I know I'll get bashed for this but I don't like Mitzi's voice, it doesn't feel strong enough. I don't like Glenn's either. Her voice is off....Here's an unknown: check out Judy Garland singing this.
I grew up with this music and now 50 years later is still seems fresh and wonderful. We're seeing a stage play of SP this Friday in Austin. I'm about as pumped as I get these days.
Why the insistence on remaking Hollywood classics? They hardly ever get it better than the original? If cinema is art, then isn't remaking a classic gem sorta like repainting the Mona Lisa, or rewriting Beethoven? Anyone looking forward to a remake of The Godfather, Taxi Driver, On The Waterfront... {sheesh already with the rermakes]..
The original wins hands down! It is so "of its time" and the casting was brilliant even down to the "minor parts". The 2001 version was a travesty by comparison.
Glenn Close is so pants, she sounds like my mum when she is pissed, I can dance better than her and I am chap. See literally looks and sounds like a plump ladyboy. Mitzi Gaynor more than even Mary Martin is definitely my ideal "image" of Nelly. However I saw the Barbican production (London) the other day and Samantha Womack was pretty good. Christ, I thought this was an edited farce when I first saw the clip. Crap contemporary re-makes are Crimes Against Humanity...
both are great, and i am a Glenn Close fan. but hte truth, is Glenn Close did it great, but mitzi is really a clasic so, Mitzi, just because is a clasic, any way Glenn Close is great!
Just checked wiki and found out Mary Martin, who played Nellie on Broadway in 1949, was 36 when she originated the role. Nellie was never intended to be a young girl.
As much as I enjoy Glenn Close's work in other roles, Mitzi Gaynor sells the song better. We want someone cute, naive and fresh as Nellie. Someone in the 2011 production got it wrong whether it was the producer or director or front office.
So, I like Mitzi better, however i can't stand the color filters used in the 1958 movie for many of the songs... I thought something was wrong with the picture the first time i saw it, but no... It was very distracting and for that reason the 2001 version is more watchable. Also, no need for a love sick 'teen', Kelli O'Hara was great ion stage and she's in her 30s. I hear there's to be another theatrical film version in 2013. I'm very eager to see who they cast for the various roles.
It is SO hard to find the sincere and believable acting and genuine heart that was so predominant in that previous era. I totally vote for the 1958 version...and think re-examining the cultural richness and depth of character present is SO needed in 2011.
Another example is the Parent Trap and even in general comparison with modern works, The Silent Man.
It is SO hard to find the sincere and believable acting and genuine heart that was so predominant in that previous era. I totally vote for the 1958 version...and think re-examining the cultural richness and depth of character present is SO needed in 2011. Another example of the same thing is found in the original Parent Trap, versus the remake, and in general in The Silent Man, and the subdued humor and hints that were so fun and mature...that seem to be lacking in most modern productions.
These are two different productions, and are hard to compare.
Mitzi was young and cute in 1958, but her acting was pretty bad even in South Pacific.
In the TV production, Nellie is not supposed to be a really young, wet behind the ears, barely finished training nurse. She's more a middle aged head nurse. Maybe it's because she can act, and maybe it's because I'm about the same age as Glenn Close, but I really prefer her Nellie. There are other things about the production that I also prefer.
hahahahahahahaha wow I'd never seen the musical, but he way Mitzi Gaynor dances is just... ridiculous? I don't know, I think there's not a word for it...
I completely agree with you the 58 version is unbeatable.It had this "sugared" flavour the way it was filmed. I was 17 and I remember I went to see the movie practically everyday for a whole week in the only theater in Paris which was equipped for TODD AO projections on the Champs Elysées. At that time you could stay on from one performance to the other without having to pay an extra ticket. I think I probably saw the movie 17 or 20 times! The new version seems to be a total failure.
I like Mitze's voice--its got a fresh, pretty quality about it. I like everything about her--vibrant!! I can't even picture mary martin in the role, that's how Mitzi has eclipsed her in my mind. Glenn is fun and acts so vibrantly here--but she doesn't have the glam appeal. She might have done it 20 years ago. Still, you got to give her kudos--and lets face it it gives plain nurses everywhere hope that they'll land a rich French plantation owner!! And I'm not being mean.
Mitzi Gaynor 100%! Don't get me wrong Glenn Close is a talented woman but watching "Fatal Attraction/Damages" sing she's in love with a wonderful guy just doesn't get it. Her voice just doesn't match Mitzi's.
As one reviewer said " I mean this in the best possible way. Glenn Close has become an extremely handsome gentleman." No contest. Close was producer on that abortion of a TV movie. If she wanted to miscast herself so badly, then do it in private, don't share the embarrassment. Mitzi is the better Nellie Forbush, not only far more talented and energetic, but (ahem) age appropriate for the part and oh, hey, Mitzi can actually SING and DANCE. She sings and dances excellently, too!
@CountessAlucard I will only take issue with one thing you said.....that Mitzi Gaynor is a buch better actor than Glenn Close. Maybe Gaynor put more life in this film, but she could not act out of a paper bag in anything else she did, whereas Glenn is an amazing actress, nominated for Tony's and won a few and Oscars, like 7 times. She is an actress, whereas Mitzi was an entertainer. I saw Close do Mady Macbeth at LC and she was amazing. Haunting. Just this man's opinion.
Mitzi definetely. She's a better singer and can really dance, too. The choreography, arrangement, and cinemetography was very kitschy in both, but it's excuseable in the first version as it was 1958. The 2001 version, on the other hand, looks like it was made in 1958 as well! I'd have expected a higher quality production and updated musical arrangement.
There is only one way to find out. . And that is to have a fight. . Mitzy Gaynor in one corner of the ring and Glenn Close it the other; lets see them decide who is the best. . On one hand you have the glamourous legs of Mitzy while on the other hand you have the dalmatian-puppy-skin wearing cruel Glenn on the other. . Fight Fight Fight ! Cheers. from, del-boy.
Mitzi Gaynor is great in the 1st version, but I don't care for Glen Close and the Munchkins in the 2nd one. It's just somewhere to over the rainbow. Is nothing sacred anymore . . .
