Great Film overall

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Better than most musicals, but far from perfect. A very limited plot that mostly consists of just one party. Some brilliant songs, backed up with a couple of decent dance numbers. The cast do a good job - though the women give the best performances. Shirley Jones is luminescent in her first film. Gloria Grahame & Charlotte Greenwood are feisty and witty. The film sags a bit in the middle. Laurey's extended dream sequence (aided by smelling salts) is a strange narrative departure - equally bizarre as it is boring. The overlong film would benefit greatly from it being removed.For me, the character of Jud could also be removed completely - his main song is the musical low-point. Although he does provide a genuinely thrilling scene, and the greatest cinematic moment. The camera follows his carriage racing through the plains, crashing through rivers and trees and narrowly avoids colliding with a train. The conclusion to his character seemed unnecessary and over-dramatic though - even for a musical!

Oklahoma (1955): Dir: Fred Zinnemann / Cast: Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Gene Nelson, Gloria Grahame, Charlotte Greenwood: Corny yet festive musical set in a land where horse and carriage are still in, and cowboys and farmers attempt to live together. Gordon MacRae plays Curly, a cowboy who guides in the cattle yet really desires to take the lovely Laurey to the local dance. She is played by Shirley Jones with sunny appeal but she is also sighted by a creepy hired hand named Jud. Gene Nelson plays cowboy Will Parker who arrives back in town to marry Ado Annie with the fifty dollars he promised her father he would have. She is played with great comic flare by Gloria Grahame who is also promised to a sneaky peddler. Charlotte Greenwood oversees everything as Aunt Eller and with the local auction tied in with the dance she hopes to raise enough funds for a new school house. Directed by Fred Zinnemann who previously made High Noon and From Here to Eternity. His screenplay is flawed by pointless and overlong musical numbers, some of which are way too corny. Also the concluding court session held in a kitchen is also pathetically contrived. The villain seems unfairly outcast with even a horrid suicidal song sung to his suggestion. The musical numbers look festive with a slice of country life that drives home the theme of togetherness. Score: 7 / 10

I saw Oklahoma! in its original TODD-AO release at the Egyptian theater in Hollywood in early 1956. Since then I've seen it in all its versions, Cinemascope and Todd-AO, including the TODD-AO re-release at the Egyptian theater in 1985 where it was shown on the original curved TODD-AO screen built for that theater. Seeing the movie on a big screen is a truly amazing experience, almost like seeing a great film made even greater by the large screen. Seeing the film Pan/Scan and in widescreen on TV is nowhere near the large screen experience. It is now shown rarely, if ever on large screens, but the recent restored version (available on Blu-Ray) made from the very degraded 70MM negatives was first shown at the Chinese in Hollywood at the 2014 Turner Festival and in May 2015 at the Academy Awards theater in Beverly Hills. At that showing, the restorers were present and told the audience that the film was so rushed into its premier in New York that apparently no inter-negatives were made which is why restoring the film was so difficult. The restoration is truly great and the large format showings give you a greater appreciation of this excellent musical. As others reviewers have stated, the music,performances, photography, and production are unparalleled. The IMDb listing does not list the incredible 6 track stereo used in the TODD-AO version which sounds like it was recorded yesterday--the 4 track Cinemascope version pales by comparison. 60 years later, it is still the best and most impressive musical of them all. Ask your local theater to schedule at least one showing on a big screen. You'll see why all these reviewers appreciate this great musical.

I already had the DVD version,but I bought this combo Blue -Ray -DVD version.It was remastered better than old DVD version.The Todd A.O. print was more sharper than the DVD version.The cinema scope version is very colorful,it came from a surviving Technicolor print. What interested me were the two shorts The miracle of Todd A.O. and the more interesting the March of Todd A.o.,which was made in 1958.The only problem was that the Todd A.O. was not presented in Smile box,like it should have been.This made the two shorts less effective in show.The Murdoch video did demonstrate a few scenes in the documentary in Smile box and compared it too CinemaScope,but, that's it.Obviously Fox is not impressed with it .in spite of this it still excellent It also contains excepts form a 1954 t.v special with Gordon MacRae and Florence Henderson singing excepts from the musical.This all makes it worth collecting or up grading old DVD 02/2/15 As of 02/2/15.Warning The DVD version of the Todd A.o. version of Oklahoma is terrible .It's muddy and not sharp.A letter from Fox on amazon stated that they used the elements form 1998 and it has deteriorated .Thy tried to fix it as much as they could.Why didn't they used the same elements for Blu- Ray on the DVD too? To get people who have not bought Blu -ray players to buy them.My older 2005 print from DVD is better .As of 02/02/15.My older disc is 1998 and it's as not sharp neither.This is the print they are using in this set.Why didn't they use the newer elements for the DVD too ,not only the Blu-Ray?