Customer Reviews

Pippin [VHS]

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

What can one say about a DVD that preserves much of what made it a hit on Broadway...Bob Fosse's Direction and Choreography? It is a wonderful piece of musical theater history and a wonderful representation of a hit that stormed Broadway in the 70's.

That is not to say that this DVD is not without its problems. One of the main problems is that part of the show have been edited out. A song, jokes, a pivotal moment with a talking head are missing leaving viewers perplexed at times. It seems that the editor didnt have a copy of the script to work from. The saving grace is the wonderful performance of Ben Vereen as the Leading Player. For those who want to see Vereen at his peak I would suggest you skip the Fosse DVD and get Pippin. He was one of Fosse's favorite dancers and Pippin shows off his skills. Other actors do a fairly admirable job with their parts. William Katt is good at Pippin, but no matter how many times I watch this producation I get mad that he drops the last line of the show and loses some of its punch in the dropping. Chita Rivera and Martha Raye handle their roles well and Christopher Chadman, who later went on to become a choreographer before passing away, reprises his role of Louis, Pippin's half-brother, and is as wonderful here as he was on Broadway.

Stephen Schwartz and Bob Fosse battled throughout Pippins creation, but Pippin is one of Schwartz's nicest score. And the opening number, Magic To Do, is a Broadway classic (which is why I wonder why it didnt make it into Fosse).

If you collect Broadway Musicals, Pippin is a great addition to your collection. It is a close replication of the Broadway production and it worth having.

Having owned the VHS tape of PIPPIN for quite a few years, I was excited to see that this DVD version included eight more minutes than was on my videotape. Parts of "War Is a Science" were put back in, totally missing from the tape version. The song (as well as the show) is still incomplete on this version, but it's likely the most complete issue of this ground-breaking show we'll ever see.

Performance wise, you couldn't ask for more from Ben Vareen, William Katt, and Chita Rivera, all of whom give exciting performances captured here for all-time. Christopher Chadman, who plays the egotistical Lewis, brother of Pippin, went on to have a successful career as a Broadway choreographer before his untimely death. And it's great to see Martha Raye playing a role on stage since most of our memories of her are from dated 1940's movies that emphasize her brashness and not her humanity.

The most disappointing aspect of this DVD was its sound quality. The "surround" sound as digitized through my receiver muffled the singing and emphasized the orchestra. I found that sending the sound through the side speakers made the singing much clearer and less problematic.

The interview with Bob Fosse by critic/video producer David Sheehan isn't long on substance, but it's great to see this theater and film icon again in interviews not seen before.

All-in-all, PIPPIN is a sound DVD investment.

Pippin is the court jester of Broadway musicals. The story of a 9th Century son of a Roman king who seeks to find the meaning in his life is as casual as a troupe of travelling medieval entertainers, yet as entertaining as it's Broadway rock contemporaries; Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, and even Rent. Great early '70's rock music with a heap of soul, (The Jackson 5 had a hit with Corner Of The Sky in 1972), and outstanding musical comedy performances by Tony winner Ben Vereen as the godlike omnipresent lead player, Chita Rivera as Pippin's scheming sex-brained mother, and Benjamin Rayson as the warring king. The late Bob Fosse coneived this musical based on a college project by composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz.

I watched this video production with a certain amount of trepidation; after all, it was at the tender age of eight that I had first seen "Pippin" on Broadway, with the original cast. I was not disappointed in the final product of this video, either. Certainly, production values are uneven, and as the musical opened in 1973 and this video was shot in 1981, the material (and performers) suffer a bit from dating; in Chita Rivera's case, carbon-dating, perhaps. But it is still glorious fun to watch Fosse's hip-swishing choreography and pelvis-popping staging, the design staff's imaginative use of cloth and rope to construct castles and foliage, and Ben Vereen at his song-and-dance finest. The cast, including the "Greatest American Hero" (oh, God, am I dating MYSELF? Egad!) William Katt as Pippin, Chita Rivera reprising her role as Fastrada, and Martha Raye as Berthe, do commendable jobs with the material, which is as good as any Stephen Schwarz and Roger O. Hirson ever wrote. Sound quality is uneven, as is the video quality, but hey, this is 1981. They didn't even have Dolby Surround yet.