Mitzi of course, for the same reason that she was chosen over Mary Martin for the film. Mitzi was 28 and Mary was (bluntly) too old for the part. Glenn Close is (bluntly) far too old for the part.
There is no contest. Kellie O'Hara was fantastic in the Lincoln Center production. Glenn Close was 54 when that was filmed. What kind of casting is that? Ridiculous. At least Mitzi Gaynor was age appropriate and had a decent voice.
I have the same problem with the 1958 film that everyone has...those darn color filters. Still, the 1958 version is far superior to the 2001 version. There's no magic in the 2001 version. The casting is wrong throughout. As for the Lincoln Center revival, I didn't see it in the theatre. I saw the "Live from Lincoln Center" presentation and thought it was almost perfect. Of course, regardless of the version, the songs are GREAT!
It is so difficult to accept another version of a successful Broadway Play. Especially one as successful and memorable as the first one with Mitzi Gaynor...but I think Glen Close did a great rendition of the part. The music is timeless and holds it all together.
The 1958 version is far superior to the 2001 one, and not just in the female lead, but from Emile and Cable to Luther and Bloody Mary. Now for the Live at Lincoln Center version ... I don't know.... many of friends who saw it live in N.Y. have raved about it, but I disliked it. Paulo Szot was amazing! But other than that; the tempos were erratic, Miss O'Hara, albeit sounding lovely here on youtube, acted well, but sang horribly. Maybe an off day. And about Lt. Cable and Bloody Mary...ugh!
The PBS version with Kelli O'Hara is amazing and now my favorite She was Amazing.... The Glenn Close version is a BAD DREAM! Way too old and butch! Mitzi Gaynor version has that vintage charm to it... Kelli O'Hara on Live at Lincoln Center Version Hands down the BEST!
For years I thought that Mitzi Gaynor was the better of the two. Recently, I had a more mature approach to the two singers. The 2001 version of "South Pacific" is the better and not just a little bit. Overall, the 2001 version is far superior. Those that say Glen Close is not as good as Gaynor are just those who fell in love with Gaynor's posterior. My fresh look made me think that Close had a voice over, but I found that was not true. Ray Waldon did played a more believable Billis,
Mitzi's version is much more musically pure. Wonderfully done. But I still prefer Glenn Close's version because it is so much more well staged. They traded off a solo for a chorus version to overcome the limits of Glenn's voice and I think it works. But then again, I'm prejudiced because I thought the 2001 version had such superior production elements. Also the men leads voices in 2001 made up for Glenn's vocal shortcomings.
I don't look at remaking a classic like South Pacific ruining it. I look at it as love many people have to even attempt to bring us back to the greatness of film & play productions produced by creators such as Rogers & Hammerstein and to think how lucky we were to have such great entertainment in this country. I applaud High schools and play productions that bring us back to a simpler time period.
When I was 10 years old in 1958 I remember my father who was at Pearl Harbor in the 1940's loved this movie. he played the songs from the record over & over, I hated it back then, I didn't understand it. But since serving in the US Navy submarines in the 1960's and some 50 years later I just purchased tickets to go see the Broadway play in Atlanta. It brought tears to my eyes when I started to listen to the songs.....you know memories
Have we EVER seen a classic been remade without being ruined ?
South Pacific (1958) in Todd-AO 70mm on a big, curved screen was pure magic.
The only pulldown were those freaky color filters, which were to be taken out for a planned reissue somtime in the late 70'es, but i guess it never happened until the dvd-release. I wonder, if it can have been for a 50 years aniversary, Fox made a restored "director's cut" - just too late.
I think it is hard to compare as they are not all done the same. If they were sung and staged the same, then I could say which is better. I wold agree though, that above all is the Mary Martin version...the original. Perhaps because, as it was recorded, we can see it, and was done so just 3-4 yrs after the war...there was more feeling, more emotion. After Mary, I would say Mitzi...although she was not a good actress, or as good as Glenn Close is.
The 2001 version was just so uninspiring and no magic at all. I love Glenn Close but she was way too old for this role. In fact all the leads were very ordinary - even though I still love Harry Connick Jr. Give me Mitzi Gaynor and the 1958version anyday ... it was totally great back then and still today. Please no more remakes of musicals that tick all the boxes and remain forever magnificent.
The 2001 version had its good points. The men sang with a real emotional, sexual tension - you could believe that they were missing female companionship. Let's see - what else? Ahhh... I guess that's about it. Why would anyone prefer the 2001 version to the 1958? The answer is in these comments. They don't!
No competition. Mitzi Gaynor! Glenn Close is not a singer and is 40 years too old for the part. Makes you wonder how she got cast... oh yeah, she is Executive Producer. But I liked Harry Connick Jr.
let me see, Mitzi , a twenty something pro singer/dancer ukkkkjmy when she did this WWII movie, or a 50 something cougar with a crew cut Glenn CLose ....hmmm... this is going to be difficult. Oh! I know! the original 20-something Mitzi wins my votes! the cougar is the very definition of pathos. FT
when me and my sister saw the remake we both agreed that the people in the original sang MUCH better. However I loved the casting of Emile De becque in the remake ;)
I think there should be a place where egomaniacal people like Glenn Close who think they can play a 22 year old role in their 50's go and take their embarrassments with them. Check out the producer or director...its Close's husband. This was a catastrophic venture.
Mitzi...............ah Mitzi! Man she just makes you believe she is Nelly and I loved her in that role.
Mitzi Gaynor was perfect in that role. Casting Glenn Close...admitedly a good actress was crazy. Nellie is supposed to be about 25 tops. Sure she looks good for her age but Close was 54 when she made this. De becque would have to be about 70 to get their age difference right!!!
I know which I'd like up "close" and it is definitely not Glenn. If I woke one morning next to Glenn with my arm held tight under her, I'd gnaw it off and flee! That woman is barking dog ugly! Mitzi was always enchating! She made South Pacific. Next to her everyone else was ordinary.
There is something about the sweet innocence with the Mitzi Gaynor version that is painfully absent in the Glenn Close version, although I have to say that I am impressed with Close's singing.
