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".)

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 have seen this movie more than 50 times in my life, and each time I watch it the movie is just as entertaining as it was the first time! George Berger (played by Treat Williams) leads a small group of 1960's-1970's era anti-war "hippies" living at large in New York City. This small group happens upon a young man, Claude Bukowski (played by John Savage) who has been drafted into the US Army for service in Vietnam. Despite their best efforts to dissuade him, Claude does eventually report for basic training in the Army. Still distressed over his having left them, the hippie group steal a car and travel across the USA to visit Claude "...for a couple of hours," in the words of George Berger (to an M.P. stationed at the entry gate of the Army base Claude is temporarily stationed at in Nevada). The outcome is truly touching, so I won't spoil it for those who have not yet seen this fantastic movie. The musical score is equally fantastic! Don Dacus (of the rock group Chicago), who plays the part of "Woof" - one of the hippies, is a not a key character, but the movie wouldn't have been the same without him. Beverly D'Angelo (who plays Sheila Franklin, an uptown girl who is befriended by the hippie group) is sensational in her role! A MUST SEE film!!

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.

Now more than ever we need Peace & Love in this world!

This film really showcases the wonderful music of the Broadway show, and the fabulous Choreography of the legendary Twila Tharp! I saw it again after many years, and it still holds up well.

Thank you, MGM/UA for putting this on DVD! I love the option of seeing in Widescreen. MGM rocks for doing this on many of their DVD releases.

Ya gotta love Treat Williams as Berger and John Savage as Claude. They couldn't have picked better actors & actresses for this film! Beverly D'Angelo is such a 'hot mama' in this film--I had forgotten just how hot! WOW!

The supporting cast is absolutely great,

with the late great Nell Carter making a singing cameo in a couple of scenes, as well as the kooky Charlotte Ray (Mrs. Garrett on 'Facts Of Life')

The story gets a little weak toward the end, but the anti-war sentiment of the late 60's still holds up, and is relevant today.

It's beautifully filmed (quite a bit on location) and is so colorful and lovely and really brings the spirit of 1968 back on the big screen.

I saw this movie when it was released in 1979 when I was 15, and was moved by it then, and it still moves me now at 40. Some other reviews on here say they think it should have been made sooner--I don't think Hollywood was ready to make such a movie back in the late 60's-early 70's.

The Vietnam War ended in 1975, and the whole thing hit a little too close to home, I think for this story to be filmed before it was (like in 1969, 70, 71)

Bravo to Director Milos Foreman! I love this film!!!!!!!

It's nice to see it again, this time on DVD. It never looked better!