IslandGuru
Who payed the critics
Acensbart
Excellent but underrated film
Huievest
Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Bingo84
A very good production of the wonderful musical "Pippin". Ben Vereen is terrific in his role as Leading Player. William Katt and the rest of the cast do an equally stunning job in their roles. Even though some scenes were cut (the talking decapitated head scene and the duck death scene) and one entire song omitted (I Guess I'll Miss the Man), it doesn't detract from the overall performance, IMO. All of the other songs are included (in the DVD version anyway).*** Possible spoiler ****And to clarify one other reviewer's comments - there are officially two ways to deliver the final line in the play. Bob Fosse's approved final line (and the way that William Katt delivers it in this version) is "Trapped ... which isn't too bad for the end of a musical comedy." Pippin's author and lyricist's actual written line is "Trapped... but happy... which isn't too bad for the end of a musical comedy."
Since this filmed version was supervised by Fosse, his ending line was the one delivered. *** End spoiler ***The DVD version of the film was a bit of a let down, though. The video clarity and sound are o.k., but the thing that irked me on this Special Edition DVD was the total lack of any kind of insert (liner notes and lyrics would have been nice - and maybe a performance history), and Chapter Stops that don't make sense (I wish they had chapter stops placed at the beginning of each song, but they don't and you have to fast forward to get to them). The only thing special was the inclusion of a 5 minute Fosse interview.
This performance was very good to deserve something more than this Special Edition offers....Film - 8 out of 10 (because they cut out my favorite song) DVD - 5 out of 10 (for lack of 'specials' in a Special Edition)
909
Those people lucky enough to see this show in it's original Broadway run saw a brilliant cast performing a brilliant show with an equally brilliant director. The original cast, Ben Vereen, Irene Ryan (of Beverly Hillbillies fame) Leland Palmer, Jill Clayburgh, John Rubinstein, and others easily outshine William Katt (of Greatest American Hero fame) Martha Raye (of denture fame) and the rest. Still, it's a very good production, and nice to see that a Broadway show can, in fact, be filmed and appreciated without paying $100 to see it! The choreography is splendid. Katt's voice isn't horrible, in fact, he sings the difficult Stephen Schwartz music with apparent ease (not to same effect that John Rubinstein had, mind you) All in all, it's a good production, but more on par with what one would expect from a regional theater or really good community theater.
Bruce-39
This should have been great, but anyone familiar with the stage production will be disappointed. Great numbers are cut, (esp. most of Fastrada's "Spread a Little Sunshine" and all of Catherine's "I Guess I'll Miss the Man"). So are important lines, such as Pippin's discussion with the severed head after the poorly staged "Glory." When Pippin is king, he and others refer to critical lines that were cut, making the scene incomprehensible. They cut the death of Theo's duck, which is so important to that part of the show, and without which the rest of that that section makes no sense. They would have done better to cut all the ad libs and most of Martha Raye's pathetic (what's with the microphone?) appearance as Berthe. And to cap it all off, William Katt blows the final--and most important--line in the show, destroying the entire point of the production.
jeisrael
This is one of the finest videos of a musical available anywhere. In addition to being an unbelievable musical, this top notch cast brings PIPPIN to an astounding level.Particularly amazing is Ben Vereen... his singing, acting, and dancing abilities are on full display. Broadway legend Chita Rivera is also spellbinding in her small but show-stopping performance.This is a musical not to miss!