I like aspects of both. While Mitzi Gaynor is and always will be "the Nellie Forebush," I really like how the Glenn Close version involved more cast in the dance segments. The bridge thing at 2:00, and the thing at 2:30 were really cute, and seemed more interesting than just Nellie hopping around on a overturned canoe.
the part of the gaynor´s version hasn´t got the yellow filter. You can compare with another video of this song on youtube and you can see the diference. Does exist some version of this movie without the color filters?
No. Josh Logan has written that he was promised he could experiment with the filters and if it didn't work out, in post production it all could be corrected. When they got to post-production and Logan decided to correct the effect of the filters, he was not allowed to. He was told it was too time consuming and too expensive.
so, why in this video the part in which Gaynor is singing hasn´t got the yellow filter? What copy is it? In other videos this song has a yellow filter.
I gotta be all wishy washy here cause I like them both for completely different reasons. Mitzi was 27 when she was Ensign Nellie and Glenn was 54 as Lt. Nellie. I think they were both estounding performances. Maybe as an actress/singer who is over 40 now...I'm leaning toward Glenn for less than unbiased reasons...
I have often wondered what Doris Day, the original choice for Nellie Forbush would have made over Mitzi Gaynor? I doubt though she would have been any better.
With these two renditions side by side, I prefer the 1958 version. Mitzi Gaynor has a more listenable voice, and the backing chorus is better - their voice training is evident. The singers in the second version have a slightly unpleasant, almost squawky tone.
Yes, the TV remake, filmed in Australia was a total waste of money and time and space. Glenn Close, who is usually brilliant, was far too old and the woman who was Bloody Mary, was more scary than the girl in The Exorcist. Totally wrong from start to finish....If you dont make re-makes of famous art work, then why bother with great films????
Glen Close was closer to what Mary Martin was in the role: way too old to act like that. Sadly, Mitzi was the right age, but so vacuous nobody cared what happened to her.
The original film version was superior to the TV made one. Glenn Close,great actress as she is, is no great singer and was far too old for the YOUNG Nellie Forbush role. Also the woman who was Bloody Mary, was strange and wierd, if not frightening. Nothing beats the film version even with the dubbings and colour segments which some hate but I really love and for me is part of the film. Just wish i could see it again on the giant Todd-AO screen, as this was the perfect film casting & locations.
Mitzi, of course. Glenn gives it everything she'sgot and obvious loves the number and that helps a lot, but stil not Miizi. Also, not Mitzi was Reba McIntire in TV version from Lincoln Center, but was remarkaly good i her own right Myeast favorite was Kelly O'Hara in current live stage version. Looks great and fine singing voice, but totally lacking in charisma.
Couldn't be more dead-on about Kelly O'Hara. Wonderfully talented performer but no charisma. Also, though it's painful for this reviewer to say it, Ms. O'Hara is too old for the role. Nellie is a young woman and an up-tight girl who resolves that callow confusion. Kelly's character is too mature for the small town prejudices to be forgivable. Ms. O'Hara reminds me of operatic heavy-set divas playing willowy starlet characters: yes, I admire the pipes, but too much suspension of disbelief.
I like Mitzi's singing, and Glenn's is bad. But I've never watched the older version so i had nothing 2 choose from. They could do more in 2001, but Nellie singing is bttr in original
I don't like either. Mitzi Gaynor just isn't brassy enough for the role... she's too soft/cute and has no "attack" on the songs. Glenn Close just isn't right for the role for a lot of reasons listed here. Neither of them (nor the woman in the recent Broadway revival) can touch Mary Martin. Although she isn't as good a singer as Mary Martin, I though Reba did a pretty good job in the concert version. Her naiveté was touching and believable in the role.
The Big Box Office film version w/ Mitzi is shot far better,..and she seems a bit more 'at home' in the role, however, I believe this will always belong to Mary Martin, her vocal is much more lyrical, convincing, musically on the money, and just downright infectious. I have never seen Miss Martin onstage, but from vocal performance alone,..it's Mary Martin.
Mary Martin was wonderful, but she didn't have Mitzie' s breasts, and this scene is all about that. And Glenn Close? What could they have been thinking. That was awful.
Think Nellie Forbush onscreen and you think of Mitzi Gaynor... NOT Glenn Close, who is a great actress but just wasn't right for this.
Casting Glenn also cost a lot of the elements of the story: Emile is supposed to be the older, cultured Frenchman, Nellie a young American lass. They are not of the same age.
And Nellie's original racist attitude towards Emile's two half-Polynesian kids would be stranger to see if the character was older, which means she should be more mature.
Mitzi IS Nellie! No contest! Glenn is far too old, and there is NOTHING fresh, innocent, or warm about Glenn Close. While Mitzi is a talented song and dance queen, Glenn is a nose-in-the-air Snob who takes pride in devouring the scenery in everything that she does. You want to hug Mitzi. You don't dare try it with MS. CLOSE!
1958 version is so much better. The original Nellie was cute. Glenn close? All I keep picturing her as is Cruella Deville! She can't carry a tune anyway!
i just watched this video to get more familiar with R & S and I really would like to see a young blonde sing beautifully on a beach than watch and old granny attempt to compare and dance around the stage like an idiot.
Yeh I LOVE Glenn Close but I have to agree I think she was too old..and this part degraded her talent. She's much better for "A Little Night Music" and even "Hello, Dolly" (although Streisand and Channing are tough acts to follow)...she did an excellent job in "Sunset Boulevard"!
I know I'll get bashed for this but I don't like Mitzi's voice, it doesn't feel strong enough. I don't like Glenn's either. Her voice is off....Here's an unknown: check out Judy Garland singing this.
Poet2916 2 weeks ago
Mitzi, of course!
VEGASTOLLY 4 weeks ago
But what about the best version: Mary Martin??
123boink 2 months ago
why do they have to make remake movies when the original were the best. And putting the wong person in them.
MrGateway75 2 months ago in playlist More videos from raffles000 2
I grew up with this music and now 50 years later is still seems fresh and wonderful. We're seeing a stage play of SP this Friday in Austin. I'm about as pumped as I get these days.
