Customer Reviews

Song of Norway

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

While the cinematography and the musical numbers in this film are five-star, don't come to it expecting a definitive or even a particularly accurate film biography of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.

Norway is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited, and this film captures that beauty. The dancing is beautiful, and the music is enjoyable, even though some liberties have been taken with Grieg's compositions to render them singable.

Don't expect this film to be more than it is, and it can be a most pleasant experience.

I was in my early 20's when this film came out. It was shown in 70mm 6 channel real stere sound (before dolby!) and it played at the Cinerama Theatre in Hartford Connecticut. Three months later i went to Norway and followed the footsteps of all the actors in this great motion picture. I have visited Norway several times since this film and the wonderful music of Edvard Grieg plays thru my head on each visit. Corney or not, its a great piece of work and it would be nice to get down to basics again in this new century. I only wish this would come out on DVD and in letterbox. I'll never be able to say enough great things about this classic.

I first watched this movie just after its release at a movie theater in Boston in 1970 and saw it again aboard an SAS flight from Copenhagen to New York in January 1972. I was impressed with the scenery of the old country. Many of these places I have visited as a youth and as an adult. Edvard Grieg's music describes the love and adoration he had for his country. Listening to his music I can picture in my mind the beauty of Norway's picturesque, breathtaking landscape; i.e. fjords, forests, waterfalls and mountains.

Toralv Maurstad plays the famous Norwegian composer, struggling to gain fame and fortune through his music. While many of his countrymen thought of him as a failure, he gained the respect of the famous Norwegian poet, playwright and dramatist Henrik Ibsen who, his home was in the town of Grimstad where my paternal family came from, asks Grieg to compose music for his play "Peer Gynt" that has become one of the best known musical scores in the world today: "Peer Gynt Suite I" Op. 46, and "Peer Gynt Suite II" Op. 55, each with four movements. The opening theme "Morning Mood" and the third movement "Anitra's Dance" are the most popular themes.

Another Norwegian, Richard Nordraak, who wrote Norway's national anthem "Ja Vi Elsker Dette Landet" (Yes We Love This Land), becomes a close friend of Grieg by exposing his music and pulling a few strings with well-known people such as Hans Christian Andersen. Florence Henderson certainly was the perfect choice as Grieg's cousin and wife, Nina, with her beautiful singing voice and talent.

While many still criticize Grieg's works, there are many more who admire this great composer's love for Norway reflected through his numerous Small Piano Pieces, his famous "Piano Concerto in A minor" Op. 16, and "In Autumn" Op. 11. Grieg's music will always live on in the minds of children and adults of all ages.

I saw "Song of Norway" as a child in Bombay (now called Mumbai) India, in 70mm with 6-track sound, sitting in the Balcony's first-row-center of one of the best reserved-seat "roadshow" theaters in this country....and have never forgotten it. The same theater used to have re-runs of great films in "morning shows" and this movie returned at least twice. I made it a point to see it again....and again.
I can understand why some people find it cloying or corny. It demands an innocence, a surrender to sentiment that is alien to the "modern" psyche; and would thus engender much pooh-poohing from people uncomfortable with (their own?) childlike emotions.
However, NOBODY could ever deny the sheer gorgeousness of it all --- the marriage of Grieg's music with STUNNING visuals and sound, underscoring the strong relationships in his life; making for a whole much greater and more moving than any of its parts.
I cant BELIEVE how this masterpiece has been allowed to languish without a decent DVD release --- the last one I'm told was woefully inadequate and is, in any case, unavailable. Someone PLEASE let us know if a "restoration" is on the cards, allowing us to experience the film in all its original glory on DVD....and its lovely soundtrack on CD!
ABC Pictures and Buena Vista....ARE YOU LISTENING??

Does anyone know who currently holds the rights to release SONG OF NORWAY in Super Panavision and 6-track stereo sound on DVD? I propose a letter-writing campaign! What is taking so long? Anchor Bay Entertainment had the rights and did, in fact, announce it for summer 2003. Sadly, they lost the rights before it could happen.

SONG OF NORWAY is my holy grail for a widescreen DVD (dare I ask, blu ray?). It has been a glaring omission on the list of properly released movie musicals and is ever more so today with HD advances. Mr. Rightsholder, please read all these many reviews by the world community, from Bombay to Bellmore, who are positively CLAMORING for it. (Andrew Stone's follow up, THE GREAT WALTZ, has already seen the light of day of a decent widescreen stereo presentation on Turner Classic movies, though it too deserves a soundtrack CD and a first-rate DVD / blu ray!)

Many beloved films have their flubs and imperfections, and I admit SONG OF NORWAY has some curious editing anomalies. The most glaring one comes at the end of the picture, when Grieg is running through the streets to reunite with Nina, and is seen to callously knock a little girl playing hopscotch to the ground! I hereby give you, Mr. Rightsholder, my blessing to snip these 3 or 4 offending frames in the restoration process. Though the cinematography is breathtaking, I was never happy with Virginia Stone's editing choices on this picture.

A complete roadshow print with commentary by Florence Henderson, a making of documentary, interviews with surviving cast members, trailers, radio spots and more would be nice touches, as would a long overdue CD soundtrack with longer music cues and underscoring not included on the original vinyl release. How about it, Turner Rhino?

