Mame (1974) [Blu-ray]

I am one of the few people who think that Lucille Ball became Auntie Mame in the musical "Mame." Lucy does not have a beautiful voice, but when you watch her perform the songs you realize that you are getting Lucy's personality, which is filled with charm always, and not the charm of some dubbed person who isn't visible.Her Auntie Mame is not Rosalind Russell (who was phenomenol) or Angela Lansbury, who I enjoyed in the musical on Broadway. Lucille Ball's Auntie Mame is less a caricature and far more realistic. Two of my favorite scenes is the dancing with the young Patrick in the speakeasy and the encounter with the Upsons. Lucy's performance in the Upson scene is the best I've seen. She is natural, beautiful, and realistic in response to the Upson's bigotry.Lucy looks great in the film despite her age, and the soft focus close ups are not new actresses. They've been used forever and frankly I don't know why they used it.I don't appreciate Paul Zindel's scrips or the direction. It doesn't move things alove as quickly as this kind of movie musical demands, but that's not Lucy's fault or the fault of her performance.The fox hunt could not be done by any other actress. Watch that entire scene again and see how many emotions and facial expressions enliven that whole scene and then transmogrify into an appealing shyness in the song "Mame."I don't just "Love Lucy," I love what she did with Auntie Mame.

product was good, no problems

Here's what you need to know about this film: It's a great movie. It was considered a flop in it's day (1973/4 wasn't exactly the height of musical movie making). But compared to anything of today, it's simply amazing!What you should also know, is that there's a lot of politics that surrounded this project:1. It was a great book by Patrick Dennis (Around The World With Auntie Mame)2. It was a great play starring Rosalind Russell (Auntie Mame)3. It was a great movie starring Rosalind Russell (Auntie Mame)4. It was a great broadway musical starring Angela Lansbury (Mame)5. It is a great hollywood movie-musical version of #4.By the time this movie came out, people couldn't get over the travesty of not hiring the amazing Angela Lansbury. Okay, so Lucy is no Angela, but Angela is no Lucy. Get over it! I realize, Lucy, while a great actress and comedianne, is no singer. But getting past that, the film is still unfairly compared by many, line by line, frame by frame to the book, the play, the movie, and the musical. Of course people are going to complain.Now erase all that BS, forget the turmoil, and watch this film for what it is, a GREAT movie on it's own, and you will love it. It's funny, it's sad, it's beautiful, and everyone I know who has seen it absolutely loves it!Robert Preston is so well cast, I don't think he ever lets us down. Bea Arthur is funnier here than she was on Maude or Golden Girls! And Jane Connell, a long-time broadway talent knows how to deliver with her innocent naive Agnes Gooch. And, pun intended... I love lucy!Now, about the DVD itself, I think the film has never looked better, and it's nice to finally see it in Letterbox the way it should have always been seen! Okay, so it's not in 5.1 surround sound, but it sounds the way it was meant to sound in 1973, and it looks better than ever.Here's who I don't recommend it to:Biggots (it's definitely not your film)Musical-haters (what would be the point of watching?)Angela Lansbury (it's like asking Julie Andrews to watch My Fair Lady).If you don't fit those categories, then I highly recommend it. Give it a chance and live, live LIVE!

Got the DVD, 4 days later I go to watch and when I put it in two different DVD players, it reads "no disc". I tried it on play station. The disc doesn't show up. Defective DVD. I'll contact the seller.(I'm adding this as of 8-9-23). Yesterday I completed this review and then I contacted "glenthebookseller" via email about the defective DVD. Today I received an email from this seller apologizing about the defective DVD and not only was I promptly refunded the full amount to my card, they didn't require me to send the DVD back saving me the amount for postage. That's what I call EXCELLENT SERVICE. I will gladly continue to use "glenthebookseller" in the future. Thank you!!

Okay, Okay. Maybe some of you are right to think that Lucy may have been miscast as Mame. Obviously her singing voice leaves much to be desired. But if you look at her eyes when she realizes that it's Patrick who's just shown up, or the way that she expresses her love as she looks at Beau, she's enchanting! For me she is so believable as the excentric Mame. Could Angela Lansbury pull the faces of utter terror as she roller skated through the largest department store in New York, yet retaining her dignity at the same time? Lucy has always been known for that kind of 'prat-fall' comedy, and she doesn't disappoint as Mame! With expressions and a deep voice filled with contempt, she lets it be known just what she thinks of the upper-class, snobbish people that her one and only family mamber is about to join. I don't think that this was such a miscast as so many people believe. I think those of you who complain about this show have focused too much on Lucy's singing voice, ruined by so many years of smoking, and have forgotten to look at the Lucy that we all came to love first as an MGM Glamour Girl, then as the Lucy who always wanted to be 'in the show' and continued antics with Viv in the 60's. Angela Lansbury was stellar on Broadway, and she was wonderful as Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote, but would she translate the roll of Mame to film as well? Perhaps. But it had been a long time since she'd been on the silver screen, and let's face it, not all Broadway stars can make the transition to a film adaptation. So give Lucy what Lucy is due. This film was made with very limited resources, and I think that they did a wonderful job with what they had. So instead of sitting back with your red pencil in hand, make some popcorn and enjoy Lucy -with all her lunacy, as she was meant to be: one of the greatest comediennes that ever graced the screen, both big and small.

Es una pelicula que me gusta mucho y gracias a amazon la consegui.

Ótimo filme. Imagem sem nenhuma melhoria em relação ao DVD. A Warner tem de melhorar a qualidade de alguns filmes, alguns ótimos, outros de qualidade de imagem sem cuidado nenhum na transferência para Blu ray.

Nice movie and story, but its proven that our beloved Lucy really cant sing

i dont think anything all around good show it was interesting the story line is good

Für alle Musical Freunde ein MUSS. Lucille Ball in ihrer besten Rolle, obwohl sie von den Kritikern zerrissen wurde. Alle weiteren Rollen top besetzt. Die Handlung erinnert ein wenig an Annie oder Oliver. Habe mich selten so gut unterhalten. Das Bild auf der US Blu ray wurde gut aufbereitet. Der Ton ist in Mono, trotzdem sehr gut. Die Gründe weshalb Warner die Audio Spur nicht in 5.1 remastert hat, sind ausführlich im Netz zu lesen. Auf jeden Fall eine Bereicherung für jede Filmmusical Sammlung.