Customer Reviews

Sun Valley Serenade

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you can not find the time or money to find yourself in the secluded town of Ketchum/Sun Valley, Idaho this winter. I say settle down with this classic film and enjoy the view. Sun Valley has never looked so beautiful as what one will find in this movie, astonishing since so little of it was actually filmed in the Grand Dame of Ski Resorts. Sun Valley is truly a magical land and this movie only enhances its glamour with great performances from Sonja Henie, John Payne, and Glenn Miller. Oh did I forget to mention the music composed for this movie? Chatanooga Choo Choo, I Know Why and So Do You, It Happened in Sun Valley-Harry Warrens worked his fingers off writing all of this music. Remember Sun Valley Serenade is in no way movie making at its finest moment. What it does accomplish is similar to what the resort accomplishes; it takes you away to a destination far from the cries of urban life and allows you to relax and remember more simple times.

This review applies EQUALLY to Orchestra Wives and Sun Valley Serenade.

Remember the Elvis movies that were basically a thin plot excuse to have the "star" sing? Well these movies are the 1940's equivalent featuring the pre-war (and so definitive) Glenn Miller Band.

Forget about the plots which are almost identical and don't even stand up today. Boy meets Girl, Falls in love, Another girl is jilted or gets in the way, disharmony in the band, all is sorted out. Big set piece number to finish. (Both movies - honest!). In fact unless you are interested in period movie making and Hollywood fashions you can safely fast forward between the tunes. You can figure the plot as it whizzes by - though how Milton Berle (playing the band's "publicity agent" in Sun Valley Serenade) got his wise crack about the size of a girl's chest past the production code is beyond me! Must have been the war.

BUT - the real reason to own these tapes (when are we going to get the DVD versions?) is watching the mechanics of how the Miller Band produced the sound. Sure - it was shot to be showy - and it is - but it is WELL shot and you can see how the components of the sound were built - even if the "recording studios" are the size of movie studios...... Couple this with the restored soundtrack (some tracks are in early stereo!) and you have a reason to own these movies. If you can only afford one - Orchestra Wives - there are more hits on it!

This is the last important film in the filmcareer of Sonja Henie. In the late 30s she was Hollywood`s greatest musical attraction at the box office. Although this film didn`t make it as big as her previous ones(One in a Million, Thin Ice with Ty Power & Joan Davis), Happy Landing(with Ethel Merman), My Lucky Star, Second Fiddle(with Power again - and one of her BEST films) and Everything Happens at Night) it stands out today because of Henie`s comic style(yes, she does ACT in this one), her scating and the music performed by The Glenn Miller Orchestra. This was the last of only two films that they made. Songs from SUN VALLEY SRENADE are It Happened in Sun Valley, Chattanooga Choo Choo(Academy Award Nomination) and the photography won an Oscar nomination as well. The film is fast-paced and includes Dorothy Dandridge, The Nicholas Brothers, Milton Berle and Joan Davis as musical and comedy highlights in addition to SONJA HENIE(1912-1969).

As the first of the only two movies featuring Glenn Miller and his orchestra (the 2nd being the 1942 movie "Orchestra Wives"), it is truly great to be able to see Glenn Miller, Tex Beneke, Paula Kelly, The Modernaires and the band in action, as well as hearing the great hits of "I Know Why", "In the Mood" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo". It is equally entertaining to see the Nicholas Brothers and a very young Dorothy Dandridge in action. This film is a worthy and required complement to any Glenn Miller audio collection.

