Product Details

• Actors: Anthony Perkins, Dorothy Stickney, Larry Gates, Charmian Carr
• Directors: Paul Bogart
• Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Original recording remastered, Restored, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 1.0)
• Subtitles: 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: Entertainment One
• DVD Release Date: October 26, 2010
• Run Time: 50 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0033HKCX2
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,318 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Evening Primrose" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

The people are gone. The doors are locked. Darkness descends inside a department store. Fleeing the pressures of the outside world, an unhappy poet is at last alone. But not for long. In his newfound sanctuary, he comes across a group of hermits who have been hiding there for years. Among them is a young girl with whom he falls in love.

Specially created for television, Evening Primrose aired only once on ABC Stage 67. Starring Anthony Perkins and Charmian Carr, the production featured a teleplay adapted by James Goldman (from a short story by John Collier) and a score that included some of Stephen Sondheim’s most hauntingly beautiful songs – among them “I Remember” and “Take Me to the World.”

This long-lost treasure is now available for the first time ever – impeccably restored and re-mastered from a newly discovered, pristine kinescope print.

INCLUDES OVER 80 MINUTES OF BONUS FEATURES
Newly recorded video interview with director Paul Bogart
Newly recorded audio interview with Charmian Carr
Paul Bogart’s full color test footage with Anthony Perkins
28-page booklet with contributions by Stephen Sondheim and Jane Klain of the Paley Center for Media

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I REMEMBER SNOW...., March 17, 2010

By 

Neil Elliot "DEMYgogue" (W. Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Evening Primrose (DVD)

Years ago a friend had a video tape of EVENING PRIMROSE complete with commercial breaks, etc. Now THAT was a find. His copy was probably 4th generation, but as I had seen it on t.v. when it was first shown, there was a good memory to be strengthened by whatever I saw in this copy. If, indeed, the filmmakers have been able to remaster and clean up this incredible "horror story with music", I'll be a happy camper. To watch Tony Perkin's first official foray into the musical world (or was GREENWILLOW before this?)acts as a reminder of his multifaceted talents. And having run from the Nazis in the film of THE SOUND OF MUSIC, Charmian Carr finds herself in the clutches of the dark men. An excellent cast, terrific music and an important nod to Mr. Sondheims foundations.....

There are actually moments in the story where the music and the action bring about goosebumps and a pounding heart. Many have compared this John Collier story to the Twilight Zone 13TH FLOOR with Anne Francis, but I think it's much more frightening and sad, although the ending DOES allow the hero and the girl to become what they wished to be.

We've heard the music in many compilation albums, but now we can hear AND see the magic of this wonderfully mounted one act musical. Now, Collier estate, how about allowing a real stage presentation?

31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SONDHEIM TELEVISION CLASSIC, October 13, 2010

By 

L. Solomon (NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Evening Primrose (DVD)

Quite a few decades ago, I was 17 years old and hanging out with my parents. STAGE 67 was, as I recall, a "summer replacement series".

There had been a few nicely done musicals for TV on this series, memorably a production of BRIGADOON with Robert Goulet and Peter Falk. My folks tuned in because the series was damn good television. We watched the broadcast on an enormous 17" B&W TV which was housed in an elaborate wooden console.

I do not recall if this was a taped production or live. I'll assume it was taped on 2" quad videotape which was state of the art at the time. But enough of TV 101.

The production lured me in and captivated. An early Sondheim fan, I found the music as haunting as the subject matter. It was the most sophisticated theatre broadcast I had ever seen.

For years I searched for a soundtrack recording. Later I searched for a VHS release. Around 2005, I "googled" (not sure if they were around yet) a search. I had long since forgotten the title and even considered that it might just have been a figment of my imagination.

Cross-referenceing Sondheim and TV, I got a title- EVENING PRIMROSE. Alas, I could find nothing more than a footnote- nary a script or production notes. I did learn that it was viewable at The Museum of Broadcasting. It remained one of those NYC visits I meant to do but never got around to. I'm a native New Yorker and I've never been to the Statue of Liberty.

A year ago I Googled again, and got a YOUTUBE link. I was delighted to find a few musical scenes. I realized that my obsession with this TV production was well founded. A complete air check still could not be found.

Yesterday I learned that a DVD was to be released from Amazon. I couldn't click fast enough.

Why all the hubub? This one-hour gem is modern musical theatre at its finest. The haunting songs are woven into a book that starts whimsically enough, but evolves into a surreal story of desparate lovers trapped in a nightmare. No "spoilers" here. Order the DVD.

