South Pacific (Collector's Edition)

The Collectors Edition DVD set contains all that anyone interested in this movie could want.

I became familiar with all the South Pacific songs as a child but didn't actually watch the movie until middle-age. I found it unexpectedly strange but interesting - particularly the racist aspects of the story. Despite the soul searching, "you have to be taught to hate", etc it is still a product of its time. The brown wife of the white French planter is conveniently dead and the young American "Lieutenann" is also killed to avoid the embarrassment of miscegenation.

I first saw SP on black and white TV in 1971 and '73 and was spellbound by the story and music. In 1978 while in New York City I saw an ad in the paper that it was showing at a movie theater in downtown Manhattan so I jumped at the opportunity. I was so glad I did because the theatrical experience is unforgettable. That soundtrack is done full justice in a big theater. You can see why SP got the Academy Award for "Achievement in Sound". Moreover, the big-screen experience, the gorgeous colors all come together beautifully. This happened again in 1986 at another special screening and I was lucky enought to repeat the experience.
Like others, I cannot understand why this film was criticized so harshly.
I found Mitzi Gaynor ideally suited for the part of Nellie. From the ecstatic heights of singing & dancing about being in love with "A Wonderful Guy" to depths of despair as she struggled with the demons of "Carefully Taught" racial prejudice, she conveyed the full range of emotions Nellie the Nurse experiences. The other actors were just as good. The movie packs an emotional wallop about bigotry that is bold for the time it was released and it darn near breaks your heart in the process.
It contains all the spectrum of emotions - laughter, tears, anger and of course love. Rodgers & Hammerstein's musicals certainly had what I would call "heart". They were not "fluffy" like the MGM musicals of the 40's. They had a message and the songs somehow stay with you longer. I find "South Pacific" one of the most haunting, but in a pleasant way. Like Bali H'ai, I long to visit my "special island" again and again via this film.

This is one of my most favorite movies. The DVD copy was a much better quality then the old VHS.

ignore all the bad reviews - just watch and enjoy - if for no other reason than to see Juanita Hall give a great performance......a tremendous film with flaws but in this case it doesn't matter.

This movie is an excellent rendition of the original Broadway production by Rodgers and Hammerstein that opened in April 1949 and ran for 5 years.
Mitzi Gaynor and Rossano Brazzi do very well following the original cast of Mary Martin and Ezo Pinza. Having seen the original play shortly after it opened, and as a Navy veteran in the same South Pacific area during WWII my impressions then make it unfair to compare the impact of the movie with the original. All in all it is very good DVD which includes a wealth of information about the filming, location, and the cast.