Product Details

• Actors: Doris Day, Perry Como, Rock Hudson
• Directors: Bill Foster
• Writers: Ernest Chambers, Saul Ilson, Alex Barris, Gary Belkin
• Producers: Don Genson, Ernest Chambers, Saul Ilson, Terry Melcher
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Mpi Home Video
• DVD Release Date: May 30, 2006
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000E991SY
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,455 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Doris Day Special" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

A Rare & Delightful Day For Music Lovers! Film and recording superstar Doris Day stars in her first television music special, singing a collection of her greatest hits (It¹s Magic, Sentimental Journey, Secret Love), Showtunes (Who Will Buy? from Oliver, Hurry, It¹s Lovely Up Here from On A Clear Day You Can See Forever), and other pop classics such as Both Sides Now, The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy) and the Beatles’ Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da. Special guest Perry Como performs Didn¹t We and duets with Doris for a nostalgic medley of songs, including Everybody Loves A Lover, Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars, When You Were Sixteen and Let Me Call You Sweetheart. With her pet dogs, Doris offers You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby and joins a dance troupe for The Gypsy In My Soul and Them Was The Good Old Days. In addition, Doris¹ motion-picture partner Rock Hudson makes a surprise appearance and, as an added bonus, never-before-seen outtakes and deleted scenes are featured on this DVD debut of THE DORIS DAY SPECIAL, which received an Emmy® nomination when it originally aired as The Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff Special on CBS-TV in 1971.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AN UNFORGETTABLE NIGHT WITH DAY, January 31, 2006

By 

Paul Brogan (Concord, NH) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Doris Day Special (DVD)

CBS had the perfect remedy for chasing away the late winter blues when, in 1971, they presented two hours of great musical entertainment one Sunday evening.

Composer Burt Bacharach starred in a major special with guest star Barbra Streisand and it was enjoyed by millions. However, it was the second CBS Special of the evening that truly reminded viewers what the word Special meant when applied to musical entertainment. That's when Doris Day, then starring in the third season of her smash hit comedy series for the Tiffany Network, dusted off her vocal chords and dancing shoes and refreshed viewers as to why she was a legend in the musical department.

"The Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff Special" was a musical dream hour that allowed the gifted lady ample opportunity to sing, dance and charm with all the natural gifts that she alone possessed.

Filmed in a lush garden setting, based upon Miss Day's own backyard in Beverly Hills, there wasn't an instant in which the audience, judging by the staggering ratings, was not totally won over.

Miss Day began her musical journey on a bicycle, then her favorite mode of transport for getting around Beverly Hills. A medley including her mega-hit "Secret Love", "Who Will Buy" from "Oliver", a bit of the Beatles and some Simon and Garfunkel, made for a captivating opening and it only got better.

"Hurry It's Lovely Up Here" from Streisand's then recent film, "On a Clear Day" was given new life by Doris Day's sparkling rendering. She introduces her dogs, sings to them and somehow manages to make it absolutely disarming.

During the breakneck hour, she models a score of fashions, sings and dances to "Gypsy in My Soul" and as a flapper to a Roger Miller tune.

Special guest star Perry Como scores a knockout and his chemistry with Miss Day is top-notch. They make beautiful music together while engaging in playful banter. "When You Were Sweet Sixteen", "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "If I Had My Life to Live Over" are only a few of their songs. They have some great fun built around Miss Day's hit recording of "Everybody Loves a Lover" and you'll hit a bit of "Summertime" by Gershwin, "In the Summertime" by Roger Miller and a couple of Latin American love songs sung to perfection by the delightufl duo.

A series of film clips from classic Day films leads to a delightful cameo appearance by frequent film co-star Rock Hudson but the best is saved for last. Miss Day ties it all together brilliantly with a classic rendering of the Judy Collins hit, "Both Sides Now" followed by flawless performances of two of her greatest hits - "It's Magic" and "Sentimental Journey".

Promised on the DVD, being released under the title, "The Doris Day Special" are an hour of extras including alternate takes, bloopers and commentary but the main reason to purchase this DVD is to see Doris Day in a rare musical foray.

Tens of millions tuned in to watch in 1971 and now, 35 years later, everyone has the opportunity to see what all the fuss was about. If you're not a fan, you are guaranteed to be after spending two hours with Doris Day and her vocal chords of gold.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars DORIS PLEASES, BUT DVD SHOULD'VE BEEN BETTER, March 15, 2006

By 

Tom Anderson (Piney Flats, Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Doris Day Special (DVD)

It really is great to see Doris Day again. I had forgotten all about this TV special (taped in 1970), until I saw it mentioned on a DVD website. Then I found it in a music/movie catalog that has the DVD in stock NOW as an exclusive until it's released in May to everyone!

Although the special is a little too cute and contrived for its own good (which was often the case for variety specials back then), I really enjoyed it--Doris is ALWAYS wonderful and is in great voice. It's also good to see Perry Como again, who is hard to find on DVD.

The special opens with Doris singing on a bike. This part was filmed instead of taped and doesn't look very good: dark, grainy, somewhat blurry and faded in color. This part also has its share of dust and speckles. When the special goes inside the studio and switches to tape, the picture brightens and the dust and speckles are gone; however the picture is still not what it should've been. The colors are bright and saturated, but the image quality is somewhat blurry and soft causing quite a loss of detail. Older taped material often looks like this when it has not been restored, but one only has to look at the DVDs of the restored Judy Garland TV shows or the Barbra Streisand specials of the 1960s to see material older than this that looks just fine. It's a shame nobody bothered to do the same here.

The bonus material isn't much to see, but at least it's something extra to watch. There are some outtakes and some of the musical numbers that were remixed to stereo with some of the technical preparation showing. There's a short ad for Doris' animal league, a spot promoting "The Doris Day Show" on DVD that only shows the series' opening credits (Picture quality is awful--I sure hope the DVDs look better than this!), and a blurb for "The Love Album," a gorgeous album that was finally released in this country a few months ago. It was originally recorded in 1967 but never released, as she and Columbia Records had parted ways. By all means buy this album, which is one of the best she ever made!

Don't let me disuade you from buying this DVD. If you're a Doris Day fan you'll definitely want it. I'm just saying that, quality wise, our Doris deserves better--and so do her fans.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPER SPECIAL AND BONUS FEATURES, April 16, 2006

By 

Music Expert (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Doris Day Special (DVD)

Doris Day made only two TV music specials and this one, which aired in 1971, was wonderful because it focused almost entirely on her singing -- both alone and with guest Perry Como. (There is a brief comedy bit reuniting Doris with her motion picture partner Rock Hudson.) Doris' voice was as warm and beautiful as ever singing some of her all-time classics like "It's Magic" and "Sentimental Journey" as well as more contemporary material like the stunning "Both Sides Now" and the playful "Feelin' Groovy." The show looks great -- rich colors and clear picture plus the DVD producers have supplied an hour of extra footage -- including many of the show's songs remixed to stereo and without studio laugh track -- plus behind-the-scenes glimpses of Doris and Perry between takes, a deleted Doris dance number, outtakes with Doris and an insightful interview with one of the special's producer. This is a treasure trove for anyone who admirers a great vocalist like Doris doing what comes naturally -- and it's an incredible bargain too. Doris Day is truly one of the most underrated of female singers. She is a delight and a totally natural talent.