Fritzpar
MrFritzpar 2 months ago
Why the insistence on remaking Hollywood classics? They hardly ever get it better than the original? If cinema is art, then isn't remaking a classic gem sorta like repainting the Mona Lisa, or rewriting Beethoven? Anyone looking forward to a remake of The Godfather, Taxi Driver, On The Waterfront... {sheesh already with the rermakes]..
ShaiShahar 2 months ago
The original wins hands down! It is so "of its time" and the casting was brilliant even down to the "minor parts". The 2001 version was a travesty by comparison.
It was missing all the nuances...
ShaiShahar 2 months ago
Glenn Close is so pants, she sounds like my mum when she is pissed, I can dance better than her and I am chap. See literally looks and sounds like a plump ladyboy. Mitzi Gaynor more than even Mary Martin is definitely my ideal "image" of Nelly. However I saw the Barbican production (London) the other day and Samantha Womack was pretty good. Christ, I thought this was an edited farce when I first saw the clip. Crap contemporary re-makes are Crimes Against Humanity...
nigeldavenport 4 months ago
both are great, and i am a Glenn Close fan. but hte truth, is Glenn Close did it great, but mitzi is really a clasic so, Mitzi, just because is a clasic, any way Glenn Close is great!
TheGordojo 4 months ago
Just checked wiki and found out Mary Martin, who played Nellie on Broadway in 1949, was 36 when she originated the role. Nellie was never intended to be a young girl.
prattdesign 6 months ago
@prattdesign but Glenn Close is 72!!!!
nigeldavenport 4 months ago
@nigeldavenport Uh, no, she's 62, and since this was made 10 years ago, she's 52 in the clip.
rosaf19 2 months ago
@rosaf19 Sorry, make that 64 and 54, I can't do math, either : )
rosaf19 2 months ago
Who says Nellie can't be older? I think the 2001 version is just as solid — it's just a different take!
prattdesign 6 months ago
As much as I enjoy Glenn Close's work in other roles, Mitzi Gaynor sells the song better. We want someone cute, naive and fresh as Nellie. Someone in the 2011 production got it wrong whether it was the producer or director or front office.
joncaeb 6 months ago
the second lady 2001, looks like she could play the mother of the first girl....sorry but way to old to be playing that character
OhGodisGood 7 months ago
So, I like Mitzi better, however i can't stand the color filters used in the 1958 movie for many of the songs... I thought something was wrong with the picture the first time i saw it, but no... It was very distracting and for that reason the 2001 version is more watchable. Also, no need for a love sick 'teen', Kelli O'Hara was great ion stage and she's in her 30s. I hear there's to be another theatrical film version in 2013. I'm very eager to see who they cast for the various roles.
blueneptune146 7 months ago
It is SO hard to find the sincere and believable acting and genuine heart that was so predominant in that previous era. I totally vote for the 1958 version...and think re-examining the cultural richness and depth of character present is SO needed in 2011.
Another example is the Parent Trap and even in general comparison with modern works, The Silent Man.
dancepizazz 7 months ago
It is SO hard to find the sincere and believable acting and genuine heart that was so predominant in that previous era. I totally vote for the 1958 version...and think re-examining the cultural richness and depth of character present is SO needed in 2011. Another example of the same thing is found in the original Parent Trap, versus the remake, and in general in The Silent Man, and the subdued humor and hints that were so fun and mature...that seem to be lacking in most modern productions.
dancepizazz 7 months ago
Mitzi, hands down!
zhannsplace 9 months ago
Glen Close was way too old to play Nellie.
joshjhutton 9 months ago
Mitzi is the best
ibeneh 9 months ago
Mitzi.
ibeneh 9 months ago
Mitzi everytime. Such a WONDERFUL, joyous performance. Glenn Close was crap.
TheLizzie12 9 months ago
These are two different productions, and are hard to compare.
Mitzi was young and cute in 1958, but her acting was pretty bad even in South Pacific.
In the TV production, Nellie is not supposed to be a really young, wet behind the ears, barely finished training nurse. She's more a middle aged head nurse. Maybe it's because she can act, and maybe it's because I'm about the same age as Glenn Close, but I really prefer her Nellie. There are other things about the production that I also prefer.
jwehlitz 9 months ago
Mitzi...the All-Time Best!!!
VEGASTOLLY 9 months ago
MItzi Gaynor
theboyfromxtown 10 months ago
hahahahahahahaha wow I'd never seen the musical, but he way Mitzi Gaynor dances is just... ridiculous? I don't know, I think there's not a word for it...
Sadurnina 10 months ago
I completely agree with you the 58 version is unbeatable.It had this "sugared" flavour the way it was filmed. I was 17 and I remember I went to see the movie practically everyday for a whole week in the only theater in Paris which was equipped for TODD AO projections on the Champs Elysées. At that time you could stay on from one performance to the other without having to pay an extra ticket. I think I probably saw the movie 17 or 20 times! The new version seems to be a total failure.
jvdesuit1 10 months ago
One word: Mitzi!
lmarshall56 11 months ago
I like Mitze's voice--its got a fresh, pretty quality about it. I like everything about her--vibrant!! I can't even picture mary martin in the role, that's how Mitzi has eclipsed her in my mind. Glenn is fun and acts so vibrantly here--but she doesn't have the glam appeal. She might have done it 20 years ago. Still, you got to give her kudos--and lets face it it gives plain nurses everywhere hope that they'll land a rich French plantation owner!! And I'm not being mean.
windstorm1000 11 months ago
Mitzi Gaynor 100%! Don't get me wrong Glenn Close is a talented woman but watching "Fatal Attraction/Damages" sing she's in love with a wonderful guy just doesn't get it. Her voice just doesn't match Mitzi's.
pollarbear74 1 year ago
I hate the Glenn Close Version. Ugh.
christinamspt 1 year ago
Comment removed
Samie1224 1 year ago
Glenn Close is my fave
Samie1224 1 year ago
Glen Close is too old for the part.
mindspring57 1 year ago
@mindspring57 Yes I agree although the musical number is actually pretty good!
toemeraldcity 1 year ago
I was at first puzzled at the new version; actually puzzled at who Ms Close was supposed to play.
