Rodgers & Hammerstein's CAROUSEL the Movie Musical - 50th Anniversary Edition 2 Disc DVD Set

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel - 50th Anniversary Edition 2 Disc DVD Set. Color, wide screen, Dolby, film run time 128 mintues. Film has been restored and the audio digitally remastered for this release.

Like its immediate predecessor, Oklahoma!, this 1956 screen musical boasted then state-of-the-art widescreen cinematography, stereophonic sound, a starring romantic duo with onscreen chemistry, and the Rodgers & Hammerstein imprimatur. Adding to its promise was a source (the venerable Ferenc Molnar play Liliom) that had already been filmed three times. Yet unlike the original Broadway production, and despite evident craft, Carousel proved a box-office disappointment. Why? Hindsight argues that '50s moviegoers may have been unprepared for its tragic narrative, the sometimes unsympathetic protagonist, and a spiritual subtext addressing life after death.

Whatever the obstacle, Carousel may well be a revelation to first-time viewers. The score is among the composers' most affecting, from the glorious instrumental "Carousel Waltz" to a succession of exquisite love songs ("If I Loved You"), a heart-rending secular hymn ("You'll Never Walk Alone"), and the expectant father's poignant reverie, "Soliloquy." Top-lined stars Shirley Jones (as factory worker Julie Jordan) and Gordon MacRae (as Billy Bigelow, the carnival barker who woos and weds her) achieve greater dramatic urgency here than in the more successful Oklahoma!, with MacRae in particular attaining a personal best as the conflicted Billy, whose anxiety and wounded pride after losing his job are crucial to the plot. It's Billy's impatience to support his new family that drives him to an ill-fated decision that transforms the fable into a ghost story. Adding to the luster are the coastal Maine locations where 20th Century Fox filmed principal photography. - Sam Sutherland

Carousel is given fine treatment in Fox's two-disc "50th Anniversary Edition." On the first disc, the feature is presented in a glorious anamorphic transfer (2.55:1) with audio remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. As on the Oklahoma DVD, Shirley Jones is joined in a terrific commentary by film historian Nick Redmond, during which some discussion is given to Frank Sinatra's legendary late withdrawal from the male lead role, and the movie is also viewable in both score-only and sing-a-long modes. Disc Two of the set includes the full 1934 Fritz Lang drama Liliom (93 min., in French with English subtitles), plus the 23-min. featurette "Turns On The Carousel," recreations of the deleted songs "You're A Queer One Julie Jordan" and "Blow High, Blow Low," excerpts of the original Broadway cast performing "If I Loved You" and "You're A Queer One Julie Jordan," a Fox Movietone Newsreel about the film's premiere, still galleries, and a trailer. - Gregory P. Dorr