Once upon a time there was a cinematic genre that was perhaps more sincere, approachable, and
lovable than any other -- the Musical. It was a genre where song and, sometimes, dance, served
as
an integral part of the story -- either stating or reinforcing plot points -- and added another level
of
fun and magic to the tale. Throughout the course of cinema history, from The Wizard of Oz to
High School Musical,
the genre has seen ups and downs, surges and declines in popularity, and films aimed at just
about
every audience. The genre enjoyed its peak -- in popularity, quality of films, and
broadest appeal -- during the era of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, a collaboration
quite unlike any other, the names forever linked as one Broadway's, and subsequently
Hollywood's, most popular, successful,
and ingenious tandems. Though 1958's South Pacific may not enjoy the same level of
admiration and acclaim as some of Rodger's and Hammerstein's other films, particularly 1956's
The King and I and 1965's The Sound of Music, it is nevertheless a
quintessential Musical, one that covers the themes of love, loss, confusion, and hope in a time of
great distress. The film certainly lacks the grace of The King and I and the timelessness
of The Sound of Music, but it's nevertheless essential cinema and a fantastic Musical in
its own right.
Will love conquer all in the South Pacific?
Set in the Pacific theater of World War II, South Pacific, based on James Michener's 1947
Pulitzer Prize-winning Tales of the South Pacific, tells the story of three primary
characters as they deal with budding love and the shadow of war. Marine Lieutenant Joseph
Cable (John Kerr) arrives with orders to covertly place forward observers on enemy-occupied
territory to provide real-time intelligence on Japanese troop and equipment movements. He
believes his mission will be more successful with the help of a Frenchman by the name of Emile
De Becque (Rossano Brazzi) who knows the islands inside and out. De Becque is reluctant,
having just met the beautiful Little Rock, Arkansas native girl and Naval nurse, Nellie Forbush
(Mitzi Gaynor). The two find themselves falling for one another, but several secrets from De
Becque's past and Nellie's own prejudices may leave their relationship damaged, and De Becque's
reliability on the mission
questionable. The Naval brass and Lt. Cable learn of Nellie's relationship with De Becque and ask
her to, in essence, spy on him and determine his loyalty to the war effort. Meanwhile, Cable finds
himself falling in love with a young native girl named Liat (France Nuyen), whose mother, Bloody
Mary (Juanita Hall), is pushing the two towards marriage, though Cable's own prejudices and his
undertaking of the dangerous mission may put a damper on those plans. Will Cable be able to
complete his
mission with De Becque at his side and will true love shine on both men, or will the war and old
prejudices keep them from true happiness?
South Pacific works on a number of levels. First, and most importantly, the film offers a
timeless tale of love and loss set against a difficult and perilous backdrop. Each day in the South
Pacific naval base brings songs, dreams, and romance, all of which serve as both a reprieve from
the harsh realities of war and a reminder of all that is good, simple, and honest about life and
love. The film's script is light and
easy to understand; it does very well to combine the drama and terror of impending combat with
both levity and love through the power of song. Each performer plays their parts with both gusto
and grace, seemingly enjoying the opportunity to perform and, in doing so, immersing
themselves in the characters, story, and backdrop. Audiences will come to care for and admire
each individual, for they are all honorable people if only misguided in certain aspects of their lives.
The characters aren't perfect, but they allow the situation, location, and one another to show
them what really matters in life -- love, respect, honor, and courage, to name a few -- not old
prejudices and misguided judgments of character. South Pacific is the sort of film that
is easy to become lost in; the cinematography and locations are mesmerizing, the characters
engaging and endearing, and the action intense and serious in tone. Lastly, the songs are all
catchy and do very well to tell and reinforce the story, including those that offer more in the way
of levity and those that speak of sadness, doubt, and regret.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of South Pacific is its use of heavy filters and diffusion
around
the frames that offset particular segments of the film. This lends an interesting and novel
appearance to the film, in a way highlighting not necessarily the moments of song but the scenes
that serve as the film's emotional core. The radical change in tone lends a surreal appearance
to each scene and adds to the dreamy qualities of the film where true love seems fast and
easy but often becomes as complex and potentially damaging as the world of distrust,
deception, and destruction that surrounds the characters. The budding romances that punctuate
the first half of the film serve as a welcome reprieve from the realities of a war zone, even if the
reprieve, for some, comes only inside the imagination and through verbalization in song.
