancing and The Waiters gallop), plus the big parade number and all the numbers have great accompaniments. The sound quality of the recordings also are top-rate. High commendations to all the players.The second thing is the tremendous art direction,production design and costumes. Obviously here is where a lot of money went. Great period detail, yes a bit over the top sometimes, but this was done all before the modern tech of CGI and the visual effects used today. This was 1968-1969, so all the sets, props, etc. were done by the great art directors of the time.Thirdly, Michael Kidd's choreography is stunning. Roger Edens is also credited here as consultant for musical numbers.As for the cinematography, it is the great veteran of musicals, Harry Stradling. Cameras have to follow the dances (not the opposite) and all this is handled quite well by the cameras. The parade sequence is also impressive.So if you can put all the casting problems aside, and watch a great visual film with a great musical score, it's well worth it.

Barbra Streisand Musicals are kinda like oysters. You either love 'em or hate 'em! Like the Sound of Music, universally panned by the film critics as overly long and pretentious, but a favorite of the movie-going public. Great cinematography, due in no small part to the huge outdoor Yonkers and New York sets, and the impossibly cavernous "Hermonia Gardens" set. There is always a show-stopping song in a Steisand Musical, and here we have two: "Before the Parade Passes by", and "Hello Dolly." Critics complained that Barbra was too young to play "Dolly", but I can't imagine anyone else. Carol Channing couldn't have carried this film, as her voice wouldn't have had the vocal "range". Michael Crawford, E.J. Peaker, Walter Matthau and the rest of the cast light up the screen in brilliant but overly-long dance numbers. Tommy Tune is not given enough to do here. (Matthau can't dance or sing well, but he fits the role of grumpy "Horace Vandergelder" nicely.)There is not really a "spark" between the two main characters, but it all works out anyway because "Dolly" loves his money. Look for the white horse "nuzzling" one of the actors in the "It Takes a Woman" song and dance. The Hermonia Gardens "dance of the waiters" is intricate, and it borders on slapstick comedy, complete with a classic "pie (or cake) in the face" gag. Louis Armstrong's "Dolly" solo is a nice touch. Overblown, overproduced, and yes, they sure don't make 'em like this anymore, although the movie musical "Chicago" comes close. Yes, it's too long, the songs are repeated too often, and it's also just too much fun! A bit pale on the DVD transfer due to fading Eastman Color by Deluxe.

I just watched watch the 2nd part on TCM "now". I have never seen the whole movie in one sitting and I do not care. Why'd they get Fanny Brice to play Dolly? 'She' and 'Horace' are on same screen but might as well be in 2 different movies. The only scene that draws me fully in is the parade. It has enough Hollywood 'magic' to being me to a 'good old days' time in NYC and the U.S. - let's say it's the same period as "Meet Me in St. Louis" is supposed to be in and "Meet Me.." outdoes "Hello Dolly" a hundred times better at a wishful, wistful period re-creation! Streisand is fine enough to me in *that* scene of all in the movie. The rest of the time I don't care. But then, I did not enjoy The Matchmaker with S. Booth very much either. Oh, Ms. Channing, if only.