Perhaps a lesbian senior nurse nearing retirement?
Then to find out she was meant to be the young, innocent, little Lt. Nurse?
Horrors! Horrors!
Varianna12 1 year ago 2
As one reviewer said " I mean this in the best possible way. Glenn Close has become an extremely handsome gentleman." No contest. Close was producer on that abortion of a TV movie. If she wanted to miscast herself so badly, then do it in private, don't share the embarrassment. Mitzi is the better Nellie Forbush, not only far more talented and energetic, but (ahem) age appropriate for the part and oh, hey, Mitzi can actually SING and DANCE. She sings and dances excellently, too!
CountessAlucard 1 year ago
@CountessAlucard I will only take issue with one thing you said.....that Mitzi Gaynor is a buch better actor than Glenn Close. Maybe Gaynor put more life in this film, but she could not act out of a paper bag in anything else she did, whereas Glenn is an amazing actress, nominated for Tony's and won a few and Oscars, like 7 times. She is an actress, whereas Mitzi was an entertainer. I saw Close do Mady Macbeth at LC and she was amazing. Haunting. Just this man's opinion.
sarmadasco 11 months ago
I love the 1958 version!!! Glenn Close is a very good actress but as Nellie Forbush, she can't hold a candle to Mitzi Gaynor.
tunapup1 1 year ago
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It's a no brainer. Mitzi!
BarbaraandHarold 1 year ago
Mitzi definetely. She's a better singer and can really dance, too. The choreography, arrangement, and cinemetography was very kitschy in both, but it's excuseable in the first version as it was 1958. The 2001 version, on the other hand, looks like it was made in 1958 as well! I'd have expected a higher quality production and updated musical arrangement.
macychick 1 year ago
mitz does a better show of a person in love
davidpeckson1 1 year ago
HeySlowPokes 1 year ago
Glen Close...
Really? Isn't Nellie Forbush supposed to be younger than Emille? 1950's one was better.
MsJohannaRoseBarker 1 year ago
Mitzi!!
speedsville 1 year ago
I love Mitzi.. and her voice.. Perfect for the role.
kgarmaker123 1 year ago
Glen Close version definitely, much better acting
RockLeesBitch 1 year ago
i like both versions
Brandonfuture 1 year ago
Mitzi! Gees, if someone Glen Close's age was still an Ensign, that'd be pretty lame.
bonzoscarpetcleaning 1 year ago
Mitzi tops Glen. Mitzi knocks spots off of Glen's permormance.
JimandGriselda1 1 year ago
1950's version, hands down! Nobody can top Mitzi, and Rossano still makes my heart melt!
FYEO1986 1 year ago
Mitzi sparkles like champagne, Glenn is like flat beer.
alanth252 1 year ago
Mitzi Gaynor is great in the 1st version, but I don't care for Glen Close and the Munchkins in the 2nd one. It's just somewhere to over the rainbow. Is nothing sacred anymore . . .
richventures 1 year ago
is Glen Close :? no, Glen isn't close . . .
richventures 1 year ago
Also missing from the dreadful TV remake is Alfred Newman's expert musical direction.
I wish Hollywood would stop with all the remakes and try a little originality.
dickypot 1 year ago
@dickypot I thoroughly second, third, fourth, and fifth that.
Juliaflo 1 year ago
Mitzi has the youth and freshness that Glen can not even come close too.
teacherspet85 1 year ago
1950's all the frigin way. Is there even a contest?
kakashidemon321 1 year ago
Comment removed
poolekeith 1 year ago
Mitzi of course, for the same reason that she was chosen over Mary Martin for the film. Mitzi was 28 and Mary was (bluntly) too old for the part. Glenn Close is (bluntly) far too old for the part.
poolekeith 1 year ago 2
I actually found both equally entertaining in there own ways...Do I have to choose sides all the time? ;o)
froggyprinceca 1 year ago
Mitzi Gaynor - hands down - no doubt. Glen Close was too old for the role.
Cindy1861 1 year ago
There is no contest. Kellie O'Hara was fantastic in the Lincoln Center production. Glenn Close was 54 when that was filmed. What kind of casting is that? Ridiculous. At least Mitzi Gaynor was age appropriate and had a decent voice.
thatcracksmeup 1 year ago
I have the same problem with the 1958 film that everyone has...those darn color filters. Still, the 1958 version is far superior to the 2001 version. There's no magic in the 2001 version. The casting is wrong throughout. As for the Lincoln Center revival, I didn't see it in the theatre. I saw the "Live from Lincoln Center" presentation and thought it was almost perfect. Of course, regardless of the version, the songs are GREAT!
cbdebill4 1 year ago
Mitzi Gaynor, by a nose!
killerbflat 1 year ago
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Another thing that stands out is that most people in the late 40's or early '50's weren't as well fed.
wibsmidge1 1 year ago
One thing that stands out is that most people in the late 40's or early '50's weren't as well fed.
wibsmidge1 1 year ago
The 1958 version. I agree the Glenn Close version doesn't have the spark that Mitzi Gaynor had.
mmiller2802 1 year ago
It is so difficult to accept another version of a successful Broadway Play. Especially one as successful and memorable as the first one with Mitzi Gaynor...but I think Glen Close did a great rendition of the part. The music is timeless and holds it all together.
olga2415 1 year ago
The 1958 version is far superior to the 2001 one, and not just in the female lead, but from Emile and Cable to Luther and Bloody Mary. Now for the Live at Lincoln Center version ... I don't know.... many of friends who saw it live in N.Y. have raved about it, but I disliked it. Paulo Szot was amazing! But other than that; the tempos were erratic, Miss O'Hara, albeit sounding lovely here on youtube, acted well, but sang horribly. Maybe an off day. And about Lt. Cable and Bloody Mary...ugh!
mrj60706 1 year ago
The PBS version with Kelli O'Hara is amazing and now my favorite She was Amazing.... The Glenn Close version is a BAD DREAM! Way too old and butch! Mitzi Gaynor version has that vintage charm to it... Kelli O'Hara on Live at Lincoln Center Version Hands down the BEST!
