Bye Bye Birdie | | Cast : | Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret | | Director : | George Sidney (II) | | Studio : | Columbia/Tristar Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | April 04, 1963 | | DVD Released Date : | July 13, 1999 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), Portuguese (Subtitled), Thai (Subtitled), Chinese (Subtitled), Korean (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | G (General Audience) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 02, 2005 | | Summary | "HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT HUGO AND KIM?" | Content
 | Who of us under the age of 50 hasn't had contact with that lovably cheesy, pre-Beatle '60s musical, "Bye Bye Birdie"?
I saw this when it was in the theaters- age 7 or so- and still remember listening to the soundtrack constantly on my dad's 8-track car stereo (Whoa Nellie! Now that's a Flintstone-age item!). Just last year, my niece was part of a 6th-grade "Bye Bye Birdie" production. So you can bet this show is in more minds than you think. Anyway, this is the film version most of us know and love, full of true '60s TV/movie icons, gentle early 60s-style satire, and all those songs you probably still know by heart. ("Put On A Happy Face" and "A Lot of Livin' To Do" became the semi-standards.)
"Bye Bye Birdie", of course, was a good-natured takeoff of the '50s rock n'roll scene and, in particular, Elvis-mania. While the music, by Broadway veterans Lee Adams and Charles Strouse, is hardly rock n'roll (or even Brill Building-style pop), it's still very enjoyable. I still love those energetic and clever comedy numbers: "The Telephone Hour", the ultimate teenage party line; "Hymn for Sunday Evening" ("Ed Sullivan! Ed Sullivan!"), priceless period Americana; and, best of all, "Kids", the unofficial anthem of "square" parents everywhere.
Dick Van Dyke was already a huge star thanks to his original stage role of sometime songwriter Albert Peterson and his then-new, classic TV sitcom. This and "Mary Poppins" remain his best movie performances. The late Janet Leigh, a great dramatic actress, never did another musical after this, but she's still pleasant as secretary Rosie DeLeon (firecracker Chita Rivera on stage). It's Maureen Stapleton as Albert's obsessive mom ("Wear your rubbers!"), who made a character originated by the gravelly-voiced comedienne Kaye Medford her own, who steals everything she's in. And if, like me, you still miss Paul Lynde, it's this show- stage and here- that, more than anything else, established his lifelong character. If you don't laugh when he does "Kids", call 911 immediately!
Of course, Ann-Margret and Bobby Rydell were winners (Rydell was an awfully smooth, upbeat guy), and even the little-known Jesse Pearson (never heard from again) made Conrad Birdie a likable Elvis impersonator.
To pep up the original book, Columbia brought in a real comedy-writing legend, Irving Brecher, who worked on a lot of Marx Brothers movies. If that whole subplot involving the Russian ballet was his, you've got to give him credit- between the hapless Maestro Boroff and those exhausted dancers after the fastest Tchaikovsky piece in history, it just might remind you of something like "Night At The Opera".
They just don't make musicals like this any more. The oft-witty comedy, the good-natured satire, the likable teenagers- maybe they're dated now, but thousands of school productions later, they're never out of date. This DVD's a little short on extras but the movie's still a "gas", as Ann-Margret sings in the closing number.
Finally, here's a trivia note: In an early scene in Kim's bedroom, you can clearly see a Fred Flintstone doll and a Yogi Bear comic book. Those of us who still remember Ann-Margret's animated appearance as "Ann-Margrock" (she sang a lullaby to Pebbles- come on, you do remember!) will get a boot out of it. As you will with "Bye Bye Birdie", still a chart-topper in my book! |
| Rating | | | Date | January 22, 2005 | | Summary | Dated, Tiresome musical | Content
| This Birdie did not age well. The story is so dopey, the teenagers so gagaliciously 1950ish ("getting pinned" is the source of a major number and integral to the plot), the parents so repulsive and/or outlandish, that it is a wonder anyone would bother putting it out on DVD. Unlike Grease, or Oklahoma, or any other musical I can think of, Birdie has no "larger" coherent message that translates through the anachronistic setting. And, purely as a musical, it is weak. With one or two exceptions, the songs are not well constructed and the choreography is unimaginative. The one redeeming feature is the very young and gorgeous Ann-Margaret. She is truly luminous, charismatic and talented, and the movie falters whenever she's not on screen.
