Al sur del Pacífico

This film is due to be re-released in 70MM for limited engagements next year. A new restored DVD is also being prepared by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment which includes scenes that were cut back in 1958. Somebody commented recently about the fact that "lap-dissolves" were used between many scenes in this film and this person obviously felt that this was some kind of fault. This was a common editing technique utilized in the past and was used usually to signify the passage of time. It is rarely used these days and obviously that person has not encountered this technique before and has assumed that it is a fault, but this is not the case.

I am curious to know if the new transfer will feature the Broadway continuity(the Emile-Nellie Plantation scene before the "Bloody Mary" scene)? I hope it is an anamorphic transfer?

This slush-fest version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's famous musical suffers on the small screen because of its constant use of colour filters during the songs. On a big screen, this looks great, but just looks odd on TV.

This aside, though, this film of 'South Pacific' has much to enjoy. Mitzi Gaynor is a bubbly personality and is clearly enjoying herself as Nellie Forbush, 'washing that man out of her hair' and so on. Rossano Brazzi is charming as Emile (the singing is expertly done by Giorgio Tozzi); we can have a pang of regret that Ezio Pinza was seen to be too old to play the role by the time the film appeared - his work with Mary Martin in the original cast survives in cast recordings - but Brazzi looks the part.

John Kerr is a bit of a wet fish as Lt. Cable, while Juanita Hall as Bloody Mary is excellent, and Ray Walston as Luther, and France Nuyen as Liat, make an impression in smaller roles. The musical numbers are done extremely well - 'Bali Ha'i', 'I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy', 'Some Enchanted Evening', 'Younger Than Springtime', and 'Happy Talk' and the rest.

Where the film does flag is in the sequences where Emile and Cable go to the island to report on the Japanese invaders. This was handled rather better in the 1990s remake, and also moves along better in the stage version. Here, it clashes a bit with the romantic overtones of the rest of the production.

The most obvious flaw is its running time, it's very long. I think it's longer than Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Unfortunately there were other flaws with the movie, so I can't overlook what I've just said. Another flaw was the colour filtering;the orange and yellow picture did get a bit distracting after a while, although the Pacific does look beautiful. Rossano Brazzi, whose singing voice was dubbed, looked wooden, but was he ever not wooden? I must say though, the dubbed singer did a marvellous job.

However, there were a lot of truly excellent things about this movie. Mitsi Gaynor was a lovely lead, and she was wonderful in the musical numbers. She does get a little tiresome toward the end, but most musicals do have the same problem. But Juanita Hall was just perfect as Bloody Mary, I had absolutely no problem with her. The songs were absolutely outstanding. Rodgers and Hammerstein have given us some truly fantastic music scores, and South Pacific is among them. Ray Walston gives comic relief as Luther, I think, and the focus on the war was very endearing. The real star was the stunning choreography, that made the musical numbers so energetic.

All in all, an entertaining, but flawed film, that is underrated in my opinion. 7/10 Bethany Cox

since before internet and IMDb existed so I an unfazed by the snipping trivial criticisms here.

it is basically an very good, not outstanding, effort to show some of the romanticism associated with that terrible event, the war in the pacific.

there are 100s of thousands of islands in that great ocean, can we not believe a bali hai exists undiscovered somewhere, if only in our imaginations? the DVD which I just bought today has the Michner 60 minutes interview. he refused to let the film crew on the island out over the water in the distance. he wanted it to stay an idyll.

cant we all do that? France Nuyen is the most beautiful actress of her generation and a very talented and strongly principled and intelligent lady.

the racism angle has been flogged enough here, suffice to say it is handled fairly accurate in depicting the mood of the times.

and thank you to those who explained what 'road show' version meant.

Having taped this off HBO nearly 22 years ago, I finally got to see the 1958 version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific just now (I had also seen the PBS Great Performances Carnegie Hall version with Reba McEntire, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Alec Baldwin last year). Mostly wonderful film version although I agree with most posters that the color filters during the songs can be a little distracting. Mitzi Gaynor is fine as Nurse Nellie Forbush in singing, dancing, and especially acting that I don't understand the criticism against her. Rossano Brazzi is likewise (although his singing, like the other cast members, was dubbed) as paramour Emile de Becque. John Kerr does indeed seem stilted and the dubbed singing of him is so obvious and I can't believe completely his love for France Nuyen. Ms. Nuyen is luminous, by the way. Juanita Hall and Ray Walston (who I first encountered as Mr. Hand in Fast Times at Ridgemount High) also lend fine support. That all said, this is classic R & H all the way in line with The Sound of Music, The King and I, Oklahoma!, and Carousel. P.S. Thurl Ravenscroft was the singing voice of Stewpot in the "There is Nothing Like a Dame" number. You might know him best as Tony the tiger and the singer of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in How the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.