Search - Fred Astaire, Petula Clark :: Finian's Rainbow (1968 Movie Soundtrack) (Rhino Handmade)

Devilishly beguiling!

R. L. Pulliam | Oakland, CA USA | 10/19/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What can I say different from what has been said?



This film and its score resonate on so many levels for me that I hardly know where to begin. First, this film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It was his 2nd or 3rd directorial effort.



Second, this film was the first time that choral supervisor Ken Darby received a solo screen credit -- and it was well-earned, well-deserved. It was also his last film musical, so quickly did the genre phase out over the next few years.



Third, Don Francks threw his heart and soul into the part of Woody and became that rarest of musical rarities -- the perfect leading man.



For me, Petula Clark was the major revelation in this film. A "pop" recording star from the U.K., her Sharon was beautiful, poignant and perfect. Her scenes with Fred Astaire are sheer magic and you can see the joy she had working with him and the other cast. As for her Sharon, she invests her vocals, both spoken and sung, with an Irish lilt that captures the optimism of that fantastic people with an ineffable sadness that evokes some mystical sense of loss. That and the Burton/Lane songs add up to musical perfection in my book.



Astaire is one of my idols. I was very glad to see him in this film, and he is a joy forever. Although top-billed, his Finian isn't the dominant character in the film, although he gets many big moments, including the finale in which he leaves his daughter and new son-in-law in search of another rainbow. It truly seemed to be the end of the great musical era despite his appearance with Gene Kelly in 1976 in "That's Entertainment, Too (2)."



The opening of the film, which hopefully will be released on DVD in the near future, is a vast canvas of landscapes as Finian and Sharon make their way from Ireland to the United States. And there's that phenomenal vocal by Clark of "Look to the Rainbow". The score is magic: "How Are Things in Glocca Morra" (be it vocal by Clark or by the fantastic chorus, the arrangements are dazzling and the lyric delivery touches the heart). "Old Devil Moon" has never been served better than in the fantastic forest setting with Woody and Sharon flat on their backs singing to each other. "That Great Come and Get it Day" is a rouser, and all the rest of the songs are appealing and extremely well-served. Yes, Tommy Steele's leprechaun has an over-the-top edge that can clench jaws from time to time, but it's also an appealing character more often than not.



The recording is fantastic. The vocals are a dream. It's one of the glories of film musicals as a recording and as a film.



I only wish they'd been able to give us more of it."

Glorious!

Stephen Peithman | Davis, CA USA | 01/12/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been wishing for this one over many years, and at last Rhino Handmade has re-released this soundtrack recording from the 1968 film version, starring Petula Clark, Fred Astaire, Don Francks, and Tommy Steele. It's one of the rare instances where the soundtrack is better than the original cast album--both in terms of sound and the quality of the performances. The Burton Lane/E.Y. Harburg score includes "Look to the Rainbow," "How Are Things in Glocca Morra?", "Old Devil Moon," "If This Isn't Love," and "When I'm Not Near the Girl I Love.""

It's Almost Perfect...

Ryff Wolf | Southern CA | 01/05/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Beautifully rendered soundtrack of a superlative musical score, what could make it any better? Well, it misses perfection just by a hair because the dance break in "Look to the Rainbow" isn't included, nor was it on the original LP. If Rhino was going to go to all the trouble of remastering the sparkling tracks from this film, including the addition of the overture, entr'acte and exit music, why not include those few minutes of terrific dance arrangement from that great number?

Otherwise, a splendid reading of the tunes from one of best movie musicals of the 1960s. Terrifically cast, gorgeously photographed and edited, with a joyous, youthful sweep to even the nost corny of musical comedy routines, it's wonderful to have the soundtrack on CD. And the DVD isn't far behind, appearing this March on Warner Home Video. Hurray!"