Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #225356 in DVD
• Aspect ratio: 2.55:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Running time: 128 minutes

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

well worth the wait
This brand-new 50th Anniversary edition of CAROUSEL is definitely a must for all fans of the uplifting and inspiring Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. Considered by Rodgers as the personal favourite of all his works, and based on the play "Liliom" by Ferenc Molnar; the story concerns innocent factory-girl Julie Jordan (Shirley Jones) and jaded carnival barker Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae). Despite coming from the opposite sides of the track, the two fall in love, but their relationship is tempered by Billy's violent outbursts and inability to find an honest job. When Julie becomes pregnant, he is talked into committing a robbery, but the plan backfires when he falls on his own knife and dies while trying to escape the police. Now in Heaven, Billy is given one last chance to redeem himself and to reconcile his now-teenaged daughter. Filled with haunting songs like "If I Loved You" and "You'll Never Walk Alone", CAROUSEL remains a very moving film experience.

This DVD has been available for a while in the UK and Australia, and will finally get a US release this November. Extra features will include audio commentary from Shirley Jones and Nick Redman; an all-new featurette "Turns on the Carousel", vintage performances from the "General Foods" Rodgers & Hammerstein TV tribute (original Broadway leads John Raitt and Jan Clayton performing the complete Bench Scene/"If I Loved You"). Also included are several rare MovieTone news segments, and the deleted numbers "Blow High Blow Low" and "You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan".

Beautiful musical, but incomplete/ Problematic Liliom
In an age where a science fiction thriller can approach 3 hours, it's interesting that back in 1956 20th Century Fox decided that a movie running two and one half hours was long enough for a musical. So what did they do? Oh, just merely edit out two movie sequences containing the songs "You're a Queer One, Julie Jordan" and "Blow High, Blow Low". Hello? And how long was the classic 1939 "Gone With the Wind"? Over three hours? What a pity, because Rodgers & Hammerstein's wonderful "Carousel" (their personal favorite musical) deserved to be seen complete, no matter how long it may have been!! The deleted scenes added to the story and the songs were great. Luckily the two deleted songs can be heard on the VERY COMPLETE movie CD soundtrack (see my review of it). Since so many DVDs these days are coming out with Director's Cut versions of more recent movies, perhaps "Carousel" may one day be re-released in it's glorious entirety, that is unless the Hollywood morons of 1956 threw away the deleted film!! For the time being, let's be thankful for the "Carousel" of which I'm writing. Highly Recommended.

UPDATE:
On the recently reissued 2-CD set of "Carousel" is the 1934 french film "Liliom", in which "Carousel" is based upon. While an interesting bonus feature, it's ruined by subtitles that are flashed so quickly that they require speed reading skills. At other times there are extended moments in the film where subtitles don't even appear. A very erratic presentation, to say the least.

A Musical But Not a Comedy!
Overall, an excellent movie that I would highly recommend. It really makes an emotional connection with the viewer. From the Golden Age of the Rogers & Hammerstein musicals; this one, however,is not a comedy. In fact, it is pretty much a downer-- a tragic story that stands in contrast to the sunny, optimistic tone of most musicals of the 1950's. The development of the characters is excellent. Well-produced, visually appealing, with emotionally charged music and dance sequences. I have only one complaint. Shirley Jones certainly has a great voice and lots of screen presence, but I find her unconvincing in the death scene and therafter in the story--just too sweet and smily-face for such grim, dramatic material.
I did not interpret this movie as condoning wife-beating. Billy Bigelow (played superbly by Gordon MacRae) is portrayed as a human being with the full range of human feelings, good and bad, capable of both love and anger. I think the problem with some of your reviewers is that such a portrayal does not fit in with the anti-male political corecness that is prevalent on this issue today.