This movie is SPECTACULAR in all ways. Crisp Black & White footage that is RAZOR SHARP, excellent Swing Music by the Worlds GREATEST Swing Band EVER, and filed with a TRUE STEREOPHONIC High Fidelity Sound Track so you get to hear the GREAT Glenn Miller Swing Band in Full TRUE Stereo. Optical Angle Sound Tracks were used to create the MASTER FILM of this movie and from that a TRUE Stereo Sound track is created that was also in vivid clean High Fidelity with a 30-15,000 Hz Fequency Response thanks to optical sound's great quality and ultra low noise and low distortion. This movie sound track sounds as good as if it was recorded on a CD yesterday. And listen to it in Dolby Surround by using your Home Theater's Dolby Pro-Logic IIx decoding setting and you will hear this SUPER Stereo Recording in 5.1 channel Dolby Surround. It weas recorded using the highest fidelity microphones ever made in the 1940s, the RCA "Skunk" ribbon velocity boom mics and the RCA 44-A and 44-B Ribbon Velocity Microphones that captured the full high fidelity range of 30-15,000 hz perfectly. All in all theis is a sonic spectacular fully equal to any modern day movie sound track and yet it was recorded in 1941 with the most advanced optical audio recording equipment available. You'll LOVE thi9s one on your home theater. It's one of two films that Glemm Miller did in Hollywood in the early 1940s with his famous Swing Band and all their popular top hit recordings are featured, sounding better than ever before. The other film also available in 1941 True Stereo High Fidelity is "Orchestra Wives" also available on VHS and LD in home video and another Miller Swing audio spectacular in TRUE Stereo HiFi with the rest of the famous Miller hits and an all star cast in both films.

As a Sonja Henie vehicile, this movie is an absolute gem! I saw it on VHS, and I am so glad that it's coming to DVD! I will be 1st in line to buy it at Borders! It has terrific musical #s, especially the Chattanooga Choo Choo number! Sonja is as dainty and graceful at her skating numbers as ever. The songs in it are Chattanooga Choo Choo, It Happened in Sun Valley, and my personal favorite, I Know Why and So Do You. Of course, as wonderful as all of these numbers are, they just can't compare to I've Got a Feelin' You're Foolin' for the Broadway Meody of 1936, THE BEST MUSICAL MOVIE EVER MADE IN THE HISTORY OF FILM, in my opinion. I really think that the DVD people out there should put all Sonja Henie's films on DVD, and come up with A SONJA HENIE COLLECTION! LIKE THE ONE THEY MADE FOR ASTAIRE AND ROGERS! I own the Astaire and Rogers Super Collection, and I LOVE IT! A collcetion for our amazing Ms. Henie would be SOOOOO cool! I bet tons of people would totally buy it! We also need them to put the Broadway Melody of 1936 on DVD! I'd buy a million copies of it if they put it on DVD! Anything to see Robert Taylor and JuneKnight singing to each other on a CLEAR, NON-STATIC DVD PRINT! So you should see this movie to see the great Sonja Henie! AND ALSOSEE THE GREATEST MUSICAL # EVER CREATED, I'VE GOT A FEELIN' YOU'RE FOOLIN', FROM THE BROADWAY OF 1936, WITH ROBERT TAYLOR AND JUNE KNIGHT!!

This is remembered primarely because of the excellent music of Glenn Miller. He was to do only another film, Orchestra Wife, before being killed in a planecrash.
However; by the early 40s, Sonja Henie had developed into a good comedienne and this is her best - as a dumb, simpleminded blonde. Her timing is impeccable as is her delivery of dialogue... As if that isn`t enough; the supporting cast includes great efforts by The Nicholas Brothers, Dorothy Dandrige(then married to 1 of the N. Brothers and with whom she gave birth 2 a multihandicapped daughter), Milton Berle, Lynn Bari(singing voice dubbed) and John Payne as Sonja`s loveinterest.

It`s 1 of the best musicals ever made, though Sonja`s skating in this 1 is not her best.

Finally another great film to DVD. This is one of the Best films of the early 40's with The Glenn Miller Band. Sonja Henie, John Payne, Milton Berle and many great old stars. Bringing back good memories of motion pictures of the 40's. Glenn Miller plays his greatest selections, Chattanooga choo choo, In the Mood and I Know Why. You will be dazzled with Sonja Henies skating. You will also be dazzled with the great stereo sound and excellent picture quality. I rate this film the best 5 stars
I hope this film will be presented in it's original full screen format.

Wonderful movie- should be owned just for the music. It's an historical document that's great fun. VRR

As an old fan of Glenn Miller & Sonja Henie, I too am waiting for the DVD release of this movie, as it will hopefully have the option of subtitles. I don't want to miss a word of the dialog! As a young adult I spent many an hour dancing to that fantastic Miller band, and am a nut when it comes to ice skating performances. Put the 2 together, and WOW!!