Stars: Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Cameron Mitchell, Gene Lockhart, Dana Andrews, Fay Bainter, Frank McHugh, Donald Meek, Gloria Grahame, Rod Steiger, Eddie Albert, Gene Nelson, Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston, Yul Brynner, Deborah Kerr, Rita Moreno, Martin Benson, Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Anna Lee

Director: Henry King

Summary: This six-disc collection presents the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein at its finest. The featured films are CAROUSEL, THE KING AND I, OKLAHOMA!, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, SOUTH PACIFIC, and STATE FAIR.<BR>CAROUSEL: Spectacular staging dots this widescreen deluxe Rodgers and Hammerstein musical as Gordon MacRae brings a blustery energy to the lead role of Billy Bigelow, a drifter and ne'er-do-well carnival barker. The troubled soul finally settles down with a good woman (Shirley Jones) but then gets stabbed to death while committing a robbery. Many years later, an angel offers the roustabout the chance to return to earth for just one day to makes things right for his unhappy wife and the daughter he never had the chance to meet. Songs from the outstanding score include "If I Loved You," "June Is Busting Out All Over," and "You'll Never Walk Alone."<BR>THE KING AND I: Rogers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical, adapted from Margaret Landon's fact-based novel and the 1946 film ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM, makes a spectacularly successful move to the silver screen in the Yul Brynner tour de force THE KING AND I. Brynner, reprising the role he'd polished to perfection on stage, plays the blustering, headstrong Siamese potentate who meets his match in the form of Anna Leonowens (Deborah Kerr), the prim and proper English widow he's hired to oversee the rearing of his huge, unruly flock of children. The delightful score includes three perennial favorite show tunes: "I Whistle a Happy Tune," "Getting to Know You," and "Shall We Dance

This six-disc collection presents the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein at its finest. The featured films are CAROUSEL, THE KING AND I, OKLAHOMA!, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, SOUTH PACIFIC, and STATE FAIR.
CAROUSEL: Spectacular staging dots this widescreen deluxe Rodgers and Hammerstein musical as Gordon MacRae brings a blustery energy to the lead role of Billy Bigelow, a drifter and ne'er-do-well carnival barker. The troubled soul finally settles down with a good woman (Shirley Jones) but then gets stabbed to death while committing a robbery. Many years later, an angel offers the roustabout the chance to return to earth for just one day to makes things right for his unhappy wife and the daughter he never had the chance to meet. Songs from the outstanding score include If I Loved You, June Is Busting Out All Over, and You'll Never Walk Alone.
THE KING AND I: Rogers and Hammerstein's Broadway musical, adapted from Margaret Landon's fact-based novel and the 1946 film ANNA AND THE KING OF SIAM, makes a spectacularly successful move to the silver screen in the Yul Brynner tour de force THE KING AND I. Brynner, reprising the role he'd polished to perfection on stage, plays the blustering, headstrong Siamese potentate who meets his match in the form of Anna Leonowens (Deborah Kerr), the prim and proper English widow he's hired to oversee the rearing of his huge, unruly flock of children. The delightful score includes three perennial favorite show tunes: I Whistle a Happy Tune, Getting to Know You, and Shall We Dance

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Released as part of the celebrations marking composer Richard Rodgers' centenary in 2002, this Rodgers and Hammerstein collection contains the film versions of State Fair (1945), Oklahoma! (1955), Carousel (1956), The King and I (1956), South Pacific (1958), and The Sound of Music (1965). By the time these pictures were made, the Broadway originals had become the standards by which all else was judged in a golden age of musical theatre. And while film versions tend to dilute the books, there are still threads of darkness for those who require a more varied texture. But it's the fabulous songs which really count.

Rodgers' partnership with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein was cemented by their 1945 cinematic joint effort State Fair, rushed into production by 20th Century Fox in response to MGM's all-conquering Meet Me in St Louis and with a similarly folksy theme. Directed by Walter Lang, it's a charmingly flimsy affair with some delightful numbers. Oklahoma!, directed by Fred Zinnemann, features Agnes de Mille's renowned choreography, irresistible songs and two outstanding performances from unlikely musical actors: film noir siren Gloria Grahame playing against type as Ado Annie, the girl who can't say "no", and Rod Steiger as the menacing but tragic Jud. Carousel, the morally dubious tale of fairground barker and wife-beater Billy Bigelow (Gordon MacRae) who gets a chance to redeem himself after death, is crammed with great melodies including the tear-jerking anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone". South Pacific, which contains perhaps the most spine-tingling songs penned by Rodgers and Hammerstein--"Some Enchanted Evening" is just one--a wartime love story which also manages to touch on racism and morality; anything but lightweight. Both The King and I and The Sound of Music, of course, have become cinematic legends in their own right, thanks in no small part to their leading ladies, Deborah Kerr and Julie Andrews.

On the DVD:Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musicals glow as freshly as if they were made yesterday in four of these DVD transfers, with the other two a disappointment in comparison. South Pacific, Carousel, The King and I and The Sound of Music are offered in widescreen, giving the full benefit of the original Cinemascope presentations. Oklahoma!'s titles are presented in widescreen, but unforgivably the film then reverts to a disappointing 4:3 format which hardly does justice to the big sky settings of the Scope original. The sound quality is also disappointingly muffled for Oklahoma! and State Fair, both of which are crying out for a good polish. --Piers Ford

Aspect Ratio:	Full Screen, Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Trailers, Scene Selection, Interactive Menus, Production Notes, Biographies
Year:	1945
Release Date:	November 4, 2002
Runtime:	802 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	00608 D V D
Keywords:	Music, Collection, Fair, King, Films, Sound, Box, South, State, Pacific, Shows, Set, Oklahoma, Carousel, I, Hammerstein, Rodgers, Performing, Musicals, Arts
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts