Nonureva Really Surprised!

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

mark.waltz With an Oscar about to be on her mantle, Liza Minnelli was everywhere in the early to mid 70's, and this triumphant TV special (edited from her Broadway musical revue) gives a glimpse into the life of a performer that is indeed magical. Nearly fifty years have gone by ever since Liza reminded us that she's not Lisa, and if she had quit show business after this and her Oscar winning performance in "Cabaret", her legacy would have been set in stone. Forget the gossip about her future problems. Here, as she tells is, she has a problem, but it isn't a major one, and with brilliantly clever lyrics by Fred Ebb, Liza explains as to the issues with her name.Paying tribute to her pals Fred Kander and John Ebb, Liza opens the show with the song "Say Yes" from their recent flop Broadway musical "70 Girl 70". She then gets nostalgic and shows some serious acting prowess in her next number, "It was a good time" (recently heard in the movie "Ryan's Daughter"), a show-stopper if there ever was one. In fact, there are several show stopping moments in this, so the short length of the special isn't one to disappoint because it is all so magical. Those who saw "The Boy From Oz" on Broadway will see instantly Stephanie J. Block's big Liza moment ("She Loves to Hear the Music") with both "Ring Them Bells" and "Bye Bye Blackbird". With "Cabaret" still a triumph in movie theaters when this came out, the hour long special ends with Liza doing a "Cabaret" medley, including one song ("Married") cut out of the film, and getting to do Joel Grey's big opening number ("Wilkomen") as well. What is truly magical about Liza's presence here is her uniqueness as a performer. Like mother Judy Garland, she had great respect for her audience, and never gives the impression that she was simply "phoning it in". Liza laughs, clowns, emotes dramatically, and even if she's avante garde in many ways, she draws you in with her passion and drive and energy and verve and compassion. There's a reason why some performers make you want to psychologically hug them, because all your problems seem silly and solvable when you hear that big voice making it seem as if she is singing just for you. Few performers have that ability, and I'm sure that of her many longtime family friends, there were few without at least a tear or two. This gets a huge standing ovation at the end, and I find it tempting even by watching this on video to stand at the end as well.

Harold_Robbins Phenomenal is the only word for LIZA WITH A Z - did you notice that there were no spectacular sets or special effects, just an incredibly versatile artist accompanied by a dancing ensemble and an orchestra. Who of today's "artists" could do that? With all the negative news about LIza in the past decade or so, some people tend to forget that in the two decades after CABARET Liza was indeed a superstar of the first magnitude - if her movie career never really took off (remember duds like LUCKY LADY and A MATTER OF TIME?), she was still the Queen of the Concert Stage in the US and Europe.Liza was absolutely in her prime here - incredibly, she was only 26 in this year of CABARET and LIZA WITH A Z, and her voice was in great shape: rich, resonant and powerful - all the notes were there, big-time! (Check out some 1960s Minnelli recordings like "Come Saturday Morning" - her voice was much higher and sweeter then than we're used to.) And yes, there were certain brief moments when she looked (rather than sounded) like her mother, but she's all LIZA. I saw her on Broadway in CHICAGO in 1975, and caught her first "Post-Betty Ford Center" tour in 1985, and she was still brilliant (That's when she starting singing "When I gooooooooooooo - I'm NOT - going - like - El - sie!") and at an outdoor theater in 1992. What a performer! Barbra Streisand had MY NAME IS BARBRA - LIZA WITH A Z is Liza Minnelli's MY NAME IS BARBRA! Truly legendary performances by truly legendary performers.

sophie-h I saw this for the first time on TV when I was a child. I remembered liking it a great deal-I think it was the first time I'd seen Liza Minelli. Watched it again today on Showtime and was amazed! Liza was fabulous-and the whole thing seemed so undated-that was a real surprise. Bob Fosse's choreography is still so modern looking and sexy. Halston's costumes were gorgeous and even when he put her in knickers (which believe it or not were IN for about 5 minutes during this time) she still doesn't look dated-you just think "Wow, I didn't remember KNICKERS looking that amazing"! The only thing that looks time-warpish is the hair and facial hair of her backup dancers. The guys have big, fluffy mustaches and it looks like she is being backed-up by 1970s porn stars. Other than that this special could have been done yesterday. The decision to do it live was perfect-Liza starts off quiet, and she just does a slow burn. By the end of the show her hair is plastered to her head with sweat and she is just burning and glowing and brilliant. An artist at the peak of her powers. Liza is just as talented as her famous mother, I think. She has all of Judy's raw talent & her incredible vulnerability, but with Liza you also get sex-I had forgotten how very sexy she was. By all means watch this special on Showtime or rent the DVD-you will not be bored.

mitchontheweb The show was broadcast on T.V. once or twice in the early '70s. Recently I had the rare pleasure of viewing a bootleg video of the show as it was broadcast. If you think you know how well Liza could dance, and how captivating she was on stage, and if you think you know how extraordinary Bob Fosse's choreography & direction could be, and you haven't seen this performance, then you still don't know.The marriage of Liza, Kander & Ebb, Fosse & the glitz of early 1970s musical theater come together here in perfect harmony. The lighting, the dancing, the songs, the costumes, the star. This was the year that Liza won an Oscar (for Cabaret), and an Emmy & a Tony for this production, "Liza with a Z". She may have also gotten a Grammy that year, but even if she didn't, it's a hat trick that stands alone in the annals of American entertainment. For her and for us, it's been all down hill from here.To see her do "Ring Them Bells", "Mammy", "Son of a Preacher Man" and "Bye, Bye, Blackbird", just four numbers on this hour-long video, is worth the trouble of finding a bootleg copy.