My parents were from the ‘50s; dad a dashing Naval officer, and mom the perfect hostess in a cocktail dress. Though I came along later, I did discover my parents’ musical tastes. (They differed from mine considerably.) Even today I’ll be watching a film with a musical number, and I can totally imagine my parents listening to it when they were in their 20s and 30s.
One of these films is South Pacific; which was on TV this morning, and which I’m watching now. Films like South Pacific (and Father Goose, and Operation Petticoat – not musicals, of course) ‘take me back’ to a time before I was born. I’m a sucker for those old films. But one thing that has bothered me about South Pacific is the use of coloured filters. I can’t stand the way they’re used. I think it would be a better movie without them. So I’m looking at Wiki…
Since the director intended the filters to be subtle, and since there is an implication that 20th Century Fox might have corrected the error if there had been time, Should South Pacific be re-released on DVD as a ‘director’s cut’ with the colours made more subtle? Or is the existing ‘look’ too entrenched after 52 years, and changing it to the way it was supposed to look would be unacceptable?
I took the “don’t give a damn” option because I loved the film (my mother used to play the soundtrack album all the time when I was a kid) and I don’t even remember the filter effects.
The garish filter colors were deliberate, weren’t they???
The awful song n’ dance on the beach (with that awful yellow!) is the worst; but bad as it is, this one number has grown on me over the years. Like a bad memory of a bad experience that nonetheless you find yourself nostalgic to revisit. It’s like a bad dream, but one you dwell on, not in a bad way.
I don’t really like South Pacific, and I ordinarily lovelovelove musicals. Some of the musical numbers are OK, as are some of the performances. It looks like it was filmed on the cheap, I can’t warm up to the actors, the songs are just OK - and then those awful filter colors! If I had to give it a grade, it would be a “C”.
How subtle is “subtle”? If anyone knows exactly what kind of effect Joshua Logan was looking for, then I might be okay with a “director’s cut.” Otherwise, it’s just mucking around with the original to make it someone else’s idea of “better.”
In Logan’s second autobiography he seems to take some of the blame for the bad effects. He said he and his effects specialist wanted to try something “different” and he didn’t ride herd on it sufficiently thus the weirdness. I definitely get the impression that Logan would vote for the change if given the chance so I would too.
I had to vote other: I can’t believe it but I don’t remember it being in color, I always thought it was in black and white. I don’t remember the last time I saw it, but we’ve had color TV since the 70’s.
Great poll! I love South Pacific, but while I’ve enjoyed many different versions over the years, including Robert Goulet on stage, and my current favorite, the concert version with Brian Stokes Mitchell, I’ve never liked the movie version, mostly because the colors are so off. I’d love the chance to give it another try in a corrected version.
