Hair

The stage play "Hair" is primarily remembered now for two things....its shocking frankness and its music. In bringing the musical to the big screen (belatedly), the bulk of the stage version's loose plot was discarded and a more conventional storyline was created to link the songs together. This seems to either please or alienate people, depending on their relationship to the original show. In any case, the great majority of the songs are retained in this filmization which is more than can be said for many, many stage to screen adaptations. And what music! In most cases, the vocalizing even exceeds the quality of what could be found onstage, though the authenticity of the performers is obviously forsaken somewhat as the original cast was LIVING this at the time they were in the show. The film's plot concerns an Oklahoma farm boy (Savage) who's on his way to report for active military duty during Vietnam. He is waylaid in Central Park by a clatch of hippies led by Williams. He also spies the girl of his dreams (D'Angelo), a debutante who rides by on horseback in the midst of all the free love gyrations taking place in the park. The rest of the movie concerns the connections of these characters as they experience culture clash, sharing, understanding and even love. There is copious drug use and rebellion against the wealthy along with hallucinogenic dancing and skinny dipping. Eventually, one character makes a gesture for another which winds up costing more than could ever have been imagined. This moment makes for a hugely poignant ending to what is mostly a light-hearted and ebullient film. True, more than a little of the original subject matter has been tossed aside, but the filmmakers must be credited for (almost) successfully weaving a story around the songs (which are quite varied in their style and content.) The story fails with regard to creating a believable bond between Savage and D'Angelo that would endure the way it does in the story. They hardly spend any time together in the bulk of the film (and quarrel a lot during that!), yet supposedly have this amazing love. "Aquarius" gets the movie to a rousing, eye-opening start and it's just the beginning of many striking, effervescent musical moments in the show. Oddly, the one song that is badly arranged, poorly sung and just basically mangled is the title number! Most of the rest are excellent. NOTHING is better than complete unknown Barnes' rendition of "Easy to be Hard". She knocks the song completely out of the ball park and, sadly and inexplicably, her career went nowhere. Williams is, at times, deliriously sexy here. He comes off as annoyingly arrogant and stubborn at first, but eventually wins the audience over with his innate charm and vibrant talent. As the movie nears it's close, he soars into the hunk stratosphere when, ironically, he cuts his hair. Savage doesn't come off at all like an Oklahoman, but manages to display the contrast of his and Williams' characters. He does an adequate job in all departments throughout. D'Angelo (two years after her jaw-dropping role in "The Sentinel"!) is hardly debutante material and comes off as icy much of the time, but she has her moments as well. Chapin does a bang up job as her brother. The remainder of the hippie gang are acquired tastes. Wright does pretty well, but went nowhere after this. Golden just looks dazed and chews gum incessantly. Dacus is quite weak and does little to enhance the film. What's surprising is how a film that contains lengthy shots of bare breasts, male rear ends (and even split second male frontal nudity) was considered benign enough to warrant a PG rating, yet now, nearly 25 years later, America seems to still have a Puritanical viewpoint towards the human body when compared to other countries. The tide has turned backward from the free love and self-expression era (except in trash like "The Jerry Springer Show" and "Howard Stern".)

I first saw this film in the early 80's on cable. It was unique as a statement about the sixties, culture, war, music, race, and a bunch of things I'm certain I missed. However about a year ago it came back into my life as I started enjoying it with my son. He's a little young (9) for a lot of the themes in it, but he understands dancing hippies are fun to watch, and he gets the idea that end is ironic. While I can't think of other films in this genre, it does have a stand alone genius I love. It also does a unique justice to Central Park. Most musicals are lost on me, one way or another. "Tommy" was over the top and heavy handed in direction, "Oliver" seemed like crowd control on the silver screen, "The Wall" was so much abstract self important and indulgent dribble, but listening to "Failure of the Flesh" from Hair sounds right for our times today, as it did in the eighties, as it must have in the sixties...truly Timeless.

The first time I ever saw this movie was when I was four years old. I remember loving it and everything about it. 13 years later, I am now 17, and decided to watch it about a month ago because I am taking a 1960's class in school. I didn't really know what to expect, since it had been 13 years since I last saw it, but I was completely blown away by it. The actors were amazing, the music was so fun, and I now find myself singing along to every song. Treat Williams is great as Berger, the "leader" of the hippie group, who always gets what he wants, one way or another (except for at the very end, of course). John Savage is actually very convincing as Claude, the Oklahoma draftee who falls in love with Sheila (Beverly D'Angelo). D'Angelo is lovely as the prim and proper rich girl who eventually rebels against her upbringing and joins the hippies. The other hippies are played by Annie Golden, Don Dacus, and Dorsey Wright. Annie Golden is just adorable as Jeannie, the girl who is pregnant but still as cute and innocent as a child. Don Dacus and Dorsey Wright are good as Woof and Hud, the other two members of the group, and Cheryl Barnes, who plays Hud's fiancée, has an amazing voice.

The only problem I have with this movie, however, is that the relationship between Claude and Sheila is not very convincing. They are barely ever shown together, and when they are, they fight (remember the skinny dipping scene?). It seems as though their relationship is very weak, and by the end of the movie we are supposed to believe they are madly in love, only based on the few meetings they had. I also see that many people writing reviews here are upset by the PG rating this movie has. I personally would raise the rating up to a PG-13, only because there is some drug use... but remember in 1979, PG-13 didn't exist. I don't think the nudity is bad at all, it is in no way sexual (in fact, there isn't really any sex at all in this movie), and it is only to show the childlike innocence that the group maintains. In most European countries, nudity isn't regarded as something bad, and I don't see why it is here in the US. Anyways, I give this movie a high rating, and I'm glad it was made back then, because in the insanely "politically correct" world of today, they wouldn't even think of making it, and even if they did, it would be a very "watered down" version, and I'm sure you wouldn't get the full effect.

In conclusion, this is a very underrated film that is definitely worth checking out.

With an almost non-existent plot, I watched this film to see/hear the music. After seeing it on stage and buying the album, I know just about every word to every song. There is an energy to this movie and I enjoyed that very much. The title tune sets it off. Then, we have "Easy to Be Hard" and on and on. Each is placed in a kind of contrived setting to make it work. If there is a weakness, the movie is somewhat disjointed and lacking a kind of flow. Still, there is that whole tribal thing going on. The kids of the counterculture strut their stuff. See it as a sort of latter day period piece. Sometimes song and dance give us the jot sensual connection to a bygone era.

I saw "Hair" in the theater (Bellerose, NY) when I was fifteen years old. There are parts of this movie that have never left my consciousness. That's not an exaggeration. However, I don't find myself watching all of "Hair" all that often. I usually bail out about half way through. Tonight, I watched the whole movie. The first hour is excellent. One great song after another. The cast is very good, especially Treat Williams. "Hair" is also a beautiful looking movie. The second half, however, is not nearly as good. It has one clunker after another. It becomes a burden to watch. The LSD wedding scene is brutal. After the boot camp scene I felt like I went through boot camp. Then it picks up and the last fifteen minutes are great. Overall, "Hair" is a mixed bag. Dishonorable mention: Treat Williams' wig.