Sweet Charity [DVD]

The film quality for a 1969 movie, looks just as great now as it did then when I first saw it. It has not aged despite technology advances (like cell phones, computers) as it's not set in that world where they are needed. Curiously it comes across more timelessly than the stage version I saw about 20 years ago. The dancing flawless ( well, Fosse was directing and it was his knockout individualistic dancing style). The music is still great, yeah we have "Big Spender" but it's fun to see Sammy Davis Jr doing his knock out "Rhythm of Life" number (which was a smash hit around the world). Good to also see Stubby Kaye performing his "I Love To Cry At Weddings" in full (for some weird reason in Sydney they cut out half the number). Shirley MacLaine is spot on as the hopelessly always trying to be in love Charity. Ricardo Montalban is also fun as the Latin film star. John McMartin as the shy Oscar should have gone onto bigger and better things in the movies, but he is perfect as the mixed up neurotic and does at least get to perform the title song. In the end, it's still a great musical with great tunes, choreography and a great testament to the very talented Bob Fosse.

Good storyline Shirley MacLaine was great. Clear picture. Has subtitles

This film was released when the movie musical had lost its appeal with the movie-going public, which is a shame, since it had a great deal to offer. The musical sequences are especially memorable, particularly the "Pompeii Club" which is absolutely spectacular. Shirley MacLaine does a great job in the title role and the rest of the cast does credit to the film. The cinematography and sound are excellent. I also own the French issued blu ray of this film and while it is also excellent, it appears to show more grain than this newer release. This is an excellent addition to my film library.

"Sweet Charity" was a huge commercial failure that almost put Universal Studio out of business. When I first saw this in the 1970's I did not like it. However I watched it again in 1998 and I liked it. Today I saw the new blu-ray and I love the film. The film is experimental at times. Some scenes could be trimmed but this is a Bob Fosse film and you know who am I to argue that editing somethings would have improved it. This film is amazing. The film does come alive from the very beginning. Sweet Charity, copyrighted 1968 but released in 1969, was one of the big expensive musicals of that era that ended up killing the genre as audiences had seemingly lost interest in them. Based on a stage musical which was based on the Fellini movie Nights of Cabiria, Shirley MacLaine plays the title character Charity Hope Valentine- a somewhat ditzy and naïve woman who just wants to be loved but is more often taken advantage of. She works in New York as a "dance hall hostess," basically a euphemism for prostitute although since this movie is rated G dancing is all we see her do. The only explanation she gives for being in this position is "the fickle finger of fate" and is sure that she'll move on to something better any day now while her co-workers Nickie (Chita Rivera) and Helene (Paula Kelly) seem to laugh at that. Charity's other big hope is finding a perfect man who will sweep her off her feet but hasn't had much success there either- as the movie begins we see her in the park with current flame Charlie (Dante D'Paulo) who pushes her off a bridge and runs off with her purse, never to be seen again. I can't wait to watch it again.

I had seen it on TV back in 70s.. I never forgot that movie. Buy it for nostalgia reasons and for enjoying a good musical.

When I was 16 or so, my friend and I stayed up late (past 11:00 pm!) and watched a CBS late night movie. Sweet Charity was showing. We missed the first half hour or so, but we really got into this movie. I was mesmerized! I loved the music, dancing, Shirley McClaine's acting, and most of all, the directing! Many years later I learned it was all Bob Fosse! No wonder I liked it. At one point I was able to obtain a VHS tape of it. Very thankful for Amazon! Nothing fancy on this disc, just the movie and a little behind the scenes. Disc plays great, and I am thrilled to own it once again!!

I am sure that some folks might know this, but there were two endings filmed to this musical. The one we see on TV or in the video is the sad version, but there was also the up beat version. Right after Charity is gilted, Oscar returns to his apartment- only to find out that his clostrophoebia (spelling?) is coming back. He leaves his apartment for air, when he comes across Charity standing in front of the bridge, where, Charley, her former boyfriend dumped her into the river in the beginning of the film. Oscar assumes that Charity is going to jump, so he runs to stop her, but trips on her bag instead and dumps her into the river anyway. Hence, an arc was drawn here from the beginning of the film.. No matter, Oscar jumps in as well, and confesses that he would suffocate without her, and wants her back. They both get out of the river, and as they start to walk away, Charity looks up, and "Thanks God", which gives another meaning to the final title, "...And she lived hopefully ever after". Cute, but trite-- after all this drama, I am sure that the audience would have felt cheated if it ended this lightly. Hence the ending that we see now was chosen over this. This ending was in the Laser DISC version, which has gone long out of print. Let us hope that this will be in the DVD edition as well.

I became interested in seeing "Sweet Charity" after watching the terrific "Fosse/Verdon" series. I knew very little about Bob Fosse and even less about Gwen Verdon. Now I feel that I know them both personally. Anyway, this series made a point of labeling the film "Sweet Charity" as a huge titanic bomb, and I do remember through the years hearing that same line off and on. I would like for it to have starred Gwen Verdon, but I like Shirley MacLaine a lot and I knew that she was multi-talented, so I bought this DVD. I watched probably about 1.5 hours of it, seeing no problem. It took a few minutes to adjust to the character of Charity, but once I accepted who she was, it was OK. I liked the musical numbers, particularly "Hey Big Spender", "If My Friends Could See Me Now", and the very Fosse dance numbers in the fancy nightclub. Chita Rivera and Paula Kelly were delightful as tough broads with hearts of gold, a stereotype but fine with me. I found Ricardo Montalbán surprisingly appealing, and even John McMartin's nervous character was, I felt, worth Charity's attention. Shirley exuded the innocence and enthusiasm required, she looked great, sang pretty well and danced very well, better than I expected. All in all, I was saying to myself, "What is the problem people have with this movie?" Then came Sammy Davis Jr. and "The Rhythm Of Life". I'm sorry, but It was just awful. The fact that this film was made in 1969, when the spirit of the 60's had already started to become a parody of itself in films, probably explains a lot. I watched some of that number and then Fast Forwarded a bit. There was more. I FF'd, again. Still more. I FF'd A LOT; I kept on FF'ing and finally got through that looooong number. So I said, OK, let's move on. Later came "I'm A Brass Band". While not as bad as "Rhythm", it did go on and on, for too long. By this time I was just wanting to reach the end. But I had one more bomb drop on me - "I Love To Cry At Weddings". A ridiculous number, a waste of time. I wondered how these numbers could have been allowed, let alone choreographed and directed, by Bob Fosse. The saving grace at the end was Shirley singing "Where Am I Going?" She didn't beat Barbra's version but it was moving and it fit. The bittersweet ending was a bit sad but OK as musicals go. I then watched the alternate ending, the happier one, and it inexplicably depressed me more than the sadder one, maybe because I knew it wasn't the "real" ending. To wrap this up, I would say to anyone contemplating a viewing of this film that they should expect some good acting, good singing and good dancing, and a standard, pretty satisfying musical story line. But they should also prepare for a rather large helping of 60's musicals excess, magnified. It is not my intention to insult anyone involved in the making of this movie, nor anyone who likes the movie more than I did. Since it was a topic around which controversy swirled, I felt that I should put in my two cents.