South Pacific: A movie for all time

People may think that reviewing a movie that was released decades ago would no longer be relevant to this day and age. Well, I beg to disagree.

When the two music greats Rodgers and Hammerstein composed the lyrics for the then stage musical South Pacific, it was meant for an audience that has gone through the hardships of war and are still coming into terms of the effects of it in their daily lives four year after Word War II. The musical tackles themes not just about the effects of war but also about love, sex and racism. Subjects that still is very much in everyone's mind to to this day and age.

South Pacific Broadway Musical Original Poster

Based on James A. Michener's book Tales of the South Pacific, the Broadway musical was premiered in 1949 and was a huge success hence a movie version was inevitable.  

The first time I saw South Pacific Movie was on free TV, I must have been around 8 or 9 years old and our television set was a Sony box type black and white TV that has a knob that's used for changing the channels. This was in the late 80's but in our family, buying a colored TV is considered ludicrous and as the old people would say, if it ain't broke... don't fix it (or in this instance no need to replace it)!

A lot has to be said on how Joshua Logan handled the movie version (he also directed the Broadway version) particularly with his choice to use filters. I personally didn't like it myself. While I appreciate what Logan was trying to convey onscreen, as if one is being lured and mystified by the the mountains itself as the song Bali Ha'i suggests. However, they were not able to capture this effectively as it felt too out of place (that scene where everything goes red, 'twas a Bloody Mary moment indeed!). It was such a strain on the eye unfortunately. Below is the HD trailer for the movie:

Speaking of Bali Ha'i, only recently have I learned that Juanita Hall, who reprises the role of Bloody Mary in the movie was actually dubbed by Muriel Smith who played the same role in the London production. No offense to Ms. Smith but I find Juanita Hall's voice much more richer and enchanting. You'll hear instances when she seems to strain her voice on certain notes, but it was both beautiful and haunting nonetheless. Below is a video that I stumbled upon on YouTube, here you can hear the song Bali Ha'i in Hall's own singing voice. (Disclaimer: Rights to the video belongs to its owner)

As I always say, I am no movie critic and my feedback would always come from a fans perspective. South Pacific may not have the same success as The Sound of Music which also is a personal favorite of mine, but I must say that South Pacific had a ground breaking  success in terms of cinematography as it was one of the first to utilize underwater camera and the underwater scenes of Lt. Cable and Liat is just gorgeous. John Kerr and France Nuyen make a perfect pair. Even at their prime, the chemistry between them is so evident and I just can't help but feel giddy or "kilig" whenever I see them together! 

Now, the relationship between Lt. Cable and Liat is something that is frowned up even in this age and era. Differences in social classes are never a thing of the past, on the contrary it is constant barrier that we as a society, are yet to hurdle. Bigotry and hatred is more palpable than ever, and it seems that people are becoming more intolerant of each others beliefs, culture and color. It has taken us two World Wars and we human beings haven't learned a thing from our past mistakes. 

The movie South Pacific celebrated it's 60th Anniversary in 2018 and has re-released in cinemas for a limited engagement. The Special Edition DVD for South Pacific's Golden Anniversary can be purchased on Amazon.com.

On a more personal note, this movie has been my go-to of late, specially when my mother was admitted to the hospital for more than two weeks. listening to "Younger Than Springtime" has kept me going and has lifted my spirits on very sad moments. I found myself quite smitten with John Kerr and have been trying to scrounge for interviews, movie clips and watchamacallit's online. Unfortunately, Mr. Kerr seems to be a private person and was quite picky with the roles he has taken on. Here's a link to a website that's is dedicated to John Kerr. The essay that he wrote is quite poignant and endearing as he tells personal stories from his childhood. He is sorely missed by his fans. 

It'll be a challenging Christmas season for my family but I'd like to enjoy every moment no matter how hard it gets. I am not a "Cock-Eyed Optimist" as Mitzi Gaynor's character Nellie Forbush would admit, on the contrary I can be quite the opposite, but from now on you'll hear me saying that " life is just a bowl of Jello and appear more intelligent than smart, but I'm stuck like a dope with a thing called hope, and I can't get it out of my heart. Not this heart..."