Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Great Honk! It's the Music Man!
You ever hear about a fellah named Hill? He's a music man... At least that's what he'd have you believe. He's also the subject of this charming movie musical from 1962. And when THE MUSIC MAN trumpets onto your screen, you are taken back to when musicals where the rage. Robert Preston reprises his Broadway role as Henry Hill, a salesman with very questionable intentions. And when the town of River City is taken in by his charms, the levelheaded librarian Marian (played by a pregnant Shirley Jones) calls his bluff. But, when his bluff puts smiles on everyone's face, even she questions herself... the River City-zians are a pleasure to watch. Leading the town is Mayor Shinn and his wife, played by the comic geniuses, Paul Ford and Hermione Gingold. We can't forget their daughter Zaneeta (Susan Luckey). Eee-gawds! Marian Paroo's mother is the scene stealing Pert Kelton and Marian's little brother Winthrop is the Oscar Winning director of A BEAUTIFUL MIND, Ronny Howard... err... with a lot more hair. Just to keep the comedy flowing, Buddy Hackett plays Hill's shill, Marcellus. The show is filled with unique musical composition: From the syncopated opening with only a train for underscoring to an argument where the underscoring is provided by a young girl's piano lessons. Other great numbers include the whisper filled dance number in the library and the rabble-rousing talk song, Trouble. The film is often choreographed as if it was on stage and even the lighting design supports that. Occasionally, the background will fade to black leaving the singer alone in a spotlight. The DVD is nicely presented. The Technicolor video transfer is sharp and pleasant. The audio sounds great, but the 5.1 at times can be taxing to your sound system. There is also a brief making of documentary called "Right Here in River City" that offers some cute tidbits and is introduced by a still beautiful Shirley Jones. Watch for Ron Howard's Dad, Rance in a small role!
Rating: - Music Man: The Sounds of the ages
Out of all the musicals I've seen, the Music Man is by far my most favorite of them all. After seeing this DVD version, I'll have to say that this is one of my favorite movies of all time as well. The very good chemistry between Robert Preston [Prof. Harold Hill] and Shirley Jones [Marian Paroo] was great. The addition of Buddy Hacket as the Professor's old partner Marcellus Washburn added to the friendliness of the movie. The Buffalo Bills also really spark up the music with their barber shop quartet ensambles.The Music Man is a musical about this traveling salesman named Professor Harold Hill[Preston], who promises to give every town he visits a "boys' band," yet he just takes the money and runs. He is so hated by the other traveling salesmen. After arriving in Rivercity Iowa, he is reaquainted with his old partner Marcellus Washburn [Hacket] and begins to work his magic and deception. He soon finds himself traped in a world full of adventure, deciet, and love as he begins to fall for the town librarian Marian Paroo [Jones]. A lot of the music [written by Meredith Wilson] are very memorable such as the famous "Till There Was You" made famous by the Beatles a few years after this was written, and "76 Trombones" and "Lida Rose", with some special old-time salesmen rap such as "Rock Island" and "Ya Got Trouble." I give this movie 5 stars and would recomend this movie to any families and musical lovers out there
Rating: - Robert Preston is STILL the Music Man!
The DVD version of The Music Man brings back all of the music, joy and energy that I first enjoyed when this film was released in theaters a few decades ago. Having seen the film in recent years in the "formatted to fit your TV" version, it was delightful to view the DVD in such vibrant color, widescreen and robust stereo sound.This may have been one of the last of the great movie musicals - it's refreshing to still be able to enjoy a film from a more innocent time. The soundtrack still provides some of the best melodies and lyrics from Broadway and film: Till There Was You, 76 Trombones, Goodnight My Someone, and of course the opening monologue "Ya Got Trouble" right here in River City. For those who don't know, one of the younger actors in the film is a pint-sized Ronny Howard, who has gone on to make his mark in the film industry as a director. A nice bonus with the DVD is the 30 minute documentary on the making of the film. Anecdotes and insights were offered by Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Susan Luckey, and choreographer Onna White. It's hard to imagine Frank Sinatra was the first choice for the role of Harold Hill - Robert Preston IS the Music Man! The only problem with the DVD is that when switching between the Play mode of the movie and the Menu, the sound level of the music that is on the Menu track blares out much louder than the sound of the movie. Have that remote control handy to reduce the volume quickly!
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