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"Do
you believe in fairies?"
The musical
version of PETER PAN, J.M. Barrie's timeless story of the
boy who refuses to grow up, first appeared on television in
the very late 1950s, when the Broadway cast including Mary
Martin in her Tony Award-winning turn as Peter, and Cyril
Ritchard as Captain Hook, performed it before the cameras.
In 1960 (one or two years after the original broadcast), the
cast was reunited to perform the show live again, this time
in color. And that is the performance that was captured on
tape and is presented here for the first time on DVD. It's
difficult for me to watch it now with a clear eye, remembering
how as children we waited in anxious expectation for the yearly
re-broadcast of this tape.
Peter, the
boy from Neverland, pays regular visits to the Darling's house,
where he hovers outside the bedroom window of the Darling
children in order to listen to the bedtime stories their mother
tells them. On one such visit (we're told), Mrs. Darling chases
him from the room, slamming the window against him and inadvertently
capturing his shadow.
When Peter
returns to retrieve his shadow, he meets the Darling children,
Wendy, John and Michael, who fly with him back to Neverland
to experience all the adventures that the tiny island has
to offer. Once there they battle Indians (with whom they later
form an alliance), and the evil Captain Hook and his band
of pirates. But in the end, the Darling children realize they
must go back home, and that growing up is an inevitable part
of life. Far more rich than the incredibly watered down animated
version, PETER PAN offers a fertile story of childhood longing
- both to stay a child and to grow up -- adults who have never
seen this before will be astonished as the depth that was
embodied in children's stories before the advent of Pokemon.
And this production offers a glimpse of two great performers
at the top of their form: Mary Martin shows why she was one
of the brightest stars on Broadway, and Cyril Ritchard is
positively hilarious as the menacing (and musically malevolent)
Captain Hook. This is also another rare opportunity to see
some sprightly choreography by Jerome Robbins.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Alas, the
notes on the cover say this production is "richly preserved
in color, with all of the immediacy and technical imperfections
of live television." That is, television in 1960. This is
a very difficult disc to rate because technically as a DVD,
because the picture is dreadful, and that is simply unavoidable
because of the way (and the year) it was recorded. The picture
is fuzzy throughout, at times looking almost as if there's
a thin layer of gauze over it, and that rather informs everything
else: color balance (which is okay, if a bit washed out),
black level and contrast. But you have to remember that this
is not the fault of the transfer, but lies in the original
source materials. This is as good as it's going to get. And
it's a shame, but it's still better than having lost such
a wonderful performance.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The sound
is Dolby Digital 2.0 mono, and fares much better than the
video. the music is very good, at all ends of the register,
although the upper register can be a little harsh (also attributable
to the fact that it was recorded live, and the sound equipment
available at the time). The dialogue is also pretty clear
throughout, remembering that this was also recorded during
a live performance, so it is a bit variable depending on where
the characters are onstage and what they're doing (for example,
at one point Hook passes behind a tree as he's singing, and
his voice disappears with him).
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? None.
Parting Thoughts
Goodtimes
has done what they could with the source material, and is
offering it at a reasonable price. If you are expecting PETER
PAN to suddenly look pristine, that's something that has never
going to happen. But if you loved this as a child and are
willing to set aside the technical problems with the source
material, you'll probably enjoy it as much as I did: with
a tear in your eye.
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