Product Description

Meredith Willson's Broadway play is brought to the screen in this musical featuring Preston as Professor Harold Hill, a con artist whose schemes are unmasked by the lovely librarian, Marian (Jones).
Genre: Musicals
Rating: G
Release Date: 1-JUN-2004
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #737 in DVD
• Brand: PRESTON,ROBERT
• Released on: 1999-02-23
• Rating: G (General Audience)
• Aspect ratio: 2.20:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 181 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
The Music Man was one of the last great movie musicals from any studio, and it proved to be that rarest of events: a Broadway show that was measurably improved by its transition to the screen. Robert Preston made his musical debut--both live and on film--as "Professor" Harold Hill, the upbeat charlatan who promises to teach a small-town boys band by the "think system." But it's the part Preston was born to play and the one for which he will always be best remembered. Composer Meredith Willson based The Music Man on his own small-town Midwestern boyhood, circa 1912, a quasi-mythical place where the old-maid librarian looks and sings like Shirley Jones. The boy himself is an adorable Ron Howard, lisp-singing "Gary, Indiana." Willson's entire score, featuring a combination of what are now standards, such as "Goodnight My Someone" and "Till There Was You" and show-specific numbers ("Trouble," "76 Trombones"), is never less than infectious. This dazzling special edition is also as bright and sunny as any 4th of July in Iowa could ever hope to be. --Robert Windeler

DVD features
The DVD includes Right Here in River City: The Making of Meredith Willson's "The Music Man", a 30-minute documentary hosted by Shirley Jones and featuring interviews with Buddy Hackett, Susan Luckey (who played Zaneeta Shinn), and choreographer Onna White. Trivia tidbits: Frank Sinatra, not Robert Preston, was the first choice for the title role, and Shirley Jones was pregnant during the film's shooting. --David Horiuchi

Customer Reviews

Poor DVD quality
The first and last thirds of the movie are Ok -- not great quality -- but the middle third hangs up time after time. You must fast forward to get it past the "bad spot" and then resume watching. But you can't go back and watch or listen to the piece that you've missed or it hangs up (freezes) again.

A great musical!
This is a great movie. I got my husband to watch it with me and he couldn't believe how much fun it was. Give it a try. You won't regret it.

Pretty poor CD
CD worked for half the movie then nothing. Repeated attempts to play were fruitless. Nothing.