The filters seem to, at first, set the more breezy, happy moments of the film apart, adding to
them a sense of easygoing levity and also lending to them a sense that, at least for a few
moments, there is nothing wrong in the world, that the world seems to stop to conform to and
embrace the joys of love and to recognize something that remains pure, honest, and good. Of
course, as the film progresses and love and joy are interrupted by the realities of war and
prejudice, the tone shifts, and the film continues to set apart the moments of tragedy and
uncertainty, too. What the film seems to show is that, no matter the circumstances -- the place,
the time, or the person -- love conquers all, if even for a brief moment, if even in the realization
that love is gone or that love will never, or can never, be.
20th Century Fox presents South Pacific on Blu-ray with a gorgeous 1080p,
2.20:1-framed transfer. The film looks positively immaculate, and is proof-positive of the power
and
wonder of the Blu-ray format in its ability to revive the classics. Perhaps the most striking aspect
of the disc is the mesmerizing color reproduction. Blues are the most pleasing to the eye, both in
the beautiful and clear Pacific waters and the denim-colored shirts worn by the seamen. The
sandy beaches and the tan-colored Naval dress uniforms, in addition to the lush and lovely green
vegetation, all come together to offer the film a pleasing, classic technicolor look. As noted above,
the film
will sometimes drastically alter its color scheme, with particular hues dominating the scene that
reinforce the themes of love and loss in the film. The image may take on a heavy blue or
golden tint, for example, that lends a very uniform and unique look to the picture. South
Pacific also enjoys excellent detail throughout; the wooden appointments of the military
headquarters, the clothing, and the vegetation all offer viewers the chance to absorb the finer
details and textures of practically every object on-screen. Flesh tones are consistently accurate
throughout, and the disc sports a fine layer of film grain that lends a wonderful finishing touch on
what is one of, if not the, finest transfers -- classic catalogue title or not -- available on Blu-ray.
With releases like South Pacific, 20th Century Fox has positioned itself as the leader in
quality
in classic catalogue releases on Blu-ray.
South Pacific debuts on Blu-ray with a quality DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack, in
addition to four-channel and two-channel Dolby Digital tracks. Like the video, the soundtrack is a
pleasure to behold. Dialogue and song lyrics are presented with authority and vigor, strong and
clear as the solos flow from the center channel with the singing of the full cast emanating
from the entire front soundstage. From the most raucous of songs to those sung quietly and
"internally" -- the characters thinking to themselves in song -- all are presented clearly and
accurately. The accompanying orchestral music is strong and clear, each instrument heard
distinctly and together making for a harmonious, pleasant, crisp experience. The rear channels
are sparsely used, the best outburst heard during an action sequence near the end of the film.
Atmospherics are decent; the rolling Pacific waves may be heard rushing onto the beach in
several scenes, with the water audibly flowing, albeit lightly, across the front. The film's
action-oriented sequences, such as a plane under fire from surface flack, rumble the soundstage
a bit
while the constant hum of the propellers spreads out across the front, doing a decent job of
placing the listeners in the craft's cockpit. The lossless soundtrack adds a nice bit of extended
range and clarity to the experience. Thankfully, the presentation here hasn't been aggressively
re-mixed to throw music and effects all over the soundstage. South Pacific makes for a
pleasant, high-quality listen that supports the lavish visuals nicely.
South Pacific comes to Blu-ray with a myriad of supplements spread across two discs.
Disc
one offers viewers the 157-minute "general release" cut of the film. The abbreviated
supplements included on this disc begin with a feature-length commentary track with President
of the Rodgers and Hammerstein
Organization Ted Chapin and Gerard Alessandrini. The pair share a wealth of knowledge about
the
history of the production, both the stage version and the film iterations. Their vast knowledge of
the cast, from the primaries to tertiary characters; the differences between stage show and film;
the
variations between the numerous releases of the film; and more, shine through with each
sentence. Their track is about as
interesting
as the film, with honest comments and observations that often feels like friends discussing the
film
rather than dryly recounting anecdotes and filmmaking techniques. Also available on disc one is
Singalong, an on-screen karaoke-style presentation of 19 songs from the film, and
Songs Only Chapter List, simply allowing viewers to skip directly to their favorite songs.