I purchased this DVD to use in my Intro to Theatre classes in the 2-year institution where I teach. It is perfect for showing many theatre ideas: 70's theatre styles, why it is important to study Theatre History (the play is reminiscent of the Commedia dell'Arte style of the Italian Renaissance), and Bob Fosse's choreograpy.
The "live theatre" style is important for this class since movie things are very different from stage things. And the play is a really good one in general: the songs are good and many of my students recognize "Corner of the Sky", the acting is superb - especially the inestimable Chita Rivera.
It is the perfect "Night at the Theatre" for those who live far from Broadway.

Pippin is one of the best broadway shows of the 70's. Unfortunately, you'd never know it from this video of the show. While the cast is wonderful, the severe editing to make the show fit the length of a television broadcast ruins it. There are major jumps in story that completely delete songs, sections of songs, even complete scenes. And it's a major shame. William Katt makes a nice Pippin. He sings well and looks good in the part. Chita Rivera is great as Fastrada. She's..beautiful, devious, scheming, everything Fastrada should be. And what can be said about Ben Vereen. He's at the top of his form here in his Tony Award winning performance. Sound and video quality are good here. I just wish there were a special edition being issued that would put back everything that was cut out to fit the two hour time slot.

I saw Pippin years ago on Broadway and loved it... I was so excited to renew my aquaintance with it when I bought the DVD! Unfortunately, while preparing to put this film on digital medium, well, they skipped the preparing part. The dvd sounds and plays like a worn out old VHS tape. It's still fun to watch but just so dissapointing...

Pippin is the story of a young man searching for total fulfillment in life. Having seen it live 4 times (both professional and dinner theater) I love the story and the script.

But this video is strictly bush league. Poor video and sound quality make it look amateurish, despite the all-star cast. (Ben Vareen, William Katt, and the ensemble are great.) I swear, the video quality was so bad that my daughter walked in the room and asked if this was a home video of a local production. Editting problems between cameras make it obvious that this was filmed over several nights, or badly cut in the finishing room (cast member body positions change between shots and then return again, songs appear badly lip synced, despite the "live" stage setting in front of an audience, etc.) Scenes are jerky, with one jarring splice of Fastrada and Louis obviously re-recorded and cut into place just prior to "Spread a Little Sunshine."

I was also a little disappointed with the scenes cut and songs revised from the original production. "War Is A Science" is greatly cut back, the role of Katherine and the beautiful scenes with her son and his duck are all but missing, and the battle scenes that play out behind the Lead Player during Glory are not present. Also missing is one of the most memorable scenes from the stage, in which Pippin questions the value of war and the meaning of life with the disembodied head of a Visigoth (the scene was set up pretty obviously with cameras focusing on the head, but was apparently not included in the final edit.)

If you love Pippin and need a video to help rekindle memories of the play, this will do fine. If you are new to the show, this will leave you wondering what all the fuss was about 25+ years ago. Personally, I wish I had not spent the money. I went away remembering how good the stage production was, instead of having happy thoughts about having this film in my collection.

PIPPIN is a model show of its time period, a theatre piece of delightful contrasts: traditional AND unique, colorful AND dark, pastoral AND risque, cynical AND optimistic. I've listened to the cast album LP for years, always finding the songs fascinating. Now here's a professional production of the play "to have and to hold" on DVD. Unfortunately, it doesn't live up to its expectations. The performances are wonderful, as other reviewers have pointed out. (With the exception of otherwise adorable William Katt's voice breaking quite a bit.) However, the maddening cuts have NOT been restored for the DVD, and the sound quality is very poor for a DVD. It doesn't sound like the actors were individually miked, making the vocals very flat when amplified by the DVD medium. Having watched the DVD a couple of times, I decided to sell it and to invest in a copy of the original cast recording on CD :-)

Pippin is wonderful, and though I am a schwartz enthusiast myself, I have to say that Fosse blew the creative spark into Schwartz's work. The Pippin everyone remembers is Fosse's creative vision. Martha Raye is enthusiastic, bubbly, and wonderful. Chita and Ben are, as always imcomprable, William does a good job, although straining on "Corner of the sky". All in all, a talented cast. The video is choppy in places, but helps the audience especially one who may not have seen it before, understand what Fosse had attempted to do. To do being in the past sense, because Fosse did not direct the Canadian performance of Pippin. It was one of the original dancers that worked under him. All in all, though, the video is well worth seeing and owning, and if you enjoy Fosse, make you sure you pick up uour copies of Cabaret, and Sweet Charity.