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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
OY Calcutta, July 25, 2006
Oh Calcutta is not well represented by this DVD, or the original VHS version either...(they are both identical). Let us first say that unlike other mentions of this show being a taped version of the Broadway show; not so. Some of it was taped at a television studio on the West Side of Manhattan, and the exteriors were taped in Connecticut at someones property. It was the same script as the Broadway show, but it included some actors who were not in the original Off-Broadway version, such as Alan Rachins, Bonnie Enton, Katie Drew Wilkenson and Leon Russom. Bill Macy never did the Broadway version but left the show while it was Off-Broadway. Levy asked him to do the taping and he agreed. Oh Calcutta was never a great show. It was a musical review with various authors contributing sketches (some were rejected) that were picked over, pasted together, and even rewritten, by Jacques Levy, Margo Sappinton, the Open Window, and with significant(unrewarded)contributions and efforts by the original cast. The taping was an awkward affair with the invited audience kept waiting for almost two hours before the taping began and each scene was done alone, with time taken between scenes for setting up the next one. There were only a few scenes done in front of that mostly bored audience while the rest of the scenes were taped later after the audience was excused. Some scenes were done in the middle of the night with exhausted actors and the crew working into the dawn hours. The audience reactions were recorded and sweetened in the final mix. Now here is the kicker. The actors, who had contracts to be paid for any transfer of the original tape to another media, and who had a percentage of the profits, were never paid for those transfers or profits, including the motion picture profits. (they transferred it to film and distributed it internationally) Those profits were reported in trade papers as 7 million dollars! The reported cost of the taping? $400 thousand. How do I know? Because I was one of the actors. Adding insult to injury they now have transferred it to DVD. If you buy this DVD new, you are lining the pockets of the same people who cheated the actors.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sexy erotic romp, April 9, 2008
This review is from: Oh! Calcutta! (DVD)
For mature audiences only! This gem on video or DVD is a keeper. It is a product of the 1960's and early 70's where people started to question sexual mores and values, and it pokes fun at our beliefs, inhibitions and hang ups about the human body, nudity, and sexuality. The video is based on the stage play of the same name. I have never seen the live play, so I cannot comment on how it compares to the live play, but I do know that it is a introspective about our attitudes on one of the most important of topics of human nature -- none of us would be here without it. There is full frontal male and female nudity and simulated sex scenes. It is basically a series of short skits dealing with various aspects of human sexuality including swinging and dating, being sexual naive, victorian repression, fantasies, sexual experiments. And there are also parts that simply celebrate our sensuousness, sensuality, sexuality, such as the beautiful nude ballet scene. This is a classic of film. The DVD is just made from the VHS video. By the way, the title "Oh! Calcutta!" has nothing to do with Calcutta in India. It is a corruption of the French, "O quelle cul ta!" which means "What a nice rear end you have!"
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Lackluster & unfunny, December 6, 2006
There was a lot of new ground broken when "Oh! Calcutta!" opened off Broadway as the turbulent '60s rolled to a close. Half play, half musical, the production was notable for its brazen use of full nudity (male and female) on stage. Even today, three decades later (and more than 10 years since the long-running show closed its curtain for the last time in Manhattan), I still hear about the bold, innovative landmark in theater. Given the involvement of luminaries such as John Lennon, Sam Shepard, Jules Feiffer and Peter Schickele (a.k.a. PDQ Bach) in its composition, I was intrigued to see how the video of the original "Oh! Calcutta!" stood the test of time. It doesn't. I've seen a lot of creative things done combining nudity and dance, and much of it has been done quite well. And it's in that area that "Oh! Calcutta!" still shines. The choreography, credited to Margo Sappington, is excellent in many places. But the comic skits which make up the bulk of the show are for the most part sophomoric. The writers and performers seem almost like pre-teens, giggling at the blatant sexuality and striving primarily to shock the audience. This isn't just stage nudity, you see -- the video is laced heavily with simulated sex, oral sex and gratuitous groping. I could probably have been a lot more forgiving if the production had gotten off to a better start. However, after a successful opening scene, the second bit left a bitter taste in my mouth for the rest of the show. The scene in question features nursery rhyme characters Jack and Jill in bright yellow schoolchild garb; it starts off as a mildly amusing farce about innocence in the face of "cocktail parties and orgy parties" and ends with a brutal rape. There's nothing to laugh about, nor is there any deep or meaningful point to be made. The scene attempts to shock, which it does successfully. But, given that most of the play is "funny stuff," rape is a tasteless, pointless plot device. Nothing in the remaining span of the video redeems that fatal flaw. Sure, some of the skits are funny, and some are clever, but there isn't anything funny or clever enough. And some scenes -- for instance, a nervous husband and wife on their first night of spouse swapping, and a group of men who project sexual fantasies on a big screen and masturbate to the images -- are just plain crude. Fortunately, "Oh! Calcutta!" still has some excellent dance numbers going for it. Unfortunately, the music itself is fairly lackluster throughout. All in all, there are better ways to spend two hours of your time, unless you're really desperate to see nude bodies on stage. by Tom Knapp, Rambles editor
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