GaryP10998 1 year ago 2
Mitzi's version wins hands down....but the other one deserves at least 4* too.
Huckabeezer 1 year ago
Different time, different place, different staging. But Glenn is WAY too old.
thespia 1 year ago
fuck glenn close
Braaimaster123 1 year ago
MITZY OF COURSE
MulberryBuccaneer 1 year ago
For years I thought that Mitzi Gaynor was the better of the two. Recently, I had a more mature approach to the two singers. The 2001 version of "South Pacific" is the better and not just a little bit. Overall, the 2001 version is far superior. Those that say Glen Close is not as good as Gaynor are just those who fell in love with Gaynor's posterior. My fresh look made me think that Close had a voice over, but I found that was not true. Ray Waldon did played a more believable Billis,
mcbrayer441 1 year ago
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mcbrayer441 1 year ago
Glenn Close's version is more authentic.
TheRealRedFlashlight 1 year ago
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I don;t like this movie
bvgerven 1 year ago
Mitzi's version is much more musically pure. Wonderfully done. But I still prefer Glenn Close's version because it is so much more well staged. They traded off a solo for a chorus version to overcome the limits of Glenn's voice and I think it works. But then again, I'm prejudiced because I thought the 2001 version had such superior production elements. Also the men leads voices in 2001 made up for Glenn's vocal shortcomings.
patriciantish 1 year ago
mitzi of course! :D
LoveThemMusic 1 year ago
mitzi!
ReadingIsForQueers 1 year ago 8
The one with Reba kicks both's a**es
KiberneticTiger 1 year ago 2
Definitely the 1950's musical with Mitzi Gaynor. The one with Glen Close is awful
luvmuzik4me 1 year ago 18
I don't look at remaking a classic like South Pacific ruining it. I look at it as love many people have to even attempt to bring us back to the greatness of film & play productions produced by creators such as Rogers & Hammerstein and to think how lucky we were to have such great entertainment in this country. I applaud High schools and play productions that bring us back to a simpler time period.
1boatsailor 1 year ago
When I was 10 years old in 1958 I remember my father who was at Pearl Harbor in the 1940's loved this movie. he played the songs from the record over & over, I hated it back then, I didn't understand it. But since serving in the US Navy submarines in the 1960's and some 50 years later I just purchased tickets to go see the Broadway play in Atlanta. It brought tears to my eyes when I started to listen to the songs.....you know memories
1boatsailor 1 year ago
Have we EVER seen a classic been remade without being ruined ?
South Pacific (1958) in Todd-AO 70mm on a big, curved screen was pure magic.
The only pulldown were those freaky color filters, which were to be taken out for a planned reissue somtime in the late 70'es, but i guess it never happened until the dvd-release. I wonder, if it can have been for a 50 years aniversary, Fox made a restored "director's cut" - just too late.
Continued in next post.....
biografmand 1 year ago
I think it is hard to compare as they are not all done the same. If they were sung and staged the same, then I could say which is better. I wold agree though, that above all is the Mary Martin version...the original. Perhaps because, as it was recorded, we can see it, and was done so just 3-4 yrs after the war...there was more feeling, more emotion. After Mary, I would say Mitzi...although she was not a good actress, or as good as Glenn Close is.
ferrierepc 1 year ago
What's notable about the Mitzi clip is there is no orange flter. May have been an expermental take from original film.
alexalex3131 1 year ago
@alexalex3131
I noticed that immediately and it gives some hope that there might be more.
fotomattx 1 year ago
Reba was close, but it's always gonna be Mitzi and cast.
imjunipernow 1 year ago
No contest, the remake SUCKS
rebelfire77 1 year ago
1958 version.. no contest.
emnkate 1 year ago
My vote, Kelli O'hara, and not even close.
tomyep 1 year ago
The 2001 version was just so uninspiring and no magic at all. I love Glenn Close but she was way too old for this role. In fact all the leads were very ordinary - even though I still love Harry Connick Jr. Give me Mitzi Gaynor and the 1958version anyday ... it was totally great back then and still today. Please no more remakes of musicals that tick all the boxes and remain forever magnificent.
choos64 1 year ago
The 2001 version had its good points. The men sang with a real emotional, sexual tension - you could believe that they were missing female companionship. Let's see - what else? Ahhh... I guess that's about it. Why would anyone prefer the 2001 version to the 1958? The answer is in these comments. They don't!
kitcoach 1 year ago
The original was so good it didn't need a remake. End of.
margondine 1 year ago
Glenn sounds like Joan Rivers
ultimatejoeshmo 1 year ago
Neither. No one tops Mary Martin. The role belongs to Mary.
bingo90272 2 years ago 2
Give me the 1958 version every time for the rest of my life.
Who cannot love mitzi?
thecircuschick 2 years ago 2
No competition. Mitzi Gaynor! Glenn Close is not a singer and is 40 years too old for the part. Makes you wonder how she got cast... oh yeah, she is Executive Producer. But I liked Harry Connick Jr.
Tukarama 2 years ago
Are you kidding me? Glenn Close was thirty years too old....ridiculous casting.
HeldenB 2 years ago 2
mitzi has my vote - she's so beautiful!!!
musics4Rsoul 2 years ago
let me see, Mitzi , a twenty something pro singer/dancer ukkkkjmy when she did this WWII movie, or a 50 something cougar with a crew cut Glenn CLose ....hmmm... this is going to be difficult. Oh! I know! the original 20-something Mitzi wins my votes! the cougar is the very definition of pathos. FT
FellowTraveller 2 years ago
1958 much better....Glenn Close is really not right for the part.....