For real lovers of the genre only, otherwise, it's a very fast way to clear a room. |
| Rating | | | Date | November 27, 2004 | | Summary | Bobby Rydell and Ann Margaret-Fantastic! | Content
| This is a fun musical treasure not to be missed starring Bobby Rydell and Ann Margaret. This is slightly different from the original broadway play, hence, it is based on the play. Bobby Rydell was at his singing best and Ann Margaret was at her dancing best! It's the combination of Bobby Rydell and Ann Margaret who make this movie a winner. This movie is a loose take off of Elvis before he enters the army. It's funny, lively, and a very good family film. Bobby Rydell and Ann Margaret do a very warm and wonderful duet singing "One Boy". Ann Margaret dances her heart out with Bobby Rydell adding vocals in a terrific dance number. The opening and closeing with Ann Margaret singing "Bye Bye Birdie" are fun and stunning. This is early 1960's fun and it's definitely not to be missed. It's too bad that Bobby Rydell and Ann Margaret never appeared in a movie together again because they were terrific on the screen here. Dick Van Dyke and Janet Leigh make cameo appearances. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 31, 2004 | | Summary | Put On A Happy Face | Content
| A great old-fashioned feel-good musical brought to the screen with enthusiasm and energy. Both a satire on and a celebration of good old rock 'n roll in the days before the British invasion when Elvis was still the king. Here we get Conrad Birdie instead of Elvis who, like Elvis, has been drafted into the army, much to the distress of his multitude of tenny-bopper fans. A publicity stunt of his farewell kiss to a symbolic average girl from an average middle American town sets the scene for music, comedy and mayhem.
A big hit on Broadway, Bye Bye Birdie actually benefits from the Hollywood treatment of expansion and opening out. The energy of the bigger musical numbers is allowed to explode rather than being confined to a stage. Only once or twice are questionable decisions made - the overly cutesy staging of the show's most famous number "Put On A Happy Face" being the prime example. But the rest of the score - the raucous "Honestly Sincere", the hilarious "Kids", the wistful "One Boy", the dynamic "A Lot Of Living To Do" - are nothing but pleasure to watch and listen to.
Dick Van Dyke shows why Bye Bye Birdie made him a star on Broadway. He does it all - singing, dancing, acting, clowning - and he does it wonderfully. Paul Lynde is a riot as a harassed father, Maureen Stapleton is equally funny as an overbearing mother, and Jesse Pearson is both grotesque and electric as Conrad Birdie. Even Bobby Rydell is good...sort of. In what I think was her first major role, Ann-Magret all but steals the picture. Whether being a tomboy, a high school cutie, or a slithering dance floor temptress, she oozes presence and star quality. No wonder they decided to create a title song for her to sing at the beginning and end of the movie - you just can't get enough of her.
Janet Leigh, on the other hand, is a very strange choice for this film. Looking somewhat weird in a black wig, she always seems to be trying too hard. It's not that she's really bad in the film, just not right for it. A good example is her performance in the Shriners musical number. She certainly gives it her all, but a real dancer or musical performer such as Gwen Verdon or Rita Moreno could have made it a genuine showstopper.
Sure, Bye Bye Birdie is extremely corny and somewhat dated. But it is also a lot of fun. It's a fine example of what musical comedies used to be like and probably never will be again (hence the plethora of revivals). Other musicals had much less successful transitions to movies but Bye Bye Birdie remains one of the good ones. Bright, joyful and always entertaining, as well as a nostalgic wallow, it looks wonderful on widescreen DVD. Enjoy! |
| Rating | | | Date | August 17, 2004 | | Summary | Ann-Margret never so gorgeous again | Content
| George Sidney was a great MGM director who, in the 1960s, had the great fortune of stumbling across a new star, Ann-Margret, and managed to make her an international star right at the beginning of the "Youth Era" that dominated Hollywood in the 1960s. Of all the young stars, maybe Ann-Margret had the most winning combination of vitality and innocence. Her lush figure and dancers' sway, and that wild mane of red hair, made her almost too hot for the movie screen, but George Sidney knew hot to focus her charms so that she became not a threat to the viewing public, but an actress of enormous appeal. He made three films with her, this one, VIVA LAS VEGAS and the later, lesser, THE SWINGER, notable for its scenes in which a group of young hipsters swing Ann-Margret through a mass of body paint to make her into a living paintbrush.
In BYE BYE BIRDIE her dancing with an ensemble to the upbeat number A LOT OF LIVING TO DO is the highlight of the film. It is one of those rare screen sequences in which every shot, every beat is perfect. George Sidney had earlier made some great showcases for Kim Novak, but his treatment of Ann-Margret shows why he is the most gallant of all Hollywood directors. Okay, so he didn't do so good by Janet Leigh, who looks awful in her black wig and can't impersonate a Puerto Rican songwriter any more than I can. She's ludicrous and almost ruins the movie. |
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