Disc two features the long-thought-lost "Road Show" version of South Pacific, a cut that
increases the film's length by 14 minutes. The added footage is of noticeably lesser quality,
particularly evidenced by faded colors, thanks to the limited availability of prints from which to cull
the missing scenes. Please note that no lossless audio track is available with this version; only
several Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks -- 5.1, 4.0, and 2.0. -- are included. Nevertheless, the additional
scenes are a welcome addition, and one cannot
knock either quality or the studio for including them. Moving on to the bonus materials, disc two
also begins with a commentary track, this one featuring Musical historian Richard Barrios. Barrios
addresses the particular version of the film presented on disc two, pointing out the new edits and
why the
extended edition works better than the more readily available and widely-seen "general release"
edition. His commentary is generally wonderful; Barrios delivers his comments with an easygoing
authority, and his knowledge seems limitless. This is a rare commentary track that is a definite
must-listen for all viewers.
Passion, Prejudice, and 'South Pacific:' Creating an American Masterpiece (1080i,
1:34:05) is a four-part feature that examines the film in-depth, beginning by placing it in the
historical context of World War II and the segregation of America, and moving on to looking at
the writing of the screenplay and music for the stage and, finally, the silver screen. Examined is
the search for lead characters, the themes of prejudice that run throughout the movie, the
quality of the songs, the use of the Todd-AO wide-angle camera, and much more. 20th
Century Fox always seems to produce first-rate documentaries for their classic films (Behind the Planet of the
Apes, for example), and the studio has another winner here.
Making of 'South Pacific' (1080p, 14:01) is a vintage black-and-white making-of piece
that looks at the use of the Todd-AO camera, the construction of sets, casting, shooting the
combat scenes, the native people's hospitality towards the cast and crew, and more. 60
Minutes: The Tales of the South Pacific (480p, 22:25) is a piece hosted by Diane Sawyer that
looks at the life works of Author James Michener. Vintage Stage Excerpt (480p, 9:38)
features several black-and-white clips from the actual stage production, including I'm Gonna
Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair, Finale, Some Enchanted Evening, and
A Wonderful Guy performed by Mary Martin and Ezio Pinza. Fox Movietonews is
a pair of vintage pieces -- 'South Pacific' on the Screen - A Perfect Hit (480p, 1:20) and
State Department Confers Highest Honor on 'South Pacific' (480p, 0:52). Screen
Test: Mitzi Gaynor (1080p, 6:51) features the actress rehearsing for her role. Concluding
this impressive assemblage of special features is a still gallery and the film's theatrical trailer
(1080p, 2:43).
South Pacific is a classic Musical with all the right touches to make it a timeless picture
with
broad appeal. The songs are fun and catchy, the romance a bit sappy but well-developed, and the
action exciting and meaningful. The film enjoys great direction, locations, and acting, punctuated
by a series of dreamy, surreal scenes that set apart the film's segments that feature the
progression
of love and romance set against the backdrop of World War II. South Pacific isn't the
best of the
Rodgers and Hammerstein cannon, but it's fantastic classic cinema that is family-friendly and a
fine
example of filmmaking at its best. 20th Century Fox continues to impress with its dedication to
catalogue titles on Blu-ray. South Pacific is another title that is revitalized thanks to
Blu-ray, the format allowing this classic to sparkle as brightly as ever with vivid colors and
breathtaking detail. The soundtrack, too, is quite good for all that it is, and the studio has
included
a treasure trove of extras, not to mention two complete versions of the film. South
Pacific
marks an important title on Blu-ray, the first Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical released to the
format, and if this presentation is any indication, film fans need be thrilled at the prospects of
additional like-titles in the future. South Pacific is easily an early candidate for 2009
Blu-ray release
of
the year, and it earns my highest recommendation.
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