The score of four "songs" is more than appropriate for the running time of 50 minutes (minus the commercial breaks) The production values are stunning, given the era and infancy of color TV cameras. The performances are world class and more than worthy of Broadway. For Sondheim fans unfamiliar with the score, EVENING PRIMROSE will be a major discovery. If you love musical theatre, this production is a must see. It is sweet, sappy, tear-jerking and surreal in the tradition of Rod Serling's Twilight Zone. I fully expect to be enthralled.

I purchased this DVD without hesitation, even though I imagine it will show up on Netflix and similar outlets. No need for Blu-ray here. The original NTSC resolution is more than adequate for DVD. The reason for my purchase? Simple. This will remain a treasured addition to my Original Cast library. The stars of the show will steal your heart. To me, this is as much a "must-have" as any treasured collectors item. It is by no means an oddity. It is Stephen Sondheim at his youthful finest and a landmark of television musical history.

Prepare to be amazed!

PS- Happy 80th birthday Mr. Sondheim!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Follies Meets The Twilight Zone, October 28, 2010

By 

James Morris (Jackson Heights, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Evening Primrose (DVD)

Years ago, I was enchanted on first listen by a song from the score of Evening Primrose that appeared on a live concert album, Sondheim Evening: A Musical Tribute. The song was called I Remember. Although I had almost no knowledge of the story behind Evening Primrose, I somehow knew that the song was sung by the character of a young girl who had lived most of her life in a department store, and its haunting lyrics represented her struggle to place her early memories of the world in the context of her limited recent existence - "I remember sky, it was blue as ink, or at least I think, I remember sky. I remember snow, soft as feathers, sharp as thumbtacks, coming down like lint..." The hauntingly beautiful words and the stark horror of her situation blended for me then in a series of cold shudders and goose-bumps, and since that time (shortly after the debut of the original production of A Little Night Music, nearly 40 years ago), I have dreamed of having a chance to see the original TV production of Evening Primrose.

Evening Primrose, first and only once broadcast in 1966, was an early musical effort by Stephen Sondheim, master of the musical theatre of the 1970's and beyond. Of course, Mr. Sondheim had had earlier stage successes - West Side Story, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - and a few famous flops -Anyone Can Whistle, a legendary show, and Do I Hear A Waltz, one of the few Sondheim scores I still can't listen to, even to this day. But this was Mr. Sondheim's first musical effort for television, and what I had not realized before was that Evening Primrose boasted a book by James Goldman, who also wrote the book for my favorite Sondheim musical, Follies, and the play that became my favorite film, The Lion in Winter.

Armed with this knowledge, I looked eagerly forward to the release of the newly discovered and restored original kinescope of Evening Primrose, promised for the past six months and pushed back at least once. I received it yesterday, and watched it tonight with a few friends. What satisfaction! What a bizarre, Sondheim-esque experience!

The plot is simple. Anthony Perkins plays an idealistic poet, fed up with the world, who decides one day to hide out in a department store, where he will live in secret and work in an endlessly "inspiring" environment. Much to his surprise, after concealing himself in Sterns Department Store after closing, he finds that there is a community of like-minded (or are they?) individuals who have been doing the same thing for decades. Led by the eccentric Mrs. Monday, the department store people lead lives of rigid rules and constant fear, hoping against hope that they can live their days undiscovered and uninvolved in the world.

This 50-minute musical will not be to everyone's taste. Like it or not, it is essentially a horror story, with a shocking ending that younger viewers may not be able to believe could have been unleashed on an unsuspecting television audience in 1966. The cast, led by Anthony Perkins and Charmian Carr, is uniformly excellent, but aside from the young lovers, Dorothy Stickney stands out as Mrs. Monday, the formidable matriarch of the hidden community.

Surreal to the max, the best surprise was how simply and charmingly the leads deftly handled the intricate score, which, although containing a few of Sondheim's least-polished melodies, nevertheless proffered some very real portends of things to come, lyrically. Especially satisfying were the two celebrated songs, Take Me to the World and the earlier mentioned I Remember. I finished watching the DVD two hours ago, and I can't seem to get either melody out of my head.

Rounding out the DVD package are a generous offering of extras, including complete lyrics, a written introduction by Mr. Sondheim, essays, an interview with director Paul Bogart and more. A feast for Sondheim fans, James Goldman fans and lovers of musical theatre history, Evening Primrose is highly recommended.