UPDATE -- September 30, 2011: Great news! LOST HORIZON 1973 is finally remastered and on Columbia VOD, with extras to boot. One more film musical finally given its due on DVD. It is obviously somebody's pet project, having even seen an official laser disc release. But what about SONG OF NORWAY, ever so much more worthy and, arguably to some but not to me, DEFINITELY A BETTER FILM, which has languished unresolved these many decades on laser disc let alone on DVD or blu ray. How can I make this MY pet project? It's nearly one year past its 40th Anniversary -- can anyone please tell me if it is on somebody's radar for a release sometime soon? Or, if you know the correct party to write to, would you kindly let me know? Does whoever makes decisions about what gets released read these many reviews on Amazon.com imploring its release? Although ever youthful and gorgeous, Florence Henderson is not getting any younger with regard to a possible commentary track.

Michael Takach, Astoria, NY -- videovixennyc@gmail.com

Breathtaking scenery and lovely music highlight this story about the life of composer Edvard Grieg. Florence Henderson, is perfect in the role of Nina Grieg, wife of Edvard. Her magnificent soprano voice brings new life to his gorgeous music.
I remember seeing this film in the theatre when it was first released. It was filmed entirely on location. There is not one studio shot in the entire film. I visited Norway back in 1984 and was delighted to see many of the shooting locations. I bring this video out at least once a year to watch.

Rarely has a legitimate theatre musical been so carefully and lovingly transferred to the big, wide screen. The creators researched their material meticulously and while certain liberties were taken for dramatic enhancement, many of the historical events portrayed were authentic and consistent in spirit with Grieg's life.

This was originally a broadway production from the operetta venue and while some of the original numbers were dropped, many new numbers were added which enriched the story.

But most of all, this is a glorious musical. The scenery is breathtaking, filmed in many of the original locations where the events took place. The choreography and music set a new standard in support of the musical numbers. The singing is glorious. Florence Henderson is wonderful as Nina Grieg. Her voice is a pure, heartwarming soprano. Remember that she was a musical-comedy star of considerable stature long before the Brady Bunch. Frank Poretta is charismatic as Richard Nordraak, Grieg's long time friend and gives us a rich, powerful voice to boot. Torav Maurstad is Norwegian and portrays Grieg with meaning and affection. He is not a professional singer but his voice suffices as a composer singing his own songs.

The other supporting players add depth to the story line and the choreography is spectacular. The sound track, not available as yet on CD, is beautifully transferred from the film and is a colector's item in itself.

There is a marvelous Christmas sequence filmed high in a snow-packed retreat and an animated troll number set to Peer Gynt's Suite that is delightful at any age.

What a rare treat for music lovers. This movie would be a most welcome addition to collectors and lovers of truly memorable movie musicals--one of the two or three best in my memory. I usually watch it with renewed enthusiasm each Christmas season.

I was thrilled to finally find the Song of Norway in video, as I had seen it back in 1971 when it was out in the theaters. It was the reason I decided to visit Norway in 1972. Although the acting is not the best, the scenery and music from Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg make it very worth while. If you are familiar at all with Grieg's music, you will realize the composers of the music from this film took some liberty to change, add and adapt to make his compositions "singable". The story gives us a realistic look at the difficulties Edvard Grieg had in making a name for himself and a look at Norway in the mid 1800's. It's enjoyable, light entertainment, not to be taken too seriously, but with a strong message of friendship, loyalty and priorities.

The beautiful Norwegian landscape is the most attention-getting part of this movie. We see first hand how Grieg drew some of his inspiration. In scope, this film rivals "The Sound of Music", even featuring the cream-colored ponies that are only sung about in that film. The singing of this movie left something to be desired here and again. But it was joyously done and I find myself in an upbeat mood after watching it. It was interesting to see a pre-"Brady Bunch" era Florence Henderson as Grieg's loyal wife, and I enjoyed the coquettishness of Christina Schollin as Grieg's previous lover although in reality, there is no proof of her existance. The midnight sun was beautiful to behold, the wedding scene joyous,the cathedral in which it took place bathed in beautiful white and gold light, the music of Grieg profound and stately, and overall, the film itself highly commendable.

This was certainly an odd movie and very unusual. Whoever did this certainly had their own vision and did not follow too many footsteps of other musicals in it's day. I myself, at the time, was a movie soundtrack buff with many movies, not all musicals. Since I have not seen this particular movie in some time, I can say for a fact that the original soundtrack was more of an asset than the movie itself. I agree that the natural scenery was nothing short of awesome, but the storyline involving the movie itself is forgotten. What stuck was the cinemagic and the music. Being I had the original vinyl album release, and still have it, I found the album cover and vinyl soundtrack outrated the movie. Even the cover graphic, complete with piano outline with insets of movie scenes surrounded by blossoming daisies was exhilarting. I think I purchased the soundtrack before I saw the movie. My favorite cuts were "Strange Music", "Three there were", and "At Christmastime." The opening piano intro is totally unforgettable. I think Florence Henderson did a superb job with her long golden hair and wonderful voice. As an added note, I think the most memorable scene was towards the final song where there was a tense awkward moment in which a woman was forced to sing an anthem song at a dining room table in front of the fabled pianist. Can't wait for the DVD release on this feature also.