DorisDayFanatic 2 years ago
mitzi gaynor all the way!
skibluiz 2 years ago
I like the 1958 version much better
snowmoguy 2 years ago
Can I pick Reba?
fashionglindaguru 2 years ago
Can I pick Mary Martin instead?
boinx12 2 years ago 2
when me and my sister saw the remake we both agreed that the people in the original sang MUCH better. However I loved the casting of Emile De becque in the remake ;)
musicaltrees 2 years ago
I DEFIINITELY prefer the original 1958 film! A timeless classic!
verkaforever 2 years ago
I think there should be a place where egomaniacal people like Glenn Close who think they can play a 22 year old role in their 50's go and take their embarrassments with them. Check out the producer or director...its Close's husband. This was a catastrophic venture.
Mitzi...............ah Mitzi! Man she just makes you believe she is Nelly and I loved her in that role.
DAVIDSILVERCA 2 years ago
Mitzi Gaynor was perfect in that role. Casting Glenn Close...admitedly a good actress was crazy. Nellie is supposed to be about 25 tops. Sure she looks good for her age but Close was 54 when she made this. De becque would have to be about 70 to get their age difference right!!!
HeldenB 2 years ago 2
I know which I'd like up "close" and it is definitely not Glenn. If I woke one morning next to Glenn with my arm held tight under her, I'd gnaw it off and flee! That woman is barking dog ugly! Mitzi was always enchating! She made South Pacific. Next to her everyone else was ordinary.
verziehen 2 years ago 2
Mitzi Gaynor, but Glenn Close sings brilliantly in Sunset Boulevard!
megp78 2 years ago
Mitzi is best of these two. Anyone have Girls' Reprise of Bali Hai? (In French?)
JGCooney 2 years ago
Ugh...I hate remakes! Sorry Glenn can't sing, and Mitzi is just cuter!
AcaiBunch 2 years ago 2
Def Mitzi - old school showgirl talent! Glenn Close - def miscast....If she tried Mitzi's Dance steps she'd have a stroke!
MrSpackledit 2 years ago 2
Mitzi Gaynor is 100% better than Glenn Close..
ldcramer6887 2 years ago
I'm in agreement with the majority. Mitzi has it all.
billyb8 2 years ago 2
definitely Mitzi she had the character down for that time of the world.
bigbob07087 2 years ago 2
Mitzi!
VEGASTOLLY 2 years ago 2
There is something about the sweet innocence with the Mitzi Gaynor version that is painfully absent in the Glenn Close version, although I have to say that I am impressed with Close's singing.
drdrillandfill 2 years ago
I had a hard time with Glenn's take on an "innocent" girl. She was no girl when she filmed this. Mitzi Gaynor all the way!!!!
NaomisMommie 2 years ago
Of these 2 choices Gaynor wins, but agree with comment above that no-one puts the song across as well as Mary Martin did
ausguy8 2 years ago
I like a cute woman as in the original version.
that's back when good looking gals were painted on bombers, before multiculturalism.
go Mitzie
patfealy 2 years ago
I like aspects of both. While Mitzi Gaynor is and always will be "the Nellie Forebush," I really like how the Glenn Close version involved more cast in the dance segments. The bridge thing at 2:00, and the thing at 2:30 were really cute, and seemed more interesting than just Nellie hopping around on a overturned canoe.
chaphappy101 2 years ago
mitzi wins :)
notyourtypicalvideos 2 years ago
Mitzi Gaynor hands down. She just completed a cabaret act recently and she was fabulous still 50 years after that film!
Geostrum2 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
What the fuck is this?????????
It sucks anyhow.
sebbe67 2 years ago
There was no one like Mary Martin
cwgservices 2 years ago
No contest - the original. Mitzi Gaynor is an unbelievably succulent perky little blondie.
Glenn Close is a miserable old soup chicken.
Why do you even bother asking!?!?!?!?!
LN1Campy 2 years ago
I laughed so hard..."old soup Chicken" my Mt dew came outta my nose! Hahahaha!
MrSpackledit 2 years ago
Trouble is in the movie version Mr. Bratzi did not do his own singing. But, on this, I prefer Mitzi Gaynor.
rdadal 2 years ago
the part of the gaynor´s version hasn´t got the yellow filter. You can compare with another video of this song on youtube and you can see the diference. Does exist some version of this movie without the color filters?
bizarroburlesque 2 years ago
No. Josh Logan has written that he was promised he could experiment with the filters and if it didn't work out, in post production it all could be corrected. When they got to post-production and Logan decided to correct the effect of the filters, he was not allowed to. He was told it was too time consuming and too expensive.
GeorgeWTush 2 years ago
so, why in this video the part in which Gaynor is singing hasn´t got the yellow filter? What copy is it? In other videos this song has a yellow filter.
sensobrando 2 years ago
I'm gonna have to go with the original! Sorry!
tfdmgurl 2 years ago
When I watch Glenn Close here, I can't help but picture her singing, "I'm in love with a wonderful guy--and I won't be IGNORED!"
smichelle65 2 years ago
I gotta be all wishy washy here cause I like them both for completely different reasons. Mitzi was 27 when she was Ensign Nellie and Glenn was 54 as Lt. Nellie. I think they were both estounding performances. Maybe as an actress/singer who is over 40 now...I'm leaning toward Glenn for less than unbiased reasons...
JimBrass1Fan 2 years ago
The original version has got to be the best simply because it was the original. Mitzi was perfect for the role and will never be beaten
Floogy26 2 years ago
Mitzi Gaynor and the entire cast of the 1958 movie version of South Pacific were perfection.
OsirisIxchel 2 years ago 2
I have often wondered what Doris Day, the original choice for Nellie Forbush would have made over Mitzi Gaynor? I doubt though she would have been any better.
werburgh62 2 years ago
First off, I didn't know there was a remake!
With these two renditions side by side, I prefer the 1958 version. Mitzi Gaynor has a more listenable voice, and the backing chorus is better - their voice training is evident. The singers in the second version have a slightly unpleasant, almost squawky tone.
junkb0x99 2 years ago
Yes, the TV remake, filmed in Australia was a total waste of money and time and space. Glenn Close, who is usually brilliant, was far too old and the woman who was Bloody Mary, was more scary than the girl in The Exorcist. Totally wrong from start to finish....If you dont make re-makes of famous art work, then why bother with great films????
werburgh62 2 years ago
Noone can beat Mitzi, Rossanno, John and Juanita and "Billis"! They are just unique!
