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Elvis in Concert (1977)
The last of four recorded 1970's concerts.
This was far cry from the Elvis Presley from years earlier. In fact, this was a far cry from the Elvis from six months earlier that gave five exciting concerts in December 1976. The saddest thing about the show is that if it had been filmed in December, instead of June, many non-Elvis fans would have seen how great Elvis still was.
Instead, CBS choose to record Elvis on June 19 and June 21 of 1977. Neither one of these concerts could be considered good, especially if you knew Elvis gave his best concerts in 1977 just four days later on June 25 (and June 26), 1977. What makes the special worse is the bad editing by CBS.
I have seen `pre-stock' footage of both June 19 and June 21 concerts, before CBS butchered them and while Elvis was in bad shape, CBS made it worse with their editing. It is hard to explain to people who have only heard of this concert very briefly, that CBS' attempt to keep Elvis clean actually made him look worse. This can be seen especially on SEE SEE RIDER, where Elvis huffs and puffs. The entire footage from both days have better scenes of Elvis playing guitar, and they pick out the bad part.
To this date, this concert is basically been blackballed by EPE (Elvis Presley Enterprises) and I can't blame them in one way. The editing by CBS wasn't the only reason this special was banned. Elvis Presley was dying from self-indulgence, caused by his abuse of food, drugs, and his lack of being an artist. Elvis was so over, that he could fart on stage and fans would go nuts. A cuss word from Elvis make fans pee in their pants. He was so over with the fans that he self-destructed.
I have heard tapes and 8mm footage from 1977 that proved Elvis still had it, barely, but Elvis In Concert barely proves it.
Our Town (1977)
This is the "definitive" version . . .
Many people know the story of "Our Town", a play written by Thorton Wilder. This is a video cassette of the May 1977 NBC Tv special of "Our Town" with Hal Holbrook, Ned Beatty, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robby Benson, Sada Thompson, Sada Thompson, Glynsis O'Connor, and other Tv and stage personalities from the mid 1970s.
This version was created after two failed attempts at putting "Our Town" on the Tv/Movie screens. In 1940, Hollywood produced the movie "Our Town" which I called the "Wizard of Oz" version for reasons that can be explained if you read that review. In 1954, Frank Sinatra, Eva Marie Saint, and Paul Newman did a "musical" version of Acts I and II. Throton Wilder was so disgusted with both, he started working with tv producers to create a definitive version of his play in the early 1970s. Wilder passed away in late 1975, but in the months prior to his death, he and producers tried to work out the dream. Although Wilder died, his dream was answered in 1977.
The casting was almost perfect. Ned Beatty is a great character actor, and he really fits the part. Hal Holbrooke creates the perfect Stage Manager, and using a empty tv studio actually gives the impression of seeing reality. We are told it is a play, but the studio gives the impression that it is a recap of a time traveler/historian that the Stage Manager was.
The following is a spoiler comparison of 1977 and 1989's Our Town
(Spoiler) My favorite Act is Act III because of Emily discovering how short and significant life could have been. I thought Glynsis O'Connor did this best. When Emily accepts death, she is very tranquil about it. The 1989 version with Penelope Ann Miller was good too, but her Emily feels trapped forever, while O'Connor's Emily was content with what she had and realized it was over. Another thing about the two Emilys was in Act I of both 1940 and 1977, both Scott's and O'Connor's Emily is playful with George and shy, while Penelope Ann Miller's Emily is hitting on George from the very beginning.
Again a great play, if you can see many versions of this play -- see them. But try to see the 1977 version first and then keep your mind open if you like.
Our Town (1940)
Revisionist Drama 101?
I have seen four versions of Our Town, including the version we did back in High School. I really enjoy this play, and I actually liked the movie. However, the entire movie was not `Our Town' at all. Instead, it was almost a parody of the original play, because it was now a movie and Hollywood must have felt that having a Stage Manager would have not been too realistic. The first two acts are basically intact, with the exception that majority of the wedding material was removed from the movie version. Such little things as George talking with his mother as he experiences `cold feet', the Priest dialogue (a short sample was done by a real priest because there was no Stage Manger, and finally the replacement of the third act with something out of the `Wizard of Oz' and other movies from the era.
The entire third act was actually rewritten, and people should get a copy of this movie just to see Thorton Wilder's message about `death' being turned into a joke. Not only was majority of the dialogue rewritten, but certain `dead' characters had different lines. For example, all the Stage Manager dialogue went to Simon Simpston. While the `kitchen' scenes with Emily and Mrs. Web are similar, they too are rewritten, and of course in this version Emily is only having a `near death experience'. Seeing Emily alive after Act III might be heartwarming, but `Our Town' wasn't supposed to be heartwarming. This play was about simple lessons, that this entire movie missed.
I would rate this version * ½* just for the fact that Martha Scott was in the original play version in 1938, and it was the first version ever done for the movies.