Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Live "Television Spectacular" From 1962, September 18, 2002
Judy Garland was super-hot in 1962--so hot that she could easily coax stars Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin into appearing as secondary attractions when she decided to recreate portions of her legendary Carnegie Hall concert for television. After opening the program with a medley including "Just in Time" and "When You're Smiling," Garland introduces her guests, and both Sinatra and Martin have their musical moments and share a bit of comic banter. But this show belongs to Garland, and she dominates it with considerable ease.Garland's voice was a delicate instrument, and although it was not in truly superior form for this performance it was certainly solid enough to deliver one knock-out punch after another, beginning with a ferocious performance of "The Man Who Got Away" and then a charming and memorable "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." But the highlight of the program comes at the end, when Garland dispenses with her guests and stomps out onto a runway surrounded by her audience to toss off a handful of songs as only she could: "Swanee," "Rock-A-Bye Your Baby," "San Francisco." And while she doesn't quite manage to catch that Carnegie Hall lightening, she still makes it more than worth the trip. The program has been tinkered with, of course, first remixed into stereo and then colorized. The stereo isn't bad--but the colorization was a mistake: Sinatra's famous blue eyes have a truly peculiar cast, and the skin tones have a painted-on look. But I wouldn't avoid this tape on that account. On the other hand, a lot of Garland's television work is being slowly but surely released on DVD, and you may prefer to bypass this particular out-of-print tape in favor of a future DVD release. But one way or another, this is one that hardcore Garland fans will want to have in their collection.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The BEST Garland On Television..., July 23, 2002
Forget the videos from her '63-64 CBS series, some good, some bad...a patchwork of quality. If you want to own the ULTIMATE 'Garland On TV' video, buy this one....immediately. Her television work never reached this level of excellence, before or after, and say what you may about 'colorization,' it adds a lot to the over-all impact of her performance. She had just reached the zenith of her concert career in 1961 at Carnegie Hall, and this '62 TV special is the closest we will ever come to witnessing the magic she created there.Her showmanship supreme is introduced by THE original, earth-shaking Overture from Carnegie Hall, which will put you in the mood to start clapping and shouting her name even from an easy chair in your living room. With "JUDY" in slowly illuminating lights as a background, she delivers a powerhouse version of "Just In Time" and then swings into her wonderful rendition of "When You're Smiling." "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" is sung more poignantly than ever before, and she delivers the most heartbreaking version of "The Man That Got Away" you will ever hear. It will take your breath away and make your spine tingle, and she does it in a simple cocktail bar setting, very restrained, no arms flying everywhere, just pure raw emotion in her voice. Fellow 'Rat-Packers' Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, certainly legends themselves, are perfect guests, and do some fine solo numbers. They also display their obvious affection and respect for their hostess when joining her in "You Must Have Been A Beautiful Baby" and an upbeat version of "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You" that is truly fun to watch. Then...POW...Judy finishes the performance of her life with showstopper versions of "Swanee," "Rockabye Your Baby," and "San Francisco" that equal or surpass anything she ever gave us at Carnegie Hall or anywhere else. If you are 60 and you were actually there to watch this TV special forty years ago, or if you are 16 and just starting to discover The Greatest Entertainer Who Ever Lived....you need nothing more than this one video to 'know it all.'
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
JUDY, FRANK & DEAN - THE LEGENDARY CONCERT, July 16, 2001
By A Customer
They sure don't make 'em like that anymore. Three legends that perform and "click" in perfect harmony. I found this tape to be beautifully restored and "colorized" from its' original black & white format presentation. Though as some other reviewer commented that some of the background setting is "vintage" early 60's, it serves not only as a entertainment show but as a "classic era" piece . I enjoyed the songs and the "politically" incorrect performance by Dean & Frank while they sang and in some scenes held cigarettes and also had drinks in their hands. Boy, I haven't seen that in the last 3o + years either. All-in-all, this video should be in any Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra & Dean Martin afficionados' video library. Just a great video about a long gone generation of classic performances that will never be rivaled again! Way-worth the small cost of the video. Amazon Videos & CD's should have more of these classic era shows available. "Just B-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l!!!"
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