AngelListen 2 years ago
I love Mitzi - she is the only one for this...
hisbiscusrose999 2 years ago 2
Of course, the original screen version. All though
Mary Martin was excellent on stage!
ddowdell2 2 years ago
Glenn Close is a great singer! She's PERFECT! :-D GO GLENN!
duckpowered 2 years ago
1958 Version by far
meluzzi32 2 years ago
Glen Close was closer to what Mary Martin was in the role: way too old to act like that. Sadly, Mitzi was the right age, but so vacuous nobody cared what happened to her.
unclealand 2 years ago
The original film version was superior to the TV made one. Glenn Close,great actress as she is, is no great singer and was far too old for the YOUNG Nellie Forbush role. Also the woman who was Bloody Mary, was strange and wierd, if not frightening. Nothing beats the film version even with the dubbings and colour segments which some hate but I really love and for me is part of the film. Just wish i could see it again on the giant Todd-AO screen, as this was the perfect film casting & locations.
werburgh62 2 years ago
Mitzi Gaynor *is* Nellie Forbush, the name says it all; Glenn Close is horribly miscast.
SFinSF 2 years ago
Mitzi, of course. Glenn gives it everything she'sgot and obvious loves the number and that helps a lot, but stil not Miizi. Also, not Mitzi was Reba McIntire in TV version from Lincoln Center, but was remarkaly good i her own right Myeast favorite was Kelly O'Hara in current live stage version. Looks great and fine singing voice, but totally lacking in charisma.
alexalex3131 2 years ago 2
Couldn't be more dead-on about Kelly O'Hara. Wonderfully talented performer but no charisma. Also, though it's painful for this reviewer to say it, Ms. O'Hara is too old for the role. Nellie is a young woman and an up-tight girl who resolves that callow confusion. Kelly's character is too mature for the small town prejudices to be forgivable. Ms. O'Hara reminds me of operatic heavy-set divas playing willowy starlet characters: yes, I admire the pipes, but too much suspension of disbelief.
SFinSF 2 years ago
Let me clarify: Ms. O'Hara looked to be more from Julliard than Litle Rock.
alexalex3131 2 years ago
I like Mitzi's singing, and Glenn's is bad. But I've never watched the older version so i had nothing 2 choose from. They could do more in 2001, but Nellie singing is bttr in original
friendsroxs101 2 years ago
Da hell was tha... Shouldn't pa kettle be there singin with ma?!
kimonui 2 years ago
MITZI MITZI MITZI MITZI!!!!
sophie4899 2 years ago
Glenn Close will will always be Cruella DeVil for me xD
TheDreamingSongbird 2 years ago
I don't like either. Mitzi Gaynor just isn't brassy enough for the role... she's too soft/cute and has no "attack" on the songs. Glenn Close just isn't right for the role for a lot of reasons listed here. Neither of them (nor the woman in the recent Broadway revival) can touch Mary Martin. Although she isn't as good a singer as Mary Martin, I though Reba did a pretty good job in the concert version. Her naiveté was touching and believable in the role.
kabardinka1 3 years ago 2
First lady too soft, but she has the better voice.
glen can't sing, but she's perfect for a tough gal.
luvleoido 3 years ago
The Big Box Office film version w/ Mitzi is shot far better,..and she seems a bit more 'at home' in the role, however, I believe this will always belong to Mary Martin, her vocal is much more lyrical, convincing, musically on the money, and just downright infectious. I have never seen Miss Martin onstage, but from vocal performance alone,..it's Mary Martin.
MuzzyVanH 3 years ago
Mary Martin was wonderful, but she didn't have Mitzie' s breasts, and this scene is all about that. And Glenn Close? What could they have been thinking. That was awful.
ixolib1950 3 years ago
in that case, they should have starred Marilyn Monroe, Mitzi looks like a young boy in comparison.
So THAT'S why Gaynor never never played Peter Pan!
MuzzyVanH 3 years ago
Think Nellie Forbush onscreen and you think of Mitzi Gaynor... NOT Glenn Close, who is a great actress but just wasn't right for this.
Casting Glenn also cost a lot of the elements of the story: Emile is supposed to be the older, cultured Frenchman, Nellie a young American lass. They are not of the same age.
And Nellie's original racist attitude towards Emile's two half-Polynesian kids would be stranger to see if the character was older, which means she should be more mature.
GAYNOR!
Milordvega 3 years ago
Mitzi IS Nellie! No contest! Glenn is far too old, and there is NOTHING fresh, innocent, or warm about Glenn Close. While Mitzi is a talented song and dance queen, Glenn is a nose-in-the-air Snob who takes pride in devouring the scenery in everything that she does. You want to hug Mitzi. You don't dare try it with MS. CLOSE!
BEARGUY46 3 years ago 2
1958 version is so much better. The original Nellie was cute. Glenn close? All I keep picturing her as is Cruella Deville! She can't carry a tune anyway!
colvinhouse 3 years ago
MIZI! I have not really ever been a big fan of Glenn anyways....
pattimylove 3 years ago
i just watched this video to get more familiar with R & S and I really would like to see a young blonde sing beautifully on a beach than watch and old granny attempt to compare and dance around the stage like an idiot.
lizarddavid 3 years ago
The origonals are always the best!
BillDFC 3 years ago
OMG...while I like Glenn, there is absolutely NO COMPARRISON. It's Mitzi all the way !!! One of my favorite film musical numbers of all time!!
quester36 3 years ago
Never remake a classic. Stupid thing to do.
denny906 3 years ago
absolutly mitzi...she has a way better voice too
dolphluv 3 years ago
Mitzi Gaynor PWNS. Period.
shivaboyd 3 years ago
Yeh I LOVE Glenn Close but I have to agree I think she was too old..and this part degraded her talent. She's much better for "A Little Night Music" and even "Hello, Dolly" (although Streisand and Channing are tough acts to follow)...she did an excellent job in "Sunset Boulevard"!
Kiyraesyn 3 years ago