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US Mall 1 - Great Caruso
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List Price: $14.98
Our Price: $20.75
Your Save: $ ( % )
Availability:
Manufacturer: MGM (Warner)
Starring: Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth, Dorothy Kirsten, Jarmila Novotna, Richard Hageman
Directed By: Richard Thorpe
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786302962048
Format: Closed-captioned
ISBN: 6302962048
Label: MGM (Warner)
Manufacturer: MGM (Warner)
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: MGM (Warner)
Release Date: 1992-12-04
Running Time: 109
Studio: MGM (Warner)
Theatrical Release Date: 1951-04-16
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Handsomely mounted opeartic biopic
Comment: This is a highly fictionaliased and heavily sentimental portrait of the great operatic tenor .It is lavishly mounted and has many popular ingredients which all helped in making it a major commercial hit in its day.
There is the rags to riches nature of the story as Enrico Caruso rises from poverty on the back streets of Naples to becoming the darling of New York society ,overcoming the death of his mother while still a child and building a carrer in the opera houses of Europe before his US debut.There is the theme of his falling in love with a scion of New York society ,in the face of unbending parental disapproval .There are lots of popular operatic arias and a strong dose of religiosity ,with the Bach -Gounoud "Ave Marie" a particular standout ..for those with more populist taste there is a strong pop tune in "The Loveliest Night of the Year" added to the mix. Add to this the performance of Lanza at the peak of his powers and you have all the ingredients for a well received "highbrow"musical.
The movie treats of his life in a superficial way and biographical accuracy has been substituted for historical accuracy ,his real life being a great deal more dramatic than we see here on the screen .The movie for example makes no reference to his first marraige preferring instead to concentrate on his relationship with his second wife ,Dorothy Benjamin (fetchingly played by Ann Blythe)and the clash with her snobbish father (Carl Benton Reid ,giving another of his solid turns as a patrician paterfamilias -his archetypal role in movies).The rise to fame with attendant pressures are but lightly touched on.
What we do get is a sterling performance by an ideally cast Lanza at the peak of handsomeness and voacl prowess ,a fine performance from Dorothy Kirsten as a soprano who befriends Caruso ,and above all that magnificent music ,magnificently sung .It is not a great movie but it is well made ,sumptuously staged and entertaining .Read a biography if you want a detailed life of an interesting and comlex artiste -that dimension is missing from the movie
Customer Rating:
Summary: Mario Lanza - one of my first loves!
Comment: All these years later, I still love him - and the story of the great Caruso is as tender and touching as it was fifty years ago. And, pardon me, but doesn't Mario Lanza make some of our present day tenors sound thin and reedy? I may have crossed the line there, but, for me, there is nothing like the robust, full, rich voice of Mario - singing all of our favorite arias. I learned to love opera through Mario Lanza - and, like Caruso, his life was too short. The story of Caruso is interesting - his rise from singing in Italian cafes to the Metropolitan Opera. Who doesn't love a rags to riches story? If you want a trip back in time - through a timeless story - get your hands on The Great Caruso - you'll play it, as I do, again and again. We are so fortunate that so many of these wonderful early films have been preserved.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Overwhelming Music Sang by an Overwhelming Tenor.
Comment: I was a kid when this film was released and saw it with undivided attention and was instantly in love with opera music and I still are! Some time later my Grandfather bought 78 rpm disk suite of the movie score and we played interminably. So I'm a sort of addict to this movie.
It was directed by Richard Thorpe, a prolific artisan with 186 films in his account. He has started directing movies in the silent period. He was very versatile, directed Johnny Weissmuller in four Tarzan's chapters.
Between 1951 till 1953 he delivered at least four successful movies: "The Great Caruso" (1951), "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1952), "Ivanhoe" (1952) and "The Knights of the Round Table" (1953). He retired in 1967.
The story is quite simple it follows Caruso's (1873-1921) life since childhood, his first steps as a singer, his jump to fame, his first encounter/disencounter with NYC's opera lovers, his love crash at first sight with Ms Doro, his clashes with Doro's father, his runaway, his triumphal return and love fulfillment.
Is that all? Well... no there is opera music and Mario Lanza outstanding performances. Incredible and unforgettable. Such great arias as "Vesti la Giuba" from "I Pagliacci", "E Lucevan le stelle" from "Tosca", the quartet from "Rigolleto" and more and more till the viewer has seen a full opera introduction.
Ann Blyth is delicious playing Ms Dorothy Benjamin with a very delicate touch reminding me of Audrey Hepburn at her best. Dorothy Kirsten adds her beautiful voice fleshing opera singer Louise Heggar.
Last but not least cinematography in charge of Joe Ruttenber who won four Oscar and was nominated for six more between 1939 and 1961 is luminous.
It is a great film for opera music lovers and general public. Do not miss it!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I believe that the film is great but the vhs is terrible.
Comment: I ordered this film vhs hoping to enjoy it. I am very dissapointed as the film must be ruined. It made all sorts of noises that you could not either hear the arias or dialogue. I'm sorry that I received a damaged film.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Great Caruso..tape..
Comment: It took the longest to get here for whatever
reason..I don't know.. I wrote to the seller and he wrote
back..which made me happy.. I love the tape.. Fondly,
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