To quote the critic of the Daily Mail, "The best live film of a stage show that I've seen". And I fully agree with him. I am an avid fan of musicals with a DVD collection over 700+.
Having had to wait 25 years since my late wife and I saw it at Drury Lane, London, I have had to be content with the CD.
This production and the DVD are worth more than 10. If you buy only one DVD of a musical, stage or screen, it has to be this one. From the two showstoppers at the beginning and end, The heat is on in Saigon and American Dream, to the beautiful duet, The last night of the World, the score and the performances are fantastic.
After Les Miserables, still the best musical ever, Boubil and Schonberg came up with another smash, this time based on Madame Butterfly. And thanks to Cameron Mackintosh for his foresight in producing both shows.
Bringing this show to a smaller stage than Drury Lane created several problems the least of which was the helicopter and the number involving the statue of Ho Chi Min was more cramped.
There are two extras with the DVD, one giving a history of the musical and the other, the after show performances from the original cast which reduced me to tears of joy. Each member of both casts and the production team deserve a huge amount of applause, which they duly got.
The close up singing shots strongly suggest there were so many cameras, that many were on stage and thus part of the performances were filmed not on the night. If you love musicals, this one totally without fault with a dream cast and incredible production values. Enjoy.
